Today I added this site to the GeoURL server (that little button on the left.) Following my link to the list of local sites, I found a great site called Rebuilding Madison, set up by a guy who has some serious stones. He’s got a log documenting the progress on a house he bought over in Bolton Hill and the experiences he’s had fighting the drug dealers on his block. I have to respect him for this idea: He met with the local beat cops and built a break room out of the carriage house. Sending the word out, he was able to gather a bunch of donations from the community, including a fridge, stove, microwave, and furniture. That site sent me to 2321 E Fairmount, another site run by a woman battling the same issues in her NW Patterson Park location. It’s a testament to the people who take chances and work hard to improve neighborhoods. Keep up the good work, folks.
Reading through that first site makes me think about my own worries over the last few days, now that this house is looking more like a probability. I’ve been fretting over the work involved, the time and money and stress levels that we’re going to be taking on, sleeping poorly at night wondering if we’re getting in over our heads here.
Then I think about all that this guy has taken on—not just the rebuilding of a house, but of a neighborhood—and it gives me hope. He’s not just working on his house, but fighting against racism, drug gangs, the city, and prejudice every day. He goes to sleep with it (from what it sounds like, that can be hard sometimes) and wakes up to it every day. His defeats are hugely personal, and heartbreaking. But his successes are dramatic and uplifting. I have an overwhelming amount of respect for his fight.
His story gives me a lot of hope. I’ll eat PB&J for a month if I have to. I’ll live in the basement if I have to (and it wouldn’t be the first time.) We can do this.
I’m also considering how to document all the progress at our new house, if we’re able to buy it. I was originally considering a new URL for it, but I think I may just start a sub-section off the main site. Believe me, there are going to be a million pictures of the place before we’re done.
they chose us!?, 6.01.03
Today, for multiple reasons better left unsaid, I am alternately giddy, heartsick, worried, and hopeful. We’re heading up to my parents’ place this weekend for some R&R by the lake, and when we get back we’ll be starting the process of living together.
There are not one but two home inspections on the way, which means another round of cleaning for my furry household (and a replacement vent pipe for the hot water heater, something I’ve never bothered to do since the last home inspection) and the possibility that our dreams may be dashed, twice.
There is the happy thought of all the legal mumbo-jumbo which will involve signing not one but TWO chest-high stacks of documents (hopefully).
There is the exciting prospect of boxing all my stuff and moving it across town, and then mingling it with Jen’s stuff, so that it becomes our stuff.
A message to two of our best friends: We love you, and please let us help in any way we can.
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Ric Ford is asking for help with the Macintouch site; his business model has become untenable and he’s asking for donations to keep the site going. I sent him $15 through Kagi to keep the site going. It’s one of my daily links and something I could not do without. If you run a Mac, you should consider helping out too.
I don’t know if I’m mad or just upset about this, but I didn’t know anything about it until just now. Dennis Miller has become a tool of the Republican party. And a tool.
Jesus, when the wheels of Fate get moving, they really get moving. I just got some news that, while not unexpected, has me a good deal worried.
8:35: Choices: American Idol, or something, American Junior Idols, or something, some nameless sitcom, or 60 Minutes. What a brainer no-brainer.
Still waiting. It’s hard to concentrate.
Looking at the garden this morning, I’m amazed at how everything is coming along. The portulaca Jen planted in the front bed is growing like wildfire, blooming on just about every new shoot. The sage that overwintered in the beds is now about three feet tall, and desperately in need of some tiebacks. The lantana is now beginning to show signs of health—it overwintered and almost died at work, then got plagued by aphids, and then got shocked when we put it outside. It’s hearty stuff and seems to be blooming slowly. The lavender is about a foot tall, and the tarragon that poked its head through the snow is now about the same height.
ThinkSecret has an article on the new Panther upgrade for OSX, and it looks like there’s a bunch of new functionality included. One of my main gripes is that they have decided to use the brushed aluminum for all windows including the Finder. Yuck. One of the positive notes is that my Powerbook is supported, so there’s no worry about getting left behind.
www.donotcall.gov. Sign up now! Tell your friends! Put telemarketers out of business! Just remember—the service expires in five years so you have to re-register in 2008. Now we have to start lobbying Congress to pass some kind of anti email-spam bill. And an anti text-message-spam bill.
In other-other news, Spin magazine has a cover feature on Jane’s Addiction that I will have to read. Lots of info on the beginnings of the band, stuff I never knew about. I’m curious to learn about the early days.