the life of Kevin

Things around here are going really well, Sytil finished her dissertation yesterday and it's almost 450 pages long! That's almost three times longer than normal, but she's done so much research that she needed to get it all out there. Right now we're kind of in a holding pattern. We don't want to pack up too much of the house now, but are also worried about letting time run away from us. We celebrated our 9th anniversary on Thursday and wondered where the time has gone, but decided that they've been mostly good years so far and are looking forward to many more together. We'll see, I always tease her and tell her I'm going to trade her in for a younger model, but it's all in good fun. I think that's all I know from out here and I hope things are all right in your end of the world.

Skiing in June

I thought that you guys might get a kick out of this. On the front page of today's paper there's an article about the skiing that people are doing still. Bridger Bowl, the resort just outside of town, recorded 397 inches of snow by April 13th this year! Mid-May they were still recording 88 inches of snow on the mountain and last week, there was still over 33 inches! They're predicting there will still be enough to ski on into August! Pretty crazy. Just thought that some of you might get a better picture of MT with that little tidbit.

The Junkie needs his fix

I'm really going to miss it here when I leave. The quiet, the mountains, the rivers, the people, it's a good place to be and Manhattan, KS will have to be pretty damn impressive to keep up. I was reading an article online about the flooding in Cedar Rapids, where most of my family now lives, and it reminded me of things I missed about the Midwest. People pulling together as a community to help each other, knowing that if they needed help, others would be there for them. I remember filling sandbags in Andalusia in '93, walking the dikes, handing out food, the amazing turnout of people from all over to help. Their houses were safe up on top of the hill, but their friends and neighbors were threatened so there they were. We were definitely blessed to grow up in a place that had that sense of community and togetherness and I want to make sure that wherever I end up, my kids, when I have them, will have that same sense of belonging and community.



The rivers here are starting to slowly go down, but it'll probably be a couple of weeks unitl they are really fishable, and I'm really freaking out. I'm like some kind of addict, jonesing for my next fix. It doesn't help that I just read an article about fly fishing alpine lakes. The author had an interesting take on fishing and I'll close with a quote from the article.



"Fishing is one of the outdoor activities that can actually foster epiphanies-those rare moments of lucidity where one catches a glimpse of totality, its meaning, and one's place within it. 'Yes. I see it. I feel it,' you announce to everyone, and to no one. It's as if you're wired into the universe, feeling its pulse, flowing through its veins in an uninterrupted stream of energy. And then, like a passing memory or a mild bout of melancholy, it slips away, leaving only a vague and indescribable feeling, and a hope for its return. So you keep fishing, and you wait.

"

a survey of a different color

1. How do you define "love"?
the emotion I feel toward my family and friends

2. What's one thing in your life you could never sacrifice?
my marriage

3. Do you believe that good always wins in the end?
unfortunately no, but that doesn't mean that good should ever give up

4. What is the perfect moment?
the one where you're surrounded by family and friends

5. If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
the vast discrepanies in wealth/resources

6. What's something you're passionate about?
helping people/community

7. What does "being vunerable" mean to you? Does that ever describe you?
not being closed off emotionally, it perfectly describes me

8. What are you afraid of?
not being a good man/husband/father

9. What's something you should be afraid of, but aren't?
terrorism, if it happens, it happens

10. What's the best sound in the world?
my wife telling me she loves me

11. Could you take a life to save somebody you love?
without question

12. Is there anyone you would die for?
my friends and my family

13. What do you daydream about?
the outdoors, fishing, hunting

14. If you could do anything and make a career out of it, what would it be?
helping people, I love working with Habitat for Humanity

15. Why do looks matter?
basic laws of attraction

16. What do you want people to say about you at your funeral?
that I was a good man/husband/father/friend

17. What's your best quality?
my desire to help others

18. What's your worst attribute?
my lack of motivation

19. What's the worst pain you've ever experienced?
cutting myself with a table saw

20. Are you making a difference in the world?
I'm sure trying hard

and then this one time......

I'm not sure where I'm going with that, but there it is anyway. I hope that all of you are doing well and that the weather is behaving better there than here. It actually snowed the other day for a couple of minutes. It's acutally snowing on the mountains here right now, an it's June! Pretty crazy stuff, but in MT it truly can snow any month of the year here, and it has. I've even seen 4th of July fireworks in a snowstorm. All I can say is they were pretty amazing.

Past the crappy weather, not much happening out this way. Just kind of in a holding pattern, waiting for things to really get going in another couple of weeks. I put in my vacation request and will be taking the last two weeks of July and the first week or so of August off. I'm really looking forward to the time off and getting up to Glacier and maybe even down to Yellowstone a couple of times. My buddy Dave is coming out for a week, then I move Sy to KS, and the last week of my vacation my mom will be out for a visit. I'm no seeing too much relaxation occurring on my time off, but at least I won't be at work. Take care friends and we'll talk to you later.

Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo

Another Bloodhound Gang song. I rediscovered my love of this band recently, cursed youtube.

Things are going pretty well in my world right now. Sy and I got approved for a sweet apartment in KS, with two pools and a 24 hour fitness center for the residents. I also got hooked up with a furnished apartment here for after Sy moves down there. Her thesis is coming along ahead of schedule and things are looking good from here.

I got to do something fun on my days off. My neighbor paid me to tear a deck off the back of her house in preparation for a new one going on. It went well and I even got a new sawz-all out of the deal, so I was jacked.
New power tools rock!

Besides that, I've been sick as a dog the past few days. Just some sort of weird stomach thing, but irritating nontheless. Starting to feel a little human, but it turns out I lost about seven pounds and I'm hoping to keep those off. I started weight lifting and running again, which always sucks, but I'm hoping with the jumpstart of weight loss, I can stay on the wagon a little better and make it down to my goal of 200. We'll see. Hope to hear from all of you when you get a chance.