Persistence

I've been getting phone calls for my brother. It's a foreign sounding gentleman (india? middle east?) and he asks specifically for my brother. I tell him there is nobody by that name here. He hangs up, and a few days later, same dude calls back. Bill Collector? Telemarketer?

What's really weird is that my brother has not lived with me since the mid 90's. And there is a whole raft of changes that have come between then and now, including:

* I have a new name
* I've moved twice
* I've changed phone numbers 4-5 times, moving from personal lines to business lines, and back
* For 7-8 years, I had no personal utilities (electric, gas, cable, phone, water) in my name (I moved in with a roommate)
* My brother never had utilities in his name at the old place.
* I do not get a lot of telemarketing calls (on do not call list) and I also do not get calls to other folks who share my last name. So it seems kind of targeted.
* I do get occasional bill collector / marketer calls for other folks who used to have my number.

Totally weird. All I can think of is that this guy has followed a string of "call forward" references from Waterbury to Newington to Hartford to Newington to New Britain.

Alternately, the guy I bought my condo from shares my brother's given name, and perhaps they are conflating that with my last name. Next time they call I am gonna see if I can find out what the heck they want....

Long Time No Post

Yes, I am still here. No I am not posting much. Quick updates:

1) My engineering work has been a bit too busy (overloaded) which has kept me from too much recreational web geekery (including the blog)

2) My yoga teaching / practice is still chugging along. Teaching 2x a week at the studio, 1x a week at Bristol adult-ed, and subbing regularly. I am working with a fairly chronic shoulder / upper arm issue that has kept me out of full chaturanga, of late, but does not impact my practice too much other than that.

3) Guinea Pigs are also making some progress, with a few gigs this month, and a soon to be available EP / CD with 7 original songs.

4) I'm clearly in a bit of a writer's block (or whatever the engineering equivalent of that is) with a few projects overdue and hard to get cranked out. However, I find that when I am stuck with something, I tend to get a lot done. A lot, in this case, means a complete cleaning of my office (it has become an almost civil place to work, it was turning into a bit of a cave) as well as the rest of my domicile. I've actually had folks over to hang out and visit - almost unheard of.

5) Went to The CT Forum last evening (Education) which was enjoyable. Even if I went with a teacher...

6) Have gotten a bunch of movies in recently - between Real Art Ways (Freakonomics), Bowtie / Cinema City (Waiting for Superman, A Social Network), and Netflix (The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, among many others).

7) Getting regular walks in nature with the dog. Getting out balloon chasing pretty regularly. Finding it hard to believe that it is mid November already. The weather, remarkably, remains quite temperate.

Will post more regularly, I promise. For now, off to bed.

2009 Wrap-up

New Year's Eve finds me baby-sitting my little bud Andrew as his parent's go do 108 Sun Salutations - which would be a bit much for my body (specifically, my left elbow) right now. I'll settle for two hours on the mat with Barb tomorrow....

So I have the opportunity to go over my blog and review the past year.

Some highlights:

* Got a Roku Player
* Said farewell to Peter Anthony, headed home to Australia
* Balloon safety seminar
* Lost a balloon friend. RIP, Mike.
* Got an iPod Touch. Lost an iPod Touch.\
* Taught an Intro to Yoga Series. Taught a Core-Ab Power Series.
* Won a Hello Kitty diary at Wince, an Open Mic at real Art Ways
* Enlightenment Intensive #5
* My GPS took me off-road and I wrecked my tranny en route to the EI. Doh!
* Got a little mention in the Courant (mid life yoga instructors)
* Lots of ballooning
* Lots of hiking
* Got a new little buddy, Andrew James
* House hunted, found a condo, purchased it, and moved in
* Gave up my office and moved into a home office in the basement
* Staffed an EI in December
* Started rehearsing (bass) with the Guinea Pigs

Movies
Frost Nixon
Revolution Road
Slumdog Millionaire
Training Rules (Dee Mosbacher / Penn State)
Trinidad (Dr. Marci Bowers / Morning Glow)
Enlighten Up (Yoga)
Departures
Glastonbury Kids
Up in the Air
(not counting Roku/Netflix)

Concerts
Abi Tapia (House Concert)
Krishna Das
Hartford Symphony Orchestra "Conenctions"
Kenny White / Cheryl Wheeler
Rhode Island Sustainable Living Festival
Falcon Ridge Folk Fest
Jack Hardy (House Concert)
Krishna Das (again)

Yoga Events
Back Bay Yoga in Boston
Jill Miller Workshops
Guerilla Yoga with Nykki
Shiva Rae / Mandala of Asanas @ Kripalu
Yoga on the Beach (Mashpee MA)
Tias Little Workshop
Heather Tiddens Workshop

Not a bad year, all in all....

Officially Moved

As of Monday morning, PowerLines (my business) has relocated to my basement. Carpet in place. Dehumidifer humming. And as of this morning, computer and phones have been relocated. Going to listen to Car Talk and Wait Wait while I reassemble the PowerLines home office.

Of course, no desk, no shelves, no files, and no mess - I'll be bringing stuff over a bit at a time. But the reality that I have almost everything I need to work on my computer is dawning on me, and that the shelves full of books and catalogs, and the files (mostly piled up and not organized) are either rarely used or wholly optional - so I think there will be a rather massive purge of catalogs, files, ephemera, old test equipment, etc. - rather toss it / recycle it than move it and clutter up the new space.....