The Daly Kauffman

Blog? What blog?

2009-08-29T11:07:00.003-04:00

We are still on our e-vacation from the blog. There seems to be something about the summer sun that just clears your mind of blogging. Apologies to our 7 followers, and the additional 4-5 readers who haven't subscribed. We'll be back in another month (when Anna finishes her freelance projects and Jesse emerges from funding cuts and fundraisers) with an inundation of blog posts.

Building a Mystery

2009-06-03T17:38:00.006-04:00

Jesse went out to get the mail today and returned with a package addressed to both of us. He opened it and found two t-shirts inside but no packing slip. The t-shirts are perfect for us: perfect size, favorite color, camera for me, bike for Jesse. The sender used our current address (we just moved) so clearly it must be somebody we know. However, there's no way to tell who it could be.

So here's your chance, silent sender: fess up! We love the shirts! Thanks!

(The pic is meant to capture the "we love them, yet we are so confused" emotion. How'd we do?)

UPDATE:
I posted a message on facebook asking who was responsible for the wonderful t-shirts, and our friend Sam replied, "you are welcome. boom roasted." Immediately, I fabricated a partial memory in which I was 70% certain I had seen Sam and (his wife) Lindsey wearing said shirts and I commented on how much I liked them (I knew the shirts looked familiar, but I couldn't piece it together). I thought the case was closed.

However, the plot thickened. I ran into Sam and Lindsey on Main Street (it's a small town...) and Sam fessed up that he stole the credit from someone else! I won't be too hard on him, other than smearing his name on the internet, because I fell for it hook, line, and sinker. Anyway, I have now reconstructed my 70% certain memory to a 90% certain memory that I saw two of our other friends, Matt and Kelli wearing the shirts. I will post again when the mystery is solved.

We love the t-shirts, but the mystery makes them even better.

UPDATE:

Mystery solved! The shirts are from Kristin making her a two-time secret gift-giver after my beautiful mysterious birthday present! Thanks Kristin!

It's Spring!

2009-05-28T19:31:00.003-04:00

The title is my excuse for having neglected the blog.

Anna and I are loving the outdoors

*I'm sorry, I need to interrupt my blog post here to recount what just happened in our home.

Anna and I are finally getting to the dentist, so we have forms that I brought home for us to fill out. Anna's parents just left from having dinner together and Anna was filling out her forms. Having finished my paperwork, I powered up the computer and turned my attention to a new blog post. I get the above amount typed out before Anna walks through the doorway and says, "What are you doing, writing a blog post?"

She reads what I've already typed out, "Anna and are are loving the outdoors"with that air of judgment that people with English degrees relish.

"Just! I'll edit my own blog post thank you!" I respond, deleting the additional "are."

"Well, I'm bored."

"Grrr...you need to get your life together. How long since you finished filling out that paperwork?"

"I don't know, like 5 minutes" she responds coyly.

"No! You just finished not even a minute ago and you're already bored!"

"Well, I just want to go on a walk or something. 'Anna and are loving the outdoors?'"

"Just give me a minute okay?!" I say without even a hint of patience.

"I'm going to go play the guitar, but only for a little bit and then I want to go for a walk, okay?"

"Sure."

Like I've worked so hard to say, Anna and I are loving the outdoors.

P.S. I love listening to her strum the guitar and sing, it really is beautiful.

Normal Nostalgia

2009-04-14T20:09:00.010-04:00

This weekend Anna and I joined most of the rest of my family to support and celebrate the achievement of this wonderful woman in Champaign, IL. Yes, Molly (my sister) completed her first marathon and let me tell you, we were exhausted. I never knew watching a marathon was such work. Regardless of our fatigue, we are SO proud of Molly.

After shaking off our spectator's exhaustion we continued west to Normal, IL. I cannot really explain the significance of Normal to those of you who may not be familiar with the town or why it is important to me. In fact, I've been thinking about this blog post for a couple of days now and I still can't seem to articulate what happened there that means so much to me.

I spent 8 years in Normal (age 5-13) which was essentially the bulk of my childhood, and I had not visited in over 10 years. So I've been gone from the place just as long as I lived there. For a couple weeks preceding our visit I was consistently having dreams about Normal and was really excited to visit again.

Once we hit the city limits it was as if I had entered a heavy fog of nostalgia, memories fading in and out of sight. My face pressed to the window I could feel my heart expand with love and comfort and exhale a warm sigh of relief. Home.

I am incredibly grateful for my childhood. It was safe. It treasured my innocence. It encouraged my growth. I was loved. Sure it was not without its challenges, but really I cannot complain.

Normal seems to represent the cherished childhood within my heart and for that I am so thankful.

A Tribute to a few things Normal:

Life Update: We're Moving! And...Staying...

2009-03-09T20:19:00.002-04:00

A wise woman once said, "If you don't know where you're going, stay where you are." Actually, I don't know if a wise woman once said it, but I just made it up three seconds ago. Let me try again: Lewis Carroll once wrote:

One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. "Which road do I take?" she asked.
"Where do you want to go?" was his response.
"I don't know," Alice answered.
"Then," said the cat, "it doesn't matter.

Too much philosophizing? Ok...third time's the charm: Jesse and I have gone back and forth and back again over an outrageous amount of options for our future, only to decide after none of them felt right, that we ought to stay where we are. And we're almost following our own advice, believe it or not. We're staying in Bowling Green for another academic year (oh yeah, I'm still framing my life based on the academic calendar. It's only a matter of time before I step back into that world) but we're moving out of our current rental situation and into another - two whole blocks away!

Just for entertainment's sake, here's a sampling of the future projects Jesse and I have considered over the past several months followed by the primary cause(s) for abandoning each pursuit:

-Move to Denmark: unrealistic, too expensive.
-Gain Irish citizenship through a loophole, then move to Europe and find jobs: paperwork didn't pan out, of course.
-Get certified to teach English as a second language and move to Europe: less unrealistic, still too expensive.
-Move to France and get paid by the French government to teach English as a second language: I don't speak French and the French government makes you sign a waiver of dependants - i.e. they won't help you have a spouse in the country.
-Stay in the States but move somewhere else: couldn't find anywhere to go and I didn't want to leave my bunnies behind.
-Stay in Bowling Green: denial.
-Go to Graduate School: I haven't taken the GRE yet...
-Move to Manhattan and do Mennonite Voluntary Service: I didn't want to leave my bunnies, and it didn't feel right.

Now, this isn't to say that we're "settling" for Bowling Green (although I admit, it really seems that way now that I made that list, doesn't it?). We actually like it here. Jesse is loving his job and we've made a number of 20-something friends in town, dispelling the myth that Bowling Green only has students, parents, and professors. We love the atmosphere, enjoy going on long walks at night, and feel pretty much at home. Why leave those things when nothing else feels right?

So, between April 1 and April 15, we're moving out of our current place and into a new one two blocks away. The rent's cheaper, and the place has been kept up much better. If you need our new address, shoot us an email.

Off to sewing new drapes! Not really... First I have to finish reading Harry Potter 7 again.

Great Gifts!

2009-03-09T09:42:00.009-04:00

A week ago today was my birthday and I turned the ripe age of 27. I'm not sure I'm old enough to be 27 and I imagine that I'm probably going to feel that way for the next number of years until my body really starts to tell me that I'm older than mid-20s. Anyway, last week I received some pretty cool gifts. The coolest by far was a joint gift from mothers and fathers and one that I absolutely love, but its not the subject of this post.

I have a problem. The orchid above was one of the presents from my beautiful bride and co-author of this blog and I have swiftly sabotaged the gift. You see, as of late I've been entertaining a mild obsession with plants. Our house is quickly being overgrown with pot after pot of plants. Now some are borrowed (and will soon be returned) and others are starts that I have successfully maintained. This latest fact has convinced me that I am finally of houseplant caliber to not only own, but nourish a delicate orchid into healthy and vibrant life. So, I asked Anna for an orchid for my birthday and she graciously complied with a beautiful and blossoming flower. And this is the thanks she gets...Within a week the petals are wilting and soon will be gone. Now, I did ask for an inexpensive orchid because it would be my first and I didn't want the guilt of killing an expensive plant. However, I did not expect my skills to be a touch of death to the plant.

Thankfully (?) I do not feel alone in my plight. I was recently visiting with a friend whose house and garden I respect, hm...covet and was admiring her orchid, blossoms bursting with brilliant color. I asked for advice to which she replied, "Listen to the plant." It was as if I had embarked on a pilgrimage to hear that simple phrase from the mouth of a mountaintop sage. Then I asked, "How long have you had this orchid?" I expected to hear 15 years or some ridiculous amount of time.

"Oh, about a week or two. I don't seem to have any luck keeping them alive."

What relief! So there is hope for me yet. Hope that looks like this!

What Day is It?

2009-02-14T13:09:00.007-05:00

In the "Anna's so clueless" file, today is apparently Valentine's Day. This is a fact I was unaware of for a few reasons:

1.) I thought this past Thursday was my work anniversary, Feb. 19. It was not. It was Feb. 12.

2.) I did not pack up any leftovers for lunch on the aforementioned Thursday of Confusion because I thought it was the day my department was going out to lunch for a coworker's birthday. It was not.

3.) I'm not really a Valentine's Day person.

So imagine my surprise when I awoke this morning to "Happy Valentine's Day!" and a collection of cute origami hearts (pictured above) arranged on the coffee table downstairs (on top of our current coffee table puzzle - a winter scene in Amish country, go figure). Now, before everyone freaks out and calls Dr. James Dobson on me, Jesse and I actually talked about not buying into Valentine's Day. He's just cute, so he made me origami hearts regardless.

If you buy into it, Happy Valentine's Day. If you don't, go read this rant I wrote in undergrad and forgive the (literally) sophomoric writing.

Addendum: I am not as angry of a person as I was my sophomore year in college. Also, I thoroughly enjoyed the cuteness of the origami hearts.

The Age of Jack Bauer

2009-02-12T17:26:00.003-05:00

I have never seen even one iota of an episode of 24. I did however, recently turn 24, so I feel rather qualified to comment on the subject. I think 24 is a more appropriate age for me than 23 and I have a few goals / hopes / dreams / prospects (henceforth to be referred to as "G0HoDrePro's") for the year:

1.) Post on this blog more often.

2.) Convert this blog into a complete website with a much cooler template and an updated photo gallery.

3.) Figure out what the proverbial "next step" in life is and make sincere efforts toward it.

4.) Stop agonizing over GoHoDrePro #3 so much and just take a step already.

5.) Read more fiction books. I don't do that enough and I'm starting to think I'm missing out on some great stuff. (Any suggestions?)

6.) Increase my vocabulary.

7.) Take the GRE.

8.) Stop agonizing over GoHoDrePro #7 so much and just take the GRE already.

9.) Spend a lot of time outdoors.

10.) Go kayaking at least once this summer.

11.) Play my guitar more often.

12.) Go to more concerts.

13.) Exercise consistently so my knees work properly again.

14.) Stop being so old. I'm only 24, for the love.

She Wanted Qdoba...

2009-01-16T20:51:00.004-05:00

Anna and I both had a fairly rotten day today and the night wasn’t looking any more promising so Anna proposed we get Qdoba for dinner.

“But that’s not my comfort food,” I replied.

“Well what’s your comfort food?”

“Uhhh, oatmeal.”

“Gross.”

After a brief conversation about whether to pick it up or eat it at home we headed off to Qdoba. It’s a short drive through the 7 degree winter air. I was about to pull into a parking spot to our right, across the street from Qdoba, when Anna pointed out a space right outside the front door of the restaurant. I pulled forward and entered into a U-turn in the middle of Main Street which I usually complete with great ease, well...not this time. I had to stop the car mid turn and stop the oncoming traffic to complete my U, all the while Anna was screaming for fear of her life (Anna’s editorial comment: Screaming? Really?). To her defense the traffic was coming toward her side of the car, but in mine, we were perfectly safe. I’ll sacrifice some of the details of the visit in order to maintain your attention (and to keep me from looking like a moron.)

We were finishing up dinner right as Anna’s friend and co-worker Kristin walked in and joined us. It was a fun visit with lots of laughter over whether or not a man in the restaurant was aware of the wad of tissue sticking out of his nose. As we walked out the door, Kristin commented on our convenient parking spot. Heh....

Anna and I hopped into the car, buckled up and prepared to pull out into traffic. I backed up as far as I could without bumping the car behind us. As I tried to pull forward and left out into the street, my tires just spun and I slid to the right. I backed up and tried this about ten more times - all the while laughing about the absurdity of the moment. Here we were, trapped between a Honda Element and a Volkswagon Cabriolet on Main Street, full of people passing by. We did have one guy stop to see if we needed any assistance, but I waved him off thanking him for the offer. For a brief moment, I considered leaving the car there until the morning and us just walking home. Under normal circumstances, this plan might be acceptable, but it was incredibly cold out. Then I thought perhaps we could just wait out one of the cars parked before us or behind us. Then I thought about calling someone to get another opinion.

Finally, I decided that what I really wanted to do was just try another dozen times. Anna, in her wisdom said, “Why don’t we head over to Ace Hardware across the street?” I tried to argue for a couple more tries as if magically attempt number 26 was going to be the one that worked, but Anna declined my “logic” and convinced me to give Ace a try.

At Ace, we talked to the first employee we found and presented our situation. She replied, “I’m from the south and I walk to work, but you might try asking Kevin in the back.” We found Kevin and presented our problem and without missing a beat, he grabbed his jacket and followed us outside to see me get in attempt number 42 and 43.

“You’re gonna want some sand so that you don’t just have melting ice which will be more slippery. I’d just pour some out for you, but we don’t have an open bag right now.”

(Now, I have to say that as I’m typing this out, it sounds a bit like Kevin was just trying to make a sale, but Anna and I agree that Kevin sounded pretty genuine in his attempts to help us.) We crossed back over to Ace and bought some play sand for $5.37. Kevin followed us back across the street and pushed my car back as I accelerated so that we got as much of a runway as possible. He poured down the sand and spread it around and I hopped back into the car. Attempt number 92....success! I threw the flashers on and gave Anna a chance to hop into the car with the sand in hand and we hollered a sincere “thank you” to Kevin who was already making his way through the traffic back to Ace.

Here’s to Kevin for the hand and play sand!

p.s. I don’t even really like Qdoba...

A New Year=A New Internet Provider

2009-01-11T15:45:00.001-05:00

To you faithful few readers, we're sorry it has been so long. Our internet service provider has really let us down, so we made a resolution to find a new one. It's getting set up this Friday. We've got a post just sitting on our desktop, waiting for its chance at stardom.

Ode to Denmark

2008-11-13T08:19:00.009-05:00

This past week Anna and I suffered a loss. Our very good friends Stephan and Dorte have moved back to Denmark. Our house (and hearts) feel a little emptier... But we must not dwell on the sadness, rather lets celebrate the good times! The following is my tribute to socialized medicine, sandwiches/hamburgers loaded with vegetables, sour cream on pie, and flags on your birthday!

Stephan and Dorte, you are greatly missed.

...Dublin 09!

One Week, Two Rallies

2008-11-04T19:30:00.003-05:00

Last week, there were two political rallies in BG and I had the opportunity to attend both. Sarah Palin visited on Wednesday and Joe Biden on Saturday. It was exciting to be a part of both events, but I think it's pretty clear where I stand...

New Housemates!

2008-10-03T16:33:00.004-04:00

A week or two ago, this woodpecker came to visit. Today he has returned. Typically, I don't mind drop-in guests, but he's so noisy...

About the same time Woody showed up, this beauty made a web outside our big front window. It's kind of fun to watch her work. She has to build her web just about every other day after wind or rain damage. My favorite part is the capturing and devouring of prey. Anna is less excited about her presence.
This week two new friends from Denmark moved in as well! We're excited to have them around until they leave the beginning/middle of November. Unfortunately...we don't have any pics of them.

She probably would have made different choices.

2008-09-09T16:02:00.028-04:00

You've been so patient with us. Here are some photos from this summer. There's an anniversary weekend, Glacier National Park, and a Gerber Cousins' Campout in here.

Above: Anna and I really appreciated the artist's honest world view. It says, "God blessed the USA and we f***ed that up." (I suppose we have to give up our "Family Friendly Blog" title with this one.)

The following are post vacation pics. We were proud to see Anna's dad, Marty, graduate from seminary in early August. We spent the weekend witnessing the commencement ceremony, relaxing at Marty and Cathy's country home, and enjoying a celebration service at the church where Marty pastors.

Of course, Anna's favorite part of a Sullivan visit.

Now we can blog about autumn with an easy conscience!

Bunny Love

2008-08-13T10:51:00.014-04:00

Anna and I clearly have different "parenting" styles when it comes to the bunnies. I'm much quicker to spray them with the squirt gun for discipline while she worries much more than I do about the temperature of their environment. Not only do we differ on styles, we clearly favor different rabbits. My perception of Ron is that he doesn't think much before he does anything (picture proof on the way) and even though he IS cute most of time, I don't find it very endearing when he tries to eat the plastic bag we're scooping his litter and waste into. Anna sees Ron as beautiful, engaging, and fun-loving. (I'm sure she would have much more to add to his case, so you'll have to ask her if you want both sides of the story.) Padfoot she finds stand-offish and grumpy (he won't let her pick him up). To me he's independent, stoic, and doesn't want to be coddled. Look at him, isn't he great!

Well Monday I decided I'd give the boys a chance at some exercise. I placed Ron's cage inside the house, placed Padfoot's cage on the floor of the enclosed porch and opened the door. He had a pleasant two hours to sniff, hop, and jump around the porch. (For those of you without rabbits who probably feel hop and jump to be redundant, feel free to stop by.) It was great fun with only the first hour supervised, I returned to the porch after the second hour to find him stretched out, resting in his cage. The porch was only slightly disheveled as he likes to pull the cardboard scraps we have out from behind a set of drawers.

For Ron's turn I switched the positions of the cages, with Ron outside on the porch and opened his door. I know that I can be a little uptight when it comes to the cleanliness of a home, but I think we can all agree that relieving oneself all over the floor just isn't acceptable. Wherever Ron would go to sniff out something new, he would deposit something new. I'm not a fan. Behold Exhibit A (is it just me, or does he not look like he's scheming his deposits) followed by Exhibit B.

Trust me, the fun doesn't stop there. I will say that one of Ron's more enjoyable characteristics is his adventurous spirit, he's kind of like a furry Indiana Jones, without any research, thinking, or planning. You already saw that he made his way onto the small box; well that's just the beginning of his climb.

<--It's hard to catch rabbits in action.

Basking in his accomplishment.-->

<--A moment of regret?

Admiring the new view!-->

Descending the climb took twice as long as mounting it. All in all Ron was allowed only an hour of play on the porch. Obviously I have a bias toward Padfoot, but I would just like to point out that it is not totally unfounded. Before I leave you with my final piece of photo evidence, I would like to apologize, for surely the pictures and text are no where near each other like they are in the "create post" box. I'm no format man.

Really, BGSU? Really?!

2008-08-09T10:19:00.003-04:00

Since college students will soon be repopulating Bowling Green and lately I've felt more and more jealous of them for getting to attend classes and be a part of organized education, I decided to spend some time this morning perpetuating my sadness by reading up on course offerings at the old alma mater. To my surprise, I discovered that beginning Fall 2008, BGSU will be offering a minor in Peace and Conflict Studies - including actual courses with the prefix PACS.

When I transferred to BGSU, I attempted to make a planned minor in Peace and Conflict Studies because it was what I wanted to study. My advisor offered me a course in International Studies and some History courses. I found that it made better sense to avoid the paper work and declare a minor in American Culture Studies, which incorporated a number of my interests. However, I still feel the desire to actually study peace so my it's been my goal since graduation to pursue a Master of Arts in Peace Studies along with an MSW.

So imagine my surprise when I saw this morning that I am again, ahead of my time. The BGSU PACS minor looks amazing and I so want to be a part of it. I can't be entirely frustrated though. I am excited that my former university is expanding its course offerings and I'd like to think that I was one of many now alumni who attempted to create a minor in Peace and Conflict, communicating to the College that this minor should be established.

Here's the link to the Peace and Conflict Studies Program. So...anyone know how much it costs to audit a course at BGSU?

Pictured on the Back of Troy Bolton

2008-08-01T23:08:00.007-04:00

That's right. We're famous. Tonight we went to see a local production of "High School Musical" that a bunch of Bowling Green HS students were involved in. Taylor, one of the the guys Jesse knows from his days of volunteering at BGHS, played the lead role. Taylor has an amazing voice but wasn't involved in any musicals in high school so it was really fun to see him perform.

Also, courtesy of Taylor, we made a cameo appearance in the play. That's right. We showed up on the stage of High School Musical...admit it, you're jealous. Taylor was an usher in our wedding and as a thank you gift, we made t-shirts for everyone who helped out. A favorite of Taylor's, he decided to sport the wedding T on stage as Troy Bolton. Pre-teen girls, eat your heart out.

Pictured below is the back of the shirt, featuring the cartoon versions of Jesse and I.

Tomorrow we're heading off to spend the weekend with my parents, brother, and sister-in-law. My dad's getting his Masters of Divinity tomorrow morning and we'll be spending the weekend at their new house in Sullivan, OH.

Dude, Where's My Public Transit?

2008-07-16T20:34:00.004-04:00

Community action alert: Bowling Green, Ohio needs a better public transportation system.

As a member of a one-car family and a resident of the North side of town who works on the South side of town, I often require assistance getting to and from work. Today, my husband called while I was at work to tell me his schedule changed and he wouldn't be able to pick me up. I had never seen any B.G. public transit vehicle other than the shuttles that operate on BGSU's campus, but rather than bum another ride from a coworker, I decided to Google it just to be sure. Here's what I found:

B.G.'s claim to public transit is B.G. Transit, and although the opening paragraph of their site strictly states that B.G. Transit is not a taxi service, it quickly redefines itself as, "a bus service whose route is determined by scheduled rides." Is that not a taxi service? The site also states that riders should anticipate their ride arriving within a 30 minute window and they should anticipate arriving at their destination 25 minutes after their pickup. Fare? $3.50 ($1.75 for seniors and disabled persons).

Perhaps I'm merely spoiled having grown up in Toledo, where one can ride TARTA anywhere in the city for $1.00 a ride or $10 for a weekly pass. Still, I'm surprised and disappointed that a town as progressive as Bowling Green fumbles the football on public transit while the university boasts hybrid shuttle buses. The town is not huge, but it's difficult to navigate on foot or bike to certain areas - especially when "certain areas" include an office job where you need to present yourself in a professional, non-sweaty manner. People who live and work in Bowling Green shouldn't have to drive.

Community action anyone? Your thoughts?

Make It Do or Do Without

2008-07-14T19:51:00.005-04:00

My dad always said, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." Well...

Jesse picked me up from work today and on the way home, I spotted a bike by the side of the road with a "FREE" sign on it. We pulled off and I got out of the car to examine the value of the offer. Meanwhile, a woman sitting on the balcony across the street (Main Street, to be exact) took it upon herself to shout at me repeatedly "Take it! Take it!" I'm already slightly hearing impaired and the 5:00 Main Street traffic did not help my ability to understand this woman, so I nodded and smiled and asked "Is it yours?" which, of course, she could not hear me shout.

Luckily, a man came out of the house that the bike was actually in front of and said, "It doesn't have brakes."

"Oh," I replied. "It's yours?" He kindly responded that yes, it was his and that I needn't settle for this fine piece of machinery because I could have my pick of other bikes he had in his basement. I motioned to Jesse and he got out of the car to join me. As we followed the kind gentleman into his basement, he politely said, "Don't mind the mildew smell." Frankly, I was a little more concerned about the alcohol on his breath, but I proceeded regardless.

In the cellar, I had my pick of two bikes: an ordinary forest green 10-speed (just my style) and a pink and purple USA Mt. Climber that strongly resembled the bike I owned when I was 12 years old. Unfortunately, the forest green bike had a gear skipping problem...

So, I did what any other working class Mennonite would do. I hopped on the USA Mt. Climber (would I dare grace my butt cheeks with a bike of any other national origin?!) and - trousers, loafers, collared shirt, and all - I pedaled my way home.

Jesse brought back the car, then returned for the brakeless bike. He rode it home using his tennis shoes as stoppers. We think we can salvage the tires and put them on a different bike.

Let this be a lesson to you: next time you see a 23-year-old business woman riding to work on her pink and purple 10-speed, don't laugh...because...it's probably me and that would hurt my feelings.

"Oh, the Places You'll Go"

2008-07-13T15:56:00.004-04:00

We've returned from a whirlwind tour of the northern portion of the country with many memories, experiences, and photos. We'll post some more pics and a link to the flickr site once we get all of the photos uploaded (the first 1/4 is 44% complete).

Vacate the Premises

2008-06-26T17:52:00.004-04:00

See you in a week...we're going there.

"All Things Go"

2008-06-16T20:49:00.003-04:00

It's been a busy couple of weeks and since I currently lack the time and energy (and since I just got four websites assigned to me at work today and oddly I'm not in the web writing mood anymore), here's a whirlwind tour:

I spent last week in Chicago with my department at the Internet Retailer Conference living it up with the suits and skirts, getting lost in Chicago on foot at night, and worst of all, networking. It was interesting though, and I gained some SEO knowledge despite most conversations being entirely over my head.

Meanwhile, Jesse - who has been job-searching for months - got so desperate that he applied for a position as administrative assistant to a property manager (he just got out of property managing in May). They called him and scheduled an interview the same day he faxed his resume and cover letter. He also received a call that day from First Step Family Violence Intervention Center, a domestic violence shelter and education facility in Fostoria. He had applied for the job about three weeks before hearing anything. One of our friends told him about it, but the position hadn't been posted and funding was up in the air.

Jesse interviewed for the property managing job and was offered it the same day. He asked for a week to think about the position because he had an interview with First Step scheduled, but they of course wanted to know by the end of the weekend. So naturally, Jesse accepted Monday, worked his first day on Tuesday, interviewed at First Step on Wednesday, was offered that job on the spot, then went back to the property manager and quit.

Currently, I'm back at my desk writing endless copy while Jesse is fulfilling his two weeks to the property manager. He's having a surprisingly good experience there but is looking forward to being a part of something bigger at First Step. He'll be working to build a program to educate and treat male domestic violence victims and offenders. (And I'm the one that wants to get an MSW...ah well.)

This weekend we're planning on heading to Yellow Springs to celebrate our anniversary since our actual anniversary will be spent tent-camping with the rest of the Kauffman family en route to Seattle. I'm ready to get out of BG...for non-work purposes, that is.

Snook's n' Crooks

2008-06-04T20:46:00.013-04:00

This last Saturday we had the pleasure of seeing two more of our friends (4th of 10 this season)"tie the knot". It was lots of fun as Anna and I danced the night away with many of her bosses. The groom is the son of the President at Anna's place of employment, and I was pleased to meet all these people I've heard so much about. Many of them I've seen from a distance at different functions, but it's nice to finally meet them and be introduced.

The reception was at Snook's Dream Cars, which is an Automobile Museum of sorts at the edge of Bowling Green. I have been so curious about the inside of this place for quite some time, so on the outside chance that you too are wondering what the inside looks like, I'll include a picture or two of the place and one of us looking dressed up as proof that I can look formal(ish).
Monday was an exciting day for me; while Anna was hard at work I was at home with "the boys". I started the day by feeding Ron and Padfoot. I like to open the top doors and pull out their bowls on both the cages before I open the bag or pour the pellets into the bowls. Well I filled up Padfoots dish, closed the door and then moved on to Ron. I filled up his dish and placed it in the cage when I realized that I still needed to take out the garbage bag of their droppings. So I walked their droppings out to the garbage can. As I was walking back from the garbage I noticed how many weeds had popped up in our front flower bed. So I decided it was time to take care of that! I weeded the front and then realized there were probably the equivalent amount of weeds in the vegetable garden. The back of the house was a popular place this morning as there were easily 8 squirrels running around the trees above my head. It has been my experience that black squirrels always seem to be more aggressive than brown ones and so I've kind of formed a prejudice against them. I know its a prejudice because while I was watching them run around I realized that I was cheering for the brown squirrels in the mix. One black squirrel was really sticking it to one of the brown guys. As I began brainstorming about where I could find a BB gun to save the brown squirrel from the wrath of the black, I realized that the black squirrel was in fact protecting what I'm assuming was a female squirrel snuggled up in the corner gutter of the apartments behind us. The black squirrel was clearly trying to protect the gutter squirrel and perhaps some young from this intrusive presence when he chased the brown squirrel off the side of the roof. The brown squirrel fell until he could catch himself on a window sill. After three failed attempts at climbing the gutter back up to the roof, the little guy gave up the pursuit and scampered off. As you can see, I've included a photo taken at the scene of the altercation above.

The adventure continues! Once I was done weeding and witnessing, I walked around the front of the house to water some grass seed that I had planted. As I was uncurling the hose, a squad car drove up to the house across the street accompanied by a woman in her vehicle. I thought perhaps she had been pulled over, but then they both proceeded to walk up to our neighbor's house across the street. I think the woman across the street babysits, so I figured they were parents picking up their children. I finished uncurling the hose and walked into the house to get the nozzle for the hose when I looked up to find this!Caught red pawed! In my absent-mindedness I forgot to close the top door to Ron's cage and he had some adventures in mind. I have to give the little guy some credit for hopping through the top of his cage. Even though they're accomplished hoppers, it would still be a challenge to complete a vertical hop as such. Good work buddy! Now don't do that again. Thankfully he looked a little too scared to jump to the floor.

After returning Ron to his cage, I found the nozzle for the hose and began watering the front flowers and grass seed. As I was working away I noticed that the police officer and the woman accompanying him were still standing outside chatting with the woman who lives across the street and the conversation seemed to be escalating. I realized these weren't parents seeking their children when not one, but two more squad cars pulled up. They decided to take a break from talking on the porch and the woman who pulled up started talking to two of the officers across the street on our lawn. This was fine by me until the wonderfully awkward moment came when I had watered every other patch of grass seed except the one at their feet. Feeling confident that I wasn't breaking any laws or really being all that rude, I inched up to them, smiled, and started watering the patch a foot or two from their feet. They pretty much ignored me. I wish Anna would have been home to take the picture, it had to look pretty funny. Two officers talking to a woman who is clearly worked up and me...watering the lawn.

I finished my business and went back into the house. An hour later I noticed the officers were still outside talking and another character had joined the production. I don't really know what the conversation was about, and nobody was cuffed and escorted away, but here's a final photo.

Perhaps someday the exciting life of crime will be mine (more than just speeding tickets) but for now I'll settle for watching.

Chipping

2008-05-27T16:20:00.008-04:00

I spent the weekend at Timberwolf Lake, near Lake City, MI. It's a Young Life Camp and some friends and I were helping get the camp ready for this summer's campers. I pretty much chipped wood all day Friday, Saturday, and half of Sunday. It was glorious. I, too, got lost twice this weekend and both those moments of confusion were just on the way there. Unfortunately, it was too late (1a.m.) to call someone for mapquesting help, so we stopped in a 7/11 with 5 squad cars to ask directions the first time, and then the second time we just asked the cop who pulled me over for speeding. I was wonderfully happy to arrive at camp Thursday night, even though it was 1:45 a.m. Here are some friends who were there.

"Oh me, oh my oh. Look at Miss Ohio"

2008-05-24T22:48:00.000-04:00

Jesse is in Upper Michigan this weekend doing hard labor for no pay and I drove to Cincinnati today for a friend's wedding. It was a beautiful day for a wedding, and not a bad day for a drive. I've forgotten how much I love driving. I used to drive to and from Toledo by myself multiple times a week. Now that I live and work in BG, I walk most places. I miss driving though...I don't miss buying gas, but I do miss listening to music and singing and feeling liberated on the road.

I made it to Cincinnati in good time despite holiday weekend traffic. I was pleasantly surprised with how smoothly the trip went as I exited the highway - that is, until I proceeded to get insanely lost in southern Ohio for an hour. I called my dad to mapquest my whereabouts as I frantically tried to make it to the ceremony I had driven three hours to witness. I pulled in two minutes late, there were no parking spots, and I illegally parked so I could make the wedding.

I made it. Just barely, but I made it. And it was absolutely beautiful: aesthetically, emotionally, spiritually. It was right at the edge of the river - you could wave to Kentucky on the other side (but why would you want to?) and the ceremony was one of the most tactful and thoughtfully constructed wedding ceremonies I've ever seen. I sat in the back, the potential towing of my car out of my mind, and just felt happy to be there.

After the ceremony, I went to check on my car. Thankfully it was still there. I saw a police officer on the way and I told her I was running to move my car. She directed me to a better parking spot. Relieved, I went back to the reception and sat with someone I'd met briefly but never gotten to know in college. We had a great conversation and I was amazed that she and her boyfriend met at the Iowa Caucus working for opposing parties. After a while, I left the wedding feeling like it was an excellent day, despite the fact that I was utterly lost in the spaghetti bowl of Cincinnati for an hour of it.

I walked back to my car and headed toward the highway. By this point, I had seen most of the city, so I had a good idea of where it was. I turned onto the main road I needed and hit a complete jam of traffic. There was nowhere to move. Everyone who had pulled in had to reverse out and find another route. I opened my phone and called my dad again to redirect me. About an hour and a half later, I merged onto I-75N.

It was a long day, but it was also a really beautiful one and I'm glad it all happened. But I do feel that after driving south and north down the western edge of Ohio and getting lost in one of its biggest cities for a total of 2.5 hours, I have legitimately earned the title : Miss Ohio. I have also earned the phrase "oh me, oh my oh."

(I'm sure Gillian Welch had this particular day in mind when she wrote that song.)

"News from Lake Wobegon"

2008-05-22T19:58:00.000-04:00

It's official: I'm not cool.

Not that I ever honestly believed that I was, but there was the slight hope for a time. Not anymore. I've realized this week that I am not now, nor will I ever be, cool. Here's why:

I moved into my new office last Friday, as I've previously blogged. Monday, my assistant - a fellow English B.A. - moved into the office. We promptly created literary quotes to hang on the wall, talked about how much we both miss school, and brought in a radio to play continuous NPR.

This morning we were having a conversation when over the radio came a sweet prelude that I have long missed: the opening bars of the Writer's Almanac theme. We stopped mid-sentence and listened intently as Garrison Keillor read us a poem and fed us with nutrients of literary insight for a glorious five minutes.

Then it was over. And I realized: I am not cool...

...But I do have NPR in my office, so I'm completely fine with it.

*Note: I did a google image search of Garrison Keillor to illustrate this post. I had never seen him before. There's a reason he's in radio. I'll honor that decision of his.

A trip to the Zoo

2008-05-20T08:50:00.000-04:00

Jesse here. I haven't contributed any entries yet, so today I'll give it a go.

Yesterday while Anna was hard at work training her new assistant, I went to the zoo with mi madre, Kelli, Ava, and the Rhizals. For those unfamiliar with my family, Kelli is my sister and her daughter is Ava. The Rhizals are comprised of my brother Ross, his wife Deb, and their two little girls, Emma Day and Maris Elaine. To your right you can see all of the above mentioned family members with the exception of Kelli, but she'll show up later. It was a beautiful day for the zoo. In fact, yesterday is what I'd call "zoo weather": sunny, but still jacket weather. It was no surprise that after stating this yesterday, other ideas of "zoo weather" were shared and mine was probably the coldest.

I have two favorite parts of the zoo trip.

1) Ross and I spent a decent amount of time reminiscing about our childhood together. I really enjoy talking about my youth, even if it's not all pleasant.

2)Momma Deb walking around the zoo with Baby Maris tucked away in her pouch. I can't think of a more zoo appropriate way to carry your baby. It helps that Maris is absolutely adorable tucked away with her little hood on.

There's not much else I have to say about the zoo, so I'll let the pictures do the talking.

(I'm no good at layout.)

Maybe Anna can save this post when she gets home from work.

Calling all literary masterminds...

2008-05-15T20:07:00.000-04:00

I'm moving into a new office tomorrow which is excellent for a number of reasons. Once I move, I will break free from the confines of cubicle walls and I will gain a window - but not just any window, an EXTERNAL window. The walls are blank and my boss handed me 11 empty frames to decorate the room. I decided to fill half of them with literary quotes and half of them with bright landscape shots of some kind.

Herein is my need for audience participation. I sat down to choose my five favorite literary quotes. The first was simple and appropriate: "I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars" -W.W. After my initial breakthrough however, I experienced a setback in realizing that my literary taste is rather dark and although I would appreciate seeing "I heard a fly buzz when I died," and "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines" on a daily basis, somehow I think that others at the office might not appreciate my depth of literary understanding...and mental health.

So, please...help me out. If you can think of a brief literary quote that would be appropriate to hang on the wall of a company with "Judeo-Christian values," please comment.

Much obliged.

Oh, and "So it goes."

Padfoot and the Technicolor Dream Ball

2008-05-15T19:42:00.001-04:00

Padfoot may very well have had the best day of his Mini Lop life today. He's had it rough. His first family didn't pay attention to him, then he moved to the Humane Society then he moved to our apartment, then to our house. Then, a rambunctious and ridiculous Lionhead bunny became his adopted baby brother and they had to share a room together. Even though he had a clean place to sleep and endless food, hay, lettuce, and carrots, he just wasn't a happy bunny.

We've been getting the boys out to run around the screened in porch - one at a time of course because Padfoot gets upset whenever Ron is near him. (Recently, Ron has taken to jumping up near Padfoot's cage trying to see who's in there. Padfoot does not like this.) We haven't been able to get Padfoot to come out of his cage because he freaks out whenever we try to pick him up, so today I decided to take Ron's cage out of the room, put Padfoot's cage on the floor, and open his door.

He came out right away. He ran around and hopped and sniffed and played. We got out a ball and he pushed it around adorably. I think he was the happiest he's been since he's been with us and I am pleased. He went back in his cage after about 30 minutes of exercise and exploration and assumed his favorite position...sprawled out in the corner of his cage.

The Boys: Photos

2008-05-08T22:35:00.001-04:00

This is Ron and I on our first day home. The boys lived in the apartment for about a week in between our move. Ron and Padfoot were not getting along very well (i.e. Padfoot freaked out any time he saw Ron) so Ron was sleeping in our room and Padfoot was in the office. We quickly learned that we should have made opposite sleeping arrangements because Ron is a young bunny, energetic, and a giant mess. I gave him a sheet of cardboard to sleep on so he wasn't directly on the wire floor. At 4:30 a.m. we woke up and moved him to the kitchen due to the continuous chchchchc WHACK chchchchchc WHACK as Ron pulled his cardboard up, then stomped on top of it to knock it back to the ground.

Ron also did not appreciate where his litter box was placed in his cage, nor was he satisfied with the amount of litter in it. Thus, he moved it, kicked it, chewed it, and flipped it onto his head until he was satisfied and his box empty.

This is Padfoot, doing what Padfoot does best. Padfoot is still adjusting to having a loving home with a baby brother who lives across the room. He was taken into custody because there were too many animals at his former residence. I think he lacked attention and feels threatened by other animals. He thumps a lot and won't let us hold him, but I have "touch therapy" with him daily, where I sit and pet him for a time without attempting to hold him. Padfoot loves lettuce, but not iceberg lettuce. He will only eat organic spring mix. My boy knows what he wants.

The Boys: Backstory

2008-05-08T22:11:00.000-04:00

We recently adopted two pet bunnies, whom I affectionately refer to as "The Boys." Here's the story of their joining our household:

I grew up with rabbits and left them at home when I came to school in BG. As time has passed, all of my home bunnies have gone to rabbit heaven. For quite some time, I'd been begging Jesse to let me have a bunny, but he insisted that our two bedroom apartment could not fit any pets (touche). For graduation, Jesse took me to Build-a-Bear and made me a bunny. Neville Longears has been with us since December and I've loved him much in that short time, but I still desired a live bunny.

Then came "The E-Commerce Pet Rescue Sqad." My coworkers are both pet rescuers. One is in denial because she doesn't want to become "the cat lady," but if you ask anyone else, her fate is sealed. A few weeks ago, my other coworker (who has also rescued a cat and took personal responsibility for the well-being of a stray dog who wandered onto the company property) came into the office and said that a black bunny was hopping around outside the apartment complex. We were immediately concerned because a black bunny is a domestic bunny and wouldn't stand a chance outside.

Naturally, not being able to leave work, I called Jesse and kindly asked him if he would walk to my coworker's apartment building (I had the car at work with me) with a box and attempt to catch the bunny. Meanwhile, my coworker decided to contact our office manager and request to leave work to go assist Jesse. So Jesse met my coworker for the first time on a pet rescue mission. The bunny hopped away...at which point Jesse discovered a cage with an open door...

Well I got to thinking. We got on petfinder.com at work and I found a picture of "Cocoa," a mini lop bunny at the Hancock County Humane Society. After realizing that Hancock Co. is a kill shelter, I immediately called Jesse and asked if I could adopt "Cocoa."

He agreed...and then I was on the website again and I saw an adorable lionhead bunny named "Humpty" (he came in with Dumpty...how unfortunate...I had to help). Jesse said I could only have one but I showed him the picture and he was sold.

Jesse went down to Hancock County while I was at work and met the bunnies. He brought them home and after initial personality assessment, we renamed "Cocoa" Padfoot and "Humpty" Ron. Now we have three boys: Neville, Padfoot, and Ron (NPR).

Times and Changes

2008-05-02T18:00:00.000-04:00

A brief update on changes and new beginnings of the past year:

After our wedding in June, Jesse and I spent the summer relaxing, working, and attempting to figure out the future. I entered my last semester of undergrad at BGSU this fall and finished my degree in English in December, at which point I crawled into bed for about two months and only woke up to watch Rachel Ray and The View. I had initially planned to spend my post-collegiate months doing home repairs at my parents house in Toledo until said repairs were abandoned by their sudden decision to move. I signed up for a pottery class at the Toledo Museum of Art and threw pots for two months. It was fabulous.

In February, I was hired as an SEO copywriter for the e-commerce department at a local marketing company that sells custom printed products. As the only writer at the company, I write anything from product descriptions to executive bios and company historical profiles. My primary responsibility is filling all of our websites with well-indexing keywords which I derive from keyword researching and website analytics. It sounds lame, but I enjoy it...and "would you like custom printed tags with that?" is definitely a step up from the "do you want fries with that?" that I had anticipated after receiving a BA in English.

In other news, after a month of refinishing hardwood floors, painting, and cleaning, Jesse and I moved into a three bedroom rental house. Jesse was working as a property manager for student housing in the campus area of BG. We're happy to be "across the tracks" and into more of the residential part of town. (There is actually a literal "tracks" that divides the town between campus and residential. It's been tearing up our car actually...) We're enjoying the space, and welcoming new additions to the family...

...Not what you're thinking. We just rescued two bunnies! Their names are Ron and Padfoot (if you follow Harry Potter, you'll appreciate those names). Photos will be coming, as soon as I unpack the USB connector to our external hard drive. Jesse is currently looking for a new job doing something more life-giving than managing college rentals.

I think that just about wraps up the whirlwind tour of the past year...which is nice because it feels somewhat awkward to publish an autobiographical recap on the internet. Plan to check back for (hopefully less self-involved) updates semi-regularly.

Welcome to the Daly Kauffman

2008-05-02T17:46:00.000-04:00

Welcome to The Daly Kauffman, the non-daily publication of the Daly Kauffman family. We've decided to create this blog as a means of communication with friends and relatives and because Anna is glutton for writing web copy...or something. Please anticipate sarcastic tidbits, shameless plugs, and everyday ramblings. Enjoy.