Renovations

When I went back to Pennsylvania last year, I drove by the house that all of my kids grew into their adult years in.  It had been a great house for us, chock full of memories.  In the summer of 2012, DeDe and I had signed it over to a couple that had a young family, and they were so excited about having their first house.  They left a bottle of champagne on the mantle while the Sorensen crew finished our final stages of moving out.  We had such hope that this new family would love the house as much as we did, and that their kids would grow up and fill the house with more memories.

When I returned in 2017, what I found was far from what we had left behind.  The new family had recently abandoned the place.  Some windows had been broken and boarded up.  The yard showed the signs of being suddenly abandoned.  An old vehicle sat strangely canted on the driveway.  There were notices taped to the door: repossession by the bank, shut offs by utilities.  Of course, none of this changes the memories that the Sorensen family built there, but seeing the place in this state was a strange punch in the gut.

Yesterday, my son Daniel decided to do a Google search, and found a Zillow listing for the place.  Turns out that someone bought it, and did a classic "flip", just like they show on TV.  The house looks great, with a nice yard and the inside dressed up well, with bright but cool neutral colors.  Some timely additions and improvements make the house sparkle again.  There is a pending offer, so maybe this house will begin a new life after being abandoned so suddenly.

 I suppose this is one of those cases where life is like a house.  Things change, they always will, and sometimes they don't go as planned.  But we trudge on through life, and turn the corner to face the next challenge.

Coming to the Bay Area in 2012 was a restart for me and for my family.  I had to learn a lot of new things for the new job I took.  Some of these things were about my inner self, as much as for my work.  Sadly, I lost DeDe to cancer in 2014.  But life goes on, and I continue to learn new things about myself.  My creative side is flourishing now.  I'm writing a novel that draws on the experiences that surrounded that move in 2012, and inspiration abounds.

Today, there is as sale pending on that old but updated house, and I hope that the buyers will find in this place a great new beginning like we did in 1995.  Life is continual cycles, beginnings and endings, breaking down and building up.

Happy Saturday from Silicon Valley.

Flying Over Fire

I spent the last week in Oregon with my brothers.  Along the coast, the weather was quite cool, not getting much above 60, and that was where we spent most of our time.  Hiking, cooking, relaxing, talking.  Inland the weather was quite warm, but as is characteristic in the area, the nights cool off beautifully almost the instant that the sun is beneath the horizon.  Each day was special and carried with it, some great memories.

I decided to fly up and back, even though I love to drive, and relatively speaking, the drive between the Bay area and the Portland area is not far.  During the flight up, as I often do, I took some photos out the window of the plane, playing with the shapes below.  It was early in the day, and the light was pleasant.  There were some pictures I liked from this flight, and may post process them at some point.

Of all the photos I took on the trip, the one I included here is far from the best.  I took it during my flight back.  I was positioned in a seat right on top of the wing, so angling to take the photos, especially as I have to angle my head so that the reading portion of my bifocals is on the viewfinder, was difficult.

The subject, too, is difficult.  This picture is from above the fires that are right now inflicting serious damage on northern California.  As our plane approached the fires, turbulence from the rising heat shook us.  I've seen photos from on the ground of the Carr fire in the Redding area, posted by a friend who lives in the area, and they give some idea of the power that feeds this plume of smoke.

We each go through our lives, day to day, and most of the days are unremarkable.  Day to day aggravations can find undue weight.  I had some work issues that invaded on my vacation time, and I found focusing unduly on the attendant frustrations.

But in an instant, things can change in big way.  My heart goes out to those who wake up this morning, facing hard challenges.

Today, I am keeping perspective.

San Jose Airport Musings

San Jose, CA Airport, 5:06 AM.

I hadn't planned to start my next writing project until I return from the vacation that I am starting now.  I was working on backstory materials, and the outline, but one thing I've learned over the years is that inspiration won't be denied.

As such, I've written the first two chapters of my new novel.   As always, the characters, once they set out on their journey, surprise me with their actions as the book unfolds.

I have a fabulous vacation to look forward to this week, enjoying the Oregon Coast with my brothers.  I might get some more writing done, but if I don't, I know my characters will be waiting when I'm done.  Who knows, I might work on it now.

Or I might watch some cartoons...

Happy Saturday from Silicon Valley.

Sleeping In

I don't.  I haven't been able to since I was quite young.  Sleeping in, for me, is getting up around sunrise, and usually came after I woke up for a couple of hours in the middle of the night.

I used to say I was an insomniac, but looking at it objectively, I don't think that is actually true.  Yes, I'm tired sometimes, but mostly I feel fine through the day.  I might doze in my chair in the living room in the evening, but the five to six hours of interrupted sleep that I get each night is usually more than enough.  The four-or-less-hour nights are another matter, but they aren't the norm.

Anyway, among my strange sleeping habits is a tendency to do the "reverse sleep in."  Most sane and sensible people luxuriate on Saturday, sleeping in after a full week of work.  I get up earlier.

This is a more recent condition.  I think it relates to creative activities.  Throughout the week, I will write a bit each morning, but I view Saturday as a time for dedicated writing.  My mind turns over ideas I have worked on through the week, and often my Saturday morning is spent writing for hours before anyone else is up.

There are also times I like to catch the sunrise, such as I did in the accompanying photo, taken one October morning on the Oregon coast a couple of years ago.  I have been taking occasional early morning photo excursions for about 25 years on an occasional basis.

There are times where I feel like it would be kind of nice to be able to sleep in.  Sometimes I do that on Monday.  I mean, if you consider getting up at 5:30 AM sleeping in.

Happy Early-Weekend from Silicon Valley.

Under Construction

Photo:  Google Cloud Bldg Under Construction Nov 2014

As much as I love writing, I have to say the last couple of weeks where I have not written have been good for me.

I say "not written," but that's not really accurate.  I have been journal writing, and occasionally blogging, which is a form of writing.  I've played with some poetry too.

Anyway, I have not been working on any fiction projects.  I say "not working on any fiction projects," but that's not really accurate.  I've been working on a project I started after about a year of living in Silicon Valley.  That project is the inspiration for the name of this blog, "Midlife Startup."  I did some character studies, and wrote a synopsis and some outline work, and I have been reviewing those materials.

So, I have been writing, and have been working on fiction projects.  Gee, this break from writing has been great...

Happy Saturday from Silicon Valley!

Independence Day

Photo:  Sunrise Near Stanley Lake, Idaho, October 2016

Though I grew up in a small town in Idaho, and will always feel at ease in quiet solitude, I have become surprisingly at home in Silicon Valley, despite its many quirks.  I also have discovered that I can enjoy almost any environment, at least all that I have lived in so far.  I have not ever really accepted any particular place as home.  I'm a tumbleweed, by nature, and the fence that impedes my rolling is a good enough for me for as long as it can hold me.

I don't see any destination as sacred, but rather see that there is sacred in all things and all places.  Looking on the meaning of this day, the celebration of the birth of a nation, I see more meaning behind the spirit of independence, than I do about the place where this independence occurred.

One of the things I love about Silicon Valley is its pervasive energy, and the spirit of the people a place like this draws.  I'm fortunate that I work with a lot of folks who are spirited and independent, and diverse.  To look in the eyes of someone, on the sunrise of their own life adventure, reminds me of my journey so far.  Such a fabulous journey, and I look forward to the miles ahead.

Today, as I celebrate the day that a group of rebels split off from an empire, I also celebrate the deeper spirit of independence.  As I get older, the word takes on deeper and deeper meaning.

I hope you find time to think of the things in life that are special to you on this perfect Wednesday.

Happy Independence Day from Silicon Valley.

The Building Chipper Shredder

I live in the heart of Silicon Valley.  I've been here since July of 2012, so it's coming up on six years now.

The face of the valley is constantly changing.  The area I live in, the area I work in, are subject to cycles of demolition and development.  I've posted a couple of pictures along the way that have shown different sides of this.  I like to go for occasional walks when I'm at work, and these walks have given me "snapshots" of these cycles.  Two blocks from the office I work in, they have leveled eight or nine buildings.  I watched as the different buildings, which were not all that old, were emptied out, and came down.

Today there are steel skeletons stretching up four stories.  They are cropping up like pines on scorched black earth, toward the skies.

I am fascinated by the process.

One of the most interesting phases of this development was after the existing buildings were leveled.  All of the buildings had stone and concrete outer structures, leaving huge chunks of these outer shells scattered about.  As these buildings came down, a large contraption was placed on the former site of two of them.  Essentially, it was a chipper-shredder of doom, chomping down on these big chunks, and leaving an impromptu mountain of rubble on the other side.

The mountain grew pretty damned high.

Then it disappeared.  A sort of ebb and flow of stone that would take many millennia to shape in nature.

I've watched as the monoliths of technology, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Linkedin, and others, have gobbled up land and sprung up new, sleek and shiny buildings.  It's a fascinating process, but I can't help but wonder if the need behind the growth supports the level of that growth.

Since I was a boy, I loved to watch things grow.  Plants, trees, buildings, animals, people.  As I have gotten older, and stopped growing myself, I more deeply understand the nature of growth, and the inevitability of decay.  I see potentials, both positive and negative, in rapid growth.

I have no idea what to expect from the growth that seems to be encircling me, but it is fascinating to watch it.

Happy Saturday from Silicon Valley.