Pictures

Two recent shots. Autumn in the North Cascades.

from October 15th. Snow dusts the tops of Pyramid Peak!

My favorite tree (shrub) on campus. A small vine maple growing amidst a forest of Alder saplings. The picture isn't as good as the real thing... the real leaves are on fire when the sun hits them briefly from 4:58~5:18 every afternoon.

Posting for its own sake

So,
No one else has posted anything recently. That's OK. But I feel as if something needs to be written. Therefore I am posting something.

And now that the cobwebs have cleared up slightly, I can add a bit more:

I have been so busy with my graduate program. I feel rather selfish and unaware of my family and friends. I am in a tiny world, in a minuscule community off into the far-flung reaches of nature in the heart of the mountains, etc. Some days are better than others but no day is really that bad! Fortunate so far I guess. It's hard to stay connected as I put in 10-12 hours a day while teaching, typing notes, keeping records and journals, being social (with my now limited capacity and ability!) and working for the institute. I don't want to let a day go by where I am not involved... except for the days when I am only resting (my Shabbat). thus, I am always tired, always busy and never engaged in the lives of my girlfriend, friends and family. I feel bad about this. I am soaking in all that I can in order to get the experience for which I came here. But it has been indeed a challenge to balance the personal life with the business/studying. I have some energy shifting to do... yet another challenge for me.

Great to see my family

So, Cousin Rachel got married last weekend. She was a gorgeous bride and her husband is a terrific guy. It was fabulous to see the Strich family members who I hadn't seen in years! It took a couple moments for us to get used to our orders and arrangements in dealing with one another (stemming from many years of history, outings, events and vacations together) and then it was wonderful as usual!

I shared a hotel room with Steven and we talked as much as we possibly could have... good times. Even Jake and Nathan were hanging out in SLO, keeping in touch with us via text. Jake's messages to Steven were slightly different than the ones Nathan was sending to his dad! Ha.

Five of the cousins:

Me, Aaron, Rachel, Jason, Steven

We were missing five and some younger newbies to the clan.

I'm looking forward to Christmas Eve, when, we will have a huge family reunion to celebrate Grandma and Saba's 60th wedding anniversary. May we all stay in good health to attend!