A Cemetery Conclusion

When I was young, I used to fear cemeteries. I was always very scared to be near them, which proved a problem when my family moved in behind the Vero Beach Cemetery.

Then I met a grave digger making a new hole on day and asked him if he feared the dead. His wise, southing response?

“I worry more about those four feet above the ground than four feet below it.”

Since then, I’ve not worried about graves, and to an extent have become fascinated by headstones, markers of lives long past in few words and two dates. Like why we bookend lives with birth and death?

Was there not a parent that has a story before we start? Was there not change in life at least a few months before us? Then, do we not live on in our children? In memories of us throughout the community? In work and deeds that transcend our short lives?

Some grave markers are overly religious, with symbols of preferred gods or saints, others have images and etchings of the deceased. But even if it’s just a name and a date, I still find meaning.

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California’s Capitol Corridor Commuter Connection

After a week of the Global Social Benefit Incubator, I needed a break. I needed an escape from thinking about sustainable international development and San Francisco called my name. Even better, the Bay Area is served by a great rail network, perfect for my transit foamer fetish.

First up, I called Kristin and Mark, the dynamic duo behind Inveneo and asked them for a lunch date. Ever the gracious hosts, they agreed to meet me at the 22nd Street Station in San Francisco, a short hop north of Santa Clara on the convenient CalTrain that stops at the Santa Clara University front door.

After a relaxing six mile run (and a shower) I bought my $7.50 train ticket and settled in for a wait at the Santa Clara train station. A wait entertained with model railroads and a very interesting but annoyingly noncommercial train museum complete with model trains but no postcards or other purchasable train memorabilia.

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Amy, Will You Marry Me?

What do you do when you love your girlfriend? When you feel she is Miss Right, worthy of cohabitation, even if it requires a half-million dollar mortgage?

First off, you discuss the future with her. Life as Mrs. Vota, legally bound to a highly visible, globe trotting uber Geek with an addiction to technology and transit foaming on the Internets and even the streets. Then, when she accepts your insanity, you go ring shopping.

But don’t tell her that you’re buying an engagement ring. Oh no, you do your best to fake her out. You bitch and moan about diamond prices, you defer ring shopping trips, you even question the whole idea of engagement rings until she gives up and stops pestering you.

Its then, when she least expects it, like a Ross family vacation to Fripp Island, South Carolina. And where she least expects it, like the Bonito Boathouse Restaurant & Sunset Lounge, that you pop the question. Down on one knee, surprise engagement ring in hand, you ask her, “Amy, will you marry me?”

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Beirut is Open for Business

If you’ve been following the news over the last year, you’ll know that there’s been a bit of trouble in Lebanon like last year’s conflict where Israel invaded Southern Lebanon and bombed most of the country in its failed attempt to rescue two Israeli soldiers and quash Hezbollah and the continuing car bombing of government officials like Walid Eido.

With that backdrop you would expect the city of Beirut to be empty of people, its residents abroad or back in rural villages to escape the climate of fear and uncertainty in Lebanon’s capitol. This is mostly true, for the downtown shops are empty during the day, and at night many of the city’s apartment buildings are dark.

But that does not mean business has stopped, especially the construction industry. All across Beirut, construction cranes spear the sky in testament to the enduring optimism of Lebanese real estate developers. The very same developers who have not dropped office rents, even increasing them over the past few years despite the political turmoil.

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Sweet Views From Park Tower Suites

While I don’t often have the ultra-luxury experience of the Peninsula Hotel Manila, these days I need not fear a stay at the likes of Hotel Ripcrow. I usually am accommodated at quality hotels like the Nairobi Serena, where the staff are attentive even if the rooms are small.

But on occasion, I luck out. Not with room size, which is nice, or extreme luxury, which is nicer, but in the three hotel qualities I really value: location, outdoor space, and views. Beirut’s Part Tower Suites is a case in point.

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