Leaving Tucson

I didn't want to blog about it until I'd put my notice in at work, but since I did that today... it's official. I'm going to be leaving Tucson. I've accepted a job at Intel in Hillsboro, Oregon (a suburb of Portland). It's a wonderful opportunity. I'm going to be an Interoperability Engineer in their Enabling Platforms and Services group -- testing the latest & greatest hardware/firmware. It's going to be a lot of fun. I really like the folks I'll be working with, the money is good, and there will be much better opportunities for advancement. There will also be much less stress and pressure. Marie will be moving with me and so our relationship is moving forward in a very positive direction. I'm very happy about that since I'm absolutely crazy about her :-).

Of course, having been in Tucson for 13 years, and having been an active member of the community and parish, I'm having to say a lot of goodbyes. It's sad. While I'm glad to know that people care and will miss me, I feel like I'm letting them down. I'm doing my best to hand off things and close out things as best I can. Between the various choirs and church activities, CTAC, work, all my friends at the rink, and of course my family and old friends here... it's hard.

My first day on the new job is Jan. 23rd; I'm leaving Tucson around the 17th or so depending. I'll be having a huuuuuge yard sale January 7th! Come take stuff off my hands!

A big Happy Birthday! to Colleen! She is 21 today.... oh, to be young again! :-) Have a good one C!

Wow! A belated Merry Christmas! to all! I sang for the 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Christmas Eve services, which were very joyous and fulfilling. Marie sang at the 8 p.m. as well and was drafted to sing a (brief) solo when the person who was supposed to sing it was sick at the last moment -- she did fine.

Christmas day we went up to Tempe to have Christmas day breakfast with my Dad, stepmother, nieces and nephew and my ex-sis-in-law. Afterward my Dad and stepmom and Marie and I went to see "Memoirs of a Geisha." I liked it a lot, but Marie and stepmom thought it was a bit slow in the middle.

The week before Christmas was marred by news of the death of an old friend, Steve Hickman, on the 22nd. I met Steve at Artisoft; he was in the QA department. Steve was a heck of a guy -- a very dry sense of humor, but behind the mask a very kind and caring man. He'll be missed.

Today was a very cool day. This evening was our 4th (?) annual Collegium caroling in Winterhaven. I started this back when I was in Lane Justus Chorale, and since the LJC was disbanded and we all started singing with Collegium, it's been that group plus friends etc. Tonight we were caroling for almost 2 hours and had a whopping 21 people show up!! Wow! It was a lot of fun, and we really sounded great. I often call this "geek caroling" since besides the carols we also do some nice 4-part stuff (Carol of the Bells, Coventry Carol, and the Victoria O Magnum Mysterium). It was awesome and we got a lot of compliments.

After caroling Marie and I went to see The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. We both really enjoyed it, and I thought it was very well done.

Apparently the Vatican has finally published the new document on homosexuals in the seminary. Our own Bishop Kicanas is one of the bishops designated to talk to the press. The Star has a very balanced story on it.

Check it out...

You scored as Roman Catholic. You are Roman Catholic. Church tradition and ecclesial authority are hugely important, and the most important part of worship for you is mass. As the Mother of God, Mary is important in your theology, and as the communion of saints includes the living and the dead, you can also ask the saints to intercede for you. Roman Catholic 100% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 71% Neo orthodox 71% Emergent/Postmodern 54% Charismatic/Pentecostal 36% Fundamentalist 32% Modern Liberal 25% Classical Liberal 25% Reformed Evangelical 14% What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com

Well, Thanksgiving went well. Had a nice time meeting Marie's parents and sister and uncle etc. Had a great Thanksgiving dinner. Marie and I went to see Rent on Thanksgiving evening -- it was terrific. Friday I had to watch the Wildcats lose a heartbreaker to Sata... er, ASU. *sigh*

Anyway, it was a good trip, but it's good to be home. Yea!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm off in just a bit, up to Tempe to visit my Dad and stepmom, then up to Vegas on Thursday morning for Thanksgiving with Marie and her family. This is my first time meeting Marie's family, so wish me luck!

Bwahahahahha! Okay, I know this intrastate rivalry is maybe a bit juvenile, but I had to smile when I read that UA fans painted ASU's "A' mountain red and blue. Way to go :-).

In other, stranger and sadder news... this case from Florida -- Fla. Teacher Pleads Guilty in Sex Case. Sad because she abused a 14-year old boy. Strange because the woman was a) a newlywed and b) stunningly beautiful. It's not like she couldn't have had any number of willing partners, so why a 14-year-old? And how could her marriage be so bad as for her to do this already?

I have been cleaning house and found this today:


Faith of our Fathers

The church spire silhouetted
In the lambent sunset
Thrusting to the sky its burden
Shouting to Heaven
"Credo."

I think it's from 1991.

A good article in today's Star on the importance of lay ministers in the Church today. Bishop Kicanas has headed the USCCB committee on this.

Red Rings of Wax

When I came home from work today, my copy of Marie's book was in the mailbox. Wow! It's so amazing to see this book that she has worked so hard to bring to fruition finally appearing in print. I am so proud of her, and happy for her. She's amazing.

Go buy a copy! It's only $11 and would make a great Christmas gift for the poetry-lover in your family. I do have to warn you that there are "adult themes" present -- it's not a book for children. But it is honest, and true, and heartfelt.

Here's a cool story on some good work by my company, Scientific Technologies. We've helped link Louisiana's immunization registry to our states so evacuees could have access to those records.

Hey, this is pretty cool -- Forbes and Yahoo are teaming up to form a virtual time capsule! Check it out, it's free so what's the harm? You've got until 11/30 to get your message into the time capsule.

Happy Veteran's Day!

Take a moment, if you can, to thank a vet. Their sacrifices need to be appreciated by all of us.

If I was ever in doubt that Tucson really loves the Wildcats, this excerpt from this week's Monday Memo by Bishop Kicanas should remove it:

"They Played Like Wildcats!" -- When I celebrated Confirmation at St. Thomas More Newman Center near the University of Arizona campus on Saturday evening, you could hear the crowds of people streaming from Arizona Stadium celebrating the Wildcats stunning victory against formerly unbeaten UCLA. Congratulations to Coach Mike Stoops and the players for a great victory!

Sad news -- the Paulist priests are pulling out of Tucson. They've run St. Cyril's parish for 30 years. The Diocese of Tucson has been hard-pressed for priests as it is and this won't help.

CNN reminds us it's been 30 years today since the Wreck of the Edumnd Fitzgerald.

The legend lives on from the chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called ’gitche gumee’
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of november turn gloomy
With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more
Than the edmund fitzgerald weighed empty.
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of november came early.

The ship was the pride of the american side
Coming back from some mill in wisconsin
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
With a crew and good captain well seasoned
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for cleveland
And later that night when the ship’s bell rang
Could it be the north wind they’d been feelin’?
The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the captain did too,
T’was the witch of november come stealin’.
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the gales of november came slashin’.
When afternoon came it was freezin’ rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind.

When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin’.
Fellas, it’s too rough to feed ya.
At seven p.m. a main hatchway caved in, he said
Fellas, it’s been good t’know ya
The captain wired in he had water comin’ in
And the good ship and crew was in peril.
And later that night when his lights went outta sight
Came the wreck of the edmund fitzgerald.

Does any one know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searches all say they’d have made whitefish bay
If they’d put fifteen more miles behind her.
They might have split up or they might have capsized;
May have broke deep and took water.
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.

Lake huron rolls, superior sings
In the rooms of her ice-water mansion.
Old michigan steams like a young man’s dreams;
The islands and bays are for sportsmen.
And farther below lake ontario
Takes in what lake erie can send her,
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
With the gales of november remembered.

In a musty old hall in detroit they prayed,
In the maritime sailors’ cathedral.
The church bell chimed till it rang twenty-nine times
For each man on the edmund fitzgerald.
The legend lives on from the chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call ’gitche gumee’.
Superior, they said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of november come early!

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the rest in peace.

Two short things -- first, a cool (to geeks like me anyway!) story on the new Boeing 777 attempting to set a record for longest nonstop unrefueled flight -- Hong Kong to London! That's 12,500 miles, or about 23 hours of flying time... wow! Very impressive.

The results of yesterday's Tucson City Council election are a bit surprising, at least to me -- Democrats swept the races, so Tucson now has 5 Democrats and an independent on the Council and a Republican mayor.

BWahahahaha! The Angry Twins bring us the Top Ten Changes a Catholic majority will bring to the Supreme Court. My favorite:

3) Supreme Court opinions will be deemed infallible and unreviewable by any earthly authority [Ed. - Sorry - that does not appear to be a change at all]

Thanks to Catholic Light for the link!