Hello, all.  I'm sure you thought that I had gone missing.  I didn't.  I'm still here, just silently so. Well, no longer.  It has been a few months since I last updated you, and not too much has changed. Kinda.

I did move into a new apartment, because I'm trying to keep this streak alive of moving every 12 months or less I've had going since 2003.  While I very much liked my apartment in Hollywood, my roommate decided to head back to NYC, so that left me a little bit in limbo.  Also, the commute was killing me.  It was about an hour and a half in, and about an hour back.  The morning commute wasn't that bad, because it kinda got you ready for the day.  The evening commute was brutal.  When you are headed home, you just want to be home.

So, I moved to the west side.  I'm now a little over a mile from the office and I can ride my bike there in almost no time.  Well, I could, until it was stolen.  So now I switch back and forth from walking and driving. It's pretty great.  I like the apartment, though it is probably a little bigger and expensive than I need/can afford.  I'm sure I'll get a huge raise soon. (I'm not sure about that).

Work is going well. I'm sure you all have heard of, and have signed up for Tapiture by now. We are gaining more traction and are seeing our revenue increase each month.  We are actively trying to grow the team, which is exciting. We just hired an office manager; she starts tomorrow.  In addition to her, we are looking for a Buyer, a Director of Marketing, and 2-3 more engineers/developers.  I sit in on most of these interviews, and it is always interesting to hear how much stuff I have no idea about.  That's not a joke. I am interested by the fact these people are so well versed in something I don't have the faintest idea about.  I should have paid more attention in C++ at Edgewater. Seriously.  People use that. A lot.

Oh yeah, I was recently made Operations Manager so that's cool.  I got new cards and everything.

In non-work news, I decided to drive across the country again, since apparently that's something I do yearly now.  My girlfriend (casually slip that in there) moved to Austin, TX along with the rest of Resignation Media.  We drove to Austin, hung out there for a few days, then drove to Pensacola.  I thought it would be a great time to have her meet the entire family.  (I didn't really think that, but it was going to happen, so whatever).  She seemed to do alright, and we dominated the Octo-olympics that were going on (maybe we did, maybe we didn't, but we kinda did).  It's always good to get back to the beach, and it's fun to play with Peter Man and Goose, so it was well worth the drive.

Since getting back from the beach, I've just been getting back in the groove of things.  Working a lot, but that isn't a bad thing. It takes a lot of work to take over the internet, which we are obviously doing.

Ok, I think that's it for now.  I'm making a mushroom risotto tonight, which I'm hoping will be amazing.  Oh, and Breaking Bad is on tonight. So, it's going to be a good night.

Adele Elizabeth

We're having another girl!  I've been waiting for one of my siblings to blog about some of our summer happenings...but that isn't happening and I just would hate it for adorable little addy to read our archives and think, what am i? nothing to you? no blog mention!? only halfway kidding.  But readers!  We're having a girl! And she has a name!  If you know us at all, you know this is a miracle :) AEL is scheduled to be joining us in early January.  Some people have said that since this is our third baby she'll be a December child....to which I say - please don't tease me.  She'll probably be born in February.  She's a healthy, long-legged little angel addy.

We're looking forward to meeting her and are now engaged in rearranging our house every weekend to figure out where all of our little people are going to go.  It's mostly fun and sometimes stressful with P and L running around asking questions, pinching, biting, laughing....today they discovered a pumpkin costume from when P was ONE.  They both wanted to try it on and have decided that L will be the pumpkin for halloween this year.  Works for me.  Our babies are not awesome sleepers so the plan is to start little addy off in P's current room (she won't demand the door to be left opened and the lights on quite yet) since it is the farthest from the noise center of the house.  This involves moving P...convincing him that the room he is moving to is just for special 4 year olds and he'll get to move in for his birthday.

Also, P has started pre-school again - this year he is a three day three and let me tell you, 3 days is definitely more than 2.  We miss him when he is gone, BUT he loves it and it's nice for me and L to get some alone time...she's beginning to notice that she is rarely without P. :)  We all love where P is in school...the other day in the car he asked me "Mommy, did God use paint to make the world?  Did God build all of these houses?"  And when he finally came home with a hat depicting the 7 days it took for God to make the world I finally understood the song he has been mumbling all week.

"Mommy, did you know that God made the world in 7 days? Is that amazing??"  YOU are amazing sweet boy.

Our baby girl is having to wear an eye patch for a couple hours a day to help correct some eye muscles.  I literally laughed out loud when the eye doctor told me she was also slightly nearsighted and asked if it ran in the family.  I am SHOCKED that P is not in glasses yet and it seems certain that L will be in the near future.  That will be an awesome experiment since we have to wrestle her for the eye patch and it comes off after 10 minutes.  It sure is a good thing L is so cute and has such a hilarious personality...monkey see monkey do with her brother.  She turns 2 on Monday and is getting her very own strider bike (don't worry, she doesn't read the blog yet). She's always desperate to ride P's bike and a fight usually ensues so hopefully she'll take to her strider quickly and they'll both be off a running.  Hope so, since it won't be quite that easy for me to bend down and help her for hours....you're on your own kid!  I can't believe she'll be two...my baby.  We're headed to Disney World next weekend to celebrate thanks to Aunt T snagging several tickets just in time to repeat P's 2nd birthday at the magic kingdom.  Yay Yay is coming to...so they're will be lots of pictures.  In the meantime, again, hopefully someone will update you all on our Summer OctOlympics held in Pensacola Beach this year in honor of our Grandmother.  Good times, great games, crazy fun family.

And YOU, k80roberts....YOU'RE UP.

Our findings from storage - halloween costumes & winter coats

P & the creation story

Saturday trip to Home Depot in search of closet systems

My girl and her ladybug eyepatch

P's classroom - he loves that helicopter thanks to uncle bale

Helping to make his new school bag

Summer in the Sunshine State

Well, not that Sunshine State. And technically it was winter, not summer. Some of these things don't matter so much when you see the Southern Cross for the first time though. For three months over the northern hemisphere summer I and my classmate and frequent travel partner (and current roommate) SK experienced winter down under, in the tropical town of Cairns in far north Queensland, Australia's Sunshine State.

On the approach to my summer adventure in Cairns

Cairns was very tough living

We were in Cairns to work for the Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership, a non-government organization in Queensland that works for reform in Indigenous economic and social policy. We were exposed to legal issues such as native land rights and constitutional recognition of Australia's first peoples and attempting to assuage economic struggles outlined in CYI's welfare reform plan and the lack of financial access for the mostly impoverished Indigenous population of Cape York, the far northernmost area of Queensland, ostensibly stretching from Cairns to the Torres Strait. There are a few different entities associated with CYI and the most successful of these are the Indigenous leadership programs, as well as entrepreneurship and job training, as well as environmental stewardship. It was certainly a foreign world, but one that we quickly fell in love with, and were happy to be assimilated into as much as "white fellas" could be. 

SK and I with one of our Indigenous coworkers Donald. We were given handmade Woomeras, Aboriginal tools used for spear throwing and fighting as parting gifts. Unbelievably cool.

There is not too much to write about inside the office. It was tough to work diligently on economic reform, constitutional recognition, and policy problems while in an office overlooking beautiful tropical Cairns (we did do some good work, and I still follow the Constitutional Reform referendum that should occur in late 2014 or 2015). We worked a full day Monday through Friday, but we were free to explore on weekends, and explore we did.

Cairns

We happened to be in Cairns in time to experience "The State of Origin" which is a set of three rugby matches, one a week, between players from New South Wales (the Blues) and Queensland (the Maroons). Naturally, being from Harvard, we pulled for the Maroons. Rugby is huge in QLD and NSW and the "Origin" occurs during but separate from the regular season, so teammates on their professional teams become archenemies when playing for NSW or QLD, whichever state they were born in, hence the "State of Origin" moniker. Suffice to say, downtown Cairns got a little rowdy on these Thursday nights. A few of our coworkers took a "sickie" on the following Fridays.   

The office geared up for the "State of Origin."

Cairns is a backpacker town, and people from all over the world travel here, as it is also known as the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. That meant the town was never boring.

Cheerleaders at the Cairns Ironman

The iconic triggerfish at the Cairns Esplanade, a public pool and park

We fit in pretty well with the population

Kuranda

Our first weekend in Aus was my birthday weekend, and we ventured just out of the city to Kuranda, a rain forest waystation. In LTD fashion we took the scenic mountaineer railroad, but sped things up with some ATV-ing through the rainforest, avoiding drop bears as best we could. On the way home we took the canopy gondola, and spotting a sweet wakeboarding park that we hit up later.

Kuranda Railway Station. A pretty harrowing ride up hanging off of multiple cliffs.

Exploring the rainforest on ATVs.

Rainforest walk in between gondola stops.

Pretty sweet canopy ride.

Killing it on the wakeboard. The twelve-year-olds were not impressed.

Rafting the Tully

Another day trip out of Cairns was a white water rafting trip down the Tully river. Sporting multiple Class 4 rapids, the Tully was an awesome experience. We performed some cliff jumping, "rafted" down the rapids on our backside with no raft, and experienced the power of eddies sucking us under water and shooting us back out. This happened to be one of the only days in rained while we were in Cairns, so it worked out perfectly.

We actually worked pretty hard through these rapids

Our intrepid crew

One of our cliff jumping spots. Great scenery.

Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation

Once we felt comfortable enough to drive on the wrong side of the road, shifting with the left hand from the right seat, we took a drive up to Port Douglas, a mining and gold rush former boomtown. We partied a little too hard here with a mix of young backpackers and older vacationers, participating in cane toad races and karaoke. n old man participating in his soon to be son-in-law's bachelor party stole the show with an amazing rendition of Donny Hathaway's "In the Ghetto." Australia never ceases to surprise.

SK's girlfriend J (blue plaid shirt) was not stoked when we yelled her name loud enough for her to be picked to race the cane toads.

J handled her toad much better than SK

It's possible Pink played at the bar. Subject of much debate. Fueled and skewed by alcohol.

The real stars of the show

The next morning we headed further north to Daintree National Park in Cape Tribulation, named so by Captain James Cook, who made landfall here after running aground on Endeavor Reef.We ziplined through the rainforest canopy and enjoyed the secluded beaches that were our reward for a long drive.

Our safety gear is not very flattering

Nice way to see the rainforest

Beaches rivaling Florida, no white sand though 

Stop through Port Douglas again on the way home

Melbourne

I took a long weekend to explore Melbourne, and met up with an Australian classmate meeting her family and staying at her house. It was great to have my own tour guide! Melbourne is a very hip city (home to too many hipsters non- Melbournians often complain). I got to see some great nightlife, experience Australian rules football (the "footie") up close at the world famous Melbourne Cricket Grounds, shop at Queen Victoria Market, and stop by Luna Park in Saint Kilda.

Melbourne at night

"I'll meet you under the clocks" at Flinders Street terminus

Best brat I've had at Queen Victoria market

A fierce rivalry, Carlton vs. Collingwood under the lights at MCG 

No shortage of hipster drinks in Melbs

I did not see any skateboarding rhinos. Apparently they are a nuisance though

St. Kilda's Luna Park

Melbourne skyline

Sydney

On another long weekend (yes, we worked, we were there for three months!), SK, J and our Aus classmate L took off for Sydney. We hit Bondi Beach, the Quay, the Rocks, and Manley Beach enjoying the tourist sites, some great nightlife and good company. 

Bondi beach at sunrise

Surfers braving the rocks

Sydney Harbor

Sydney Harbor Bridge

Yep, this pretty much sums up our nightlife

Nice day on the Harbor

Sunset from the ferry headed to Manley Beach

Full moon over Manley Beach

The crew (minus Liz)

Sydney Opera House from the ferry on our midnight return trip

Laura

Every two years, all of the Indigenous clans of Cape York and the Torres Strait Islands meet at a sacred place called Laura, where there are meetings of the elders and a festival that showcases Indigenous dances. We camped out there for four days, with SK and I in charge of setting up camp - ironic, since we had no idea what was going on, though help soon arrived. We saw dances, told stories by the fire, star gazed, visited ancient rock paintings and even got to try out playing a didgeridoo. Laying back looking at stars, listening to someone talented playing the "dig" we could feel a real connection to the land, the pull to "country" that our Indigenous friends have deeply embedded in their souls and blood lines. It was a great experience.

"In country"

Teamwork

I got skills

Donald thinks his Indigenous skills are better

Laura was a family affair. The kids were insane

SK and I seemed to be big hits with our co-workers kids.

Sunset over camp

Playing the "dig"

Donald really playing the "dig" - haunting music that puts everyone in a trance-like state around the fire.

Our bosses Dad gives us the history of the Laura rock paintings

These paintings have been carbon dated to be greater than 60,000 years old

Hunter dance team

Torres Strait Islanders - reminiscent of and related to Phillipines and Hawaiian natives.

The "ha"

The Great Barrier Reef

Of course, no trip to Cairns would be complete without a trip (or multiple in our case) to the Great Barrier Reef via a sailboat and a scuba tank. Knowing this was a necessity, we booked a two day live aboard on teh "Rum Runner" a fitting boat with, unbeknownst to us, a fitting crew. We got along so well with our instructor Masa and our dive masters from Germany and France that not only did we spend extra time on land getting certified as open water divers, we went aboard the Rum Runner three times! The reef, the crew, the weather, our fellow divers, and the "goon" (boxed wine) led to great times, many great stories, and even further debauchery back on land in Cairns. The reef and our friends there were the highlight of an amazingly awesome adventure in Aus!

Sunrise stroll to the boat

The Rum Runner

Part of our crew after our first dives

Sunset on the reef

We were well entertained

We saw a ton of wildlife, including many turtles, rays, clownfish of course, and even sharks

Maneuvering through some caves

This dude wanted to hand for a while

SCUBA instruction from Masa

Underwater navigation

The prize for being certified

We saw humpbacks on every trip

Awesome breach

The full Rum Runner crew

Ready for trouble in downtown Cairns

The End

All good things do come to an end. As my plane lifted off from Cairns back to the States I had Xavier Rudd playing on the iPod and it got a little dusty. I'll always remember the experience I had there with a good friend of mine and the many friends I made along the way. Truly when you see the Southern Cross for the first time, you understand just why you came this way. G'day Aus, Yaluu maliyaa.

Last Cairns sunset

Farewell to the west now 
And welcome, to the east 
Farewell to the one who raked the sand beneath my feet 
Thank you for the space we shared, and the heart and soul my friend 
I will see you through the colours, between the mountains as the sun decends 

Oh we twisted and we reflected upon a grin 
Common ground we walked upon, with common feelings and common things 
Yes it is a cruel world, but there is solace amongst the sin Peace to you for now we'll share again, we'll share again

Farewell to the west now 

My mind is open to the east 
To all the new faces, new minds and things to see 
I am alone here, and my heart at times it weeps 
You will see me through the colours, as the sun sinks in the sea 

Solace Amongst the Sin, Xavier Rudd