A Weekend in the Office

I spent much of the weekend in the office watching a multi-hour webinar on Planning for the Taxable Estate. Around watching, and as an excuse to get up and stretch my legs, I thoroughly cleaned up the books and files around my office. The furniture stayed put.

I’ve always liked to use the end of the year to organize various parts of my life – both physical and digital. And as we near 1/1/2013, it’s time again to put away the 2012 stuff and make room for the new. Especially with our baby son coming oh-so-soon, I am guessing that I will have to be more efficient than ever at keeping my stuff in order because his stuff will soon displace my stuff in the hierarchy of which stuff I most care about!

The week ahead is going to continue to be busy, as we have three Christmas parties to attend – MFDA, RJFH, and CRB. It will be fun, and I am looking forward to a healthy dose of Christmas cheer to go with the fresh blanket of snow covering the white Christmas lights lining our fence.

The snow also marks the true start of winter, and my 6am-obligation to keep the steep and curving parts of the driveway safe for passing. It’s not all bad, as it’s forced near-daily exercise.

Have a tremendous week, and don’t be too busy to enjoy a Christmas song from time to time.

My Year in Cities 2010

In 2010, I slept at least one night in each of the following cities. The asterisks denote multiple-visit cities.

After drafting the following list of cities, I now realize how close-reaching my 2010 travel has been. This indicates a big shift in my life from looking far away for what I want, to being happy with that with which I’ve chosen to surround myself. I have nature. I have family. I have love. I have work and play. I have entertainment and downtime. And all of these things are in my backyard (so to speak). They are closer than they’ve ever been in my life, and I intend to cherish that by spreading my roots far and wide and making a mark on the local community. Of course I hope to travel far and wide for many years to come, but now, more than ever, I’ll do it knowing where my true home is.

  • Traverse City, MI* (Hometown)
  • East Lansing, MI (MI bar exam)
  • Ishpeming, MI* (Grandma’s house)
  • Wilderness State Park, MI (Camping)
  • Charlevoix, MI (Wedding)
  • Holland, MI (Wedding)
  • Ann Arbor, MI (UM v. BGSU)
  • Chicago, IL (Wedding dress hunt)
  • Grand Rapids, MI (Law seminar)
  • Olympia, Washington (Wedding)

My Year In Cities 2009

In 2009, I slept at least one night in each of the following cities. The asterisks denote multiple-visit cities.

Note that Concord, NH was home during my three years of law school. Time passes quickly, as the eight months since I was last in New Hampshire are a blurred memory of moving, bar examining and life sorting.

Chicago, IL was home for a brief period during which I thought I wanted to live and start my career there. It is a wonderful city where I have a few good friends, but, upon closer inspection, it didn’t hold a candle to where I’ve chosen to settle down…

I can now call Traverse City, MI home again. For awhile, it was relegated to “hometown” status, but it has been hoisted from shallow depths of my high school memories and, I must say, has reemerged in technicolor with added features.

  • Concord, NH*
  • Traverse City, MI*
  • Ann Arbor, MI
  • Chicago, IL*
  • Austin, TX
  • San Antonio, TX
  • Ishpeming, MI
  • Minneapolis, MN
  • Grimsby, ON, Canada