All posts by johncohn

Friday night – Satisfied

I go through every day these days looking for the topic of my evening blogging.. It’s kind of a game.. I know the topic is out there .. hiding. I just need to turn over a few rocks.. mull over  few conversations.. notice soemthing that’s dropped in my lap or tossed in my face. Sometimes it’s obvious… for example I already know what I’m goign to blog about tomorrow (spoiler alert !).. we’re going to be cleaning our attic. It will be fun, frustrating, energizing.. and in parts very sad… anything that turns up memories like that can have a big effect on me.
   More often though.. it’s a word that comes into my mind.. as in ‘clarity’… a few days ago.. Sometimes the word’s meaning is obviose.. sometimes not so.. Today I was speakign wiht my freind Julie and the word ‘satisfaction’ came to my mind.. it was in the conteect of a work discussion.. but I wasn’t .. and am still not.. sure of the meaning.. was it ‘satisfaction’…a s in ‘cant get no…. ? ‘   or was it ‘satisfaction’;.. or .. is it satisfaction.. as in that’s what I’m supposed to  be seeking. .. or
as in I’m satisfied now.. ..  I gave it a bunch of thought today and I’ve concluded that ..at this moment in my life,   I’m truly satisfied.. That;’s not to say that everything has been perfect up to this point.. of course it hasn’t.. Sam’s passing has made perfection impossible.  .. And I know too much to say anything at all about the  future… Again.. Sam’s passing has taught me the hard lessons of impermanence and the unpredictable nature of life.   What I am sayign is that for right here, right now.. (9:17 PM on 10/9/2009 on my couch in Jonesville VT )  that life is good… and for that I’m truly grateful..

   On the topic of gratefulness.. We received the following  note by way of our dear friend Hannah.. This is in reference to a Friends of Sam fund raiser from about a year ago. Friends of Sam, is a group of Sam’s friends.. and their friends who have raised money in Sam’s name over the past 3 years to help other folks in need. Last year they ran a Skate Jam at Talent skate park with the help of our wonderful friends Hannah and Dave . The goal was to raise enough money to help our friend Deb’s Friend Abraham bring his wife and child over from Somalia where they are in a camp. It looks like all of their hard work is finally paying off and Abraham’s family will finally be reunited. !   I want to thank all of the Friends of Sam kids, their folks and Hannah and Dave for making this happen.. And wish Abraham and his family all the best here in the states !

Hi Hannah,
    A lot of time has passed since your group raised a great amount of money to help Abraham N get his wife and daughter here.  It has been a very long and arduous process.  His wife has had to go through all sorts of hoops to get the proper documentation, medical exams, tests, deal with immigration, etc.  The final steps in the process are completed and she has been approved to get the visas for her and the little girl.  Abe is beside himself with excitement that it is only a little while before his wife and daughter will be here with him.  She is picking up their visas on October 21st.
      We’ve run out of money and I’m working at raising enough money for the plane tickets and then they will be able to come here.  I wanted you and all your friends to know that your hard work and your generous donation are a major factor in making this happen.   After they arrive we will plan to have a celebration and I will be in touch so you and all the other kids can come and we can thank you. 
     Please let everyone know that the fundraiser you had has paid off and the most difficult part of the mission could not have been accomplished without all the money that you raised.    There is no way Abe or his wife could have ever come up with the money that was necessary to go through the bureaucratic hoops necessary to immigrate here.  YOU KIDS ARE THE BOMB!!!!   We will be in touch once Joyce and Anyier get here to let you know that his dream has come true.  Miracles do happen because of the goodness of people like you!  Thanks again and again.

 

Love, T and J

People are good..

… and I am sleepy.. so that’s it for tomorrow.. Tune in tomorrrow for our ‘cleaning the attic ‘ edition of John’s blog..

Nite folks.. Nite Sam !
-me
 

Thursday night – Real ?

First of all.. Happy Karwa Chauth !

Today is Karwa Chauth  which (I quote) is celebrated mostly by the married

women in North India. On this day, they observe a fast, praying for the

long life, well being and prosperity of their husband. They break their

fast in the evening, after moonrise. On this sacred festival, people

come together and socialize with friends and family, exchange gifts and

share home-cooked meals. It also provides an opportunity to all married

women, to get close to their in-laws. Karwa Chauth is the festival

which reflects joy, splendor, brightness and happiness of a married

life. (end quote)

I hope those who celebrate Karwa Chauth had a good one. Kind of a cool tradtion, but the very interesting thing is that the guys never have a day where they have to fast for the ladies.   What’s up with that ?

Not much to report for the day.. I continue to burrow further back into my old precolony life though every day still brings at least a doze convresations about the show experience.   One hting that’s fun about that is that I’m now developing a mental list of the most common questions.. They are generally:

1. What’s  up with the handyman, what’s he really like (Mike, what do you want me to tell them 🙂 
2. Did you know that Diane was coming (no)
3. How much of the experience seemed real to you

Number 3 is my favorite.. people want to know if we ever forgot that we were on a tv show.(no). I explain that all of us were completely vested in the experiment and that sometimes that lead us to over react.  But I explain that we weren’t faking starvation, dehydration or filth.. nor were we faking anger when one of hte bad guy/actors harassed us , stole soemthing  or broke soemthing of ours. Nor were we faking it when some of us were yelling at each other due to tension.

What number 3 has got m wondering is .. how much does my current experience seem real to me ? I mean.. waking up , driving to work and spending 8 AM till 6PM talking into the phone.. hearing other folks voices, but never seeing them.. or .. visiting them in second life… how real is that ?

I think the Colony seemed more real to me than my job does.. I need to bring that back into clarity If I’m going to succeed.. and I will succeed.. I need to..

Anyway.. nothing else new.. Had a great IEEE meeting tonight.. then met Diane and the Lavoie’s at higher ground to hear Jen’s, sister’s sister-in-law, Mirah . She was just amazing !  Check her out !

yikes.. midnight again.. gotta sleeeeeeeep  Nite folks. sleep well.. Nite Sam
-me

Wednesday night – Clarity

So.. today i was on a quest for clarity… well I was supposed to be at

least. Friend Marci, our wonderful reiki/massage therapist , reminded

me today that I was to seek clarity….  so.. I did the only natural

thing.. I consulted the oracle, Facebook.  At 3 o’clock I posted the

following…

John Cohn  John Cohn
looking for clarity… (anyone seen it ? )
6 hours ago · ·

Over

the next couple of hours I got 28 suggestions… I present them to you

here unedited.. They ranged from deep to silly to mysterious… More

than anything it made me happy that so many folks would offer their

thoughts..

Christian WheelerChristian Wheeler

i found it in the divorce….lol
6 hours ago · Delete

Michelle HermarkMichelle Hermark

Everything here is clear as mud.
6 hours ago · Delete

Laura KangasLaura Kangas

it’s right there on your left. : )
6 hours ago · Delete

Chris ShimerChris Shimer

“Perfect clarity would profit the intellect but damage the will”
6 hours ago · Delete

Scott TurnbullScott Turnbull

I saw it once, then I lost it in the fog. Could you clarify the request a bit more for me?
6 hours ago · Delete

Rick MundayRick Munday

I usually find it in the bottom of a cup of coffee.
5 hours ago · Delete

Rich DauphinRich Dauphin

I used to play the clarinet with a great deal of clarity.
5 hours ago · Delete

Mike SteffMike Steff

clarity is right in front of you but you must first open your eyes to clearly see the clarity
5 hours ago · Delete

Mike SteffMike Steff

i also found it on the internet 🙂
http://clarityproducts.com../
5 hours ago · Delete

5 hours ago · Delete

Christopher FallChristopher Fall

Yes, but most aren’t willing to sacrifice what it takes for true clarity.
5 hours ago · Delete

Scott Mathias ChrismanScott Mathias Chrisman

Look for the crest of a new wave
5 hours ago · Delete

Marcie Lynn TaffMarcie Lynn Taff

nice, go ahead and pick on your healer!!!
5 hours ago · Delete

John CohnJohn Cohn

hey.. I was just following orders 🙂
5 hours ago · Delete

Shawn GarrettShawn Garrett

Duct tape and WD-40 will solve it all….
5 hours ago · Delete

Paul M KrusePaul M Kruse

Clarity: For me the acceptance that clarity does not exist in this life.
5 hours ago · Delete

Laura KangasLaura Kangas

John, how about sitting with obscurity for a bit…perhaps it will lead you to clarity.
5 hours ago · Delete

Michele GoodfellowMichele Goodfellow

“Although our intellect always longs for clarity and certainty, our nature often finds uncertainty fascinating.”
4 hours ago · Delete
Fintan Vargas

Fintan Vargassaltwater fish tank.. get one!!
3 hours ago · Delete

Kelvin LawrenceKelvin Lawrence

I usually find clarity hiding behind obscurity
3 hours ago · Delete

Robert WalkerRobert Walker

There’s

an adjustment for Clarity in Photoshop — and it comes with a slider so

you can control the amount of Clarity! Of course, that may not be the

clarity that you’re looking for…

2 hours ago · Delete

Robert VallanceRobert Vallance

I find a big hammer helps me with clarity!
2 hours ago · Delete

Vicki C. MatthewsVicki C. Matthews

is there really such a thing?
2 hours ago · Delete

James Norman ThomasJames Norman Thomas

There’s a critically acclaimed album by Jimmy Eat World called Clarity…maybe that’s it?
about an hour ago · Delete

Lisa StanzialeLisa Stanziale

Not sure if it is visible…
about an hour ago · Delete

Judy McVickarJudy McVickar

If you find it, let me know.
about an hour ago · Delete

Matt PeregrineMatt Peregrine

Clarity is on the top shelf next to Happiness, right behind Patience.
about an hour ago · Delete

Sue BentlageSue Bentlage

Chandu has clarity … he can help!

about an hour ago · Delete

So …  Thank you all for taking the time to help me find clarity.. I think I found a little today with your help..    Any other thoughts on where you find clarity.. or what you do with it when you found it ?   Please let me know…! Hope you have a clear night folks. You too Sam
-me

Ps. Speaking of clarity.. here’s the view from my soon to be former office today….


pss..

And one for the record.. here’s a picture I found on the internet that

someone took of our TimeCycle vehicle at Burning man a few weeks back..

This one shows the lights I worked on.


Brand New Colony (not the show… a song)

OK.. so nothing deep tonight.. just that I’ve been hearing this song in the corner of my mind for the last several weeks. I catch snippets of it on the  radio while driving.. or coming out of stores. I kept thinking I hear the word ‘Colony’ in it.. I finally had to look it up.. It’s called “Brand New Colony” by the band  “The Postal Service”  . TPS is a spin off of “Death Cab for Cutie” which wrote  “Lack of Color” one of the songs I’ll always associate with Sam because his freinds used it for one of the slideshows they made for his memorial..  (I can’t find that one right now.. but here’s another one )
 
Anyway..    Brand New Colony makes me happy and long for the old dirty colony.  I woke up this morning and realized I’d been dreaming about my time on the show. I was at my workbench making soemthing .. I don’t recall what.. I just remember it wasn’t working.. It was a common scene for me.. and I have to say.. my favorite type of frustration..  Any geek/hacker will know what i mean by that..
I’m leaving those memories behind a little more each day. I’m forgetting the gritty feeling of the floor.. or the taste of the food… or the sounds of the gates..

I guess that means I’m ready for a new adventure

Maybe a brand new colony ? (don’t worry  I meant that metaphorically… I’m not going back for season 2 🙂

I guess that’s all I have for today.. In a way that’s kinda nice.. I’ll leave you with the words and music to the song.. Enjoy folks.. you too, Sam
-me

“Brand New Colony”  by The Postal Service.

I’ll be the grapes fermented,

Bottled and served with the table set in my finest suit

Like a perfect gentlemen

I’ll be the fire escape that’s bolted to the ancient brick

Where you will sit and contemplate your day

I’ll be the waterwings that save you if you start drowning

In an open tab when your judgment’s on the brink

I’ll be the phonograph that plays your favorite

Albums back as you’re lying there drifting off to sleep…

I’ll be the platform shoes and undo what heredity’s done to you…

You won’t have to strain to look into my eyes

I’ll be your winter coat buttoned and zipped straight to the throat

With the collar up so you won’t catch a cold

I want to take you far from the cynics in this town

And kiss you on the mouth

We’ll cut our bodies free from the tethers of this scene,

Start a brand new colony

Where everything will change,

We’ll give ourselves new names (identities erased)

The sun will heat the grounds

Under our bare feet in this brand new colony

Everything will change, oOo oOo…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4h7MqeZRU8