Rough, Vulgar and Pointless

If you were tempted to re-live the amazing, seductive, transgressive beauty of Y Tu Mamá También with the new film Rudo y Cursi (English title: Rough and Vulgar), directed by Y Tu's screenwriter and featuring its two stars, Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna, give it a miss.

Overloaded with so much potential, it stumbles from its opening scene, topples and falls so squarely on its face that one wonders how this project were ever green-lit. Julie and I escaped the condo for a showing, and decided to hit the Uptown for this evening's show. In retrospect, there are a hundred thousand things I wish I'd used those two hours for instead. You've been warned. ;)

A party of special magnificence

Yesterday, I was the lucky beneficiary of the best send-off party a guy could hope to have, with friends old and new turning out to wish Julie and me well on our next adventure, and to celebrate together the progress we've made toward ending homelessness in Minnesota over the past decade, and to mark the end of my 12 years with Hearth Connection.

Seeing a room full of people you admire, hearing them say incredibly warm things about our time putting shoulders to the wheel together, and having so many well wishes and so much positive energy directed at me and us and our next undertaking is moving beyond measure. I'm humbled, and proud, and touched.

Add to that a Minnesota House of Representatives resolution wishing me well in my "retirement," thanks to a good friend and kick-ass freshman Representative Jeff Hayden, read out to the group by Mayor George Latimer, a great friend and Chair of Hearth Connection's powerhouse Board of Directors, and I'm just stunned speechless.

But I won't be speechless for long, since Hearth Connection not only sent me off with so much love, so many memories, so much to be proud of, and so much confidence in their strength and resolve in the future. No, on top of all of that, they sent me off with a gift certificate for one of the world's highest bungy jumps in New Zealand! (134 meters!) I cannot imagine a more fitting way to mark the significance of this transition... nor what might come out of my mouth on the jump!

And, as if all of that weren't enough frosting on this incredible cake, check out this frosting:

Yeah, that's me, riding over the Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park, magically transferred onto a cake, thanks to two of my favorite Julies, one as the photographer, and the other as the party planner and Jane-of-all-trades extraordinaire.

Lucky, lucky me, for having such amazing people in my life. I just can't say thanks enough.

One month left; one year out

A month from now, Julie and I will be off on our big trip. Our plan is to ride out of Dodge on June 15, beginning our three-month trek to Alaska and our who-knows-how-long sojourn around this orb.

The trip's approach feels increasingly real. Yesterday, I moved out of my office at Hearth Connection, readying it for Kristine, its new occupant, and for Hearth Connection's newest staff person, Ben, to start on Monday. Here's the cluttered but cozy command central where I've spent my work weeks:



Ben and I will be spending lots o' quality time over the next two weeks, handing off the critical tasks and background information he'll be responsible for going forward, and introducing him to the great group of folks he'll be privileged to work with in his new role. We've blocked off every available minute through my last day, May 29, so lucky me that he's such an easy guy to spend time with!

Today also marks the one-year anniversary of my motorcycle crash in northern Minnesota. Reflecting back, I have one of those "the time has flown; it's been a really long year" perspectives on it all. Truthfully, I just feel so grateful for having so much support from my family and friends, such incredible medical care, such a successful recovery and most of all, such great fortune to be able to walk away from the accident. I've learned much from this past year: about myself; about accepting the love, support and care from loved ones and total strangers; and about my privileges, especially of having a safety net that I have not earned and that everyone should be entitled to have.

No doubt the year ahead has much to teach, as well.