and then...

As you may have noticed from the upsurge in posts, Sharon and I are back to living apart. She has a tish (but not more) of spare time on her hands as the semester isn't fully in motion yet, and I have no class at UPenn at the moment. So time abounds. The biggest news for me over the past week is my attempt to cut back on my cheese intake. I already don't eat meat, drink milk or much fast food, so the loss of cheese is a big hit. For various reasons I decided to cut back, and about one week later I'm doing okay. I've found that I am much better at NOT doing something than starting something new (like flossing).

That was exciting. In other fun news, on my commute to work on Monday I was surprised to see a deer out in the middle of a creek on an icy logjam under a bridge. I thought about taking a photo, then decided against it -- I didn't want to spook the deer into a cold icy death, so you'll just have to take my word for it. Today I saw a fox and when I stopped to look, he ran away a bit then stopped to look at me. We watched each other for a minute until it got too cold to just be standing around in sub-freezing temps staring at another species. Later in the day I saw a group of deer trotting through the woods with a big proud buck prancing behind his ladies like one of those high-steppy fancy horses (like this).

I've enrolled to take the Arborist Certification Exam at the end of the month. I still have a class project due from my class at UPenn last semester, and my intern project needs to get rolling something serious to save myself from embarrassment. The Morris Arboretum spring course catalog just came, out so I'm picking out my favorites (one of the perks of being an intern are the free courses).

Lastly, as I sit here in Philadelphia with snow falling, the hum of four-wheelers racing in the streets, and the faint smell of smoke from yet another warehouse fire about a mile away, I remember where I was a year ago today: in Desarmes, Haiti, just finishing up a fun weekend with friends. A lot has changed since then. We are happy to be back in the US and look forward to the future. The news stories from Haiti are still heartbreaking: disease, destruction and corruption. My faith in international aid has been practically obliterated, as I see where Haiti is today and the many foreigners that have come and gone (a little wealthier with their resumes bolstered). I know good people there are doing good work, I just wish they were all those good people. This article seems spot-on in the Huff post.