Gallows humor

My brother made the statement that we may look at retirement in 20 years as a quaint relic that will only belong to the uber-rich or those no longer physically capable of working. I logged on to check my 401(k) balance and found out that because of losses, it's now only a 201(k), so maybe there's something to that.

Marriage retreat

Tomorrow night, H and I are going to a marriage retreat at Aspen Grove. My thoughtful parents offered to watch the kids and send us there for our birthday presents this year. I'm not sure about H, but I'm really looking forward to it. The foliage should be beautiful, and the weather isn't too cold yet, and a night away from the kids will be nice, too. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Facebook Scrabble

I'm not much of a Facebook user. But I love Scrabble. Actually, I love games generally. But Scrabble is one of my favorite classic games. Now that I've discovered you can play asynchronous games of Scrabble through Facebook, I'll be using the site a bit more. In law school, I had three friends with whom I often enjoyed a lunchtime of Literati (Scrabble-like game) on Yahoo Games. Two of them are on Facebook, and we just finished our first game in a long time. Did I enjoy it more because I won? I don't know, but it was fun.

I've been "promoted"

I found out today that the promotion my manager recommended me for was approved--sort of. I am getting the better title, and my bonus potential will increase by an additional 3% of my salary. However, the recommended salary increase was not granted by HR. There's a freeze of some sort on raises outside the normal salary planning process. So, my immediate salary hasn't changed, but I might get a better Christmas bonus, and I'll be in a better position to argue for a bigger raise next spring, since I won't be penetrated very far into my band. Unless I've left for greener pastures by then. I like my job and the people I work with, but it is frustrating to see my real salary decreasing as my raises fail to keep up with inflation. Good thing my home and 401k plan aren't decreasing in value at the same time, or anything :-(

Battle of the foliage II

My brother who runs an inn in Vermont took umbrage at my comment about fall foliage. In his defense, he posted some photos that are, without question, spectacular. And the shot of the river that runs through his back yard makes the lovely, treed horse pasture behind mine look like the city dump.

So, here are a few shots of the fall foliage along the Wasatch range. Note that I won't be posting anything with our churches or bridges as a backdrop. As great as our canyons and mountains are, I'll concede that the beauty is more ubiquitous in New England, where poor urban planning and the super-saturation of big box stores and chain restaurants isn't pervasive.






So, you decide. Is Utah foliage, at its best, as good as the vibrant fall colors at every turn in New England, or am I seeing through Zionist glasses? Either way, I'm looking forward to this weekend, when my wife and I are going to an overnight marriage retreat at Aspen Grove, up Provo Canyon--but I'd rather be spending the weekend at my brother's inn. Hopefully, the golden aspens will be in full swing.

Artistry

My three-year old is at the age where she likes to draw people that look like Pacman ghosts. Her figures are getting more realistic faces, but the limbs are sticks that protrude from the head with no torso, as is common at that age.

My wife was trying to help her see this and began to draw a simple figure. She had only drawn the face, which was little better than smiley-face quality, when L interrupted her and cried, "Mom, that looks fantastic!" H was proud of her drawing skills, but I was happier with her new and correct use of a big word. I guess she's the product of both of us.

Fall colors

Yesterday, we went for a drive on the Nebo loop, a scenic byway that reaches 9400 feet on the sides of Mount Nebo, the nearly 12,000-foot peak that is the highest in the Wasatch Range. I'd only been past Payson Lakes on that road once before, on bicycle with my father. That time we'd headed to Nephi, but this time we drove up to the Devil's Kitchen, a geologic site that is described as being a mini Bryce Canyon. Bryce Canyon it wasn't, but it was still an interesting geologic formation with hoodoo-like spires a couple of hundred feet high. It was interesting to see the contrast of the red rock conglomerate spires with the surrounding aspen and pine. Truthfully, though, after hearing the feature compared to Bryce, I'd expected a little more.

Not so the drive to get to Devil's Kitchen. Although only a few of the aspens had changed to blazing yellow, the fall colors were amazing. Some of the maples were so bright red they looked like rose bushes in their coloring. Others were brilliant orange. At one lookout near the summit, we saw a narrow canyon or ravine on the side of Mount Nebo where the colors had fully changed. The afternoon sun was hitting the ravine just right, and I literally stopped the car in the middle of the road to gape for ten seconds. The blazing colors surrounded by the green pines and aspens that had not yet turned, below the towering summit devoid of trees near the top was at least equal to the fall foliage I've seen anywhere, including the more famous Alpine Loop and falls spent in Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The drive also afforded plenty of views across canyons and into valleys, including one lookout to Utah Lake in the distance. With apologies to my brother in Vermont, I'd stack the best of Utah foliage against new England's also-spectacular brilliance.