finding a new home: After a long drive from Anaheim to Madison, in mid-September 2020 I found the kind of apartment I wanted – one bedroom on the top floor (3rd) with a balcony – in the neighborhood I wanted. And a tree! It was easy to decide “yes” so I could unload my totally full car, relax in my new home, breathe a sigh of relief, and enjoy. / photos - views from my balcony (in all seasons), plus community area (with pool) and nearby Rennebohm Park
doing what I want: Since arriving I've continued being busy, but with a major difference. In Anaheim, much of what I did was what I HAD to do,* but now (in Madison) it's what I WANT to do, and this feels good. I'm happy and thankful, settling into a new home I like and continuing my life on a road less traveled. / * beginning in late-2012, I enjoyed serving as caregiver for Dad & Mom (who were good parents, living long-and-good lives until 91 & 95) and then tried to “find good homes” for the many items they had collected in their house and garage.
Green & Orange, White & Green: Madison is a beautiful city, with lakes and other natural blessings. Inside & outside the city, most areas are green with grass and trees.
At this time of year (a month after my arrival, when I'm writing about colors) there also is yellow & orange & red with trees changing to autumn colors. This is pretty, but also a bit sad because it's a reminder that soon the orange leaves will fall and the city will be white with snow, which I really enjoy for awhile, but eventually I'll be looking forward to March-April-May when it gradually becomes green again, and warm. Among the many things I like about Orange County is its mild climate (so most days are not extremely cold or hot) but during the past 8 years I've missed the cycle of seasons, especially the joy of springtime when it offers welcome relief from a long cold winter, when 50° feels warm (psychologically) and we know that soon we can enjoy "sweet days of summer, the jasmine's in bloom, July is dressed up and playing her tune."
Watching Snow and Seeing Wind: During the first visually interesting snowfall of December 2021, again (as in March 2012 when taking time to watch snow and “see wind” and again in Winter 2020-21) I was fascinated by falling snow. Watching “the white after orange, before green” from the balcony of my apartment, in every direction (east, south, west, and in-between) the snow-seeing was different, and it changed with time during each second of my 25-minute viewing. Toward the east (left), looking at the brownish-red walls of faraway apartments, it was like seeing thru an almost-clear window, but with a little changing (glistening) due to moment-by-moment changes in the snowfall, but mainly a uniform almost-normal view. Looking southward at the bare (but starting to be snow-outlined) branches of my nearby tree, and thru them to the two snow-covered courtyards, there were obvious changes with time, with flakes (some smaller, some big & fluffy) “doing things” to make visual contrastings between dynamic snow and static tree. But the best direction was westward (as in the photo, although it shows the icicles of February 2021), with snowflakes made clearly visible by the brick walls, with (as in 2012) snow swirling up & down, sideways, in different directions at different distances, so (as in many earlier times) I could “see” the invisible wind. {more about weather}
Anaheim versus Madison? Am I comparing them? Yes and No. Yes, above and below I'm describing why I like my new home (the apartment, neighborhood, city, with freedom) but... No, I'm not saying “Madison is better than Anaheim,” instead it's just “Madison is better for me.” I really do like many things about Anaheim (home of Disneyland), Orange County, and (more generally) Southern California. I understand why many people enjoy living there, why they think it's the best place for them. It just isn't the best place for me, it isn't where I want to be.
moving to Columbus: Probably I'll move to Columbus in May 2022. {update: I arrived here May 18} Why? Basically I think it will be "better for me" now, at this time of my life. I'm looking forward to a new adventure,* as with Seattle in 1970 and Madison in 1989.
Columbus is sort of like Madison (beautifully green, with the state's capital & major university) but is larger. Columbus is further south and a little warmer, by 10° in Dec-Jan-Feb (when I like it warmer) but only 4° in June-July-Aug (when cooler is better, although I handle heat well). It has a major airport, is within a day's drive to many cities on the east coast. Most of my homes have been near a university, beginning with my final 3 years at UC Irvine when during the school year (Fall Winter Spring) I lived in a campus dorm, and nearby Newport Beach (a block from beach & ocean), and the university's on-campus apartments. Then from 1970 to 2013 (when I was free to choose), most of the time I've lived in university cities — mainly Seattle & Madison with UW-FarWest & UW-MidWest in WA & WI, but also visits to UC Berkeley (almost entering their SESAME Program for Science Education), a month in Santa Cruz with UCSC, and multi-month living in Eugene & Corvallis with UO & OSU in Oregon — because I like the atmosphere, especially the gathering of people who enjoy discussing ideas. I'm a football fan, and Ohio State is always a national contender, with enthusiastic fans. I've read web-pages about the city, watched videos, and like what I've learned. Because of its university, capital, size, and central location in Ohio, Columbus will provide many opportunities for networking with other educators — and hopefully working with them to improve our Education for Problem Solving — who work in local K-12 districts and at the state level, and in OSU's College of Education & Engineering Education & Physics Education (re: my physics book + what they're doing) & Music Education for the young (in K-12) and old (in facilities like Sunrise) that I'm hoping will include my ideas about Improvising Music (and Conversation). And there is a church (Vineyard Columbus) I like for many reasons, with a solid foundation built by Rich Nathan (and others) that now continues with the excellent husband-and-wife team of senior pastors (Eric and Julia) and its many loving people. Everything adds up to a confident conclusion that Columbus is where I want to be, and (I think) where God wants me to be.
* Although returning to Madison has been comfortable – relaxing, fun, productive – we know "a ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for" and I think my next adventures should be in a new city.
The next two stories are not directly related to my new home, but... one dog was named after a Laker, so in September 2020 (when the Lakers were winning a championship) I wrote about him; then in 2021 the NBA Playoffs began with an example of creative-and-critical Problem Solving.
two wonderful dogs: Mom & Dad were (and I am) lovers of dogs. In 2006 they got a life-loving playful dog who looked like Toto from Kansas/Oz, and they named him Kobe, like the Laker. During his final two years, twice each day he danced with “no more pain” joy! (you can try to “guess why” before clicking the link and seeing the story, if you want.) After his sad passing in May 2018, Mom & I got a new dog, fluffy-and-happy Zoë (in Greek her name means “life” and, like Kobe, she enthusiastically enjoys the simple pleasures of life) and I'm happy & thankful that she now has a wonderful new home, full of love and adventures, as you can see in the story of us (me, her, them) plus cute photos & videos of our dog.* / I love dogs because they (well, most of them) are fun-and-loving, are good role models for joy-and-gratitude. Life would be better if more people were more fun-and-loving!
* She still is "our dog" even though she's in a new home, is not living with me. Why? Because memories & feelings remain, Zoe always will be my dog; now she also is their dog; so she is our dog. Mom and I were her people. Now she has new people. / Zoe's history with all of us: For a year, her main people were Mom & me, and she was our dog. Mom passed away at 95 after a long-and-good life, then for 6 months Zoe was my dog. When I found a great new home for her and gave her away — then drove home alone, feeling sadness (because I already was missing her, and knew she would be missing me) but also the deep satisfaction of a win-win-win, for her & them, and thus for me — she began being loved by new people (Linda and Joseph, their family including six grandchildren, and friend Blanca) and she became their dog.
better playoffs with playin: Using innovative creativity,* in April 2021 the NBA expanded their pre-playoff race into a Play-In Tournament with 8 teams, 7-8-9-10 in the East and West. The design was brilliant, and saying “yes, we'll do it” was wise. Now instead of beginning the playoffs slowly with no decisive games for at least a week, within a few days there are 6 decisive games for 8 teams. It begins with four “Game 6's” and every game is decisive for one team; in the 7-vs-8 games it's like each team has a 3-2 lead in a series, so “win and you're in” (but “lose and you play again”); the two 9-vs-10's are like each team is behind 2-3 in the series, so “lose and you're out” (but “win and you play again”). This is followed by two “Game 7's” (between those who “play again”) where a win or loss is decisive for each of the four teams. / Also, in its first year the season's final day featured two “Game 5's” (one East, the other West) that determined which winning team would enter their Game 6 with a 3-2 lead, by contrast with the two losers who began their Game 6 down 2-3, needing two wins (both on the road) to survive. Yes, their new format is brilliant and wise, producing more end-of-season interest (and hopes for fans of more teams, thus more interest & revenue) and more beginning-of-playoff excitement. {* They either independently re-invented an idea from the 1930's Australian Football League, or they found this idea by searching thru our collective memory. Either way, it was creatively brilliant. }
Expectations about Weather: Today (in mid-October 2020) it's 64° with rain, similar to SoCal in winter, but with occasional thunder that is common in the midwest, was rare on the west coast when I lived in Anaheim & Seattle. Next week will be cooler, with an average high of 48° that will feel cold in October (after a summer in Anaheim and mild early autumn in Madison) but will feel warm (after a winter in Madison) when the temperature rises to 48° in February, fueling our annual anticipations of springtime. When I moved to Madison, and traveled from there to Anaheim (to stay with Mom & Dad in the comfort of our family home) during Winter Break in late December, people in SoCal sometimes apologized for the cold weather (if highs were only low-60's, cooler than the average of 70°) but for me it felt warm and comfortable, compared with Wisconsin Winter.
Expectations about Sunshine: In 1970 I arrived in Seattle on September 1, and got spring fever. The city was beautifully green, and the sky sometimes blue. With moving white clouds to watch. Or gray clouds that led to earthy smells after the rain. A lot like springtime. / Decades later, on the internet I read about Seasonal Affective Disorder and "the early 1990s, the early days of SAD awareness." Maybe I was just unaware in the 1970s/80s, but SAD didn't seem to affect me. Although I did recognize that during “mostly gray” times of the year, a sunny day was especially appreciated – and talking about the weather wasn't considered trivial – for me this was just an opportunity to share mutual enthusiasm, a wonderful joy of life. I reasoned that if rain-and-gray were needed to get green, contrasted with the brown-and-dry of SoCal Summers, then rain was OK. When I moved to Madison, expectations changed because I discovered that green could coexist with lots of sunshine and blue skies. Both of my UW Cities are beautiful (viewed from the air or at ground level) and I've enjoyed both. And now I'm enjoying Columbus, another beautifully green city, whose annual percentage of “sunshine hours” is about the same as Seattle, although on average its skies are a little grayer (or whiter) in summer, and bluer in winter.
Geographic Variety (SoCal) and Weather Variety (Madison): TV weather forecasts are very different in SoCal and Madison. They're typically boring for Southern California – with “more of the same” (dry and warm-to-hot) from April thru October, except for minor morning variety due to some May Gray & June Gloom – but with a variety of geographic areas (LA/OC, beaches, Inland Empire, low desert, high desert, mountains) each having its own weather and thus its own forecast-box & brief commentary on TV. By contrast, in Madison there is only one geographic area, but a wider variety of weather in the summer (with sunny blue skies, plus rains & thunderstorms) and winter (with lots of snow & occasional ice) and our radar map gets to show its full range of colors, including not just the green-yellow-orange-red (for rain) we see in Orange County, but also blue-pink-purple (for snow & ice).
My New Neighborhood – Hilldale in Madison: My new home is 0.1 mile from Rennebohm Park (photo is near its far end), in a part of Madison where I've never lived, but had often seen while riding a church bus (that ran before COVID) from my final previous home (near UW) to Blackhawk Church. During my first 24 years in Madison (1989 to 2013) I lived near U of Wisconsin, at distances of only 0.7 mile to the south [for 2 years] near Vilas Park and Zoo, then 1.4 miles east [8 years] a few houses from Lake Mendota with sunset-watching in Summer 1996, and 0.7 mile west [4 years] in an area with many beautiful houses & yards, then (at Orchard & Spring in Cambridge Apts) only 0.1 mile south of Union South [10 years] and 0.2 mile from Chemistry Bldg. This home is further from campus (although still an easy bike ride), 2.0 miles west of UW's west edge. Why? It's partly because I no longer teach in the UW Chemistry Dept (so there is no benefit in being able to frequently get there quickly by riding a bike or even running) but also for other reasons. I like my new neighborhood (map) because of... its ALTITUDE {it has an “open-air feeling” on a wide plateau-hill (above the surrounding areas of Hilldale) with five apartment complexes similar to mine (Normandy, Sovereign, Carolina, Monticello, Chapel Hill) having large grassy frontyards & courtyards}; and its LOCATION – as you can see on this map, close to... PARKS {especially nearby Rennebohm Park [photos are in a park-page and to right & below] but also other parks [to west & east] and [to north] Blackhawk Country Club [golf course,...] and Lake Mendota}; DESTINATIONS {Hilldale Shopping Center [.5 mile away downhill, with many small stores, including Apple Store, UW Bookstore, AMC Theaters (formerly Sundance Cinemas), CycleBar, Great Dane Pub, plus Target, Ace Hardware, ...], friendly-and-helpful USPS Office [.4 mile], UW Credit Union & Walgreens & Pick 'n Save (large grocery store), Starbucks and Whole Foods [1.1 mile] with Amazon Locker; and farther away, UW Hospital [2.0 miles] & UW Campus [2.0-3.5 miles], downtown {Capitol, Monona Terrace,... [4 miles]}, Olbrich Botanical Gardens [7 miles], MSN Airport & East Towne Mall [9 miles], and [3 miles from here in opposite direction] West Towne Mall. There will be plenty of fascinating places to explore by driving & walking, riding bus (from nearby stops on Sheboygan Ave, for 7 routes going eastward [to UW & downtown & beyond] and westward, and especially by riding bicycle – an excellent machine (one of our best inventions) – for exploration trips over medium-short distances ranging from a few blocks to a few miles.
Projects in Madison: One of the many things I WANT to do is writing, by continuing to develop & revise web-pages about a wide variety of topics that include education & thinking skills & much more. Also... meeting with interesting people in Madison before I move to Columbus in May 2022; looking thru six decades of papers with “ideas I wrote earlier” (boring for most people, but interesting for a writer); working part-time on a project that's analogous to my full-time job for the first 8 months of 2020 – deciding what to do with the immense number of items in my parents' house & garage, trying to give away more, throw away less – but now in Madison it's much easier because I'm making decisions about only my own things (especially the idea-papers), trying to have less.
Here are the main pages I've been working on recently: my favorite is the expanded Introductory Overview — now with Educational Bridges (what, why, how) plus Problem-Solving Strategies & Models that include colorfully logical verbal-and-visual Action Diagrams — in the home-page of my website about Education for Problem Solving; also, pages about Education for Thinking Skills – Creative Thinking (with a major developing of the whole page), Critical Thinking (with major new sections about Monday-plus-Tuesday teaching & biased reasoning), creative-and-critical Problem Solving – plus minor work on other web-pages; I'm also continuing to develop other pages, like improvising music (by using creativity plus music theory) plus conversation and investing an hour to colorize my new keyboard; and in June 2021, I finally made a youtube channel with videos of my juggling plus our happy-and-fluffy doggy and musical playlists. { my personal home-page with lots of links! }
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Most photos are views from my balcony: |
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Sep 15 - my tree and courtyards (near, far) |
Sep 15 - trees with leaves, balcony with ivy |
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November - near and far courtyards, clearly visible |
Oct 20 - my tree lost green, far trees lost leaves |
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Some families have young children who play in our courtyard, giving it a fun “atmosphere” (your tree is to the right, providing shade here), |
South Courtyard – with Pool and Meeting Area, viewed from the stairway to Our Courtyard, |
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in mid-May, a view from my pillow |
and a robin's nest |
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Green after White: springtime is especially welcome – a reason for joyful celebration! – after a long, cold winter. |
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beginning of first major snowfall, December 11 { in 2021, first “visual snowfall” again was Dec 11 } |
big snowflakes – prettier in person, close, with motion, falling & swirling in wind ! |
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tree branches outlined with snow |
snow-tree & courtyards, early evening |
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tree covered with snow |
balcony covered with snow |
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and from the balcony, |
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top of tree with new snow |
top of tree with new leaves |
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early-blooming tree thru bedroom window |
early-blooming tree from balcony |
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At first I thought this was a dogwood tree — based on my experiences during a 6 week vacation (a “gift for myself” as a reward for finishing my PhD) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina — but later I discovered that it's a crabapple tree. |
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After the first small leaves appeared on my tree, within a couple of weeks they rapidly increased and the tree began looking more fully-green, like it did the first time I saw it on September 14. |
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spring - |
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Swimming Pool in Summertime |
Meeting Area above Pool |
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community garden plus tennis courts & Carolina Apts, |
view from far-west end of park, of tennis courts, shelter area,... |
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My room is at "o" below red balloon, 0.1 mile from north edge of park (near courts, garden, shelter), |
shelter area and playground, large open areas (also for playing), |
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my new city, Columbus: |
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Here is my new keyboard — bought & colorized in September 2021, following several previous keyboards (also color-coded in this way, based on music theory) beginning in the mid-1970's after learning about 12-Bar Blues (from Harold & Charlie as part of our jamming with their clarinet & trumpet plus my trombone) in 1971 — with musical utility that is explained in the part of my page about "Improvising with a Keyboard – Use Harmony (with a Chord Progression) to Make Melodies" to help people (old & young) improve their Musical Improvisation. If you know music theory, you'll understand. But even if not, you can use the colors to help you play along with 12-Bar Blues or other Chord Progressions. { my old trombone also is used for jamming with backing tracks on youtube } { btw, the lengths of trombone & keyboard are 46" & 20" – although here it looks like a huge keyboard, it isn't } |
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The Best in Sports: Beginning the first full day in my new home, in 10 months I watched five local teams (from where I had lived, was living, or would live) win Pro Championships: in October the LA Lakers (basketball, NBA) and Seattle Storm (basketball, WNBA) and LA Dodgers (baseball, MLB), then later Columbus Crew (soccer, MLS) and Milwaukee Bucks (basketball, NBA).
the best in basketball: I've always enjoyed sports (lots of playing when younger, mostly just watching now) and September 15 (the second night in my new home) was the beginning of NBA's Final Four in 2020. That afternoon I bought a 4k TV to watch it, using Sling Orange (for semifinals on ESPN & TNT) and a broadcast antenna (for finals on ABC). The NBA had a wise plan for covid and they did it well, with no positive tests in their NBA Bubble and (on the court) an exciting pre-playoff race for 8th place in the West (and the play-in was better in 2021) followed by a full playoff schedule and (for me) a happy ending when it was won by the LA Lakers. :<) / Mom & Dad were (and I am) lovers of dogs and fans of the Lakers, first in Iowa {when the team was one state north of us in the "Land of 10,000 LAKEs" - actually 11,842} and then in California {after they moved to LA in 1960, becoming the LA LAkers (lalakers?), 2 years after the Brooklyn Dodgers moved to LA and 2 years before we moved to nearby Anaheim}.
the best in basketball – Part 2: In early October the WNBA was won by Seattle Storm, the women of my first UW City. They never lost a game, beginning with two rounds of byes (earned by their regular-season record) before sweeping the semifinals 3-0 and finals 3-0.
the best in baseball: {update on October 19} This year, will the LA Dodgers be the best in baseball? After 8 years of regular-season success (winning 8 consecutive titles in NL West) and 2 years making it into the World Series (2017 & 2018) but with their season always ending in a loss, will they FINALLY win it all? They're close in 2020, are back in the World Series (after winning a close Game 7 last night) and now — after being fairly successful for 8 straight years, coming close but always falling short — winning it all would mean a lot to them, so I'm cheering for them to win it, will be very happy for them if they do. { Oct 27 – yes, they did it! }
the best in soccer: {update on December 12, 2020} Tonight I watched Columbus Crew (where I probably will be living in May 2022) beat Seattle Sounders (my first UW city, for most of 1970-1989) to win the championship of Major League Soccer. / So after moving, in late-2020 my old areas (SoCal & Seattle) and new city (Columbus) won championships in basketball & basketball & baseball, (American) soccer, basketball. {winning NBA or MLB or WNBA makes a team “best in the world” but winning MLS just makes it “best in USA” which is much less glorious than winning The World Cup that is THE Championship} { Columbus Crew also won the MLS Championship in 2023. } And then, following the soccer victory in 2020,...
the best in basketball – Part 3: In 2020 the NBA champs were a team in my old state, and in 2021 it's the team in my old/new state of Wisconsin! Although initially I had mixed feelings — mainly because Chris Paul is one of my favorite point guards, who are my favorite kind of player because they do interesting things to guide-and-lead their team's offense, helping other players be more effective so good things will happen, and they're fun to watch — later I was totally wanting the Milwaukee Bucks to win. My shift of feelings was partly geographical (because I've had many good experiences in WI, mainly in Madison but also Milwaukee, especially living there for a month in Summer 1972 during a long road trip) and also because overall I think it “meant more for them” to win, and it would have hurt more if they had lost. Just getting to The Finals made it an amazing year for Phoenix Suns (although losing was tough for Chris Paul because this probably was his best opportunity to finally win it all, and maybe his last realistic chance, and in the series they had a 2-0 lead before losing it 2-4), but anything short of #1 would have been a huge disappointment for Milwaukee, so I was happy for them.
the best in volleyball: The women of UW won their first national championship – playing in Columbus on December 18, 2021 – exactly 5 months before I moved to Columbus. { During college in SoCal at UC Irvine, volleyball – played informally in a gym class – was one of my favorite participant sports, and now I enjoy watching it. }
almost the best in football, twice: In the 2022 Super Bowl, Cincinnati (in Ohio where I would be living 3 months later) lost 20-23 when "the suspenseful game ended with a fourth-down stop." / Then in the national CFP Semifinal during my first year in Columbus, Ohio State played tough against Georgia and almost won the game, losing 41-42 after missing a last-second field goal, the potential game winner. A week later Georgia easily won 65-7, so (probably) Ohio State came within a field goal of being national champions.
