Story's End

Marc Orchant, former co-worker, and friend, has passed. He died on Sunday, December 9th, 2007, a bit before 3pm in Albuquerque. See Oliver Starr's blog for more details.

I attended his memorial service today, and it was brilliant. I believe he would have approved. There was laughter, there were tears, and there was music. There was love all around the congregation. It concluded with the congregation singing the Grateful Dead's "Ripple". There was this sweet moment about halfway through the song when the trumpet from the quartet that had been playing earlier joined in spontaneously with the Rabbi and his guitar.

I emerged from it floored by the courage and strength of his family. Things have clearly changed for Marc. But surely, for his family and closest friends, the changes are equally abrupt, and it's for them I feel the most empathy. They impressed me today with their dignity and honest demeanor, and I wish them strength and hope as they move on without Marc.

Marc will have a legacy, both personal and professional, that will live on, will endure. As I'm sure will be mentioned many times about him, he was a storyteller. A bard--someone who carries the collected wit of the people and spreads it among any and all who will listen. Now his story is over, but I can't help wondering who now will be carrying his multititude of stories forward--for they will continue to be told.

I saw Marc nearly every day during his tenure at VanDyke Software. Marc showed me, among other things, that not all marketeers are evil. He showed me that you could get great spring rolls in a comic shop. He cut me a copy of a recording from the sound board at a String Cheese concert at the Poalo Soleri that I missed. He enjoyed fun cars, morning coffee, and we shared many friendly, often heated exchanges about the course of "technology", and how, although 16 years his junior, I was the traditionalist, the Luddite.

In perhaps the most poignant tribute, for me personally, I did a curious, almost automatic thing when I returned home tonight. I got a plain manilla folder, my label-maker, and created a "GTD folder" with the label "Marc Orchant" in which I have put the items from today's service. This one act--to me, anyhow--commemerates Marc perfectly. He lived and breathed many things, but as a coda to several of them, you might hear something about "GTD", "Getting Things Done" or "David Allen". Considering where Marc was moving in his career until last Sunday, I can't imagine a more fitting gesture.

Many knew Marc better, but I too have wept, and will miss him, and miss knowing he's out there doing what he did. He was on top of his game. He was one of the good guys.

all stories must come to an end ...but maybe not this one quite yet

Update:

http://owstarr.com/marc-orchant-updates-and-information/

Mark seems to be showing some signs of activity, so the story may not be ending quite yet.

---

http://us.blognation.com/2007/12/03/marc-orchant-suffers-massive-coronary/

The continuing news about Marc is not good. I fear he's finished his most important story, and it has claimed its teller.

Marc is a former co-worker of mine, office-buddy, and a giant amongst us (not just his height). I don't really have any words right now, except to say how much empathy I feel for his family. Marc is a friend, and this news has come as a shock, not just to me, but to anyone who comes by it, and anyone who may know him. Marc is definitely one of the good guys. Robert Scoble said it best already: "This news really sucks".

-- ad astra

allergies suck

Ever since I got back to NM from NY on Sunday, my allergies have been killing me. Sneezing, coughing, stuffy head, sinus pressure, watery eyes, the whole shabang. As a result, I'm not particularly chipper. I'm taking sudafed and claritin and it's helping a bit but they're not helping my mood either. I know, "wah, wah"... :-) But really, allergies suck.

Rochacha !

I fly to Rochester, NY tomorrow for my sister's wedding. I haven't been back in NY during the fall in several years. She picked a great time of year. Not much to say now, except that I'm excited for her and her fiancee, and considering the planning and effort they've put into it, it promises to be a hell of a party. More when I'm back.

missing things ...

... I have a funny and somewhat disappointing story from the weekend, but it has a happy ending...

On Sunday, a buddy and I went up into the foothills of the Sandias to go for a light hike, and shoot some photos in the afternoon/evening light. It was a lovely fall day and I didn't want it to pass without getting out a bit. We had a great hike - saw a couple of mule deer and managed to stalk them to within several yards - that was very cool. That, however, is not the story.

No, the story is that, after arriving and going only a hundred yards or so, I stopped near a large juniper tree to pull my camera out of my Camelback where I'd been carrying it. I got it out, took a few shots, and kept moving to catch up with my buddy. About 10 minutes later (maybe even less) I wanted to throw on my 75-300mm lens and get some shots of birds perching on cacti. My lens, which I'd stuffed in one of the side "water-bottle" pockets of my Camelback, was not in my bag !! I panicked a bit, and retraced in my mind what might have happened to it. After some deliberation, I decided we should continue our hike, as it must be back at my buddy's house. I was incorrect. It was not in my truck, nor at his house, nor (by some chance) had I left it at home.

I knew roughly where we'd been, so I knew I had to go back later and re-trace our steps. It was very dark by the time we left, so I planned to hunt for it today. That's one advantage to the desert - other than a coyote messing with it, I wasn't too concerned about anything happening to it spending the night outdoors, as it was clear and calm (and cold!) last night. Ironically, I had my GPS (which would have been invaluable) the whole time, but we weren't planning on going very far so I didn't bother to turn it on. Doh !

I came to work this morning knowing I'd be heading out at lunch to (hopefully) find it. So, when the time came, I headed back up to the parking area, and found our tracks leaving the parking-lot for the grasses and underbrush. I was scanning the ground (as you do around here anyhow to make sure you aren't stepping on cacti or snakes) and made it easily to the tree where I presumed it must be. Was nowhere to be found, and I looked good and hard for it there. Our trail from that point was surprisingly obvious, so I followed it until I crossed a couple of washes. Still nothing. I remembered clearly where I'd noticed it missing, but kept going just a little further in case I was wrong - all the time moving back and forth across our supposed path in large zigzags. It was actually sorta' fun :-) and a gorgeous day to be out there (autumn in NM is hard to beat!). I eventually turned around, and headed back, still zigzaging and scanning the ground. Went back to the tree, just in case. Starting to realize that I might have just lost a $400 lens, I was getting a little desperate, so I started inventing other places to look as I approached the parking area again. Well, wouldn't you know it, but right before I hit the asphalt, there it was, resting in a little clump of grass only about a yard from the parking-lot ! Looked like it had had a comfy night out there !! No worse for wear on visible inspection, I trotted back to my car, waving my fists and the lens triumphantly at the sky and smiling :-D . Yay ! I still need to put it on my camera and make sure it's OK, but at least I found it. WHEW !

What a surprise ...

... no posts from me in a while. I doubt anyone's looking, so :-P

Just did something silly and invested in a new camera and basically blew my play budget with it. Wont help the shooter, but it might help some of the shots. I'll get it in time (I hope) for my sister's wedding in about a week, so that should be a good test run.

Fall is coming to NM. Took a few shots in the Sandias this past weekend. Gorgeous day, but not the best light for good photos. Only hiked about 4 miles, but jumped around a lot so it felt longer. Plus, I've not been hiking like I should be.

Oh well. More later. Happy autumn.

Published again!

So, three more of my photos on Flickr have been published in online travel guides from www.schmap.com . I've had several shots scooped-up by them: my schmap tag on Flickr.

Loonies and greenbacks

For the first time in my memory $1CAD = $1USD - makes "Dinner in Kingston" an expensive proposition ;-)

Story here.

9-11

Wow, just realized it's 9-11. A year ago I recall being on a train from Ljubljana to Vienna with Ania, and talking to a fascinating Slovenian man about politics and such. So, a year later, not much about my perspective has changed.

I'll spare the rambling on about politics here, but lets say I'm ready for a change. I think we should remember how we got to the point we were in 2001, face the facts of change, move on, and stop looking backwards for a punctuation mark to define us as we move forward.

The swing of things

So, I guess this is my first actual post here. I just returned from my latest trip to see Ania in Poland, and after having an extra day to recover, I'm back to work and "normal" life. I spent the day yesterday downloading all the photos and videos from the trip, unpacking, sleeping in several-hour chunks, and running a few little errands around town. Oh, and fending off two frantic little kitties :-)

New Mexico is having much different weather than when I left only 10 days ago. It's been rainy here, and the temperatures at night are already starting to feel chilly. Not long now until the leaves start really turning. It's State Fair time, and I already have an invitation to go meet for a Flickr shoot at the Fair on Friday. That should be a lot of fun. Autumn is my favorite season here, and it looks like it's a bit early this year.

I'll be trying to stay focused for the next month on getting ready for my sister Heidi's wedding in October, and also the beginning (in earnest now) of the K1 visa application process for Ania's eventual arrival in the States next year. With work and a little play, I should be plenty busy. I also need to make some decisions about what to do about some home-imporvement projects that have been hanging over my head for some time, and I'm hoping I can make some headway at least in figuring out how to finance the things I need to do in the coming year. I noticed that my next-door neighbors had new windows installed while I was in Poland, and I'm jealous, as it's something I need to do myself.

Hopefully in the next couple of days/weeks I can get some of my pics and video from Poland processed and online to share.

I'm feeling good after this latest trip. Ania seems to be doing well also, and although we both miss each-other, it's nice knowing that this parting hasn't had such an emotional toll on us as it has in the past. I'm grateful that her family has been standing by her, and really appreciate everything they do for her and have done for me.