2:05 (As read 2/7/14)

2:05 is the time that my alarm goes off every day.  For those of you who worked around me during my time with Jacobs at the AOC, this is no surprise.  It became a source of silliness and whimsy that interjected itself...like it or not...into a sometimes tense and serious, but always exciting environment.

I am immeasurably lucky.  I  got to share an office with Michelle Chuisano for over three wonderful years.  For 8 or 9 hours a day, five days a week, I would spent more waking time with her than anyone else in my life.  We shared our work, our families and our friends.  We shared our victories, our failures, our joys and our sorrows.

To Michelle, there was nothing more important than family and friends.  As we shared that messy office, like the good mother hen that she was to so many of us, she would watch over me and remind me what was important.  Family.  As I would get caught up in work, time and time again, she would remind me as she left for home with Eric that I needed to finish what I was doing and go home to real life...to my wife and my children.  I would often tell her that the day just got away from me, but, yes, of course, she was right.

So, eventually, I set a daily alarm for 2:05.  It was a signal to myself that no matter what was happening at work, as hectic as things could get, that it was, once again, time to start preparing to leave.  Time to start preparing to shift to the things that are most timeless, most fulfilling, most important...my home and my family.

The fact that this daily reminder could be done with playfulness, frivolity and causing just a touch of annoyance made it all the more fun.  And that was one thing that was special about Michelle.  In the midst of the chaos of our lives, she had a joyful sparkle and a passion that enriched her world.

The hardest thing about leaving Jacobs and the AOC to start a new chapter in my life was that I would miss out on seeing my friend everyday.  As time and life moved on, we saw each other and talked together less and less.  But her friendship always remained dear to my heart.  Eventually, I even turned off my daily alarm.  Time moves forward.  Although I am truly enjoying this next chapter in my life, I think hearing that alarm every day just became a melancholy reminder of something that was behind me.

A few days after I got the word that we had lost our dear friend, I happened to notice that the alarm was still there on my phone.  The alarm was still in the memory of my phone.  I had not deleted it.  I had just switched it off.

It is far too easy to become complacent and let ourselves get mired in daily minutia and lose sight of the bigger picture.  It is as if we forget that while this moment is the chapter we find ourselves in , there is a true arc that will someday be the complete story of our life.  And because of this, I think that we all need something external to remind us from time to time what is true and what is fleeting

Now, knowing that Michelle is gone and that a chapter in my life has truly closed, it does not seem real.  It does not seem possible.  But the time we shared can never be taken away.  As I am sure it is for many of you here, she will always be a part of who I am and how I see the world.


When, I saw that alarm in my phone, that reminder of so many wonderful memories in the past and a reminder of the real priorities in my life moving forward, I turned it back on.



So now, I get to think fondly of my friend, Michelle Chuisano, every day...at 2:05.

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"Sometimes it makes me sad, though... Andy being gone. I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up DOES rejoice. But still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone. I guess I just miss my friend."
- Shawshank Redemption (1994)

The Days of Wine and Rosies

A glass of wine is proof that there were days long gone filled with rain,
but it is also proof that there were other days long gone filled with sunshine.

And while in the midst of experiencing the delicate balance between ethereal sweetness and the pungent earthiness,
I am reminded that no matter what is happening this very moment,
our future, too, while always undetermined,
will be filled with both days filled with rain
and days filled with sunshine.

And that fills me with hope.

The life and love of Gill and Princess Noodleman

Outline:

• Gill and Princess Noodleman are two Betta Fish.  Their lifespan is 5 years.
• Harley and Tina are a brother and sister that own them.
• The fish forget everything every night and meet and fall in love every morning.
• One day, Gill forgets to forget.
• Gill watches Princess Noodleman, Harley and Tina grow.  He notices their changes over time.
• But Princess Noodleman meets Gill again every morning.
• Gill is envious of Princess Noodleman's ability to see the world anew every day. 
• Gill tries to notice something new everyday so he can see things for the first time again.
• Gill and Princess Noodleman have babies and Gill enjoys their experience of seeing things for the first time.

Out of My Head (The "Missing" Verse")

One of my favorite songs is Out of My Head by Fastball from their 1999 album, All the Pain Money Can Buy.  If you are not familiar, here is a link to the song.

My only problem is that it is a very short song. Just when I start enjoying it, it comes to the end. I always thought it needed another verse...to expand on the themes, for balance, for pacing and just to extend the wonderful melody and harmonies.

So, I wrote one. Hope you like it...

A Golem's Life; an autobiography

Here is a story about the human perspective of a familiar monster. I kicked around for a few years and fleshed it out.  Not sure what the spark was.  It seemed more like I was documenting what had happened rather than writing a fiction.

A Journey to Meet the World

Originally a Christmas gift to a teacher, this story expanded and evolved into a full narrative with a circuitous journey about birth, learning, growth, aging, sacrifice, balance and payment of debts.

A Journey to Meet the World

by Alex J. Rosenheim

Written December 1999

Revised June 2006

Revisions continued in Google Docs

 

Page	Text of Page
Prologue	As everyone knows, Life ebbs and life flows. Its inside a cocoon, that a butterfly grows. Well, what would you say, if on this very day, you learned there is more about that to say?
01	So, the butterfly-with-two-wings landed beside the caterpillar-with-no wings. The butterfly-with-two-wings felt complete… …but the caterpillar-with-no-wings was not satisfied.

The Day is Done

The day is done.

It's time for sleep.

No need to cry,

or fret or weep.

The memories

you've made today,

will fill your dreams

with love and play.

Goodnight, my child.

Goodnight, my friend.

The new day waits,

for this to end.

You'll take a journey

through the dark.

A wondrous quest;

you'll soon embark.

And through the tunnel

of your dreams,

you'll find that

nothing’s as it seems.

You'll ride a carpet

through the sky,

or maybe you

can even fly.

A million ice-cream

sundae treats,

or kick a ball

while wearing cleats.

Friends long gone,

you'll see them there,

and fill your dreams,

with ones that care.

And friends you

haven't even met;

they'll change your life,

I'd even bet.

They'll open up

a grand new vision.

Of ancient worlds

and long division.

You'll scrape your knees.

I'll dry your tears.

I'll watch you grow

through all your years.

Tomorrow morn',

just like today,

you'll wake up,

eat, have fun and play.

Enjoy the night.

Enjoy the rest.

Tomorrow we

will share the best.

12/22/06