Normal?

So, not so long ago, here is the scoop...

Ed, bent over a stationary cycle machine (toe clips engaged, iPod playing some Tchaikovsky, sweat dripping), is trying to maintain some sort of training regime related to the LiveStrong Challenge. Outside the windows it is dark (mind you, it is 4:45pm), and I am attending a work conference in Orlando, FL. Lightning and thunder are trading exclamation points of light and sound, and there is a deluge engulfing the Marriott World Center Resort. I am sitting still but pedaling through the "random" hill course on a "Star Trac" cycle, and I am beginning to wonder if 45 minutes at level 10 (out of 20) was such a good idea. Oh, and did I mention that I had just spent 8 hours engaged in a training course related to "Enterprise Architecture"? Well, that too. I completed 12.2 virtual miles in 46 minutes.

Just over a year ago, I started chemotherapy for colo-rectal cancer that surprised the hell out of me and my family. Just over a year ago, I started working for the State of Oregon (again) as a policy analyst. Just over two weeks ago, my primary care physician said, "now that we are back into a normal health situation, we really ought to get an update on your cholesterol levels." THAT, I might venture to say, is a very good sign.

I like to think, occasionally, that I am a normal person (others may disagree, and they can just bite their proverbial tongues). But then I try to describe my line of work, which regularly leads to glazed-over eyes and a polite retreat. I am not sure that "enterprise architecture" is a more-simple response to the "so, what do you do?" question than "enterprise GIS collaboration and policy." So I am coming to terms with the idea that what I do is fairly esoteric, and not exactly prone to a simple description. For those that have known me for any length of time, this is not a significant change. For the rest of you, welcome to my world.

But I like to think that things are returning to normal - whatever that means. I am semi-seriously thinking that the kitchen DOES need to be remodeled, and there are some other house projects that we should think about - insulation for the attic and south walls sounds good, and what about a solar water heater? And an EA program for Oregon does not seem particularly far-fetched...

Normal - all the stuff you don't think about as important that really is.