Leelanau Whippersnapper

Finally, I’ve had a reasonably relaxing weekend.  Of course tomorrow I head back in to hell for what will likely turn into a 6 day work week.  We begin a major re-set in my department tomorrow morning, there is a ton of work to be done and only 1 week to do it.  I’m going to have to be a cheerleader most of the week and that is indeed exhausting work.

Today I packed up the dog and headed out to the lake.  The sun has been out for the past few days, something exceedingly rare this time of year and I figured I would take advantage of it today by bringing my camera along.  I ended up going down to a beach I had not been to in quite some time.  It was further south than I usually go but still on Good Harbor Bay, just down the road further.  It was quite nice.  There were a few people out today but because of the Super Bowl and my complete lack of interest in sports, it was pretty quiet overall.  Gavin was able to run around off the leash for a while and I spent some time trying to capture a few good pictures.  I’ve uploaded a new gallery at leelanauphotography.com, just click the picture below to check it out.

The folks are off to Iowa for about 6 weeks tomorrow morning.  They’ve decided to spend some time away from here this winter since it’s easy to get really stir crazy this time of year.  We still have a good 3 months of shitty weather before spring starts to hit, I really hate this time of year up here.  Luckily, my job keeps me quite busy so it’s hard for me to care much.  Mom and Dad will be staying with Sarah, Brian and Christopher and I’ll be interested to hear how that all works out.  I love my folks to death but given the choice, I would not choose to have them live with me for any extended amount of time.  I’m pretty sure my folks would say the same about me. Our family dynamics are a bit much to tolerate day in and day out.  And, at my age, and their age, that’s the way it should be.  Christopher will be spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa for 6 weeks, and, that’s the way THAT should be too!  He’s a lucky kid, even if the only words he can say are “doggie” and “LOOK”.  We’ll see if Grandpa can teach him a few words during his stay.

I have made a new purchase since my last entry in this blog.  Last week, I broke down and bought a Wii so that I too could join the ranks of 30 something’s who are sick of being out of shape but who don’t want to join a gym.  I have always enjoyed video games even though I suck at them and I like the concept of being more involved in them rather than just sitting on a couch with a controller.  The Wii promises to at least get me off my ass for a little bit each day.  Eventually I’ll buy the Wii balance board and Wii Fit Plus game so that I can actually start getting in shape.  Sadly, they are sold out nearly all over the country and it’s going to be several weeks before they get back in stock.  Oh well, I’ll be busy enough at work.

Bonus time at work is fast approaching.  Profit Sharing checks are handed out Feb. 16th and my Managers bonus is due in mid March.  Crazy thing about my job is that I make more in the first 3 months of the year than I do the next 8 months of regular work just because of bonuses.  It’s nice to get big fat checks but it’s also dangerous because it’s easy to just go out and spend it.  If I had this job at any other time in my life, I’d be broke all the time but fortunately I’ve learned how to manage my money in much healthier ways so I’ll be able to save what is necessary but I’ll also be able to go out and get a few toys to play with.  This year I am buying a keyboard and I’ll write more about that when the time comes.  So for now, enjoy the new gallery.

Bookmark to:

It’s been a LONG winter here in the northwoods.  Cold, wet, and really, really long.  Spring is on the way however.  Driving home from the cottage yesterday I noticed several orchards starting to bloom, many of the spring tulips and daffodils are now waning and the grass is finally starting to turn from that horrible shade of brown to bright green.  The Martins have arrived and soon, the boat will go in the water for the season.  In the middle of winter, I often ask myself what the hell I’m doing up here in this little town trying to drive through 10″ of snow but when spring hits, I know the reason I’m living here.  The water, the sun, the sand and beach.  It’s like living on the coast of California without the Jellyfish and salt water.  OK, not really but it’s close enough and at least affordable.  I’ve got a new gallery of early spring pictures up on leelanauphotography.com.  Check it out.

Bookmark to:

Tomorrow at 5:30pm will mark the end of an era for me (and Jirar).  The final walk-through at the old house is scheduled to take place tomorrow with the landlord and after that, I will no longer live in Leelanau.  It’s amazing to think of the reasons we moved up here.  4 years ago we were both so dis-satisfied with living in Grand Rapids, we made a very bold move up to Leelanau.  I quit my job, Jirar transferred his job and we started a new life out in the country with 2 cats and a dog and about 2 acres of (looking back) unmanageable land.  We had a plan we kept telling ourselves.  Get settled, buy a house, start a business.  The coffee geeks we were, we figured that in 4 to 5 years we would be able to learn enough and save enough to start a coffee house somewhere in Leelanau.

Things do indeed change, sometimes good, sometimes not so good.  After landing a job with Menards I quickly found out that I could indeed make a good living selling shit to rednecks.  I also had a knack for managing people.  So after a year of proving myself, I became a manager which sunk me even further into the retail culture that grabs hold of you with easy work for good money and doesn’t let go easily.  Jirar on the other hand was dreaming of cities and airplanes.  We both knew going into it that we would never stay in this region forever.  We are both city boys at heart and while it is good to get away from all that shit, after awhile of having to plan a 45 minute drive just to go to the grocery store or get fast food it starts to wear on you a bit.  It costs a fortune too.

The coffee shop dream hasn’t died for me yet…maybe for Jirar but someday, I do still intend to have my own business.  I’ve learned a lot in 4 years of working serious a retail job.  Running a multi-million dollar sales department for a multi-billion dollar company has taught me extraordinary lessons about business in general.  It would not be impossible for me at any given point to drop it and start my own thing….were it not for the money I make selling shit to rednecks.

So, now we move on.  Jirar no longer has any physical ties to Leelanau, or to me, he has gone off to discover himself in a new city, with a new job.  I have finally gained some of my independence back but I miss terribly the companionship of my ‘marriage’ to Jirar.  We will both move on to discover new things, we will both meet new people and go new places.  Each of us will always know of each other, the advantage of leaving on good terms is that anywhere we are in the world, I know I can call up a person who knows every intimate detail about me and that person will listen and understand me.  Marriages do end (about 65% of the time in the US) but solid friendships apart from the intimacy can last a life time.  As I move on in my life, I’m thankful for the support I’ve been given and that I continue to get from my family and friends and I know Jirar is thankful for the support he gets from his family and friends.

We all want good things to last forever but each of us knows that change is an inevitable function of time.  So here is a cheer for change, may it bring new adventures and new people into the lives of those who experience it.

The picture above was taken from my back deck in Leelanau at sunset about a year ago in the late fall.  I’m saddened that I won’t have the every-day opportunity to capture pictures like this but never fear, Leelanau is only a 30 minute drive out to the parents house.  No reason anyone should expect a decline in my photos.

Look for an increase in blogging as we move into fall.  I have a good 2 weeks yet of unpacking and settleing in.  Fucking Charter Cable has to come out here AGAIN and try to install my cable box correctly this time.  It never ends with the dam cable company.  If it were not for the fast internet, I’d never even bother.  Oh well.  Life goes on.

Bookmark to:

Now there’s a sappy title.  What can I say.  Angie and her partner Cam came up to visit this past weekend and it is true that aquantences come and go but friends span a lifetime.  I had not seen or spoken to Angie for nearly 10 years but we were able to pick up pretty much right were we left off.  All the reasons we were good friends back in the day are all the reasons we can continue to get along fine now as adults.  We did the whole nine yards up here in Leelanau.  The beaches, the Sand Dunes, Peterson Park, Glen Arbor, the Light House, Suttons Bay…it was fun to show them around and imerse them in my world for a few days.  They are on a whilwind tour around Lake Michigan, likely relaxing somewhere in the UP by now.  Tomorrow I’ll be posting a new gallery to my Facebook album and I’ll be uploading to my photography web site with new photos of their visit.  Check them out.  The computer is uploading photos now so I need to close this down for the night.  I’ll write another entry tomorrow.

Bookmark to:

The saga of Sugarloaf continues here in Leelanau. God it just never ends. The web keeps getting thicker. The individual who signed an option to purchase has backed out at least for the time being. There was a 90 day rule which he rightfully stated was not enough time to complete due diligence. How anyone could possibly untangle the mess that is Sugarloaf in 90 days is beyond me. Anyhow, that potential buyer is still interested in the resort but so much more research has to be done to see if it’s even worth his time. He was pretty smart to back out. Sugarloaf needs someone with a HUGE amount of capitol to invest OR they just need to rip the shit down and turn it into a park.

I’ve just given up on Sugarloaf and I think many other people in this county have too. It’s not that we don’t want to see it come back to life, it’s that so many people have tried and failed miserably. It’s clear that the county could give a shit and the township just doesn’t have the capitol or the resources to help. So, like so many other things in Leelanau, the resort will continue to rot away becuase nobody really wants to make a 110% effort to do something about it. I guess I wouldn’t care as much if I didn’t live right across the street.

There is too much complacency in Leelanau. One of my political rants for Leelanau is the overly apparent lack of vision this county has for it’s future. It is primarily a county of retired, seasonal residents, many of whom have quite a bit of money. Those of us that live here year around and are younger, don’t have the capitol to have an influence where you have to pay in order matter. Elitism is OVERLY EVIDENT in Leelanau. When township boards have bare quorum meetings during the winter becuase the majority of the people sitting on those boards are at their other homes out of state, it means there is a huge problem with the way things are being run. Why bother even having a body such as that if you are only having productive meetings 3 or 4 times a year????

Tangents. This county suffers from a serious lack of young people who actually give a shit about what things will be like in 20 years. Many of the counties resident’s won’t be alive in 20 years so why would they bother caring about what things will be like in 20 years? This is NOT a slam by the way, it is simply a statement of fact. I’m not concerned that you older folks don’t care, I’m concerned that you older folks won’t give up your seats on the county boards to younger people who actually DO give a shit and want to push changes. I’m concerned that EVERY time someone suggests a positive step in the right direction, someone gets in the way and fucks it all up becuase change is too difficult or too expensive. This county has a HUGE fucking tax base, rather than embezzling it why not put that tax base to good use and do something productive?

This county needs to start considering what it is and what it isn’t. Figure it out already and quit DOING NOTHING!

Bookmark to:

I got a reply on my letter to the editor posted in my blog here regarding my comments on Speednet and was asked to elaborate. I still have not sent that in to the editor yet. Whtch out, this is long. See here and here

I’ve left a comment on the Enterprise Blogs regarding high speed internet and for the sake of new readers, I am looking for a high speed internet solution in Leelanau County. What this county has now is pathetic. In Cleavland Township (only) Centurytel offers DSL. Max download speed is 1.5mps via a DSL connection that works some of the time. Standard is 756kbs for $45 a month (which is very high priced for what you get). From Grelicksville up to Suttons Bay AT&T offers DSL. Again, the max download is 1.5mbs for around the same price but that is only along the M-22 corridor and NOWHERE else because that is where they have upgraded their infrastructure to accommodate DSL. My problem is with the facts above. In a county that comprises a VERY small land area, only 2 places offer access to high speed internet. I happen to live in Cleveland Township, my father does not and thus has to suffer with dial up at the moment. My Aunt lives in Suttons Bay. I want an answer from Leelanau County as to why high speed internet access is elusive in the rest of the county and I want to know what is being done RIGHT NOW to address the issue. Not what is planned for the future, WHAT IS GOING ON RIGHT THIS MINUTE???????

As for the reader who commented, if you work for SpeedNet, I’d like to know what you can do for me. According to your web site my Father’s home is within an acceptable range for your satellite system. I’d love you to email me and tell me how I can get him set up using Speed net. If you’re a dealer, there are at least 4-5 others in the same small area that you might be able to make some money on if you can provide what your web site says you can. 1.5mbs at $35 a month. That’s a freaking deal at the moment and so far better than any of your competitors can offer. I can bet that you make your money by signing up new customers. I’ve got at least 1 lead for you (my father) and perhaps others. I work in sales, leads are important, you might want to jump on this bandwagon.

I am sick and tired of living in what is by every small stretch a wealthy county and yet day after day, I continue to see examples of life in the 18th century! In Cleveland Township, I live in what Charter Communications calls a DIGITAL zone but I’ve had techs out here 4 times and they have YET to to establish a DIGITAL connection on my cable. If I were not giving up on my lease in 6 months, I’d be switching to satellite tomorrow. I am stuck with basic analog cable because none of them can figure out their own technology. Additionally, Centurytel offers DSL up to 7mbs download in many of their markets but yet in Leelanu, I have only 2 options 756kbs or 1.5mbs. Without going out on a limb, this is called corporate fascism.

My interest in Speednet is this: You have a major opportunity to establish high speed internet access throughout this county via your satellite system and you pretty much have a captive market if you can get your hands on it right now. If your web site is accurate, you will be able to provide access to nearly every area which is completely undeserved by existing utilities and you can do so for LESS MONEY then they could ever dream about. You have the opportunity to push them right the fuck out of here. Since the big companies are pretty much laughing at anyone who asks, I’d like to see you come in a push them out just to spite them. They’ve had years to make this technology available and they have FAILED. Those who can’t compete LOOSE. As is obvious, I appreciate competition, I don’t like corporate fascism but when there are no viable options to begin with I will accept a monopoly until someone comes in and does it better than you.

I was asked to elaborate on the 88 foot tower comment, a man in Leelanau is using Speednet’s competition for line of sight satellite out of Petoskey. He paid for it’s construction and for his access because he needs it for his job. What he built is legal according to FCC rules which trump local zoning laws. People living around him are pissed because they have to see this tower. He doesn’t give a shit how he gets his internet access, only that he has to have it and he should not have to move somewhere else to get it. He did what he had to do legally to get what he had to have. Now the county has an opportunity to look at the issue. I have stated that I’m ready to build my 88 foot tower to get what I want since nobody in this county will help me get it and the county is too complacent to bother taking action on zoning to prevent me from doing it. Do you really think that people in this county with expendable money are going to sit on their ass and wait for the county to figure their shit out? I didn’t think so.

Obviously I have opinions and I have absolutely nothing to loose by being as loud and arrogant about them as possible but this county would do well to listen to them. You can not survive on retirees who know nothing about computers and the internet and second home vacationers alone. You must consider those of us who live here all year long and who have grown up with the technology that we can’t get in Leelanau right now. I am 33 years young and I expect more out of the county government that I PAY and out of the companies that do business in this county. The future of this county as a viable economy lies with us and you have the opportunity to make this tourist economy work. You’ve failed so far, are you willing to look at the future or do you want to continue to live in the past??????????? I will galady debate anyone on these issues. I don’t care if you don’t like development and that you want your pretty little county to stay undeveloped. You can not prevent growth and development, It is a reality. You can only guide it so that it is done CORRECTLY and RESPONSIBLY which is my goal. I hope to hell I’m just an uninformed opinionated asshole. If so, FILL ME IN, show me the money, what do you have to offer?

Bookmark to:

Tonight I’ve written a letter to the editor (which I have not sent in yet) that I wanted to also post on here first. Dad has purchased a new computer and for 2 weeks now we have been trying to get him set up on the internet. He has dial up now but he can only connect at 28,000kbs because the phone lines coming down to the house are so old and out of date. Everything from the pole to the house is brand new, the problem lies with the trash that is coming down from the main road. I’ve been looking into satellite internet provides to try and get him hooked up on high speed but that is very frustrating because I am still unsure what is available and what isn’t. Speednet is looking like it might be the only good option for him. It doesn’t cost any more on a monthly basis than any other typical high speed connection does. The problem though is getting the equipment set up and running. That is the expensive part. Anyhow, researching all that tonight got me going so I wrote the letter below to express my frustration with this backward ass county.

Dear Editor,

 

Regarding the article concerning tall Internet towers in Leelanau County (November 15 Enterprise), I’d like to express my sincere hope that our county officials are indeed addressing the issue of internet access in LeelanauCounty. I moved here 5 years ago after spending 30 years visiting family and friends in Leelanau, now I’ve made Leelanau my home. Year after year, I have watched the county grow up. That is disappointing to some but to others this growing up process has addressed some major needed improvements including a 911 system, natural gas lines, and safe paved roads. It’s taken Leelanau remarkably long to ‘catch up’ considering its close proximity to the more urban area of Traverse City. In any other part of the state, being just 20 miles outside of a city would be considered a suburb, one would expect to have the same amenities as you might find in a city like high speed internet. 20 miles is not very far.

 

 

The fact that our communications utility companies snub residents consistently when we inquire about upgrades to their infrastructure to offer these 21st century services suggests to me that our county officials are not doing enough to persuade those private companies to develop a new market. There are incentives our government can offer these utilities to make their trouble worth their time. Charter and AT&T are by no means under any obligation to provide service of any sort to anyone in Leelanau. They will only do so when it’s profitable to them and when they have an incentive to do so. That is reality, that is business. What we must do as residents of Leelanau is let our officials know what we want. There are many of us who want or need these types of services for business and for pleasure. I am convinced that the reason Leelanau lacks a year around economy is because the technology infrastructure is so weak. I am convinced that there are so few young families here because the tools of the 21st century are not available.

 

 

With the advent of an 88 foot tower now having been legally constructed to solve a problem of access, it presents Leelanau County with an opportunity to really address the problem and correct it. This was an example of a resident doing what needed to be done to resolve a problem our county has been lax in addressing, that of high speed internet access. Our officials should be looking at those companies out there who want to expand their business in this market. Speednet is one such company; certainly AT&T and Charter are options as well. Why should they offer their services in Leelanau? What’s in it for them? More importantly, what’s in it for us? Can we persuade these companies to upgrade their existing technology to provide the enhanced internet service using infrastructure that is already in place or are we all going to construct 88 foot towers that currently lie well beyond the regulatory powers of our county government? The internet has evolved way beyond dial up.In another 5 years, dial-up internet will be a thing of the past. I think it’s important for our county officials to hear that those of us who want these services are indeed willing to pay for them as is evidenced by the construction of what I’m sure was a very costly tower . Technology comes with a price tag; those of us who have grown up with it understand this. Leelanau must keep up with these changes and we as residents must demand that that they keep up with these changes. It is time that Leelanau stop reacting to issues and start recognizing change as it approaches so it can be dealt with head on. I’d like to implore our county officials to address this issue and resolve it sooner rather than later.

 

I’m going to sit on this now for a couple days and then edit it future if needed. Then I’m going to send it off to the Leelanau Enterprise hopefully for publication. I’ve got to shorten it down quite a bit in order to get them to publish it. We’ll see what happens. Stay tuned.

Bookmark to:

I’ve been thinking about this post for a few days now and since tonight I am the only one in my house besides my animals, I’ll give it a shot. It’s hard to put some of this in words because to me, so much of being consistent in life has to do with actions, not words. Action is hard to define on paper. The point of this is to express my frustration with those people in my life right now who are inconsistent but do not know it. (Afterthought, I was going to be overly vague but the person I am bitching about won’t read this so who cares and you all know who it is, and it’s not Jirar).

Consistancy is believing that something is important and defining your actions in accordance with that thing to you that is important. For example, it is inconsistent for you to decry abortion but support the death penalty. While they are two different things the end result is the same: death. You either support life or you don’t. Consistancy is supporting a right to choose abortion and believing the death penalty is acceptable. I’m not here to argue the merits of either position so don’t ask.

For you dear roommate:

Consistency is believing that energy conservation is important to the future of the planet and living your life reflective of that belief even when it’s difficult to do so. It is inconsistent to believe energy conservation is important while leaving energy sources running while you are away or not utilizing alternative energy sources when they are easily available to you. In other words, if you leave the house again with your space heater on HIGH and fail to turn it off when you are not utilizing it you are INCONSISTENT with your belief structure and thus a hypocrite. In other words, when I come home and find a thermostat on 75 because you are cold but a wood stove that utilizes a renewable energy source sits cold you are being inconsistent with your belief structure and thus a hypocrite.

Until you can address both of those issues, I never want to hear you decry the pathetic energy policy of the USA. I never want to hear you holler about the high cost of fuel or drilling in the Alaskan wilderness. I don’t want to hear you bitch about people you think are wasteful energy hogs until you have proven you are not a wasteful energy hog yourself. TURN YOUR SHIT OFF BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE HOUSE!

While we are on the subject, I don’t want my readers to get the impression that I am preaching mandatory conservation. The fact of the matter is (and I’ll be blunt), I could give a shit. Sure, I think conservation is important but I am not going to change my daily habits drastically in order to save a tree that the jack ass down the road is going to cut down anyway so he can build his million dollar home in Leelanau!. I am a realist, not an idealist. It is idealistic to think that by burning wood rather than gas I am somehow saving the planet. I do believe that one is better than the other but I also believe that both heating methods cause pollution. I also think that it’s a good idea to turn energy sources off when you leave the room or when you are not using them. I don’t believe this for any ecological reason but rather I would prefer not to burn down my house and have to go through all the freaking work of replacing everything I own! DUH.

What it all comes down to is this. I don’t have time in my life for hypocrites, lairs, cheats and fools. Unfortunately all of us on this planet have some of those 4 qualities to a certain degree. That might be tough for you to swallow but there are no saints among us are there? The easiest one of those 4 for us to be is a hypocrite, it is also the worst for us to be because when you are a hypocrite, you are in fact a lier, cheat, and a fool. You can be a fool without being a hypocrite, you can be a lier without being a hypocrite, you can be a cheat without being a hypocrite but you can’t be a hypocrite without incorporating the qualities found in the other 3 terms. Live your life in accordance with the beliefs you espouse but do not espouse beliefs you are unable to live up to.  If the world could live by the logic in that sentence, this would be a happy hippy commune.

Observe the picture below. Do you think the driver of this vehicle is living his or her life in accordance with the beliefs they espouse? Probably not.

Bookmark to: