The catch up pt. 15.5: A clown in the America's Thanksgiving Parade. 

The catch up pt. 15: Kermit at the America's Thanksgiving Parade. 

moving on up?

We went on an office field trip, Friday, touring the Renaissance Center. Nobody's quite sure why, but I'm hoping this means my department is one of those moving in.

the new detroit skyline?

We're taking over!

fifth of May

I went to lunch today, and when I turned the corner, I found myself face to face with these folks. Then I turned another corner and found myself face to face with teetotalers wearing sombreros.

the ren cen the river and me

I've been in training all week, suffering through this gorgeous view.

people unmoving

The view from the People Mover platform on my lunch break; Cadillac Square station, facing the Gratiot/Woodward intersection. The building on the left, toward the front, is the Compuware building. Everything was so quiet today.

where there's smoke

A chemical plant in Hamtramck caught fire and sent big black smoke all over midtown Detroit. This is what it looked like from my office when it first started. Later, it spread out and became much more ominous looking.

detroit gets real

I've been celebrating all month. Very thankfully.

the blues go green

This is what I saw, driving into work this morning. The Final Four are happening a few blocks away, so to celebrate, my place of employment lit up the building with my alma mater's logo. Nice! I was so proud driving into work this morning.

lifted

I kept telling myself I needed to get back to my favorite Lebanese restaurant in Detroit, Harmonie Way--on Grand River near Broadway, and today I finally went via the People Mover. This was my first time using the Broadway station, and the view from the platform was sort of breathtaking, thanks to the sunshine and my lifted spirits. I snapped this picture while waiting for my train. It might not look majestic, but trust: it was.

detroit is the new hollywood thanks to granholm

On my way to lunch today, I saw a film crew setting up around the corner from my building. My coworker thought they were just street vendors selling grills, but it turned out she was wrong. I think this is supposed to be a Rob Schneider film set in New Orleans. Greektown, Detroit is not New Orleans. How curious.

waiting to be people moved

Jazzie and I decided to go to lunch today via the People Mover. It was a dollar well spent. Who needs Cedar Point when you got rides like these? The view from our train station is beautiful.

the day my team went to the river and hollywood came to my block

We got a nice surprise at work today. Our boss told us we had a meeting this afternoon, but when meeting time came, she took us outside. We walked to Coldstone for free ice cream them walked around Greektown and down to the river where we hung out on the Riverwalk by the fountain behind the Renaissance Building. It was a small team-building outing and it was very nice. Then when I got home I found they're filming an ensemble cast indie film at the house around the corner starring Michael Cera, Ray Liota, Steve Buscemi, Mary Kay Place and that annoying guy from the Apple commercials amongst a zillion others. It's out in January. Maybe you'll see me walking Nick around the block! What a rad day. :D

loving a job is truly amazing

Today was the very best day I've ever had at any job. I showed up at my normal time only to turn around and head out for a field trip. We took the people mover over to cobo and caught a boat at the dock. An old-school tri-level river boat. We spent a few hours cruising up and down the detroit river and it was breath-taking. Truly. I spent most of the time walking around the decks talking with coworkers, basking in the perfect sunny-and-seventies weather. I got to know a few people from other departments and bonded even tighter with my team. It was wonderful. Here's a shot from one of the decks looking at the ren cen and downtown Detroit. It was sort of a spiritual and life-affirming day. I truly felt like I was at the right place, doing the right thing. Total confidence like that is rare in my life. I needed to experience today.

detroit romance

Following the Tigers loss to the White Sox, Comerica Park was kind enough to present fireworks. It was a wonderful way to shake off the loss and the alcohol. Great night!

beautiful losers

I'm at a Tigers game, and things aren't looking good at the top of the ninth. But all is not lost. Besides, the lights of the stadium have a way of making the night beautiful anyhow.

this midwestern

So my folks are in town and we all (minus nicky) went to comerica park for a tigers game. They lost, but it was a very fun time of pizza and drinks and perfect june weather. Now I gotta get some sleep so I can wake up in five hours and go to work. That's a whole other story...

the view from comerica park

Here's the skyline from our assigned seats for the Tigers game this afternoon. The temps were bitter cold so the stadium was almost empty and we moved to a better position. Either way, pretty no?