Brandon's Blog

My Online Presence Takes a Turn (#CaptainObvious)

As you can see from the gap between this post and the last, I'm not updating this blog anymore.  I've slowly been migrating to a Tumblr blog HERE where my Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, and Dublin Blog feeds will show up.  It's a simple way of having an aggregated online presence and move to more of a microblogging format.  When I have thoughts that might take more than the 140 characters that Twitter permits, I'll probably turn to the Tumblr blog.  Between that and Facebook, it's (probably more than) enough.

It's interesting timing for all this.  TyepPad have recently rolled out some features that I kinda like.  But apparently not enough to keep me interested.  I'm hoping that once my TypePad subscription runs out, I'll be able to keep the archives of my TypePad history.  Always interesting to go back and see what I was thinking and wrestling with a year or 2 or 3 ago.

So long, 'Brandon's Blog.'  (You REALLY needed a more creative name anyway.)

Love Is . . . Watching Someone Die??

Last week, my wife and I had an opportunity to get away for a few days together and leave our daughter with the grandparents.  It was a brilliant time of refreshment, reflection, prayer, and reading - with very little technology to provide any “background noise.” 

On our way home, Kristy put in a CD of one of our favourite albums, Death Cab for Cutie’s “Plans.”  I’d forgotten how much I loved that album.  When it rolled around to a song called “What Sarah Said,” I was blown away.

Good Memories from California

Here's some video footage I threw together of our time with my brother and his family back in late January. Great memories!

In particular, pay close attention to what Pria is saying during my "interview" with her while she's in the stroller.  The last line seemingly comes out of nowhere (but probably not from her perspective!)  Cracks me up EVERY TIME.  (As does her little Caitlyn tackle.)

Also, despite Caitlyn being horrified of the wings (towards the end), it was actually her idea to wear them in the first place.  =)

California Trip 2009: A Wellcome Cousin Reunion from Brandon Wellcome on Vimeo.

A Work in Progress

I must admit, I've enjoyed starting off 2009 without any pressure to blog.  Not that I only blog in response to pressure that I put on myself, but it certainly is a factor that I think a lot of folks who blog can relate with. 

A while back, I came across this "slow blog manifesto" which I really resonated with and (I think) has really adjusted the course of my blogging.  It may just turn out to be one of my goals for the year. 

Paste Magazine have put together a cool little website that allows you to take your own mugshot and turn it into one of those iconic Obama campaign posters.  Whether or not you're even a fan of America's new president elect (and I know that a few hard core conservative friends of mine are not so much - so goes polarized American politics), you have to appreciate the powerful piece of artwork by Shepard Fairey. 

While Kristy and I were away on a retreat together last week, we had a few significant spiritual and marital "breakthroughs."  It was a refreshing time of personal assessment, renewal, and soul searching.  One afternoon someone who essentially served as a spiritual guide to us challenged us to spend some time in solitude and reflection.  During that time, I began writing down some of the things that were echoing in my heart and that I believe God was whispering into my soul.  It came out like this:

Cancelled Flights & A Brilliant Photo Book for Your Coffee Table

After checking Southwest Airlines website for our flight status (it said "30 minutes delayed"), we set off in the snow and ice down the 5 in my parents' SUV, all chained up.  When we arrived at PDX, I ran in to check the departure screen and was shocked to see "CANCELED" flashing all over.  I guess I shouldn't really have been all that surprised, but we were pretty confident that we'd be spending Christmas in Colorado after the website told us that the flight would just be delayed a bit.  After waiting in the queue for an hour-and-a-half or so, we re-booked the flight for Sunday evening and the guy behind the counter tried to convince us that he was saving us $160 by waving all of the re-booking fees and I rolled my eyes and thought, "Bull crap.  You haven't done us any favours.  If you didn't wave those fees, you'd have a whole airport full of VERY angry customers."   (Many of whom had already spent two nights sleeping on the floor.) 

So Christmas with Kristy's family in Colorado is a bit delayed this year, which is a bit of a disappointment, but it's out of our control.  We'll still get to see them.  It'll be kinda strange spending Christmas here at my parents' place, since we already celebrated as a family this last weekend.  Kristy and mom want to re-wrap all the presents and do it again.  We'll see . . . .

When you get a chance, be sure to CLICK HERE and check out a new photo book that my friend Dave just published through Blurb.  In fact, why don't you purchase one as a last-minute Christmas gift for that photography buff in your family?  They'll love Dave's knack for a good capture and they'll be supporting an independent artist with a big heart for serving the people of Cologne, Germany.  (And BTW, the photo of the plane above is NOT one of Dave's, lest there be any confusion.  His stuff is much better.)

=)

A Lighthearted Political Conversation with International Friends

I posted this video on Facebook the other day and it seems to be getting some eager responses. My last night in Brussels last weekend, I found myself listening (and participating, though mostly listening) to a conversation about George Dubya.  Though lighthearted and amiable, people were very eager to share their strong opinions.  If I remember correctly, the conversation went on for a good hour-and-a-half.  The video is my attempt to get the these two very witty individuals, Osama and Fernando, to summarize their thoughts in 60 seconds.  As my Irish friends say, it was good craic.

Bush: Good or Bad? from Brandon Wellcome on Vimeo.

Brussels Trip in Pictures

Arrived back in the States from Brussels last night, unsure if I was more hungry or tired.  (A quick stop at Burgerville for a turkey burger helped me decide.)  Head over to our Flickr gallery for pics.  Also a few pics on Facebook.

Election Day Travel

It was strange enough, flying to Europe from the U.S. on a big election day.  Once I began interacting with the Ethiopian psychiatrist on my left and the Danish woman across the aisle from me, it just got downright surreal.

I soon learned that the man next to me was named Germa.  He’d come to the States as a refugee from Ethiopia, via Sudan in 1989, after having worked with the Red Cross in the war-torn, famine-stricken region.  After gaining his American citizenship, he and his American wife, whom he met while working in Sudan, adopted a 7-year old child from Ethiopia two years ago.  Two previous attempts had failed because the children tested positive for HIV.  To my astonishment, he explained that the American Center for Disease Control prohibit HIV positive children from being adopted and brought into the U.S. 

Four Generations

Yesterday, we took Caitlyn to meet her great grandparents who are in their 90's.  It was a special time with extended family.  Given the age of Kristy's grandparents and our current residence in Europe, it may  be the last opportunity for us to spend time with them.  To make things even more exciting, Caitlyn took her first "step" while we were hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa.  We can't really say she's "walking" yet, but she'll get there soon.

(Click one of the pictures to see the full gallery.)

Premium Coffee, Seattle Hipsters, & an Enchanting Birthday Dinner

We've had a great weekend in Seattle celebrating my dad's birthday and catching up with some friends in Auburn.  Yesterday, we took my dad deep into Seattle's shopping district for his birthday and, in the end, I was just barely able to drag my wife out, kicking and screaming. =)

Just walking around Seattle on a Saturday proved to be a fresh American cultural experience.  I quickly noticed that about every third person had a cup of coffee in their hands.  And about 75% of the paper cups had the green siren stamp on it.  However, after Kristy and mom dove into the first retail store they found, I immediately took off down the street with Caitlyn and dad to see if we could find a good cup of coffee at a different place other than the green mermaid.  Fortunately for us, the first place we came to was the Monorail Espresso stand, just down Pike Street from the new H&M store (where we'd already lost the ladies.)