Original post at http://agentorangerecords.blogspot.com/2013/05/goodbye-to-my-scranton-friends.html

i hate saying goodbye. 

it's never something that seems to happen gracefully.  it always seems to be marked by awkward gestures and broken sentences that strive, but always fail, to encapsulate all that proceeded.   so we lower our expectations and try to convince ourselves that we are content with a hug/back pat combo, and some trite cliches. 

i have a feeling that's what tonight will look like. 

to be fair, we've been saying goodbye for a couple of years now, as things have obviously changed in our relationship.  but we've hung on, hoping that something might change, might click and make things different.  still, just because we've had a couple of years to prepare doesn't make this any easier.  if anything, the slow and inevitable glacier-crawl of this goodbye has made it more difficult. 

regardless, however difficult it may be, tonight is time to say goodbye.  at 9:00 we will say goodbye to what was, for several years, my favorite television show.  gosh, just writing that sounds stupid, but, like every human being before me, i am connected to story in deep and profound ways, and to the characters that help tell those stories.  so tonight isn't so much a goodbye to a tv program, complete with commercials and product placement.  rather, it is a goodbye to some of my friends.  it is goodbye to jim and pam, to erin and oscar and dwight and toby, and many more.



since starting in 2005, the office has been must-see-TV in our house.  2005 was the year my oldest son was born, which helps explain to me why it feels like i am losing part of my family tonight.  how will i experience vicarious awkwardness that causes me to laugh nervously and sweat profusely anymore? 

but i will do my best to offer my most awkward lean-in hug and poorly-worded goodbyes possible. 



dwight, i will miss your ugly shirt/tie combinations, your over-zealous commitment to management, and your desperate, misguided attempts at acceptance. 

oscar, i will miss your snotty elitism, and your exasperated sighs at your coworkers. 

erin, i will miss your cluelessness, your innocence, your musical projects, and your utter ineptitude. 

meredith, i will miss your sarcasm.  that's about it.

angela, i will miss your holier-than-thou hypocrisy, and your secret life as crazy cat woman.  also, i will miss your little work breaks with dwight in the warehouse. 

toby, i will miss your crazy passion for local murder trials.  i will miss the quiet way you took the constant barrage of hits life gave you, and how you just hung in there through it.  and i will miss the pathetic way you failed to act on your dreams.  i'm hoping for better things for you in the future. 

kevin, i will miss your idiocy, your childlikeness, your childishness, and your smelly feet. 

stanley, i will miss your detachment.  i will miss your crossword puzzle addiction, your love of pretzel day, and the way you stood up for yourself in an office blanketed by ignorance.

creed, you are weird.  i'm not sure i'm really going to miss you.  at all.

michael, i've been missing you for two years.  i really hope to see you tonight.  i wish you the best and that, most of all, you are loved.

andy,  i will miss your music.  i will miss your hare-brained ideas.  i will miss your anger issues, your desperate attempts for attention, and your misguided self-awareness. 



jim and pam, i will miss you most of all.  to be honest, you two are the only reason i've continued hanging out with the whole gang these last two years.  i've been pulling for you like crazy, as i have since i first knew you.  i know that life hasn't turned out for you exactly the way you thought it might, but i admire the way you've hung in there, for better and for worse, and have embraced these new challenges as part of your story.  i will miss your playfulness, the way you antagonized dwight, and the way you brought a genuine kind of humanity to the office.  i have no idea what your story is going to show me tonight, but, whatever happens, just know that i'm pulling for you. 

(insert awkward half-hug here). 

and, at around 10:00 tonight i will walk away.  sadly.  probably awkwardly.  but that will be fitting for a show that so clearly shined the light on all the awkward moments that mark our lives together, whether at work or play, at the office or at home.  ultimately, as the show made clear, what really matters is the relationships we make, even if the people we make them with are different, ignorant, hurt, hiding, afraid, desperate, or crushingly lonely.  these people who may seem like the "extras" in the story of our lives, are really all an important part of our story. 

goodbye. 

Original post at http://agentorangerecords.blogspot.com/2013/05/random-tuesday-vampires-and-pentecost.html

-hello spring.  feeling ornery, aren't we?  high today somewhere in the 50's (it's 32 as i write this), but a high of 79 two days from now?  really? 



-i'm helping my sister and brother-in-;law move into their new home today...excited for them in this new chapter of their journey as a family, and glad to be able to help out. 

-two words: vampire weekend.  i'll let you know.

-caedmon finished his flag football season this week.  i'm pretty sure he now knows the difference between offense and defense.  it was a productive season.

-this:


-have a great tuesday!

Original post at http://agentorangerecords.blogspot.com/2013/05/happy-mothers-day-2013.html

well, the countdown is over and mothers day has arrived.  today i share with you the latest installment in our annual family mothers day video. 

before you watch it, though, know this:  there are a host of factors that contribute to us having the family we have, but there is none more critical, graceful and steadfast as Shannon.  without her, i am a buoy on the sea, bobbing up and down with the circumstances of the moment, lifted up by the highs of cute comments and good spelling tests, then immediately brought down by the lows of bickering and a diaper filled with some sort of toxic waste.  but shannon is solid.  she is consistent and she holds us all together.  without her, we'd be a little crazy. 

well, as you can see from the video, we're a little crazy with her and about her, but it's a good crazy.  this music video is simply meant to capture some of the energy and expression and joy that she inspires in us.  it is my hope that it represents a moment in time, a season of our lives with three little boys at various ages who are learning what it means to be alive - learning, in their own way, just how broken this world is - and are finding a way to dance and rejoice anyway.  thanks for helping teach them that.  here's to you, shannon. 

Original post at http://agentorangerecords.blogspot.com/2013/05/mothers-day-episode-4.html

today, as we have reached the day before mother's day, i offer you the most recent installment of our mothers day series.  this one isn't my best work, as i was working with some faulty equipment and making do with it the best i could.  i had a great vision in my head of what i wanted, but the implementation wasn't stellar.  nonetheless, it still captures the boys being their goofy selves at a particular moment in our family journey, and as far as that goes, it is precious.  they had a great deal of fun with this one, and enjoyed going "on location" for some of the shooting.  enjoy! 



tune back in tomorrow for a brand new episode!  same mom time, same mom channel!

Original post at http://agentorangerecords.blogspot.com/2013/05/mothers-day-episode-3.html

well, here we are on day three of the countdown.  it brings us to 2011, our first mother's day back in pennsylvania.  once again i am trying to capture a moment in time on film, since, (in what is a very obvious reality) they will never be this age again.  in this video i was really hoping to capture the reality of our lives.  it is full of superman costumes and accessory-laden spontaneous dance parties, and falling into bed exhausted at the end of the day.  it is a blur of energy and emotion, which, in the middle of it sometimes feels mundane (doing homework again, doing the laundry again, packing lunch again, etc), but when you step back and look at it, feels like the most amazing adventure we've ever been on.  i am so blessed to be on that adventure with a woman who almost always makes it look so easy and graceful. 

Original post at http://agentorangerecords.blogspot.com/2013/05/mothers-day-episode-2.html

continuing now our countdown to the newest installment of our mother's day video series, here is the 2010 edition, which was meant to have the look and feel of an old silent film.  unfortunately, some of the paper i used for the words was too dark, and you can't make out everything that the boys had wanted to say.  oh well, it's a fun view, anyway.  it's set to "st. louis blues" by loius armstrong.

enjoy.