sunlight induced euphoria & Portland

Today the sky is blue and the sunlight is reflecting off the snow, dazzling. I am tempted to drive up to Lost Valley, buy a two hour lift ticket, rent some skis, and enjoy a couple of hours on the south-facing slopes. Alas, my cousin decide to schedule a "girls' night" to coincide with my visit so I would really be shirking if I took off and left her to prepare all alone.

I drove down to Portland for lunch with my brother and his girlfriend. They seem to be in a good place right now. They scraped together enough cash to buy a car and they have both been recognized for exemplary performance at work. She is a shift leader at Starbucks and he is a cashier at the local supermarket. It was nice to see them content.

And then there is just Portland. In my mind it is the best place on earth! How is it that I have chosen a career path that makes it almost impossible for me to live there before I retire? You basically have to wait for the right person to die in order for there even to be a tenure track opening at the University of Southern Maine and Maine Law School. Who knows? Maybe we'll be in the right place at the right time.