Who is the new guy?

In April of 2006 our little man Jaden arrived. He's a boy and weighed almost nine pounds. Of course, he's the coolest thing in the world and always full of little surprises. The first two weeks were a total blur but now he's starting to smile. And he's loud.

Courtney and I have been doing lots of traveling with him and taking him everywhere. We are trying real hard to get out and continue with our life while showing him the world. It's not as easy to just spontaneously do something, but with a little planning and a car full of baby gear we seem to make it happen.

Yes, the grandparents are stoked and we have been seeing lots more of them.

Here are some recent pictures.

We heard you bought a van?

Oh yea. And it is 24 years old. She's a 1984 Volkswagen Vanagon that has all the amenities of a two bedroom apartment. Better known as a Westfalia or Campmobile (as my insurance company calls it). Inside there is a refrigerator, sink, two burner stove, tons of storage, two swivel tables, the back seat converts into a bed, and the roof pops up where there is another loft bed.

I became obsessed with them a while back and convinced myself that I wanted to learn about cars. Thus far I've learned about about intermittent problems, fuel issues, self oil changes, car alarms you can't turn off, leaky skylights, distributor caps and rotors, not starting on cold days, warm days. My approach is just a process of elimination starting with the cheapest components first.

I'm loving this van especially on the days that we get along. So much fun to drive. Love is based on trust, and right now we trust the local neighborhood. Someday soon we'll be trekking all over the west coast.

How is the pottery going?

Well, can't say that I'm getting much better at it, but I am still taking classes and throwing as much as I can. I'm generally pleased with about one out of five things that comes out of the final kiln.

I'm now working out of a studio on UCSD campus which is very well maintained and managed. This is also super convenient because I can just ride my bike over there during the day to see what has recently come out of the kiln and move things along to the next stage.

I recently started a new ceramics project called 'Fifty Two Ugly Pigs' where I embarked on a mission to make one ugly ceramic pig a week. I've only made about five so far now that Jaden is here, but I hope to pick this project back up at some point.

Still surfing?

Yes, yes. My goal is to get out in the water three to four times a week. I've had pretty good success and usually get a out a few times in the morning before work and then on the weekend. Spend most of my mornings at Cardiff.

I guess the surf travel plans have changed a bit. I'd love to get back to Costa Rica or somewhere like that, but would be just as happy to trip around California in the van. We've been down to La Fonda in Baja a few times recently where you can rent trailers on the beach for less than $50 a night. This is a great way to go and the surf is just right there.

Is Kompile still around?

No, not really. It got to the point where it was too much to keep up with full time jobs, marriages, home improvements and all the other hobbies that Joe and I are up to. Running Kompile was an awesome experience that I'm excited to apply to another project in the future.

Do you have any photos online?

I'm afraid of my digital photos. Afraid that one day the cat will walk across the keyboard and *poof*, all the photos are gone. Having then online here gives me some piece of mind.

If you want to see them and don't know the secret info them just ask me.