seanwillson.com

after much deliberation amy and i decided to take a vacation to sunny beautiful cozumel mexico. we haven’t been on a vacation in a while and she is rapidly approaching the end of her class work and will be starting rotations soon. we wanted to get a nice vacation in before she was working like a mad woman.


neither of us have been to mexico before but we’ve read quite a few good things about it. it’s supposed to have some of the best diving around. we’re not certified divers but we’re looking forward to doing some snorkeling and swimming in clear blue water. we’re staying at the grand cozumel by occidental. it’s a new all inclusive resort near cozumel mexico and looks pretty sweet. our last experience with an all inclusive resort during our honeymoon went great so we figured we’d give it another go. lets hope the weather holds up … hehheheh.

pi·an·ist, noun, one who plays the piano … well not quite yet but we’re trying. specifically i’ve picked up the complete idiot’s guide to playing piano and i’m also researching lessons at a few local music shops. gone are the days of lost hobbies of my youth. i’ve always wanted to learn how to play and i even toyed with it a bit when i was younger but i never really took off with it. well now i’m really doing it. clear nights are for astronomy while cloudy nights are for playing the piano and relaxing. i’m knee deep in learning how to read sheet music while playing marry had a little lamb but i’m really getting into it. amy is teaching me some things as well, she has quite a few years of music experience to pass on to me. pretty soon i’ll be playing some steve reich or maybe norah jones. now if only we had a piano …

well 2003 was quite a year … a year full of goals met, a few failures, and changes galore. this year has got to be my favorite thus far. the following events are in no particular order.

• got married to amy, had a great wedding, and started our life together
• amy started pa school
• made it a year without changing my job. i know, i’m as surprised as you!
• got a new niece named samantha
• got a bunch of new toys: portaball telescope, 15” powerbook g4, 802.11g airport extreme, 30 gb ipod, new pedals, 1up personal trainer, nikon coolpix 4300 digital camera, external lacie d2 firewire/usb 2.0 hard drive, and other miscellaneous gadgets
• lost and gained back the weight i lost. i did recently regroup and start the battle again
• painted most of the rooms in our house
• rewrote my astronomy club’s website
• visited the bahamas (for our honeymoon), michigan, indiana, wisconsin, and california
• lost 2 pet hamsters
• made some great investments in my 401k, ira, and personal stock accounts. finally seeing some benefit of being in the market
• hit 80,000 miles on my car … 100,000 and we replace it
• watched lance win his 5th le tour de france
• hit my 29th birthday, 30 is right around the corner
• gained some new friends and lost touch with a few more
• didn’t play a single round of golf for the 4th year in a row, i’m on a roll now
• read 9+ books: the da vinci code, bad astronomy, star ware, seeing in the dark, uphill battle: cycling’s great climbers, pattern recognition, macintosh … the naked truth, star hopping, and the practical astronomer

i’m sure i missed something, i’ll update the list when i remember it though. i hope everyone had as great a year 2003 as i did and i hope everyone has great things planned for 2004.

i started and finished the da vinci code this past week. i was surprised at how detailed and well put together the novel was. the author put together a story that tells a detailed controversial history of the bible, the catholic church, and the secret societies that encircle them both. you’ll notice that is did say novel, not a history book. this book comes in the form of a enthralling dramatic well researched murder mystery that not only sparked my interest in the alternate history of the church but really made me think about how much the church is like today’s corporate america.


both the church and corporate america do everything within their power to change peoples perception of their indiscretions, including rewriting history. they amass huge marketing campaigns to deface their enemies or advertise their few successes. they beg borrow and steal to stay alive and then later deny any involvement or indiscretions that led to their failures.


anyhow, throughout the book during different plot points the main character referred to various books and research from which he extracted his knowledge. my interest in the topics that were discussed was piqued throughout the book so i decided to follow my interest and pick up a few of the books. i started reading holy blood, holy grail which actually came out in the early 80’s and made quite a splash around the release. i also plan on reading a few of the other books he recommends like the woman with the alabaster jar, the messianic legacy, the templarr revelation, and others.


i created a new ”religion” category that i’ll be posting things i learn or find interesting from the books. yet another new hobby for me … woohooo.

amy and i exchanged our christmas gifts early. yea, we’re horrible i know. we just didn’t know if we were going to be here on christmas so we figured we would open them early. she picked me up the west wing first season on dvd and the apple wireless keyboard. i’m now completely wireless from head to toe. i picked her up a some personal things and a few of the harry connick jr. cd’s that she was missing, lofty’s roach souffle and harry connick, jr. which was his first cd.

i was hanging out with some friends last night and all of the sudden i realized how stupid i was. ok, maybe not stupid, but the depth of my understanding and comprehension disappointed me. we were talking about topics ranging from linguistics, astronomy, cosmology, history, to the mafia and politics. some of it was pretty heady, but it was a very good time. during the conversations i found myself often wondering what the heck rock i’ve been living under? where were all of the things i learned in school? had they fallen out of my head? i was rather … scared.


i’ve always considered myself to be someone who was intelligent but certainly not a genius. i know a lot about a range of topics but i realize that there are a huge number of things that i know absolutely nothing about. well, it wasn’t until last night that i realized how little i remember about the things i once learned. i’ve spent so much time in my life learning about computers and software that i’ve neglected everything else. not everything i guess, not entirely, but i certainly don’t remember some of the basic things i once learned. i’m talking about the fundamentals things that form the foundation of our existence.


i think an example is in order. how many people remember how atoms and particles interact? how about electricity, how does it really work? how about magnetism? these are things we use every day of our lives yet we take them for granted? these are things that a lot of us have learned about but we may have forgotten most of the details. why? i guess interest in the topic could be an answer. but doesn’t is bother you that your ignoring the very things that make the universe you live in function? it bothers me more than i’d like to admit. ok, maybe priority is an answer … obviously the health of a family member or your daily job is more important than understanding gravity. i do however think that it’s important to not take for granted the things that dominate and run the world around us.


maybe science isn’t your forte, what about politics? do you really understand how our system of government works? are you involved in the process? what i mean by this is, do you contact your senator or congressman to let them know your position on an issue? how about the middle east, do you really know the history of that region of the world? i know i don’t … yet we as a people are forcing our system of governing upon that region. don’t you think it’s important to understand why the rest of the world hates the united states? again, topics i know some things about but my ignorance is frightening.


i’ve always thought of myself as someone who wants to know the why’s, yet as of late i feel like i’ve been neglecting them. not any longer … i need to take advantage of the technology i have to manage my time better. i need to take the time to relearn the things i’ve forgotten. i want to be someone who understands the issues that influence my generation. i want to be someone who participates in life instead of sitting back and letting life take me for a ride. lately i don’t think i’ve been that person. well, not any longer … from this point forward i will change, i will learn, i will work toward understanding and making a difference …

happy birthday to me … happy birthday to me … happy birthday to me … happy birthday to me


how old are you … 29 … ya I know … getting darn old aren’t i? i’ll always be younger than my brother though, hehehe, love ya bro!!!


had to work today but had a great dinner with amy and the team at work at fogo de chow. i love that place, amazing food, great wine, and phenominal service.


we’re heading to michigan for the weekend. hoping to swim, relax, bike, and see my family. we miss them a lot. i’ll write when i get back on monday.