Yes... For those of you wondering, or for those of you who have even spotted me in Charm City, I am here in Baltimore, and have been for a few weeks.
Whenever I try to sneak into my hometown, I wind up running into people who are surprised to see me here, and not in Phoenix... Part whim, wonder, part work, part homesickness, April presented some unique reasons for an East Coast visit...
Whim? Well, I've been planning an extended visit for a while, but got caught up with freelance activities in Arizona, mainly a request to help out at Denise Resnik & Associates, a public relations and marketing firm I've maintained as freelance client for a few months. The freelancing life is exciting like that -- sometimes never knowing when or where I'll be asked to work. However, unexpected assignments also help to pay for whim purchases like plane tickets. So, as soon as assignments were done and tickets were bought, off I went.
Work (as in Career), was the reason for attending the 42nd International Conference on Fundraising, presented by AFP - the Association of Fundraising Professionals, held on the weekend of the 5th at the Baltimore Convention Center. It was a chance to see some friends and colleagues who were either presenting, exhibiting or merely attending sessions too. Yes, a great networking opportunity for the East Coast side of my activities.
Baltimore was also the location of the Miss USA Pageant, held this month at the renovated Hippodrome Theater. No, I did not get in, but I managed to get close enough that afternoon to take a few pictures. Knowing that the long-awaited renovation of the long-vacant Hippodrome is complete, along with many other urban construction and revitalization efforts underway, do make me homesick. It has been quite a while since so much excitement was evident here... Two years away surely makes this point stand out. Baltimore City even recently announced its first budget surplus in decades, thanks mostly to a booming real estate market. And Baltimore's Mayor was listed among the nation's top Mayors by Time magazine.
More? Yes... There's even more...
Baltimore, home of the nation's first Catholic Cathedral, known now as the Basilica, was an ideal place to reflect upon the death of Pope John Paul II. (By the way, the Basilica is currently undergoing a major renovation... speaking of the construction boom.) My family, which is not Catholic, has had relationships with Catholic institutions here. I attended the Jesuit Loyola Collage here, and my prep school is located across the street from St. Mary's Seminary, one of the most impressive seminary facilities in the country. The Pope visited Baltimore in the 1990s, and I have some great photos of his appearance at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, taken by my boss at the time, Don Blum... However, most notably, my mother just retired a few weeks ago from the Catholic nursing home St. Elizabeth's (formerly Jenkins Memorial), after 42 years there.
Art, Culture and Urban Events also bring me back... Like the first solo art show of friend and former neighbor Bharati Parekh... and the annual blooming of the famous cherry blossoms and the ensuing Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington. (Ask me for photos and video clips of both events.)
So, you're wondering if I am homesick enough to come back to live on the East (or, as a colleague in Washington says the "right")Coast? Well, I'll let you know soon, as I am in discussion with several organizations trying to woo me. And I am now officially entertaining other offers.
The adventure in Phoenix has been rewarding and educational... but my early prediction of spending just a few years in the Southwest may indeed be coming true.
Stay tuned for more details as they develop!
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Friday, April 8, 2005
Washington in Bloom
What would a trip to the East Coast in April be without a moment to see the Cherry Blossoms? It was not a very sunny day, but I took a moment in between appointments to sneak down near the mall to see this annual signal of Spring.
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