and I must confess it’s not solely due to reading your applications.  Let me explain why.

On my iPhone I have three locations set up on the weather icon –  Palo Alto,  the small town of Waimea on the Big Island of Hawaii and Eagle Rock, a neighborhood in northeastern Los Angeles.  These three locations carry significance to me beyond the simple “I wonder what the weather is like today” sort of thing.  These are three places that I’ve called home over the course of my lifetime – born and raised in that small town in Hawaii, college in Eagle Rock and now the roots run deep in Palo Alto.  While I check out Palo Alto’s weather for the usual reasons – bring the umbrella, leave the heels in the closet, take the raincoat, etc., the reasons for checking out the other two locations are more elusive. When it’s cold and rainy here or I miss the Hawaii connections, I wistfully look at the Waimea weather – usually warm with light showers – and memories flood back and I smile.  When it’s hot here or when I reflect on younger days, I look at Eagle Rock  – where it’s usually even hotter with no breeze – and memories flood back and I smile.  This morning, when I took my stroll through the three locations, what to my amazement do I see?  Snow predicted in Palo Alto on Saturday…really!  I can’t believe it.  If it does indeed snow, I am taking a break from reading files and calling it a snow day – well, at least the Palo Alto version of a snow day.  Maybe enough snow will fall for me to make snow angels.  I’m giddy just thinking about it.  (Go find a copy of the picture book The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats and remember what it’s like to look at the world with awe.)

Okay, I’ve gotten that out of my system.  I’m going back to reading applications.  As an update, we’re still making our way through file reviews.  The class is not full.  Decisions are going out fairly regularly although not daily.  I’m making some calls later this morning and hopefully will be making some tomorrow as well.  I can see the glimmer – it’s not a true light yet – at the end of the tunnel.