Hey, we're the Bowlings, and this is our blog. There's me, Harlan, and my beautiful wife, Yvette. We have a beautiful baby boy named Baron that keeps us on our toes. And if that wasn't enough, we own a little design shop called Paradigm, and have a forthcoming project called The Paradigm Exchange (More on that later). We live life as abundantly as possible, and we're hoping this blog allows us to share our life with you.

MLB Parks Tour #9 – U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago, IL – 2009

Posted 05.23.13 by Harlan | Leave a Comment

Working through these as quickly as I can preparing for the trip in June!

As I said in the previous installment on Wrigley Field, Yvette and I really loved Chicago. I think we were surprised to like it as much as we did actually. We have always been huge fans of Boston and of New York City as well, but Chicago always had that tertiary “oh yeah” quality to it. That faded very quickly as we spent time there. The trip from our hotel in the Northwest O’Hare Rosemont area to the more southern “Comiskey Park II” was an interesting one. We decided we wanted to visit the University of Chicago as well, and that train ride took us on a very unique journey through the different cultures and communities of Chicago. That train ride alone is a blog post all it’s own.

U.S. Cellular Field was built in 1991 season, after 81 years in the original home of the White Sox, Comiskey Park. It was initially named Comiskey Park II, until 2003 when U.S. Cellular bought the naming rights. It’s gone through many iterations and renovations over the years, some due to fan complaints, namely the very steep upper deck (which we sat in) that was the subject of many fan’s scorn. On the other side of the coin, perhaps one of the most recognizable features of “The Cell” are the pinwheels on the centerfield scoreboard, a holdover from Bill Veeck’s original installation at the original Comiskey Park. They make up part of the “exploding scoreboard” that was one of the first to feature a combination of fireworks and lights when the Sox would score home runs.

MLB Parks Tour #8 – Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL – 2009

Posted 05.13.13 by Harlan | Leave a Comment

Working through these as quickly as I can preparing for the trip in June!

Chicago is an undeniably unique and wonderful city. From Sears Tower to Lincoln Park to El-Trains to that big, shiny, reflective bean thing in Millennium Park, Chicago is bursting at the seams with culture. And no Chicago culture tour would be complete without visiting one of America’s most iconic ballparks…Wrigley Field. You simply cannot look out from the seats of the “friendly confines”, see the ivy walls, the old scoreboard, and the unofficial rooftop seats, without feeling transported to the glory days of classic hardball. Wrigley was stop #2 in our 4-stop summer road-trip through Kansas City, Chicago, and St. Louis. In short, Chicago did not disappoint.

Wrigley Field was originally named Weeghman Park when it was built in 1914 to host the Chicago Whales. In 1916 the Cubs began use of the park, when chewing-gum billionaire William Wrigley, Jr bought the park in a trust with Weeghman. The field went by Cubs Park from 1920-1926, until it was finally dubbed Wrigley Field. It’s the oldest National League park in Major League Baseball, and the second oldest park in all of the MLB to Fenway (1912). The iconic Ivy was planted in the outfield in 1937, and has served as one of the most recognizable stadium features in baseball ever since. I could go on and on.

We had a great time at Wrigley, and sat in some of the oldest seats in baseball. Can’t beat that.

MLB Parks Tour #7 – Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO – 2009

Posted 05.07.13 by Harlan | Leave a Comment

Working through these as quickly as I can preparing for the trip in June!

The trip that involved Kansas City was a really exciting one for Yvette and I. We had already been a lot of places, not to mention stadiums, but for some reason, the idea of getting on the road again across middle America had us in stitches. Kansas City was the first stop in a three-city, four stadium tour in the summer of 2009, which also included St. Louis and both Chicago ballparks. Kansas City is an underrated place, teeming with great food and culture. Even though we didn’t stay long, and it rained incessantly, we enjoyed our time nonetheless.

Kauffman Stadium was built in the early 70′s, but underwent major renovations starting in 2007 and going through the summer of 2009. The game we attended was in May of 2009, and the park just felt brand new. Adding to the sheen of everything was the incredible amounts of rain we received during the evening, making everything appear brand…spanking…shiny…new. We were concerned that the rain would ruin our parade, as we were leaving the day after for Chicago, but luckily we got the game in after a 2.5 hour delay.

MLB Parks Tour #6 – Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA – 2008

Posted 04.29.13 by Harlan | Leave a Comment

I promised last week that I’d get these all out before we go on our trip in June…so far so good. Sorry you’re going to be inundated with baseball posts for a while.

After spending a few days in sunny San Diego (I think it’s prounounced Sawn Diago…), we headed up Highway 1 toward the City of Angels. The trip up the coast was relaxing and beautiful, even if it took us twice as long as the 5 would’ve. After a few stops in Venice, Huntington Beach, and of course the Disney “mall”, we made our way into the valley and toward another iconic ballpark: Dodger Stadium.

Dodger Stadium has been around a while, and because of that, it’s got some mojo that’s hard to explain. Perhaps it was memories from my childhood spent in California, or maybe the overall feeling that Dodger Stadium is from an older era. Whatever it is…we loved being in California, and loved being at Dodger stadium.

MLB Parks Tour #5 – Petco Park, San Diego, CA – 2008

Posted 04.25.13 by Harlan | Leave a Comment

So I haven’t written an installment on our MLB Parks Tour in over a year…and the guilt is eating me up inside. Really though, it’s terrible I haven’t gotten these caught up yet. So I’m making you a deal. In about 8 weeks, Yvette and I are headed out on a trip that will add three more parks to our list. It just so happens I’m 8 behind (not including this one) on the parks we’ve seen so far. So each week over the next eight weeks, I will post one of the parks and our experience there. That way we’ll be caught up before our trip. Sound like a good enough deal? Good…let’s get on with it then.

San Diego is simply one of the few places on Earth that you just can’t complain about anything, ever. Beautiful weather, sunshine, pristine beaches, gorgeous people. Seriously, what’s there to complain about, other than your mortgage/rent for living there? Nevertheless, the California trip was a bit of a whim. We had gotten back from New York a month earlier (where we saw the Mets and Yankees), and were still feeling restless. Disneyland was calling Yvette pretty strongly, so we hopped in the car and headed that way.

Easter 2013

Posted 04.04.13 by Harlan | Leave a Comment

Had a wonderful Easter Sunday this year, filled with family, egg hunts, food, and fellowship with our church body and friends. We’ve been very blessed over the last several months to be taken in at Living Church and loved on. At any rate, a beautiful day meant lots of pictures.

Our blog is updating… please stand by.

Posted 03.19.13 by Harlan | Leave a Comment

I have this really bad habit of starting personal projects when I’m ridiculously busy. I don’t know if it’s just the increase in productivity making me delirious or what, but it never fails that I can’t complete the personal stuff in time. In this case…I started an overhaul on our blog design, making it more flexible and up to date on web standards (because I care about those things – and yes, because I’m a nerd), but didn’t take into account that Paradigm work has been off the charts. Great problem…but it’s sure making this blog look shoddy and incomplete. So bare with me for a bit while I get my head on straight, and I’ll get the kinks sorted out here as soon as I can.

And as soon as that’s done…maybe we’ll even start posting regularly again. What a novel concept.

Until then…keep the blue flag flying high.

Harlan

Reflections for a New Year: Regret, hope, and legacy.

Posted 12.31.12 by Harlan | Leave a Comment

I usually do a lot of editing to my writing. I try to be very clear and very precise about what I say and how I say it. This time around, I didn’t. What follows is a stream-of-consciousness rant that I think more adequately expresses the winding and messy journey life can be sometimes. It gets pretty personal and pretty real from here on out…for better and worse. It’s gritty because life is gritty. If you can handle that…read on.

I’ve written posts like this before. The twilight of another year invites reflection on the past and consideration toward the future. There’s the feeling that life is gradually slipping through your fingertips and at any moment you’ll look up and life as you know it will be over. It will be too late to do take that trip to Machu Picchu or to write the next great American novel. I’m not intending to be gloomy, it’s simply a fact. You and I are running out of time.

People take that feeling a few different ways. Some board up the windows to their souls and prepare for the storms of life and death to wash them away. Others put on that raincoat and power through, and live their days in a reckless abandon to fulfill all their goals. I think most of us find ourselves somewhere in the middle. We want the abandon but fear the storm. Maybe I’m the only one. I’m going to go out on a limb here and get deeply personal for a moment, if you’ll allow it. I want to share with you my greatest fear; the one that keeps me up at night and messes with my entire universe. Read more »