Blog.MichaelDogan.Com

I’ve been pretty busy, and haven’t posted anything new in a number of months.  Lauren and I have been busy working, preparing for the move to Rome, and of course my work travel schedule has remained just as hectic as ever.  There is, however, a development worthy of a timeout from our busy schedule to update the blog.  Nope, its not the new camera I’ve been socking away a few bucks here and there for… It’s the ring.  The one ring.  The one ring to rule them all… or to rule me at least.  Yes Lauren and I are engaged!  Since the word is out, she and I both have been asked repeatedly to send folks pictures.  Now before you go judging either the ring or my photography skills on the basis of these snapshots, I’d like to make a couple of points…. First of all, as noted at the beginning of the post, my new camera purchase has been well “superseded” by another purchase…  Secondly, jewelry, and diamonds in particular, are not exactly the easiest objects to take photos of.  All right, enough of my excuses.  Enjoy the photos… and wish Lauren luck.

In addition to wanting to see the ring, everyone seems to want to know how I proposed.  Particularly my friends who know of my impromptu walk across the country, or the time I left my job in Philadelphia to hop on a 113 year old Portuguese Tall Ship and sailed to Newfoundland, or perhaps my spontaneous “no particular Tuesday” trip to Tijuana, etc, seemed to expect some fanciful over-the-top story.  I hate to disappoint, but when I proposed, we weren’t strolling down Bourbon Street in New Orleans, nor were we having lunch on the shores of Lake Garda in Northern Italy, and we weren’t hovering over New York watching the golden sun set on the Big Apple.  As corny as it may sound, to me at least (and I hope for Lauren), it wasn’t about the moment I asked, it was about all of the moments we have shared that led up to the asking, and more importantly, all of the moments we have ahead of us.

Cheers – Michael & Lauren

Ok… I stole that from Julia.  As always, mom has the house decorated with bunnies and eggs, and everything else Easter, as well as of course the crucifiction and resurrection.  With my Dad, brother and myself always giving her a hard time, she always does a good job of making the house warm and welcoming and aptly decorated.  Good Job Mom!

Today was another beautiful day here in Roanoke and Lauren and I took advantage of the weather and strolled through my parents neighborhood.  It’s amazing to me how green the grass is, and how colorful all of the trees and flowers are.  I guess living in the city, and traveling to Brescia, Rome, Milan, Naples, and Genoa, etc…  well, I guess I spend most of my time in the city and forget how much I enjoy the greenery.

John came over and he, dad and I watched the final round of the Masters while mom and Lauren hung out upstairs chatting (only mildly frightening)  Actually, this was Lauren’s 3rd or 4rth trip to Roanoke, and she and Mom hit it off right away, so they have no problem sitting and chatting for hours.  That’s a good thing.  I think.  =)  The final round of the Masters was amazing.  I never thought I’d get so fired up watching golf on television, but the scenery in Augusta was truly breathtaking, and the match was full of unexpected twists and turns.

We had a wonderful dinner together, and then settled back downstairs to watch the final playoff of the Masters.  Julia stopped over for a little while.  It’s always good to see her.  I really wish she and I lived closer together.  Even though its been over a decade since we lived near each other, I still miss having her around.

Almost forgot…. Hoppy Birthday Holly Maybe!!!

Cheers,

- Michael Dogan

Lauren and I headed back to Roanoke Virginia, to see Mommy and Daddy Dogan for the Easter holiday.  Saturday was a beautiful day, so we headed downtown and made a stop by the O Winston Link museum.  Winston Link was a famous American photographer, most known for his absolutely incredible black and white railroad photography.  In particular, he is famous for “The Norfolk & Western Project”, where he chronicled the N&W as the last major class I railroad in the United States to make the move from steam to diesel.  As a little nod to some of Mr. Link’s B&W RR photography, here is a picture of the RR tracks which actually run just behind the museum and right through downtown Roanoke.  If you are interested in either photography, or Railroading, I highly suggest checking out some of his work.  You can start your search at the link above, or repeated here to his museum. In recent years, Roanoke has shed its image as a “railroad town” as others have surpassed the railroad as the major employer. However, without the N&W, Roanoke might not have existed.

After the museum, the four of us headed around the old market area and went for a little walk.  We grabbed a “dog” at the “world famous” Roanoke Weiner Stand, which has been in business in the same building since 1910.  My dad actually worked across the street at the florist shop as a kid.  I enjoyed the hot dog… I’m not sure Lauren shared my enthusiasm.  We walked through the Roanoke Market building (pictured above right) before heading back to the house for dinner.

It’s nice to be home.

- Michael Dogan

Back in the Burgh after three weeks in Italy.  Since I didn’t get back to the house until around 12:30 am Sunday morning, I took it pretty easy most of the day Sunday.  Despite the light rain, and overcast skies, Lauren and I decided to head up to Mount Washington to watch the sunset.  While we were there, we were joined by another amateur photographer who was taking pictures of a a stuffed monkey with Pittsburgh as the backdrop.  Apparently it was some sort of contest for a poker website.  At any rate, we stayed up on the hill watching the city grow darker, and the lights begin start to flip on across the city until the rain and cold finally drove us back to the warmth of the car, and then on to dinner at “Joe’s Crab Shack”.  Before we packed up the gear, I snapped off a few bracketed images… including a set that produced the image here.

Cheers,

- Michael Dogan

Friday, our last full day in Italy, and of course, I have to work.  Lauren spent several hours wandering through the

old city and happened across this hidden treat.  As you can see, she’s getting to be quite the photographer too!

Before leaving Brescia and heading to Genoa, the site of my next meetings, Lauren and I took a small side trip to Lake Garda. WOW. What a beautiful place. We only spent a couple of hours in the town, and I was on the phone working for about half of the time, but we really enjoyed it. The lake is surrounded by beautiful snow capped mountains, and quaint little towns. We grabbed a nice lunch, and then made our way to Genoa.

Mountains, sailing, Italy…. what could be better?

Cheers,

- Michael Dogan

Lauren and I spent most of the day near the Duomo in Milan. Just before sitting down for a nice lunch, we happened across a huge group of people gathered around and watching a clown entertain all of the kids. Armed with his roller skates, and without saying a word, he played a game of “Simon Says” with a group of kids, and then afterwards gathered them all around. At this point, I’m sure he said something, because all of their faces changed. Nervous excitement. Then suddenly he took off after one of them.

Like a lion singling a sole target from the herd, he skated after the screaming kid, the others scattering out of his way. As he caught each of the kids, he’d pick them up, and skate them back over to their parents. One kid, after witnessing his brother capture and upside-down skate back to his parents gave up and ran back to the safety of his family. The others didn’t give up so easily and put up quite the fight. One kid, perhaps trained by the Iraqi media, took off his shoe and threw it at the clown as he approached.

Looking at photos of this guy, my Mom commented that he looked like a former high powered business executive who finally had enough of the rat race, and now spends his days skating around with his red nose entertaining children.  I like to believe her little theory.  Maybe there’s a carefree future out there for all of us.  In the meantime… it’s back to work tomorrow, but it’s good to have Lauren here, and I’m sure she will enjoy exploring Milan until I’m finished working.

- Michael Dogan

I found myself in Naples on the day of the Scottish League Cup Final, and not a proper Irish or Scottish pub to be found. After scouring the internet, and interrogating a few locals, I determined that all neighborhood televisions would be tuned to the Napoli Reggina game and I’d be more likely to find a proper American cheeseburger than a pub tuned to Scottish football. I didn’t like the odds.

A quick visit to The North American Federation of Celtic Supporters Clubs website, which also has links to other supporters clubs worldwide, led me to Finnegan Irish Pub in Rome, home of the Celtic Supporters Club (CSC) known as “The Italian Bhoys”. Determined to watch the game, and even more determined to watch it surrounded by over zealous Scots dawning the infamous green hoops, I found my way to the train station in Naples, and headed off to Rome. Once there my trusty Blackberry Storm with built in maps guided me through the streets of Rome to the unassuming little Irish pub, tucked away in the center of the city.

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Well I spoke too soon.  So much for yesterday’s “beautiful day in the burgh”, as you can see from the photo, it’s raining like crazy here today.  We hopped in the car and just started driving. We ended up in Beaver County and enjoyed checking out the small towns along the way. We happened upon a park, and decided to take a gander. Less than a mile into the park, we found the bridge in the picture. I’ve seen too many videos of people trying to cross water like this, only to find themselves swept away by the current to try to cross it. We did get out of the car to take a look, snapped a few quick photos, and then got back to the car, and headed back to civilization. Not the most exciting of adventures, or road trips, but quite relaxing and enjoyable none the less. A day well spent.

Cheers,

- Michael Dogan

My thermometer disagrees with the scientists theories on this whole “global warming” thing. Pittsburgh has had too many days this winter that were in the single digits… or worse. It’s been blistering cold. Or perhaps I’m just getting older and less resistant to the foul weather. Whichever the case, today was a wonderful and welcome change.

It reached around 70F today and Lauren and I decided to head downtown to take a stroll. Continue reading