woodbury

I spent the last 2 and a half days at home with my family in Woodbury, Minnesota. It was so beautiful there. It was lush and green and the weather was completely perfectly splendid. I didn't even get one mosquito bite. It was the first time in five years of visits to Minnesota that I didn’t hit up the night life of Minneapolis. Michael (brother) is quasi living at home and The Cunnien Ranch had only one operable vehicle. This meant no trekking to Minneapolis to enjoy one of the most underestimated, cosmopolitan, edgy cities in the Midwest. It was actually quite OK with me to spend my time at home in Woodbury. It was peaceful, relaxing, enjoyable and it was so nice to spend time with my family.

Going home to Woodbury has become bittersweet. I will always love going to my hometown and even more I will always love going to the home were I spent the first 21 years of my life. The place I grew up, Cottage Grove Drive, is not the same anymore. I grew up in the bonafide country. It was technically a suburb and "civilization" (in the form of a convenient store) was a mere 5-7 minute drive but, my childhood home was surrounded by corn fields and trees. It was a young boys paradise. Today, my parent's house is surrounded by $800,000, 3 car garage, two story, cookie cutter, suburban style homes. And I mean surrounded. What was once an enormous field where I spent many a summer day running through corn rows (actual rows of corn not hair) and building tree forts has become Woodbury's newest sub development, Stonemill Farms. It is indeed urban sprawl at its worst. Oh how I long for the Woodbury of my childhood.

myday on myspace

Thursday morning I woke up on Smay's couch. Mornings that start this way are never good! I spent the first few hours watching the first season of Gray's Anatomy. After that grew boring I decided to slum on myspace. I did a search for some old high school friends and I was completely disturbed to find a plethora of Woodbury folk who finally got around to joining the myspace craze. I sent off some reuniting emails to people I haven’t seen for 8+ years. I saw myspace pages for people I forgot existed. It was interesting to hear how people had progressed in their conquest for happiness or fame.

After doing a little digging I came across a rather telling photo which prompted me to call my old high school buddy Marin in Austin, TX. I hate chatting on the phone but the two of us gabbed for an hour and a half about the people in our past. It was most amusing.

Check out this link to Martin's blog: http://www.notethisblog.com/2006/08/past-drags-me-out-of-closet-and-kicks.asp

happy birthday mindy!

Dinner at 9 seventy five.

Ccocktails at DC10. That bar is a complete tragedy on the weekends. Patrick's suggestion... Enjoy happy hour 3-7 every week night or 3-2am on Sundays.

Cruised Broadway looking for a place to wear our dancing heals. No luck! We did get to see the cast of Real World departing Shelter (Denver's newest Chad & Trixie Club)

Took in a night cap and a few karaoke performances at Armida’s.

Worked on our buzz and baked cookies back at the Emerson Plaza.

happy fucking birthday, julie!

Julie turns 28 today. She is clearly obsessed with her Birthday as it is all she has talked about today for fucks sake. Either way:

H A P P Y

F U C K I N G

B I R T H D A Y

J U L I E... we love you, I guess.

weekend bbq a smasing success

What was meant to be a small gathering turned into a reunion of sorts. Michael Mancini and I decided to have a small "nearing the end of summer" soiree. After a few phone calls it turned into a rather healthy gathering. The Emerson Plaza gang (aka my neighbors) showed up in rather impressive amounts. I must admit my timing in the whole barbequing thing was rather off. My meat came later then I would have preferred it to. Although, my mother's broccoli salad was a huge success. And, thank God, because as I mentioned above my meat came out later then I wanted it to.

I also decided to make Sangria. Well, I sort of fucked it up. Well I decided to make my Sangria in one of those big ass bottles that cheap, shitty table wine are housed in. Well, I shoved the fruit through the small bottle neck. In the end 6 peaches, 4 oranges & 4 lemons were stuck in the bottle. What the fuck, Patrick?? Better Sangria next time.

the trouble we're in.

Sometimes I think that the planet Earth and all of her inhabitants are part of a big fat experiment. If my theory is true are we not living up to our experimenters hypotheses? Or are we doing exactly what he or she or it thought we would do, grow paranoid and start killing each other. This planet and its inhabitants are simply out of control.

A few of my Christian friends seem to think that the end is near. Jesus will return. I think they may be partially right. Poor mother Earth simply can't sustain the ever growing virus on her skin, the human race. The damage we are causing to our home, Earth, and to each other is simply outrageous.

I have often thought about how we humans are only around for 80 odd years then we pass this planet on to the next generation, out off spring. Nobody really has a personal stake or a real distinct reason for keeping mother Earth healthy. By the time things get bad enough we will all be dead.

I wonder if mother Earths deteriorate health is the reason everyone is so edgy lately? Or is it the ever presence of "terrorism" around the world? Or is it that we are all so wrapped up in aspiring to make as much money as possible so we can buy as much as possible?

The inhabitants of mother Earth are getting angrier and less tolerant!
Uh-oh!

the nerd that I am.

I purchased this airline simulation game from some company in Australia. I waited two excruciatingly long weeks for the software to arrive. I installed it. It is simply the slowest thing I have ever seen. My IBM PCjr was faster than this thing. A while back I played an earlier version of the same game at it was delightful. Unfortunately I loaned it to a friend who has seemed to have misplaced it. Damn it!

The whole premise of the game is to build an airline empire. You start small with small DC9 aircraft flying from Minneapolis to Fargo and before long (if you play your cards right) you are purchasing 747 aircraft to serve routes like London to Tokyo. It is just that exciting. You can decide the seating configurations and the type of meal service your airline will offer.

I have sent an email to the company in Australia inquiring if there is something I can do to speed the thing up. We will see if they can help.

back in the swing of it!

I don't believe I informed my blog audience but, back in May I started working a new and cruelly unusual shift at work, 4:15am to 12:45pm. I was assigned a similar shift briefly when I worked in Minneapolis, but for almost my entire U** career I have been on a night (swing shift.)

While I was on this shift I would wake up at 2:45am to be in the car by 3:15am to be in the parking lot by 3:45am to catch the bus to be at the required shift start briefing by 4:15am. My social life this summer lacked considerably not that it mattered as I was constantly tired. I certainly don't miss listening to that atrocious alarm clock of mine wail at 2:45 in th a.m.

2 weeks ago I was granted a 12:30pm to 9:00pm. It is considerably much more civil.

hey, at least it's a dry heat.

mmmmm hot hot dry dry... yummy!

goddamned fucking global ass warming!

has the blog novelty worn off?

Could this be the reason I haven't updated my blog in a while? I am really very lazy but, according to the book Affluenza it's OK to be lazy, after all Thoreau was essentially lazy and look at what a successful poetic figure he was.

OH JULIE!
I had a really lovely dinner with Julie O. last night. After attempting a parking spot that rivals the type of tight ass you look for during a one night stand we opted against the newly opened Steuben’s. The menu looks pretty darn standard but the interior looks less then inferior. We then went for the gold standard, Watercourse, but those fucking liberal hippy vegans aren't open on Monday's. hmmm What would Thoreau think of this. Kudos to them I say. Mead street station was the "third time is a charm." I thought the food was standard bland but, I did order off the "healthy wraps" menu so it was quite ok.

After debating the health effects of clove cigarettes we decided to get some and see for ourselves if they really are that harmful. They are. It feels like a civil war (war of northern aggression for you southern types) calvary stampeded across my throat in the night. We got some coffee from Paris on the Platte and strolled to see Michael Frazier at his new loft.

FYI, Little Raven Vineyards is a really great wine shop with a really great owner named Karen Saenz. She helped coach me through a selection of red that would not react with my newly self diagnosed tannin allergy. She was awesome.

Michael Frazier’s new pad is amazing. Lofts like his give me hope for Denver. It was an old bank. The floors, ceilings and walls are all laid concrete. It makes me want to sell this shit in Washington Park and gitty up downtown.

the 2006 rafting trip

22 of us in 4 rafts braved the extra strong flow of the Arkansas river in a 7 hour, high intensity, 16 mile, white water rafting trip today . The weather was drippy and overcast but each of us had donned a wet suit so we were all quite cozy and comfortable.

After lunch the members of our raft (named no name) shifted positions (I moved from front right to middle left) this act made our boat "unbalanced" and a ways down the river we learned of the implications of improper weight and balance on a raft as I was violently tossed from the boat.

Further down the we attempted a "surf" which is where you fight the water to rest the raft at the base of a mini waterfall or "hydraulic" and let the raft just surf. We were very unsuccessful and I was sucked out again and bounced right under the raft and was shot out the other side. Ellen and Geoff, two members of our rafting team, also were violently tossed from the boat.

All in all it was a great experience. We were the only boat to have passengers get ejected. Our guide Dave, whom I had the fortune of being with on last years trip, has 11 years of experience and is a bit of a risk taker which would account for our rafts turbulent and dramatic voyage . I will request him next year.

Thanks to Dave, our guide, and my fellow raft mates: Ellen Sarcone, Mindy Lee, Chris Young and Geoff Larson, we had a really great team and a lot of memories that will last a lifetime.

bailey informs mike and matt about his asian heritage

happy birthday bill!

Today my dad turns 57. Happy Birthday dad!

happy day after easter day!

Jeez! When I was young nobody flew on the holidays. Yesterday the airport was full of needy holiday traveling families. Of course it didn’t help that all the flights I was assisting were California bound. Those people annoy me! It's like they all think Hey look at me I live in California and I am EXTRA special.

I had too much candy around me yesterday. What is it about holidays and getting fat? What do people think? It's like Jesus was resurrected today so, have a chocolate bunny and a peep or two. I have decided to strip my home of all candy! I have a jar of chocolate covered macadamia nuts and some m&m's. I can't have this temptation around me! This is the same principal that I use when I leave my cogarettes in the glove box. It's just less tempting. I am so super glad I am not in possession of any chocolate covered cigarettes.

CHLOE DAO

Last night, in a stunning shock, Chloe took home the gold medal from season 2 of Project Runway. I honestly thought, that once Santino was out of the picture, Daniel V was the sure bet but, I was sorely wrong. I must say that I was most impressed with Daniel V’s reaction. He didn’t look dismayed at all by this sudden loss. I think he may have been in as much shock as I was. If you are also sad about Daniel V's loss perhaps this will cheer you up: http://youtube.com/watch?v=6grHp7kOGMU&search=Simpsons%20Intro%20Opening

Either way, Congratulations Chloe!

hump day inappropriateness

http://www.goodiebag.tv/video/do_you_take_it.htm

The Project Runway season finale is tonight. My vote goes for Daniel V. His design and execution are simply superior. GO DANIEL V!

thought of the day

How many of you have found yourself in this predicament?

michael's visit to denver!

Michael was very impressed that this
city grew from a single cow patty.

Gail, Michael(s) & I enjoy libation.

Michael notices he is 5,280 feet above sea level
while he rests on the state capital steps.

The higest peak of the annex of
the Denver Art Museum.

The famous Fox Theatre in Boulder.

How do they make piss water... The Coors Brewry tour.

Hops, one the four key ingredients in Coors shitty beer.
Ah, Red Rocks!

The Brass Kings preforming at the Ubisuburi Lounge.

home

I am going home tonight. I haven’t been back to Minnesota since last June. I believe this is the longest I have been away from Minnesota.

dorothy, stop the room from spinning!

It's always interesting to see the things people come up with to do when they are broke. I am broke. It's quite eerie how much money I haven't been spending lately. I need to employ this sort of thriftiness when I am not as broke. I always feel like the whole world is out partying the weekends that I find myself too broke to enjoy the splendors of weekend life. This past weekend was no exception. I received several beckoning calls to join various Friday and Saturday night gala's, but I was so unable. It seems that when I have adequate cash to fund a weekend night out I don't receive half as many invites.

Friday night, as the world was squeaking into their dancing jeans and donning their tight t-shirts, I was on my way to Mancini's for quick cocktail or two. Once I arrived, we took a quick vote, and opted for season 3 of Sex in the City and Vodka soda with a slash of orange juice. Four episodes and two very tall ones later I took my exit. Laying in bed that night, I couldn’t help notice that the goddamned room was spinning. I hate that feeling, I really do.