Nuggets of Denver

Well, a few weeks ago, I won a free night's stay at the Adam's Mark hotel in Denver.
It happened at the "Care Rally" that we had, when the general manager read a letter from a customer to the hotel, and the letter was about how I personally had taken care of him. So the GM had me come up and spin the wheel of prizes, and I got a good one.

Sarah and I had plans for the next few weekends, or responsibilities, so we put it off for awhile. This weekend, we were free, so we decided to go out Friday night, and spend Saturday wandering around. Our hotel was really nice, and we were on the 15th floor, so we had a good view. Here's a pic from our hotel room, as well as a picture of the 16th street mall (Which you can see from our room.) and a pic of a sculpture outside, and a few downtown buildings.


The night was good. It was cool to sleep in a king bed. We ate dinner at Chilis on the 16th St. mall, and went over to the theatre to see Benchwarmers. The next morning, we got up around 9 or 10, and ate breakfast/lunch at a little place called the Extraordinary Egg. Very good service, decent food. Then we wandered around the downtown area. It's a beautiful city. There was a building I remembered from when I'd been here back in 97, and I was able to get directions to it. It's an ornate catholic church at the corner of 19th and Broadway called the Church of the Holy Ghost. A few years back, they were offered a big deal for the land they're on. A corporation wanted to put a skyscraper there, and the church was in the way. Well, the church had been there forever, and didn't want to move. This happens alot in cities, but not necessarily the resulting solution. The church and the business met a compromise in that the church sold the airspace above them, and enough surrounding area to put the base of the skyscraper for 2.5 million. They used the money to build a youth center for kids in the poor area of the city. The resulting image is one of architectural ingenuity. I'll post a few pics, but it's really something to see.


Finally, I was taking a few pics around the house the other day, and got this one of Sarah. It's really cute, and I thought I'd share it.

Pictures

Took some pictures this last week.
Here's me at my hotel...







Here's a montage of photos from the interior of the hotel, with a picture of Pike's Peak in the background.

The pic of the mountain is from the back parking lot of our church.

Weakerthans

Last night, on my way home, I was listening to the album "Left and Leaving" by the emo/indie band The Weakerthans. Many people I know will overlook any album connected to emo, despite how good it might be, and I can understand their reasoning. (For the uninitiated, "emo" is a genre of music that has sprung up in the last 8 years or so. It is short for "emotion" and is basically hard, screamy music, with enough emotional content that some bands in the genre cry on stage. It started out as something original, very quickly got copied, just as quickly got annoying, and it has turned off as many fans as it has generated.) I would not consider the Weakerthans emo, but they are on an emo label, and that's enough for most people to hate them.

I cannot stress enough, the lyrical quality on this album, and it is strongly supported by an incredibly talented musical base. The drums on the last 30 seconds of the song "This is a fire door, never leave open" are amazing. Easily some of the most engaging drums this side of the Mississippi.

Needless to say, I want to post a few lyrical excerpts from the album. If you have the chance, pick it up. With an open mind, and a few listens, I have the feeling that you'll love them too.

From the song "Left and Leaving"
- "My city's still breathing but barely, it's true. Through buildings gone missing like teeth."
- "Wait for the year to drown. Spring forward, fall back down. I'll try not to wonder where you are."
- "I wait in 4/4 time. Count yellow highway lines, that you're relying on to lead you home.

From the song "Pamphleteer"
- "How I don't know what I should do with my hands when I talk to you, and you don't know where you should look, so you look at my hands."

From the song "Exiles among you"
- "She shoplifts some christmas gifts, and a bracelet for herself, and considers phoning home. Has some quarters in her hand. But she sits down on the sidewalk, and bites her bottom lip, and spends the afternoon willing traffic lights to change."

From the song "My favourite chords"
- "They're tearing up streets again. They're building a new hotel. The mayor is out killing kids to keep taxes down. And me and my anger sit, folding a paper bird, letting the curtains turn to beating wings. Wish I had a socket set, to dismantle this morning. Just one pair of clean socks, and a photo of you. When you get off work tonight, meet me at the construction site, and we'll write some notes to tape to the heavy machines. Like 'We hope they treat you well', 'Hope you don't work too hard', ' We hope you get to be happy sometimes.'"

From the song "Aside"
- "And I'm leaning on this broken fence between past and present tense. And I'm losing all those stupid games that I swore I'd never play, but it almost feels ok."


-----------------------------•••-----------------------------•••-----------------------------

Other bands neglected for the same reasons that deserve a listen:
• Last Days of April
• The Helms
• Jimmy Eat World

Hoist that rag

I feel like a pirate today. I am listening to the ultra-awesome song by Tom Waits "Hoist that rag" off of his 2004 album Real Gone. It's gotta be about being a pirate. At least a little.

Things have been going very well, but busy. Real busy. It's kinda nice, because now we won't fly into babyhood straight from boring, slow, lonely life. We have had alot of events at church, doctor appointments, and good times with new friends... which balanced with a really weird new schedule makes for a very tired little duo.

Sarah's been having a harder time lately. She pretty uncomfortable. Cute, but uncomfortable. Here's a picture.


I've been working 4:30 am - 1 pm. It's got advantages, but I'm just bushed when I get home. It's hard to get to bed before 8, and so most days I get 5 hours sleep. Sarah's dealt with it, and we've been making the most of our time together, but she's tutoring 4 days a week now, as Halie needs to catch up on her studies. So I get home, we get a few hours, and then she's off to tutor, and by the time she's back, I'm in bed, or getting there.

I am so excited about the baby. He's almost here! It's so cool to see him move, and know what he's doing. He's had hiccups the last few days. It weirds Sarah out, but it's pretty funny to me.

I'm almost to the point when I can announce our cool new news. It's just not all together yet.

Well, that's it for today, oh, and for the gullible out there, that was not a picture of our church event. It just looked funny, so I put it up.

cya.

Funny picture

Haven't posted in awhile. I have some possibly exciting news on the way, but I'll wait till it's a bit more solidified before putting it up here. Woke up this morning for a men's breakfast with the guys from church. Cracker Barrel. Awesome. I love Cracker Barrel. Their apple butter is great.

Oh, anyway. I was browsing through some pictures in my iphoto collection and came across this gem from last Halloween. It stars some of my good friends from Starbucks back in Woodridge, IL.

George is the dinosaur.
Mike is Mr. Incredible.
Michelle is an angel.
And Emily is the plastically endowed nascar racer.

It's priceless.

Cool quote

Found this cool quote the other day. Definitely the man I want to be.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly... who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who have never known neither victory nor defeat."

- Teddy Roosevelt

Day off.

Ahhhhh....

It was so weird waking up when it's light outside. Feels good though.

Woke up this morning and made breakfast. Bacon, scrambled eggs and biscuits with raspberries inside. (I took regular Pillsbury biscuits, and cut them down the side before cooking, spread a mixture of raspberries and sugar inside that I had microwaved for a couple seconds, and pinched the sides shut again. Regular baking time, and they were ready to go.) It turned out great, and was a fun way to start our day off together.

Sarah tutors Halie tonight. Oh! I didn't mention. Now that Halie is back from the Olympics, she needs to catch up on her studies. This means that Sar will be tutoring every weeknight, except for Wednesdays, and that means alot more money. And some alone time for me before the baby comes. I beat a computer game I've been playing for a long time, and I've had a chance to catch up on some reading.

Currently, I'm reading a book on preaching by Haddon Robinson. It's really great. Very eye opening. I finished a book or two by Origen, an Alexandrian theologen in the 200s. He was a bit off on quite a few things, but some of his ideas, and ways of explaining things are still used today.

Well, if I'm describing breakfast, and what I've been reading, it's proof that I don't really have a whole lot to say right now, so I'll stop for today.

Peace and thank you.

Back in black.

Well, these last two weeks have been exhausting. I've switched to a 4:30 am to 1 pm shift. It's nice because I'm off work so early, but it's been taking a toll on my body. Once I get adjusted to it, I'll be fine.

Needless to say, I've been too tired to write, and I couldn't think of anything when I did have the energy. Since I was needed at work last Sunday, I have a three day weekend this week. My boss has been great about scheduling me what closely resembles a regular work week. Next week, I'm Monday through Friday, all 4:30-1. That's the most reliable and regular schedule I've had in years. It feels nice to not have to worry about working a night here, and morning here, and midshift here... It lets me adjust, and build up a routine.

We've been doing a bit of shopping with the gift cards we received from the shower. We got a carseat the other day. It's very safe, and looks nice. I think we got one that will be easy to manuever and easy to clean. We never did get that camera. The offer expired, so we'll get one when we find another offer as good or better. But it'll be hard, that was a great deal. It's disappointing, but it's more important to pay bills right now.

We started parenting classes at the hospital last week. It used to be called Lamaze (sp?) and has to do alot with being informed along with relaxation and breathing techniques. We had fun, and met some nice couples. I am so excited about the baby, it's not even funny. I've been working on my sign language, and studying up on baby signing. It's really neat... Babies can understand you, and communicate with you using signs long before their vocal chords are mature enough to handle language. Signs like "More" "All done" "Pain" "Where?" and "Milk" are just a few of the everyday signs you can use with your baby. They generally start signing back around 6-8 months old, not to mention that they're essentially learning to be bilingual.

This week at work, we had several conventions in. One of which was a space emposium, which brought astronauts, mission control specialists, rocket scientists, and folks from every aerospace company you can imagine to Colorado Springs. Buzz Aldrin was here yesterday. I didn't get to meet him, and he wasn't staying in the hotel but was out to eat in the downtown area with friends who were staying at the hotel. I met the mission controller who was in charge of the flight directly following the Colombia tragedy. It was so interesting to spend time hearing what happened from a man who was in mission control when it happened. His office is across the hall from the mission controller of the Colombia, and he was very involved in the efforts to have NASA investigate the damage before reentry. He went to school with Onizuka of the Challenger tragedy back in 1986, and works in Houston. Today, I met a teacher from Florida who runs a space simulator camp for teens. She has a mock-up shuttle and mission control. She gave me a tee-shirt. I think I'll send it to my dad. He'd love it. It's named Challenger something or other. Needless to say, it's been a pleasure having so many intelligent people around. Just listening to conversations has been fantastic. Let alone the ones they've had with me. They're so excited about going back to the moon. There are so many natural resources that they're ready to start evaluating, and habitation... it's gonna be cool.

Well, tonight we're going to a party for a bellman who's moving to Georgia. He's been real cool, and it'll be sad to see him leave. It's at a Jamaican bar in the area. It's run by a waiter from the restaurant in the Antlers, and is called "Irie." (For those of you who are not familiar with the term, it's Jamaican for "alright.")

Hopefully, I'll be writing more. Thanks for hanging in there.

Peace.

New schedule, and fessin up.

Well, today I started work at 4:30 am. I will be doing the same thing all week. Couldn't be happier. The tips are great in the early morning hours, and my work day is over by 1.

Michael came in around six, and I pulled him aside as soon as I saw him. I was like, "remember how I said I was good at spinning? Yeah. I'm not. Don't know why I said that. I admire it, and enjoy hearing it. Never done it in my life."

He laughed, said that he's done stupid stuff like that before, and that we should start a support group for people who say dumb things together.

Needless to say, we have an inside joke now.

Thanks to everybody for your insightful commentary. It's interesting to see the different reactions and advice that one singular act can elicit.

money, food and pregnancy

Well, we've got more good news.
Our food stamps finally went through yesterday, two months worth, making up for the month that we were waiting for an appointment. We met with the people over at the office last Thursday, and were supposed to have our food stamps money later that day. (They use a card now, which works like a debit card, and separates food items from the rest of what you buy automatically. It's called a "quest" card.) But due to computer problems, things were delayed until last night.

We are so happy to have groceries in the house. All the money I've been making has been going to appease the bill collectors. We finally got our W2's from Starbucks, and filed our taxes. There were a ton of problems with the W2's as well, but it's stupid to go into that. Verizon will see the bulk of our return, but that will be one monkey off our back.

Things are going great at work. I am really excited about the future. Everything is looking up. I don't know if I'll be able to handle life without a major crisis. Thank goodness the baby is on the way! lol.

Sarah and I are going to a funeral today. One of my coworkers woke up the other morning to find his wife had died in her sleep. She was only in her 30's, and had some sort of seizure. He's pretty messed up, as one would figure. I can't imagine a more damaging thing to happen. Car accidents, and other risks in life are almost expected, and while they shock you, it's not right there... in bed with you. While you slept. Please keep him in your prayers. His name is Karl.

Oh, to end on a happier note, I told a bizarre little white lie the other day, and I have no idea where it came from, or why... but I have a feeling that it's going to try and humiliate me in the future. The supervisor of the front part of the restaurant at my job was talking to me the other day, and I showed him a cd mix I had made for another coworker. He liked the cover, and I said I had been a graphic designer, and that I still did stuff on the side. "I'll have to have you do the cover of my album!" he said. "You have an album?" I said. "Yeah... it's not done, but when it is..." and so on. The conversation led to the fact that it's a "philosophical rap" album, and that Michael, the dude I'm talking to, has been an underground rapper for quite some time. Participating in battles and the like. (For reference to "battles" watch 8 mile.) Well... I told him about my crazy first dorm in college, and about the battles that we used to have in the basement floor. All true. I used to battle a bit, and my dormmates would generally draw the battle lines between race. The puerto ricans and white guys vs. the black guys. Or other combinations. At this point, everything I said was true. Until I chose to say something really stupid. Perhaps "chose" was the wrong word. I said something stupid, and was just as shocked as he was when I said it. Now to preface what I said. I wanted to downplay my skills as a "battle" rapper. I am ok, but probably not near the calibre of this fine gentleman. But instead of merely downplaying my rapping skills, I apparently needed to justify it. I said, and I quote... "I'm not nearly as good at the rapping thing, as I am on turntables." WHAT????!!??! I mean. I listen to records, but I have NEVER EVER EVER scratched, dj'd... done anything of the like. He reacted with a great big "Really?! That's awesome man. I have to hear you sometime!" This bars me from ever hanging out with Michael in an arena where the possibility of me spinning could happen. Or I have to have someone teach me. It reminds me of the episode of coupling entitled "The man with two legs." I am Jeff. So all day, every time he sees me, he makes spinning motions, and says "I gotta hear you man!" I want to die.

Welcome to my stupid, stupid life.

Peace out!

Funny quote.

Since We're reviewing people's myspace accounts...

On my sister-in-law, Jessica's myspace. She has a quote from a friend, referring to Jessica's boyfriend. "He is so good with gifts. like the time he got me socks when my grandfather died."

I laughed so hard I blew my nose on accident.

That is the best thing ever. I am so getting somebody socks the next time there's a death in the family.

The greatest picture ever taken.

My friends Israel Martinez and Joe Cribbet from college. Israel posted this on his myspace, and I think it is the funniest thing I have ever seen.

Back from Chicago...

Well, it's been a couple days since I posted. I do apologize for the absence.

Sarah and I had a wonderful time back in Illinois. It was so great to see family, friends, and most importantly, eat Portillos hotdogs. The shower went very well. We had a great turnout, and alot of great gifts. My family came from as far as New York, and we all stayed at Sarah's parent's house. It was alot of fun, and slightly hectic, but all in all, fantastic. Our flights to and from Chicago were uneventful, and suprisingly pain-free. Two of the planes were cramped, especially for Sarah, but otherwise, it was a great trip.

During the week in Illinois, I turned 26. My family and I went out for a birthday breakfast for my sister and I. Tammy turned 24 in February. I got some dollas, that I will be teaming up with some of the money from Sarah's shower to buy a nice digital camera. We found one at a fantastic price, and it's a great camera with glowing reviews.

Speaking of which, in my absence, the hotel received a letter from a customer who I helped a few weeks ago. He was having trouble breathing, so I ran to his car to get his oxigen tank, and then pulled the car around when he was feeling better. Apparently, the letter was so kind, that Ron, the hotel manager, read it in the upper management meeting. I heard the news when I got back, and have had several of the upper management congratulate me personally. I have also been blessed with several chances to continually prove myself valuable to the management. I couldn't be happier with where I am. Money has been ok. I can't wait for a more normal morning schedule. Nights never do as well as mornings, and the morning crew is better.

In other news, we no longer have cell phones. Honestly, I don't know when I want to get another one. They are so obnoxious in so many ways. I am just sick and tired of people being able to reach me whenever they want, and expecting me to answer if I have the ability. It's just so presumptuous, and frustrating to have someone get upset at you for not wanting to be contacted. I love people, and I love to talk, but sometimes, I just want to be indisposed. I don't necessarily want to return your message... I know, it sounds like I'm a crotchety old man, but I seriously have gotten fed up with being responsible to anyone with my cell number. So we have a home phone. It's through Vonage. An awesome product. It uses your broadband connection as a phone line, and is only $24 a month. For unlimited calls to the US and Canada. Laurie, expect more calls.

Well, that's it for now. Peace out dudes... I gotta motor.

Place of smelly onions

We are headed to Chicago in the morning.
I am really excited. Sarah has been doing nearly all the preparation work for the trip, as I have not been motivated to take care of it. I don't know why. But it's been good. She's had a project, and it's allowed me to focus on working.

We will be flying out of Denver around 7:30, so we need to get there early. When we get to Illinois, we have a full schedule. My family will be arriving from Ohia, and my sister Tammy will be coming with her husband from New York. Sarah's going to be visiting her college to see her former professors, and she has been asked to sit in on an interview they are holding for one of the teaching positions on campus. She used to do that from time to time when she was there, and now she is being asked to do it because they want her input. Pretty cool.

I am excited to see the family, and my best friend Ryan again. It's been too long. He came out at Thanksgiving, but with Sarah sick, and life all topsy-turvey at the time (good thing it's been normal lately... - a joke-) it wasn't that great of a time. This should hopefully be alot better.

The job is going great. I got sized for the new uniforms that we're getting in, and the head of the front office at the hotel sized me for a different uniform than the rest of the bellmen/valets. A not so subtle hint that I'm getting the supervisor job, and soon. I couldn't be happier. It's the only job where I've been paid to wander around and help people. I call it "wandering effectively." If I'm not effective, I don't make any money, so it is kind of like commission.

In other news, we ate Chicago-style Lou Malnotti's pizza last night with our pastor, his wife and sons. It was great. We had a fun time enjoying eachother's company, and playing around with the boys who are still very young. They're named cowboy names which is pretty cool. Wyatt and Zane. I always hear this song that my dad had on a record from his childhood. It had the themesongs to a bunch of old TV shows for kids. Annie Oakley, Howdy Doody, Rin Tin Tin, Mighty Mouse, and Wyatt Earp. I hear that song in my head each time I see the kid. "Wyatt Earp, Wyatt Earp... brave courageous and boooooold! Long live his name, and long live his glory, and long may his story be toooooooold!"

We finally got my W2s from Sbux. About time. Now we can do our taxes. I'm sure they'll be good to us this year.

Let me see. That's it for now. Post away in the comments section. I'll try to write while I'm out there, but if not, see you next week.

Peace.

Homesick and Left Out

Feel family-sick today. It's a good thing we get to see them next week. It's been long enough.
To quote the epic band "Left out" from their song "Two girls and a guy":

Her name was Olive,
I loved her like no other woman.
I could tell her anything...
she's my mom.

Miss my family
they're far away from me.
Moved across the country,
hope I make them proud...

His name is Mike,
we are so much alike.
We don't always see eye to eye,
My friend Mike, my dad.

----------------------------------------

I always listen to that song when I'm homesick. I just yell my parents names over the names in the song. It makes me happy.

In other music news, I picked up the new Sun Kil Moon album from the library the other day. It's called Tiny Cities, and is completely made of covers of Modest Mouse songs. For a band to do such an unusual album as their sophomore release is really strange. Sun Kil Moon's "Ghosts of the Great Highway" is one of the best albums I've ever heard, and to listen to all these Modest Mouse songs I love in a totally different style is fantastic. Couldn't be more impressed.

So the other day, Sarah and I were out, and I had to stop at a public restroom. The urinals were painted black. Now, for the ladies in the audience, this won't strike you as strange, but in my vast restroom experience, urinals are ALWAYS white. They aren't iPods. They don't come in a white or black version... It was weird. Like I was in some sort of parallel universe.

Work is going great. I figured it out, and I am averaging $64 a day in tips. That's awesome. It means that in the end, I'm making more than I was at Starbucks. Thanks so much for all your prayers. We're digging ourselves out of this gigantic hole. In news relating to the hole, our phones have been disconnected. We're going to leave them that way. Our contract is up in a day or two, and we've hated being with Verizon, so we're leaving. For the time being, as we pay them off, we will be getting a Vonage account. It's not a cell phone, it's essentially landline through an internet connection, but it will give us unlimited usage to the US and Canada. So Sarah will be able to stay in contact with all our family and friends, and I'll get to stay in contact with all our bill collectors. :)

Well, that's it for today.

Peace