twelve minutes of my life...

that i can't get back. we just returned from downtown, where we wasted a couple hours wandering the mall, waiting for the overrated New Year's Eve fireworks show. i don't know why numerous people have recommended this lame show. i'm serious...there were no memorable mortar shells with huge sprays and colors. it was like watching the fountains that they sell during the 4th, when you didn't have time to go over the state line (to Wyoming) and were stuck with buying fireworks that don't even leave the ground. bleah!

ah well. at least we had a good dinner at the new Little India's on 15th and Champa. it had been at least three months since we went out for Indian, so we were chowing down on all that wonderful vindaloo and saag...sigh.

aside from the throngs of people and the lackluster show, life is good. now, if you'll excuse me, there's a bottle of wine (no champagne) in the refrigerator that's calling my name.

Happy New Year everyone!

'tis early...

getting cold outside. looks like we'll have some cooler weather for the next three days or so. guess the western slope is getting hammered with a winter storm that may dump up to a couple feet...better them than us. i'm still not ready for any 'real' accumulation of snow; that's what spring is for.

other than Mark (doing the right thing) and proposing to Nelle, did everyone have a good xmas? some interesting details in Derbs' and Rach's postings... i wonder if Dy has gotten through the '24' dvd season that papa murphy (not the pizza tosser) sent. what? did the wondrous cookie jar not captivate you for long heh

and i do NOT want that hulking piece of memorabilia for my b-day...or any other occasion. i just checked eBay and there are presently 8774 cookie jars up for auction. there's even a 'Wizard of Oz' set of 11 that has a bid for $1025... and of the 621 Beverly Hillbillies items, there isn't one single cookie jar among 'em. however, one lunch box is hovering around $55...some promise there. why not put the item up? of course, what would you tell yer mom the next time she came over and wanted to see her xmas piece de resistance? sure, "Emma broke it huh?" or is that the murder weapon used on Denny's art prof? you know, i bet it would make a phenomenal wedding present for someone ;) after all, she and her daughter are cookie baking fiends - so apropos for the occasion ;)

we broke down and went on a trip to Big Lots for marked down xmas items. of course, we went at 8PM and sifted through the dregs - mostly christmas tins and animal motif bags (pigs, cows, cats, oh my!). still, it's hard to pass up anything that's 75% off, especially if you're gonna use it next year anyway. may as well whack those two birds with one credit card, er, stone. it was some very well spent $15 for the three bags of things, full of .25 ribbon, .18 gift bags, and .25 wrapping tissue packs of 20 (nice designs and colors too).

looks like Big Lots has finally sold most of the bargain 39-cent pig ears for the dogs though...too bad. they're the best things to keep dogs distracted for almost an hour; you hear them slurp and gnaw...but at least they're out of the way ;)

ahhh, also got a manicure and pedicure at a new nail place about eight blocks away. lois had been there a couple times and wanted to get me a little treat even though we agreed on not getting any xmas stuff; i broke down too and got her a little novelty watch.

the shop, Nail Zone, hasn't been open for long though...less than six months. it's clean, well-lit, and spacious (if not a little starkly decorated). prices aren't the cheapest, but you still get a lot for the money. the four pedicure stations have massaging chairs and jet action foot tubs. the techs even give you calf massage/lotion and warm towels afterwards. if you get toenail polish, they give you some disposable zori sandals and lead you into a 'reading/waiting room' with a leather sofa, bar chairs, and a big, round magazine table.

it was a really relaxing 90 minutes. you know, pedicures are so good for de-stressing. i think people would go postal less often if they got more pedicures ;) that gun ain't gonna help anyone...howzabout some callous softener cream?

a nice gift though. it was my first manicure and it had been almost five years since my last pedicure. 'course, that was a memorable too - for the price. we got two pedicures, a haircut (for me) and some newly repainted and repaired nails (lois) for less than $9...only in Mexico. the three services today nabbed Lois for $70... oh well, self-indulgence is rarely affordable. whether it's that extra beer or two, boxa chocolates, or pedicure, we all pay for it in the end (sometimes it goes to yer end)...but it feels sooo good!

also went out to the newly renovated video store on 8th and Colorado. once a Blockbuster with extra shitty service, it has been transformed into an independently owned Corner Spotlight movie rental. prices are a bit cheaper and they have a more varied selection. not as nice as the Video One up on Colfax and Lafayette, but it's closer...

anyway, we rented 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' and 'The Italian Job,' which we watched first. it was good. just another heist/caper movie. basically, Mark Wahlberg and Donald Sutherland are thieves who are doing one last heist (for Sutherland) in Venice, Italy...they successfully bag $35 million in gold bars from the Italian Mafia...and are double crossed by Edward Norton. the plot? revenge, what else?

a good non-cerebral movie...just watch the action. best reason to watch the movie: the three souped up Mini Coopers! the speed and stunt driving was nice...but it was the rally package colors and styles that made us swoon. anyone got $25 K that they're not needing ;) sigh... 'course, with all the massivegasguzzling SUV models on the market, you'd need a periscope to see any oncoming traffic. i wonder how many Mini's it would take to match an Escalade in weight? heck, the SUV gas tank probably weighs as much as the Coop itself...

btw, another Edward Norton movie in which he plays another double crossing creep is 'The Score' (with Robert DeNiro and a Marlon Brando cameo). more suspense...better acting...more realistic story...and the revenge at the end of the movie is much more satisfying!

feel that caffeine...

and carbonation ushering all that wine to the surface. no Dr. Pepper, but Coke works well.

oh...Merry Xmas, Happy Holidays, etc. Dy's mention of Chrissukkah made me laugh! it sounds like an expletive that an impatient person might use..."Oh, chrissukkah...just hand it over and let me do it! Sheesh!"

did the mandatory exchanging of gifts with my friend, Chris, and his mom, Sarah. we've been friends for twenty years now. wow! thank god for Amazon.com wish lists. sure, i know what they may want, but never quite sure what they already have. and although i'm more of an advocate of pleasant surprises, especially when it's actually something that a person wants and needs, it's good to let it be known; the recipient gets what he/she asks for and you don't have to stress over the selection...

in turn, i got three items from my wish list - all CDs. music is always a good choice for me because i have just turned plain ol' cheap when it comes to buying music anymore. most often, i refuse to buy anything new at retail places such as Best Buy, Tower, Media Play, Sam Goody's (the worst), or Virgin because i can simply get it for much cheaper via eBay or even BMG; i find it unacceptable to pay even more than $2-$8 for a CD. now, when it comes to buying music for someone else, that's not a problem. it's justifying spending $18 for myself...when used is no different.

after visiting with Chris and his mom for about an hour, i headed to Kmart to buy some stocking stuffers for the pets. they can now gorge on dog food/treats, fish flakes, shrimp pellets, and bird seed...

got some deals too. found some cheapo red stockings for ninety cents - a good alternative for gift bags that they had sold out. the 8" poinsettias were also marked down from $8.99 to $2.99. okay, so three poinsettias in the house weren't enough. i had to buy one that was really dark red; the others we have are yellow and traditional red.

baked a cake too. no ultra baking like what Katie and Nelle conquered though...just a simple birthday cake for my sister, Susie. she's a christmas day baby who is now 37... kinda hard for me to accept. she'll always be my ten year-old, milk drinking, chicken bone marrow eating, no shit-taking big sister. 'course, i guess that makes me her barefoot, cartoon reading, glass stepping, little brother. like any of this even makes sense to you...

oooh, the cake is gooood... so what if it was a mix ;) we made a Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Butter Recipe Fudge (really, that's what it says on the box) cake with a White Chocolate Almond frosting. the baking took a couple minutes longer than the high altitude recipe called (for)...but oh so light and moist!

it was funny watching susie and lois eat some of the cake. both have been avoiding most sugars (with the exception of fruit and wine) for about two months now. i bet the first couple of bites were like heaven for them... the look in Lois' eyes were of longing and hunger; i was expecting to find her in the breakfast nook, secretly shoveling in half the cake ;) she was good though...nothing that a couple extra surreptitious nibbles couldn't cure...just no shoveling!

also spent about 90 minutes at Myriam's. she's a really interesting lady from El Salvador that i met while working at the Harvest (also where i met Lowa and Denny in the early 90's). she's a homeopath who simply wants to retire on her land in southern NM...i think it's halfway between Truth or Consequences and Las Cruces.

anyway, she used to tell me stories of leaving El Salvador in the late 70's when the military overthrew the government and returning to take care of her parents' holdings in the late 80's, when things were still hopping. one of her best stories is about a hunch she followed through while visiting her parents in San Salvador. for some reason, she decided to move her parents out of their house into a relative's home, even though the neighborhood was deemed quite safe. well, two days later, when she returned to get some of their stuff, she discovered a massive hole in the side of the house that had been blown in by a military tank; they avoided a riot by one day...luck or smarts?

anyway, hanging out with Myriam at her house usually involves red wine and plenty of it ;) a little cabernet...Spanish red (similar to a Tempranillo)...and some Riesling that we had before at the house. it all adds up to a lush feeling that is brought about even faster if you have that Coke or Pepsi afterwards heh

slipping...

was doing okay with blogging up until thursday. missed a few...a wee bit lazy.

the most pressing news of the past few days has been my father's cousin, Louie. he had a pretty massive heart attack on saturday morning. my dad told me that one of the valves that went isn't fixable; his family is preparing for the worst.

we did go and see him today in St. Joe's ICU. surprisingly, he was awake and could actually speak underneath that huge oxygen mask. we'll probably go back this afternoon to check in on him. poor thing. he looked so small in that gown, surrounded by all those machines. the effects of six decades of smoking are not kind...

in the family waiting room were his four sons, wife, and my Uncle Jimmie...you know, the one who didn't 'remember' my name for years until i was about 25. now, he just calls me 'dear' when we talk. hmmm.

it was an interesting fifteen minutes with Jimmie. he had brought an old photo, probably from 1947, that was taken right before my father went back to China to find a bride through a matchmaker. everyone oohed and aahed over it because we don't recall ever seeing it. what is it with nostalgia? as we get older, it seems like we make more concerted efforts to gather photos, find family treasures, etc.

i know i sure like to look at photos and hear stories. perhaps i know that i should try to hang on to the memories of all the good times. after all, many of those 'good times' helped shape me as an individual. or maybe it's because this family is more out of control than ever...

anyway, where was i going with this blabber? oh yeah, after everyone but Jimmie left, we hung out and talked a bit about Louie. apparently, last week, when Louie and his wife, my mom, and Jimmie, were in Phoenix for a funeral, Louie gave Jimmie $700 for their two fares. Jimmie was totally taken aback because Louie was notorious for 'forgetting' to pay his share. Jimmie was wondering if Louie knew something was going to happen and experienced an epiphany during the trip. know what i mean?

the same type of thing happened with my eldest sister, whose husband died in september '02. less than two months before he suffered a massive coronary, he dropped everything and went on a three week trip to Georgia and Florida with just my sister; leaving their daughters at home. he explained that it was time to take the honeymoon that they skipped. they lived it up, like tomorrow might not come. and in late september, it didn't (for him).

sometimes you have to wonder if fate steps in and tells you what to do...or if you just have a feeling...do it and not tell a soul the 'real' reason why.

this time, did Louie know something that we didn't? or did a voice go off in his head, telling him to pay Jimmie without any future hassle?

really, such weird things shouldn't be filling my thoughts around xmas; there are other things to ponder at this time of year. ok guys, i think that i'm gonna finally lay a story on you that i originally was going to post for Halloween. so go grab a snack/drink and settle in because i'm known to like transition and details; people have had the gall to even call me plain verbose ;)

in her December 2nd posting, Laura blogged about an artist's meme that she wanted us to consider. basically, we were to address this question: What do I still need to grieve?

Take the next week to consider, and then before next Tuesday to consider the question. Write, draw, paint, sew, photograph-however you choose to communicate. Do one, or as many as you feel necessary. Interpret the question in any way that feels meaningful to you. If it prompts something else that feels more pertinent to you, then go with that...

for me, i guess the most effective way for me to address the question is by posting, albeit in a stream of consciousness fashion. so here goes...and please bear with me. this story is a bit long winded, but i guarantee the outcome is well worth it.

Every year, in December and January, I am reminded of something that has haunted me since January 16, 1995...6000 miles away, it was January 17th and 5000+ people were dying in an earthquake.

I'm not sure if I still need to grieve the victims of the great Hanshin quake that struck Kobe, Japan at 5:46 AM...but this event will surely follow me for the rest of my life.

I have never been to Japan. Someday, I will visit the Land of the Rising Sun and much of Asia. Ever since I was eight years old, I have had dreams of visiting China, Thailand, and Cambodia as well.

No, in January 1995, I was in Guatemala, visiting Maya ruins at Tikal, Seibal, Quiriguá, and Copán (in Honduras). I had planned this trip for months, even retooling it when Lois and I lost a day after being stranded in Houston at the beginning of the trip. Although I had been to Guatemala twice before, I really wanted this trip to be extra special; it was Lois' first time.

What a phenomenal trip we had! We scaled huge pyramids, noshed on fantastic cuisine, and were mesmerized by both the hospitality and myriad of colors of the Maya people.

Panajachel is a tourist haven for many foreigners. Many 'hippie/granola' types are drawn to the cheap prices and intoxicating views of the five volcanoes that ring Guatemala's most beautiful lake, Atitlán. It's also a good location to base oneself if you are considering shopping in Guatemala's world renowned open air market in Chichicastenango.

One morning, we boarded an old, retired, American school bus (the preferred form of mass transportation in much of Latin America) for the trek back to Guatemala City. After three days rest in the Panajachel region, we were ready to get back to ruins. Quiriguá and Copán were on the itinerary. To reach those sites though, we had to take a bus back to Guate (nickname for Guatemala City) and connect on an eastbound bus there.

It was 6 AM and we had just avoided getting on the wrong bus. We accidentally got on a bus that was loading for Quetzaltenango (better known as Xela, pronounced sheh-la), which is not far from the Mexican border - wrong direction. The bus was headed west...

Luckily, we jumped off the bus as soon as the bus driver and his helper started loudly whispering 'Xela...Xela'. Right when we got off the bus, a Maya man asked us where we were headed and we told him, 'Guate.' He directed us to the correct bus and we hurriedly thanked him and hustled over there.

It was stilll dark when we departed. The cold air of the mountains was still heavy and at least three or four hours from burning off. Bundled up and crammed into the seats like sardines, we started the bumpy route, passing through Maya towns on our way back to the capital.

Riding chicken coop buses in Latin America is a life altering experience. You get to see how the 'common' people travel and witness their highly efficient system of filling the bus to at least double capacity - OSHA would have a coronary - and yet collect a fare from every single passenger. As Americans, we really have it too easy in our 2.5 vehicles per household. Here, twenty miles can mean 15 minutes on the highway. In Latin America, it can take an hour or two to travel that far on a third class bus...a lifetime by our standards.

Really though, riding chicken coop buses is life altering because it's usually a miracle if you survive the trip. Whether it's a fanatical driver who takes hairpin turns at 50 miles an hour (honking the whole time) or the tiny seats that are built to fit children younger than 10 (if you're 5'0", you're too big for the seats), you are downright thankful and praising God/Allah/Buddha the second you get off the bus, intact.

This bus was no different. I still recall seeing the capacity number at the front of the bus - 36 people. Ha! I'm positive that there were at least 80 people stuffed onto this bus, which lurched every time we rounded a curve.

It wasn't too bad though. All the bodies crammed together made us forget about the chill outside. Occasionally, some cold air would sneak in every time a defective window towards the front slipped its notches and fell down. There was one mighty pissed off (but groggy) man who repeatedly pushed it back up.

In all actuality, the defective window was a saving grace. Some of the odors of the locals' clothing, reminiscent of a cow patch, especially in close proximity, were starting to get to me. My eyes nearly bugged out when I realized that a child who was on his mother's back, two inches from my face, needed his britches changed - big time. At that moment, I KNEW I was in for the longest three hour bus ride of my life.

We chugged along the road, stopping in five or six towns, squeezing in just a few more people. Upon arrival in Guate, the number of passengers was starting to thin out. Small waves of people would shuffle off each time we stopped near a market-type place. Soon, the passenger count had dwindled to about twenty; we could finally stretch out a bit.

While Lois and I were idly chatting about a preliminary itinerary for the next week, I heard, "¿Japonés?" After a dozen years traveling Latin America, I have become accustomed to being incorrectly identified as being Japanese. No sweat though. I know all Asians look alike and that only we can distinguish the different (Asian) races. Maybe it's in our blood. Asians, African Americans, and redheads are tourist novelties in Latin America. They make up the minority of the minority population, both in tourist numbers and citizenship.

Smiling, I looked up and saw that it was the little Maya man in Panajachel who directed us to the correct bus. I told him that I was Chinese. Looking sheepish, the man quickly apologized and explained the only reason why he asked if I was Japanese was because he had heard about the massive earthquake that struck Japan and left five thousand people dead in its wake.

We were a bit surprised because we hadn't heard anything about it. Of course, unless you're in Guatemala City or constantly buying a newspaper (if available), world news is not so up-to-the-minute in Guatemala. In some towns, the breaking news may involve two drunk men crashing a barn and sleeping with the livestock. You know, small town 'news.'

We mentioned to this man that we hadn't been near a newspaper for at least a week, but thanked him for the info. By then, only about five people were on the bus and it looked like we were all getting off at the last stop. When we exited the bus, we waved to the man and set out to look for a Rebuli bus, which would take us to Chiquimula.

On the way to Chiquimula, Lois and I discussed the surprisingly high number of fatalities. After all, the majority of earthquakes in Japan in recent years usually had death tolls of less than 200 (although one in 1923 did kill 140,000). We were a bit stunned because Japan builds some of the world's most earthquake-proof structures and highways.

Although we still had another week in Guatemala, we made a mental note to look for news in the upcoming newspapers. We casually picked up a paper here and there, but Chiquimula is not even the center of Maya news, let alone world news.

In fact, we didn't see anything in the news about the Kobe earthquake for the next week. It wasn't until we returned to the United States, when we finally got some news on it...and tons of it. See, we got back to Denver in the late afternoon of January 16th...AROUND THE EXACT TIME THE EARTHQUAKE HIT.

Our little Maya acquaintance on the bus had told us about the Kobe earthquake and provided a fairly accurate death toll figure one week before it happened...

To this day, I have been haunted - it's been nearly nine years - about this encounter. Did this man pass this information on to other people in casual conversation? Am I the only one whom he told? If so, why me? What good does it do to have a prognosticator who speaks the truth but isn't heeded? Or is it something else...something fated.

Perhaps it's better that I believed that the quake had already occurred. Who knows if anyone would have believed me. All I know is that I will probably carry this as a guilty burden for many more years. I'm just hoping that one day, when I experience the epiphany that makes everything fall into place, this unreal (if not downright, frickin' surreal) encounter will be explained to me.

well, another day to sleep on it...some days i wish i had dreamed it. you can't dream of fucked up shit like this though; truth really is stranger than fiction.

buzzzz-ed...

not with all beer and wine though. it was the caffeine that put me over the top. we ended going to the Hops Restaurant for some steak. you know how you get in the mood (w/ the exception of Lowa and Denny)for a huge hunk o' meat every now and then...

food was good, but not great. we shared a lettuce cup (similar to lettuce wraps at Chinese restaurants) appetizer and had the Jamaican steak and the small prime rib - now smoked, resulting in a salty, smoky piece of meat...but not much meat flavor. service was great though; that usually makes up for okay food.

afterwards, we headed out to the car and breathed a big sigh of relief. see, the Hops in Cherry Creek only has about 20 spaces. often, you'll have to look for a spot on the street or park in a couple adjacent bank lots. unfortunately, people take the easy way out and find a space in the empty lot just on the other side of Hops' 'official' parking lot. well, there are signs posted all over this lot that it is permit parking only. thing is, even at 8PM, whoever (Burger King?) owns the lot, enforces that policy. anyway, there are a couple guys who lurk in a dark SUV, waiting for unsuspecting people to park in that lot or Burger King's, before they swoop down upon the car and boot it. i think it's $40 or $50 to get it off. that's a freakin' expensive Whopper...

this has been an ongoing dilemma with some business owners and people who just want a parking space. i know that across 1st Ave., Safeway makes a pretty penny with their privately contracted booters. i understand if people are taking up spaces during the day, but COME ON, what harm is it if you 'borrow' a space for a couple hours...just because you want to eat dinner? it's not like your car is gonna be there in the morning. yeah, ticket/boot any person who leaves a car in a permit space past 6 a.m.

it's such a mess. there's more...but it would just make for a reaallyy boring post. btw, we were worried a bit because we had parked in a bank parking lot, just south of the Burger King. so, now we know...

can you say, "Hell yeah!"

i've been wanting to steal this from Nelle for a LONG time...

Listening to: Spanky and Our Gang's Greatest Hits
Eating: nuthin'...but need to find something to munch on
Drinking: leftover Yellowtail Chardonnay from Saturday
State of Mind: freakin' thrilled
Multitasking: breathing and typing simultaneously
Whom I'm chatting to: myself...as usual ;) lois is on the phone
Thats fucked up: insensitive assholes

i am so ecstatic! remember how i had been pining about wanting to go somewhere? well, about an hour ago, we bought two tix to Madrid, Spain for late May and early June. we'll be gone from the 19th to the 7th. so exciting!

we've never been to Europe. sure, we've talked about going for many years, but we always chose the almighty Peso or some other cheap Spanish-speaking country. unfortunately, Spain is pretty resolute on the use of the Euro; not even sure they even use the Peseta much anymore. so, we're probably looking at comparable prices to the USA...hopefully. i remember horror stories from my dad and his friends paying $33 for three bottles of water and three coffees in Italy...sheesh!

the main reason for my giddiness is the price of the tix. usually, going on a trip doesn't elicit such happiness, but we STOLE these fares! a couple days ago, US Airways dropped the fares to an astonishing $253 + tax...adding up to $325.40. hell, you can barely go to some East Coast destinations for that price! and i haven't seen a fare like that to Mexico City in over eight months.

we're gonna go out for dinner and celebrate a bit. this year, we've decided to not exchange gifts and take the trip instead...so merry xmas to us. whee...

Love...

i heard the following song in a recent TV commercial. was it Target? anyway, it's one of my favorite songs...and one that i hadn't heard in almost a year. so what did i do? i ran downstairs and played it...oh...30 times (?!?) yep, you can either sing along with me or run screaming from the room.

Love...
Love will keep us together
Think of me babe whenever
Some sweet talkin' girl comes along, singin' a song
Don't mess around, you just gotta be strong
Just stop, 'cause I really love you
Stop, I'll be thinkin' of you
Look in my heart and let love keep us together

You...
You belong to me now
Ain't gonna set you free now
When those girls start hanging around, talking me down
Hear with your heart and you won't hear a sound
Just stop, 'cause I really love you
Stop, I'll be thinkin' of you
Look in my heart and let love keep us together

Whatever...

Young and beautiful
But someday your looks will be gone
When the others turn you off
Who'll be turning you on

I will, I will, I will,
I will...be there to share forever
Love will keep us together
I've said it before and I'll say it again while others pretend
And I need ya now and I need ya then
Stop 'cause I really love you
Stop I'll be thinking of you
Look in my heart and let love keep us together

Whatever...

I will, I will, I will, I will...

You'd better stop 'cause I really love you
Stop, I'll be thinking of you
Look in my heart and let love keep us together

Whatever

I will, I will, I will, I will...

da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da...

okay, now that i got that out of my system...hey, ANYTHING is better than the 12 Days of Christmas.

i have an odd habit of playing a song over and over sometimes when the mood strikes. usually, i'll be sitting at the computer with the headphones on when i get the urge.

once though, when i was about 11 or 12, i had the turntable on return and played an ELO (Electric Light Orchestra) song, Nightrider (from the Face the Music album) maybe a good fifteen times in a row...and i didn't have any headphones on. 15 times? well, yeah. bad thing is that i had fallen asleep near the stereo after the second time...worse is that my sister was talking on the phone in the kitchen AND SHE ENDURED THE WHOLE HOUR OF THE SONG, thinking "wotdafuk is he doing...god, how many times can he listen to this damn song?!?" to this very day, she can't stand the song heh

my sister isn't so innocent though. about four years later, when she was a freshman at CU-Boulder, she had been blasting AC/DC's Back in Black on her wittle record player before leaving for class. thing is, she left it on automatic return... her dorm neighbors had to listen to it for, ahem, FOUR hours until she returned from class; she was nearly lynched ;) they were just about ready to either break the window to kill the thing.

chinese water torture? nah. we got our albums...muwha-ha-ha

btw, how can you not like 'Love Will Keep Us Together'? it was the biggest song of 1975...#1 for four weeks...stayed in the Top 40 for 16 weeks...and sold more than 500,000 copies...what more could you ask for? besides a bullet...

ah-NOY-ing...

a pimple just has come up to visit the world. it's at the bottom of my right nostril, just near the curve of the septum. i HATE getting a zit there...argh. not only is it easily irritated when you blow yer nose, but it hurts SO bad when you want to pick at it or kill it when it ripens. you know...the teary eyed, ow...shit! fukfukfuk oh, just forget it! beating yer head against the wall may just make you forget about it for a couple minutes...once the dizziness subsides.

yes, there's not much to blog about other than the 'Best In Show' zit that's brewin' right under my nose. nothing like exciting, titillating reading...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

glad the weather is gonna warm up a bit today. think i'll take the car into Discount Tire to check the balance. when i went to pick up my mom and uncle at the airport on Sunday, my steering wheel started vibrating some as soon as i reached about 60-70 mph. i'm just hoping that it may be an imbalanced wheel that can be righted easily. KNOCK ON WOOD. sure, something needs to be fixed - just make it cheap, please!

later, i'll probably go and hang out with my friend, Chris. he and i have been kinda brainstorming possible gift considerations for my sister, Susie, whose birthday is xmas day. i already got three small gifts for her...but there's still more shoppin' to do. sometimes, i wish she'd start an Amazon wish list - much easier although less surprising.

maybe i'll head over to the Wal-Mart for a bit and see how i can help the tyrannical price leader and human rights violator profit even more. yeah, i know that it's an evil company, but they're better than Walgreen's, with whom i have a huge bitter grudge. besides, the Super Target near my house closes at 11PM. btw, is Kmart not doing the open 24 hours a few days before xmas? the regular Kmart by me is usually open until 10PM. a couple years ago, i was spotted there a few times after midnight, filling my shopping cart with all kinds o'crap.

cheap gifts...cheap gifts...

anyone been down the King Soopers seasonal aisle lately? they're selling some really nice xmas mugs and cookie plates for 99 cents! not only are the designs cute (there are four of them), but the quality is good too. no cheapo mugs that'll chip or break if you dinged it against the microwave. these ceramic wonders are thick and heavy. fill 'em with candy...tea bags...votive/tea light candles...and you got a thoughtful $2 gift.

so...off i go! mmm...mebbe some evil drive-thru food on the way there heh

i so want to go somewhere...

a couple weeks ago, i got a postcard from my friend, Sandra. she spent her Thanksgiving in Hawaii...die! just a little jealousy there. i've never been to Hawaii. for about the past year, lois and i have been thinking about it though. ever since i got back in touch with my friend, Shana (who lives on Maui), the idea of going has been on our minds more. it would be super great to go visit her. the last time i saw her, i was graduating from high school and she was moving back, to live with her mom and spend her senior year there. that was fifteen years ago. she now has two kids that are 12 and 8. yikes!

still, going to Hawaii was never a priority choice. considering that the average ticket from Denver hovers somewhere between $450 and $700, i usually would opt to visit a foreign country...with a killer exchange rate. for me, it's hard to pass up going to Latin America, where i might spend $20-$40 a day and live really well; this includes everything - room/board/sightseeing. where in the USA can you do that? this is certainly not possible in Hawaii...

we'll see what kind of travel is in store for us in 2004. right now, we're just thinking about someplace warm ;) after all, the temp. in Denver is 14 degrees right now. and the good folks in Monte Vista are bundled up for their 4 degrees, which is expected to dip to -6 in a couple hours. lessee here, i just checked Kihei (where Shana lives)...it is 69 degrees as we speak. their high for the next ten days is going to average 80 degrees. is there any question?

must get away...

a few more down...

yes, i did find last year's xmas letter from Linda...so i finished the holiday card. turns out her kids are named Kari (5 y.o.) and Elijah (2 y.o.).

i didn't quite finish the cards, but i think i only have a dozen or so left to do. maybe i'll actually get them out by wednesday at the latest.

just got an e-mail from Amazon, telling me that the items i ordered yesterday had just been shipped. a bit of a relief because usually when i order from Amazon around xmas, i either do it a day or two late for delivery by the 24th or i ultimately order something that can't be found within 24 hours... so at least that present is out of the way.

also got about a dozen books from bookcloseouts.com yeah, i'll admit that i'm a selfish pig. i order from them a couple times a year and about 20% of those books are for gifts...the rest are for my little grubby fingers heh

after taking the quiz a second time...

What Finding Nemo Character are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

it hasn't changed. the first time i was Dory too...and i bet i speak humpback just as well. that was too crazy ;)

WTF...

i dunno what is wrong with my mouse, but somehow while i was scrolling on another page, it changed the size of print when i view my blog. ever since i got this optical mouse last February, it has done that a couple times. the first time it did it, i was viewing my blog at like 18-point print...freakin' huge. this time, it's like 6-point...where's the damn magnifying glass.

course, i could just switch back to my old mouse and see what's up. i'm assuming everyone else is viewing my page okay...

talk about wee-ird.

because my knee knows...

like many people, i have a built in barometer in some of my (body) joints. two days before it happens, i can tell the weather is ready to change just by the way my left knee and right shoulder feel. UGH! more humid weather is on the way - both ache. and whaddaya know, the meteorologists are saying that it is going to snow and be windy tomorrah. you mean you needed to watch the tube for that? you coulda just asked my magic knee and eight ball shoulder.

so, where is your weather barometer located? my sister, Susie, has her barometers in her neck and big right toe, both which have had surgery in the last six years. we're the local doppler on our block HEH Doppler radar can only tell you where the tornado and rain are. our Doppler joints can tell you what's gonna happen; we give new meaning to weather prognostication. 'that tornado? yeah, it's gonna roar through here...flattening yer house into toothpicks...better look for another place to live. and the snowstorm? yep, you're gonna sma-ash yer car and careen into five others that are parked on your street...is your insurance up to date?' is it me or can people just not handle the truth? i mean, every time we tell them the forecast, they either run away crying or threaten us with bodily harm...

too bad about the change in weather though, yesterday was so nice. we went to pick up our mom and a distant uncle at the airport. they were in Phoenix for a couple days for a funeral. it was great to have the sun and warmth, after a week of snow and cold.

we had some funny conversations in the car with our 'Uncle' Jimmy. he's a real nice man who likes his Cadillacs and beer. just a short little guy who tended to forget my name for years (i always wondered if it was an act though). it was almost like he had to go through the names of my four brothers before he'd realize that it was me. and people, i look NOTHING like my brothers - they're ugly...i'm uglier. jeez, get it right!

while i drove past the old Lowry AFB, he was in the back seat, reminiscing about how he and our father worked at the PX in the early 40's...earning $2/day...and trudging through the snow to get there (a tough thing for men raised in the warm climes of southern China).

anyway, i caught him calling me 'dear' a couple times. i know that he's usually charming women in conversation - don't most 82 year-old men - so i just shrugged it off. you just had to smile and chuckle.

the conversation got a bit odd later when he started talking about his daughter and her family, who have relocated to the Pacific coast of Costa Rica for their retirement. well, Uncle Jimmy mentioned that he was going to visit them in March. I replied, 'That's cool...you should go. Costa Rica is a really fun country. I'd kill to go back and visit again (I went in '92 and had a GREAT time).' when he heard that i had been there before, he suggested that i go with him and his wife so i could serve as a translator.

his statement about utilizing me as their translator didn't affect me at all. i know it's just small talk and he's just complimenting me. no, i just about hooted and nearly crashed the car because maybe Uncle Jimmy forgot that he has been married for 60 years...to Isabel...a native Spanish speaker from Mexico. the man is just too amusing sometimes. i hope i'm as funny as my father and uncle when i reach my octogenarian years. heck, i'd be happy to make it to forty...who needs funny?

argh...

yes, instead of finishing those darn holiday cards, i decided to skirt the issue and blog. is it me or do writing xmas cards end up being a chore sometimes? since i mentioned having half of them written, i think i've gotten only seven more finished. i'm looking at some of the addresses and thinking, 'Did they send me a card last year?' or 'Nope. I really don't see any reason why i should waste 37 of my 'precious' cents on a stamp when you rarely call me back; i'm always initiating the contact. you may be lucky to get an e-card this year...if i don't decide to blog instead.' OR 'F*ck you...how the HELL did your info get in my address book anyway?!?! i must've been delirious to have actually addressed an envelope to yer lame ass...' unfortunately, the third scenario is probably the most accurate ;)

so...the card writing saga continues. i need to look for a holiday card that i got from a high school friend who now lives in Salt Lake City. actually, it was a holiday letter with scanned photos. last year, i tracked this person down after i read her posting in classmates.com, asking if anyone knew whatever became of me and three other people (Sarah, Joe, and Chris). to be honest with you, i wasn't expecting her to even remember me; the other three were some of her very good friends. really, the only classes i recollect having with her were sophomore English and Honours Thesis (where i sat next to her).

i have put off writing this card because i would like to ask her how she (Linda), her husband (Brian), and the kids (you guessed it - i don't recall their names) are doing and for some updated news. so, until i find that letter, i won't write the card. funny, although it's a small detail, i think she'd be more appreciative and a even a bit surprised if i mentioned the kids by name in the card. i guess if she can remember the good times we had (i always made her laugh) in English and remember it fifteen years later, then perhaps the least i could do is remember her kids' names...

something to consider...

just clicking on some links, since there's very little to do at this early hour (other than sleep). i should be finishing my holiday cards, since i do have some that will travel some miles - one to New Zealand and another to Hawaii. the other forty will get there with plenty of time to spare. Laura was talking about getting stuff out before the 11th. i think USPS only meant packages...and the slowest service, like bulk or media...in guaranteeing that the package would arrive by the 24th. 'course, Hannukah gifts might not make it before the first day on the 20th ;) what about Kwanzaa? since it's on the 26th, does that mean you have two extra days to put off sending a gift? we are some majorly procrastinatin' fools...

anyway, as i initially stated at the beginning of this post, there was some clicking to do on pages such as:

2003 Christmas Price Index (i.e., total cost of items in '12 Days of Christmas)

such things are SO important to me. really, it's refreshing to know that the cost of a partridge in a pear tree has decreased by 24.4% - yippety yay! and geez, it looks like we'll have to cut back on heating the house and other 'luxuries' if we're gonna be able to afford seven swans a swimmin'. after all, the price has risen by 66.7%, to $3500. ya know, from the looks of this month's Xcel bill, we'd be happy with seven flappin' chickens...

so the total cost of the items is nearly $17,000...up 16% from last year. tell me, would your true love really appreciate you spending that kind o' green on holiday nostalgia like that? right... lemme show ya where to shove yer lords-a-leapin.'

it's up!

enough blather about mediocre beer joints with happy hour wings though. the xmas tree is up. it only took about a half hour to get the tree assembled...and two hours for the ornamentation.

up until 2001, lois had tree decorating parties. and some of these gatherings would be huge...like 100 people in her little bungalow! where did she put them? i have NO idea.

however, she hasn't had the urge to have one the last couple years - too much work. sure, it's nice to have all yer friends over...if only once a year...but it's still time and money. so, this year it was just her and me. you never realize how long it takes to pull out all the stuff and put it up until you are stuck doing it yerself. ah well, maybe i'm the only one who says 'stuck' though; she loves doing it all by herself. i think it gives her time to reminisce about who gave her a certain ornament or when she bought it.

when i was a kid, my sister (Susie) and I put up the tree for about six or seven years. being the two youngest, we were the only ones left in the house and it was up to us if there was gonna be a tree or not.

it was cool though. we rarely had a real tree - the last one i remember was when i was 4 - or even a good artificial pine...no, we had the super retro (well, that's what'd it be now) aluminum xmas tree! yep, this tree was complete with two types of branches (straight or curly aluminum needles) and a loud motorized stand decorated with gold glitter that was supposed to resemble snow. SO 60's!

i miss decorating that tree though. we had some really neat bells and unique glass ornaments. sure, they weren't as classy as some of the great ornaments that Lois has, but they had a uniqueness and individuality all their own. you know, maybe it's the nostalgia. perhaps now i could look at all the stuff and say, "That's not special." they are though. for it was that aluminum tree that typifies my image of xmas and the holiday season. it didn't matter if there was snow outside or not...all i had to do was look at that tree and get into the spirit.

my parents no longer put up the aluminum tree. there's still plenty of xmas spirit though. our mom bought a fully decorated 3' tree at Target in November 1986...put it up...and never took it down. yep, that tree has been up for 17 years. it just gets vacuumed/dusted and moved from one room to another. my mom is holiday cheer 24/7. i wonder if there's a Guinness Book entry for longest xmas tree display...

say it ain't so...

went to the downtown Hooters tonight. supposedly it is scheduled to close this sunday due to lack of business...which isn't surprising. although it's located only a block from the baseball stadium, it has to compete with a crapload of other bars in the same vicinity; i bet business is only good when the Rockies play.

the really sad fact regarding its closing is that it is the lowest earning (i.e., slowest) Hooters in the whole country. now that's sad! there were three servers and a bartender on tonight when one of each would have sufficed.

ya know, i forgot to mention the fact that this Hooters also doesn't serve hard liquor - only beer and wine. you think that may be a factor? they's some dumb decision makers there...

so...must find another place for wings. and really, this location was kinda going downhill with their consistency anyway. in addition to the overall iffy-ness, i won't miss paying for parking! sure, Hizzenlooper (new mayor for you non-Denverites) did lower the prices of metered parking to $1 per hour (from $1.50), but it's still enforced until 10PM. really, how many cities with burgeoning downtowns have metered parking after 6PM? it's no better when they double or triple the parking prices in the lots for sporting events, weekends, or special occasions. last week, when everyone was gearing up for the Parade of Lights, i saw some cheap lots that are usually $3 (all night after 6PM) going for $8 and $10. fuckin' vultures... we are not a country of capitalists, rather one of opportunists and back stabbers!

what else...

ummm. for the past month or so, Lois and I have been on a banana bread baking kick. you know how you make something that generates praises; you want to make that dish all the time.

well, last month, we were perusing through Cooking Light's September issue, which had a scrumptious looking Coconut Lime Banana Bread on its cover. inside, there were six other recipes for non-traditional banana breads. of the seven, we have made three: coconut lime, cardamom pistachio, and Blueberry-Lemon Banana Bread with Cream-Cheese Glaze. and of the three, the Coconut Lime is still our favorite. the Cardamom Pistachio was really good too though. you Indian food lovers will swoon over this recipe (provided you like bananas ;).

there are two more banana bread recipes that we would like to try...Marbled-Chocolate and Orange Banana Nut. after that, we'll have to find a new type of recipe to wear out ;)

what about you guys? what are you all cookin' right now...recipe or not? oh yeah, there's a cool chicken recipe that i found in an Afghani cookbook that i gave to Lois a couple years ago. ever since we had dinner at Helmand Restaurant in San Francisco (in November 2000), we practically swoon every time we think about it. the rich colors of the stewed veggies, the fantastic flavors of their sauces, the bright flavors of their desserts. Afghani food is like a mix between Indian and Persian (Irani) food, but more delicately spiced than Indian and less sweet than Persian.

anyway, this chicken recipe sounds awesome. it's stuffed with all kinds of fruits, nuts, rice, and lamb. i think the author, Helen Saberi, calls it 'Jeweled Chicken.' i guess it looks like a poultry treasure chest ;) she says that the dish is used often for weddings, as chicken is pretty much a special occasion ingredient...it's expensive there.

could you imagine that if chicken were only served on special occasions here? so-and-so got married last week and two people were trampled to death when the surge of wedding guests started fighting over the last drumstick...

wanna know something scary? if you're over seventy...and Chinese...you will fight over who gets the chicken butt. seriously, the fatty chicken tail is considered the best part of the bird. of course, these are the same people who'll bring out the brass knuckles for the fish eye...all the time knowing that there is one on each side of its head. sometimes, i'm glad that certain things are generational...and not genetic.

so it's over...

played our last game for the volleyball league tonight. we had to forfeit the first game of our 6:30 match because we arrived just over fifteen minutes late - too late in the rules. i'm sorry, but considering that we had to come from 20 miles away (Wash Park to 112th and Colorado) during rush hour and most other counties were on accident alert, we did pretty well to arrive at all.

ah well. we lost to the top seeded team and ended up in fifth place anyway. i guess there's a little consolation knowing that they weren't going to win the tournament tonight because they were missing a guy (co-ed, 3men and 3women) and had to play with four women instead. i'm sure the final was contested between the third and fourth seeds, which were actually the best teams in the league. who was i rooting for? the fourth seed - very cool team. no attitudes like the second and third seeds, who had memorable players like 'bitch girl' and 'gorilla boy'. we picked out the nicknames ourselves for those jerks...like 'em?

so, we no longer have to make the haul up to Thornton anymore; they run basketball leagues in the winter. that may also mean no more Monday night trivia jaunts either. that's okay though. even though Hemingway's is just a couple blocks from our captain's house, there was always tough competition - older and more scholarly crowd. we may, however, start hanging out in downtown. the people at Pour House Pub seemed more interested in drinking - our kinda people! AND they're stupider ;) we actually won $45 in gift certificates and movie passes the last time we were there. woohoo!

quiet...

nothing going on here. just some time out to blog a bit, considering i haven't done enough of it the past month...

lois is taking a bath, relaxing away the gym time she spent before she came home. she has been working out at a women's health club called 'Curves' for the past month, 3x a week. nothing like a soak after some physical exertion...

it has been awhile since i had a sit down bath. when i was playing v-ball more than a couple times a week, it was always good to have a nice hot bath with some epsom salts or Johnson's Foot Soap to try to convince the aches and pains to go away. it's just too bad that all that hot water totally dries out my skin; it seems like i can never use enough lotion.

also went to see a movie at the cheapies with my friend, Cindy. you remember, she's the one with the Tom Hanks story (see blog from 7/29). anyway, we went to see 'Once Upon A Time In Mexico.' lotsa gunfire and explosions. star power too. not only were Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek in it, but Johnny Depp, Ruben Blades, Danny Trejo, Willem Dafoe, and even Mickey Rourke (who looks very old and tired) were in it as well. i read that although the movie was actually finished in 2001, the release was pushed back to this year. perhaps some of it had to do with rescheduling the shooting of some scenes w/ Hayek so she could finish filming 'Frida.'

sure it was a bit loud, but it was well worth the fifty cents ;) before the movie, they were showing the trailer for 'Underworld.' not something that i wanted to see for half price - let alone full - but for fifty cents... besides, i think Kate Beckinsale is a fine actress. has anyone seen 'Cold Comfort Farm'? she plays the lead role of Flora Poste. i know that she's in Laurel Canyon (w/ Frances McDormand) too, so maybe that'll be the next rental.

gotta...

put my feet up. we got back from Colorado Mills (Mall) about a half an hour ago. man, we have some tired legs...

nothing spectacular about the shopping experience though. it's more of a mecca for shopping if you're under the age of 20 or have a youthful mind yerself - maybe i'm just a fogey now ;)

it is a nice layout though. very spacious. good lighting. did i mention freakin' huge too? perhaps i'm just not one for shopping in malls anymore. i guess i can find more 'perfect' gifts through mail order, eBay, or online.

so what'd we buy? very little. lois found some Cuddleduds (camisoles) at the Maidenform store and i got a soccer ball at Gart Sports.

for me, getting the soccer ball was good because i have one phase of shopping out of the way. every year, lois and i pick handwritten ornaments from xmas giving trees at either King Soopers or Target. you know, they're for kids that are in shelters...

this year, the ornaments at our King Soopers had wishes from the Denver Children's Home. the two that i picked wanted a soccer ball (James, 15) and art supply kit (Ramon, 15). go see what i got them...Ramon's and James'. i hope they like them! i sure wanted to open the art set and try it out - looks really cool.

lois' selections were from Andrew, who wants a Target Gift Card, and Michelle, who wants a flannel sheet set. last week, we got a nice beige flannel sheet set at Foley's. we went to Target first, but the only flannel sheet sets they had were seasonal xmas prints. we weren't sure if a 14 year-old girl would like them though; beige can be used a lot more than a snowman print...

any of you ever see the movie, 'Dark Days'? it's a documentary about the homeless who lived underneath the Amtrak Penn St. Station in NYC. the filmmaker, Marc Singer, spent two years making this film, chronicling the lives of many of these people.

one of the most touching moments in the movie was near the end, when, after being evicted from their squatter village, many of the people are put into housing by the Coalition for the Homeless. one of the subjects, a middle aged female who became homeless through her substance abuse, is shown making her bed for the first time in her new apartment. you can see an ear-to-ear smile on her face, as she carefully tucks everything in and falls into the bed with a heavy sigh.

you know, we take really take for granted simple necessities like having yer own bed and clean sheets. so, when we saw what Michelle wanted on her paper ornament, we immediately snatched it off that tree. THAT is a gift that we couldn't pass up. besides, we were already avoiding the ones that said 'boom box' or 'portable CD player.' hey kiddies, it says $20 limit ;) well, hope someone with more money can accomodate those kids...

stolen...

no, make that 'lifted' from Dy, who got it from the almighty blog queen herself, Nelle.

1. List five things you'd like to accomplish by the end of the year.
-- Clean the basement.
-- Take a trip somewhere...mebbe Vegas or Tampa.
-- Finish winterizing the house.
-- Sort through my stuff and make a couple boxes for Goodwill.
-- Drop AOL as my ISP and switch over to AT&T.

2. List five people you've lost contact with whom you'd like to hear from again.
-- Robert Nguyen
-- Cecilia Esping
-- Scott Smith
-- Nathan Kimbrough
-- Laurie Neufeld

3. List five things you'd like to learn how to do.
-- Play the drums.
-- Documentary filmmaking.
-- Swim again.
-- Become literate in Chinese and fluent in Cantonese.
-- Blog more often.

4. List five things you'd do if you won the lottery (no limit).
-- Give money to friends and family, making sure that the parents were well pampered...now that they're in the twilight of their lives.
-- Travel to Thailand, New Zealand, all of Latin America, and Indonesia.
-- Buy a house.
-- Buy a new car.
-- I would work in archaeology and the travel industry at my leisure.
-- I'd probably give my fellow bloggers a couple grand to do whatever they wish.

5. List five things you do that help you relax.
-- Listen to music.
-- Go to the bookstore.
-- Start a jigsaw puzzle.
-- Play word games on the computer.
-- Blog...even though I may get worked up about certain topics ;)

I so hate dial-up...

i actually had gotten off my lazy ass and had a pretty good post going when i was disconnected. really, i should hate AOL more. even after reading Nelle's 'Why You Should Cancel Yer AOL' blog, i have been too complacent to leave the bastards. well, no more. if anything, i'm gonna make AT&T my internet provider. sure, i know that there are cheaper ISPs out there, but AT&T Worldnet has a pretty good incentive for American Airlines frequent flyers - 500 miles a month. not great, but i may as well get something back for spending $21.95/mo. for internet service. moreover, it's still better than getting a mile per dollar spent on my credit card. and 6000 miles is still 6000 miles... i could use a few more to get the free ticket to Hawaii or the Caribbean. if i save up my miles, i may have enough for Europe or another trip to South America, this time next year.

anyway, before i was unceremoniously booted off, i was blogging about the dreaded annual xmas shopping season. i know that many people would rather get major dental work than face shopping during the holidays. personally, i abhor the crowds and parking mayhem as well...but i DO love shopping.

what is it about the giddy spending sprees that we embark (on) for our loved ones? is it the feel-good rush of finding that perfect gift for someone? nah. it's the fact that you fought off ten other people for that 75% off windbreaker at the break of dawn on the day after Thanksgiving. never mind that the colors of the windbreaker make yer loved one look like some psychotic Ringling Bros. escapee. by the way, that warm feeling you're experiencing is not from the season spirit either. it's actually coming from that third diet coke you had in the food court, which is ruining yer bladder lining as we speak. buying someone a $40 retail item for $10 reeks of glee, especially when that other $30 can be blissfully spent on yer selfish self.

i have a brother that would do shit like that. it really sucked because not only would he and his wife would scour the after xmas sales and buy HID-E-OUS things for the next christmas, but he is the favorite son as well. talk about a freakin' double whammy...our complaints would always fall on our parents' deaf ears. i distinctly remember getting two clothing items that made me cringe. one was a shirt that may have doubled for a vomit design; a blind person would have picked something nicer. another was a sweater that looked okay...provided that you overlooked the hole in the front and that it was a size too small. family christmases with that brother got to the point where he was complaining about having to buy so many gifts...this coming from a guy that makes a six figure salary - CHEAP ASS. what was even worse was that he and his wife would blow probably a grand or two on his in-laws. one year, we got our usual crap, while he bought his wife's sister and her husband $800 bikes EACH. we were so fucking tired of being treated like second class citizens or xmas afterthoughts.

the solution? we tried to even do the pick names and buy one really nice gift. of course, while everyone was spending a good $100 on the picked sibling, this brother still bought crap...valued between $30-$50. i thought i either had some xmas curse or that the 'game' was rigged when he picked my name two years in a row...WTF!

you know, it's not the money thing either. i really don't care what you spend, as long as you have put some thought into the gift and purchased something appropriate. the years they were buying $10 too small, blemished, vomit sweaters in the basement of May D&F, i would have been much happier with a gift certificate from Wal-Mart or Blockbuster...hell, just gimme the cash!

i guess shopping for the perfect xmas gift is one of my few good attributes ;) about september of every year, i turn on the ears and wait for someone to mention in casual conversation about how "I wish I had this" or "I really need to buy a..." you know, if people just listened a little more or even paid attention a bit to their surroundings, fewer gifts would be returned... and we wouldn't have to worry about beating the shit out of the fellow shopper for a discontinued dish set that's missing a plate and has chips and cracks because you and a fellow shopper dropped it in the massive struggle for control of the box.

so, we have now reached an agreement that they no longer have to buy gifts for anyone...nor will we have to waste our money on them. unfortunately, there's still one small stipulation that we just buy something for the kids. yep...even the childless ones couldn't get out of this one.

that's okay though. i don't mind buying xmas gifts for their children - they're so cute. i just adjust my hearing and buy some 'perfect' gift. what Highlands Ranch nine year-old niece wouldn't like the 25th anniversary edition of 'The Exorcist'? look, it even comes with a lifelike, split pea soup spewing, Linda Blair doll. and for my six year-old nephew, i got a phenomenal book on the Maya culture - in Spanish. so what's the problem? the fuss? i put some good thought into these gifts! hey, i would LOVE to get these for xmas! and besides, at least i paid RETAIL...sheeyit!

really?

now i gotta go out and rent it...


You must like to spank or be spanked, because your
romance is reminiscent of Secretary. A truly
modern love story, it shows that you don't need
to be conventional to be normal. You're
probably the type that owns a whole lot more
leather than what's upholstering your car or
sofa. Yeah, you know what I mean.


What Romance Movie Best Represents Your Love Life?
brought to you by Quizilla

i'm glad 'Identity' wasn't one of the choices. last night, we watched it and the ending really stuck with me. i figured it out about two-thirds through the movie, but didn't want to believe it. if you guys haven't seen it, you should definitely rent it...pretty creepy.

and another thing...

why isn't our volleyball team winning more games? we are a very talented team, individually, but it seems like our chemistry (as a team) does not gel. we are the second worst out of nine teams. we'll kill a team the first game and it just unravels from there...sigh. we almost feel like Charlie Brown and his football...or kite...or the little red haired girl. rats!

argh. trying to come down from the beer and wine that i had tonight. as usual (if we play early matches), we'll head on over to Hemingway's and play the last couple rounds of Trivia Face Off. and...as usual...i'll have a couple of beers.

however, on occasion, i'll hang out with our team captain at her house after the trivia. see, our captain, is also our chauffeur on these nights; we have agreed to all chip in and either buy her beers or a tank of gas since she has been so good to let us carpool and meet at her house. and as an added bonus, we can use the HOV lane and not be bothered with the typical rush hour traffic...

so, tonight, we hung out and shared a large (1.75 liter) bottle of wine that she had out. twas good...smooth. she really prefers Bella Sera wine. Sangiovese was the flavor ;) tonight. whew...good thing that i poured more than drank; she didn't have to drive home like i did.

lots of conversation...four hours passed like that (snap). we mainly talked about our families and how it is being the youngest. it's always a good time when i get to hang out and jab with Barb. too bad i have the day off tomorrow (today) and she'll inevitably have to call in sick HEEHEE!

afterwards, it was off to Taco Hell. i just missed out on getting some chili dogs at the Hamburger Stand - their drive-thru closes at 2AM on weekdays. so, my options are limited to:

coming home and making the effort to cook something (ha, right)
going to Denny's (not sure if i can stay up that long)
the 24-hour Burger King (fries and whoppers get old)
Taco Hell (still go there even though i once broke a tooth on a burrito supreme in '99...at least they paid for all the dental work)

the three tacos, spicy bean burrito, and nachos supreme eventually won out in the end. so here i am, trying to type in between shortened burps and mini farts...greaaat. what the hey though. Taco Hell is better if eaten while listening to Style Council (which is playing in my CD right now)...or any other 80's music. it would even taste good with Culture Club... btw, i scored poorly (i.e., less than 50) on the 80's music quiz that Derbs got us all to do last week. anyway, Taco Hell with Eurythmics...Bananarama...Duran Duran, is still better than a bean burrito eaten to the sounds of Metallica or Slayer. trust me, i know these things ;)

i know...i know

i feel bad that all of you in my immediate circle of bloggers have all done gloriously well in posting over the last few weeks. of course, in bucking the trend, i have failed miserably in keeping up. i guess that i usually have something to say, i just don't always make the time to speak up and put it into words...am i making any sense?

been catching up with everyone and have found out that:

1) Laura and Lois are two of the most animated haters of Thomas Kinkade.
2) Denny works too hard...still
3) Rachel needs to lend us her personal Santa; a printer AND digital camera - where do we sign up?
4) Nelle has some serious morons who sit in the back of the class, disrupting and being general assholes. Well, you have my permission to kick 'em in the balls. Don't want the hassle? Tell me where the class is...I'll do it.

yes...just like "American Beauty"

remember what Kevin Spacey's co-worker says when Annette Bening and her lover pull forward to the drive thru window that they're manning? she says, "You are SO busted."

and that's how i feel about not blogging. of course, i usually only get going when the blog queen herself (aka, Nelle) busts me and either tags me with 'abandoned blog' or 'ZZZZZ.'

so, to the handful of readers who have just about given up on me ever blogging again, here goes...

nothing really new and exciting lately. some potential archaeological work in Virginia that we were hoping would come through...fell through. so, for the past three weeks, i've been helping out at PCL Construction (where Susie and Lois work) - mainly in the mail room and in accounting.

it's been interesting though. before this little temporary stint, i had never worked in a 'traditional' office setting. i was always either in field, a museum, or a restaurant. some of the odd things that go on in this office is full of poison. i tell ya, some people have way too much time on their hands... what i can't figure out is why the lame ones keep their jobs. there are a couple individuals who are just wasting space and should be fired on the spot; it would save SO much money. unfortunately, many are kept on because of their stellar ass-kissing skills. and that is one thing that i abhor, mind games in the workplace (or even in general). i refuse to kiss ass. there is way too much work to do instead of getting caught up in the gossipy personal affairs of other people. HEAD GAMES = TOTAL WASTE OF TIME. 'nuff said.

lemme see here...i think i have some more rants...just a sec

sigh. some of my colleagues are gathering in Chicago next week for the national anthropology meetings. yeah, Chicago is not the best place to gather, especially in November...but the conference is always in November or early December. i just wish that they would opt for a warm locale. the cycle for the last ten years has been:

1994: Atlanta
1995: Washington D.C.
1996: San Francisco
1997: D.C.
1998: Philadelphia
1999: Chicago
2000: San Fran
2001: D.C.
2002: New Orleans
2003: Chicago

these are all great cities...the wide array of gastronomic delights and the cool places to visit are downright amazing...BUT couldn't you have it in Phoenix, Miami, or even Houston? D.C. and Chicago every two or three years keep us one step away from defrosting completely between meetings. i will never forget the '95 meetings. we had just left a snowstorm in Denver...only to have it find us again in D.C., but with heavier snow and bone chilling humidity. we did get lucky in Philly though...the weather was an unseasonal 60's and 70's. unfortunately, i packed wool suits and thick sweaters :(

well, this year, i ain't goin'. i'm gonna miss my best friend, Antonio, who is Curator of Ethnography/Ceramics at the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture and my mentor, Ruben Mendoza, who teaches at Cal-State Monterey Bay. yeah, my boss is going too...so he can have some extra drinks for me.

i guess i really wasn't in the mood to buy a ticket to Chicago when fares were less than $200 (around Labor Day), so i blew it off. and even last week, when Delta had me drooling over a $79 (+ tax) fare sale that they had from Denver to Chicago - ROUND TRIP! of course, by the time i found out about it, all those seats were gone. perhaps, i wasn't meant to go this year. ah well. as a consolation, i'll be saving not only a fare, but an additional $600-$800 had i gone. it would be even better if a huge storm were to hit all those hapless anthropologists while the meetings were in full swing HEH.

some good things too...

tonight, as numerous other people, we stopped by our local Cub Foods, whose Going Out Of Business sale has prices slashed by 50%. it was a mad house! the parking lot was simply bulging at the seams. shopping carts were hard to come by. i had to run out and fetch one from the parking lot when we arrived. people were fighting over the greeting cards that are now 3 for $1. somehow, i didn't find 33-cent Passover, Halloween, and any stupid freakin' rhyming cards for all occasions, to be that shrewd of a buy. still, you should have seen the people who were just about pouncing on the half priced frozen turkeys LOL. it was like the entire poultry shortage of the century had culminated in the frozen food section of the Glendale Cub Foods. damn, people! there will be other turkeys to buy...don't you realize that Cub is selling everything at retail? half off is not ALL THAT.

still, we were caught up in the pandemonium. Susie and I were swooping down on the really good buys, like baking goods...ethnic spices...dog food...frozen dinners...and basic junk food. all in all, we nearly killed our poor cart...filled 15 bags past sensible capacity...and lightened our wallets by $133 for our booty. now, i just wanna know how long it's gonna take to eat all the stroganoffcerealpuddingbiscuitmixsoupfruitmeatloafbottledwateretc., especially when we probably didn't have enough space in the fridge or pantry in the first place.

ah well, Lois (and all other Texans) have a saying, " Having a full pantry is like having money in the bank. " too bad i'm only rich in Corned Beef Hash, eh? what does that get me? a bigger coronary? maybe a super sized embolism...

hell yeah...

stopped by Derbs' place and thoroughly enjoyed reading about the wench (with whom she once worked) that recently got busted for mail fraud. too bad she can't be busted for robbing that nursing home patient blind.

yes. i am one spiteful mutha... there are WAY too many people out there who aren't getting their just desserts...most often at the expense of others. it's a great feeling when i find out some jerk has gotten exactly what he deserves.

to quote the great Lowa, "Heh."

better than being afraid of clowns...

What Psych-Ward do you belong to?

would you care...

if i decided to blog a ton and change the date? i really was wanting to blog about all sorts of stories in commemoration of the 'holiday'. after all, what other day do we use for telling stories?

anyway, would it be any different if i put some stuff down today and changed the date to the 31st? of course, for all that to make sense, i would have to also delete this steaming piece o' crap...

in these non-blogging times...

i admit that i am guilty. you did not see me at the post office for most wanted...most non-blogging...but maybe most boring blog.

damn those trick o'treaters! we bought all this candy and not one showed up...braving the cold...in hopes of abscessing that little tooth even further. we were hoping for even a few tough ones, promising to give huge, heaping handfuls of candy.

what now? we have to eat ALL that candy - life sux ;)

still, i don't think that lois' Halloween reputation will ever recover from her giving out pencils one year. i'll never forget the look of horror on one kid's face when he saw what she dropped into his bag. it was even more pained when he called out to his mom, "Awwww mom, she's giving out PENCILS!!!" lois didn't even cackle or bat an eye, she just said (point blank), "Shaddup! That other stuff will just rot yer teeth!" luckily, no one egged or teepeed the house the following week.

so now, we load up on candy that we ultimately have to eat ourselves...and i'm already out of the dark chocolate. guess it's time for a Butterfinger...

if any village is missing their idiot...

tell them that she is working at the local Target.

last night, i went to Target to get three things: a digital tire gauge, a Woolrich down throw (which was on sale AND i was armed with a $10 off coupon), and a small, 18", 15-watt fluorescent bulb for the fish tank.

well, the only thing that i came away with was the fish tank bulb; they were out of the other two items and i grabbed a couple rain check forms. one item in the checkout lane...piece o' cake.

got to checkout and even was let into line by a real nice lady who saw my wee, one item. that's cool. we often let people in ahead of us if we have considerably more than they. funny though...i mentioned to her that no good deed goes unpunished. ha!

our checker was a nice gal...35-40...kinda talkative, but not to the point of annoying. anyway, while she was scanning the last few items of the party in front of me, an adjacent line opened up; i told the nice lady to hurry and be the first in that line.

a-ha! so who got the last good deed in? yep, it would be me...thank you very much. and things all went downhill from there. on the last item (a pumpkin), the checker mentioned to the people that it had a rotting stem and perhaps they may want to get another one. nonplussed, they shrugged it off and said that the pumpkin was going to end up rotting in a few days anyway. end of drama.

so i get up there with my measly item and two rain check forms. well, apparently the poor gal had never been trained in rain check distribution; real tough...you scan the forms and the rain checks are printed...voila! worse, she didn't even know what a rain check was...hmmm...check out all those red flags popping up!

actually got the rain checks...okay. now, it was on to the fluorescent bulb (you know, the long kind). she's putting it in the bag and says to me, "You sure you want this one? it's open."

"Uhhh. It's supposed to be that way."

"Oh, okay. Here's your receipt...oh looook, it's a pretty pink one!"

"You know, that means your register tape is running low. You might want to change it (while I run screaming out of this place). Have a good night (you freak)."

nothing against the poor gal, but really...how the hell did she get a job as a checker? i hope she's good with money because Target is standing to lose a lot of it if she's all-around-clueless.

calling all village idiots...the Super Target in Glendale is now hiring. Kmart has blue-light specials...Target just has dim bulbs. Wal-Mart has falling prices...Target has ever falling IQs ;) or maybe the above only applies to management level - doesn't it always?

ugh...

some tired feet today. new rugs came in recently. had to put down two of the three. not much of a problem...with the exception of one thing...a piano.

nothing like trying to move a 400 lb. piano with bad casters and a bum leg. worried that you're going to break the leg and really have a problem or scratch the shit out of the wooden floor. of course, it doesn't help that the two people trying to move the damn thing have bad knees themselves. it was like a piano moving competition of the crippled olympics. picture that.

low carb...

although i would never go on a low carb diet - i'm too much of a wimp (puh-leeze, telling a chinese guy that he can't eat rice...themz fightin' words), my friend has been forced to go on one after suffering a heart attack and undergoing bypass surgery. not a good thing for a 35 year-old.

anyway, he told me recently that he was losing clumps of hair due to this diet. supposedly, this is a common occurence for many people on low carbs... that doesn't sound good either. then again, i guess it's better than keeping the weight and just waiting for a fatal heart attack, eh?

hope the friend is doing well. we go back about ten years. one day, we got talking in lab (washing pot sherds...whoohoo!) and found out that we had a mutual friend and interests. we became partners in crime and best friends until he moved back to New Mexico a couple years later. yeah, we're still best friends, but it's sometimes hard to be good about staying in touch when miles and busy schedules separate people...

been telling stories lately...i got a great one for Halloween. before then though, i think i will blog about the 'Bonampak Death March.' STAY TUNED

and the bidding continues...

been watching some items on eBay for about a week now. lately, i have been looking at some DVDs and camera equipment. luckily, i haven't been a bidding fool. i would though, like to win a couple of 'em; they're almost too cheap to be true. 'course, i won't tell you guys what i'm bidding on because i KNOW you guys would go there and jack it up in a bidding war ;)

then again, instead of spending a bit of time worrying about bids, i should just save my money and spend it at bookcloseouts...

speeding ticket? i need money for that?

hmmmm...

not much to say, which is often the norm. looks like the warm weather is on its way out. too bad. that week of 80 degrees was a treat for the fall. tomorrow, we'll be getting more long sleeve, typical-for-late-October weather. sigh.

went by Dy's blog and saw that she was Switzerland in a recent quizilla-type survey. wonder what i'll be...

tired...

haven't gotten much sleep the last two nights. and usually, i blog better if i have had enough sleep...don't wanna force anything and be a blogging disaster.

must go eat. looks like there's time for veggin' too. ooh, 50-cent day at the cheapies! too bad there really isn't anything that i want to see...ah well.

not as bad as i thought...

sure, i got busted for speeding in the school zone yesterday...and $80 is still not chump change. however, after seeing my friend, Jen, yesterday, i don't feel so bad. her husband was pulled over for speeding in a school zone and was fined $300 and issued a six-point ticket! now, THAT sucks!!!

funny, i found an alternate route that's a bit out of the way but two to three minutes faster! yay!

argh...

started out to be a nice morning. sun was up...there was little traffic...little white vans were taking pictures of Chinese guys speeding in school zones...kee-raaap!

too bad i have better uses for that $80 that i just threw out the window :(

what will be in store for me on the drive home? hmmm?

fitting...

i'm a June baby.


June


Which month are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

WTF...

sometimes i wonder about how little people really listen. recently, i had been getting calls on my cell for someone named Charles. surprisingly, each time the call has come in, i have not had it on; these people have been getting my voicemail.

wouldn't you think that if you called a number a few times and the voicemail was someone else, you may have the wrong number? i mean, unless Charles is gay and shares a phone with his partner, has a roommate that he didn't inform you (of), or has identity issues...this Spencer guy is not his answering service! the whole fiasco is a bit amusing though. from the messages, i have found out that some gal owes Charles money and that he gets offers of borrowing a van on occasion.

and wouldn't you know it, just days ago the problem was solved in a super long message that was left by two people (an old lady and a man) who were using three way conference calling. did they realize that their whole conversation was recorded on my voicemail? apparently, granny had reversed the last two numbers of Charles' phone and got me instead. damn, lady. to how many people did you pass my number?!?

maybe i should leave a new voicemail:

this is SPEN-CER...NOT Charles...
if you would like to reach Charles, his number ends with 8774...NOT 8747!
SPENCER...the guy with this number...would really appreciate it if you no longer leave granny in charge of phone numbers for the clan. moreover, if this lady is still driving, do everyone a favor and take the keys away - she is not the most lucid of individuals.

ah well, at least the messages had some entertainment value. after all, it coulda been spam. talk about a time waster...

not dead yet...

i will try to keep this blog out of the 'i'm bored enough to read Spencer's' emergency room. maybe Nelle will see it during one of her ambulance joyrides and find the appropriate defibrillator...

of course, i have survived the pissed off black widow too. unfortunately, i haven't found a Lysol shellacked body either. still, i ain't goin' to look for it. hellno. i guess i'm keeping myself alert enough with visions of a crazed spider pouncing on me as i sit, fully incapacitated, on the can. who cares if it was just Lysol. for all i know, that could be the arachnid version of angel dust... oh look, i failed to read the extra fine print at the bottom of the can!

it says, "DO NOT use as a substitute for killing spiders, or you will be in for a long night. you had better leave the state, buddy." great...

the things i do to please you guys...

i had just come down the stairs to blog a masterpiece when i spied a spider that had made its web on a couple drumsticks, hanging out of a box. a possible kill and not an easy one. smashing a spider on a wall just takes a quicker reaction and a helluva big shoe, with a good, flat sole.

however, killing a spider that is hanging in mid-air, not far from other objects takes a little more tact and skill. after all, you don't want to bust up the place trying to get at yer mortal arachnid enemy either. worse, with all that racket, you may inadvertently let it escape; you do not want to do a Porky Pig and shoot up the house, trying in vain to kill a fly that ultimately gets away in classic Looney Tunes fashion.

so, upon further investigation (but without mathematic calculations), i determined that this was not some stupid indoor spider that led the good life. rather, this was a creepy looking, widow type that must've just arrived from outside. GREAT...it's even more imperative that this fucker doesn't get away.

i didn't want to use my sandals, for fear of bumping into something and sabotaging the whole mission altogether. no, i went to look for back up.

upstairs, i couldn't find any bug spray, but i grabbed some Lysol (leftover from those dumpster divers who foolishly tried to rummage through my trash MWUHAHA). my sister, Susie, swears by it as a bug spray substitute. funny, in a house with spiders, you would think that we would have some Raid-type stuff on hand. nah, i prefer to fuckin' squaaash them with the power of the shoe...repent ye sinners or feel the wrath of my Nike!

went back down to face the enemy. sprayed it a few times, watching it fall onto a black (of course) jacket that is now disinfected and linen fresh as well. thinking that it was finished, i went upstairs to get a flashlight so i could spot the body easier and not be surprised if it were still twitching.

got my nubby flashlight that was absolutely fantastic in the jungles of Bolivia. it isn't the best flashlight that i've had (that prize goes to a huge Mag-Lite that i gave to my landlord in Peru), but it's still darn good and it was a heck of a lot cheaper ;)

went back to the spot and GODDAMN... it was gone! with a small bead of sweat on my brow, i carefully shone the light on the immediate area, frantically searching for a sticky, black corpse. nope. no sign. not good.

after a couple seconds of prodding the stuff underneath with one of the drumsticks, i caught a glimpse of some black body...but a very alive one.

it seems that the spider had just landed on the side of a milk crate, just underneath the jacket. argh. a milk crate - not a flat sided box. talk about complicating the whole situation.

wanna know what made everything reeaallyy bad? when i put the light on the spider, it was tapping one of its legs like it was waiting for me to make the next move. talk about a pissed spider... FU-UCK! i am so screwed.

i know that the majority of insects fear humans. after all, we are way bigger than they are...and the confrontation inevitably ends with a quick smack. however, i also know that spiders (and small animals) will bite if cornered or if quarters are tight. i just don't want a vengeful spider. that would not be good.

one of the world's most venemous spiders is the Brazilian wandering spider (Phoneutria nigriventer).

This spider is believed to have the most active neurotoxic venom of any living spider. Its venom is so potent that only 0.006mg (0.00000021oz) is sufficient to kill a mouse. that's 21 millionths of an ounce!!! the minimal chances of survival are compounded by the fact that these spiders like to lurk in shirts and shoes. careless people and (unfortunately) children become fatalities because the spider is aggressive and will bite multiple times.

so, while i know that no Brazilian wandering spiders co-habitate my house, i am not comforted by the thought of an enraged black spider that is gleefully juggling evil machinations of biting the peepee of the chinese guy living upstairs or possibly burrowing in his ear. i am so freaked out right now.

i'm ready though. i'm got my pillow, blanket, coat, hat, and Lysol. i'm gonna go upstairs and SLEEP IN THE CAR. take that you little eight-legged fukker!

just a couple thoughts...

this for all you 'vivor addicts. wanna watch a better reality show with less drama but more blood? try watching those who are running for office in Colombia...

from Yahoo! News...

Suspected leftist guerrillas gunned down two candidates in Colombia's upcoming state and mayoral elections after a campaign meeting in a lawless southwestern province, authorities said.

Police found the bodies of Jairo Gomez, a mayoral contender in the city of Genova, and Julio Cesar Castennanos, who was running for city council, lying in a ditch early Saturday, said Uriel Torres, a police spokesman for the Quindio region.

The two went missing after a campaign stop in a rural area outside Genova late Friday, Torres said. He blamed the attack on Colombia's largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which is bent on undermining the Oct. 26 vote.

At least 23 mayoral candidates have been killed and eight others kidnapped in the run-up to the elections. The FARC has been blamed for most of the attacks.

Nearly 160 candidates have pulled out of the race, a third of them citing death threats, according to the nation's registrar's office.

those people on TV are such wannabes...Ahnold? he's a wimp too. make that doubly wimpy since he's a 'publican :P

AND

there's always a lotta talk surrounding the ever increasing identity theft that is on its way to becoming a plague in the United States. one way to try to deter thieving of personal info is to shred documents, receipts, etc.

it is suggested that we vigilant consumers should invest in a cross-cutting paper shredder. apparently, the regular strip-shredders are not sufficient enough in making things tough for the potential thief; they can often just put the strips back together and voilá, yer credit is now shot.

for those who worry about identity theft...but don't want to take the time in tearing everything up...or can't afford buying a fancy cross-cutting paper shredder, here's my piece of advice:

wanna stop those pesky dumpster divers who want all that personal info? this is all you hafta do... throw all yer perishables into one trash bag and the paper stuff into another - keep 'em separate. however, before you tie up that paper document bag, take a HEAVING SHIT into it. think the dumpster divers will ever want to steal yer identity? hell, they'll send you a case of Lysol and beg for forgiveness...

'course, this is only what i did before i saved up for that cross-cuttin' shredder ;)

one circus has just left town...

and another one's tix go on sale today. sure, you gotta join their free club, but it's all part of the game. now, go get yer tix!!!

sigh...

looks like all nine Cub Foods locations in Colorado are going to be shut down by mid-november. Kroger (King Sooper's parent company) is going to buy four of them and slap the royal name on 'em... in fact, the Cub (on Cherry and Leetsdale) by my house is one of those candidates. thing is, there's another King Sooper's a mile further down Leetsdale...that's gonna be strange.

boo hiss...i don't want another King Sooper's. i liked some of the deals that Cub has. besides, Cub has a better marked down/seasonal/discontinued items area...and bigger too. ah well, the big fish are always gonna eat the smaller fish. too bad that they poop bigger as well...

oh yeah, Cub just installed a great ethnic aisle with super Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and Middle Eastern stuff! i guess this means going to separate stores again...grrr. or that just means i have a month to stock up, eh :)

okay...

as usual, Nelle has busted me for neglecting my blog. sometimes, i get all happy about posting more than once in a day and then go and get too lazy to add more. really though, i had been thinking about blogging all week. getting off my ass to do something about it was just a WHOLE 'nother issue...

so, regardless of the brainfartwritersblockblogfuck, here goes...

finally put the bookcase in place that i let sit around while i pondered its future location. yesterday, i was in a "move everything around because i'm tired of looking at it" mood. unfortunately, that means cleaning up the shit that's there and even more cleaning behind/underneath it because it has sat there for so long.

it wasn't a feng shui thing though. i'm sure that a consultant would have a seizure if he/she saw my new arrangement. who cares if this room says death and impotence, it works for me! now get out...you flake ;)

of course, with another bookcase, that means more room for buying. as usual, i hit the bargains at Barnes & Noble and Tattered. and bookcloseouts.com gets my business a few times a year. i haven't perused the nearby Goodwill and ARC though. hopefully, i'll make a trip out to the Salvation Army that Danelle haunts for books, which is a few blocks from my eldest sister's house. still, at $2 a bag, it sounds like a dangerous prospect - i may lose control if i find some goodies!

funny, you guys think i neglect this blog? sheeyit! you should see the stacks of books that i haven't touched in months!

one book, in particular, that i have been trying to finish is: Gaviotas - A Village to Reinvent the World. i gave it to lois a couple years ago and decided to read it myself. the book recounts how a group of scientists and visionaries turned a small Colombian village, Gaviotas, into a model of self-sustaining efficiency.

the village is located in the llanos, which are the desolate grasslands in eastern Colombia. there's no lushness, no rolling plains...just a lotta sky and depressing flatness. think Nevada with less heat and more rain.

anyway, in Gaviotas, which means seagull in Spanish, they use wind turbines that convert breezes into energy, solar collectors that work in the rain, soil-free systems in raising edible and medicinal crops, and ultra-efficient pumps which tap deep aquifiers. in fact, those pumps are so easy to operate that they're ingeniously powered by children's see saws!!!

it's really a fascinating book. it gives us a look into alternative forms of energy and self-sustanence. granted, this model will probably never make it into communities with well-established infrastructures (i.e., metropolitan areas...megalopoli), but it seems like a good fit for areas that are deemed 'uninhabitable' or marginal. i wonder how feasible this is for the more desolate parts of Colorado and New Mexico...

oh yeah, Gaviotas is not a new concept by any stretch of the imagination. the people did their homework, laid the groundwork, and had it all up and running in 1971. now, that's cool.