shoppin' fools...

went to payless recently to find some nu shooz. i still had about $25 left on a gift card that i received at xmas...and it was burning a hole in my wallet. lucky us, the present promotion is buy one get one half off. i ended up finding a pair of similarly priced running shoes...



...and casual low cut boots (mine are blue and black though)



surprisingly, for the Spalding brand, the shoes were quite comfortable. it had been probably 10 years since i bought some Spalding shoes from Payless - the quality has come a long way. so...with the sale and the gift card, i ended up paying less than $15 for the two pairs. yay! i may take a pair with me to Mexico...

btw, we also got two pairs of sandals. lois was looking for a pair of comfy soccer slides to wear in Cancún and my current pair (even though i probably have three other pairs ;) is on its last mile. it must've been spalding night because we found some ultra comfy and light pairs for $12.99...that rang up $3.00 and $1.50 (sale) when we got to the front. BONUS! we are set!!!

so...

freakin' sore. not having played v-ball in ten months has reared its ugly head and is kicking my ass (and the rest of my body) right now. joint pain everywhere. my legs hurt so bad that simply getting out of a chair is a chore. going up and down stairs is sheer adventure. and driving? imagine me having to lift my leg w/ my hand to get switch from accelerator to brakes. oh yeah, i'm just an accident waiting to happen.

so in my self-inflicted misery, i've missed out on a sneak peek of the soon-to-be open Newton Auditorium. the company for which Lois and Susie work, PCL Construction, has been renovating the old Auditorium Arena for the past two years. i heard the job cost around $90 million...wonder how much PCL gets.

anyway, the sneak peek tonight is a concert to test the acoustics; the venue is going to be a world class level opera house. lois told me that it was a sold out soiree - 2200 people in attendance. i'm just gonna hafta hear all the details seconhand...sigh. still, it's better than going and being a party pooper...'course, the alcohol would probably help heh.

off to the park...

i'm actually going to the park to play some v-ball. i can't believe that i've missed almost an entire summer due to my freakin' eye...which is maybe 85%. unfortunately, i think i've plateaued in my vision progress...which may mean one last steroid injection in the eyelid. i don't care what it takes, i just want to be 100% in the left eye.

my eye really has come a long way though. at the end of may, i couldn't even see a hand in front of my face...i was dispensing steroid eye drops at the rate of 16x a day for a week...dilating 3x a day...and on a strong regimen of 80mg. of prednisone (which made me crazy and gave me acne). now, my vision is 20/30 and i'm down to one steroid drop a day and one dilation. i've been off all pills and will stop the drops beginning sunday. i've got one more appointment with the retinal specialist on monday (who's probably gonna give me the shot) and another with the corneal guy at the end of september.

whew!

i'm hoping that ten days in mexico will be the turning point for the eye. mebbe beer, tacos, high altitude, and pollution make the magic elixir for uveitis ;)

busy...

not me. lois.

on sunday, she went down to Pueblo to visit her sis and bro-in-law. you remember, they were here visiting for a few days on their way back to Alaska. well, they made it as far as Walsenburg when Ken started to feel poorly and had a tough time breathing.

a 911 call gets an ambulance, with which he ends up in Pueblo ICU. were going to perform an angioplasty on monday, but found out that he needs a bypass instead. so, two of Pauline's sons are coming up from Texas to drive the mobile home back. Ken's gonna hafta wait a couple more days to get his bypass procedure. luckily, he can go back home and have it done there. i think it'd be strange to have it done in different environs, unless it were totally pertinent and a matter of life and death.

lois did make it back in one piece, considering the rain was just pouring south of castle rock (on her way back). she made it back in time to go to a baptism party for our friend's baby son, who just turned three months about three weeks ago. it was in the back of an african grocery store in Aurora. and of the couple dozen or so people there, we (along w/ a Latino guy) were the only non-Ethiopians in the room.

the guests didn't seem to fazed by our presence. we just got our food (which was delish) and sat down. what i found most interesting was the custom of shaking someone's arm when introduced mid-meal. i know that many cultures adhere to the eating with only one hand custom (including Ethiopian). what i didn't know was that if someone is eating and is introduced to another, you shake his/her arm...not hand.

it's always fascinating to watch Ethiopian people eat. if you're familiar with their food, you know that 'injera', a sourdough bread made from teff wheat, is their main eating utensil. it's kinda spongy and rolled up like a tortilla. you basically tear off a piece and scoop up your food. the coolest thing is to observe them...scooping and tearing all in one swoop...with that right hand. it takes a special dexterity to hold with the first three fingers and tearing with the ring and pinky. what's even more remarkable is that their fingers stay totally clean AND they finish their meal in half the time it takes us to use both hands and napkins (sometimes multiple). i mentioned this to lois and she laughed because she remarked that the shoe'd be on the other foot if they had chopsticks and were eating with me :)

she's so wise...

nothing like anonymity...

just started checking this blog out...

http://postsecret.blogspot.com/

i think some of the postcards are hilarious/very creative/creepy. i may send him a postcard or two. god knows i have some deep, dark secrets heh

always fun...

but how accurate?

Your IQ Is 130

Your Logical Intelligence is Exceptional Your Verbal Intelligence is Genius Your Mathematical Intelligence is Genius Your General Knowledge is Exceptional

A Quick and Dirty IQ Test

changes...

have been made in my blog links and weather pixie. nothing streamlined though - same ol' clunky blog.

finally got the tix to mexico after much contemplation. we did purchase the $341 open jaw fare, leaving denver on 9/12 for mexico city and coming back from cancún on 9/22. we hesitated at first because we would have preferred to be there from 9/15 to 9/25, maximizing a full weekend with our friend, Yani, in cancún. unfortunately, it didn't work out that way.

regardless of the dates of our itinerary, i just look at it as getting away. period. so...

now all we have to do is find a place to stay in mexico city. after all, it's only a city that's 500 sq. miles w/ 25 million people (in the metro area). no prob, right :)

will keep you posted.

holy shit...

he's bloggin'!

sorry for the delay in posting. i know you all are used to an occasional three week hiatus, so the apology and rusty comments are nothing new.

well, pauline and ken (lois' sis and bro-in-law) left yesterday. in the week that they were here, we did little but eat, sit on the porch, eat, and play dominoes. they pretty much filled us in on all the details of their adventures in alaska...fishing, viewing Denali, the midnight sun, vast open space. they even brought some of the halibut and salmon that they had caught. we had the salmon a few nights ago...delish. it had a more subtle flavor than what we get at the store yet much richer. i'll have to figure out what to do with the halibut this weekend.

we did manage to go out a couple times. in the four months that they've been gone, good mexican food has been hard to come by in alaska, canada, and montana. ya think? first thing we did when they got here was whisk them off to La Cocina de Marcos - still our fave mexican.

speaking of mexican, our trip to mexico city and cancún (and maybe villahermosa) is still on. unfortunately, purchasing the tix were put on the backburner while they were here. of course, the fantastically priced $385 fare (den-mex...mex-cun...cun-den) ended last friday. so...our seats are now just a good deal at $483.

with the $98 increase, we're looking at getting an open jaw fare instead and bussing it from mexico city to villahermosa for a couple days before heading to cancún. luckily, there's still a $341 open jaw ticket on American. i know i've mentioned the term open jaw when it comes to air travel, but in case you've forgotten or are not familiar, an open jaw route is when you depart for one place but return from another. this is an excellent idea if you want to take a long trip in a country, but don't want to double back to your landing point. often the price will be about the same as a R/T, or even cheaper. of course, in many cases, the price is a bit more expensive (depending on the market). for example, even though there are some $350 fares to cancún right now, an open jaw from denver (but leaving from mexico city) is in the $600 range. however, the cheapest fare to mexico city right now is in the $400-500 range. and yet, we'll be able to get an open jaw that goes to mexico city and leaves from cancún for $341.

yeah, it's freakin' strange. when we first started doing open jaw trips, i thought i had the formula...fly into cheaper market + depart from more expensive market = either equivalent price of cheaper market or divide difference between two markets and tack it on. and now, with this upcoming trip, that formula falls apart. gosh, i wish my teacher in travel school would have divulged the 'secret' open jaw formula...

anyway, looks like we'll be departing between 9/12-14 and coming back on the 22nd. as long as we spend 3-4 nights in mexico city, 1-2 in the villahermosa area, and the rest in cancún, we'll be happy. lois will get to go the san juan market in mexico city for gems/jewelry and get to see our friend, Ileana (aka, Yani), in cancún. and i'll get to eat my tacos in villahermosa (at Rincon Brujo), see the Trotsky museum, drink coffee at Café El Reloj, and get my bottle of Xtabentun.

be back soon...gotta start dinner...it's shish kabob time (w/ grilled veggies and corn)

come on over and join us!

a day early...

lois' sister and bro-in-law were SUPPOSED to get in today, but they kinda surprised us by getting in yesterday afternoon. thank god i got a little inspired and cleaned up some. inside it wasn't too bad...it was the outside that was in dire need of miraculous intervention. luckily, my friend, Baudelio, came over with eight year-old son in tow. they helped me pull weeds, remove a young elm stump, annihilate a vine that had taken over the front gate, clean two gutters that were totally jam packed with organic sludge and fine shingle gravel, and put down new sand on the ancient pavers in the back.

you wouldn't think an eight year-old would have enough resolve to help out...but this is Baude's son. i swear, this guy from Zacatecas (Mexico) is about 5'6", 210 lbs, has arms the size of bazookas, and is a freakin' machine. i have never seen anyone pull weeds so fast in my life. he had told me that he'd like nothing more than to go back home and have a farm. so that's where you learned to pull so fast...

anyway, the outside has undergone a major transformation. not only are the noxious weeds gone, but there's new cement as well. yesterday, while we were pulling, Adams Asphalt had three guys jackhammerin' out six concrete slabs in front of the house. and today, they poured it.

the sidewalk has been in sad shape for the past few years, worsening with every season. we had been dreading the cost of replacing about 216 sq. feet of concrete. however, we were sure it'd be cheaper than a lawsuit if someone had tripped on the sidewalk in front and lost teeth/brain cells/maxillary bones. surprisingly, they did it for under $2000. and you know what? it looks DAMN nice.

so they got here...armfulls of stuff. although they've been on the road for more than four months, they still seemed pretty fresh and upbeat...for driving from texas to fairbanks and down through here. as the crow flies, that's at least 5500 miles...so you know it's more than that by car. ugh, how the hell can anyone afford driving a 37' motor home...which averages 6 mpg...for 6-8000 miles? that's AT LEAST $2500 in gas...and that's a low estimate. they're thinking more in the neighborhood of $4000 because of the additional cost of gas in Canada (i.e., $4 a gallon). i think they budgeted $12,000 for the five months.

man, we could see most of Central America for that over five months...and leave ALL the driving to someone else. heh

but that's why they're the RVers and we're the weirdos who go to third world countries...

i don't...

have the urge to clean.

lois' sister and bro-in-law are going to be arriving probably friday night for about 5-6 days while en route to Texas, back from Alaska. they've been on the road with their 37' motor home since April. too much driving and too much gas for my taste...how do they do it?

looks like we're gonna go on a trip to mexico in september. i think we'll need to buy the tix this week for a trip from Denver to Mexico City on the 12th...to Cancun on the 17th...and back to Denver on the 22nd. that should be a nice getaway. oddly enough, this triangle trip is actually gonna be cheaper (on Mexicana non-stop) than just a R/T from Denver to Mexico City on those dates. really, our tix for that itinerary will be $385...and R/T DEN-MEX is $444. don't know why but not gonna ask either.

one thing i do know is that Mexico City WILL be crazy on the the night of the 15th, the day before Mexican Independence Day. Imagine a swell of 500,000 people in the main square...

but must clean...now

week o' eatin'

that's what it has been...

monday it was an outing with James and Jeff for phô and vietnamese coffee. later, we grabbed some grub at Del Taco, which was kinda gross. it made Taco Hell (Smell) seem like gourmet.

tuesday night, lois and i headed for La Cocina de Marcos - our favorite. Cindi, we must go there soon! I know that Pat's is on the same block, but you must resist the temptation and meet us for Mexican sometime.

wednesday was actually spent indoors and out of the cold rain. we just grazed since there was little in the refrigerator and even less inspiration to go shopping.

thursday morning was breakfast with Cindi at the Delectable Egg in Lowry. real nice place and even better company. we tore through our yummy food (she had a skillet made with Denver omelet-style ingredients and i had a rooster, which is a chicken breast, two slices of french toast, and two egg whites with your choice of veggies) and headed for the Peaberry a couple doors down. she had a frozen joe, which tastes kinda like a Heath bar coffee slurpee. and i opted for a mocha.

such a good time.

thursday night was spent with our friends, Yulita and her boyfriend, Tracy. Yulita is a really cute Indonesian gal who was once Lois' star Spanish student at Metro...about ten years ago. We basically kept in touch with her because she worked at the Kokoro which we occasionally visit. when our schedules permit (or when the stars collide) we try to have dinner with them. the last time (April 2004) we went to Taste of Thailand. this time, we headed to 44th and Lowell, where Cafe Brazil has relocated. if you like caribbean style (i.e., black beans, plantains, spicy) and seafood, this is the place to go. now, you don't have to eat seafood there, but that's why i go ;) one of my favorite dishes is La Caleña (shrimp and sea scallops in a slightly sweet and spicy sauce over a bed of rice and garnished with pepper, onions, carrots, and zucchini). YUM

friday was once last jaunt with James before he headed back to Memphis the following day. it was nearly a day of liquid dieting...which can be translated to: a shitload of beer. first up, Breckenridge Brewery. a couple pints and a phenomenal reuben sandwich (fries weren't very good though). next, Falling Rock Tap House. that's where Jeff works. the place has 74 beers on tap and probably that many bottled too. james was in heaven. he was getting to drink dopplebocks and eisbocks, which are a rarity in most parts. i guess you can take a man out of Germany but you have a harder time taking out the German beer in him... as for pub grub, we just shared a basket of their 420 wings, which were like spicy teriyaki. we were there long enough to eat, drink, listen to a band (West of Chicago - bluesy), shoot a few games of pool, and evade a parking ticket. ya see, most meters downtown now have to be fed until 10 PM. and considering we only paid for a couple hours (5PM to 7PM), we were damn lucky we didn't get a few paper violations - we left at midnight.

of course, everything comes with a price. although we missed out on a parking ticket, i paid for our night o' drinking with a big ol' bruised knee.

no, we weren't drunk...just careless. as we were crossing the street, i banged my knee into the trailer ball of a truck. yowtch. got a little cut, some swelling, and a really cool green and blue bruise about the size of an old silver dollar. ah well.

we weren't done eating though. on the way home, we stopped by the Viva Burrito Co. by my house. the place is an old Jack In The Box that serves breakfast burritos, tortas, fried tacos, regular burritos, quesadillas, etc. and they do it 24-7...the dining room does close at 1AM though.

saturday night. went to Black Eyed Pea. big disappointment. used to go there more often, but it seems that the food quality is worsening. it might be a while before we go back.

afterwards, we sped on over to the cheapies to see 'Cinderella Man.' was very good. ooh, the boxing scenes were a bit brutal, especially the last one between James Braddock and Max Baer. excellent though. it's a shame that they decided to release it around the time of the last Star Wars installment; i doubt many people saw it...if the box office receipts are an indication. the movie cost $88 million to make and has only made $60 million as of last week. i wonder if it'll garner any Oscar nominations or if it'll be forgotten since they won't be announced until February.

last night we went to Bennigan's and shared an appetizer of southwest egg rolls and ultimate nachos before our burger and salad came out. ha! sounds like they were in the closet...

we had an earlier dinner than usual. so when we finished, we went shoppin'! off to Big Lots! for cleaning stuff and assorted things we don't need...and to Sunflower Market for this week's produce...and to Mervyn's for some towels and a sheet set (items for our ethiopian friends who just bought their first house).

and now you have the sordid details of our gastronomic ventures of the past week.

i'm hungry...

a magic number?

i just looked at my stats for this blogpage. after 25 months of blogging, i finally posted my 365th message. now, if i just didn't go three weeks at a time without blogging...