#476...

that's the number of this posting...which might actually be a long one. i've been so lazy in posting over the past couple weeks that it has become a virulent trend. i wanna read everyone else's blog but watch my own fester in a pool of putrid stagnancy.

you know the feeling...but maybe not to such a great extent ;)

if you recall, we went to central texas twelve days ago. the car trip was roughly 2145 miles roundtrip. we spent a night in a hotel en route, each way.

usually, if we're driving to coleman, we tough it out and drive to abilene, a twelve hour drive (non-stop)...and spend a night there. however, our eye afflictions beg us limit the hours behind the wheel. so...we spent the night in lubbock instead.

HUGE








FREAKIN'










MISTAKE








we were foolish enough to spend it in the Econolodge on the south side of town. note that when you're staying there, you put the emphasis on 'CON' because that's how we felt.

the above photos from this dump's website were completely deceiving. the shabby carpeting looked like it had been installed by a one eyed quadruplegic with a malfunctioning wheelchair (no offense to any physically challenged individual who may fit this description). really though, part of it was on the wall...while some floorspace lacked it completely.

just plain bizarre...

i think the owner also contracted this person to paint the paper-thin doors, for they lacked a complete single coating, much of which was peeling anyway. i'm surprised that the doors even stayed intact, they epitomized spontaneous disintegration.

the interior appearance wasn't the only beef we had though. the outside grounds were kind of atrocious as well. the parking lot was ridden with potholes that were lying in wait to swallow entire vehicles that dared to tread upon its ghastly wasteland. the soda stained sidewalk around the property was a playground of euphoric stickiness. i swear i saw prolific anthills the size of semi-trucks. you could easily lose a shoe, luggage, or even small children if you weren't careful in setting something down.

usually, a place like this might be equated with a fantasyland for drug dealing. well, i think the pushers have more sense than this; it might be bad for business.

the most laughable aspect about the hotel was its simply pitiful towels. not only were they few (two washcloths and two 'bath' towels), they were miniature sized (the bath towels could have doubled as king size pillowcases and the washcloths were easily cocktail napkins in a past life) and were the antithesis of absorbency. why bother? we could just use the bedsheets, which were shockingly free of stains and/or pubic hairs! wotta plus...

you know, i can't complain because we've actually stayed in (just barely) worse places in mexico and bolivia...but for a lot less! those places were $3-$7 a night...not $50. yeah, we paid that much.

you ask, why did you stay? for the beds and the dog. we got into town tired, hot, and cranky. we mainly stayed because the beds were (surprisingly) good and the fact that pets were allowed. we could put up with all of the shortcomings for one night.

besides, if we had stayed in a better place, i wouldn't have blog fodder and my five dedicated readers would have had two more minutes of time on their hands.

so now you know...

whoops...

here's the link that i neglected to include on the last post. really though, the story after mine should've been the winner!

got picked...

but not for the big prize.

sigh.

remember when i posted (see 3/31) our story of saving a cow in bolivia? i had submitted a story to budget travel to be considered for a free trip to tahiti. well, we didn't win but the story did end up in this month's issue.



frankly, i think that the winning entrant's story is not as cool as ours. in fact, the story below ours is probably the best one LOL

oh well, we've got a couple others that we can submit. who knows what they're gonna offer in the future...we may get lucky the second time. i wonder if sending stories in consecutive months will hurt our chances...

looks like our fifteen minutes is just about up

beep*

smohenitg to tnihk aobut...

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae.

The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

harder to justify...

i'm glad that cirquedusoleil usually hits denver with a different show every two years. we've been fortunate to see three or four productions in the last 6 years. and i just got an email today for pre-sale tix for the new show, which opens here at the end of august. it looks cool...strange...even wondrous. so much like their other shows...with the exception of price.

THE DAMN TIX FOR THIS SHOW RANGE FROM $88 to $147...wotdafuk?!?

i think we'll say no thanks this time...

it's gonna be...

hothothot

we're leaving on Thursday...and we're drivin'...with the monster dog even (adorable but eee-vil). didn't you know that sophie is the name for anti-christ in terrier-ese? specifically for those that are jack russell/miniature poodle mixes.


but it's gonna be fun. we're attending the 60th wedding anniversary of a lady who could pretty much be lois' second mother; lois grew up really poor and this lady kept her clothed as a child. it's hard to fathom a couple being able to stand each other for that long, eh? i guess it's not that uncommon though. after all, my parents will be celebrating their 59th in august...that means we should start thinking of things now. mebbe i'll get some ideas when we're down there...hmmm.


since we're goin' for ten days...with the car...and a psychodog, we'll probably spend a week visiting lois' brothers and sisters in the dallas area. i may even drop in on a friend with whom i just reconnected after eighteen years (via myspace). he and i were good friends in high school. we used to sit next to each other in Honors Thesis and dream up elaborate pranks to play on our favorite teacher Miss A.

hopefully, i'll be able to surprise him at his workplace. a couple months ago, i had mentioned (to him) that we'd be in texas in may, but i'm hoping he'll forget. i've contacted one of his co-workers and we're plotting things already ;) it's a shame that i don't have any damning pictures of him...i need some yearbook dirt dammit!!!

been reading...

this blog. i had no idea about the trek until i glanced at it in passing while on yawho. wow! this man has walked from Escondido, CA to NYC...a journey of nearly 2900 miles...in thirteen months!!!

it really is an inspiring story. at the outset of the walk, this man had weighed around 400 lbs. and over the course of the year, he has lost more than 100 lbs. and resurrected his self-confidence/esteem. although i've only read the first three months of posts, i do know that he has just completed it and will be on the TodayShow tomorrow morning. i'm intrigued to catch the interview...

that's what does it for me - the human condition. i'm not one for sappiness or perpetual happy endings, but just honesty and the daily happenings in our lives. i guess it's the mutual struggle that we all endure on a daily basis. after all, aren't we all wallowing in the same shit ;) some deeper than others i suppose...

da toe...

is better. surprisingly, the flexibility hasn't been hampered much but the swelling (cindi, i use edema because it's fewer letters to type LOL) is still prevalent between the first and second toes; they still don't touch. i had it wrapped and poulticed by my acupuncturist's husband, who's an orthopedic surgeon by trade.

after the second 'helping', i asked dr. cao how many ingredients he mixed for the salve. he told me that his secret mixture is comprised of fourteen herbs.

hah

my big toe now belongs to the colonel...



i think i prefer an original big toe over a crispy one!!!

well...

i just got tix to this show at red rocks in august. they haven't toured since the mid-seventies but they're gearing up for a reunion tour. can you say $$$$? ah well. at least the tix aren't outrageously priced like a stones tour (which would never be worth it) or the upcoming CSN&Y tour (best tix are like $250).

wtf???

careful what you type. i accidentally transposed the letters p and s in my blogspot url and got this

i think the same goes for anyone else. weird huh?

so watch those happy fingers ;)

just me...

and a cuppa coffee. we just finished dinner, which involved all kinds of chopping and seasoning.

had pork chops seasoned with some jerk seasoning, adobo, and cumin. topped it off with a salsa that i make with hot chiles (habanero or serrano), red onion, lime juice, mango, and pineapple. usually, it has cilantro, but we had to skip it this time and used pineapple instead. this was the majority of the mincing and chopping. nothing like fresh pineapple...unfortunately, that involves soaking it in a bit of salt water and skinning the damn thing.

why soak a whole pineapple in salt water? ever cut up one and try to eat it? makes yer mouth itch and lips bleed (if they're chapped)... soaking it in a slightly briny water for 15-30 minutes negates all those evil enzymes. really! learned it from my dad and uncle joe when i was a kid.

anyway, had leftover rice that i added lime zest...and some canned black beans with lime and jalapeño. opened a bottle of riesling (good with spicy food) and sat down to feast.

lois is flipping around the channels to find something on the tube. think i'll join her...mebbe we'll pop in this movie or that one. just got 'em from netflixx yesterday.

hope you're all staying outta trouble...or at least not getting caught ;)

argh...

played ball on sunday. nothing great, but got some cobwebs out. some soreness for a couple days...

played ball yesterday...things were coming along. my passing was straightening out...my spikes were getting harder...i jammed the fuck outta my toe...DAMMIT!



wasn't this big toe...



nor this one...


must be this one then. luckily, the picture isn't of my foot (my feet ain't ugly nor hairy)...but you get the idea.

yes, i sprained my big right toe coming down off a block. it's surreal for me because in the 19 years i've played v-ball, i've only sprained my toes only once or twice. usually, it means icing and soaking...and still playing, but not barefoot for awhile.

i may be out of commission for a month from the looks of this one though. the edema is pretty pronounced around the metatarsal. and since this is the toe that swelled up in a goutlike way last year, around the time of my uveitis diagnosis, who knows how long it's gonna be; it never felt "normal" even after the swelling subsided at the beginning of this year.

doublefukkinargh!

btw, the seemingly out of place photos are brought up if you do a yahooo image search on big toe. apparently, that's the guitarist of big toe and there's a japanese body builder (who's doing some 'roids) named big toe.

funny...