12.31.2006

celebratin'?

not this year. we're having a low-key new year's eve. it's either age and/or tolerance. perhaps in our old age, we're less tolerant of celebrating the new year's w/ a bunch of strangers...downtown (for a lame fireworks show)...and in the cold. in fact, for many years, we were usually on the road for January 1st.

so...we went out yesterday and stocked up on some champagne. some for us and the neighbors. argonaut, as all other liquor stores, has various bottles of el cheapo (Andre champagne) on sale for $2.99. suckers for a bargain, we got a couple bottles of peach passion.

not bad at all. now, it's hard to stomach two glasses of this stuff, but one in lieu of dessert was okay. with a re-closeable top, looks like we'll get four more glasses out of it ;)

we also splurged and got some Segura Viudas Heredad...on sale for $15.99. like Freixenet, Segura Viudas is a Spanish champagne of high quality. you can usually get a bottle for six or seven bucks. we hadn't tried this special one before, but we liked that it was rated a 92 and had a cool bottle design. yes, that is metal on the bottom, making for a somewhat hefty bottle...a helluva way to start a bar fight!

hey, while we're waiting for all that snow to melt, head to the denver post site and play the hickenlooper snow plow game. it took me 80 hours on the first try...this game might me a good time waster for the last day of the year. go play now!

have a great new year's eve!!! don't get arrested though because i've spent all your bond money on booze and chili dogs ;)

12.29.2006

un...

believable.

a front end loader just spent the last half hour plowing our street. you can actually see tar! after listening to an interview with huzzah hickenloopy (our mayor) pontificate about how WE should be grateful for the snow plow operators who are putting in 12-hour days, scraping our winter wonderland, i was ready to GO OFF! i'm sorry, but those poor, overworked guys ARE getting paid overtime...which WE taxpayers provide!

wtf...

get off yer high horse and get a decent haircut...it either resembles a botched comb-over or looks like you got it done in the dark. you know, i think you've had a pretty easy time in office since day one. this is what ALL elected officials have to contend (with). WE elected you in hopes of progress, not a snarky, condescending attitude.

anyway, this was a good second chance for the plows because our street was just packed snow down the middle and a luge run at the intersections. initially, i thought that plows did indeed come through after the first storm and just didn't reach street level. of course, when i saw that the block north of us was plowed (probably because of the fire station at the corner), i knew that there was something suspect about our situation.

so...now i have a clear path to go anywhere...if i were foolish enough to go out today ;) who the hell wants to go a grocery store that looks like a barren russian supermarket?

i'm content w/ my antioxidants in front of me, green tea and dark chocolate. i think i may load up on more...and go upstairs...to scarf half a blueberry pie heh.

12.26.2006

now...

that xmas is over, i've gotten rid of the green and red format. this new one seems a bit stark, but it matches the ever present snow outside...for awhile.

so...

you were THAT good, eh?

12.21.2006

24...


and that ain't the TV show. rather, that's how many inches of snow we got in the "Blizzard of '06". i'm glad i didn't have to fight any of the slick streets and standstill traffic yesterday.

nope. instead, i wrenched my back shoveling snow twice, in hopes of keeping ahead of the storm. at noon, there was already 8" of the white stuff. at 4:30, i was out again, tackling another heavy blanket of snow.

ugh.

today, at noon, i watched the lady across the street shovel about ten feet of her sidewalk before she hung it up and trudged back into the house.

my feelings exactly.

what am i worried about? i don't have any shopping or errands to do. after all, this hefty slice of cherry pie and hot tea sitting next to me are all i need...

12.20.2006

cool card...

this poinsettia sculpture card was sent to me by a friend of mine in california. looks like she got it from the Museum of Modern Art online store...i think i'm gonna get me some :) there are also some classy drop-style ornaments...and pop-up cards.

done...

with the exception of a few cards, my holiday stuff is pretty much finished. the tree is up...shopping is done...egg nog is in hand.

this year, we switched to the LED xmas lights, which are supposed to be brighter, more energy efficient (90% less use), and longer lasting (25,000 hour bulbs). good thing because a strand of 50 runs about $10...

hmmm...trying pumpkin spice egg nog. if you ask me, there's no discernible difference. one of these days, i'm gonna have to make my own. anyone have a recipe?

12.17.2006

garfield...

has it backwards. it's not the santa hats but the egg nog that enhances whatever you do.

three things...

Three things that scare me: fecal matter, drowning, perishing in a fire
Three people who make me laugh: Lois, Kenny, my mom
Three things I love: travel, Maya ruins, music
Three things I don't love: rude people, religious fanatics, telemarketers
Three things I don't understand: the Iraqi conflict, huge bonuses paid to CEO/CFOs of major corporations, American Idol
Three things on my desk: a small lamp, lotion, and the stereo remote
Three things I'm doing right now: this meme, listening to Ella Fitzgerald, and thinking about finishing those damn holiday cards
Three things I want to do before I die: visit Cambodia, retire w/ enough money, climb the pyramids at El Mirador (Guatemala)
Three things I can do: speak Spanish, cook, spout completely useless trivia
Three things you should listen to: music, people who love you (although you don't always have to agree), and yer instincts
Three things you should never listen to: Dubya, most contemporary pop music, that evil neighbor
Three things I'd like to learn: Portuguese, to garden like my mom, to play a musical instrument (mebbe drums, piano, or trombone)
Three favorite foods: most ethnic cuisines, pasta, and braunschweiger
Three beverages I drink regularly: water, liquor, and Dr. Pepper
Three TV shows I watched as a kid: Love American Style, Get Smart, Three's Company

12.16.2006

it's like...

liquid crack. recently, i purchased a pound of this tea via amazon's marketplace. it's called MarketSpice Tea. it's a black tea mixed with cinnamon oil, orange peel, and cloves.

it is SO addictive.

i used to drink it quite a lot in the 90's at the Harvest. unfortunately, when the restaurant closed four years ago, there was no other place else in town to get it; Gemini Restaurant serves a similar one, but it's not as good.

so...i did without for four years...until MarketSpice started selling through amazon marketplace.

there's nothing like it. the smell of the tea is SO strong...it permeates the whole house when you make a couple batches. the cinnamon oil is so fierce that if you accidentally brush your forearm against the leaves, it can blister. and that first sip...

is pure heaven. you get a huge charge of the tea's flavor combination and sweetness on the tip of the tongue. MarketSpice Tea is simply the best iced tea for the summer too. nothing refreshes/invigorates like this elixir.

maybe i SHOULD try to snort/smoke it...heh. at $11/lb. it's quite a deal!

12.13.2006

just...

about done w/ my holiday shopping. how 'bout you guys?

now...i wish i could say the same for xmas cards. usually, i get them out the first week of december. well, i haven't even started them yet.

sigh

lately, i've just been daydreaming about travel...what else? lois' birthday is in april and i'm gonna redeem 60,000 miles for a couple tix to either Puerto Rico or Belize. Panama has an outside chance too, since we've never been.

Puerto Rico would be nice because we really didn't get to see much of the island in 1997, when Lois presented a paper for the applied anthropology meetings. it's not the cheapest of places, but we should be able to see a lot more of the island in 4-7 days since it's a mere 3000 square miles (100 miles from east to west and 30 miles north to south.

Belize is a good choice for us because of its important Maya sites such as Caracol, El Pilar, Cerros, Lamanai, Altun Ha, and Xunantunich. Lois hasn't been and although i've been there 3x, it has been nearly 14 years since my last visit. It would be a bit cheaper than Puerto Rico but with the archaeological bonus :)

Besides, could you ever pass this up...


Panama? well...mebbe. guess i'd better get readin'!

12.05.2006

bear with me...

i'm changin' a few things around. i hope i don't regret it...

ha! i wonder if the Japanese sign says "Watch Out For The Steaming Pile of Dog Shit" :)

pissed...

earlier tonight, we went to visit one of our friends at Aurora Medical Center. he had the unfortunate luck of getting two surgeries in four days. on friday, he had gone in for vascular surgery; he's a diabetic w/ major circulation problems. and this morning...

he had the remaining three toes on his right foot amputated.

this isn't a hospital horror story though - they were the right toes. he just had a small sore (caused by stepping on a hair) that ended up abcessing. poor guy. we feel so bad for him. he and his family have had a really rough patch that has lasted ten years. they've endured a couple foreclosures, a botched surgery with no recourse, repossessed cars, diabetic-related surgeries, and now this...leaving the hospital with half a right foot.

somehow, through all of this, they seem to keep it together. and for that, i admire them; i would have thrown the world's largest pity party and wallowed in it the entire time if it were me ;)

anyway, i'm not pissed because of his latest amputations. nope. it's what happened while we were leaving the hospital.

Around 7:50 PM, Lois and I were attempting to exit through the north doors when we were nearly accosted by a security guard, John. Apparently, the hospital was under lockdown due to an armed man in the parking lot.

I had no problem with the lockdown. However, we were NOT pleased in the manner that John was stopping people when they were attempting to leave; he was uncommonly rude. Granted, he has a job to perform in keeping us safe, but he was not courteous at all. I understand the undue stress of the lockdown may have been great but this man was totally lacking in social skills.

As we turned the corner to exit, John, stepped in front of me and snapped his fingers, exclaiming, "Hey! We are under lockdown!!!" Surprised by both his action and situation, we stopped and waited at the front door with at least a dozen other people.

We all watched as he stopped an extended family with his outstretched hand and telling them (explicitly) that they were NOT going anywhere. The family was taken aback by his brusqueness and stood there aghast by his attitude.

Lois and I did not appreciate his tone of voice nor the snapping of fingers. It was like he was trying to stop his misbehaving kids from strapping a pop bottle rocket across the family cat's ears. This shit happened four hours ago and I'm still kind of seething; the snapping fingers made my blood boil.

Ugh...throw yer gun down, Rent-a-Cop, and let me kick yer ass. In fact, everyone in this lobby is waiting in line...

12.01.2006

kind of amusing...

yesterday, a massive typhoon ravaged the eastern phillippines...killing more than 109.

that fact isn't amusing. what i did find amusing though was the name of the typhoon, Durian. now, it's common knowledge that hurricanes/tropical storms in the western hemisphere are usually given male or female names starting with 21 of the 26 letters in the Roman alphabet; q,u,x,y, and z names aren't used. right now, there are six rotating lists of names, in alternating male and female order. even numbered years start with a male 'A' name and a female 'B' name; odd years are the opposite. for example, the first storm of 2006 was named Alberto; next year's first will be named Andrea. during extraordinary hurricane seasons, however, when all the letters have been used, such as in 2005, additional storms are given greek letter names, starting with alpha. and hurricanes that have caused devastating damage, such as Andrew, Charley, Katrina, and Rita, are retired (name-wise).

well, Durian is an amusing name for a typhoon, mainly because that's the name of a massive, prickly fruit that is native to Southeast Asia. about the size of a very big honeydew, the durian is known for its creaminess and (yet) overpowering stench. the best comparison of a freshly cut durian's smell would be that of roadkill stuffed into a gym bag w/ sweat drenched socks, smeared in rotting eggs.

really

in fact, the durian is so putrid that it's not even allowed on many airlines. yep, it's on the banned list, next to flammables, explosives, and cigarettes.

there's a common saying about durian, "It tastes like heaven but smells like hell." and it's true. i've actually had a durian shake at a restaurant that served a trio of SE Asian cuisine - Malaysian, Singaporean, and Indonesian. i can tell you that the silky texture of the fruit was almost custard-like, but whatever magic used in making the shake still couldn't mask the underlying 'aroma' of rotten eggs. i'm glad i've tried it but have no inclinations of getting another...even on occasion.

when i saw the headline of the typhoon article, it just made me think of changing our naming system. hell, mebbe we should use things that obliterate our olfactories...like Hurricane Limburger or Hurricane Mothball. why make it a sex thing? after all, from 1953 to 1978, all hurricanes had female names. it was only in 1979 that male names were added to the lists... trust me, Hurricane Vomit would be a much more memorable name than Audrey, which killed 390 people in Louisiana and Texas in 1957. who's gonna remember that?

i like my system better

new...

and improved? we'll see.

i finally gave in and signed up for a ggoogle account in updating the blogspot format to beta. i hope this streamlining will make the whole blogging experience easier.

now...if it would just light a posting fire under my saggy butt ;)