a slow...

thaw.

it's actually 16° right now! wow, talk about balminess ;) shouldn't complain though. Craig, Colorado (located in the NW corner of the state) had a morning low of -35°...

no friggin' way could i live there.

i'm sure that the people that live there don't let the cold stop their daily routine since frigid temps, too, are routine in Craig. however, in aurora, there are some residents of the cottonwood trail apartments, who are feeling the residual effects of the cold weather. apparently, an 8" water main broke overnight, jetting a massive geyser of water onto the parking lot and its cars.

shi-iit.

yes, those poor cars are encased in a block of solid ice, nearly a foot thick. could you imagine trying to hack through all that? as if they hadn't dug enough snow from the proximity of their cars...now this cruel slap in the face.

i'm just glad that it'll get into the 30s this week. they say that once the temperature reaches zero, most car batteries crank at 40% strength. that sure was evident this morning when i started my car and it emitted an anemic, whirrirrirrirr...before a puny vroomrattlerattle

it's an energizer that i bought last year.

that damn bunny is a fraud...he needs to go into a pot of fricasse.

how come this company doesn't make car batteries? i've always liked the coppertop better anyway.

feh

strange...

my right ear is on fire...like it's got a touch of frostbite. it is SO red. i was out today for a couple minutes, but not long enough for something to happen. and even if i were out long enough, why only one ear?

weird.

when i was 19, i stood outside for a good twenty minutes...with the wind howling...and below zero temps...and got frostbitten ears. later that night, they blistered up and oozed a bit. the warm towel helped but it was still kinda gross.

yeah, no hat in cold and windy weather is not a good idea. so now i wear a hat much of the time when the temps drop below 30. who cares if the hats drop my IQ by a good 100 points...it's still better than blistered ears (shiver).

three more...

hours to give ya three more posts, to fulfill my five a week obligation ;)

a few days ago, i took my mother's car to get the emissions tested. as usual, i went to this testing station...been going there for ten years. and you would think that after all that time, i would have learned which line to use. there are six bays that test vehicles. bays one through five are for any car, while #6 is for full time 4WD trucks, etc. well, i've been lucky most of the time and have had to wait less than fifteen minutes on most occasions

...until wednesday.

when i first drove by the station, the cars were eight deep with the line snaking onto the street.

i don't think so. mebbe it would be a good time to grab a bite to eat. an hour later, i returned and the lines had diminished by a lot (like down to three cars each).

so i get in the middle lane (#3). even though there are six bays, there's only five lines. so i'm thinking it won't be long at all.

after a couple minutes, more cars pile in behind me and they're eight deep again.

at least i'm in the middle of the pack...but my line sure ain't moving while line two has gone up a couple and line #4 has moved like an assembly line!

arrrggggh

apparently, no one can sit in line #5 because it feeds #6 as well. and since #6 is only for full time 4WD, it has to stay unobstructed. of course, if there are no viable candidates to go into line #6, line #4 feeds it.

so really, line #4 feeds three lines...making for some lightning fast service. oh, and line #2 was feeding line #1 since the snow plow didn't totally clear off a space for cars to queue in front of #1.

so there i am, in line #3, which ONLY feeds line #3, rolling my eyes up to the ceiling (or were they rolling back into my head?).

after about twenty minutes of waiting, i finally get up to the entrance of the testing facility and join all the others in the cement block of a waiting space...w/ a malfunctioning TV (was it my day or what!)...and spend another half hour waiting and watching the two other cars in front of me get tested.

well, after that lesson, you'd think that i would've brainwashed myself to only seek out #4s everywhere i go.

not so fast...

it appears that a new way of testing has arrived...and i can't wait! it's called rapid screen. instead of going to a testing facility and 'eagerly' looking forward to queueing up, all you have to do w/ this new system is drive past a van equipped w/ sensors. the vans are placed near on-ramps of highways with varying locations. if you drive past them twice within a ten month period prior to your registration renewal...and record clean readings, you’ll receive a notification in the mail that reads, “Passed roadside emissions” on your registration renewal card.

i like it!!!

drama?

not in my life, but others. this past week has been spent listening to the stuff that's been going on in the lives of a couple of my friends.

first off...my friend whose husband just got back from a month-long business trip. seems that after he got back to the states (he was in asia), he had to go to the doctor for some scripts, one of which was a medication for an STD.

errrr, you'd better go get yourself checked. i know that he has legitimate business activities in asia, but mebbe a month away from his wife and son proved to be too much. ewww. i hope she's okay and tests negative for everything under the sun.

just a couple nights ago, i took my friend out for a couple drinks at a bar where an old high school friend tends. it was really good to see her. she's been at this bar for about four years now. my brother and i stop by there for drinks and food in the summer, after volleyball.

well, in catching up w/ her, i find out that she had a DUI in november...in which a guy stepped in front of her car while she drove down 6th avenue, on her way home. well, she did NOT even see the guy...and she was even in the middle lane! from the way she recounted the story, there was a thud and crash. ya see, after she hit him (thud), he did a wild flip and came down on the back windshield (crash). man, talk about surreal. i can only imagine the horror of that night.

poor thing. i know she has the occasional shot w/ patrons while she works; it's part of the job. she mentioned that she had three shots before closing, effectively contributing to a .16 blood alcohol reading. yikes.

i feel bad for her because she's one of the most upright people i know. i've seen her party and still be shrewd enough to take a cab home. hell, i don't think she's even had a parking ticket issued in her whole life. and for this to happen to her is really sucky.

now, we can all say that she made a poor judgment in driving home that night...but i'm a bit perplexed about the circumstances of the 'victim' (who sustained broken legs). i find it hard to believe that she just came out of nowhere and hit him, especially if she was in the middle lane. unless she was weaving and speeding (which would've been evident in the aftermath), how would that be possible? i mean, if it were 3:00 in the morning and i was waiting to cross a three-lane avenue, i doubt i could get hit by a car traveling in the middle lane unless i were strung out on something and RAN out into the street. it just doesn't make sense. anyway, she has to go to court this tuesday because of some litigous fool and his insurance company. i hope the case gets thrown out because the pieces just don't jive.

so...i've been doling out some moral support this week instead of blogging. and yes, i know i owe you two readers three more posts...so just sit tight, eh?

monday movie...

seeing that i've been in a blogging rut for many months, i've decided to make some changes...mainly in what i post. call it a new year's resolution, but i'm going to TRY and blog five times a week. yeah, i know..."HA!" don't fret though, there actually is a method to this perhaps unachievable madness!

...a schedule.

every monday on the son of diggin', the blog topic will be a movie. now, the chosen 'monday movie' will just be potpourri - no theme, no reason, etc. if i haven't gone out for a movie...or watched our netflixx selection...then it may be something i've caught on the tube...or even one that i have memories of. i figure i usually end up blogging about a movie once in a while, so why not make it a regular thing? after all, i would only have to think of 52 movies this way ;) and if i've rated (not reviewed) nearly 500 movies on netflixx, i've got plenty of cinematic fodder, right?

today's movie is (drum roll please):

good ol' Simon Birch, that feelgood movie that starred the little kid from Jurassic Park and a tremendous actor by the name of Ian Michael Smith.

Simon Birch is the story of two twelve year-olds who have become best friends due to their black sheep circumstances. Simon is the town freak, a dwarf who is a rabblerouser. His sarcastic tirades at church make him an undesirable amongst parishoners. His small stature has given him pragmatic license to look at life through tactless glasses. Joe, his best friend, is the town 'bastard.' His mother, the very hot Ashley Judd, has promised to tell him who his mystery father is when he's old enough. However, Joe is the impatient type. He would rather sit on the ice cream parlor's steps w/ Simon, pointing out who (on the street of this one stoplight town) could be his father and why. It's life in a small town during the early 60's. Simon and Joe are just kids who are reaching that point of puberty where playing w/ toy soldiers gives way to noticing growing breasts on female classmates and to realizing that with their maturing minds, childhood innocence will soon end.

At the very heart of this 1998 classic is the strength of friendship and belief that every human being has a higher purpose in life than what everyone else has in mind. It's all about believing in yourself and sticking to your guns, no matter the obstacle.

This movie never fails to make me cry. Sure, it's formulaic - the classic underdog protagonist who overcomes. Nevertheless, feelgood movies make good escapes from the fucked up world we live in. I believe they prevent us from going off on pessimistic binges and remind us of how good life really is.

We all need a dose of Simon Birch in our everyday lives...it is such a good reality check ;)

here's...

a penguin w/ some major suicidal tendencies ;)

a perfect...

night for phô. any time it's cold and windy outside (and especially when there's snow on the ground), i think of this vietnamese noodle soup. about six years ago, i read westword's review of Phô 79 (on south federal), tried it, and have been hooked ever since; their phô is the most comforting bowl of beef noodle heaven when the weather turns icy.

anyone ever been to a phô restaurant? they're fairly simple and straightforward. after you're seated, a team of servers bring water and settings (usually chopsticks and a soup spoon in a narrow wax bag). then, a large plate of "toppings" appears, piled high with lime wedges, bean sprouts, jalapeño slices, basil leaves, and saw grass...your order is taken...and within minutes, a massive bowl of steaming broth, filled with noodles and flecks of green onions, and topped w/ different cuts of beef, arrives to liberate you from the frigid temps. outside.

my favorite bowl of phô has both well done brisket and rare eye of round - phô tai chin...aka bowl #6. the second it is set on the table, i squeeze in the juice of a couple lime wedges, slip three jalapeño slices deep into the bowl, split two saw grass leaves (which taste faintly like licorice), grab a handful of bean sprouts, pick off about ten basil leaves, and make some sauce in the teeny condiment dish (one half hoisin sauce, one quarter sriracha sauce, and one quarter fish sauce). i mix the sauce and stir about half of it into the broth and save the other half to dip the beef in.

i gather up my chopsticks in my right hand and the large soup spoon in my left

...and gorge.

90%...

off is what the remaining xmas merchandise is priced at the Greatland Target that we frequent. that's right, people! we swooped in and got some stockings and boxes of candy canes for 9 cents each...shirt boxes (package of four) for 19 cents...large gift bags for 24 cents...and a box of cards for 89 cents (many were 49 cents). for about nine dollars, we cleaned up ;)

Belize...

in May. i think that's what i'm gonna surprise lois with for her april birthday...our november anniversary...and xmas present ;)

i've found a place called the Five Sisters Lodge, which offers a Honeymoon/Anniversary package. now, we usually are reluctant to even consider packages due to cost...since we can usually travel on our own for much less. however, after scanning all the prices for accomodations, car rental, meals, et al. it may not be that much more to do the package...which would save us the hassle of renting a car, finding places to eat, paying for gas (which is double the cost here). i guess Belize has really gone up in price since i was last there fourteen years ago heh. besides, how can we pass up that sexy mosquito netting? it's almost as exciting as the thought of contracting malaria ;)

still, if there's any silver lining, the price of the airfares will be $56.60 instead of $1176.00. of course, American Airlines will have to wrench 60,000 precious miles from my grubby little grasp ;)

what...

the hell?!?

things aren't going so well for me as an online consumer lately.

BMG Music is on my shit list today. four weeks ago, i ordered a cd box set as a christmas present for my brother-in-law. now, usually, it takes BMG two weeks to get music to yer door...even with their exhorbitant rates, considering they send everything media mail; i figured that i could get the item w/ a few days to spare.

of course, the pre-xmas blizzard hit about the day the item should have arrived. oh well. so he'll get it a little late.

and then we get a post-xmas storm. well, mebbe he'll get it by new year's...

big fat HA!

i checked my account yesterday just to see if there was a problem...and golly gee, my order, which supposedly was shipped on 12/7...was canceled and debited on 12/24.

it would have been nice if the damn company would have notified me in that seventeen day window that the item may NOT be available. grrrrr

so like a fool, i may give them another chance because this item is $40 through amazon and they offer it for $24.76 (shipping included). i've belonged to BMG for nearly seven years now and have had few hassles; this is just bad timing and plain aggravating.

sigh

in addition to the BMG woes, many of the items i was watching on eBay were taken off due to a seller's violation of use policy. damn, the stuff i wanted to buy had gone for $22-$30 (shipping incl.), cheaper than the $40 retail at Macy's.

double sigh...i'm kinda curious what the seller did to get the items canceled, as well as her registration.

maybe i wasn't meant to spend that money anyway. if the BMG transaction falls through again, i'm gonna just hafta take my bro-in-law out for drinks and pool i guess...

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 ;)

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.

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?

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...

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?

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

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!

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'!

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...

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 ;)

why...

why can't our presidential candidates buy votes as blatantly as those in Ecuador? apparently, the conservative billionaire candidate, Alvaro Noboa, passed out money, wheelchairs, medicine, and computers to potential constituents over the past three months before Sunday's runoff vote, against leftist candidate, Rafael Correa (who will probably be declared winner in the next couple days). of course, Noboa is just a shyster politician who really should be a television evangelist...

(from sunday's SF Gate): Before voting earlier Sunday in the coastal city of Guayaquil, Noboa read a passage from the Bible in the midst of a mob of supporters pushing to touch him. He then fell to his knees, asking God for his support and saying all he wanted was "to serve, to serve, to serve" the poor.

"Like Christ, all I want is to serve ... so that the poor can have housing, health care, education, jobs," he said.

oh puh-leeze.

good luck to Correa though. this man, who has a PhD in economics from the university of illinois, will have a tough road ahead; Ecuador has had eight presidents in the past decade. man...they must eat 'em for breakfast.

sick...

i came down with a cold a couple days ago. it was kinda weird...all i remember was sitting at the computer and getting a sore throat. of course, i took an antihistamine and drank a couple cups of peppermint/cold care tea before going to bed.

yesterday morning, i woke up extremely parched from the antihistamine...but with a huge appetite. i hydrated myself and ate steadily for an hour or two. oh yeah, also popped some lozenges.

sore throat gone

last night...as i sat at the computer, i could a pimple forming on my left cheekbone. within a couple hours, it transformed into a huge boil. so strange to sit there and actually feel the heat trickle up into the boil.

the heat has gone away some but i'm just waiting for it to burst and have maggots spring out of it. don't worry though, i'm not gonna look for a pic online...so you can keep all that turkey/mashed potatoes/macncheese/gravy/cranberry/stuffing/pumpkin pie down ;)

update?

been a busy bee lately...or just too damn lazy to post ;)

here's a quick rundown of my last week:

monday night, i did end up going to Tommy's Thai for some takeout (Pad Thai, Phad Prik King, and Tom Yum Gai)...Argonaut for a bottle of champagne...and gave Lois that ring that I posted the picture of. although we really wanted to go out that night, it was still a very nice 13th anniversary...even if the food was a bit too salty.

tuesday night, we did go to the Argentine restaurant. in fact, we even sat at the table in the middle of this picture! this meal was much more wonderful than the previous night's takeout. of course, it was also 5x the price ;) we started with two appetizers: mushrooms stuffed w/ spinach and boursin cheese and grilled provolone w/ oregano, garlic, and tomatoes - heavenly! they were followed by a salad, a 14 oz. rib eye w/ sweet potato fries and roasted veggies, and an excellent flan accompanied w/ an out of this world dulce de leche (think of really intense caramel). we downed a fine bottle of Malbec from the Mendoza region of Argentina and topped our meal off w/ some coffee. to celebrate our anniversary over two days was definitely an exercise of indulgence heh.

on wednesday, i went to lunch w/ this blogger. he and i have been friends for more than twenty years (since 8th grade). we share similar political views and a penchant for pizza and mexican food. it's funny...although he and i weren't best friends in high school, we have stayed in touch better than the rest of our circle (of friends), who seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth. anyway, we went to NY Pizzeria and Dairy Queen and spent three hours catching up. if he's not too busy editing/writing and i'm not traveling, we attempt to get together at least twice a year.

thursday...lois and i went downtown to see this man. he was in town to accept the John Cassavettes filmmaker award from the Denver Film Society. it was at Temple Buell...well attended...and a lot of fun. there was a retrospective of his film career, both as actor and director/writer, spanning the last twenty years. watching each snippet of his films made me want to add to our netflixx queue or pop in Shawshank; he's such a talented (and level-headed) filmmaker. robert denerstein, the film critic for the rocky mountain news, interviewed him for at least 45 minutes before he was presented with the award. the night wasn't over though. after the gala at Temple Buell, there was a jam-packed reception at the Cruise Room in the Oxford Hotel....w/ a crapload of beer, wine, and bombay sapphire gin! unfortunately, we only stayed for a couple martinis before bolting to eat somewhere; the promised food for the reception didn't come out until 40 minutes AFTER we left...we just didn't want to stay until midnight among 400 pushy lushes w/ just a handful of tables to place your drinks and food.


friday. like suckers, we joined the throngs of people who wanted the ride the new SE corridor light rail. lois and i thought it would be a good time to see our friend at PF Changs. after all, we could leave the car at the Colorado/I-25 stop (where lois works) and head to Park Meadows.

big freakin' mistake

we had no idea that the Park Meadows stop has NO direct access to the mall!!! you stop RIGHT across from Nordstrom's...but have to take a pedestrian bridge in the opposite direction and catch the 402 LTD (which only comes every 30 min.) to the mall.

wtf?!?

i guess it's all good if you have a paid ticket or transfer but we didn't have any small bills/change since we thought our free train ride would get us TO the mall w/o any hassle!

ugh

don't believe the reports about everything being SO rosy. in yesterday's paper, some official who lives in Washington D.C., gushed about how he LOVED the system and wanted to move here.

why?

the subway system in D.C. is WAY better than our skimpy 32 mile system that's too expensive and too DAMN slow. i've been on subway systems in chicago, dc, mexico city, and madrid and can honestly say that our dinky light rail can't even compare. i'm sure that the new routes will ease the traffic load during rush hours, but it's not as GREAT as everyone thinks. damn, with the fools that were riding on friday, you'd think that the majority of them had never taken public transportation in their entire lives...

you can guess that we didn't go to PF Chang's for dinner then, eh? nope. instead, we hopped on a northbound train and headed for downtown, where sixteen year-old kids shout about how they're gonna get drunk and then ravage Virgin Records.

shu-uut up! i so wanted to stick my foot up that loudmouth's ass...

we ended up having dinner at the newly remodeled Little India on 15th and Champa. the food was great as usual but the decor resembles a hip sushi bar (dark wood, italian lighting) and the atmosphere is now cold since all the carpeting was removed. it kinda reminded me of a Chipotle restaurant. oh well. at least the vindaloo was super hot and the kabli naan, chewy and sweet.

a simple observation: little india has perpetually won a best of denver award (Westword, 5280 Magazine, etc.) since it opened its doors in 1998, compiling at least 15-20 awards. well, tell me why they chose to decorate the men's bathroom w/ three of them then.

really...there's one above the urinal and two next to the commode. is it cultural? or have they just run out of room? talk about bee-zarre...

saturday we chose not to go out. the house was a mess and we needed some down time. i went to the cemetery w/ my sisters to visit dad and my eldest sister's late husband, donald. afterwards, we hung out at mom's...putting on window coverings and chowing down on chinese sausage, boiled chicken, and mom's wonderful stir fry bean sprouts.

sunday was relatively quiet too. i spent the afternoon w/ mom, watching football games. later, lois and i had dinner and went to the store. woohoo...

and that, my friends, was my week. 'nite

you're gonna...

need an ocean, of calamine lotion.

arrrggghhhh. i've reacted allergically to something i ate on friday...

late friday night, a rash started forming across my stomach.

by sunday, the same rash covered the inside of my thighs.

and today, it reached my arms.

i am goin' ka-razy! i hope the cocktail of champagne and antihistamine will put me to sleep...

while that's happening, tell me from what song is the first line of the posting and the group that originally performed it.

btw, i think this is the culprit...stupid chinese radish!

i had no idea...

she showed up in bit roles...as a best friend in 'Bewitched'...as Jeff Daniels' wife in 'RV'. and recently, i had seen her on late night talk shows.

BUT

i had no idea that she was a major Broadway actress and won a Tony in 1999 as Charlie Brown's little sis:



i am quickly becoming a fan of this little pixie and her phenomenal voice.

may as well...

since Cindi said she would check:

1. Explain what ended your last relationship.
i don't THINK so

2. When was the last time you shaved?
thursday

3. What were you doing this morning at 8 a.m.?
reading the paper

4. What were you doing 15 minutes ago?
watching YouTube

5. Are you any good at math?
yeah...i took calc in high school, but i'm better w/ algebra, geometry, & trig. stats was fun in college even though my prof looked like Beelzebub

6. How was your prom night?
hah...May '88...Britt Bryant, whom I had known since 2nd grade...good times ;)

7. Do you have any famous ancestors?
not that i know of...

8. Have you had to take a loan out for school?
just one...paid it off more than ten years ago

9. Do you know the words to the song on your Myspace profile?
this week's song...no...but i change my song (usually) every friday

10. Last thing received in the mail?
two things that i won on eBay...credit card bill...something from the CSO

11. How many different beverages have you had today?
water and champagne

12. Do you ever leave messages on people's answering machine?
depends on how urgent the call is...i'd rather email anyway

13. Whom did you lose your concert virginity to?
omg...MOTLEY CRUE...november (?) 1985...Theatre of Pain Tour...Autograph opened!

14. Do you draw your name in the sand when you go to the beach?
no...i'm usually looking for shells or wiggling my toes in the water :)

15. What was the most painful dental procedure you have had?
gum surgery for a tooth that broke beneath the gumline. the shot in the upper palate will just about kill you

16. What is out your back door?
a Char-Broil Grill that got off easy this summer...

17. Any plans for Friday night?
mebbe a free ride on the light rail to the PF Changs to see a friend who works there

18. Do you like what the ocean does to your hair?
wha??? who cares.

19. Have you ever received one of those big tins of 3 different popcorns?
a couple times. the caramel corn doesn't stand a chance

20. Have you ever been to a planetarium?
a few times

21. Do you re-use towels after you shower?
Absolutely...

22. Some things you are excited about?
mebbe a trip. i think i'm gonna use some miles and go back to Puerto Rico in april

23. What is your favorite flavor of JELLO?
cherry...lime...orange...in that order

24. Describe your keychain.
it's a red fob from Virginia Village Texaco...which no longer exists

25. Where do you keep your change?
In my fanny pack...or in film canisters, if they're quarters. did you know that a film canister holds $6.25? good to keep in the glove compartment for parking

26. What kind of winter coat do you own?
i've got a few...but the one i wear most is black fleece on the inside and tan/brown out

27. What was the weather like on your graduation day?
High school...it was a windy night at All City Stadium (June 8, 1988)
College...the weather was cold - i graduated in December

28. Do you sleep with the door to your room open or closed?
usually closed

is no one...

open on mondays? sheesh. for our anniversary dinner today, i was considering this restaurant...but noooo, they're closed on mondays.

so on a whim, i even considered this one (since i won a $50 gift certificate from the radio station last month) and save the nicer one for tomorrow...but they too are closed on mondays. wtf? i thought the 'closed on monday' phenomena only occurred amongst old school chinese restaurants.

sigh...can't eat nowhere in this town on mondays ;)

guess i'll get some thai takeout and a bottle of w(h)ine.

bet...

someone wants to cut off his tongue right now.

i'm no philatelist, but some fool in Broward County (FL) submitted an absentee ballot with this stamp on it...a 24-cent Inverted Jenny. the image on the stamp, a World War I biplane, was accidentally printed upside down on four sheets of (100) stamps. when the mistake was brought to light, three of the sheets were destroyed...but one (sheet) ended up going into distribution. it's one of the most coveted stamps among collectors...a pristine specimen is worth around $200,000! just last year, a block of four Jenny stamps was purchased for a cool $2.97 MILLION!

apparently, the county commissioner, who collected in his youth, came across the stamp while he reviewed ballots. not only was the ballot useless, since it had no name, but whomever was the owner of the stamp, can't claim it for at least 22 months - the amount of time the county keeps the ballot boxes sealed.

i wonder what's going to become of it now that the word is out. although the stamp is now canceled, it's still worth $20-100,000. i'm sure there are enough shady people who will try to procure this little collectible by any means. if there's any consolation for the fool (if he's even coherent) is that he can be identified as the stamp's owner via DNA sample...in 2008 :P

not...

this ring...
nor this one...










...but this one.

yes, people, we are celebrating our thirteenth on the thirteenth. and it's only appropriate that i buy lois a citrine ring for our anniversary. it'll be the second time this year i've bought her jewelry, which is rare because i usually go a couple years in between. in april, for her birthday, i found a very fine yellow topaz in mexico city. i hope she likes the ring. that's what i like about this blog...she doesn't read it ;) so i don't have to suppress surprises because they won't be divulged anyway!

btw, who knows what kind of animal is depicted in the second picture? if you tell me(correctly) in the comments, i will bestow upon you the title of "Fledgling Primatologist of the Week!" BIG whoop, eh?

so...

that's what it was like for potential voters yesterday. all i can say is, "Glad I voted early!" sure, it took an hour last week, but my experience was quite painless compared to those who braved three hour waits yesterday. good thing the weather was pleasant. i wonder if the turnout would have been as great if it was cold and snowy...

you know, after suffering in 2004 early voting, you'd think that i would've learned my lesson and done an absentee ballot this year. humph. well, i am vowing to NEVER go to the polling places ever again! from now on, it's gonna be a couple stamps and that chunky piece o' paper...

i wonder who's going to get all the flak for the voting centers fiasco anyway. i read that we went from a usual 300 polling precincts to 55 voting centers. who the HELL believed that shrinking the number of places to vote by more than 80% would make for a more efficient experience?!? excuse me, but i don't see thirty voting terminals at every location. after all, if my old polling precinct had six to eight antiquated voting machines, don't you think you would need MORE touch screens than a measly twelve?!?

i know this really shouldn't affect me since i didn't have to endure anything yesterday...i just like to see heads roll ;) dammit, there's gonna be some hell to pay!!! just don't tell ol' pinhead there...looks like he's freaked out enough...must be a 'publican.

get yer ass...

down here. Tower Records is going out of business and everything at the Cherry Creek location is at least 30% off. we went last night and the selection is still pretty good. i picked up a magazine for 60% off, a couple DVDs, two cards, and some replacement double CD jewel cases. i'm hoping that some of the things that i still want will be dregs in a couple weeks and sporting a more than 50% off price tag. i may just have to keep a list with me and check in w/ Tower every week or so. mebbe i'll see you there...

too perky?

i received news this morning about one of my friends (we'll call her BS), who passed away from complications of cancer on sunday. unfortunately, i won't be able to make the funeral, which will be in Cheyenne on tuesday. however, i did send this arrangement to the church where the service will be held. i'm just wondering if it's too perky...

should i have sent this one instead? maybe i'm making a big deal out of it but i'm one who usually worries about appropriateness/etiquette.

BS, i hope you're at peace now. you were such a trooper to endure the chemo for your lungs and liver. i'm glad that we were able to have lunch a couple times this year. you will be greatly missed but never forgotten...