out with the old...

(you know the rest)

for many years, i built a printed paper kingdom through multiple magazine subscriptions. volleyball...photography...archaeology...entertainment weekly...nat'l geo...tennis...caribbean islands...stereo review...consumer reports...budget travel...men's journal...all piled high.

i'm sure i had enough tinder to burn down the whole block. one little spark and we're all human bbq.

well, i've been good the last couple years and only kept up the last two in the above list. in fact, i'm even dropping frommer's budget travel in a couple months (although it would be nice to win february's prize for best travel story...a trip to malaysia and singapore!).

in my magazine downsizing glory...i tripped. i've just replaced budget travel w/ travel & leisure AND i've redeemed $30 of e-rewards for a two year subscription to this magazine.

so come on in and pick up a copy...just don't bend the cover back...that drives me crazy!

password...

hell.

in this age of security, we're asked for usernames and passwords on a daily basis if we're online. right now, i have three or four different ones circulating. why? i have no idea...i guess i started with one and added some letters to the 'all-purpose' one when the seven letters weren't adequate. of course, when new passwords required a combination of numbers and letters, i resorted to combining my all-purpose PIN and password. recently, i encountered a situation where my glowing PIN/password was TOO LONG!!!


argh...imagonnahafta simplify...but it's so hard to change a password that has been used for ten years! so...i guess i'm gonna resort to using my all purpose and a shorter combo number+password (when necessary).

life doesn't have to be this complicated...sheesh

the girl...

can scream.

this week's monday movie is up for four academy awards, including best movie and best supporting actress and actor.

yes...i'm talking about Little Miss Sunshine...starring Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Steve Carrell, Alan Arkin, Abigail Breslin, and Paul Dano. it's the story of the Hoover family. the father, Richard (Kinnear), is an out of touch motivational speaker who is one step away from hitting the big time (in his own mind). Sheryl, played by the great Toni Collette, is the embattled mother who is desperately trying to keep some order within the family. Frank (Carrell), Sheryl's brother, is a Proustian scholar. He has come to stay w/ the Hoovers after being released from the hospital where he was being treated for an attempted suicide over a failed affair with one of his male grad students. Dwayne Hoover (Paul Dano), is the 15 year-old son who has sworn to a vow of silence until he is accepted into the Air Force. Grandpa Edwin (Alan Arkin) is Richard's foul mouthed, heroin snorting, and ever belligerent father who helps Olive (Abigail Breslin) with her dance routines for the local adolescent beauty pageants.

the movie chronicles this "unique" family and their haphazard (yet soul searching) journey across the southwest, from Albuquerque to Redondo Beach, CA...where the Little Miss Sunshine pageant is being held that weekend. it's a study on how the family unit and its jumbled pieces remain intact (and even strengthen) during the most tumultuous times. initially, you wonder (out loud) how such a crazy family doesn't simply implode, until you realize that most of our families are just as dysfunctional and that the "blood is thicker than water" cliché rings true because every family has to suppress its homicidal tendencies for things to work out during crises.



definitely one of the funniest movies of the past year. what a great cast! the chemistry between them was flawless; simply a well oiled acting machine. ya gotta love 'em...especially Alan Arkin's portrayal of an oversexed and very glib grandfather. he is truly one of the industry's most underrated actors. and Abigail Breslin has come a long way since her first role as a minister's daughter who fears idle glasses of water, constantly referring to them as being 'contaminated.'

if you haven't seen the movie...run to netflixx and add it to your queue! make sure it's not on an incline though ;)

super...

bowling is what i did tonight. every year the 'big' game is on, we usually go out to eat...catch a movie...go shopping...anything but watch tv. i think in the last thirty years, i've watched two or three super bowls...ugh

so...we made the drive to Mimi's Cafe first. although it's a little out of the way, we go out to the one near I-225 & Alameda. parking is abundant and the service is usually pretty good. ever go there? kinda like a Black Eyed Pea w/ a French Quarter twist. it's a franchise that started in Anaheim in 1978...i think there are over 100 locations now (seven in CO).

anyway, lois likes their quiche, which is served with a salad, fruit, and muffin. tonight, i opted for the turkey (sl-ow roasted) ;) my meal looked EXACTLY like that depicted in the picture but had six(!) slices of turkey...two of which ended up going to the dogs.

after stuffing ourselves, lois accompanied me to the Brunswick Lanes at Heather Ridge. i say 'accompanied' because lois doesn't bowl anymore...but she doesn't mind watching...guess she's an ex-bowler w/ voyeuristic tendencies.

i HAD to go bowling today because bowlbrunswick.com sent me a coupon for $0.41 bowling in commemoration of SuperBowl XLI and i just couldn't pass it up. now, shoe rental was $3.69 but three games and tax only brought the total to $5.01 and you CAN'T pass that up...especially since four shoe rentals and three games each can run $60! and even though there are some specials for $25-$30 (two hours of bowling and shoe rentals for up to six people), they ain't $0.41 games!!!

don't even think we were there for an hour. got three games rolled (138/146/176) in 42 minutes, burned about 300 calories, and were out the door. man, i had some seriously slick shoes. you know, the kind that make you flail because you weren't expecting to slide so far...wheee...doin' that funny dance because you don't want to foul or (even worse) end up halfway down the lane.

kinda miffed though. my ball was just not breaking right tonight. i must've had eight or nine (9 spare frames). oh well, what kind of fun do you want for five bucks? can't be too picky. after all, some people dropped thousands of dollars for $600 face value football tix in Miami...something i cannot relate! AND they got rained on! about as fun as a chipped tooth i tell ya!

bow down...

despite rampant laziness, the monday movie has NOT died. it just took a long and slothful hiatus...

bleah

this week took us to the Chez Artiste to catch this movie...which is worth all the hype. Helen Mirren has already snapped up six best actress awards this year for her portrayal of QEII during the months following the death of Princess Di in 1997. the movie is actually kinda short - clocking in at 97 minutes - and not overly dramatic. it basically shows the struggle between the stiff upper lip monarchy and the more hip and youthful movement of PM tony blair's labour party. while the monarchy chooses to maintain perfect composure, the newly elected Blair has to figure out a way to tell her highness that aloofness would not be advisable during this period of sorrow. his suggestions finally are taken to heart, effectively saving face for the royal family in front of millions of mourners. the actions that her majesty took on behalf of her family ultimately transformed the monarchy's usual stoic façade into a compassionate one.

it was a very well made movie. i'm a little biased though. the director, Stephen Frears has always been one of my favorites. he has directed many notable movies over the past 20 years, such as 'Dangerous Liaisons'...'The Grifters'...'The Van'...'High Fidelity'...'Dirty Pretty Things'...and 'Mrs. Henderson Presents.' he's not the most prolific director but when he makes a movie, it's usually pretty good :)

bizzeee...

avoiding my blog, as the blog police will surely tell you.

lately, i've spent much of the past few days moving the stuff out of the old Hip Sing building on Broadway. this building, which was built in 1901, was purchased by the local chapter in 1974...for $40,000 and probably $25,000 in renovation/upgrades. it was quite active until the early 90's, when its membership tapered off and a general apathy ensued.

kinda sad. i have vivid memories of massive chinese new year parties w/ up to three hundred people...every table of ten w/ a lazy susan, armed w/ a big bowl of ice, two liter bottles of coke and 7-up, and a bottle of whiskey...running around w/ the other kids my age...the sound of the dice and dominoes being slammed on the pai gow tables...the all encompassing clouds of cigarette/cigar smoke...the chatter of gossiping women...and the bloody kung fu movies that were shown on the old 16mm Filmosound projector.

you're seven years old and nothing matters in the world except trying to eat as quickly as possible, play games, watch the adults gamble, and stay as long as possible...hoping in vain that your parents will stay until the wee hours of the morning and let you stay home from school because they left too late.

as i've mentioned before, chinese benevolent associations were havens for newly arrived immigrants (usually male) who needed some familiarity in their lonely lives, thousands of miles from their loved ones. at the local tong, they could gamble, get a meal, keep up w/ the chinese newspapers, and feel like they belonged.

well, no longer. unfortunately, the once 450 member strong denver chapter of Hip Sing Tong has probably dwindled to less than 100 active members. the 'changing of the guard' never came. i guess it's generational. the majority of the membership comprised of blue collar workers who implored their children to strive and overachieve in school; seek white collar jobs so they wouldn't have to work as hard as those before them - 'succeed.' and the children did what their parents asked (perhaps too well) and forgot about that fraternal order and the once majestic building, which had fallen into tired disrepair.

that old, smoky structure was just sold for $750K...a steal for the buyers since the assessed property value of ol' 238 Broadway was in the neighborhood of $1.2-$1.3 million. the new owners are going to transform that building into lofts, in hopes of competing w/ the lavish, but overpriced ones downtown.

i know you can't stop 'progress,' but the rattle of the red dice in those funky aluminum holders will always resonate in that space. i wonder if any Hip Sing ghosts will surface when the new loft owners move in...

movie monday...

yes, it's time for that five minutes of life that you'll never get back because you read this blog! this week, i bring you an obscure 1973 French sci-fi animated feature called...

The Fantastic Planet

it was on KBDI this past sunday morning at 1:20. i thought i would watch it because i had heard many good things about it from my brother.

well, after watching it, i no longer consider him my brother ;) actually, i had confused this movie with another sci-fi movie made in 1966, Fantastic Voyage, which he claims to be a classic...either for its mid-sixties sci-fi creativity/innovation or because Raquel Welch is a space vixen. hmmm, it's probably the latter because my brother would have been that perfect puberty age of 13 when that movie came out.

anyway, Fantastic Planet is a strange tale about how humans are used as pets/trinkets in another galaxy...far, far away (sorry, i couldn't resist). initially, we humans are regarded as playthings, extravagantly small (enough to fit in the palms of our masters) and simple beings that must be controlled/kept domestic. however, humans should never be underestimated, right? and with that 'brilliant' deduction, the viewer witnesses the eventual human uprising over its masters. supposedly, this storyline was unceremoniously plagiarized by L.Ron Hubbard for his book, Battlefield Earth, which was consequently made into a movie in 2000 and became a cinematic pariah with a $73 million price tag of only which $21 million was recouped at the box office. still, it DID reap many awards. in fact, of the eight razzie awards it was nominated, it won seven...what a feat! even today, it is considered to be the worst movie made of our young millennium...


Fantastic Planet was not the best of movies...but for 1973 sci-fi animation, it wasn't that bad either. the animation was truly weird and the soundtrack even eerie. the music was reminiscent of the space scenes in this movie, which i've always liked.

i guess the movie even won a special award at the Cannes Film Festival. i don't know exactly for which category, but my best guess is 'Best Animated Sci-Fi to watch while you're dropping acid' which is still better than garnering a razzie...

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 ;)