Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Well… you didn’t wake up this morning
Because you didn’t go to bed
You were watching the whites of your eyes turn red
The calendar on your wall,
Is ticking the days off
You’ve been reading some old letters
You smile and think how much you’ve changed
All the money in the world
Couldn’t buy back those days

You pull back the curtains,
And the sun burns into your eyes,
You watch a plane flying
Across a clear blue sky
This is the day, your life will surely change
This is the day, when things fall into place

You could’ve done anything, if you’d wanted
And all your friends and family think that you’re lucky
But the side of you they’ll never see
Is when you’re left alone with the memories
That hold your life together like glue

You pull back the curtains,
And the sun burns into your eyes,
You watch a plane flying
Across a clear blue sky
This is the day, your life will surely change
This is the day, when things fall into place

The The – This Is The Day

The funniest thing I saw last week was an old Volkswagon Beetle with a bumper sticker that said, “Yeah, it’s got a hemi.” Although the Hector spot from Frontier Airlines was pretty funny. I say again that if there is such a thing as reincarnation, I want to come back as an otter.

Now I know this won’t come as a surprise to many of you, but I’ve come to the realization that I’m an idiot. I’ve been espousing the wonders of the way we did things at Baumeister. How John worked to partner with architects and designers. How we tried to get in early in the design phase of jobs. That we should sell engineering and documentation more and not think that we’ll make all our money from products. All of these are great ideas, right? Well, someone decided to take my advice and now I’m involved in engineering a 32 unit building in Boulder. Insert visual of Chris Farley smacking his head and saying, “I’m so stupid!” here. I moved out here to get a life, not repeat my mistakes and spend all of it working. So if I end up pulling up stakes and moving again, I don’t want anyone to be surprised. Next time I’ll keep my mouth shut. Hey John, do you still have that book about moving to Hawaii?

For anyone keeping score, 2007 is the year of the pig in the Chinese zodiac. The Lunar New Year begins February 18th and is the year 4705. I was born in the year of the pig as well. It said on a website that, “Like the pig, you are highly regarded for your chivalry and pureness of heart, and you often make friends for life. For pigs in 2007, any recent setbacks or obstacles can be overcome so look forward to a year in which to really shine, either personally or professionally.” Anyone who knows me knows that I *totally* believe this stuff and that I’m going to completely base my entire year on the sage wisdom provided by the Chinese Zodiac .

In case any of you don’t know, I’m signed up on Match.com to try and meet someone. They have this thing called “winks” where you can send someone a wink to let them know you’re interested. I know kinda lame, but I guess some folks are too shy to actually send an e-mail. So the woman in the above picture sent me a wink. Chaaaaaa. I was really flattered, but apart from the fact that she’s young enough to be my daughter, if I’m going to date a Mormon (Christian/LDS) and have 2 kids with her (someday), I’m going to need to be able to drink alcohol. Besides, I can come up with about a half an hour worth of common interest. After that, we’d have to actually talk to each other .

Last Friday, Mitch, Laura and I went to see Laura Love. She was joined by Jen Todd to play at Swallow Hill here in Denver.

 

All I had with me was my cell phone camera, so the pictures aren’t that great. I took a couple of shots at the concert, but they look like colored blobs. The concert was lots of fun, great lyrics, great voices and talented musicians. Ms. Love also brought some nationally known, local musicians up on stage to play along with them during the concert. First she brought up Pete Wernick formerly of Hot Rize. Then she brought up Rich Moore who has played as a side man with quite a few folks from Pete Wernick and Tom Paxton to Celeste Krenz and his wife, Mollie O’Brien who Laura also brought up on stage. If you listen to A Prairie Home Companion, you’ve no doubt heard Mollie. Laura Love’s new album is supposed to be out in a week or so and is called Negrass. It’s a combination of Bluegrass and Negro Spirituals. After singing a old spiritual in concert she said, “I like to throw in a spiritual now and then ‘just in case’.”

Fortunately I happen to know a guy who has played around the Denver area for a few years. Mitch went to say hi to Rich and Mollie and was invited backstage for a bit of a jam. How cool! Rich and Mollie along with Pete and his wife Joan were hanging in Laura and Jen’s green room plunking out tunes. Later Jen Todd showed up and then Laura Love too. Again the pictures aren’t that great, but I managed to snap a few shots with the phone.

  

 

I’ve met celebrities before, from Joan Cusack to John Candy, but I’ve gotta admit that hangin’ out and singing along with some really talented people who have made their living from music was pretty damn cool. Plus, I got to hone my skills at removing a cork from a wine bottle with a pocket knife and a ball point pen. Thanks for hookin’ me up Mitch.

Work has been pretty hectic lately, but I’ll try and get these out once a week so they don’t turn out so long. Right now I’ve got to go do some laundry and make squishy sounds with my cheeks. :-)

 Write when you can,

           – G

Deep Vision

One more young writer slid away in the night
Over the border he will drown in light
Hold it – wait a minute
I can’t read my writing, my own writing!
Like tiny insects in the palm of history
A domino effect in a cloud of mystery
My writing is an iron fist
In a glove full of Vaseline
Dip the fuse in the kerosene
I too become a dissident

Courting disaster we ran in the night
Wings of an angel torn in flight
Check it – verify it
It’s all here in writing, down in writing!
At the hands of the press
And in the eyes of the government
I fell from grace
I too became a dissident
Like tiny insects in the palm of history
A domino effect and an early end to this story
My writing is an iron fist in a glove full of Vaseline
But dip the fuse in the kerosene
I too become a dissident.

Thomas Dolby – Dissidents

Once more unto the breach. This week I drove to Boulder three times for various jobs. It was nice to *finish* a job in one setting and know that I was done. Did that twice. Plus there’s the 210 miles in expenses I get to file .

I was up there Friday working on 3 different teleconference rooms, tweaking the programs. Fortunately, I was able to make it back in time for the movie that evening. Mitch and I went to see “The Playmates in Deep Vision 3D”. Now granted this was a midnight movie so I had quite a bit of time to make it back to Denver, but it was snowing and there was the distinct possibility of getting snowed in. If I had, I would’ve missed a movie Mitch described as, “living down to our lowest expectations.” I thought it was everything I expected and more. Truly a Sextravaganza of a cinematic proportions. If anyone wants, you can pick up a coffee mug of the poster on-line by clicking here.

 Before the show we had a chance to talk to a bunch of folks sitting behind us. “Bridg”, short for Bridget I assume, moved out here from Chicago about a year ago. She had a friend in from Chicago and it sounded like she was out here expressly to see the movie . Everyone there seemed to be out to have a good time. One would hope that this was the case when one attends a 3D porno anyway. I managed to get a group shot of everyone in their 3D glasses before the show.

The 3D wasn’t that good but it was the blue/red kind, not the polarized kind. If you have the blue/red type of 3D, you really need to have good color processing and production values. Something this particular film did not seem to have in abundance.

Before the show I ran a couple of errands before meeting up with Mitch. I spotted this sign that gave me a chuckle. I doubt anyone will share my amusement except Jim since he’s the only other Fifth Element fan I know.

And then I spotted this sign glowing in the night:

I wasn’t able to spend any time indulging my addiction however, since I had to meet up with Mitch and Laura for diner at the Pearl Street Grill. I’ve got the location filed away for future browsing though. After a pleasant dinner we retired to Laura’s place to burn a couple more hours. We read “The Museum of Kitschy Stiches” by Stichy McYarnpants. I recommend this book to everyone!! The danger of yarn sores can NOT be underestimated!!

Next week we’re supposed to have a bit of a warming trend. We may even make it up into the 50s! I’ll believe it when I see it. I don’t believe people anymore when they tell me about the weather here in Denver being so mild. I haven’t noticed any difference between here and Chicago except for having more sunshine. That alone is worth living out here though, so I guess I shouldn’t complain. What ever happens, you can be sure I’ll let you know in our next episode.

Have a great week and write if you get a chance. Go Bears!!

- G