Tomorrow may rain, so I’ll follow the sun

Tomorrow, makin’ a list of things to do
And when I wake up, uh uh uh oh
Gonna cross off a few

There must be millions of reasons
To try and explain, you’re never through
When they give you twenty-four hours
Only so much a man can do

Tomorrow, made up my mind
Gonna get busy, come from behind
Today I’m staying right where I am
Break a few rules, make a few plans

There’s thousand of things
To keep you from doing what you wanna do
And if it isn’t this then it’s that
Back where it’s at, and you’re never through

There must be millions of reasons
Thousands of things, just to name a few
I’m gonna spend the rest of today
Makin’ a list of things to do

But I’ll do ‘em all tomorrow, uh uh uh oh
Tomorrow, uh uh uh oh
It can wait until tomorrow

Joe Walsh – Tomorrow

How is everyone enjoying the schizophrenic weather global warming is bringing us? I’m given to understand that Denver weather is wacky anyway, but I hear things are running hot and cold all over. Last week it was wonderful on Wednesday when I travelled up to Boulder. Here’s a shot from just past Louisville overlooking the Boulder valley.

Saturday night and most of the day Sunday it snowed. On Saturday night, Amanda invited a group of people up for Easter dinner and we managed to make a good sized dent in the ham. Before dinner though, the Easter Bunny dropped off a marble racetrack for Reece that had some assembly required. I’ve got to say the engineering on this piece was a little more sound than the Hot Wheels Car Wash I mentioned in the Just Being A Person blog. Cooper however, seemed unimpressed .

Speaking of Easter, I heard a hilarious but completely inappropriate Easter joke involving the weather, the Lenten season and Jesus. Since my Mom reads this blog however, you’ll have to write me in order for me to tell you the joke. Obviously you run the risk of having your computer struck by lightning . Anyway, after dinner Saturday night, Mitch and I headed up the mountain so we could leave from his place for Loveland on Sunday for some Spring skiing/snowboarding.

I said earlier that it snowed Saturday night and a good chunk of Sunday. This was the scene when we headed out Sunday morning from Mitch’s place:

That white sky in the background is normally mountains. The first thing I realized when I started on Sunday was that I need to get back to the gym! With the schedule changes at work and my starting times being all over the map, I’ve kinda slacked off on going. Apparently that shit’s gotta end pronto. I was telling Mitch about my being out of shape over lunch and I guess he decided the best way to drive the point home to me was to take me up to 12,038 feet and let me snowboard my way down . On the upside, I finally made it off the bunny slopes and on to an official green! Once again, remember that whole snowing most of Sunday thing I mentioned? Well, there’s a condition in skiing called “flat light” where it’s difficult to make out the terrain. The falling snow, the white clouds blocking out the sunlight and the lack of contrast in the white snow make it difficult to tell distance and near impossible to see bumps. Such were the conditions above the tree line, at 12,038 feet. Just great. Newbie snowboard guy with no oxygen and no visibility obviously makes for a really amusing time for the seasoned ski guy who lives up at 9,000 feet. Wanker. I did manage to make it down without a “yard sale” and actually in pretty good fashion by the end. Mitch grabbed my camera and snapped these on the way:

On the way home we stopped again in Idaho Springs for some Beau Jo’s pizza. Nummerdoodles. I considered it my last celebration before getting back to the gym/healthy eating lifestyle. Even though I’m sure there were no carbs or calories in that honey I was forced to drizzle on the pizza crusts after the pizza part was gone. After chowing down at the end of the day, the hot tub beckoned us and it all seemed worth it.

When I went to return the snowboard rental on Monday, in true Colorado fashion, this was the weather picture. Check out the temperature on the sign!

So tonight we’re supposed to get 6″ to 8″ of snow in Denver.  Mostly it’s just cloudy right now. According to the Weather Underground (great name, eh?), tomorrow it’s supposed to be 36 degrees with a 90% chance of precipitation, on Saturday, 52 and sunny and on Sunday, 62 and partly cloudy.

This weekend I’m planning on setting up my office/guest bedroom so I won’t have any fun tales to tell. Waddaya think, should I take pictures of all my exciting filing? Yeah, didn’t think so. You’ll all probably be doing your taxes anyway, so no biggie, right? That “Tomorrow” tune I used to open this installment is dedicated to everyone who has put off doing their taxes until now. Anyway, have a great weekend and write if you’re a heathen and want a good laugh .

Springtime in the Rockies

When it’s Springtime in the rockies,
I’ll be coming back to you;
Little sweetheart of the mountains,
With your bonnie eyes of blue;
Once again I’ll say I love you,
While the birds sing all the day.
When it’s Springtime in the rockies,
In the rockies far away.

The twilight shadows deepen into night dear,
The city lights are gleaming o’er the snow;
I sit alone beside the cheery fireside;
I’m dreaming dreams from out the long ago;
I fancy it is Springtime in the rockies,
The flowers with their colors are aflame;
And though I long to be back in the rockies,
I’ll wait until the Springtime comes again.

When it’s Springtime in the rockies,
I’ll be coming back to you;
Little sweetheart of the mountains,
With your bonnie eyes of blue;
Once again I’ll say I love you,
While the birds sing all the day.
When it’s Springtime in the rockies,
In the rockies far away.

Gene Autry – When it’s Springtime in the Rockies

So it’s finally doing that “it-snows-and-then-it’s-60-degrees-the-next-day” thing that everyone has promised me happens here. Here’s the pictures from Thursday morning, Thursday afternoon and Saturday morning (March 29th and March 31st).

  

I’ve been trying to keep busy here. Work keeps threatening to encroach on my personal life, but I’m managing to keep it at bay. Last weekend Mitch, Laura and I made it out to see Black Snake Moan. I would recommend it. Not only do you get to see Christina Ricci running around in her panties for the first half of the movie, there’s a wicked good blues soundtrack and an ending that’s refreshing for an independent film. Mitch joked that Rae (Ricci’s character) must have a hell of a southern white trash workout routine. I said, “yeah, 3 hours at the gym and then into town for beer and cigarettes.” The website even has an “Are you a nymph?” quiz. Quality viewing for one and all. Next I want to see The Host, billed as “One of the greatest monster movies ever made” by Logan Hill of New York Magazine. I doubt I’ll get anyone to go with me though. I’m not sure if it’s because my friends don’t like scary movies or they don’t like going with *me* to scary movies .

I received a Bible Faith Handkerchief from Saint Mathew’s Churches in Tulsa, Okalahoma. I feel so blessed. Apparently, “God instructs ministers to send Bible Faith Handkerchiefs to peoples homes, and, as a result, miracles of blessings occur.” That’s what the accompanying paperwork says anyway. By the way, the “handkerchief” is a beautiful 8.5 X 11 sheet of paper printed on both sides with an image of a handkerchief. In order to receive blessings however, I’ve got some fairly complicated instructions to comply with. I’m supposed to print my name and my most pressing problem (or the name someone who needs God’s help) in the center of the handkerchief. Then I’m to open my bible to Acts, chapter 19, verses 11, 12 and lay the handkerchief on this scripture. I then put the bible and handkerchief UNDER my bed for TONIGHT ONLY so I can sleep over it. Then, I send it back to Saint Mathew’s Churches so they can do something with it. I’m guessing dance naked with it behind huge, iron hinged, oaken doors. Oh yeah, I’m also supposed to pray about “sowing a biblical seed offering unto the Lord” which I can only assume means send them money. Personally I prefer to get my blessings from the Landover Baptist Church site .

 I finished my taxes this week. Kind of a pain in the butt what with moving from one state to another, renting my house, travel expenses for job searching, two different state returns, interest from two different banks, schedule E, form 597…. God I’m glad that’s over. Now all I gotta do is wait for the checks to roll in. Yep, I’m getting more than $200 from Illinois and better than $100 from Colorado. Runnin’ with the big dogs now.

Those checks should just about cover the cost of the Windows XP software I finally broke down and bought. Before I left Chicago I bought a 1.6 terra byte server with the intention of installing and learning Linux on it. Ultimately it was going to be my music server. I finally decided that it was worth it to me to spend the $300 bucks so I could set the stupid thing up and actually start using it as a music server rather than as a lovely high tech piece of living room sculpture. Now I spend my evenings swapping discs and editing FLAC tags. I know most of you can’t imagine that kind of excitement, but to an engineer, well, let’s just say the propeller is spinning at full speed .

Finally this time out, I’d like to take a minute to remember a really great dog. Leroy was my friend Laura’s companion and family member for almost 15 years. Even though I only knew him for a short time, he was the kind of puppy who made an impression. He was sweet and affectionate and even at 15, always happy to see you walk in the door. He’ll be missed by those who knew him and remembered fondly by those who loved him. Who’s the best puppy ever?!? Who’s the puppy?! I think it’s you! Yes it is! He’s the good dog! He’s the puppy! Yes he is!