On Leaving Town

Well,
I'm at it again.
Yep. Vacation.
Some of you folks swear I never work...

But here I am, getting ready to head up to MN.
Jared and I will be camping (expect pictures)
and joining in on some of the festivities
INCLUDING seeing Tina!!!



I think that seeing Tina this time will be different...
but I'll hold my breath.

--------

After that, I'm headed home for a bit, to help Amie move into her new house.

_______

Then up to Michigan for some riding/family time/loving of the beach!!
Woooot!
Hopefully I'll get some web designing in, too
but if my time is all spent in a dune buggy...I suppose I won't complain.

_________

And after that...
Well... if I had a bill for all the philosophies I shared
if I had a penny for all the posibilities I presented
if I had a dime for every hand thrown up in the air
...my wealth would more than support the next adventure in my life!!!!

On Brands I am Loyal To

Heinz


Pearl Izumi

Never have I found a better bike short...

North Face Shorts / Mt Hardwear


North Face fleece


Asics Running Shoes


Fat Tire


Oh yeah, and ...lest we forget
Macs.

On the Brak Show

I LIKE HUBCAPS!




Now... I've posted about the brak show before, I think...
maybe...
maybe not.

I've been a fan for years, though
here's a 38second example of WHY!!


ITS just hilarious.



And I have season 1 and 2 on DVD
and I tell you what...Most watched DVDs of my collection
But more importantly,
one of my favorite parts is the "We're Buds" song
on the
Brak Album

which features this song:



About a magic toenail
I find it DISGUSTING....

Back to the "we're buds..." song
*surfing internet to try and find it*

I couldn't find the sound clip,
so here are the words.....
poetic GENIUS

"Jo Dee:
I'm not like you,
Brak:
And you're not like me. Hee hee!
Jo Dee:
We're about as different
Brak:
I know! As different can be.
Jo Dee:
We don't look the same.
Brak:
We don't act the same.
Jo Dee:
We're from different species
Brak:
With different names.
Jo Dee:
You're from outer space.
Brak:
You're from somewhere else.
Jo Dee:
You wear a uniform.
Brak:
And it really smells!
Both:
We're buds, we're buds, through thick or thin,
Side by side
Brak:
Like bowlin' pins!
Jo Dee:
They say that opposites attract.
Brak:
That's right,
Jo Dee:
It's a fact,
Brak:
Oh yeah,
Both:
We're buds!
[The Easter Island statues whistle the bridge.]
Brak:
Sing it, baby!
Jo Dee:
Though you're not like me,
Brak:
I toldja, I know!
And I'm not like you. I toldja.
Jo Dee:
Brak, we must have something in common.
Brak:
Sure! Well, um, no - I don't believe we do.
Jo Dee:
You're so brash and bold.
Brak:
You're so cool and calm.
Jo Dee:
I own a big old house,
Brak:
I live with my Mom!
Jo Dee:
I'm extremely smart.
Brak:
I'm extremely not.
Jo Dee:
I like vichyssoise!
Brak:
I like tater tots!
Jo Dee:
You got great big fangs!
Brak:
They came with my head!
Jo Dee:
Don't know how or why,
Brak:
But it's like we said!
Both:
We're buds, we're buds, through high and low,
Brak:
Like Fred and Ricky on the Lucy Show!
Jo Dee:
They say that opposites attract.
Brak:
You got that right, sister!
Jo Dee:
And it must be true, hey, look at me and Brak!
Both:
It's a fact,
Brak:
Oh yeah,
Both:
We're buds!
[The Easter Island statues whistle and sway.]
Brak:
I harmonized there and it was pretty.
Both:
We're buds!
We're buds!
[Jo Dee Messina giggles]"

On both feet in.

Nothing's been clear
Nothing's been in
Nothing's felt true
And I've never had both feet in
Nothing's belonged
Nothing's been yes
Nowhere's been home
And I'm ready to be limbo no more

I sit with filled frames
And my books and my dog at my feet
My friends by my side
My past in a heap
Thrown out most of my things
Only kept what I need to carve
Something consistent and notably me

Tattoo on my skin
My teacher's in heart
My house is a home
Something at last i can feel a part of
Sense of myself
My purpose is clear
My roots in the ground
Something at last I can feel a part of
Something aligned
To finally commit
Somewhere I belong
Cuz I'm ready to be limbo no more
My wisdom applied
A firm foundation
A vow to myself
'Cuz I'm ready to be limbo no more


---------------------------

Well fine,
Here you have it.
My
BOTH FEET IN
post.

I'm so excited, guys!
I've never had both feet in,
and here I am... wearing flip-flops,
not even my mom thought I would ever wear flip-flops.

And my house...well, apartment...
feels like my HOME.
yeah, My home.
My paintings on the wall,
my food in the cabinets,
and no roomate around,
so I can hop out of the shower and wander
around all I want!
(...not that I do that, i don't do that...but that i Could...!)

And Jared!
Yes, ...I call him back, Still
...just in case you were wondering...!
And i've finally sort of... committed,
such a new thing, since I've spent so long
...not committing.
And it feels great!

So yeah...
this is just...my post of
not Just independence and standing on my own,
but also that of having both feet in,
with a firm foundation,
my wisdom applied
and I'm ready
ready to be limbo no more.

On "The Office"

In the past week or so,
there have been multiple trips to garage sales
We've been quite victorious if I do say so myself!

Art work,
deak lamp,
DESK:


Which is a whole other blog post on..
the process of getting it up stairs
(you should just call Kris and ask...)
But we fixed her up
got some beaaaautiful paint and:

Not half bad!!!

I painted the spool/TV stand to match!!
Also on our purchasing spree,
we found these chalk boards that were originally
$50 a piece.
we got them for $.25 a piece.
My sister was there. It was a quality time.
That's right folks. We saved $99.50.



We also found the fancy green chair there,
aaand, I don't know, a lot of other things that I can't hardly remember,
but that are highly worth while.

Thank you to everyone who helped in the process!
*which isn't over, mind you!! ...anyone have a futon they don't want anymore???*

This is my desk area:



I like it.

And this is what Luda does all day.

he apparently has an underbite when he lays like that...
It must be a GREAT life being a dog...

On the Guthrie Family

Holla

This song is called "Gotta Prove"


Its Johnny Irion and Sarah Lee Guthrie.
They've got a couple of albums out, now.
A damn good sound if you ask me




You can download a couple of the .mp3s at their website, too.

But the part that I think is maybe even cooler...
is the lineage.

Sarah = daughter of Arlo


yeah, don't you pretend like you don't know who Arlo is!!!
Everyone Knows Alice's Restaurant!!!
And if you're Really good, then you know his other songs, too
like
"Coming into Los Angeles"
or
or

or

or!!!

"Motorcycle (Significance of the Pickle) Song"!!!!!


omfg. What a Great story teller!!!

And of course There wouldn't be an Arlo...
if there weren't ever a Woody.
That's right, Woody Guthrie


mmmhm.



You know..


This land is your land...This land is my laaand...
*shrugs* can't go wrong.
Its an American classic...
I think that it speaks to Americans because...
we are Really good at saying "This land is your land [so clearly] this land is [also] my land!!!"


Anyway...
What a cool family of great musicians...
It really is...pretty amazing.

On gas today... and its marketing schema!

So ...it used to be that...
car commercials advertised...
i don't know
that the car was fast
or looked stylish
or was "fun" to drive.
Maybe that it had cargo space,
you know...worthwhile things to know about a car.

Recently, however,
every.single.god.damn car commercial
flaunts the pathetic gas mileage that their cars get
and if its over 30mpg then.. By God they've
performed a MIRACLE for you
and this is the best deal ever.

Now folks,
I drive a humble 2000 Toyota Corolla.
It has 46,000 miles on it (yeah...I really don't...drive very much)
It is nothing special (except that its mine, and is Awesome...)
I run my iPod via ... one of the tape deck thingers
But I've got me some power windows/locks,
good (very good, actually) air conditioning,
and...have Yet to have any service issues.


But the point is that...
my 8 year old car, with its limited bells and whistles

gets 29mpg CITY
and 37mpg HWY!!!!
Here's the window sticker it came with



EIGHT YEARS AGO!!!!

Yet today
people are IMPRESSED when they see comercials
for a car of the Same size...getting... 30mpg???????
In almost a full DECADE
fuel efficiency has gone down????
What the hell is happening?

Maybe they're spending too much time figuring out
how to make a 'silent' interior:
(yeah, this is the one car ad that...doesn't talk about gas,
maybe because its the Corolla,
and they realize that their efficiency has plummeted...)




Really though, the 2009s get 27/35mpg... but still, its lower than 8 years ago.

But the Ford Focus is comparable to the little Corolla
and its latest boast is its 35mpg rating which hey,
its not Bad...but again, my car was better EIGHT YEARS AGO.



And watch out for Honda...



They are leaning SO hard on their pure
statement of "fuel efficient" that they don't even
list the actual mileage of their cars.
We just....trust them, right?



Well,
Sorry Honda, but...my car
STILL beats your brand new Accord and its 31mpg rating


For crying out Loud,
the Ford Festiva IN 1989 (TWENTY YEARS AGO!!!!)
Got 29mpg hwy/26mpg city.
And by 1993 was receiving 35/42mpg ratings!

I'm in no way insinuating that my car
is the greatest gift to man (or woman) in the past 8 years...
I'm just saying...that all of this banter
in commercials today are purely for marketing purposes
and that You should be entirely unimpressed.

And... on a completely different... piss.me.off set of ...crap



....Rarrrh, on YOU hummer.
That's just.. Stupid
Owning an earth destroying hummer sure sounds like fun...

That's all.
I hope you feel better informed and less impressed.
Just wait until I start a rant on SUVs.....

On/in my apartment

So,
I moved in to my apartment a while back,
heck, I've even had a party there already.
But I haven't shared with you guys what the innards look like!



I'll begin with the kitchen, I suppose
its great... and...
Orange!

I still don't have a stove, but its on its way.

There's also a great green hallway that goes to my bedroom
I love the brightness :)


Upstairs is the loft area that shall become the studio!
The area of work
creativity
of Awesomeness
(anyone have a futon??)

Oh, and that window goes out to a little deck up top, there!!!
Great for... tanning... and watching the sunset.


When my camera batteries aren't all (3 of them!!!) dead
I'll get you newer pictures of the upstairs!!
Its looking pretty good... better/homier every week!

Oh yeah, and I repeat that this ^^^^^ is my backyard.


:)

on WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING!!

First Folks!!!
I had my b-day party!!!


it was AWESOME.
Thanks everyone who showed up and made it as such.



(p.s. ...that's my back yard!!!)

----------------

VACATION RECAP:

aight folks
Hang with me here:

Day 1: Drive to Lake McSomething...

start a campfire, read, walk the dog, fish, laugh, eat...






During the night, it stormed...but have no fear
it was actually Nice. The tent held up well and we were dry
and the rest was left to the sound of pounding thunder and refreshing rain

Day 3: Get up and Going to the Yurt!

This is the spiral staircase up to the loft area of the Yurt


and the Kitchen (not bad, ey?)


and the Living room!
I realize that...I didn't get a shot of the composting toilet
but...trust me...it was a composting toilet... strange.
You should google it.

Day 3: Snow?

Who knew that in June, it would snow

I suppose when you're on a mountain, its somewhat expected,
but weird. Just a little weird.

We didn't mind, though
the dogs chilled by the fire:

The other dog there is... a long story
it belongs to the owners of the Yurt and...
was outside cold all night, so we finally let him in and dried him off and...
got him all kinds of warmed up, again.

Mickey kept the fire stoked


I'm not sure what day this was on...

but...When you can't find a lighter...or when you're bored...
how else might you manage to light your smokes except...why OF COURSE...
via ...roasted marshmellow??? Way to be Sconnie, Kris

Another quality Kris moment...

Sometimes...Smart people do DUMB things.
...such as try drying out your pants by SETTING
them ON a wood burning stove... brilliant. Brilliant.

Day 4: not sure actually which day this was...oh well

The sun was setting as another storm rolled in. Pretty awesome.

Day 5: To Denver we go!

We took our time packing up from the Yurt,
did some Mountain driving to see the signts
and made our way down to Denver.
That evening we went to Red Rocks

and saw MoFing
JOHN PRINE and EMMY LOU!
omg...
omg.....
together they played:

(ignore the video, the song, hear the song...aaaand maybe imagine it...
LIVE at redrocks... ooooh my.
They sang "In Spite of Ourselves" too!

and John closed with:


Lake Marie!!
"oooooh baby, we gotta go, now."

anyway. That was Amazing.

Day 6 & 7: ...something with brewerys and a baseball game

we tore Denver apart, I must say.
We hunted for a brewery tour and found us a
$10 all you can eat/drink event... HOLLA!!!!

Then the next day, we zoomed around a "peoples" fair...
there was fried food, live entertainment and...
a lot of people. Fun enough for me, I'd have to say!!!
It was AMAZING weather

wouldn't you say, you guys???


I thought so.
:)

Last Day!! :(

Don't know why I have a sad face there...
it was maybe one of the best days...
we fixed the headlight in the Trail Blazer
Visited an Antique mall whilst that happened...
mmm... went shopping a bit more!
mmm..... ate some great food
and then
ooooh and then
*here comes more excitement...
we:



went and saw, again at Red Rocks...
Brandi Carlile!!!!!

she's amazing
so amazing

*siiigh*
i can't even put it into words.
so I wont.
it was good.
and...and then she CLOSED...
with Hallelujah.
And God made an 8th day... just for everyone to listen to THAT.
It was THAT good.
Yea... mind blowing.


Then we drove home.

Yaaaay!!!
Hope you enjoyed the recap!

On a Great Compromise

dear john prine,
why must you Always steal my heart.

i feel ya.