Maria in Denver

2008-09-03T10:02:00.002-07:00

I'm back in Denver after a great trip to Michigan. I forgot my camera (wah wha) so I don't have any pictures to show you, but I can say that Doug's wedding was beautiful, I have some of the world's most adorable nieces, and from what I've heard this was one of the nicest weekends GR has seen all summer. All in all I had a great time.

On Sunday night I stole away from the family festivities (well technically I did that a couple times) to hang out with Burt and we ended up having dinner at Rose's with Tim, Stephanie and Catye. It was such a beautiful night - we were at the restaurant for a long time. First waiting for a patio table, and then sitting with a leisurely dinner and free desserts. I haven't laughed that hard in quite a long time. It's also rare that I feel that comfortable and that connected with a group of people. They are wonderful and I long for that here in Denver. Part of me wonders though if connection comes along once in a lifetime. And if not, how long does it take to cultivate it? To bring it to life? I'm not a very patient person - I like to have things now, when I want them. I just hope that I have the patience to let things grow.

On another front - I'm still pretty obsessed with the gluten-free diet. I did pretty good while I was in Michigan - better than I thought I would do. I could certainly notice though when I got a little in my system, so I'm doing my best to stick to it. I have three new recipes to try this week - I'm sure you'll hear about them.

Stop Bird Porn

2008-08-28T14:22:00.006-07:00

I think I discovered today why I haven't seen any celebrities. It's because I don't have the patience for standing in a big crowd of people and pushing closer, closer just for a tiny glimpse of someone. Today at lunch when we were walking around there was a huge crowd of people outside the Hard Rock Cafe where it seemed there was some sort of VIP party going on. At one point there was a big cheer and the rumor was that it was for Oprah. Who knows, I couldn't see anything.

I got a teeny tiny bit closer to the big guy today though. I had to pick up a credential for tonight's event at Invesco for my boss and was meeting a woman at a hotel. (Sounds more like a drug exchange, I know.) When I got there it turned out she had been whisked away for a meeting with the candidate, so I walked back across the city to meet her at a different hotel when she was done meeting with him. So I shook a hand that had just been in his presence. Surprisingly not that thrilling.

I have now seen bunches of protesters. I still don't think they were any threat to our building, but i was walking on the 16th Street mall yesterday at Arapahoe when this big group of protesters came by and then the leaders with the bullhorns turned right toward where we were standing. I froze - thankfully my friend grabbed my arm and we ran out of the way. I have now seen my favorite protesters twice - these two guys protesting bird watching. They chant "Bird watching is bird porn, stop bird porn." Hilarious! The crazies are out - that's for certain!

2008-08-26T15:00:00.002-07:00

In case you've been living under a rock, or without television, radio, newspaper or (god forbid) the internet, the democrats have descended upon Denver for their national convention. So far I've stayed almost completely out of the action. Aside from hanging out in downtown on my lunch breaks trying to spot celebrities, I've really not gotten that involved. The thing is that it's turning out that so many of the activities and events that are open to the public are happening during the day while I (and much of the rest of Denver) am at work. Turns out democracy really is still for politicians.

Sitting now at 4:00 on day 2 I have yet to spot anyone famous. A friend of mine saw George Stephanopolous and the most she had to say was "that guy is really short!" I've heard that there's a screen actor's guild event at one of the clubs downtown - and it would be interesting to try and crash it - or to sit at a neighboring club and try to get a glimpse. The thing is I have other plans tonight, and (gasp!) I'm just not sure it's worth it. Unless of course I had a hella good camera and could be a temporary paparazi. Eh.

I will say that while my routine hasn't been adversely affected by the whole thing it sure has been fun to have all sorts of people downtown. There is so much energy - people everywhere - and that is fun. I do not like seeing all the cops with their big guns (even if they are rubber bullets) and plastic handcuffs and tear gas. It's really strange to see them wandering around just waiting for a protest.

We'll see what happens the next two days. Hopefully some rioting free celebrity sightings :)

Lost Opportunity!

2008-08-21T10:54:00.003-07:00

There is tons and tons of hype in Denver right now about the Democratic National Convention starting officially on Monday, but as I understand it with festivities starting as early as Saturday. Our building is going on lock-down - you have to have an access card to get into the elevators, there are extra guards checking who goes into the parking garage and many people are lobbying for our office to be closed or on barebones staff. My opinion is that this is going to turn out like Y2K - tons of hype, no real problems. I'm feel strongly enough about this to put it on my blog, and I'll eat my words if I'm wrong. (Keep in mind that I don't drive, and I think closed roads and congestion are what people are most concerned about.)

I am excited about many things for the DNC - there are bunches of activities going on downtown next week and since I love hustle and bustle I think I'm going to like having a full city. My biggest excitement though has just been given a big giant buzz kill. Flava Flav is no longer scheduled to perform a free concert next week (article here). I was counting on that to as my chance to be (as Vivian put it) the next New York, or Pumpkin or whatever fake name the Flav would have given me. I've totally lost my chance to be MTV's newest slut and I'm devestated. Crying at my desk. Guess I'll have to hook up with some other celebrity - I hear bunches of them are coming to town.

My next best chance at fame? The buzz is that Obama is staying in the Westin right next door to our building. Now occasionally I have the misfortune of looking out the window while working in my boss' office to catch some unknowing person in their birthday suit. Now I'm not saying I want to catch a glimpse of the nominee in his skivies, or that I'm going to be sitting in her window with binoculars, but it sure would be a funny story.

Summer of Swag

2008-08-18T13:45:00.002-07:00

I'd like to officially name the summer of 2008 the Summer of Swag for me! Not only did I get to host the Nintendo girls party, I've now won an iPod Shuffle as part of the Downtown Denver Partnership's program to encourage people to take public transportation to work during the DNC next week. The point was to log how you've been commuting to work, each time you didn't drive you're entered into a drawing for prizes and today I won! How cool is that?

I would also like to give props to all you living gluten-free out there. My nutritionist suggested that I may be gluten sensitive or intolerant so I've (painfully) cut it out of my diet for the past week and a half. I'm just now starting to feel a bit better, and I can't decide what to feel if I find out that I really truly do need to go gluten-free for the long term. On the one hand, I would love to feel better, and on the other it's a big fat pain in the arse. I know I gradually learned and even embrace being dairy-free, but that took years. It's not even that I'm craving bread or anything that's blatantly filled with wheat, it's more that there is gluten in almost everything, and so doing anything is harder. I've taken reading labels to an entirely new level, and eating anywhere other than home is such a hassle. Asking for a gluten-free menu is one thing, but the (few) places I've done this had a menu full of gluten-free but dairy-heavy items. Looks like I may turn anti-social for a while until I get some of this figured out!

Mid-August Update

2008-08-13T13:40:00.003-07:00

Hey there readers (if there are any of you left out there) - I realize I've been absent for a bit and while there are plenty of reasons why, I figured I'd just give you a quick update. (Especially since I really don't feel like working today.)

I think I posted earlier about how I was planning to see a nutrition therapist. I chose to see her mostly because I have a pretty unhealthy digestive system, which I thought was getting a bit better, but now has seemingly taken a turn for the worse. I have really enjoyed my time getting to know more about how my body uses food, and it's starting to look more and more like a Detox is in my not to distant future. If I go that direction, you're sure to read about it here.

The first few weeks of being car-free have been wonderful. I've enjoyed getting to know the bus system, have asked for very few rides, and am more motivated then ever to get a bike. I have a car on loan for the weekend and I may take advantage of that to hit some bike shops and see what's out there. I really want a cute townie bike - one with the fat tires - that I can have baskets put on the back for grocery runs. Once I have that I hope I will feel more mobile.

Burt came to visit the first weekend in August (as evidenced in the above photo above of us in Ft. Collins) and we celebrated Burtapalooza by seeing three concerts in three days. I had more fun than I imagined I could have in one weekend and I am more motivated than ever to get Burt to move out to Denver. Obviously he would love it because Sheralee and I are here, but I think there are many compelling reasons why it's time for a cross country move. :) (are you reading Burt?)

And in a final, more somber note, the brother of a dear friend passed very suddenly earlier this week. She's flown to be with her family, but thoughts of her (and the family) are with me constantly this week, making it hard for me to work today. So unfortunately I'm allowing myself to be distracted. Eh.

I hope you all are enjoying summer :) mg

I Heart the Internet

2008-07-28T12:32:00.004-07:00

A friend of mine introduced me to a website today. A website that could quite possibly be written about me. It's call Stuff White People Like. Lest you think I'm racist or something, it's spot on social satire and based on what I read I'm surprised the authors haven't written to ask me to be on the cover of their book or their website. I have been entirely unmotivated this morning and browsed through a lot of this site. There's plenty of content there though, I'm sure I will find many more tidbits :)

For those of you keeping track, my car (or more correctly, The-car-formerly-known-as-Maria's) has made it safely to Michigan. The hand-off on Saturday morning was seamless. I can not say enough about how helpful the customer service people at RTD are. I called there, explained my situation and without looking anything up, the guy on the other end of the line gave me great advice without even hesitating. Not only that, after telling me where to go along I70, he went on to list all sorts of things about Western Michigan, I was almost sad he was a customre service person and we had to hang up! Everything he said proved to be true, the Walmart was right off the highway and two busses pulled up while I was explaining the quirks my car has. I hopped right onto one of them and had no problem getting home. My first car-free weekend was fun. I didn't miss the car at all, and got a couple decent walks in. Next up is my mission to find a good bike and a granny cart.

So Long, Farewell

2008-07-25T11:13:00.002-07:00

Today is the last day with my car. I plan to take it to a nice candlelit dinner to let it know how much I appreciate it and how much I'm going to miss it. Well - actually I'm going to wash it and give it a full tank of gas, something makes me thing it'll appreciate that just as much.

I am ready to pass this car along to it's next driver. I've been feeling off much of this week and the only thing I can track it back to is that I think I'm not as ready to be carless as I thought. I'm realizing that deep down, in some core place, I'm anxious that not having a typical form of transportation is going to leave me more isolated than I already am. I realize in my head, that I'm only as isolated as I allow myself to be. That how connected I am or feel has nothing to do with transportation and everything to do with a load of other things. As usual, it's taking the rest of me much longer to accept and live out what I believe in my head to be true.

My Latest Claim to Fame

2008-07-24T14:55:00.003-07:00

I've been quoted in the newspaper once or twice. The first time was in Calvin's newspaper - the Chimes, then I was quoted in the Holland Sentinel, then my blog was quoted in the Wall Street Journal Online Edition and now (drumroll please) I've been quoted in the Rocky Mountain News. Yesterday Alison and I went down to Civic Center Park for the Wednesday Farmers Market. I like going down there because I can get lunch and pick up some of the fruits and veggies I need for the week. Last week Meghan and I went, this week I went with Alison. While we were eating our lunch sitting on some benches and enjoying some cloud cover (yup - enjoying cloud cover) a reporter came and asked us about why we were there, what we thought of the park etc. Turns out I'm one of a few people who actually buys produce there - even though yesterday one farmer was selling half a bag for only $5! I got fresh green beans, summer squash zucchini, cucumber, sweet corn and a green pepper all for $5. Total steal! In any case our sentiments of enjoying the market but not feeling safe in the park was communicated even though he chose not to use Alison's great quote about "wanderers". On a separate note the savory crepes he mentioned are absolutely worth the $8 - so tasty.

T Minus 9 Days

2008-07-17T10:54:00.004-07:00

I am 9 days away from being blissfully car free. As I've metioned here and here I've been trying to sell my car. I've had signs in the window, posted it on craigslist and talked to person after person who flaked out. After 6 months of trying to sell the car, my Dad has decided to take it off my hands, presumably for my little sister to drive. My job in the next 9 days is to make sure it'll make it across the country and then to meet friends of my parents at an exit off I-70 for the exchange!

Fridge in Heaven

2008-07-11T10:54:00.002-07:00

Or perhaps I should call this post Highway to Hell - you decide. In any case, even though this is not a shot of my fridge, I did have one of these beautiful mini-kegs in my fridge until last night. I still have one left, and hopefully I'll be able to grab another mini-keg or two when I'm in Michigan in a couple months. (Crossing my fingers that they're still brewing it over Labor Day.)

I can not say enough that Bell's Oberon Ale is the perfect summer beer. It's refreshing and delicious and last night I, along with a few great friends, savored and enjoyed it sitting on a backyard patio, relaxing, talking, and eating. It was a perfect summer evening.

Even Though Dad Doesn't Belive in Organic Food

2008-07-09T14:58:00.003-07:00

Well ladies and gentlemen I just signed me up for some new therapy - nutrition therapy - and let me tell you, I am excited!

In the last few months I've learned through experience that I really don't need to eat as much as I have been eating. I pulled the cabbage soup diet a couple of times, and also had a couple big allergy attacks that killed my appetite. After the last allergy attack, my appetite has never fully returned and I realized I was eating way more than I actually need and have since dropped to my lowest weight since probably college. Paired with that, I began to notice a direct correllation between eating less processed, more local food and feeling so so much better. My digestive issues are much more subdued and I can eat a piece of pizza or a small (small) ice cream cone with not much problem. I was starting to wonder whether I just had a situation where process toxins were building up in my system and making me feel lousy.

As I was making this effort to eat more local food (and a lot less meat) a nutritionist gave a talk at a meeting at work. (Those blasted meetings are a topic for another blog post.) She talked about body typing, and I don't mean that I'm pear shaped. It's more of looking at how your body deals with food and has something to do with how your glands work. From there you can make better choices about how much protien, sugar etc. to have in your diet, and when in the course of the day your body is better ready to deal with food. I'm way oversimplifying here, but this is what I remember from her presentation.

In any case, I was sold, and I'm going to start meeting with her in a couple of weeks. I hope to learn more ways to eat to make my body happy and feel better. Plus - I hope this helps me shed these last few hanging on pounds!

Half Day

2008-07-03T09:03:00.002-07:00

Today I am thankful for the benefits of working for my company. Our office closes at 1:00 today and barring any major emergency (seriously, no one is going to die if this brochure isn't finalized) I get to leave early and I don't have to be back until Monday morning! Between a real holiday and the floating holiday I used as a vacation day this past Monday I have a 2 1/2 day week. Pretty awesome.

I've had a lot on my mind this week. One major thing is this question of whether I'm selling myself short by working at my current position. I'm sure someone could make the case to me that I am, and they would have reasons and logic and passion. I however, don't think that I am.

First, I'm in a supporting role. As much as I don't love having the title "Senior Administrative Assistant" I know that while I'm creative, I'm not a visionary. I'm good at taking what someone else has started and making it better. I'm not as strong when it comes to starting things from scratch. I have plenty of leadership qualities, I just realize, based on past job experience, that I'm still developing those skills and they're not ready to be unleashed full time. I'm hoping to get there, and, I'm 28 for crying out loud.

Second, I do have the opportunity to be creative. Within boundaries, certainly, and creative nonetheless. The more I cultivate this creative side, the more I realize that I feel most alive when I'm being creative, or am around creative people.

Third, I am paid well enough to live comfortably without having to burn the midnight oil. I crave balance almost as much as I crave creativity. This job is giving me the opportunity to fall into a rhythm of life that looks balanced. I haven't been using that opportunity to its fullest, and, like thing 1 and thing 2, this job offers me the opportunity for growth.

Fourth, I'm building relationships. I crave this too, and the job has led me to people I never would have met otherwise. I hope to find friendship and relationship all over, and yet, the job is offering something that's pretty rare at the moment - friendship.

I think the realization I've come to is that I'm not there. I'm never going to be "there," whatever that means. This job leaves me so much opportunity for personal growth and I truly believe (as I did when I took this position) that it's the right place for right now. When it's not the right place, I'll move again. I do hope however that moving jobs is not in my near future.

Yes! Michigan

2008-07-02T13:23:00.003-07:00

I can still sing the song from the Michigan tourism commercials that aired during my childhood - Yes! Michigan, the feeling forever. That random exclamation mark is not mine - it was added by the marketing peeps.

Yes! I was in Michigan this past weekend. My friend Misty and her husband Jeff were celebrating their wedding with a reception at Johnson Park. I enjoyed the reception and the weekend. In fact on Saturday night as I was crawling into bed I realized I had done so many of my favorite things in one day, and Monday as I flew back I realized I had done so many of my favorite things that weekend. So - in lieu of a boring itinerary, here are a few of my favorite things about Michigan. (in no particular order)

The Fulton Street Farmer's Market: No, and I mean No, farmers market in Denver can ever compare to a farmers market in Michigan. This market was full of farmers, not sauces, skirts, dog treats and prepared food. I loved that you could barely move, and that there were so many choices that it felt like a challenge and a sport to find the very best produce at the very best price. Plus, there were whoopie pies right Joy? The farmers markets here should be called community markets, sure there may be one or two farmers there, but they're certainly not the focus.

The People: I got to see so many people this weekend - my family, friends, random people I ran into on accident, and Burt. Joy, Burt and I got to spend a lot of time together this weekend and it was wonderful. I wish that someone would invent an easier way to travel quickly like teleporting or something so that I could see these lovely people more often, but still live out here in Denver.

The Beach: I felt the sand between my toes. Nothing can compare to that feeling! On Sunday Burt, Joy and I went out to Grand Haven. They were having a little arts festival (I was unimpressed) and then we sat out on the channel for a while and eventually walked out to the end of the pier. It was a bit chilly (way to go random Michigan weather) but it sure was nice to walk barefoot down the pier and feel that sand.

Oberon: I love Oberon. I got to drink plenty of it, at the wedding and then out afterwards. Burt also opened my eyes to the 5 liter mini-keg of Oberon which was so much easier to get back to Denver than trying to pack up a bunch of bottles. More beer, less glass. What more can a girl ask for? I'm looking forward to sitting in the backyard, grilling out and enjoying the Oberon. I already have my orange wedges!

All in all it was a great weekend, and I can hardly believe that Burt will be here to visit in about a month and then I'll be back to Michigan at the end of August. What a busy summer!

We Love to Party

2008-07-01T08:19:00.005-07:00

I have so much to update on that I'm not even sure where to begin. This weekend I was in Michigan for a wedding, but the night before I left I had the honor of hosting a Nintendo DS Girlfriend's Guide to Gaming party. When I first heard about the possibility of hosting this party I thought it was too good to be true, but I think it's the exception that proves the rule of "If it looks to good to be true, it probably is." My friends and I had a great time playing Nintendo and hanging out - here are a few pictures for your entertainment.

Here's Caiti and I playing Guitar Hero. It's so much fun on the DS, I still want to get the hang of actually pushing the buttons - I think my hands are too small or something, but Caiti was rocking it. So much so that the game told her to take a time out.

Jen, Beth and I also playing Guitar Hero - this is before they pulled out the headphones - the game is so much better when you can hear the song.

Sheralee and Vivian are playing Mario Kart in this photo - I like the perspective of the shot. (I'm not the photographer though!)

I was doing my brain age training and got 5 out of 5 on the race game where you have to keep track of what place the runner is in. Apparently this is unheard of (how cool am I!) and shortly after this picture was taken the Nintendo showed a rocket taking off - I think it meant that my brain is as awesome as a rocket scientist's brain.

The Nintendo DS has some sort of wireless or bluetooth technology (I may be a brand enthusiast, but I don't know all the technical details.) Here Caiti, Lindsey and I are racing eachother, but Meghan is playing something else.

This is kind of a busy shot, but I'm trying to show the grafitti mural on the wall behind us. It was super cool - I absolutely want to have another party in this space - it's in a weird industrial part of town, but the space was cool.

All in all I had a great time, and now my friends are snapping up Nintendo DS games like crazy and spending more hours than they'd like to admit playing with the little thing. The night was hella fun, and I'm feeling pretty lucky for the opportunity to have such a fun night with my friends. More on the trip to Michigan later.

Personal Observations

2008-06-26T13:56:00.005-07:00

I've had the rare calm to step outside myself and observe. I have made the following three observations in the last 12 hours or so. I don't know what it means, just that it is.

1 - I like to think that I'm flexible, and generally I think that I am. However, I think I have the freedom to be flexible because I'm generally around people who think similarly to me. So the things they may choose are more likely to be in the realm of things I like. When I'm with people who's interests aren't as close to mine, then it's much harder to be flexible. I'm sure this is true for a lot of people, I was just struck by it this week.

2 - I tend to be a pretty cuddly person, but only when I've invited someone into my bubble. If I haven't invited someone it bothers me A LOT when they step in very close. Especially if they're chewing gum or smell like stale cigarette smoke (and yes - there are two specific people I'm referencing).

3 - Sometimes it takes sitting with someone from Michigan to remind me the reasons that I didn't feel like I fit there, and I do feel like (on certain levels) I fit here. Things like being in a diverse city (even though I feel like Denver's pretty white) that has tons of opportunities for creativity if I would just open my eyes to them.

I'm sure there's a lot more to observe, here's to having the space to see it in myself.

Hoop it Forward

2008-06-23T15:27:00.002-07:00

It's a real club. I'm not joking, and their hula hoop was the first one I've ever been able to keep up (twss). What am I talking about? Glad you asked.

I had a lovely weekend - I got a killer haircut from Tauna at Moxie. The last person who was doing my hair abruptly left the salon I was going to with no forwarding information, and so about 2 1/2 or 3 months ago I was left without a stylist. I went to another guy at that same salon, but it wasn't the same, and just as I was in real need of a cut he went on vacation leaving me to try someone new yet again. And let me tell you I am so glad I did. I wanted to go short for summer, which I am hesitant to do after a couple of really short cuts, and after explaining that, and what I wanted I walked out of there happier than I've walked out of the salon in a really, really, really long time. Plus, I can walk there from home, so at this point I'm 97% sure that when I need to another appointment I'm so calling.

After that I putzed for a while. Had the longest most detailed house tour that I've ever endured, and Sunday afternoon went with Sheralee to Jazz in the Park. I must say that I can not believe I haven't been going to these events since I moved to Denver. They are THE perfect way to spend a summer Sunday afternoon/evening and I can not wait to spend more Sundays in the park. (Am I getting to the point of this story...?) As we were walking home we walked past a group of people who were hula hooping (is that a word?). We commented to each other that we've never been able to hula and one of the guys overheard us and let us try his hoop. After we rocked it (I mean tried it) he said - hey you can have this if you want it. Strange. So we asked a few more questions and it turns out he's in a group called Hoop it Forward - they go to parks, create hula hoops and give them away. I may just join this group because it is quirky and sounds like a random way to meet people. And now that Sheralee has a hula hoop, I'm so practicing every day.

Feeling OLD

2008-06-19T15:06:00.002-07:00

So I've had a number of moments where I felt OLD this week!

1 - Did you know that you can't get an operator by dialing 0 anymore? I knew you couldn't from a cell phone, but now you can't even from a landline. For your reference 411 gets you an operator on the cell phone and 555-1212 gets you an operator from a land line.

2 - Last night I was out until 11:00 and I didn't know what to do with myself. I was fine - not tired at all, but I would like to have gotten more sleep.

3 - We have a new intern on my team and I really believe he needs to pull up his pants. There is no underwear showing, but his belt is halfway around his butt and his shirt is just about untucked. I'm not sure who should tell him this but he needs to know that no one will take him seriously until he pulls up his pants. My friend at work and I have nicknamed him Sir Pantsalot.

Thankfully I've had the distraction of learning to play video games as a diversion to help me feel a bit younger. Well - except for the part where Brain Age told me my brain age was 50! Just cause I'm not that great at Rock, Paper, Scissors. I am getting pretty good at the crosswords though - and I'm certain that if I had Tetris I might be skipping work. The cute little Nintendo is fun :)

Heeeey Readers

2008-06-11T12:52:00.002-07:00

I no longer have a computer at home. Wah wha. The truth is that I've had a computer at home much longer than I really should have and so now I'm on the craigslist hunt for a used macbook or powerbook in decent condition. Based on the posting I'm seeing it shouldn't be too long before I find something that's just right. Maybe I can find someone who wants to barter a brand new one for a car...

One Small Step for Southpaws

2008-06-03T07:51:00.002-07:00

Recently I've had the opportunity to become a brand enthusiast for Nintendo. Really. As part of the opportunity I will get to have a party for my friends in about 3 1/2 weeks and I get to try out the handheld Nintendo DS from now until then. Those of you who know me personally probably know that I'm not a gamer - I vaguely remember Super Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt from playing at friend's homes and that's it. I got my cute little Nintendo DS yesterday - it's black and it's a little blinged out, and in the 15 minutes I've started playing it so far I am so impressed that it has a feature to make it easier for us lefties to use! The game asks if you're right handed or left handed and then if you're a southpaw like me, the screen flips so that it's easier to play. Genius.

Perhaps Time is Coming to an End

2008-06-02T15:04:00.002-07:00

Well - not in the apocolypse, end of time sense - rather I believe my time having Stanley the cat as a roommate is almost over. On Saturday I was in and out of the house and on two occasions when I came back in Stanley hissed at me. Hissed loud and with a really menacing look. It made me uneasy - like he was going to come bite me in my sleep or something. I've been thinking that we were making progress - he doesn't run right under the bed when I get up in the morning any more, he hides elsewhere until I'm moving around too much and he can't handle it. I thought that was a good sign, and then the hissing.

Anyone out there have their antisocial cat hiss at them?

Airfare - A Rant and then a Rave

2008-05-28T14:20:00.003-07:00

I'm compelled to add my voice to the chatter about airfare I've been hearing everywhere lately. The high price of gas is affecting us all. I'm more immune than others seeing as I drive my car once or sometimes twice a week and my utilities are included in my rent, but we all know the increased price of fuel is increasing the price of pretty much everything. This past week American Airlines announced it will start charging $15 per checked bag (story) coming a couple of weeks after United (followed by a number of other carriers) announced it (they) will charge $25 for the second checked bag. I think this is a bad idea - for a number of reasons. The most basic of which goes a little like this - it seems to me that the increased price of fuel is a cost that applies to everyone on the flight, not just those people who check bags. Shouldn't it follow then that that extra cost of fuel should be passed along to everyone on the flight? Not to mention that cabin space is already at a premium so the extra people who carry-on instead of check based on these new fees is only going to cause more trouble there. Additionally, I read an article (of course I can't find it now) that talked about how many thousands of gallons of jet fuel can be saved per flight (per flight!) just by adding 2 or 3 minutes to flight times.

Now - I don't consider myself the most reasonable person in the world, more reasonable than some yes, but I can be really stubborn too. That said, I loathe the rise in gas prices almost as much as everyone else does, but I also understand that it's the way it is, at least for the moment. So - while I wouldn't be happy about it, deep down I would understand if the airlines raised prices. I don't know if I would fly less similar to all the people who are driving less, but somehow I would get it. It would suck, but I would get it. Plus - I would absolutely give 2-3 or even 10 extra minutes per flight to save fuel and money - seems better for the environment and the wallet.

Whew - enough ranting, onto raving. I have in the past month or so discovered a feature on www.kayak.com that I love. The website itself is sort of like Google for airfare. You put in your search and it looks at bunches of different sites and finds you the best price. It saves me some time when I'm searching around and gives me a good feel for prices across the board. They don't sell tickets themselves, it's just a tool to help you find the best fare. The best feature of the site (in my opinion) is the ability to track a specific itinerary. Say you were flying to visit family over Labor Day (which I am). You can tell Kayak the specific days you want to fly and they will send you a daily summary of what the best price is for those days and how much the price has gone up or down since yesterday and since the first day you started tracking. Plus (and this is my favorite part) they toss a helpful graph of fares from the last 7 days in the email so that you can glance very quickly to see what's been going on. On their website the graph is extended to the last 30 days and is a helpful tool to see what the trends are. I know that farecast.com does some if not all of these things however - they're graphing and trending (is that a word?) services are limited to large cities and they do not track the thriving metropolis that is Grand Rapids.

The best thing to happen to my travel plans though? My sister Joy. She's moving to Chicago, and since the next few trips I'm planning involve seeing family her move will allow me to fly into Chicago and save over flying into GR. Right now it's about half as much (seriously) to fly into Chicago instead of GR. Thanks Joy!

Lame

2008-05-27T08:34:00.002-07:00

I didn't take a single picture this weekend. I really believe it's because I was just having a good time and focusing in the moment instead of focusing on pictures, but the truth is I feel really lame because I meant to take tons of pictures.

My weekend away was so fun. I saw Beth and Luke in Chicago, and even got a chance to look around in the Art Insitute. Then it was off to small-town Illinois to visit my sister and her family and meet her new baby, Dakota. There were a few moments that rubbed me the wrong way, as with any weekend spent with family, and I had a great time relaxing, playing games, sqeezing the baby, and being outside of my routine for a few days. There were some really strong storms, that actually were nice seeing as though the really rough weather stayed away from Shanna's town and we didn't have to go outside. Denver doesn't get storms like that.

Now I'm looking forward to some fun stuff here in Denver during the next couple of weeks and then heading back to the midwest at the end of June. I realized this morning that I'll be able to go to the Farmer's market while I'm there and that made me very happy on what is a gloomy gloomy morning here. Rainy and ick. I'm thankful this morning that it's a short week!

Update

2008-05-22T19:10:00.004-07:00

I'm not terribly fierce all the time (I mean I could never take on Tyra) but my rude anonymous commenter is gone. And don't go trying to find the comment - I've taken it down.

I realize that I haven't posted an update in a while. I think a lot of the reason is that I just feel like there's not a lot going on in my life. I have a friend who assures me that I'm trying things and not finding what I'm looking for and her words encourage me to keep trying to find my own little corner of the world. In the next couple of months I'll be trying some new classes and some activities that will put me back in creative situations. I know that I feel most alive when I'm being creative, or when I'm spending time with creative people, and it's becoming more clear to me that part of me dies when I abandon creativity. I'm hopeful that I have the courage to keep trying new things.

In other news I'm excited to take a trip to the middle of nowhere to visit my sister's house and spend time with my family and meet my new little niece. I haven't been out of town in a good long while and so I'm hoping that a little break will be good - it almost always is. Plus I get to see Beth and Luke which will be great.

So - here's to a break and to jumping back into the creative world. I think it's going to be a great summer!

If you can't play nice, play elsewhere

2008-05-19T09:31:00.003-07:00

Dear A--hole from the Indiana Department of Education using the computer at IP address 165.138.203.253, most likely in room 229 of the State House:

Your mean-spirited comments are unwelcome here. If they continue I will work harder to track down and report you to the proper authorities.