Freezing: The Part of Winter My Inner Child Ignores

I do love me some snow, no doubt about it. But there are a few things about winter that my romanticized childhood memories have left out.

I associate snow with becoming a man.

I made my first real money shoveling snow. My friends and I even got paid $120 to remove a very large mound of snow that had accumulated in front of a pizzaria from half a season's worth of snow plowing. We got sushi with the money, because that's what you do when you make that much money when you're 11.

So naturally, when it snows, my inner child looks like this:

X-Box? Is that like a square igloo? I'm totally down.

Except, now that I have a real job, the reality is more like this:

Hey, that's cool. I'll just walk from here.

Oh well, we can't be kids forever. Would that we could.

But now that I have a space heater, some new coats and brand new wind sheild wipers, I think I'm gonna kick this winter's ass and take some names while I'm at it.

I've pretty much learned that this cold snap we just had was literally the worst they've ever seen, so I guess it's all up hill from here (unless it gets worse, of course).

The high was -2 one of those days. THE HIGH. I rest my case.

As for how I'm feeling personally, I'm anxiously waiting for the year to end. Much of my energy has been going into a job for which I'm worried the opportunities are thinning out.

It's not to say that I don't see a future with the movie theater, or that I can't be happy where I'm at. But I can't keep devoting so much of my personal and creative energy at a job that has grown, at times, frustrating and boring. Ok, maybe not boring. Let's say: unsatisfying.

However, I cleaned out my wallet tonight and found a very old piece of receipt paper with words written on the front and back. It must have been from a customer from 7-11 back in Tucson, but I cannot remember for the life of me who it was. Let's blame the deep freeze. It's ok, we can do that.

It says:

"Affirmation. Positive self-talk. I am talented, bright and creative and have a lot to offer. I am already thinking of new projects and creations. I am grateful for all the good that has come my way. If you want to be miserable, focus on your own happiness. If you want to be happy, focus on the happiness of others." 

Thank you, random customer whose name I don't remember and whose conversation I can't recall. That was just what I needed.

Olde Town Arvada Is Awesome

Olde Town Arvada is the perfect example of why I started this blog. There is so much to see and do in the Denver Metro area, that I just have to journal about it. Seriously, y'all are missing out.

McIlvoy House sits at the south end of McIlvoy Park in the Historic District of Olde Town Arvada. The land was donated to the City of Arvada in 1916 by Clemency McIlvoy for use as a park. When a tree branch fell on the McIlvoy house, instead of getting rid of the tree completely, someone had the novel idea of carving a statue of her in the wood instead.

That's what Arvada is like. They don't get rid of the past when it gets run down and weathered, they restore it in often creative and nifty ways.

Nancy Young, of SaveArvadaNow, is fighting to keep it that way. She was generous enough to give me a tour of downtown, telling me so many interesting stories about its history. I saw all of the homes, many of them over a century old, most of which are restored to its original look. And the view from Grandview east of Old Wadsworth is breathtaking. 

And yet what brought me to this place is a story I'm researching, the depths of which I still have yet to fully fathom. The story is Transportation-oriented Development (TOD), and it is the reason why this sort of novel approach to restoring the past may itself become a thing of the past.

TOD is the practice of building high-density housing in close proximity to public transit. Arvada leadership is pursuing, rather aggressively, high-density housing structures in preparation for The Gold Line - the arm of RTD's Fastracks lightrail plan that will pass through Arvada. Arvada leadership is tripping over itself to make way for these developments, and they couldn't be happier to accomadate the developers.

I wrote a short article about two months ago, knowing that a full investigation of the greater scope of the issue would take weeks, if not months. And it has. Partly because I've been so busy with the newsletter and with work, but also because every new discovery I make uncovers another disgusting layer of the story.

I'm learning so much about municipal politics, and after looking at the systems in place for appraisal, zoning, dirty little tricks like tax-increment financing (TIF) and many others, I've come to the conclusion that no one's flying the plane. No one has a clue how cities work, and the ones who stand to gain like it that way. It's how they get away with murder.

In some cases, if they want your property, they can just declare it 'blighted' and you're screwed. After that, your home is of no more use to you than undocumented 'illegal' dwellings in Africa, homes which also cannot be mortgaged to pay for a startup because they have no 'legal' value.

In other cases, as one appraiser friend has already said is all too common, your house could burn down, and if the land it sits on is zoned differently (i.e. your house was only 'legal' because it was grandfathered in), then there's a strong chance the city won't let you rebuild unless you build an apartment complex. Yeah, it's pretty messed up.

But even if you get past the stench of cronyism and corruption like this, that still leaves the question that is perhaps even more vexing than this cesspool of municipal dealings: what makes a city great? Is it the density? Mobility? Quality of life? Character?

I could write a book and still not answer that question, but I'm starting to see that it's a question we're all going to need to start thinking more about, and soon, lest we allow careerist politicians and opportunistic developers run roughshod over our neighborhoods.

But even if it was for a good cause - and no one's saying development is always bad - what breaks my heart the most is how casually these progressives in Arvada's City Council and Urban Renewal board talk about 'the future', at the expense of the past.

There is a right way to do TOD. Then there is the wrong way.

Fortunately, Nancy has found a strategy that may actually work, and it involves saving the Masonic Lodge from being destroyed.

Because the Masonic lodge has historical significance, a review is required by the Colorado Historic Society before it can happen. To make a long story short, the process may delay developers to the point their contractors may drop out, and they might not even be able meet the deadline required to be operational when the Gold Line is finished. So they super-duper want this process to end soon (and in their favor).

Oh, and did I mention the government shut down the other day? Yeah, that might take a while. :)

Stories, stories, stories

You may have noticed that I haven't posted in over a month. Sorry about that.

I don't have any pics or news to share, except that I finally seem to be out of the weeds financially (or will be in a week), and the second newsletter just went out, of which I am now officially the editor. 

Couple of cute stories should tide y'all over, though....

1. Co-worker at the movie theater tells me of a phone call he received from a guy who was thinking of seeing a movie, but only if a certain girl (we'll call her Sam) was going to be his server. He had a crush on her, he admitted. Then, an hour later, a man and his little boy come in, but the man stops in the doorway to the theater, directing the boy to the counter to ask for the guy he spoke to on the phone. It seems it was the little boy who had the crush on Sam, and he came to deliver her a present. It was a plastic bag with two Rockstars and three bars of chocolate, with a paper taped to the side that said, "I love you, Sam."

2. Man comes in with his kid and asks about the age policy. I tell him that kids need to be 6 years old and up, unless it's a kids movie, in which case 3 and up. Babies can come only on Baby Day. He leaves, then comes back 20 minutes later, saying, "Two Adults and a kid for the Grease Sing-A-Long." I ask him how old his daughter was, and he says she just had her sixth birthday. Being that it was super busy and I didn't remember what the kid looked like, and she wasn't in front of me, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. I later discovered that she was 3.

So a manager later asks me to get a number for a taxi ready, as she was planning to offer to call one for a man who had several martinis and seemed intoxicated. I found out it was the same guy when he started yelling at the manager, saying he had been harassed ever since he walked in. Then he started in with legal jargon, saying that the age policy was not handed to him in literature form, and that he could sue us. He also threatened us by saying that he was with a local news station (I won't say which one). Nevermind that our age policy is on the website, the marquee, and it was explained to him BY ME. And the fact that he straight up lied about his child's age to get around said policy.

But all that stuff was the tip of the iceberg, because after he left, no less than five seperate customers came up to us and offered to give us their emails, in the event that they may be needed to testify on our behalf that the guy was actually just a jerk. It was then that I found out that he had actually been very disruptive, broke a glass and let his kid walk on it, demeaned our servers for laughs, and the only reason he didn't get kicked out was because no one complained until late into the movie.

Oh, and he got into the car drunk with his kid, and drove away. We got the license plate and called the cops. All in a day's work.

3. A little over a month after I give up energy drinks, Monster comes out with a line of Monster Milk energy protein shakes. And I wept.

Turning the Corner...

The time has come to get a place of my own, and I have found the perfect one. It is in a great location (for me) and in a good neighborhood. In fact, there are one-million dollar homes a block away. It's also in my price range, with everything paid except electric.

The only issue is that it's not available until the 20th of August, and I need a place on the 1st. So I'm currently looking for a temporary roommate or sublet situation to float me for three weeks.

Also, I've been unofficially promoted at the movie theater!

On Tuesday, I begin my training in the box office downstairs. This is cool for many reasons, but the short end of it is: more money!

The box office at the Alamo is very different than at other movie theaters. For one, customers pick the seats they will be sitting in at the box office, and it is the first stop for newcomers who don't know how dine-in movie theaters work. They are understandably confused to realize we do not have a concession stand, and sometimes find it difficult to grasp the concept of being served food in a dark theater.

But most importantly, there is a tap wall. There are 32 beers on tap in box office, and people can order a beer to take into the theater, or while they are waiting for it to begin seating.

So while I'm still making what I've been making, I also have the opportunity to make tips. It is a highly coveted position for that reason. Not as highly desired as Glass Half Full (the actual bar, which is right behind box office), but I am one step closer to that as well. In fact, I was actually asked to open the bar today because the opener had a family emergency. I didn't serve anyone, but I still count that as a victory.

And speaking of victories, the first issue of the newsletter I will be running for the Libertarian Party of Colorado has been published. I'm still uncertain what the response has been, because I don't yet have access to the analytics, but I'm proud of it nonetheless.

The articles I wrote for that issue (all but one) were, with one exception, merely update-type articles. The one I'm most proud of was a short commentary on the DOMA decision. I will get to write more like this, which is more my cup of tea.

I will be writing news articles too, though. In fact, there are too many big stories going on to write about and I would need much more time to write them all. For example, I'm currently writing a feature about a fairly epic land giveaway going on in Arvada - the first of many eminent domain abuse stories I'll be covering.

I don't really have a journalism background, despite having once written some news articles for the U of A student newspaper. This will be largely a new experience for me, and it feels like the big leagues. There are some serious abuses of power going on in the Metro area and around Colorado, and I don't take it lightly that I have an opportunity to do some good by writing about it.

And for once, I have an opportunity to write stuff that matters for an audience who will read it. And that is just the beginning. I have big ideas and a vision for where to take this newsletter. I want it to be the standard for all LP affiliates in every state. I want them to look at our newsletter and seek to emulate its content.

That's my goal, anyway. I'm no fool, though. Rome wasn't built in a day, and I'm not so arrogant as to think I can achieve this at all, but it doesn't hurt to try.

This all has me feeling both humbled by the realization of how much worse things could be for me, but also proud of how far I've come in three months by just busting my ass and keeping my mouth shut.

Not that I've had much to complain about, other than the usual pressure to pay bills and such. But I'm no longer in survival mode. I've begun to once again reevaluate my short and long term goals, and my soul and mind are being eased by each little ounce of clarity and certainty that life grants me.

Whatever happens, I know that I'm happier now than I ever have been in my life. I'm happy with who I've become, and I'm not as easily crushed by failure. I expect nothing to be easy, and so I'm relieved if and when it turns out that way. I prepare as best as I can, not so that I can remain stuck working pay check to pay check, but so that I can move forward.

I plan to restore my credit and refinance my truck, which I will be able to do in a year (maybe sooner). With that money, I can buy video equipment and start working on video projects again, but from a stronger, more stable position. I also plan to make another serious go at my documentary.

All in due time.

Independence Day Weekend Adventures

This post is a bit delayed because I've been super busy. I had to share my adventures last weekend, though, and they're just as rad as the Memorial Day excursion to Colorado Springs.

When everyone around me was getting four-day weekends, I thought I was going to work all the way through it. But I somehow managed to get Friday off, and so Heather and I made a trip up to Estes Park.

We saw the Stanley Hotel, which was used as the famous Overlook Hotel in The Shining. 

If Heather were more of a horror movie person, she might have appreciated the magic of this event. They even had a Jack Nicholson impersonator to greet everyone at the door.

Coming Soon:
Immortal Mallard

There was no maze like in the movie, but there was a garden with a waterfall in the back. And we found the most bad-ass ducks we've ever seen. They're so metal.

The main strip of stores in downtown Estes is very quaint, and was super busy, no doubt because of the holiday weekend. We ate dinner at Wapiti Bar and Grill, where we were served by the most endearingly awkward guy in the world.

And we just had to stop in at the Spruce House. It's a Christmas store. Yeah, I know.

Actually, I just wanted to see if they had egg nog. They do not, but they did have a duck ornament, though, and I only bought it on the condition that the lovely lady working the register sign and date the back of it. I'm sentimental that way.

We took the scenic route back, and stopped at Hidden Valley. It was originally used by a logging company and by locals who skied on tracks left by the loggers in winter. It became a full-scale ski resort for a few decades until it was decided that even a snow-making machine couldn't keep the place open for a whole season. There's a ranger's station, though, and there are several trails for hiking. 

I super needed coffee, so on the way back through Boulder, we checked out the coffee shops that Heather was fond of, but found they were all closed. So instead, we decided to hit up Pearl Street (for my friends back in Tucson, Pearl Street is what Fourth Avenue wants to be when it grows up).

Pearl Street is one of the most bizarre anthropological enigmas which I still can't wrap my head around. A struggling artist playing his heart out on a street corner is a bit odd to see when he is ten feet from a store that sells $30 bottles of shampoo. In short, Pearl Street is Yuppie Mecca.

The highlight was definitely Cooper and Harper, two kids who couldn't be more than 14 and 12. One played the violin and the other played the guitar, and every so often they would switch. True wunderkinds.

I'm with Heather when it comes to Boulder on the whole. It is beautiful and rich with culture, and some of its city planning ideas are very neat, but it's a bit too granola for me. I love coffee, but I don't need to be spending $25 on it. Call me cheap, I guess. Something about the "culture" of Boulder just doesn't smell right to me. But nothing spells it out quite nicely enough as visiting a city with a smug, conservation consciousness, despite having sculptures with built-in waterfalls.

I Ate Pancakes

Name the movie: "Nobody ever robs restaurants. Why not?"

The Denver Diner's a killer place to get breakfast food, not gonna lie.

I felt bad that I didn't get a more signature dish from the place than mere pancakes, but those pancakes were some of the best I've ever had. And they were doormat-sized. I didn't know eggs were anything but eggs everywhere, but somehow their eggs were something to write home about as well.

From Wikitravel:

In an otherwise deserted stretch of an otherwise hoppin' Colfax, this is pretty much everything you would want of an iconic urban diner—the sort that achieved just the right balance of neon, grime, tattoos, and cheap greasy food, with an ample dose of authenticity. And crucially, it is open around the clock to feed the morning downtown crowd and the late night intoxicated revelers. 

I don't have a picture, but I also must promise you that the view of downtown Denver from the highway as you're driving to the Denver Diner on Colfax is pretty epic.

I would also like to mention that the Alamo had probably its most successful night with the opening of Man of Steel. Everyone was so on their A-game that the kitchen turned into a dance party. No, that is not a joke.

Some people have quit over the last few weeks, so I might be moving up here pretty soon. I've worked cocktails twice already, and I'm starting to get the hang of it. No big screw-ups yet. At least, I don't plan on doing anything so stupid as making a Margarita with Vodka. (Yes, a new guy there did that, and it was the worst thing I have ever tasted in my life)

By the end of next week I will also be caught up on bills. No more being broke as a joke!

Busy busy busy...

The theater gave me very few hours two weeks in a row, so I got a second job. I'm now working at a new 7-11 near where I live, which has only been open for about five months. Once they got wind of the fact that I already know how to do pretty much everything in the store, they wanted me to have as many hours as I would take. They've been hard up for good help, it seems.

However, now two people have quit at the theater and I'm moving up in the ranks. If I can talk my boss at 7-11 into giving me the hours I want, I could very well be working two full time jobs for a while. And that's great, because yours truly needs money. If I don't post for a couple of weeks, you know why.

I've been working on a few projects here and there as well, but updates on those will have to wait. But for now, please enjoy some entertainment under the "Duck Philosophy" section to the right. >>>

Memorial Day Adventures

After getting our butts kicked at work over the busiest weekend that theater has seen since being opened, I was ready for an escape.

I hadn't gone exploring with Heather in a couple of weeks, and she suggested going to Seven Falls, just outside of Colorado Springs.

This place was far more impressive than the Seven Falls of the Catalina Mountains in Tucson! Only difference is you can't go in the water because it has little bacteria buggers in it. Still, it was absolutely beautiful.

The Odd Couple.

We also met some of the locals. This is Tom and Jane, and they've been here for quite some time. As soon as I remarked to Heather that Tom was standing on one leg (quite possibly for our amusement), Jane immediately began doing it as well. Except, she was quite conspicuous about it, as if to deter our attention away from her sweetie. They were the only two ducks we found in the entire park, though, so we were thinking this was more of a retirement situation for them. We wished them the best.

We also went on a little hike and saw some extraordinary views, and learned a couple neat things about the wildlife.

Chalk one in for Nature.

These trees exist, fyi.

View overlooking Colorado Springs.

The true highlight of our Memorial Day excursion, though, was Garden of the Gods.

There was still plenty of daylight enough to walk around the entire park, and am I glad we did.

Three Graces

If its description is accurate, you could say this is the heart of Colorado.

The name "Colorado" is Spanish for "colored red," which would make this place very special. It was so special, in fact, that a very wealthy landowner donated this land over a century ago and set up a trust to help take care of it through the generations. The park is extremely well-maintained, like all of the parks in Colorado. But this one is special.

It doesn't have any lakes or ducks or recreation of any kind. It's just a collection of beautiful rock formations which man has, through the ages, found so compelling that he has decided to honor it.

Balancing Rock

Many of the rocks don't look anything like the others. There are white rocks, grey rocks, orange rocks and red rocks, all scattered about. It is truly a remarkable sight. Put it on your bucket list immediately.

Something Big Is Happening in Denver

This week has been quite a busy one for me, and at the moment I am exhausted, having worked the first of three Memorial Day weekend days at the theater. They expected we would be busy as all hell, and they were right!

I hadn't gotten a chance to post it, but last weekend I attended one of the days of the convention for the Libertarian Party of Colorado. I met some very interesting people, including the state chair of LP Texas, and you can see the interview I filmed with him here.

I also didn't have a chance to post it, but I'm now contributing for them as well, writing articles for the party website. You can read my first article on the wave of scandals here. I'm quite proud of it, actually.

Perhaps one of the biggest highlights of the week was also at the convention, where I met a very smart dude from Wisconsin. After the dinner and the speech that night, he and I got so deep into talking that we had some drinks in the hotel bar and chatted it up for several hours. He's a blogger's blogger, and he's pretty darn "in the know" about a lot of things that are happening right now.

More than that, I felt that his overall view on the world and on humanity was so much closer to my own than anyone I've met since I moved up here that I had to believe I was meant to attend this convention, if only to meet this guy. And the feeling was mutual.

We talked a lot about universal spiritual concepts, how the Libertarian Party plays into the changes going on right now everywhere, and everything in between. I'll see if he wouldn't mind me posting a link here to his work in the next post.

On my way home from this very same convention, I also had a spiritual moment.

I was coming back from an event that we all felt was very important. The Libertarian State Leadership Alliance was also there, and they are sort of like the national leadership, which has their conference in a different state every year. A big role they serve is to help affiliates like us (Colorado) with seminars and workshops.

And we all came away from it feeling like we know what needs to be done, and I couldn't help but feel personally involved in this mission. Like I knew where my role was. It was a great feeling, being a part of something that could change the world.

And I was thinking about this, and all the stuff my new friend and I talked about, when this song by Dido came on the radio.

I'd heard it many times before, but at that very moment, it might as well have been meant for me. It was like verbal confirmation of the highest order, confirmation that I'm on the right track. That when I say to others that the Universe is full of love, and that it wants us to get better and to succeed, and that it has been doing so all along, that I am not too far off.

It was nothing short of a love letter from God in that very instant, and I could not hold back my tears.

On Easter, the same thing happened with this song. It wasn't that the song struck a Christian chord in me, because it meant much more to me than just its literal meaning.

If a Christian wanted to explain to you why Jesus is an important figure to them, they would (or perhaps should) say something along the lines of: "Because the power of forgiveness heals all, and our God happens to have done the impossible: forgive us all."

Us barbarians.

How awful we must have been, and for so long. With no hope for getting better. I believe forgiveness has the power to put an end to cycles of strife as well as self-hate, and Christ - whatever you might believe about him - represented this alternative solution.

The idea that some person who has wronged you should be forgiven is very hard to do, but if you don't, you cannot move on. And you will destroy yourself as well by not being able to forgive yourself when you wrong someone.

Why do I bring this all up? Because something is happening right now that is bigger than all things. It is bigger than Denver, bigger than American politics and even bigger than the legacy of Jesus himself.


I'm feeling it quite strongly here in Denver, and it even seems like Denver is a at a crossroads. It literally is, geographically speaking. It is like the doorway into the west, and I see this everywhere in the city. Some big things are going to start here, I can feel it.

First Day Off

So I've been working like a dog for the last five days in a row, training to be a bartender at the most amazing movie theater that I know about. And I now have a day to rest.

My training was supposed to consist of two solid days of learning how to run food and drinks into the theater, followed by a four-day service bar training. I am quite pleased that they take training as seriously as they do, because nothing bugs a person more than finding out their co-workers don't know how to do half of their job. We all hate that.

Running food for a movie theater is one of the most interesting things I've ever done.

I've run food before in restaurants, but never in a movie theater. The things you have to consider are a good deal different than in regular restaurants.

For example, in a restaurant, if you accidentally serve a pizza that is supposed to be gluten-free but isn't, or if you serve a salad with walnuts to someone with an allergy to nuts. The customer might recognize it in a restaurant, but in a movie theater you cannot see what you're eating, so bad things can happen. 

You also have about five minutes to get all of the drinks in a theater out, less than fifteen to get the food orders taken and the appetizers out, and thirty minutes to serve the food. On a Friday or Saturday night, that can mean as many as 800 to 1,000 people in 45 minutes that all have to be served.

It's a massive operation, and a very impressive one.

There might be 60-80 people in the kitchen at one time all buzzing about, handling three things at once. 

My training as a runner, however, was just to familiarize me with the operation. I will mostly be in the service bar, which is in the kitchen. And yay for that, because I love it there.

For one, it's challenging. There are four stations - shakes, beer and wine, wells and non-alcoholic - and some days, you might be responsible for all of them. Getting the knowledge has been fairly easy, like how to pour beers properly and how to make a decent alcoholic shake with the appropriate garnishes. The speed is the killer, though. You have to hustle, as any bartender no doubt will tell you.

But I love a challenge.

I also love the fact that, as a bartender, I get to try different beers. It is also the ideal environment to learn how to mix cocktails correctly.

And I admire the sense of order, so I feel like the most challenging aspects of the job come from the job itself. I don't feel like I'm working against anyone or picking up someone else's slack.

That's not to say it is the most well-oiled machine of a workplace, though. After all, the place opened on March 25th of this year, so it hasn't even been open two months.

And that is also very exciting. Many of the people who started when it opened have already been promoted, or have moved into other positions which they enjoy.

My short term goal right now is to wind up in the bar downstairs, making tips and turning people onto new beers. When I start making money again, I'll break out the brewing kit I wisely chose to bring with me from Arizona and start making my own beer as well. It will be great to work in a place with like-minded lovers of beer who might give me meaningful feedback on my concoctions

The "film geeks who drink beer," as one of the bartenders referred to many of the staff, have certainly found a fellow in me.

Spoon Gets A Job!

After a month of unemployment and dropping off applications at all of the surrounding movie theaters, the one I wanted to get hired at the most was the Alamo Drafthouse. It is the closest to where I live, but it is also the movie theater experience I've always dreamed of.

They have 32 beers on tap, and they are all Colorado beers. They serve food - and when I say they serve food, I mean they SERVE you in the theater. It is a dine-in movie theater, and a sort of high-class one at that.

They also have many creative arms of the company - Drafthouse Films for one - which produces and distributes its own content. Many of the people who go into this part, as it turns out, started in the movie theater.

I'm excited to say that I've been hired, and I start on Thursday.

I will be working in the kitchen drink station upstairs (the bar) pouring beers and mixing cocktails. Eventually, there may be an opportunity to move downstairs into the lobby and hopefully into the actual bar.

This is by far the best opportunity to come my way since I moved here, and I could not be happier. I really believe this theater is the future of what the movie-going experience could be, and should be.

Chess at Pablo's

There's a cozy little shop on 6th, east of Broadway, called Pablo's. Heather and I went there once about two weeks ago, and since I was in the neighborhood job-hunting, we decided to meet up again. 

They feature a good selection of art, their coffee is top notch and they have games. I know coffee shops exist that don't have games, and shame on those places. This place even has backgammon.

I actually asked for a coffee a bit too late, as they were closing had no more coffee, and a kind fellow made me some tea instead and didn't charge me for it. I don't wanna get the guy in trouble, but that deserves a shout out.

Heather and I played chess outside until it got to be too freezy cold to concentrate. Good times.

Starting to Lull

I am fortunate I have gotten to see some of the city before becoming broke as a lame joke, and have spent some quality time with family and made some new friends. But I'm starting to feel the weight of financial pressures, and that is going to chip away at the sugar high I've been on since I got here.

What I wouldn't do for just one potential client of mine to actually turn into a paid gig.

I don't know why so many people expect you to deliver the equivalent of a Monet, but are only willing to pay for deco they might find marked down at Ross.

I don't wanna turn up work, because cheap work is better than no work. Bu seriously, this man has to eat!

I'm trying to stay positive and busy. The volunteer work I have around the corner with the Libertarian Party should distract me from my money troubles.

Here's to following the dream...

Downtown Welcomes Us For The First Time

Downtown has just too many cool things to see. This is Daniels & Fischer Tower at sunset:



Yes, it's glowing pink.

It is over a hundred years old, and was the tallest building west of the Mississippi at the time of its construction. We tried to go up it, but nobody answered the little phone in the lobby. :(

Also, we caught someone trying to sneak into the Convention Center:

I think he's been there a while. Patience, my friend. Good things come to those who wait.

Meet Scott and Fiona

So I paid a visit to my little friends at Sloan Lake with my new park-hopping buddy, Heather, and we met these two.

Fiona's a bit of a spaz and kept disappearing, but Scott followed close behind her always. He looks out for her like a gentleman.

Scott warmed up to us pretty quick, but Fiona took some getting used to us. She would swim away a bit, but kept coming back to eat away at the stash of bread we'd laid out for them both. She eventually calmed down and relaxed, and Scott looked at Erika and I and said, "She likes you guys a lot. She never settles down for anyone."

Scott is a Sociology major, and Fiona is still figuring out what she wants to do with her life. They both say, "Hi."

Officially Broke

Well, the AZ Department of Revenue decided that I didn't need my tax return, so they went ahead and kept it. I like to imagine it was her way of getting back at me for leaving her. The state, I mean. She really is like the spoiled trophy wife who's never happy, in my opinion. You give her all your taxes, defend her against others who think she's just an empty shell of a human being (which she totally is, but you don't want anyone else saying it about her, cuz she's yours), they chase away all your opportunities to states like New Mexico and Texas, then when you finally say enough is enough, they remind you of that pre-nup you forgot to take out! "REMEMBER! YOU STILL OWE ME FOR THAT EDUCATION YOU GOT BECAUSE I WAS NICE ENOUGH TO LET UNCLE SAM GIVE ME THE MONEY TO LET YOU BORROW AND PAY ME BACK WITH SO I DIDN'T HAVE TO WORK BUT YOU ALWAYS WILL WORK FOR ME CUZ THAT'S HOW THAT WORKS! B'BYE!"

*sigh*

The bank screwed me too, and the other debtors are not far away. I'm current on bills, but broke as a joke. Officially living life by a thread at this point. But the good news is I'm in Denver. Oh, that news will never not be good news! We'll see how many of these gigs I've lined up actually pan out...

Greetings from Denver!

So I got into Denver Thursday night, but almost got snowed in at Frisco (just past Vail), if you can believe it. My phone picked the perfect time to go dead, and just before finding the town's only actual gas station (which took some looking -- it was not right off the highway where ALL gas stations should be!), I found a random bar that was closed. The guy working not only let me charge my phone, but gave me a free beer and palavered with me for a bit. I'm gonna have to go skiing next season just so I can see that guy again!

Anyways, I made it, and my brother, much to my surprise, has decided to let me stay with him after all. His family has been very welcoming, and it's been a lot of fun so far. Whopping my brother's butt at ping pong is a current favorite, but there is no shortage of charming moments in this house.

I've already met several people who, I'm happy to say, share my passion, or at least interest, in so many things. Life doesn't seem slow for anyone I've met so far, but they get by and they mostly strike me as being just as insightful, egalitarian and driven as I imagined Denverites would be.

I have at least three paid jobs lined up, but I also have been invited by the Libertarian Party to be a videographer for their conference next month. It is usually the annual state-wide conference, but this year it is actually a national event, so many of the who's who in Libertarianism will be there. I couldn't be more excited for it.

The ducks in the park down the street have met me, and they are as cool as I thought they would be, too. One swam over to greet me, and quacked in salutation. They love the snow as much as I do, and they assure me, as everything has so far, that I'm where I need to be.

I assume my exploits will soon pick up speed, as I have a lot of things to get done. I will be busy with one thing or another, but I will update this blog as regularly as I can. It is much easier to let people know what's going on with you through a blog, so if you want to know what I'm up to, go ahead and subscribe.

I will also be publishing articles in the name of the local fowl. No one has ever taken them seriously, but they have a voice, and I will help them be heard!