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. >>>