Vail

Combat Dreams

Thu, 03 May 2007 20:47:12 GMT

An uninhabited island. There will be several, many after me and I only have a short time. Should I hide in the deserted castle/office complex on the island's only hill? Archive catacombs honeycomb the base of the hill, filing cabinets acting as both the walls and supports of earthy passages that recede dimly. A chain-link fence encircles the base of the hill, preventing some of the outward facing cabinets' drawers from opening. How could someone even use them? It puzzles and somehow frustrates me. I set up decoys where they're likely to come ashore and head for the forest. With my rifle I should be able to pick a couple off before they figure out where I am and surround me. I'm going to have help. Clones? Clones of me? We still don't have a chance.

Then I'm one of them and I'm running across the island, through the castle/office with a bazooka. The forest is surrounded and we're closing in but where did all these families come from? It's not safe for them to be here. It would be too scary to be stalked through these halls, where we would be so close. If they cornered me I wouldn't leave it up to them, I'd kill myself.

Ever So Tired

Sat, 28 Apr 2007 06:00:35 GMT

I've had one day off from work in the last, let me see...47 days. The last day I didn't work was Good Friday and the last day before that was March 10th. With school stacked precariously on top, I have to admit that the overprogramming has been getting to me and my focus has suffered. Mercifully, the needed structural changes are being implemented, if not as fast as I would like, and I've got both tomorrow and Sunday off. I want them to want me, but definitely don't need them to need me. Commitment on this level seems to drain me.

In other news, Walt and I had some good BBQ and saw Hot Fuzz tonight. It's like Shaun of the Dead fucking Reno 911!'s brains out. Very, very funny and I recommend it highly.

Worth Experiencing

Sun, 08 Apr 2007 07:51:58 GMT

I saw The Lives of Others with Walt last night. Really an excellent picture, with the central character's performance (by some parallel universe's more German 45-year-old analogue of Conor) blowing me away in particular. I cried for the first time in a theater since seeing Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring - though not too much.

Also noteworthy was the lighthearted, jovial cruelty of Conor-2's immediate superior, who reminded me of my favorite character from Crime and Punishment, Svidrigailov. If I had the hammer, all I'd see is nails.
And why not enjoy it, hmm?

Photos Finally Up - Enjoy

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 00:23:53 GMT

Thanksgiving in Denver, 2005 (work safe)
Easter in Colorado Springs, 2006 (work safe)
Soup 2007 (not entirely work safe)

Tue, 13 Feb 2007 23:53:44 GMT

Me, to Jo-Jo (nearing the end of yet another of her 10-12 hour work days): Hey Jo-Jo, have I told you the story about the horse who worked himself to death?

Jo-Jo (humoring me with about half her attention): What? No. What's the story?

Me: Okay, so there was this horse, see? And he worked himself to death.

Me (pointedly staring): That's the story.

Pleasure

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 02:33:26 GMT

It seems that I keep relearning that it's possible (preferable, really) for me to enjoy processes in and of themselves, regardless of the outcome.

Fri, 10 Nov 2006 22:44:54 GMT

I bought a suit last week (for the first time in my life) to go to a wedding on Saturday and I had a great time! Drinking at the open bar, dancing on the open dance floor, flirting with the open married chicks. At one point I suggested something to this woman who was flirting with me and she said, "My husband would kick your ass." Later I found out that her husband was this massive football-looking dude who was probably completely immune to pain at that point because he had spent the earlier part of the evening cranking his grey matter up to "raging drunk." I've really got to learn to look for the ring before I get myself in trouble.

Value

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 23:43:25 GMT

I remember, from when I was eight or ten, my mom telling me about how she met my dad. She said that the first thing she noticed about him was his generosity and the fact that he didn't overdo it - he was generous but not extravagantly, never beyond his means.

Mon, 18 Sep 2006 01:01:48 GMT

Getting the brush-off sucks. Getting the brush-off from someone I traveled hundreds of miles to see pisses me off.

Attention Denverites!

Sat, 02 Sep 2006 04:25:55 GMT

I plan to be up in your neck of the woods the weekend of the 15th.

Also, if you're interested in attending the South Park Music Festival (Sept 7-10) I can get you free passes (SFNTC is a sponsor).

I look forward to seeing you soon!

Ah!

Wed, 12 Jul 2006 20:54:32 GMT

I hadn't really noticed myspace's search function until maru_mari mentioned it. Yesterday I looked up Christa and seeing a recent photo of her gave me instant adult-onset ADD - I was electrified but not able to concentrate, not even a little. I hadn't seen or talked to her in...three years? Three years. In a certain way she symbolizes an idealized remembering of my life before we lost my mom, before the fistfight with my dad and the trouble with Rich, before the exodus to Santa Fe.

Bonnaroo

Fri, 23 Jun 2006 17:05:44 GMT

I haven't fully recovered from the thirteen hour days we were working at Bonnaroo, hot on the heels of Denver's excesses.

Although I missed Andrew Bird's acoustic set, his electric set kicked ass, as did Bill Frisell's. My Morning Jacket seemed blah to me, but maybe that's just due to the fact that I was tired as hell when they went on. Dungen's acoustic set: beautiful (and surreal, as in between songs Cypress Hill, cranked way up on another stage, rang out clearly).

But I had the most fun with The Streets, partly because the first two albums are still some of my favorite music and partly because I watched them with Kit. Ah, I adore her. "...the last relationship fucked her up - got hurt majorly, finds it tough to trust." There's something to be said for nearly effortlessly understanding and being understood, being able to skip a lot of the dancing around and negotiating that precedes real communication.

Ah, the Small Pleasures in Life

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 16:34:28 GMT

I enjoy savoring the sense of decadence I get out of using proper spelling, puntuation, capitalization, and grammar when text-messaging. I lavish upon you the unalloyed riches of the King's English, ye wanderers in the electronic wasteland!

Toffee Is So Good

Thu, 04 May 2006 19:53:13 GMT

Cashew roca! English toffee! Butter toffee! So good in my mouf!

Transcendent Weekend

Tue, 18 Apr 2006 17:05:33 GMT

Sunday night I slipped onto I-25 after spending a wonderful day with buzzcock and quasiminx and felt myself almost overcome with the sensation that there is something very right with the world at large and my life in particular. Deep, rambling, meaningful conversations with Mehlhaff and Rose; two bourbon-fueled Proustian games of Puerto Rico with satarnion, buzzcock, and Mehlhaff; I fucking love it!

Hey Denver Peoples!

Wed, 29 Mar 2006 22:10:44 GMT

I'm going to be visiting Mehlhaff in Colorado Springs April 14 to 17 (Easter weekend). Will you be available for hanging out with me during that time?

Soup!

Mon, 20 Feb 2006 22:38:09 GMT

Fucking epic, as expected. Let's see...I got there at 7:30pm and left at 5:00am, which means I must have enjoyed at least a good solid eight hours of drinking and quality conversation. So good to see so many usually distant friends brought together in one place. All hail Walt's party-throwing genius!

Next year, I think I'll avoid bringing another bottle of that killer Armagnac as it appears to be Walt's concentrated liquid kryptonite.

Fri, 10 Feb 2006 18:16:15 GMT

I danced with a pretty girl last night at Embodydance. And how good that felt!

At times I can get such amazing enjoyment out of things if I choose to experience them on their own terms.

New Shoes

Mon, 06 Feb 2006 23:07:43 GMT

I've heard it said that you can tell a lot about a guy based on his shoes. If that's true my new shoes say that I am tough, double-stompy, and, er, partly comprised of metal. Also, parts of me are oil resistant.

"Look upon my ROI, ye Mighty, and despair!"

Fri, 27 Jan 2006 20:16:19 GMT

My 401(k) Return On Investment for 2005: 40.74%
Better than last year, better than I had predicted even a few months ago, better than I had thought doable.

Unfortunately, as of January 1st my company changed providers and all my new investment choices look like shit. Oh well, it was a great ride.

Tue, 17 Jan 2006 19:24:49 GMT

"I've never met someone like you before."
I must have shuddered just a little bit as I thought, "Unfortunately, by the end of this conversation I'm sure you'll count that a blessing."

Apology

Sat, 14 Jan 2006 02:53:47 GMT

It's been suggested that my "SEX TELEGRAM" post was pretty inappropriate. After thinking about it I've realized that this was a case of me saying something without considering what effects it might have on other people. I apologize.

Mmm...salt

Fri, 13 Jan 2006 21:46:30 GMT

It must have been a few years ago that I started developing this serious salt craving. Anchovies and feta cheese last night. Mmm...

Thu, 05 Jan 2006 20:39:15 GMT

Heath Ledger's character in "Brokeback Mountain" was eerily familiar. The voice choked back in the throat as if he had almost succeeded in swallowing it completely; the eyes that never seemed to open all the way and mostly focused away; the flat affect maintained above strong, sometimes uncontrollable, emotions.

Sexy?

Fri, 30 Dec 2005 00:41:55 GMT

One time, near the end of an Embodydance, I saw Paris lying on her back and I collapsed like wounded game next to her, head to toe, and took a fistful of her jeans in one hand. She put a hand on my bare, heaving, slick belly. I had been dancing really hard, even for me, for more than an hour and sweat kept pouring out, running down and pooling on the hardwood floor under me. My breaths came in great jerky gulps and with each one I clenched the jeans-holding fist, easing its grip on the exhale. I lay there with her like this for the last eight minutes or so, slowly coming down, my eyes gently shut, and thought, "I wonder if she finds this as erotic as I do?"