Hi Friends,
I just wanted to write you a quick blog note to tell you that my laptop is out of commission for a little while. I got a trojan/virus, and in my attempts to troubleshoot it I did something dumb - I locked my computer in safe mode. Now I can't login, and can't get back to normal mode... lol. I've been emailing the folks at the help desk, but I don't know if they will be able to pull through for me. We'll see...hopefully I don't have to get too creative.
Anyway, it's great to be back in Denver. It's much warmer, and it looks like I have a date lined up for sometime this week. it was totally unexpected, but that's what happens when you put yourself out there I guess. :) Well, maybe sometimes... :P
Now I have to get on the phone and make that money! ;)
Ciao for now friends! Stay tuned for the (highly anticipated) return of my blog.
-Dizzy in Denver
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Counting the days
*sigh*
I don't know what it is, whether it's homesickness, heartsickness, sleep-deprivation, dehydration, or the altitude...but, I miss home. No, I'm not even sure it's home I miss. I think what I really miss is that part of my life that I called my own. Here in Denver I'm forced to live a certain way. Sure, I've made some great changes - like running every day, and eating healthy homemade meals more often; but, I miss the other "stuff." I miss you - the people at work, my roommate, my family, my long-time friends and colleagues. That's the stuff that really adds a certain quality to your life that you could not add on your own; and, I feel like that's been removed from my life, and that certain quality has gone with it.
The change has just made me think about my life in a completely different way. I dunno, I guess I always knew that it was the people in your life that make it special; which is why I have always tried to surround myself with special people. I've met a lot of these people, and have enjoyed their friendship, but there is only room for so many friends that you can truly say "they surround me in life." You have to choose who these people are, and this is the type of choice that is really important in life; because they're the ones who add that unquantifiable quality that can exponentially affect your life. I like to think I've made the best of those choices, for the most part without any regrets; but.... There's always a "but." More like: there's always a "butthead." I feel like one right now, that's for sure. I screwed up, and I do have regret about one particular choice. I pushed someone out of my life when I really didn't have to. All I can say about it is: "it felt like a good idea at the time." Truthfully, it felt like the only idea, or the necessary idea, or the idea that would still let me look myself in the mirror - right in my own eyes - and see integrity instead of disappointment.
Now, looking back with the benefit of hindsight, I was being true to myself (which is something everyone has to do); but, my judgment was very clouded. I wish I knew how to take a step back, slow down, and just be. I also wish I knew how to let go of the past. Have you ever relived certain moments in your life and asked yourself: "what could I have done differently?" I do that more than I probably should; and, I think it's because I don't know how to reconcile the poor choices I've made. For all intents and purposes, this person isn't really in my life anymore; and it's one of the hardest realities I have ever had to reconcile in life. I don't even have a clue as to why this is so difficult for me; and that's unsettling to me. I try not to think about it - like someone walking on a tight-rope; but every now and then I "look down" and reality sinks in once again. There's no hope that I can justify without fooling myself. It's like a bad dream that has no ending. I'm sure with time this will all fade away; but I can't be sure. It feels too much like one of those "lessons you'll never forget." The truth is that I want to forget it. Well, not the lesson itself, because that's supposed to make me a better person; but I want to forget the circumstances that preceded the lesson. I don't think that is possible in this case; I think the two go hand in hand. That sucks. How do you forget about someone you don't want to forget about? Or, a better way of putting it is: how do you forget about someone who is unforgettable? I guess for those that are susceptible, there is always hypnosis (lol). Self-medication is just a temporary measure, and it has it's place. For the long term, it seems that the only way to do that is to replace what you've lost with something else. Unfortunately, you can't really replace a person that you've lost - they're irreplaceable.
Sorry for focusing on one person so much friends; because the truth is I'm feeling this way about all of you to some degree. It's just that I've been wrestling with this particular situation, and had to get it off my chest. You can only mull things over for so long, going back and forth between contemplation and dismissal (trying to shrug it off), until you come to a point where you have to deal with it. I still don't know how to deal with it, but I do feel better right here, right now. I hope one day that feeling sticks.
For now, I'm just counting the days until I'm back home. Sunday, 2:18 pm, Edmonton International Airport. I hope to see a lot of you while I'm back, because I only have a week, and I'm going to make the most of it. You never really know what you've got till it's gone. I sure appreciate you all a lot more (and I already appreciated you a lot) now that I've been away for a month and am looking at 3 more months being removed from you all. I can't wait to get back!
Ciao for now friends, see you soon...
-Dizzy in Denver
I don't know what it is, whether it's homesickness, heartsickness, sleep-deprivation, dehydration, or the altitude...but, I miss home. No, I'm not even sure it's home I miss. I think what I really miss is that part of my life that I called my own. Here in Denver I'm forced to live a certain way. Sure, I've made some great changes - like running every day, and eating healthy homemade meals more often; but, I miss the other "stuff." I miss you - the people at work, my roommate, my family, my long-time friends and colleagues. That's the stuff that really adds a certain quality to your life that you could not add on your own; and, I feel like that's been removed from my life, and that certain quality has gone with it.
The change has just made me think about my life in a completely different way. I dunno, I guess I always knew that it was the people in your life that make it special; which is why I have always tried to surround myself with special people. I've met a lot of these people, and have enjoyed their friendship, but there is only room for so many friends that you can truly say "they surround me in life." You have to choose who these people are, and this is the type of choice that is really important in life; because they're the ones who add that unquantifiable quality that can exponentially affect your life. I like to think I've made the best of those choices, for the most part without any regrets; but.... There's always a "but." More like: there's always a "butthead." I feel like one right now, that's for sure. I screwed up, and I do have regret about one particular choice. I pushed someone out of my life when I really didn't have to. All I can say about it is: "it felt like a good idea at the time." Truthfully, it felt like the only idea, or the necessary idea, or the idea that would still let me look myself in the mirror - right in my own eyes - and see integrity instead of disappointment.
Now, looking back with the benefit of hindsight, I was being true to myself (which is something everyone has to do); but, my judgment was very clouded. I wish I knew how to take a step back, slow down, and just be. I also wish I knew how to let go of the past. Have you ever relived certain moments in your life and asked yourself: "what could I have done differently?" I do that more than I probably should; and, I think it's because I don't know how to reconcile the poor choices I've made. For all intents and purposes, this person isn't really in my life anymore; and it's one of the hardest realities I have ever had to reconcile in life. I don't even have a clue as to why this is so difficult for me; and that's unsettling to me. I try not to think about it - like someone walking on a tight-rope; but every now and then I "look down" and reality sinks in once again. There's no hope that I can justify without fooling myself. It's like a bad dream that has no ending. I'm sure with time this will all fade away; but I can't be sure. It feels too much like one of those "lessons you'll never forget." The truth is that I want to forget it. Well, not the lesson itself, because that's supposed to make me a better person; but I want to forget the circumstances that preceded the lesson. I don't think that is possible in this case; I think the two go hand in hand. That sucks. How do you forget about someone you don't want to forget about? Or, a better way of putting it is: how do you forget about someone who is unforgettable? I guess for those that are susceptible, there is always hypnosis (lol). Self-medication is just a temporary measure, and it has it's place. For the long term, it seems that the only way to do that is to replace what you've lost with something else. Unfortunately, you can't really replace a person that you've lost - they're irreplaceable.
Sorry for focusing on one person so much friends; because the truth is I'm feeling this way about all of you to some degree. It's just that I've been wrestling with this particular situation, and had to get it off my chest. You can only mull things over for so long, going back and forth between contemplation and dismissal (trying to shrug it off), until you come to a point where you have to deal with it. I still don't know how to deal with it, but I do feel better right here, right now. I hope one day that feeling sticks.For now, I'm just counting the days until I'm back home. Sunday, 2:18 pm, Edmonton International Airport. I hope to see a lot of you while I'm back, because I only have a week, and I'm going to make the most of it. You never really know what you've got till it's gone. I sure appreciate you all a lot more (and I already appreciated you a lot) now that I've been away for a month and am looking at 3 more months being removed from you all. I can't wait to get back!
Ciao for now friends, see you soon...
-Dizzy in Denver
Monday, October 13, 2008
Religulous in the VIP / Miller Time (Part 2)
So, part 2....
After the movie, Palmer and I went to the Fox & Hound for a drink. We happened to grab a table next to some co-workers. When I noticed who was next to us we joined the group and ordered some beers. Zip, Randy, and Roger were the original three. It was interesting seeing how they unwind and even more interesting asking them questions about Homestead. Randy almost left early, but there was plenty of arm-twisting from the whole group, and he stayed because Zip told him "Miller" was on is way. Miller was a former employee of Homestead, who recently moved to San Francisco. His first name is Eric, and the last was of course - Miller. I knew this guy was gonna be cool, because he has the obvious natural nickname "Miller-time." We talked about politics, and work, and travel, and other good stuff like that. We made tentative plans to go to Lower Downtown (LoDo) that evening, and those plans ended up being the only plan that came through. Yeah! Miller-Time! :)
Before heading downtown I wanted to iron a shirt and shave the Saturday stubble away. The shave went well...but the ironing...ummm, the jury is still out on that one. The crazy iron in my apartment gets amazingly hot, and I noticed when it was on the "cotton" setting (whatever happened to warm-hot-hotter-hottest?) it puffed what looked like smoke almost as soon as I touched my shirt with it. Here's the thing: it didn't burn my shirt (that I could tell). I had to get out the wrinkles, so I begrudgingly pressed the hot iron to my Calvin Klein shirt and hoped for the best. We'll see how it looks after I've taken it to the cleaners to get the job done professionally. Annnnyway, I managed to get out the door and to the train station by a little after nine. 45 minutes later and I was in LoDo. I headed straight to my new favorite pub: The Pour House. I had a couple drinks there, met some ladies who were throwing a surprise birthday party for their friend. Had a delicious SoCo and lime shot. I met a couple other nice ladies, but they were cool for all of 10 minutes, because they just got too smashed to carry on a conversation (I did not ask for their numbers). Just around that time, Miller showed up with his brother whom he had just picked up from the airport. He was a breath of fresh air after talking with some rather unsociable folks. We hung out there for a while, and I came to the aid of two lovely young ladies; a Georgia peach, and a Texan sweetheart. The poor Texan (Tracey), had a little too much too quickly, and was leaning over her chair on the patio... riding the vomit comet; and her friend the Peach (Meghan) was showing some strong moral support. I grabbed Tracey a tall glass of water and some napkins so she could blow her nose. She was adorably apologetic, and I was adorably understanding. After I got her a second round of water, I got to know them both a little better, and we loosely planned to hang out again sometime. At about this time the bar was clearing out and we had to clear the top level of the pub. I escorted the girls downstairs, holding both railings like a human baby-gate so Tracey wouldn't accidentally stumble down the stairs. We said our good-nights and parted ways; I with Miller, and the ladies into their cab.
It was a cold drive home, because Miller's rear passenger window gets stuck when you roll it down. I wish I knew that before I rolled it down. :P Thank God for Miller - another conversationalist who knows how to have fun. It was a great evening, despite not getting tickets to Beerfest.
And that was part 2, folks. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. :)
Ciao for now,
-Dizzy in Denver
After the movie, Palmer and I went to the Fox & Hound for a drink. We happened to grab a table next to some co-workers. When I noticed who was next to us we joined the group and ordered some beers. Zip, Randy, and Roger were the original three. It was interesting seeing how they unwind and even more interesting asking them questions about Homestead. Randy almost left early, but there was plenty of arm-twisting from the whole group, and he stayed because Zip told him "Miller" was on is way. Miller was a former employee of Homestead, who recently moved to San Francisco. His first name is Eric, and the last was of course - Miller. I knew this guy was gonna be cool, because he has the obvious natural nickname "Miller-time." We talked about politics, and work, and travel, and other good stuff like that. We made tentative plans to go to Lower Downtown (LoDo) that evening, and those plans ended up being the only plan that came through. Yeah! Miller-Time! :)
Before heading downtown I wanted to iron a shirt and shave the Saturday stubble away. The shave went well...but the ironing...ummm, the jury is still out on that one. The crazy iron in my apartment gets amazingly hot, and I noticed when it was on the "cotton" setting (whatever happened to warm-hot-hotter-hottest?) it puffed what looked like smoke almost as soon as I touched my shirt with it. Here's the thing: it didn't burn my shirt (that I could tell). I had to get out the wrinkles, so I begrudgingly pressed the hot iron to my Calvin Klein shirt and hoped for the best. We'll see how it looks after I've taken it to the cleaners to get the job done professionally. Annnnyway, I managed to get out the door and to the train station by a little after nine. 45 minutes later and I was in LoDo. I headed straight to my new favorite pub: The Pour House. I had a couple drinks there, met some ladies who were throwing a surprise birthday party for their friend. Had a delicious SoCo and lime shot. I met a couple other nice ladies, but they were cool for all of 10 minutes, because they just got too smashed to carry on a conversation (I did not ask for their numbers). Just around that time, Miller showed up with his brother whom he had just picked up from the airport. He was a breath of fresh air after talking with some rather unsociable folks. We hung out there for a while, and I came to the aid of two lovely young ladies; a Georgia peach, and a Texan sweetheart. The poor Texan (Tracey), had a little too much too quickly, and was leaning over her chair on the patio... riding the vomit comet; and her friend the Peach (Meghan) was showing some strong moral support. I grabbed Tracey a tall glass of water and some napkins so she could blow her nose. She was adorably apologetic, and I was adorably understanding. After I got her a second round of water, I got to know them both a little better, and we loosely planned to hang out again sometime. At about this time the bar was clearing out and we had to clear the top level of the pub. I escorted the girls downstairs, holding both railings like a human baby-gate so Tracey wouldn't accidentally stumble down the stairs. We said our good-nights and parted ways; I with Miller, and the ladies into their cab.
It was a cold drive home, because Miller's rear passenger window gets stuck when you roll it down. I wish I knew that before I rolled it down. :P Thank God for Miller - another conversationalist who knows how to have fun. It was a great evening, despite not getting tickets to Beerfest.
And that was part 2, folks. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. :)
Ciao for now,
-Dizzy in Denver
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Religulous in the VIP / Miller Time (Part 1)
Hi Friends,
It's been a busy couple of days. Yesterday was looking like a bit of a question mark, but it turned out to be really great. The day started with some more glorious sleeping in. :) After I made some scrambled eggs and toast, I didn't do much except watch CNN election news (very scary). The news made me quite stir-crazy in a hurry. So I called up Palmer and we decided to go see a movie. We both previously said we would like to check out the new Bill Maher movie - Religulous, so that's just what we did. Looking back now, it was quite fortunate that the movie was playing in a certain theater, and not in the one right by the apartments we live in. I say that because the theater we had to go to - The Landmark at Greenwood Village - is one of two theaters in the country that has a VIP program. This was something I vaguely remembered hearing about, but never experienced. The Landmark VIP experience was truly amazing! First of all, as soon as I walked into the lobby I noticed it looked more like a classy lounge than a theater. They had a full service bar with a wall stocked better than most Edmonton bars. They sold me on the VIP experience because of the reserved seats that were like supple leather semi-recliners, with little end-tables on the side for drinks and food. Really though, I don't know why everyone doesn't pay the extra $3 for prime seats and your very own server who brings you all the drinks and food you want; but, the service does end at the beginning of the movie - so make sure you double-up by the end of the credits ;) I had an apple martini and a comfort and coke, as well as a fresh made Italian sandwich from their concession/restaurant. It felt so wrong, and yet it felt soooo right! It got used to the idea of acceptably drinking in the theater after I shoulder-checked a handful of times.
So.... Religulous:
It's been a busy couple of days. Yesterday was looking like a bit of a question mark, but it turned out to be really great. The day started with some more glorious sleeping in. :) After I made some scrambled eggs and toast, I didn't do much except watch CNN election news (very scary). The news made me quite stir-crazy in a hurry. So I called up Palmer and we decided to go see a movie. We both previously said we would like to check out the new Bill Maher movie - Religulous, so that's just what we did. Looking back now, it was quite fortunate that the movie was playing in a certain theater, and not in the one right by the apartments we live in. I say that because the theater we had to go to - The Landmark at Greenwood Village - is one of two theaters in the country that has a VIP program. This was something I vaguely remembered hearing about, but never experienced. The Landmark VIP experience was truly amazing! First of all, as soon as I walked into the lobby I noticed it looked more like a classy lounge than a theater. They had a full service bar with a wall stocked better than most Edmonton bars. They sold me on the VIP experience because of the reserved seats that were like supple leather semi-recliners, with little end-tables on the side for drinks and food. Really though, I don't know why everyone doesn't pay the extra $3 for prime seats and your very own server who brings you all the drinks and food you want; but, the service does end at the beginning of the movie - so make sure you double-up by the end of the credits ;) I had an apple martini and a comfort and coke, as well as a fresh made Italian sandwich from their concession/restaurant. It felt so wrong, and yet it felt soooo right! It got used to the idea of acceptably drinking in the theater after I shoulder-checked a handful of times.
So.... Religulous:
I would encourage all of you to go see it...... but:
Bill Maher doesn't do good job and doesn't do the topic any justice at all. Clever editing and pointed questions directed at unqualified people (although some were qualified) makes Religulous a mockery of religion. Satire is fine, but he's not going for satire - he's trying to make a case for agnosticism (i.e. - doubt). It's easy to create doubt when you only present parts of the big picture; especially, when you take the most complicated bits and display them entirely out of context. Michael Moore would be proud. :
The movie did have it's funny moments; like when Maher interviews a man who claims to be a descendant of Jesus (the second-coming) and also claims to be the Antichrist. Pretty scary stuff when you see a glimpse into his apparently popular cult (about 100,000 people) that has all it's members get "666" tattooed on their bodies. *sigh* I keep telling myself it's all in the name of entertainment, but I know that's not the real agenda. Take it with a grain of salt friends; and, if you happen to find yourself sitting on the religious fence, don't let the antics of Maher make your mind up for you. There is no substitute for personal investigation.
*yawn*
I'm getting pretty sleepy here, and I have to get up at 5:30 tomorrow morning....so I think I'm gonna call this blog Part 1, and finish Part 2 for you all tomorrow. I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving and ate some great turkey dinners; and of course, enjoyed the company of your families. :)
Ciao for now,
-Dizzy in Denver
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Wow! I'm slackin'!
Well friends, it looks like I'm behind on my blogging yet again. :
Wednesday was pretty standard - nothing much out of the ordinary. Oh, except the for free lunch this week we had Rubio's. This place had some pretty good food; but, it felt like I had lead in my stomach for the rest of the day. I couldn't go for my run until about 9 that night, because I knew my stomach wouldn't make it past mile 2. lol!
Monday was rather uneventful if I recall. Pretty much worked, ran, and the rest is a blur. (must have been boring).
Tuesday was quite a bit better. Work was it's usual greatness, but the real fun was after work. Palmer and I went to the Fox & Hound for the poker night they run there. It's a really great idea: they have three 10-player tables, and house dealers that do all the work; but the best part was that it was FREE! Can you believe it? Free poker and $2 pints of draft all night long. As good as that was, it wasn't the highlight of the night. The best part of the evening was meeting two lovely sisters from Minnesota. The older of the two, Krystal, had moved to Denver for various reasons, and her sister, Nikki, was in town on a short visit. Two very cool people, and we had a lot of fun chatting about lots of different topics; but mainly, we talked about Canada and Minnesota life as they lived only an hour or so away from the border. I had a some interesting convos with Krystal too, as she is an event coordinator and had met lots of really cool celebs and musicians. She said she might be able to get Palmer and I tickets to the Beerfest, which I thought was really nice of her. We'll see how that goes, but really, I'd much rather take her out sometime instead. I got some introductory contact info, but the facebook friend request is still pending. I hope she doesn't turn out to be like the girls I met last week at the Pour House. I'll keep you posted on that... Oh! - here is a pic:
Wednesday was pretty standard - nothing much out of the ordinary. Oh, except the for free lunch this week we had Rubio's. This place had some pretty good food; but, it felt like I had lead in my stomach for the rest of the day. I couldn't go for my run until about 9 that night, because I knew my stomach wouldn't make it past mile 2. lol!Thursday was a true mini-Friday, because it was the last day of my work week. I was 2nd in sales, and setup some great leads for the weeks to come. Also, all the bigwigs were in the Denver office for some leadership conference thing the company was running. Of course they got to order P.F. Chang's for lunch (I tried to avoid the lunch room just because the smell was so good that I might have done something crazy for a taste). One of the higher-ups, Bob, introduced the Canadian boys to the CEO/CFO, David, and we also got to meet the President of the company, Justin. He was a cool guy, and hopefully he thought I was equally cool as well. You never know when you'll need to fall back on a first impression, or call upon good rapport in the future. I was a bit jealous of the leadership folks, because they were going to Boulder for the day to do some fun team-building stuff. Oh well, I'll get to Boulder one of these days.
Even though I didn't have to work today, I ended up staying at the apartment Thursday night. My run was a little more challenging than usual... I think I was dehydrated or something.
This morning was quite glorious. I got to sleep in! I finally got to catch up on my sleep after a full week of getting up at 5:30 AM. Yuck! It wouldn't have been so bad if I were able get into bed before midnight. I'm too much of a night owl to do that though. Now that I'm caught up on sleep, I got to catch up on my housework. The laundry machine is running right now, and the dishes/kitchen is all shiny once again. Now all I need is a pair of shorts so I can go for my run. After I get my run on, I think the plan is to head downtown with Palmer and go exploring. It should be a fun time, and I hope we run into some cool new people. Denver is so much more fun with the locals. :)
Well friends, I think that's all for now. Sorry for being such a slacker with the blog. I'm sure there's at least one loyal follower who was wondering what the deal was. I'll try and be more consistent and make it a daily thing again. Yeah...try... ;)
Ciao for now,
-Dizzy in Denver
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Boston Wins, Blue Towels, Best Performer...
It seems like it's getting harder and harder to blog these days. I'm behind a day or two... Here goes:
Friday night was another one to remember. Palmer and I went to the Pour House, the Pro-Boston bar I mentioned in a previous blog. The BoSox were playing the Angels, and it was the top of the 6th when we got there. The score was 5-3, and the place was absolutely packed. The upper patio was so full that it took about 5 minutes to squeeze and shimmy your way into position to catch the bartender's eye. At least I had rapport with Captain Curt from the previous week. After I got settled, the Angels got a couple runs and tied the game. There was a lot of mixed emotion in the atmosphere - a mix of hope and hate (a potentially dangerous combination). I had to retreat to the very upper part of the patio where there weren't any TVs, just so I could collect my thoughts and get a game plan going.
It was the top of the 9th or bottom of the 8th (I really don't recall) when I worked my way back to the crowded bar with onlooking Boston fans. I met a lovely girl named Aimee along the way. She told me about some cool places to go in Boulder, and I think she said to go to Shakopee if I wanted to go for a hike. After she left I worked my way to get something to drink. I had great timing, because before I ordered my drink a Boston player (Jason Bay I think) hit a nice two run homer. I told the lovely ladies at the bar in front of me that such a play deserved a shot where I come from. They kinda laughed when I asked if I could buy them one. I wasn't paying attention to the bartenders, who had stacks of glasses that looked like the leaning tower of Pisa, and had bottles of whiskey tipped upside down to fill the stacks. I now know that at the Pour House, when a Boston player hits a home run, everyone in the room gets a shot on the house. (you gotta love it when the owners are from Bean town) Palmer made it to the bar a little after that, and unfortunately missed out on the freebie. Just in case I didn't already post a pic, here's one of Captain Curt, the managing bartender at the Pour House:
I can't remember exactly how, but I struck up a conversation with two ladies who happened to be there for the first time. We hit it off really well, and I could swear there was some great chemistry. It was nice to meet some girls that you can talk to and who weren't all...hmmm, what's the word I was looking for....goobers? lol. We shared some drinks together and then I thought we were going dancing, but....they disappeared! I was completely baffled. I still wonder if they had planned it all along, to just ditch us like that, or maybe they had to rush and catch one of the last trains out of the city. Palmer and I stuck around for a little while to make sure one wasn't holding the others hair in the bathroom, but we eventually had to run so we could catch our train and no suffer the stiff cab fair home. Can someone tell me what the heck that was all about? I'm not fooling myself when I say there was chemistry. Argh! How frustrating. They were gone before I could even get a number or a solid facebook lead. :P Oh well, maybe we'll bump into each other again some day.
Saturday was a much ore relaxed day. I made a super awesome breakfast: bacon, eggs, multi-grain toast, and Tropicana orange juice (mmm, I think might go get some right now). After eating like a king I threw in a load of laundry and laid down for a nap.... 4hours later, I awoke and put my load of laundry in the dryer, but what? The load was completely soaked! What had happened? I now think I had overloaded the washer, to save time and energy of course. I think I ended up drying those clothes for about 5 hours before they were dry - on Sunday afternoon! How dumb. Not only that, but somehow all the whites I threw in that load came out blue! I'm sure the culprit was my pair of Levi SiverTab jeans. The very first wash of those suckers and some of the dye washed completely out; leaving a white spot and some other fades. I thought by now that all the dye would have come out if it wasn't dyed properly, but apparently not. Somehow after like 50 washes, those jeans managed to destroy 1 undershirt, 1 nice wool T, 5 pairs of socks, 1 semi-destroyed a hoodie, 2 bath towels, 2 hand towels, and totally shattered my faith in Tide Ultra Care and the washing machine in my apartment. *sigh* I guess was kind of looking for an excuse to buy some new clothes; I just wish the excuse came at a time when I had more expendable funds! haha. Oh well, all the running I've been doing has been forcing me to rethink my closet too, so I guess I shouldn't be that upset.
Sunday morning came early... about 5:30 early. I got switched to the 7:00am-3:30pm shift, Sunday through Thursday. I was dreading it a little, because I'm not the greatest morning person; at least, not for the first 30 minutes or so. It's a good thing I had to make my lunch, otherwise I would have snoozed right until pickup time.
Work was great today. It's super slow on Sunday, and I had a chance to get a head start on my report for the peeps back home at Intuit. I love this job, because it's mostly stuff I've taught myself back when I liked to design websites. Also, the philosophy at Homestead is that we are "Small Business Consultants" not "tech support or sales agents." That philosophy plays in with my natural desire see people succeed in business and make smart decisions. My customers love me :) I'm on the Brown Grizzly team, so my name on the phones is Michael Brown (after the color). I think I'll have half a dozen people asking for Michael Brown tomorrow; and, many of them are sure-thing sales. I'm slowly getting more comfortable with offering the customer our services without coming across as pitchy. I hate being pitchy or forceful when selling something; hmmm, except maybe when it comes to pitching myself. *rolling my eyes*. Anyway, I was the top performer on the day for sales; and, also in charm - in my opinion. :) May I humbly say that I kicked ass!? Here is the proof for you skeptics out there:
Booyeah! What a great day. On top of that, I got home after work and went for a great run. After that I turned on the Steelers-Tampa game (which was stellar by the way - Big Ben is a force, and I knew it from day 1), made some Cajun chicken nachos (with three types of Tostitos - corn, multi-grain, and pita), and cracked open an ice cold (the label was blue too) bottle of Coors original (brewed in good old Golden, Colorado) and delayed the inevitable writing of my blog - as I do almost every night. lol.
And.... I'm spent. :) I hope you all enjoyed this one, it was on the house. Ciao for now friends,
-Dizzy in Denver
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Cha-Ching *snaps*
*Time-out*
Not 45 minutes after I wrote my last blog, my mom calls me up with concern about the post. Let me set the record straight: I'm not depressed, and I'm not suicidal, and I'm not in a dark funk or something like that. I'm just someone who actually feels and acknowledges feelings instead of being like the multitudes of people in the world today who deny what they feel and perpetuate a life lived in numbness. You don't need to worry about, it's those other people you should be concerned for.
My theory about those "numb ones" is that they have been suppressing all the emotion and feeling in their lives for so long that they have no choice but to continue doing so. You could call it a learned behaviour - a defense mechanism - that is a byproduct of living in a world (or more specifically - a society) that has fostered the growth of neglect, abuse, jealousy, pride, and selfishness. Someone once told me: "Hurt people, hurt people." That means that the people who get emotionally wounded are those who will likely wound others emotionally. A person can only take so much stress before they adapt to it in some way; and, a person can choose to accept the circumstances and process it by feeling emotion, or they can choose to "shut-off" their emotion in an effort to stave off the shock of being dealt such crappy cards in life. It's in the early stages of development that people will decide how they want to deal with the crap in life. Some lash out, some get quiet, some decide to grin and bear it, and others make the decision to "not feel." This reality is all too apparent to me, as I am no more than 10 miles from Columbine High School, in Littleton, Colorado. That tragedy was an example of forced adaptation, with some very complicated influences thrown into the mix. That's not healthy. Emotions and feelings are good things, if you process them and try to understand them (although the understanding part is not easy at times).
So, again, don't worry about me. I value life way too much to live with a frown on my face. It's those that live a life without stopping to feel life along the way, those are the ones you should be concerned for. I sure am concerned for them; because one day, for each one of them, they will wake up and they won't be able to hold back how they feel inside. And that's the thing with denying feelings - you never get rid of them, you just bank them for later. I sure don't want to be that person that wakes up at 40, and realizes that they never truly felt anything. Now that, that would depress me. I'd much rather feel the good and the bad with all that I am for all of my life, than feel good (really, false feeling) for 40 years and then realize it was all a lie.
So, when I express some true feelings/emotions, don't think it' the end of the world for me; because it's not - I'm just being true to myself. Okay?
Good :) I hope we're all on the same page now. Oh! Try not to take my blogs out of context (so if you see a song linked in my blog, maybe you should listen to it before you judge the words); it would really save me from have to take timeouts and write some much more than needed. ;)
*Time-in*
So, where was I....Oh yeah: Thursday.
Today was another spectacular day at Homestead. I made the best lunch today...mmmm. Shaved turkey on multi-grain, with mustard and miracle whip light (light tastes better - trust me). Triscuit rosemary and olive oil crackers (the best - trust me) with mild cracker-cut cheese (cracker-cut is the way to go!). Nine baby carrot sticks. One Del-Monte mandarin orange cup. Of course I also had a bottle of Aquafina with raspberry green tea crystal lite. Doesn't that all sound soooo good? If I didn't have a 6-inch sub leftover from dinner, I'd be making the same thing tomorrow! By the way, if you order a Chicken Fajita sub at Subway in the USA, you're only getting a grilled chicken sub with nothing special on it. That's just a heads up.
I had some cool customers on the phone today, and I ended up having some really long calls too. But, I made my first sale today! :D I sold a global listing package and a simplestore. *sales cherry has been popped* *snaps* One of my customers was building a site for a new croc-like shoe that he will be releasing in the spring. They blow crocs out of the water by far. He's likely getting a license with the NBA to market his shoes with team colors and logos. I was so stoked for this guy. He had three shoe designs flop before, and this one was his "last chance" in a way. I didn't sell him anything today, but I'm calling him back on Monday. I already have a bit of a following with some of the customers I've spoken with so far...and I don't know if that is going to be a problem. They all know me as Michael Brown, because the team I'm on is called the Brown Grizzlies and instead of giving out my real last name we give out our team color. I like the anonymity, and I love how I can pretend to give out my real name. The customers love it too. ;)
After work I went to the Park Meadows Mall (Colorado's only retail resort). They have good stores there, but the food court was total money. They have a Johnny Rocket's in the food court for crying out loud! And, they have a giant fireplace too (which I assume they use during the winter). Mike and Matt, they also have a Panda Express (lol). I picked up a Men's Health Book of Muscle at Borders (the most confusing bookstore), and then headed to Super Target for some hangers (I know - boring). At that point the yawns started to make their way out. So when I got home I wrote that quick (and misunderstood) blog, and then went to the clubhouse for a run. There was a gorgeous woman who was punishing herself (not too badly) on the stair-climber. I was running before she got there, and still running when she left. I think she was trying to keep up with me, because she would stop and get off, and then seemingly force herself back on the machine again. I wish I knew what it looks like when someone is checking you out at the gym, because I could swear she kept looking over at me with a certain look; but I didn't know what the heck was going on. I think I'm going to go for a run at the same time tomorrow...maybe she'll show up again, and maybe I can get a better read of the situation. Either way, cutie or no cutie - it was a great run! 45 minutes, 4 miles, 600 calories; and, the Cubs were losing to the Dodgers on TV. haha! Sorry Cubby fans. :)
Now I'm spent! The days are so much more full here in Denver; but, at the same time, it seems like time is crawling. It hasn't even been two weeks yet! What am I going to do with all this time?
Only time will tell.... :P
Well, for tonight I'm Audi 5000; sweet dreams friends,
-Dizzy in Denver
PS - To the anonymous poster who made the comment: "I think you have a lot more followers than you realize!!!"
That's nice of you to say, but this blog has zero (that's right, "0") subscribers, and I can count the number of comments on one hand. :P But that's okay! Whether it's 1 or 100, this blog is a success if it keeps a friend in the loop while I'm away. So, there's a bit of a lack of proof to back up what you say; but, if you truly think that, then I'll take it in faith too. :) Ciao for now, and thanks for making this blog a success!
Not 45 minutes after I wrote my last blog, my mom calls me up with concern about the post. Let me set the record straight: I'm not depressed, and I'm not suicidal, and I'm not in a dark funk or something like that. I'm just someone who actually feels and acknowledges feelings instead of being like the multitudes of people in the world today who deny what they feel and perpetuate a life lived in numbness. You don't need to worry about, it's those other people you should be concerned for.
My theory about those "numb ones" is that they have been suppressing all the emotion and feeling in their lives for so long that they have no choice but to continue doing so. You could call it a learned behaviour - a defense mechanism - that is a byproduct of living in a world (or more specifically - a society) that has fostered the growth of neglect, abuse, jealousy, pride, and selfishness. Someone once told me: "Hurt people, hurt people." That means that the people who get emotionally wounded are those who will likely wound others emotionally. A person can only take so much stress before they adapt to it in some way; and, a person can choose to accept the circumstances and process it by feeling emotion, or they can choose to "shut-off" their emotion in an effort to stave off the shock of being dealt such crappy cards in life. It's in the early stages of development that people will decide how they want to deal with the crap in life. Some lash out, some get quiet, some decide to grin and bear it, and others make the decision to "not feel." This reality is all too apparent to me, as I am no more than 10 miles from Columbine High School, in Littleton, Colorado. That tragedy was an example of forced adaptation, with some very complicated influences thrown into the mix. That's not healthy. Emotions and feelings are good things, if you process them and try to understand them (although the understanding part is not easy at times).
So, again, don't worry about me. I value life way too much to live with a frown on my face. It's those that live a life without stopping to feel life along the way, those are the ones you should be concerned for. I sure am concerned for them; because one day, for each one of them, they will wake up and they won't be able to hold back how they feel inside. And that's the thing with denying feelings - you never get rid of them, you just bank them for later. I sure don't want to be that person that wakes up at 40, and realizes that they never truly felt anything. Now that, that would depress me. I'd much rather feel the good and the bad with all that I am for all of my life, than feel good (really, false feeling) for 40 years and then realize it was all a lie.
So, when I express some true feelings/emotions, don't think it' the end of the world for me; because it's not - I'm just being true to myself. Okay?
Good :) I hope we're all on the same page now. Oh! Try not to take my blogs out of context (so if you see a song linked in my blog, maybe you should listen to it before you judge the words); it would really save me from have to take timeouts and write some much more than needed. ;)
*Time-in*
So, where was I....Oh yeah: Thursday.
Today was another spectacular day at Homestead. I made the best lunch today...mmmm. Shaved turkey on multi-grain, with mustard and miracle whip light (light tastes better - trust me). Triscuit rosemary and olive oil crackers (the best - trust me) with mild cracker-cut cheese (cracker-cut is the way to go!). Nine baby carrot sticks. One Del-Monte mandarin orange cup. Of course I also had a bottle of Aquafina with raspberry green tea crystal lite. Doesn't that all sound soooo good? If I didn't have a 6-inch sub leftover from dinner, I'd be making the same thing tomorrow! By the way, if you order a Chicken Fajita sub at Subway in the USA, you're only getting a grilled chicken sub with nothing special on it. That's just a heads up.
I had some cool customers on the phone today, and I ended up having some really long calls too. But, I made my first sale today! :D I sold a global listing package and a simplestore. *sales cherry has been popped* *snaps* One of my customers was building a site for a new croc-like shoe that he will be releasing in the spring. They blow crocs out of the water by far. He's likely getting a license with the NBA to market his shoes with team colors and logos. I was so stoked for this guy. He had three shoe designs flop before, and this one was his "last chance" in a way. I didn't sell him anything today, but I'm calling him back on Monday. I already have a bit of a following with some of the customers I've spoken with so far...and I don't know if that is going to be a problem. They all know me as Michael Brown, because the team I'm on is called the Brown Grizzlies and instead of giving out my real last name we give out our team color. I like the anonymity, and I love how I can pretend to give out my real name. The customers love it too. ;)
After work I went to the Park Meadows Mall (Colorado's only retail resort). They have good stores there, but the food court was total money. They have a Johnny Rocket's in the food court for crying out loud! And, they have a giant fireplace too (which I assume they use during the winter). Mike and Matt, they also have a Panda Express (lol). I picked up a Men's Health Book of Muscle at Borders (the most confusing bookstore), and then headed to Super Target for some hangers (I know - boring). At that point the yawns started to make their way out. So when I got home I wrote that quick (and misunderstood) blog, and then went to the clubhouse for a run. There was a gorgeous woman who was punishing herself (not too badly) on the stair-climber. I was running before she got there, and still running when she left. I think she was trying to keep up with me, because she would stop and get off, and then seemingly force herself back on the machine again. I wish I knew what it looks like when someone is checking you out at the gym, because I could swear she kept looking over at me with a certain look; but I didn't know what the heck was going on. I think I'm going to go for a run at the same time tomorrow...maybe she'll show up again, and maybe I can get a better read of the situation. Either way, cutie or no cutie - it was a great run! 45 minutes, 4 miles, 600 calories; and, the Cubs were losing to the Dodgers on TV. haha! Sorry Cubby fans. :)
Now I'm spent! The days are so much more full here in Denver; but, at the same time, it seems like time is crawling. It hasn't even been two weeks yet! What am I going to do with all this time?
Only time will tell.... :P
Well, for tonight I'm Audi 5000; sweet dreams friends,
-Dizzy in Denver
PS - To the anonymous poster who made the comment: "I think you have a lot more followers than you realize!!!"
That's nice of you to say, but this blog has zero (that's right, "0") subscribers, and I can count the number of comments on one hand. :P But that's okay! Whether it's 1 or 100, this blog is a success if it keeps a friend in the loop while I'm away. So, there's a bit of a lack of proof to back up what you say; but, if you truly think that, then I'll take it in faith too. :) Ciao for now, and thanks for making this blog a success!
The Beautiful Letdown
So before I write my debriefing for the day, I just have to get something off my chest. I saw something today that I have been trying to avoid. Well, if I'm being totally honest, I wasn't really trying to avoid it. I'm not going to say what it was that I saw...but it reminded me of a reality that I have been trying to reshape...trying to escape. Even now, I'm caught in it. Even as I'm thinking about it, this song, The Beautiful Letdown, came to mind:
Click here to play it:
http://www.seeqpod.com/search/?plid=2ae9df605b
...and follow along
It was a beautiful letdown
When I crashed and burned
When I found myself alone
Unknown and hurt
It was a beautiful letdown
The day I knew
That all the riches this world had to offer me
Would never do
In a world full of bitter pain
And bitter doubts
I was trying so hard to fit in
Fit in, until I found out
I don't belong here (I don't belong)
I don't belong here (I don't belong)
I will carry a cross and a song
Where I don't belong
I don't belong
It was a beautiful letdown
When You found me here
Yeah, for once in a rare blue moon
I see everything clear
I'll be a beautiful letdown
That's what I'll forever be
And though it may cost my soul
I'll sing for free
We're still chasing our tails
In the rising sun
In our dark water planet still spinning
In a direction no one wins
No one's won.
See, I don't belong here (I don't belong)
Well, I don't belong here, I don't belong
I will carry a cross
With a song where I don't belong
I don't belong
I don't belong here (I don't belong)
No, I don't belong here, I don't belong
I'm gonna set side
And set sail
For the kingdom come, kingdom come
Your kingdom come
Won't you let me down, yeah
Let my foolish pride forever let me down
Ah, Easy living, you're not much like the name
Easy dying, you look just about the same
Would you please take me off your list
Easy living please c'mon and let me down
We are a beautiful letdown
Painfully uncool
The church of the dropouts
The losers, the sinners, the failures, and the fools
What a beautiful letdown
Are we salt in the wound
Hey, let us sing one true tune
I don't belong here (I don't belong)
It feels like I don't belong here, yeah
It goes like I don't belong here
I don't belong (I don't belong)
Won't you let me down (I don't belong)
C'mon and let me down (I don't belong)
You always let me down (I don't belong)
So glad that I'm let down (I don't belong)
C'mon and let me down (I don't belong)
'Cause I don't belong here
Won't you let me down!
I know what Switchfoot was getting at when they wrote this song. But today, I'm twisting the context a little. It's a sadly poetic reality, when you see the tragedy in beauty; or, in the true case of the Beautiful Letdown - the beauty in tragedy. It's supposed to be a comforting thought, but that's what makes it tragic...because it's not.
Bah! Enough of this melancholy... it's time to go for a run!
-Dizzy in Denver
Click here to play it:
http://www.seeqpod.com/search/?plid=2ae9df605b
...and follow along
It was a beautiful letdown
When I crashed and burned
When I found myself alone
Unknown and hurt
It was a beautiful letdown
The day I knew
That all the riches this world had to offer me
Would never do
In a world full of bitter pain
And bitter doubts
I was trying so hard to fit in
Fit in, until I found out
I don't belong here (I don't belong)
I don't belong here (I don't belong)
I will carry a cross and a song
Where I don't belong
I don't belong
It was a beautiful letdown
When You found me here
Yeah, for once in a rare blue moon
I see everything clear
I'll be a beautiful letdown
That's what I'll forever be
And though it may cost my soul
I'll sing for free
We're still chasing our tails
In the rising sun
In our dark water planet still spinning
In a direction no one wins
No one's won.
See, I don't belong here (I don't belong)
Well, I don't belong here, I don't belong
I will carry a cross
With a song where I don't belong
I don't belong
I don't belong here (I don't belong)
No, I don't belong here, I don't belong
I'm gonna set side
And set sail
For the kingdom come, kingdom come
Your kingdom come
Won't you let me down, yeah
Let my foolish pride forever let me down
Ah, Easy living, you're not much like the name
Easy dying, you look just about the same
Would you please take me off your list
Easy living please c'mon and let me down
We are a beautiful letdown
Painfully uncool
The church of the dropouts
The losers, the sinners, the failures, and the fools
What a beautiful letdown
Are we salt in the wound
Hey, let us sing one true tune
I don't belong here (I don't belong)
It feels like I don't belong here, yeah
It goes like I don't belong here
I don't belong (I don't belong)
Won't you let me down (I don't belong)
C'mon and let me down (I don't belong)
You always let me down (I don't belong)
So glad that I'm let down (I don't belong)
C'mon and let me down (I don't belong)
'Cause I don't belong here
Won't you let me down!
I know what Switchfoot was getting at when they wrote this song. But today, I'm twisting the context a little. It's a sadly poetic reality, when you see the tragedy in beauty; or, in the true case of the Beautiful Letdown - the beauty in tragedy. It's supposed to be a comforting thought, but that's what makes it tragic...because it's not.
Bah! Enough of this melancholy... it's time to go for a run!
-Dizzy in Denver
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Week 2 - Tuesday-Wednesday
Well friends, it just keeps getting better and better here in Denver. I'm not sure I can keep this blog thing going with the lack of comments from my friends....just kidding. It would be awesome to hear from anyone back home, but I know how busy life can be; and, my blogs are way longer than I thought they would be. I know I probably wouldn't read all of your blogs everyday...if you had blogs that is.
So, Tuesday was a pretty big day. It was y first day taking calls from Homestead customers. For some weird cosmic reason unknown, Homestead suffered the worst server crashes that they've had in 2 years - not 15 minutes after I logged in to their phone system. Coincidence? Yeah, probably; but, it is kinda funny to think of it as being my fault. What's even funnier, is I "prophesied" it on Monday. I said it was going to be "trial by fire," and that's exactly the words our supervisor, Spencer, used to describe the day. Still, it was pretty awesome to reach out and have some contact with the customers. Also, it was tenant appreciation day at the business complex we're in, and there was free BBQ. Mmmmm.
Tuesday after work was rather routine. I did the dishes, threw in a load of laundry, and went for a run. I think I'm starting to finally adjust to the altitude here. I seem to be getting more and more comfortable everyday, and I'm going for longer distances at faster paces - super sweet. I'm hoping to do some real serious workouts when I get back to Edmonton, because the extra red blood cells (or hemoglobin, depending on how you look at it - Ryan) should give me quite a significant boost in strength and endurance.
After the run I went to the Fox and Hound with my coworker, Palms. It was sweet because they were paying a dynasty Oilers game against the Bruins. They also had like 50 beers on tap, and it was their $2 pint night. Our waitress, Mallory, thought it was awesome how we called it Toonie Tuesday. :P She was cool, and is likely going to take us to a great spot she was telling us about. I had some really good crab cake sliders too! Oh! But, they weren't as good as the cakes at Peggy's Cove.
Today was much better on the phones. The servers were up all day, so I could actually get in a groove. I really like the job; it's much more gratifying to help someone succeed in their business, than simply help them categorize their taxes in QuickBooks. Let's not forget that it was Wednesday today, and that means at least one thing for sure - free lunch day at Homestead. I had a Stromboli that was soooo good, but soooo heavy. It gave me Stromboli belly, but it was worth it. The day went by really fast, as the calls are really immersive and actually pretty fun. Of course, I do know website stuff a lot better than I know QuickBooks, so I think that may have been a factor.
After work I went to Super Target to get some groceries. I spent a good hour+ in there, and filled my cart to almost overflowing. I got so many great goods that we will NEVER have in Canada. I think I spent a good 10 minutes staring at the pickle section. Everywhere I turned there were awesome frozen pizzas. I had to return some after I finally got a good look at all of them. Some of the oddest sights were Taco Bell Gordita kits, and Disney Milk. Yes... Disney brand milk. I couldn't convince myself to get it though (Sorry, Jon). We are so deprived in Canada, I don't think I'm going to come back. :P
Anyway, this is getting ridiculously long... After Target I went for my longest run yet. I accidentally hit the Stop button about 15 minutes into the run, and that totally threw me off. So, as "boot camp" punishment, I ran 8 mph for a bit, and then came down to 6mph for half an hour. I hope my knees will hold up tomorrow. It felt like I had "old man" knees today. The weird thing is my running isn't effected and my knees don't ache when I run. So for now, I'll keep pushing the envelope until it really hurts.
I actually haven't had a shower since the run, and I haven't made supper....so I better do that before it's too late.
Ciao for now friends,
-Dizzy in Denver
So, Tuesday was a pretty big day. It was y first day taking calls from Homestead customers. For some weird cosmic reason unknown, Homestead suffered the worst server crashes that they've had in 2 years - not 15 minutes after I logged in to their phone system. Coincidence? Yeah, probably; but, it is kinda funny to think of it as being my fault. What's even funnier, is I "prophesied" it on Monday. I said it was going to be "trial by fire," and that's exactly the words our supervisor, Spencer, used to describe the day. Still, it was pretty awesome to reach out and have some contact with the customers. Also, it was tenant appreciation day at the business complex we're in, and there was free BBQ. Mmmmm.
Tuesday after work was rather routine. I did the dishes, threw in a load of laundry, and went for a run. I think I'm starting to finally adjust to the altitude here. I seem to be getting more and more comfortable everyday, and I'm going for longer distances at faster paces - super sweet. I'm hoping to do some real serious workouts when I get back to Edmonton, because the extra red blood cells (or hemoglobin, depending on how you look at it - Ryan) should give me quite a significant boost in strength and endurance.
After the run I went to the Fox and Hound with my coworker, Palms. It was sweet because they were paying a dynasty Oilers game against the Bruins. They also had like 50 beers on tap, and it was their $2 pint night. Our waitress, Mallory, thought it was awesome how we called it Toonie Tuesday. :P She was cool, and is likely going to take us to a great spot she was telling us about. I had some really good crab cake sliders too! Oh! But, they weren't as good as the cakes at Peggy's Cove.
Today was much better on the phones. The servers were up all day, so I could actually get in a groove. I really like the job; it's much more gratifying to help someone succeed in their business, than simply help them categorize their taxes in QuickBooks. Let's not forget that it was Wednesday today, and that means at least one thing for sure - free lunch day at Homestead. I had a Stromboli that was soooo good, but soooo heavy. It gave me Stromboli belly, but it was worth it. The day went by really fast, as the calls are really immersive and actually pretty fun. Of course, I do know website stuff a lot better than I know QuickBooks, so I think that may have been a factor.
After work I went to Super Target to get some groceries. I spent a good hour+ in there, and filled my cart to almost overflowing. I got so many great goods that we will NEVER have in Canada. I think I spent a good 10 minutes staring at the pickle section. Everywhere I turned there were awesome frozen pizzas. I had to return some after I finally got a good look at all of them. Some of the oddest sights were Taco Bell Gordita kits, and Disney Milk. Yes... Disney brand milk. I couldn't convince myself to get it though (Sorry, Jon). We are so deprived in Canada, I don't think I'm going to come back. :P
Anyway, this is getting ridiculously long... After Target I went for my longest run yet. I accidentally hit the Stop button about 15 minutes into the run, and that totally threw me off. So, as "boot camp" punishment, I ran 8 mph for a bit, and then came down to 6mph for half an hour. I hope my knees will hold up tomorrow. It felt like I had "old man" knees today. The weird thing is my running isn't effected and my knees don't ache when I run. So for now, I'll keep pushing the envelope until it really hurts.
I actually haven't had a shower since the run, and I haven't made supper....so I better do that before it's too late.
Ciao for now friends,
-Dizzy in Denver
Monday, September 29, 2008
What an awesome Monday...
Hey Friends,
This blog is likely going to be short, because it's 11 PM and I'm pretty pooped. Although, I am still reeling after the overtime win by the Steelers on Monday Night Football. That makes it 14 straight wins at home on MNF. The Steelers started so slowly, and it looked like their season was in the tank - that's how bad they were playing. Thankfully they turned on the offense in the second half and got some timely turnovers and touchdowns. Once they had momentum it was all over but the cryin'. If you watched the game, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
I'm still not getting much sleep these days. I'm still blaming it on the altitude, but that's really only part of it. I still wrestle with something that happened before I left Edmonton; but at least it's only on my mind when I slow down enough to think. So far I've been pretty busy, so it hasn't been too often. The huddle this morning was also weighing on me quite a bit, but it went really well today. All is in the past, and the events of last week are all but forgotten. Thank God! That was a huge relief. I was listening to calls all day, and I got a chance to meet some more cool people at work. One guy, Mark, was from Massachusetts, and he lived near Springfield (where the basketball hall of fame is) and his neighbour's grandfather was the guy who invented the 3-point line. Haha, how cool is that! Yeah, good times with the peeps at Homestead so far.
For lunch we went out for Chick-fil-A. It's an all chicken fast food place. I highly recommend it if you get a chance to eat there; but, don't bother on Sundays, because the owners are Mormon and all franchises are closed on Sunday! lol. I wish they knew that the Sabbath was made for man, and not the other way around. :P
After work I did the new usual: went to the clubhouse for a run. This time I explored a little, and I found a half basketball court. It had the grippiest (?) floor ever and a basket that I couldn't miss on from just about anywhere. I broke the 8 mph barrier today, which I was stoked about; but I had to alter the routine a little as a compromise. Still, I think 3+ miles is good no matter how I get it done. I was kinda peeved though, because the only TV close to my treadmill was missing the channel button...so I was stuck glancing over at Hannah Montana on the Disney channel. : That was almost enough to make me quit.
After the run I made a light snack and tried to find the football game. The TV at my place is kinda funky too. Every other channel is in Spanish, and there are blank channels mixed throughout. It feels like panning for gold when I channel surf - there's a rare piece of gold surrounded by crap. :P But, I found the game at the start of the second quarter, so it wasn't so bad. It was a funny coincidence that I made Chunky soup for dinner, because that's the official soup/meal of the NFL. I thought it was quite fitting. :)
Anyway friends, that's about all for today. Catch ya on the flip-side!
-Dizzy in Denver
PS - Don't forget to subscribe... ;)
This blog is likely going to be short, because it's 11 PM and I'm pretty pooped. Although, I am still reeling after the overtime win by the Steelers on Monday Night Football. That makes it 14 straight wins at home on MNF. The Steelers started so slowly, and it looked like their season was in the tank - that's how bad they were playing. Thankfully they turned on the offense in the second half and got some timely turnovers and touchdowns. Once they had momentum it was all over but the cryin'. If you watched the game, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
I'm still not getting much sleep these days. I'm still blaming it on the altitude, but that's really only part of it. I still wrestle with something that happened before I left Edmonton; but at least it's only on my mind when I slow down enough to think. So far I've been pretty busy, so it hasn't been too often. The huddle this morning was also weighing on me quite a bit, but it went really well today. All is in the past, and the events of last week are all but forgotten. Thank God! That was a huge relief. I was listening to calls all day, and I got a chance to meet some more cool people at work. One guy, Mark, was from Massachusetts, and he lived near Springfield (where the basketball hall of fame is) and his neighbour's grandfather was the guy who invented the 3-point line. Haha, how cool is that! Yeah, good times with the peeps at Homestead so far.
For lunch we went out for Chick-fil-A. It's an all chicken fast food place. I highly recommend it if you get a chance to eat there; but, don't bother on Sundays, because the owners are Mormon and all franchises are closed on Sunday! lol. I wish they knew that the Sabbath was made for man, and not the other way around. :P
After work I did the new usual: went to the clubhouse for a run. This time I explored a little, and I found a half basketball court. It had the grippiest (?) floor ever and a basket that I couldn't miss on from just about anywhere. I broke the 8 mph barrier today, which I was stoked about; but I had to alter the routine a little as a compromise. Still, I think 3+ miles is good no matter how I get it done. I was kinda peeved though, because the only TV close to my treadmill was missing the channel button...so I was stuck glancing over at Hannah Montana on the Disney channel. : That was almost enough to make me quit.
After the run I made a light snack and tried to find the football game. The TV at my place is kinda funky too. Every other channel is in Spanish, and there are blank channels mixed throughout. It feels like panning for gold when I channel surf - there's a rare piece of gold surrounded by crap. :P But, I found the game at the start of the second quarter, so it wasn't so bad. It was a funny coincidence that I made Chunky soup for dinner, because that's the official soup/meal of the NFL. I thought it was quite fitting. :)
Anyway friends, that's about all for today. Catch ya on the flip-side!
-Dizzy in Denver
PS - Don't forget to subscribe... ;)
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!
Hey Friends,
What a relaxing day it's been. I rolled out of bed at about 10 this morning, and was plenty rested. I pretty much lounged around while working on a PowerPoint presentation for work. After that got boring I went to the clubhouse for a run. I'm getting better everyday, hitting at least 3 miles and going at a 2/.5 or 3/.5 pace (that's 2 and 3-minute intervals for every .5 degree speed increase). I haven't hit the 8.0 pace yet, but I'm close.
After the run I went back and threw my swim shorts on and went to the pool. I met a couple fellow tanners there, Jessica and Simca. They gave me the scoop on what's good to do in the area and what's good in Denver too. So far I think I'm ahead of the game in terms of getting connected here. I'm going out with Jessica and her friends sometime this week I think, but definitely making it back to the apartments with plenty of time to sleep. I definitely do not want a repeat of Thursday night...unless it happens on a Friday or Saturday. :)
The sun was great by the pool, with not a cloud in the sky. I laid around for a couple hours, which is something I truly missed doing this summer. After the tanning sesh I made some bacon and eggs for lunch. The other day I bought some Farm Fresh cage-free eggs and some center-cut bacon. I wish I had a better frying pan, because the pan I have here is a bit warped and doesn't heat evenly (I'm sure Erin can attest to what a pain that is). Either way, it was delish! But soooo filling! A nap was definitely in order after that meal.
When I awoke from my nap it was just about time for the Sunday Night Football kickoff. It never ceases to amaze me how much production goes into the NFL. I can't wait to see a Broncos game. I'm trying to get tickets to the Monday Night Football game between Denver and Tampa (apparently a big ticket here in town). I'm looking at $85 and way up to see the game. If that game falls through, then hopefully I can get some tickets for my birthday (Nov 2) when the Dolphins will be in town. That will be a great game for sure. The Bears beat the Eagles tonight, and it went right down to the wire. The CFL isn't like that at all, which is kinda why I prefer NFL.
Anyway, I'm off to bed now, and I'm a little nervous about the "huddle" tomorrow at work. Hopefully this whole blemish at work will soon be a foggy memory. Perhaps I'll post the letter that I wrote to the organization... It's quite wordy for what really shouldn't be a big deal if you look at the context. I guess I'm biased though, and the folks here don't know me yet. We'll see how it goes, and I'll keep you posted.
Oh! Speaking of posted: I put up some pics from my first week here in Denver. They're on Facebook because Blogger doesn't have good photo capabilities. You should check'em out and post comments for me. I really miss everyone back home, and the length of this trip has yet to fully sink in.
Well, that's all for now friends. Have a great Monday!
-Dizzy in Denver
What a relaxing day it's been. I rolled out of bed at about 10 this morning, and was plenty rested. I pretty much lounged around while working on a PowerPoint presentation for work. After that got boring I went to the clubhouse for a run. I'm getting better everyday, hitting at least 3 miles and going at a 2/.5 or 3/.5 pace (that's 2 and 3-minute intervals for every .5 degree speed increase). I haven't hit the 8.0 pace yet, but I'm close.
After the run I went back and threw my swim shorts on and went to the pool. I met a couple fellow tanners there, Jessica and Simca. They gave me the scoop on what's good to do in the area and what's good in Denver too. So far I think I'm ahead of the game in terms of getting connected here. I'm going out with Jessica and her friends sometime this week I think, but definitely making it back to the apartments with plenty of time to sleep. I definitely do not want a repeat of Thursday night...unless it happens on a Friday or Saturday. :)
The sun was great by the pool, with not a cloud in the sky. I laid around for a couple hours, which is something I truly missed doing this summer. After the tanning sesh I made some bacon and eggs for lunch. The other day I bought some Farm Fresh cage-free eggs and some center-cut bacon. I wish I had a better frying pan, because the pan I have here is a bit warped and doesn't heat evenly (I'm sure Erin can attest to what a pain that is). Either way, it was delish! But soooo filling! A nap was definitely in order after that meal.
When I awoke from my nap it was just about time for the Sunday Night Football kickoff. It never ceases to amaze me how much production goes into the NFL. I can't wait to see a Broncos game. I'm trying to get tickets to the Monday Night Football game between Denver and Tampa (apparently a big ticket here in town). I'm looking at $85 and way up to see the game. If that game falls through, then hopefully I can get some tickets for my birthday (Nov 2) when the Dolphins will be in town. That will be a great game for sure. The Bears beat the Eagles tonight, and it went right down to the wire. The CFL isn't like that at all, which is kinda why I prefer NFL.
Anyway, I'm off to bed now, and I'm a little nervous about the "huddle" tomorrow at work. Hopefully this whole blemish at work will soon be a foggy memory. Perhaps I'll post the letter that I wrote to the organization... It's quite wordy for what really shouldn't be a big deal if you look at the context. I guess I'm biased though, and the folks here don't know me yet. We'll see how it goes, and I'll keep you posted.
Oh! Speaking of posted: I put up some pics from my first week here in Denver. They're on Facebook because Blogger doesn't have good photo capabilities. You should check'em out and post comments for me. I really miss everyone back home, and the length of this trip has yet to fully sink in.
Well, that's all for now friends. Have a great Monday!
-Dizzy in Denver
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Still Spinning...
Soooo, this little trip has become something much more....controversial. Thursday was an interesting night. It was our trainer's last day in Denver before going back to Menlo Park, and we thought it would be fun to go out and have a fun night in Denver. Yeah...good idea at the time.
It was a really great evening, and I built some good relationships with my co-workers, so I guess it wasn't all bad. We did lose track of time, and ended up missing our train back to the apartments. Fortunately one of our co-workers let us stay at her apartment. The crappy thing was that we had to get up at 6 AM so we could catch the train back to Lone Tree (the suburb we're staying in). By the time we got back to our apartments it was just after 8 AM; leaving us with under an hour to get in for work. No big deal right? That's lots of time. Well, it would have been if we didn't decide to have a quick power nap.
We ended up getting in a few hours late. Still, I didn't think it would be a huge deal, because we were on our own for the day and were to work on building our websites/storefronts. Although I thought there would be zero business impact, I was very very wrong. I am now wading through the fallout of a shock wave that has been sent right on up the corporate food chain, and am embarrassed beyond a level that I never could have comprehended. I'm still a superstar, but my brand (and Intuit's) has been quite tarnished from the whole affair. If you want more details on this whole thing, then you'll have to subscribe to my blog. For now I have to look on the bright side. And this is it: I'm part of the most visible and socialized business case and all eyes were on me before; but now, all those eyes are watching twice as close now. This is a good thing, because when I now blow everyone away with my performance, I know that there are twice as many people who will recognize it. At least, this is my hope.
Well friends, today is a maintenance day for me; filled with laundry and dishes and even PowerPoint too. I think I'm going to post some pics of Denver and the office today, so make sure you check them out. I'll make a link for you all so that they're easy to find. Hmmm...maybe I'll go tan at poolside for a bit today; I think I've earned it. ;)
Ciao for now friends,
-Dizzy in Denver
It was a really great evening, and I built some good relationships with my co-workers, so I guess it wasn't all bad. We did lose track of time, and ended up missing our train back to the apartments. Fortunately one of our co-workers let us stay at her apartment. The crappy thing was that we had to get up at 6 AM so we could catch the train back to Lone Tree (the suburb we're staying in). By the time we got back to our apartments it was just after 8 AM; leaving us with under an hour to get in for work. No big deal right? That's lots of time. Well, it would have been if we didn't decide to have a quick power nap.
We ended up getting in a few hours late. Still, I didn't think it would be a huge deal, because we were on our own for the day and were to work on building our websites/storefronts. Although I thought there would be zero business impact, I was very very wrong. I am now wading through the fallout of a shock wave that has been sent right on up the corporate food chain, and am embarrassed beyond a level that I never could have comprehended. I'm still a superstar, but my brand (and Intuit's) has been quite tarnished from the whole affair. If you want more details on this whole thing, then you'll have to subscribe to my blog. For now I have to look on the bright side. And this is it: I'm part of the most visible and socialized business case and all eyes were on me before; but now, all those eyes are watching twice as close now. This is a good thing, because when I now blow everyone away with my performance, I know that there are twice as many people who will recognize it. At least, this is my hope.
Well friends, today is a maintenance day for me; filled with laundry and dishes and even PowerPoint too. I think I'm going to post some pics of Denver and the office today, so make sure you check them out. I'll make a link for you all so that they're easy to find. Hmmm...maybe I'll go tan at poolside for a bit today; I think I've earned it. ;)
Ciao for now friends,
-Dizzy in Denver
Thursday, September 25, 2008
the ONION...
Hey Friends,It's been another great day thus far. We went out for lunch today, and Palmer found a copy of the Onion in the restaurant where he bought lunch. For those of you who don't know, the Onion is "America's finest news source." It's hilarious that they make that claim, because the Onion is a satirical paper that fabricates all of it's stories. Here's a few examples of the headlines:
"Department of the exterior opens U.S. national park in Norway."
"Man succumbs to 7-year battle with health insurance."
"Tim Robbins tired of being typecast as relatively tall characters."
"McCain campaign nabs top Obama pun writer."
You get the idea. :)
I just thought I'd share the Onion with you, because it made me laugh and brightened my day - maybe it'll do the same for any of you who could use a little cheer. I'm almost on my way to downtown Denver, and I'm not sure if there will be any more blogging tonight. So I hope you all are having a good night, and make sure you stay tuned for pics; I'll be uploading them when I get some more spare time.
Ciao for now friends,
-Dizzy in Denver
Papa John's and Absinthe...
Hey Friends,
It's a bit late already (12:23 AM), so I don't have much time to blog tonight. Today was pretty awesome though; we had free lunch at work (Papa John's) and learned all about Clay Aiken coming out of the closet. haha. Not quite, we learned some other things, like how to get traffic to your website. Anyway, it was a good day at Homestead, but the rest of the day was much more memorable.
After work I went for another run at the clubhouse, and felt absolutely great for the 3 miles I put in. After that, Palmer and I went to the light rail station to catch a ride to Union Station in Denver. The sunset was beautiful across the mountains. When we arrived at Union, when wandered to a place called Rock Bottom (no irony needed here). There we had a nice sampler of some micro-brewed beers, and enjoyed some great food. From there we went to The Pour House, an Irish pub/bar with great people serving honestly. I had a great blueberry martini, and then ventured further with some absinthe. Yeah, 136 proof...black licorice...with fire. We had the best bartender - Captain Curt. He was a great person to conversate with, and we got lots of good Denver tips - particularly regarding the purchase of scalped tickets. You'll see the pics once I post them, but the Pour House was a really cool place to be - even on a Wednesday.
On the way back, Palmer and I got into a nice dialogue about religion and God. Not what I expected, but a stimulating dialogue none the less. Iron sharpens iron, and maybe co-worker sharpens co-worker. We'll see how that goes. I'm still in process on a lot of things, and I certainly welcome the fires of testing. That's really the only way to get to that pure thing you believe.
Well, that's all he wrote for this evening folks. I hope you subscribe to this blog, otherwise this exercise is entirely for my benefit, and you won't get to share in the fun. I can't wait to get back to see your faces and hear your voices; I truly miss them.
Until then,
-Dizzy in Denver
It's a bit late already (12:23 AM), so I don't have much time to blog tonight. Today was pretty awesome though; we had free lunch at work (Papa John's) and learned all about Clay Aiken coming out of the closet. haha. Not quite, we learned some other things, like how to get traffic to your website. Anyway, it was a good day at Homestead, but the rest of the day was much more memorable.
After work I went for another run at the clubhouse, and felt absolutely great for the 3 miles I put in. After that, Palmer and I went to the light rail station to catch a ride to Union Station in Denver. The sunset was beautiful across the mountains. When we arrived at Union, when wandered to a place called Rock Bottom (no irony needed here). There we had a nice sampler of some micro-brewed beers, and enjoyed some great food. From there we went to The Pour House, an Irish pub/bar with great people serving honestly. I had a great blueberry martini, and then ventured further with some absinthe. Yeah, 136 proof...black licorice...with fire. We had the best bartender - Captain Curt. He was a great person to conversate with, and we got lots of good Denver tips - particularly regarding the purchase of scalped tickets. You'll see the pics once I post them, but the Pour House was a really cool place to be - even on a Wednesday.
On the way back, Palmer and I got into a nice dialogue about religion and God. Not what I expected, but a stimulating dialogue none the less. Iron sharpens iron, and maybe co-worker sharpens co-worker. We'll see how that goes. I'm still in process on a lot of things, and I certainly welcome the fires of testing. That's really the only way to get to that pure thing you believe.
Well, that's all he wrote for this evening folks. I hope you subscribe to this blog, otherwise this exercise is entirely for my benefit, and you won't get to share in the fun. I can't wait to get back to see your faces and hear your voices; I truly miss them.
Until then,
-Dizzy in Denver
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
While running...
I was inspired by this Citi Bank commercial while I was running on the treadmill:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s_lVOCfUXQ
Every night you sleep, but your dreams are wide awake;
Because ambitions - never sleep,
Aspirations - never sleep,
Goals - never sleep,
Hopes - never sleep,
Opportunities - never sleep,
The World - never sleeps...
So true. It's a restless world when you've got hopes, aspirations, goals, and opportunities.
Where's the rest?
-Dizzy in Denver
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s_lVOCfUXQ
Every night you sleep, but your dreams are wide awake;
Because ambitions - never sleep,
Aspirations - never sleep,
Goals - never sleep,
Hopes - never sleep,
Opportunities - never sleep,
The World - never sleeps...
So true. It's a restless world when you've got hopes, aspirations, goals, and opportunities.
Where's the rest?
-Dizzy in Denver
Day 2-3
Okay, so I'm a bit behind because I started my blog a bit a day later than planned, so I have to condense 2 days into one blog so I can catch up. Where to begin...
The first day at Homestead was a bit surreal. This whole project has been a bit foggy from day one, and I still don't know what to expect. All I know is that the people I've met so far are really cool. Dean Arcamo, our trainer for week one, is a straight up genuine person who is passionate about helping us learn and get grounded in the ways of Homestead. He reminds a lot of my friend Jon Chung, who is also a really great person to know and befriend. This is cool, because my friend Jon is in Malaysia and I've been missing him a lot lately; so I've really come to appreciate Dean and all that he's doing for us. On Monday we learned some really basic stuff about the CRM, and the history of Homestead. I was really surprised to see how much Intuit and Homestead mesh together on so may levels. The corporate culture is very similar, but I think Homestead may have a bit of an edge on Intuit. It's too early to tell, but so far I think the Homestead model of business is a bit counter intuitive to the way Intuit does things. This isn't bad though, because lets face it, Intuit makes way more money than Homestead; so, we must be doing something right. Either way, I'm anxious to see how much of each company "rubs off" on the other.
The first day of work was great; but, the first day of corporate living was even better. Even though I had to wrestle with Comcast to get my interwebs hooked up, it was a great day (thanks to a Comcast rep named Michael). He told me not to tell you that he was the best (he said it was his secret), but I have to look out for my fellow Mike (it's kinda my secret too...shhhh.). Once my internet was connected I went for a nice hot-sweaty-makeup-run. It felt great to get back on my feet and just go. I love the New Balance commercials, because they capture so much truth about life, even though they're selling shoes (which are great by the way). I can't wait to go get my run on today.
So, Tuesday was another great day; jam packed full of info about domains, emails, and other good things like that. We got to listen in on calls again; it's what the Homestead folks call "ride-alongs". There aren't any pods like at Intuit; rather, they have people sitting side-by-side, so they're closer together and less separated. It's cool that way because the person next to you is more of a friend and resource that way, and there's this camaraderie there that is a little different than the Intuit flavor. So far the ride-alongs have been the most helpful in understanding "how it happens". We've learned a bit about the processes and tools to make it happen, but the execution part has been stellar. It seems like there's more respect to the agents than there is for the ones back home (for the most part anyway).
The best part of the day was meeting Bob Olsen. He's kind of a big deal. He used to work for GoDaddy.com, until Justin (CEO of Homestead) lured him to the company with his ideals and attitude. The guy just spit motivation without even blinking. I was pretty stoked to meet him, because it's always so refreshing to meet people who have the same zeal for life as I do. I'm sure he knows how to get Bronco tickets too :) Anyway, that was Tuesday at work.
After we got back to the apartments I went for a walk to get my hair cut. I soon realized that nothing was in close walking distance. 45 minutes later, I arrived at Great Clips. Vicki, I hope you can forgive me, but my hair needed cutting. For those of you who don't know, Vicki is my stylist, and she really is the best at what she does; just an overall super cool person. Anyway, I made the trek to Great Clips, and I really didn't know if I was going to make it out alive. I'm not a big fan of chain haircutting places, because they just don't put the love into a cut like somebody who's getting more money! (Vicki is the exception though, she's good to me and it isn't because of the money). So I have yet to wash my hair since the cut and see what kind of mess I'm working with. I'm nervous even now... I mean come on, I paid $15 for nervousness. Sheesh, I can only imagine what a woman must think when she gets her glory cut.
After I made the long walk back to my place, I ran into Palmer at the corner. I made a detour with him to the 7-11, and got a lovely assortment of US only goods (you'll see once I upload the pics - Kev, you're gonna freak out!). From there we went to the Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant, and had some great food and some awesome beer. I had what I call "steak tacos", but I don't really know what the Mexican name was. It was one of those tough pronouncer type dishes. I drank an Agave Wheat draft beer, which was quite nice; and, to finish the meal I had an Agave martini made with some Patron Silver tequila. Very delicious, and very strong. It made the walk home go by quite quickly though. I'm not sure if the altitude was a factor...but let's just go with it and say the thin air made me a bit tipsy. ;)
Here I am now, writing today's blog, about to go for a run or a workout...not sure which will be easier at this point. I think I did a pretty good job of catching up on my blogging, what do you think? I need some feedback so I know what the people want to hear :P Let me know, okay? :)
Cheers friends, until tomorrow,
-Dizzy in Denver
The first day at Homestead was a bit surreal. This whole project has been a bit foggy from day one, and I still don't know what to expect. All I know is that the people I've met so far are really cool. Dean Arcamo, our trainer for week one, is a straight up genuine person who is passionate about helping us learn and get grounded in the ways of Homestead. He reminds a lot of my friend Jon Chung, who is also a really great person to know and befriend. This is cool, because my friend Jon is in Malaysia and I've been missing him a lot lately; so I've really come to appreciate Dean and all that he's doing for us. On Monday we learned some really basic stuff about the CRM, and the history of Homestead. I was really surprised to see how much Intuit and Homestead mesh together on so may levels. The corporate culture is very similar, but I think Homestead may have a bit of an edge on Intuit. It's too early to tell, but so far I think the Homestead model of business is a bit counter intuitive to the way Intuit does things. This isn't bad though, because lets face it, Intuit makes way more money than Homestead; so, we must be doing something right. Either way, I'm anxious to see how much of each company "rubs off" on the other.
The first day of work was great; but, the first day of corporate living was even better. Even though I had to wrestle with Comcast to get my interwebs hooked up, it was a great day (thanks to a Comcast rep named Michael). He told me not to tell you that he was the best (he said it was his secret), but I have to look out for my fellow Mike (it's kinda my secret too...shhhh.). Once my internet was connected I went for a nice hot-sweaty-makeup-run. It felt great to get back on my feet and just go. I love the New Balance commercials, because they capture so much truth about life, even though they're selling shoes (which are great by the way). I can't wait to go get my run on today.
So, Tuesday was another great day; jam packed full of info about domains, emails, and other good things like that. We got to listen in on calls again; it's what the Homestead folks call "ride-alongs". There aren't any pods like at Intuit; rather, they have people sitting side-by-side, so they're closer together and less separated. It's cool that way because the person next to you is more of a friend and resource that way, and there's this camaraderie there that is a little different than the Intuit flavor. So far the ride-alongs have been the most helpful in understanding "how it happens". We've learned a bit about the processes and tools to make it happen, but the execution part has been stellar. It seems like there's more respect to the agents than there is for the ones back home (for the most part anyway).
The best part of the day was meeting Bob Olsen. He's kind of a big deal. He used to work for GoDaddy.com, until Justin (CEO of Homestead) lured him to the company with his ideals and attitude. The guy just spit motivation without even blinking. I was pretty stoked to meet him, because it's always so refreshing to meet people who have the same zeal for life as I do. I'm sure he knows how to get Bronco tickets too :) Anyway, that was Tuesday at work.
After we got back to the apartments I went for a walk to get my hair cut. I soon realized that nothing was in close walking distance. 45 minutes later, I arrived at Great Clips. Vicki, I hope you can forgive me, but my hair needed cutting. For those of you who don't know, Vicki is my stylist, and she really is the best at what she does; just an overall super cool person. Anyway, I made the trek to Great Clips, and I really didn't know if I was going to make it out alive. I'm not a big fan of chain haircutting places, because they just don't put the love into a cut like somebody who's getting more money! (Vicki is the exception though, she's good to me and it isn't because of the money). So I have yet to wash my hair since the cut and see what kind of mess I'm working with. I'm nervous even now... I mean come on, I paid $15 for nervousness. Sheesh, I can only imagine what a woman must think when she gets her glory cut.
After I made the long walk back to my place, I ran into Palmer at the corner. I made a detour with him to the 7-11, and got a lovely assortment of US only goods (you'll see once I upload the pics - Kev, you're gonna freak out!). From there we went to the Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant, and had some great food and some awesome beer. I had what I call "steak tacos", but I don't really know what the Mexican name was. It was one of those tough pronouncer type dishes. I drank an Agave Wheat draft beer, which was quite nice; and, to finish the meal I had an Agave martini made with some Patron Silver tequila. Very delicious, and very strong. It made the walk home go by quite quickly though. I'm not sure if the altitude was a factor...but let's just go with it and say the thin air made me a bit tipsy. ;)
Here I am now, writing today's blog, about to go for a run or a workout...not sure which will be easier at this point. I think I did a pretty good job of catching up on my blogging, what do you think? I need some feedback so I know what the people want to hear :P Let me know, okay? :)
Cheers friends, until tomorrow,
-Dizzy in Denver
Monday, September 22, 2008
Day 1
Here I am, blogging in Denver. I'm kinda new to this whole blog thing, but it seems easy enough. I guess my goal with this blog is to keep all my friends in the loop while I'm away on business. If you find yourself reading this blog, I hope you'll comment on it so I still feel connected too. So here goes...
I arrived yesterday in Denver at about 5-ish. The trip went really well. Here's a tip for all you travellers out there: fly on Sunday! The airport (YEG) was emptier than a bachelor's fridge (I guess that's me included). The dumb thing about it was that my flight was booked with Air Canada, but it was actually a United Express flight...so all the rules and fees were different. I ended up paying for both of my checked bags! How rude, eh? US customs was even deader. You might think that's a good thing, but when there's nobody around except you and the customs officers and you're asking for an I-94 (multiple entry visa thingy), it gets a little nerve-racking.
I arrived yesterday in Denver at about 5-ish. The trip went really well. Here's a tip for all you travellers out there: fly on Sunday! The airport (YEG) was emptier than a bachelor's fridge (I guess that's me included). The dumb thing about it was that my flight was booked with Air Canada, but it was actually a United Express flight...so all the rules and fees were different. I ended up paying for both of my checked bags! How rude, eh? US customs was even deader. You might think that's a good thing, but when there's nobody around except you and the customs officers and you're asking for an I-94 (multiple entry visa thingy), it gets a little nerve-racking.
I knew there was nothing to worry about, but I was still shaking like a leaf when I gave the customs girl my well-crafted-lawyer-letter. I couldn't quite hear the questions she was asking me, so I kinda fumbled with some of the answers. I thought "great, she must think I have an eight-ball in my a#%. I'm screwed." That's about when her Geiger counter went off. She looked at me with suspicious eyes... I looked back with puppy-dog eyes, hoping to neutralize her. She asked if I had any medical procedures recently; I said no. Then she leaves her booth and questions everyone in the room. Talk about a confidence booster; I thought for sure I was going to be denied entry. So she comes back to her booth, and tells me to come with her to "the processing room." I didn't care what she called it, to me it might as well been the rape room; I clinched a little. I was 80% sure I was going to be violated; thank God I was wrong.
I just waited in a side room for 5-10 minutes, and then another officer gave me my passport with my I-94 stapled in it, and sent me on my way - quite courteously too (what a change). All in all, it was a quick process, but I ended up waiting almost 2 hours at the gate. We caught a good jet stream and landed in Denver a bit early.
The airport in Denver is pretty cool; it kinda reminded me of Disneyland. When you get off the plane you go to a lower transportation level and wait for an LRT to pick you up and take you to the baggage claim. I really wish I knew that at the time =P The signage is practically non-existent, and everyone is wandering around like lemmings or being herded like cattle...okay, maybe it's more like rustled - they were rustled up like cattle. After a little bit of wandering, mixed with some instinct and a little prayer -we found our baggage claim! :) (There's like over a hundred baggage claims). We also found our co-worker who went the day before Ryan and I. So off we went...to hunt the car. 25 minutes later...we reach the outer parking lot, and stop for water and snacks to take us the rest of the way. Haha, just kidding - there was no water and snacks. Finally we got to our awesome SUV (thanks rental place for overbooking your mid-size vehicles and upgrading us to a brand new Chevy).
From then on it felt like I had arrived. The air is thin here, and I started to feel light-headed and a little dizzy within hours (hence the name of the blog). We dropped off our stuff at our amazing apartments (stay tuned for pics), and went out to buy some essentials. By this time we needed some food pretty badly, so we ate at Via Baci, this classic Italian pizza place that makes almost everything from scratch. Yum! From there we went across the parking lot to Super Target to buy groceries.
So here's my deal with Target: I get mesmerized there. This happens to me in the regular Targets, so imagine me in a Super Target. Yeah, I pretty much became retarded for however long we were in there (I not only lost track of time, but also lost all concept of time). Really though, how can you not get lost in a place that has almost a dozen different types of Mini-Wheats?? I'm sure I spent a good 45 minutes in the cereal aisle. Here's the flavors I can remember: blueberry muffin, strawberry delight, vanilla yogurt creme, maple sugar, cinnamon streusal, brown sugar, vanilla frosted, regular, and.... I think that's it. Oh, but those were the regular size Mini-Wheats; they also had an assortment of bite-size Mini-Wheats. I wanted to get the blueberry muffin kind, but I couldn't discriminate against any of the other flavors - they all looked sooo good. So I ended up getting Wheaties (how can you go wrong with the breakfast of champions?). That's one thing I absolutely love about the States - they have a huge selection of everything. Oddly enough, they had no All Bran Buds (my fave). I was pretty choked at the time, but that subsided when I found the organic milk and the Tropicana orange juice (Mmmm...). I bought everything with my credit card, because I didn't grab any US funds before I left, and I had to sign using a stylus and some touch screen. How hurting is that? Have you ever used those things? I'm sure it was me who signed, but the signature looked like the scribblings of a little child. I don't think signing for stuff means anything anymore. Anyway... that was the "in a nutshell" version of the adventure out to Denver.
I'm absolutely loving it here. It's nice to get away and have some solitude. I can't wait to see how the rest of this trip unfolds; and I hope you can't wait to read about it. :)
Ciao for now,
Dizzy in Denver
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
