Thursday, September 28, 2006

Not Exactly a Fight...

... but the make up session is still fun.

So I explained to Shaman Princess my fears and the reasons that prompted me to post my blog yesterday. Like I told her tonight, this will not be the last time I will post fears and comments that may seem that I am on edge and ready to flee to Tibet, but to please take everything I post with a grain of salt. Hell, use a whole bag of salt because I am going to screw this up a lot.

On a inside note, my opinions are that, opinions. That and she kisses and makes-up really well. And no, it was not that kind of make up session. We were good; not totally happy, but good.

And no Niemz I am no longer doing "the tour" date anymore.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Note to Self

Do not write down thoughts, only confirmed plans. Much less confusing that way.

And back to the conversation

I had said that this is a subject I would revisit. Old man in a young man's world.

Yesterday I got a letter from my retirement fund. They are changing some funds around and you have a chance to pull any money out of the fund that is being discontinued. If you don't pull your money out, they will roll it over into a mutual fund according to your age.

And that is where I got sad. For the first time ever I am not in the "who cares about retirement" category. You know the one, the "put all your money in high risk stocks because if it all goes to hell you have forever to fix it" fund. I am now in the "high risks are ok, but are you sure?" fund.

Now for the first time I actually have to worry about dieing.

And now on to the old man in a young man's world topic. I don't even know what to say. I go bat-shit crazy for about 15 minutes everyday. Then I calm down, drink a Carabao, and forget about my personal life or lack thereof.

Dating or attempting to is not for old men. Suddenly I find myself in the relationship that Watcher has been in for the last year-and-a-half. The one where you like the girl and the girl just wants to have fun. You know what? I saw what that did to Watcher and how that ended. Fuck that road.

I guess I will do what I do best, smile and tuck the emotions away.

Monday, September 25, 2006

Hmmm, mmmmm

Well I had a good weekend, how about you?

Friday, hung out with Shaman Princess. Found out I can sit in a room with her for hours and we don't need to say anything. And no, we were not watching TV and saying nothing, we were just comfortable nothing needed to be said.

On Saturday I worked till five. Then had supper with Shaman Princess and took her up to the point where you can look down on the whole valley. It is much more fun up there when you have someone to enjoy it with.

On Sunday I got up at the butt crack of dawn to meet Shaman Princess and (Rocket, Hard Core, Cheerio or what ever she is going to call herself. Personally I like Hard Core and I think I am going to make that her name no matter what she wants.) We grabbed breakfast and then drove up to Piney Lake to eat it. Piney Lake is a lake perched on top of a mountain that over looks the whole world. It was the best breakfast I had since arriving in Vail.

Then we drove to Eagle to the Holistic Health Fair. I am not in to crystals, ionic cleansing, and don't even eat right. I do believe in the power of self healing and that if a person believes in it enough, no matter how deluded or outlandish the cure is, they can heal themselves with their faith in the cure. Crystals don't work for me because I don't believe in them.

But it was fun and I bought a cheap worry stone. I just like the way it feels and I have a nervous habit of needed something in my hands to play with all the time. That and for 2 bucks you can not find a polished stone just anywhere.

After the fair we headed up to Beaver Creek. I grabbed my tickets from last ski season to get SP and HC up the mountain. While turning those in we discovered that both of them actually still had valid passes. Oh well, the tickets needed to be used either this weekend or next weekend. Then the mountain closes in preparation for winter.

We got to the top and hiked out to a real nice vista. Downed a couple of drinks and I knocked a couple of the most beautiful women into the snow. All-in-all, it was definitely a good day. Then on the way down we saw a 9-point buck and further down a great looking doe and her yearling. We finished the day off hanging out in BC next to the creek and enjoying the sun.

So how did you spend your weekend?

Friday, September 22, 2006

Yay!

We got our first snow yesterday in the valley. I got home yesterday at 5 P.M. and took a nap until 7. Then I got up and watched a couple of episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender. (Awesome series from Nickelodeon by the way.) The first time I stepped outside my house last night was 9 P.M. And I was so happy when I did. The ground was covered in about an inch of snow and it was still coming down.

First thing I did was call the two people most important to me. I sent Shaman Princess a message telling her she was missing the first snow and to be careful on the drive home. (She was down in Denver at a Rockies game.) It is not so much that the roads get really bad up here; they get much worse back home in Minnesota. It is just most people up here are from places that don't see snow. So the other drivers on the roads are friggin idiots and can't drive worth shit. Especially on the first snow of the year.

The second person I called was Watcher. Watcher is actually a local from here and went to the local high school at Battle Mountain. He lived in Las Vegas for about 2-3 years because he was just sick and tired of snow. He moved back about 2 years ago to apprentice to IdFungus in tattooing. He keeps telling himself that now his apprenticeship is over that he is going to move back to Las Vegas. Of course every fall he meets a new girl and this year he actually has an official girlfriend and doesn't want to leave. So I called him just to gloat because I love the snow as much as he hates it.

The conversation started off as thus.

"Dude, it is so sweet out here. I just had to call you in case you were missing it."

"Ahh, so you thought to yourself, 'Who is contemplating suicide and do I have enough to push him over the edge?' Yeah thanks a lot."

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Not good.

I am slowing down. I am having a hard time staying up late like I used to. Monday night with friends and then last night for trivia and both mornings I am just wasted. I don't want to go to work feeling like I can not move. I think next I will try trivia night on coffee instead of beer and see how I feel in the morning. Right now I just need about three days sleep.

Monday, September 18, 2006

I am not trying to seduce you...

A reply to a blog post I think was directed at me among others.

My hobby only takes up one day a week and is a big part of my life. If someone doesn't understand that, I am ok with it. If someone can not live with it, I understand that too and I will not change for anyone because of it.

I think everyone has a life full of "gonnas". It is our dreams, goals, and ambitions. If we act on our "gonnas" or not is a combination of money, time, and how much we desire it.

Addiction. Addiction can be reduced and it can be broken. It doesn't help when you are asking to join me in the addiction at the same time you are condemning it.

Beds. You are not the first person to say a futon is no substitution for a real bed. And honestly at this point I don't care. A real bed is expensive and I do not have that type of cash laying around. A real bed needs to be really expensive because if I am not sleeping on a hard surface my back KILLS in the morning to the point that I will hurt for the next four hours after waking up. And finally, my futon is the most comfortable sleeping surface I have ever owned. Besides, I don't mind being the away team.

And finally the title point.

My two weeks of thinking, introspection, and calming of my feelings was to weigh things out. I came to the conclusion that I do not have it in me to compete. I really like you a lot and want to spend a lot of time with you but I can not make you like me. Making a person like me means that I hide who I am, change the way they see me, and basically go through the "lying" portion that people do when they date.

I am who I am and if you like me, a relationship will form. If you don't like who I am I know we can at least be friends. But to like me is to like all my faults and I will not hide those from you. You seem to me to be in a place in your life that you do not know what you want and at times you really confuse the hell out of me. That is fine but if you don't know what you want, don't ask me to change who I am.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

For the first time in four years I forgot to set my alarm clock. (This is not counting Saturdays at the gift shop. It is tough to remember to work on days you don't normally work on.) I woke up this morning at 9:20 AM. Then there is that panic that "oh my god, I'm late for work" feeling. I cut my morning routine in half the time and get to work about 9:30. (I live really close.)

I am thinking about me being late as I walk into work. First thing I see when I sit down is a voicemail for me. But it is an unconcerned message. Basically the message is just, "hey call me when you get in" type of call. Every other weekend I do come in late Thursdays because I am doing updates on Wednesday night. In my line of work I don't think anyone cares that I came in "late" to work on any day.

My job is to do my job, and as long as that gets done I don't think any one, including my boss, cares. By the way, my boss is our company's CFO and he lives in Michigan. He wouldn't know if I was late every day.

But of course I fell a little guilty today about missing out on two hours of work I should have done. I will have to come in this weekend do some after hours work. I have a mail list I want to re-write and I need to reboot the mail server to get a driver to install so I will make up my time this Sunday.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

When I last checked I had 27 Superman themed songs and another 13 or so downloading. There are about another 20 that I may be able to find on iTunes. Yes, I do buy music on occasion although it makes me feel dirty to do so.

I spent last night cleaning my house. I wish I didn't have to but as soon as I finished, or at least stopped for the night, I was glad I did. My house still has a lot of work to do, but I put away some major items like an old PC, camp chairs, and some boxes. It looks a lot better now.

If you see Watcher today, ask to smell his eyes. He will know what you mean, laugh, and then look embarrassed.

You ever feel like you are looking at life through a waterfall? Your goals that can be so crystal clear one moment; will suddenly waver and move out of focus the next. I have been feeling that way for the last week. I think I know exactly what I want and then the water churns and soon all I am looking at is white foam.

Thinking more on that analogy there is a dry cave with my past behind me. The people, their motivations, and behaviors are well-known and clear. Then in front of me is this waterfall dividing me from the future of unknown possibilities. But the path that seemed so clear a moment ago is now nothing but a white flurry of roaring noise.

You know what? I don't think I want to get wet. I will make myself comfortable here in my little cave and screw walking through that waterfall.

Sunday, September 10, 2006

So I am a little crazy

OK so I am a lot crazy.

So what I am I doing on a Sunday evening? Actually I have been doing this since about 3 PM. I am searching for all the songs I can find that have a Superman reference to make a Superman song compilation. So far I have ten in my library and I am currently downloading another nine. I have about another 10 songs I have yet to find on the Internet and I am about half way through my list of songs I have found with Superman or references to him in the lyrics.

So who sings about Superman?

Well pretty much everyone does.

I have songs like Don McLean (sang American Pie in the '60s) singing "Superman's Ghost" on his album Dominion and country singer Hal Ketchum singing "Hang In There Superman." Of course those two particular examples are actually about the actors who played Superman. George Reeve in Don's case and Hal Ketchum's subject is actually Christopher Reeves.

But everyone thinks about Superman. What would it be like to have his power and why would someone with all that power do good with it? Three of the songs I grabbed were Crash Test Dummies singing "Superman's Song" and Our Lady Peace singing "Superman's Dead" and "Made of Steel". Both of these artists try to put themsleves in Superman's boots and what it would be like to have his power, and do good, and how lonely he must be.

I watch Smallville and own all the DVDs, I have the Christopher Reeve Superman movies, I have the first three seasons of Lois and Clark, I have the first two seasons of the original Superman series with George Reeves from the '50s, and to top it all off I have an active subscription to the Superman comic book. To state the obvious; I am a Superman fan.

And I think the reason I love the idea of this character is his loneliness. No good guy ever got the girl. If you do the right thing you put others first. And in almost every case that means giving up on those you really care for so that they can be happy. That theme is repeated throughout all of Superman mythos and it is that idea that I must be sad so that others may be happy that I identify with.



So I just read through my rant for today as I proofread my grammar; so much for trying to pull myself out of my melancholy. I think my mood has been affected by a number of people and situations all at once. My finances, Kelly, Rachel, Brandon, Craig, and Justin; recently each of these parts of my life have made me think about who I am and where I am going. This has led me to be a bit off balance lately.

I am recovering and I am much more stable then I was about three weeks ago but nights like this when I get to drinking, they make the melancholy come out of me and into my writing.

I guess the reason I love Superman so much and the reason I am collecting these songs tonight is that Superman eventually had Lois Lane rescue him from being a nice guy. She gave him back his idea of self and let him know that he can be the hero and happy at the same time. I go through life trying to find strong women that are independent and more then capable of taking care of themselves. I am looking for my Lois Lane to sweep me off my feet and let me know that I can be a good guy and get the girl.

Friday, September 08, 2006

I don't believe in love or horoscopes but this one hit a little close to home when I checked it out.

Love Compatibility of Capricorn with Aquarius

Aquarians are rebellious - rules and regulations don't intimidate them. You, on the other hand, follow the law and expect others to do the same. You're out-of-the-box thinker presents a convincing case for some rule-breaking, though. Theirs is a liberated path, and you're intrigued by the idea of taking that road with them. If you want to enjoy the journey, though, you'll have to be ready and willing to accept some new ideas. Your Aquarius can help by respecting your boundaries and agreeing to adhere to at least some of your traditional values.

Thursday, September 07, 2006

THE WOMAN'S POEM:

Before I lay me down to sleep,
I pray for a man, who's not a creep,
One who's handsome, smart and strong.
One who loves to listen long,
One who thinks before he speaks,
One who'll call, not wait for weeks.
I pray he's gainfully employed,
When I spend his cash, won't be annoyed.
Pulls out my chair and opens my door,
Massages my back and begs to do more.
Oh! Send me a man who'll make love to my mind,
Knows what to answer to "how big is my behind?"
I pray that this man will love me to no end,
And always be my very best friend.


THE MAN'S POEM:

I pray for a deaf-mute nymphomaniac with big boobs
Who owns a liquor store and a golf course.
This Doesn't rhyme and I don't give a shit.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

I may be getting old, but I still miss my Mom at times


Trivia saps a lot of energy out of me. By the end of the night it is a chore just to stay conscious. I need more energetic people there to surround myself with. Typically it is Watcher and I who are motivating everyone to be happy and that is a tough job at times.



Last night I had a nightmare. This is strange as I typically don't have nightmares as I have found that I can control my world when I dream. It comes from practice.

Anyways this dream was strange in the fact that I am 30 years old and the last part of my dream before I woke up is me wanting my Mom. Actually it is not strange when I would reach out to my Mom for help because of the subject of the nightmare.

In it for some reason I had some type of tooth disease and all my teeth where falling out. I could feel them wiggle with my tongue and like when you have a loose tooth you just can't help yourself from constantly messing with it and eventually pushing on it so much that it comes out.

Then comes that sickly sweet release of the pressure that tooth was causing and the coolness of air as your raw nerve is exposed to an environment it was never meant to be a part of. Then you touch that raw nerve for the first time and it shoots pain down your jaw and in to your neck. Shuddering with the feel of it your tongue jerks away. Then a few seconds later you touch that sore spot again. Again the electric shock of being alive suffuses your body.

In my dream this was the good part. I love that feeling a pain I can control and master. It is this feeling of being alive that makes me wake up every morning and not slit my wrists.

But then my dream turned to nightmare. I then felt a second tooth loosen. I told myself I mustn’t play with it. Losing one tooth is ok; losing two teeth will be disfiguring and a real issue to fix. But I couldn't stop. I needed to wiggle that tooth. It hurt and when I pushed on it the pain sharpened but it was a pain I could deal with. A sharp jolt is much more preferable then a slow agonizing pain you can not get away from.

Soon that tooth also broke free. Now I had a large gap in my mouth. And those bare nerves that once were a novelty became a constant ache. Then my gums started to bleed. At first I would just suck the blood and taste the coppery salvia slip down my throat but I was aware that eventually drinking enough blood will make you sick. (I know this from experience because I get real bad bloody noses during the dry season and have made myself sick drinking my own blood.)

Then a third tooth just fell out. No wiggling, no preemptive pain, it just dropped on to my tongue. At this point I was in the bathroom and letting the blood drain into the sink. I couldn't spit because of the exposed raw nerves so all I could do is open my mouth and drool. Behind that third tooth came a lot of blood. Now the taste was flooding my mouth and the smell began to fill my nose.

I finally dropped the three teeth in my mouth into the sink. The first two were healthy teeth like baby teeth you would naturally lose. But that third was black and rotted and broke in two when it hit the porcelain. I quickly scoop up the two teeth before I lost them to the drain and was only able to grab half of the rotted tooth only to see the second half become lost down the drain.

Without warning a fourth and fifth tooth dropped out with a corresponding rush of blood behind them. I quickly closed my mouth to keep from losing the loose teeth in the sink. The pain was so great I gurgled in pain as my mouthful of blood poured into the sink and the teeth dropped out. I scrambled to catch the teeth and protect them so I could get them replanted.

At this point I was scared, really scared and tears begin to flood my eyes. I tried to fill a nearby cup with water but it was so hard to see. I think I lost one of the teeth to the running water but I got the rest of the teeth into the cup. I could feel more teeth now swishing in my mouth. I had the sense that they were all rotting and falling out.

I tried to close my mouth without touching my jaws together. My mouth quickly filled with blood and floating teeth. I could feel every painful moment that they would touch a nerve and it all I could do to continue to breath through my nose and not choke or swallow.

My Mom was in the other room. I knew she could help. I quickly ran through the house with the feeling of bile rising in my throat threatening to make me either choke on a mouthful of blood and teeth or vomit my only hope of restoring my facial features.

After running through many rooms I saw her in a crowded room. There were people everywhere packed shoulder-to-shoulder and talking loudly. I could not shout out with my mouth barely holding closed and I could not push through the crowd for fear of either losing the mouthful of teeth or the pain that would happen if one was to jostle me in the jaw.

I finally broke down at this point and just started moaning and crying for my Mom. The room turned into a blur of shapes as I just gave up all hope and sunk into despair.

It was then one of the people on the side of the crowd noticed me and my distress. They quickly rushed my Mom over to me and she took me to the kitchen. She plugged the drain and had me empty the contents of my mouth in to the sink. All of my teeth had rotted and nothing but brown broken chunks intermingled with the mixture of salvia and blood that had filled my mouth.

My Mom in a panicked voice said some medical term I could not remember but knew it meant I had a rotting mouth disease.




It was at this point I woke up with a gasp at 4 AM this morning and had tears in my eyes.

The first thing I did was make sure all my teeth were back in mouth. The second thing was to think I have not wanted my Mom in probably twenty years like that. And during that nightmare the whole reason I wanted my Mom is because at age 50 she just graduated from dental school after attending for five years to become a Dental Hygienist. Not only am I proud of my Mom but I know she can save me again.

By the way, my teeth are perfectly healthy. I helped my Mom's class as one of the final medical boards patients this last summer. So not only have I not had a cavity since I was 12 I have recently had my teeth cleaned and polished.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Coming down

I have read through my last couple of weeks of blogs and I see now I have been pretty moody. Typically I am not the emotional sort and I got a little churned up.

I have had some time to think and I have discovered my life is not at the apex I was afraid it was. So ignore the last two weeks and my blogs will go back to my normal drab detailing of a boring life that is filled with disappointment and let downs as I make my happy-go-lucky way through a mundane life.

It is funny how work can suck the tint out of rose-colored glasses.

Monday, September 04, 2006

Ahh the morning after cool down

God I love holidays; an extra day to get lazy after spending a busy weekend with friends. I have recently mentioned to Shaman Princess that at times I feel like a vampire. I feed off of the upbeat times and energy of others. Not sure why but I seem to get more excited and energetic while my friends wind down.

Yesterday I hung out all day with Jeremey watching the downhill racers. I got some really cool pictures of the racers gapping some double jumps and catching some nice air time. Then I invited him and his girlfriend Kelly to join me for a night camp fire where I had the EVIL crew and family making smores. By the time 10 'o clock rolled around Jeremey was falling asleep and I could see Kelly was getting tired too. Of course I had feed off of all the excitement during the day and was still all excited and ready to go.

The way I am built emotionally means that in any activity I start slow. I need time to sit in the shadows and watch those around me. I need to get the feeling for the energy in the air and gather an understanding of what type of feelings, level of excitement, and happiness will be generated. Then I slowly emerge from my shell and take on the traits of that environment and slowly let the motions, sounds, and feelings fill me. Once I am in that immersive state then my own fire begins to be lit by those around me and my energy levels increase to a crescendo that always seems to build as others are cooling down.

I think this is one of the reasons why I was such a bad rave kid way back in the day. As others were enjoying the body buzz, I was pushing to go visit the fountain on Crescent Bay to go watch the sun come up and play in the water.

I don't believe me feeding off of the energy of others depletes them in any way. It is like fire, by lighting a second candle you only end with more light and the original flame is not decreased. I think that I am one of the few that feeds off of this excitement of others though and so that means when those around me have burned out I have only gotten brighter and more excited. This emotional state makes me seems like a spaz as everyone is ready for bed or endings and I am ready to strip off all my clothes and run naked through the streets.

Sunday, September 03, 2006

Oh snap!

I just watched the premiere of Heroes. You have got to see this show when it premieres on September 25th. Seriously, I just saw the premiere and it flipping rocks!

Saturday, September 02, 2006

Another Saturday night

I am spending this one enjoying the sensation of sitting down. I worked at the gift shop today and it was very slow day. Basically it was an endurance test to see how long can one man stand. I know seven hours of standing is not that long but I sit for a living. It was a long time to a guy that got out of the service industry long ago.

But I do appreciate the extra little bit of income working a month of Saturdays will bring me. As I mentioned earlier I brought the MINI in for body work and this added cash will pay for the out-of-pocket expense of getting my boot repainted. (Boot and bonnet are the terms for trunk and hood in England and I refer to them as such on my English car.)

I had gotten money from my insurance company to get my boot re-painted but that was during the two months I didn't have a roommate so that cash was spent just making rent.

So it is a boring Saturday evening relaxing and trying to find a copy of the Heroes premier. It was supposedly released on iTunes on September 1st but I can't find it. I even downloaded iTunes to try and get it legally because I support those programs and companies that I feel are giving you a valued product for your money. So without being able to find it there I have resorted to piracy. Or I think I have.

I am downloading a program from a torrent file that is listed as Heros-S0E0 but because there was no description for this torrent I am only hoping it is the Heroes premier. If it isn't I will probably be getting some new porn.

While I wait for my 2-3 hour download to finish I am reading Shaman Princess's journal. She, like me, started her blog after moving to Vail. She moved here six months ago so I am almost done catching up on her life over the last 1/2 year. I think knowing a person's past allows you an insight into their life and personality. Of course I now have three years of blogs on my site. I know that is just overwhelming to read. People will read the first three months and the last three months. I hope they just realize the dates on that and know that a person can change in three years.

Actually I don't think I have changed so much in three years but my style of blogging defiantly has. I know more people read, or at least glance, at this since I started so that I have changed from a close to the heart blogging style to one that is a bit more open.

I do reveal a bit more of my inner thinking and feelings in this blog then I tell to friends though. I find it therapeutic and releasing to talk about feelings you don't tell your friends. The only worry I have now is I get a bit more revealing then I would like to in normal conversation and I hope I do not hurt anyone's feelings or push those people away I want to surround myself with.

But I wanted to blog tonight to put down some of my short-term plans so let me finish on that note.

I have decided I want to try growing my hair out again. A number of you that read this are friends of mine from way back and know me with long hair. A number of my current friends only know me with short hair and how I typically ask them to cut it down to an inch in length each time I get a haircut. The problem is it seems the sides of my head grow hair faster then the top. So I have this hair sticking straight out on all three sides and it makes me look like Bozo the clown. Not really attractive; so tomorrow I will get my sides trimmed as I wait now for my hair to grow out. I want to get it to shoulder length and then decide if I want it longer.

Beyond that I have to watch my spending, I have upcoming HOA, insurance, and a new deposit on my student loan landing in the same pay period. According to my 30-year financial plan (yes I made one when I got into a 30-year fixed loan) I will hit -100 dollars in my total finances. After that I will start going up in income. I am not completely worried about that negative amount of money I am planned for because of that is credit card bills. I can push off the maximum I pay on my cards to not go negative and then slowly make up that difference over the next couple of months.

But un-like the government I hate working from a deficit and I will make up that cash to get my finances in order. I wanted to hit zero owed to my credit cards by this Christmas but looking at my plan that is not going to happen. To that extent I hope those I buy presents for this year will be ok with a $20 dollar gift each instead of the $50 dollar gift I try and aim for each year.

Hey, just got a phone call. Sweet, I am heading up to Beaver Creek on Sunday to watch the world's 17 best downhill mountain-bike racers cruise down the mountain at neck-breaking speeds. I love my friend Jeremey because he is my lift-op hookup.

Take care all and I will speak to you again on the flipside.

Friday, September 01, 2006

Got more red pumped into my tattoo last night and some shading done in the background. I am also playing with a design of a D20 with flames surrounding it to be done on my calf. Yeah, tattoos are cool. To bad they just hurt so much.