The Onion Horoscope for the Week of January 10-16.
VIRGO (August 23-September 22)
You always thought that talking with your hands was something you did because you were Italian, but, as it turns out, it's because you're deaf.
Maybe I should have been an Aries.
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
Lately it seems like every time you open your mouth something terrible happens. Don't be alarmed: What you're suffering from is known as "food poisoning."
Showing posts with label trip. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trip. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Who Farted?
CODY, WY - I'm sitting in a Days Inn parking lot scamming free internet. God bless WiFi. Reminds me of the ghetto days at my dad's... not that I'm very far removed from that...
I'm not far outside Yellowstone but I have decided to camp out for the night. There's no point in going to the park now... I'll just head there first thing in the morning. I should make it to Seattle by Wednesday.
Goddamn WalMart. They're everywhere. Even out here. I drove more than an hour today without seeing any houses. That's what it's like out here. I thought Nebraska was barren. Wyoming is nothing but open space. But Wyoming is different. The whole place is beautiful. Nebraska sucked. Anyway, I got off track, I was complaining about WalMart. In the middle of this quiet town/quiet state, where semis aren't even allowed to pass through all the way because they can't head towards the park, there's still a WalMart to pollute the goodness. Dammit. Even worse, I went inside tonight to buy something (a DC to AC converter). I hate myself a little right now. Oh well, at least I'll be abusing their parking lot tonight... I'll be sleeping there. If only I could figure out a way to get a free shower from them. That would be great.
I took quite a few pictures today, despite my digital camera not wanting to cooperate. I spent the most time in Thermopolis (yes... that's right... Thermopolis), home of the world's largest hot water spring. The whole town smells like a fart. When I first got to town, it kind of slipped my mind that hot springs are sulfur springs. I thought I was the one that smelled (I've spent a lot of time in this car) and I rolled the window down to air myself out. Then it dawned on me, "Oh yeah..."
I didn't actually get into the springs because it cost $10 just to have the privilege of smelling like ass for the rest of the night. Pass. But I drove around the park for a little bit and wandered into a bison pasture. I could have reached out and touched one of these guys, although I decided it would be best not to chance it.
I promised my mom I wouldn't get eaten by a bear on this trip and, while she didn't explicitly express so, I'm guessing she meant all wildlife in general.
Chicago might have to give up the title of "Windy City" because I'm pretty sure any town here in Wyoming could win it. I'm almost a little afraid my car is going to blow over tonight while I'm in it. Probably not though, eh?
I had the opportunity to enjoy a sunset in the mountains. I haven't really had that yet. I hope I take the chance to sit down and enjoy it a little more next time.
Well, it's time for me to find my perfect parking space for the night. Thanks everyone who commented on the last blog. I'm going to repost it on MySpace for others.
Good night.
I'm not far outside Yellowstone but I have decided to camp out for the night. There's no point in going to the park now... I'll just head there first thing in the morning. I should make it to Seattle by Wednesday.
Goddamn WalMart. They're everywhere. Even out here. I drove more than an hour today without seeing any houses. That's what it's like out here. I thought Nebraska was barren. Wyoming is nothing but open space. But Wyoming is different. The whole place is beautiful. Nebraska sucked. Anyway, I got off track, I was complaining about WalMart. In the middle of this quiet town/quiet state, where semis aren't even allowed to pass through all the way because they can't head towards the park, there's still a WalMart to pollute the goodness. Dammit. Even worse, I went inside tonight to buy something (a DC to AC converter). I hate myself a little right now. Oh well, at least I'll be abusing their parking lot tonight... I'll be sleeping there. If only I could figure out a way to get a free shower from them. That would be great.
I took quite a few pictures today, despite my digital camera not wanting to cooperate. I spent the most time in Thermopolis (yes... that's right... Thermopolis), home of the world's largest hot water spring. The whole town smells like a fart. When I first got to town, it kind of slipped my mind that hot springs are sulfur springs. I thought I was the one that smelled (I've spent a lot of time in this car) and I rolled the window down to air myself out. Then it dawned on me, "Oh yeah..."
I didn't actually get into the springs because it cost $10 just to have the privilege of smelling like ass for the rest of the night. Pass. But I drove around the park for a little bit and wandered into a bison pasture. I could have reached out and touched one of these guys, although I decided it would be best not to chance it.
I promised my mom I wouldn't get eaten by a bear on this trip and, while she didn't explicitly express so, I'm guessing she meant all wildlife in general.
Chicago might have to give up the title of "Windy City" because I'm pretty sure any town here in Wyoming could win it. I'm almost a little afraid my car is going to blow over tonight while I'm in it. Probably not though, eh?
I had the opportunity to enjoy a sunset in the mountains. I haven't really had that yet. I hope I take the chance to sit down and enjoy it a little more next time.
Well, it's time for me to find my perfect parking space for the night. Thanks everyone who commented on the last blog. I'm going to repost it on MySpace for others.
Good night.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Scenery
DENVER/ESTES PARK/FT. COLLINS, CO - Today my brother and I went on a trip northward to see my aunt, uncle, and cousins. It's been years since I've seen any of them. My brother has only seen them once since he's been out here.
So, we left in the afternoon, running a couple errands before really getting on the road. I needed a new battery for my film camera so the light meter would function properly and I grabbed some film while I was at it. My brother made a run to Old Navy for some khakis since his new job starts tomorrow afternoon. After getting gas and unfortunately purchasing two hot dogs for the road (I know they're bad... lips and assholes... and convenient store hot dogs are even worse, but I hadn't eaten at that point). As soon as I set the cash down for these two sticks of artificial flavoring, I felt the regret set in. Too late. Moving on.
We decided to take the back way which meant considerably more time, but it also meant a drive through the mountains, which I felt I hadn't properly done in my time here yet. The drive was so beautiful. Again and again, I found myself wanting to stop to get out and look. And we did quite a bit. I kept telling myself I didn't want to miss taking a picture of something great in case the beautiful scenery suddenly stopped. It didn't.
We drove through what I would say was all of Roosevelt National Forest. There was such a variety of things to see. For some reason, I didn't think I would encounter a cactus this early in my trip.
One of our longest stops was one of the first. I pulled off on the side of the road into what looked like a small gravel parking lot. Luckily, I slammed on the brakes just in time before bottoming out when the "parking lot" suddenly dropped almost a foot into what can only be described as a long and wide series of serious potholes. After parking, I grabbed cameras and we headed down to a stream that was gently sweeping past on the side of the highway. Jumping from rock to rock and hoping I didn't fall in, I took a little while to snap a few pictures - mostly with my film camera. I grabbed a few with the digital. This one kind of looks like a car ad... for a really crappy car. I took this one standing straight up in the pothole. Or not.
After this we headed further up into the mountains. The next stop was amazing. There was a small area to pull over on the side of the road for a "Scenic Overlook," although the overlook didn't offer as nice a view as just looking straight up the road. The wind was howling through at this point and it was a little tough to get the door open. Suddenly, snow was coming down around us. Not that it was actually snowing, but the winds were sweeping the snow down from the mountain peaks. Initially, we thought we were looking at Long's Peak, but it turned out to be Meeker's Point, a mountain not quite as high. My brother hit me with my first snowball of the season, although it was much more like a refrozen slab of ice than a snowball, if you want to get technical. The wind chill was probably about 20-25 degrees. I tried to act kind of tough while standing still for a photo, failing admirably. I immediately ran yelling back to the car. A proud display. I've never said I liked winter.
We drove on and headed up into Long's Peak. The road ended a couple thousand feet from the top at a ranger station... we maxed out at about 9,500 feet. My brother hiked to Chasm Lake earlier this year, which isn't quite the top of Long's Peak. He said it was great. I really wanted a good picture of the peak, but the sun and snow clouds weren't cooperating. We headed back down to the main road and pulled over at one point again so I could take as good a picture as possible.
Approaching Estes Park was hard to describe. As we wound through the mountains, they suddenly opened up to this valley below. While trying to take some pictures, I felt like I was going to get blown off the side and fall the thousand feet or so. This picture doesn't quite do it justice.
While down in Estes Park, we pulled over to look like tourists like all the other folks parked on the side of the road to admire some elk that seemed to be cruising through town. I had the chance to see a moose the other day and elk today. Cool.
My brother told me he heard that Estes Park was the site of the hotel used in "The Shining." After some bad "Shinning" jokes between us (yes, two n's - for those not on the in for this joke), we hit the visitors' center in town to inquire about this. Turns out, the informer was not the best source. It's not the hotel used in the frightening film Stanley Kubrick put together, but rather the made-for-TV version starring the dude from "Wings." Well, crap. And I had already planned out a picture of me standing in front of it doing my best "Tony" impression, making the "Redrum" finger. Oh well. Here's a picture of it anyway.
For an added bonus, here's a picture of the guy in the field behind us (across the street from the hotel) who, the entire time I was trying to change film and take pictures, was screaming at his girlfriend on the phone. After snapping a couple hotel pictures, my brother and I just stood and watched for a moment, like viewing some performance art piece, as this guy carried on and on. I don't know exactly what the seemingly one-sided argument was about, but I got the gist. He was pretty loud.
We decided that after Estes Park, it was time to buckle down (well, time for me to buckle down) and really start moving on to Ft. Collins so we could meet family for dinner. We actually ended up getting there pretty early and after making some arrangements over the phone, everyone decided it would be best to meet early for dinner. We still ended up getting there too early (what can I say, I'm a quick driver) so we cruised around pointlessly (very pointlessly) before deciding to just go to the restaurant to wait. Darrell and Brodie showed up first and we all said hi. It was nice seeing my uncle again after all these years. And I hadn't even seen Brodie since he was five weeks old. He's 7 now. Way too long. Soon after this, Lori showed up with Nolan and her mother.
We were eating at Carrerra's (or something like that) and had a great time. Some funny family stories. I provided the required explanation/rationalization for this trip of mine and we talked for a little while about that. It was a lot of fun. Lori had some questions about her mp3 player and we got into a discussion about downloading music, so my brother and I were invited back to their house so I could help her out with this. They have a nice house and some massive great danes. I guess Eric played some video games with the kids while I set up Lori's mp3 player and showed her some great ways to download music. (Totally legal ways, of course. I don't now, nor have I ever known, any other way to download music. That would be wrong. Plus, my uncle is a cop. So, whatever I did in that house was okay. Okay?)
We grabbed a few pictures before leaving and they sent us out the door with some pop to keep us awake on the the trek home (yeah, it's called pop... I don't actually have to still be in the Midwest to talk like I'm there).
They invited me to go to downtown tomorrow to see a museum since they'll be in the neighborhood, and I'll probably be doing that. Then it's really one of the last nights I'll be able to hang out with my brother before I get moving on to the next destination: Seattle. Since it's one of the last nights here, there's something very important I need to do while still in Denver. We'll be doing that tomorrow. What is it? I don't want to ruin the surprise for anyone reading.
Have a great night.
So, we left in the afternoon, running a couple errands before really getting on the road. I needed a new battery for my film camera so the light meter would function properly and I grabbed some film while I was at it. My brother made a run to Old Navy for some khakis since his new job starts tomorrow afternoon. After getting gas and unfortunately purchasing two hot dogs for the road (I know they're bad... lips and assholes... and convenient store hot dogs are even worse, but I hadn't eaten at that point). As soon as I set the cash down for these two sticks of artificial flavoring, I felt the regret set in. Too late. Moving on.
We decided to take the back way which meant considerably more time, but it also meant a drive through the mountains, which I felt I hadn't properly done in my time here yet. The drive was so beautiful. Again and again, I found myself wanting to stop to get out and look. And we did quite a bit. I kept telling myself I didn't want to miss taking a picture of something great in case the beautiful scenery suddenly stopped. It didn't.
We drove through what I would say was all of Roosevelt National Forest. There was such a variety of things to see. For some reason, I didn't think I would encounter a cactus this early in my trip.
One of our longest stops was one of the first. I pulled off on the side of the road into what looked like a small gravel parking lot. Luckily, I slammed on the brakes just in time before bottoming out when the "parking lot" suddenly dropped almost a foot into what can only be described as a long and wide series of serious potholes. After parking, I grabbed cameras and we headed down to a stream that was gently sweeping past on the side of the highway. Jumping from rock to rock and hoping I didn't fall in, I took a little while to snap a few pictures - mostly with my film camera. I grabbed a few with the digital. This one kind of looks like a car ad... for a really crappy car. I took this one standing straight up in the pothole. Or not.
After this we headed further up into the mountains. The next stop was amazing. There was a small area to pull over on the side of the road for a "Scenic Overlook," although the overlook didn't offer as nice a view as just looking straight up the road. The wind was howling through at this point and it was a little tough to get the door open. Suddenly, snow was coming down around us. Not that it was actually snowing, but the winds were sweeping the snow down from the mountain peaks. Initially, we thought we were looking at Long's Peak, but it turned out to be Meeker's Point, a mountain not quite as high. My brother hit me with my first snowball of the season, although it was much more like a refrozen slab of ice than a snowball, if you want to get technical. The wind chill was probably about 20-25 degrees. I tried to act kind of tough while standing still for a photo, failing admirably. I immediately ran yelling back to the car. A proud display. I've never said I liked winter.
We drove on and headed up into Long's Peak. The road ended a couple thousand feet from the top at a ranger station... we maxed out at about 9,500 feet. My brother hiked to Chasm Lake earlier this year, which isn't quite the top of Long's Peak. He said it was great. I really wanted a good picture of the peak, but the sun and snow clouds weren't cooperating. We headed back down to the main road and pulled over at one point again so I could take as good a picture as possible.
Approaching Estes Park was hard to describe. As we wound through the mountains, they suddenly opened up to this valley below. While trying to take some pictures, I felt like I was going to get blown off the side and fall the thousand feet or so. This picture doesn't quite do it justice.
While down in Estes Park, we pulled over to look like tourists like all the other folks parked on the side of the road to admire some elk that seemed to be cruising through town. I had the chance to see a moose the other day and elk today. Cool.
My brother told me he heard that Estes Park was the site of the hotel used in "The Shining." After some bad "Shinning" jokes between us (yes, two n's - for those not on the in for this joke), we hit the visitors' center in town to inquire about this. Turns out, the informer was not the best source. It's not the hotel used in the frightening film Stanley Kubrick put together, but rather the made-for-TV version starring the dude from "Wings." Well, crap. And I had already planned out a picture of me standing in front of it doing my best "Tony" impression, making the "Redrum" finger. Oh well. Here's a picture of it anyway.
For an added bonus, here's a picture of the guy in the field behind us (across the street from the hotel) who, the entire time I was trying to change film and take pictures, was screaming at his girlfriend on the phone. After snapping a couple hotel pictures, my brother and I just stood and watched for a moment, like viewing some performance art piece, as this guy carried on and on. I don't know exactly what the seemingly one-sided argument was about, but I got the gist. He was pretty loud.
We decided that after Estes Park, it was time to buckle down (well, time for me to buckle down) and really start moving on to Ft. Collins so we could meet family for dinner. We actually ended up getting there pretty early and after making some arrangements over the phone, everyone decided it would be best to meet early for dinner. We still ended up getting there too early (what can I say, I'm a quick driver) so we cruised around pointlessly (very pointlessly) before deciding to just go to the restaurant to wait. Darrell and Brodie showed up first and we all said hi. It was nice seeing my uncle again after all these years. And I hadn't even seen Brodie since he was five weeks old. He's 7 now. Way too long. Soon after this, Lori showed up with Nolan and her mother.
We were eating at Carrerra's (or something like that) and had a great time. Some funny family stories. I provided the required explanation/rationalization for this trip of mine and we talked for a little while about that. It was a lot of fun. Lori had some questions about her mp3 player and we got into a discussion about downloading music, so my brother and I were invited back to their house so I could help her out with this. They have a nice house and some massive great danes. I guess Eric played some video games with the kids while I set up Lori's mp3 player and showed her some great ways to download music. (Totally legal ways, of course. I don't now, nor have I ever known, any other way to download music. That would be wrong. Plus, my uncle is a cop. So, whatever I did in that house was okay. Okay?)
We grabbed a few pictures before leaving and they sent us out the door with some pop to keep us awake on the the trek home (yeah, it's called pop... I don't actually have to still be in the Midwest to talk like I'm there).
They invited me to go to downtown tomorrow to see a museum since they'll be in the neighborhood, and I'll probably be doing that. Then it's really one of the last nights I'll be able to hang out with my brother before I get moving on to the next destination: Seattle. Since it's one of the last nights here, there's something very important I need to do while still in Denver. We'll be doing that tomorrow. What is it? I don't want to ruin the surprise for anyone reading.
Have a great night.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Free Time in Lodo
LODO DENVER/HIGHLANDS RANCH, CO - I apologize for not writing anything last night. I made multiple phone calls all night long, taking advantage (or abusing) the free minutes of my phone, running the thing into the ground until it just kept beeping and turned off on me. Plans needed to be arranged for the next leg of the trip. I feel like my time in Denver has come to an end. I've spent my time thus far on the trip paying attention to the signs and see no reason to stop doing so right now. The current living situation is slightly depressing - and a little more so each day. So, Westward Ho!
My next major destination is Seattle. I plan to check out Vancouver while I'm up that way. It would be good to step outside this country while on the trip to gain a little perspective. Of course, this all depends on how much I think they'll harass me at the border. I don't feel like having my entire car searched while crossing over... I have half my belongings with me and don't need it dumped on the ground. Natius, you know the feeling.
A couple more things to take care of while in Colorado. Tonight I'm heading up to Ft. Collins to see my uncle, aunt, and nephews. I haven't seen them in years. Darrell and Lori always were so nice. And the kids are getting really grown up. I don't even know that I've seen Brodie walk. I'll probably spend time with my brother on Friday, doing I-don't -know-what. Saturday he's going to a concert with his girlfriend, so I think I'll use the time to see Lindsey one last time. Sunday will probably be the departure date.
I'm excited for the drive up to the northwest. Lots of territory I've never been through. And it must be exciting. I mean, come on folks, I get to cross through Idaho, the state that can inspire the kind of people seen in "Napoleon Dynamite." It has to be great, right?
Yesterday afternoon, I headed to Lodo with my brother (for those who haven't been in Denver for 8 whole days, "Lodo" stands for "Lower Downtown." I'm practically a local by now). We found a couple of free things to do, which is always exciting, seeing as how we're both broke. We found a cheap meal at Jimmy John's and then headed to the Lodo Tattered Cover. Tattered Cover is this fantastic bookstore that I believe is local to Denver. I went to a pretty ritzy one in the nice suburbs, which just reminded me of Barnes & Noble. But the one downtown is great. Kind of made me want to own a bookstore like that. Anyone want to go into business? Anyway, we headed to the bookstore to see a writer do a reading and sign books. His name is A.J. Jacobs and he previously wrote a book called "Know-It-All" in which he read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. His current book is another immersion experiment - he tried to live a year of his life taking the Bible as literally as possible. It was an interesting reading and discussion. He was happy to take plenty of questions and had a good sense of humor. It was interesting coming across this reading and book. I heard about them for the first time on the day I came back from the retreat. It helped me process the retreat even more. The writer listed 7 big things he learned through the experience. Number seven was, "Thou shalt not stereotype." He named Evangelical Christians specifically during this lesson. It rang especially true with me. I had lots of expectations for the retreat and found that they weren't true. I really enjoyed the experience. After the reading I went and had my copy signed. I explained my trip and how I had just returned from an Evangelical retreat. He commented about how this year is the 50th anniversary of "On the Road," which I guess I had never thought about until that moment.
I need to write more.
My next major destination is Seattle. I plan to check out Vancouver while I'm up that way. It would be good to step outside this country while on the trip to gain a little perspective. Of course, this all depends on how much I think they'll harass me at the border. I don't feel like having my entire car searched while crossing over... I have half my belongings with me and don't need it dumped on the ground. Natius, you know the feeling.
A couple more things to take care of while in Colorado. Tonight I'm heading up to Ft. Collins to see my uncle, aunt, and nephews. I haven't seen them in years. Darrell and Lori always were so nice. And the kids are getting really grown up. I don't even know that I've seen Brodie walk. I'll probably spend time with my brother on Friday, doing I-don't -know-what. Saturday he's going to a concert with his girlfriend, so I think I'll use the time to see Lindsey one last time. Sunday will probably be the departure date.
I'm excited for the drive up to the northwest. Lots of territory I've never been through. And it must be exciting. I mean, come on folks, I get to cross through Idaho, the state that can inspire the kind of people seen in "Napoleon Dynamite." It has to be great, right?
Yesterday afternoon, I headed to Lodo with my brother (for those who haven't been in Denver for 8 whole days, "Lodo" stands for "Lower Downtown." I'm practically a local by now). We found a couple of free things to do, which is always exciting, seeing as how we're both broke. We found a cheap meal at Jimmy John's and then headed to the Lodo Tattered Cover. Tattered Cover is this fantastic bookstore that I believe is local to Denver. I went to a pretty ritzy one in the nice suburbs, which just reminded me of Barnes & Noble. But the one downtown is great. Kind of made me want to own a bookstore like that. Anyone want to go into business? Anyway, we headed to the bookstore to see a writer do a reading and sign books. His name is A.J. Jacobs and he previously wrote a book called "Know-It-All" in which he read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. His current book is another immersion experiment - he tried to live a year of his life taking the Bible as literally as possible. It was an interesting reading and discussion. He was happy to take plenty of questions and had a good sense of humor. It was interesting coming across this reading and book. I heard about them for the first time on the day I came back from the retreat. It helped me process the retreat even more. The writer listed 7 big things he learned through the experience. Number seven was, "Thou shalt not stereotype." He named Evangelical Christians specifically during this lesson. It rang especially true with me. I had lots of expectations for the retreat and found that they weren't true. I really enjoyed the experience. After the reading I went and had my copy signed. I explained my trip and how I had just returned from an Evangelical retreat. He commented about how this year is the 50th anniversary of "On the Road," which I guess I had never thought about until that moment.
I need to write more.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
A Sudden Increase In Heart Rate
HIGHLANDS RANCH, CO - I was just looking up information about the Oregon Vortex in Gold Hill, OR, a site I am definitely checking out while up that way. In fact, I'm going to need to get a move on soon. The Vortex is only open until October 31. The Vortex is this apparent anomaly site where people appear to change size, balls roll uphill, and brooms can stand on end. I thought I remembered seeing somewhere a report that airplanes flying overhead had difficulty with their instruments, but I'm not sure if it is accurate.
Anyway, I was checking out the official website for the Vortex and clicked on a link supposedly for something called "Beyond Bizarre" on the Discovery Channel. Unfortunately, the background for this new page was nothing but picture after picture of Captain Howdy. Dammit.
My heart jumped into my throat and I tried to quickly scroll the mouse up to close the window. I'm such a wuss. Despite being terrified of this picture for no good reason, I did recall what is perhaps my favorite memory of TK. Thanks.
Anyway, I was checking out the official website for the Vortex and clicked on a link supposedly for something called "Beyond Bizarre" on the Discovery Channel. Unfortunately, the background for this new page was nothing but picture after picture of Captain Howdy. Dammit.
My heart jumped into my throat and I tried to quickly scroll the mouse up to close the window. I'm such a wuss. Despite being terrified of this picture for no good reason, I did recall what is perhaps my favorite memory of TK. Thanks.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Weekend Update - Updated
WINTER RESORT PARK/HIGHLANDS RANCH, CO - I had a great weekend. Total cost: $32.25. Awesome.
Alright, here's the update. I didn't feel I would do this blog justice if I tried to write last night. I really had a good weekend. I headed down to Colorado Springs, met up with Lindsey, and headed to her church to check-in and get on buses. It wasn't until I got to the church that I realized Lindsey's church is New Life Church, the church that was founded by Ted Haggard, who became embroiled in a scandal last year involving a homosexual prostitute and some meth. Google it if you have questions. It is a very large church (reporting a congregation of 14,000) and leaves Eastview looking like a startup organization (all you BloNoers know what I'm talking about). An incredibly Evangelical group of individuals. The church is also strongly associated with Focus on the Family, a group that supports reparative therapy for homosexuals, school prayer, and corporal punishment. The church has a lot of political influence, or rather, Ted Haggard did. I'm not clear on the church's current involvement in politics. Regardless, if you know me, you know this is not the type of environment I am entirely comfortable with.
Now, let me say this though - the people I spent my time with were great. As individuals, they had some of the biggest hearts. Very giving people. I'm very grateful for the experience. In fact, if it weren't for that giving spirit, I wouldn't have been able to go at all. They gave me a "scholarship" so that I could attend the retreat for $25 rather than the original fee of $160. Pretty cool.
Anyway, we had a 3 hour drive up into the mountains to get to Winter Park Resort, CO, where Crooked Creek Ranch was located. I had some good conversations during the trip. When we got there, I grabbed a bunk in a big room, meeting up with Danny and Daniel. I ended up hanging out with Danny quite a bit during the retreat. After this, we headed to the first sermon (there only ended up being 4 during the whole retreat). This sermon, like the others, mainly dealt with the topic of faith, following the theme of being "thirsty," which happened to be the name of the retreat.
Other than the sermons, there was a lot of free time. The first night, despite everyone insisting they wouldn't buckle to peer pressure, I managed to succeed in peer pressuring Lindsey's group of friends into hitting the hot tub (which could hold up to 70 people) for a late night dip. Some funny stories were told. Then off to bed.
The food there was pretty good. Each meal was served banquet style. As long as you emptied the serving plates, they brought out more. Both nights there I also grabbed some stuff from the snack shop they had there. Daniel (mentioned earlier) really was a great guy. He was one of the "leaders" on the trip and we rarely ended up seeing him because he was so busy. He volunteered both nights at the snack shop and during the day on Saturday, missing out on most of the fun times, keeping a smile on his face the whole time. A very giving guy.
Saturday morning I headed out with Danny for a hike. As we left, the weather was nice and I didn't even wear a jacket. Climbing the mountain, the air was still and silent. Wonderful. We saw a moose in the woods, something I've never witnessed in person. My camera was in my pocket so I didn't get a picture. We walked all the way up, around, then headed back down.
As we were headed towards the bottom, large bits of snow (not hail) were falling down on us. I tried to get a picture but it wouldn't show. We made it to the bottom just in time for lunch.
After lunch, Lindsey, Lynel, Isaac, and Tim decided to skip the planned activity in the gym and hike up the other side of the property. This was a considerably more difficult hike. It was much more of an incline and I was struggling with the unfamiliar altitude. The air was pretty thin. My muscles were doing fine but I couldn't get enough air into my lungs. A much slower hike. As we reached the top, snow started to come down. By the time we reached the top, there was a clear layer of snow on the ground.
The hike down was fun and we walked into rain by the time we reached the bottom. My shoes were wet, my socks were soaked, and my jacket needed some drying, but it was a lot of fun.
We went our separate ways. I thought about taking a shower and a nap but instead decided I should head into the hot tub again. By the time I got to the hot tub, it was snowing outside. So there I was, sitting in a massive hot tub on the side of the mountain with snow dropping down on me. It was a really nice experience.
I got out and felt quite warm, despite the snow around me, so I didn't rush back to the room. After grabbing a shower, I headed to the Rec area and met up with Danny. We played some ping pong (if you were wondering, I won each time) and then went to dinner.
After dinner was a hoedown, which I was apparently quite unprepared for. Many people were decked out in some god awful cowboy getups.
All I had left that was clean and dry was a mismatched sweater and pair of pants. Oh well. Good times nonetheless.
The evening sermon was pretty long. I have difficulty understanding "worship" as listening to a band rock out worship songs. It seemed as though people were moved by this, but I guess I get mostly hung up on the idea of having to modernize your religion to make it more appealing. Especially for a group so concerned with accepting the Bible as a literal work. While on that issue, I also struggle with the idea of updating scripture. This group used the NIV heavily, which I disagree with. I also disagree with the King James Version. Basically, I disagree with versions. Do I accept the Bible in it's purest form as the absolute truth, a literal work free of corruption or interpretation by human hands? No. But I think that removing it even further from the original source corrupts any message in it even more. If you believe in a god that speaks directly to people and inspires a work like this, does that god make typos? I respect the Torah so much because of the respect that is given to it, leaving it unaltered. Why does a religion need to be hip and cool? If a religion doesn't resonate with you, maybe it just doesn't. Maybe it's wrong to try to make it more appealing. I don't pretend to be right or to know all the answers, but I know what feels right and wrong to me. Lynel agreed with me on the issue of altering the message. It was comforting to find someone that, while her beliefs and mine were still drastically different, there was still a very common ground concerning the nature of a religion. This is why I don't have a religion to call my own. I haven't found a belief system that fits me 100%. If it doesn't, it isn't for me. My usual example of this: If I go around saying I'm a basketball player, but I don't dribble the ball, I don't pass, and I kick it instead of throwing it, am I really a basketball player? I'm playing a different game. I don't expect the game to conform to my expectations. I'd rather develop my own belief system, continue to fine tune and define it, and work as hard as I can to lead a good life. I don't know for sure if or what exists out there, but I imagine the true goal for each person would be to try to bring as much good to this place and this experience as possible.
Regardless of my own beliefs, I did enjoy the sermons. Each speaker was engaging and entertaining and had good things to say about the nature of faith. I was a bit bothered by the fact that Starbucks was mentioned no fewer than 15 times over the course of the 4 sermons, often to the great delight of the crowd, for whatever reason. It was worked in again and again, along with other materialistic points of reference, despite each sermon, at some point, touching on the idea of rejecting these earthly desires we have. McWorship? Again, I took something away from each sermon, each one meaning something to me, even if the message I received was that this particular faith was not for me. It was very touching to see so many people in one place actively involved in their faith. It was doing so much for them. Hands were raised, people were singing to themselves, bodies were rocking and praying. Very charismatic. I felt grateful for the opportunity to be there to witness it. And, while I hold very different beliefs, I felt much more certain about my particular beliefs. Strangely, it did a lot for me.
After the Saturday night sermon, I went to change so I could spend some time outside. Danny asked me some questions about what I thought so far and we had a brief discussion that touched on some of my beliefs. He expressed a lot of surprise in finding out that I wasn't a religious person. I explained to him how much of my time for the past 13 years has been consumed with investigating various beliefs and philosophies while I formulate my own. A daily work. I tried to explain how well this has worked for me and helped me develop as a person and how aligning with a religion doesn't seem as though it would benefit me in any way. He didn't have a lot to say and seemed as accepting of this as he could be, which I appreciated.
The rest of the night was a lot of fun. Most of it consisted of sitting with Lynel, Danny and Lindsey, telling funny stories. Some good TK times. A lot of outing our particular weaknesses and quirks. The word "cuddleslut" was used for maybe the first time in history and will probably end up sticking (there are those of you who will no doubt know exactly what/who this refers to, haha). A late night followed by an early wake up.
The next morning, there was snow everywhere. Up in the mountains, there was at least 6 inches in some places.
I packed up my things before heading to breakfast. Breakfast was a lot of fun. Danny ended up scavenging more than a dozen pieces of coffee cake from other tables to take on the trip home... he ended up giving them all away on the bus leaving himself with none to enjoy. And, while I doubt this needs to be said, Cholula on eggs is fantastic. Also, I found Christyle's Asian twin.
We all met up on Bus #8 again and headed back home. I heard that Danny had recently discovered Wu-Tang and I decided it was my job to encourage this musical choice as much as possible. He seemed genuinely surprised by some of the lyrics I ended up exposing him to. He had some on his iPod but I thought I should share a little more. Those in the seats around me seemed to enjoy my "ODB Shudder" I did through several songs. Bringing a little diversity to the trip. "Sandlot" was played through the TVs, much to our delight and the trip went by quickly. I spent the last leg of the trip, staring out the window and reflecting on my trip thus far. At one point, I fell asleep for about a half-second, alarming the three around me because I fell asleep and immediately jerked awake... while holding on the the seat in front of me. Funny.
I thought our small group was going to go out to lunch when we got back, but Lindsey said she needed to do several things that day and she was my ride back to my car. So, we all said goodbye and I headed back to Lindsey's apartment so I could grab my car. She asked if I wanted something to eat, so I stayed for that. Lindsey started asking about what I thought of the retreat and the conversation quickly turned into a discussion about my beliefs. I appreciated the time Lindsey spent discussing this with me, although the conversation eventually treaded water because I wasn't looking to convince her of anything and she really wasn't going to move me regarding my position about my beliefs.
I struggle with conversations involving conservative Christianity because there seem to be two trump cards which prevent real discussion from occurring. I understand that this kind of Christianity is based around the concept of ministry and converting others to this faith. But there seem to be fail safes built in which prevent a real discussion about two differing points. the trumps? #1: You must accept Jesus as your savior - or you go to a hell(whatever that means). It doesn't matter what kind of life you lead... if you don't accept this, bad things happen. If you do accept it, again, it ultimately doesn't matter what life you lead then. While harming others is considered wrong, the only real concern is whether you accept the religion. #2: If you have doubts about #1, these doubts and questions come from a devil, who is trying to lead you away. Any question you have, any doubt, is ultimately from some evil source trying to keep you from reaching #1. Both trumps that can't enter a conversation that involves logic, reasoning, or outside sources. Therefore defeating the purpose of said conversation. I appreciated the conversation we had and still learned from it... it just reached a point where we were treading water. I talked quite a bit about my own personal beliefs about the nature of everything, which really don't fall in line with these two beliefs. Although, I did take the opportunity to explain that deep down my beliefs are in line with the teachings of every major religion/philosophy out there - treating others as you want to be treated, even if my beliefs don't follow a particular dogma as far as religious rules go. I don't feel like explaining in detail my own particular belief system here, but I'd be happy to explain it to anyone who asks.
Overall, a great experience that generated plenty of thinking (wonderful, more time to get stuck in my head, haha). Again, I feel a lot of gratitude and am happy I got to meet everyone that I did. Really positive people who have a lot to offer the world.
I got back last night and, while not feeling drained, was definitely ready for some rest. I helped my brother with a window washing job this morning and took a nap that led to the afternoon. I ran some errands with my brother and had some Del Taco. Tonight, my brother's girlfriend came with us to see a movie, Superbad, at the discount theater. Just as funny the second time. I had a chance to talked to Tom, Meighan, and Christyle. Only now am I feeling like the weekend is over.
Have a good night. See you tomorrow.
Alright, here's the update. I didn't feel I would do this blog justice if I tried to write last night. I really had a good weekend. I headed down to Colorado Springs, met up with Lindsey, and headed to her church to check-in and get on buses. It wasn't until I got to the church that I realized Lindsey's church is New Life Church, the church that was founded by Ted Haggard, who became embroiled in a scandal last year involving a homosexual prostitute and some meth. Google it if you have questions. It is a very large church (reporting a congregation of 14,000) and leaves Eastview looking like a startup organization (all you BloNoers know what I'm talking about). An incredibly Evangelical group of individuals. The church is also strongly associated with Focus on the Family, a group that supports reparative therapy for homosexuals, school prayer, and corporal punishment. The church has a lot of political influence, or rather, Ted Haggard did. I'm not clear on the church's current involvement in politics. Regardless, if you know me, you know this is not the type of environment I am entirely comfortable with.
Now, let me say this though - the people I spent my time with were great. As individuals, they had some of the biggest hearts. Very giving people. I'm very grateful for the experience. In fact, if it weren't for that giving spirit, I wouldn't have been able to go at all. They gave me a "scholarship" so that I could attend the retreat for $25 rather than the original fee of $160. Pretty cool.
Anyway, we had a 3 hour drive up into the mountains to get to Winter Park Resort, CO, where Crooked Creek Ranch was located. I had some good conversations during the trip. When we got there, I grabbed a bunk in a big room, meeting up with Danny and Daniel. I ended up hanging out with Danny quite a bit during the retreat. After this, we headed to the first sermon (there only ended up being 4 during the whole retreat). This sermon, like the others, mainly dealt with the topic of faith, following the theme of being "thirsty," which happened to be the name of the retreat.
Other than the sermons, there was a lot of free time. The first night, despite everyone insisting they wouldn't buckle to peer pressure, I managed to succeed in peer pressuring Lindsey's group of friends into hitting the hot tub (which could hold up to 70 people) for a late night dip. Some funny stories were told. Then off to bed.
The food there was pretty good. Each meal was served banquet style. As long as you emptied the serving plates, they brought out more. Both nights there I also grabbed some stuff from the snack shop they had there. Daniel (mentioned earlier) really was a great guy. He was one of the "leaders" on the trip and we rarely ended up seeing him because he was so busy. He volunteered both nights at the snack shop and during the day on Saturday, missing out on most of the fun times, keeping a smile on his face the whole time. A very giving guy.
Saturday morning I headed out with Danny for a hike. As we left, the weather was nice and I didn't even wear a jacket. Climbing the mountain, the air was still and silent. Wonderful. We saw a moose in the woods, something I've never witnessed in person. My camera was in my pocket so I didn't get a picture. We walked all the way up, around, then headed back down.
As we were headed towards the bottom, large bits of snow (not hail) were falling down on us. I tried to get a picture but it wouldn't show. We made it to the bottom just in time for lunch.
After lunch, Lindsey, Lynel, Isaac, and Tim decided to skip the planned activity in the gym and hike up the other side of the property. This was a considerably more difficult hike. It was much more of an incline and I was struggling with the unfamiliar altitude. The air was pretty thin. My muscles were doing fine but I couldn't get enough air into my lungs. A much slower hike. As we reached the top, snow started to come down. By the time we reached the top, there was a clear layer of snow on the ground.
The hike down was fun and we walked into rain by the time we reached the bottom. My shoes were wet, my socks were soaked, and my jacket needed some drying, but it was a lot of fun.
We went our separate ways. I thought about taking a shower and a nap but instead decided I should head into the hot tub again. By the time I got to the hot tub, it was snowing outside. So there I was, sitting in a massive hot tub on the side of the mountain with snow dropping down on me. It was a really nice experience.
I got out and felt quite warm, despite the snow around me, so I didn't rush back to the room. After grabbing a shower, I headed to the Rec area and met up with Danny. We played some ping pong (if you were wondering, I won each time) and then went to dinner.
After dinner was a hoedown, which I was apparently quite unprepared for. Many people were decked out in some god awful cowboy getups.
All I had left that was clean and dry was a mismatched sweater and pair of pants. Oh well. Good times nonetheless.
The evening sermon was pretty long. I have difficulty understanding "worship" as listening to a band rock out worship songs. It seemed as though people were moved by this, but I guess I get mostly hung up on the idea of having to modernize your religion to make it more appealing. Especially for a group so concerned with accepting the Bible as a literal work. While on that issue, I also struggle with the idea of updating scripture. This group used the NIV heavily, which I disagree with. I also disagree with the King James Version. Basically, I disagree with versions. Do I accept the Bible in it's purest form as the absolute truth, a literal work free of corruption or interpretation by human hands? No. But I think that removing it even further from the original source corrupts any message in it even more. If you believe in a god that speaks directly to people and inspires a work like this, does that god make typos? I respect the Torah so much because of the respect that is given to it, leaving it unaltered. Why does a religion need to be hip and cool? If a religion doesn't resonate with you, maybe it just doesn't. Maybe it's wrong to try to make it more appealing. I don't pretend to be right or to know all the answers, but I know what feels right and wrong to me. Lynel agreed with me on the issue of altering the message. It was comforting to find someone that, while her beliefs and mine were still drastically different, there was still a very common ground concerning the nature of a religion. This is why I don't have a religion to call my own. I haven't found a belief system that fits me 100%. If it doesn't, it isn't for me. My usual example of this: If I go around saying I'm a basketball player, but I don't dribble the ball, I don't pass, and I kick it instead of throwing it, am I really a basketball player? I'm playing a different game. I don't expect the game to conform to my expectations. I'd rather develop my own belief system, continue to fine tune and define it, and work as hard as I can to lead a good life. I don't know for sure if or what exists out there, but I imagine the true goal for each person would be to try to bring as much good to this place and this experience as possible.
Regardless of my own beliefs, I did enjoy the sermons. Each speaker was engaging and entertaining and had good things to say about the nature of faith. I was a bit bothered by the fact that Starbucks was mentioned no fewer than 15 times over the course of the 4 sermons, often to the great delight of the crowd, for whatever reason. It was worked in again and again, along with other materialistic points of reference, despite each sermon, at some point, touching on the idea of rejecting these earthly desires we have. McWorship? Again, I took something away from each sermon, each one meaning something to me, even if the message I received was that this particular faith was not for me. It was very touching to see so many people in one place actively involved in their faith. It was doing so much for them. Hands were raised, people were singing to themselves, bodies were rocking and praying. Very charismatic. I felt grateful for the opportunity to be there to witness it. And, while I hold very different beliefs, I felt much more certain about my particular beliefs. Strangely, it did a lot for me.
After the Saturday night sermon, I went to change so I could spend some time outside. Danny asked me some questions about what I thought so far and we had a brief discussion that touched on some of my beliefs. He expressed a lot of surprise in finding out that I wasn't a religious person. I explained to him how much of my time for the past 13 years has been consumed with investigating various beliefs and philosophies while I formulate my own. A daily work. I tried to explain how well this has worked for me and helped me develop as a person and how aligning with a religion doesn't seem as though it would benefit me in any way. He didn't have a lot to say and seemed as accepting of this as he could be, which I appreciated.
The rest of the night was a lot of fun. Most of it consisted of sitting with Lynel, Danny and Lindsey, telling funny stories. Some good TK times. A lot of outing our particular weaknesses and quirks. The word "cuddleslut" was used for maybe the first time in history and will probably end up sticking (there are those of you who will no doubt know exactly what/who this refers to, haha). A late night followed by an early wake up.
The next morning, there was snow everywhere. Up in the mountains, there was at least 6 inches in some places.
I packed up my things before heading to breakfast. Breakfast was a lot of fun. Danny ended up scavenging more than a dozen pieces of coffee cake from other tables to take on the trip home... he ended up giving them all away on the bus leaving himself with none to enjoy. And, while I doubt this needs to be said, Cholula on eggs is fantastic. Also, I found Christyle's Asian twin.
We all met up on Bus #8 again and headed back home. I heard that Danny had recently discovered Wu-Tang and I decided it was my job to encourage this musical choice as much as possible. He seemed genuinely surprised by some of the lyrics I ended up exposing him to. He had some on his iPod but I thought I should share a little more. Those in the seats around me seemed to enjoy my "ODB Shudder" I did through several songs. Bringing a little diversity to the trip. "Sandlot" was played through the TVs, much to our delight and the trip went by quickly. I spent the last leg of the trip, staring out the window and reflecting on my trip thus far. At one point, I fell asleep for about a half-second, alarming the three around me because I fell asleep and immediately jerked awake... while holding on the the seat in front of me. Funny.
I thought our small group was going to go out to lunch when we got back, but Lindsey said she needed to do several things that day and she was my ride back to my car. So, we all said goodbye and I headed back to Lindsey's apartment so I could grab my car. She asked if I wanted something to eat, so I stayed for that. Lindsey started asking about what I thought of the retreat and the conversation quickly turned into a discussion about my beliefs. I appreciated the time Lindsey spent discussing this with me, although the conversation eventually treaded water because I wasn't looking to convince her of anything and she really wasn't going to move me regarding my position about my beliefs.
I struggle with conversations involving conservative Christianity because there seem to be two trump cards which prevent real discussion from occurring. I understand that this kind of Christianity is based around the concept of ministry and converting others to this faith. But there seem to be fail safes built in which prevent a real discussion about two differing points. the trumps? #1: You must accept Jesus as your savior - or you go to a hell(whatever that means). It doesn't matter what kind of life you lead... if you don't accept this, bad things happen. If you do accept it, again, it ultimately doesn't matter what life you lead then. While harming others is considered wrong, the only real concern is whether you accept the religion. #2: If you have doubts about #1, these doubts and questions come from a devil, who is trying to lead you away. Any question you have, any doubt, is ultimately from some evil source trying to keep you from reaching #1. Both trumps that can't enter a conversation that involves logic, reasoning, or outside sources. Therefore defeating the purpose of said conversation. I appreciated the conversation we had and still learned from it... it just reached a point where we were treading water. I talked quite a bit about my own personal beliefs about the nature of everything, which really don't fall in line with these two beliefs. Although, I did take the opportunity to explain that deep down my beliefs are in line with the teachings of every major religion/philosophy out there - treating others as you want to be treated, even if my beliefs don't follow a particular dogma as far as religious rules go. I don't feel like explaining in detail my own particular belief system here, but I'd be happy to explain it to anyone who asks.
Overall, a great experience that generated plenty of thinking (wonderful, more time to get stuck in my head, haha). Again, I feel a lot of gratitude and am happy I got to meet everyone that I did. Really positive people who have a lot to offer the world.
I got back last night and, while not feeling drained, was definitely ready for some rest. I helped my brother with a window washing job this morning and took a nap that led to the afternoon. I ran some errands with my brother and had some Del Taco. Tonight, my brother's girlfriend came with us to see a movie, Superbad, at the discount theater. Just as funny the second time. I had a chance to talked to Tom, Meighan, and Christyle. Only now am I feeling like the weekend is over.
Have a good night. See you tomorrow.
Friday, October 12, 2007
My First Weekend
HIGHLANDS RANCH, CO - Turns out my brother isn't homeless after all. He got a job and is getting out of cleaning full-time, but the guy he is living with insists that he stay around for a few weeks. So, we both stayed here last night.
Lindsey invited me to a retreat for the weekend at Crooked Creek. Can't turn down any invitations, remember. I wasn't going to be able to afford it because it cost too much, but they worked it out so it only ends up costing me $25 for the whole weekend. It looks like a lot of fun... like a camping resort. There's even a 70 person hot tub.
Am I going to get myself in trouble though when I end up expressing my personal beliefs? Who knows. I met some of Lindsey's friends the other night and they seemed like really nice people. They have very strong beliefs. I just hope they don't see our differences of opinion as some kind of clash. I'm thinking they won't. Maybe it will lead to some interesting conversation. Maybe they'll decide I'm going to hell. I guess we'll find out.
In unfortunate news, my brother's girlfriend was in a car accident this morning. She just got a new Beetle and is learning to drive the stick. She just got the car three days ago. Apparently, she was pulling off an on-ramp and someone ran her into a guardrail. It sounds like she's going to be okay though but they're still running some tests at the hospital. I hope everything is okay.
I really this weekend goes well. I know I'll meet a lot of new people, which is always exciting and helps me keep fulfilling my personal goals for this trip. Even though I've been meeting a lot of new people already and doing fun things, I'm feeling a bit of loneliness today. It seems as though I'm somewhat prone to that, even when standing in a crowd of people.
Lindsey invited me to a retreat for the weekend at Crooked Creek. Can't turn down any invitations, remember. I wasn't going to be able to afford it because it cost too much, but they worked it out so it only ends up costing me $25 for the whole weekend. It looks like a lot of fun... like a camping resort. There's even a 70 person hot tub.
Am I going to get myself in trouble though when I end up expressing my personal beliefs? Who knows. I met some of Lindsey's friends the other night and they seemed like really nice people. They have very strong beliefs. I just hope they don't see our differences of opinion as some kind of clash. I'm thinking they won't. Maybe it will lead to some interesting conversation. Maybe they'll decide I'm going to hell. I guess we'll find out.
In unfortunate news, my brother's girlfriend was in a car accident this morning. She just got a new Beetle and is learning to drive the stick. She just got the car three days ago. Apparently, she was pulling off an on-ramp and someone ran her into a guardrail. It sounds like she's going to be okay though but they're still running some tests at the hospital. I hope everything is okay.
I really this weekend goes well. I know I'll meet a lot of new people, which is always exciting and helps me keep fulfilling my personal goals for this trip. Even though I've been meeting a lot of new people already and doing fun things, I'm feeling a bit of loneliness today. It seems as though I'm somewhat prone to that, even when standing in a crowd of people.
Pickin'
HIGHLANDS RANCH, CO - I'm not used to the dry air in Denver. It's beautiful here but I almost miss the humidity in Illinois.
Almost.
My nose hurts.
Almost.
My nose hurts.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Homelessness
DENVER, CO - Lots of happenings within the first 24 hours in Colorado.
I woke up at 4am my first day there to help my brother with two cleaning jobs. Good times. Shortly after finishing, my brother decided he was quitting his job and moving out of the house he was staying in (and I was crashing in). It is now the next day and we're both homeless, jobless, and broke. Life is funny.
He seems to feel pretty great about it although he is nervous to deal with his now ex-partner/boss/whatever. They're talking (arguing, maybe) right now, so I decided to take this opportunity to check out downtown Denver and abuse some free internet at a Burger King.
There are a lot of homeless people hanging out in Denver. I saw a pretty good sign today: "Adopt a Homeless Guy." And on the flipside: "Don't Worry, I'm Housebroken." I'll need to think of some more signs for when I'm broke on the West Coast. I'm open to suggestions, folks.
I hung out with Lindsey last night and met some of her friends. Nice people. They were all really talkative and had questions about my trip. It seems like Lindsey's really been enjoying Colorado since she got here not so long ago. She definitely seems to have found her home. Good for her.
It looks like I won't be spending as much time in Colorado as previously planned. My brother is looking to get a job at Best Buy again and start working small jobs on the side... this way he won't be losing the money he is right now. Sounds like a good plan. But not much work for me. Plus, he's going to be crashing at his girlfriend's parents' place (probably) and they don't need a second mooch hanging out. I'll probably stop by the see my uncle in Ft. Collins sometime soon and then venture up to Seattle. Maybe I'll just see the whole coast now, hit New Mexico by November 14, and then go check out Austin in more detail. I'll see where things take me.
I woke up at 4am my first day there to help my brother with two cleaning jobs. Good times. Shortly after finishing, my brother decided he was quitting his job and moving out of the house he was staying in (and I was crashing in). It is now the next day and we're both homeless, jobless, and broke. Life is funny.
He seems to feel pretty great about it although he is nervous to deal with his now ex-partner/boss/whatever. They're talking (arguing, maybe) right now, so I decided to take this opportunity to check out downtown Denver and abuse some free internet at a Burger King.
There are a lot of homeless people hanging out in Denver. I saw a pretty good sign today: "Adopt a Homeless Guy." And on the flipside: "Don't Worry, I'm Housebroken." I'll need to think of some more signs for when I'm broke on the West Coast. I'm open to suggestions, folks.
I hung out with Lindsey last night and met some of her friends. Nice people. They were all really talkative and had questions about my trip. It seems like Lindsey's really been enjoying Colorado since she got here not so long ago. She definitely seems to have found her home. Good for her.
It looks like I won't be spending as much time in Colorado as previously planned. My brother is looking to get a job at Best Buy again and start working small jobs on the side... this way he won't be losing the money he is right now. Sounds like a good plan. But not much work for me. Plus, he's going to be crashing at his girlfriend's parents' place (probably) and they don't need a second mooch hanging out. I'll probably stop by the see my uncle in Ft. Collins sometime soon and then venture up to Seattle. Maybe I'll just see the whole coast now, hit New Mexico by November 14, and then go check out Austin in more detail. I'll see where things take me.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Synchronicity
HIGHLANDS RANCH, CO - I'm not sure how anyone feels about synchronicity... the idea that separate events can coincide in some kind of meaningful way. I've experiences some fascinating synchronous events in my life. Today I experienced a fun one.
I happened to be listening to a discussion on my Zen about synchronicity I had downloaded some time ago. It seemed like a good time to check it out. During this discussion, the main speaker gave an example of a synchronous event involving Buffalo Bill. While watching a quiz show, he answered a question that had Buffalo Bill as the answer. Shortly thereafter, a friend called to have him settle a bet... involving Buffalo Bill. Within the hour, Buffalo Bill came up one more time. Incredibly meaningful? No. Interesting though. Especially for someone who claims he hasn't talked about or read about Buffalo Bill in years.
For myself, just as this story ends, I drive by a sign for the "Buffalo Bill Ranch." Weird.
Weirder still? As soon as I get to Denver, say hi to my brother and the people he lives with, and take a shower to wash the 22-hour stink off myself, my brother asks if I want to go check out the area. "Sure thing," says I.
First stop he takes me to: Lookout Point. Which happens to be the grave site of none other than Buffalo Bill.
I happened to be listening to a discussion on my Zen about synchronicity I had downloaded some time ago. It seemed like a good time to check it out. During this discussion, the main speaker gave an example of a synchronous event involving Buffalo Bill. While watching a quiz show, he answered a question that had Buffalo Bill as the answer. Shortly thereafter, a friend called to have him settle a bet... involving Buffalo Bill. Within the hour, Buffalo Bill came up one more time. Incredibly meaningful? No. Interesting though. Especially for someone who claims he hasn't talked about or read about Buffalo Bill in years.
For myself, just as this story ends, I drive by a sign for the "Buffalo Bill Ranch." Weird.
Weirder still? As soon as I get to Denver, say hi to my brother and the people he lives with, and take a shower to wash the 22-hour stink off myself, my brother asks if I want to go check out the area. "Sure thing," says I.
First stop he takes me to: Lookout Point. Which happens to be the grave site of none other than Buffalo Bill.
Omaha
HIGHLANDS RANCH, CO - If you haven't been there already, let me fill you in... Omaha sucks. I pulled in last night looking for something interesting to check out before crashing for a few hours.
Nothing.
It was midnight on a Monday and I saw one person walking around. The place put me to sleep. Feel free to skip it.
Nothing.
It was midnight on a Monday and I saw one person walking around. The place put me to sleep. Feel free to skip it.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Good Luck
BLOOMINGTON, IL - Let me preface this by stating that I have never believed in good luck. Not truly. Life is what you make it and we can't walk around blaming bad things on luck or giving luck credit for what we accomplish. But yesterday made me question that a little bit. What a day.
First thing after waking up was placing yet another call to an insurance company that has been dicking around with me for a while. I spoke with a very nice lady who seemed genuinely concerned for how long this process was taking for me to be taken care of after their customer got into an accident with me. She put me through to yet another helpful individual who immediately took care of what seemed impossible for anyone else to handle. A check in my name is coming in the mail and will allow me to properly take care of my car and do this trip the right way. An awesome start, right?
Then I start looking for health insurance because I really don't want to take any chances out there. I may not believe in luck, but I do have a habit of being incredibly accident prone at the worst possible times. I had recently heard all kinds of outrageous figures for getting insurance on your own. After a brief search however, I found reliable insurance that is not only equal to my insurance through my last job, but is also PPO rather than HMO. And to top it off, it ends up being $15 less a month than my insurance through TK. How's that for something? Any TKers out there, look into getting your own insurance because you might be getting ripped off. So far, so good. Time for lunch.
My mom ends up wanting to go get lunch so I head out with her and my sister to Michael's for something to eat. Good food, good times. We say goodbye and I head to my car parked down the street. I glance down just before I reach it and there's a $5 bill on the ground. I looked right and left but no one was around, so I picked it up and pocketed it.
Since it seemed to be insurance day, I decided to update my car insurance. I'll be traveling with some valuable stuff, so I decided I need to have full coverage. After meeting with my insurance guy and changing my address to Blooomington, again I was greeted with good news. I'm still covering all my stuff in storage and changed my car from liability only in Chicago Heights to full coverage in Bloomington. Yet somehow the price dropped. I guess sometimes it does pay not to live in the ghetto, as sad as it is to leave.
Can the day get any better? Of course it can. Most people that know me know that my car hasn't liked me much recently. I got a quote for work to be done on it and was told to fix my awful shaking/vibrating problem, it was going to cost $1300. I've been seeking second, third, and fourth opinions ever since. Anyway, I didn't think I would be able to get the repairs done before leaving. I've been looking for a mechanic forever to do work on the side who won't rip me off. Well, I just happened to talk about some of the car stuff with Meighan yesterday and, lo and behold, I find out my friend Mat's brother does just this. Finally! Gave him a call and found out I can get what I need done on the cheap. What a day!
I talked to Melissa yesterday and after hearing about the day, she suggested I use that $5 I found to buy a lottery ticket. It certainly seemed the day for it. Well, I did and I didn't win. It's probably for the best though. I already spent all $26 million in my head and it would have been ridiculous. I did hit two numbers though, which seems like a lot to me.
I went out to dinner with some friends and hung out for a while with some after that. I wasn't sure what would be going on for the remainder of the night... plans weren't really coming together. Then I talked to Chris and heard about a small gathering in a hot tub. Now, is this my usual thing? No. But in the spirit of the trip, no turning down invitations. And I had a good time. And pizza. So, therefore, a good end to the night.
Today went well also. Good lunch again with my parents. You can never get too much Fiesta (you BloNoers all know what I mean). I got in touch with Nate, the guy who was going to work on my car and met up with him. $280 later, the problem is fixed.
Original quote: $1329.
Fixing a tie rod and two lower ball joints with your dad: $137.
Getting all new calipers, pads, and rotors done by a friend's brother: $280.
Getting to spend ten hours shooting the shit with your dad, swearing at inanimate objects, getting dirty while learning some new car stuff, discovering that your wheel bearings are going to be okay and don't need replaced, and not giving $912 to some asshole at a shop that is trying to screw you: Priceless.
So, it has been a good couple of days. I still don't believe in luck, although it is tempting. It certainly does seem as though the universe is giving the go ahead for this trip. Everything is falling into place.
What do you think, Magic 8 Ball?
All signs point to yes.
Rock 'n' Roll.
First thing after waking up was placing yet another call to an insurance company that has been dicking around with me for a while. I spoke with a very nice lady who seemed genuinely concerned for how long this process was taking for me to be taken care of after their customer got into an accident with me. She put me through to yet another helpful individual who immediately took care of what seemed impossible for anyone else to handle. A check in my name is coming in the mail and will allow me to properly take care of my car and do this trip the right way. An awesome start, right?
Then I start looking for health insurance because I really don't want to take any chances out there. I may not believe in luck, but I do have a habit of being incredibly accident prone at the worst possible times. I had recently heard all kinds of outrageous figures for getting insurance on your own. After a brief search however, I found reliable insurance that is not only equal to my insurance through my last job, but is also PPO rather than HMO. And to top it off, it ends up being $15 less a month than my insurance through TK. How's that for something? Any TKers out there, look into getting your own insurance because you might be getting ripped off. So far, so good. Time for lunch.
My mom ends up wanting to go get lunch so I head out with her and my sister to Michael's for something to eat. Good food, good times. We say goodbye and I head to my car parked down the street. I glance down just before I reach it and there's a $5 bill on the ground. I looked right and left but no one was around, so I picked it up and pocketed it.
Since it seemed to be insurance day, I decided to update my car insurance. I'll be traveling with some valuable stuff, so I decided I need to have full coverage. After meeting with my insurance guy and changing my address to Blooomington, again I was greeted with good news. I'm still covering all my stuff in storage and changed my car from liability only in Chicago Heights to full coverage in Bloomington. Yet somehow the price dropped. I guess sometimes it does pay not to live in the ghetto, as sad as it is to leave.
Can the day get any better? Of course it can. Most people that know me know that my car hasn't liked me much recently. I got a quote for work to be done on it and was told to fix my awful shaking/vibrating problem, it was going to cost $1300. I've been seeking second, third, and fourth opinions ever since. Anyway, I didn't think I would be able to get the repairs done before leaving. I've been looking for a mechanic forever to do work on the side who won't rip me off. Well, I just happened to talk about some of the car stuff with Meighan yesterday and, lo and behold, I find out my friend Mat's brother does just this. Finally! Gave him a call and found out I can get what I need done on the cheap. What a day!
I talked to Melissa yesterday and after hearing about the day, she suggested I use that $5 I found to buy a lottery ticket. It certainly seemed the day for it. Well, I did and I didn't win. It's probably for the best though. I already spent all $26 million in my head and it would have been ridiculous. I did hit two numbers though, which seems like a lot to me.
I went out to dinner with some friends and hung out for a while with some after that. I wasn't sure what would be going on for the remainder of the night... plans weren't really coming together. Then I talked to Chris and heard about a small gathering in a hot tub. Now, is this my usual thing? No. But in the spirit of the trip, no turning down invitations. And I had a good time. And pizza. So, therefore, a good end to the night.
Today went well also. Good lunch again with my parents. You can never get too much Fiesta (you BloNoers all know what I mean). I got in touch with Nate, the guy who was going to work on my car and met up with him. $280 later, the problem is fixed.
Original quote: $1329.
Fixing a tie rod and two lower ball joints with your dad: $137.
Getting all new calipers, pads, and rotors done by a friend's brother: $280.
Getting to spend ten hours shooting the shit with your dad, swearing at inanimate objects, getting dirty while learning some new car stuff, discovering that your wheel bearings are going to be okay and don't need replaced, and not giving $912 to some asshole at a shop that is trying to screw you: Priceless.
So, it has been a good couple of days. I still don't believe in luck, although it is tempting. It certainly does seem as though the universe is giving the go ahead for this trip. Everything is falling into place.
What do you think, Magic 8 Ball?
All signs point to yes.
Rock 'n' Roll.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Good News
BLOOMINGTON, IL - A stroke of good fortune this morning. Due to several things coming together unexpectedly, I now have additional funds for my trip. Which means I'm back on track with my initial budget (and means my car can get fixed how I wanted and might not blow up on me now). More importantly, it means I can get health insurance. Sometimes this country really sucks.
A good start to a good day.
A good start to a good day.
The First Step
BLOOMINGTON, IL - I just got back to Bloomington tonight and there's only a few days left until I head out for this trip. Some anxiety is beginning to build but it's exciting to know I'm going to break through it soon.
Already a little bump in my personal road. Worries stand in my way so often and keep me from doing the things I want. Earlier today I really wanted to say something to someone but didn't, for a variety of reasons. Spending so much time in my head can be really inhibiting. Now I'm regretting not saying what I wanted to say. I really don't like being a person living with regrets. Might be a couple months before I am really in a position to make up for this. Damn. Not quite sure what my problem is, but I guess that's a large part of the purpose of this trip... getting to the root of that kind of thing.
Tom and I were talking the other night and the idea of a personal manifesto for this journey came up. An outstanding idea. Now, I've never written a personal manifesto and, while I feel it is long overdue, I'm not quite sure how to go about writing one. We decided on two personal goals.
1) I need to meet someone new every day. I'm actually quite bad at putting myself out there to do this and I really want to break through this. So, now I need to do this every day. There are no excuses for not doing so. And I'm probably going to need to do this just to survive out there (alright, maybe that's a little dramatic). But meeting new people is going to be key for accomplishing all the little goals I have on this trip.
2) I can't turn down invitations to social engagements. After some discussion, we both realized how many things we had missed out on because we would decide for some reason or another to say no to some fun thing we could have taken part in. So, now I can't. Or won't. If I get invited out to do something, no matter what it is (well, I suppose there are a few exceptions), I'm just going to do it rather than get into my head and come up with some sorry excuse for not doing it. And, assuming I'm following goals #1, there should be plenty of opportunities to practice this.
Seeing as how I don't have any experience writing manifestos, does anyone have any suggestions? Any ideas for some guidelines to set for my trip? Let me know.
Already a little bump in my personal road. Worries stand in my way so often and keep me from doing the things I want. Earlier today I really wanted to say something to someone but didn't, for a variety of reasons. Spending so much time in my head can be really inhibiting. Now I'm regretting not saying what I wanted to say. I really don't like being a person living with regrets. Might be a couple months before I am really in a position to make up for this. Damn. Not quite sure what my problem is, but I guess that's a large part of the purpose of this trip... getting to the root of that kind of thing.
Tom and I were talking the other night and the idea of a personal manifesto for this journey came up. An outstanding idea. Now, I've never written a personal manifesto and, while I feel it is long overdue, I'm not quite sure how to go about writing one. We decided on two personal goals.
1) I need to meet someone new every day. I'm actually quite bad at putting myself out there to do this and I really want to break through this. So, now I need to do this every day. There are no excuses for not doing so. And I'm probably going to need to do this just to survive out there (alright, maybe that's a little dramatic). But meeting new people is going to be key for accomplishing all the little goals I have on this trip.
2) I can't turn down invitations to social engagements. After some discussion, we both realized how many things we had missed out on because we would decide for some reason or another to say no to some fun thing we could have taken part in. So, now I can't. Or won't. If I get invited out to do something, no matter what it is (well, I suppose there are a few exceptions), I'm just going to do it rather than get into my head and come up with some sorry excuse for not doing it. And, assuming I'm following goals #1, there should be plenty of opportunities to practice this.
Seeing as how I don't have any experience writing manifestos, does anyone have any suggestions? Any ideas for some guidelines to set for my trip? Let me know.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
