wish it away

A
wow
time flies, shit happens.
the gem show, blizzard hikes, camp trips,
RC racing, jackets are stolen, work drama X googgle, substitue teaching, friend drama, your grandma has cancer, right after reading an old article u stumbled upon regarding cancer,
etc, etc.
tomorrow is feb.
etc, etc.
wow
V

my pictures of the douglass spring trail hike are up, sans any significant commentary.

diamond in the not so rough

i am not going hiking, as planned. instead, i am heading to the gem and mineral show. i have always wanted to check it out, ever since i moved out here. now i have a chance, so i am taking advantage. i sorta feel like a dick, because i cancelled hiking with glenn this AM to do so. i joked that i was only doing this because he has cancelled on me on two of the last three things we were supposed to do.

also, after talking to a buddy yesterday afternoon, i decided to e-mail a former friend, DC. someone i have not heard from in well over two years, at least. well, from him. the buddy i was talking to is now a mutual friend. although we talk way more than the two of them do, and they only live a couple of blocks away. before i moved to AZ, the three of us were damn near inseparable. when i first moved out here, DC was my best friend. my buddy told me DC has recently gotten engaged. i congratulated the two of them in an e-mail. i am sincere, but i also hope this may spark an e-mail where he explains his actions and lies of the past, and we can move past all that b-s that he threw on the tracks. the proverbial 'ball' is now in his court. i went above and beyond, i hope he takes advantage of this oppurtunity. if not ....

Panda Sneezes

Sneezing panda, priceless! even if your computer doesn't have sound, like mine.

ok, it is late again. i just got finished editing and adding to my trot nixon blog AND adding one about the minneso'ter twins, eh?

what's that? hoser, eh? oh yeah. i am going to bed. gotta hike tomorrow. gots to! gottit?

trivia time

name this band:

1. one of their CD's was the first to be played in my jeep

2. I AM GOING TO SEE THEM (FOR THE 4TH TIME) WED, MARCH 21 AT THE TCC!!!!!!!!!!

3. need i say they are my favorite band? :)

just got the tix this AM! i got 2. i am sure i will find someone who wants to go and is willing to spend the $61 for the mid row seats of the upper level. what a great way to start the day, especially saturday. yeah!

ok, i have mucho errands to run and do-do to do today.

oh yeah, it's sorta been awhile since i was on here. i may start my sub teaching career tuesday or wedsnesday. things are that slow at work, and i am now legit after last thursday's seminar.

hopefully, i will get my speaker harness adapters on monday also. crutchfield is aw-ight.

props to these bands. since i have my non secure jeep, i do not bring my CD case with me, i just pick a CD for the day. the listing so far.
SUN - ? hmmmm
MON - NIN - halo 13, left CD
TUE - mushroomhead, theire newest album, it isn't that good :( but now i know.
WED - rammstein - they always rock!!!!!
THU - a perfect circle - emotive
FRI - i brought two (more on that later), marilyn manson and rammstein
SAT - ? but i am leaning towards korn or soundgarden

~peace

as promised...

damn that tsuki, i want to be sleeping, NOW. but he has been out in the cold for awhile. in the mean time, i did promise pics. the snowperson had some major problems with formness. i was shocked to see. must have been sabotage.
the white in the mountains was all gone by noon, except for the very tops, for the most part.

i love my new cd player, but i WANT a wire harness adapter. i searched all over town today after work, and all over the internet tonight. crutchfield has two that have different p/ns', but look identical. i was too tired to call, so i left a VERY detailed e-mail with them. if they cannot help, i will splice the original wires. i don't want to, but a want my new non-blown passenger on the passenger side and more powerful speakers, NOW!

tsuki, the master of segues cat (speaking of now), has just arrived. about damn time! good night.

schh noooo!!!!!!

in tucson. not just in the upper reaches of the mountains. that was deposited after friday's rains.

snow in the valley! almost an inch, at least here at my complex. a mega snowperson was erected in the nearest courtyard to my 'pad'. i will try to take a pic tomorrow AM. it is a formless snowperson. no arms, no eyes, ears, nose, legs, NADA. just the three segmented body.

snow in the valley. i never thought i would see that here. my fifth winter here, and i actually get to see, drive in, and play in the snow. last i saw, the snow advisory is in effect till 5:00 PM, monday afternoon! funny thing, i heard on the radio that this week was supposed to have highs in the mid to high 70's. i heard about a weekend storms, but this??? it is so sweet. saguaros, barrel cactus, palm trees, everything is covered with snow! holy crap.

so, where was i today when this happened? in the rincon mountains of course. hiking up the douglass spring trail to douglass camp 6.0 miles from the trailhead parking lot. i felt a few sprinkles at only about 2 miles in. about 1/2 mile later, i saw the first flakes afallin. it looked like it was going to increase, but as i headed on, it failed to follow me. i get to the camp, not one more flake. about 1.0 mile back the clouds were descending. about another 1/2 mile later, it was on! there was a period where i was walking amongst the clouds. big, heavy flakes flying in my face. luckily, like a good boy scout i once was, i was prepared. i did NOT have a poncho, so i did get wet, but i was so layered, it did not matter. i had my bandanna pulled over my face cowboy-style. i had my stocking cap on and my cavs hoodie pulled tight against my face kenny-style. the whole way back (approximately 4-1/2 miles) i trodded on. it was somewhat freaky. i could not see much, and the limited visibility made things look very unfamiliar. it wasn't until i saw the sign posted at 2-1/2 miles from the parking lot that i was assured i was on the right path. i will post a few snowy pics here. the rest will be posted in my hiking blog tomorrow or sometime later in the week. ok, apparantly, if u want to download pics, u have to do it before writing text. so everyone will have to wait, as it is almost 12:30. till later... :)

the year that is .. so far

ok, i gotta start out with omissions. omissions to my '06 list. most notable is RC truck racing. i did it twice last year, there was a five friday break, then there was last night. i predict many more fri nights in '07. last night was ok racing-wise. i crashed and burned in my final race of the crappy, (aka B bracket) novice round, but still finished fourth. suspension arm A frame busted, race over. but still good for $3 hobby bucks. always hate to take a month and a half break when just starting something new.

anywho, the other notable omissions involved failing to mention my picacho peak hike, two trips to mt lemmon, and the coolest shooting star i had ever seen (while on the U of A campus). the only birth was christian, the son of my college friends john and trudi. my cuz's wife amy found out she is pregnant with their second child, as did the wife of my buddy frank.

ok, i would write some more here, but the signing of trot nixon takes precendence, in conjunction with hitting the sack 'early' so i can be up early to go on my first hike of '07.

oh yeah, as for '07, i have a razor phone as well as a cd player and new speakers for my jeep. my new inno can be played thru my new radio. i can put away my cassete tapes, again. despite being the 'late era dinosaur' of the audio age, soon to join the ranks of the record and 8 track and whatever was used before that, they got me by for over three years, dust be damned and all. goodbye again, i am sure i will be pulling u out again sometime in the distant future.
anywho, go me! ok, now on to friends of a feather and trot....

the year that was

it is almost 3:00AM. i just got done watching old star trek episodes and discovery channel programs about the planets and moons of our solar system while sewing patches on my hiking backpack. yup, do sat nights get any better than that?


so, how about that 2006?
it was a pretty good year overall. i thought it was going to be the year i went back to OH. but there were 'distractions', and mostly, my indecisiveness.

i looked into going into architecture. but starting a new field at almost 40 didn't really appeal to me. i did get the ball rolling on becoming a substitute teacher.

it was a year of golden leaves and large mutant pine cones.

it was the year i became an 'extreme' hiker. my initiation was my first trip to the window back on feb 19. i ended up going there two more times this year. the first time was possible because i only only had one beer the night of my birthday, a first. this hike led to hikes to the saddle on pima canyon trail on a snowy march sunday, to the top of pusch ridge, to the mt lemmon trail intersection from the romero canyon trail, as far as one can go toward finger rock, and to the top of mt wrightstown. and there was my first hiking / camping trip, which was the only camping excursion of the year.

i went to a record number of concerts for one year. les claypool, disturbed, tool at cricket pavilion (my first time there), the dark star orchestra, robert randolf in scottsdale, ziggy marley, the deftones, kfma day, and another band that played at plush whose name i cannot remember, despite the fact that i took the song set list after the concert was over.

i only went to four baseball games, but two were games part of the brand spanking new world baseball classic. there was my first U of A baseball game in late feb. the other was a spring training game at hi corbett. for the first time since i moved out here, i did not attend a d'backs game. that's ok, watching and listening to tribe games on TV and thru XM radio were more than good enough. the indians had a majorly disappointing year, the browns just sucked worse than usual. i do like XM, another first for 2006. the only other sporting event i attended was going to a cavs basketball game at the Q in cleveland, a present from my friend's parents.

my mom visited here twice (which led to obtaining my first piece of pottery barn furniture), my dad once. as for my trips, i stayed through new years in OH for the first time since i moved out here. a beginning of a tradition, hopefully. there was OH for aunt jean's funeral in june, and the mega family reunion at sunset beach in july.

i saw my first bobcat. i was attacked by a 'wild' stray cat in the parking lot of my apartment complex. there was puffy the puffer fish. and america was alerted to the danger that is manbearpig.

the only movie i saw at a theater was superman returns at the drive in. i was introduced to mitch albom books. there were weekend night walks to starbucks.

work was ok. my work truck had many problems. people came, people left, and one rejoined. i had many large projects, and most went well. we were really busy work order-wise all through the year. and there was a nice raise in the summer to boot.

there were many lessons learned. there was a planet that was downgraded to a 'minor planet'.

it was the year i became a godparent, to my friend's daughter, maddy. just sucks i couldn't have been there.

it was the year i first tried boxer briefs, and the year i was introduced to blogger.com.

ok, i am saving this, in case i think of anything i missed.

it is now sunday. i did make some additions. now i have errands to run. here is to 2007 being as good, if not better, than 2006.

oh yeah

i almost forgot.

I HAVE SHORT HAIR NOW. sorta a james hetfield of metalilca type look. thanks, kristen. err, i mean i am still sorta pissed, but not really. it almost feels like being pissed off even though you have no reason to be, which is not at all, but it is still there. ??

fat cat in a little box

the fat cat would be gracie. my parent's cat, who resides with hera & isis, my cats who just happen to live in OH.

an OH recap will have to come later.

a 2006 recap will have to come later.

i did go camping as planned this weekend. to mt lemmon. in the snow. IT WAS AWESOME! i will try to post that later.

right now i am semi watching the buckeyes vs florida game. i need to go to bed early tonight. my sleep schedule is so messed up right now. my earliest bedtime in OH was 01:30. i saw 04:00 quite often, which when u think about it, is only 02:00 AZ time.

i was so hyper after leaving work tonight. it hit me while i was loading up my jeep. it was weird, but good.

i have a new plan to keep my new years resolution. more on that later.

bafby, u still out there? do u know i have my e-mail address listed under my profile?

go buckeyes!

ooh la la

work has seemingly just got alot better, thanks to a 'star'.

my 'exciting' fri night. install / set up my best x-mas present: a pioneer inno. it was listed in popular science's 100 best innovations of the year in the electronics category. it is an xm receiver AND an mp3 / i-pod like device. it is sch-weet! doing so also necessitated a semi major cleaning project. so there was that, an hour of south park, and typing up a long indians blog posting. go me.

it is late, and i am supposed to go camping tomorrow, so i am out, as it is almost 2:00 AM.

welcome

to 2007! odd, enter does not work. damn you, OH! ok, this is like de ja vu. it is 00:30, i have to be on the ro-ad to cleve-land at 04:00. hope this time isn't like the sat coming out here, flight-wise. HaPpY NEW YeAr!!!!!!!!!!!!