Last night Corrine and I went to see Flogging Molly at the Fillmore Auditorium. Even though neither of us are big fans of the Fillmore, we're both big enough fans of Flogging Molly to ignore the fact that a Guiness costs $8 there.
We walked in just in time to see the last two songs from the first opening band: The Reverend Horton's Big Damn Band. They rocked! Never in my life did I think I'd see someone rocking-the-hell-out on a washboard.
The other opening act was The Aggrolites. I was all excited to see a ska band live. It's been a while for me. But, unfortunately, they were the soft-raggae chill-out-and-smoke-up kind of ska. I would've rather seen more of the Big Damn Band or listen to the house music.
Flogging Molly was great, of course! I was so happy to see them live that I jumped in the mosh pit like it was 10 years ago. I don't remember being this sore 10 years ago though.
Update: So I'm starting to get a little worried about the soreness. There's a rib on the left side that won't stop hurting. Might have to get that checked out. Damn.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
President-Elect Barack Obama
I truly believe that with this choice that hope and optimism overcame fear and hatred. I feel hopeful. I feel optimistic. And it feels....weird. Being 28 years old, I haven't had much to feel proud of as an American.
- In the 80's when I was a kid greed and selfishness was in. I was a kid though, so I didn't care.
- In the 90's when I was a teenager apathy was cool. I was a teenager. I was cool, so I didn't care.
- In 1998, I joined the Marines and started my journey into adulthood. I thought to myself, "Maybe I should care."
- In 2001, we were attacked. America united as strong as ever. We started to fight back. I was proud. I cared.
- By 2005 America was as split as possible without things getting violent. I was ashamed of our president and of our standing in the world. It hurt to do so, but dammit I cared.
- Now it's 2008. Barack Obama is our president-elect. I'm proud of what's possible and it feels good to care.
When I hear Obama speak I feel.....moved.
When I think of him being our president I feel.... proud.
These are strange feelings for me. For most of my adult life we've had a president that spoke of "nukular" weapons, the "internets" and a "crusade" against terrorism fueled by religious zealotry. It will be a difficult adjustment for me. The apathetic part of me that's left over from the 90's tells me I'm gullible for feeling moved. It cautions me to be guarded towards optimism. I can't help it though: Right now, I feel proud to be an American.
If I could say one thing to Obama right now it would be this...
You have inspired more hope and optimism than you know in a generation of Americans that, until now, have only felt apathy, shame and pessimism. Don't let us down.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
One helluva weekend
Today is the end of a long and adventurous weekend. I had taken a couple extra days off to relax and unwind. While not entirely relaxing, the fun was great and the bad parts weren't all too bad...
Thursday -
Roberta, Corrine and I went to see John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, performed at Denver University's Newman Center. It was theater in the round and was a great performance. I had never read the book, so this was my first exposure to the story.
Here is my summary of "The Grapes of Wrath": A family loses their farm and everything they have in the depression, then things get worse...and worse...and worse...the end.
Friday -
HALLOWEEN! We took Ashlynn trick or treating with Travis and Tori and her friends. I finally got a replacement for my phone with the broken screen. Thanks Sam! This new phone rocks. It's much easier to take pictures with. Ashlynn was happy to be a mean witch while being a good girl. She used her wand to turn me into a wolf, then a nice wolf, then back to Dad. Travis then used the wand to turn me into a TV, then back to Uncle. After filling up her bag of candy in record time, Ashlynn had just as much fun handing out candy at Anthony's house and at home. Laffy Taffy has some really bad jokes.
Saturday-
Dave and Laura's going away bash! And what a bash it was!! Johnny Hickman from Cracker, Jim Dalton from The Railbenders and Roger Clyne from Roger Clyne and The Peacemakers played a fun-filled show at the Oriental Theater in honor of the leaving Leavy's. It felt like one of the shows of yore where you had room to move and everyone knew each other. Roger played Green'n'Dumb, we all put are arms around each other making a big, swaying circle, and Laura and Dave danced together in the middle. It was a great thing to be a part of! Even though I don't see them much, I'm gonna miss Laura and Dave when they move to Iowa.
Side note: I thought I had more gas in my car than I did, so when Corrine and I went to leave the theater, my car wouldn't start. I had no gas at all. I called Dan and he offered to drive home, get a gas can and bring me some gas. With the comfort of knowing my good friend was bringing me gas I fell asleep in the driver's seat much to the chagrin of my fiance. About an hour later, Corrine yelled at me to answer my phone; it was Dan. His Jeep was t-boned at 44th and Sheridan and it was out of commission. He wouldn't be able to bring us gas. I went on a walk to try to see if there was a gas station nearby. Corrine, being smarter than I, had noticed that a fire engine was returning to its station nearby after a call and went to see if they could help. The great guys at Denver Fire Department Station 17 were well..great! At 3am, after unsuccessfully trying to siphon gas from their lawnmower and personal vehicles they gave us a ride to the gas station in their brand new engine. Thank you Station 17!! Dan was uninjured and the other driver was found to be at fault in the accident so he's in pretty good shape. The jeep may be totaled, so for a while he'll be borrowing my car when he needs it. It's the least I can do since he got in the accident by trying to help me out.
Sunday-
I have one cool soon-to-be mother-in-law. At a vendor breakfast Friday morning she won two tickets to the Avalanche game on Sunday. Knowing Corrine and I are big Avalanche fans, she automatically gave them to us. The Avs lost 5-2 to the San Jose Sharks, but Corrine, Avalanche Puppy (made for me by Ashlynn at Build-A-Bear) and I still had a great time. We also learned to pay more attention to which train we get on when we leave the Pepsi Center. We almost got to the University stop before we realized we were on the wrong train!
Monday-
Corrine and I got into an argument. Then we made up. That's one of the big reasons I'm looking forward to marrying her. We went to a tux shop and we might have found a tux jacket we both like for me for the wedding. Afterwards, we visited Gwen and played in the leaves in her front yard. Sometimes simple fun is the best!
Thanks to everyone for such a great weekend!
Thursday -
Roberta, Corrine and I went to see John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, performed at Denver University's Newman Center. It was theater in the round and was a great performance. I had never read the book, so this was my first exposure to the story.
Here is my summary of "The Grapes of Wrath": A family loses their farm and everything they have in the depression, then things get worse...and worse...and worse...the end.
Friday -
HALLOWEEN! We took Ashlynn trick or treating with Travis and Tori and her friends. I finally got a replacement for my phone with the broken screen. Thanks Sam! This new phone rocks. It's much easier to take pictures with. Ashlynn was happy to be a mean witch while being a good girl. She used her wand to turn me into a wolf, then a nice wolf, then back to Dad. Travis then used the wand to turn me into a TV, then back to Uncle. After filling up her bag of candy in record time, Ashlynn had just as much fun handing out candy at Anthony's house and at home. Laffy Taffy has some really bad jokes.
Saturday-
Dave and Laura's going away bash! And what a bash it was!! Johnny Hickman from Cracker, Jim Dalton from The Railbenders and Roger Clyne from Roger Clyne and The Peacemakers played a fun-filled show at the Oriental Theater in honor of the leaving Leavy's. It felt like one of the shows of yore where you had room to move and everyone knew each other. Roger played Green'n'Dumb, we all put are arms around each other making a big, swaying circle, and Laura and Dave danced together in the middle. It was a great thing to be a part of! Even though I don't see them much, I'm gonna miss Laura and Dave when they move to Iowa.
Side note: I thought I had more gas in my car than I did, so when Corrine and I went to leave the theater, my car wouldn't start. I had no gas at all. I called Dan and he offered to drive home, get a gas can and bring me some gas. With the comfort of knowing my good friend was bringing me gas I fell asleep in the driver's seat much to the chagrin of my fiance. About an hour later, Corrine yelled at me to answer my phone; it was Dan. His Jeep was t-boned at 44th and Sheridan and it was out of commission. He wouldn't be able to bring us gas. I went on a walk to try to see if there was a gas station nearby. Corrine, being smarter than I, had noticed that a fire engine was returning to its station nearby after a call and went to see if they could help. The great guys at Denver Fire Department Station 17 were well..great! At 3am, after unsuccessfully trying to siphon gas from their lawnmower and personal vehicles they gave us a ride to the gas station in their brand new engine. Thank you Station 17!! Dan was uninjured and the other driver was found to be at fault in the accident so he's in pretty good shape. The jeep may be totaled, so for a while he'll be borrowing my car when he needs it. It's the least I can do since he got in the accident by trying to help me out.
Sunday-
I have one cool soon-to-be mother-in-law. At a vendor breakfast Friday morning she won two tickets to the Avalanche game on Sunday. Knowing Corrine and I are big Avalanche fans, she automatically gave them to us. The Avs lost 5-2 to the San Jose Sharks, but Corrine, Avalanche Puppy (made for me by Ashlynn at Build-A-Bear) and I still had a great time. We also learned to pay more attention to which train we get on when we leave the Pepsi Center. We almost got to the University stop before we realized we were on the wrong train!
Monday-
Corrine and I got into an argument. Then we made up. That's one of the big reasons I'm looking forward to marrying her. We went to a tux shop and we might have found a tux jacket we both like for me for the wedding. Afterwards, we visited Gwen and played in the leaves in her front yard. Sometimes simple fun is the best!
Thanks to everyone for such a great weekend!
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