Saturday, April 23, 2005

ugh...

my back has been killing me. although the pain hasn't been debilitating enough to keep me from sleeping, it sure sucks to try to get out of bed every morning. guess it's high time to see the chiropractor for an adjustment...

aside from the spinal aggravation, it has been a good week. lois' b-day was on monday and she totally cleaned up ;) we had dinner at the new asian latin fusion restaurant, Zengo, which is located in the riverfront area of downtown. man, that area is really coming along. what was once just railroad tracks, is becoming the new star in downtown development. maybe we'll start hanging out there some this summer; a walk at sundown would be stunning, i think.

Friday, April 15, 2005

double yay!

finally did my taxes... it looks like my refund will be about enough for a trip to see our friend, Yani, in Cancún for a week in August. aside from the heat and humidity, it'll be a good time. it has been much too long since we've been back to Mexico (Spring 2003). lois and i were longing for our favorite cafes in Mexico City (El Reloj and El Popular), the best tacos in the country (Rincón Brujo in Villahermosa), and our dessert/coffee hangout in Mérida (Cafetería Impala). we must get away...pure and simple! it's just too bad that Cancún is so far away from the first two cities - 24 hours and 12 hours by bus, respectively. ah well, mebbe we'll be able to sneak in a flan napolitano and a couple coffees in Mérida...only about 4-5 hours west of Cancún. and yeah, it's totally worth it.

Thursday, April 14, 2005

yay!

just got three months worth of Men's Journal in the mail recently. a couple years ago, i let the subscription lapse, when i should have continued it and quit Volleyball Magazine instead. besides, it's cheaper anyway ;)

over the past couple of years, i've reached a point in my life where some simplification has become more desirable. and magazine subscriptions were just starting to take up more and more space. really, goodwill et al. could (and has) benefitted from donations of:

Volleyball Mag (15 years worth)
Consumer Reports (10 years)
Popular Photography (6)
Archaeology (5)
National Geo. (8)
Entertainment Weekly (6)
Reader's Digest (ugh...two years of the worst drivel)
Budget Travel (8)
Men's Journal (4)

so i guess i've decided to stick to the last two magazines for now...

Friday, April 08, 2005

more movies...

just looked at the cheapies and there's nothing that we wanna see. so, maybe we'll make a night of it and catch a first run instead. mebbe 'The Upside of Anger' or 'Millions'. i dunno. it'll just be good if we catch the movie tonight or tomorrow. if that winter storm does come in, i know we won't want to go out at all...

cindi invited me last minute yesterday to a sneak of the new DrewBarrymore and Jimmy Fallon movie, 'Fever Pitch.' although i had to turn it down, we'll keep it in mind. we've always liked miss barrymore; she was so good in 'Ever After.'

well, i guess i'd better get dinner started. we went to Sunflower Market and loaded up on the veggies on wednesday night, after a week of going out. sometimes ya gotta be good and cook for once, eh? besides, how many times have we all let great veggies DIE in our fridges?

so what's on the menu? some beef ribs...cauliflower...orange bell peppers...guatemalan canteloupe (hey, it was 25 cents! not extremely sweet, but really orange ;)...some leftover brown rice...and some organic strawberries. what else? we'll see...

Wednesday, April 06, 2005

movies?

just got Hit The Deck, an old 50's musical in the mail. won it on eeBay. unfortunately, it's a VHS copy, since it probably will never be released on DVD. ah well.

lately, we've been renting DVDs from mcdonald's of all places. it's not a bad deal for $1 a night. however, they get you on when you return it. once you rent it, you're given until 10PM the next day to return the rental. it actually states by 10PM (or when store closes)... well, the mickey d's by me closes at 11:00. if you return it after 10PM, but before they close, you'll get popped for another $1...cheeky monkeys.

anyway, last week, we got the Jude Law's LAME remake of (Michael Caine's classic) 'Alfie' and 'Napolean Dynamite', which was hilarious. i may just have to get a copy...

speaking of movies, Cindi...just wondering if you've had time to watch one of the vids i lent ya. i don't need 'em back (even this year)...i was just curious and wanting to know if you liked the selections :)

LPs...

are sometimes the way to go for that pure listening experience.

yep. i've spent the last three hours or so listening to some old albums, waxing (no pun intended) nostalgia.

so far, i've put on Earth Wind & Fire's 'I Am'...Carole King's Greatest Hits...Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass' Whipped Cream and Other Delights...Joe Walsh's "You Can't Argue With A Sick Mind"...and right now, a Jimi Hendrix compilation called "Kiss the Sky" is on the turntable.

sure, some of the albums had some clicks and pops, but digital sound is too clean and can't capture the warmth of vinyl.

'nuff said.

oh joy...

about a week and a half ago, lois and i both got sore throats the morning after we went out to eat. yeah, the server or one of the cooks must've been sick...great. well, i toiled with a bit of coughing and a snotty nose. and lois? ummm...

she got worse.

in fact, her hacking was so bad that i convinced her to let me take her to the hospital. the last time i sounded that bad was when i had a bout with bronchitis in 1988; the only time i had it. and lois' cough and labored breathing was even worse than mine ever was.

and guess what...it's pneumonia. luckily, the antibiotic that they have her on, attaches itself to the white blood cells and goes straight to the spot of the pulmonary clog. most patients notice a marked difference after a day or two of its use. and, of course, you shouldn't leave the pharmacy without a prescription expectorant like guaifenesin with codeine...oooh.

so...she's back at work today and probably threatening to cough up a loogie on anyone who fucks with her...she's so cute.

chicago...

philly...or baltimore.

my favorite group, SwingOutSister, is doing a short U.S. tour in support of their new cd, Where Our Love Grows, which was actually released last spring in Japan and in October for the USA. the tour is scheduled to pass through eight cities in June. of course, Denver, isn't on the list.

sigh.

so lois and i are once again going on the road to see them. back in 1997, we took a trip to San Francisco just to catch them at a club called...get this...Bimbo's 365. that tour had even a shorter list of cities - San Fran, Los Angeles, and NYC. still, it was well worth the plane fare and the hotel stay. there's something about their music that makes you want to play it over and over. my sisters, lois, and i all agree that a swingoutsister cd is perfect driving music...even through rush hour traffic ;)

as for the above three cities, we're just looking for cheap fares (i.e., something under $200) and i've been to all of 'em for between $140-$180. we just need more confirmed dates.

that's all i want for my birthday (june 15th), a trip to see swingoutsister again...

btw...

MargaretCho's show at the Buell last thursday was great. it had been nearly five years (and three tours) since Lois and I had last seen her, so it was good to let out some laughs. the best thing about Margaret's stand up act is that she keeps up with the times and presents her material in a fresh, but still thought provoking, manner.

maybe that's too much to ask of all comedians. too cerebral may be a bad thing. goofy is good too.

eh, whatever.

need...new...

sandals.

just split the top of my front left nail on my big toe. frigginfrazzleugh. the cheapo sandals that i wear in the house are a little loose due to the low quality material; slightly split and stretched along the top...about par for wallymart soccer slide type sandals that go for $2.87.

ah well.

anyway, i skip stairs usually whenever i ascend - a bit dangerous and not advised when descending - a staircase. so, naturally, i was climbing the stairs and had just neared the top when i caught my left foot against the edge of a stair...and continued to fling the basement door open and fall on the landing...a thing of beauty...almost as amusing as the expletives that were filling the air.

humph.