Friday, March 31, 2006

here it is...

this is the story i submitted to budget travel for this month's free trip (to Tahiti!) contest. although it's a bit condensed, you still get the gist of it. trust me, it was hard to keep it under 250 words ;) i think it clocks in at 236...

In September 2001, during a trip down the Yacuma River in the Bolivian pampas, we encountered some real adventure. What should have been an ordinary day of viewing wildlife, turned into an exotic animal rescue. We were walking along a nearly dry creek bed when we noticed a hump in the distance. It was a Cebu cow that had become stuck neck high in the mud. One of our guides, Adalid, turned to us and said, “Qué la salvemos,” or “Let’s save her.




As we set out to gather sturdy vines, our Israeli friend, Yagi, quipped, “In the kibbutz, we usually use tractors to get our cows out of the mud.” We all laughed and agreed that we were going to be the tractor.






Moments later, with our makeshift ropes secure, the seven of us pulled vines, tugged the poor cow’s ears and head, and scooped mud.








One vine eventually splintered, catapulting some of us into the muck.





The cow, completely confused by these crazy people yanking on her, started to protest. We wouldn’t hear of it though. And after another ten minutes of frantic tugging and scooping, we were finally able to dislodge her. Exhausted, the Cebu laid there for a couple minutes and contemplated her next move, before rising and (consequently) charging us! Satisfied, she then darted into the woods to nourish her emaciated body. So much for our ‘good deed’ of the day!

Sunday, March 26, 2006

they went...


i forgot to mention that friday night, my mother and sister attended a taping of it. i had no idea that pat and vanna film a whole season of shows in 39 days. must be hectic...but nice to get it all done in a couple months.

it's funny. my mother had mentioned to me a month ago that she wanted to get some tix to the taping...and that it was my job to get it. "It would make me so happy," she said. sure sounded like an obligation (or threat) to me. i didn't mind that it was an obligation. the only threat though, was that i might have to attend the taping with her. THAT was giving me the creeps. it's one thing to watch game shows, but another to actually be in the audience of one. i just don't find that very appealing.

at first, i found out that all the allotted tix that channel 7 had were totally gone and that we had to send a S.A.S.E. to california for a 'random' drawing. if there were a total of 20,000 tickets available, i shudder to think that the demand would be greater than that ;) surprisingly, four tix came in the mail a week ago and it was a go. and luckily, my sister took my mom and gave the other pair (of tix) to a co-worker. therefore, my primary job friday night was to hang out with dad and slowly veg in front of the tube w/ movies like 'Cadillac Man' and 'The Pledge'.

my new toy...


we were out today after lois' chiropractor appt. and i decided to get this for my car. i'm not sure if i blogged about it, but last september, a day before we got back from mexico, some asshat broke into my car and sister's. got away w/ our stereos. i was lucky...even though mine was worth more, they didn't bash in my dash (one good thing about not having an alarm) like hers.

initially, lois had gotten me a BestBUY gift card for another stereo for our anniversary (in november). so we headed there first...

after almost a half hour of looking and button pushing, i had narrowed it down to three models. still, i wasn't completely satisfied and headed over to ultimate (aka, soundtrack), where i had purchased the swiped one.



had a much better salesperson...but similar results. they were in the middle of upgrading their display and had nothing wired to speakers. um...big problem. it'd be nice to hear the dang unit. YA THINK?!?

ended up going to QualityAutoSound, which used to be a Denny's that i had frequented for at least 25 years. too weird to walk in and see all the car audio stuff. anyway, we headed over to this place while we waited for the install. not the cheapest place, but really good food and a super cool owner.

an adjustment...a new stereo...a couple italian beers and sublime stuffed mushrooms.

that's what weekend's (heh) should be

Thursday, March 23, 2006

you know...

i just realized that BruceLee is a serial killer in his second movie. sure, he kills dozens of people in four of his five movies (even though the toll is only three in Return of the Dragon), but he returns to the scene of the crime numerous times in this one. isn't that the sign of a serial killer? btw, this is his only movie that he sacrifices himself as well; he survives in the others. his character in Chinese Connection is a quintessential hero with a tragic flaw - he can't stop killing the Japanese thugs and their accomplices who poisoned his master ;) very Shakespearean in a kung fu sorta way.

because he's a bad ass...

been watching his movies. such an icon... it's totally weird to wax nostalgia in his pics and realize that i've already outlived him. so tragic to have your life snuffed out of you when you're 33 and just starting to make it big.

recently, i found a boxed set of Bruce Lee movies for a pittance on eBay. my father gets in a hie-ya mood sometimes and wants to watch martial arts movies. it's just a good time to sit with him and hear him laugh. if i ever make it to 87 years-old, i want to be as cute as my dad. he's so cool...

sore eyeballs...

Download Version

i've been playing this game lately and it has me completely hooked! it's very much like Boggle on CD-ROM. think of a tetris-like word game. you make words and more letters come down. sometimes, there are bonus letters that glow green or yellow. other times, red letters rain down. if you let them reach the bottom, the poor bookworm gets torched and you're finished. also, for the scrabble fan, there are bonus words that you can try to build. the first one starts at 1000 points and grows to 50,000, where it plateaus. still, for those who relish in scoring big points, that's the way to fulfill (my) greedy tendencies.

it's a time waster, but at least your mind is in constant motion. there is only so much surfing a person can do...

anyway, with a little patience and nerves of steel, you can rack up some serious scores. at first, most games were lasting me about an hour. however, this last one probably took 3.5 hours. i was really level headed...i didn't panic and waited for the opportune time to get the bonus words when they materialized.

after staring at the screen for 210 minutes, i was rewarded with a score of 1,172,120 and a twitchy left eye. i wonder how long it'll take me to fall asleep. i bet i'll dream of glowing letters...falling out of the sky ;)

damn word game...

Sunday, March 19, 2006

elvis...

has just left the building. not really. another star in our lives though, went home about three hours ago. my super cute nephew, christian. you remember him...brilliant, always on the go, inquisitive, well behaved, a joy to be around. yeah, him...



well, he just turned ten months today. and he's JUST about ready to walk. it's surreal how fast he can crawl.

christian had such a busy day w/ us. lois read to him in spanish (maybe he'll be the only truly trilingual person in the family), played piano with him, and fed him peaches. i only lifted him a few dozen times, jumping (more like bounding) high into the stratosphere ;) talk about a workout! he's 23 pounds of solid muscle. hah! no need for the gym. mebbe i'll cancel my membership and go to my sister's instead ;)

while we were feeding him, i was trying to amuse him by toying with a heavy duty cardboard 'coaster.' basically, it's Pooh w/ the letter 'V' on one side and some 'v' words on the other side. probably 3" x 3". looks like this...

yeah. well, i was spinning it around on the table while lois was saying in a screechy voice, "SPIN!!!" it really got the giggles going in him, so much that we were sure he was peeing his britches. he was alternating bites of food, sucking on a individually foil wrapped (celestialseasonings) tea bag, and watching the show.

in keeping with the rhythm of things, i decided to up the ante and started to flick the coaster into the air. you know, spinning it like jugglers throw rings... oh man, he was squealing big time! i was getting so much velocity on the spin that it went over their heads a couple times, causing me to reach over and snatch it out of the air. and once, i even flicked it so hard that it went behind me towards the wall...and i misjudged it.

yep. i didn't reach back far enough and it slipped through my fingers and a (rounded) corner of it caught me square in the forehead. BONK! it took a little skin off and scraped a wee bit of blood.

as if i wasn't dumb enough before...i just love it when i try to knock down my IQ another 50 points!

christian is just lucky that he's got an uncle who's willing to risk cranial deformation for the sake of his sheer entertainment. god, he is SO worth it!

pics...


of some old gals. coco, who passed away in july 2004, is on the left and annie, who is still going strong at 13 years, is on the right. we miss cokie, she was the naughtiest yorkie but had the most character of any dog i have ever known. it was always her way or the highway... and she always reminded you who was boss by rolling her whole body on yer feet in the morning. or maybe it was thanks...like when she kissed your foot when you let her in the back door.

annie is one of the goofiest dogs. she was tormented by cokie on a daily basis. so much that she became a nervous wreck when it came to needing attention. it's funny because she only needs attention when you're trying to pay bills or talking on the phone. otherwise, she LETS you know when you can pet her or rub her belly. talk about selective love...

awesome dogs though. good with everyone and all visiting dogs. one of a kind rascals....

Friday, March 17, 2006

i so need to take a bath...

not a shower. a real bath. ya just gotta have 'em a few times a year...to cleanse the mind and soul. besides, the weather's looking gloomy outside. what a better time than to relax this grey day away...

update on eye...

went to the corneal specialist last week. he said everything looks good. there is no crazy swelling activity in the affected eye. it seems to be all quiet in there. i still have to continue the lotemax drops every other day for the next six months until my next appt. in september.

nothing groundbreaking. in fact, very similar to the last two appts. i had. one thing, though, i did learn that the two muscles that dilate the pupil (when it's dark) and tighten it (when it's light), don't function correctly. when he dilated both eyes, the right one took immediately. it was bigger than a pencil eraser. however, the left only got halfway there. and even after administering another drop and waiting ten minutes, it didn't reach the dilation size of the right pupil.

so mebbe my acupuncturist and chiropractor can work with that diagnosis. i just have to be patient and cross my fingers.

if anything, the floater seems to be dissapating and the glare is almost minimal. as for the filmy haze, i can't tell if it's improving much. both the tech and doctor seem to believe that the slight dilation and haze will never go away. nevertheless, i can't give in and believe that. the retinal doc said that all would go away after time. i seem to go with that prognosis since he's been practicing almost as long as the corneal doc has been alive.

it's just a matter of time...

and another niece...

this is the florida niece's younger sister...who lives in denver. she's gonna be 15 next month...and an aunt in a few months. i know she's excited.

post #445...


that is what you're reading.

here's a photo of my niece, probably when she went to Ecuador last year...

oh yeah...

i forgot to mention that my niece in Florida is going to have a little boy in july. i'm going to have a great nephew...sniff

may just have to get to fort lauderdale this summer ;) as long as there's no hurricane...

omg...

i just started putting google ads in my blog and today, i spotted an ad for 'wu long tea: the chinese solution for dieting.' wha??? click on the link (if it's still there after this post) and you'll see ALL its advantageous uses when it comes to dieting. and look! it's ONLY $37 for a thirty day supply...golly gee.

um. i can get you a box of oolong tea at the asian store for a couple dollars...but don't tell those at wulongforlife.com

puh-leeze

mmm...

early leftovers! for st. patty's day eve, i made corned beef & cabbage (of course). there should be enough for tomorrow night. that is, if i don't totally gorge on it while lois is asleep. heh

watched a couple more movies from netflixx. tonight, we watched the rest of Thunderbolt, which is a jackie chan movie from 1995. it's about an ex-gran prix racecar driver who is hellbent on revenge when a villainous driver kidnaps his two kid sisters...in retaliation for getting arrested by the HK cops (w/ the help of chan's character). yeah, confusing. i had seen it ten years ago on vhs...fell asleep...didn't remember most of the movie. i just think it should've been called 'revenge of two drivers in a sport that no one watches.' that would've caught my attention and prevented me from ever renting it.

i like jackie chan...been a big fan of his since the late 70's, when he made his breakthrough HK kung fu movies, like Snake In The Eagle's Shadow and Drunken Master. i've probably seen about 40 of his movies and i can tell you that this was in the bottom ten. either it was extremely edited or he rushed through it for a crapload of money. the storyline and acting are atrocious. granted, the stunts and fighting are amazing, but that's usually the norm for him. ah well. even jackie chan's worst movies are 100x better than steven seagal's best piece of crap...

after dinner, we settled back in and put Hotel Rwanda on. wow. not as creepy and sinister as The Killing Fields, but still very powerful Don Cheadle was excellent! not bad for a guy that went to East High here in Denver. he was very worthy of the best actor nomination. even better than Joaquin Phoenix in Walk The Line. btw, Phoenix has a small role in this flick as well...

well, i just looked at our queue on netflixx and we have 130 more movies to watch. next up, The Wilby Conspiracy (a 70's thriller starring Michael Caine and Sidney Poitier) and Proof (Gwyneth Paltrow's latest). hopefully, we'll get these in a few days. what sux about netflixx is that even if you check your queue a couple days after you return your movies (in great anticipation of the forthcoming titles), you can't report a problem until at least six days after you've returned them. i know that they probably have a shitload of movies to process through different mailing centers, but when you compound that with the fact that they don't ship on weekends, makes me think that it's a stall tactic to limit the number of rentals. remember that guy in michigan? he was watching his three movies so quickly that his turnaround for a month was 18 movies; netflixx was making NO money on that guy...

c'mon, we don't want to watch 18 movies a month, but ten might be nice...hell, eight would be okay too. just get 'em here...dammit!

Thursday, March 16, 2006

so stuck...


ever since the Mamma Mia show last night (which was awesome...thanks cindi!) i've had assorted ABBA songs dancing in my head. not necessarily a bad thing BUT wearisome after a day or so ;)

really though, the show was campy as hell, outfitted crazily, and executed almost flawlessly (both in song and dance). the ONLY thing that was a bit annoying - cindi will agree - was the position of our seats in regards to the speakers (i.e., right in front). they played the music so loud at the beginning and second act that some of us were covering our ears or stuffing them w/ tissue (like lois 7 me). i swear, cindi and i were jolted out of seats (mid-sentence) at the end of intermission...i know some people shit their pants it was so abrupt!

i saw that SweetCharity will be in town...w/ Molly Ringwald...gasp! it's hard to believe that Sixteen Candles was made more than twenty years ago. guess we're all getting old. after all,

Anthony Michael Hall will be 38 next month...

mebbe we can get tix to that! i've seen the movie...never on stage though. i think it opens next season, in december...

Saturday, March 11, 2006

just back...the final chapter

sounds like some horrific blog post, eh?

THE CREATURE FROM THE BLOG LAGOON

actually, i think brooke shields and chris whatshisname starred in that about 25 years ago...

really, we did have a long day.

we had free tix to the ballet at Ellie Caulkins for the 7:30 Cinderella show.

had 5:30 reservations at Rialto Cafe

cool decor but weird place.

you are named after a theatre district in Rome and yet you offer skillet corn bread to every table. and what is up with the over-ambitious busy (and mediocre) food? who the hell puts raspberries, strawberries, golden raisins, figs, and dried papaya (?) in a waldorf salad?

you may as well call it ambrosia free fruit salad with a smattering of greens and send it to a hemingway competition... the entrees? weren't any better... i had chicken pomodoro pasta and lois opted for their so-called flat iron steak (looked more like a piece of chuck). both were pretty lame. tasted okay but poorly executed in presentation. we paid $61.05 for ugly, mediocre food...when we could've had better looking and tasting food at MacaroniGrille...for at least $15 less.

guess where we're not going back...it's too bad because lois said she had some good lunches there with her work buddies.

the ballet? great but with some seemingly avoidable caveats...made a reality only through mass homicide

we had a couple tix in the private loge that lois' company has...since they renovated the building over a period of two years to the tune of $90 million.

the loge box seats are 7-8 per spacious box. in each area, there's 3-4 tall bistro/bar seats (very similar to those found at billiard halls) and 4 lower seats (round chairs - upholstered and padded). nice setup but a bit of a bear to pull the chairs out. the lower seats definitely need casters.

the show was excellent. the entire cast was gifted in both strength and grace. you (or maybe it's just me) often wonder how many hours it took to build up the muscles to perform some of the moves.

nope. no problem with the show. the sets were ethereal and the lighting dramatic without being distracting or gaudy.

no...what i deemed to be justifiable homicide was to slaughter the idiots in the adjacent loge box. it was a couple with comp tix (understandable) and their seemingly huge entourage (completely confounding).

i dunno but the eight people in this posse was made up of (i think):

mom dad grandpa grandma brother girlfriend neighbors and three grandkids.

guess with which faction we had a problem...

yeah...the kids turned out to be very cute 3-4 year-olds who loudly whispered from across the box. ummm. whispering is meant to be directed INTO an ear, not across the auditorium.

ah well. at least they've got indoor voices...

of course, the real problem had lain with the adults. poorly behaved kids are a result of oblivious parents who are lacking in responsibility and common sense.

the lights go out...the music starts...and crinkling commenced.

yes, this clan surreptitiously smuggled 'treats' for the kids...juice boxes, snacks, etc.

arghhhhhh

it's one thing to sneak candy and a soda into a movie theater. who doesn't do this?

what the hell are you bringing your oversized backpack of junk food to a ballet performance? you could have rented a video and watched it at home!

the crinkle of their super size doritos bag was maddening...

oh, they weren't done yet.

kids start jabbering. we're talking about three year olds who might have an inkling of pretty cinderella...solely through animation. but do you think kids can sit through a half hour performance if you have to bring snacks to keep them occupied...LET ALONE three acts and two intermissions (135 minutes total)?!?

kids start arguing/whining/crying. instead of shushing them for the ENTIRE performance, would it not be more effective to TAKE the kids out into the lobby for a little talk/idle threats?

click...crankcrank

yes, i'm now the crank. really though, i'm referring to the idiot mom(?) who had the audacity to sneak in a camera to take pictures during the ball scenes. okay, i saw a couple other flashes in the mezzanine. mebbe some overzealous shutterbugs with their digital cameras, fished out from their pockets. it seems pretty impossible to go to any performance without someone wanting to click pics. i, too, have snuck in a camera into heavy metal concerts (as a teenager) to get some coveted pics of drugged out, piss drunk rock stars whom i thought were kewl.

but these people brought in a DISPOSABLE camera...yeah, the type that you have to turn the plastic wheel to advance the film.

so torturous to not sling a couple chairs into their overcrowded space - a lesson in self-restraint.

why the rant? because all this crap was audible from two sections over! we had moved over one more box after the first act.

it was such a teeth gnashing poke-me-in-the-eye night.

it's not that we're ballet/opera/symphony/performing arts snobs. it's just that you expect a little common sense when you attend these things. just SHUT it and watch...if that's too much to ask, either don't attend or gimme one of the ritalins that you're obviously forgetting to take.

a good rant though...i can honestly say that it made me sleepy and fulfilled my cathartic needs. i can rest well, knowing that i dragged you all down with me ;)

just back, pt. 2

we did finally find eight slides that provide the best depiction of 'How Five Dumb Tourists Pull A Brahma Bull Out Of The Mud.' from those, we'll probably submit two or three...

such a daunting feat

not the act of pulling the bull, but looking at all the slides that are in hopeless disarray and coming to the cold realization that i gotta organize all my slides. i know that i mentioned having to look through a couple hundred pics - mostly out of sappy reminiscence - but that is about 5% of my total count of my slides...3500 of which are of my travels through spanish speaking countries and 40 or so archaeological sites.

yeah...so *YAWN*...exciting

see why i've put all this shit aside and avoided it for years?

still 4000 slides is NOTHING. i'm sure i've mentioned my mentor, Ruben, in past posts. the man has probably over 90,000 slides that he has accumulated over the past 30 years in documenting Mesoamerican sites.

yeah...90 GRAND!!!

wHeRe da fuck do you store those? and how do you keep them from succumbing to the elements?

gee-zuhs

good thing he went digital about ten years ago, that's all i can say...

just back...

kinda busy day.

went to the chiropractor around noon. things are looking good. instead of four or five cracks when he adjusts my lower back, each side only clicked once. the big right toe is almost normal again. this time last year, it was swollen and resembled a goutish digit...ewww. the neck? well, it's moving better and freer. the doc said that i may only need to come as the need arises after next saturday.

there's nothing like an occasional chiropractic adjustment. i feel a couple inches taller every time i leave the office. now, i need to see my massage therapist a couple times and you'll be able to trade me in for higher than book value ;)

after our treatments (lois has had pelvic problems), we had lunch at a sub shop just down the street from the chiro office. mmmm...

this shop is called New York Subs (i think their official name is New York NY Fresh Deli). and although i know nothing about a REAL NY sub, i do know that these were the best sammiches we've had in a LONG time. we ordered a Soho (turkey, salami, and provolone) and a Bronx Bomber (corned beef, pastrami, and provolone).

drool.

when it comes to sandwiches, i am a fiend for salami, pastrami, and/or roast beef. and there's nothing like high quality meat (even on white bread). who cares if you have specialty breads or artisan cheese - it's the meat, dummy.

sigh

eh-knee-weigh...

we came back home and filtered through a couple hundred slides, looking for a few that we're going to submit w/ a 250 word story for a travel contest sponsored by budgettravel magazine. ya see, every month, there's a trip giveaway to the best reader submitted (true) story. some of the trips that have been given away over the last couple years are:

week in Rome
African safari
rainforest expedition in Costa Rica

this month, though, the top prize is a week in Tahiti. think we ain't goin' for it?

i'll keep you posted on what we're going to submit. although lois and i have dozens of stories over the past 15 years, we feel that there are only a couple that are worth repeating ad nauseam. well, mebbe six...but three would hopefully make prize winning entries.

i think you all have read the most wacko story (my Kobe earthquake story via Guatemala). unfortunately, it's so bizarre that i think most reviewers at budgettravel wouldn't believe it. however, the two others are somewhat touching and pull at the heartstrings.

up for your consideration are:

Let's Save Her [an account of five adventure travelers in the Bolivian pampas who foolishly dislodge a female brahma from the all encompassing muck, while a curious (but probably hungry) alligator watched from afar].

don't worry, that's not the title we're submitting...but that's exactly what happened

AND

Seeking peace between Chiapanecos and national best interest: Hunger brought on by military strife is killing us (the witnessing of a peace rally in the main plaza of Comitán, México...from the front row).

we've got to submit one by the end of the month...so look for a draft within the next week or two!

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

shit like this...

only interests odd people who stay up late and are into death/murder/strange endings...like me.

50 MOST AWESOMELY DEAD ROCK STARS

it's almost surreal to think that i've outlived many of these icons...hmmm.

with death comes notoriety...and sometimes, notoriety makes the living wish they were dead.




one of my favorites is #45, still one of the best rock drummers ever. Long live Keith Moon...

Friday, March 03, 2006

i think...

i've sold out. however, it was done out of sheer curiousity. i'll let you know in a couple days. or you may just see it and figure it out for yerselves.