Sunday, July 24, 2005

A Trip To The CO

A couple of weeks ago, Lacy’s brother Jake and his wife Tiffany had identical twin girls (Here's a pic of them, looking slightly to the left). So, the natural thing to do was to hop in the car and head to Colorado Springs as soon as possible to see them. Dakota and Georgia are their names. It’s pretty simple to drive to Colorado from San Diego. You just take the 8 west to the 85 north to the 10 West to the 301 loop to the 17 north to the 40 West to the 25 north, and wham, in seventeen hours, you’re there. Except, we (Lacy, Lukas, and I) decided that it would be better to caravan with Lacy’s mom, sister, special needs aunt, and 3 dogs, Making Lukas and Fender myself the only male companions on an overnight drive driven by WOMEN who can’t wait to see their nieces/granddaughters, thus leaving ME as the sole sense of male ration. Fun. On top of that bliss, we decided to leave right after church on Sunday, the time of week where I’m the absolute freshest.

Truth be told, the drive wasn’t that bad. We stopped more than we had planned. We woke up Monday morning in the parking lot of a liquor store. It appeared to be a nice strip mall when we parked (Just for a few hours, of course) the night before, but when the sun came up, there was beer, gas, white trash, and midgets involved. Not exactly the Marriot. We arrived in Colorado Springs around six Monday evening. We’re still here, and it’s been nothing but lovely. Lovely and hot that is. We picked the one week of the summer that the state of Colorado decided to set all sorts of heat records. But it’s OK, we have each other, and a car with really good AC.

Three times Lacy and I have made the trek to the Springs, and not once have we seen the sights in this beautiful area. So, yesterday I pulled a Clark W. Griswold and loaded up the wife and kid and went sight seeing. We started with Garden of the Gods. It was grander than I had remembered. I grew up coming out here for vacation with my family just about every year. I have seen everything. Lacy has seen nothing. JULY 22, 2005 Lukas doesn’t count, cause he’s too young and he doesn’t speak English. The Garden’s were amazing. We walked all over. The funniest thing was watching all the people climb on the rocks at the entrance, as if they didn’t know the REAL cliffs and rocks were around the corner. IQ’s were showing their true colors.

We then set out to climb Pikes Peak. In the car, of course. We were almost to Pikes Peak Highway when I thought it would be better to keep driving down Highway 24 into Green Mountain Falls, and show Lacy the cabins that we used to stay in when I was a kid. There’s a row of about 6 cabins that go right along a nice little stream. Currently, >two of them are occupied by old friends of the family, Jerry Jones in one, and Sam & B.K. Steerman in another. We ended up running into all of them, and had a great time. Sam Steerman is undoubtedly my favorite old guy. He makes anyone he talks to feel like a million bucks in three seconds or less. I have no idea how he does it, and I’ve never seen, nor will I ever seen anyone like him again. Truly one of a kind.

What a day. It was one of the best single day’s I’ve had in a while. To be out in the wild with my wife and son was truly great. It made the caravan with Woman and K9 worth it.

Today, I helped Jake find and purchase an old Jeep Cherokee. It’s pretty sick, and he’ll have a ton of fun with it.

We’ll probably head back tomorrow. Not sure when we’ll actually arrive home. I’m not in a hurry. This blog will not be posted until I return because… Oh I didn’t mention, they have no Internet or TV here, so we’re pretty lost as far as communication with the world goes. I’m not sure what I miss most about home. My Airport Base Station, which provides me with, wireless Internet in my house whenever I want it, or, AIR CONDITIONING!

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

The Midnight Run From...


Two of my best friends live in the greater L.A. area: Brock in Anaheim, and Sam in Pasadena. So we often make the trek to the O.C. to see them. Tonight was special, because not only did we hook up with Brock and Sam (+spouses), but we were also joined by Josh and Cammie Delph, whom I haven't seen in over four years (old traveling music buddy). It's amazing what four years of life can do to change the dynamic of a group of friends. We are all older, wiser, and better friends than we ever could have been in the "good old days." It was great to see Delph. We're getting re-acquainted. Sam and Brock, however continue to be rocks in my life as far as dependable, brother-like relationships go. I'm continually grateful for them.


Enough of the mush. On to the point...

That which travels UP to the O.C. must travel back DOWN to the S.D. The trip up is always a bit stressful. We're normally leaving as quickly as possible from another event in which we had no choice but to be at, and arriving later than we planned because traffic wasn't what we expected. The trip home is where it gets predictable. We always stay too late (midnight-ish), then we say our goodbyes. Once in the car, the conversation between Lacy and I lasts about ten minutes before she reclines the seat and falls away into dream land. I'm then left with a haunting question: What music will energize me enough to stay awake? "Stay awake" music is different for many people. Most people need loud, obnoxious tunes to keep them "pumped up." Not so for me. I need music that tugs at my soul. That rips my inner being out of my chest and into the car I'm tailgating. I need one song that I can put on repeat for an hour, then one more that gets me the last 30 minutes to La Mesa.
Often, it's a great worship song (Hillsong's "With All I Am") or a black gospel tear jerker (Kirk Franklin's "Lean On Me"). If I design the right soundtrack for the trip home, my mind will soar and my creative capacity will reach its peak and I will no doubt change the world the next day. Trouble is, by the next day, I've forgotten all those glorious Ideas, and my inspiration went to sleep with me at 3am when I arrived home.

Tonight was different, however. I chose the wrong music, and stuck with it. Intentionally. Sam and I were discussing the differences between Coldplay and U2. I had been thinking about it all week (I just bought X&Y) and have been trying to put my finger on it. Coldplay is after U2's spot as the biggest band in the world, and I'm just not feeling it. In their defense, I realized that I had never listened critically through any of their albums, so I made a pact to do so on the way home tonight. I made it through "Parachutes", and halfway through"A Rush Of Blood To The Head". So far... I was impressed more than I had been, but not convinced of them being a band that could move me like U2 moves me. There were no magical moments. Emotion? All over the place. I'm just waiting for them to release their emotion with sound and tone that expresses it to the fullest. I'm not sure that Chris Martin's vocals can ever truly express what his body seems to be saying when he sings. And I'm not sure that a guitar without a heavy distort pedal combined with a heavy piano in a trance-like grove can ever break throughout the outer atmosphere.

Tonight's midnight run from the O.C. improved my opinion of coldplay, but did not put them in the leaders spot yet.

Maybe their next album will

Thursday, July 07, 2005

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

What is EDGE


I am keen on attempting to have edge in every area of my life. What is EDGE? It can't be described by telling what it is. It can only be described by telling what it is not. So, here's my list of what having EDGE is not:

The wearing of anything Pooh

Adding the year to the end of a title, in which the year rhymes with the title (ex: Staying Alive '05 or Save the Poor '04)

Overalls (most of the time)

Mini Vans

Pleated pants

Floral Prints on bedding, curtains, or towels

Mom Jeans

Small, baby blue floral prints on a female thermal shirt with lace around the neck

Any household decorations involving cats

The slightest hint of NASCAR

Most ALL baby things (Yes, I'm even tough on my 4 month old. He must have EDGE to survive)

Epiphone and Ovation guitars

Casio (all products)

PC's

Purchasing a stroller and thinking "This is the coolest thing I've bought this year"

Furniture that is designed for playing video games

TIVOing Little House On The Prarie

Muts (only the pure have edge)

Neil Diamond

Brown-bagging it with tuna

Guys who make their living acting on kids shows

People who talk to their spouses in the same baby-talk tone that they talk to their pets

People who talk to their pets in the same baby-talk tone that they talk to their spouses

Cereal

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