The trip here was good, at least all things work related. It's a good group of people to work with and I'm sure glad I'm not locked into cubicle world.
Oh and I went night skiing for the first time last night. Good fun, though I fell hard on my shoulder-- it feels like it's poking into my lung! Heh. What's snowboarding without a few bruises? This morning I watched the chronicle of the melt down of the shuttle Columbia-- great TV before flying.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Yesterday was a blast! We had the on-snow demo at Brighton ski area. 10 inches of powder poured down upon us, making for great snowboarding and snowshoeing. At night, I got an impromptu room mate when a freelancer for Hooked ended up homeless at the convention (how does that happen?) Nice guy but his snoring kept me up all night, making me feel off the mark today.
As for today, it was a tour de force of companies, PR reps, smiles (some real, some not) and a whole lot of learning. I really enjoy the trade show, though it seems like the tone of the whole place is tense and fidgety on the first day. It'll relax as time goes on.
A few Salt Lake City observations:
There are tons of homeless people here, seemingly more per square mile than NYC or Boston. It could be because of our hotel's location in downtown.
I've seem some white cities but Salt Lake makes Boulder seem like downtown New York. The Mormons are here in force; I'm still not sure if black/minorities are really accepted in Joseph Smith's religion.
The trade show is always attended by Japanese companies, who often over strange but amusing products. The poor guys must have flown forever to get here, just to promote an octopus water bottle or boots that light up at night.
Tomorrow is more of the same.
As for today, it was a tour de force of companies, PR reps, smiles (some real, some not) and a whole lot of learning. I really enjoy the trade show, though it seems like the tone of the whole place is tense and fidgety on the first day. It'll relax as time goes on.
A few Salt Lake City observations:
There are tons of homeless people here, seemingly more per square mile than NYC or Boston. It could be because of our hotel's location in downtown.
I've seem some white cities but Salt Lake makes Boulder seem like downtown New York. The Mormons are here in force; I'm still not sure if black/minorities are really accepted in Joseph Smith's religion.
The trade show is always attended by Japanese companies, who often over strange but amusing products. The poor guys must have flown forever to get here, just to promote an octopus water bottle or boots that light up at night.
Tomorrow is more of the same.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Well, I'm safely in Utah. The hotel I'm staying at is a little farther away from the convention center than it was last year, but it is closer to McDonald's. Heh. Getting here from the airport was a little frustrating and once I arrived, it took a little while for my internet to work properly. But it's all good. Tonight is a relaxing pre-evening and tomorrow is a day on the slopes of Brighton for a on-site demo day.
From my room I can see the huge mountains that surround Salt Lake City as well as the statue of Moroni that tops the great temple in town square. For a city built on piety, there are more homeless people roaming here than most other big cities I've to, including Boston and New York. It's cold here and isolated, as far as big cities go.
Anyhow, I'm also going to do my best to keep posts in this blog much more informative and much less personal. It seems like anytime I write things slightly from the heart, people have taken it wrong. Plus, no one want to read whiny posts.
From my room I can see the huge mountains that surround Salt Lake City as well as the statue of Moroni that tops the great temple in town square. For a city built on piety, there are more homeless people roaming here than most other big cities I've to, including Boston and New York. It's cold here and isolated, as far as big cities go.
Anyhow, I'm also going to do my best to keep posts in this blog much more informative and much less personal. It seems like anytime I write things slightly from the heart, people have taken it wrong. Plus, no one want to read whiny posts.
Off to Utah today for the whopping 6 day experience of the Outdoor Retailer trade show. I'll be online from time to time, so I'll try to update with pics/blog entries!
Monday, January 23, 2006
I admit, my online journal here is impersonal. Unlike other more read-worthy blogs, I'm not really one to bare my soul in the vast vaccuum of cyberspace. It's kind of sad in a way, because I haven't kept a personal journal since 2003, and even then it was spotty. In some ways, my life would be more interesting to read about now. It is filled with a complexity I could not have foreseen in my younger days.
I mention this because I'm in the middle of a two-week hosting of friends from back east. Their presence here does give perspective and ease of being "myself", something I've had a hard time finding in Boulder. They are also exempt from my day-to-day blunders and the carelessness with which I've handled the fragile hearts of several friends out here. Soon they will return home.
The bigger picture is that there are aspects to my life I'm not giving proper attention, mostly examining my days with a more thoughtful and kind filter. I think in the coming weeks, I'll need to establish an outlet to purge some of the bad and recognize the good instead of floating through time, never quite fully functional in contrast to the person I was a few years back.
I mention this because I'm in the middle of a two-week hosting of friends from back east. Their presence here does give perspective and ease of being "myself", something I've had a hard time finding in Boulder. They are also exempt from my day-to-day blunders and the carelessness with which I've handled the fragile hearts of several friends out here. Soon they will return home.
The bigger picture is that there are aspects to my life I'm not giving proper attention, mostly examining my days with a more thoughtful and kind filter. I think in the coming weeks, I'll need to establish an outlet to purge some of the bad and recognize the good instead of floating through time, never quite fully functional in contrast to the person I was a few years back.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Lack of recent posts comes from a lack of boredom! Dave and Paul are out here and we're having a blast. It's a semi-vacation for me, as I still have to fit in my job with all the fun at hand--and time is flying by! However, a "day off from school" at Loveland was the perfect outing, with all three of us riding well and enjoying the inches of powder that fell while we were up there. Today I'm sore but happy. Hopefully, I'll amass enough pictures to make them worthy of putting online on my site!
But for now, let the good times roll!
But for now, let the good times roll!
Monday, January 09, 2006
The unseasonably warm temps here in Boulder have brought back some unwelcome friends: the ants! My guess is the warmer temps soften up the soil and stir the yearnings in their tiny dust-sized brains, prompting them to diligently scout out my house for a stray Froot-Loop. Out they come in neat little droves, filing out from under my radiators. Xanadu and I are not particularly fond of the ugly little buggers, especially the ones that raid Xanadu’s food bowl!
My counter strike to their wave of terrorism is to buy ant bait. What happens is this: you place the ant “hotel” on the ground; the unsuspecting insects are drawn in by the sweet lure of the bait within. They bring it back to the colony, where it is promptly fed to the Oprah-sized queen, who gobbles it up, unaware it will be her last meal. She gets poisoned and goes to that big ant farm in the sky. With the whole system in anarchy, the colony falls apart and the ants die off, leaving me license to drop all the raisins on the ground I wish.
Oddly, I feel a little bad for the poor sucker ant that is simply doing his job and inadvertently introduces the poison to his creepy peers. One of those diligent little workers is going to be the individual who brings down the whole colony. I can imagine his excitement at discovering the cache of bait-food. He probably thought he would get a promotion for discovering such an awesome food source. With pride, he brings the granule through the tunnels, passing it along to other servants until it eventually finds its way to the queen’s enormous pie-hole. The poor sap was probably a-twitter with self-confidence and had no way to know he was being set up. Of course, he probably has no way of recognizing his actions DID ruin the queendom, though he certainly is in a world of hurt once she is gone. That poor dope just made the mistake of coming into my house and lingering there a bit too long.
I certainly hope the ant’s experience never becomes a metaphor for our human existence, with some higher power setting up “bait” just to have us end up screwed in the end. Enjoy your moment in the sun, little anty! (or in this case, your moment in the glow of my bathroom lights). It took a whole arsenal of human ingenuity to defeat you (the scientists who developed the poison, the guy who packaged it, the truck driver who brought it to the store, the stock boy who put it on the shelf, and I who bought it and strategically placed it). May you never rejoice in the discovery of another sweet morsel carelessly dropped on my floor!
My counter strike to their wave of terrorism is to buy ant bait. What happens is this: you place the ant “hotel” on the ground; the unsuspecting insects are drawn in by the sweet lure of the bait within. They bring it back to the colony, where it is promptly fed to the Oprah-sized queen, who gobbles it up, unaware it will be her last meal. She gets poisoned and goes to that big ant farm in the sky. With the whole system in anarchy, the colony falls apart and the ants die off, leaving me license to drop all the raisins on the ground I wish.
Oddly, I feel a little bad for the poor sucker ant that is simply doing his job and inadvertently introduces the poison to his creepy peers. One of those diligent little workers is going to be the individual who brings down the whole colony. I can imagine his excitement at discovering the cache of bait-food. He probably thought he would get a promotion for discovering such an awesome food source. With pride, he brings the granule through the tunnels, passing it along to other servants until it eventually finds its way to the queen’s enormous pie-hole. The poor sap was probably a-twitter with self-confidence and had no way to know he was being set up. Of course, he probably has no way of recognizing his actions DID ruin the queendom, though he certainly is in a world of hurt once she is gone. That poor dope just made the mistake of coming into my house and lingering there a bit too long.
I certainly hope the ant’s experience never becomes a metaphor for our human existence, with some higher power setting up “bait” just to have us end up screwed in the end. Enjoy your moment in the sun, little anty! (or in this case, your moment in the glow of my bathroom lights). It took a whole arsenal of human ingenuity to defeat you (the scientists who developed the poison, the guy who packaged it, the truck driver who brought it to the store, the stock boy who put it on the shelf, and I who bought it and strategically placed it). May you never rejoice in the discovery of another sweet morsel carelessly dropped on my floor!
Thursday, January 05, 2006
I don’t have any formal resolutions for 2006, though I have quite a few goals. Obviously, finishing my book is not only a goal, it’s a responsibility since I am under contract. I’d like to work to get my back repaired. I’d like to increase my material wealth by adding the following possessions: new computer, new monitor, new TV, new snowboard helmet, and if things fall into place, a new vehicle. I’d like to get some of my dental debts paid, even though the hospital debts I am incurring seem to be piling up. I may find a less expensive apartment in the spring.
My other big goal was to steal Marc and David’s wooden California raisin and take it on adventures throughout the state of Colorado. For those not in the know, the raisin is a cheesy lawn ornament they rescued from the neighbors then-empty house. The raisin remained proudly displayed in their backyard. I had the perfect set-up to pilfer the raisin and smuggle him to Colorado: heavy snow was falling (easily covering up my footsteps) and I had a great excuse to sneak outside (warm up the car). I actually got the raisin into the car before realizing that it’s a bit bigger than I thought, making transport difficult. Add to that, I didn’t have the heart to leave their yard bereft of the dancing prune (he most resembled Styles, who was the saxophone playing raisin). So, with a pang of good-will, I simply replanted the raisin in the front yard, hopefully much to the bafflement of the denizens of the house.
My other big goal was to steal Marc and David’s wooden California raisin and take it on adventures throughout the state of Colorado. For those not in the know, the raisin is a cheesy lawn ornament they rescued from the neighbors then-empty house. The raisin remained proudly displayed in their backyard. I had the perfect set-up to pilfer the raisin and smuggle him to Colorado: heavy snow was falling (easily covering up my footsteps) and I had a great excuse to sneak outside (warm up the car). I actually got the raisin into the car before realizing that it’s a bit bigger than I thought, making transport difficult. Add to that, I didn’t have the heart to leave their yard bereft of the dancing prune (he most resembled Styles, who was the saxophone playing raisin). So, with a pang of good-will, I simply replanted the raisin in the front yard, hopefully much to the bafflement of the denizens of the house.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Marc's not the only one who can post on New Year's Day!
