Back in the USDA

i drove to a gladstone office building to teach CPR this afternoon. i was just looking for the address. the actual business was a secondary interest. usually my highest priority for an onsite class is arriving early enough to see where i’m teaching and get set up… it’s kind of like a MASH doctor assessing an injured soldiers’ wounds without looking at his face. knowing the actual organization’s name is an afterthought. today’s class was at a USDA office off 72nd and holmes. the last time i was in that neighborhood i ended up in a martial arts dojo teaching CPR to computer techs. you never know where the chopper’s gonna land.

When My Skin Changed to Fur


i rediscovered this song yesterday when i was going through all the recording artists on the sub pop label. if i ever play it in public i’ll dedicate it to jim huber and/or drew ryan.

Mother Jugs and Speed

even though i slept through it, i have never forgotten the name of this movie or who is in it. my folks took us to the drive in theater at every opportunity to see the newest disney movie (pinocchio, song of the south, etc.). the disney movie was always followed by a second feature that WASN’T a disney movie. for the life of me, i don’t remember any of them except mother jugs and speed. and even now, all i can vaguely recall was that there were reckless ambulance drivers in it. i knew the movie was over when i woke up to the sound of gravel under our tires as we joined the caravan of cars leaving the drive in.

Afternoons & Coffee Spoons


thanks to ross polete, i found another coffee song! since most of my shifts at homer’s are from 11-6, this one cuts close to the bone.

Fake Cinco de Mayo

cinco de mayo (the fifth of may) is NOT celebrated for:
when the mexicans found the germans who bombed pearl harbor and made them eat stale tamales, a day when all latino high school students dress up in festival clothes and ditch class, mass consumption of spicy food following the season of lent, the first time someone waded across the rio grande, when matadors switched from penguin fighting to bull fighting.

Log!


who DOESN’T want a log?

Only the Baseboards Remain

well, the biggest part of the bathroom paint job of 2011 is over. the before and after pic doesn’t do it justice. all that is left are the baseboards. white on white. jenny and i have never tackled something this big before.the original ceiling paint over the shower was peeling (you’ll just have to take my word for it), and that was the REAL motivation to repaint the bathroom.

Now and Then and Now

this is the northwest corner of our bathroom. since we are painting the walls a different color than the ceiling, i wanted to take “before” and “after” pics. part of me still can’t believe i own a home, and do projects like this. my daydreams consist of a time when i rummaged through dumpsters, and stole food at the campus center. anyway, back to the present: we just got done scraping, sanding, and priming some spots that needed it. the actual paint job will commence after we take a break. special thanks to chris mull who has been my paint consultant during this project (and previous projects). ironically our friendship was forged in the early years of dumpster diving and campus food theft.

Monkey Men on Monkey Bars


a few people have said they were surprised at the size of the monkey bars in my backyard when they saw them up close. the photo with grayson is a little misleading, so i recorded this video from easter sunday.

Easter Aftermath

easter was good. we invited a few friends over for lunch. one of the couples gave me a nintendo 64 system AND a box of game cartridges (thanks scott & candy!) we played a couple of games, climbed on the monkey bars outside, and said our goodbyes a few hours later. my grasp of video games after the mid 80′s is limited, and i wasn’t sure how much time it would take to master starfox and golden eye… then kyle told me i could play old games on the nintendo 64 like defender, spy hunter, and robotron 2084. these are my games. i spent an embarrassing amount of quarters on these games. when i play these games i can imagine the sights and smells of long gone arcades like spaceworld, lemans, malibu grand prix, and alladin’s castle. these memories don’t just take me back (especially while tuned to an 80′s internet station), they can make me forget my current responsibilities. this isn’t always a good thing. along those same lines, i emailed a correct answer to a trivia question on the stuck in the 80s podcast, and got my name on the show. ok, i added the applause later, but only because that’s how i heard it in my head… like zach braff in scrubs.