wouldn't it be nice

these are the long awaited pictures from our trip to glenwood springs about a month ago. we had an awesome time, thanks to mom and jack. the first day we got there, we went to the pool, which is a hot springs pool in the middle of town. the next day, we went for a hike up to hanging lake, which was like a mile and a half basically straight up, where we found two waterfalls. the next day we took off from glenwood springs and went to rifle gap and harvey gulch state parks. it was a fantastic trip and a wonderful opportunity to continue to venture out into our new state. by the way, i have no idea why this is underlined. weird.

welcome to the working week

i usually don't use the blog as a venting station, but i think the events of last week called for it. here is how my week went:

1. i was called into jury duty and i was picked to be on the jury. the trial is still going and will go into early next week. i have not been able to work much while on jury duty and i have about five projects going on at the same time. however, i have used my legal pad to make 84 lists and draw dozens of award winning sketches.
2. while driving home, i ran over a massive screw. the screw lodged itself just perfect enough to not be able to patch the tire. i could only replace the tire. the screw was buried so deep and at such a strange angle, that when i got home and got out of the car, i could hear the air hissing out of tire.
3. i broke my favorite flip flops.
4. i broke my mp3 player at the gym.
5. demitria contracted my cold and was sick all week.

what else? oh yeah:
6. the volunteer organization i do work for had two events on friday that i could not attend because i had jury duty.

what else? oh yeah:
7. i lost a fork because security wouldn't let me take it into the building. a fork!! i'd like to say it was my favorite for dramatic purposes, but it was not.

this week promises for improvement as mr. e is coming to town. great times ahead. i need some new flip flops. and an mp3 player. i have four new tires, so that won't stop the party. the trial should end this week. i should have the house to myself starting tomorrow, so i can work out and read all day and night. things are hopefully looking up.

living in a material world

the worst pies in london

i found this article on grantland on espn.com. if you don't like sports, grantland is still cool to check out for articles like this one. the article goes into the downward spiral that is the marriage of tim burton and johnny depp. it analyzes the roles of those two men and how those roles have changed over the years much to the detriment of their artistic product.

dark shadows?
alice in wonderland?
charlie and the chocolate factory?

seeing a pattern here? remade, rehashed, half-baked movies. great article. check it out.

also did anyone hear about jamie dimon and jpmorgan chase losing $2B on a derivative bet? a supposed hedge against risk? well they played that one right huh?

facebook's ipo is coming soon and supposedly interest is waning. probably because no one can answer this question: how can facebook make money? especially when they're paying instagram a billion dollars for a stupid program that turns pictures brown! good luck!

also read a great article by my favorite wall street punisher matt taibbi detailing the exact way that the government, hand in hand with lobbyists, took the life and few teeth out of the dodd frank bill. very much worth your time because this is how government now works. they pass a bill to appease the public, but they don't fund it, they don't enact the laws/rules and they let it be picked apart by courts and lobbyists. and the public still thinks they have their cloak of protection. brilliant.

mr. big shot

i took my ethics test this morning. i passed. because i have mad ethics. i had to pass with 90% and i did better than that. crazy ethics.

i can now introduce myself as a CPA. in fact, this blog is now called that birdhouse, cpa. how about that?!? i love it.

so get used to me saying it. because i'm going to be saying it a lot. because, damn it, i earned it.

holiday

just back from glenwood springs. spent two nights there. i'm totally exhausted. but tons of great pictures to come.

when the roses bloom again

i have some older photos from easter i wanted to add. the bottom ones show the feast we prepared for easter: deer, potatoes, spinach and pistachio cake. it was awesome. demitria is the best cook. i picked up those flowers from the greek store a couple days before. we just finished the cake finally. it was an incredible cake.

the rock on the top is in our garden outside, our 'rock garden'. we just planted some pansies and added the stone to our garden. thanks mom!

good day sunshine

i am proud to say that i know this little guy. he's one of those kids that i enjoy when they come around because he has a great sense of humor and is a sweet kid. he's demitria's brother's wife's nephew. but you don't have to remember that. but you do remember thomas when you meet him. when the grandmother says they didn't think he'd come home, she's serious. thomas had the stroke and it was basically over. everyone was preparing to say goodbye to the little guy. but somehow, someway, in a turnaround that surprised everyone, they found the organs, he went into surgery and thomas was going to be okay. it was that fast. it was amazing. and if you want to call it a miracle, i don't think you'd wrong. i'm glad he's okay. can't wait to see him and tell him i'm proud of him.

hey jane

is anybody else super duper excited about the new spiritualized album? i mean, check out the cover! how awesome is that? the immediate reviews are positive. the video for 'hey jane' is pretty rough. but the song is amazing. this, coupled with the alabama shakes new album, makes for a good weekend purchase. i also subscribed to the economist yesterday. need to be informed. need good music. that's really it. oh yeah, a roof maybe too. and water. minor.

weird fishes

checking out the radiohead set at coachella. i totally dig sitting in my living room watching as opposed to being surrounded by thousands of people, being forced to buy $7 water and standing in line for an hour to go the bathroom. my bathroom is free right now. the water is free. and there is only one other person and a cat in the house. love it. the set is pretty sweet. i'm only three songs in, but weird fishes is so sweet.

i still dig the concerts though. we're seeing wilco at the red rocks and maybe the avett brothers and beach boys at red rocks too. destroyer and wye oak are coming to the bluebird this summer. so i'm still with the concerts. it's the festivals i don't think i can do anymore. i'll leave that to the young kids.

i guess i planted

deviled eggs are a specialty in the wright house. we made six eggs and between the both of us, the six eggs didn't make it until dinner. poor guys. but they were delicious. demitria is enjoying one of those eggs and some of her special iced tea. i don't know what makes it special, but i believe her.

demitria colored some eggs this year for that easter flavor around the house. if you can't read them, they say 'kevin', 'demi' and 'smooch'. 'smooch' was my favorite. we also had some stickers to throw on them too.

here is the 'kevin' egg up close. the brussel sprouts are looking good. remember a few blogs ago, i told the story of hacking up the apple tree out back? well this is it. i have never seen something respond so positively to being hacked up. the apple tree is in full bloom and there are white buds everywhere.

here is a pitcher of the special iced tea. it was refreshing. speaking of refreshing drinks, i had an arnold palmer at the krameria cafe earlier in the day. i highly suggest everyone try one this summer. we have a patch of rogue tulips growing out back by the neighbor's garage. we didn't plant them. but we'll take them. i had to jump in there with them. this is how our day started, out back doing some yard work. we sprayed the front and back yard with herbicide to get of the billions of weeds we had last year. we rode our bikes up to the nursery and bought some stuff there. that's when we stopped by the krameria cafe and had a quick lunch. hope everyone had a great easter.

sounds like hallelujah

happy easter! it's a gorgeous day here in denver, colorado. we've got clear skies in the morning and afternoon time. highs should be around 70 with lows in the upper 40s tonight. perfect weather for the perfect easter egg hunt. i think when we talk about weather, we all should adopt the 'weather man' voice and discuss weather in the appropriate vocal tones. but seriously, it's nice here.

last night i made a pretty big purchase. i bought two tickets to.....paradise! pack your bags we leave tonight! i'm kidding. i love eddie money though. i bought two tickets to red rocks to see wilco. that's right. wilco will be at red rocks in june and the wrights are going! i'm so excited and it's two months away basically. my excitement will probably subside before the show, otherwise, that would be an unhealthy level of excitement to carry around for two months. agree? yes.

what else is going on? i haven't posted much lately. i should be uploading some new pictures of our emerging garden soon. maybe get some new sofie shots. i love pictures of that cat. maybe i'll take some of our easter dinner tonight? that's a great idea. okay. plan for that.

also, baseball is back. i emailed my official picks to my dad, so if anyone thinks i didn't make it in time, i have him to back me up. here are my official picks for 2012:

nl central: reds
nl east: phillies
nl west: dodgers
nl wc: braves
al central: tigers
al east: rays
al west: rangers
al wc: angels

the world series will be the dodgers and the rangers. this time, the rangers will finally win. i know going with the dodgers is a stretch, but there is no team in the national league that is a dominant team. they're all kind of sub-awesome. but the dodgers have a new owner and that will generate some liveliness out of them as they catch fire in the playoffs. the rangers are a statistical long shot to get back to the world series for the third year in a row. i mean, that's not likely. but i like them better than the rest. the rays would be my second choice. oh well. don't let me down guys! and the astros will finish in last place with a record of -54-108. that's right. they won't win any games. only negatively win them. figure that one out!

the season of the witch

i think the end of winter has been kidnapped. the calendar still says march as of today, but the flowers, the leaves and burgeoning spring say, well, spring. last year, as you can revisit on this post, we had a nice garden of strawberries, herbs and plenty of tomatoes.

this year, we've started the process with bibb lettuce, brussel sprouts and swiss chard. lettuce grows very well in the rockies. i've seen it. a dude up the street has a very impressive garden come august with tons of lettuce, tomatoes and such. we're going back to our roots with tomatoes again this year. but i'm going to try and branch out and get some peppers growing as well. i failed last year in the pepper department. the one dude i had fried in the sun.

last weekend, i also cut back our apple tree. being apple tree ignorant as we were, we both thought the tree was an apple factory and would keep lavishing us with tons of apples each year. we subsequently learned that was an apple fantasy and work had to be done. you have to prune an apple tree. and prune we did. i bundled up about seven bundles of branches.

that's our plans for the garden this year. of course, the natives tell us it's going to snow again. or at least freeze. but i maintain that winter is gone. hijacked. kidnapped. bound and jagged. not to be heard from again until december. it's a shame. i feel like we didn't get to say goodbye. winter was here one day and the next it was 70 degrees. i had a very good winter. and it would have been nice to hang out one more time. but we'll meet again.

the ben bernank

End of the Road Documentary Trailer

hurts so good

i never thought it would hurt getting feeling back. there's a small patch of skin right under my knee on the left side of my shin bone that was numb following the surgery. they didn't tell me that they were probably going to severe a small nerve there. however, during my checkup, they said most, if not all, of all the feeling would come back. and it's coming back. but i was not prepared for how tender the skin would be when the feeling did come back. it's a strange sensation because it's not 100%. i probably can feel about 70-80%, so when i move my finger over the patch, it's like touching your hand when you've slept on it and it's waking up, but there are no daggers in your skin as the blood rushes back. i have been running for the past two weeks, but not that great. it doesn't last long. but the strength is coming back. i predict no problems hiking this summer. i also predict eating sandwiches this summer. with chips.

peyton manning is coming to denver!!! no more tebow!!! i love it people. i love it. i have no idea if he has any gas left in him, but i do know that tebow sucks. and having peyton here will at least be interesting. also he's out of the afc south, clearing the way for a decade of texans dominance. it's fantastic. i'm ecstatic. in fact, i went out and bought some black spray paint and spray painted number 18 on all of my shirts, including my dress shirts. i subsequently found out he plans on not wearing that number. and i was informed that spray painted dress shirts are not acceptable work attire. i predict a polyester fueled fire this weekend.

it ain't me babe

as the political puppet politicians are dancing for us, making us believe that it is our decision who we elect and that they somehow represent our interests and not the interests of the major corporations and major banks in the world, other things are happening. things that aren't discussed on the nightly news or fox news or cnn news or whatever news cable source you choose.

this actually comes from wired magazine. the piece describes how by 2013 the NSA will have a system in place to collect information on you from every google search you make, every personal email you receive or send, every cell phone call you make and every bit of electronic debris you leave behind will be collected, assembled and put into a little folder with your name on it, ready to be used against you when the time comes. and do you know what the response will be from the american public? what is the NSA?

additionally, we have a wonderful monster of a bank called bank of america. it's our bank! it's the bank of america! sounds great! it's actually a gigantic festering sore that refuses to do anything other than systematically destruct their customers, the banking industry and our trust. the best part is that we refuse to let them fail. the government explicitly backs this monster and their mission to feed on us, the public.

finally, there is good news friends! someone, actually a guy named greg smith, wrote his resignation letter and mailed it to the new york times. where did he work? goldman sachs, the gigantic vampire squid. i hope that colleges, high schools, veterans halls, pension firms, asset management corporations, churches and everyone in between prints out his resignation letter and posts it for everyone to see.

in other news, i about to finish reading siddhartha. a wonderful book about a young man moving through his life trying to find meaning, understanding and holiness, a closeness to the spirits. i highly recommend it. he describes periods in his life as transitory and ultimately comes to find that life is transitory. what we knew or thought at one point in our life does not define all periods of our life. his story can easily be applied to our current lives or at least my life. i believe there are trials and challenges we must face and live a life that may be unsuitable for a period just to experience it. it is these experiences that finally allow us to move forward and travel to where we ultimately need to be in life, whether physically or mentally.

we i finish, i'm going to read the picture of dorian gray. i'm ecstatic to have time to read these amazing words.

and so it goes

my favorite fiction author is probably kurt vonnegut. his take on war and the atrocities of human nature are filled with sarcasm and wit. i immediately took to his views on the fractured schism of the human psyche. unfortunately, he died falling off a ladder a few years ago. i'm sure he would have had something witty to say about this end of his. a biography has been published about the man. if the book is anything as good as the review, i can't wait to read it.

meet me in the basement

a wise man once said to play this song when something epic went down.

this is that moment.

i passed my last test.

let me say that again.

i passed my last test.

let me say that again.

i passed my last test.

i finally landed this thing. what was seen as a curse was probably a blessing. when i tore my acl, i thought i had to turn this into something positive and beneficial to my life. so i studied. i was in the basement every day all day. i started around 11 in the morning and went until midnight stopping to sometimes eat and pet the cat. when i had to go back to work, i took a weekend off and i started again to finish it.

and i finished it. i'm done.

i have to say something though. although i took the tests, i never would have gotten through this without my wife. she was there for me each time it didn't go my way. she was there to do the laundry so i had something to wear. she was going to the grocery store and making dinners and lunches. she was cleaning the house and the cars. she was taking the cat to the vet. she was picking out birthday gifts, wrapping them and sending them. she was holding my head each time i felt like i failure. she was there each time. from beginning to end. i could never have done this without her help and support. i plan on paying her back throughout the next few years by spending each weekend with her and making sure she knows how much i love her and respect her.

so that's it folks. the plan i set forth in 2006 is complete. now it's time for the next plan.

got to get you into my life

i'm discovering all sorts of interesting aspects of life again now that i'm not studying all weekend. like yesterday, we woke up. had coffee. listened to 'wait, wait don't tell me' on npr. then we went and looked at a house. then i went to work out. i wasn't rushed. i wasn't in a hurry. i wasn't freaking out every second i wasn't studying. it was fantastic. it cleared my head.

we had dinner out last night at the capital grille. the dinner okay. our waiter was a nice guy, but his memory was a little off. demitria ordered a glass of wine and he never delivered it. not a huge deal. but then we paid with two gift cards. and we a had a balance on one of them, but he didn't give it back. so we asked for it back. he couldn't find it. so the restaurant gave us cash back. the waiter handed me money. how odd is that? have you ever been out to eat and the restaurant pays you? i have to say, i liked it. i hope it happens again.

then we went to a play at the vintage theatre, right next to the vine street pub. the play was pretty good. i'd say the playhouse had about 80 seats in the place. nice and cozy. the play was pretty good. it was a comedy about a woman who basically wants a new life and when that opportunity presents itself in the way of an older man who misunderstands her situation, she takes it. the play broke the fourth wall and had audience members on stage for like two scenes. it was interesting. i liked the play. and i would totally go back. demitria is thinking about maybe volunteering there. i highly encouraged it. i think she would love it.

today we're sitting in the house listening to 'breakfast with the beatles' about to have breakfast and go the garden show at the convention center. i'm hoping to get some ideas for an amazing garden when we buy a house. i want flowers, food and fragrance. i'm marketing that.

great weekend. these are the weekends i've been missing. i'm so glad to have them back.

sums it up

one more down

one more down people. i passed FAR.

now i can only hope and pray that i passed AUD this last week.

i've worked harder for this than anything i've ever done.

and i'm finally closing in on the finish line.

by the way, did anyone else notice that if the giants would have kicked the extra point instead of going for two, that i would have successfully predicted the exact final score of the super bowl?

awesome night.

mucho mungo pt. 3

we woke up this morning and took more pictures. the sun is out now and the snow is starting to melt. it probably snowed another two or three inches, so the snow in the backyard was up to my knees. we took a couple extra pictures too. the icicles are hanging off of every window on the outside of the house. it's pretty awesome. the grill in the backyard has tons of snow piled on top of it. it looks like an egg. and ice egg. also, the truck bed is full of snow. the shots of the two cars don't really tell the whole story because i've been clearing it off the windows and hood. if you don't do that periodically, then when you finally do, the ice is pretty thick and hard to scrub off. but it's been fun. not sure how long all the snow will last though.

super bowl pick: giants 22, patriots 17.

mucho mungo pt. 2

we decided to forego the 4'o clock pictures. around 3, it really hadn't snowed much. but since around 3, it's snowed a lot. so tomorrow we're going to update our photos and see how much more snow we received in 24 hours. that should make for some good science.

mucho mungo

we're alive and well in denver. the forecast is calling for snow with a touch of snow for today and tomorrow we can expect snow in the morning with shattered snow in the afternoon. both of us are working from home. i decided to do a little experiment. the pictures posted above are from 10 a.m. on friday. at 4 p.m., i'm going to do the same thing and see if you can visually tell more snow has fallen. then tomorrow, i'm going to do the same thing. my beautiful photographer and i will brave the harsh conditions for this experiment for science and human knowledge. isn't that what it's all about?

so at 10 a.m., the snow is about mid calf. we'll see if it gets higher later in the afternoon. the world is on edge.

been a long time

man. that was a long break from posting. it was not a self imposed break. there's just been a lot of stuff happening around here. but now it's calming down again. i have no studying this weekend. can you believe it? it's probably the first weekend since july that i haven't spent a majority of the time studying.

what are we going to do to celebrate? i'm glad you asked:

friday: we're going to the hi-dive to see cass mccombs live. i've been to one show at the hi-dive. i saw the love language there way back in like march of last year. it's an awesome venue. it reminds me of walters in houston, but smaller. and little dive-i-er. as noted in the title.

saturday: going to the park. that's after we sleep in. see, i've been waking up early (around 8) every weekend to get up and work out and drink coffee and start studying. not this weekend. sleepin in. 'saturday in the park'. throw the ball around. toss the frisbee. probably hit up cheeseman park. it's not a long walk from here.

sunday: super bowl!!! head up to the college inn and watch the super bowl. that's enough said about sunday.

in between, i'll probably watch some party down and pet sofie.

of course, this could all be derailed if that storm comes in and we get 10 inches of snow, which is possible on friday. that would change the whole weekend. what would we do then? i have no idea. lots of watching party down and lots of petting sofie.

the increasingly exotic tales of sofie b.

feeling yourself disintegrate

i know i've posted a lot of videos lately. but i guess if there was one that i'd want people to listen to, it would be this one because i'm listening to it over and over again as i write this.

"feeling yourself disintegrate."

nik cohn once said pet sounds was "sad songs about loneliness and heartache. sad songs even about happiness." and how equally and impenetrably intertwined sadness is with happiness. the last page of a book brings the penultimate feeling of joy but undoubtedly coupled with the final feeling of loss of the relationship you just ended by finishing the last sentence on the page.

each monumental accomplishment closes the door. each minute task ends.

as each day passes, i become more and more comfortable with who i am. i now know my limits. the culmination of years of fine-tuning can be laid to rest in a way, and now, we can just let the engine run. there's no implication of perfection in anyway. there's only acceptance. each layer of uselessness i packed on is disintegrating. and one day, i'll be left with only the useful. the most necessary. and i look forward to that day. because then i will have really achieved something. and the strange fact is i will be filled with joy but only for a little while. because when the joy dissipates and i have that quiet moment, i will be sad that i lost it.

on bended knee

yikes! that's not why all two of you tune into this blog. but i thought it was time to upload some pictures of what my mangled knee looks like. the last bit of bandage (yes, i had a bandage for over a month! i wasn't expecting that either!) fell off last night and i got my first look at my knee sans bandages. i thought it looked pretty gross so i took some pictures to share with everything. now obviously, i'm a redhead so there is some natural splotchyness to my color anyway. but you can there is still some redness and bruising from the surgery. my physical therapist, however, says it looks really good. and he is excited about how much i can straighten it and bend it. i still can't run. won't be able to run for another month or two. but i can walk pretty good. and each morning, it hurts less and less when i wake up. that's all you can ask for. i'm headed in the right direction. so don't be too freaked out by my pictures. i told demitria 'at least the incision is straight'. can you imagine if you took off your bandage and your incision was crooked? i would immediately have second thoughts about my surgeon.

you can clearly see the main incision in the pictures and also the hole in my kneecap. there are other holes around my knee too, but they don't show up too well. anyway, enjoy! and pretty soon i'll be challenging everyone to a race.

breaking the ice

these are some of our christmas activities. the bottom shot is of our wonderful tree. demitria is taking it down right now as i type. the presents have been opened. the good tidings and cheer have returned back to their rightful place and been replaced by mental neurosis and paranoia. ah, i missed those bleak winter thoughts. in the top picture, we have mr. chester, our snowman. he melted a few days ago. we have better pictures, but we can't get them off the camera yet. i'm still working on it. but it's a good picture of our entire snow-filled backyard. mr. chester is wearing a bowler hat, a red scarf and he literally has two pieces of coal for eyes. he's a sharp fellow. i was always sad at the end of frosty when he melted. and the feeling is even worse when your personal snowman melts. it's tough to take. but i hear he'll be back again next year. probably in a few short weeks. i'll keep everyone updated if mr. chester makes a return appearance.

oh my God, charlie darwin

gonna fly now

eye of the tiger

do the astros have it? no. they don't. we're a month away from spring training. that's right. we're getting close to baseball being back. and if you're an astros fan, that is a good and bad thing. the good thing is we can watch baseball. but the bad thing is it's really bad baseball. it was historically bad and it will be bad again this year. i mean real bad. chris johnson is no long term solution and it's beginning to become clear that brett wallace is not going to work out at the big league level. he seems like another jason lane. carlos lee is trending down quick. our bench is made up of scrubs. the future's so bright, i have to pull out my eyes.

the prospects on the way: singleton, cosart, villar. they might be on the way soon. paredes, martinez, altuve and castro will start the season. they looked decent at times last year. martinez showed some pop but not much. the pitching staff will be intact unless we deal wandy or brett myers, which we should. or maybe even bud norris. i'm not above dealing anybody at this point.

a new owner. a new season. baseball is almost back. the best time of year.

in the new year

new year's resolutions. aren't they great? we pick a certain day and make goals when we should be doing that everyday. and about two/three weeks later, those goals are gone because they were really only made to facilitate an immediate meaning to the new year. "this is the year i do this...". so, i'll play along:

1. pass all parts of the cpa test
2. lose the weight i've gained since surgery
3. volunteer once a month somewhere
4. take an international trip
5. buy a house

those are top five. i thought i'd stop there. i think i made a similar list earlier in the year. maybe changed a few things. once i get done with the test, i do really want to start volunteering somewhere. maybe do some work with the homeless. maybe do some sort of physical work, like helping build houses on the weekend or clean up an old person's yard. i have no idea. those are just the kinds of things i want to start filling my time with.

how about those texans? hurt and limping into the playoffs. i give them no shot at winning the game against cincinnati. they are one and done. come on jacky d! our 4th qb for the year! where is steve deberg or jeff george when you need them?

winter symphony

i've been listening to the beach boys to feel warm the last few days. however, this song perfectly hits the winter feeling that's all around us here. so merry christmas everyone. and stay tuned for pictures of snowmen to come, including the famous mr. chester who took up residence in our backyard. he's all business.

a bunch of lonesome heroes

folks, we could sit here and talk all day about my sports prowess. how i'm almost always right when it comes to predictions, but we have things to do people and i understand that.

but, let it be known, the texans have one more game to play. if they win, they're 11-5. if they lose, they're 10-6. i correctly predicted them going either 11-5 or 10-6 for the season in a previous blog entry. that makes this the third year in a row that i have correctly predicted the texans record within a game. i know, i know. amazing, right? well, thank you. i just ask that when you sit down with your kids/family for christmas, you tell them the real story of my amazing predictions. and save me some pie.

also in an earlier blog entry, i went off on gary kubiak and said he should be fired. no matter what the outcome is this year (with the farfetched exception being winning the super bowl), i stand by my rant. i don't think gary kubiak is a winning coach and ultimately, for the long-term benefit of the organization, he should go. this is why.

something cool

today is my wife's birthday. and as such, i had to come up with a birthday process. first, i hung the sign in the living room that says 'happy birthday'. i'm sure my wife knows it's her birthday, but the sign really seals it. then i told her she got one present right away, but for the remainder of the presents, she had to master the checkers game they have at cracker barrel, the one where it's a wooden triangle and you have to jump one peg at a time. she mastered it and got one more present. then she had to put together the panda puzzle you see above for her next present. obviously from the picture, she did as such. and finally, she had to find the funny money above. as i'm writing this, she has yet to find the funny money, so she has one more gift outstanding. and it's the best.

the money is currently located in the kitchen cabinets, stuck to the inside of the door. don't tell her.

tonight we're going to dinner at a place neither of us has been to. in addition to the birthday sign, i got her some birthday hats, balloons and those new years poppers. i never realized how awful those things stink. the house smells like gunpowder right now. gross. nothing reminds me of birthdays like the smell of gunpowder. i also got some crazy straws. and believe me, they're crazy.

on wednesday night and into thursday, we got a foot of snow. it's awesome outside. it's white and fluffy and the sun's out, so it's all bathed in sunlight. i mean, it's just beautiful. but really, really cold. i briefly went outside to throw out the coffee grinds from yesterday and my feet nearly came off.

call out the instigators

i wanna be your dog

christmas time is here

and in the spirit of christmas, i watched the star wars christmas special. you can watch it on youtube in little clips, like 15 of them.

it was, without a doubt, the worst thing i've ever seen. jefferson starship? wookie porn? what is going on here? life day? why does luke look like he's 10 and why is leia singing? why is bea arthur singing in a cantina on tatooine? the worst.

i highly suggest everyone take time this holiday season to watch this mammoth travesty of entertainment. and happy life day!

do it again

the beach boys are back baby! brian wilson, mike love, al jardine, bruce johnston and david marks are planning on recording a new album and doing a tour. now, i know. the last album by the beach boys was, to put it nicely, a big pile of crap. but, brian is involved this time and brian has been on a tear as of late. 'smile' and 'that lucky old sun' were really great albums. in fact, i was shocked how good 'that lucky old sun' was. of course, when you throw in mike and bruce, things could get dicey quick. but i'm keeping my hopes up for one last great beach boys album.

what would my ranking for greatest beach boys albums look like? i'm glad you asked. here is my list for greatest beach boys albums:

1. pet sounds
2. the beach boys love you
3. sunflower
4. today
5. surf's up
6. friends
7. summer days and summer nights
8. 20/20
9. all summer long
10. holland

those are the top ten greatest beach boys albums. they range from the early stuff in 1964 to about 1977. stay away from these albums:

1. miu
2. beach boys 85 s/t
3. keepin the summer alive
4. 15 big ones
5. carl and the passions/la light

these are pretty bad. carl and the passions and la light are good in spots, but between blonde's additions and a very well intentioned, but ultimately misguided attempt at beach boy disco, those two albums are the worst of the 70's after miu, which is probably the worst beach boys album ever. most of these are post-1977 when things went sour. one thing though, the best solo album by any beach boy is 'pacific ocean blue' by dennis wilson. it's incredible. dennis was the hidden talent in the band. he's the reason why 'sunflower' is so good.

any beach boys questions can be directed to me. i've been a scholar for more then ten years now. world-renowned expert people. i've met mike love. i've won tickets in a beach boy song name-off with old dudes. i know, impressive. thank you.

my study buddy pt. 2

looking good study buddy. i had to add one with her eyes open. and you can see why.

sign o the times

best protest signs of the year.

sonny feeling

jeff tweedy does the 7 day forecast on wgn. pretty good stuff.

my study buddy

she's working hard.

handshake drugs

i'm out of the initial surgery window. i'm up and moving. a bit. still up on crutches, but i'm up and down on my own. and i can lift my left leg on my own. i can almost tie my shoes on my own. that's a big day that's coming soon. i took the dressing off the other night to shower. i have about five holes around my knee. i have an incision about two inches long right under my knee. it all looked good. i cleaned up and dried off and felt great. i have never taken a shower on a cooler before, there is a first time for everything. see, i can't stand up on my own. so i had to sit. and a cooler was, crazy enough, the most logical choice. i think we're going to take it back to the store. so think about that the next you buy something, never knowing if someone sat naked on it and then took it back.

i also slept in my normal bed last night. i had been staying on the couch. i'm trying to get back to normal sleeping hours. i was sleeping and waking up and watching tv and then falling back to sleep. one night i was up at four in the morning watching 'how i met your mother'. is that dude ever going to end that story? i'm really ready to find out how he met his wife. and then we can move on the spin-off, 'how i met my third cousin rosie'. anyway, i need to get it together sleep wise.

i think i'm ready for my top ten for 2011. here it goes:

1. destroyer- kaputt
2. thurston moore- demolishing thoughts
3. my morning jacket- circuital
4. m83- hurry up, we're dreaming
5. fleet foxes- helplessness blues
6. wilco- the whole love
7. girls- father, son, holy ghost
8. panda bear- tomboy
9. real estate- days
10. radiohead- king of limbs
11. kurt vile- smoke ring for my halo
12. pains of being pure at heart- belong
13. a.a. bondy- believers
14. the low anthem- smart flesh
15. bon iver- bon iver
16. the strokes- angles
17. washed out- within and without

albums that i have a feeling are good, but i haven't heard:
1. ryan adams- ashes and fire
2. wye oak- civilian
3. ladybug transistor- clutching stems
4. the roots- undun
5. the smith westerns- dye it blonde

pretty good year for music this year. the radiohead album was a bit of a disappointment. wilco's new album was really a great welcome back from the band. the strokes rode the 80s wave and knocked a few tracks out of the park. i didn't see a lot of concerts this year: my morning jacket, the avett brothers, fruit bats, vetiver, noah and the whale and guster.

what else in 2011? travelled quite a bit: salt lake city, atlanta, kansas city, san jose, seattle. i stole a pizza in kc. i saw guster in salt lake city and ran into the starbucks guy out walking his dog on a random street in slc. that was awkward. got picked up and dropped in atlanta in a karoake bar. nothing exciting in san jose or seattle. got back from seattle and tore my acl. that weekend. way back in october. that was the last time i could run. never thought i'd miss running.

i usually have big even years. see below:
2010: moved to denver, got a job
2008: graduated and got married
2006: got engaged and moved in
2004: wrote a book and at the peak of my hotness

big stuff. now, see the odd numbered years:
2011: tore my acl
2009: moved into a cave
2007: nothing happened at all
2005: actually this was a good year, but you need an exception always

good stuff ahead.

good morning spider

i am alive people! i think that's probably where i should start. but the story begins earlier than that. actually, that's not true, because that's probably the beginning to all of my stories if you want to get technical. so i won't start there. instead i'll start thursday morning in the great city of denver:

9:15 a.m. i woke up and started getting ready for the big day. it had snowed the night before, so demitria had to wake up and snovel the driveway and sidewalk before we could go. there was probably about six inches of snow on the ground. i couldn't eat or drink anything before the surgery. bummer. i really wanted a glass of water. or some coffee. instead, i made sure my out of office reply was working for my work email.

10:15 a.m. i signed in. i had to fill out all kinds of paperwork saying i was notified of this and i was notified of that. took about 15 minutes to get through all the paperwork. and i didn't know at the time, i had more paperwork ahead of me in the pre-operating area.

11:15 a.m. they called my name. i went back and they took my blood pressure and asked me questions about my lifestyle. i said no to the questions about body piercing and tattoos. i said no to the hardcore drug questions. the nurse told me a story about one of her friends and how he found out his wife was cheating on him. good story. took my mind off the surgery.

11:30 a.m. i changed into my gown and got into bed. the nurse, the one with the good cheating story, shaved my knee and scrubbed it clean with iodine. she was having a hard time finding an adequate vein in my right arm, so she switches and finds a nice vein in my left hand. that's where they put the iv. now, i want to interject here that i heard several comments about how redheads are genetic mutants. i had heard a similar comment from my surgeon prior to the surgery in my last doctor's visit. he said that redheads had loose joints. the nurse said we have bad veins and bleed a lot of easier. all in all, the main topic of both conversations was that redheads are genetic mutants as already mentioned. i found that fascinating that doctors and nurses had these ideas pertaining to redheads and they were pretty commonly held among the medical community. interesting.

12:10 p.m. the doctors and the anesthesiologist came by and made sure i was ready. made sure we're doing the left knee and made sure we're using my own hamstring. the nurse had mentioned that since i was nervous i could ask the anesthesiologist for something before i go into surgery to calm me down. so of course, i did. and as they're wheeling me away, it starts to kick in and i yell to demitria that i can feel it kicking in. it felt like i'd just taken about 5 shots of alcohol at the same time. whoozy, but still hanging in there.

12:25 p.m. i'm in the operating room. it's cold. there's music. i start asking the doctor if i can get out of the house to watch the texans game on sunday. and that's it. i don't remember anything.

12:30 p.m.- 2:00 p.m. i don't remember anything. didn't have a single thought. no dreams while i was out. time gone from my life that's basically erased.

2:15 p.m. i'm out and awake. i don't remember much here either, but i do remember a nurse asking me how much pain i was in. and offering me cookies, which i accepted.

2:50-6:00 p.m. the rest of this time was waking up and getting moving. lots of breathing and making sure i wasn't nauseous. finally i got into a wheelchair and they wheeled me out and i was home.

that was the day. the big surgery day. woke up, got knocked out, got cut up and finally got home. it's amazing that this kind of stuff is even possible.

sister morphine

i'll be out of commission starting tomorrow around 11am for a few days. big day. pretty nervous. big week for me and tj yates.

every teardrop is a waterfall

the new coldplay album came out about 3-4 weeks ago. i heard a few tracks here and there, on the radio, on the web. i watched them perform on the colbert report. i have bought every coldplay album. from the beginning with 'parachutes' to the most recent album, 'viva la vida'. i even thought a real argument could be made that viva la vida was their best album.

but when the new album came out, i felt nothing. i had no desire to buy it, burn it or acquire it in anyway. i was done with coldplay. it was not a conscious decision. it wasn't something i had thought about and considered and finally acted on. i was just done. i had divorced coldplay.

but why? why would i divorce a band who's last album i thought could have been their best one? so i started thinking about why a person divorces a band. it wasn't the first time i had done it. after supergrass's 'road to rouen', i stopped buying their albums. of course, they only had one more left, but that's beside the point. after the white stripes 'get behind me satan' i didn't buy another one of their albums. i think they only had one left too. after 'jacksonville city nights', i stopped buying ryan adam albums and i think we all know he's released a few since then.

i think you reach a saturation point with a band. either a point where you think they're done or a point where you just don't ache for that sound anymore or a point where they don't feel like your band anymore. the relationship between a fan and a band is complicated and often times, ridiculous, but it is real. you do feel affection and love towards this group of people you've never met, but who's music has contributed to your life immensely. and just like a friendship or love has run its course, sometimes being a fan can run its course too.

coldplay, i will cherish what we had. i will cherish listening to 'yellow' and all the songs on 'a rush of blood to the head'. a girl once used one your songs to win my heart. you've achieved great success and adoration all over the world. but i have to move on. i can't be with you and 'mylo xyloto'. it's over, coldplay. goodbye.

happy thanksgiving!

in the spirit of thanksgiving, i thought i would post a clip that perfectly encapsulates the current state of our spirited economy. and for that, we should give thanks.

what's happening brother?

i think when marvin gaye sings, "and tell me friend, how in the world have you been?", it's one of the sincerest moments in music history. it's just saturated with empathy and a kind of tiredness that only someone who has traveled that long road can feel.

i just love it.

written in the snow, pt. 1

i have winterized the music choices in the living room. out with the summer and sunshine, in with the cold and lonesome. here is what is currently in rotation:

1. the autumn defense- circles
2. van morrison- astral weeks
3. neil young- after the gold rush
4. frank sinatra- in the wee small hours of the morning
5. marvin gaye- what's going on

lots of singer-songwriter type stuff. there's more down there. as noted in the blog title, i will be revisiting my winter music rotation throughout the season. please try to keep your excitement in check. any emails asking for advance notice will be rebuffed. harshly.

the abandoned hospital ship

my surgery is scheduled for december 1st. that's a week after thanksgiving to the day. i received two opinions telling me the same thing: torn acl, partially torn mcl, surgery on the acl, no surgery on the mcl. that was good news. if one guy said torn acl and the other said bananas, we would have an issue.

the surgery will take one hour. i will have a new acl put together with a clamp and two screws. i think one of the screws is more of a bolt. not sure on that. i get to hang around the hospital for a couple hours and then they send me home. that will be it. in the morning i have a bad knee and in the evening i have a bad knee with the potential to be good in several weeks.

"we can rebuild him. we have the technology."

in other news, i went to physical therapy last week and got some tips on how to strengthen my knee in the meantime. it was a big help. i can already feel my leg getting stronger. basically he said my quad has shutdown and i have to get blood flowing back in there. i've been trying to do that in the gym, but i haven't been successful. now i can feel a difference. it's funny how i'm doing all this work to get it better right before surgery, then i have surgery and then i have to do all the same work again to get it functioning after surgery. lots of work. for volleyball.

in other, other news, we're getting ready for thanksgiving. we had a feast year and we said we weren't going to that again but it sounds like we're going to do it again. i enjoyed it. i helped with a lot of the cooking last year. it was really fun. the only thing that would make it great is if it snowed. it hasn't snowed since before my birthday.

i went nuts at twist and shout the other day. i spent my birthday gift cards. bought the following:

1. lou reed- berlin
2. spiritualized- live royal albert hall
3. real estate- (new album)
4. m83- hurry up, we're dreaming
5. warren zevon- excitable boy
6. super furry animals- phantom power
7. sparklehorse- good morning spider

i think that's it. i have a soft spot for the super furry animals. good stuff. and i think sparklehorse is one of the most underrated bands of all time. so good.

last night

i'm not sure what i saw last night. i think there was a football game of some sort. it didn't really look like one. lots of bad throws. bad plays. three and outs. i was confused and disoriented. then, out of nowhere, it was crystal clear. there was noise. crowds cheering. people excited. we had won the game.

that's what it's like watching the denver broncos and tim tebow. lots of confusion. lots of ugliness. and then, madness, chaos and a win. it's really amazing. they're running the option! the option! we ran that at channelview high school! the option! and they're winning with it!

it's really amazing.

and how about two whammies for houston sports in one week. matt schaub out for the rest of the season and the astros moving to the AL west. wow. matt leinert is our new quarterback and i have to love the DH. don't know if i can swallow it. don't know if i can take it. i guess i'll get over it. i guess i'll use the glow and aura of tim tebow here in denver to keep me warm and safe at night. thank you tim tebow for looking out for us and protecting us from the harsh reality of the sports world.

king of snails

i'm 32 now. i had my birthday but didn't really consider my age in the whole discussion of the event. i guess age is something that will play less and less of an important role in the birthday scheme. when you're young, each age brings some new level of importance/independence: 16- driving, 18- voting and smoking and military action, 21- drinking, 25- renting a car. and there's some other stuff thrown in there too. but 32? not much different from 31 or 30 or 29.

way back in the yesteryear of 2006, i came up with a plan. i was tired of my life. i was tired of the direction it was going. i was tired of everything i thought i had wanted. so as previously mentioned in the prior sentence, i came up with a plan. the plan was as follows:

1. go back to school for a marketable skill/degree
2. propose to my girlfriend who i wanted as my wife
3. get a new job
4. get married
5. graduate
6. pass the cpa exam
7. move to colorado or oregon, which was my other top candidate

i have done all those things with the exception of passing the cpa exam. as you've seen in my last brilliant post, i did pass REG and i hope to finally pass FAR this month, leaving only AUD in january of next year. either way, however it shakes out, i will pass next year. it will be over at some point. that takes care of everything on the list from 2006. hell of list. hell of a lot of progress for five years, i think. so now i need a new list. a new list for 2012 and beyond. maybe another five years. i like to keep it simple. 20 years is too much. you get bogged down in all the stuff you have to do. new list. here we go in no particular order:

1. buy a house in denver
2. hike a 14er
3. get another new job
4. visit a foreign country, preferably ireland or canada
5. buy silver/gold
6. get master's degree
7. listen to every lou reed solo album
8. start a considerably productive garden
9. meet matt taibbi

number seven will be the toughest.

victory dance

in addition to my amazing birthday night i experienced last night, i got my score back for REG.

i passed.

now i have to pass FAR this month and AUD in january. i've already passed AUD once, but i lost the credit.

i cannot believe i finally passed REG. i failed FAR by two points last time and one point the time before. i'm going to be ready to get those points this time.

and then i'm going to land this thing finally.

if you want to feel how i felt when i got my score, check out the song above and crank it.

they say it's your birthday

i had a bad day at work. no matter how hard i try, i always feel like i'm trying to catch up to everybody else. they've gone to great schools and received master's degrees. they pass the cpa on the first try. all four parts. they're studs, these kids. i try and i try and i do okay. they do great. it wears on me. and eventually i'm either going to win this race, get tired and stop or the race will win. each day brings a different outcome for me.

today, the race was rough. i was running all day and i don't think i got anyway. i came home a defeated man as i often do. but my mood my instantly lifted when i opened the door and my wife had the house decorated for my birthday. there were balloons. there were hats. there were inflated balloons and a birthday sign. this is in addition to the dinner and movie we're going to later tonight.

and as a gift, she got me the smile sessions box set which i've been talking about none stop since it came to my attention that it was being released. i'm listening to it right now and loving it.

i came home a defeated man. one leg. hobbling around. and now i feel celebrated. things can change for you. quick. i might come home defeated most nights. but every night i come home to my wife, i win.

lulu

the reviews have not been kind. i didn't think they would be. i have only listened to about 4 or 5 tracks. i suffered through them. it's lou talking over the common metallica crunch. he doesn't even try to sing anymore. and metallica doesn't try to do anything because, well, metallica sucks and always has. but the two of them together, i thought could be something amazing. something messed up, but truly beautiful underneath. maybe they could pull the best out of each other and return to their true potential. i was probably thinking of another 'berlin' maybe. but the band lou had for 'berlin' was talented. metallica sound like grunge hacks.

still. i wouldn't mind hearing it again. lou always makes me listen twice. but i think i'll wait until it hits the used bin. because i know it will. and very soon.