"On the edge" feeling

Have you ever felt like you are just hanging on by a thread...like you could go either way, either good or bad, in certain factors in life?

I feel like this right now for financial. I'm fairly debt-free except my house of course. My only monthly bills are car insurance. Quarterly, I have the waste disposal service ($70) and World of Warcraft ($45) and yearly I have my car registration ($150ish). I should be hording cash into my saving account...but other expenses keep rising up to cover my extra cash flow. :) Food is a big one...isn't it nice to experiment with different foods, wines, have a dinner party, etc. without worrying about money? I'm also looking at getting a new car soon...my car is nearly 7 years old with 144,000 miles. But my goal is to get $10,000 saved up before buying my next car. :)

Hobbies are another thing I feel on edge about. I still love volleyball...but my shoulder is aching at night, my knees hurt going up and down the stairs, and even my back gets sore from playing. Perhaps it's time to give that up? Skiing is still amazingly fun, but it's expensive (see above paragraph), uses up my entire weekend, and is quite dangerous...at least the way I ski. :) I also want to play more guitar...but that would require me getting another guitar as I don't have an accoustic guitar...I do have a classical and 2 electric guitars. But there is a gorgeous guitar down at the store that is AMAZING!...but out of my self-imposed budget. :(

Maybe it's just an early case of cabin fever...I can't buy plants on the way home and work in the yard like I do in the spring and summer! If so, it sure did hit me early this year!

Wine Tasting Results - January

Whites:
1) Chateau St. Jean, Viognier, 2002 -- $14 (great with fruit!)
2) 7 Heavenly Chards, Chardonay, 2003 -- 16 (fruit and cheese)
3) Fetzer, Gewurztraminer, 2004 -- $15 (great with sharp cheddar!)

Reds:
4) Ecco Demani, Chianti, 2003 -- $11 (meat dish, lasagna, heavy meal, etc.)
5) Vivac Winer, Refosco, 2004 -- $15 (very dry oak/nut flavor -- New Mexico wine!)
6) Hartfort, Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast), 2001 -- $15 (yummy)

Dessert Wine:
7) Chocolate Cherry Velvet (Honey/Cherry wine) -- $20 (incredible!)
The Mountain Meadery
3701 G Rd.
Palisade, CO 81526

Play21

My new play list I ventured out a bit...many of the song I'd heard one time and purchased them from iTunes. Other oldies came to me from friends...I had to go out and buy Concrete Blonde's Recollection CD!

01 Blue Orchid - The White Stripes
02 Portions for Foxes - Rilo Kiley
03 Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Pt. 1 - The Flaming Lips
04 The Skin Of My Yellow Country Teeth - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
05 Free Until They Cut Me Down - Iron & Wine
06 Mexican Moon - Concrete Blonde
07 The Town That You Live In - Sherwood
08 Violet - The Birthday Massacre
09 Home (Album Version) - Michael Bublé
10 Empathy - Crosstide
11 In This Moment's Time - The Coral Sea
12 Release the Squid (Box 6) - The Deathray Davies
13 Joey - Concrete Blonde
14 Shadows of Ourselves - Thievery Corporation
15 You're Beautiful - James Blunt

Music: Clap your hands say yeah

Oh my...what a different sounding band. I totally dig them. "The Skin Of My Yellow Country Teeth" is so radically happy that it's hard not to dance to it. I want to get a webcam and lipsync/do silly things while that song plays just to see if it'll go around the internet!

(on a slightly related note) Thanks to my friend, Brad, I have discovered http://www.pandora.com. It lets you create channels and recommends/fills in other songs for ones you may want to order. Great stuff. Best of all, it's still free.

My Elf Name

Your Elf Name Is...

Trixie Mc Flurry

What's Your Elf Name?

Music: Iron & Wine

So I recently purchased the soundtrack to "Garden State" which featured some incredible music. It's mostly soft, very folk, but just amazing. Coincidently, I saw the movie, "In Good Company" with Dennis Quaid, Scarlet Johannsen, and Topher Grace. Excellent movie...great to watch on a snowy day, or as a date film, or as a nice "pick me up" film. Great underlying themes, etc...actually kind of surprising that it's so darn good.

A commonality between the Garden State soundtrack and In Good Company soundtrack is an artist named Sam Beam, from his group called Iron & Wine. Very soft, folk-like, but amazingly deep and thoughtful.

One theme of one of his songs, "Such Great Heights", is how everything looks perfect from so far away. Isn't this true? Ever seen a low quality picture, thumbnail size, that was just amazing...but when you blew it up to become your desktop wallpaper, it was full of imperfections? How about other folks lives? From a distance, they seem so perfect and complete. But upon closer inspection, they contain blemishes, stains, and scars you'd never have guessed from glancing.

Sometimes we are lucky...our closest friends, family, and significant others want that closer look. They want to see both the valleys and the hills of our life. It is there that they'll see the refreshing springs, the snow covered peaks that glisten, and the fields grass that sway in the storm.

Be prepared to catch your breath when taking that closer look. The beauty of great detail is often overwhelming at first.

Too much in my head...

My mind sure does seem to race at times...I seriously thought all the trains of thought that come through the station would be slowing down.

Work has been very interesting. There are shuffles of personnel going on, inside scoops I didn't know about previously regarding my new boss, and a really good friend at work who may be moving to California :(

Home has been going a hundred miles an hour as well. Scott and I hosted Thanksgiving this year. A total of 20 were in the house...and 6 dogs (2 were puppies)! There was my mom, sister, her partner, 3 of their kids (my neices), one neices fiance, another neices boyfriend, my dad, his wife, my step brother and sister (who'd I'd never met before!), my brother and his wife, their three girls, and a friend of mine from high school, Dr. Dave....then scott and me. Wow...that was a lot of folks!

No biggie...it's a long weekend to recover...but Dec 3rd, the Saturday after that, was our latest wine tasting party. Great fun...I'll have to type the list up and post it here...fun, fun, fun.

My first SONY "music" CD

So I received my first Sony "music" CD that I can't play on my computer...which sucks.
So, part of the settlement is they have to be willing to exchange that with a non-crappy-software CD AND give you the MP3 files (if you so desire).
http://cp.sonybmg.com/xcp
I thought I was getting a really neat CD with Cyndi Laupers new "The Body Acoustic"

Defining BS

Yep...BS = Bullshit. Interesting article:
http://www.runeguild.com/Forum/thread.php?threadid=5832&sid=

Donuts...

Picked up a friend today from Dunkin' Donuts...he was turning his car in to be detailed...anyhow, they are a really good donut, but nothing like the Dunkin Donuts I had in Japan. I love a few Krispy Kremes...but I can take it or leave it. I also like the apple fritters at Safeway (as my waist is testifying).

I really need to starting eating a bit more on the healthy side. I found a place near work that has an amazing lunch! You can get Quiche (? on spelling) and a huge baby green salad for $4.95...or a 1/2 sandwich and salad for $5.45, or a full sandwich and salad for $6.45. Incredibly healthy, tastes amazing, and I love the service there. :)

The NFL and T.O.

Even though I'm not a fan of T.O. (Terrell Owens), I'm glad he was put on T.O. (Timeout) for the rest of the season. It's not as if he's had to work an hour of mandatory O.T. (Over Time) in his self-centered life...maybe this will be a wakeup call for him.

Seriously...my only concern for him was all the Fantasy Football fans that had him picked for the season. T.O. was living the fantasy life...welcome to reality big guy!

Here's a great article on T.O. simply not being worth all the trouble: http://nfl.com/nflnetwork/story/9025428

And a sweet quote: Once again we have learned the truth. The truth is this: There is no "I" in T.O. or in team. But there are three in narcissistic.

Ruthann!

Play18
Originally uploaded by JimHinCO.

For Ruthann...alternating fast and slow til cooldown.
Ruthann likes to run...a lot! So this should help her alternate her insane pace with her relaxed one!

Our Oct. 22nd wine tasting...

Thanks to Jack and Lynn for hosting! They provided an incredible green chili, red chili, and amazing views of the mountains from their beautiful Monument home!

Whites:
Kings Estate - Pinot Gris (Oregon, 2003, $14). Goodwith Fruit and Cheese.
Vally of the Moon - Pinot Blanc (Sonoma 2002,$15-$20). Shrimp Louis
Johanssisberg Riesling (Beringer, 2004, $12). Fruit,cheese, dessert.
J. Lohr - Chardonnay (Arroyo Seco, 2003, $18). Apples& Fontina.

Reds:
Kings Estate - Pinor NOir (Oregon, 1999, $22).
7 Deadly Zins - Zinfandel Mix (Old vines, 2003, $17).Home Ranch - Zinfandel (Alexander Valley, 2000, $15).
Coppola - Merlot (Blue label, 2003, $19).Ironstone - Cabernet Franc (2001, $12)
Chateau Saverain - Cabernet Savignon (1998, $21).

Champagne (with ice cream):
Mumm Napa - Demi-sec (semi-dry, $20)

It was a really amazing party...we were all laughing and laughing! Oh...maybe that was the wine?

Being Positive

A friend of mine gets e-mails from a south pole blogging site...he forwarded this on to me:

It's been a wonder to maintain connnection to those capable of maintaining a positive outlook, when there's nothing to divert them from themselves.

John Bradshaw once said, "You cannot blame an orange for giving you orange juice when you squeeze it, because that's what's inside." The same goes for people. Winter squeezes people, and sometimes shit comes out - well, because that's what's inside.

Hopefully you have learned what's inside, and can decide to accept that or change within yourself - because those are really the only permanent changes we can make. When you get down to it, that stuff inside is what you are made of and it shapes the way you operate in the world, the situations you create around you. It shapes your character. If you live in a world that angers/frustrates you, well, you can't be surprised that a lot of people won't want to get really close to that - only those willing to commiserate.

Continue to find humor in the world without avoiding reality (and without being taken advantage of), and I would say that you go a long way to creating the world you want to live in - rather than have the world mold you into something you don't want to be. This is your inner world, the world you are immersed in every day.

Enjoy, happy trails, and keep in touch (especially with pictures when you are doing things extraordinary).

Weather for South Pole Station
The date is 10-27-2005 at 08:06 AM

Temperature
-49.8 C -57.6 F
Windchill
-70.1 C -94.2 F
Wind
13.9 kts Grid 57
Barometer
683.5 mb (10496 ft)

CondoView

CondoView
Originally uploaded by JimHinCO.

I went up to Scott's parents condo on Sunday to enjoy lunch with them. The view was simply amazing.

Weird stuff happening...

...kind of a weird time in my life. I'm 36, I've got a great paying job...but obviously one I can't retire from (it's a short-term contract w/the govt), a great life partner (amazing is probably more appropriate...but I could slew a score of adverbs and adjectives and never truely describe how incredible Scott is to me), and I live near my family. But I feel like I'm missing something. Not missing something physical or emotional, but missing something like what my role in the world is type of thing.

At the same time, I feel I've stretched myself thin. There seems to be too many that need help, support, encouragement, etc. and I'm struggling with keeping my head above water. Perhaps my life seems like a Jimmy Stewart scene where I simply don't realize that I'm making an impact. Surprisingly, I don't feel frustrated, wound-up, angry, or even helpless. I do feel focused, driven, and useful.

It all comes back to seeing the whole puzzle...even though I'm only working on the 300 pieces that consist of the blue sky...where every piece is near identical in color, hue, and saturation, but it only fits in one specific place in the grand scheme of things. Patience, persistence and tenacity are required...but it'd be so much easier if I could do the edges and corner pieces. :)

Numbers...what a dream...

So, as a mathematics geek, I'm simply amazed by basic math formulas that folks utilize to solve problems. Of course, they don't see them as math, but it is those old geeky algebraic formulas from highschool. :) The series, Numbers, has brought a lot to light recently on how mathematical formulas can be utilized in solving crimes. Granted...it's hollywood...and 33% of all murders go unsolved in this country every year...but still.

So last night, I had this dream that I was in some "think-tank" room going over mathematical probability formulas for a certain scenario. The professor kept formulating and reformulating but wasn't grasping the "relate it to real life" concept that so many cognative-elites fail to do. He kept coming up with a "yellow horse" as the answer over and over and over. But of course..."yellow" horses don't exist. I explained that "yellow" is what someone would likely call a "palamino" if they didn't know the word, "Palamino". Another thinker kept saying his derived formula was coming up with a "leopard" horse...I had to explain that that was likely a "Appaloosa"...

All the mathematics in the world moved those folks into answers that they couldn't relate to real life...for just a simple lack of experience.

Books are part of learning...an integral part...life experience is the other part.

Sleep...where art thou?!?!?!

Does anyone else seem to be going through a weird lack of sleep cycle? I've been trying to go to bed at 9:00...I seem to awaken at 1:30...fall back asleep and wake up between 4:00 and 4:30 and then get outta bed. :( I really want to sleep a full eight hours and be less cranky. :)

Wine and beer and cognac...oh my!

Wine update: King's Estate Pinot Grigio is still my favorite white wine. Sure, it's $14 a bottle, but it is so darn good! Seven Deadly Zins is still my favorite red wine...but I'm looking forward to other reds soon at a wine tasting (this Saturday, Oct. 22).

Beer: So I finally had a Guiness and it's pretty darn good...for a beer. I was reminded of chocolate for some reason when I tasted it...dark chocolate that is. Beer and me just don't seem to mix. About 1/2 way down, I didn't like the flavor any longer.

Cognac: A friend bought me a bottle of vanilla cognac. Wow, that stuff is amazing. It's a definate after dinner, after dessert sipping drink. But it is a very, very nice flavor and definately puts me in the mode of bedtime.

GoG, 17-Oct-05

DSC00591
Originally uploaded by JimHinCO.

During a walk in Garden of the Gods with my folks from work. That park is just 10 minutes west of I-25...and truely stunning. What a hidden gem in Colorado Springs.