Memorial Weekend

I decided to take a lengthy weekend - 1/2 day on Wednesday to go to a Rockies game (Fuentes lost it for us in the last couple of innings, that sucked), then took Thursday to go look at potential places to buy with John. We looked at 4, I liked 3 of them and 2 once again had offers made on them - one had 4 by Monday. Why do agents do that to you?? I finally decided that my best bet is the townhome we saw, it has a lot of potential to be an excellent investment property. Fix it up, live in it for a couple of years then sell it. Really a good location in the area. However, with the way my luck has been, I'm not holding my breath that I'll be in the running to get it. I'm telling you, house hunting has not been fun for me one iota.

Thurdsay evening, I went to the zoo with Karen for a members only night. They apparently had some special events going on, but the kids got out of school on Wednesday for the summer, so there were several around - didn't get to see what we would have liked as a result. In addition, it was a little too cool for the monkeys and such to be out so didn't see any of them at all. Karen took some photos - I haven't seen those yet, but I'm sure she got some good ones. Again, please check out her link on the left - she's showing some really good stuff on there!

Friday was an easy day at home, doing some further cleaning and such. Friday night Boots, Karen and I saw a play called "Almost Denver - The Songs & Failures of Jim Aurora," a spoof on John Denver. It was absolutely hilarious - we all highly recommend it, especially for those that have lived in Denver a long time. A married couple in the show wrote it - its a 5 person ensemble that takes turns playing parts (particularly the part of Jim Aurora - they all play him once at different stages of his life) and have made up alternate words to most of John Denver's most popular songs. Again, just a hoot of a play. It's at The Avenue Theatre, corner of Logan and 17th through mid July.

Saturday and today I pretty much stayed home and worked on some little projects. Didn't get as much done as I had hoped, but they are all projects so it'll be a little while before they are complete - but need to finish them before I move as it could affect how much stuff I take with me to the new place - whenever that is.

This last month has been a little grinding. Been somewhat busy. Finished classwork, of which I begin summer classes this coming Tuesday. Doing well there. Moved my office at work - although its not the desired set up I'd like to have, its better than what I had. I'm good with that. Boots and I decided kind of last minute (end of April, actually) to get season tickets to the Outlaws pro-outdoor lacrosse league games for the summer, so went to our first game of the season last week. That'll keep us occupied for a little while.

Learned that my nephew is moving the end of June, a little sooner than I had hoped. He's going to Morgan City, LA to take classes in underwater welding. Says there is good money in it, but I know he hasn't been doing any swimming lately or practicing for whats to come. His mother is moving with him, going to pay for the place for them to live. Kiel isn't learning how to take care of himself and at the ripe age of 19, isn't learning all that he needs to become independent. I'm really worried about that and not sure that there is anything I can do to help him get through that portion of his life. He needs to learn more about paying bills and budgeting. Don't know if I should give him a book to learn about that or if he has a computer, give him some Quicken software he can use to help him budget as well. I know he doesn't like to owe anyone but that doesn't mean he knows how to save for the long term. Guess all I can do is hang out and be there for him when he has the questions.

That's all for now, hopefully I'll have some good news in the near future. . .

Adminstrative Assistants Day

Yesterday, I had a pleasant surprise. 1st, I received some really pretty flowers in this REALLY heavy square glass vase from my boss, Todd. In addtion, he brought back a gift from their trip to Mexico. That was a nice surprise (doesn't count that I said "bring something back for your favorite secretary!). Anyway, I am the one to usually handle things, so many times I would get left out of receiving much of anything. Todd has already taken me to lunch twice since he started in January, plus I've been to lunch with the team (TMs and him) twice so far. They all took me to lunch last week which was nice.

On Monday, we all get to go out and take the new SA to lunch so everyone can get to know her. Still a sore subject to me, but it's not her fault, so I don't blame her for being in the position I should have been in. Blame that on my boss. But we'll see if he follows through on all of the promises he has made me.

This has been a kind of busy week. Sunday, Boots and I went out looking through neighborhoods and at houses. All of the houses that John (my real estate guy) pulled up for me were really not all that great - although we found one really cute and small house off of the turnpike and Pecos up north. Not sure I'm sold on a dinky house, but it was cute and had a very well manicured yard - you can tell that these people took care of the house, but better yet really want to sell it. I haven't checked the price on it yet, fear it is out of my measly price range.

Monday I had class, taking written and practical final for the weightlifting class. I need to renew my membership (all of $30 for 4 months - length of summer semester). Not sure where I am going to end up living yet, but for $30, I can go workout there until I move at least. Just need to keep my butt going 2-3 times a week. It's hard to get myself motivated to go there, but once I do I'm always glad I did. Really need to get better at that.

Rest of the week has been somewhat uneventful, so going to Herman's Hideway tomorrow night w/Boots to see one of her co-workers in a band. Saturday day time will be work, prepping my new office. Saturday night is a jewlery party w/Stephenie. Need to give Sophia her B-day gifts I got for her Sunday, found the cutest little outdoor patio set for her plus a couple of cute outfits that she will grow into, then out of, pretty quickly. She's just the most precious little girl. . .

I'll write more as the days come and go. . . so much will start happening, hopefully I'll be better about writing about it all!

Meeting the Famous

Last night, I volunteered for the Denver Press Club once again - this time at their annual Runyon Award dinner. Boots and I helped with some set up then worked the registration tables. Boots has once again remembered why she doesn't like working the table - she can't hear well out of one ear and apparently it was really driving her nuts last night! But, we got through that within an hour and then sat at probably one of the best tables of the night.

The honoree this year was Tim Russert, host of "Meet the Press." Wow, what an impressive individual. Unlike most journalists, he really enjoys educating the public, helping them make their own political decisions instead of telling them how they should think or vote. If a politician puts forth a discrepancy in a statement that goes the opposite of something they said earlier, he will "catch" them in their own words. He told a couple of really good stories about those instances. What most impressed me is what a genuine person he is. I had the opportunity to chat with him for about a minute going up the escalator. In between my babbling, he mentioned what a great race we have coming up with bringing in a new US Senator. I told him that I really like Bob Schaffer, as he is a very honest (although sometimes TOO honest) guy that sticks to his morals. I'm sure he will take that with him to the table sometime soon. We are really the state to watch this year, especially with the DNC here in August. Boots wished he would have told more stories. . . she really likes hearing about how certain people are to work with.

Anyway, it was a great event and I'm very honored that I had the opporunity to help out. Now, I once again look forward to the Gridiron this fall - it'll be VERY fun due to the Presidential election year we are in.

Lots happening, yet nothing really has happened. I took the day off and went to the Rockies Home Opener game with Kirsten and the fam - and they lost - to Arizona - all 3 games. Then we had our first "Ladies Night" game last Wednesday. I took Karen with me for this first one. The Rockies won that one 13-7 so woohoo - 4 tacos for $1 at Taco Hell!! The Rockies have already played 6 games against Arizona and only won one of them. We figure it's payback for 1) beating them 3 out of 5 games during Training Camp and 2) for beating them for the NL Championship. Oh well, we'll see them a WHOLE LOT more this season!

Karen's Pics

My friend (and keeper of the house I live in), Karen, has been working on her photography skills for the past year and a half. Over this period of time, her work has really blossomed - I'm really proud of what she's been able to accomplish - I told her she did good work a long time ago, she didn't believe me. Now her work is just awesome and worthy of sharing. Please check out the link http://www.flickr.com/photos/floyka/collections to "Karen's pictures" and you'll see what I mean!

Vegas Part Duex - the working side

So after our pretty tame weekend, I had to go to work on Monday morning. After having breakfast at Marino's restaurant (I personally think he'd be horrified if he knew how bad it was), I grabbed a cab and went to the Renaissance Hotel where our Dealer Meeting was being held. Getting there a little earlier than I intended, I immediately saw a couple of our dealers, so I chatted with them for a few minutes. Then Debra, an SS from the Chicago District found me and we grabbed coffee and chatted for a bit until Sue, Cindy and Kristi got to the hotel. After everyone got their luggage put away (we couldn't check in until after 1pm), we grabbed a bus and went to the Wynn hotel, which was actually a stone's throw away - but it was windy, and with that wind came some COLD air.

This was my first time in Wynn's (as was for everyone else). What a luxurious hotel! We walked in from a side enterance, into the casino - it is all very open with super high ceilings. We walked down the corridor and found a restaurant called Tableau. Wow, what a great lunch, with a fabulous view of the pool area. Oh, I should mention that they have no "real grass" there, but have some pretty authentic looking synthetic type of grass. We all chatted, where I decided to ask questions about the SA position. I know it brought up some questions with Sue, who is my counterpart in Salt Lake, as well as a mentor. I'm thinking she was a little iffy with the idea. Anyway, I came back with some positive feedback, so started to mull over the possibility of taking on that SA position.

When we got back to the hotel, it was time to start preparing things for the meetings. We had to put together name badges, double check rooming lists, etc. This is where all of the tough stuff happens - as long as no one on the outside knows what is going on, then we know all is good.

That night, Skip and I decided to take some guys to dinner. We took 9 people, all Premier Dealers, to a restaurant at Caeser's Palace called Joe's Stone Crab and Steakhouse. It was a great dinner, awesome company and a HUGE bill - over $1300 for 11 people. If Skip hadn't kept plying everyone with wine, I could have kept that down quite a bit. By the time we were finishing up, Gino was getting pretty schnozed. He had us laughing so hard before we left . . . once we got back to the hotel, it just kept on going. JD, another one of our dealers, who seems like a pretty reserved older gentleman, is actually pretty fun. He doesn't get excited about anything, but around 11pm, had brought several of us together for a game of "Quarters" on the lobby floor of the Renassaince. We picked a line (all was in marble) and would slide our quarters across the floor - the one closest to the line got all of the left over quarters. By this point, I had drank 2 glasses of wine and 2 white russians. Then my boss, Todd, got involved and the guys kept getting me more drinks - whether I wanted it or not. Oh, and then there is the VP of Residential operations, Rob. Not the typical executive who is stuffy or even shy. He talks to everyone and partied pretty hard himself. He was having thumb wars with Deb and hugging all of the other SS's that were there - telling us we are what makes the company go round. . .I know he meant it, but sometimes I'm not sure how much the company really values us. Anway, I escaped at 12:30, feeling VERY light-headed myself. Tuesday morning brought on a pretty good headache. Oh, and my gut hurt from laughing at Gino pretty much the entire time.

The next two days were pretty smooth, with a couple of "hiccups" along the way. I met the President of our company, Todd Bluedorn which is huge for any employee - we have well over 3000 people working worldwide, but I hear he does remember people he meets.

Our last day was a "hurray!" day. . . it was over! Waiting for cabs to get us to the airport, some of the guys (variety of our customers) were near the front of the line and invited me to join them on the ride to the airport - so we took a limo (cost $60 for a 10 min ride, go figure). While at the airport, I spoke with Skip about me taking the SA job. We "walked and talked" for quite a bit. He thinks I would do well in the position. I felt that his opinion would be key to me thinking more about the possibility of taking on the new job. As we walked through the airport, we found a place to sit for awhile and have lunch with customers (we were about 3 hours early for our flight). So, I bought beverages (beers and sodas) for them and Skip actually picked up the tab for the food - he got off really cheap on that one.

So my 5 days in Vegas came to an end. The girls and I talked about making this a yearly trip, and taking it around April/May when it is much warmer, but not too hot yet. We'll stay at a different hotel each time and try to see 1-2 shows while we are there. Heck - just the people watching is enough to keep you busy!

Vegas Part One

Probably going to do this in pieces - so much has happened in the last 4 weeks that turning it into one blog entry would put Sleeping Beauty right back to sleep - without drugs!

So, the big birthday was pretty uneventful. Had dinner with Karen, Kirsten, Kim and Shannon at TGIFridays at Northfield Stapleton, good to always get with the girls. Kim bought my dinner, that was nice of her. Last year, no one bought my dinner - but we ate at the Aquarium and it was a little expensive, so guess I don't blame them on that one. Anyway, Shannon and Kirsten met last summer when she went with us to the Rockies vs. Yankees game. None of the girls believe that Shannon has 4 kids, she still looks like she's in her 20's. Pretty good for being in the late 30's! After we ate, I did a quick trip to New York & Co. to see if they have anything I couldn't live without - they didn't, so no more money spent.

The following Saturday then started with me getting my weekly "homework" workout in, came home, took shower, finished packing, went to David James to get my hair cut (damn, did it look good - glad I did it RIGHT before we left!), then went to the airport. Kim called me just as I was coming up to the Sky walk to see where I was. Then, Tish was standing in security as I got there, so that worked out well! We found Kim, then went over to Quiznos where we saw Bill, one of my company's customers. We sat with him as I ate some lunch and the rest of them drank. Then we saw Dave from another company. When we sat at the gate, saw Jim and his wife, so everyone sat together. Then came my boss, so I introduced him to the folks he hadn't met yet (all but one he was familiar with). Kind of fun having so many people you know on the same flight.

Once we got to Vegas, it was *whew* and *let's get started* all at the same time. It was still daylight, and Tish was already in awe as we were driving to the hotel - which was literally on the backside of the airport. Our room even faced the airport! Once Kim, Tish and I settled into our rooms at the Hooters Casino (and hotel), we went downstairs to check out the casino and little shops - place was pretty small, but cute. Pool area was pretty cool as well, but didn't get to really hang out there. Then we walked over to the MGM across the street, where we got something to eat at this really classy "Mexican" restaurant - had these killer Pomegranite Margarita and an appetizer. We were meeting Tish's dad, son and neice at the Rio a couple hours later, but we were famished so needed to get a little something before we headed over there. Tish was once again in awe of the Casinos - we came in the side where the Lion habitat is, and ended up way on the other side where the restaurant was. Wanted her and Kim to see all they could.

We took a cab to the Rio, where we caught up with Jane, Phil, Ryan and Amber. I hadn't seen the kids in about 2 years, so it was great to see them again. Apparently they flew in Friday night (Phil and Judy had been there all week already for business) and got pretty hammered on Friday night - Ryan wasn't feeling all that well. They were in a nice sized 2 bedroom suite near the top of the hotel - it was VERY nice. Being on a conceirge floor is always fun, since they leave stuff in your room almost everyday. Kim wasn't hungry so she played down in the casino while we got something to eat. We went to what we thought was a restaurant, someone told Phil they had good steaks. Got there it was a piano bar - we didn't mind it, but it was noisy and you couldn't talk to each other, so we went to the huge "world" buffet. I had always heard about this place, but never went to it (usually has a 1-2 hour wait to get in). Since Phil was considered a "valued customer," he had one of those fast passes that gets you by the lines (kind of like in Disneyland, but with food). We got in within 10 minutes of arrival. This place had SO MUCH FOOD - different cuisines, I think it had like 10 different food bars there. I only made it to 4 of them. It was good food, wouldn't call it the greatest, though.


After that, Phil, Tish, Kim, Amber and I went downtown to Fremont Street so Tish could experience that. Again, in total awe. Phil had been teaching Amber how to play cards, so we went into a couple of places before the big show started. It was fun and flashy. Then we went to the Bellagio to watch the fountains, but it was too windy (and damn cold), so we went into the hotel to see the lobby part (that in itself took a 1/2 hour - see cool huge standing figure at left). Then we went back to our hotel - I went to bed around 12:30, Kim was up playing Texas Hold'em until sometime around 3am! You go girl. . .


Sunday, we just cruised around a little more around our corner of the strip - I was up early as usual, so went downstairs to play some slots (they usually pay better in the mornings). I was up $130, but of course, lost that during the course of the day. We went back to the MGM to play a little, went to the M&M and Coca-cola stores (guess Tish didn't believe me when I told her it was 3 or 4 stories tall). Then we walked to the Harley Davidson Cafe for lunch. On the way back, we stopped at a Hawaiian mall and looked around - got hooked into getting foot massages. I'll tell you what - that was the best $20 I spent all weekend! It made the rest of my day go so much better! Once we got back to the hotel about mid-afternoon, we were pretty tired, so we all went up and took naps. We then went down to the actual Hooters Restaurant to eat - I remembered why I don't eat hooters wings after awhile. Then we went across the room to see Bobby Slayton. That was an interesting show, he was funny, but spent a lot of time just busting women's chops, as well as Gays, Mexicans and the like. It was all about cutting down everyone. I have to say, it did get old after awhile. After that was over, since I had to go to work the next morning, I went ahead and went to bed.

The following couple of days will be put into a separate blog later today. I'm currently home with a respiratory infection - bored as hell!

Another Year is Passing Me By

Tomorrow is the recording of the big 4-3. Not much has affected me as I get older, but I find today that I am starting to have trouble with it. Right now, it seems as if my life is passing me by. All I seem to do right now is work (10 or more hours a day) and doing homework (Feels like I'm always catching up), with workouts (also homework to an extent), yoga and a few fun things sprinkled about here and there. Although I am doing things to try to make my life better, I still feel at the same time that I'm just existing. This is just downright getting depressing.

Last weekend, we did a "Best Picture Showcase" at the AMC theatre, where we watched all 5 Oscar nominated films - this equated to about 10.5 hours of sitting down, with the other 1.5 hours trying to walk around and get some exercise in between. Kirsten and I started doing this last year when this event first came about; this year Karen went with us - we got the seats we wanted with some space to spare (and much needed). It was fun but tiring by the time we were done. The entire day was just flat out busy - period. I'm not sure that I completely wound down and relaxed as much as I hoped I would.

Anyway a recap of the movies:

Michael Clayton - the end started first, George Clooney is "HOT" as well as a great actor. The story line was a little difficult to follow at first, but once you got mid-way into the movie, you saw what was up. Great cast, great story.

There Will Be Blood - good reason that Daniel Day-Lewis won best actor for this movie. He really stretches past his boundaries when he acts, and this story pushed him to the edge of sanity in his character. Movie was pretty intense in many spots. Really would recommend seeing it.

Atonement - somewhat of a disappointment, not what I expected (not that I had much of an expectation). Good acting, bur really, when I think about it, it was more about a little girl that did something dreadful - although she didn't think so at the time. A film full of regrets and what ifs. Too depressing for me.

Juno - the best movie I have seen in a long time! But sadly enough, Michael Cera and Jason Bateman didn't have a single scene together - oh, what I would have given to have that chemistry come back (reminicent of Arrested Development). There was a really good reason why Ellen Page was selected for a Best-Actress nomination. A 21-year old that plays a 16-year old - been done by older girls, but man, does she pull it off most excellently! Great lines such as "that ain't no etch-a-sketch. This is one doodle that can't be un-did, homeskillet" or "I've got to pee like Seabiscuit" (which puts "pee like a rushing race horse" to shame). The lines and humor just flow out of Juno's mouth like a chocolate shake - A definite MUST SEE movie. . .

No Country for Old Men - Wow, that Javier Bardem is one HOT foreign dude, and man, does he play the psychotic bad guy to a "T"! A messy movie with a not-really-ending ending (bad guy doesn't die, does a lot of damage in the meantime). Might have to watch that one again, think I missed something. Powerful movie, though - and explains the real use of a portable air tank.

Time to go to bed and get some sleep for the "Big Day." Catch y'all on the flip side!