Hiking With Lincoln

I have the next six days off. I'm thinking it's time for an old fashioned American Labor Day road trip. Nothing to far away, as I also have grown up responsibilities to finally tackle. Like, having the Homo Depot come to the house for a estimate on new carpet, and re-doing my sadly overwhelmed shoe shelves on my side of the closet. In between all items on the "honey do" turned "do it or die"  list, I'll still have time to strap the ol' bike to the car and head up into the mountains. 

The one hike I did years ago, and  have been wanting to go back every year is up to Marble, Colorado.  A picture-perfect historic mining town with a massive marble quarry burrowed deep into the Rocky Mountains. The marble of the quarry is considered to be of exceptional quality and has been used for the Tomb of the Unknowns, as well as for parts of the Lincoln Memorial. As you hike to the mouth of the quarry you begin to notice that you are hiking past replacement parts for the Lincoln Memorial. Huge slabs of stone carved into the columns surrounding Lincoln.  It's mind blowing if you can catch your breath and think about it. 

What a perfect way to avoid adult responsibilities. I think I'll stop blogging now and go for a hike.

    

Denver Modernism Show

This last weekend I was on assignment for the Mile High Gay Guy blog. It was an easy mission, explore the Denver Modernism ShowThis last weekend I was on assignment for the Mile High Gay Guy blog. It was an easy mission, explore the Denver Modernism Show held every August at the odoriferous National Western Stock Show and fairgrounds, and file a report. My attendance was really a given because my homo-sex-companion-partner had entered his classic car into the “Motorama Car Show, and I personally look forward to this annual "mid-century" trade show. 

This year again did not disappoint. Booths filled with mod kitchen appliances, vintage clothes, and 50's inspired hip artists filled the convention center. Our large group quickly splintered as dresses were tried on, mixing bowls tracked down, and me... well... I went straight for the food booths. 

After sixteen bucks of pizza, I began my mission. Find something, totally cool to blog about, and the mid-century hipsters didn't disappoint. I stumbled upon classic radios modified to play your iPod. 

Any one of these radios would be a great addition to any retro loving nerds Christmas list.  These amazingly works of kinetic art were a show stopper for me. The link to buy one of these from PALETTE Contemporary Art & Craft is below. Please Check out their complete listing of modified radios. 

Oh, and our car didn’t win a prize in the car show. Even after Mondo Guerra rubbed his boney ass against the paint job. There is always next year.  

PALETTE Contemporary

Parking Lot

Sitting in the gym's parking lot, I had an amazing view of Boulder's Flatirons. The Flatirons are a row of jagged rock outcroppings in the foothills above this picturesque town. They are so beautiful it persuaded the first settlers to give up their trek farther west and settle down in the fertile valley that became Boulder. 

As I gazed at this majestic view, in my peripheral vision came a business man, dry cleaning in hand, crossing the expanse of parking lot. He didn't make an impact on me until he attempted to open the back door of his Lexus RX300 SUV. He quickly became exasperated that the door would not cooperate with him and open. His loud profanity broke the spell the mountain range held over me. He flung his dry cleaning wildly as he did that dorky straight guy angry dance. Mr. Business soon realized that the ubiquitous beige SUV that he was pounding on was not his, that his was right next to it. Happy with his Alexander Fleming like discovery he marched over to the other beige Lexus. At this point he had clicked his remote around eight-hundred times. Anyone within a mile could have seen that his uninspired SUV was on the next row, flashing away. I guess three people fell under Lexus’ fake luxury spell. 

I thought about getting out of my car and explaining that the second car he was about to assault was also not his. I stopped myself because I realized that this was his lesson for buying such an overly produce, lame, overly-hyped vehicle. The FlowBee of the SUV world. Instead, I watched the dance happen over again before he looked up to see the flashing headlights of his version of the brown box flash at him. 

I thought this event was a perfect analogy for  my work week. Me attempting to force open locked doors, jumping up and down to convince the doors to open, before raising my head up and finding the correct door that would open. 

I stopped staring at the mountains and went inside the gym to work out. 

Nice class, Bro

Summer of 2013. The summer of the ironically horizontal "bro striped" tank-top.  Although I loved the summer of 2013, and mocking the boys in their over-sized tank-tops, tomorrow, summer ends. Well, for me anyway. 

Tomorrow is the first day of my fall semester of school. Yes, it's back to school time for your little StevieB. Jeepers, where did the time go? It seemed just  like yesterday I was endlessly whining about how much I wanted my Spring semester to be over, and now school is starting again. 

I do have to warn you. I am taking a psychology AND a sociology class this semester. I warn you of this because I'm sure my blogging will take on a "college student taking a psychology class vibe." You have been warned. I'll apologize now. 

The reason I'm taking these two classes is completely due to the university canceling my super-cool, I-was-totally-looking-forward-to-taking history class with my favorite professor. Then the school called and said, "no one else wants to take that lame class and learn about the Seven Years War." So they cancelled it. Jerks.  How will I get all of my useless trivia about Anglo-French rivalries now? On the streets?! 

I'll attempt to move past this, somehow. If you need me, I'll be in class. Learning psychology stuff. In my tank-top. 

Kum & Go

This is the summer of my work day starting at five in the morning. I chose this schedule to get to work before all of my coworkers, in hopes to complete my daily tasks long before anyone else arrives. Also, I have really enjoyed getting to the gym in the early afternoon, instead of right at five o’ clock with the masses. 

I have to say, I really am enjoying this plan. Even if it means getting up at three o’clock and leaving the house just as my neighbors are walking up the sidewalk after a night out. The part of this plan I didn't account for was going to bed before it was dark out. So, really it's the summer of sleeping five hours a night.

Leaving the house before four gets me to my local gas station, the Kum & Go, just in time for all the predawn drama. Who knew a simple stop for coffee would include the involvement of small town theatrics the likes not seen since that Shakespeare bloke. 

The epic I'm referencing begins as I pull up to the front of the huge Kum & Go sign. This is when the curtain is raised on the same frumpy Hispanic woman, with two kids clutching onto her, searching through the movies on the Red Box machine. She may not have a face as she is always pressed against the ATM style movie renting box. I always say “Good Morning” to her terrified brood wondering who rents movies at four A.M. I never spend much time on this character, as I am always pulled to the story of the female cashier and her two boyfriends. 

Most days, the Ingenue is sitting cross-legged on the hood of her 1984 Oldsmobile, Cutlass Calais. I always marvel at its showroom condition. For her to be sitting on the hood. She daintily takes a drag from her cigarette as her multiple suitors attempt to woo her with their charm. As every day I pass by this story, and have learned that her husband is “away” for ten years, I have named her Penelope. Last week, I heard one of the suitors says, “you gots beautiful eyes...” Penelope, having heard all this before cut him off with, “I don’t want fake bullshit!” That Odysseus is one lucky man. 

This gas station inexplicably is also a staging point for every Chrysler/Dodge test fleet on their way to do a battle of high altitude mountain driving. With my coffee in hand, it’s not unusual to come out of the store to find a sea of Fiats, 300s, Darts, or even mystery vehicle dressed up in disguise in an attempt to hide new body designs. The technicians and fleet coordinators line up the cars like a platoon to be fueled. I stop and attempt to guess the newest changes to the car under all the cleverly layered bits of plastic. We’ll see in fall, when the new models are unveiled if I was correct. 

I love my daily personal ritual at the Kum & Go. I enjoy seeing the same characters playing their roles over and over. It begins my day, ready for whatever it may bring. 

Friday; however, was completely different. A cold and foggy morning, I pulled in the parking lot to find it abandoned. No renting of movies, no Dodge technicians, the hood of the Cutlass was cold and empty. As I moved from the cold dark, into the warm glow of the fluorescent lighting I spotted Penelope. Alone in the corner making egg sandwiches. No customary “Good morning!’ Just a glance up as I approached the coffee machine. As I met her at the cash register, and her ripping off of plastic food-handling gloves, I noticed she was sporting a Doctor Who themed hoodie.

“I like your hoodie” I cheerfully said. 
Silence. I swiped my card.
“You want cash back?” She said more to the front window than to me.
“No.” I said. Averting my gaze to my styrofoam cup. We finished by Penelope turning on her heels and returning to her work. I sipped my coffee as I slipped into the predawn foggy darkness. 

Other posts about the Kum & Go:
Soundwave 
Panic
Even with a Baby

Vacuuming Cat Shark!

When I first saw this video, I immediately thought that Patrick probably has done this ages ago...

Sky Fall

I have been lucky enough to see some amazing skies here in Colorado lately. 

The open space offers great view of the Colorado Rocky Mountains.