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The Lady's folks live in Santa Barbara....not a bad place to spend holidays and other times off of the normal schedule. I have probably said that before on here but.....there ya' have it. It was my first Thanksgiving with her family and we had a great time. The whole trip was a much needed break from school and work. I was socializing? Yeah....not used to that. Being out and about from morning till night you would think that I would interact with a ton of people but being in the zone I have become somewhat of a hermit on the go. So I had the opportunity to talk with a lot of people out there which was refreshing. I feel more natural that way...more alive. As mentioned before I have tuned my future schedule to allow for more refreshing experiences of this sort. We got some quality miles in on our bikes out there as well. One of the rides we did was Le Cumbre peak which proved to be quite long and difficult given my lack of exercise lately....but really fun at the same time. Below is a picture of the view from the top looking down on Santa Barbara....as well as a picture of my Lady, Father-in-Law and I.
As for Bon Voyage Colorado.....we were at a beautiful home on the mountain our last night in Santa Barbara. A wonderful friend threw a going away party for my in-laws (they are heading out on a year long RV trip across the Americas....more to add in the future I am sure). Anyway, we were leaving at 4 in the morning the next day so were left the party a little early. As we were saying our goodbyes....say.....someone like Pierce Brosnan's twin brother came up to us and in the thickest accent possible said Bon Voyage, Colorado!!!! And we were off!
Vegas is an interesting place unlike any other. Every time I go there I say....that was fun, but I am never coming back. And for some reason I end up back within the next year or so. Is it the faux buildings, the fake people, the chance for riches? Well, most of my visits have been purely because it happens to be on the way to Santa Barbara but there is a certain excitement about being in a place that doesn't sleep. Then there is a certain depressing disturbance watching people indulge in every possible activity that those same people can in no way afford. So....Vegas.....exciting and disturbing all in one big fuzzy ball of energy. My architecture side: There is a new development going up in Vegas called City Center. It is a 68 acre, $7.4 billion project. It will be the essence of over indulgence in a city of over indulgence. Oh but wait.....the development will be LEED certified. Who are you kidding? I mean really. Sure its great that the effort was made. If its going to be built it might is well be somewhat environmentally friendly but....okay well I am back and forth on the issue but something doesn't seem quite right and I believe it is yet another sign that the LEED system, while good, is flawed and could use some tuning. BEHOLD, a Smörgåsbord of celebrity architect designs all in the beautiful landscape of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Today I registered for the final classes I need to take in the spring to finish my Architecture degree. Of course I still have business classes for another year but that's more part time and in the evening so its different. There was a certain burst of excitement upon submitting my choices as if the classes were already completed. I guess I should focus on finishing this semester unscathed first....then move to the next.
My brother has been in Iraq for over a year now. He and his wife come home in a couple months which I am sooooo excited about. The Broncos have a soldier of the game at every home game and Monday Night Football against the Packers was my bro's opportunity to be on the Thundervision. My Dad, and my brothers and I had the opportunity to benefit......that being going to the game for free.
Traffic was insane and I was late. Consequently, the seat next to the humongous walking Bronco was left vacant for none other than this guy. Automatically I knew I was going to really have to step up my game. This is the scenario. Bro pops up on screen gives a few shout out's, camera man pans to us and we give it up for my bro and the Broncos. When you are standing next to the said Bronco there is this overwhelming feeling that you have to do him proud. I did, I think.
I cheered frantically for what seemed like way longer than necessary...glancing at the Thundervision every couple seconds thinking, "seriously am I still up there....I really can't do this for much longer."
Afterwards brother next to me says something like, "Dude, I was a little blown away by your enthusiasm. Totally unexpected."
My response....I don't really remember.
Guy in front of me, "Dude, did you like win something?"
Anyway, good game but the Broncos lost in about 10 seconds of OT.
People aren't joking when they say it rains in the Northwest. I was in Portland for a long weekend for the 2nd Annual ManFest/Fellas weekend. This is basically just an excuse to get together with past college roommates once a year and have a good time. I find it easiest to describe the situation in a list of phrases.....rain, sudden drop in maturity level, potentially destroying relationships at the host person's home court, rain, physical exercise, rain , rain, torn shirts and soft pants, good food, good food again, rain, Doug-fir, possible bad decisions, making fun of bad decisions, sun....oh just kidding...almost, football, ballistic- take 3, gravy breakfast, and that's a wrap. Good times. Now its back home, behind in school, and totally ecstatic about being back at work.
It used to be that I would get new toys on a regular basis. I would give in to the idea that I actually needed something when truly I just wanted it. Times have changed and my self control has improved. Now I start to get stressed out when I have a four hundred dollar balance on my credit card longer than two weeks.
I needed a Digital SLR camera. It was essential to my life's progression that I had this. Alright, maybe not but it felt like a good decision after months of researching and thinking. And so it arrived last week in all its splendor. I got it from www.bhphotovideo.com which I must say I was very impressed with. Their prices were less than others, no tax, and an amazing selection. I would totally recommend them if you know what you want. So far, it is everything I hoped it would be....and more. Now I just need to make time to use it on a regular basis.
Tickets to Chile have officially been booked! We are not sure exactly what we will be doing while we are down there but we know we will be spending a lot of time in Patagonia hiking around. These next few months will give us a chance to figure it all out. And of course we gotta leave some of it up in the air. We will be leaving the day after Christmas and staying for a couple weeks. Hopefully some postings will be made while we are out and about there. It is going to be a great break in between semesters and right after I will be heading into my last semester of architecture school. Holla! If anyone has any suggestions about where to go or what to do in the area feel free to chime in.
