They call me angry.......
Current mood:   annoyed

So once again its been awhile since I have posted a blog on here. School is going good, just started 2nd semester and loving it still. Only about 16 more months to go then I can actually get a job.

Chris died 1 year ago August 11th. Is been a really tough year trying to get over that one. I still miss him terribly. The last 2 weeks of his life I was with him, and in that time we both mended a lot of fences and realized that we were very similar instead of being so far apart. I still am so thankful I got to spend that time with him.

So when I last posted, I mentioned that I tried to get ahold of my 'father' because my son was asking about him. He basically told me that he didn't want to have anything to do with us. Thats his loss. What really annoys the fuck out of me, though, is that I was also filling my two aunts (his sisters) in by sending them the emails I sent my father. My aunts were the last two people I really had left in my 'family' and after reading the email I sent to my father, one aunt called me 'very angry'.

No shit. If you had a father that treated you like you barely existed you would be angry also. My 'father' sucks in so many respects that he truly never earned the title father from Chris and I- our stepfather Warren did. He was the guy that was ALWAYS there when we needed him. Our sperm donor could not be bothered. He was always too busy taking his other family on vacations or doing whatever he did and never had time for Chris and I. He couldn't be bothered to visit me in the hospital when I was told that I could die during the first 48 hours I was there (from 4 blood clots on my lungs) and didn't even bother to visit the 3 weeks I was in there. He lived 45 minutes away. Couldn't be bothered. He couldn't 'find a cheap enough ticket' to come to Colorado and help me when Chris died. He could send my half sister to Florida that week, though. His grandson lived an hour away from him and he NEVER could be bothered to see him. EVER. There's a whole lot more to the story, but all in all, he completely failed as a father to Chris and I, and we both let him know it.

So my two aunts- whom up until this I truly adored and missed terribly- basically turn their back on me because I am the bad guy by letting everyone know what a complete loser my father- their brother- is. They choose to believe that he is some sort of wonderful guy, even though he has proven otherwise. They want to believe their brother is a good father, even though Chris and I pointed out all that he did to us. They really want to believe their brother couldn't possibly be the asshole that we pointed out time and time again, and have simply put blinders on to all his misgivings.

I guess I shouldn't be shocked, though. One aunt has a son who Chris and I were very, very close with growing up. He couldn't go to the little service I had for Chris when I brought back his ashes and put them my moms grave because he had to go away to a Roleplaying get together that weekend...and that was OK with her. In fact, he never even called to say something like 'Hey, sorry about Chris..' Its been one year. Haven't heard a peep. He's 35 years old playing Dungeons and Dragons and living at home with mom. Of course, when his father (my uncle) died in 2003, Chris flew back to MA from CO -as much as he HATED flying and being back in the humidity and weather of New England with is condition- just so he could be there for them. It cost him like a grand, plus time from work, etc, but he did it. Our cousin couldn't be bothered to pay respects to Chris, though.

I was ready to mend fences with my father for my son's sake- maybe forgive....but NEVER FORGET. He told us to fuck off. Fine father type he is. It wasn't even the first time I tried to fix our relationship. I have given him benefit of the doubt quite a few times when he has asked to be a part of our lives again, and every time he has let us all down. I tried to get him to be a part of his grandsons life many times, and each time he never followed thru. I was giving him one last chance.

Anyways, it makes me so sad that my aunts have done this. Like I said- they were really the last pieces of whatever family I had- I guess birds of a feather flock together and thats why they have chosen to close ranks around him. It makes me realize that sometimes family doesn't act like family....and I don't have a family anymore.

Haunted musical gear.
Current mood:   confused

Back on Christmas, 1985, my stepdad- the greatest guy ever- took his Christmas bonus he earned that year and went out and bought himself, Chris and I all new guitars and amplifiers for Christmas. He got himself a red Fender Stratocaster, Chris got a black one, and I got a white one. He also got us some really nice, loud amplifiers. My guitar and amp got stolen in 1990, and it always did bum me out that happened. When Warren died in 1996, his red Fender went to Chris. I ended up taking his amplifier. I used it a little bit over the years, and a few years ago it just sort of stopped working. I do still have it, though its in New Hampshire. Well, when Chris died, obviously I inherited his guitar, plus Warren's, and the same amp he got for that Christmas. Over the last week weeks I have picked up the guitars again, just sort of strumming every once in awhile to chill out while studying. I mentioned to Kerri that whenever I pck up either of the guitars I get a really weird feeling, especially with Chris'. Its sort of like it doesn't want me to touch it, whereas Warrens is sort of like a sadness. Either way, it was really starting to kindof freak me out a bit, so Sunday I went out and bought myself a white Fender just like what I had.
Today, I decide I want to play rock star a little bit and plug my new white Strat into Chris' amp. It went well for about 20 minutes then the amp just dies. Completely dead. I made sure it didn't unplug, everything.....it was just DOA. I am not sure if this is Chris just fucking with me or something, but now I am quite a bit freaked.
I am starting to think this place is haunted.........

RT school Project.....

So one of my classes in RT school is about how to study and learn correctly, which is something I really needed. Part of the class is us making an objective list....I figured I would share mine......

I am taking this program because/to:
1) I want to do patient care again.
2) I want to advance my skills.
3) I want to make my wife and son proud.
4) I want to make a difference in someone elses' life.
5) I want the sense of accomplishment.
6) I am doing this in memory of my grandmother, mom, stepdad and brother.

Short Term Goals (1-3 years):
1) Graduate with my RRT.
2) Get a great position at a great facility.
3) Have another kid.
4) Establish myself in the healthcare facility.
5) Earn additional certificates and education.
6) Possibly get my Paramedic, RN or PA.
7) Earn my next Rolex by graduating!

Long Term Goals (over 3 years)
1) Be a respected Trauma/ Critical Care RRT.
2) Go back to teaching EMT/EMS Students.
3) Get into the management side of care.
4) Get my son involved in public safety/EMS.
5) Be able to retire in 15-20 years.

Back to the grind

I had the last 6 days off from school because of a conference the teachers had and Memorial day. I was supposed to go back to NH, but ended up staying in CO instead. It was good to be able to relax a bit, but the strangest part was I was actually wishing I had school, since I enjoy it so much. Maybe that is a sign of maturity.

Went with Kerri up to the casinos on Friday night, and we ended up playing a little poker. Kerri was kicking ass, to the point she busted out one old regular who left in a huff. Apparently, he doesn't like busting out, especially to women. It was really quite funny to watch. We ended up having a great time though. I haven't played poker in awhile and it was good to see I still have at least a little game left.

Now its back to the grind, doing homework, working on a project and studying for tests.....and I am not complaining. Boy am I getting old......

MORE new Ink.
Current mood:   artistic

So I have been pondering a few tattoos the last few weeks, and Saturday I was looking for something exciting to do and figured I would stop into my tattoo guy's place here in Broomfield. I had an idea of what I wanted- the Star of Life to symbolize my 20 years in public safety, along with some cool detail in it. I ended up having the snake made a little meaner looking, and his tail comes to dow the earpiece of a stethoscope. I had it put on the inside of my left arm, which just hurt like a fucker. I asked Tom, the tattoo guy, if his hurt when he did it, and his reply was "Well, put it like this, I was passed out when I had mine done." Needless to say, that made me even more eager to do it. Boy, did it hurt, but I love the final result. We made it pretty big because we are going to end up sleeving the top half of the arm, and it will fit better once we put more stuff in. I am working on a Grim Reaper for the inside of my right arm, to take up space with my wizard.......

First month is DONE!
Current mood:   accomplished

So the first month of school is over. 1 down, 21 to go. I have actually surprised myself a bit, I am doing better in the math and chemistry courses- better than I ever thought I would- and the A&P has been pretty easy so far. I nailed a huge Chem test today, and next week I only have class Monday and Tuesday (with tests both days, no less) then we are off Wed/Thurs/Fri and Mon, so I am heading back to NH to see Drew and the SOPHA crew.

I majorly fucked up my left shoulder the other day, I am pretty sure I retore my rotator cuff. It hurts like a bastard, thank god for high dose asprin. I can barely lift it above the middle of my chest. I guess it might be time for me to consider surgery on it......not that I want it.

So as I posted a few weeks ago, I got a super hot all Black Littmann stethoscope. Its sweet for sure, but then I came across their new color last night....Chocolate.....to match my Chocolate Tag watch. If I wanna play the part, I should look the part!


I love my Tag as much as my Rolex, so I had to get the matching stethoscope. Always good to have an extra one anyways, and besides, what normal person would really want to swipe a brown scope??

14 days down, 634 to go.
Current mood:   chipper

So I have been in school now for 2 weeks, and I can already tell, its going to be a tough 22 months. We have started out with basic A&P, plus basic chemistry and some math. Fun fun fun for sure. So far I am doing ok, since some of the A&P I knew a little and more is coming back. Drew was on vacation last week and came out to visit, so that made doing schoolwork a little tough because I wanted to spend time with him. I have to most certainly get my head back into the whole school thing- its been a long time and I have to make myself sit and study and do my homework. I should be ok in a few weeks, its just the getting going that is tough.

I bought my first new stethoscope in about 15 years, and it is SWEET. The all new Darth Vader all black Littmann Cardiology 3. I used Littmanns all thru my career on the road and in the emergency rooms, and I wish I could find my old one, but I cannot seem to locate it. Sorta sad, that scope and I had been thru a lot together, but hey, its a whole new world and i have a whole new scope. Hooray.

So I made it home......

After my little pit stop at the Nissan dealer, which ended up being about 2.5 hours for a new transmission cooling hose, I was back on the road home. I had decided that I wasn't going to run all night so I drove till about 11pm, then pulled off to a rest stop and take a nap. When I woke up again around 2am, I decided I would drive again. As I was going up I-80, I kept seeing deer- dead and alive- all over the place. After about 100 miles and 5 or 6 near misses I decided that I was going to just get off the road and sleep at a truck stop. The one I stopped at was sort of seedy so I amde sure I was well protected before I went to sleep. I ended up doing the last 400 miles Saturday morning and made it home around 2pm. 1800 miles, what an adventure.......

2pm. Iowa City, Iowa

So I am tooling down interstate 80 in Iowa, and stop at the world famous I80 rest stop [the biggest rest stop in the USA]. I got gas, and as I was pulling away the truck wouldn't move. The tranny was acting like it was slipping and it went into "safe" mode. I let it rest and cool down, and it reset the computer so I could get to the closest Nissan dealer 40 miles away. They are looking at it now, so my fingers are crossed that I won't be sitting here all weekend....

Earthquake Update.

Apparently the quake centered in Evansville, like 40 miles from me...and I slept thru it. I STINK!

Apparently I can sleep thru eartquakes.

Last night I ended up getting a room in what I can only assume would be a sleepy little Elkhart, IN. Well, this morning I woke up, and the news was on and they were in hyperblab about an earthquake that shook earlier. 5.4 on the Richter scale. Felt from KY to Chicago. Not notice by me. Guess I really was tired.

FINALLY on the road!

I finally was able to get on the road back to CO this morning. I took a little nap on the couch but ended up hitting the road at 3am. I had to stop a few times to shift the cargo because the trailer was all the place, I actually had to unload half the trailer to get it even. After those delays, its been smooth, other than having to stop every two hours for gas...getting a whopping 6mpg's now. Its 7:30pm now, and I am sitting in a rest area in Sandusky, OH. I've done about 750 miles so far and have about 1000 to go. I think I am just going to grab a nap here then pound out the rest of the drive....

Maybe this is a sign...(of what, I don’t know.)

So as I am writing this, I am sitting in the beautiful SOPHA studios in Manchester, NH. I was supposed to be on the road Monday, but after tweaking my back moving shit late last week I decided to get movers to move the heavy crap out of Kerri's condo and they couldnt come until first thing Tuesday morning. No big deal, I can leave Wednesday morning early and still get home Friday night with one nights stop.

That plan got blown out of the shitter yesterday afternoon.

The mighty Titan had a small leak from the radiator, and I decided to stop by Nissan to get it checked out. They took it out back, and the guy came out to talk to me. He's like "yeah, the radiator is cracked, we can do that no problem....but.....did you know you had a cracked leaf spring in the rear suspension??" Needless to say, I didn't. It was basically cracked enough that if I wasn't towing a loaded trailer it wouldn't have been a huge deal, but since I am towing the mighty Titan trailer, its an issue, so now it sits at Team Nissan here in Manchester. They are saying it should be done today, and if thats the case I will more than likely hit the road tonight and drive straight thru to get home.

Now, it wouldnt be such a huge deal to get on the road, but I start school. Monday. Needless to say, I need to get back, and this isn't fun anymore!

Lets review this last two weeks in NH:

1 broken rear end: -$1600.

1 cracked leaf spring:??

1 DOA Radiator: ??

1 trip to Mohegan: +$1000

1 Bushmaster M2A3: -$700

Trips to KC's and other fun places: priceless.

Its sad that the gas home will probably be the cheapest part of the ride. Happy trails to me!

On the road again......

I havew been back in NH for the last week trying to finally get stuff settled with the house and condo. When I got off the plane last week I was convinced that I was just going to sell both of them and forget about them. When I hit the studio, I found out that the legendary Dastardly Dave was going to join the cast of characters at the house, and there were a few more possibly coming, so that sort of put me at ease with keeping the place. I talked to a rental agency about the condo, and they said I could make the monthly payment on that with what they could get if I decided to rent, so I am doing that also.
While I was here I got to see the usual suspects but was incredibly busy the whole time. Of course, it didn't help that I blew the rear end out of the Mighty Titan last Sunday, which resulted in a nice repair bill and 3 days lost without the truck (but I did get a really sexy green Altima.) I also added to my 2007/2008 ticket blitz by getting a ticket for illegal tint about an hour before I smoked the rear end. Good times.
Tuesday morning I hopefully set out on my 1800 mile journey home. Of course, this one will be a bit of a rush since I have to start school nett Monday. Hopefully I won't get any speeding tickets.

New Ink

I have been saying for probably the last 2 years that I was going to get a tattoo on my right arm, and I finally did it yesterday.

I got a wizard. My stepdad was a magician, and was always into wizards. When my mom died, about the only thing Chris and I bickered over was who got what wizards from my stepdads collection. He had quite a few, some pewter, some wood, some other metals. They were all special to him, and special to us, so in memory of him I had it done. Its pretty big- top of my shoulder to just above my elbow. It was done by Tom Cross here in Broomfield, and he is one of the best in the area. Needless to say, I love it.

Now I just want a few more.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, back to school I go......
Current mood:   excited

So I have been unemployed since August, and quite honestly have just been bored to tears. I finally got off my ass and started applying for jobs, but just wasn’t finding anything I really wanted to do. For years I have wished I was still doing something medical related, and finally just figured what the hell, I should just go back to school and do something cool. I looked around and found a great Respiratory Therapist class at a school 10 minutes from my house, and applied. Back in 1995, I was about to take the same class but my ex wife got pregnant and ended up having to work 16 hours a day since she couldn’t work. Now that I have the time and ability, I figured what the hell.

Well, I was accepted today, and start April 21st. 22 month course, and I am sure it will probably suck- tons of homework and stuff-  but I honestly cannot wait to start. While I am in school, I am going to get a job working in an ER to get more hands on experience.

This is going to be fun!!

Do these stitches make my ass look fat??
Current mood:   bummed

So I am officially having a crappy 2008. Last week, Kerri noticed a lump on Yogi’s butt. She called the vet, and I brought him in. Two tumors. Freaking great. With all the stuff that went down with Max, this is absolutely the last thing I needed.

Our vet out here, Dr Rhodes, is just an incredible guy. When Chris died and I wanted to get Max to NH, he took care of everything I needed for Max to travel, and wouldn’t even charge me for it. He cares about every animal that goes in there like its his, and to say he has been awesome throughout everything is an understatement. One of his big things is dental, and we knew that Yogi was having some tooth issues, so I told him to do whatever needed to be done to him since he was going to be under anesthesia anyways.

Yesterday was the surgery, and 2 big ass scars and 17 teeth later, Yogi is looking somewhat like a baboon, and somewhat like Frankenstein. He has a few new names- FrankenYogi, the Toothless Bastard, SmoothAss......take your pic. He is actually doing well, hanging out with the other two pups and acting like nothing happened. We should know in about a week what is up with the tumors, so please keep your fingers crossed for him.......

What a day......

Today was the nicest day of the year so far, it got to 70 and was simply awesome out. I was out on the Harley pretty much all afternoon, and my face is nice and roasted. Days like this make me think that a job would just be silly. I would want to be out riding all the time. My neighbor Rick and I cruised around town, and then we ended up at a bar with an awesome deck maybe 40 feet up, and the views of the mountains were incredible. We sat in the sun, shot the shit and had a great time.

This weekend I shot a HUGE girls volleyball tournament here in Denver. I honestly have never seen anything like it- it was in the Denver Convention Center, and they had something like 75 indoor courts set up. It was very impressive indeed!! I never thought it would be as big as it turned out to be. There were teams from all over the US, to boot. I actually had a fun time shooting it, and the people I was shooting it for were happy with what they saw.

50 Degrees. 1 day.
Current mood:   bored

So I ended up staying in CO this weekend while Kerri went back, I got a last minute job interview and they asked if I could come in Monday, so that basically torpedo'ed my return to Boston. Of course, after talking to Kerri, I am not too sad about it, since she was basically in a blizzard yesterday while I was out riding the Harley in almost 80 degree weather. It was NICE. So nice, I actually got a little color on my face. Of course, today is 30 with flurries and wind. Thats Colorado weather at its finest..........

Yet another plane ride.......

Tomorrow Kerri and I are back on the road, heading to MA and NH for family events. We are only going to be gone Fri-Monday, so now that I am just getting over the whole jet lag from 2 weeks ago, I am throwing myself back into time limbo. Great fun indeed. Of course, its going to be 70 here Saturday, and snowing in Boston. I think I would much rather stay here in Colorado. Its been simply beautiful here all week, I have been out on the Harley every day riding and just loving the sunshine and warm weather. I think if I was back in NH this winter I probably would have had a mental breakdown from all the snow and crappy weather.

I won't blog too much, since someone thinks that I blog like a 13 year old girl.

Poor New England.......
Current mood:   chipper

I've been talking to friends back in New England and reading the weather reports and hear that they got whacked again with more snow.

Sorry kids, 50 today, out on the Harley for awhile, and its going to be 65 tomorrow. No snow.

Have fun!!!

Decisions, Decisions........
Current mood:   annoyed

As some of you know, I have been studio hunting out here in Colorado for the last month or so, basically to open PVP-West. A few weeks ago, I thought I found the perfect place- great size, really good rental rate, lots of potential. Yesterday, as I was plowing thru Craigslist looking to see what other spaces were out there, I came across an ad for a new rental studio.....right in the complex I was going to rent in....in fact, almost next door to the unit I was looking at. They basically built it just as I would have, but they are not focusing on what I would be shooting out there. The real kicker to me is that I was going to rent my studio out also, right around the same rates they are advertising. It would be easy to say "just use their studio", but usually when you do that, you run into people stealing your ideas, clients, etc. so thats pretty much out of the question. Now I have to decide....do I rent the place, start up PVP and rent as competition right there, or am I better off finding a whole different place...........

....and to my New England friends....70. Sunny. Riding Harley in just a sweatshirt.  :)

HiHo HiHo, back to Colorado I go....
Current mood:   okay

Last night was spent hanging around Logan Airport, ended up flying back to CO since I really could not get much done at the house while the big back doors are still snowed in. It was definitely a good visit back, got to hang at the studio, chow down 7 days in a row at KC's Ribshack, and get at least a tiny bit of crap done around there. We are coming back March 1st for teh weekend for Kerri's grandmothers birthday, then I will either drive back then or come back around the end of March or early April and get my truck and crap back here.

Got to play at the casino, it was PACKED when I went there, and I got a seat at one of the the blackjack tables. There was a european guy sitting at 1st base, and I was at 3rd base. There was this sweet little old lady- maybe 80 or so- sitting in the middle of the table- very well dressed, huge beautiful diamond, oxygen tank, playing really solid cards when this New Yorker sits besides her, and his girlfriend took the seat between him and I. The guy had no reason to be playing- it was apparent that he just had no clue- he was hitting while showing a 15 and the dealer was showing a 2, just doing incredibly stupid things. He busted those hands, his loudmouth girlfriend was yapping at the dealer that he wasn't giving them good cards, and he took another hit with the dealer showing a low card and basically busted the table when the sweet quiet little old lady turns to him and goes "DO YOU HAVE ANY FUCKING CLUE HOW TO PLAY BLACKJACK??????" Everyone at the table including the dealer and pit boss just kind of looked at each other partially in horror and partially trying not to blow up laughing. The guy just sat there and even loudmouth didn't say a word. He mumbled something about playing "his game" and played a few more hands then left. It was truely a great moment. I ended up doing ok- got a solid 3 or so hours playing and ended up a little bit up when I left.

Well, I guess i shouldn't rub it in to my New England friends that its 1130 here in CO, sunny and about 50, and getting warmer. Sorry guys! At least I should be able to get out on the Harley today!!!

FTD.com Sucks. New England weather sucks too.
Current mood:   blah

On Monday I set up my Valentines day rose order to Kerri, so it would be delivered since I was away. 3 days before Valentines, and you would think that this would give them enough time to manage whatever logistics they might have to deliver flowers on Thursday. Wednesday night- like at 11pm- I get an automated email saying my flowers were not being delivered on Thursday, and for my inconvienience I would get a $20 coupon off my next order. I tried to call their customer service to rage like the lunatic I am, and they are not even taking calls. They give you this rambling excuse about being overwhelmed by the holiday then just cut the call off. Great customer service. Now, Kerri is getting her roses on Friday, NOT Valentines day, and at some point some poor customer service person is going to incur my wrath. Lucky them. FTD sucks. Don't use them.

I honestly cannot wait to get out of the weather here in New England. Its been gloomy pretty much everyday, and on Wednesday it was doing this snow and heavy rain thing. Today, its going to snow again. Of course, Kerri told me it was almost 70 the other day, snowed yesterday, but going to be warm again. No icy driveway, no heavy wet snow crap. Get me out of this crap!!!!
i

Finally. Sunshine.
Current mood:   sad

Today I woke up to what I think is the first sun I have really seen since I got back here. Its about time....I really hated the dark and dreery crap we have been having here in NH for the last week...of course, I am probably spending the day cleaning out the condo. Lucky me. Moe and I saw sun for about 5 minutes yesterday when we took a road trip to Everett to pick up a nice old iron claw foot bath tub  that we are using as a prop in the studio. One of Dave's many female friends has $2000 in ones ready to dump in there so we can take her picture with them. (You figure it out.............)

Larry, the guy who let us hang in his booth at the the bike show we went to this weekend, took 1st place in the show!!! It says a lot- there were a lot of bikes in his class, and he beat them all.

Trying to move on....
Current mood:   bummed

So the last few days have really, really sucked. I am still so bummed about Max and have been looking at his pictures and still just tear up thinking of him. The one good thing about being here in NH is that I have a great group of friends around trying to keep me busy, to take my mind of everything that has happened.

Friday night, Bud and Dave were heading down to Martha's Landing, a popular bar in Nashua for a lingerie show. They were shooting, and got me to go with them. It was a good time, and I ended up right at the foot of the stage shooting, by far the closest shooter of the 4 of us there. It was pretty cool. Some of the guys in the crowd were saying that they wish they had my seat, and I have to agree, the view was pretty good at times. Of course, I can't post any pics here.....sorry.

This morning, my studio partners Moe and Dave and I headed into Boston for the Northeast Motorcycle show. We were invited to hang in the booth of one of Dave's friends. Dave had shot his bikes, and we were there in the booth trying to drum up some business for the studio. I was putting around the arena checking out some of the bikes, and came across Billy Lane (Choppers Inc.) at his booth. I grabbed Moe, and we went over and talked to Billy for a few minutes. Of course, I had to complement him on his watch, a Rolex stainless Daytona like mine, and we also talked about our being able to shoot his bikes anytime, anywhere. He asked for our card, so maybe we can get some shooting done with him.....his bikes are simply top notch, and it would be an honor for sure to shoot them.

In memory of my little buddy.....
Current mood:   sad

As a lot of you know, my little buddy Max has been very ill. Last night, we had to put him down. He was at the doctor pretty much all day, he had still been throwing up a bit but yesterday it looked like there might be blood in it. The doctors sent him home and last night Kerri got in around 11 and found him foaming at the mouth and just completely out of it. She brought him to the hospital and they told us that there really wasn't anything else that could be done, and I didn't want him suffering anymore.
I am, of course, in NH. Kerri had to call me at 1am to tell me all this and ask me what to do.
I think maybe Chris wanted Max with him, and while I am completely heartbroken about this, that idea brings a little solice to me.
Now, as I sit here in NH at my desk, I have the crate that he was in while we were here, with all his toys, and can't stop tearing up every time I look at it. Every single time I ever looked at Max, I saw Chris. It was like when we were little, and he followed me around everywhere. Max did the same thing. He was my road dog, my buddy, and a great pup. I will miss him just as much as I miss Chris. Rest in Peace, buddy.

Super Bowl Sunday. What a bummer.
Current mood:   bored

Well, my beloved Patriots blew it yesterday...at least they can say they were the best team in 2007, they just lost the big game.

We had our friends (and the Newlyweds!) Dirk and Lindsey over to watch the game. Dirk is a Giants guy, but we still let him in. Just as the game was beginning, Max and Besos decided they wanted to pretty much kill each other. In the ensuing battle, which started on Dirks lap, both of us got our fingers chomped by Besos. Not fun. In fact, I probably should have got stitches, but could not because the game had not even begun yet. It stopped bleeding after about an hour. Just a little flsh wound.

Getting ready to fly back to Boston tonight on the redeye. Its snowing a little here today so hopefully I won't be sitting at the airport all night..........though it could be worse, I could have been stuck at logan......

Some people are just born pieces of shit.
Current mood:   annoyed

So we were renting Kerri's condo to a so- called friend who needed a place to stay. She got kicked out of her old place by her roommates (and even nailed with a restraining order....that should have been a sign) and needed a place fast, and we offered her Kerri's place at a real decent rate because she was for awhile one of Kerri's best friends.

Well, this humongous piece of crap decided she wanted to move to Boston to be with her boyfriend, and ditches the condo. There are/were supposedly other issues involved, she says her car was towed from the lot because it had no sticker, we have told her to produce receipts and she hasn't. Have we seen rent yet? Nope. My friend Bud went over the condo today since she left yesterday, and found it to be a total dump. Bathroom horrific, GIANT trashbag left in the middle of the kitchen floor....this is the thanks we got from her.

We were great to her- her mother lives in NY, and when she wanted to go there to visit, we would let her borrow the Maxima for the weekend or whatever, plus she drove it for like a month while we were in Colorado. Didn't cost her a dime.

With a friend like that, we sure don't need any enemies. Hopefully someday she will get what she has coming to her.

So I shot a wedding tonight........
Current mood:   accomplished

I had the pleasure of shooting at a wedding tonight. Kerri's co-worker Lindsey and her guy Dirk tied the knot in a great ceremony. I figured I would bring the new D300 with me and shoot a little. Well, 4 hours and some 400+ shots, I was finished.

I have to say I LOVE this camera. Its simply the best one I have ever used, period. For all you photographers, it has auto ISO, and I shot a TON with no flash, just using available light since I really do hate shooting with a flash, and am really happy with the way most of them came out. You simply could not have nailed some of these shots with prior Nikons (or at least, they would not have come out nearly as nice...)

I found that I still never want to be a wedding photographer. Wearing a suit and being fat, well, I got hot. Fatty don't like being hot. Plus, there are just so many pics you HAVE to get and if you screw up, well, you suck.

I had people questioning me about being THE wedding photographer, and I told them you just couldn't pay me enough. Then, I had a chef (??!!) come up and ask me who I was and why was I shooting the wedding. Apparently the wedding photographer asked them who I was, and some of the family had no clue who this large fellow with a big camera was. Once I told them I was just a friend shooting it was all good. I talked with the wedding photographer later, and told him the same thing....you just couldn't pay me enough. Cars and motorcycles don't talk back, stand still, and are easier to work with.

The long ride home......

I had the wonderful luck of being able to fly out of lovely Logan last night. It wasn't incredibly busy, but of course they had all of 1 metal detector running, and were basically taking 3 lines of people and jamming them all into that 1 detector. Meanwhile, about a dozen TSA "agents" are sitting at another detector just shooting the shit while the line got bigger and bigger. Typical.

I had Max in his carrier, and when you go thru the detectors you have to take the dog out of the carrier and bring him thru the detector with you. Fine and dandy till you have to get the dog back in his carrier, get yourself dressed again, and get all your bags together. That experience alone is why I just don't mind driving 3 days back to New England.

It was fun being around the studio again and actually seeing great work being done. Once I get back there next week I am actually going to do some shooting again, and I actually can't wait. I picked up a D300 yesterday and since my flight got delayed I had some time at the airport to start to mess around with it. I was a rebel- I took some pics while taking off last night. Of course, it was fuzzy and totally blind shooting, but somewhat cool.....

Homeward bound...for a week, anyways.

So today I am flying out of Logan, and of course, its snowing. I am taking Max home to see his doctor- he seems to be doing ok, but still throws up a little bit and is not gaining any weight, so I thought it would be best to get him home and checked out, then I am flying back here next Monday (have to go to my Superbowl party and tease all the Broncos fans that will be there). Once I am back in NH, I am loading the trailer and driving back.

When I get back here, though, I am going to spend a few days shooting with Bud and Dave. I need to get my studio chops back. I figure that since Boulder PD didn't want me, maybe thats a sign that Public Safety isn't for me anymore. Maybe- just maybe- I will do photography full time, and dabble in real estate like my original plan was......I guess I will have to do something, anyways. "Retirement" is painfully dull.

Two years..........
Current mood:   sad

Two years ago tomorrow, January 25th, I lost my mom. At times I have been just so lost without her.
I miss you and love you more than you will ever know.

So the last half of the ride home was fun.....

Saturday morning I pulled out of Iowa, and it was a frosty -10 degrees. Needless to say both Max and I were cold for a little while. We headed off, and made pretty good time thru Iowa. A few pit stops along the way, mostly for gas since the Mighty Titan was getting a whopping 7 miles to the gallon thanks to the trailer.

The weather held up all day, I crossed the Missippi river at 1pm and around 5pm I was thru Illinois and figured I would just pound out the rest of the ride home since it was only like another 13 hours. Then, it sounded like a great idea. Come midnight, I was just coming thru Cleveland and it started snowing a little bit. The little bit got a bit harder, and as I was going down this very slight decline, the Mighty Titan's rear end just decided to break out into a wild fishtail. I was taught in driving school that when you slide, keep the front wheels pointed to where you want to go, and thats just what I did. Somehow- not sure how- I saved the beast from the median and ditches and didn't hit anything, but it was one hell of a ride for a minute. I can only think that Karen, Warren and Chris were watching over Max and I. Once I had control of the truck again, I pulled off to a rest area and made sure there was no damage or issues with the truck or the trailer, and luckily there was none. Again, no clue how there was no damage, but nothing. I ended up hanging in the rest area for an hour, then realizing the snow was not letting up, decided to get to the next exit and find somewhere to stay for the night. I found a hotel for the night, and Max and I headed in.

Sunday morning, it was still snowing like crazy out, but I read some weather websites and it looked like the storm broke about 50 miles east, so we decided to go for it. Going from just the hotel to the truck left Max and I covered, and it took a good 20 minutes for the truck to warm up and have the ice melt from the windshield. Once we took off, it was slow going, with the highway being snowed over. Truckers on the CB were saying that the weather was in fact breaking towards Pennsylvania, so on we went. The next 50 or so miles took about 2 hours since we could all only go about 40 miles an hour, if not less in some places. Cars were off the road all over the place. I hid out between a few trucks and just putted with them. Sure enough, once we hit PA the snow slowed down considerably, and the drive was a lot better thru there. Once we hit Niagra Falls in NY, it actually got sunny for awhile. The rest of the ride was somewhat dull, luckily I got the fottball games on the radio and got to hear the Pats go to the Super Bowl.

Now that I am back here in NH, I can't wait to get back to CO. I miss it already. I have some family stuff to do, friends to see, and packing to do since the lovely love of my wife didn't do any while she was here. I am hoping to head home Sunday, but we will see how that goes........

Day 1: 600 miles. Hello from Adair, Iowa!

Day 1 of The Ride was very uneventful. I am taking I80, and was actually going to pound right thru it, but its now 9pm and I just hopped off the highway because I heard some truckers say that the highway might be closing just past Des Moines. The Mighty Max is with me, and he has been chilling the whole time. He is a great travel partner- low maintenance, quiet, and just happy to be with me.

Of course, as soon as I am about 300 miles from home, Stephanie calls me and tells me she is in Colorado visiting her sister for the weekend. Did I get the email?? Hell no!! I would have delayed the trip and hung with her if I had known she was coming. I was sitting in bed last night trying to find reasons not to leave, for christ sakes. I almost pondered not going, since Kerri is still sick and voiceless, but knew I really had to go so I could get back sooner.

Its COLD here- like 0, with Saturdays high a whopping 5 degrees. Not fun. The Titan has been nice to drive, but just as much a pig as the Hummer was. Needless to say, its gonna make me poor.

So I saw something really incredible when I was leaving my complex this morning. There was a full crew out LANDSCAPING. In January. It blew my mind. They really do things differently in Colorado.

Oh well, time to hang out with Max here at the beautiful Motel 8 in the middle of NOWHERE!!!!

On the road again!!!

I am finally feeling decent, and tomorrow I will once again be back on the road back to New Hampshire, with my co-pilot Max. Right now my current plans have me taking I-80 home, stopping tomorrow night around Des Moines, IA. Saturday night I will probably be between Chicago and Cleveland, then Sunday I should make it home. Keyword here is should, depending on the weather. If its crappy I may head south and take I-70 instead of 80. Anyways, feel free to text me on my cell, call, or read here. I am bringing my laptop and will try to get some pics and stuff up here each night. 

4 days of hell.

So I was supposed to be close to New England by now, but alas, I am still here in Colorado. I am not here because of the weather- I have been in bed since Sunday with the flu. I cannot remember ever having it as bad as I had it this week. Today is the first day I even feel a little motivated to get out of bed. Right now I am hoping to be on the road Friday and will be staying in NH till around Jan 28th, since I have a wedding to be at on the 1st and a Super Bowl party on the 3rd here at my place.

See you New Englanders soon!!

These dogs are driving me nuts.

I remember back when Andrew was little, getting into everything and generally just being nuts, and thinking that it possibly could not get any worse.

Boy, was I wrong.

I have been with all 4 of the dogs by myself for the last week, and they are just plain driving me nuts, especially Besos. His idea of a good time is to steal anything he can chew on, antagonize the pugs, and poop on the carpet, even after being outside for awhile.

To top it off, I JUST had my carpets done by Stanley Steemer- to the tune of $900 for cleaning, plus an extended cleaning care plan, deodorizing, scotchguard- and what does Besos do as soon as he is let out? He tried to raise his leg to piss, needless to say it didn't happen but boy he tried.

Max (aka Mr. Stainless Steel Rolex Daytona) is becoming his hyper little self again, we play catch a few times a day and while he still tuckers out he just plops himself in front of the fireplace for a little while, takes a nap, then is ready to go again. He has put on a bit of weight- still not nearly enough- but he is becoming his old self again.

It is nice though in the evening. We hang out on the couch and watch TV. Usually by 9pm I have a pug on each side of me, Besos down my leg, and Max between my legs, all snoring away. Its a nice way to end yet another boring day of bachelorhood (which ends tomorrow night).

Colorado gun shows ROCK!!

One of the great things about this area is that there are gun shows often. I finally got to hit one, and it was awesome. Bud would have been in heaven if he came, there was everything from old western Colts to AR's and everything in between. I was eyeballing a nice Benelli shotgun (ideal for home security) but figured I would wait till I got back to NH in a few weeks to save on tax and to go with Bud and have him make sure I got a great deal.

LOTS of real interesting people at the show. I wish I could have taken pictures in there but there were no cameras allowed at all. Needless to say there were some people walking around who definitely looked like they were either planning to take over the world or like Bud, getting ready for the next World War. There were also some very hot ladies walking around, carrying AR's, shotguns, etc, into it just as much as the guys. One very hot blonde was toying with the Glock 45, and complained that her Glock 9mm was "a pussy's gun." Gotta love that.

The parking lot was so packed that I had to make my own space. Luckily I had the Hummer. A few people watched me drive right up this snowbank and applauded. It was pretty funny.

While I was driving there, I had stopped at a red light and a Prius pulls up to me with this little old lady driving it. When I say old, I mean probably 70 at least, and I think I might be generous with that. Anyways, I look over at her, she looks at me and flips me off!!! I got flipped off by a dinosaur in a Prius! I started laughing so hard that I really though I was going to wet my pants.  I honked my horn at her and gave her a thumbs up as I drove away. I wish I had my camera for that. It was freaking hilarious.

Headed over to Boulder for a little while afterwards, I have my interview there on Wednesday and just figured I would hang around there and get a feel for the city. Hit this place called Mike's Camera, which is supposed to be one of the best camera shops around. I went in mainly because I can't find my tripod head and figured I would get a new one so I could shoot some watch porn. Anyways, I saunter up to the Nikon part of the counter and start asking about the D300. I ask if they have any. The lady there tells me that they have a demo unit and Nikon was not shipping them yet. Huh??? I asked her if she was sure about that, and she said yes. I just shook my head and told her politely that she might want to call around, not only are they out there but fairly available and have been so for about a month (I had my hands on one in our NH studio in early December....). Needless to say, that shop was a let down.

It was all in all another boring day in bachelorhood. Blah. Come home soon, Honey.

Another beautiful day in Paradise!
Current mood:   bored

It was a beautiful day in Colorado on Friday- about 60, a little cloudy, but nice enough for me to take the Harley out for a ride- in a sweatshirt. Sorry New England!!!
Of course, to get out of my neighborhood, I had to ride on the sidewalk, which I am fairly sure didn't thrill too many people, but since the HOA doesn't plow the streets unless we get buired, well, too bad!
There were actually quite a few bikes out today. It could get a little wet on some of the sidestreets, but the main drags were good, and it felt great to get out again.
Max is doing great, though the other fat bastards are very jealous of him because he gets fed every few hours and they don't. I had the fire place going all day for him- he just lies in front of it, happily chewing on a bully stick and watching TV. I guess he thinks he is king now.
Saturday should be a fun day. Gun show in Denver, checking out one of my favorite watch shops after, and have to bring Max to the vet to see one of his doctors for a followup, then find something to amuse myself the rest of the day. Being a bachelor sucks. I never remebered it to be so damn boring!!

The band is back together!
Current mood:   relieved

Max FINALLY came home yesterday!!! He came home around 5pm, and I basically put him to bed right when he came home because he hasn't really had a lot of sleep since his whole ordeal began, and he was a bit edgy with the other puppies (can't blame him!)
As you can see in the pic, he is REALLY skin and bones now, so I have to feed him every few hours. He is also getting a lot of meds, but otherwise, he really seems great. This morning he's been out and about, hanging with the other boys, humping Yogi, and even wanting to play catch in small doses, which is the true sign that he is feeling better.
Between him and Besos getting the old chop-chop, its been a busy week for sure......

My 1st day of bachelorhood (is a bad day for Besos)
Current mood:   bored

So Kerri left last night for MA/NH to see the family, and I am a bachelor for the next 8 days. Can't say I am really looking forward to it, now I can't even visit her at the mall and go to lunch or dinner with her.
It is, unfortunately, a bad day for Besos. He's getting the old nuggets lobbed off today. I had to drag my sick ass out of bed at 6:30 this morning to take him in, and I think once he got there, he had an idea it was not going to be his day today. I have to pick him up at 5pm, and I am sure he will be a new (albeit less manly) dog.

Max is doing well, the hospital called earlier and said he ate last night and again this morning and only threw up a little, which is a great sign. The doctors seem to think he just might be able to come home tomorrow. The boys and my bank account sure hope so. Instead of Lil' Rolex he is now Mr. Stainless Steel Daytona Rolex. I never thought a dog could qualify as bling, but he is going to.

Oh well.....off to do what bachelors do. Nothing.

Its 2008......

Well, another New Years eve has come and gone, and last night was just like all the rest. We did not end up going to the Casinos, Kerri worked all day and I was just tired, so we grabbed dinner at Old Chicago and crashed on the couch. I was sort of disappointed- I figured at least 1 local TV channel would cover the NYE celebration from Denver, but none was to be found. We had to watch the replay of the NY ball dropping. Exciting.

We are waiting on a call from the vet to see if Lil Rolex can come home today. That would make me a lot less stressed, for sure. Kerri leaves tonight for New England- sounds like she will be flying into a blizzard, lucky her- so I get to be a bachelor for 8 days.

Since its now 2008, I figured I would pony up my New Years resolutions for all to get a chuckle out of.....

1) I am FINALLY losing the 100 pounds I want to lose. The great thing about Colorado is that this place just makes you want to be healthy. The only downfall of CO? Sonic. Sonic ROCKS.

2) I promise I will answer my phone more often.

3) I promise I will email you back within a 24 hour span, not the two week time span I am accused of having.

4) I promise to be nice this year.

Happy New Year...the Monday Lil’ Rolex Update

Saw Mr. Max earlier today, and he seems to be doing better. The doctors said the vomiting finally stopped, but he is still leaking out the back, so he is staying on the feeding tube at least today. They will be trying to give him a little water tonight, if he can keep it down then they will try to give him a little food in the morning. If it stays in him, he may be home tomorrow evening, which would be the best New Years present of all.

Kerri and I are blasting up to the lovely casinos tonight just to get out of the house (and because I want to take some pictures there- they have all the old buildings lit up for Christmas and its actually kind of pretty). I am making the prediction that if I come out ahead for the night, 2008 will be much better. If I lose, then its just my 2007 carrying over for another day.

Hope everyone has a Happy New Year!

Various ramblings.......

So its the end of yet another plain old shitty year, and I can honestly say I am glad 2007 is over. At this point, 2008 can only get better, so hopefully with the changing of the calendar our luck will turn as fast as the time has gone by this year.

Kerri is taking off to MA/NH the night of the 1st for about a week, obviously I have to hang around here to see what is going on with Mr. Rolex. I have my 2nd round of tests with the Boulder Police department on January 9th, and will be hitting the road in the Mighty Titan for a road trip home for a few weeks to see how everything is going and load my trailer with more crap to come back here to CO. I am actually really looking forward to driving, I love the ride and its kind of nice just to be alone in a truck for a few days. you can think and analyze everything, which isn't such a bad thing. I wholeheartedly suggest to everyone that they should take a road trip or two across America. Its really quite neat. Since I am planning on flying solo on this trip, I am going to try to take a lot of pictures, so watch for them on here.
Anyways,  Drew's birthday is the 29th, so I am thinking I will be there for that, but it all depends on what happens with the Boulder job. I found a few other dispatch positions I am applying for also, since I really do need to get back to work. Retirement is nice but incredibly boring.

It snowed here on Christmas, the nice thing about snow here so far is that its the nice fluffy stuff. Its also been fairly cold, but not bitter. Today was about 30 out, but it wasn't too bad. I cleaned off part of the driveway with a tshirt on, and if the wind wasn't blowing it would not have been to bad. Supposedly its going to be around 50-60 later this week. Thank god. I hate snow.

I hope you all have a great new year. I will try to catch up with you Massholes and NH/Maine people when I get back.

Saturday’s Max Update....
Current mood:   bummed

The doctors were able to do a biopsy on Max's stomach today, and the doctor said it was "horrible". Evidently, Max either has 1) stomach ulcers 2) got an asprin or something or worst case has stomach cancer. The doctor seems to think that the cancer is unlikely because he is so young, but we will not be sure till around Friday. They have been trying to feed him but he was just throwing it up, so they went ahead and put a nose tube in so they could give him nourishment that way.

When we went to visit him, he was super excited to see us, giving all the typical Max kisses and such. He does tire out pretty easily, though. He looked good, but is now VERY skinny.

The doctors are really hoping to get him out tomorrow, so I guess we will see.

Latest Max Update

Mr. Max (now known as Lil' Rolex) is still in the animal hospital. He is doing 1000% better than he was, but today he vomitted a little blood and still had a bit of diaherra, so we decided that he should be scoped to see what is going on with his stomach. The doctors did an ultrasound the other day and said his stomach wall looked a bit thick in one spot, and they were not sure why. They went to do the scope tonight, but Max's blood pressure dropped too much once he was under anesthesia so they could not do it.
Hopefully he will not vomit anymore, if that happens he may be home sometime Saturday.

I am officially a watch whore.

So now that Christmas is over (Thank God.....) I am going to ramble about one of my other addictions.....watches.

Kerri got me my first "real" watch many moons ago- a Harley Davidson watch made by Bulova. I wore this for a few years, right up to maybe two years ago. One night I had a great run at Mohegan Sun, and figuring I would rather take something home with me instead of giving all the money back to the casino, I bouhgt a nice Citizen as a daily wearer. For the next few years, whenever I had a good day there, I would pop into the Citizen store and buy a new watch. Needless to say, I have a few nice Citizens. This year, I fianlly took the plunge and bought a new Rolex Submariner from a dealer here in CO. Its a beautiful piece, and I love wearing it. I ended up getting Kerri one for Christmas, since she is selling jewelery it makes sense for her to have a nice watch on. I also picked up a Rolex GMT from a former NHL player on Craigslist for short money. Kerri got me a great watch for Christmas, a Tag Carerra Chocolate. Its probably one of my real favorite watches now.

Since I bought the Rolexes and Kerri got the Tag all from one jeweller here, they gave me an opportunity to purchase a Rolex stainless steel Daytona at list- which is close to impossible to do. You just cannot get them at all, so I was lucky to be offered it and got it (besides, if I really wanted to I could flip it for about $5000 more than I am paying for it!!!) so now I will have 3 Rolexes. I am becoming a snob.   :)
Stay tuned for some good watch porn.........

Max Update
Current mood:   relieved

Its 4pm, and I just brought Max to the hospital for the night. He was at his doctors office and they felt one more night on fluids and maybe another bag of plazma would help him because he vomitted so much blood.

The doctors say it was pancreatitis, and he should fully recover, its going to take a few weeks till he is himself again.

When I showed up to take him to the hospital for the night, he gave big Max kisses and was very happy to see me, which is a LONG way from where he was yesterday.

He should hopefully be home tomorrow afternoon..........

2007 isn’t going quietly here in CO.....
Current mood:   sad

So I woke up this morning, expecting it to be relatively uneventful today and planned on taking off to NH tonight. It was a white Christmas here today, we got about 4-5 inches of snow. Strike one.
I came out to the puppy pen, and let the beasts loose, and noticed Max was acting a little weird. He wouldn't eat his breakfast and went outside to go to the bathroom, then came in and started puking.

Within an hour, he and I were out the door to the doggie hospital. Chris had left a card on his refridgerator with a animal hosptial, so we went there. Closed. Locked tighter than a midgets ass. Luckily, he had also left the address of another animal hospital, so we headed there. Max basically was unresponsive on the ride over, and once they rushed him in, the immediately started pumping him full of fluids and stuff. I stayed about an hour and left, with them telling me that if all goes well he should be seeing improvements within a few hours.

I went home, and Kerri and I headed over to one of her co-workers house, they were generous enough to invite us over for Christmas dinner. We stayed for a few hours and went to visit Max, and he isn't doing to good. He is now vomiting and pooping blood, and his levels are still seriously messed up, so tonight is going to be a long night for sure....

Merry Freaking Christmas.

One step closer to employment....
Current mood:   accomplished

I took the initial tests today for a job with the Boulder Police Department. It was like most of the dispatch tests I have taken, and I think I did pretty well. I know I made it thru the elimination/ timed tests part ok, and did an initial interview with one of the dispatchers there. Honestly, I was a bit hesitant to take the test, I wasn't sure if I really even wanted to dispatch anymore, but once it was over and I met a few people and checked out the working area, I was actually very happy I did take the test. I guess I find out this week if I get the oral boards on January 10th........

Made it home, and what a ride it was.....

So last week I decided that I was going to drive the Maxima from NH to CO via a southern route, which was basically south to TN, then taking I-40 across to New Mexico then 6 hours north on I-25. Basically, I wanted to avoid bad weather like snow.
Ask me how that one worked out.
I headed out at 3:45 Wednesday morning, hoping to get thru the tri-state area as early as possible so I didn't hit traffic. That actually went ok, I made it into NYC around 8am. It was a bit gray, no rain or anything but it definitely felt like it could at any moment. Traffic was pretty light, and I decided to side track a little bit to see Yankee Stadium. I wasn't impressed. I literally could not stop anywhere near the stadium because they are building the new one and there was no where to park, so I continued south. Once I hit Jersey by the Meadowlands, the NJ stink set in. It smelled like a sewer for about 25 miles. It also started to rain a bit, but nothing major. I survived that, and was heading south when it started to snow lightly in the NJ/Maryland area. I had a little hand held CB with me, and that was a total lifesaver- the truckers were saying how bad it was getting on the Maryland/Virginia line, so I finally called it a day in Maryland. I got a hotel room at a lovely Super 8 and once there, it really started to get brutal. I walked over to the truck stop and grabbed some dinner, a lovely tray of lasagne and vegetables. It was actually quite good. Just before I got the hotel room, I stopped at a Circuit City and grabbed a cheap laptop, since I didn't have one with me. In my room, I decided that I had to re-examine my strategy of going south to get home. The forecasts looked so-so either way- south or just blasting west from there. I decided that I would continue south to TN the next day and see how it was there. This is the view from my lovely hotel room later that night.... hrusday morning turned out rather nice, sunny but a bit cold. I set out from the hotel and continued south. The scene on the highway reminded me of the Mad Max movie- there were trucks upside down in the median, cars off the road, just general mayhem for about 60 miles. Once a little bit more in VA, the snow tapered off, and it was like a whole different world within a few more miles. It was here I got my speeding ticket, 85 in a 65. The VA trooper was a nice enough guy, and commented on how clean my car was, since I had just stopped and washed it in Roanoke. It must have made it easier for him to see me. The ride thru VA to TN was really quite nice. Hilly, with large farms everywhere. It would definitely make a nice ride on a Harley. The ride thru Virginia to TN was almost a whole day right there, and I finally made it to Knoxville around 7pm. I went thru there and decided to stop about 50 miles out of Nashville for the night. The little town I stopped in was pretty much a giant truck stop and hotel area, and that was it. I was lucky enough to find a McDonalds for dinner and called it yet another night. I kicked out the laptop at the hotel and decided that I really just wanted to get home to Kerri and the pups, so I decided to hit a different route home. Needless to say, I should have just went south.

Day 3 of the drive had me leaving the hotel and heading into Nashville. I really wanted to stop, but it was just miserable out. Rain and fog, and it was just a total bomb. I did see enough that I definitely want to go back for a few days some time, it seemed liek a great place to check out. Lots of Big Ol' Bubbas in their pickup trucks with shotguns in the rear windows, confederate flags, and southern accents. I did get to stop at the Harley dealer in Nashville to get my mandatory Tshirt, so that was the highlight of my day. Just out of Nashville, I caught this from a rest stop. I actually took a bunch of pics of this, just because it was so neat to photograph. It was about the most I shot the whole trip. I really knew I was down south, there were billbaords for churches and crosses EVERYWHERE. Hilltops, fences, you name it, it had a cross. I ended up driving for about 10 hours, and ended up heading a bit northwest into Missouri and Kansas before calling it a night. I was 500 miles from home!!!!!

Heading back to Colorado....the long way.
Current mood:   bummed

I am off on yet another road trip tomorrow morning to Colorado in the Maxima. My plan is to head south Wednesday, and hopefully end up in the Maryland area tomorrow night. Thursday should find me in Tennessee, not sure if I am going to stay there for the night or go a little farther. Anyways, I am taking interstate 40 home from TN to New Mexico, then I head north up interstate 25 from there. I have read up a little bit and it seems like it should be a nice ride full of photographic opportunity, and I am sure I will post plenty of pics when I get home.

Needless to say, I am returning without Drew. I talked to him and he wants to stay in NH for whatever reason. I am so bummed that I just don't even know what to do. I can't belive he is not going to be out there with us. Hopefully the ride home will help me clear my head a bit, but it really does hurt.....a ton.

More from the Airport.....

So I just caught a look at Allie (aka Butthead) and wow, she is a  keeper for sure. She kind of resembles Black Sabbath circa 1970. Needless to  say. He looks about the same. A stunning pair indeed. I just cracked open my camera bag, I wanted to take some pictures while  I am still sitting here, and the camera is dead. I opened the battery  compartment and found I forgot to put my 2nd battery in.

Good job,  Stupid. There go some good sunrise pics. I am bummed.

Heading back to Boston......
Current mood:   sad

So I am sitting at DIA waiting to get on my flight to Boston. I can
already tell this will be a fun redeye. There are at least half a dozen
little yardapes running around here screaming, knocking shit over and
otherwise terrorizing all around them. To top it all off, I am sitting
next to these two classics- both are maybe 20, one is male and one is
questionable. And they are playing their fucking gamesets as loud as they
can. These two assclowns resemble Bevis and Butthead. Look like I did
when I was about 15, and will undoubtably be seated right next to me on
the flight. Bevis, the undoubtably male one, is now on the phone asking
his mommy if he can download ringtones. Oh boy. I have also been able
to determine that Buttheads actually named Allie. I would have never
guessed. Both definitely need a shower and clean clothes. If those PSPs
keep blaring they might end up on the runway.
Its amazing how much I have mellowed in my old age.......

I have to go back because Andrew is not home from Thanksgiving break. His mother claims he had a breakdown and would not get on the plane back to Colorado. Hopefully I can convice him to come back, both Kerri and I are just heartbroken over this........I am sure this will not be a fun visit home.

What a difference a few days make........
Current mood:   sad

One thing that is wild about Colorado is the weather. On Monday, I was out on the Harley cruising around in a light sweatshirt. It was windy, but quite manageable.  Come Tuesday, its like 30 degrees out. We got another dusting, but that was gone in a few hours. Today was about 55 and beautiful out. A little breezy, but beautiful. Still no rain.

Kerri and I did a little road trip the other day west- up into the mountains towards Vail, which is about 90 minutes away. We ended up stopping at Buffalo Bill's grave, which was only like 20 minutes from our house, which was a really cool place and one which I am sure Bud would love since its full of firearms. As we headed a bit m ore west, we were going along, and on the side of the road were big horned sheep....just hanging out, literally right on the side of the road. Kerri grabbed the camera and took some pics.

Colorado, where the men are men and the sheep have horns.

A beautiful day for a ride........
Current mood:   annoyed

It was yet another wonderful day in Colorado- 60, sunny, no clouds. I took the Harley out for a ride into Boulder to apply for a JOB!!!

It was a beautiful day to get out, a bit windy heading into Boulder but there were actually quite a few bikes out and about. There were lots of people out in the old T shirts almost as if it was spring. Its hard to believe that Christmas is less than a month away, and the days are still pretty damn nice. Of course, it has not rained since I got back from NH...seriously. Nothing. We got a little dusting the other day of the dry fluffy snow, but obviously thats gone, and we've had a few cloudy days, but no rain. Nice in a lot of ways, though at times I do find myself wishing for a huge rainstorm. Now I have to keep watering my plants.

Fighting with the retards at Village Homes, the fine, fine builders of the house out here. Chris had a 1 year warranty on this place and in September I had a home inspection, we found some stuff that needs to be addressed and of course they are just dragging their feet. Of course, the warranty tard had not been talking to the sales tard about the fact I was about to drop an offer on the house 3 doors down from us, the last in the unit they have been trying to unload forever. I was going to buy it in August for $350,000 when Chris was still alive, now they are BEGGING me to take it for $300,000. Needless to say a nice (in my own special way) email was blasted out to the sales manager and I had to tell them that if their warranty department wasn't even standing behind their product, I most certainly wasn't going to be buying the last house. Last email I got from them stated they were meeting with each other to discuss this............blah.

Probably heading back to the area this week to take care of some family crap. Anyone got a couch I can sleep on??? HAHAHAHA......

So its been awhile......
Current mood:   thankful

So its been awhile since I posted anything on here. One great thing about Colorado is that its pretty much always sunny here, and that makes you want to be outside more. Its Thanksgiving night, and its cold- about 25 degrees. Hard to believe just Monday I was cruising around on the Harley with a light sweatshirt on, considering it was almost 80 out!!!

We had about an inch or so of snow the other night. Nothing spectacular yet.

Not much has changed around here, Kerri is working at Helzberg diamonds and already has like half the store on layaway for when she gets her employee discount. She is also demanding I get a job, so I guess I should start looking for something. Ugh. I must say, being "retired" is ok, but it DOES get boring too, especially when Kerri is at work and Drew is at school.

Speaking of my buddy, he is back in NH till Sunday seeing his mom for Thanksgiving. Kid got to fly FIRST CLASS from CO to NC, since he was going solo and meeting his mom and grandmother there. Lucky bastard!!!!

It looks like I am coming back sometime around Christmas. My grandmother turns 90 on the 27th, and I think it would be nice to be there to celebrate with her.
So, Kerri cooked a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner for the two of us, and the 4 puppies. It was a low key day for sure, we hung out, ate, then headed up the mountain to play a little blackjack for a few hours. We got spanked. Hard. Not a night to be thankful for blackjack.

I guess I could be a pretty bitter guy on a holiday like this, 3 years ago my family was relatively together and now, well, there isn't much left, but I am thankful. I am thankful Kerri has stayed at my side thru all of the drama of the last 2 years. I am incredibly thankful Drew is out here with us. I am thankful that we were given an opportunity to come out here to Colorado and try to reestablish ourselves. I am also incredibly thankful Chris is not suffering anymore. I have thought about him a lot lately, and it still breaks my heart, but I know that he is ok, wherever he might be. I know a few times today I just kind of drifted off and wished that Karen and Chris could be with us, and we could have Thanksgiving dinner together, but I think maybe they were here with us anyways.

Be Thankful for whatever you might have. You just never know when its going to be gone.

Anyways, people have asked "Why Colorado???".....well, here's why. Enjoy.

How Tom and Andy saved the Red Sox...In pictures.
Current mood:   accomplished

A recap for those who did not read my earlier post about my trip from Manchester, NH to Broomfield, CO with a special stop at Jacobs Field in Cleebland, on Wednesday, October 17th.... the Red Sox were basically the Dead Sox at this point, being down 3 games to 1 to the Cleebland Indians.

I had purchased a Red Sox decal at a rest stop in MA earlier in the day, but it was on of the ones that can come on and off, so I figured I would wait till I got to Colorado and give it to my son. Well, as we were approaching Cleebland I got this brilliant idea that I was going to stick said sticker on a "Welcome to Cleebland" sign. Once we got into the city limits, we saw signs for Jacobs Field. Needless to say, the idea took a little turn. We decided to go right into their house and put a little Sox mojo on them.

After parking the Mighty Hummer and a trailer containing about $125,000 worth of my life in a sketchy parking lot across the street from the field, we proceeded around the stadium andstuck the decal on various Indian signs and took pics. As we were walking along, Bob Lobel, a sports reporter from Boston, comes by and I asked him to hold the decal up for a photo, which he happily obliged. As you can see, we even got the Bob Feller statue, after waiting for two burley biker types (and clearly Cleebland fans) to take their pictures with it. ) Once we were done, we ran over, slapped the decal on and fired away. They looked a little dismayed, but didn't say anything.

It was amazingly quiet around the park, and luckily, we escaped Cleebland unharmed. Of course, as soon as we did this, the Sox mounted a huge comeback and ended up taking the series 4 games to 3 from Cleebland. I want to think we helped in our special way.

Go Sox. Cleebland Sucks.

10/19...The Final Stretch
Current mood:   relieved

We headed out this morning, still about 5 hours out of home. Luckily, the roads of Nebraska were nice and flat, which I am sure the Hummer appreciated after yesterdays long and hilly haul. Once we got into Colorado, it was a relief, but I was still about 2.5 hours from home. Andy and I stopped in a little town called Sterling for what I hoped was the last fill up (since I was up to around $800 in gas at this point....7 mpg will do that to you!) and we grabbed some lunch. This place was a throwback, maybe to around 1960. Just a good ol' boy kinda place. Needless to say, people were looking at the Hummer in the parking lot of McDonalds like it was a UFO. We decided to beat feet out of town, and made it into Broomfield around 2pm. 1900 miles later...we were where I call home.....thank god!

10/18. Iowa. All freaking day.
Current mood:   blank

We make it into Iowa about mid morning, and just drive. And drive. Then we drive some more....and we are still in freaking Iowa. Someone said Iowa was flat and boring. Well, someone was sort of wrong. Iowa was all hills, and the Hummer was straining quite a bit because of the enormous trailer on the back. Iowa was, in fact, boring. I finally stopped at 1 Harley dealer that was right off I-80, mainly because I forgot the clothes I had packed for the trip in Manchester, so I had on a nice and fresh shirt, if you consider 99% humidity, sweat from lugging the kennel around, rain, and normal BO fresh. About the only good part of the whole day was listening to the Red Sox game during the evening part of the run and being able to say we stopped at the biggest truck stop in America, which was just heaven for the red neck type..... Finally, around 9pm, just as we hit Nebraska and with about 5 more hours of driving to go, I call it a night and pull off in some little, very hick town for the night. I park the Hummer right in front of the hotel, hoping nothing will happen, and drag all the critters (minus the still MIA Magellen) into the room. Travelling with dogs SUCKS. These little bastards proceed to piss everywhere and cry when I put them in the kennel. I was almost ready to get them their own damn room because I just wanted to sleep, but they finally quieted down, thank god. Next time Kerri gets to take them with her.

10/18 7:30am, RedRoof, again.
Current mood:   bitchy

My phone rings just as I wake up again. Apparently Andy heard voices

just like me and didnt sleep a whole lot either. Time to get up and get

rolling. 

Tornado warnings till 9am, right around the hotel... 98% humidity. Great.

10/18, 5:45am. Same freaking place.
Current mood:   pissed off

More voices outside the door, dogs barking. Hello Springfield! Its far too

early for this. I just want a few more hours sleep since we have about

another 12 hours of driving ahead of us. I throw my clothes on and check

on the BRM, and all is well, for now.....

10/18 2:25am, Red Roof Inn, Joliet, IL.
Current mood:   annoyed

There is an arguement of some sorts going on outside my room, and heading down to the Big Red machine. I look out the door and see a rather large young man with a doo-rag on his head getting ready to either swat at flies or the substantial young (?) woman he is with. I have Mr. Equalizer with me, and am wondering if I should start  calling Kerri to come out here with a little bail money.

10/18, 1am, Red Roof Inn, Joliet, IL.
Current mood:   restless

Its just after 1am in lovely joliet, and now that everyone is settled,

its time for bed. Rocky walked in the room, did a lap, then proceeded

to take a piss on the trash barrell. Must be an upgrade. I am rather

paranoid about leaving the Big Red Machine out there, with all the motorcycles, antiques, and other crap in there I figure there is about 125k in goodness sitting there. It does have an alarm, but still......hello Springfield!

Midnight, 10/18, just outside of Chicago.
Current mood:   anxious

Its just after midnight Chicago time when we hit the outskirts of the

city, and it starts raining at a pretty good clip. Truckers are

mentioning tornado warnings. Great. We finally get west of Chicago and decide to get rooms in lovely Joliet. At the Red Roof Inn. Its a fine, fine establishment right off one of the main drags there.

I park the big red machine on the side of the building and unload the 3 dogs, one kennel, 6 snakes and one tortoise up to the room. Magellen- the wandering tortoise- is somewhere in the Hummer hiding, its pouring and I am tired. He'll be fine...its only 75 and humid out.

10/17: Indiana. 9:30PM
Current mood:   bored

9:30pm We have about 125 miles to Chicago. 

  Indiana is flat and empty. I went out with a girl in high school who was flat and empty. Starship command in Nashua has advised me of some bad weather coming my way, and the truckers are saying that Chicago is getting hammered by rain. They are providing us a load of comedy goodness on the CB, along with filling us in where all the cops are hiding and hookers are hanging out. What a great public service!!

  

Out here on I-80, there are trucks pulling not one, not two, but THREE freaking trailers. That just seems insane. The thing is so long it should probably be called a train instead of tractor trailer. 

  

I just want to get thru Chicago then I guess we might have to stop for

the night depending on how bad it gets. I am getting sort of tired, and Andy is about ready to crash too. So much for doing this one in one sitting!!

10/17 7:45pm...Success! Cleebland is conquered.
Current mood:   accomplished

We survived our mission. The field was a few blocks off the highway, and we found a parking lot pretty much in front of the stadium.

Surprisingly, there wasn't much going on around the field, and Andy and I managed to get some great shots of our Sox

decal and us at various points outside the stadium. Feller statue? Done.

Front sign? Done, even with a little help from Boston sports guru Bob

Lobel. I saw him coming down the sidewalk, and asked him to pose with

the decal. Bob did say that he loved to come to games here, and I can

see why. From the outside, the stadium looks incredible.

The place looks so incredible that we actually feel bad for about 15 seconds "descrating" such a wonderful place.

We see Peter Gammons walking down the sidewalk as we go back to the mighty Hummer, and I say (sorta stupidly, I guess) "Hey Peter, how about them Sox? His reply was a obviously annoyed "What about them?" Nice feller.

 260 miles to Chicago, unofficially the halfway point. Fun.

10/17. 7pm. My brilliant plan gets even better.
Current mood:   indescribable

7pm. Cleveland. As we were cruising thru Cleebland, we saw a sign for

 Jacobs Field, where the Indians play. This is simply too good to be true. My idea to put our Sox sticker on

 a Cleebland sign just took a sinister turn. Instead of getting a

 Cleebland sign, we were going straight to the mecca, the Indians own field.

 This will either be great or get us killed. Stay tuned.

Blog 7, I think. I am simply brilliant. Read on.
Current mood:   devious

Its about 5pm, Andy took over driving a little while ago, and we are in

Pennsylvania and heading to Ohio. As we are cruising along, I get a fabulous

idea. I picked up a Boston Red Sox decal back in Natick, but it ended up

being one of those ones that is removeable/reuseable, and I didnt want

to lose it, so I did not put it on the big red machine. I want to put it on a "Welcome to

  Cleveland" sign, and take some pics of that. Since the Sox are behind 3-1,

I am sure my Sox fan friends will appreciate it. I am also sure that Cleveland won't, but thats not my problem..

Blog 6: 3pm. Still in Hell.
Current mood:   annoyed

Its around 3. We are still in NY. I knew this hole was a big place, just not

this big. If I see one more Yankees decal I am going to pretend I am a monkey and sling poo at them. Too bad their 200 million dollar payroll did so well this year. 

Blog 5: 1PM, Syracuse, NY.
Current mood:   scared

1pm. Syracuse, aka the dumpster of New York. I made the command

 decision to hop off here. We needed to let the dogs take a walk, and I wanted

 to grab a CB radio. Pretty much everyone I talked to about doing this

 trip told me to get one....just in case. I meant to yesterday but got

 caught up loading the trailer and doing stuff around the house and just

 forgot. I guess now is better than never. Syracuse is a dump. Andy and I

 agree its probably the most depressing place we have ever seen.

 Everyone is eyeballing us, 2 white guys in a big red Hummer and equally big

 trailer. You would think we were Thanksgiving dinner the way the fine

 gentlemen were looking at us when we stopped for gas. Hello Springfield! 

after fillup number 3, we are once again off. Did I mention we are

 getting around 7 mpg? Good times.

Blog 4: 10/17, New York, part 1.
Current mood:   bored

11am: We are in New York, and making good time so far. Exciting. According to Google, this trip is

 going to take about 30 hours. Right now we are so far away that my GPS

 can't even give me an arrival time. Thats always a good sign. New York Sucks. Yankees Suck.

Blog 3: To the Pike!
Current mood:   calm

0630: I finally made it to Andy's at about 6:30am. Now we just need to beat the 7am rush

 southbound to get to the Mass Pike. After a quick hello/goodbye with

 Mrs. Flip, we are off. I think I might have forgotten to tell andy about

 the snakes, but Mrs Flip let him know that we were not travelling

 alone. I think poor Andy might be reconsidering real quick......

  

0700: we made it to the Pike in great time. Hopefully it should be

 clear sailing for at least the next 2 days.....

  

0720: Gas stop 1......Natick. $75....ouch. Did I happen to mention that

 my luxuary liner is getting around 7mpg with this houseboat of a

 trailer attached to it? This is going to get expensive.......FAST.

Blog 2: 10/17 0620 Route 93 and 128 Interchange, Woburn, MA
Current mood:   calm

0620: isnt technology great? Here I am sitting in traffic at the 93/128

 interchange, typing this for my blog at 6am.  A few years ago, I would have

 probably been yelling at my steering wheel but now when I am sitting, I

 am typing. Life is great. Massachusetts Sucks.

Trip Blog 1: Wednesday Oct 17... Route 93 southbound, MA
Current mood:   aggravated

Today is the big day....my friend Andy and I are heading west. I have

 loaded up the big red machine with 3 doggies, 6 snakes, 2 tortoises and

 a trailer that took me about 2 days to load with pretty much everything we own in it. I have a fancy smanshy phone with email on it, so I am emailling myself all the fun facts of the trip. Enjoy!!

 Next stop ....Broomfield,CO!

  

0530- Traffic. Already. I just cannot believe I am sitting in traffic.

 No wonder why i do not - and will not- miss this area. I thought rush

 hour began at 7?!

Various Colorado ramblings.....
Current mood:   complacent

Its been fun here the last few weeks. Kerri is finally out here, and she is slowly learning the area and all the great stuff around here. Of course, I am off to NH tomorrow to take care of some stuff, pack the trailer with our Harleys and dirtbikes and other crap, then I get to haul it back out here in the Hummer. Seems like it will be a fun trip, but oh yeah, I forgot to add, I will also have Rocky, Yogi and Max along for the ride. Part of me wants to do the 27 hour ride straight thru, part wants to meander a bit since I don't really have any timetable I have to follow. I figure I will be in NH for about 5 days and will take off around Wednesday or Thursday of next week, but who knows. it should be an adventure anyways.

The northwest area (near us) of the Rockies is finally showing a little snow on the peaks, and its really beautiful. They had about 2 inches of snow up there Monday night, but it melted by around noon Tuesday. There was a little more up there the last few days, and the locals say it will probably be up there now till around April. Its really awesome to be able to pretty much walk out our door and see that.

We got to go to the Rockies game on Sunday when they got the tie to face the Padres for the wild card spot. It was totally fun- Coors field is a LOT bigger than Fenway, and it was packed. I picked the tickets up on a whim Friday, just thinking I wanted to take in one more game this year, and low and behold, it was the most important game of the season, and they won. its also great out here- I got 3 tickets, really nice seats along the 1st base side, for a grand total of $80. For 3. Try that at Fenway!!  It was a wild time there for sure, and we had an awesome time. A Rockies/Red Sox World Series would be totally awesome, especially if I could get tickets out here (since you could never get them in Boston!)

Drew was away on a school camping trip for the last 3 days- its actually part of their ciriculum and while he was away, Kerri and I got to head up to Blackhawk. Blackhawk is an old mining and gambling town that is starting to be built up to a gambling mecca for Colorado. Its a lot of fun up there, but its different. The max bet for blackjack is $5. You can double down and stuff, but the highest you can go to start is $5. That takes some getting used to, but its fun. You can actually bet along with your main bet a side bet of how many hands in a row you will win, and Kerri and I cleaned up with that last night. We started out with $40, and walked away with about $350. It was a good night.

Oh well, off to bed soon so I can catch my 6am flight to Manchester...........

Give me a skirt.
Current mood:   amused

I hate to admit it, but I kinda enjoy being stay at home dad.

Drew and I have had a great time together (when he actually wants to be around me) and I have kept this place pretty damn spotless.

Martha Stewart, look out. I need my own show.

Lyrics to "Life is Beautiful"
Current mood:   loved

Most of you can figure out why this song is on here.........

Life Is Beautiful

You can't quit until you try
You can't live until you die
You can't learn to tell the truth
Until you learn to lie

You can't breathe until you choke
You gotta laugh when you're the joke
There's nothing like a funeral to make you feel alive

Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that life is beautiful.
Will you swear on your life,
That no one will cry at my funeral?

I know some things that you don't
I've done things that you won't
There's nothing like a trail of blood
to find your way back home

I was waiting for my hearse
What came next was so much worse
It took a funeral to make me feel alive

Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that life is beautiful.
Will you swear on your life,
That no one will cry at my funeral?

Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that life is beautiful.
Will you swear on your life,
That no one will cry at my funeral?

Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that life is beautiful.
Will you swear on your life,
That no one will cry at my funeral?

Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that life is beautiful.
Will you swear on your life,
That no one will cry at my funeral?

4 hours to clean a clean house.
Current mood:   impressed

Today, I had a cleaning service come over and clean the house for me. I was basically taking them for a test ride, since I promised Kerri we would hire maids to keep this place cleaner than ManchVegas ever was.

The house has actually been very clean- I have kept on top of it, and Drew is actually doing a pretty decent job cleaning his messes up. When the cleaning service came over the other day to give me an estimate, they said their first cleaning was the most thorough and would take 3-4 hours. I kind of laughed- this place isn't nearly as big as Manchester, and there are no stairs, and its already not too bad. I figured an hour, maybe two, tops.

Boy was I wrong.

They showed up at 1pm, and cleaned up a storm. I would not have believed it if I wasnt here to see the whole thing, either. 4 hours later, the house was spotless. I was just shocked they could find 4 hours worth of cleaning here, but they did. They were not slacking, either. They worked HARD.

I just can't wait till they come back after all the dogs have been here for a week or so!!!!

How do I know its 7am Tuesday morning in Colorado?
Current mood:   amused

Because the landscaping crew is out mowing the lawn here at the house. EVERY Tuesday, like clockwork at 7am, the mowers start. The most surprising thing is that these guys work HARD, you never see them lounging around or looking aimless, and leave every Tuesday with the property looking incredible. Compaired to what we had when we had our condo in Nashua, its heaven.

Other random things I have found here......
Bike shops open at 8am. Since its such a huge thing here, they open for commuters who need a quick repair. Seriously.

People are just as fanatical about the Broncos here as we are about the Patriots back home. When they are playing around here, it almost seems like a giant party. Everywhere you go, there are Broncos jerseys and hats, and every place has the game on.

I am starting to think Starbucks isn't so bad. There, I said it. I went there yesterday morning after bringing Drew to school, and actually sat and took it all in. The coffee wasn't bad (but still not nearly as good as Dunk's), the big greeen chairs are comfortable, and it was fairly interesting to just see what was going on there. I might even go back this morning after I drop Drew off.

Colorado: The first week.
Current mood:   contemplative

Well, Mr. Drew and I have been here in Colorado for one week now as residents, and I think its safe to say we are glad we are here. This place is simply awesome.

Drew started school last Thursday, and other than saying its boring all the time, he seems to be doing ok. He is making a ton of friends at the local skatepark, and has spent almost every day there after school and most of the weekend. His riding and skating is getting better every day.

As far as me, well, I am enjoying being a stay at home dad. I wake him up in the morning, make him breakfast and bring him to school. During the day I have been just keeping busy and trying to stay out of trouble.

Colorado is so beautiful........last Thursday I took a little road trip after I dropped Drew off at school. I headed north up I-25, got off in Fort Collins and ended up taking route 287 north to Laramie, Wyoming. It was about a 45 mile ride and it was simply spectacular. I did take a few pics, but I am not going to post them yet only because I want to take Kerri up there when she gets out. It was an amazing ride. Once I made it into Laramie, I hit the Harley shop (of course) and grabbed a sweatshirt and pin for my collection. Once I left, I headed home via I-80 to Cheyenne, and that ride was even more amazing than the ride to Laramie. Again, even the word spectacular would not really tell how beautiful it was. During this ride, I found myself getting mad, then sad for Chris. He lived in an area that was so beautiful, so peaceful, so perfect, and yet he could not find anything worth staying alive for. I rode that 50 mile stretch of I-80, and really wished he was with me. Its silly to most people when you talk about taking a ride and having it change you, but the few long trips I have done around here really have. I rented a Harley for a day before Chris died and went for a ride up I-25 to Cheyenne, and that changed my life. I knew Colorado was where I really wanted to be, and even when I got home from that ride, I told Chris about it and told him I wanted to stay here. I wish I could have gotten him to go on a ride like that with me, but he would not. It really breaks my heart that he couldn't find peace in the most peaceful place I have ever been.

Anyways, I again rented a Harley for a few weeks (might as well bought it since it cost so damn much! LOL) and I think this week I am taking off for at least one day to hit the Pueblo area, and just go for a nice ride. Maybe I will share some of those pics.

I am now the epitome of Colorado........
Current mood:   amused

Drew and I were heading out to Colorado yesterday, its permanent for him in the respect that he is hopefully starting school today, I will be back and forth, but as we were sitting in the airport I was finding myself wanting a nice ice coffee.

Since there were no Dunkin Donuts around us, I had to go check out the evil empire, Starbucks. One thing that has ALWAYS reminded me of Colorado was Starbucks. Its just a earthy, beautiful person type place that I never got. Dunks is the place for me since I started drinking coffee, and I almost felt like I was cheating on them by hitting Starbucks.

I can honestly say that I have NEVER, EVER had Starbucks....mainly, because I could not see myself spending $5 for a coffee like the tree hugging hippy earthy crunchy, way too hip for the room types that tend to go there do. I get to the counter and look at the lineup, and listen to what others are ordering. One couple in front of me gets two cups of something, in paper cups with nifty little liners that protect your hands, and it costs $13 and some change. For coffee. Two large cups. I knew I was screwed. I asked the girl for a simple large ice coffee, vanilla, nothing fancy. She goes to ring me up, my eyes start to tear. Two bucks. For a large ice coffee. The worst part was, the stuff was good. I couldn't believe that it was actually good.

One of the worst parts of leaving New England was the fact I had to leave my Dunks. Around here, there are just not the coffee places- other than Starbucks- like Dunks. Now I have to actually admit I am going to Starbucks. Shoot me now.

I am now officially RETIRED!!!!!
Current mood:   relieved

So yesterday was yet another big adventure.....I "retired" from Nashua Fire Rescue.

Of course, it went with some drama, one of my chiefs said to my boss that his "headache" was leaving, which was all it took for me to deliver my retirement papers to him in person.

Of course, he denied calling me a headache. I told him to bring my boss down so we could ask him, with both of us sitting there, if he really said it. Of course, he wouldn't. He's the Chief, I guess he doesn't have to answer to anyone.

Of course, he also denied that the administration made me get swaps instead of just giving me UNPAID time off (which is what I begged for pretty much from the beginning) to get out to Colorado to take care of Chris when this started going down. Hell, I even offered to pay for my benefits while I was out, but I guess my union boss and dispatch boss were just breaking my balls for fun by making me have to deal with getting swaps while I am sitting there desperately trying to get out to CO so my brother would be safe. Administation would NEVER do that. (YEAH RIGHT!!!)

Of course, I asked him about when administration (him) has a relative that wants to leave the department to become a cop, then gets booted out of the academy, and gets put right back into his place on the department with no loss of time or anything, why its called "unpaid leave of absence." (again, which is what I wanted pretty much from the beginning). When your brother is about to kill himself, and you want unpaid time off, it's a hassle. Sorry there, Chief. Didn't mean to disturb your daily schedule of making neat piles of paper on your desk.

Now, it may sound like I have sour grapes with this Chief. I don't. Granted, his personality leaves a lot to be desired for the position he is in, he was always ok to me when he worked on the line as a Captain. He could run a scene, you didn't have to worry about crap happening when he was on the scene. His kids are actually both really, really nice guys. Its just a shame he had to become such an ass once he got the big gold bars. In 20 years of public safety, I have seen it happen before, and I am sure it will happen again.

I am going to miss the folks at NFR a ton. I am leaving a bunch of great firefighters, Lieutentants, Captains and other support folks that I have come to enjoy working with over the last 4 and a half years. So many people there have been so good to me thru all of the drama of the last 2 years, and I could never, ever repay the generosity shown to me by most of the department.

I am sure this will make the rounds, so if any of you guys ever need a place to stay in the BEAUTIFUL Rocky Mountains, just give me a shout. I would be happy to see you out here.

I am sure I will talk to you all again!!!

Today’s the beginning of the rest of my life...........
Current mood:   excited

Today is a big day for Kerri, Andrew and I. We have decided that we are moving out to Colorado, and will be living here pretty much full time within the next few weeks.
Its an exciting new beginning. Both of us are quitting our jobs, packing up, and going. If we are lucky, we will land right on our feet and just keep chugging along. Colorado is an incredible place, and there are many exciting opportunities for both of us. Andrew is on the fence about it, but with all the skateparks and fun stuff to do, I think he will just fall in love with it out here.
We will be bouncing back and forth (ok, mostly me) for the next month or so, cleaning out the house and getting it on the market. We will miss all our friends back east, but we have plenty of room here if anyone wants to come out. I can guarantee if you spend any time here you will not want to go home, its really that great.........

Goodbye Little Brother.
Current mood:   depressed

Its taken me almost 2 weeks to post about this, as everyone knows, my brother Chris comitted suicide on August 11th.

I honestly still can't believe it happened. As much as I knew it would happen sometime, since he said it would over and over again, to actually have to say that my brother is dead just makes me sick. I get physically ill thinking about it.

I was in Colorado for 2 weeks before he died. He called me in a very scary state, telling me he needed me out there as soon as possible. I got out there as soon as I could, which ended up taking some time thanks to work, and quite honestly, I told friends that I was expecting to find him dead when I got there, since he knew exactly what time I would be there.

Luckily, he was alive. He was in really tough shape mentally and physically, but he wanted to get off all the prescription meds he was taking, and see if he could get himself to a better place. We went to his doctors and agreed that we should do that, so he went thru the withdrawals with me there and finally around the middle to end of the first week he was feeling better. While he was withdrawing, I went thru his place and dumped literally thousands of percocets, vicodens and oxycontins down the toilet. I could not believe he had so many pills in his house. It looked like a pharmacy.

Into the second week, we went back to his doctor and he was put on Effexor to try to get him out of his funk. He actually seemed to be doing ok, but on Friday, when I was supposed to leave for home, he had a mini breakdown and begged me to stay for a few more days. I agreed, and we hung out for awhile, talked more, then I went out for a little while with his dog Max so he could take a nap. When I got home, I told him I was going to lie down because I had a headache, and around 8pm I woke up to get some dinner. I opened his bedroom door, and he was snoring away. I went and got dinner then went back to bed. I woke up around 530 Saturday morning and found a note saying he had killed himself.

Of course, there was drama with my father over all this, that was to be expected, and I finally got Chris home to my mom's grave on Sunday. I did a little ceremony for him and spread his ashes at the grave. All his friends turned out, as did a lot of mine.

As I sit here now, I am so sad I want to cry, but I can't. I know he is finally where he wanted to be, and for that we should all be happy.

Rest in Peace Chris. I miss you.

You think your parents suck???
Current mood:   angry

I got to write this to my dad, no less than 6 hours after finding my brother dead.

" "DAD"

I am writing to tell you how thoroughly disgusted I am with you.

I never, ever, ever thought you could top yourself with your performance at mom's funeral, but you sure did.

Aunt Jody begged me- crying no less- to let you come out here and help me out yesterday. Honestly, I wasn't really sure that was such a great idea at first, I am (obviously) stressed and I am not so sure you would have helped that, but after thinking about it I was almost sort of relieved that you were coming out to (finally) see how your son lived his last days. You asked me to put our differences aside, and I DID IT, and I even felt, at least for an hour or two, that at least a little bit of my burden was relieved. I was almost ready to make amends with you. You were promising to help out, and maybe drive back to MA/NH with me, and you know what? That would have been appreciated.

When you called back and told me that you were not coming out because you could not find a reasonable enough flight, I literally almost crashed into the truck in front of me. YOUR "SON" IS DEAD, AND YOU ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT A "REASONABLE" PLANE TICKET??

Give me a break.

Not for nothing, I just booked Kerri a flight out here off Expedia, leaving TONIGHT, for $300.00. I guess Chris didn't even mean that much to you. I found flights all day long for $300-$700, and the incredibly sad part was, if you had just asked, I probably would have paid for the damn flight myself, even though I still cannot figure how you are so poor while living in the house you live in and giving the kids the lifestyle they have (and Chris and I MOST CERTAINLY never had). Your son kills himself, you can't spend a few bucks on a ticket out here, but when the princess wants to go to Disney for her birthday, well, gotta do that. I know Chris and I never got such a nice gift for our birthdays. I do certainly remember the $100 check and slap on the back, though, and thats when you were working and both of you were rolling in the cash and living the high life.

Then, when you said you wanted (and didn't even ask, you instructed me to give to you) the name of the lawyer I am using out here so you could cash in on the life insurance you took out on both of us when we were born, well, besides being speechless I was just shocked.

How shocked, by your wonderful tact, you ask? Well, put it this way. I've scraped up dead babies, seen stuff that 99% of the people walking this world wouldn't want to see, have seen things that by any human leave would be considered disgusting, and your comments affected me more than that stuff.

Did I happen to mention that I had found my brothers dead body in his bed maybe 7 hours earlier? That I had to wake up and find a note saying "I did it. Sorry to put you thru this, but thanks for understanding. Love, Chris"  That I sat on his bed with his body until the cops and firefighters came, stroking his hair and crying because he was gone?  That I had to watch the coroner put him in a body bag, and wheel him out of his house? Seven hours earlier??? And you pull THAT???

You wonder why Chris and I refuse to talk to you. There ya go.

Once again, it comes in to us being your "little tax write-offs" or other financial gain. Congrats, "Dad." Hopefully Chris' blood money goes towards something nice for John Erik and Greta, like maybe that trip to Disney World for Greta's birthday.

I have been out here for two weeks, going on 3 now, trying to save my brother. Honestly, I knew I could not, but I tried. The absolute last thing I needed was the major league mind f**k you gave me yesterday, but you once again reaffirmed why Chris and I both considered Warren our father and you as the simple sperm donor.

It comes down to ACTION, and that is something you simply NEVER, EVER could figure out. When we needed something- anything- we would go to mom and Warren because we knew we could count on them. You?? Nope. Not even a little. When I was getting divorced and raked over the coals, you would think I could have maybe counted on my dad, who's kinda been there, done that, would offer a little support. Wrong. When I was in the hospital in 2005- for 2+ weeks no less, you think I could have got at least ONE visit from you, since you in fact worked right in Nashua for years, and if I remember correctly were in the same hospital when you got sick up there, but no, not one visit or better yet, not even a single phone call from my so-called brother and sister to see if I was ok. Oh yeah, how many times have you called your grandson? Every time I ask him if he has heard from you, its a "NOPE", which is sad since I have sent you his cell number before. (Just ask if you would like me to forward the original emails, I couldn't dare delete those gems!)

My mom spent the good portion of the 2 weeks in the hospital with me. Each day, every day. Phone calls EVERY evening to make sure I was ok. Thats called action. You picked up the phone a total of 2 times the whole 2+ weeks I was admitted. Great job, "Dad". Thats called a complete lack of action, and to be expected from you. Friends came from literally all over New England to visit me and help Kerri out while I was there. My "dad" couldn't be bothered.

Anyways, I apologize for drifting. Back to the matter at hand. Your son is dead, and you cannot find it to spend a few bucks to come out and help, but you want to get the hot little insurance check in your hands asap. Well, as far as that goes, you are on your own. You want that money so bad, you do the work to get it. You will not get a single ounce of assistance out of me.

As far as any services go, you and the kids are not invited in any way, shape or form. One of Chris' friends is a police officer in Wakefield, and he assured me that if you did happen to show up, you would be removed. Please don't make a spectical of yourself, which you are prone to doing, like wailing at Karens funeral how the two women you ever loved were now dead and such. I do not want you there, Chris would not want you there, and you are not invited. Period, end of story. If anyone else in the family feels that they do not want to go, its their choice, and understandable, though I cannot figure for the life of my why the aunts continue to make excuses for you (which both did, by the way). I am sure that gets old quickly, and must be heart wrenching for them to be put in this situation because of your complete and utter lack of understanding of how to be a father to your original children, and honestly, I have no clue how you go thru life knowing one child died hating you, and the other feels the same way.

As far as Chris' will goes, and I am sure I have your full attention now, You, John Erik and Greta were left exactly One Dollar each. I will be sending you each one dollar, along with a copy of the will,  after I have met with my attorneys and finalized his estate. Enjoy your windfall. As you can see by the email and will jpeg attached, I would say that one dollar was pretty generous, but his lawyer made him do it once they made the official will. As soon as I am cleared to make the payment, I will. Also, while going thru some of Chris' items, I came across a rather large amount of cards and boxes you have sent him, unopened. I will be sending those back to you also.

I have been writing this fine document for over an hour now at Chris' desk, in the house he died in, by myself. While it has been sort of nice to get my mind off things here for a few minutes, its quite sad that I had to take time out of mourning the loss of my brother to once again address your failings as a father to us.

Don't think for a minute you did not have anything to do with Chris' death. He would never, ever admit that you messed him up, at least until we both wrote our letters to you last year, but it did. A lot. He had the same sadness that I had, knowing that our "father" was really not our father.

Please do not contact me whatsoever, your emails will be deleted and your calls ignored. If you feel you must reply, at least have the courage to address everyone I have clearly sent this email to also, just so I am once again not made out to be the bad guy, which you seem to have the aunts believing. Also, please do not ever tell my wife to FUCK OFF again. Obviously, you could not handle the truth being pointed out to you, but that was not nice at all. "

My pal Max.
Current mood:   amused

I have been out in Colorado the last few days with my brother, and while staying at his place I have officially been put in charge of his little Boston Terrier, Max.

Max is a handsome, hyper dude with a sunny disposition, but he also has his dark side. He farts like a smoke machine. He and I were hanging out on the couch last night and he was blasting these monster farts, bad enough to almost make me gag. I never thought any dog could possibly do what he was doing. He was making my farting ability seem like Glade air fresheners.

Max's ability would most certainly be appreciated by some in Fire Alarm, where fart offs are common on my shifts. Even some of the ones you would never believe launch an air biscuit have been known to let them rip when working with me. I don't know if thats an insult or complement, however, nothing makes this fat little monkey giggle harder than a schoolgirl than a well executed fart.

If Max does come home with me, fire alarm better be ready. Max is my new secret weapon.

3rd time's a charm in Colorado.
Current mood:   bored

I flew back out to Colorado this weekend to help out Chris, my brother. Other than the fact he is sick and just needs me to help him out for a few weeks, its pretty good. This is the 3rd time I have been out here in a year, and every time I come out, I just don't want to go home.

Today its about 95 out, but its dry and nice. Hot, but dry. Big difference then when I left NH. It was 90 and hot and humid. I am a fat guy, and fatties like me HATE humidity. Out here, at least I can go out and not have my man boobs be dripping like a river the second I get out the front door.

Anyways, the trip out was fun. I flew from NH to Chicago with a Harley granny next to me, and since I was wearing a Harley shirt, she figured that we would chat about bikes the whole trip. I think she finally got the clue that I wasn't really into chatting once I got my Ipod on, so the rest of the trip was uneventful. We actually arrived at O'Hare 25 minutes EARLY, which rocked, since my original layover was like 45 minutes. However, once we landed, the flight from Chicago to Denver was delayed almost an hour and a half. I got to spend about two and a half hours wandering around O'Hare. That was about as exciting as pulling the lint out of my belly button. Once we were getting ready to board, it was apparent that the flight was going to be FULL. I was thrilled at that prospect since the only seat I could get was a middle seat. I figured with my luck I would get someone as big as me on either side and we would look like a row of jelly donuts.

I got on the plane, and found that one lucky recipient of my largeness was going to a be skinny chick with the windown seat. Once I planted myself in the row, her eyes rolled as if to say "fucking GREAT." Not that I blame her. Once I was sitting a pilot proceeded to plop in the seat next to me. Luckily he was not a big guy. We ended up chatting the whole flight, since he had a lot of the same interests as me- fast cars, big trucks and faster bikes. He told me that the next natural progression for me was to go to flying school, since that is the ultimate speed freak hobby. He owned a share in a Cessna, and was saying how flying is like crack.....super addictive and super addictive. Just what I needed to hear. I would get into that and the next thing Kerri would know there would be a Cessna sitting in our driveway. I am fairly confident that would get me a solid boot in the ass and a visit from her divorce attorney.

We ended up in Denver, and it was sort of humid here (at least that was what everyone was saying.) I got off the plane and out of the terminal and was thrilled to not feel humidity. When I got to Chris' place, I was watching the news and the weather monkey was rambling on about how bad it was out and how he thought it was one of the most humid days he could remember. Obviously he's never been to New England.

The last few days have been doctor appointments, and a lot of hanging around the house with Chris and Max. Max has been his typical Boston Terrier self...hyper and wanting to play every minute. He fianlly gave up playing with me at one point because I drilled him in the ass with a giant tennis ball. I think it was an accident....but who knows.

Jet lag has been kicking the crap out of me. I dozed off last night around 9pm (here) while having a conversation with Chris, and woke up like a half hour later. Chris told me he thought I was dying or something by the noises I was making. Apparently I snore. I dragged my ass to bed, and of course woke up at 5am wide awake with nothing to do. Great. Now I am tired enough to go take a nap, since Chris is sleeping that is exactly what I am gonna do. 

Look out CFNAP, there is a new player in town.

For the longest time, I have been basically doing nothing with my enormous camera bag, mainly because I have been relatively uninspired to shoot.

Time's a changin'!!

I have (along HOPEFULLY with Mr. Photomedic) agreed to start working with a studio up here in Manchester.

I will be co-ordinating all marketing activities and doing a lot of the general business workings of the studio. Now, I know some of you are saying, "Well sheeeet, that sound familiar!!!" and you are exactly right.

Two years ago I went to help out a "friend" with his up and coming venture- a photo studio. When I walked in there, I felt the vision. I wanted to make it a success. I handled a ton of marketing for him, basically got his first shoots filled up with potential clients, started a photo club for him, my wife started his whole modeling program for him, then we were basically just swept aside once the friend got what he wanted out of us. Needless to say, that put a huge damper in my enthusiasm with photography in general.

That changed last week when I walked into the studio Photomedic has been shooting at. The second I walked in, I got the feeling this place could be really, really special, and I wanted to do it again. The place is super cool to shoot at- huge hi-key wall, garage door for car/bike/truck access, good amount of floor space. I talked with the owner, and we hashed out a deal to get that place up and running and to hopefully make our mark on the photo scene here in New England.

Keep an eye here, we'll be posting stuff on our blogs talking more about the studio as we go along.

Fatal Accidents......The Bright Side.
Current mood:   amused

I have been carrying this around for many years....not sure where it came from, but its rather brilliant.

Proposal: FATAL ACCIDENTS: THE BRIGHT SIDE.

Every day some new do-gooder is trying to save us from ourselves. We have so many laws and safety commissions to ensure our safety that it seems nearly impossible to have an accident. The problem is we NEED to have accidnets, and LOTS of them.

DANGER IS NATURES WAY OF ELIMINATING STUPID PEOPLE. Without safety, stupid people die in accidents. Since the dead do not reproduce, our species becomes progressively more intelligent (or at least less stupid.)

With safety, however well-intentioned it may be, we are devolving into half witted mutants, because idiots, who by all rights should be dead, are spared from their rightful early graves and are free to breed even more imbiciles.

Lets do away with safety and improve our species. Take up smoking. Jaywalk. Play with explosives. Swim right after a big meal. Stick something small in your ear. Take your choice of dangerous activity and do it with gusto. Future generations will thank you.

Memories.... 4-22-07

I was staring at some boxes the other day, it was stuff left from my mom's place that we had boxed up and put into storage.

It struck me as sad, that my mom's life had come down to a few boxes of stuff and some great memories. All that she did, all that she was, and it came down to those boxes. Stuff.

I have been having a lot of fun with Drew, and this is important because I know the memories have kept me from ever forgetting how wonderful my mom was. I want to make sure Drew has some fun, great memories of me when I am gone, no matter when that may be. I know that even though my stepdad died 11 years ago, the memories of all the great times we had keep his spirit very much alive inside me. I was riding my Harley to work today, and was thinking that if he was alive right now, he would probably have a Harley too and go riding as much as he could. I could almost picture him riding beside me as I cruised down Route 101. While he wasn't physically there, he was there in spirit. When Drew and I are out riding the dirt bikes, I see Warren there and experience the fun he had watching my brother and I learning to ride when I see Drew zipping around. It really is a priceless feeling.

I want Drew to experience as much as possible in life. We ride our dirtbikes together, he goes out on my Harley with me, we ride at Rye together, and there is more and more that we will do....and I hope when he is my age, he looks back on the time he had with his dad and smile, just the same way I do when I think of the times spent with my mom and Warren.

Joining the Sweet Willie Militia!! 4-19-07

So, in the last few weeks I have been picking up some new 

hobbies.......I finally got around to picking up a gun again after almost 15 years 

and joined the Manchester Firing Range, which is like 5 minutes from my 

house.

  

I was looking around, figuring I would get another Glock like I had 

many moons ago, but saw the Springfield XD line, and knew that was what I 

wanted. I ended up going with the XD45, and boy, what a nice gun it is.

  

The first time shooting again Tuesday night was kind of like riding a 

bike- even after so long, after a few shots it just felt like old times. 

While my skills are not the greatest (yet), I did alright for my 1st 

time out. I actually ended up going back Wednesday afternoon and shooting 

some more. It was a lot of fun.

  

Now, I never thought I would be joining Sweet Willie's Militia, but 

with the shooting that just occured, I am really starting to believe that 

perhaps we might all be a little safer if we were all well trained and 

carried firearms. Maybe if someone on that Virginia Tech campus was 

carrying the other day, there would have been a lot less than the 32 that 

were killed. Unfortunately, because of this whack jobs little outburst, 

the people who carry firearms legally will end up paying the price for 

his rampage. Stupid, non working gun laws will be presented, great hype 

will be established, and yet again the government will control more and 

more of our rights while the criminals who illegally carry firearms 

still get the slaps on the wrist and no real punishment for their 

offenses.

  

Anyways, enough of that crap. What really made me laugh was while 

filling out the paperwork for the gun club, the guy there was telling me 

that they had young kids shooting with their dads there all the time. I 

thought that was awesome. At some point I am going to have to teach Drew 

about guns, and will teach him how to shoot once we have some time. I 

can't wait for that since I love doing new stuff with him.

  

Speaking of new, I traded in the Mighty Dodge Ram........for a Hummer. 

The Big Hummer. A big Fire Engine Red Hummer. What an awesome ride. Its 

a 2004 with 29K miles on it. Its big and sexy, just like me....hahaha!  

Even Kerri likes it, which says a lot. It will be perfect for taking 

the trailer riding and day tripping with all the puppies, who will have 

their own little palace in the back. It is as big as a house, though.

  

Since I mentioned puppies, Besos is doing wonderful. Rocky and Yogi 

seem to be tolerating him and Kerri loves him to death, which is amusing 

because she always says she hates Rocky and Yogi, but we all know that 

is a lie.

  

Next week, Drew is on vacation, and we are all off to Colorado to see 

my brother. It will be fun since Colorado is an awesome place and Drew 

and Kerri have never been there. Hopefully we'll have a lot of pics to 

post, so till then, see ya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Restore the Mancard, please... 4-11-07
Current mood:   chipper

After years and years of dreaming of one from afar, I took the plunge.

I bought a Hummer.

Not that kind of Hummer.... the one you drive.....you pervert.

I was checking out used Hummer H2 prices online, and found some really excellent trucks available at below half of what they went for new. VERY reasonable, if you are into big manly burly trucks, like me.

I negotiated with the stealership for 2 days to get the deal done on this gem, its a 2004 with 29,000 original miles. Simply awesome shape, it looks and drives like new.

Everyone is saying, "oh my god, you are gonna pay a ton for gas blah blah blah.." well, on my 1st trip from ManchVegas to Nashua, on cruise control at 68mph it got 16 miles per gallon pretty much the whole way down. Not bad considering my Ram was getting around 15-16 itself.

Gotta say, driving this thing is everything I expected...big , comfortable and yes, sexy. Its an awesome looking truck. Nice tax writeoff, too for the company!  :)

I am sure Kerri is now jumping off a bridge. Just think honey, plenty of room for the babies.  :)

Take away my Man card. 4-8-07
Current mood:   amused
Category: Pets and Animals

So a big, burly and dashingly handsome snake and pug lover takes his family to a pet shop owned by a company world famous for their snakes and other reptiles, fully expecting to come home with maybe a nice boa or reticulated python after promising his equally dashing young son a little Easter present since he was a bit too old for an Easter basket.

While said big burly man was checking out all the reptile goodness, the lovely wife and son disappear to other parts of the store.

Now again, my son is ALL MAN. I totally expected him to pick out a snake or tortoise or maybe even some cooler.

What did we come home with?

  A chihuahua. Yes, a little rat ugly chihuahua who literally fits into my hand with room

left.

  

Now, truth be told, he IS cute, and quite lovable, but he ain't no snake.

  

Please feel free to deduct from my mancard.

Snakes, Dogs and kids.....
Current mood:   blah

Man, it feels like forever since I posted something on here....

Its been a good few weeks, at least for the most part. On January
25th, Kerri and I remembered Karen by taking a ride down to Mohegan.
We spent about 4 hours at the blackjack tables, and we think Karen was
most certainly smiling down on us as we put together a very good
run.....good enough for Kerri to finally get one thing Karen used to
worship..a Coach bag. It was a fun day, and definitely the proper way
to remember my mom, the Mohegan Machine.

I felt about 100 years old when I realized that Drew turned 11 1/29. I
felt about 125 when I saw that there are little girls chasing him all
over myspace. I am afraid. Very afraid. Drew, girls are BAD. Stay
away!!!

Working like a cheap 'ho, haven't had much time to shoot lately. I
have some new stuff to post, I have just been incredibly lazy. One thing I have been shooting is my new little collection- I picked up some cool ass boa constrictors.

Back before Kerri came along, I had quite the impressive reptile collection- a 10+ foot burmese python, rock pythons, ball pythons, yellow and green anacondas, big iguanas, tortoises...you name it, I probably had it at one time. Andrew was always saying he wanted a snake, and in the back of my silly little skull, I know I wanted something cool also. I actually did not have a ton of boas, but I wanted something this time around that was a bit smaller and easy to handle, and boas were the way to go. I ended up getting a sweet baby Salmon Hypo boa  ( gray with lots of nice shades of pink and salmon), a one eyed albino (yellowish) boa named, apropriately, Popeye, and two other argentine albinos that Drew named Big Daddy and Lil Momma. We are going to get them ready to breed next fall, and hopefully by this time in 2008 we will have some fantastic baby boa morphs if anyone wants some!  :) BD and LM are probably going to get broken up and bred with snakes closer to their own ages, I am trying to find some nice morphs to breed with each to get some nicer babies. Check out some cool ass snake pics on my page for them at freakyboas.com !!!!!

We have had a little visitor over the last week, my trainers ShitzTu (or however the hell you spell it...) Petey, also known around here as the Happy Humper. He has been humping Rocky and Yogi whenever he gets the chance. Its quite humorous, and he is a fun dog to have around the house, though all 3 are now pretty much pissing everywhere to mark their territories. Maybe I should try that too.

It looks like the studio gig Bud, Kerri and I were working on has kind
of fizzled out, which sucks because I was really looking forward to
having such a cool shooting space available 24/7. Its not completely
dead yet, but looks like its on life support. I know Sweet Willie
found an open house for another studio in ManchVegas later this month,
and hopefully we will be able to check it out and see what its all
about.

Well, I am on my days off over the next few days....I feel another blackjack trip coming on! See ya

my best buddy's BIRTHDAY!!!

Happy 11th birthday Drew!!!!

I am very proud of you and love you!!

Crashes, Ice Storms and a sad day.

Rode Rye with Andrew last week, and it was PACKED. I was buzzing around on my Haro Backtrail X24, and because I had dirt tires on, and was on slick cement, promptly lost traction and landed on my head in front of about 20 kids. Banged up my shoulder enough that I couldn't lift it at all for two days. That was fun!! We are heading back today to conquer some plywood. Hopefully I will make it home in one piece.

You know you have reached the pinnacle of myspace friends when you have an iguana named Angelina Jolie as your friend.

Got yelled at yesterday by my wonderful trainer Charissa. I DEFINITELY earned it, though. She is pissed that my weight is not going down, only maintaining (for the last month or so...). Obviously I need to change this, I don't want to face the wrath again! It was not fun.

Lost at poker TWICE in the last few weeks, both times making it to the final 3 out of about 8, but still not getting any $$$. At least I didn't lose to Bill Kennedy.

On Monday, we have had a wonderful little ice storm here in NH. I did the day shift in fire alarm, and we did 150+ calls in about 8 hours. It was NUTS, considering in that time span we usually do about 25. I went home, went to bed, and heard the 911 line ringing in my head while I was asleep. Maybe this morning I can get out and shoot everything frozen around my yard.

One year ago today, unbeknowst to me, the worst week of my life was beginning. I stopped by my moms place, and she looked like hell and said she had a migrane. What it really was was the anurysm that eventually killed her letting go. A week later, she was dead.

I miss you mom.

Fisheyes, the Legend, fat asses and big printers.

Happy New Year to everyone....hopefully 2007 will be a far better year than 2006 was for most of us!!

So in my never ending quest to do bodily damage to myself, I have once again started riding at the Rye Skatepark with Drew. Luckily no major crashes, and I am starting to get a little bit of air on the ramps. Soon I will be blasting huge air around there, right Drew? As long as I don't break my back or fat ass again, or anything else for that matter, I will be happy.....

I am actually trying to ride quite a bit- I got a singlespeed Redline 29" Monocog for putting around town- its an awesome ride, tall as hell, and will go anywhere. I am really starting to feel great since I am working out 5 times a week, twice with a trainer so I don't screw myself up too badly.

I entered a contest at Golds Gym where I am competeing to lose weight, lose body fat and gain muscle. When I did the intake test Saturday, I actually did 15 (good) pushups, which shocked the crap out of me, my trainer and the guy doing the intakes. For 300 pounds, I did ok! I am aiming for 250-275 by May, so those of you who hang with me have to make sure I don't eat too badly....please!!!

Congrats to my bud, THE LEGEND JOE BROWN, who was the Boston Herald's Man on the Scene for the huge train accident on Tuesday, January 9th. His pics were picked up internationally, on top of being made into a slide show on the Heralds front page and countless front pages of New England papers. Check out the slide show here: http://news.bostonherald.com/galleries/?title=Woburntraincrash

I was bored this week, and it was rainy out, so I shot the pugs with the Nikon 10.5 fisheye I scored...check 'em out... www.pszenny.com/fishpug.htm

Speaking of Buds, my bud Bud (aka Sweet Willie, though I am sure he HATES that....) is running some new classes in Manchester this month, check out his website at www.nedpw.com for the schedule. I am sure I will be hanging around assisting/learning if I am not working.

People ask why I call him Sweet Willie- well, its from "Big Bad Bill is Sweet William Now", a horrible and obscure song by the mighty Van Halen. Since Bud's real name is William...well, you get it...I hope.

Bud got the big ass SCORE OF THE WEEK- an Epsom 7600 printer for $250. This is a huge, $2500 roll printer, big enough to have its own zip code. Why can't I find deals like that?????

Well...off to bed...have a lovely week.

XMas, Birfdays, and more ramblings... 12-27-06

Had a great Christmas (well, really it was great 2 days before Xmas since I had to work Xmas day....) Drew came up and got his Xmas gift from Kerri and I....a Nikon D40 with the 18-55 kit lens. Its pefect for him- he tried to use my D2H and D200 but both were obviously too big for him- and we ended up shooting a little bit before I had to take him home Christmas Eve afternoon. I let him try my new toy- the Nikon 10.5mm fisheye. Its a FUN ASS lens and I can't wait to do more shooting with it. I just couldn't bring myself to buy him yet another video game or toy that wasn't going to be used more than 10 minutes.

Andrew was already hitting up Kerri to let him use her lenses......like father, like son. Next thing you know he is going to be asking me to borrow my 70-200!!!

Found out my son has a Myspace page.....and little girls are hitting him up for dates already. Guess I will have to keep my eye on that. We added some pics on his site, and we are going to put a new page up at andrewpszenny.com that will have his photography on it. He is a natural, I tell ya......

Just got a real sweet deal on a 105 D lens also- I had the 60 but really preferred the working room with the 105. I was reading reviews on the new VR 105 and it just didn't seem like it was worth the extra money, and I found a MINT used one for less than half the price of the new VR.

I get to doggy sit my trainers Shitzu this week, he is getting along fabulously with Rocky and Yogi, and even kind of making himself Mr. Alpha Male. I worked XMas day, and Xmas night was spent on the couch with 2 snoring pugs on my stomach and an antsy Shitzu on top of my head. At least he let me watch TV.

The good part is my trainer is away for a week or so....the bad news is my trainer is away for a week or so......she promised bodily harm if I gain any weight while she is away. Better hide the Toblerone.

Trying to figure out where I want to go on vacation in 2007- Probably Colorado in April with Drew to see my brother, Vegas around September (want to go see the Mr. Olympia competition), plus god knows where else.

Since I couldn't make it to the Aunts house for Christmas, I took my grandmother out for lunch yesterday for her 89th birthday. Got to see 2 of my aunts (the 3rd blew me off for her NEW BOYFRIEND!!!!!) and we had a lovely lunch at the 99's in Salem. I still don't miss that area at all.....too many people, too much traffic. Happy birthday Bubch!!!

My bud Bud (aka Big Bad Bud is Sweet Willie Now, which I am sure he HATES) and I are working on some big stuff for 2007......you'll just have to wait and see what it is. Depending on how it pans out, it could be really really BIG!!

Speaking of big bad BUD, we celebrated his birthday tonight at Gaucho's, a great restaurant in Manchester. Happy 40th, big guy!!

Hope everyone has a great New Years....we'll be celebrating at the casa de Pszenny, but since I have to work the next morning I guess I will have to stay sober!!

Various Ramblings 12-16-06

Had a great time shooting with Bud, Kriss, Donnie, Justin, Ashley and
the Legend, Joe Brown last weekend at Bud's shoot. Its those get
togethers that make shooting fun- seeing the creativity, and trying
new stuff. Joe, Justin and I did some shots of the beautiful Ashley on
a stairwell in the building that Bud's studio was in, and instead of
hauling lights and crap up a few floors, we got the brilliant idea to
use the Nikon SB800's as our wireless light sources for the shots, and
we were all very please with them. They do make a great alternative
ligth source for when you don't want to lug bags and bags of lights
around. I picked up my 3rd SB800 and can't wait to get a little more
creative with them when I have some time.

FINALLY cleaned out the studio at the house, and hopefully will be
able to get some quality shoots in over the rest of the winter. I
think we will be shooting at Bud's hiding spot again soon, also. His
place is beautiful, with a ton of potential.

Got an AWESOME deal on a slightly used Nikon 10.5 Fisheye- I have
lusted after a fisheye for awhile and love some of the stuff I have
seen taken with them. Now I get to play with one myself. Can't wait!

So......I know quite a few people read my various rants, and there is
one person out there who has been "covertly" going against me. You
know who you are, and all I can say is maybe you ought to concentrate
on the train wreck you are driving as opposed to worrying about
mine.......and oh yeah, people who you think are your confidants
really are not. They don't hesitate to let me know all of your little
activities, and from what I have heard, you are really irking people
with all the knives you have been sticking in peoples backs....but,
thats just an observation.

Christmas is only a few days away, and god knows I am at times slow to
post, so I hope everyone has a great
Christmas/Chaunaka/Kwanzaa/Whatever else I forgot. Stay sober, take a
lot of holiday memories, and have fun.

The Dumbing down of America, Dunkin Donuts style
Current mood:   annoyed

So I go to a (non regualr) Dunkin Donuts drive thru the other morning. My routine is ALWAYS the same...large cinnamon ice coffee, light with skim, 8 Splenda, and a wheat bagel toasted with peanut butter ON it.

I place my order- mind you, its not busy or anything, and the friendly little voice comes over the intercom stating "We don't put the peanut butter ON the bagels any more because of peanut allergies."

Huh?

Now, I am 36 years old. I order the SAME THING every day. At 36, I think I would have figured out if I had a peanut butter allergy, and if not, I deserve to get whatever I have coming to me in reaction to said peanut butter.

I proceed to the window and the girl hands me my ice coffee. I ask her about the whole peanut butter thing- now, don't get me wrong, there are times when I can totally see having to spread peanut butter on a bagel can be both trying and traumatic, this did not seem to be one of those times- and the lovely little girl with more holes in her face than a dart board says "Well, we got in trouble for doing it because someone got sick somewhere...."

OK.....but still.....really.....I just cannot believe that is the real reason. My regular DD usually puts it on, when I walk into the store or others they almost always put it on.....never heard such a silly excuse in my life.

Dunks needs to learn that when people in the drive thru want something on a bagel or sandwich or whatever, its usually because they are DRIVING and can't do it themselves. Have you ever tried to put peanut butter on a bagle while driving? I did, and it wasn't pretty.

Maybe I should get into an accident next time Dunkin Donuts does this to me, then sue them because I had to put the peanut butter on myself.......

I just wish I had more time to SHOOT!!!!
Current mood:   contemplative

I have been working a bit lately, and the whole time I am there I find myself wanting to shoot. Being out in Colorado and having a new surrounding to shoot in was incredibly invigorating, and that alone makes me wish I could just travel around and take pictures for a living. It was nice just roaming around Denver on a beautiful Saturday night, taking in all the new scenery and sights. I could do that every night, no problem. Maybe its time for me to retire and travel........but that's wishful thinking for now.

Looking forward to Bud's shoot next Saturday. Hopefully I can get at least one or two great shots out of his class.

Now that work has blocked access to myspace (since its SUCH A PORN SITE!) I have to type these up while I am working then post them when I get home. What a pain in the ass...all in the name of political correctness. Blah.

Congrats to my little buddy Ellen for delivering a beautiful baby girl! YAY!

Till next time....peace out.

New Stuff on pszenny.net

Stop by and check it out, let me know what you think!!
"In the Beginning"
"Colorado 2006"

Hit the links, lots of great pics!!!
www.pszenny.net

I survived Colorado...or maybe it survived me.
Current mood:   sad

Well, I survived (actually, my brother Chris survived....) 4 days in
Colorado. It was really beautiful there, great weather, got to meet
Max the crazy Boston Terrier, got to see Chris, and got to take some cool pictures. Other than a little resizing and some mild cropping, these are untouched. I have some others that will look awesome once I have a few minutes to Photoshop them.

Some things I learned on my trip:

It takes an hour, 4 guys, two big trucks and daylight to change a
light on the end of a wing, needed to take off in the early morning
darkness, but not needed for daylight hours.

Broncos fans don't like to be reminded that the Patriots have 3 Championships to their 2.

Nikon lens hoods don't do too well when introduced to a wall.

Colorado is FLAT, spacious, clean and pretty much shiny new.

Its going to be 70-80 degrees, sunny and dry all this week in Colorado.

Rabbits make a loud thump under the 20" wheels of a Dodge Durango at 60mph.

Boulder could be dropped in Vermont and no one would bat an eye.

When you drive into the projects in a shiny new BLUE Dodge Durango
with chrome wheels the residents think you are either the Po-Po (cops)
or lost. And stupid. And the ALL watch you.

People in Colorado think people from New Hampshire talk funny.

80 year old women LOVE my brother.

Old Polish contractors like me.

You can never have enough leg room when the two college kids in front
of you are obviously up to something and continously driving the back
of their seats into your knee caps.

Its not a bad thing whent he girl next to you is wearing a short
skirt. Really short.

3 minute layovers in Charlotte, NC are fun.

Boston Terriers can jump really high.

Dogs can obviously own townhouses in Colorado.

You really can take 150 pictures of the same sunrise, and they are all a little different.

Sonic (the fast food joint) RULES.

McDonalds is nasty no matter what state you are in.

I can't wait to go back!

Anyways, enjoy a few pictures....

www.pszenny.com/colo1.htm

mmmmmm.....toys.........
Current mood:   depressed

So as those of you that know me are well aware of, I have been in a major funk lately. When I get like that, I tend to spend money. I figured that it was time to revamp the camera bags, since its been a few years since I bought any significant items.

We got this week:

2 D200 kits with the 18-200's, the 70-200 VR, a killer 85 1.4 D, the Tokina 12-24, 2 SB800's, a Sekonic 358 with the PW module, a new Manfrotto tripod and head, and what I think I will have the most fun with, the Nikon R1 close up Speedlight.

I ended up selling the 80-200 2.8, 20-35 2.8, one of the 18-200 kit lenses, the D70, the SB80DX. Thank god for ebay.

Now, I just have to get out and use it all!!!!

Fucking Nikon.
Current mood:   aggravated

So I gave into the irrestiable urge....I bought 2 D200's last week.

I bought my wife a D200 early last week, after I went to the local shop seeking a 180200 VR, and I kept reading about how it was such a wonderful camera. When I bought her D200, I ordered the grip for it since the store did not have any in stock, and they called me Friday and told me that they had the grip in.

I got to the store, and just as I was walking in they were unloading their Nikon order, and they informed me that they got in more of the D200 kits......how could I resist? I bought one for myself...along with a grip....and a 70-200 vr.

So......after fiddling with the D200 all night at work, I went to the funeral for a local police officer killed by a scumbag, and I was planning on doing some shooting throughout the service. As a 15 year public servant myself, I have been to enough of these to know that they SUCK, but the ceremonial and emotional impact they have are amazing, and its a tribute to capture it for all to see. I had 6 brand new Duracells in it (since I put the grip on...) and started shooting. I was using the 28-70 AFS, and was getting some great stuff, when, after about 50 shots the camera just DIED. Batteries DEAD. The ceremony was really just coming thru, and there wasn't even any place else I could get batteries. I finally hiked about a mile down the street to a 7-11 and got new batteries, put them in, and they were dead within 5 shots. Obviously there is something up with the camera or grip, I need to test with the ENEL'S but, because of this, I missed 2 hours of incredible shooting.

Thanks Nikon.

A victim of my own stupidity...... and an RIP to 2 heros.
Current mood:   sad

Today the Fire and Iron crew rode with the Patriot Guard Riders for the service of Cpl Nicholas Arvanitis, USArmy, who was killed in Iraq last week. I planned to bring the D2h with my new toy- the 18-200 AFS VR lens I picked up yesterday. At the very last second, I grabbed my D70 body and threw the lens on there. I was planning on shooting the whole scene- which was pretty incredible- but once I got to our meeting site and pulled out the camera and turned it on...I saw what every photographer dreads....the big "E"....as in, you forgot to put a goddamn compact flash card in, you idiot!!!

While I didn't get to burn a single shot, we got to ride in honor of a fallen hero...and that was all that mattered.

It looks like we are going to be riding later this week for the funeral of PO Michael Briggs of the Manchester, NH police department, who was shot in the head by some scumbag earlier this week and passed away this afternoon.

Rest in peace Cpl Arvanitis and Officer Briggs......NH lost 2 great people this week.

Frustration abounds......
Current mood:   aggravated

I really just want to get out and shoot. Thats all I really want to do....but I can't.

No time.....working full time, lots of overtime, plus having to deal with my moms estate and other crap has left me with literally ZERO time to just shoot something. Its very depressing, since here in New England its a great time to shoot....

I guess there is always next fall.........

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!
Current mood:   content

I have a love/hate relationship with my camera.

I shoot because I love to shoot. I am very relaxed when I do it, and I think I am happiest in life when I am feeling a little creative. The camera can be a powerful tool....and if you have the passion to shoot, sometimes it can make you happy...sad...whatever.

I have not shot a whole lot in the last year or so, after the whole issue with the Lawrence studio happened. It kicked the soul right out of me, mainly because I REALLY believed in that place, loved it in fact, and to be thrown aside the way both Kerri and I were simply made me bitter towards photography. The fact that my threapist has told me I do photography as a way to bond with my father (even though we do not have a relationship anymore) also probably had a lot to do with it.

Well, I am starting to feel like the funk is being lifted. I want to shoot again. I am starting to see things again as a photographer, as opposed to seeing things just as you would everyday. Hopefully this momentum will carry on.

Photography is a powerful thing.