Holding a five pound baby

Friends of mine, Jeff & Michelle Saeger had their first recently. It was a baby boy they named Elliott. The little guy was born under five pounds. I was able to hold him for the first time this weekend. With in five minutes of me holding him he pooped his diaper and gave a loud angry cry. I was thinking it was another experience where Duane & babies don't mix. Then he did something not amazing, or noteworthy, or profound. He did something simple. Elliott stopped crying & opened his eyes. I saw those tiny baby blue eyes and I was mesmurized. I can't imagine what a parent must feel holding their child.

Birthday weekend

In 2010 my birthday falls on Saturday so I get to celebrate all weekend! YAHOO!!!

Usually I don't do too much and won't do a lot this weekend although I will be active and doing more than I usually do. The usual birthday plans are include having dinner with my family & friends for dinner and fitting in something else random yet fun! As the years have passed it has been something different each year. When I was in college it was usually something active like a hiking, or a day trip some where. When I was vacation one year I had a lobster dinner at a beach restaurant & another year a girl friend treated me to a night out dancing, nice dinner & drive to a nice scenic spot. Over the last few years it has been more of a low key event like a dinner & a movie or a couple drinks and a game of pool!

This year I had dinner with my family Thursday night. Friday night some friends met me at a jazz club, Jazz at Jacks at the Denver Pavilions. We had a drink & enjoyed live music from a great local band - Dotsero. Saturday will be spent relaxing and most likely a wine tasting or a benefit dinner with proceeds going to Chile. Sunday will be spent relaxing a bit & probably hiking as it will be a beautiful day outside.

2010 has been a great birthday celebration & a fun weekend!

Random thought

If you were going to murder someone one of the best environments to utilize would be a snow storm. Howling wind & snow can muffle or silence any noise.

I finally saw Twilight & it is hilarious!!!!

I work in an office full of women and most of them saw the Twilight film & wouldn't stop raving about how wonderful it is & wanting to see the sequel. One of my co-workers, Hannah, isn't into the series & has viewed it a few times. Hannah has a different take on the film. She thinks it is hilarious and after hearing her take on the film I had to watch it. Guess what? She was right the movie is freaking hilarious!!!

Now the casting & storyline are cool & the scenes and cinematography are done well. The problem is everything else wasn’t done well and didn’t make any sense. The movie starts like a typical teen movie only the director didn’t invest anything into any of the characters nor did he give us a reason to like or care about them. As a result they seem distant and everything else spirals out of control from there. Not a single one of the main characters smile & have no real or functional interactions with each other that last more than 20 seconds. The lead actress & her vampire love interest don’t smile at each other for almost 40 minutes into the movie. Most of the scenes involving music the music doesn’t fit the scene & the volume is so loud it is difficult to make out the actors lines. There is a scene where the main couple is flying around during the day & then out of now where they cut to a scene where they are alone in a room at night & the vampire is playing the piano. Then in the second half it was cheesey melodrama that made me laugh even harder.

If you set the story aside & watch the movie from a critical point of view it is hilarious!!! I had to pause the movie every five minutes because I was laughing so hard I didn’t want to miss more of whatever was going on. That movie should be on MST3k soon!!! In short the movie couldn’t have been worse without being funny. I don’t know if I will watch the second one but if Hannah says it is funny I’m going to rent it so I can have a good laugh.

House sitting in the hidden part of Denver

So I have watched plenty of movies lately and would love to blog about them but those will have to wait as I have to blog about house sitting.

I am sitting for one of my regulars who have moved to a new neighbor hood (Yes I said regulars. Many co-workers & friends contact me for house sitting. I enjoy seeing a new part of town, making a little extra money & helping people out). They recently moved from the Cheeseman park area to Monaco & 38th which is a completely different area of Denver!! The Cheeseman area is somewhat affluent with huge park for runners & out door activities. Sprinkled in the area are small restaurants, coffee shops, and eateries each with a unique cultural flavor. It is also close to down town so the Cheeseman park area has a strong urban feel. It is has a stigma for being the part of town where Gay men meet for anonymous sexual encounters.

The Monaco & 38th area is south of I-70 and on the edge of where factories start and make there way North through Denver. Most of the homes are made of brick and one story modular type dwellings or small homes. Not a lot of roads come through this area as there aren't any shops, stores, or restaurants near by. I'm guessing many of the people who live here work in the near by factories.

What is interesting is this is a lost or hidden part of Denver. Many of the factories in the area have been around for decades and this area has silently been around for decades. This area doesn't have malls put in or shops put in to jazz it up. This is not a high traffic area or a part of town considered to be valuable re-estate. Every time I have driven by this area of town I have thought to myself I see houses, roads, and buildings so someone lives there but no one I know. I am guessing most people could say the same about this neighbor hood. I wish I had more time to get out and explore but I will be laying low to rest as I'm tired. Considering there was a snow storm last night now isn't the ideal time to explore but I wish I could.

Hiking on Green Mountain

Today while hiking along a path on Green Mountain I could see Bandimere speed way. I use to work there over the summers for a friend of mine’s father. He sold funnel cakes and we would watch the car races in between shifts or when we had a break. Every time I went there it was to sell funnel cakes, I never went there to watch a race with friends. I spent many weekends & a few July 4ths celebrations there. It was an hour drive from my home to the speed way. I remember when I use to sell funnel cakes I swore I would never live any where near the speed way. Years later less than an hour of hiking from my front door, I can see the old speed way. Next time I hike up there I will have to bring a camera.

Rent a friend

My youth pastor use to joke & tease people about being so friendless they should use a company called rent a friend. It was funny until I found it online.

http://denver.backpage.com/Groups/rent-a-friend/4476606

Sad & still some what funny...Rent a friend!!!

Entertainment or train wreck

The crazy thing about me is I can't sit still and don't like to watch T.V. While this allows me to spend my time in other pursuits (like reading, cooking, cleaning, study, research) and also allows for more time to think and develop my mind. Not having cable T.V. has not been a big deal for me in many ways as I have never knew what I have been missing.

I have lived most of my life without cable T.V. (From time to time while house sitting or when I was with my first room mate I have enjoyed cable. ). I have always had standard T.V. and been perfectly happy. That is until I moved out on my own in a place that had cable.

With all the different shows to watch & movies I do feel more comfortable having the T.V. on or watching T.V. I watch many more movies & shows I can't see on regular T.V. like the weather channel, some of the talk news, cooking & fitness, and sports channels. I use to think I wouldn't get into all sorts of shows but I can and some times find myself watching something I am not interested in.

I always thought I would never watch T.V. shows that other people have talked about, shows like Bride zillas, celebrity workouts or rehab related shows. I'm sad to admit I do watch these shows from time to time. Currently I like to watch Monster Quest, Millionaire Matchmaker & Celebrity Rehab. Shows that do nothing for me and in most cases do nothing but waste my time but I can't help but watch.

I am a mean man

This post is to balance out all the idealistic blah from my previous post. Everything I am going to divulge is real & happened a few days ago.

A miscellanous female mentioned something about me really liking her & secretly wanting to date her. I lost that impenatrable cool that saves me in uncomfortable situations. I also lost that ability to to be cool & diplomatic when discussing things that annoy, distrub, or anger me. I told her I would rather date men then date her.

Sometimes you have to make really, really mean statements & lie to get a point across.

I'm mean....really mean

Service

This weekend I had the opportunity to help someone. A woman was abandoned by her husband. With no friends or family she had one day to move out of an apartment in Denver into one in Colorado Springs. I went to help a group pack her things & load a truck. I like to think I wasn't planning on driving down to the Springs to help her unload the truck but I don't think I can honestly say that.

I have known something about myself that I have had a hard time putting into words. I have this awareness or sensitivity to identifying people in need. People who have been abandoned or people who are alone. Maybe it is because I had a similar background growing up. I can relate to their situation because of all the nights I felt I was alone. Something deep inside my heart knows it wasn't right to be left alone & abandoned. While I can't change how everyone thinks or how society prioritizes life & when to reach out or serve people, I can be the guy who shows up. I can be the guy who doesn't leave them in their moment of need & lonliness. I can be there for someone else and make a difference in that critical moment.

I will never forget the look on this lady & her friend's face when I said my friend & I would drive close to 70 miles to help them unload their moving truck. For a moment they had a look of awe & gratefulness. More importantly they looked like they were comforted in knowing they weren't alone.