Moving to Englewood

The older couple I live with, David & Lori Person will retire from the mission field in December. They will move back to Colorado from Africa and who knows how long they will live here. I know I cannot live with them so I will be moving into the basement apartment of friends who live in Englewood. They are a super nice & fun couple who are rarely home so I will be able to enjoy some peace & quiet while staying there. They run a wine bar after work so almost every night they will until late at night which means a very quiet place for me.

It is nice to move to a new neighborhood to explore but it is also bittersweet leaving Lakewood. I realized that Lakewood has become home for me. No neighborhood is perfect but this one has enough of what I am looking for that I like it here and could see myself living here the rest of my life. I like being outside in nature and whether it is walking around the block or hiking in a nearby park Lakewood has endless supply of outdoor adventures to pursue. I can hike, bike, and walk around in countless parks, mountain or nature areas, and hiking trails. There are plenty of mom & pop restaurants as well as chain restaurants. It does not look shady or ghetto but at the same time it is not irritatingly perfect & clean. The people here are nice & friendly. On the downside the drivers are odd & it is not a diverse neighborhood. Most places close between 8 and 10 p.m. but aside from that I cannot complain.

I have agreed to a six month lease in Englewood so I hope to live there six months. Maybe six months from now I will be so enamored with Englewood that I will hardly remember Lakewood. Englewood has plenty of shops, restaurants, and bars & music venues near my new apartment. Within the six months I live in Englewood I may have a very active night life.

While I am reflecting on beautiful places to live let us be honest, the most amazing place to spend any amount of time is...Hawaii! Aloha Hawaii!! I hope to make my fourth visit to paradise soon!

House sitting in Aurora

I started this month house sitting in Aurora. The first week I was at a place with three dogs. One was a puppy who as in the middle of potty training. I am not a dog person and I never in my wildest dreams imagined myself potty training a puppy for a week but I did it. I did not get angry either...weird. Dogs must be growing on me.

The puppy potty training Gods must have been so pleased with me they allowed me to have a just reward. House sitting at my favorite house in Aurora. They have direct TV, a large alcohol collection, & lots of food. I spent the next few days mixing drinks and watching 21 Jump Street over and over again. I don’t know why that movie never gets old. If I can watch the movie multiple times during a weekend and still enjoy it then it is a great movie!

After reading this blog post I realize I had fun these week and half but it is pretty lame. I need to get out more. More nights out on the town with friends...this is what the Duane needs!

Exploring Lakewood

Thai food & Ice cream don't mix well so that is why I eat them. I have not been exploring lakewood as much as I would like so I went out to a couple restaurants over the last couple weeks. Here is what I found:

Star Thai & Magills Ice Cream
I went to a Thai restaurant that is rated high on urbanspoon.com, Star Thai. Very small restaurant so it does not hold many people, maybe twenty maximum, so it is not the ideal spot for dinning out. The food is very tasty and extremely inexpensive. Most everything on the lunch menu is under six dollars after taxes. They have Thai food, Chinese food, and noodles. I wish I discovered this place sooner!

Magills Ice Cream
A small sweets shops that sells home made ice cream which is very delicious! They have many flavors which can be enjoyed in a dish, cone, shakes, or gallon tube to take home. They sell ice cream cakes, sandwiches, and ice cream cookies (I have never tried one and they looked delicious). I had coffee chocolate chip shake that was amazing! If anyone is looking for an inexpensive ice cream shop that sells tasty treats I recommend stopping in from time to time to enjoy a shake or a cone of Ice Cream.

Cafe Jordano
Is a small Italian restaurant tucked in the corner of an outdoor shopping mart, which may cause people to pass it by but there is no reason anyone should pass this place. The restaurant has friendly staff, a large, simple yet elegant decor that makes me forget I am in store in a shopping mart, and amazing Italian food. I had the Chicken Marsala and it was the best Chicken Marsala I have had! I wish I discovered this place sooner & I will be back!! I almost do not want to tell anyone about this place because it is amazing and if many people go there it will be busy & difficult to get a seat or dine there. It is worth visiting if you make it out to Lakewood.

Move Review: World War Z

I confess I do not like zombie movies or horror movies. This one was well done & could be enjoyable if you like these types of movies. The story races on at a good pace which fits the plot of the movie that infections are overtaking the population at a staggering race. While the cause of the zombie virus is not reviled neither is an clear end to the movie. They do end it with a cure being found and a call to survivors to keep living but the ending did not wrap up the movie well. I liked how most scenes were done with a lack of gore or blood as that can bother me if I have to watch it. There were many scenes where I jumped in the theater so if you do not like getting scared please be aware there are many scenes that have a good shock or scare. If you want to watch an action/adventure movie with Brad Pitt running through various cities while being chased by zombie type figures this movie is for you.

The Batcave

My space at work is shared with three people. The department I work in is mainly made up of women, I am the only guy in my unit. Other units in my department have more men but in my unit I was the only one. There was another guy in my unit but he left our company earlier this year and we recently hired a student worker who is male. We ended up sharing our work space and we have proudly dubbed our shared office the Batcave.

It is nice to have another male in the unit and after a few rounds of hiring there will be another male hired into another unit in our department. I like having more men around. I could write a long story maybe even a book about my experiences working in a woman's world but not today or to be posted here. I have nothing eloquent or earth shattering observations to share with the world. I can say I appreciate being around men as we get each other and we play by the same rules. I find it interesting how men and women can be so different that even in the same work environment there tension at times or at least a great deal of understanding is needed to allow one to view the opposite gender clearly in order to strive to get along.

Maybe I have been working in a female dominated environment too long? Maybe I need to join a recreational men's sports group so my time spent with men and woman is balanced? Who knows...in the mean time the name of my office will fade and so will the time spent with a male coworker. Maybe all the time at work spent working around women explains why I like so many guy related hobbies like boxing, mixed martial arts, outdoor sports & activities, and hanging out at sports bars?

Meditating in my shower

I have been baffled by the occurrence for years. I have seen it many times. I have no explanation...until now.

It's the spider in the shower phenomena. Every now and then I look in my shower and there is an eight legged guest and the question is how did he get there. Since they cannot climb the walls of the tub I use to think they came up the drain, until I saw a few on a ledge around the tub. How could they have crawled the side of tub? They cannot stick to that surface so they would be unable to climb it from the bottom of the tub so the drain gets ruled out. I have never seen one come out of the faucet so I am guessing they do not come in that way. They are not falling from the ceiling and there are no holes around the shower stall so that is not an option.

The last alternative is a round plate at the end of the tub under the lib of the tub which is a few inches under the faucet. The plate is not sealed to the tub. It has an opening along the bottom edge. If they did not cling to the plate when crawling through they would fall to the bottom of the tub. A few may cling to the plate and climb over it to the edge of the tub. Once up there they must realize they cannot climb anywhere and it explains why some are sitting there.

The more I think about this theory I realize I have to much time on my hands and not enough things to ponder while I shower.

Driving the Persons to the Airport

Today while having lunch with Jeff we talked about what I will do when Dave and Lori retire. As far as leaving goes he gave me his blessing. He told me I should have another place picked out before they return in December. Once they return in December they will stay for half a year or maybe a full year and I cannot live with them that long. I will definitely be gone by then but am not sure when I will leave. Part of me thinks I should leave now but part of me thinks I should take my time, pick out a place while getting my belongings in order and find some place in December.

Today while driving them to the airport I was reminded of how I am enthralled in a sense of adventure and the unknown while driving to the airport. Something about that drive awakens a spirit of exploration, as one embarks on a new voyage which holds unknown fun & adventure. There is a certain feeling of anticipation and eagerness which captivates me as I watch the horizon.

I need a vacation...