10 Apr 2006     All About the Hava Nagila

Well, the Lajes wedding reunion has come and gone, and I must say, it was a freakin' blast. Don't worry about the storm I mentioned in my last post, that didn't happen. Well, that emotional storm thing didn't. I'm cool. It did get all blizzard-y in between the Springs and Denver, but other than that.... Friday still was busy, but I finally was able to put a lid on the project and complete my level of it. FINA-FUCKING-LLY. But I still didn't get done on Friday till about 5pm - way later than I had hoped. And that meant I didn't go up with Kasey on Friday night to Denver, which was fine with me, because I really wanted some time to just chill at home, as that whole past week, I'd get home and basically chill for an hour or so, and then be done. BAH!

So on Saturday morning, I got up, got packed, first took someone to the airport, then got my car washed, and then headed on up to Denver to meet up with Kasey, her fiance, and Dani! I got to Denver around 11am and was informed to head to the Park Meadows mall. So I did - and when I go to a mall, it's very hard for me not to spend money. Which I did. I found some cool stuff at the Discovery Channel store (got this cool book called Colorstrology about your appropriate birthday color - mine is Chinese Red, which was uncanny, as the t-shirt I was wearing when I bought the book was almost exactly that color - I'm thinking I'd like to paint the kitchen/nook area this color - it's pretty cool; also got a Shiatsu massager for my neck - you lay it on the floor and put your neck down on it, it's awesome), then met up with Kasey and Dani at PF Chang's!!!! Freaking awesome to see them again. It blew my mind to realize that I hadn't seen Dani since Dec 2001!!!!! Kasey I'd seen a few years back during Memorial Day 2004. I also met the new Mr. Kasey Fry aka Steve, and he's a pretty cool guy. I don't know if he had ever seen Kasey the way she was around us, but I'm sure he is ready for entry into the Fry family. Fingers crossed!!! So after PF Chang's, we proceeded to have the 'BEST DAY EVER'!!! We made it to DSW (Dani wanted to buy some shoes - she didn't; I did though, as did Kasey and Steve); then went to Bed Bath & Beyond (they bought their wedding gift there); followed by Old Navy (I went crazy there - they had lots of cool clothes for $15 and less - AWESOME!!!); Coldstone Creamery (I had a cup of Cookie-Doughn't-You-Want-Some --- Yum!); then the liquor store (HUGE liquor store, btw) to pick up some brews for killing a few more hours at the Fry household before the wedding that evening. We killed those hours effectively, watching Top Gun, playing with the dogs, and finally getting changed (I broke out my popular Cruise suit for this event - it's not a bad choice for me). Unfortunately for us, we left far too late to get their on time, as we first went by the Sheraton Hotel where Jason Rubi and the mystery guest were staying so we could pick them up. It took us a couple crazy turns to get there, and when we did, we found out there were three others who needed rides, which we were able to accommodate. But on the way to the church, we totally kept driving by it and didn't realize it. Which led to us being late. As we walked quickly to the door, we realized the wedding party was waiting for us to get in - very embarassing. Oh well. So we got in, sat at the back, found out that even though it was a Catholic/Jewish wedding, it wasn't going to be a mass or temple service - woo hoo!!!! The ceremony was brief enough, and afterwards, the wall was pulled back and there was the reception hall!!!! Us Lajes folks were relegated to the edge of the table area, but that was probably for the best, as we started partying with the Russian Jews, and boy do they like to drink, just like us! So we embarked on quite a few shots of Vodka, and by few, I mean at least 10. We were definitely the 'life' of the reception, and most of the Russians loved us. We danced a lot, had a great meal, and discovered by the end of the night that we were not going to be introduced to the bride. WTF?? Who does that? Well, we were here to see Boris, but seriously, what a bitch to not even come say hello to us. :-)

I must say though, one of the highlights of the wedding, besides getting to hang out with good friends, was that since it was a half-Jewish wedding, they played HAVA NAGILA!!!!!! And guess who was ALL ABOUT THE HAVA NAGILA???? That's right, ME! I am such an honorary Russian Jew. I probably was one in my former life. So, yeah, I'm out there at the beginning as I hear the familiar strains of Hava Nagila - guess who got to dance in the inner circle???? That's right - ME. 3 circles, and I'm in the inner one. OH YEAH!!!!! Everybody was so jealous - or not. I do know I was damn tired afterwards. But it was awesome.

We finally got the shuttle back to the hotel and crashed there, after going to IHOP for a midnight snack. That probably saved me from being severely hungover. I wasn't actually hungover the next day, which was a welcome relief. I was still tired, because while I may not have been hungover, when you just pass out, you're not getting true restful sleep. At all. I attribute not getting sick to being smart, for once, and sticking to a certain type of alcohol. I didn't have wine or beer that evening - just the hard stuff.

The next day, I ended up hanging out with Jason and Jenny (the mystery guest). Their flight wasn't leaving until 6pm or so, and we had plenty of time to kill until then. I took them back to the mall and we had brunch at the Cheesecake Factory - I had forgotten how huge the portions are at that place. Then we just walked all around the mall, and it was just awesome to get to spend some time again with Jason. He's headed out to Iraq in a few weeks, so it's especially good that I got to see him now.

So this weekend rocked. Got to see some old friends, get my drink on and not get sick, and overall, just had a great way to forget a horrible week. I'm just hoping against hope that this week is better. Today was a mixed bag of things - didn't get tagged with any more of that project (that's for Tuesday), but some things came up where I was just like, can I be done with this job yet?

Well, enough of my ranting. I have to wrap this up so I can be ready for 24. Gotta see if the new evil President Logan will do anything else evil and despicable. To reward you for reading all this, here are my pictures from the wedding hangout. Jason is supposed to send me his, but I'm not quite certain I'll be putting his up. He always seems to get the absolute worst pictures of me. Fo' shizzle.

April 8 - Boris' Wedding in Denver
Zombie Jenny	Jenny and Jason	Me and Jason	Jenny and Me	Kasey and Steve	Lajes Crew - still sober (Jason, me, Kasey, Dani)	The cake and Jenny	Kasey, Dani, and obscenity
Boris the groom!	Dani and Kasey	Self shot of me	Our table o' fun - just a few shot glasses here	Dani and me	Kasey and friends	Kasey and her brother Kyle	close-up of Jenny!
Jenny and Jason later that night	Kasey and Steve again	The reception hall near the end of the night	Table 15 Rocked that Wedding!	Blurry Jason - surreal though	Jason's crying at something. Can't remember anymore	Me and the groom	Lajes Crew 2006 - drunk.

6 Apr 2006     A Storm is Brewing

You know my mood 'ring' right? Well, I'm definitely in one of the bad colors. Maybe not bad - or mad - but just spent. And not in a good way. I've been working on this fucking project NONSTOP. I've had to use my deputy commander to carry out the flight commander stuff completely. I even missed my own damn flight call today, not to mention going out afterwards with the flight to celebrate my deputy's January promotion ceremony (better late than never). But the owner of the task is the MSG/CC, and she even told me, you're going to be doing this nonstop. And then I do. And of course no one likes the product and has to nitpick it to death. Let's not forget that there was basically nothing to go off of, I had almost no help, and that it's so easy to pick something apart even though nothing like it has been assembled before. I'm just tired, that's all. I don't even know if I what I wrote made sense.

But anyways, that is why I really haven't had much time to update lately. The last two nights, I got home late (12-hour days both as was today), didn't feel like sitting at home, so Tuesday I went to Best Buy for cheer-me-up DVDs, on Wednesday I met up with some folks to go to Hooters (hell, if a blog is going to use me as the Hooter's Poster Boy, might as well go there), but today, I just wanted to go home. I'm debating cooking up some Mac & Cheese, then watching Survivor and Amazing Race on DVR. Yet I still need to get to bed earlier than 11, as I have started getting up an hour earlier just so I can get some flight cc work done and not to mention get a parking spot actually close to where I work. I just wish I left early too...

Did anyone watch 24 this week? HOLY CRAP!!!!!! This season has rocked the other seasons. Alright, I be done now. Maybe not - did I mention I upgraded my cell phone to a Motorola RAZR? It's Hella Sweeet!!!!!

Oh yeah, I talked to Kasey last night or the night before - who can remember? Anyways, I'm going to be spending most of the weekend with her and Dani and we'll be crashing at Kasey's folks house. I get to save some money on hotel and spend it, hopefully, on fun (=alcohol). It'll be great to see a lot of the Lajes crew again. Byron, I totally had no say on planning this event - I was just invited to the Boris Wedding. And besides, you're in freakin' Australia, so no anger or guilt trips are to be directed out here in Colorado, thank you very much. :-)

I guess I need to explain the headline for today - the storm has a double-meaning: one is my mood, although now that I'm typing stuff and not at work, I'm actually not too bad, just a little tired. The second is that there's a threat of a damn blizzard. High winds, cold temps, and thunderclouds are all converging here in El Paso county. Should be interesting tomorrow. Didn't I just write that it was warm weather? Yesterday was in the 70s!!!! WTF?

2 Apr 2006     I HATE Daylight Savings Time (right now)

Losing an hour seriously blows monkey-chunks. Especially when you went skiing all day the day prior. BUT it was so damn worth it. Went up to Keystone with Jeff and Susan + some others and it was a blast. Got there around 12 or so because we planned to go night-skiing as well. I'm glad we got there late, as there's no way we would have been able to handle that much skiing plus a drive back home. So, it was a good time - I took quite a few pictures of the trip. It was a nice way to end my skiing season - just now I'm really looking forward to the fall! I'm ready to go get a season pass for Breck and Keystone because those resorts seriously rock. I have even taken the racks off of Catherine - she's back to being a 'regular' looking Jetta. I was talking to Jeff yesterday -now I need to find a summer hobby.

I had more things planned to say, but it all boiled down to last week being a very long week at work - hence why I didn't really update much. As I briefly stated in my newly reinvented guestbook, March seemed to take an eternity to get through. I look at my journal and am shocked that St Patrick's Day was only like two weeks ago - it feels like an eternity! And my cure for static electricity - I've only had that for a month? Wow. Not that I'm wanting to rush time along, but the fact that March went on and on and on was painful.

Anyways, I've got some things to look forward to in the upcoming months. In April, I've got Boris' wedding to attend in Denver this next weekend; In May, Mom, Harv and Auntie Helen come out to visit; In June I'm trying to get a Vegas trip in (bring on the craps tables!); In July, possibly a NYC trip!?; Sometime this summer, Dad and Pat will also be out here - they've sold the boat and are headed inland somewhere to live. Not sure just yet, but I know they'll be here to visit sometime. And of course, got lots to do at work!!!!!

Well, below are some pictures from the most recent skitrip - this time at Keystone. Hope you're all doing well!

April 1 - Keystone Ski Trip (Day & Night skiing)
Susan and Chad get geared up	Slowly but surely, they're getting ready	Me at the base of Keystone!	Catherine, my trusty Snow Queen	Jeff at the base of the Gondola Run	There's me at the base of the gondola run	Me in the Gondola	I OD'd on sunscreen. Here's to you!
Jeff indicates where we actually are, on a Coors Light can	This is an amazing view. Awesome place to chill!	Looking down towards the base town	Me	Jeff	You can't tell by the pic, but Jeff is skiing backwards and talking. Showoff.	Jeff in the gondola	Me not knowing how to shut up during a picture
I could be a sports photographer! Here's a snowboarder in mid-trick	Jeff, trying to navigate a rail - shortly afterwards, it got ugly.	Heading down for one last daylight run during the sunset	Me too!	Now it was cold and snowy and nighttime - but still freakin' cool!	A non-flash pic, a bit blurry, but still captures what it was like up there at that time	Me, Susan, and Jeff at the top before our last run to the bottom