Ahhh! The Ice Cream Truck.
What a wonderful reality from my childhood -- racing down the street after the swiftly moving truck in 120F degree weather, hauling ass because we had no shoes and the black tar streets of Phoenix were hot enough to cook eggs (another summer pasttime).
Yup. Good times, good times!
For example, I forgot about having to pay for ice cream.
I'm sure somebody did. I'm sure I did, but boy did I forget that happened.
I know because Max has been on the go chasing down the Ice Cream Truck, introduced to him a few days ago by an overly excited father. Now, he adores it and adores me, or so I hope.
Each day or two, it's another $2.40 worth of Super-Mario face-shaped ice cream onna stick with surprise-colored gumball nose.
Wow, that's expensive love.
Now, to the trauma. Max has been getting the Mario character because it's the only ice cream on the side of the truck that looks, errr, fun, I think.
So he gets the Mario face on a stick with gumball nose, and proceeds to eat and lick it in such a painfully slow manner I wonder if he's my child after all!!!
Unfortunately, this leads to drippage, spilling and, finally, splittage. Yup. The remaining Mario splits in half and drops to the driveway cement.
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" is the cry heard 'round the neighborhood.
Max lost his Mario. So, we pick it up, bring it inside, put it on a plate, resuscitate and all is right again.
But it's a good reminder that at any age, there is trauma to be had.
Life's a hard ol' game, no kidding.
One last thing: why do all Ice Cream Truck drivers smoke?
The category for this entry is Lifestyle & Home. It could as easily have been the title.
On this cold and blustery Thursday, I fondly look back to last Sunny Saturday.
I spent Saturday afternoon hanging out with My Man Maxwell, playing a little b-ball, watching a little Wiggles, kicking around Mr. Beach Ball, flagging down the wondrous Ice Cream Truck, watching the neighbors get ready to do some active thing or other (this is Colorado after all) and, well....
And enjoying sitting in the sun on the patio, watching the snow melt and drinking the "Burgundy of Belgium."
Affligem, a fantastic Belgian brew from a monastary that's been going since 1074.
That's Ten Seventy Four. These guys are serious about beer. World wars? No problem. The Huns? Fuggedaboudit. Nuclear war -- whateva'.
And tonight? Looking forward to getting to write about the Colorado Rapids professional soccer team.
Impressive stuff.
Here's a new thing I'm trying -- a weekly roundup on Tuesdays that sort of fills in the gaps and ties up all the loose ends from the weekend's MLS Colorado Rapids soccer game.
I'm hoping to find a home on a web fanzine, newspaper or whatnot to have it published.
See if ya like it... Wide Left
For those of you not in the soccer fan biz, Wide Left would imply that you shanked a shot wide left of the goal. Not a good thing, but hey, at least it's a shot, right?
Hungry Hungry Hendo?
Read all about it!
April 24, 2004 Rapids at home against the Quakes, earn their first win.
Here's another version (on my site) if the "official" version ever goes off the web.
I'm also putting together various "interesting" stats and other soccer odds 'n' ends at My Soccer Site.
Yes, Yes! It's true!
S'il vous plaît, j'ai perdu mon pull!
Kathy and I have decided to host a French teenager for a few weeks this summer. No, I'm not a bit slow. Why do you ask?
I've always wanted to do something like this, and certainly down the road thought we'd host some kids, and maybe have Max hosted in another country when he's a teen or whatever.
When I saw an opportunity for a relatively short 3-week hosting for kids, I thought it would be a great idea, especially since we're open this summer with Kathy being pregnant. Kathy was, like, totally up for it. Rock on!
We were interviewed this past week by the Compass-USA representative, and I'd like to think we passed with flying colors. Hell, the kid'll be staying in our guest room, aka the Toulouse-Lautrec room. No kidding. Yep, a French artist. It's, like, you know, serendipity.
Why you ask?
Thinking back...in school, everything was sort of forced on you, whether it be difficult or boring schoolwork, or whether it be exciting field trips. Basically, everything was planned for you, good, bad, or boring.
Then, after college, I finally realized: this is the real world. No more people planning for me. I can sit on my ass my entire life, and nobody will lift a finger to stop me. Nobody cares enough for that.
If I am going to enjoy myself and have an exciting, productive, busy life, one that impacts other people in positive ways, then it is up to me and my family to make it happen. So, I'm making it happen. Writing soccer articles to be published, inviting a student to stay with us, it all sounds like great fun, thinking wine cellar thoughts, so let's just give it a whirl.
It's your life, get crackin'!
San Felipe New Mexico Merlot 2001. BilFish Rating: 100 out of 100. (it's what we compare all wines to).
This is our absolute favorite wine, discovered on our honeymoon in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, New Mexico a few years back.
We've been back a couple more times, and the last time we stocked up on 2 cases of the Merlot. Buying it in the Spring means we get the somewhat raw version just available for the season. This time, we've held onto it for the past two years and it has really matured wonderfully, just standing on its head in a box in the corner of the basement.
It's a darker, garnet red. It has a simple, fruity-wood nose to it. There's a sharpness to the aroma which seems to hint that it could lay down another year or two -- if only we could wait that long!
Luckily, we'll finally be heading back to Santa Fe this summer to visit Max's Grandpa Bob and Grandma Peggy. We'll get a chance to visit the winery and stock up. Actually, their vineyards are all up in northern New Mexico and they buy a few grapes from Colorado, as it turns out.
The taste is a soft, yet full, oak-smoke flavor, really rich without being overpowering. Absolutely fantastic. I believe I can notice the richness of plum overtones, but that could just be reading the label...
I looked around for an old Blog entry regarding our surprise of a lifetime, finding out that we'd have a boy - I had been certain it would be a girl, had a better name picked out and everything.
As I've only started writing this journal a few months ago, I didn't find one from that September or October 2001 ultrasound day... :-)
Just to keep you in suspense a few moments longer, let me proceed by saying we just found out this week that baby #2 is no longer an 'it' or "little alien" as I liked to call it after viewing the ultrasound pix.
Yep. Just found out that it is now, well, of course it's going to be a little baby, but we wanted to find whether she would wear pink or he would wear blue. And we did find out.
Oh? The details... well, let me paraphrase my wife: Bill, you really are a cheap bastard. Something like that.
Anyway, two tries, two boys in blue, yes it's true!
Yee-haw! It's a boy! I remarked to Kathy that within about 12 hours of finding out we would have a 2nd boy, I was pretty well mentally set and adjusted to the idea. We both thought it would be great to have either a boy or girl, but now I'm convinced two boys will be great!
So, congrats to Kathy, who is having a great pregnancy and doing well as a mom-again-to-be. Congrats to Dad for ensuring we'd be able to re-use clothes and toys (my experiments to re-use diapers notwithstanding).
Ultrasounds and blood tests and more ultrasounds et al. are showing things looking good, and on track for a September 25th delivery. I'm guessing 7pm.
I know, you're worried that I'll miss the Colorado Rapids Major League Soccer game that night. No problem, it's an away game and I've already set Tivo to record!
:-))
Part of why I accepted the assignment to write articles on the Colorado Rapids was to meet some of the greats of the soccer world. Marcelo Balboa, midfielder par excellence and US Men's National Team player Pablo Mastroeni, and John Spencer to name a few.
In a post a couple days ago, I mentioned meeting Allen Hopkins, a soccer announcer for Fox Sports World.
The top 3 all play for the Colorado Rapids, and at a recent practice I got to meet them and ask them, well, pretty much anything.
As a fan, great fun. As a writer, much more frustrating as you get way, way too much information to distill into a quick quote for an article. But, this is what I signed on for!
Yep, Kathy and I both now officially have life insurance. I'm hoping that's a good thing.
Financially, of course, it's the prudent thing to do, especially with one kid and another on the way.
Mentally, it's good for peace of mind, I guess, but I have this nagging feeling that we could become so amazingly risk-averse and pedantic in our lives and this is just one more step down that road...
Hopefully to good things. Hopefully to the confidence to go out and take risks knowing we're protected.
But I've definitely seen too many people get caught up in task of running a modern lifestyle they don't have time to actually live!
Owning and managing and decorating and gardening a home can suck time like nobody's business.
Then there's cleaning, and services (power, phone, cable, internet, milk delivery, mail, newspapers, package delivery) to consider.
Then there's all the other stuff we own: Cars, boats, campers, motorcycles, electronics, computers, tvs, etc.
Then we deal with insurance: car, home, life, mortgage, health, umbrella, bleaach.
Then we need to work to pay for all this. And take our kids to daycare, and school, and sports games and practices, and piccolo lessons, and...and on and on.
The end of the day finds us tired, with lots of crap and too little time to play with it, and nothing left for travel, experience and adventure.
Man. I hope that doesn't completely happen to me.
"I travel because I'm scared of the alternative."
My first Pressbox. by William E Fisher, 32nd grade.
Not just in my dreams, no more imagining, I was finally up there behind the glass windows of the press box, calling my first soccer game! Sure, I was calling it into my little borrowed tape recorder and onto a too-big-to-be-cool yellow legal pad, but it all counts!
I saw journalists--the noble, hardworking men and women who keep us glued to the edge of our newspapers each morning. I saw brave photographers with their baseball caps worn backwards (unless they had a ponytail) and marketing people with ties, smiles and a gentle smoothness about them.
I saw security people give me the nod, and not just before they head butted me back into the stands.
I got to walk the field and chat with famed MLS soccer player Marcelo Balboa -- who played in 3 world cups for the USA. He didn't even run away and actually seemed marginally interested in chatting! Could've been the press badge, but I like to think it was rapport from my firm handshake and manly nod and wink.
I am a Sports Writer! And that is a good thing. Ahhh, it was a glorious fantasy, and it lasted most of the game!
Sure, the writers weren't quite as beautiful as I'd imagined, and none had cigars dangling from their lips or a martini gently splashing about as they gestured. But the photographer had a Canon Dh-1 digital camera and the most enviously-sized telephoto lens I've ever imagined casually slung from his oversized shoulder.
The TV announcers had amazingly poor choices in expensive shirts and ties, but turned out to be some standup guys. I had heard Allen Hopkins and Max Bretos of Fox Sports World "call" or do the play-by-play for a hundred soccer games on television, and got to spend probably 45 minutes chatting with them. Funny guys, fun guys, nice guys. I was mesmerized for a bit. Of course, I still think they sound exactly the same. Weird. Different bodies, same TV voice.
I tried to put out of my mind the deadline which was fast approaching and just enjoy the show. Forget about the 750 words due the next morning, forget about trying to remember every detail and get it right, forget about trying to put together a comprehensive, yet enjoyable to read, game wrap-up.
Luckily, my writing partner, Jason Sweezey, will be trading off writing assignments with me to keep us from going crazy. He volunteered to do this first wrap-up since I'd done the Preview. Which was good as I had to jet home without doing locker room interviews to pick up Max, who was sharing a babysitter over at my neighbor's.
Even so, I figured I'd do a "shadow" wrap-up just for practice, but it got a little out of hand and at midnight I shut down the computer with 1200 words. All of my articles will be located at BilFish's 2004 Articles for future reference, even the ones that aren't published by Cyber Soccer News.
Here's my "shadow" match report. My writing partner, Jason, had responsibility for this week's wrapup article, but I decided to write one anyways just to get some practice in...
A little history. A few months ago I started stretching my writing muscles a bit via this blog -- and it hurt to stretch, lemme tell ya.
I've wanted to start writing regularly again, and Movable Type's web journal software gave me exactly the ease-of-use and functionality I needed to get back in the game.
It's only been a few months, but 60 entries say this may not be another flash in the pan where I have a couple beers, get excited, and then go to sleep and forget about my creative idea.
Well, it's a start. Not perfect; it's too easy to ramble on, and too difficult to figure out who my audience is, but I'm getting there.
Launching off the confidence of writing entries almost every day, I applied to become a reporter for Cyber Soccer News, reporting on the Colorado Rapids. It's a labor of love, with multiple articles due most weeks and, you know, deadlines and stuff.
And then there's the hardcore soccer fans that'll be critiquing everything!
I'll be posting all my articles on a special Rapids Articles page for posterity, but hopefully it'll all be published, at least on sports websites.
After turning in my application, I realized that I knew the former Colorado Rapids beat reporter! Fortuitous, certainly. Well, I got the job, and I'll be tag-teaming with another reporter to cover the Rapids each week for a preview of all games and a wrapup for each home match.
There's a heavy writing commitment and I have concerns that the blog could suffer a bit. One way to alleviate this: on article days I'll be simply posting my article. Then maybe I'll take a day off and have a homebrew. Also, I probably won't be writing weekend entries.
So, that's the format. More blogging, more official writing to be published, and more on the path towards becoming the writer I want to be. Who knows where this can lead?
Bottoms up to my newest life category: Soccer!
Changing your life takes effort.
It's a real progression. A process. A slow, meandering retraining of the mind that takes time, effort, concentration, consistency. And there's no cheating or substitutions, please.
Phew! No wonder it's so hard to do. I think watching Jared lose 230lbs on the Subway diet makes life-changing events seem easy, but certainly there's more to it than that.
It's an education, it's countering years of ingrained habit, it's trying to understand WHY you want to change in the first place!
This was/is truly an evolution for us.
Mmmm. Cooking. Food, and all that goes with it. Fresher foods, home grown veggies, organic farmers' markets and sustainable farming, butchers, fish mongers, homemade food normally bought at a store (vinaigrettes, peanut sauces, breads, pasta sauces, etc.), cooking tips and techniques, and cooking tools (knives and pans and specialty items).
Yowza! That takes time to learn, assimilate and understand. Good food all the time takes effort, and it takes a while to understand why it's all important to health, lifestyle and taste.
It's like a favorite recipe. The first few times, you were all over that cook book. Now? You're an old pro and may glance at the ingredients list just to make sure you don't forget something because now you're talking with friends, having a glass of wine and adding a dessert to go with it.
It becomes ingrained in the brain as you become more comfortable serving up fantastic food.
From cooking, there's getting your residence in order...
But that's for another time. Ciao! And remember, it's your life, so maybe it's worth taking the time to get it right.
Follow-up from yesterday's post regarding the addition of window tinting.
10.53am, next morning...errr, this morning...
Looking great! There's still a filmy look due to the soap/water combination used to clean the windows and activate the film adhesive. I just noticed that my house, which is usually glaringly bright at this time of morning due to East-facing windows and the low sun, is pleasantly soft in color and not harsh on the eyes -- exactly what I was hoping for.
For some reason, I want to describe the environment as being in a caramel-colored dream.
Good stuff, I highly recommend it. The final tests will be whether the water all evaporates as expected (takes up to 30 days) and whether the house doesn't heat up as much in direct sunlight -- probably to be tested today. So far so good this morning, though. Of course, I'm also hoping the film won't bubble or other nastiness such as causing the window glass to break if it overheats (which can happen, apparently).
Last night I got my first nighttime glimpse, and Kathy got her first glimpse period of the new windows. She thinks it actually clarifies viewing outside at night. Definitely, when you turn a light on, the reflectivity of the room is higher, but I realized not much higher as a window without tinting was also heavily reflecting the indoors.
BTW -- Heath said they will ONLY use Bounty paper towels, as they are the most lint-free of the bunch. Good little window-washing tip for ya.
Ciao for now!
We've finally decided to do it. Sick of having neighbors and gangbangers looking in the windows at our shit, we're getting deep, dark window tinting. You know, the illegally dark kind.
Okay, not strictly true, but a better story nonetheless. Kind of like saying you got a favorite scar after doing battle with a lion on the Serengeti plains. But different.
In this case, the real story is that we bought an oversized stuffed chair (like a very short couch) in December 2002. Then we bought the matching couch in September 2003 after a bout of drinking and shopping online.
We were shocked to find that they'd changed the color or something... Then we looked under the cushion of the older chair. The sun, through our 20 south-facing windows, had blasted the color off the chair.
Oops. So, combined with how hot the house gets because of the sun coming in (and we like to keep the blinds open to look upon the views) we decided it was time for window tinting to get rid of the blasting, searing heat and sun rays killing our furniture and A/C bills.
Of course, we were desperate NOT to have that dark-tinted look our cars have...
The tinting is going on this morning, so I'll update this post later in the day!
8:00am Good sign, Heath, like the candy bar, just showed up on time from Window Genie to do the job. Should take 4 hours, maybe 5. See you in a bit!
We got 2 quotes. The first was with Hüber Optik ceramic film, very expensive, something like $2500. The Window Genie quote was more like $1100 (about $4.75/sqft I think).
...time passes...
09:58am
Okay, we've got 5 window down, 20 to go...
So far so good! It already looks warmer in here (we're using a warmer color tone to the tinting, sort of caramel-colored, vs the normal blue tint). At the same time, my concerns about the low-rider are already fading. In fact, I think it's likely nobody will notice we even had the work done.
1.57pm...
17 panes down, 8 to go.
The entire living room and kitchen are complete. Looking great! Much better now that all the windows are done, my eyes don't cross trying to compare one window being finished and the other incomplete.
It'll take about 30 days to completely dry the film, but it's already looking good. There was one bubble streak so far, but he took care of it no problems.
It's taking a lot longer than expected, and now Kent, the owner of this franchise, is here to help knock the upstairs bedroom out. I guess the wood window frames are causing some slowdown.
3.47pm Owner Kent came by to help finish up, and Heath told me that our wood-frame windows were the most challenging he's ever done, and he says he's done about 10,000 window panes...
BUT, we're done! Yahoo!
I was looking through a newspaper insert of volunteering opportunities in our community.
It seems like everything is geared towards helping people who are poor, sick, or old. What's up with that?
Okay, just kidding. Kids also need help. So does Mother Nature. I just had to interject a bit of off-color humor to the proceedings. Didn't want people to think I was going soft.
I'm actually hip to the volunteering scene and have been trying to improve my 1 hour a month personal commitment. But I've found it difficult with a young family to get out there and just do it, as they say. I've contented myself until now by saying that we're okay because we donate money to organizations we believe in.
But I know there needs to be more, and I need to volunteer my time as well. Not just for society, but for myself and my well being, and as an example for my family.
I'm pretty generous in terms of what I consider volunteering. Blood donation, for example, counts. I figure that's an hour right there (not to mention a chili-cheese dog and pint of beer's worth of calories to replenish the blood and fluids).
So, okay, that's 6 hours a year out of the way. Now for something a little different. I've been so broad in what I consider volunteerism, I now include family.
2004 is the year of getting the Moms fixed up. Kathy's mom is moving out to Colorado this summer, so there's a tremendous amount to accomplish and assist with. My mom is in need of financial and life planning assistance. Should she move into a cheaper home? How to plan for future financial and medical needs... that's what's on the plate this year.
So, I definitely feel that giving and helping start at home, and we're definitely focused on that this year. The US isn't a social system, so it behooves us to take care of our family first and then extend outward from there.
I tried driving for the Red Cross. Basically, it was taking seniors to appointments, hospitals and such. Not bad, but not my cup of tea. It was me and 20 old guys doing the driving, and mostly you're by yourself because you are in a car. Not the social boost I was hoping for.
I'm now looking again for more opportunities, and I think I'm drawn to the physical outdoor stuff and the hands-on construction stuff. Two reasons. First, I'm young and can/should be able to do this stuff. Second, when I'm older there will be plenty of time for the other, quieter opportunities. I'm also drawn to more social activities, as that's a big benefit I could receive from volunteering.
It's like cruise vacations. Why bother until you are old.
So, I'm trying. But, it turns out, sometimes there needs to be less trying and more doing. I'll fill you in as I get things rolling!
Ouch!
At my soccer game last Sunday, I was fortunate enough to have the unique experience of an opposing player attempting to shove my own elbow through my ribcage to my spine. It didn't make it, but ya gotta give the guy an "A" for effort.
Now, this isn't why I haven't been writing lately, but it would certainly serve as a good excuse. I spent about 10 minutes attempting to breathe as people helpfully asked, "Are you alright? You don't look good."
Stupidly, with family in town, I decided to finish the game and got back out there, at which time I was slide tackled and sandwiched a few times. Yowza!
Now it's a week later and I'm still trying to determine if my ribs were fractured or if the meat was simply stripped off the bone. The doctor says not to bother coming in, unless I feel like paying for and subjecting myself to X-rays just to get confirmation of whether the ribs are cracked or not.
My Dad (an ER doc) tells me there's nothing to be done for a rib, and if it hurts at the same intensity level for 3 weeks, then starts to get better, I'll know it was cracked.
That's helpful.
I sneezed this morning. Hmmm. I won't be doing that again soon. It felt as though my right rib, 3rd from the bottom, wanted to fly across the room and I bit my tongue trying to hold it in. Yup. Won't do that again.
So. Ouch. What an annoying injury. You really can't do much with cracked ribs, it hurts like the dickens with just about any physical exertion. It hurts even worse when not exerting myself, like when I'm sleeping. That's the worst, definitely, trying to roll out of bed as I hear my ribs creaking through my pain-drained-brain.
Anyway, I've missed one soccer game so far, but I'm still hopeful that I'll be able to play in 6 days. Until then, it's Advil time!
So, I forgot to tell everyone WHY I haven't been posting for a week.
Two thoughts on that. First, I don't want to be tied to the journal, the idea is for it to be a fun, and regular, outlet for me to practice the art and techniques of good writing, both creative and journalistic musings on life and travel. This is all important for me as I ramp up my efforts to get travelpete.com going and work on possible travel book outlines and newspaper articles.
Second, my family was in town. They are uprooting their Illinois lives and moving to Colorado, so it was a worthwhile break to entertain them for the week and assist in what small ways I could as they looked for a home to rent prior to getting out here in June.
So, they found a house, they are moving out to Colorado, they will be going back to Rockford, and I'll be posting more regularly again!
Pressure Perfect is Pressurific!
I just did beer-basted, pressure-cooked spare ribs in our 10L (i.e. 12Qt supersize) pressure cooker we recently purchased and are finally learning how to use. Probably could have gone even a few more minutes (I didn't think about the fact that at around 6,000 ft, we've got elevation cooking issues), but they were great.
Then we finished the ribs on the grill and used what is one of my favorite store-bought sauces -- Tony Roma's. Don't really like going there too much, but I do love their original sauce, very tangy. Costco here in Colorado has it in bulk (of course).
We actually got the ribs from a fantastic local butcher we've found, Edward's Meats. They were terrific. Costco ribs are probably cheaper, but it was $11 for both of us, and the ribs were top quality. Edward's pre-stripped off the hard membrane you find on the back of the ribs, which was great because while I agree with the Weber Grill book that it should come off, it's not as easy as they make the process out to be.
We recently bought the Pressure Perfect book, a great all-in-one pressure cooking reference!
It's got quick reference times for all the veggies and meats, and of course cooking times for speeding up the preparation of broth! In fact, I kept the juice from the pork to have a beer-pork broth that I can use later. Mmmm... I'm finding that I'm using broth and stock quite a lot to improve soups and recipes. My recent Irish stew, of course, used broth instead of water. BAM!
I can always use old chicken and beef bones and make a broth out of them. BUT, with the pressure cooker, it says it takes 1/3 the time. Which becomes important when a normal broth takes 3+ hours to simmer!!!! So, I'm getting psyched about the Pressure Revolution.
I also recently did chicken thighs and breasts with bone in the cooker -- to use in chicken salads. The chicken was great, and more broth from the bones and leftover juice!
Mmmm.... try it, you'll like it!
We purchased an inexpensive pressure cooker, but the elite cooks (my Dad's wife Peggy) use Kuhn Rikon of Switzerland.
Ahhhh!
Max went happily to daycare this morning.
Who would think those 7 words would bring such joy? Not I. Yet I found myself singin' a little tune as I walked back from dropping him off. He'd gotten down from my arms okay, no crying, and went in to get bagels with the other kids. He was happy to be there.
The lack of tears was music to my ears! The birds were chirping merrily, the sun was warming the nape of my neck, flowers were blooming, ants were building, and even the neighbors looked prettier. As a youngster of 25 or so, I certainly don't recall thinking such a small event would precipitate such joy.
But it does. Funny, huh?
I wasn't pushing Max to go to daycare since he was sick earlier this week, but he demanded I put clothes on him this morning, and right in the middle of a good Wiggles song on television he turned and said, "Wiggles off, go Kathy's (daycare lady)." So, it was shoes on and off we go!
Of course, we did enjoy Max's sickdays at home, he taught himself how to get a drink (of water).