I am CuTRis

I had a prep day for school today. The Eagle has returned to his winter territory to work with the kids in the detention room...

This morning I have two interviews, one for a full-time job, and one for a part-time job teaching enrichment classes after school. The second interview takes me way out near the west end of the wildlife refuge where I volunteer as a park ranger. My plan is to change clothes and go for a hike before coming back home. Tomorrow I have a preparation day for my regular job as Jr. High School detention supervisor. Summer is all but over. I’m hoping to go to the state fair on Friday.

Out with the old and in with the new! My close friend has replaced her car (that caught on fire) with a beautiful, 2007, Toyota Corolla. We looked for two days, and the used cars with low mileage were very close in price to the new ones. We kept hearing that “Toyotas hold their value.” In the end, it seemed logical to pay an extra thousand or so and get a brand new car. That’s what she did, and she loves it! My refrigerator is working. I still may need to replace the timer that regulates the defrost cycle (as per Mike). My brother is going to do my front brakes. It has been a long time since I had him do any work on my vehicles, but being that money is short, this is a good alternative. Maybe I can find something interesting to write about soon!

I haven’t written lately because things haven’t been working out really well. Of course it could always be worse, but I was hoping not to go on a rant. It seems, however, that I have some regular readers, who have asked me “how it’s going?” In reality, I have had a wonderful (although too short) summer. But in the last week or so, one of the people who is closest to me had a family member die, and then her car started on fire the day she returned from the (out-of-town) funeral. In my own little part of the world, my car needs brakes, my refrigerator decided to stop being cold and I find that money is short and my summer is all but over. Why do things break? Planned obsolescence keeps consumers buying. I can’t afford to buy right now, so I am attempting to fix some things. My friend Mike looked at my refrigerator… had it pulled apart and opened it up actually… and nothing seems wrong with it. In fact, this morning it started working again. Will it keep working? I don’t know, but my foo...

Here is a picture of me and Neng at a barbecue at neighbor Mike's garage.

This morning I woke up to someone's car alarm in the parking lot. I looked at my clock and decided it was time to get up anyway. When is the last time you heard a car alarm, and thought, "Oh my God, someone's car is being stolen!"

I live under fallout. The party-girl upstairs who has loud parties, throws trash off her deck and makes noise all night has now begun a new plague. I recently bought my condo, and renovated it. Now, my new paint is ruined in the bathroom because she let something overflow and it has run between the wall and my new paint. My neighbors are all upset with this person, and they don’t even live under her. However, we live in a society that protects offenders. Those who are victims can do little to rid themselves of these horrible complications to their lives. The homeowners association is trying to fix this problem, and lawyers are stopping it.

Melnarik was from the planet, Melnarik Prime. Her family used to vacation on Melnarik-3 when she was still in the larval stage. Now, after several revolutions, she had left her home world with its various cheeses, and traveled into the Purple Zone. She found that fermented fruit juice was to her liking, and it came in glass cylinders, though she preferred it from a box. There was no accounting for taste. Yes, Melnarik had embarked on a new adventure, cleaning debris from the grinders of those who dwell in the Purple Zone.

Satisfaction is having bought gasoline for $2.88 per gallon last night, and seeing it went up to $3.19 this morning. Pretty sad in so many ways isn’t it?

Last night was National Night Out. I went to the gathering at my condominium complex and met some more of my neighbors. The food was good and it was fun, in spite of the rain. In the Twin Cities, the local media likes to talk about the crime and shootings (especially) in North Minneapolis. I understand that this needs to be addressed. I do, however, think that it is unfortunate that the good things that good people are doing don’t get noticed nearly enough. Perhaps if they were noticed, it would be as “cool” to do good things as it would to be a pimp and thug. Things are not the same anymore in Minneapolis. I believe it is a heavy Chicago influence that has changed it. Plain and simple, the glorification of street life and thugs has destroyed the quality of life for both those that embrace the lifestyle, and those who live in the vicinity. It is not “sticking it to the man,” so much as it is “sticking your head up your ass” and pretending it smells good.

Thankfully, the heat broke today. It has been really hot lately. Yesterday, it hit 101 degrees Fahrenheit (38.33C) in Minneapolis. It was eleven years since the temperature went triple digits here. I have managed to travel into triple digits a few times over the last few years. People might wonder why someone would live in Minnesota, “because it is so cold.” I can’t imagine living where you have to be indoors all summer because of the heat. I can wear a coat if it gets cold.

I watched “The Grizzly Man” last night. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427312/ It is about Timothy Treadwell (and Amie Huguenard), who were mauled to death by Grizzly Bears in Alaska in October of 2003. Having spent a week camping on Admiralty Island (back in 1987) with my friend John, and some estimated 1,500 coastal brown bears, I was in awe of both the footage this man got of these animals, and also the reckless arrogance that eventually led to he and his girlfriend being dismantled by the claws and teeth of one of the world’s most powerful animals. http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/districts/admiralty/ Treadwell filled his videos with his disdain for the government, the National Park Service, and humanity in general. I fully understand his feelings, since I am also of the opinion that more must be done to protect our natural environment and the animals therein. It is also true that Treadwell obviously wasn’t as wonderfully wise as he gave himself credit for being. The federal rules he...

My upstairs neighbor has a "party house," which is truly annoying. Saturday night I called the police after I heard glass shattering in the parking lot. The cops had a hard time getting in. I bet there were 40 people in that 1-bedroom condo. By morning, it was also apparent that they were playing a game of, "try to hit the concrete pool apron (from the deck) with a glass beer bottle." My friend who is on the homeowner's association board, assured me that the owner of this condo will be billed for cleanup. The party-girl (tenant) is also likely to be forced out, since she has done this repeatedly now.

When I look back at the last three years of my life, it sometimes amazes me to think of all that has happened to me. I left all of my security and tried to follow a dream. I must admit, I hurt so badly in my heart, that I felt real physical pain -both from leaving my friends and family, and then later when I left the broken dream on the banks of the Atlantic Ocean. So many things have happened since then, that may never have happened if I hadn't taken that chance. I've experienced a lot of things because of it. My choices, right or wrong, have led me to this “place” in life. Very recently, something wonderful happened to me that would never have occurred if I was still living in Minneapolis and working for the county. I don't think I'm "done" yet. As my American Indian Spirit Brother would point out, it is all about "the journey." I have become a very strong person, both mentally and physically. A couple of years ago I was severely emotionally injure...

My friend Jen says I never put her picture on my blog, so here she is at her birthday party!

My friend Jen says I never put her picture on my blog, so here are some pictures from her birthday party... No produce was injured in the process, and Dean's "smoke" was only a prop. Jackie was just there to make things look good, and Mark's pictures were too scandalous to make the blog... Thanks to Dave for his produce farming skills.

I've had some exploding beer lately. Me and Dave make our own, and some of his Red-Tail Ale got a bit too carbonated, and exploded. It ruined the labels on some of my Gorock Lager, so I had to make some more. Today I put a couple of canned beers in my music equipment bag when I went ot Dave's to do some recording. One of them punctured, and I had another 'sploding beer mess! I guess I shouldn't transport them that way anymore. It was a convenient way to do it, until the puncture incident...

The band recorded another song yesterday, and I am very happy with the result! We did my song, “All I Need.” The recording process is still a lot of work, but we seem to be getting better at it. We have found that we need to put the basic song down in the first track, which meant lead vocals, guitar and drums. I think completing one song in each (afternoon) session is doing pretty well.

I met an angel, and she showed me how to eat leaves and vines. She was kind of silly, and she tossed aside the fruit and preferred to eat the twigs and flowers instead. She was very beautiful, and very sweet, and I couldn’t resist her. Soon I found that eating leaves and sticks wasn’t so bad, even though I still preferred the pods and the fruits. At first she only showed herself briefly, and then she would fly off again to her own land. I missed her when she was gone. Gradually, she began to stay longer each time she would visit. We shared secrets, and I showed her the places I traveled and we ate the fruits we found along the way. She liked my music, and watching me cook. The angel isn’t here right now, but I know she’ll come back. I miss her when she’s gone, but I think I’ll be seeing more of her…

Yesterday was another work session for the band. We recorded Dave's song, "Swamp Gas." It is kind of a Bayou sounding song, and it was fun to put in all the little enhancement parts! It was still a lot of work to get the levels and sound just right. Perhaps in a couple of years we'll finish a CD. I have suggested that we call it, "The Great Album." Dave wants to spell it "Grayt," for some reason and Pete just said, "FINE!"