Sunday, July 31, 2005

Back Home

I just arrived home from the most slendid, fantastic, marvelous, magnificent vacation. My mom and I enjoyed our stay in a friend's cabin right on the waters of Puget Sound. Only my mom and I made the trek because my little brother said he couldn't stand the long two day drive, since in another week our family is going to Minnesota (a 3 day drive blah...) for my cousin's wedding and my dad had to work.
I took a whooping 168 pictures while there! I couldn't believe it myself, being someone that hardly took pictures to this is more then a great leap it's quite frankly unheard of. I have a lot to tell you and show you, but it will have to happen another day. You should probably be glad I could muster this little bit before I go to sleep. The drive back here wore me out. Here's a sneak peek of what's to come.

We arrive to find a floating Mt. Rainier

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

A world at my fingertips


The globe sat in the corner of my bedroom. I put my hand on the glossy surface sliding down the tip of Africa and back down to the floor. "Where should I go," I muttered to myself? I spun the globe around. All the colors mixed and the globe became one purple murky color.


I've always dreamt of traveling overseas to a distant land, coming face to face with a different culture. Now I have that chance I'm going to study abroad but where? Where O' where?


Faced with such an un'earth'ly decision my attention turned to the globe again, now spinning slower. I lightly held my fingertip to the surface and watched as North America inched its way across and then my fingertip rested quite nicely upon the Atlantic Ocean. Checking to make sure there weren't any islands under my fingertips I give the globe a hard thrust. This time I jabbed my finger into the redish color swirling by. Immediately the globe stopped and my fingertip pointed to none other than the Middle East, Saudi Arabia. Hmmm.... Best out of three spins I thought.


The globe swirled again. Colors danced by. The spinning came to an end as my finger screeched across Asia and finally stopped in Europe. Yes! Now I'm getting somewhere. Austria. Hey not too bad.


Before spinning the globe I have been meandering through a list of places in my head. Europe is always on my mind as I keep thinking of places to go. Italy, France, Germany, England.... I don't speak any language other than English though. I have taken two years of Spanish, one year of French and I know how to say I love you in German but I don't think any of that will help me much. Ich liebe dich can only get you a smile from a German girl and a slap from an American girl. I don't know what to do. So won't you help me decide? Why yes you will!


Where in the world should Steve be? Vote! If you have a suggestion of another place, please leave a comment.















Where Shall I Go?
England
Germany
France
Italy
Australia
Russia
Japan
China



Free polls from Pollhost.com

Monday, July 18, 2005

Weekend on the lake



"Okay I'm jumping in!"


WaSPLASH! "Burr it's a lot colder then I thought it was going to be."

"Steven I can't get the camera to turn on! What button do you push?"

Shivering, "Mom the one on top you'll hear it start up and you should see Canon on the display."

"Okay it's on, now what button do I press to take pictures?"

Argg... "Mom just like any 'normal' camera it's on the top."

"This big button here?"

"Yes!"

"Eric throw your brother a ski."

Swish.... The ski comes sailing over to me. I grab it and fiddle with the bindings to get my foot in. "Okay I'm ready now!" I scream. My dad pulls the boat around me so that I can grab the rope. I slowly get into position by doing a little dance with my feet to get the ski to point up.

I yell "Hit it!" Suddenly the boat lurches forward. I strain with all my might. Arrrrrrrrr......... Swallowing gallon after gallon, my ski flailing this way and that. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrr...... SNAP! The rope pulls away. I tumble over sideways.

"Steve you have to stay tucked down longer!" Yells my dad.

"I know I tried."

He pulls the boat around again and I line up. "Hit it!"


This time I clenched me teeth, held my breath, and tucked like an armadillo. Arrrrr ahhhhhh! I'm up, no I'm still down, no I'm standing up. "Whoooooo!" Such exhilaration, I haven't skied yet this summer and now I'm gliding across the water. I absolutely love this. I'm flying.

I swished right bounced off the wake and whipped right alongside the boat.





I had to sneak a picture of my brother from the cabin of our boat, he doesn't like his picture taken.















Then idling out in the middle of the lake my dad surprises my mom with a strawberry cheesecake! We sang Happy Birthday to her and enjoy the strawberry deliciousness as we all bask in the sun on such a lovely day.

Sunday, July 17, 2005

Hurricane Emily

Yahoo News reports Hurricane Emily pounded Grenada Thursday, tearing the roofs off hospitals and other buildings, destroying crops and causing widespread flooding.

Emily struck hard, tearing the roof from the operating room of a new hospital built with help from the Cuban government. On Carriacou, she destroyed the entire roof of the only hospital, forcing the evacuation of patients, officials said.

Elsewhere in the former British colony, two police stations and two homes for the elderly also lost their roofs, homes were damaged, streets were flooded and crops were destroyed. Authorities asked the public to remain at home or in shelters, where more than 1,600 people took refuge, as they assessed the damage.

Friday, July 15, 2005

Follow me

Back in the 1990's, I often played a game called Lemmings. It's a puzzle type game that requires your almighty knowledge to lead the green-headed dimwitted Lemmings to their home amidst dangers, toils and sometimes even your own frustration with the nuke all button. Now you can play DHTML Lemmings with only your web browser. Enjoy!



Next week I'll be vacationing in the grand state of Washington on the waters of Puget Sound. We were going to be staying in the cabin on Puget Sound this week during my mom and brother's birthdays, but someone else wanted to go this week and so we'll go next week. I can't wait to see the ocean again! It is breathtakingly beautiful! Hopefully I will be able to view Mount Rainer from the cabin. It is usually overcast though and you can only see it from the cabin on a clear day. We will be up there for a week and might even go into Canada for a day. Last time I was there we took a ferry across from Seattle to Victoria City, Canada. The ferry was over crowded with people and there were no seats, I didn't mind though because I was hanging over the ledge, peering out to sea. Back then I was really into dolphins and stared out into the ocean hoping to see one. When I saw some killer whales I screamed, "Whale!" Once I said that the whole ferry dipped to one-side as ever tourist on board crowded over to my side to view the whales. This opened up a lot of seats and my mom could finally sit down. After our visit to Canada my mom told me to yell whale again so that she could get a seat. So if you find yourself on a ferry and need a place to sit just yell, "Whale!"

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

From Stones to Hydrogen

I finished reading the first book of the Harry Potter extravaganza, world-wide hype, Muggle uprising, household name of a series. I'll admit that I was overtaken from my views that this was just some silly children's book. J. K. Rowlings captures the imagination with prose that drew me in. The characters in the book are unique, the plot is tied to things from the beginning and I had an extraordinary time reading it. It may not have been technically hard but if something is fun and stirs the imagination it is well worth it in my opinion. Next up Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets.

I read the Reader's Digest and in the latest supplement issue entitled, Future, I found a contest that I'd like to share with the rest of my blogging friends/readers and whathaveyou. Tomorrow, July 14th, I encourage you to enter the Reader's Digest Win the Ride of a Lifetime contest.

Note: You can't enter until July 14th, so don't tell me the link doesn't work.

GM Sequel


Win the Ride of a Lifetime


And earn bragging rights by being one of the first consumers to test-drive the new hydrogen-powered GM Sequel! One grand prize winner will receive a trip for two* to sunny Southern California in summer 2006. The winner will tour a hydrogen-fuel facility and meet engineers who are designing the cars of the future. GM's Sequel is emission free, nimble on the road, and fast! Go to rd.com/drive for entry form and official rules, or send a postcard to Reader's Digest, P.O. Box 235, Pleasantville, New York 10570-0234, Attn: Ride of a Lifetime.


*
If you happen to win the second person you take would be me, but I shouldn't have to remind you of that. ;)

Monday, July 11, 2005

Tag I'm it

I've been tagged, handed the baton to keep this chain(letter) of a blog thing going because obviously I have nothing better to do? I am getting you back for this! I just don't know how, when, or the exact means but something is coming....Muhhahahahaha.

Total volume of music files on my computer: Holy jumping bananas Batman! 8.6 gigs. This isn't illegally downloaded music mind you but I'll come clean 117MB of it has been illegally downloaded. *Sigh* Nevermore, nevermore. I too am in desperate need of an iPod.

The last CD I bought: I purchased two and I don't remember which one went across the register first so here they are: Coldplay X&Y and Ben Folds Songs for Silverman

Song playing right now: Nothing currently because I'm on my laptop and my Bose speakers are sitting nicely on a shelf until my room is carpeted. The last song I played was in my car and it was, Phantom of Opera Think of Me. Great song, fabulous movie, wonderful book!

Five songs I listen to a lot, or that mean a lot to me: I'll also go by the highest play count on my iTunes and they are:

1. The Luckiest, Ben Folds (My favorite song it wakes me up in the morning)
2. Gracie, Ben Folds
3. Hallelujah, Rufus Wainwright
4. You Raise Me Up, Josh Groban
5. Ave Maria, Bobby McFerrin

Five people to whom I'm passing the baton:

1. Nate-Dawg's Castle (One last requirement before your mission)
2. Unknown Knowns and Other Ramblings (This should give you something to update your blog with CJ)
3. Chad Essley's Tablet PC SketchBlog (I don't know if he reads my blog all that often)
4. Natasha's Nook (Nathaniel's girlfriend. I'm out of people to send this baton too!)
5. Drifting About (I have officially ran out of blogs to send this to. This is what happens to you when you leave a comment on my blog)

Phew! I'm so glad there were only 5!

Saturday, July 09, 2005

I see beautiful things


My mom asked me to run a few errands for her this afternoon. As I was driving, trying my hardest to avoid pedestrians and stay in my lane, the glint of the sun hit my eyes. I looked up only to be immediately taken back. The sky was absolutely breathtaking! The clouds were glorious! Luckily I still had my digital camera hiding secretly under my seat from when I took pictures of the mural I painted. I was stopped at a stoplight and thought I really need to take a picture of these clouds they are amazing! So I stepped out of my car while all the other motorists eyed me suspiciously. I didn't mind I just held out my camera and clicked away. The light changed green as I was just getting back in. I'm sure I annoyed someone but I hope at least they too looked up at this beautiful sky.

There is a slight change to the Sea of Steve that I have just added. I've coded a recent bookshelf as well as the current book I'm reading into the sidebar. I'll update the recent bookshelf with the last ten books I've read beginning with the most current. Then the Well Thumbed Thomes well remain as great books that I read that have stirred my soul. The current book I am reading is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I have yet to read this series of novels, haven't intended to ever read them but a friend recommended that I do. If you have a book, novel, or story that you would like to recommend I read, feel free to leave a comment. I'll read it...eventually.

Friday, July 08, 2005

Mural

I finished painting a mural of Wyoming on the side of a house. The clients didn't want too many colors and nothing too distracting. The design was already on the side of the house all I had to do was paint over the sterofoam covered in white sand. I thought it was really easy to paint, practically just painting withen the lines. In the back stand the Grand Tetons followed by the Medicine Bow Mountains in the far right, nearly in the middle spouts Old Faithful from Yellowstone, the mountains in the foreground are the Wind River Range and Devils Tower resides in the lower right corner.

Wyoming Mural

Thursday, July 07, 2005

London

When I first opened the door my mom informed me of the terrorist attack on London. I felt fear and remorse. I quickly made my way to the TV and turned it on. Flipping through the news channels I tried to find any coverage of what had happened. All that I could find was on CNN or Fox News. All the other 'news' channels had their soap operas on and other senseless programming. If this had been an attack here in America every single channel would be airing the footage over and over again. I just feel disheartened over this fact. It seems that America does not really care. What's more important in life soap operas or an attack on one of our allies? Don't get me wrong, I believe that America is a great country and I'm proud to live here but I do believe that 'we' need to have more of a soft spot for what truly is important in life. You can find out whether Thomas is the father of Rachel's baby on a post-poned episode but right now I can give a rat's ass about All My Children and As the World Turns because our children in London have been killed as our world turns.

Sunday, July 03, 2005

An 1800's Shindig

Colorado Landscape


I planted my boots firmly into the years of the 1800's. After opening the time machine that was our white truck, I was immediately thrust back into a world filled with memories. This was the area that I was born in. My senses soaked up all that they could. The smells of fresh wild flowers, pine, and aspen trees filled my soul as my family settled into our camping area near a little creek. Soon many campers, tents, and teepees decorated the hills.


In Style
People from all over the United States attended this 1800's style rendezvous of a marriage between two great people. Some dressed completely in the attire of the time period while others, like us, just had on cowboy style clothing, but rather strange was a clash between young and old when a young 'punk' kid and his girlfriend came with their hair in multi-colored spikes and dressed in complete black.










march down to the wedding


The wedding took place at high noon the next day. What a lovely day for the wedding too. The sun sat in the sky occasionally peeking out of a cloud as the trees swayed in the slight breeze dancing to the music that the birds created. Then the bagpipes began and the bride came walking down the field. The wedding was short and sweet. They exchanged vows and locked hearts forever. A fiddler played a few jigs and then it was time for the shindig to begin!
exchanging vows


First we had a great dinner of Indian food. My favorites included the buffalo stew and fry bread that was filled with sweet honey. Then began the dancing. The fiddler played all the melodies of the times while people stomped their feet and danced. Once worn out everyone gathered by the television set of the 1800's. The fire. The flames danced around being the only source of light except for the luster of the stars above. Lots of tall tales were told as the sweet smell of the wedding cake began to drift in the air, slowly cooking in a Dutch oven in the coals of the fire.


teepeeThe next day was full of activities. Up first was the tomahawk throw. I managed to hit the target a few times but never once did the ax part of the tomahawk stick. It was very difficult because the ax must rotate in the air and strike the target blade first. A little tiny lad hands up won the event. He flung the ax and each time the blade stuck. He had the cutest giggle each time an ax stuck, and everyone would cheer.



After the tomahawk throw, I traveled up yonder to the black powder rifle shoot. I had a blast literally. The man showed us how to fill the guns with the correct amount of gun powder and then how to stuff the ball down into the chamber with a ramming rod. This process took forever and I was careful not to drop the precious black powder grains. I don't know how the civil war era armies managed to load their guns like that wilst people shooting them. I salute them. The guns were powerful and loud! Everyone was required to wear ear protection and the shooters wore eye protection in the event of a black powder mis-fire explosion. I was one of the first people to go and as I focused on my site and put my finger on the trigger I nervously prepared for a major kick into my shoulder from the back force of the shot. I made sure to get my target in the sight of the gun and then slowly pulled the trigger back KABOOOOOM! It fired as a thick cloud of black smoke enveloped me and I was thrust backwards. Wow! I hit the target.


A young kid shoots the black powder rifle

That night we had another fire and their was a science teacher sitting next to me talking about a comet and a NASA satellite that are going to collide in a massive explosion on July 3rd. Here's a website to watch it live in case you don't have a telescope or are in a city in which the night sky is overwhelmed by the city lights. We stayed up really late watching the stars and ohhing and awwing over the many shooting stars. I've never seen such a beautiful atmosphere then on that night. The stars blanketed the sky. I had the most glorious sleep that night, I slept soundly 'neath the stars.


In the morning we had a nice breakfast and then had more fun. There was a fishing tournament but I didn't do that because I'm not much for fishing, but there was an archery shoot and another gunpowder session. I did both. I especially liked the archery. Much faster then loading the black powder. They had 3D targets of deer, elk, moose, and bear all over their ranch. The archers stood from different distances with trees, boulders and even a pond as an obstacle to shoot over and try and hit the target. I became really good at pulling back the string of the bow, aiming and launching the arrow at all of the targets, after a few tries on some and a lost arrow in the thick bushes down by the creek. That afternoon everyone gathered by to perform a flag ceremony and my mom lead everyone in singing our national anthem. After that we packed up and got into our time machine, leaving this beautiful place behind.



Old Barn

I'm sitting in a field of sunlight