Grasshopper

Grasshopper Speaks

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SHUFFLE

The Week in Review

Monday
Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Pillow please.

Yep folks, what a week. Not quite used to running these longer day's. Thursday was a nice study day. Although it felt weird to to 1) not be working, and 2) be on campus all day. We'll see how the coming weeks go. Regarding school, the instructor I have sort of sucks so far. He doesn't do too many examples, just shows some very basic principles needed to solve the problems, and then spends an inordinate amount of time talking about how much material we have to cover in a short period of time and repeating general administrative crap. And oh, he does encourage us to look over the examples before we attempt the homework. Oh Yeah!

The first instructor I had was man on a mission! From day one, buckle your seat belt cause we are gonna move. And sure enough . . . far better than this guy. Tough, but in exchange, he actually taught the class.

Well after a long week and a very hectic Friday, I checked out a new restaurant down here in the North Valley (the part of town I live in). The place is called the Sunshine Cafe.


I chose the Hummus & Toasted Pita Wedges dish. Part of their Light Fare selection. Good stuff. And the atmosphere? Pretty nice by my book.

Longer day's

Hoe de dow, la de da. Another day passes away. Thus begins day one of week 2 of school. And a work week for that matter. The only new item to report is I'm going on a four day work week. Me an my work partner are both doing it. I've never done this before, so this should be interesting. The idea is to give each of us an additional day to do the homework thing. You know, that pesky side effect of education. He is also taking classes. I think I will try taking Thursday's off, while my partner will take Friday's. Just have to get used to these longer work day's.

In other news . . . Oh wait . . . there is no other news.

Wedding Bells

Was out for a work related trip Thursday around lunch, and ran across this little treasure. The business is nestled in a housing area. This was at one of the residence.



Ah, a little piece of New Mexico for you. Very popular symbolism for those Christian Hispanics in the area.

Anyways, today has been a study day. Not too exciting I tell you. I will tell you that today was Wedding Day at the Duck Pond on campus. I stepped out of the library for a bite, and three different groups showed up at around the same time. They all picked a different spot around the pond. Well I guess they sort of had too. Then, when I left the library around 5, there was another group at the pond. Is this part of a late summer / early fall rush or something? The world will never know.

Supper, if your interested, well, I guess you don't have a choice, was Sloppy Joe's. Haven't had those in a while. Recipes are a dime a dozen, so your on your own. Ya gotta make it from scratch, GOT IT !! Non of this pre-mix package crap.

Parking Lessons

Went to see a movie after work. Saw Live Free and Die Hard. Yeah, John McClain really does have nine lives. At lease he gets roughed up. Not like 007. Ya know, Bond should have been dead a long time ago.

Anyways, I found this leaving the parking lot. Now I know I didn't park all that great. That's me on the right. But the other guy . . .

How fucked up is that! Good thing there was no one to the right of me.

2nd Day of School

Ahh the start of the Fall semester at the University of New Mexico. Where did this crowd come from?

And look, there was even entertainment as part of the Welcome Back special events this week.

Of course, this is all to make the students feel good. Like they've made a good choice to come back to UNM. Make them feel good right before reality sets in. What reality? Free times over! Time to set your schedule and stick to it. Ya know?

Warm Up

Look at what I woke up to this morning outside my bedroom window. Looks like a Balloon Fiesta warm up if you ask me.

What clued me before it came into view was the unmistakable sound of the blow torch heater that fills the balloon with hot air.

So I did some channel surfing on T.V. while I was in the middle of cooking supper and ran across this talent show on a Spanish channel. Mostly all youth, ranging in age from about 15 to the mid 20's. There posting the age as they perform. I don't understand a word they are saying, but 1) it's about the only thing on T.V., and 2) These Kids can really sing! You can generally tell good from bad singing regardless of know the language or not. The show is "something" TimBriche (they have a special icon with the words, so I might be missing a letter or two).

Well tomorrow starts the school thing again. Ahh the thrill of school. Gotta Love it! I suspect I'll be slacking more on the blog as a result. I know I know - slacker. Oh well. Time to get my pack ready for tomorrow and chill a bit more before I hit the sack.

Goodnight All.

FYI

Well, looky what I got for doing jury duty. Don't I feel special?

For this, I'll be more than happy to do jury duty in the future . . . ha!

In other news, looks like my apartment complex is getting into the recycling swing of things. I got a news letter on my screen door yesterday stating that "in accordance with city ordinance blah blah blah, we're starting our recycling program. Bins are back by the dumpster."

And look! The city has even provided us with these handy dandy carry totes to haul our shit to the bins. How sweet of them. They take everything except what I seem to accumulate a lot of. That would be GLASS. Oh well. I've been recycling for many years anyway and I'll just have to treat them as usual.

In the mean time, I'm embarking on my last free weekend. Not that I won't have any sporadic free weekends to come. See, school starts back on Monday. Back to the old grind of full-time work and part time school. Those of you who have done it know exactly where I'm coming from. After much though and deliberation, I've decided to stick with the Electrical Engineering side of the coin. I'm signed up for one class and one class only - CE304: Engineering Mechanics. Think Statics and Dynamics. And I'm in such luck! They are still using the same book from last year. I'll save 180 bucks! Regarding the class, we'll see how it goes. I'm not ready to start, but I think it will be good for me to get back into what seems to be a normal routine for me since I've been doing it for so long. I just don't know much else, ya know? And lets hope two's a charm. Light a candle will ya.?

And just check out this sunset. Scored it on the way home from work tonight. What a beautiful state I live in .

In case your wondering, the darkened strip across the top is from the tinting of the car window.

Day 8

Yes, indeed. Another day reliving my vacation. And you thought it was over. Fooled ya, didn't I. So lets start by getting back on the road shall we.

This would have been Saturday, July 28th. We packed up our bags and headed down the road. Our plan for the day is to hit several small "ghost towns." Scary, huh. Along the way though, we passed by Las Cruses, New Mexico (no pit stop, thank God) and headed north. Our first stop was Leasburg Dam State Park.

A swim fest I tell ya. "Where's my swimming suit?" Like it would have done MEEE any good as the water felt pretty cold to me. No deterrent though to a lot of other folks who were having a grand ol time. I did manage to walk in the water around some of the shore and found this little surprise. A large group of spiders that were floating on the water. Take that back . . .

Walking on the water.

We stayed for a while wading a bit longer and engaged in our fare share of people watching.

After that, we headed to Caballo Lake State Park. We found a picnic table overlooking the lake and loading dock.

A short drive away was Percha Dam State Park.

Some algae sloshing around in the water.



That was some R-n-R I tell ya. Now on to the main attraction - Ghost Towns. The primary interest: Chloride. This was a small town that cropped up around the 1870's as a result of a silver mining rush. The town ballooned to around 3000 residents in its heyday. The demise of the town came some years later when the government changed its money standard from silver to gold. The price of silver plummeted. Since the town did not have railroad service yet (all goods where brought in via wagon), it became too costly to not only get the silver out of town, but also to mine it in the first place. The highlight of this place was the general store.

This place is really a post onto it's own, so I'll leave it for another day. The pic above is just to whet your appetite.

As we headed home (it was a late night I tell ya) I just had to pull over for this shot of the moon passing through the clouds.


And alas, that ends my wonderful vacation. Yes, it's over [sniffle sniffle]. It was a good time for all. I'll come back another time with Chloride. Most all the pics center around that general store. What a neat place. Until then, I hope you have had plenty of vacation memories and perhaps gotten in the mood to plan your own adventure in the near future.

Cheers All!
Mighty

Oh My Gosh

Just spoke to a friend I've known since the day's we lived in Hawaii. Amazing that we have stayed in touch for over 20 years! Great talk'en to you C. Take care, you hear!

IBS
Stay in touch with your past for it will reward you in the future.

Day 7

OK folks, lets get back to the vacation shall we. It's going on two weeks and I already miss the vacation! Well . . . I think we all miss vacations. They just aren't long enough, are they?

Well day 6 brought us to the tourist trap that is Cloudcroft, New Mexico.

Now, magnify that image by ten or so and you've got the idea. But wait a minute. Is this bad? Does this spell disaster for the vacationing team? Not at all! Remember the words SUCKER written on me and moms foreheads? Ahhh they seen us coming and we knew it.

Well hidden away in the in the sleepy town of Cloudcroft is this plush golf course with a view to match. I'd a never seen it.

The drive back to camp had some nice scenery as well.


Well, it was time for chow and then questions. Like - What do we do now? We know! Back to the sand!



Much more pleasant the third time around. The temps were cooler and we just seemed to have a more relaxing time. Why isn't this in our backyard? But then again, if its handy, your not likely to go there as much.

***********************

How about an update on moms chairs. Drum roll please !! BEFORE.

AFTER.

Fix those springs damn it! Survey says . . . much improved.

OK, I've got to inject here. I'm watching this Hell's Kitchen show for some reason. It turns out it's the last show in which the final competition is performed and the winner is announced. I can't stand this tension at the end. The two line up by doors and are to turn their respective handle that opens to a floor below with family and such. Why the crap. Retelling who did what right and wrong and what the winner is going to win. Then the slow ass countdown with the thumping music in the background. Give - me - a - break!

Mood Blues

Hello folks, how's it going. Fine I hope. Yesterday was a pretty busy day as I spent it with mom and brother. We spent the day hiking some of the Sandia Mountains. We hiked from the overlook parking lot to the tram. From both places, the view is simply spectacular!

Here comes the tram. It's the longest tram in the world.

And what do you know, a bunch of communication antennas are located up here too. I wonder why?

It was a good day, but long. And mom survived the hike! What a trooper! We took frequent breaks as needed, but still, the fact still stands. Go Mom!

Needless to say, it was late night eating supper. We chose a new Chinese restaurant we've never been to just because it was getting so late (around 7:30 or so when we hit town). Really good place. Good review from us all.

I went out a bit eeeeaarly this morning to see if I could see anything of the meteor shower that is going on. Did see some stuff. Not as many as I'd hoped for, but then again, I was still in the city limits. Not that the city lights are going to affect my view . . . or maybe, maybe not? Wait?

Anyways, the mood as mentioned in the title of this post deals with how I've felt all day so far. I enjoyed my time out with the stars, but just can't explain today's mood swing. Here's were it is going. It deals with what things in life make us feel depressed and / or inadequate. When your poor, things like what's for dinner, how am I going to pay next months rent are the things that consume you and your emotional state. As your wealth expands, other things take over as you don't have basic necessities to worry about. Perhaps your educational level, personal relationships, or how you stack up against your co-workers, and then there's feeling inadequate about the shit your own. Well then we move up the wealth scale and what do we have then? Oh yeah! I'm a peon because I don't own a 6000 sq ft home and I can only take two three week vacations to Europe a year.

Well, that's the mood I'm in for some reason. Can't explain it. So I've got to go now. I'm headed back up to moms place to take advantage of free laundry facilities, try to fix some aging living room chairs where the chair spring supports are failing, and then finally get around to doing the gift opening thing with my brother. Super will be home made vegan enchilada's. And of course on the way will be a few consumer based pit stops. Bye bye.

Interlude

OK, this has been on my mind for about a week now . . . Why do celebrities get to go to rehab while average joe goes to jail?

Hmmmm. The world may never know. This of course centering around the Lindsey Lohan fiasco.

Day 6

Ahhh, waken up to a view like this. Mmmmm. What a treat. A view from the hotel window.

Well, after I was mesmerized by that, we got the day started. After breakfast and other miscellaneous things, our first stop for the day was White Sands National Monument. Just look at how that sand ripples.

As the dune moves, each dune move abruptly.

Go ahead - hold your breath a little longer. We'll come back to this. In the mean time, how about a view of the city of Alamogordo.

This taken from the parking lot of the New Mexico Museum of Space History. Our next stop for the day. Turns out it was really hot and really bright on the sand dunes. Luckily, since we'd planned on staying in the city for a day or two, that meant we could go back . . .
For obvious reasons unknown to me, rocket technology seemed to be the theme at this museum.
Uooooooo, those pipes are sexy! Just look at the complexity.

And of course, man made satellites were discussed.

Now, back to our original starting point. White Sands! After supper and a trip to the motel, we went back for a guided nature walk, by staff non the less. Pretty interesting discussion, but nothing really new. That is if you bothered to read the stuff in the visitors center. If not, then this walk was chuck full of information.

The only real excitement was the tour guide (pretty hot!), and the unexpected sunset. WOW !!!