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January 24, 2006

Lake country

I found myself mapping a remote address in northern Minnesota today and came across two interesting lakes in the middle of nowhere.

Somebody was having some fun back in the day.

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January 17, 2006

Barry Manilow is my Hero

Did anyone else catch Barry Manilow on Leno last night? He sang Unchained Melody from his new album, The Greatest Songs of the 50s. He was spectacular. He's got a new gig at the Hilton in Vegas. Next time I'm there, I'm going to be front row.

You may think I'm kidding, but I actually do like him! Seriously! Especially the dramatic hand pullbacks he does when hitting the climax.

Perhaps the best part of the show was when he walked off the stage over to be seated next to Jay. The evening's prior guests were the American Idol judges, so Barry asked them appropriately, "Did I win? Did I win?"

Posted by SparklesMpls at 08:46 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack

January 13, 2006

Public Service Announcement

I'd like to think that I have a right to be a little shocked at my experience in the men's room at work yesterday. As I was standing at the urinal, minding my own Christian business, I heard a strange sound coming from an occupied stall.

No, it's not what you're thinking. There were no strange vibrations, flatulence, or moans emanating. Instead, it was a strange tapping.

Continuing to mind my own Christian business I strained to catch a little more of the sound, trying to figure out what on earth it could be.

The tapping was inconsistent. It would come in spurts with a bunch of rapid tapping, then nothing for a while. Then maybe one or two taps. Then another spurt. Whatever it was, it wasn't natural.

I finished minding my own Christian business, zipped up and proceeded to the sink. That's when the truth was revealed. A man exited the stall carrying a laptop computer.

This is a public service announcement reminding you to stay away from keyboards that are not your own. Or, if you must, bring a can of Lysol to disinfect prior to doing your own tapping.

Posted by SparklesMpls at 09:26 AM | Comments (12) | TrackBack

January 11, 2006

Awakening from hibernation

So I've been a little busy lately ....

The sober home manager deal I mentioned during December didn't work out. Well, I guess it wasn't meant to because I just bought a place of my own! Met with my new accountant today, and I'll be open for biz sometime during February.

You can't help but notice the church next door as you approach the house. All God's Children is one of the only "gay churches" in the community and I'm right next door.

The majority of the house's exterior is comprised of brick and stucco.

The patio has some kickass tile work inside and outside of the door.

The foyer: the first door on the right leads to a small entryway with the exterior door just beyond.

Standing in the dining room, looking out towards the street. The room in the foreground is the living area, with the sunroom in the background, closest to the street.

The second floor has 4 bedrooms and a bath.

A view of one of the bedrooms from the hallway.

Can you tell I'm psyched? I can't wait until the closing. Cross your fingers there are no hiccups in the process. Next up comes the fun part - furnishing and decorating it! Anyone have some spare Knoll or Eames pieces laying around?

I am immensely grateful for the opportunities I've had in my life. This is the beginning of the next step in my recovery - helping others. I hope to be able to offer people a safe place to call home while they learn to live their lives in sobriety. There's a bit of magic that takes place in every sober home, and it's the most beautiful thing I've ever been witness to. I can't wait to see it happen in this house.

More photos can be found in the gallery.

Posted by SparklesMpls at 11:07 PM | Comments (18) | TrackBack

January 05, 2006

Global Warming

Is global warming a farse, or is it based in truth? Who do you believe? The scientific community, or George W. Bush?

It is going to hit the mid 30s today in Minneapolis. And it's January, historically the coldest month of the year for us. Normally you can expect zero degrees, and if you're lucky, there will be no windchill effect which can lower the temperature another 30 or 40 degrees.

Generally stepping outside in January without a jacket on produces frostbite on exposed skin within 60 seconds. For those of you who may not know what frostbite is, imagine having all of the humidity sucked out of your skin and then putting it into the freezer. What's left is not pretty. Lubriderm does quite well here in the north.

Katrina was the worst hurricane in years, and there were a record number of severe hurricanes this year. Do you think this may have something to do with the polar caps melting and raising the sea level? Hmmm.

And then there's my office. We're in a very old building that actually has one of those things called a boiler in the basement. I don't know anything about it other than it provides the heat. Well hot-damned if somebody didn't throw all of the leftover yule logs in there this week, because they're trying to sweat off the extra pounds we gained over the holidays. It's damn near 80 degrees in the office and they tell us there's nothing they can do about it.

Of course, my response to that is that I simply cannot help if I fall asleep - it's the heat.

Posted by SparklesMpls at 09:18 AM | Comments (11) | TrackBack