Recessions Suck

This just in... the world is in a recession. Economy's of all major countries are completely crap; jobless rates are headed through the roof, donations to charitable organizations are down, and the general mood of the day is absolute blah...

Alright, with all that being said, I've decided to try and write on my blog, (which nobody reads except Lucus... thanks girl, happy birthday again sweetie) and see if I can write my way out of my funk I find myself in today.

I successfully reached out to a person today at the University of Colorado Snow and Ice research center. They're the folks working on collecting data across the world about the state of global warming. More than anything I want to produce a tv series, in conjunction with the Nova, Discovery, Nat Geo and follow the researchers across the globe in search of answers. Make them stars, or heroes, instead of the entertainers and sports athletes we see too much of.

Obviously, global warming/climate crisis is in the news. But no one has any understanding of who's doing the research and who's finding the answers that we'll need to change the course we're on. If we curb fossil fuel consumption and carbon creation, and in turn design, build and implement brand new ways of creating energy, we can transform our economy and right the ship. If we can not, I fear the next generation will be forced to overcome enormous hardships and dwindling resources to carry on our way of life.

Let's face capitalism is dead, or at least consumerism as we now know it, should be. Fact: We only go around this crazy world once and I wonder now, whether my grandchildren will be able to?? That's why I believe it is imperative that we set our sights on creating a new directions.

Ok, didn't write myself out of the funk, but at least I got something off my chest.

HOPE and LOVE in the NEW YEAR!!!!

Family Ski trip to Afton Alps

Deejha and the kids after a great day on the slopes.
Princess Snow White nailing her first run... no problem.
Boys on boards. Eldest and Superstar hit the terrain parks... HARD!

Two cute snow bunnys prepared to head downhill

Well '08 is finally behind us and my goodness I couldn't be more happy. Let's run down the list of why I think last year sucked... and what, if anything went right.

* Laid off in January from ShopNBC

* Hundreds of Thousands of others laid off across the country

* Iraq lingers on

* Economy tanks thanks in large part to the greed and mismanagement of Wall Street

* Bush NOT impeached for being a complete idiot and a criminal or at least Cheney should be tried in the Haige

* July 5th, return home from holiday to find front door open and thousands of dollars worth of possessions STOLEN due to being burgled.

* Laid off 2nd time from Kent Hrbek Outdoors

What went right...

* Went back to school at UWRF to finish up the outstanding calculus course I took 3 shots at in college and could never pass. ACED it. (Got the piece of paper!)

* Shot the best round of golf in my life, shooting a 73 at Peninsula State Park course on July 4th with my dad. He also shot his best round of his life. (Could have been more memorable had the burglary not happened the next day)

* My Stoneridge Falcons Hockey Team ended the year in 1st place at the half way point of the season

* Cessica's work took off during the month of December making Christmas and the end of the year, close on a brighter note of hope.

AND REALLY, that's what this new year is filled with. HOPE. With a new administration in the White House and Al Franken finally defeating the suck-ass named Norm Coleman, hope is slowly being restored to our nations government. All three kids are doing great. Princess is doing great in hockey, having fun in dance, doing well in school and just learned how to ski. (She popped the skis on and nailed her first run... it was truly amazing to watch, what a natural)

Superstar has had his ups and downs this year in hockey... playing for the Highland Capitals Squirt B Blues, he's doing well, showing his skills, but finding it a bit harder then in year's past. Now going two games without one of his patented goals, I have a feeling this weekend's tournament with be a great deal of fun. Also the sound of his new drum set, thumping through the house is quite fun to listen to actually... as he's kind of a natural.

And eldest finally has his phone and just the other day as all of his friends were texting him at the same time said "it's so great to be this popular." His rock band is doing great, learning new songs practically everyday, and middle school is going well.

As for me and the misses... her job continues to go well, and I've had a couple really good conversations with a company downtown that needs an experienced producer and may be the most perfect opportunity to come along since I got in my profession. So there is a lot of hope, and here's hoping your new year is even better than your last.

Until next post... be well.

Some more shots of a great way to ring in the NEW YEAR!

Tight Band Alert!

Went to see the best local band going right now Saturday Night. We braced the cold and wind, jumped into the SUV and made our way to First Ave for a great CD release party.

By pure good fortune, I was given a pre-lease copy of the CD the day before and had the pleasure of shoveling to it all Saturday afternoon. If you check out one new local band in 09 give these guys a try. Hints of They Might Be Giants, maybe a little Pink Floyd, a big Styks finally on one song... just great get up, dance around have fun... and awesome cowbell. "I need more cowbell!"

Here's a link to their myspace:

http://www.myspace.com/thehopefulsmusic

You must check out, buy, download and enjoy.

DJ says go now.

Long time no post...

... What with Facebook, job boards, Christmas shopping, Holiday cards, shoveling, hockey practices, hockey rinks, school plays, school concerts, school science fair projects, basement plumbing overhauls, more shoveling, laundry, informational interviews, resume sending, home video editing, hockey games, post office runs, dishes, and that was yesterday.

Cessica's media buying has been going great gonzo, so I've become Mr. Mom so to speak. We've traded roles to a certain extent and honestly, it's not an easy task. I'm use to having a task to tackle, and then go about working on until some form of resolution. Usually that involves a bunch of multi-tasking, but this house/family upkeep is multi-tasking to the extreme, especially tying in the basement renovation. 

Projects: Remove the work bench from the basement and all the tools and painting equipment and move it to the garage. That then makes way for the walls to go up in the basement. Once the vapor barrier and the studs are up, I'm thinking I'll need some insulation and then some type of paneling. I'm thinking a thin bead-board instead of drywall, as I really have no desire to mud and tape, plus I'm hoping the bead-board will look cool. Then, about 20 years of clothes stored in the basement need to find their way into plastic bags and then off to goodwill with a few pieces going off to a consignment shop.

You accumulate a lot of shit, when you're making money and now that the budget's a little tighter, I find I really need to purge the excess. I thought, since the economy sucks and hardly any company is looking to expand anytime soon, I'd have the time to get some of these things accomplished, but the lists are never ending.

Quick sports update: My fantasy football team, the JackRynos, who took the CHFFL title last year, are instead headed to the toilet bowl; the consolation bracket of the CHFFL. A dubious honor to lose the toilet bowl game, as the loser of the losers buys the 1/4 barrel at next years draft.

Superstar's Highland Capitals Squirt B Blues team took one on the chops from the B-Reds. Jack netted the only goal, but our team plays with very little heart and for a guy who's made his way in the hockey world playing with far more passion then skill, it's hard to understand how to help as the assistant coach. I really would prefer to be the head coach this year, I would do things a little differently that's for sure, and hopefully before our next game, I'll be able to give the "GottaWanna" speech. 

Meanwhile the Entertainer's, Edgecumbe Mite team is too huge. 30 kids on the squad, broken up into three sub-section teams. The organization could have easily fielded a mini mite team and probably aided the development of all the kids much more. Jay and I have spoken and he has the best interest of the kids at heart, but the organization's not helping. 

On a brighter note, the Stoneridge Falcons are off to their best start in AHA Hockey history. (Course that's not saying much as last year we didn't even win a game) But right now we find ourselves a half game back of first place. And although I'm not leading the team in scoring like I did last year, I'm having a lot more fun. Playing on the checking line and seeing some of the young guns lose the attitude and play with their heads, it's been a better season.

Rockstar, has his Snowboarding pass to Afton and he's been ripping it up on the slopes as often as possible. Hopefully this weekend he can get out to the hill for some quality shredding now that all the runs are open. 

And in order to stay in shape, we've now joined the YMCA and left the International House of Fitness... aka Bally's. Cessica's been getting in some workouts, but I have yet to make it over there to even get my picture taken. Maybe when I make the goodwill run.

Well, try to keep your holiday season stress free and get some sleep. I know I could use both. 

Happy Holidays: It's time for a little rhyme

So it's the holiday season and all through the land

People are laid off and thinking of starting a band.

A group set to rock out and show they got fight,

Tired of the bullshit and sick of their plight.

Let's all commiserate on linkedin and facebook,

A Jeff Covey push is really all it took.

But cyberspace reality pales in comparison,

To the harsh state our country is in.

It's hard not to question, where all the change?

And not trying to shift blame...

But 350 billion is quite a big chunk

Is wall street just a pit, CEOs just drunk?

No money is moving, stores cry no fair,

Who will be shopping, does anyone care?

For it's the season of giving, or for some maybe making,

A wood working project, or maybe some baking.

Or maybe some artwork, or perhaps just time,

And that's my thought to end this holiday rhyme,

It doesn't have to be big, it doesn't have to be rich.

Just something from the heart, cause unfortunately sometimes life's just a bitch.

Week before Thanksgiving - AND WE'VE GOT ICE!

Amazing... after a little of afternoon rink maintenance, the ice was ready for action and as soon as the kids returned home from school, the kids hit the ice. Here's some of the action...