A DAM Good Friday

This past Friday was one of the best nights I've had since moving to Colorado. Kristen, my newest girlfriend, who I adopted from Linzi, came over after work for Bloody Mimosas to toast the royal wedding with me as we snacked on some cheese and crackers.

Our plan has been to B-Cycle for a night out but, as I am finding out, you can't depend on the weather here in Colorado. Just because it was nice enough for you to ride your bike to work in a dress, does not mean you will not need your down coat for the ride home. Sure enough, it was one of those days and we were thankful we opted for the car as the (hopefully last!) snow fell on this Spring night as we were leaving the museum.

I'd been to the Denver Art Museum before - years ago when I brought Superchunk to Denver for his 30th. We took photos throughout the exhibit, checked out the gift shop, I got locked in a phonebooth - it was good times. The experience that I had with Kristen on Friday night was totally different though. We had been wanting to check out the BLINK! exhibit before it left town on May Day. DAM does Final Fridays (doesn't that have a nice ring to it?) where the museum stays open until 10 p.m., they have DJs performing out front, live music upstairs and oh, WINE - so if not now then when became the question. The first thing I thought of as we started to explore the museum was "I just do not remember it being this large!" Apparently, they've added a whole new expansion since I was there last in 2007.

The BLINK! exhibit was fascinating. We were there for an hour and a half or so - mainly because we didn't get there until 8:30 and knew the place shut down at 10 but we could have spent an entire day there - taking photos, watching the band, exploring the exhibit. BLINK! was very interactive as it explores light, sound and the moving image. For example, one of the rooms we went in to had a bunch of old televisions sitting right side up with the screens toward the ceiling, 3 groups, each scene/sound had a different color assigned to it and we were in the middle of Vietnam. Instead of me wasting your time trying to explain the incredibly moving experience, watch for yourself here. Just imagine sitting in a dark room, surrounded by art, instead of in front of your computer.

Amazing, right?











So, understandably, we got lost in ourselves while exploring BLINK! at DAM. And, as previously mentioned, it was snowing by the time we left the museum. There was only one thing to do at that point - head to the bars. We ended up at Dougherty's on the Broadway South strip to see if Erin, Linzi's cousin, was working. She was not but she was there with her brother, and the night ended up being one for the books.

You can tell Summer is coming when nights like last Friday come your way.

Sir Gordon Drinks A Lot

A major appeal of moving to Denver was how dog friendly this city is. For example, yesterday after work, Gordon and I met Linzi at Tavern Uptown for Happy Hour.

We sat on the back patio and Gordon behaved himself, minus trying to jump on the waitress when she came back with our drinks. It's OK, Gordon, I got excited, too.

Also, apparently, the love of Moscow Mules is genetic. Looks like I'll be picking up some copper mugs in the near future.

Royal Perfection.

Words cannot begin to describe.

Congratulations to the royal couple - Princess Kate Elizabeth and Prince William.

My First Place

As my new place is coming together - I thought it was time to look back at my very first place. And all of it's clutter. Seriously so much clutter. I remember moving out of 7151 S Durango, thinking I'll never live like this again. I dumped a lot of stuff before loading up the storage unit for Denver.

My new apartment is about 100 square feet smaller than my last and I still have a lot of work to do. Once it is complete, I will, of course, share with you.

7151 S Durango holds so many fine (and some not so fine) memories for me, including:

The very first day of moving two buildings over after Ann and I moved out.
Bringing Sir Gordon home.
Ordering prints on Etsy to decorate.
SSFS with Renee.
Sitting on the balcony with Ann for hours the night I broke up with Superchump.
Pool days with Lobo.
Bear fixing my bed by putting 900 screws it in.
Panda picking me up at the gate for many occasions.
Pre-gaming kickball with Kid Sis.
Linzi and Josh staying over with Gordon sleeping on their heads.
Studying for school.
Cooking. Or at least attempting to.
Dance party in the living room the day MJ died.
Midnight stop-ins from Spadoni.
Getting ready for Britney with Anika Jones.
PayPie Sienna-sitting for me and sending me photos of him dressed as Max.
Nights by myself, on the couch, with fro yo and Gossip Girl and feeling so content.
Dropping off rent, in person, every month, to my Long Island landlords - Corky and Joanne.
Lying in bed, realizing it was time to leave Vegas.

So yes, it may have been cluttered with junk but it was also cluttered with memories. I love you, 7151 S Durango, you were a fantastic first place.

Welcome to Colorado

Welcome to your new home, Sienna Miller.
For those of you who do not know, I left a part of my heart back in Vegas with Pep when I decided to leave Sienna behind for the first part of the move. She, like most cats, does not do well with change so I figured the less I had to put her through, the better. So when Carl and I went to load up the UHaul, we also loaded up the cat and brought her to Colorado.

She is enjoying the new place - especially since there are currently boxes everywhere for her to climb in and out of. Her only complaint? She can't get in the claw foot tub to go #2. Don't worry - she hasn't decided to start acting like a lady by using the litter box for #2 - no, no - she is just going on the bathmat.

Sigh. Oh, Sienna.

Regardless of where she decides to unload - I am so happy to have the three of us back together in our new home.

Discovering Denver: #3 Get a Pancake Flight at Snooze

Andy and I have been eating pancakes together since we were old enough to tear them apart and stuff them in our mouths. One of my greatest memories of all time is watching that boy eat 4 dozen dollar pancakes at Uncle Bill's in Stone Harbor, NJ.

So when Andy called asking if I wanted to do breakfast Saturday morning at Snooze before a trip to REI- I was all over it - "I'm getting the Pancake Flight - it's on my list!"

Snooze is THE CUTEST breakfast place I have ever seen. Very retro, with a friendly staff, killer coffee mugs (I even inquired about purchasing one but changed my mind at the $18 price tag) and pancakes done right. They were totally worth the 40 minute wait - especially since the wait comes with unlimited self-service at the coffee and water station.

For my flight - I got original (you know me), Chocolate Chip (you know me again) and Red Velvet. I loved the variety. Best. Idea. Ever. And so PRETTY! Next time, we'll be sure to order the Mimosas, too as we were seated at the bar and it sounds like they offer quite the variety in that arena, too.

Commuting.

This past week I was in Vegas for all of 15 hours. I flew in on Wednesday night where I met up with my nearest and dearest at Chicago for a few drinks - thank you to all who came out on a school night after 11 p.m. to visit with yours truly....Lord knows we're not all 22 anymore....it was lovely to see your faces.

Thursday morning, we packed up the Uhaul (thanks for your muscles, Ann...really took me back to shipment days at HotCats!) - had lunch and then Carl, Sienna and I hit the road. It was a father and daughter road trip across 3 states. Sienna didn't stop meowing the entire ride, poor thing. We stayed in Grand Junction that night and hit the road for the last leg of the trip Friday morning. Dad was smart enough to bring his iPod with his radio adapter along so we were riding along to hits from Joe Cocker, Elton John, Rod Stewart, ABBA and James Taylor. Thankfully, Vail Pass didn't fail me this time and we made it in 4 hours to Denver - just in time to sign my lease and get my keys!

Friday night Dad and I hit up Crossroads with the Wicklers where w shot a little pool, ate some food, shot some bucks and enjoyed a cold one or three. Saturday was rise and shine day for the big move. BIG shout-outs to my moving crew of the my dad, the Wicklers and good 'ol Michael Granquist - who had sworn he would never move me again after the whole two flights down, 200 yards over and three flights up move of '08 but as luck may have it, I followed him across states and he could not deny my plea. And bribe of Sexy Pizza and Beer.

We got done within 90 minutes. But my work is far from done. I was able to Gordon-proof the place last night so I go to pick up that guy tonight to finally reunite him with his big sister and walks in the park.

Plenty of posts to come over the next few weeks as I explore my new neighborhood. I started today by biking to work.

Goodbye hour long commute - hello 15 minute bike ride.