This is how we chill...
The BLo(E)G |
Tales from a young professional turned grad student by Lindsey E. Guinn (LEG) |
Taken at Statue of Liberty
The four things that saved the Tanzania leg of our trip:
-$50
-the Irish
-my own forgetfulness
-a small, bearded man named Hamid on a bicycle
After being shepherded around for 2+ weeks by our amazing guide Sam (of Big Cats Holidays), it is safe to say that Jennie and I lost a bit of our survival instinct. We're both pretty seasoned travelers (Jennie even more than myself) but it is easy to get lazy when you have someone arranging everything from travel documents to meal times for you. But after our safari in Amboseli, Mr. Sam dropped us off at the Kenya/Tanzania border crossing, as directed, and sent us off with a wave and a tear in his eye...we were on our own.
But the trials of Tanzania started even before Mr. Sam left us. We had from multiple sources that a visa should cost $50 an had to be paid in U.S. dollars. Fine by us. Except when we got there, we were firmly told that it would be $100. We protested (but only a little), the man behind the counter pointed to a wrinkly piece of paper that said so, and that was that. Luckily we both had the extra $50 on us, or else we would have had a problem. We later deduced that the border agent had charged us for a multiple entry visa instead of a single entry, counting on us not noticing. Which we didn't until it was too late. Well, jokes on them cause now I can come and go as I please for a year...so ha! The optimist in me wants to believe that the additional $50 is going straight to infrastructure development efforts. Jennie just laughed when I said it out loud.
A (fairly) uneventful bus ride later, we arrived at the airport in Arusha. After being told at 1:28 that we were not allowed to check in until 1:30 (riiiiiiight), we took a moment to chat with a few Irish folks fresh of a Serengeti safari. Finally, when we were able to check in, we were told our bags were overweight and it would be a $30 U.S. fee. Problem was, we had spent the last of our dollars on our visas. We scrapped together about $9 and 350 Kenyan shillings, but to no avail. We were told we would have to go back into town, get shillings out of an ATM, and then change them at a forex to get the money...this was 30min before departure. At this point, I was not above begging...so that is just what I did. The Irish were sitting outside and at my urgent request, loaned us the $30. We were amazed that 1) they even had U.S. dollars and 2) they were willing to spot us. Their reply to my outpouring of thanks "It's ok...we've got kids. We know how it goes." It was the one time, at the age of 27, that I didn't mind being called a kid. I have to admit I was a bit smug when I was able to throw the money down on the counter in front of the desk agent. Jennie and I, and our luggage, all made it safely on board thanks to the generosity of those folks. Once we arrived in Zanzibar, I apparently got the last remaining bills in the ATM and promptly paid them back. With an exchange rate of ~1,500 Tanzanian shillings to the dollar, I handed them back about 45,000 to their 30.
Had a quiet, thoroughly enjoyable dinner in Stone Town that night and made plans for a spice tour and trip up to the north part of the island the next day. Our plan was to take the tour, which was going to end at a northern beach, and to just stay up there for a few days. As we packed up our stuff to go, I realized the most horrible, gut wrenching thing a traveler can realize...I didn't have my passport. We looked all over the room, in all our bags, everywhere. I had it when we got to the airport, but couldn't remember having it after clearing customs. In all the craziness trying to get the Irish paid back, getting a cab, etc. I must have put it down somewhere and lost it. So the owner of the hotel, the aforementioned Hamid, was amazing and drove me back to the airport, translated Swahili for me with everyone from bag handlers to cab drivers, and was just all around amazing. We didnt find it, but deduced who our cab driver had been. We tried to get a hold of him, but no luck right then. So Hamid then drove me across town to meet up with Jennie on the spice tour and promised to call if he heard anything. I quickly transitioned from panic mode to git 'er done mode and emailed the American embassy in Dar es Salaam about getting an emergency passport to get back to the states. I emailed my mom too, cause I didn't know what else to do. I tried to enjoy the tour, but couldn't totally get past the fear that I might be stuck, passportless in Tanzania. Things got worse, when on our way to the beach, the van stopped and the driver told me and Jennie that we needed to get out there and that another van would be along soon to get us and take us to the beach. Um, huh? We (apparently mistakenly) thought that we were on our way to the beach already. So we hesitantly got out of the van, and stood on the side of the road in a small Zanzibari village. As the van pulled away, we yelled to the European tourists on the van to remember our faces, ya know just in case two American girls went missing or something. After a very tense 10min, another van actually did come, and actually did stop for us, and actually did take us up to Kendwa Beach. What luck! It was on this van ride that I had another stroke of luck. Or rather, a stroke of "I'm an idiot." it was on the van that it hit me that I had been SO SMART that i had completely hidden my passport in the inner lining of my suitcase. As soon as we stopped, I ripped open my bag to look, and sure enough, there it was. In an effort to keep my passport safe, I hidden it from myself. So although i felt real dumb, at least I want not stuck in Africa.
Even though it rained pretty much the whole time, we had a nice couple of days at the Sunset Bungalows, on a gorgeous beach. We went snorkeling, lounged around, drank Tuskers and had a very relaxing time.
After a few days, it was time to head home. Like, home to the U.S. home. We decided to go back to Stone Town for the last night, so we could get on the morning ferry to the mainland to get to the airport on time. We walked all around town that day, and ended with a dinner at Mercury's, named for (arguably) Zanzibar's most famous resident, Freddie Mercury...that's right folks, Farrokh Bulsara was born right there on the island.
The next morning, thanks to Jennie's skillful negotiating, we got a lift to the ferry terminal from a hotel employee. As we were on our way, I realized that I left my sunglasses at the hotel. EFF! So our driver called the hotel, and through his very broken English assured us everything would be ok, someone from the hotel would being them to the port. So we got out, and found ourselves once again waiting on the side of the road, this time waiting for a hotel employee. And then we saw it...a small, bearded man on a bicycle. Hamid had jumped on his bike with my sunglasses in hand and had ridden to return my crappy $10 Old Navy sunnies to me at the port. Also in hand was the donut I had pilfered from the hotel breakfast. I thought it was quite nice of him to bring that as well.
After that it was pretty smooth sailing, quite literally. We had a nice ferry ride to Dar es Salaam, a decent cab ride to the airport, an annoyingly long wait at the airport, but a quite enjoyable, wine-filled flight from DeS to Dubai.
So folks, there you have it...how $50, the Irish, my own forgetfulness, and a small, bearded man named Hamid on a bicycle saved Tanzania for us.
I know this entry us quite late. I know this because I have been back from Africa for more than a month, and I am (finishing) writing this from a bar in Buenos Aires. Meaning, one adventure down, onto the next. So let this serve as a segue into my sure-to-come South American adventure entries. Hasta luego...
Day five here in Nairobi. As much as I joked about my trimester-long class on Sub Saharan Africa, I am most definitely seeing the benefit in it on this trip. While I think what we are getting is applicable and understandable to everyone in the group, I feel like I just have a bit more understanding because I'm already familiar with the regional business environment and am fairly up to date about the recent events in the area, what lead up to them and what the significance is. We've had some great conversations as a group, with the businesses we've visited, and even just people we have met along the way.
We've definitely been busy...so busy that all the group has wanted to do after we are done with our company visits for the day is pass the heck out. Which unfortunately means we haven't seen too much of the city at this point. Good thing we've got another week!
I suppose recounting things backwards is a good a way as any, so here goes:
-Thursday: Rainy afternoon in the city, visited the European Investment Bank's office in Nairobi and got to hear from a Tbird alum working there. We spent the morning at Amiran, a Kenyan agribusiness company. The warehouse smelled like the pickle plant and there was more fertilizer than I have ever seen in my life...and I've seen some fertilizer! The coolest thing about the company though is their Farmer's Tool Kit. It is basically a small-scale farm in a box. It is (allegedly) fool proof and is a way for people to grow their own food beyond subsistence levels with enough to make it to market, and even export their products. The kits are quite popular with non-profits and NGOs and are being set up all over the country. They even have shirts that say "Farming is cool"...ha! If only they knew about Alamosa...
-Wednesday: Our schedule has been shifting around a bit, and unfortunately our second visit of the day fell through. Even more disappointing - it was supposed to be the East African Brewing company! Would have loved to get an international brewery tour in, but no luck. However, it did allow us plenty of time to stay at Bidco, which turned out to be an extremely interesting visit. Bidco makes (mostly) soaps and cooking oils. We got to see all their operations...processing, refining, packaging, shipping, etc. But best of all was getting to spend time with both the founder and the current CEO, who happens to be the founder’s son. It was extremely interesting to hear his take on doing business in East Africa, leadership, and family business. He took pretty much his whole day to talk to us, which was amazing to get that kind of time in and of itself.
-Tuesday: This ended up being probably the longest day we've had. Blame it on the jet lag, or the fact that our second meeting of the day was 4+ hours with no break. Whatever the cause, we were all exhausted by the time we got to Nation Media Group in the afternoon. The company runs the biggest daily paper in Kenya, along with a bunch of other dailies and weeklies in the region, a few television stations and a few radio stations. They're biggest concern right now is finding a way to effectively monetize their website...yeah them and every other media company in the world! Advertising is a challenge because about half their readership is in the diaspora, and they've had no luck with subscription. Unfortunately, I had nothing for 'em...but if you do they're willing to pay! And that brings us to our first official visit of the trip, Commercial Bank of Africa. We were greeted there by another Tbird alum, got a quick overview of the company and then got paired up with a manager to shadow for a few hours. I got to hang out with Tony, a Relationship Manager working with companies in the commodities, transportation and hospitality interesting. Score! He was like one of Larry Cunningham's CRM lectures brought to life. And he even managed to make finance seem interesting to me...a big challenge.
-Monday: Since it was a national holiday here in Kenya (Labor Day) we got to start off with the fun stuff. Highlights: feeding a giraffe (and managing to not lose a hand), getting a kiss from a giraffe (and getting slobbered all over), eating goat (although I'm not sure anyone else realized it was goat and I wasn't going to be the one to break it to them), watching a bunch of different African dances, driving a hard bargain for a new painting to add to my travel collection (actually, it was Esther that drove the bargain...I'm a push over).
I'm writing this from the bus (to be posted when we get back to the hotel), on our way to today's visit at Magadi Soda. It is outside of Nairobi, and we've been driving through the countryside for about the last 45 minutes. It’s amazing. As bad as it sounds, think Lion King but in real life.
Some pics to give you an idea of what we have been doing, seeing and of course EXPERIENCING...
Can't wait to really get the trip started today. Yesterday (May 1) was Labor Day, a national holiday in Kenya, but since it was a Sunday everyone gets today (Monday) off too. Since most of the businesses will be closed, we get to start with a fun day. Our guide Sam says there will be giraffes, elephants and tribal dancing...oh my!
First check in of the trip complete...more to come!
Pic is sunrise over the Arctic Circle from my seat on the LAX-->Dubai flight.
I have an admittedly bad habit of being surprised when I encounter something cool in Arizona. Blame it on spending my first 18 years here. I kind of forget that Phoenix is actually a large, metropolitan area (not just The 'Tuke) and has a vibrant business environment to match. I mean, I could have cared less about doing business in Phoenix when I was in high school--alI I was focused on was how quickly I could get outta here and on to San Diego. But I'm back, as an adult, contributing to the business economy (or at least paying tuition) and I've been happily surprised to find a great scene here...especially my fav geek-out scene: Social Media.
On Friday I went to SMAZ (luckily on a student ticket) and although I didn't know a soul, had a great time diving into the #smaz stream and tweeting right along with the best SMers that AZ has to offer! Although I had to miss the morning session (sounds like I didn't miss much though from the "Twitter shitstorm" as one presenter put it), I wanted to offer up my notes and takeaways from the great afternoon sessions that I attended.
Social Media Best Practice for the Hotel Industry (side note: how perfect for me, right?)
Mike Corak (@mikecorak), VP of Strategy at ethology
I appreciated Mike taking my sort of out-of-left field RFID question and offering up his insight. As with any program, it has to be cost effective and implementable to make it work for your brand.
Busting Facebok Promotion Myths
Matt Simpson (@ScribeDevil), Marketing Director at Bulbstorm
OK that is not all I got from Matt's great presentation, but he was so entertaining that I stopped taking notes, so that's all I can pass on to you. And his point was truly a good one, not just about Neo Nazis, but about anything you open up to the general public being just that...public. You need to consistently monitor your online presence to be sure that your brand is being properly represented. And hopefully your loyal fans/customers/whatever will help you police your presence as well, after all, they "like" you.
8 Critical Links in the Content Marketing Chain
Arnie Kuenn (@ArnieK), CEO of Vertical Measures
"Ppl need content that makes them more informed about a purchase."8 steps in the content mktg chain
He also dropped some great knowledge on link redirects, etc. that I wish I had gotten down. And yes, I know that is only seven steps, and the header promised eight. That is my fault, I must have missed one in the middle there somewhere. Or maybe I'm just giving you incentive to go get his book that is coming out soon...
Anywho, it was great to see a thriving SM scene here in AZ. Again, these are just my quick notes, taken on iPhone while sitting in the presentations. To get some truly valuable insight on these topics, give the guys a follow yourself. Hopefully someone else gets something out of my notes, I know I got a lot out of taking them.
January 13, 2007 was a Saturday. After a fun night with Meesh in Upland the night before, the plan was to get up early and head up to Mt. High to go snowboarding. My new board was still wrapped in plastic and the bindings I got for Christmas were still in the box. I was stoked to get my new gear out and ride a new mountain. At about 1 a.m. we were setting my board up when I got a text from my Dad. My Grammy had passed away.
Shock, tears, disbelief. Christmas had just passed. I had just seen her. We knew she was sick, but we prayed she was going to recover. And that should have been enough, right? It wasn’t. I was in my car driving back to San Diego by 2 a.m. and was on a flight to Phoenix at 8 a.m. Dad told me I didn’t need to come out, but I couldn’t have done anything else.
The next few weeks were a blur. I spent the weekend in Phoenix, went back to work for a few days, and then was back in Phoenix for the services. I was so scattered that I totally blanked a phone interview for what was then a dream job in the communications department at my favorite mountain, Sierra at Tahoe. It was hard, for me, for my family, because none of us imagined that she would be gone so soon, and so quickly.
The service was at St. James, the church my Grammy loved and gave so much to. There were times of tears, and times of laughter, with everyone there joining in to sing “I’ll Fly Away” to close. I remember singing, laughing through the tears, saying goodbye with such a beautiful thought of Grammy moving on “to a land where joy shall never end.” My grandparents from my Mom’s side were there, and when I was talking to them after, my Papa said that from where he was sitting, he could see the whole family singing and bouncing along, and he thought that is exactly what Grammy would have wanted. I can't hear that song now without smiling.
Elena Blake Guinn was the first person I was truly close to that I lost. My middle name, Elaine, is for her. I always felt like I was extra special to her, but the thing about it was that she made all of the grandkids feel like that. She was an amazing seamstress. She made beautiful things for me, from my christening gown to my senior prom dress. My favorite memories of her were sitting in her sunny sewing room, working on projects. Or at least watching her work on projects, I was never much help.
It’s hard to believe four years have come and gone since that Saturday. So much has happened. Not just with me, but with all of us—my Dad, aunts, uncles, cousins. And things have changed. While we miss her, I think the whole family would agree that Christmas is quite a but more…relaxed.
There are a few very distinct moments in my life that I look back at and think to myself “everything happens for a reason.” While I still can’t reason why Grammy had to pass away so soon, I look at where I am today and see that my life would have been a lot different if the events that occurred had not run their course. What if I hadn’t missed that interview, had gotten that job, had moved to Tahoe? I wouldn’t have some of the amazing friends and mentors that I have today, I know that. Would I have gone back to school? Don’t know. But I don’t think that I was meant to get that job. I think in some crazy way, my Grammy was responsible for me starting down the path that I am on now.
This summer I felt lost. The past few years (and next few as well) have been so transitional. I have moved through jobs, cities, and people with no real end or stopping point in sight. I needed something to remind me that there are a few things out there that don’t change. So I decided to get something permanent to remind me that in a world of constant transition some things are permanent. Family is one of those things (like it or not). And while people are not permanent, the love and support that my family has for each other is. So while I am pretty sure that Grammy would not have necessarily approved of this reminder (she was the epitome of ladylike), the needle and thread is for her. She is with me…and that is permanent.
Grampy and Grammy with me at my SDSU graduation in 2006. Would never have thought less than a year later she would be gone.
Or some other loser gambling cliché…
Not gonna lie 26th year of life, I was not necessarily looking forward to you. I mean, this puts me past the quarter century mark, and being the commitment-phobe that I am, it was difficult to commit to at least another 25 years…fingers crossed even a few more past that. Also, when you wake up on your 25th birthday in Italy with two of your favorite boys, then fly to Barcelona and drink sangria, eat tapas (y Pans and Co.) and dance, dance until the sun comes up the next day…well its just hard to beat that. However 26, while you’re definitely gonna be a crazy one, staring right off the block with a little insanity, one day into you I’m ready to deal with you for another 364 days. But let me tell you why…
26 started with PBR tall cans and skanking. No, not like that…like the dancing kind…ya know, like to a ska band. Went with Rally to see his friend’s band play and danced the night away. Buen tiempo indeed. Boogie was the first to wish me a happy B Day with a textual smooch at 1:25am (12:25 PST, so she was uber on it), followed shortly by E Marr (coming from AZ, the state in its own time zone). Finally got to bed at around 3am and woke up less than five hours later to head up to the Fort…
Spending 26 in the Fort with the fam was just what I needed. And it was a special, sad, intense kind of thing for a few reasons. One, I haven’t spent a bday with the fam probably since I was 18 and getting ready to leave for San Diego. So to be able to be back with them again was a treat. Even Aunt Ween came up from Parker and BBQ’d with us! The sad part is that come next Thursday, they’ll be gone. Stepdad Mike, Little Bro and Harry the Spaniel are all taking off to make the move to So Cal on Monday, and The Mom is waiting for the movers to come on Thursday before she makes the trip out. And after that, the fam that I moved to Colorado to be closer to will be living the good life out in Oak Park. The intense part was that not only was it my bday on Saturday, but also Faja’s Day on Sunday for Stepdad Mike and The Mom’s birthday on Monday, so more than anything it was a celebration of all of us and all things summer. Being the hung over party monster that I was on Saturday morning, after my birthday pedi in the Fort at 10am, I spent most of the rest of the day sleeping and eating…which was…ummmm…amazing!
After a relaxing bday on Saturday, I woke up Sunday morning and officially became a Colorado resident. How, you ask? Well, I got my very first pair of hiking boots! Walking around this state, one would think they handed them out as you crossed the border, however it turns out it takes a trip to JAX Mercantile to take care of that. But seeing as I am doing a 14er in August with the Rotoractors, The Mom thought it only appropriate that I get a pair of boots and she lovingly got them for me as a birthday present (along with a great travel book, a wallet from Desigual and open range to all her Asian cooking supplies and the liquor cabinet…spoils of the move). After the JAX trip I headed back to Denver, narrowly escaping packing for the move, and prepped for a birthday BBQ at City Park…
Every Sunday at City Park they do Jazz in the Park, and tonight’s band was an amazing mama jamma blues singer with her band backing her up. There were tri tip sammiches on the grill, Amstel Lights in the cooler and cupcakes with homemade amaretto butter cream frosting that almost got eaten by the neighboring group’s dogs. But all in all, it was a great night. Old friends (Coner), new friends (Rotoractors Jess and Austin, etc.), Neighbor Tim and others all came together for a good time. I even learned to play Euchre! There are beers, sousages and cupcakes left though, so if anyone is up for round two just holla…
So far 26 has been good times, compounded on good times. And even though it will bring some of the same changes as 25 did, I feel like I am more prepared for this that I was 365 days ago, and not even any more worst for the wear. And with the amazing start that I've had I’m actually really looking forward to it. So even though it’s more of a (slightly adapted) song lyric and not a loser gambling cliché, I think I’ll end with…
26, the dice were loaded from the start...
And I bet when you exploded into my heart*
*From the song Romeo and Juliet, written by the mighty Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits.
So as B Shap so sweetly pointed out on Saturday, I haven't updated the BLo(E)G in “like forever” so seeing as tonight is the first night in like forever that I have had to sit alone at home and just be, I figured I would get back on the horse.
So yeah, last post was on March 1 and I suppose a lot of things have happened since then. There were some exciting things, but mostly ish just got busy…you know school, work, life, etc. So I guess to catch anyone who really cares up, I will try to condense that ish into a “Top Three Guinners Fun Things” list for March and April. Away we go...
1. Hit Phoenix not once, but twice! Got to hang out with my Papa Bear (mom’s dad) over spring break and be there with him to watch Judge Judy and sneak him chicarrones and strawberry soda while he went through a week of chemo. Also fed the horses, smelled the orange blossoms, got a Spring Training game in with E Marr and had a really fun dinner date with the Dixons…Jess and David give good, but completely opposite advice about how to get rid of pests :) Then went back in April to celebrate with the Guinn side of the fam to watch cousin Kevin get married to his lovely new wife Nicky (again, welcome to the fam “officially” if you read this Nick!). The illustrious Mr. Adam Smith accompanied me and the Coors Light flowed like wine. Or something. Faj and I stayed with the Grampster and of course had our requisite trip to The Good Egg on Sunday morning. Also got to congratulate cousin couple Tracy and Casey on Baby McMurphy…coming this fall!
2. Went to some shows and didn’t have to go to all of them alone! Rocky Votolato came to town on March 10, and as much as I love that small, bearded man I have to say the opener—Adam H. Stephens—beyond stole the show. He’s one of Two Gallants, but played all original solo songs and was absolutely amazing. Cousin Kyle and his cute little GF went with me, and as many times as I have seen Rocky (in the double digits at this point), I unfortunately have to say that this was the worst performance. Could have been a combo of factors like not having my Rocky P-I-C Pizzle with me, or the crappy Denver crowd that couldn’t elicit an encore from a man that loves to play guitar pretty much more than anything in the world, or probably the fact that the band was in a bus accident on the way from NM to CO, but whatever it was, it was just…not…well…good. BUT he did play Without Eyes Still Seeing, so like, score. On March 22 I had the pleasure/responsibility of taking Little Bro to Jay Z for his birthday. Me, 13-year-old Little Bro, 17-year-old Cousin Kyle, and a bunch of suuuuuuper inebriated Denver kids. Yikes. Good time though, Hova for sure put on a great show and Little Bro thoroughly enjoyed it. Also got a Greg Laswell night in there on May 11. That night I went alone, and that night it snowed and I had to dig my car out of the snow in the parking lot. Those things have never happened to me. But Greg did not disappoint and I did not fail to make an ass of myself from the crowd. This time, I yelled something about burritos. At least I didn’t make fun of his mom again.
3. I finished my first semester of grad school…uber WOOT! Managed to make it through group projects, papers, tests, etc. alive and relatively unscathed. So five classes down, two this summer and five next semester then I’ll be done with my MBA and ready to head back to Phoenix to start part two…Master’s in Global Management at Thunderbird. Which also means, that at this point I am almost exactly through my year in Denver. CRAZY! Have I really been here that long? Do I really only have six more months here? Am I really going back to PHX? Yes, yes to all of those. I’m already feeling like I won’t want to leave Denver come December, but as the ancient Aztecs say (allegedly), “mexica tiahiu”…always moving forward*. Thunderbird will be a whole different animal (haha get it, cause birds are animals), and as weird as it will be to be back in AZ there are so really cool things about it. For one, Baby Dixon is coming! Yay for Jess and David…with the Jan 3 due date, I’m pretty sure they planned the whole thing around my arrival back in AZ haha! For two, I’ll be closer to both the grandpas, and am at an age where I will really, really appreciate the proximity. For three, I’ll be closer to CA and most of the gang. For four, well it will be a whole new challenge to take on!
So that was March and April. May was a heckuva whirlwind with finals and whatnot, but as soon as that was over I got to have BIG FUN! So much fun that since my last final on March 13, I have literally spent fewer than six nights at home, alone (not like that creep-o’s…I’ve had out of towners!).
First the whole Blair fam came out from AZ, CA and of course CO for Cousin Kyle’s high school graduation! We concluded that Cousin Kyle is all growns up, Cousin B is gonna continue to rock the baseball diamond playing short for the AFA Falcons, Cousin Tan Man is the cutest baby ever, and even though he’s still on monthly chemo, Papa Bear looks absolutely AMAZING and very much like his old cowboy self.
Then the day the fam left, Booger came to visit! We had what I have been describing as the perfect mix of debauchery and girl time. We stomp danced, drank mims, went shopping, went beer tasting, watched basketball, drove in the mountains, went shopping again, saw SATC2, drank wine, described ourselves to strangers as BIG FUN, and just basically had a Booger-Chauncey lovefest. I heart my Booger!
Two days after Boogs left I headed up to Ft Collins and met up with the fam for a road trip to Mt. Rushmore! We felt very patriotic, being in the presence of four presidents carved into the side of a mountain on Memorial Day weekend. South Dakota was actually pretty cool, great weather, beautiful mountains, lots of buffalo and a missed turn in South Dakota that lead to a little detour into Nebraska on the way home. So yes, in one trip I got to drive through Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota and Nebraska. Beat that.
Two days after that I got on a jet plane and headed out to So Cal! Got into Burbank, had a lovely dinner on the beach with Boogs and Faj, hung out with Faj in Ventura for a day and then took the train down to SD. Being back was ab fab and I could not have had more fun. Friday night was Ponce’s for happy hour complete with spicy micheladas and tequila shots, a quick stop at Lou Jones, then the rest of the night at “home” at the Triple Crown scamming free onion dip from Gus Gus, playing shuffle puck and trying to wake Leon up. Saturday, Faj got a sailboat and we got to take what is left of the Gang out on the bay for an early birthday party. Lots of beers, some sunshine and a red velvet cake. Awesome. Had bloodies and bennies for breakfast at Red Sails on our way out of town on Sunday then flew back to DEN from Santa Barbara. Thankfully we made it up there with enough time to stop at Super Cuca’s #3 for a bean ‘n cheese burrito for the road. Two and a half hours later I was back in Denver, but not quite ready to get back to real life. Luckily, Smashley Shmandersen and her BF Eli (or Ian, as I kept calling him) happened to be driving through Colorado on their way to Nebraska. So we went to Great Divide for some beer tasting, then a crazy good dinner and then a slumber party at my apartment!
But today it was back to work with a major deadline looming this week, and back to school with my first evening of in-real-life class. I have yet to check into my online class…I think I’ll do that tomorrow…baby steps.
So yeah, that’s my update. That I guess will probably take like forever to read. Sorry.
*A just-now Google search denotes that it is only really in reference to the Aztec people…not the general population. Jenny lied.
If I have not texted, tweeted or otherwise told you about Daytrotter...my bad. But here it is now - the single most amazing musical Web site to rock your world, like, ever.
A high school friend and trusted source for new music told me about Daytrotter a few years ago and I remember being stoked on it for a while. But then kind of forgot about it, until I was reminded by The Get Up Kids of it's existence. (My intense fandom of TGUK can also be attributed to said high school friend. Thanks G Laws.)
Before (or maybe during?) their comeback tour last fall, TGUK stopped by the Daytrotter studios and were all a"twitter" about it, thus prompting me to check out the site again. The band laid down some new tracks as well as some old favorites and for me it was just good to hear them making music again. So what turned into a quick listen to their new songs, escalated to about four hours spent sitting on my bed downloading 250+ songs and thus coining (for myself at least) the term "Daytrottering."
"250+ songs?!?!" you ask in disbelief, "but that must have cost a fortune!"
Well that is the beauty of Daytrotter. This little studio (called "The Horseshack") in Rock Island, Ill. invites bands to come in and play some songs and then posts them to the site, all so you Mr. and Mrs. Music Discoverer, can download the songs for free. 100% free. No joke. As of today, the Daytrotter folks have supplied 10million+ downloads from amazing artists, everything from local SD darlings The Soft Pack, to classics like Carly Simon, to radio-friendly crooners like Mat Kearney, to illin' MCs like Mac Lethal. (Yeah, I just got ghetto up in hurr.) In fact three of my top five all time favs have sessions - TGUK, Rocky Votolato and Greg Laswell. Langhorne Slim and April Smith and the Great Picture Show also have sessions...you may remember them from previous posts such as "...And We Love the Animals."
Daytrotter is truly a gem in the dirty world of the interwebs, and an amazing place for discovering new aural obsessions or re-discovering some of your old favorites. In fact, just writing this is making me realize I'm due for another four hour Daytrottering session soon.
Now you have the knowledge...so go forth and grow your music library exponentially!
(You can also follow them on Twitter @Daytrotter to get updates on new and upcoming session postings, shows, news, etc.)
Business schooler, studier, boot wearer, concert goer, gymer, traveler, communicator, etc.erer. From young professional in San Diego, to MBA student in Denver, to Master's student at Thunderbird. I'm back in my home state of Arizona after 10 years away...we'll see how this goes.
