Do you know who Alex is?

I can’t actually remember the exact date that Alex and I first meet, but I’m going to assume that it was around February of 2007.  Correct me if I’m wrong Alex!  Alex is my little brother in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program out here in New Mexico.  Around the time that I moved back to New Mexico, I was looking for some type of community service to do.  Not sure what I was wanting exactly, I did some research and found out about BBBS.  I read that the boys in the program were on a waiting list for over a year since there weren't enough male volunteers for the program.  I thought this would be the perfect opportunity help out.  To make a long story short, Alex and I were matched and have been great friends since then.

The progression of Alex’s and my relationship has gone from Big Brother/ Little Brother, to Big Brother/Taller Brother, to just brothers.  We were able to hit it off from the start and it’s been a pleasure to just hang out with him for the past 5 years (if my time recollection is correct).  And that’s all that we do is hang out, talk about what’s on our minds, what’s going on in our separate worlds, and nothing too dramatic.  It’s just not in our personalities to be dramatic to be honest. 

I feel lucky that I’ve been able to see the progression of him becoming his own being over the years.  From the little kid in the 6^th grade, to the over sized kid in middle school, to the soon to be man in high school.  He surprises me constantly on how much of man he has become.  Don’t get me wrong, his is a typical stinky teenager, but he has found who he is and that’s what I see that makes me proud of him and makes we want to write this entry about him. 

The other day, he called to let me know that he had won a merit award in a photography competition.  The photo bug has bitten Alex and I think that it’s something he should pursue further because he’s got a talent when it comes to capturing images.  His photo was going to be put on display at the Albuquerque Art Museum and he wanted to know if I would come and see the exhibit opening.  Of course I went!  I took my good friend Chuck along to see it with Alex and his mom.  Alex get’s along with all of my family and friends, which just goes to show you how much of patient person the guy is. 

His photo in the exhibit it called “Minor Depression” and it was a great shot with nontraditional editing techniques.  Ask Alex, he can fill you in on the editing details of the picture.  There were a lot of good photos in the exhibit, some were over the top, some were abstract, some were boring, and some I think weren’t even photos.  More photo shop edits than real photography.  But Alex’s was more real and meaningful than most of the photos.  I would assume that’s why he got the merit award. 

Anyways, I wanted to let you all know that Alex is a great friend and that he’s got a talent for what he does.  If you are in the old town area and are looking for something to do, please go see the exhibit at the Albuquerque Museum.  I think it’s called “Focus on Youth” and for a New Mexico resident, it’s only $3 for entry to the museum.  Not a bad price if you ask me.   Support the kid, because you’re going to be seeing some great things come from him in the future.  I know I will.

A little rave about music

     There’s defiantly a song for every situation in life.  At least there is in my life.  I was watching a movie the other night “Elizabethtown” and it reminded me how great a sound track can be.  As odd as it may be, I often relate moods, events, and emotions to music that I have in my library.  Up there in the endless vastness of a brain that I have.  I’d like to think of it being similar to my ipod, 50% full of music and 50% of other random facts to help me survive throughout the day. 

     I was pretty stoked to find a way to attach a playlist to the side of my blog.  It’s a free playlist, so there isn’t a lot of selection of music to choose from, but I’m able to get some good jams into it.  I’ll try to keep the playlist fresh and interesting.  If anyone has some suggestions or a story to any of the songs they hear, please feel free to comment and let me know. 

     One aspect of music that I haven’t been able to enjoy for a while has been live music.  For no reason other than the economics of it.  Which, is a sorry reason looking back on it.  I remember constantly going to concerts in high school and college.  If there was someone playing within a 200 mile radius I wanted to see, I’d scrape the cash together and go see them.  For some reason, I make a crap load more money now, but justify not being able to see live music cause I can’t afford it.  Hummm, that’s actually one of my New Year’s resolutions, to see more live shows.  Recently I went to a show in Santa Fe with Jamie and Pat.  It was an eye opener to me; I really miss a good live show!  The show was Joe Ely, Terry Allan, and Ryan Bingham in a storytellers setting.  Now, not just any live show traveling through town.  Good quality shows that I want to see.  One less night of going out each month, a few less dinners dining out, should afford me the opportunity to go to any concert that I want to see.  Who’s it going to be next?  Someone good I hope. 

Last ski trip to Purgatory

     Pat (my twin brother) and I had passes to Purgatory that we had to use before the end of the season.  This was the last weekend that we had free to head up to Durango and get some skiing in.  It was a great weekend.  The first day the sun was out and the snow wasn't too spring like on the back side.  Tons of good runs were crushed by Pat and I that day. 
     We ended up staying in the cheapest hotel in Durango.  I think it was called the "Spanish Trails Inn" and we were warned by Raymond and Mandy to no stay there, but $40 for two queen beds in a ski town... why the heck not.  I kid you not when we checked into the room there was an overwhelming smell of athletes foot.  It smelt like my gym bad from high school in the middle of wrestling season. Nasty.  Other than that it was just your average hotel, until the upstairs neighbor took a shower.  I started to hear water dripping and then flowing in our bathroom.  I guess the shower pan above us wasn't sealed, so the shower water ran through the ceiling and down through our shower.  Interesting.  I let the front desk guy know when we checked out in the AM and all he could muster was that some people are ass holes and don't close the curtain when they shower... right.  If you need a cheap place to stay in Durango, I recommend Spanish Trails Inn!
     That night Pat and I ate at "Home Slice" pizza recommended by Kyle and Anna.  I tell you what, hippies in Colorado sure know how to make a good pie.  They take their sweet ass time cooking it, but nine times out of ten, it's delicious.  Followed by blood marys at El Rancho, to watch UCONN beat Arizona.  We were pulling for Arizona, oh well.  There were some "native" Coloradoians in a heated discussion on how they were more "native" than the other and how "I like helped my dad build a deck when I was four years old!"  Oh, to have a trust fund and be an alcoholic in a ski town.  Just the sight of a "Colorado Native" bumper sticker makes me want to punch someone in the face.
     The next day of skiing was amazing for spring skiing.  7 inches of fresh powder and snow up till noon.  You'd be skiing around, see a run that hadn't been touched, race back to the top, find that run, and still be the first person to lay tracks that day.  Awesome! 
     After a good lunch at Dante's, Pat and I headed over to lift 8 to get some good bump runs in before our legs turned to jello for the day.  I went on a run that I've been on before, and ended up messing my knee up something bad!  I hit a mogul that wasn't supposed to move, but it did, lost my balance for a sec, fell forward, and heard my knee pop 3 distinct times.  Long story short, I got sledded down the mountain by Brett the ski patrol dude and I haven't been able to walk normal for the rest of the week.  I'm hoping it's just a sprain, but I guess I'll have to see the Doc to be sure.  It sucks for sure, but it's kind of like a milestone for me.  My first major skiing injury!  Hopefully my last for a while.  Enjoy the video of Pat and I skiing.

521 Hwy 217 Edgewood, NM dumpsters scrap out

Cleaning up the East Mountains 10 acres at a time!

     So this was a vacant lot clean up that we did for a real estate customer through our construction company.  www.seagersnm.com .  It was a good job but it was NASTY!  There used to be an old goat farm on the lot with an old singlewide that was modified, 5 out buildings full of dead things, about 2 acres of pens for animals, and about an acre of 2 foot deep goat poop.  Not to mention the various amounts of trash, wood pallets, and just general crap.

     Raymond and Patrick managed to clean it all up in less than a week working nonstop.  It was the first major site cleanup that our company bided, but we came out good in the end.  Hopefully we can get some more of these soon.

     Places like this always make me question what kind of people are out there.  There were chickens and goats living in the trailer with the people.  If this was on animal hoarders, it would have made the top spot I’m sure.  One shed had pile upon pile of dead goats.  If one died, I guess they just tossed one more on the pile.  Yuck.  We didn’t get any pics of the carnage.  I guess Pat and Ray were too busy trying to get the carnage put away instead of taking pics of it.  Oh well, anybody who was there can tell you that it was on nasty scene. 

     But it’s all gone now! 15 30 cubic yard dumpsters can carry quite a bit away.  The 10 acre grounds are back to normal and the clean lot is going to make on heck of a building site.  You get unobstructed views of the San Pedro Mountains, South Mountain, and all the way to the Sangre De Christos around Santa Fe.  I’m waiting to get the listing back from the seller, but we are going to be putting it on the market at $85,000.  The lot has power and a well drilled.  We are unsure of the condition of the well, but it was working when the previous owners were living there.  The lot should be up on the market by the end of this week.  It feels good to get that mess out of the mountains and to get it back to normal.

Videos Coming soon

I just got my Kodak Play Touch video camera delivered today!  Gonna jump into the semi complicated world of video posting.  The camera is actually idiot proof and smaller than my cell phone.  If only my grandpa could be alive to see the advance of technology.  I'm going to take some video of my listings this weekend and some of Edgewood and post them to the facebook page.  The start of something awesome I hope.
http://store.kodak.com/store/ekconsus/en_US/pd/PLAYTOUCH_Video_Camera/productID.200992300

Testing, testing, 1-2-3

Let's see if this works.

This is my dog Abbey (the lab) and Jamie's dog Blake (the beagle).  They make a great dog duo.