05.14.04 - Rest, Relaxation & Remodeling

     I just got back from spending about 5 days in LaPorte. I had a few reasons for going home this time. 1- I needed to get out of Sioux City for a while. 2- To watch Ben perform (Fine Arts Banquet, Large Group State Band & Choirs, Soccer) 3- Mother's Day.
     I had a really great time at home. I got to spend time with my family and I helped my mom with basement projects. She's been working on remodeling the basement. When we first moved into the house, it was a family area. Then it got flooded during the summer of '93. The carpet had to be ripped up and there was some water damage. Since then, it's been tiled, a bedroom was built in a corner of it and was the main practice area for Jeremy and his various high school bands. After he left for college, it pretty much became a glorified storage area.
     Last fall, mom began working on renovating the area into a more useful space. She succeeded in tackling the ceiling (the texture was crumbling off, so it couldn't just be painted it had to be sprayed with special stuff) and painting the walls. One of the walls had a few coats of magnetic paint and will be used as a graffiti wall. She also decoupaged the top of a desk. (pictured below) She bought a fireplace and got that up and running. (pictured below) And painted the wood paneling that had built up years of fingerprints and other marks. (pictured below)

     This weekend, for Mother's Day, in addition to doing everyday chores like laundry, mowing the lawn, trimming branches on trees, dishes and some cleaning, the boys and I painted the steps (after mom and I had ripped off the carpeting on Thursday night (pictured below)) and painted a tabletop for her. Before I left for home on Tuesday, we had recovered 3 stools, (pictured below) replaced the falling apart, crookedly cut ceiling panels in the stairwell, carpet tiled the stairs (pictured below) and emptied the basement of several loads of stuff to take to Goodwill.

     I realize these aren't the best quality pictures and the lighting is still pretty bad in the basement, but you can get a sense of what we've done down there. I got my exercise in this weekend, but I had a lot of fun doing it.
     I'm available for hire, if you need any renovation work done...

04.24.04 - Take Your  Babies To Kill Bill Vol. 2 Day

     Went to Kill Bill Vol. 2 today... along with 6 kids who were under the age of 9. I'm guessing that the youngest one was about 2 years old... What were those parents thinking?!? It's rated R, so what were the movie theatre employees thinking?!? "I'd like 6 tickets for Kill Bill, please. For me, my wife and our 4 young children." "Okay, that'll be $27, enjoy the show." I guess some people like teaching their kids about death in a fairly violent, mostly screwed up movie. I know I do. And there were a couple noisy boys sitting behind us that looked about 14 and unchaperoned. Before the movie started, we honestly thought we were in the wrong theatre.
     I just saw Kill Bill Vol. 1 last weekend and I didn't like it too much. It seemed, to me, that every scene was just a little too long and it was experiencing an identity crisis. With that said, I didn't think too much more of KBV2. Better luck next time, Quentin.
     Another rainy, cloudy, cold day here in the SC. I know we need these showers, for next month's flowers... but I need sunshine and warmth after the winter months. I do know of something hot right now... the Minnesota Timberwolves. If you haven't had the pleasure of watching these guys play... I suggest you turn on your televisions and watch the magic begin. That's what I'm going to do...

04.20.04 - Nightmare On Welch Ave.

     In the past 24 hours we've suffered from 2 power outages. I never really knew how much I took electricity for granted. Try getting ready for bed in total darkness or not watching television, while listening to the stereo, making microwave popcorn and a smoothie, surfing the 'net and trying to tape Band of Brothers with no power. It ain't gonna happen. So... Andy's Mac Powerbook came to the rescue and we watched an episode of The Sopranos on DVD. Ahh, technology.
     I'm tempted to blame the loss of power on the windy thunderstorms that swept through Siouxland, but instead I'm going to blame ISU students and Ames police. They started a riot, so why not give Mother Nature a break and pass this one off on them too.
     Like many of my graduated friends have said... this whole ordeal makes me proud that I'm no longer a student there.
     Anyway, nothing really exciting going on. My sleep schedule is back to normal after a couple of late night prom shoots for KTIV. Speaking of prom, my little brother went to his on Saturday night... and also sang at the pre-prom ceremony. I bet he did great.

04.17.04 - I'm Out Of Book

     I finished reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy for the second time, took a day off and then read The Da Vinci Code in two days and now, I'm out of book. I'll probably have to go back to Barnes to find some more material.
     Last night I drove to Ida Grove, IA to shoot some footage of their after prom party for KTIV's "Prom Patrol" segment. It was about an hour drive from Sioux City and the party started at 1:00 am, so it was a pretty late night. I get to do it again tonight, only I'm going to Moville, IA. That's only a 30 minute drive and it's at 12:00 am. So it'll be a little better.
     I am adding this week's recipe to the list. Found it on the web, made a few adjustments and tried it for the first time last night. It's a pretty simple do-it-yourself pasta sauce. So check that out.
     I really dig this nice weather we've been having. Sunny, 70's & 80's, sometimes it's a little windy but it sure beats snow. Spring and summer smells of barbeque and cut grass are wafting through our open windows. That is spectacular.

04.09.04 - The Lost Update

     Somewhere in the change, I lost my only March update. I think the only news in there was that KTIV, due to budget cuts, terminated the position I held and therefore, I am no longer a Creative Services Producer there. They asked me if I could "freelance" for a couple different upcoming events, so I am still with them for the time being.
     Also, I think that I mentioned that I went home the last weekend in March to watch my little brother perform in the musical "Into The Woods." As per usual, the Union music and theatre departments did not disappoint. They did a wonderful job. Ben's part was that of Rapunzel's Prince, a very funny part. He milked it for everything it was worth, especially the night I saw it. ENGOWA!
     I don't think I mentioned that Ben was accepted into a summer program at Second City in Chicago. He will be learning about improvisational acting and comedy writing. It should be a great experience for him and I am excited that he got this opportunity.

04.08.04 - Adding Some New Things

     I am in the process of putting some new things on the site. There are a few more pictures and a new page for recipes. They are mostly vegetarian ones, but they are good... and it'd be pretty simple to add meat to the meals if you wanted. I will try to add a new one each week. I am always looking for more recipes to try and if they are good, I'll let you know about them.
     They've forcasted snow for this weekend and after these past few weeks of really nice weather if we get 18.4 more inches of snow... I'm leaving this crazy city! The weather is schizophrenic here... and I can't take it.
     Congrats to Dustin F. (my summer 2003 roomie) on the new UNIX system adminstration job he just got!

04.06.04 - Time For A Change

     I needed something new, something more functional, something I don't have to change every month. So this is what I came up with. I'm not much of an HTML wiz and this was the best I could do with Composer.
     In other news, I applied for a position at Barnes & Noble earlier this week, so wish me luck. It just opened last Wednesday and I've been there 6 times already. I think I have an addiction. I also applied for a public relations writer position at Morningside College... so wish me luck with that as well. Thanks!
     I've also taken on a new hobby. Fantasy Baseball. I don't know if I'm any good at it or what I'm doing really... I just want to try to set up an all Twins/Cubs team for me. So, that's my goal. I don't care how I rank, just as long as I end up with players from my long time favorite teams. While I was sifting through the players to make my pre-draft ranking list, I realized that I no longer know the big shots in baseball. When I was in elementary/middle school, I was an avid baseball card collector and knew all of the major players. I could spout out stats and argue who was the best in the game. Now, I know that Sosa is still with the Cubs, but Grace and Sandberg aren't. I went to several Twins games where Puckett and Hrbeck were the stars. I still watch sports highlights to see how "my teams" do, but I don't know a whole lot about any of the players. Maybe this Fantasy Baseball fun will learn me a thing or two.
     Also, I need to give yet another shout out to my little brother. Last weekend he competed in Solo & Ensemble Contest. His solo, Men's Quartet (w/ Ben Loveless, Ty Wistrand and Bryan Mullen) and Men's Double Quartet (w/ Duncan Marshall, Casey Crosser, Ben Loveless, Chris Brecher, Ty Wistrand, Bill Hilmer and Bryan Mullen) all recieved perfect scores!!!! In addition, both of those ensembles received Outstanding Performers Awards and will participate in an Honors recital with other Outstanding Performers around the state!!!! I told Ben jokingly that he needs to give it a rest because I'm tired of having to call him every week and congratulate him. But seriously, I'm really proud of him and the hard work he puts in to succeed in things he loves.