Meet the Candidates

Well, news is breaking that both Hillary and Obama are going to be in Minneapolis this Saturday.

Barrack Obama is scheduled to be at the Target Center around 1:30pm. Online tickets are already 'sold' out.

Hillary Clinton is supposed to be at Augsburg College some time in the evening.

If you want to see the candidates live before Tuesday's caucus, now's your chance!

Its Cold!

Holy Crap its cold. We are approacing Noon today and it is -11 degrees.

That's right... NEGATIVE 11 degrees!!!

Wind Chill (feels like) temperature is -32 degrees.

Anyone care to go to the beach?

Political Drop Outs

Two more candidates are announcing today that they are leaving the race.

Rudy Guilliani, no surprise here, is dropping out of the race after spending nearly 30 million in Florida and coming in a distant third. Its almost a good thing his campaign staff agreed to work without pay for the last couple months. Anyone who would give him the advice to not campaign at all in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, etc is not worth getting paid. Yes, Florida has more votes, but that was two months were he received almost no national attention. Primaries are becoming increasingly national and he seems to be the only one to not realize that.

Sorry Rudy. I guess its time to go back to taking way too much credit for your 'amazing' response during 9/11. I'll continue to give the credit to the first responders.

It appears I'll be spending my labor day weekend with either John McCain or Mitt Romney.

Sadly John Edwards also announced he will pull out merely hours after visiting Minneapolis St. Paul. Although he appeared to have no chance at winning, I appreciated his efforts. He had some good ideas, pushed the two front runners and kept his campaign above the belt, which I am very thankful for after some of the punches from Hillary and Obama.

I still can't decide who I support. Either way, it is exciting to say that the next Democratic nominee for President (and likely the next President) will be from a 'minority' class. Its about time America!

Sex on the Beach

So one thing that has driven me batty in Minnesota, is that no bartender seems to be correctly make my favorite cocktail.

Since I was but a wee lad of 21 (yes, I was fairly behaved and didn't do much MIP'ing) I have always loved the cocktail 'Sex on the Beach'. Its so fruity and strong. Just the way I like it!

I often get asked if I like the activity too, when I order this drink. Although this is off-topic, I would have to say yes, although you have to watch out for sand in bad places and you don't want to catch crabs! lol

Moving on!

So I never had any problem getting the drink I expected anywhere until I moved to Minnesota. For some reason they LOVE to make it with Malibu and Cream. For one thing, I hate Coconut, but most importantly, the idea of Orange Juice and Cream together just does not sound appetizing!

When I request the bartender make it my way (aka the right way) I get looked at funny and it always ends up that they make fun of my weird 'Nebraska' Cocktails.

I have since taken on the experiment to order it whenever traveling and am happy to report that EVERYwhere but Minnesota and Kansas City make it the right way! ;-)

If you doubt the legitimacy of the locations I have gone to, they include:
New York City
Washington D.C.
Tampa, FL
Denver, CO
Boston, MA
and NOW
San Francisco
& Las Vegas

So I think if we go by majority rules it appears that Minnesota has the weird concoction.

HA! Its so nice being right isn't it? :-)

Okay, so I realize nobody cares but me. BUT if you would like to try a fun cocktail this is the recipe that SMART people use (aka me):

1oz Vodka
1oz Peach Schnapps
Orange Juice
Splash of Cranberry
Cherry (and Orange slice if you wish) for flare!

Bottoms up!

Sin City Burns

Well, maybe that is a bit dramatic, but I was shocked to see the Monte Carlo on fire when I logged on to CNN.com today. Having been there just a few days earlier (Saturday) it was weird to have been 'almost' there for the action. Do you suppose this is God giving us a sign that the sins will no longer be overlooked???

But wait, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas right? That was my moto!

Oh well, stories must be told and they will. I apologize for being absent for the last week, but with the awesome trip to San Francisco then Las Vegas, and then getting a crappy cold, I haven't been on the computer much. Stay tuned and I'll try to remember all of the fun stories.

Glad I wasn't staying in the Monte Carlo!

And this 0 Degree weather crap... blah!!!

San Francisco Treats

I'm off to San Francisco in a little less than three and a half hours. Color me excited! I've never been but have heard great things about it from everyone.

(whispers) I've also heard there are gay people there... (gasps in horror) My first trip to the gay Mecca, whatever shall I do?!?! hehe.

Oh, and the trip ends with one night in Vegas. Maybe I'll come home rich... or married to Elvis... let's hope for the former. And remember... The herpes you got in Vegas, does NOT stay in Vegas. ;-)

Final Thought: I'm flying Sun Country, I wonder if I'll get to vote on whether or not we get cheeseburgers?

American Idol Resumes for 2008

So, I'm sitting here, watching the second night of American Idol - 7 Auditions.

Its so bad, I don't even know where to begin... You just have to see it to believe it. My favorite one last night would be the girl (I believe Alexis) who lives in a studio Apartment with her mom, two cats and a dog. I'm quite certain that they actually eat the cat food themselves...

My favorite comment of the night was when my friend Lisa said, they shouldn't call this American Idol Auditions, but "People least likely to ever get laid in (insert city here)"

So True

So True

I mean, if I was tone deaf, and trying out for a singing competition on national television, i would most certainly wear a princess lea costume that showed most of my fat and hairy chest. Twas even better when he went and got a full body wax because of Paula's suggestion.

Well at least America's freaks have an outlet to be noticed.

Oh yes, and today at work I found out how they make "animal byproducts". If you have any desire to be a vegetarian, this would be a great video to push you over the edge. You'd never want to eat an animal again.

Oh yes... I love my job...

Sigh

Well its been a few days since my last blog, but I haven't forgotten about all of my loyal fan(s).

It was a busy weekend, worked through all of it. The lovely Log & Timber Home Show (read with a thick MN accent, its funnier that way... but then again, isn't everything?) The Roller Girls, which is an absolutely funderful way to spend an evening. Four teams of women on Roller Skates competing and beating on each other. It's awesome, you should check it out. I'll write more on this in an upcoming blog. And I ended the weekend with the ever wonderful, Wedding Fair. A great show, so romantic, but after spending 6 hours with a bunch of newly engaged couples you just want to vomit!

I... mean...

:-)

Final note for this short blog. Why the hell is life so complicated???

cheers!

Unknowing twins marry each other

From CNN.com

Oh HELL No!

LONDON, England (CNN) -- British twins who had been separated at birth learned they were related only after they had become husband and wife, a senior British lawmaker said. The marriage has been annulled.

The couple's identities have been protected for legal reasons.

Their case was first highlighted by Lord Alton of Liverpool during a discussion on donor conception in the House of Lords in December, but only came to light Friday.

The peer told the House of Lords that a court annulled the union as soon as the twins' true relationship became known.

"They were never told that they were twins," he said during the Dec. 10 debate on a law covering human fertility and embryology. They had been adopted by separate families and "met later in life and felt an inevitable attraction, and the judge had to deal with the consequences of the marriage that they entered into and all the issues of their separation."

No further details about the couple have emerged, and it is not known when the marriage took place or how long they were together before they discovered the truth.

Adoption groups said Friday the case proves the need for openness and transparency during the adoption process.

Mo O'Reilly, director of child placement for the British Association for Adoption and Fostering, said released a statement saying: "Thirty or 40 years ago it would have been more likely that twins be separated and brought up without knowledge of each other."

However, she said, greater emphasis in recent years on ensuring adopted siblings stay in touch meant this "traumatic" case will remain "incredibly rare."

Daisy O'Clee, a spokeswoman for the agency, said that of more current concern is the lack of legislation surrounding fertility treatment.

Under British law the parents of a donor-conceived child do not have to declare that fact on the child's birth certificate, O'Clee told CNN. This means a child conceived with a donor sperm or egg may never know their true origin.

Lawmakers will vote Tuesday on whether to pass a law covering human fertility and embryology that would relax the rules on who can have fertility treatment.

O'Clee warned that in its present form the proposal does little to address the rights of donor-conceived children.

"The rights of donor children are being ignored," she said.

Avenue Q - Contains Full Puppet Nudity!

This will be a short blog, but just wanted to comment that a large group of us went on Wednesday evening and the show was fantastic! If you've never seen it, its definitely a must see. Just think Sesame Street meets RENT. How can you go wrong with a show when the songs are titled "What Do You Do With a B.A. In English?", "The Internet Is For Porn", and "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist".

AND, the tickets are dirt cheap as far as touring Broadway goes. I think through the weekend you can get seats for as little as $35.00!

My absolute favorite part of the show is the Bad Ideas Bears. They are two bears that remind me of the Care Bears that come in at random times and try to get the characters to drink, get laid, etc. Remember, when you are broke, its always better to buy in bulk. Otherwise you are wasting money... So don't buy a six-pack... Buy a Case!!! YYYYAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!!!!

(I know, you have to see it to truly get it)

Well I'll leave you with their opening number, as performed at the 2004 Tony Awards Show. They won the Tony for Best Musical that Year over Wicked (second clip is in honr of that!). You can see a bunch more on YouTube if you so choose.

It Sucks To Be Me!


Popular

Thank You New Hampshire

I'm not necessarily endorsing Hillary Clinton, but as many of you have heard me say, I was worried that the primary was already over. Once Obama won Iowa, the polls showed Hillary tanking. If you remember back in 2004 it seemed that within a week or two of the first primaries, John Kerry had all but clinched the nomination. I'm excited to see that this race is going to continue in earnest and that we may get more time to get to know Hillary, Obama and Edwards. What their endurance is like and how steady and strong they are in their views.

Question to the group: Did Hillary's show of emotion help her in New Hampshire???

I would say yes. Even though the "liberal" (ha!) media has lambasted her for crying, which she wasn't, I think it finally allowed the country to see through her hard exterior. Looking through my memory, I don't think she has ever showed much emotion since she has been in the public light. I think people needed to see the human side of her finally and not just think she is so stoic and uncaring.

If you look at past elections, candidates seem to lose as much, if not more, based on their personalities then their stances. Look back at Kerry, Gore and even Dole. All of them were seen as incredibly stoic, no emotion and overly 'prepped'. If you talked to people, that was most frequently their biggest turn-off. Whereas people look at Bill Clinton and (I hate to say it) George W Bush and they see them as personable and often get ranked as someone people say they would like to meet.

Anyway, food for thought. I look forward to hearing your responses if you would like to join in the conversation!

I'll leave you with this from last night.

Lessons Learned

I've learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is stalk them and hope they panic and give in...

I've learned that one good turn gets most of the blankets.

I've learned that no matter how much I care, some people are justjackasses.

I've learned that it takes years to build up trust, and it only takes suspicion, not proof, to destroy it.

I've learned that whatever hits the fan will not be evenly distributed.

I've learned that you shouldn't compare yourself to others - they are more screwed up than you think.

I've learned that depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.

I've learned that it is not what you wear; it is how you take it off.

I've learned that you can keep vomiting long after you think you're finished.

I've learned to not sweat the petty things, and not pet the sweaty things.

I've learned that ex's are like fungus, and keep coming back.

I've learned age is a very high price to pay for maturity.

I've learned that I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy it.

I've learned that we are responsible for what we do, unless we are celebrities.

I've learned that artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

I've learned that 99% of the time when something isn't working in your house, one of your kids did it.

I've learned that there is a fine line between genius and insanity.

I've learned that the people you care most about in life are taken from you too soon and all the less important ones just never go away. And the real pains in the ass are permanent.

Random Happenings

So I have actually missed two, yes TWO, days of blogging. I apologize for this and am sure you have been eagerly anticipating my next blog!

First and foremost, I'm sure my Nebraska friends and family are quite excited by LSU's win over OSU in last night's BCS Championship Game. If Bo Pelini could take over as Head Coach for the Husker football team on a higher pedestal I'd like to see how! Hopes and expectations are high, but we'll reevaluate in September! I had wanted to relax and enjoy the game, but alas I was stuck in a Pride Board Meeting until 10:15pm... more on this later. I did get to catch the last few moments of the game, so i guess all was not lost.

Okay, no more sports talk, I promise.

So yesterday started with a 5:15am wake-up call. My new neighbor and I have decided to work out every morning before work. I would consider myself a morning person... if mornings started at 10:00am. However 5:00am??? Even the sun wonders why the hell you are getting up. Anyway, time to work off the 5 lbs that I gained over the holidays. I was actually pretty awake for the workout, and was pleasantly surprised to find several attractive guys working out as well that early in the AM. I started to think that maybe I would be able to keep this up after all! That is until I hit 10:00am and exhaustion set in. This is going to be hard to adjust my schedule, but I shall succeed!

All would have been find except for the 3 hour and 15 minute Pride Board meeting that followed work. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy the work I get to do for the festival, but the board meetings completely drain me. All the politics and such. Add to that the fact I've been up since 5:00am and Scott becomes quite the cranky individual. Unfortunately I have been working with this group for 3 years now and I might (just maybe) allow my facial expressions to reveal a bit too much! I blew off some steam by the end by ranting about people needing to come to the meetings more prepared, blah, blah, blah.

The one great thing that came out of the meeting was that Adam Robbins, who volunteers as my Exhibitor Coordinator for the Festival (and is a good friend), was awarded the 2008 Pride Hero of the Year Award. I don't think this has ever gone to a Pride Volunteer in the past, and it couldn't have gone to a better candidate. He was nominated amongst a field of dedicated GLBT community members, but there was no question as to who should win. He embodies the volunteer spirit, doing things not for himself but the 'greater good'. Many people noted that no matter what event they go to, Pride, HRC Dinner, NCOD Luncheon, etc. he is there, and he isn't just attending, but working it with a smile. He is truly the model volunteer and I don't know what our team would do without him! If you know Adam, congratulate him! He deserves it!!!

One last little note from my 'real job'. We had, what I like to refer to as, a cluster fu*k day today. There were basically three events going on in the building. Easy day for us really. But it couldn't have been laid out worse. We had one group of 2,000 going from the lower level to the Auditorium lobby, one group of 1000 going from the Auditorium Lobby to the lower level and one group of 300 going from the Auditorium to the lower level and this all had to happen within about 15 minutes. Now, we have 1.5 million square feet of event space, but for some reason we could only use two areas for it, I don't know why no one caught this, or why I was the first to pose the question late last week... but "Ours isn't to question why... "

Our traffic flow plan looked a little like this:

When giving directions I felt a little like the cartoon character that crosses his arms and points both directions. *sigh*

That's all for now. Time for a nap...

28 Days

So Lee and I have made a pact of sobriety for the month of January. We decided it was time to let our batteries recharge and our filters recalibrate! This partially started when Lee figured out his finances and realized he had spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $350 at the bar in the month of November. This wouldn't have bothered ME so much, except for the fact that I was with him probably 90% of the time!

Anyway, I had to work New Year's Eve, and I figured since I got through that day sober I could make it a whole month. So off I went on my quest and Lee jumped on board right away. Luckily for me (and those around me), I can be as stupid sober as I am when I'm tipsy so fun shall still prevail.

I may be making one exception though as I'm travelling to visit a friend in San Francisco for a weekend in late January. I mean, it would just be silly of me not to at least have a glass of wine while I'm in wine country? Right? I figure I'm on holiday so it doesn't count. Can you tell I'm looking for validation? hehe ENABLE ME!!!

Oh yeah... day 5 and going strong!

Just let me turn!!!

Is it just me or does this metro area have way too many damn red turn arrows??? I understand their purpose at an overly busy or blind intersection, I do prefer to live through my daily driving experience, but REALLY!

I spend more time idling at Red Left Turn Arrows with ZERO oncoming traffic than I care to think about! I mean, I love the GREEN arrow, it's a wonderful thing, but that does not require also having a RED arrow. I'm supposedly from a hick town (aka Lincoln, NE), but they seem to get that people are able to safely turn without the need for the red arrow. And yes, we do have stop lights, smart ass!

Maybe MNDoT will take the red arrow's down when they remove all the stop lights on the highway on ramps... HA!!!

Final Note: UPS instituted a program in 2007 where they planned all routes with no left turns. Doing this shaved 28.5 million miles off of their route lengths and saved them 3 million gallons of gas. Anybody want to turn right???

Paula Abdul

I mean really!

She repeatedly insists that she does not drink. Well if this ain't drunk then she is on some nasty meds! Care to share Paula???

2008 New Year's Resoluation?

I've always wanted to start a blog. Sometimes I find my life to be quite interesting. The question is... Will anybody else?

I find my job provides an ample amount of entertaining stories that should be shared and in past I just forget them. I worked at a hotel in college and always joked that I could have written a book about all the crap that happened there, from plunging toilets for people (the most disgusting job ever), to nudists that liked to request items be brought to their rooms, to athletes breaking wall fixtures and not thinking we'd notice the large trail of blood leading back to their rooms. Of course, do I remember any of it now? Hell no! So this is also an attempt for me to document my daily entertainment so I can remember and so other's can enjoy!

Let me know what you think. Who knows what will happen with this. But its my 2008 resolution, so I should be able to keep it up for at LEAST a couple weeks!