bleerzog

saw Phish at Alpine Valley last Sunday.  it had been a while, no doubt. it was awesome.  the weekend started out with a trip to my grandparents farm (still call it grandparents when it's just my grandma's these days) for the family reunion.  brought my buddy bill down with me in order to go straight to Decorah to pick up another buddy and head to Alpine Valley from there.  The reunion was great.  a bit interesting this year, no doubt.  3 of my 4 aunts decided not to go because they said grandma didn't want to have it and we were forcing the issue on her in her old age.  well, she was out of sorts saying they were going to surprise us and show up.  yep, the three aunts and their families total over 60 people. they were going to show up and surprise us.  they didn't.  i felt so bad for her.  she was getting around just fine, taking breaks when she needed them, heading out on the porch for a beer and a smoke occasionally. hilarious. my buddy bill got such a kick out of having a smoke with my grandma. so my family excluding one brother making for four of us and my buddy bill and my one other aunt who was there, who also lives there with my uncle..., and their one daughter of two and my uncles parents and grandma. made for about 10 people and my buddy bill.  I thought it was great because I got to spend some unheard of quality time with my grandma talking about how she makes her vegetable soup.  AWESOME.  left at about 4pm only to remember that I FORGOT THE TICKETS AT HOME! OUCH! drive the 2.5 hours home, grab the tix, drive to Decorah for an outside party, meet up with Arne in Decorah.  the party was awesome. badminton, glow in the dark frisbee, the hurricane vaporizer, drum circle, beer, and a cutie with a sundress on that I pretty much got up the nerve to say, "hi, my name's pat". :D

here's the set list:

Set I: Brother, Wolfman’s Brother, Funky Bitch, The Divided Sky, Joy, Back on the Train, Taste, Poor Heart, The Horse > Silent in the Morning, The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday > Avenue Malkenu > The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday, Time Turns Elastic

Set II: Crosseyed & Painless -> Down with Disease, Bug, Piper, Wading in a Velvet Sea, Boogie On Reggae Woman, Slave to the Traffic Light

Encore: Grind, Frankenstein

have to say Slave to the Traffic Light and Silent in the Morning were my favorite, totally awesome tunes. boogie on reggae woman and frankenstein covers were over the top as well.  phenomenal. of course.

from there we drove back to a campground, Bong State Park, hung out around the fire for a bit, drank some brew, had a smoke or two and crashed in the camper! all four of us fit just fine! AWESOME WEEKEND!

here's a shot of the new member of my family, dubbed the VDub. I'm now a proud owner of a 1995 Volkswagen Eurovan pop-top and full Camper.  if you look close, you can see the refrigerator. above that there's a two burner stove and to the left of that there's a sink with drinkable water. the back also has a spray spigot for showering/cleaning. this picture was taken two weekends ago after a wedding in southern minnesota. we were able to walk back to the rig, have a campfire, some beer, some smokes, and crash in it right after the reception! perfect. and a damn good nights rest, at that. I'm super excited to have this thing! and it runs like a top so far. and the little rust that was on it I sanded, treated, primed, and painted so it looks sharp with no dents.  YEAH!!!!

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bummer news about my "family". one of my fish died today. he was 6 years old.  take a quick peak.

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I'm lauging to tears, man to tears!!! this has gotta be one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

So I made a little excursion to the Canadian Rockies for the first time in my life. it's a wonder how sometimes you wish you would've done something sooner, can't believe you didn't, can't believe it wasn't in the cards sooner be it with friends or family...can't believe some people have lived it their entire lives not knowing much different.  There are some places in the world that people flock to...or should I write, to which people flock.  we've all heard about them. I'm of the opinion that we should try to get to as many as we can while we can...at least that's what I've been told by wise humans on the barstool to my right...and left...many times drunkards who have and are now lonely drunkards. maybe that's why people are not as enthralled by the whole idea.  'cause they see where it has led these oh so wise people.  most often, it's simply that type of person who randomly enters into the lives of others during every day hum-drum making it seem as though a life of adventure has ill-fated consequences.  but, lo and behold, there really are people whose lives are oozing with fulfillment while in the midst of these adventures that can actually be a lifestyle rather than the people whose lives are oozing with envious enchantment looking back at the good old days while gazing at the bottom of an empty pint in the midst of the every day hum-drum.  here I go again, not having the patience with myself and the english language to make better sense of my thoughts.  

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crazy how much easier it is to use photos to communicate. with few exceptions, posting/blogging has become a photo album/comparison.  remember when we used to put photos actually in a photo album. then, whoever came over could randomly stroll through the photos at their leisure. no pressure, no passwords, no slow internet. no opinions on which was better or worse. just an unconditional photo album...such a refreshing idea.

this is the first time I've completely missed an entire month...

just thinking about and so hoping for the safety of the people in Mumbai especially dear lightchaser from this point forward after hearing about the awful attack.