Rocky Mountain High

I'm sitting here in Denver Inertnational Airport, at a gigantic bay window looking out at the Rockies. I know the Andes and Himalayas are taller, but these mountains are simply majestic. I'm looking at, I don't know, maybe 15-20 miles of flat open plain lands and then BOOM, 14,000 foot snow covered peaks. Incredible.

This trip to Denver is the latest weekend jaunt my Dad and I started (unbeknownst to the two of us at the time) back in 1986 in Minneapolis, Minnesota when we saw our first professional baseball game together (Red Sox vs. Twins, Wade Boggs hit a game winning home run and we saw it from the nosebleeds with a bunch of family).

Over the next few years, we made it to Shea Stadium to see my Mets, Yankee Stadium to see Dad's Yanks, and to Fenway to catch a Yanks/Sox matinee. After I went off to college in 1995, I decided I wanted to see at least one game in every major league teams' home ballpark. No double visits for new stadiums were required to fulfill this goal. I broached the subject with my Dad a bit after that and we decided to do it as a father/son tandem. Along the way, we've included a few family members (Baltimore with my Mom and sisters, DC with Mom the wife and my oldest daughter, San Diego/Anaheim with Tommy, and St.Louis/Kansas City with Uncle Steve and Jeff and Chris).

We just saw the Rockies lose to the Giants by a run in a really good game at Coors Field. We're at 13 parks now, including those mentioned and Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. It's a really nice way to get away from everyday life, talk a little shop, shoot a little shit, experience a new city and watch some baseball (my favorite sport, even in this NFL-dominated world). It's great to be with my Dad in a capacity other than preacher and congregation. I think we've become honest friends, with mutual respect and admiration for each other and a genuine desire to do these trips together for more than the fantastic food a beer we take in over the nutty 48 hour jaunts. Though, to be sure, we had our fill this weekend too...

Next year, we're going to try to do Toronto and Cleveland, two birds with one stone, as it has been two years since we've been able to make this work (grad school, job hunt and new kids will do that to a guy).

I don't know if it will ever happen...but I'd love to have something like this with my daughters in the future...even if it involved theater or whatever they're into. Maybe a new winery every summer? Or a really great restaurant in a new city when they've come out of their Mac and cheese / chicken nugget phase.

I love my Dad, and these only partly debaucherous weekends of ours...

Giants 6, Rockies 5 in 9 innings at 5280 feet...

Life is a Sea of Pink and Purple

That's what it appears when you've got two young daughters at least.  Pink socks, purple flip-flops, hot-pink t-shirts, bold purple corduroy pants.  With the recent move into a bigger house, and the presentation of bedrooms for  each, we're painting again...

Parents: "P, what color do you want us to paint your new bedroom?"
P: "Pink and Purple"

We're doing P's room (well, the lower 1/3rd of it) a pink that matches the pink in her new bed linens.  Of course.  T's room you ask?  Well, that whole thing will be a purple that matches her new bed linens.  Pink and purple curtains, pillows, bean bag chairs and sheets.

Jesus, even their soccer ball is pink.

When I had P at a home improvement store (what a joke, these places should be called "Oh shit, that broke?  Again?  I'll go get it's replacement/quick fix" stores) before the move, looking for packing supplies, she BEGGED me to buy a roll of duct-tape...you guessed it...bright effing pink duct-tape.

I swear I'm going to paint my bathroom jet-black just to have a little masculinity in the house (of course, our tub is a nice rose color...FML).

I'd say I'd like to have a son, to get a little blue or dirt in the house - but that would never happen.  We'd wind up with twin girls...I am 101% positive of this.  Then we'd need a 6 bedroom house (probably somewhere in Omaha - you know, middle America?), which would be even pink and purple-er.  I'll just bide my time until they have families...hopefully two boys each...

Finally

Finally: I'm on here writing again.

Finally: We've rid ourselves of the small town house in a poor school district and a bad (not terrible, but bad) neighborhood.

Finally: We've taken possession and moved into a beautiful, spacious, clean, neat, well-appointed single family home in a quiet neighborhood with an excellent elementary school.

Finally: I can begin to re-focus on my science and start making true headway as I'm not being pulled in 16 different directions outside of work (only the usual 6).

Finally: I have a commute less than 35 minutes each direction (actually, it's like 7 minutes, but who's counting?)

Finally: It feels like we are where we are supposed to be.  It's a bit more rural (still nothing like where I grew up...we won't be butchering our own pigs in our front yard here...) and picturesque but has a solid suburban atmosphere at the same time.  An hour from DC.  5 minutes from my local homebrew supply store!  HELLO BEERSVILLE!

Finally: I believe I'm (we're...) providing my daughters with what they've deserved all along...

Finally: I'll be a bit more active in the blogosphere...promise.