Flying home I pulled up some Colin Hay on the iPhone. What am I, an idiot? I was just asking for trouble. I stared at Kansas through weepy eyes; the upshot is that I ended up finding Lena’s song.

Listen to it here. Lyrics below:

WAITING FOR MY REAL LIFE TO BEGIN

Any minute now, my ship is coming in
I’ll keep checking the horizon
I’ll stand on the bow, feel the waves come crashing
Come crashing down down down, on me

And you say, be still my love
Open up your heart
Let the light shine in
But don’t you understand
I already have a plan
I’m waiting for my real life to begin

When I awoke today, suddenly nothing happened
But in my dreams, I slew the dragon
And down this beaten path, and up this cobbled lane
I’m walking in my old footsteps, once again
And you say, just be here now
Forget about the past, your mask is wearing thin
Let me throw one more dice
I know that I can win
I’m waiting for my real life to begin

Any minute now, my ship is coming in
I’ll keep checking the horizon
And I’ll check my machine, there’s sure to be that call
It’s gonna happen soon, soon, soon
It’s just that times are lean

And you say, be still my love
Open up your heart, let the light shine in
Don’t you understand
I already have a plan
I’m waiting for my real life to begin

Yeah, uh, Happy New Year. 2010 is already underway, as far as I am concerned, because the International Date Line rolled on through, hours ago. Here in Boulder, It’s less than an hour away until my Timex ticks over to 2010. I’m not doing a “year in review”-type post, but wanted to wish everyone (anyone) still reading this blog a happy new year. 2009 was a crazy year and very much a mixed bag. 2010 promises more of the same. I guess I’m getting old. The cynic in me grows ever stronger and is provided more ammunition every day; all the more reason to reflect on all the good that has happened to me and my friends this year, I suppose. I’ve lost touch with some, renewed friendships with others, changed jobs, and been impressed by some and absolutely disappointed by others. I guess that’s the way we all go around. In the tightest orbit of my atomic life, the house is filled with joy and wonder; the dog is wonderful, the cat is a challenge but is helping me realize that no cat will ever be Emma (and that that’s OK), and Brenda & I are bouncing down the road toward ten years of marriage and twenty years of companionship. And that, THAT, is fucking awesome.

Settling up, I’m up on points. Here’s to everyone else beating the odds next year.

Today has not gone smoothly so far. Hooper woke us up at 5:15AM, whining. He’d had gas all night, so I took him out, just in case. He leads me around on a tour of the neighborhood as he strafes the area. We get back, I try for another hour of sleep but he keeps farting and belching (which smelled worse than the farts), then Ellie our cat pukes on the carpet, presumably because we weren’t paying attention to her. So I give up on sleep for the day and head downstairs to start working at 6AM, already deciding to work from home rather than repeat the two hour commute from my house to my house like happened last week when it snowed. Then Brenda takes Hoop out for a longer walk at his usual time, and comes back with no tags! He must have gotten the ring caught on a branch or something, and just unwound the ring and the tags all fell off. Brenda noticed once they got back that he had the ring (barely) hanging on his collar, but no tags. We go on a hunt in the snow, which in hindsight was utterly ridiculous, but Brenda thought she might have known a couple places where this might have happened. Hooper of course is thrilled, because he’s now on this third romp in the snow for the day and it’s not even 9AM yet. About halfway though the walk Hooper’s harness literally falls apart and slides off his body, too.

So now we need a new harness, dog license, rabies tag, greenspace tag and name tag.

Hooper’s pretty stoked about all the snowtime.

I’ll take a dog’s life…

OK, I know it’s been a while. Here is what’s on my mind:

• When you own a dog, you clean more than ever, and yet your place is generally messier.
• It’s snowing on the high peaks. Winter is just about here. While I like the look of the mountains with the snow on them, I’m dreading the thought of a winter like we had last year here in Boulder.
• The Colorado Rockies (baseball club) are absolutely tearing it up, and they remind me of the Phillies of 1993, another team of lower-paid gamers who ended up playing like a team instead of a collection of overpaid egos. I’ll be rooting for a National League team this year in the World Series.
• Speaking of baseball, I would love to see the Red Sox fold like the bunch of pussies that they are. They should already be declared the losers of the ALCS simply for Manny Ramirez’s bullshit posturing when he hit that home run last night. Sorry, I just fucking hate that guy. Actually, I’m not sorry. He is a douchebag.
• Speaking of baseball, who’s idea was it to have Dane Cook do ads for major league baseball!? I truly believe I’d rather watch Carrot Top try and generate enthusiasm for the game than this no-talent ass wipe.
• I got a new camera; just wait ‘till you see the incredible pictures.
• I saw my sister and my brother-in-law.
• Things are generally good.

Brenda & I went to the east coast this past Thursday, our makeup trip for our postponed christmas Visit. Our christmas Visit was postponed due to weather. Perhaps in honor of that fact, we encountered more goddamned weather.

Booked on a noon flight Thursday, our flight pulled back from the gate promptly at 2:15 so we could sit on a taxiway for another 45 minutes before departing. Upon arrival in the NY metro airspace, we commenced a precision hold for another 45 minutes before landing at Newark NJ. Upon arrival, the NJ Transit train we boarded for New Brunswick was horrifyingly similar to the one I left almost two years ago when I finished my tour of duty, but at least this one arrived on time — unlike the one we tried to take the next day to Philly. That one was delayed — thanks to similar weather we experienced when we postponed out trip back in December in the first place — 30 minutes, then 45, then disappeared from the planet as the one after it was delayed, then canceled. My brother-in-law picked us up and eventually we arrived at my sister’s house. I am here to tell you that New Jersey Transit’s Northeast Corridor Service is as horrible as it ever was, and I hate the entire miserable corporation with every fiber of my being.

The trip was good, overall, delays notwithstanding. We saw family and friends and saw some old neighborhoods. Unfortunately we did not get to see everyone, but our shit was delayed so what do you expect? Sorry John, Davis, Lisa & Pete, and the gang at RDG.

The big revelation was this: I love where we live now. Yes, New Jersey is where I grew up. Yes, New York City is where I was born, and where my ancestors immigrated to. Yes, the New York/New Jersey Metro Area is where the majority of my family continue to live. And, big yes, I hate when people smugly compare one living situation to another, but you know what people? I earned this, and I wouldn’t trade it.

Most of my family back east still don’t quite get why we love it out here, and I understand that; after all, back home we have cold cuts and the Yankees. But here, there is less shit on the sidewalk; people are, on the whole, nicer; the weather is, on the whole, nicer; there is less horn-honking; less attitude; more bike paths, mountains and beer. And that is the nicest way I can say it. I spent the last five days compiling a long list of sense memories of what I don’t miss, but it’s silly to list them here. Suffice to say it’s a long list.

I’d say I’m done with New York, but we all know life doesn’t work that way. Time will tell. But I’d like to say that I felt a palpable relief when I saw the Front Range out the window of our plane on arrival, and I breathe easier out here. I’d like to stay right here.

So, Thursday morning Brenda says: “what are you doing for lunch today, I’ve been working from home all week and I need to get outta the house. Let’s have lunch today.”

“Sure, let’s do that”, I say, cluelessly.

And so there we were, standing in line with a bunch of my co-workers waiting to order at Wahoo’s Fish Taco, when Brenda says “so, your birthday present from your sister arrived today”. Imagining a huge crate full of presents, I pump my fist a few times and get back to concentrating on whether I want my burrito smothered with green or red chile. Brenda, cool as ever and without missing a beat, says “in fact, her present is right over there”, and points over her left shoulder, where my sister and brother-in-law are sitting, grinning like cats.

Now, being an April Fool’s Day baby, I’m used to pranks and surprises on my birthday, but this takes the cake. This was a full blown shocker, out of the blue, and the list of important people in my life that share complicity in this little scheme is long, and the implications are horrifying. But I’m happy to never trust these people again, because it was a helluva great surprise, and a great birthday weekend.

My immediate boss, in addition to playing party to the scam by driving me to the scene of the surprise, was cool about letting me take Friday off on short notice and so Brenda & I showed my sister and brother-in-law around Boulder and the surrounding area — Burgers in Nederland, elk-spotting in Estes Park.

Last night, I was happy to lose a bet with Brenda when it turned out that the fancy restaurant that my brother-in-law reserved for us was the Flagstaff House, and not the restaurant I was betting on when they said they made reservations “at a fancy restaurant” for us for my birthday dinner. We’d already been to the one I thought it might be, and the Flagstaff House experience was better by a wide margin. In fact, it was the best meal and dining experience I’ve had in years. Thanks, guys.

All in all it was a great birthday weekend; it was great to show Christina and Bob the town and surroundings that I have fallen in love with. My birthday dinner was amazing, and I got presents to boot.