2010 Recap (sort of)

Yikes. We're still trying to dig ourselves out of two feet of snow that has fallen over the past week....So a lot of cabin fever going on.

I can't believe that 2010 is over. I wish I could look back on the year and make a claim that I did something important or changed the world somehow. Instead, I peer back into the last 365 days and I can say a few (very unimportant) things were done:

I rode a lot. Every winter I long for my bicycle. That might sound weird to some folks. But I actually love riding through the streets for any occasion. If the trip is less than 15 miles, I might take my bike instead of driving. Minneapolis is starting to be built for bike heads, and that's a good thing. And if I really wanted to, I could change the tires, layer up and trudge through the icy streets.

I got a new job. I spent the last nine years at one job, doing something I semi-enjoyed. But I left for lots more money and 9-5 hours. In the long run it will be what was best, but there are days when I look out my office window in the summer and wish I had the days free to out enjoying the weather.

I've done a bit of growing up over the past year. I spend less and less time spending time in train yards and searching out vacant buildings to paint in. Most people my age have families and huge responsibilities. And to a degree, so do I. But there comes point (or two) where you realize you are too old to be doing something. That moment came when I ran into a group of 15 year old kids who have never heard of Wasp, Neva, Kahn, Monk or Kept. So I've slowly given up on getting up.

2011 will definitely be interesting. I plan to get more traveling done. Three spots that I plan to see this year are Tuscany, San Francisco (been too long since I've seen Mike Boo) and Denver. And every year I tell myself I will get together with friends more often. Somehow, life gets in the way of doing what is fun. I can't remember the last time I tied one on over the weekend. And to be honest, the best Friday nights are the one spent on the couch with my wife drinking wine and having our inside jokes.

Peace out.

Happy Skansgiving

Oh my oh my. It has been FAR too long since I had time to get on here and dilly dally. A few quick updates as to why: My most favorite laptop died on my and I spent the last month trying to find a replacement--enter a desktop. I never thought a desktop would fit what I needed, but it sure has. Being that it is football season, I have been busy trying to keep my wits about me with the current Vikings fiasco. Needless to say, the season hasn't been the best yet. And the new job keeps me busy beyond belief. But, I love it.

With all that said, I'll make a more conscious effort to be on here more. And with winter upon us, the days in the house will be more and more frequent.

Peace out homies.

-Jon B

Falling out the window

Fo Rizzeal? Has it really been three months since my last post?? What is this world coming to!!!!
Well prior to contrary belief, I have not joined a cult. Just the red and khaki corporation. Needless to say, cooperate life is busier than previously thought--but I dig it like six feet!!
Once I start doing fun stuff again (and having the genius machine turned on) I'll start posting more.
But I will leave you with three things:
1. Shop at Twill at the Galleria -- best menswear by far.
2. Eat at Forepaugh's -- tasty, tasty, tasty food.
3. Get out on your bike. You know you want to. You know those pedals are calling. You know the sound of tires whizzing by parked cars is like a soundtrack to the summer. Go for it.

Dear Summer,

I love Minneapolis and I love Summer. Which means that the past few days have been ideal. Currently I'm missing being active. Why? Because I'm nursing a sprained LCL from a softball injury. I was supposed to be a few weeks into training for the TwinCities Marathon, but I'm hanging out with a brace on my knee.
In other news, the new job is awesome. The people on my team are the best. The culture of the company is really different from my last, so that's taking some getting used to.
But it's Grand Old Day in St. Paul today. The largest one-day festival in the Midwest. Hopefully it stays dry enough for me to ride down there.
That's all for now. I'll post more when I get some free time.....

A Spring in the step

There really is something about Minneapolis in the Spring. The windows get opened, the lakes get busy with runners and I find myself in the house making podcasts.....sigh. And not only that, I spend WAY too much time trying to edit the darn thing....I'm not all that savvy when it comes to the audio stuff, but it does the trick. I hate that the site only allows me to hold 2 hours worth of stuff and then I need to delete it to upload more. So download it to itunes, save it on the ipod, and in less than a month, there will be new shows.
P.S. Thanks for all the people who are listening and sending in questions/comments to the show.

And on a different note, I got a new job. I've been at my previous one for quite a while, and I made the decision to move on to bigger, better things. And the new salary isn't half bad either.

Oh, oh, and since it's so nice, I think I'll go enjoy the weather and run a quick 10 today.

Sorry the post is so short.

Check the show:
http://twincitiesgreatest.podbean.com/

Photo this, photo that

So when did the camera phone become the staple in photography? It seems everywhere I go, people are taking pictures of buildings, people, landscapes, monuments and events with a camera phone. What happened to the days when you needed to load film to a camera, take the picture (have no clue how it turned out) then develop the film? Heck, or even to use a regular digital camera to take pictures.
*I like digital cameras because I like to reminisce immediately* -Mitch Hedberg.
Sure, I get that camera phones are handy because they go wherever you do. But if you see a group of photogs out flicking the sculpture garden in downtown Minneapolis, and you whip out your camera phone, you deserve the sneering that comes along with it.

In other news, Target Field is the most awesomest thing to happen in a long time. It feels great to watch the Twins outside instead of in that dome thing we called a stadium.

One year more

Another year has passed, and another birthday has come and gone. Every year I try to reflect on things that I should be doing at this age. I should own my own cooperate conglomerate bent on wold domination or at least have a lemonade stand that only sells orange juice.
I can't believe it's my 10 year high school reunion already. Granted, I would say that I'm more successful than most of the people I went to high school with, but with going to the school I did, that's not saying much. Pretty much everyone I was close with then, I'm close with now. There are a few people I'd like to see, but not enough to make a real-life effort.
In other news, Heidi's' restaurant was on fire the other day and won't be open for quite a while. What a shame! That was one of the best restaurants in Minneapolis!
I wonder what the next birthday posting will bring? Maybe I finally find that nemesis I've been looking for, maybe I'll find a cure for whooping cough--wait, I think that already happened, or maybe I'll finally ride my bike to the border....

Tales from the Rails. Part 2. Ice Ice Baby

Oh wow. What an ending to a night. And since when did Home Depot stop being 24 hours??

So the time is around 1am after a GREAT night with friends. I needed to be up Saturday morning at 7. So going home seems to be the clear choice for for most folk. However, I am not most folk. After much talking and ranting about painting throughout the night (thanks Drew), I got the bug. Since I wasn't too far from Home Depot, I shot over there to get some paint.

But alas, the doors were shut. Since when did Home Depot stop being 24 hours?!? Well, the next best spot is WalMart. So I stop over there and came across some misplaced paint. **sidenote--there are some NUTTY people at WalMart at 2am**.

Since I didn't feel like driving all over the place looking for a spot, I decided to head to this wall down by the river that I hadn't been to before. Now finding a place--at night--in deep snow--with no sense of direction isn't the best decision I've ever made. Case and point: I was trying to walk down the steep banks by the bluffs and literally fell and slipped on ice almost the whole way down. Well, I made it to the bottom with no broken bones.

Now comes the tricky part: find this spot in the pitch black of night. Well, I can sort of hear the river, so I just walk towards it. Lewis and Clark better watch out.

Well, as I'm trying not to step on a bear or knock my head into a tree, I managed to find a knee deep water hole that has somehow managed to battle mother nature and remain semi-unfrozen. A wise person would have back stepped backwards to dryer ground, but I took another step and got my other leg wet. My next thought was to forget this whole plan and get out of here. As I'm walking back, I noticed 2 things: My pants and shoes are ice crystals from above the knee down, and I'm lost. I managed to get turned around in these woods, and have NO CLUE where I am. I'm really starting to remember why I dislike St. Paul..... (the picture is pretty much where I was, just imagine it being pitch black, with no lights anywhere).

Fast forward 40 minutes: I get myself up to a road. Now I have no idea what road it is, or how I can get back to my car. And I'm freezing! I start walking up this random road and a car pulls up behind me after a while. I'm thinking "Ok, I'm either going to get robbed or arrested at this point". The car stops and there is an Australian guy asking me directions. It turns out he is completely lost. He was looking for Downtown Minneapolis for some hotel, and he managed to get down by Fort Snelling somehow. He explains that he has been driving around for almost an hour, and keeps getting stuck in a loop, and could use some help. Now being the genius I am, I offer my immediate directions in return for driving me to find my car. Before I get in the car, I double checked the backseat for an ax. Ok, this guy is probably not going to kill me--I should be ok.....

We somehow get on the subject of my backpack, and as I'm going through the contents, I noticed that I have 2 CD's I was supposed to give Drew! For shame Jon!!!! Needless to say we put them in and bumped some good rap while we search for my car. But I don't think he liked my consistent Crocodile Dundee jokes.

We drove around for about 20 more minutes before we come across some familiar sights, and I was able to navigate to my car. And I have to say, I LOVE FLOOR HEATERS. So we get out of St. Paul and the guy (who turns out is named Braydon), follows behind me to Downtown to the Double Tree (where his friends/family were staying). We said our goodbyes and went about our business. It still seems really, really strange and random that we met up....

One of these days, I'll learn my lesson, and stick with the group. I always seem to get into odd situations when I go off and decide to do my own thing. Things would have been much warmer, safer and less Australian had I stayed and Tailgated. But then I wouldn't have had a small story to tell.

But a sidenote or two...
-Adam Levine. The Doppleganger.
-Tracy Morgan is too funny in 30 Rock.
-Meeting new people is not as bad as once thought.
-It is too cold to run 15 miles outside.
-Some people really creep me out.
-Coffee: The necture of gods.
-I miss my friends that moved away. I sometimes wished they would move back here.

Mike Cooper

When someone passes away, there comes that moment of emptiness after you hear. Thoughts about the last thing you said to them, the last laugh you had, and the last time you said "see you later".
When I heard the very unfortunate news this morning that Mike Cooper passed on, I thought about all of that...I'm still thinking about all of that. Mike meant a lot of things to a lot of people. During my high school years, Mike was one of my closest friends. After high school, people grow apart, but we kept in touch from time to time. Looking back now, I wish I would have stayed in closer contact.
Hearing the phone calls from everyone today reminded me that I need to stay in touch with people more often. That "see you later" can be a week, month, year, or in some sad cases, never again.
Mike was one of my favorite people that I've had the pleasure of knowing in my life. At first glance, he came off with a rock-hard exterior. But for those that knew him, knew that on the inside he was pure silly-putty. To this day, he was one of the nicest, most reliable guys I've ever known.
I can honestly say that knowing Mike has shaped who I am today. I never got the chance to tell him that. I wish I could rewind 24 hours to just give him a call.
I can also say I have no bad memories of Mike. No fights, no arguments, nothing. Every memory I have of him is good. Even though he threatened to beat me up one day because I kept tagging the bathroom where he worked--and he had the duty of ALWAYS having to clean it up. And sometimes I would tag it just so he had to clean it.
I'll never forget all those Saturday nights at Nokomis Lanes. Or how hard he laughed when he would see me with a pool cue (not the whole stick, just the bottom part--in case something went down). Or how the bus drivers on the 23 route knew our first names. Or how the first time I met him, he tried to sell me shoe laces--and I actually bought some.
Mike is one of those people you rarely get to meet, and when you do, they leave an impression on your life forever.
We love you Mike. Always have, and always will

-Johnny B