| Writer's Block: Celebrity Sightings |
[Mar. 20th, 2008|01:20 pm] |
Beck - can I do backup vocals for you on tour? |
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| Writer's Block: That's the Power of... |
[Mar. 11th, 2008|10:39 am] |
Strapping down my bindings tight, pushing play on some ripping Beck tunes and heading down the slope of Blackcomb Glacier (Rock & Roll). |
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| Happy 2008 |
[Mar. 11th, 2008|09:47 am] |
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How can it have been a year since the last post? Well, I blogged on my personal site from 1999 - 2005, so the blog-itch doesn't really need scratching...
Generally, when time flies, it's a sign that things are going well. I've enjoyed reading friends posts, but more so enjoyed making LiveJournal fodder! That's right, you can talk about shaving your armpits, or what you're listening to, or what you think of a restaurant. That's all fine and dandy. But the trick is to stir up enough shennanigans that you get posted ABOUT!
Major highlights from '07
Driving F5 Networks to reach their ISO-9000 Certification
Landing a Project Manager position at Expedia
Flying to San Francisco to celebrate Michael's 46th birthday
Trekking to Denver with the Bear to see the HRC concert at Red Rocks
Burning the midnight oil preparing for the Mt. Rainier HS 20 year reunion
Helping Bear put on his Mom's 65th birthday extravaganza
Pulling off a successful Class Reunion in August
Taking a couple of work trips (Dallas & Vegas) for the big project at work
Popping down to SF again in Dec. just for fun
It was a great year, a busy year, and the milestones were fantastic. Have really enjoyed discounted travel via. work perk, and also having a solid, full-time job again. Expedia will allow for travel, transformation and agility, even the possibility of work overseas. Sydney? London? Whistler? Ha, I wish.
My dear friend Joe L. moved to Pendleton, OR in the fall as well. That was a big watershed event - really changing the landscape of my Seattle circle of friends. Miss him a lot, and he's so busy running his new store that he has little time for visiting. Thankfully, nature abhors a vaccuum. We've gained new friendships with some of Bear's rugby friends and Claudio & Brian. Looking forward to more adventures with them.
Now it's 2008, and we've already taken two great trips:
San Francisco for IBR - got to see Bill & Andy too! Hurray!
Whistler/Blackcomb vacation - It was the perfect vacation - great (woofy) company, excellent weather, small crowds, a fantastic luxury ski-in condo (mahalo nui, MereBehr) and after 5 years off the slopes, the re-uptake was effortless. Enjoyed some of the best riding ever on Blackcomb Glacier (Ridge Runner & Rock & Roll are my friggin FAVORITE runs, Mr. Bigglesworth). Last day on the mountain was pure Kodak moments - true bluebird conditions, dry cold pack, fresh groomed which meant tons of rippin rooster tail slalom runs. Got on the very last chair of the day at 3:55 pm and said "see ya" to my Blackcomb second home. Boy, the bears were tired and sore, but we were satisfied!
We've got another big year lined up: some end of season riding on the local hills, going to see a show in Chicago end of April, then the Mark Bingham Cup in Dublin (June) followed by a return to my motherland (Corfu, Athens, Mykinos).
Stay tuned!
Feisty & The Bear
Feisty &
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) pharmbear
Feisty & snowboardjoe
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| The Road Ahead |
[Jan. 11th, 2007|03:56 pm] |
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| |  content | ] |
Wow - big changes since the last post.
Gary passed away on Oct. 11, 2006. Joe was at his side and he slipped away peacefully. I came to the hospital shortly after he departed and bonked heads with him. There was no one there - ding dong, no one home. He was still warm, so I held his hand and thought of all the moments, the experiences, the lessons, the tantrums, the laughter, the dinner parties, the booze, the decades, the hairdon'ts, the boyfriends, the rants, the tax returns, the midnight snacks, the emails, the shopping, the road trips. It all flashed by in the blink of an eye and quietly, inside, I knew that much has changed for me in the realm of how I cope with death and dying. His wake lasted a few days - lots of drunken messiness from his ohana - lots of booze and late dinners. Got a head cold right at the onset of it all and when I spoke at his service, the very small-town Christian family sat in awe and wonder at the hairy gay man before them who praised Gary's "out"ness and his persnicketty brand of self-determination.
In the midst of this, I was "diagnosed" with eosinophilic esophagitis. That's when your esophagus becomes severely inflamed from an overabundance of histamine white cells. No word yet on why those little buggars are swarming into the tissue, but I'm eliminating the possibilities one by one. So far my weight is hovering at 160 lbs. - and compared to my 220 lbs. self, I don't mind being slim again, but in my heart of hearts, I'd prefer to be 190 and a serious beefcake for my Bear.
Went to work on Nov. 1 as a contractor at F5 Networks, a small-ish network middleware firm down on the Seattle Waterfront. Great little company with a super-bitchin laid back culture. Working on their ramp up to ISO 9000 Certification which comes to a head here in a couple of weeks. Getting nibbles from Expedia, T-Mo and Boeing in the meantime for full time positions. Hoping that a feeding frenzy will occur at the end of January and the biggest shark gets the minnow.
My dear friend Elle lost her best friend to breast cancer on Nov. 30th. She's deep in the mud of loss and grief now, so we talk regularly and all signs point to a healthy recovery. Loss on this scale is devastating - I love her dearly and wish I could dispell the pain. One day at a time, my dear.
Duane got a full time contract-to-hire spot in market analytics at Expedia this week and loves it already, save the commute across the Pond. With his background in management, travel and tech, he's positioned very well to move ahead there. No more food stamps for us!
Had wonderful holidays and have enjoyed a very wintery Seattle - snow, more snow, ice . . . something I couldn't have imagined I missed so much living on Maui. Hopefully I can get my little tummy troubles resolved in time to enjoy some of the downhill season. Been WAY too long.
TTFN - Feisty |
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| Bats, Ballgames and Changing Seasons |
[Sep. 25th, 2006|08:57 pm] |
We got bats in our front yard!
For about about 2 weeks in the start of Sept. there was a bloom of termites flying up from a big stump down the bank. The local batcave got the news because each night after sunset they'd be diving and feeding like crazy. Happy guys, those bats.
Duane and I have gone to watch rugby practice for the Seattle Quakes - have a couple buddies on the team. Two weeks ago we got treated to a free Mariner game at the stadium - whoo, the food is good there! Yesterday we saw the Seahawks trounce the Giants. Howling drunken men painted blue and green is something you need to do once in a while. The high fiving and hugging and body odor was a nice touch, coincidentally.
Despite this friggin awesome Seattle summer, the cold snap has come in. Been kicking on the heat and digging out blankets over the last couple weeks. There has been a constant stream of friends and family visiting Gary as he gets closer to his passage. Whether
There's been some good job offers coming my way but primarily as a contractor. I've been searching my soul about that - being a detached, "outsider" teammate. With respect to project work, a lot of the time you are already an outsider while trying to drive out requirements from another organization. So I suppose it's something worth giving a try. The upside remains clear - freedom to give a company a test drive before getting embedded for keeps. |
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| Camping Bears |
[Aug. 9th, 2006|09:16 am] |
Off we go into the wild blue yonder! Northwest Bears have their annual camping trip up Hwy 2 towards Stevens Pass this weekend. We leave tomorrow for our trip and have a lot of packing to do in the meantime! My good friend Joe wants us to borrow his Persian rugs and hanging lanterns, but I think we'll stick with the basic supplies. We'll be sharing a campsite with 2 of Duane's best friends, George and Don, who seem to be old pros with this gig. It will be the very FIRST camping trip for Duane and I together, so keep your paws crossed that we get along like grown ups and don't end of fighting over who is going to make the pancakes, who's going to stoke the fire or who's going to wear the tafita chiffon to the big dinner party!
Our new deck is nearing completion - damn, when will they finish? There has been no real privacy here in the cabin since the project began, and they tend to work from about 11 am until 8 pm - don't ask me why. But groaning aside, it's going to be a friggin spectacular Space Needle view once it's all done.
Gary has not been able to get around at all besides painful trips from his bed to the recliner for short visits. We're feeling kind of grim about it because he's never been this bad before. The cancer has moved throughout his entire body, despite attempts to arrest it. But after looking through the last 2 years of digital photos, it's clear that Gary has enjoyed a lot of good times with his friends on trips, cruises and parties at the house. When I think about how some of my friends died of AIDS, the way people reacted to them, the loneliness they felt towards the end - it really gives comfort to see how coddled Gary is and helps me face this next phase with more strength and courage.
Okay, that's Le Blog Du Jour, so call the Forest Service if you don't hear from me by next week. Smokey the Bear, here I come!
TTFN - Love, Eric |
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| Seafair, Housework, Hospice Care |
[Aug. 6th, 2006|07:27 pm] |
| [ | mood |
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| [ | music |
| | U2 | ] |
Howdy gang
Been spending a lot of time here in Seattle next door at Gary & Joe's. Gary Newell is a good friend of mine who's at the tail end of terminal cancer. I have developed a tremendous respect for NURSES over the last couple weeks in so much as they work in very difficult, stressful conditions and don't have an option to just say - can't do poopy pants today, nope! They have to just keep truckin. Gary can get up still for short periods for small meals and fluids, but sleeps most of the rest of the day. He has great conversations in his sleep with people from his Life - talking about putting things in file folders, untieing socks, this and that - mostly thanks to Ocydodone. Joe has been his full time guardian/nurse/friend/therapist/personal assistant for almost 2 years now. Boy, he's a hero in my eyes if there ever was one.
It's Seafair weekend here in Seattle so that means tons of boats out on the lakes, lots of extra traffic, hot August days and noise from the Hydroplane races and Blue Angels. Duane and I opted not to go for the big events cause we've seen them before, and who wants to dodge baby strollers? There are a lot of woofy, rural Dads in the crowd, true, but we've got other fish to fry.
Construction continues on the new deck out in front of our little rental. About 1 more week and we'll be firing up the BBQ on the new lanai, taking in the sweeping view and trying to hear each other over the I5 traffic.
We've come to the end of our temporary lodging "unpack" and have the vital bits in place - clothing, computers, kitchen and of course, Playstation2. Duane doesn't game but I sure do! Ratchet and Clank, God of War, Jak & Daxter; just to name some favorites. Joe plays 1st person shooter games on his XBox and tries to get me to join in, but blowing up people and watching blood spurt out isn't cool to me. I'd rather collect new weapons, power them up and get after the aliens and robots.
Still homesick for San Francisco and Michael, but once we have jobs in short order, we'll be popping down there all the time. Plus, he wants to ski the PNW (Whistler, Baker, Stevens) so it should be easy to get him on an Alaska flight up here this winter.
Ta Ta for now, kittens. Miss ya! |
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| Feisty's first LiveJournal Blogorama |
[Jul. 8th, 2006|05:28 pm] |
Aloha everyone - I'm jumping into the LiveJournal pool as my old personal website undergoes a serious overhaul.
This decision is largely in part due to Pharmbear, my best friend in San Francisco. This way I can use the great tools here instead of hammering out my usual monthly blog, as well as connecting with new friends.
I consider this an e-diary, obviously intermittent, but definitely using the Net to link and connect people of comparable temper and interests together. So much of the web is about constant distraction and segues. This seems to be about testimony, identity and narrative. That's all good to me.
It's going to be a crazy toodle, here on Mr. Feisty's Wild Blog-ride, so buckle up and fasten the lids on your lattes.
Welcome to the Feisty Journal! |
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