No easy button

I was thinking about how sweet it would be to have an easy button. It would certainly make everything easier.

Regardless, it's just more of the same. My dilemma is going somewhere I really want with no guarantees or going somewhere I'm not quite sure about with guarantees. I thought about when I accepted a job here in Steamboat how I made that decision. It was sort of spur of the moment, just trying something new, in a new place where I knew nobody.
At the time it wasn't hard. I've wondered if I've changed that much that I am to the point I just can't go all in on something. But when I think about when I got the job in Steamboat I was also cleaning carpets at the time. In fact when I got the call and the job offer I was knee deep in grossness, cleaning out a sewer flood.

Maybe I just need to get knee deep in shit again and my easy button will come to me.

Not much new on the Luke front. Played hockey for the first time in a long time last week. It was enjoyable but I still struggle to skate backwards. Still it was fun. Went skiing once over the weekend. It was good to get out and do something as I was sick early last week.

Valentine's Day was fine, without much drama. Just the way I'd assume to have it. Also went to Leadville to see my parents. Getting a little nervous on that front as my pops job isn't necessarily secured right now. Just a sign of the times.
Plus it was sort of a blow to me when for the first time my brother registered in taller than me. It's crazy how fast he is growing up. Voice has changed, he's taller than me and he's a text messaging warrior. It feels like just yesterday he was trucking around with a 10 gallon cowboy hat on top of his small head and pushing it above his eyes every few steps. There was a point when we were inseperable. Part of it was he was trucking along with my parents to all my sporting events, but he became just as much a part of the team as I was. Everybody knew him, and everybody liked him. Maybe even moreso than me.
Regardless, with the age difference between us, it was only a matter of time before our relationship became more distant. But it's been weird, sad and somewhat exciting this last year seeing him grow up. The last two times I saw him, his voice changed and he registered in an inch taller than me. I worry about him all the time and do a really piss poor job of keeping in touch with him.

Other family news to note of. My grandma in Buffalo sounds like she's on her last legs. She's been a stubborn lady for the last 25 plus years, battling sicknesses and what not. I suppose with this will be a trip to Buffalo in the next month or so. It's good to see family, but there comes a point where it always seems like it's for bad things.

Fairly busy month ahead of me. In addition to Vegas this weekend, CPA Conference next weekend, me and a buddy are in the process of putting on a benefit for a buddy with cancer. It's a lot of work, but it sure is gratifying. I just hope everything comes together in the next month.

Vegas should be fun. Real fun. The only problem is I have to find a way to afford it. I'm not sure how I'm going to do it, but I'm sure I'll figure out something. Plus Vegas should be a nice little get away from things. Weather is calling for high 60s with a chance of Drunk. It should be especially nice since I won't have to deal with work for a couple days. Plus everybody that's going is ready to rock. That's probably the biggest and most important thing. With no one from work, I won't have to talk about work, think about work or — and most importantly — do any type of work.
FYI — I arrive on Friday and am back on Sunday. If you don't hear from me by Tuesday please do something. I mean it's not out of the realm that I'm in jail, dead or decided on a new career path.
Plus when I get back I think Book dog and several others will be in town to ski Monday. Hopefully I'm up for it after getting Vegased for a couple days.

Also just did this thing called Maniac training with the Rugby coach. He's a cool dude who played professionally for a while and now lives in Hayden. Needless to say the workout beat me good. That's to be expected when you walk in and there are kegs, pvc pipe and all sorts of weird devices for training. It was like a psuedo strong man type of setup. Did it Monday and woke up Tuesday unable to lift my arms and feeling like my core had taken quite a beating. I'm back in the Tarantula Tank (his gym, my name) on Wednesday for another one hour of hell.

Hef of the Week
Besides the fact my brother will probably be able to stomp a mud hole in my ass within the month, I'll leave you with this beauty.
I was having a beer at this steakhouse the other night. Just enjoying a beer by myself and watching a game. The town drunk comes in. I'm sitting at the bar. He sits next to me. Not a big deal since I've talked to the guy before. But a Nascar commercial comes on and he starts in on telling me how a Nascar is exactly like the car he owns. I go along with the story, when all of a sudden he snaps. He starts yelling at me, cussing me out and threatening me. Nice. The whole place stops what it's doing and looks over at us. Of course I look like the guilty one, like I provoked him. Either way, the bartender comes up and asks one of us to leave. Needless to say I paid my tab and left. I mean he's the town drunk. Where else is he going to go?

Onto Vegas.

Decisions

Ah the decision process is upon us.

I have three potential jobs right now that I've got to make a decision on at some point. They all have something unique about them that intrigues me. But as with anything, they all have down parts.
Hopefully within the next couple of weeks I'll have made a decision on what I'm going to do. Hopefully I didn't just jinx myself and wind up with nothing. Anybody that has any advice on this, please help me out.

Other than that, work has been decent. I've gotten into such a system that I can pretty much tear through my week. I've become so comfortable and efficient that things are actually pretty stress free.
I'm not sure if this is a good thing. It's not as challenging as it used to be. Part of me is ready for a new adventure. Part of me says "stay with the economy the way it is, and then look for something else."
So we'll see.

Other things of note:
— Been skiing quite a bit and it hasn't taken long for me to remember why I loved it so much. Each time out a little bit of it comes back. The next goal is to get back and tear up a little more technical skiing. Either way it's been a blast.
— Alexis came for a couple of visits over the last week and it's been ridiculous. One night involved the cops, while the rest have been a blast. It's helped me remember why I loved hanging out with her while she worked here. Plus she always provides for good conversation.
— Working on a freelance project I plan to pitch within the next two months. It's still relatively green, but I'm rounding it into shape. Mostly it deals with trying to define my generation. I'm trying to narrow the focus, so we'll see where it goes.
— Will be in Vegas Feb. 20 and 21 for a bachelor party. Should be a blast, especially if my tax returns come in on time. Please good IRS, let this happen.
— On my way to the Colorado Press Association awards Feb. 27 and 28. Should be fun as the Geenis is attending as well. While the focus should be on business, odds are all the Denver folk I know should come out and party like uncontrollable hobos.

The Super Bowl was good and just what I wanted out of two teams I don't care about. What a great game.

Other sports things. Signing day and looks like Colorado will bring in a good class. It's almost baseball season. The hockey playoffs are only a brief month away. So are the NBA playoffs.

Of course what really matters is March Madness. I'll say at this point I like a Final Four of Oklahoma, Pitt, North Carolina and as a sleeper will take Syracuse. Why Syracuse? They've got playmakers and nobody ever plays zone but them. They're a matchup nightmare in the tourney.

HEF(s) of the month
My aunt got me a gift certificate from Shell for X-mas. Tried it out and it didn't work. Apparently all the gift certificates she got everyone didn't work. So when I tried mine it had looked like I'd stolen it. Nice.

I had the worst smell in my car and couldn't get it out. Finally last week I found the culprit. I'm not going to say what it was, but just understand my car smells much better now. At least now I don't have to apologize to people before they get in my car.

Was covering Steamboat-Moffat hoops game last week. They're huge, huge rivals. So it's on a Tuesday. Here at work we have tie-down Tuesday. So I wear a blue shirt, blue tie and blue baseball cap. No problem, until I get to the game and Moffat's colors are different shades of blue. All Steamboat parents, coaches, players and students just are busting my chops all night.

THere's more, but I'm done typing for the day. Enjoy the week vato's.