January 6, 2009
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Good Start
The new year is off to a good start here at wildcane central.
On Jan. 1, I made my first appearance at the famed Rose Parade, followed by a visit to the Rose Bowl. One of the guys at work had a last minute cancellation, and I got the ticket for free. It definitely looks and feels different in person than it does in the aesthetically framed TV presentation.
We left the office at 6:45 am, made the short drive to Pasadena, then walked about 2 miles up the parade route to a corner business “acquired” for the day by a company we work with. They served a bountiful breakfast buffet that included personalized omelettes, while folding chairs on the edge of the parade route beckoned. They also had a wide variety of beverages and later offered lunch. The morning chill quickly dissipated into a perfect, warm sunny day. Only 1 float broke down and had to be towed that we saw, and that stealth bomber fly over was cool both times. Blink and you miss it. Really. The weirdest part, to me, was watching the second parade. At the end, there’s this line of oversized tow trucks that weren’t used driving out 2 x 2 or 3 x 3. I didn’t count, but there had to be more than 30. They must have 1 for every 1 or 2 floats just in case. Imagine if they ran out of tow trucks and a float broke down. Lots of egg on the face.
Our game seats were in row 77, at the top of one end zone filled mainly with USC fans. We walked all the way to the last row and laughed at the 76 there. We only had to climb over about 7 people to find another row up, 77. There were better views of the game, but we had the best view of concession stands outside the tunnel. It was a long but interesting day. We walked a total of about 7 miles, and my shins actually ached starting the next day for about 12 hours. I’ve walked a lot in my life, but never so much the same day. Got home around 9 pm and actually turned down an invitation to see a movie at my friend’s house, feeling a bit wiped out. The next night, though, we went to see that comic book-style “Spirit” thing by Frank Miller (“Sin City,” “300″). I scored free movie tickets at the office Christmas party, so I’ve been enjoying those. I also got one of those Visa gift cards and have been enjoying using it on stuff I don’t normally buy for myself.
Work is still crazy busy with no sign of slacking off, but my evenings have been relaxed since I quit my second job in November. I’ve finally organized most of the clutter again into manageable–whatever–and am turning my thoughts back to writing. So the new year has a nice feel to it so far, at least for me. I hope you can say the same. I’ll probably get back here this weekend to look around at what others are doing and saying…
Comments (5)
My new year started quietly but I was ok with that since my December had been very busy but also very entertaining. It now appears that I’m being moved into my previous position which, if I can be frank, I like a bit more. But moving to the previous position also means that I’ll be having to make some big changes in my life. I’m very excited! Happy New Year friend.
You’ve been having fun! Minus the sore shins… Freebies are nice things.
At first I wasn’t so sure about the New Year, but it does have a good feel to it now. And apparently it’s going to get better rather than worse. You might recall my tiny little ongoing permit problem I’ve had since 2002…. We just found out I should easily be able to finally get it in the upcoming months and won’t even need a lawyer. ::throws confetti::
I liked to hear you’ve been getting stuff into a manageable “whatever” and might be getting the writing itches.
sounds like a great time! when i was in cali we drove by the rose parade route, but it was in august, so it didn’t really count.
lucky you, not having a second job; mine starts again today. at least i’m only teaching two classes this semester, instead of three. =)
what did you think of the spirit?
Happy new year
The stealth bomber was here several years ago, and scared me half to death, it ‘appeared’ over the treeline beside the highway I was driving on, no real ‘noise’ to it, and then it just bugged out…LOL I’d never seen one…it was cool after I got over that initial ???!!!??? reaction.