The Northwoods Is No Place For A Pink Flamingo
Archive for September, 2008
Wallpaper Time
Sep 30th
Today I spent the day wandering Leelanau again but this time it was mostly in the car. I went to the National Park and decided that rather than writing a long post I would post a new Wallpaper you can use on your computers. Click on the picture for the big size and then use your browsers to set it as your wallpaper. Fall is just not quite here yet, this is a preview, once the full color comes out I’ll be posting much more.
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Common Sense
Sep 27th
Is not at all common. I’ve long contended that there are only 3 letters of the alphabet you need to know when you work in retail sales. W..T..F.. WHAT THE FUCK! This has been a strange fall so far. I don’t know what the deal is but I had better luck in the summer dealing with the up-tight down-state people than I have had all fall now with the locals. It seems the locals have all gone LOCO! Half the time I think I continue in this line of work just becuase of the pure amusement I get from some of the dweebs that come in to shop at the store.
Now before I continue, anyone that knows me understands that while I am harshly judgmental to many people, I am never that way to their face. It’s not my place to stand there and tell you that you’re a fool, it’s far more amusing to me for you to figure that out on your own (while I watch). AND, while I do indeed come across (especially in this blog) as being a know-it-all smart-ass there are some things in life that even people with very little brain function can accomplish better than some of the people that I see every day. Bathing is one of them. Reading directions is another.
Today I had not one but two people ask me how to clean up after painting with latex paint. Not at all an unfair question if the cans they were reading as they were asking the question had not said “EASY SOAP AND WATER CLEAN-UP!” in huge bold letters across the front. I had another man ask me if he could safely seal his driveway if it was raining. Where do these people come from? COMMON SENSE PEOPLE!! This was also quite a day for correcting (or trying to) people’s poor color judgment. People hate picking out colors for their paint. They would much rather ask someone else to do it for them. Experience however has created a rule in my department that we (employees) are NEVER to choose a color for a customer. We can guide them and get them to the right pallet but it is up to THEM to choose the color. Many times I play a little game with my customers who ask me to choose their color. I will go and find the most HIDEOUS color they could imagine and then let them know that I think it’s a swell color for their paint. This shuts them up REALLY quickly and they go back to choosing it themselves. Folks, after all, YOU have to live with it and look at it everyday. What do I care if your wall is a BABY SHIT GREEN! Unfortunately, picking colors is far to arduous a task for many people who end up hating the color they picked out and without fail they come back to the store and bitch at ME becuase they made a poor choice. It is amazing in retail how many different things I am blamed for. From paint that these people think I personally made for them in the HUGE FUCKING FACTORY behind work to the wheels on the shopping carts that I’m supposed to have a spare of at my desk JUST for them. I’m somewhat glad that technology is not as good as it could be just to spite these fuckers that blame me for their poor choices. I tell them to look at the swatches and show me what color they think their paint should be and then I fix it so it looks like that. Generally a 30 minute process. Not fun when you have 15 people waiting for help and only 2 machines to accomplish this task….that’s the other thing I hate. What ever happened to the virtue of being patient? NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW….fuck you jack ass, go somewhere else and wait in line there. We are 30 times faster and more accurate than our pathetic competition up here. Take it or leave it!
OK I’m doing bitching. Tomorrow is another Sunday and you all know how much I just LOVE Sunday as the scarasm drips off the sweat in my armpit (too descriptive?) So, eventually I’ll get new photos uploaded, mabye tomorrow night after work. Good Night!
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Bay View
Sep 25th
Had a pretty good day off today. I slept until nearly 10am today which is very unusual for me. Usually I’m up and out of bed by 8 at the latest. I was pretty tired though. I packed up Gavin today anticipating spending the day at the cottage out on the boat. While it was a beautiful day, it was just not boat weather. Instead I spent a couple hours installing the last part of the sprinkler system in the new garden beds my folks have in the back. It proved a little more difficult than I had anticipated only becuase some of the root systems on the grasses are shallow and the big tree has big roots near the surface. It took a little work but I got it working and it should be good to go now.
After I had finished that, I decided I would take Gavin and go for another hike in the woods. There are all kinds of hiking trails in Leelanau, most of which are deserted after Labor Day which is just what I like. Today we hiked the “Farm’s Trail” part of the Bay View trail system in Sleeping Bear National Park. I had done this trail once before, I’d say about 15 years ago. It was far more interesting than the last one I spoke about here. The color is just starting to come out and many of the sugar maple trees are now turning bright red. This makes a great contrast among the trees that are still green. The light was not real good for pictures today but I did get a few good ones. I’ll be adding them to the “Early Fall 2008″ album on my website later tonight or tomorrow sometime. The “Farm’s Trail” features several old homes and barns that have been acquired by the national park and preserved. There is something mystical about old barns that I really like. The look of the old wood and the detail of each grain makes me long to live in the country. I was thinking about that today on my hike; about how much more I like living in the middle of nowhere. I don’t mind my new place and I really like being close to work. I miss the smell of the country, the clean air, the smell of campfires at night. Who knows, maybe when I start looking for a house this next year I can find something close to work where I can still have some of those things.
Tonight I am just taking it easy. I was going to clean the garage a little bit since there is still a TON of work to do in there before my folks can possibly think about putting their trailer in there. I’ve still got shit everywhere. I’ve just lacked the motivation to do anything about it lately. I’ve acquired some new Elton John CD’s and have been enjoying them most of the day. Gavin is exhausted and sleeping in the little chair behind my desk, snoring loudly.
Here is a picture from today. Look for more at www.leelanauphotography.com either later tonight or tomorrow.
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Passed
Sep 24th
A bit of a busy week at work for me! We had our final inventory audit for the fiscal year and if I am nothing else, I am incredibly consistent. We passed and I get my bonus. Without saying too much, inventory audits are conducted as an incentive program and designed to help us keep stock levels in check, the shelves full, and the ordering system functioning. Passing them means I am doing my job correctly. There is still room for improvement but all said, my department is where it needs to be right now.
I am a little distressed lately about my cats. When I last wrote about them, I had indicated that they were living here on a trial basis. Unfortunately, neither KD or Pooh has been able to correct some of the problems they have using the litter box and I simply can not afford mentally or monetarily, to allow their behavior to continue. KD has begun marking again and I’ve spent the last month picking up Pooh’s poop off the floor. Neither animal appears to be unhealthy, both of them know how to use their box becuase I’ve watched them both use it to make sure, neither seems to be under any great deal of stress or anxiety. I’ve spent hours on the web looking for solutions and I’ve found nothing that is helping. Tomorrow I will set up a 3rd litter box and I am taking down the baby gate that shuts off their room. I keep them in the back part of the condo when I am not here, I am wondering if Pooh poops on the floor because he can’t get to the box fast enough. By removing that barrier (which he has to jump over first to get to the box) perhaps this will reduce the problem.
It’s sad because up until last year, both of these cats had been great animals. Jirar and I never had one ounce of problems with either of them. Then, with Jirar leaving, a new roommate and the addition of another cat as well as easy access to the outside yard, both of these cats behaviors changed dramatically. For fear of insulting the spy’s who read this blog, I won’t interject my opinion as to why my cats are now unable to cope with themselves. I am willing to go 3-4 more weeks maximum trying to change their behavior. If there are no improvements, I will be taking them to the humane society or I will attempt to find them a new home. While I treat them like my children, they are in fact NOT children, they are pets. Not expendable by any means but pets are bread to conform to the needs of humans, not the other way around. I don’t have unlimited resources to fix the problems they are creating.
Tomorrow is a day off for me. I think I will go out to the cottage with Gavin and perhaps spend some time on the boat. It is supposed to be quite nice, it might be one of the last good days for boating this season. Cheers!
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The Woodsman and his Dog
Sep 21st
Not sure about that title but if it were to fit for me any day than today would be that day. I think I hiked more today than I have in the past 6 months! I had a nice day today, spent entirely by myself except for my trusty dog Gavin. We started the day today at Peterson Park. I recall recently an article in the Leelanau Enterprise about drivers and bicyclists needing to share the road. Apparently some of the nut jobs on bikes today didn’t read that article. The county was LOADED with bikers today and of the hundreds that I passed, I saw only ONE person signal with their arm when they intended to turn. Had he not done that, he would have been either seriously injured or killed (not by me but by they guy in front of me). I don’t generally have a problem with bikers in Leelanau. There is not much car traffic this time of year and it’s a great way to see the county. I DO have a problem with bikers who can’t (or won’t) share the road with cars. We have to follow the laws of the road, SO DO THEY. They are not exempt from signaling when they intend to turn. They are not exempt from using bike lanes when they exist. No it’s NOT OK to ride 6 abreast covering 2 lanes of traffic. So, to those of you who travel the county by bicycle, FUCKING PAY ATTENTION and follow the rules of the road or you will end up smashed on it just like the skunks and raccoons.
Now then, Peterson Park was quite pretty today. The sun was out and there was a ship in front of the islands. Whatever company is using that shipping channel lately must have changed the type of freighter they are using. This was not your typical lake freighter. The bow and the stern were raised and were it not for my vantage point about 150 feet above the shore, it would have looked like the middle of the boat was under water. I would be interested in seeing one of those up close. I took Gavin down to the beach and let him swim and chase rocks for a good 30 minutes, he also managed to roll around in a mess of dead fish on the shore much to my delight…or rather his.
From there I headed back towards Leland and stopped at Houdek Dunes Natural Area. Jirar and I had hiked this some time ago but it was in the winter and we didn’t do the whole thing. Today I did. This was a good 2 mile hike in a loop going through multiple types of wooded dunes and open dunes. Thank god it was a cool day or I would have roasted. This hike wore Gavin out but we weren’t done yet.
After that hike I drove down to the National Park and decided I was going to hike the Good Harbor Bay Trail. This was a 4.5 mile hike that went WAY back into the woods away from the lake, crossed a couple different little streams and then looped around back to the trail head. While it was very good exercise, I have to say that this was an exceptionally boring hike. It’s flat nearly the whole way so it’s an easy walk but the scenery never changes. It does not go deep enough or far enough away from the shore to change much in ecosystems. Mostly pine and birch forest. It would be pretty in the fall with changing leaves but it’s just not there yet…I doubt I’ll hike that one again.
Anyhow, I got some great pictures today and have uploaded an album at www.leelanauphotography.com. Be sure to check them out. I was going to try and get a good picture of the big tree at Peterson Park however the bikers had set up a food tent at the park and there were swarms of men and women in Lycra shorts and shirts. Some people (no most people) should just not wear skin tight clothing.
Here is a picture from the new album. Be sure to check out the others.
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Birthday Boy
Sep 21st
OK, hardly a boy. Today I am 34 years old and this past year has brought on some pretty major changes in my life. Some are good changes. I am starting to become financially solvent. I no longer have to live from paycheck to paycheck praying that I will just have enough money available to pay the rent. This year I really came into my own at work. I’ve been a “manager” for the better part of 3 years but this is really the first year that I feel like I have accomplished the goals that my company lays out for me each year. I also feel that I have gained the long term respect and trust from my employees that I need in order to continue that success. People tend to listen to me and take me seriously and for someone with my disposition (pretty much a pushover) that is a nice accomplishment.
Good things are always off-set with some bad things. This is the first birthday in at least 10 years where I have truly been alone. Let me define that. I do not mean that I feel abandoned becuase I certianly do appreciate and love the fact that my family, both immediate and extended, has been there for me this past year. What I mean is that I’ve had to make decisions this year on my own that for the previous 10 years I have not had to do. The end of my relationship with Jirar was and really still is a big deal for me. Again, I don’t want to give anyone reading this the impression that I’m at all unstable becuase I’m not but I’ve had to deal with this loss surrounded by people who are in healthy and strong relationships. I miss having that stability, I miss coming home from work at night and having someone else there to talk to, I miss being able to define my life as “we” rather than “me”. Traverse City can be a lonely place to be when you are single and gay. There isn’t much up here to do socially but then again I’m not a very social person and I’m not really looking that hard for friends. I would much rather stay home and watch TV than put my self-esteem on the line trying to meet people. Don’t get my wrong, I like living up here 3000% better than Grand Rapids however I might have adjusted better if I had moved up here as a single person, at least I would have known and anticipated what I was getting into a little better. Oh well, hindsight is always 20/20.
So today, Gavin woke me up nice and early but I was able to watch the sun rise over Lake Leelanau. It’s been I think 2 years since I’ve spent the night out here. Now that I don’t live so close, coming out here finally feels like a mini-vacation again. Today I am going to clean out my car from all the sand that Gavin left in it last night and then drive up to Peterson Park. I want to try and get some orchard pictures today if I can find one where fruit is still on the trees. I noticed yesterday as I was taking Gavin for a walk up the hill at the Cottage that the apple trees that line Laskey Trail do not have fruit this year…or they did and someone has picked it all. Last year, they were covered in apples. This year, nothing. Could be it has been a bad year for pollination.
Well It’s time to get dressed now and start the day. I’ll be posting pictures tonight sometime.
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Blogging By The Campfire
Sep 20th
What a GEEEEEEKKKK!!! Here I am, outside enjoying a campfire at the cottage, and I’m sitting here with the laptop writing a blog! Can I never escape technology? The fisherman out in front of the house must think I’m crazy.
So anyhow, I’ve built a campfire and I’m trying not to get burned up as the wind blows directly into my face. Gavin is asleep behind me. We had quite a busy day today. We hiked Pyramid Point today. It was quite busy, lots of people around. Gavin did well. I have to practice waking with him on a leash lately, he’s so used to not having one and now that the Parks have started issuing tickets rather than just warnings, I have to keep him on one when we go anywhere in the park…(unless it’s completely deserted). It was quite a nice day for a hike. Low 70′s and a little overcast. I got some great pictures that I will likely upload later on tonight once I go back inside for the night. After that we went down to the beach for some stone hunting. I found one Petoskey today. They are getting harder and harder to find up here. I think the tourists must have figured out what they were and they are taking them all.
After the beach we went home where I promptly fell asleep on the couch for 2 hours. I was rudely awakened this morning by someone powerwashing my garage doors. Apparently those are going to either be cleaned now or painted. I don’t know which one but they could have at least waited to start that noisy shit until 8am don’t ya think? Anyhow, that pissed off the dog and I just decided to get out of the house as soon as possiable today. What I was getting as is that I was still quite tired.
It’s getting dark so early now. It’s only 8PM and already it is dark…dark enough to make me look stupid sitting here outside with the laptop writting in my blog. Oh well, at least it’s possiable to do. Now that Dad is wireless, I can use all my toys inside and out and I can write in my blog while sitting in the boat!!…not exactly but close enough.
I’ll write more sometime tomorrow. Look for new pictures at www.leelanauphotography.com either sometime tonight or tomorrow.
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Rainy Days and Saturdays
Sep 14th
What gloomy weekend. Fall is fast on it’s way up here in redneck land. It’s stayed pretty much in the 60′s for the past week, a bit of a warm up on the way this week but I think we are past the 80 degree days. Had a pretty nice weekend. I spent an ungodly amount of money on groceries Friday, didn’t get much for my money either. I don’t tend to go grocery shopping more than once a month or so. I’m pretty content with boxed dinners and Peanut Butter. Had a really nice birthday dinner at the folks house on Saturday. Burgers and sweet corn and of course Chocolate Eclair. Gavin was less than enthusiastic about having to spend most of the day indoors. Rain sucks. Today was movie day for me at my house. I decided that since it was shitty outside I was just going to lay around and relax. I don’t get much of a chance to do that and now that my cable is working property I can watch TV without getting pissed off. Today I watched the Wizard of Oz on DVD. I’ve got the anniversary edition of the DVD. I get a kick out of that movie. I suppose it has more to do with innuendo than with the story line. After all, I am a friend of Dorothy (if you’re gay you’ll get that..if not, ask yourself if it would be at all possible for the Scarecrow, The Tin Man, and the Lion to be in any way heterosexual).
Tonight I watched Philadelphia. I remember the first time I saw that movie at Studio 28 in Grand Rapids. I had only just “come out”, I was a senior in high school. My generation was the first that grew up knowing what AIDS and HIV was. The movie takes place prior to the public’s general knowledge of HIV but it really hits on the homophobia that still exists in society today. HIV no longer has behavioral stigma attached to it but it is still ravaging parts of the world where ignorance and lack of education are the norm. This movie is, I think, Tom Hanks best performance in any film he’s been in. I love Tom Hanks in general. One of the most moving aspects of the movie is the soundtrack. In particular La Momma Morta. Click it and listen to the passion, watch the movie and learn what the Italian means.
So now it’s off to bed so tomorrow I can start another week at work. I have a lot to get done this week. I am expecting a visitor from the head office and there are lots of projects to get finished up. Things are slowing down and that’s a good thing for now but the work never ends.
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Butterflys and Dunes
Sep 9th
I’ve got a new gallery posted now at leelanauphotography.com, be sure to check it out. I spent this afternoon tooling around Leelanau with the folks. We stopped first to get a cup of coffee at Leelanau Coffee and then headed out to Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive. What a beautiful day. The temperature was perfect, the sun was out and most of the obnoxious tourists have left for the season. Lots of pictures of the dunes in the gallery. The lake was a really deep blue today with shades of turquoise near the shoreline. Next we went back in the hill country following several dirt roads that Jirar and I used to travel frequently. The parents had never been back on some of these roads so it was a treat to share them. Finally we ended up back on shell lake, a little known pond in the National Park. You have to travel down a two-track road to get to it but it’s worth the wear on the car (don’t try it with a car though, you’ll never make it…you need something with clearance and a good wheel base). There was one lone fisherman out on shell lake today. Gavin had a swim and then we headed over to the beach proper. Lots of petoskey stones (mom has a real eye for them). Then off to Dick’s Pour house for a pizza and finally back home for the day. These are the things that I love about Leelanau. Being able to go just about anywhere in the county and find something you’ve never seen before. I could live here the rest of my life and still be exploring new things every day.
The picture below was taken just at the right time, right before Gavin burst into the field to roll around in the goldenrod. Be sure to check out the rest of the pictures at leelanauphotography.com. Cheers!
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Open Windows – Let Fall In
Sep 9th
Wow, it’s getting cool up here in red neck land. I’m finally enjoying a day off from work and getting ready to head out to the parents house for a day on the lake. Not that I’ll be swimming but I know Gavin will be. I decided it was time to mow my lawn this morning. Took me about 10 minutes with this great little electric lawn mower my landlord left me. What a contrast. At my former house, I would have to plan an entire day around doing yard work. It would take a minimum of 4 hours JUST to mow the lawn, then there was trimming and watering and everything else. It was exhausting and HOT. Thank god I no longer have to worry about that. Even better, once it snows, I don’t even have to worry about plowing. It’s going to be done for me! YEH!!!
I had to go to the Secretary of State this morning and renew my drivers license and also change my voter registration. It never ceases to amaze me how busy that office is and how rude the clerks are. I guess when you work for the state you have some sort of license to be a shit head. Oh well, my new license is in the mail and within a couple weeks I’ll have my voter registration back in the mail so I can vote in the election this fall. Without question it will be for Obama. At one time in my life I called myself a conservative but I have never voted for a republican. As I get older, it’s easier to see just how fucked up the world really is, the republican party to me is a party that is terrified of change, espouses hypocritical “family values” (Nice to see that abstinence only education worked wonders with Palen’s daughter…NOT), rules with heavy handed and unnecessary laws, spends uncontrollably, has NO concept what-so-ever of science, and is led by these righteous wing nut theocrats who really believe they are doing the work of Jesus fucking Christ. Sorry folks, JESUS WAS A LIBERAL.
OK enough politics…it makes me crazy. Gonna pack up the camera and the dog now and head out to Leelanau. Maybe another post tonight with some new pictures!
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