Tag Archives: Michigan

Shawn Colvin AND Cowboy Junkies!

Posted on July 20, 2004 | Leave a comment

I was dead center and so close the only seat that might have better was the one behind me.

Both in Rochester, Michigan at Meadowbrook!

SC came out first she was excellent. I have many albums of hers but I haven’t seen her. Even the songs I didn’t know were wonderful. She brought out her six year old daughter, Callie, at the end who scampered off as soon as Mom set her down.

CJ are great too! I’ve seen them but not so close. Margo dances all around and I never realized she was so beautiful.. Oh yeah, the other five band members are great too. :)

Well, back to the concert… (I’ll try and post pictures in the next day)

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We Wanna Know – Sunday Brunch

Posted on July 6, 2004 | Leave a comment

1. Looking back on the past week, what was your favorite moment? I had a really nice day Friday, I took the day off because the weekend was supposed to be yucky (and it ended up being nice most of the time). Blading, happy hour, errands (crossed a lot off my list) Fireworks at The Henry Ford with Kelly, Liz and Thomas.
2. Tell us about funny moment that had you and others laughing ’til it hurt. My buddy Mark was moving and we we lifting some stuff of the edge of the patio (it was about 6 feet off the ground and very long, the door from the living room and bedroom open to it). Heather and I were pushing the mattress up and no one was there so I yelled for help. Mark comes running out, into the closed glass door (and I swear the glass bowed out a few inches) knocked himself silly and instead of opening the door and coming out, he ran around inside and came out the other door. Every time I saw him for the next few days (weeks) I just burst out laughing.
3. What is one of your favorite childhood memories?
4. Tell us about a time when you were traveling when things just didn’t work out as planned. Costa Rica – driving through the mountains to get to Mount Arenal (the world’s most active volcano). Driving around trying to find a hotel or food while avoiding the HUGE wacos (pot holes) by the time we found the place we had blown a tire and the hotel was all but closed. We convinced the guy at the desk who didn’t speak any english to get us some food because we we starving so bad (he didn’t even charge us). He chopped up mangos and fruit and all sorts of stuff for us what a crazy night.
5. Have you ever been in the middle major storm (blizzard/tornado/hurricane/earthquake)? If yes, tell us about it. Yes. Last minute I flew down to visit Christine (West Virgina) over New Year’s (about 5 years ago), I had flight issues (not weather related) just getting there and the day I went to leave there was a huge blizzard there and in Michigan. I’m pretty patient so I checked into a hotel and went to the mall (I figured movie, food, shopping, etc.). During the movie (Step Mom) they close the mall, but no one tells us, so now they have a bunch of emotional people trapped in the mall. All the restaurants are closed, everything is iced over. I took me three hours to get a cab to take me back to the hotel. The hotel had no indoor pool, no gift shop, just basic TV, even the airport which I went to a half dozen times didn’t even have anything. I had actually read all they books they had already (except for the romance novels). It was a disaster when I got back to Detroit, people were basically living in the airport, it was like something out a war movie with all the refugees, I’m not kidding that’s how I felt. When I went down to get my luggage there was luggage from the past few days there stacked 5 feet high. They conveyers were three pieces of luggage deep, when people grabbed luggage they couldn’t dislodge it and got dragged along. It was the only snow day they had the few years I worked at that school district and I missed it…

From Sunday Brunch on Tuesday

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Feast Four – Friday’s Feast

Posted on June 18, 2004 | Leave a comment
Appetizer
What kind of car do you drive? If you could make an even trade for any other car, what would you want to drive?
Sebring convertible. I love it. I don’t have anything I’d really rather have that’s practical at all. Maybe one of those cars you can drive into the water and it’s a boat too? Those are convertibles too, right?
Soup
Take your phone number and add each number together separately (example: 8+6+7+5+3+0+9=38) – what’s the total?
24!
Salad
When were you last outside, and what were you doing?
An hour ago and I was bike riding.
Main Course
What is your favorite restaurant, and what do you usually order there?
No real favorite but I usually have a favorite thing or two from each resturant. I have two Chinese restaurants I eat at every-time I’m in the Lansing Area (Beef with Broccoli and Pineapple Chicken).
Dessert
Name 3 things in which you occasionally indulge.
Cookie Dough ice cream. Cookie sandwiches from Melting Moments in Mid-Michigan. Waffle Toffee Crunch Sundae ( warm Belgian waffle topped with vanilla ice cream, maple syrup and laced with toffee crunch pieces) from Garfunkle’s in England.

From Friday’s Feast.

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New! New! New!

Posted on June 1, 2004 | Leave a comment

New month! New name! New colors! New Background!

The background is what the Earth looks like at this time above Dearborn, Michigan, USA.

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$1,000,000 – Fun Stuff RAOJ

Posted on May 30, 2004 | Leave a comment

You are given a gift of 1 million dollars (kindly adjust for currency in your location). There are some restrictions on how you can spend some of the money, as follows:

$100,000 must be donated to charity. What charities will you support?
Probably the two different shelters and the crisis hotline that I’ve volunteered for.
$100,000 must be given to one person that you know. To whom do you give it? What would you expect him/her to do with it? Would you put any restrictions on its use? Would it make a difference if you could make the donation anonymously?
Probably my Mom. She’d have to use it for travel (off of this continent) but I think I’d force her to learn computers first so she can take pictures and post, blog and send e-mail while she travels. She can take a friend, but she’s gotta take a different friend/relative on each trip(?)
$100,000 must be given to someone who has recently been in the news. Who gets it? Why?
Hmmm… I don’t watch/read enough news and everyone I hear about is bad… I’m sure I could find some deserving person/family who’s had some hard times, or needs something to get their business back together.
$100,000 must be spent on a public beautification project. You can build a park, commission artwork, etc. What do you do, and where do you do it?
There is a boring little park down the street that would be nice if it were redone maybe something with that.
$100,000 must be spent on a memorial to someone/something that you have loved and lost. What form does the memorial take? Who is it for?
The Frank Hill memorial computer lab / reference center for the Berkley Public Library (with WiFi). Grandpa got me interested to think about things: science, technology and to read a lot. I remember going up with him to that library when I was a kid.
$50,000 must be spent studying something you have not formally studied. What will you study?
Astronomy, I always wanted to understand it better.
$50,000 must be spent establishing a scholarship. What’s it for and who will you name it for?
It would be for students to offset school costs and to get them up-to-date with technology (nice laptop, printer, WiFi, PDA, iPod, TV, Stereo, subscription to NetFlix, iTunes store, etc.) so they can have some of the cool comforts…
$50,000 must be given away in a contest. What kind of contest do you hold?
A Michigan teacher web site contest. We’d supply space or they could use their own. They keep the site up for one school year. At the end we give five $10,000 prizes. Best content. Most updated (with real content). Best Design. Best Page/Post. One random (as long as they actively used it for a whole year).
$200,000 must be spent doing as many things as you can on your “lifetime to do list.” Always wanted to see Alaska? Take a boat trip on the Rhine? What things would you do first?
Travel like I never have before (and it’d all be first class!), some cruises, Paris, Egypt. Having a child is one my list so I’d be working on that too!
That leaves you with $150,000 of mad money. If the rules say you can’t spend that money on things that might be termed “practical,” what do you buy on your spending spree?
Geek out the house with more gizmos and such. Probably the same for the car (DVD/MP3/Player). One of those new infrared outdoor grills. TiVos, iMacs and home theater systems for all my family and friends. One of those cars that will go in the water like a boat. There isn’t much I need but I’m sure I could figure out a way to spend it.

From Random Acts of Journalling

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Michigan Driving :(

Posted on April 23, 2004 | Leave a comment

I’m in Kalamazoo today for a conference (MACUL Education Technology Coordinators Conference) which is a very nice conference so far but I knew I should have come out last night. I-94 was a mess and I can’t stand to drive in construction when it’s busy. I’ve really learned to love the train but the times didn’t work out for me. Even the longcuts (longer than shortcuts) aren’t any good since they are doing construction on those roads too…
I really don’t look forward to heading back home…

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Movable Type is SO versatile!

Posted on April 22, 2004 | Leave a comment

So I just did a demo of Movable Type for the technology coordinators in our county (Wayne, Michigan). It was focused around the ways that I use it for school (work) for to help our staff. It’s at http://techliterate.net/ if you are interested, there are three categories (Tech Help, Tech Tips and Reference Information). You’ll notice the Tech Support and the Tech Tips are cross-referenced together in the right-hand column (I love how great Movable Type is!). It’s a (very) boring background, but it’s consistent and the colors change as you go from area to area (and it I think it looks mostly the same in all browsers). My point of this isn’t so much the demo as that Movable Type is great software.

And of course I had to mention how crazy I thought friends (i.e. Heather) were when they first mentioned it to me. And now, here I am looking for a 12 step program to help me…

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Gay Marriage in Michigan

Posted on March 22, 2004 | 3 comments

So this topic has been bugging me. So I’ll whine for my longest time ever here (have I ever whined here?). If insanity is ‘doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results’ and ‘those who don’t pay attention to history are doomed to repeat it’. Aren’t the people against this going to lose against the couples fighting for their rights? Are they insane expecting different results!?!

I’ve read a few times that Michigan already has a law that bans gay marriage (here and here) but I personally don’t understand why Michigan was/is also trying to add it to the constitution. I’m not sure if I’ve read this in a reliable news source though, I’ve been obsessed with blogs lately so it might have been there. FYI: Michigan does allow public universities and other entities to provide benefits for same-sex couples that are the same as if the couple was married. (I’ve modified this paragraph a few times since the original post).

Same-sex couples are going to get married in non-official weddings regardless of the law, right? They’ve been doing it for years, even on the steps of the state capitol. So as far as they are concerned, they are married and others will continue to do so. If same-sex couples are getting the same benefits at work (even state/public universities) then what is the difference?!?

I have a real question. If a couple goes and gets married somewhere legal and comes back to Michigan, does their job have to give both members benefits?

This final thought:
“A heterosexual woman who abuses her infant in the womb with drugs and alcohol, and who later fails to provide food or shelter, is granted greater privilege before the law than a lesbian couple who wishes to adopt and properly care for that same child.” This caught my eye while I was looking for a Monday meme and led me to this article which (re)started this thought process while I was in the middle of blogging, hence this entry.

Please feel free to polietly correct me on any incorrect legalisms.

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