To the Swansons - a lifetime of fireworks

This weekend, one which another year of our independence was celebrated, Coronas consumed and fireworks displayed - was also one which two fine Canadians became one...in a little town called Czar, Alberta. Tuques anyone?

Seven years ago, at the age of 17, I arrived in Sydney to cheer in the Down Under Bowl. It was at that time that I met two co-cheerleaders from Colorado, Mollie & Ashley. I remember sitting on the Gold Coast, burying my feet in the sand with these two new friends. We quickly began telling each other all about our future husbands and how our weddings would be. We mapped out our lives. (Back then, I was a sap, yes.) The immediate bond was strange, but I knew without a doubt, we would be friends for a long time. What we didn't know without a doubt - was that the boy that Ashley spoke of that summer seven years back - turned out to be her husband.

And as the fireworks went off over the lake Saturday night - I smiled, knowing that something similar was going on just a wee bit more north of my desert abode. :)

Congratulations Ashley & Clinton Swanson. I'm unbelievably happy for the two of you and eagerly await what wonderful things life brings to your marriage.

"It's the little things in life, ma'am"

There's a guy at Walgreen's, who works in the photo department, that lives by the mantra that it's the little things in life that make a difference. On several occasions, he's demonstrated this to me.

A few months back, I was getting pictures developed and he told me to wait a few minutes for them to print. I wandered into the used-movie section and awaited my pictures. As I read the back cover of "The Story of Us," my pictures popped into my line of sight. There he was - this photo technician - standing there with a smile, hand-delivering my order to me in my isle. Surprised, I said, "Wow sir, thank you so much - you didn't have to bring these to me over here."

"It's the little things in life, ma'am," he said with a smirk.


Months later, I'm wondering if he's right.

Dear Walgreen's worker on 16th and Camelback: You're much more than a photo-technician. And, I think you're fantastic.

Zing, Zang, Zoom; We'll Miss you MJ

From my standpoint, the circus was a two hour jackpot and combination of all things amazing and fun: synchronized elephants performing headstands, women being catapulted out of 20 feet canons, crazy clowns juggling bowling pins, magic, tightrope performances, circ du soleil-esque ribbon people, poodles riding tri-cycles, performers jumping through, literally, flaming hoops - and tigers.

At one point, two large circles were outlined in the arena and a group of horses were ushered into one (the one nearest our seats) and a group of zebras into the other. I was pissed that we got the ordinary horses and could hardly see the zebras. That is, until the horses began to run in circles and, on command, neigh up in unison, then continue running, and again, in unison, begin to hop and perform tricks. Meanwhile, the zebras were merely running from one side of their pin to the other, simultaneously tripping over one another and doing nothing as spectacular as my horses.

It seemed that white and black striped animals - they don't have to do tricks. It's cool enough that they're uniquely patterned.

First trip to the circus - success. Zing, Zang, Zoom.

Which flowed right into the following day at work, in which I discovered that Michael Jackson had died. The only thing I could do was march back into my office, change my online Pandora radio station to Michael Jackson's, turn the volume up, and gaze blankly at my computer screen.

It was such a bizarre feeling really, just to think back on a good chunk of my childhood, all laced with Michael Jackson's music: cross-country road trips, inside jokes, and of course, the dances my friends and I used to make up to his songs, only to be performed in my living room for my family. At this time, we had his tapes, and one of us would push down on the play button and then sprint back to our positions. And man would we put our emotions into these dances - leaping and bounding off of beds and fire place mantles. We felt the rhythm and we were super, super cool.

Thinking back on it, the family never did laugh or show anything but awe and encouragement, which is, to put it lightly...impressive. It wasn't until years down the road, at a highschool pep rally, that Michael Jackson made his next appearance in my dancing life, and along with the cheerleading squad, we performed Thriller. Dressing the part, we all looked dead. And with red food dye dripping down my face, one thing that stands out in my memory, was throwing my fake arm into the audience.

It's so cliche, but the impact he had on so many of our lives...it was something. And for me personally, this was quite the loss. You will be missed, Michael Jackson.
You will be missed.

The land of dogs, beer carts and coworkers

It's been an interesting first week at MA. I've been diving in full-speed to learn and get involved with everything tourism related from an agency side.

My office - near the basketball court, frequented by a number of dogs and visited by the beer cart at 4pm on Friday. Well, and it's always productive and efficient.

So far, so good.

Today, I got an email to the entire staff stating that circus animals were being unloaded into our neighbor building, the US Aiways Center. Without wasting any time, I was out of my office and bolting out the front door to see the action. And low and behold, there were nine or 10 elephants being unloaded off of a train and into the arena. Then came the tigers, then came the clowns.

The circus is in town.

Good thing for me, media had tickets - and I snagged two. I'm in.

I'll have to report back.