Still Alive

Hello out there! It's been a while since we last blogged, but we have not fallen off Mt. Galbraith to our doom. We have been extraordinarily busy with work as well as with fun. Just this week, my company was bought by the First Data Corporation (we have yet to see how that will affect my job), and Julia got accepted into DU, the University of Denver, for graduate school. Congratulations Julia!

As far as extracurricular activities, we had opportunity to see two excellent shows this week alone - Roger Waters, of Pink Floyd fame, and the fun international-flavored jazz band, Pink Martini, playing with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra (funny, two pink flavored bands in one week).

Roger Waters was amazing, playing the entire Dark Side of the Moon album, along with perfect renditions of favorites from The Wall and Wish You Were Here. At one point we were blessed to witness a flying Obama Pig zooming around the Pepsi Center while the band rocked out one of my favorite songs, "Dogs". Pink Martini wowed us with their virtuosity and seamless blending of old movie-based jazz tunes, exotic foreign language pieces, and bold, modern renditions of Ravel's Bolero and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. That is one classy and interesting band, and they looked like they were having a ball. Incidentally, in August they will be at the Democratic National Convention here in Denver.

Tomorrow, to round out the week of entertainment with some sports, we see a Rockies game vs. the LA Dodgers. Hopefully our home team can rally and get out of their slump.

As you can see, Colorado has more than enough to keep us busy. Till next time!

types of coloradoans - part 2

Boulder women - These women are very intriguing to me. They are wealthy and hippie at the same time. True Bobos. Like, I'm pretty sure these women compost their human waste; yet, you'll see them shopping on the Pearl Street Mall at the chic boutiques, wearing expensive, designers clothes which fall over their freely, sagging breasts. No bra, unshaven bodies, and no makeup, yet still an air of class to them. It's a way of life in Boulder. In fact, I think keeping up with the Jones means who can live the greenest life.

Boulder men - The counterpart to Boulder women. Strolling through the Pearl Street Mall, ever block or so, you'll come across a crazy-looking, middle-aged, homeless man. Yet these men, with their over-grown beards and manes, ashkenazi noses with spectacles atop, shirts disheveled on their torsos, are wearing expensive, clean shoes. In fact, all their clothes have been carefully picked from store racks. They also seem to be carrying leather-bound journals and look as if they're on their way to sip espresso. I have yet to determine if they are the husbands of the Prada-wearing, hippie women.

the time is now

This weekend I was asked a question I had never thought about before. Someone said to me, "So, when did you get into Obama?" I didn't know. After a few hems and haws and crinkling of the face, I narrowed it down to a period of time. It must have started after the 2004 DNC where Barack was the keynote speaker. At this point in my life I was just graduating college where I spent those years immersed in media and had a fervent hunger for politics. I remember snippets and references to the speech all over the news and from that moment on it became a snowball of media coverage until today. I can't remember not being 'into' Obama, because the more I learned about him the more my admiration for him grew; so it was only natural to support the idea of him running for president when it was first introduced.

At the time of the 2004 speech, I don't think anyone, including Barack, thought he would be the top presidential (not just democratic) candidate for 2008. But the people are speaking louder than ever. This is the time. This this his time. This is OUR time. It must be now. I truly believe if we let this great leader pass us by at this very moment in history, that it will be too late for our nation to recover and rebuild to the respected posture we once modeled.

Obama is what the world needs now.

Dunk that Junk

Looking over all the mail we got this week, I think almost 90% of it is junk - credit card offers, home equity and debt consolidation pitches, catalogs, and other assorted cruft that goes straight to the recycle bin without even being opened. What a waste of paper!

I decided to spend a chunk of today figuring out how to stop the endless tide of junk mail. Luckily I found a very informative website that details how to opt-out of direct mail (as well as telephone solicitations).

In summary here are the steps I took today:

• Credit Bureaus Main Opt-Out Line - Probably the majority of my junk mail results from lists provided by credit agencies such as Equifax and Transunion - these are the credit card and loan offers. I called 888 567-8688 and found out I can opt-out permanently online by visiting: https://www.optoutprescreen.com/. From here you can fill out an online form, and then you must print out and mail a paper form.

• Experian Consumer Services - I called 402 458-5247 to opt out of non-credit offers from Experian. I simply had to leave my name, address, and phone number after the voice recording.

• Direct Mail Lists - I wrote a simple letter to each of the following organizations and politely asked them to remove me from their direct mailing lists. I included my name and address.

DMA - Direct Marketing Association Opt-Out
Mail Preference Service
P.O. Box 282
Carmel, NY 10512

Dunn & Bradstreet
Customer Service
899 Eaton Ave.
Bethlehem, PA 18025

Metromail Corporation
List Maintenance
901 West Bond
Lincoln, NE 68521

R.L. Polk & Co. - Name Deletion File
List Compilation Development
26955 Northwestern Hwy
Southfield, MI 48034-4716

Database America
Compilation Department
470 Chestnut Ridge Road
Woodcliff, NJ 07677

I really hope these actions will help reduce the junk in our mailbox and save a few trees.

Don't Forget to Vote

I wanted to remind everyone who doesn't live in one of the states that already held a presidential primary or caucus, to vote! As implied in our blog's title, we live in Colorado, and like over 20 other states, our caucus takes place February 5. If you also live in our great state, please take a moment to figure out how to caucus. It's a rather baroque process, and not as straightforward as a primary - as we found out, having moved from Florida.

You can find out here the location of your caucus (yes, the link is through Barack Obama's site - we are unabashed supporters of Obama - but I would emphasize that we would rather you vote, even if it's for someone else, than not vote at all!).

green is the new black

Today our first BioBags order came in the mail! In my constant struggle to be more green I'm trying to eliminate the number of plastic bags that go to the landfill. Though I recycle most of our plastic shopping bags, we still have our kitchen bags, our kitty-poop bags and our waste basket bags which all get thrown into the weekly trash. The new BioBags are a unique vegetable makeup which completely bio-degrades into the earth. The bright green color is a bit different than the traditional white, but the end result is one step closer to a healthy planet.
What step did you take today to be more green?

obama rama

After Bush's reelection in 2004 I lost confidence in the voters. How could any person make a conscience choice to keep that administration in office? But on Thursday, when Barack swept the Iowa caucus, that confidence returned. For the first time in years the people are speaking out. They want their country back. Frank Rich of the New York Times echoed my feelings exactly in his recent column, when he said, "AFTER so many years of fear and loathing, we had almost forgotten what it’s like to feel good about our country. On Thursday night, that long-dormant emotion came rushing back, like an old dream that pops out of the deepest recesses of memory, suddenly as clear as light."
Barack's victory speech had me in tears. Tears of joy, hope and the extraordinary feeling that history is being made. This man will lead our country the way it should be led. His genuineness, strength and ability to unite are what Americans deserve after seven years of Bush and we shouldn't demand anything less.
Go Barack!