2009, it's been real. It's been fun. It's been REAL FUN!

Recently, my boy Addy D joined the working world after finishing his grand and adventurous college experience. He chose his 1st big boy job in Phoenix, AZ, mostly due to the weather and Cactus League baseball. Naturally, a visit to the southwest was in order soon after the transition, to check out his situation and bring some enthusiasm to his life via the Big Guy Express. I have been a part of the so-called ‘Real World’ for 18 months now and I still don’t know what the big deal is. Can anybody tell me how getting paid to do the same work you did in college with no tests and no homework is worse than college itself? Anyone? Bueller?

Here’s the deal, I’ll give my take on why it is much better to be a working stiff vs. a college student simply based on the places I’ve been in the last 12 months. If you can make an argument for the other side, feel free to give it a shot. It seems fitting, as this will be my last post of 2009, to have a little recap of my travels around the country. I don’t mean to toot my own horn but, let’s call it what it is, exactly that. I even surprised myself after I compiled the list. So here goes….TOOT! TOOT! (This post was originally going to be about what happened in AZ with Addy and DC, and maybe some Christmas highlights but I don’t know if I’ll get to that now. I don’t know if I’ll have enough time. Sometimes these posts have a mind of their own).

Places I’ve been for leisure in 2009:

The Vegas (New Years 2009), Winter Park (Feb. Ski trip), OK City (Mar. Cowboy search), MSP* (6th consecutive Twins home opener), Dallas (April new ballpark trip), Bemidji* (May Memorial Day weekend), MSP* (May Bro/Sis b-day Twins game), Boston (May DMB shows), Boston (4th of July), Chicago (July Cubs/Cards at Wrigley), Roseau* (Aug. Wedding), Bemidji* (Aug. vacation week), MSP* (Sep. Gopher football) Des Moines* (Sept. DMB show), MSP* (49ers vs. Vikes), Kansas City* (Sept. DMB show), Grand Forks* (Oct. Gopher/Sioux hockey), MSP* (Oct. Gopher football/Halloween), Orlando (Nov. caddie for my Aunt’s Future’s Tour qualifier), Lawrence (Nov. Husker/KU football), Bemidji* (Turkey Day), Phoenix (Dec. Shawn’s b-day celebration), Bemidji* (Christmas).

Places I’ve been for work in 2009:

Wichita (58 days over seven months), Panama City, FLA (19 days during July and August), The Vegas (5 days in August).

* These places aren’t really special because of their location (since they are cities in my home state and the place I went to college) but, I’ve included them because of the distance I did travel to reach them. Once I got further in to this post it changed again from trying to prove how being a working stiff is better than a college student to finding out how many miles I've traveled in the 2009 calendar year. What a turn of events. If only someone took the time to google map that information and display it in an easy to read format. Oh wait! I already did that.

The Vegas - 1,287 mi. (I only drove one way, accompanying Addy on his way to AZ for his internship)
Winter Park, CO - 1,196 mi. roundtrip
OK City - from Wichita 320 mi. roundtrip
MSP - 780 mi. roundtrip times 5 = 3,900 mi.
Dallas - from Wichita 740 mi. roundtrip
Bemidji - 1,142 mi. roundtrip times 2.5 = 2,855
Chicago - 994 mi. roundtrip
Roseau - Omaha/Roseau/Bemidji/Wright/MSP route 1,024 mi.
Kansas City - 400 mi. roundtrip

Grand Forks - 1,110 mi. roundrtip

Lawrence - 450 mi. roundtrip

Add those all up and I have willingly spent approximately 14,276 miles in the car. Couple that with my air miles:

Vegas to Omaha – 1,100 mi.
Omaha to Boston – 2,560 mi. roundtrip times 2 = 5,120
MSP to Orlando – 2,620 mi. roundtrip
Wichita to Phoenix – 871 mi.
Phoenix to Omaha – 1,040 mi.

Total leisure highway miles and air miles equals 25,027. Now, if you’re like me, numbers like that don’t really mean much unless there is a comparative figure. As it turns out, I've thought of everything today. The circumference of the Earth is 24,860 miles. I circumnavigated the globe just during my spare time. Remember that book Around the World in 80 Days? According to my rough estimations, I would have done it in 40 days. So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.

Now getting back to the second point of this post, there is no way I could have enjoyed all that awesomeness traveling around the country as a poor college student. I did go on some great trips but most were funded by other means. As I said before, make your argument if you have one. Maybe it starts being the 'Real World' when you get married and have kids, which in turn sucks all of your extra flow in to real expenses. That must be it.

Finally, I'll come full circle and say that I had a great time in Phoenix celebrating Shawn's birthday with DC and Addy. Unfortunately for Shawn, he was unable to attend his own birthday weekend celebration due to some miscommunication in the Whiting family. Despite missing the birthday boy, we tried to make the most of it. We paid tribute to our missing friend with every drink or shot with this toast: Here's to Shawn! Happy Birthday!

The trip was an all around great time but one story sticks out in my mind. We didn't really have a plan for Saturday afternoon so when talks of summiting the great Camelback Mountain came about, we thought, why not? How hard can it be? It won't take us very long, right? We certainly won't be coming down in the dark, right? Well, to answer the last three questions: harder than we thought, longer than we thought, and yes we would be coming down in the dark.

It took us a good 1.5 hours to get to the top and, not that you need climbing gear or anything, I was not in the right attire (or the right shape) for that kind of activity. Most everyone climbing it had on athletic gear, weren't carrying cameras, and had water bottles. After a look around at the top and some nice photogs, we began our descent with the sun near setting. Quite soon it was dark and we were having trouble staying on the so-called path. Halfway down, Addy realizes that his watch broke and fell off his wrist. Addy and DC decide to go back for it, in the dark, with only a vague idea of where it fell off. I took this opportunity to inform them that I would be staying in my current location, for safety reasons. How were they to find the way down if I wasn't there as a guiding light? Obviously the real reasons I wasn't going back up was because I gave them a negative 3000% chance of finding the watch and I simply didn't want to climb back up the steepest part of the mountain given the chances of success. I even included Shawn, telling him of the situation via text message. Here's our conversation:

Me: We climbed camelback mnt and made it half way back down when addy realized his watch fell off somewhere. Its dark and they went back for it. Might not make it

Shawn: Wow. addy would do that. watch out for rattlers.

Me: Ridiculous. Isnt that watch from [ex-girlfriend]? I say good riddance.

Shawn: I'd leave it too.

Me: We could come back tomorrow and look in the light. Its pretty treacherous, especially in the dark. I cant see shit

Shawn: Are u at the bottom?

Me: I'm where addy realized he lost it. U rnt gonna believe it but someone founmd it and they r almost back to me

Shawn: So your only half way down? criminy x mas trees. u best be cussing them out. i cant have them falling off a mtn on my bday trip that im not on. blundercity.

Me: No worries mate. We got down safely. Saved a chicks life and got a $50 parking ticket for being in there past sunset. All in a good hike

Well that text convo pretty much wraps up the story. Happy New Year!!

Near the bottom. I still thought it was going to be a walk in the park. Anyone see Addy? I do!

TEAMWORK! (See! Tougher than we thought.)

All fun and games until the sun goes down...

At Four Peaks Brewing Co., a Mesa Vikings bar

Who got this hip hop on lock hit? Kozmic Prophet.

I was recently jamming to my music on shuffle when a song came up that brought back some good memories. It took me back to last February when some friends and I were on a little ski trip in Colorado. I was separated from the rest of the crew for some reason, wandering aimlessly. Little did I know my life was about to change. Down at the base of the mountain, I was approached by a prophet but, not just any prophet, Kozmic Prophet. Who is Kozmic Prophet? Kozmic Prophet is so many things, a rapper, an entertainer, a fellow snowboarder but, mostly he is a guy that peddles his demo CDs to people at the base of Winter Park Mountain.

He caught my attention with this opening line, 'Hey man, do you want to support the local hip hop community?' Tractor beam, sucked me right in. The main reason I was so intrigued is because I was asked the same question just 1.5 months prior in The Vegas while walking in to a liquor store on New Year's Eve. I guess I just look like a gangsta, I mean, as gangsta as a white boy in cargo shorts and a polo can look. In Vegas, I simply nodded and kept on walking. I treated this second encounter slightly different. I couldn't get asked that question twice in a lifetime and not take the opportunity to give my full support on both occasions. I felt like I owed something to the hip hop culture.

After the Prophet gave me a little rundown of what he does, he showed me his CD. He told me it was 'pure fire' or something very close to that. He was very enthusiastic and as you may know, I thrive on that. I asked how much it would take to support his community. He told me $5. SOLD! I had to carry it in my jacket for the rest of the day while I snowboarded because it was morning when I bought it. I had soon forgotten of my purchase but, imagine my suprise and excitement when I found that little gem in my pocket that night. It was close to the excitement level I reach when we play 'The Warrior' on repeat at the bar. Extremely high. We returned to the condo that night, the disc was played and it was played LOUDLY. We bumped those tracks on repeat for hours. I recommend 'The Next Level,' it's my jam.

I have to admit that I didn't purchase the CD for the musical value (which I was pleasantly suprised by) but, more for the story I would someday be able to tell about it. That day has arrived. I hope you enjoyed. I waited this long because I hoped Kozmic could get off the ground and onto the airwaves alone but, after almost a year, it's clear he needs my help*. I put Dan Patrick on the map, why not Kozmic Prophet.

I have one more exercise for you all. Close your eyes and purge your thoughts of everything. Now, think of the Kozmic Prophet. Picture him in your head. If you are picturing a freckled, red-headed, white guy, the Prophet himself has spoken to you. If not, shame on you!

I really like the lyrics in the song 'Datz Wack' (not listed above)

*Turns out he doesn't need my help as much as I thought! I found his album on iTunes for $9.99! Looks like I got the deal of a lifetime!

Don't read if thirsty

The Thanksgiving weekend was an enjoyable one. Despite the drive, I was able to arrive at 10 pm. Unfortuanely, the drive itself did not go as smoothly as I had hoped. I wasn't in a crash or got a speeding ticket (not that those things weren't well deserved) but, something happened that I feel was odd and extraordinary. It never happens to me and that is why I feel this story must be told.

There was an extremely uncomfortable, dare I say painful, stretch of my journey that spanned basically the entire state of South Dakota. As I left Omaha, or 'The HUH!!' as I like to call it, my silver chariot had just over a quarter tank of gas. This led me to have a planned stop in Sioux City or thereabouts to re-fuel and get some of my normal road trip drinks: diet mtn dew (it’s not mountain anymore folks, just look at the logo), Amp, Starbucks Frappachino, and Arizona Arnold Palmer Lite. Anytime I travel, some combination of these drinks will be consumed. Despite the amount of liquid I have on any given trip, I NEVER need to relieve myself outside the normal fuel stops that are necessary whilst driving long distances. I pride myself on that fact. I see it as a weakness and, if you are riding with me, I won't hesitate to ridicule you for your shortcomings. This stems from my father never stopping on road trips, which got me used to it, and from me wanting to get where I’m going absolutely as fast as possible, so I would hold it for hours at a time. It's almost as if my pride swells in unison with my bladder. Obviously being able to fight mother nature longer than the next guy makes you more of a man.

I figured my 2nd stop to be in Fargo which google maps tells me is 300 miles away from my aforementioned planned stop in Elk Point, SD where I did purchase fuel for the car and body. I must not have shook hands with the governor long enough at my stop because I had to go the second I got back on the interstate . Thinking about it right now makes me have to go. An hour or so later, I was considering going for the 1 liter DMD bottle. That's an easy move to pull off if you aren't driving but, since I was and I didn't want to risk missing my target, I held off. Even though I was feeling real pain and actually dancing around in my seat as I drove, I still thought it would pass and I could make it to Fargo even though I was a good 250 miles out. I really thought I could beat it and it kind of became a challenge. That's the kind of stubborness I have sometimes, usually about something little i.e. saving 7 minutes on an 8 hour drive home. It's important.

I finally broke down and stopped in Sisseton, SD (irony anyone?). That's 90 miles from Fargo. Imagine if I would have tried to hold it for another hour+. I might have exploded, quite possibly putting others on the road in danger. That's where I draw the line. I can endanger myself all I want but, I value the lives of others. What can I say, I'm a caring person. In the end the stop literally cost me 7 minutes. I was shaking hands with the governor for 6.5 of those minutes. That includes filling up with gas. I know one is supposed to wait for the pump to stop before going in but, obviously I was in crisis mode here, so the rulebook went out the window; sue me.

Now I realize that I have written 4 paragraphs on a pee story and I apologize. Here's something that sticks with the theme of this post to cheer you up. Some of you may be wondering if I learned my lesson. Seriously, you all should know better than that. Next time I will make it to Fargo. Mind over matter kids, that's all there is to it.

Getting back to the original intent of this post, which was to recap some of the Thanksgiving weekend. I did somewhat accomplish my goal of eating two Thanksgiving meals. I stated in my last post that I wanted to eat one meal, puke it all up, then go back for round two. Instead, I ate the amount of food that would normally be considered two Thanksgiving meals in the same time it took the rest of my fellow pilgrims to eat one Thanksgiving meal. I'd like to say the feat I pulled off is greater than my original goal but, after sleeping on it I've decided that the ralphing is really the toughest part to go through with and, since I failed to do that, my goal will live on.

My weekend can be summed up by a text I received from my boy Addy that read: 209, keg, and perkins for dusty tonight?

The 1st two are bars and the 2nd is the best place in America to get a chicken tender melt in the wee hours of the morning. Although I didn't make it to Keg, I did enjoy a tasty treat at Perkins which was, in a word, glorious. Another highlight of the trip home was the absolute destroyal of some Dave's pizza. It's a local diamond in the rough. Good times in B-town.

My brother told me a story that I had a hard time believing. He told me a random person came up to him and said 'I read your brother's blog.' So here's an experiment. If you read this post you must make some kind of comment. You don't have to have an account, anyone can do it. I suggest something light and fun. Sample comments: You are awesome and I love you! or I can't live without reading your brilliant writing, don't ever stop (that's what she said)! Anything to that effect would be super.