Saturday, 04 July 2009

Ignite To Remember

It turned out better than thought possible, this last edition of Ignite Boulder

741 wonderful people came out to see Ignite Boulder 5. Lots of laughter, geeky enthusiasm and energy filled the Boulder Theatre. The presenters were amazing. The volunteers, outstanding. The closing bands The Autumn Film & The Fellow Citizens, were entertaining.

Eventually the crowd dispersed, tables packed up and put away, final details attended to. 

Shifting from the IRL to the internet, the energy taken from Ignite moved forward and outward. Twitter & FriendFeed & Facebook were alive with feedback & congrats to presenters that lasted thru the night.

If you were there, you know what I mean. If you weren't, I'm truly sorry you weren't able to experience the magic.

Not sure how we can top Ignite Boulder 5, or if we even can. 

But I can't wait to try.

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(Immense thanks & <3  to the Ignite Boulder 5 Planning Committee : Andrew Hyde, Aaron Sagray, Ef Rodriguez, Grant Blakeman, Larkin Carey, Mike Kohn,Rande Kamolz and Jo White! I'm honored to be a part of this wonderful group)

Jump!

Never be afraid to take a chance. Especially if you've weighed the pro's & con's. If it feels right, then do it. Jump!

Seems I've made lots of major life decisions on or around the 4th of July.  Decisions along the lines of ending a marriage. Moving to a place I've never been. Having surgery. Those kinds of decisions. All decisions that happened to revolve around independence in one form or another.

In each case, the decision was right for me. Perfect timing too. Things turned out better than I or anyone else had hoped for. In the process of doing so, I made promises to myself. Some promises I've kept. Some? Not so much. 

So it's natural for me to revisit what's happened and take stock of my life. Congratulate myself for the victories and renew the promises I made to myself to improve in certain areas that need improvement. 

It helps that I'm around awesome people that I trust and look up to. It helps having role models, both personally and professionally. And I'm doubly blessed with an overabundance of role models. Some I've come to know since I've moved here and several I've met in the last week...the last day even!

Independence and freedom are wonderful things that I honestly don't take for granted. Especially when the road to that freedom is not easy. But then, happy endings aren't always easy...and aren't always meant to be.

Is there a jump you want to make? Then do it! Plan it out, be thoughtful about it, rely on your role models, then go for it and make that jump.

Happy Independence Day!

Monday, 29 June 2009

Top 10 Reasons You WANT To See Ignite Boulder 5

What is Ignite Boulder 5? Why should you see it? When is it? And why am I totally excited about it?


In 10 easy answers, here's why....

10. Larkin will be there  I can't even type the topic of his presentation cause it gives me goosebumps, so you'll have to read all about it.

9. It's the perfect way to kick off the 4th of July weekend.

8. Ignite Boulder 5 is the brain-child of Andrew Hyde  If you don't know Andrew, you should. And hey, you can MEET him at Ignite Boulder 5. So there ya go!

7. Chance to win cool stuff. Adobe CS 4. 16GB iPhone GS

6. It'll be fun. And funny. When's the last time you laughed?

5. Which stands for 5 bones. Have fun, laugh and win free stuff...all for $5

4. Meet people. Ummm, YEAH!  Have met some of the COOLEST people ever at the last two Ignites I've attended.

3. You will feel HORRIBLE when you hear how much fun it was...and you weren't there. (my feeble attempt at Jewish guilt. Is it working?)

2. Two kick-ass local bands : The Autumn Film and Fellow Citizens will play after the show.

And the Number One Reason You Want To See Ignite Boulder 5?

It's for you. And me. All of us. If you have any online presence...or even if you don't...it's a really fun, inexpensive, intelligent, goofy, interesting, music-filled and lemony fresh way to interact with a bunch of people that like to have fun.

What are you waiting for?? 

Click here and I'll see you there!

Monday, 22 June 2009

Thank You, Internet!

Today is the birthday of someone that's very dear to me. Normally he's near to me too, just not today cause he's celebrating his birthday in London with the love of his life, who is also very near and dear to me.


It's Tom's birthday. He and Dale are celebrating in England while they are on their whirlwind European tour. I don't know if they will see a whirlwind, or if Dale will surprise Tom with a whirlwind while they are there...you never know with Dale. Or Tom, for that matter.

I met Tom and Dale thru the internet (thanks Micah ), which is nothing new these days and certainly nothing new in my life.  Micah profiled Tom's blog, I started reading, Tom started reading mine, and then one day out of the blue, Tom and Dale popped into work with several hot fresh cookies straight from Mrs. Field's oven.  Cause I was having a bad day. That's just the kind of people Tom and Dale are...always thinking of everyone else.

So we continued to comment, they continued to drop by to say hi to surprise me, and finally (last year during the DNC) Tom and I actually had a chance to sit down and chat. And it was awesome. Just like Tom. And Dale.

So many people always talk about 'Social Media' and the value it can bring to a business. Page hits, site rankings, followers...it's all the rage.  For me, Social Media is about the 'SOCIAL'. The people you meet and how they grow from being blogs or Twitterers or even Facebook Friends to friends that you care about and interact with. Then one day it's like you've known them all your life and you can't imagine your life without them in it.

Much like I feel about Tom and Dale.

Tom, your birthday present is back here, waiting for your return

Thanks to you and Dale for being such wonderful friends and having me as a friend as well.

Have a wonderful birthday my dear friend, and if the Queen won't take time out to have you over for a spot of tea, that's her loss.


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Saturday, 20 June 2009

ALWAYS Be Prepared

Guessing it's ok for me to take the snow shovel out of my truck, right?

Just wanted to be...you know...prepared and all!

Sunday, 14 June 2009

Mobile Me

Yet another reason why Mobile Me is so awesome?

Within seconds of entering a name & number into Address Book on my laptop, the info automatically pops up on my iPhone. Like magic!!

I love Mobile Me, I really do!

Saturday, 13 June 2009

Fresh Air For Your Soul

That's the feeling I get everytime I read Grant's Blog.

Do yourself a favor and check him out.

Wassup?

I've not fallen off the earth, contrary to what some of you may think.  Life's been busy and interesting and challenging and as always, fun.

So where to start?

This time last week I was in California with my family and close to 65 friends celebrating my Dad's birthday. It was an amazing weekend and my Dad was thrilled to see so many friends that traveled from far away (ahem, Denver?) to spend the day in celebration of his birthday.

I met a second cousin for the very first time. Saw lots of friends from back in the day (we're talking grade school). Nephews, nieces, and friends that drove an awfully long way to share the day with my family. Discovered that many of my long-time friends are now on Facebook, which made me happy like you can't believe. 

Got lots of really awesome pix but since my parents & family prefer not to have their pix splashed across my blog, you'll have to use your imagination.

Here's something you can feast your eyes on...

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In-N-Out Double Double's. Yum. Like you can't believe.

True to form, we stopped at In-N-Out on the way home from the airport so I could have my fix. And over the course of 4 days, I had lunch at In-N-Out 4 times. You would too if you had the chance.

Of course, two can play that game.

My evil plan to get my family hooked on something that is specifically Colorado is working. My secret weapon for getting my family to visit is :

Boulder Parmesan Garlic potato chips. I brought 3 bags with me...one for my sister Diane, my sister Kelly and one for my parents.  

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All's fair in love and war and bribing loved ones to come visit, right?

My trip to CA was just about perfect except for when Walmart tried to kill me. Oh yes. They are evil.  

For those of you that know me well, I prefer not to shop at Walmart. Or go anywhere near Walmart. Last time I bought anything at a Walmart was 9 years ago.

So I'm running errands with Diane the night before my Dad's Birthday Bash and she wants to go to Walmart. Where she shops all the time. So, the quandry started. Do I sit in the car and make a personal statement? Or do I go in with my sister and get to spend more quality time with her?

I chose quality time. When you don't live around the corner from your siblings....much less in the same time zone...you want to spend as much time together as possible.

As we were walking into the store, I tripped. Badly. Next thing I knew, I was laying on the ground screaming my head off and embarrassing my sister like you can't believe. Landed knees first which was not fun. As I was sprawled on the ground in pain, a man called over to us to ask if I was ok. Diane said I was, just shaken up. Then the man added his wife had just fallen in the same spot. Hmm.

Upon further inspection, we noticed there was a huge bump in the asphalt that reached the width of the parking aisle. Since it was dark outside, it was pretty much invisible until you walked right into it.

Di helped me back to her car and told me to wait while she got a manager. While I waited, I observed 5 groups enter the store. 4 of the groups tripped in the same place. A manager came out to take an accident report and my sister went back inside to shop. Initally, the manager was sure the bump was a result of tree roots. I disagreed with her and told her it had to be structural from below the parking lot.

As she took the report, 9 groups walked by. 7 groups tripped. The manager was not happy. Another manager joined us (who had just graduated from Nursing school) and she did a great job of bandaging me up. More people walked by. More people tripped.

The Walmart managers, to their credit, were nice and apologetic and very sincere. They promised to follow up with me once I was back in CO.

Which they did Monday morning. The manager that called me said they'd had someone out to check the parking lot the very next day and they determined it WAS structural in nature, and that repairs would be made immediately.

Guess their definition of immediately differs from mine. My sister drove by to check out the parking lot on Wednesday. No repairs so far. Lots more people tripping.

I just hope they get it fixed before an elderly person takes a tumble and winds up in the hospital.

As for me, I'm still healing. Both knees were pretty badly bashed but I'm hoping to be back to normal in another two weeks. It's getting easier to walk up & down stairs. 

Ok, moving on.

Love is in the air in Denver!

I've been to two weddings in the last 3 weeks.

First was my co-worker & buddy Jasper. He and Emma had a lovely wedding ceremony with lots of symbolism, awesome music and boatloads of love.  See how cute they look?

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The second wedding I attended was Thursday night for my buddies Richard and Sara. This time, I got a lot closer to the action...see for yourself!

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Richard and Sara also had a lovely wedding on top of a mountain in Lyons, CO. Today they're leaving for their honeymoon...and only Richard knows where they are going!  Yep, the entire honeymoon was planned by Richard for Sara and kept a secret from everyone.  

At their reception they had pictures of exotic locations at each table. I was at the Australia table. And I really hope that's where they're going.

Speaking of buddies, my buddy Rosalicious was kind enough to include me in plans to meet a new Denver blogger! Yay for new blogger buddies!  ALS! readers, say hello to Jess!!

Jess is relatively new to Denver (as most of us were at some point) and it was fun getting to know her over dinner at one of my most FAVORITE restaurants in all of Denver.  I'd been reading Jess' blog for awhile and I'm here to say that  how she is in person is exactly how she is on her blog....funny, down-to-earth, considerate, dog-lover, and totally optimistic and confident...which is how I love my blogger buddies to be :-)  Please stop by and tell Jess hey!  And link to her while you're at it!

Last but definitely not least, THE JOB (of which I cannot name) continues to be all sorts of wonderful and fantastic and perfect and exciting and challenging and FUN!  Oh my God, it's fun. Have never laughed so much at a job as I laugh at this one. We all have fun while getting work done. And? Bunnies right outside the door. Can life get any better?

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Friday, 29 May 2009

3K

My 3000th commenter was : This guy!

Yay and thanks for stopping by!

Friday, 22 May 2009

A Story From Back In The Day

Back in the San Jose days something occured that I think of every now and then. 

One night as I was falling asleep, I heard a voice unlike nothing I had ever heard before. It was soft, yet strong, kind and gentle, and very very comforting.

The voice called me by name and asked me 'You can either be very rich and not that happy, or not that rich and very happy'.

I woke myself up when I said the word yes.

And I lay there, wondering which question I had answered yes to.  Riches? Happiness?

Tonite as I watched the Denver Nuggets emerge victorious over the LA Lakers (Game 2) it dawned on me that I knew what I asked for.

I asked for happiness.

I'd have to say my request was granted.

Not just cause the Nuggets won...altho that is a very cool thing. And I am not happy 24/7...who is? And if they are, who can stand to be around them?

When all is said and done, at the end of each day I am happy. Happy that I chose to have a happy ending when my life so coulda gone the other way. 

Guess there really IS a happily ever after!

Sunday, 10 May 2009

Denwhere?

Denhere. Yep, I live in Denver and I'm proud of it. Damn proud of it.

Now I know there's been some gentle ribbing (mild heckling even?) about Denver. Some have called it Denwhere. Some have referred to Denver as "smelling like Frito's". Some have snickered, laughed, chuckled and maybe even guffawed at the 'cowtown' rep that Denver has.

And that's cool. We can handle it. Denver's a big kid now. In more ways than one.

Boulder came first, believe it or not!  Gold seekers established the first non-native settlement in Boulder County on October 17, 1858 at Red Rocks near the entrance to Boulder Canyon whereas Denver was established by a party of prospectors on November 22, 1858, after a gold discovery at the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River.

According to Google, Boulder had 293,161 as of July 2008 while Denver had a population of 598,707 for the same time period.  More people, bigger city, it stands to reason, right?

While Boulder has many good qualities (proximity to the Flatirons and lots of my good friends live there), let's face it, Denver is bigger. More room to spread out. More neighborhoods to choose from. More restaurants. More parks. More bars. Not to mention the Rockies, the Av's and the Nuggets. Boulder has? Oh wait! Nothing! No major sports teams. 

Denver has more schools. More concert venues. More great musical acts come to Denver than Boulder, hands down. Not to say there isn't great music in Boulder...there is....just nowhere near as much as Denver.

Then we have DIA. As in Denver International Airport. Located in Denver...not too far from KS. That's a joke. Not by much, tho. And Boulder has? Nothing. Nada. Zip. 

Just imagine if Denver didn't exist and all the techy types had to drive to their techy destinations. Or else drive to Colorado Springs to fly out of their airport (and you think Denver is bad??!!) Can you imagine the Twittering on their iPhone/Blackberry/Treo/Latest-new-gadget-that-came-out-5-minutes-ago of the horrors a drive to Colorado Springs would mean? Instead, a short bus/car ride from Boulder and you're in Denver, ready to go...as long as the Blue Stallion of Creepy Death doesn't fall over and kill you.

Hey, I'll be the first to admit. Boulder IS cool. It really is. It's small. Compact. You can get around by bus or bike or hoof it even. And I'd be lying if I didn't say I am very jealous at times of my buddies that live in Boulder. Taking a page from the First Commandment of Real Estate (Location, Location, Location) I'd have to say that Boulder's version of that would be 'Proximity, Proximity, Proximity'.  And that's a good thing. Like I said, jealous...party of one.

Still?

Even tho in the time it would take someone to leave their house in Boulder and be at a Boulder event lickety split, proximity isn't everything.

Maybe I'm nuts (and don't feel like you have to agree) but I love the sight of downtown Denver off to my left as I travel West on I-70. Like a Mile High version of Oz, it calls to me. So many good times I've had in Denver, so many more good times to be had. Sports. Bars. Improv groups. Friends. Fun. Lots of fun. That's what Denver is to me and so much more. 

Denver is my zip code. My address. My home. And I love Denver. I really do.

As for smelling like Frito's?  Come on! Are you Boulder hippies so high that you can't smell the stench that is the Purina factory?  I'll gladly take Frito's any day over that olfactory awfulness. 

Hey, just keeping it real.


*****
Facts and Figures from Google. Google is your friend. Speaking of friends, you can't find a better friend than Andrew Hyde. Even tho it may seem I am mocking Andrew (Denwhere?) Hyde, I am not. This was written semi- tongue-in-cheek with Andrew's full knowledge. We here at A Likely Story! adore Andrew and you should too. Even tho he does live in Boulder.  :-)

Friday, 08 May 2009

Talk To Me

If you could have a free year's membership at any gym between Westminster and Boulder, which one would you pick? Why?

I need to know. Please and thank you :-)

Monday, 04 May 2009

College

Back in college, every day I would wake up exhausted and promise myself I would get to bed earlier that night. Only to stay up until all hours and make myself the same promise the next day. And the next. Rinse. Repeat.


I feel like I'm in college all over again!

Sunday, 03 May 2009

Weekend A Success!

Film at 11.

Now back to work :-)

Saturday, 02 May 2009

So...

Seems the weekend comes with all my grand plans. Do this. Do that. Work out. Clean this. Clean that.

When all I really do is sleep late and lounge about and spend waaaay too much time on the internet.  Yeah I need downtime. And yeah I feel good relaxing and catching up with my internettty friends. But something's gotta give. 

So tomorrow, today actually, I'll start all over and try to be productive.

In the meantime?

Thanks for checking in after my last post. That was very kind of you.  

As for me? Time to call it a night. Morning. Whatever.

Monday, 27 April 2009

Hate Is A Pretty Strong Word

But I hate drugs. I do.

FUCKIN' HATE THEM.

Hate how they are addicting.

Hate how they prey on weak people.

Hate that they ruin lives, families, reputations, legacies.

Hate how they drain you.

Hate how they make you wish for the phone to ring to find out if your loved one is dead or alive.

Hate the devastating toll they take on your whole entire family.

Hate how they drain bank accounts and 401(k) accounts and retirement accounts.

Hate how they change your family member.

I hate them, hate them, hate them.

And when I get the eventual call that says the love of my life - my nephew - is dead, I will hate them even more.

((Reposted from Sunday November 26 2006)

Saturday, 25 April 2009

Friday Love List

(even tho it's no longer Friday)


What???  I was really busy and social and procrastinaty on Friday. So THERE!  :-)

...where were we?

  • Two days off in a row with those two days being Friday & Saturday
  • My iPhone. I <3 my iPhone. I really truly do. 
  • Planning for my trip to CA to surprise my Dad for his bday 
  • On a related note, LOVE the lower prices for airfares 
  • Falling madly deeply passionately totally in love...with a new CD! 
  • Paying all my bills and having a little extra left over. Doesn't happen all that often but when it does? SWEET! 
  • Getting an unexpected refund check in the mail  
  • Wedding invitations in the mail (Receiving them, not sending them)  
  • Sleeping in 
  • Making the perfect grilled cheese sandwich 
  • Lays Kettle Potato chips. Perfectly crisp. Perfectly thin. Perfectly salty. 
  • Sleeping in my own bed  
  • Having my own agenda 
  • Being confident in my choices and going with my gut feeling on said choices 
  • Sunshiny CO days 
  • Getting whatever NHL & NBA playoffs I can find on network TV 
  • My job...more and more every day
  • Being invited to a birthday party for a friend I've not seen in ages 
 So, what do you love in your life?

List it in the comments or leave a link to your list.

Oh Apple, What Have You Done To Our Daughter?

Booking flights for my Dad's surprise birthday soiree. Since he never reads my blog (no one in my immediate family does) there's no chance of me spoiling the surprise by blogging about it.

Last time I visited, my parents were somewhat concerned with my attachment to their antiquated PC...hey, it was the only way I could be online, so you work with what ya got, right?

This trip?  I'll have my iPhone with me. Internet anywhere 24/7.  GPS. Pix. iPod. FB. Twitter.

They won't know what hit them :-)

Rev It Up

This here blog is roaring back to life!

Life and everything it brings with it is one of the reasons...one of the main reasons...I have not been posting that much as of late.   Just too much to see/do/go/be.

But after tonight, I would be remiss in not blogging about the good time I had with my buddy Rosalicious & her fiance Kevin...Kev to those who know him!

Started out at a Tweetup - yeah, that would be a gathering of people who Twitter - at the Great Divide in Denver. Great Divide is an amazing brewery that I've been to several times. Good beer, good people, and one of the many really cool places that makes Denver so awesome. 

Had mentioned the Tweetup to Rosie earlier in the day and what do you know? She and Kev swung by to check it out.

Introduced them to several Twitter pals of mine, we schmoozed, we drank, then Great Divide closed and we headed out to one of my FAVORITE restaurants in Denver. I just <3 this place!

Rosie was one of the first Denver bloggers I met IRL (in real life) and we became good friends from that point on. She (and Kev) are just so easy to hang with.  They're fun, gregarious, interesting, educated and just the best friends you could ask for. Their lovely home is as cozy and as welcoming as they are. 

Several times during our late night dinner (try the Chicken Pot Pie the next time you visit Steuben's- it's that amazing!!) I was struck my how many wonderful people I've met thru my blog and Twitter and how this thing called 'Social Media' has really helped to define who I have in my life. 

The great majority of people I know here in Denver I've met online. Be it blogs or Facebook or Twitter, meeting online was the common denominator. And I'm thankful I had an open mind (plus guts and courage) to get out there and meet the people that would eventually become some of the closest friends I've ever had in my life.

I'll be posting more on this subject over the weekend, but for now, let me just end by saying I heart Social Media. And Rosie and Kev. And all my online buddies, wherever they may be. 

And internet? I am so totally head over heels in love with you. You know it's true!

Friday, 24 April 2009

Hi!!

Still here....just been sorta kinda busy lately.

Will catch up tonite or tomorrow...and that's a promise.

Have a lovely weekend, won't you?

Kath xo :-)

Saturday, 18 April 2009

Swoon

Guess it's truth in advertising, cause the new SSPU CD 'Swoon' totally lives up to the name.

I <3 it. Very swoonerific.

Friday, 10 April 2009

Top Ten

I'm curious!

What are your Top Tens?  You know, the Top Ten Books/CD's-Albums/Restaurants that you keep coming back to?

Do tell in the comments section below, or post a link to your own post. 

Saturday, 04 April 2009

Belated Friday Love List

Very belated. It just dawned on me that it was no longer Friday, but Saturday. Having 2 days off in a row can do that to me.


The basis for this love list is 'right off the top of your head'...what do you love without having to think about it?

Ready?

  • Lots of ice in my drinks (but not on my streets or freeways)
  • When major appliances work like they are supposed to 
  • Payday 
  • Random emailed pix that make me laugh out loud 
  • Thoughtful blog posts from friends that inspire me to be a better person 
  • When the furnace repair guy said ' Just once more month and then you can turn the heat off' 
  • 12 pack of Coke 
  • Electric blankets  
  • American Apparel white thermal LS t-shirts 
  • Surprises. The good kind. 
  • Fresh organic Raspberries and Blueberries 
  • Tweetdeck 
  • FINALLY finding out the name of a song that you've been wanting to know the name of for years 
  • Buying 'Supermassive Black Hole' by Muse on iTunes
  • iTunes in general 

Wednesday, 01 April 2009

Happy Birthday

Saturday, 28 March 2009

Hashtag Gangsta Sign

Only in Boulder, yo!


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