Happy First Day Of Spring!

And I actually feels like it outside. Currently 83 degrees with a North-Eastern wind. Overall, very pleasant day. Way better than Snow. Of course I say this now but I know that come August, I will want nothing more than a couple inches of the white stuff. That's how it goes.

Time for a new kayak!

Elie Sound 12 XE

Made by Pelican kayaks, this is going to be my new kayak for the upcoming summer months. I've been wanting a new kayak for a couple years now, and what better time to get one than now! And with the world ending December 12 with the end of the Incan calender, I better do it soon... :)

Winter is almost over...

Even though we got a huge storm less than a week ago that dropped a little over two feet of snow on us I truly believe that we have seen the last of the major snowfall has come and went.

YAY!

Now comes the summer months which with any luck will bring good weather and warm temperatures.

last day of vacation

Sitting at my house, just relaxing. It's sorta kinda nice outside, but windy and it rained outside this morning. The movie The Shining is playing on the television right now, and although I have seen this movie many times before, it is still very entertaining. Today is my last day of a 9 day vacation, and it's sad.

I went home to Traverse City to visit family and friends, and had a really good time. I was home for 6 days. That is the longest I have been home at one time for about 3 years. I went kayaking, hiking, a Dave Matthews Band concert, and out drinking with friends. It was a good time.

new post coming soon...

been on vacation in Traverse City. Going home tonight. Some major post and good stories coming soon...

been slacking

Yes, I've been slacking the last couple days about writing a new post in my blog. It's not even that I have been super busy, it's just I have not even thought about writing anything worth down. This last weekend, I went on a mini trip. That trip will be explained on a later day to save the innocent.

I'm sitting in my living room right now, drinking an ice cold Corona beer and just enjoying life at the moment. It's these kind of nights that I prefer to have. Just sitting in my favorite chair, enjoying a cold beer, and relaxing the time to myself.

This picture really doesn't mean anything important or represent anything important in my life. It's just a photo of myself with Ryan in the background at a gas station. Any other time this photo would mean nothing, but I do think that this photo is awesome. I think this because it's just a fun little photo that explains the mood I was in that day. We went hiking with our friend Stephanie, (Not the roommate) and then enjoyed some home cooked chili. This hiking trip was way back in March. There was still snow on the ground.

I think this month is going to be crazy. I am going home to visit my parents and my sister Megan. I'm going to try to post as much as I can, but my parents do not have wireless, so, I'll have to go to a coffee house to get internet. I hate coffee houses.

Super excited: Part 2

So the season 1 finale of Glee was last night, and boy was it good. I kinda feel bad for admitting this, but I teared up at a couple points during the show. I think the writers of the show finally found their grove with the show and know the characters inside and out.

The only bad thing about the show is now I have to wait till fall time till season two starts back up.


In other news, there was an awesome storm today that included the thunder and all the trimmings. It's was really loud, and really awesome.

super excited

Tonight is the season finale of Glee season 1. Can't wait for the amazing music!

broke a new personal record today

Well, technically it was yesterday, but I finished an entire book in one day. And no, it was not a short-story or something like that. it was just short of 600 pages long. I read the New Moon book from the Twilight Saga. Yes, I am a male, but I figured that I should read the books before I put forth an opinion on the series. And not too surprising, I kind of like the books. Very easy to read, and fast books to read. The book I read yesterday, counting the breaks, took me about eleven hours to read.

And for the record, I am neither team Edward or Team Jacob. I'm Team Alice because she is hot.

Changing of the month

May is now officially behind us, and June greeted up with an amazing thunderstorm. Big rain drops, thunder and lightning, and a glorious sunset. Outside my window, the sun is just above the treeline. Golden streams fly across the silver sky, with big blue clouds trying to cover the sky. There is no wind, which makes the smell of fresh rain very noticeable. Anyone that knows me knows that I love the smell of rain and the smell of fresh cut grass. And what makes tonight even better is knowing that I have the next two days off from work. With any luck, the sun will be out and the temperature will stay around 78 degrees. That way I can stay at the beach and get a book done.

The party is upon us,,,

Not really but memorial day is just right around the corner. I really don't have too much planned. I do work on Memorial Day itself, so Sunday (Tomorrow) is going to be the day of fun. Myself, Abbey, Paul and our other friend Adam are going to be hanging out all together tomorrow. We really don't plan anything in advanced, but I'm sure that tomorrow with include all of the following:

• BBQing
• Drinking
• Shenanigans
• just having some good old fun

I think that's the great thing about our group of friends. We all get along very well. It get's amazing when the entire group is together. Only problem is we are missing two... Roommates Ryan and Chelsea are currently out of the country enjoying life to the fullest.

I think the one main goal I want to happen is that we all have fun and end the day with a smile.

Day on rewind

So the last couple days I have been spending time with my roommate Abbey and a friend who lives downstate. All I can say is that I am truly blessed that I have the friends that I do. I feel like we all just click perfectly, and everything that we do is amazing. Abbey is one of the most amazing people I know, and Paul, the friend from downstate is just fun to be around. We went to the beach, made some awesome sandcastles, went to a couple bars, ate at some amazing restaurants and played at some parks at midnight. The entire time flew past like a blur. It's these times that I wish I could just replay the day on slow motion just to enjoy those moments again.

So the heat wave continues...

The culture of the UP is fascinating. Winter months usually last about five to six months long, with the average temperature ranging from +20 to -10 without the wind chill. Needless to say, a lot of us up here get sick of the cold weather and the grays and browns that define the landscape. This year was amazing, with the snow leaving early and our city experiencing the ultra rare Upper Peninsula spring.

Now that we have had three consecutive days of high 80's, low 90's temperature, everyone, myself included, complains that it is too warm outside.

The thing that I always found funny was that no matter what the weather does, people will find something to complain about. It could rain five dollar bills, and I garentee you that there would be one person complaining that it was not five dollar bills. The picture is of Little Presque Isle, the beach I was at this morning. The funny thing is, normally, people go to the beach to get into the sun and try to get a good tan going. Yes, that is part of the reason I went this morning, but the main reason was just to go outside before it got super hot. I think that really shows the flaw in the way that I think that I go to a beach at 10:30 in the morning to beat the heat. Kinda funny when I think of it that way. The better part of the situation was I was by far not the only person there. There was at least five other groups of people on the beach enjoying the weather. One of which was already drinking beer. Those are the people that conquer life. They don't care that it's 10:30 in the morning, they just want to enjoy life and have fun. Isn't that what all of us strive to do?

observation of a child at the beach today

It was ungodly warm today. The temperature reached 87 degrees today. For the climate that I live in, this is very warm for this time of the year. Realistically, 87 degrees is very warm even for the peak of summer. The only thing that was kind of nice was that there was a consistent breeze that was the savior of the day.

I decided that I wanted to go to the beach to read some of my book and try to get my extremely white skin a beginner's tan started. Currently, I'm reading No Shortcuts to the top by Ed Viesturs. Phenomenal book. I very much suggest that everyone should read it. I chose a good spot right in the middle of the beach, right in the direct sunlight. I don't have a sunburn, but I defiantly have a mini tan started. There was a mother and daughter between me and the water chillin and playing in the sun. The daughter was probably between ten and eleven years old while the mother was probably late 30's to early 40's.

Before I claimed my spot on the beach, the two of them made a pretty impressive sandcastle. From what I saw, It had a couple towers, a pool right in the middle and a wall surrounding the entire castle. The mother and daughter had a couple bottles of water with them and a bag of stacks. At one point the mom unpacked a bag of tortilla chips and salsa and I became extremely jealous. At least I had a mexican coke with me.

The thing that I found fascinating was that every time someone walking on the beach walked past the sandcastle, the daughter would stop whatever she was doing and become completely defensive for her castle. At one point she actually positioned herself between the castle and and a group of kids walking by. I think this is very interesting because she was psychically harboring her castle from the observations of the other people on the beach. It didn't look like she had a emotional connection with the sandcastle, but it did look like she had enough connection with the sandcastle to physically save it from harm.

I thought that was just interesting when I was observing that today. When the two of them left, she completely destroyed the castle. I laughed at the irony.

I am a man's man

I am a role model of a man. this is urban dictionary's definition of what a man's man is:

Who is the Man's Man? He's the real class act. He always shaves and wears clothes that fit. He's worldly, educated, and a gentleman. He thinks that buttoned shirts are not just for special occasions and that newspapers have more than one section. While he is polite, he is not a pushover. He will swear when he needs to, but will try to control his temper. He can handle his liquor and keeps himself in shape. Most importantly, he will admit his faults and errors, because that is what real men do.

I'd like to think that I am the majority of this.

I think I'm addicted to Mexican Coke.

The soda that is. There is just something about it that taste so good. I know people would say, "hey, it's the sugar cane, not the corn syrup!" I think it is more
than that.

There are two places in my town that sells it, and unfortunately, both are not on my side of town. But I think for the sakes of drinking it, it is very worth it.

The best thing in the world is the look that the cashier gives you when you buy it at the counter. It's like she things, "oh god, another person buying over priced soda..." Little does she know that this soda is some of the best in the world. Right behind Jones Soda. But that is a talk for another day...

So I won a PSP go from work..

True story. They had a contest that the top three employees with the most sales in New Balance shoes got a new PSP Go.

I was number two in the company. Not bad for working in one of the smallest stores in the company. Well, I took the PSP home, and realized that I made a huge mistake in winning this prize...

First off, this machine is going to be the end of me. Not because I am going to be playing it, oh no, that would be too easy. First thing it is doing, it's not connecting to my internet. The internet is how this fucker works. You need it to download games to play.

I finally got the damn thing to connect after about thirty minutes of cussing and throwing it around. Now the damn thing says that it needs an update... already. Fine. Download the update. Oh shit, what is this? Battery too low to download? Why the hell not. Sure, be an asshole. The battery has been charging for at least twenty minutes and it is still not ready for the update.

I already know I am going to trade this piece of shit in for store credit to get a video game I already want.

:(

the weather is bi-polar

seriously. It was raining about five minutes ago. Now, the sun is out. Yet, you can totally see rain heading our way.

Not cool mother nature.

I think I like it a lot better when it just does one thing all day. Like today, I wish it would rain all day. Especially thunder and lightning! That is a coolest thing nature can do. Except for raining $100 bills in my yard...

It's an orgy of smells!

The neighbor just mowed his lawn, and now it's raining.

It smells amazing right now!

Boo smokers!

You know what I hate, the fact that when you are walking downtown, walking to your favorite little place that is hidden between that cool tree you've always liked and and the local bar, and all of a sudden you are flooded with the smell of cigarette smoke. It's not that I hate people that smoke, it's their right to smoke. The thing I hate is when all you want is the smell of fresh air and all you can smell is cigarette smoke.

I think the worst is actually the employees that smoke outside their place of employment. I think there is nothing worse than walking into the store, yet having to walk past an employee that is smoking a cigarette and all you can smell when you take your first step into the store is the smell of smoke. And It always seems like the person always coughs the exact moment you are in front of them.

But the good news is that bars in Michigan are now smoke free! yay! now I don't have to smell like a walking ashtray when I go home to order jimmy johns!

The Artist I wish I could have seen Live...

• Queen
• Guns and Roses*
• Blind Melon
• Dave Matthews Band**
• Neil Young***
• Frank Sinatra
• The Who
• The Beetles

*Yes, technically Guns and Roses are still traveling, but I wanted to see them when they were raw and gritty in the late 80's. Back when they were the most bad-ass band out there.
**Yes, as of writing this post, I have seen the Dave Matthews Band seven times live. I would have killed to see them around '92 or '93.
http://dmbalmanac.com/TourShowSet.aspx?id=453055563&tid=60&where=1993
A setlist like that would make me cream myself.
***Back when he was just starting out playing acoustic shows

Lake Superior...

Yeah, that's me in the far distance playing on the rocks. This area is called Wetmore Landing, just north of Marquette. This area is usually calm, because of the east facing beach. Those rocks I am playing on are an amazing place. Nice and smooth, you can slide right off of them into ten foot water.

-Photo credited to Chelsea. :)

Backpacking 101

• Don't get killed
• Don't do anything stupid
• Don't Drink bad water
• Don't become dehydrated
• Bees are bad
• Don't eat those berries, no matter how good they look
• Getting to the destination is half the battle. you still have to get back
• If your planning on being gone for two day, pack for three
• The weatherman lies. Night is always colder than he says
• That slight downhill your sleeping on becomes a steep hill by 3AM
• you WILL smell like campfire by the end
• A cold beer is the best thing in the world when at a fire
• Be with a friend. Camp stories are the best
  

It's Snowed Today!

And that's not a good thing... It's May 8th, it's not suppose to snow this late in the year!

:(

Yesterday was stupid.

So, my internet apparently went out yesterday. It's sad that I really wasn't at all surprised, only because I use Charter Communications, which happens to be one of the worst companies in the world. But going on, the internet came back on roughly about 5PM, after about six hours being off. I thought to myself, "well, must have been maintenance or something stupid like that." I was kinda right...

Driving to work this morning, I was listening to Bob and Tom on the radio. This has become almost a daily ritual. Well, the :60 second news came on, and they started to talk about the internet being down... They said the charter employees accidentally cut the optic cable that controls three counties worth of internet and phone.

That sucks. Wish they would pay more attention since, you know, it's their fucking Job.

/rant.

Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone!

Spontaneous Song and Dance...

...would be awesome if it would actually happen in real life. It would be amazing if I could just bust out in song and dance if the emotion of the moment was correct. I'm not saying I don't already; it just makes it now socially acceptable if it other people did it...

Cleaning Woes

Today is the kind of day that I do not like. I'm cleaning the house and yet it is beautiful outside. It's a little cloudy, but I can't ask for better weather for May in the U.P. of Michigan. All but one of my roommates are gone for at least a week, so my last remaining roommate Abbey and myself decided that today would be the perfect day to hardcore clean the house.

We used to have a dog named Kessler. He was named after a band, not that whiskey. He is the dog laying up on the steps. He was a fun dog, but a huge pain in the ass. He rarely ever listened to what you had to say and when he did, he acted like you were the worst person on the face of the earth. Well, when I was vacuum cleaning behind the futon, I literally found toys of his and clumps of hair left behind from him. Mind you, Steph, another one of my roommates, got rid of the dog way back in December. This shit has been laying around the house for over five months now. Whatever though, it's gone in the trash now never to be seen again! Yah!

Overall, cleaning wasn't too bad. Found some money hidden in weird places, only took about three hours to clean the main parts of the house and now Abbey and I are relaxing in a nice clean house!

Go team!

Best Dave Matthews Band songs ever!

It's a well known fact that Dave Matthews Band (DMB) is my favorite band in the world. As of this post, I've seen them seven times live. DMB has a huge sound that no other band currently or in the past can match. The fuse of lyrics and music is amazing. The two dance together beautifully and yet sometimes battle against each other to dominate the song creating a paradox of music.

This list is not exactly in order of greatness, yet it is a list of songs that best describe the great corners of the DMB diversity of sound.

• Tripping Billies

This song showcases the drum powerhouse of Carter Beauford and the fiddle playing of Boyd Tinsley

• Ants Marching

The most classic DMB song played. Showcases every instrument of the band, and the live version of this song is the best example of what the band is about.

• Crash Into Me
  

It's a love song, yes, but it's so much more. This song displays Dave's inner thinking about relationships and also teeters on creeper status.

• You Never Know

I consider this DMB's most complex song. Written during a dark period of the band, this song dances around the ideas of God, death and self identifying. Probably my favorite DMB.

• The Stone

This song is about death. No denying that. But the way he writes about it, it really makes you feel like he knows exactly what happens and what you go through when death comes.

• Alligator Pie

I just think this is a fun song. It's not the best out there musically, not the best lyrically, but damn, this song is fun live. The breakdown in the middle of the song is one of my favorite parts of any song they play.

• Pantala Naga Pampa

This song is just 42 seconds long, yet is perfect. I can't explain it better. It's the first song on their third major album, Before These Crowded Streets, and it prepares the listener for the rest of the songs to come.

• Christmas Song

This is a song about the birth of Jesus Christ, and the death of Jesus. But it is from the viewpoint of Jesus himself, doubting his purpose. Great song for a different viewpoint of Christianities major moment.

• Jimi Thing
  

More specifically, the live version. The ten minute jam after the main part of the song is near bliss.

Top ten movies ever!

• Just Friends
• Lord of The Rings (Trilogy)
• 10 Things I Hate About You
• Shawshank Redemption
• Forest Gump
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
  
• Kill Bill Vol: 2
• Toy Story
• Groundhog Day
• Big Fish

I consider LoTR trilogy to be one long movie, not three separate movies.

Kill Bill Vol:2 is completely different from Vol:1. Vol:2 focuses more on the story rather than the action, which makes it much more enjoyable to watch. (Vol:1 still kicks ass though!)

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade saved the character. The movie went back to what the original movie was trying to say, rather than making the story too far fetched like Temple of Doom.

Spring is coming

It happens every year, but it still makes me look twice when the leaves come out. I think it is because we go for seven months without leaves we just get used to them not being there. Now that they are out, or at least peaking out of the trees, it makes you stop and appreciate how beautiful leaves really are. It makes an already good view that more amazing.

Last fall was great. the colors were amazing and I got some good hiking in.this picture to the right was taken at a park called Presque Isle. I tend to do a lot of walking around this place, only cause it's very beautiful yet very close to where I live. That's probably the best part of it; literally a five minute drive from were I live. In the foreground you can see Lake Superior. Unfortunately, you can't swim at this park, but the lake makes a great background to a great place to goof around for a couple hours. There is a pretty cool place on the north side of island called Black Rocks. The absolutely best thing about the island. During that two month period where the lake is warm enough to swim, the Black Rocks provide rock jumping to the brave.

I really look forward to this upcoming summer for warm weather and some good beach time.

my first post with my new blog.

This is my first blog after switching to a new blog. I got board with my old one, it wasn't going anywhere. So I will start with an introduction.

My name is Mike. I live in Marquette, Michigan which is way up north. A lot of us up here like to joke that Marquette Michigan is just north of heaven. I'm 23 years old and work at a sporting goods store. I love the Dave Matthews Band and my favorite color is yellow. I love to eat Chinese food and beer is my alcohol of choice.

That's pretty much as far as I want to go for the first post. Hopefully I will go very, very deep into my life and my views of life as time continues on. I won't transfer any of my old posts from my other blog because those views and ideas are all from the past. I will start completely fresh with this one. The first month might have a lot of post but that is just to get some bulk for the blog. :) Enjoy and hopefully you'll see life through my eyes.