New Year

Looking back at 2008 makes me think of how many people thought this year sucked but I rather enjoyed MMVIII. For some people 2008 meant losing their home, but for me 2008 meant graduating from ASU. The economy hasn't really affected me directly so far until I moved up to SLT and I am having problems finding a 2nd job. Hopefully things will change in the coming years and the economy will rebound. I was just saying the other day how great it is to have very few financial responsibilities when the economy is poor. With no wife, kids, house, car payment, etc, I am able to live freely and not have to worry much except for myself. This doesn’t require much effort for me to live comfortably.
2008 marked a big turning point in my life by graduating and moving up to SLT. Moving made me realize how many good friends I have and how much they care for me. I made me sad that I was moving away from such good friends and that I would not be able to see them as part of my everyday life. Moving up here is something I wanted to do for a long time now and that is why 2008 has been good to me. I made South Lake Tahoe a reality and not just something that I talk about but never do.

Some pics from the drive and SLT

The last time I will be in AZ for a while. Crossing the Hoover Dam at 2am.
SUNRISE IN MIRROR MAY BE CLOSER THAN IT MAY APPEAR

the lonesome crowded west (entering the Sierras)

Everyday driving in SLT

Heidi's a SLT staple

A view from Harrah's buffet on Christmas day

Moved to SLT

I haven't been able to blog in a while since I moved to South Lake Tahoe last week because apparently it takes two weeks to get the internet installed here in SLT. Better yet they wanted to charge me for $50 for a professional installation between the hours of 8-10am. Around 10:30 I called the cable company and ask the lady if she was a professional. She answered with a confused yes. Then I asked "Do professionals show up on time?" Another confused yes. "Then explain to me why I should pay $50 for a professional installation? When clearly I'm only getting a amateur installation." Needless to say that the $50 installation fee was waived, all because I was pissed about waiting all morning just wanting to play Mario Kart online.
Enough about me being an asshole and what I have been doing the past week; looking for some steady work.
The job at the rental shop is a go, but I will not start till next week. But I really need to find that 2nd job so I will be able financially survive the next 6 months. I just haven’t been super motivated because my bank account is doing fine and it really competitive to find a job here in SLT. All the restaurants I have applied for are getting hundreds of applicants for just a handful of jobs. Most places are telling me to come back or contact them in a week when they have a better idea of if they will need to hire more help. So I just to find a place to bother until they give me a part time job. I know something will find something once I become urgent about money, but for now just been reading and writing all day.
It has been super hot here, 60 degrees the last two days and all the snow that was dumped on us over Christmas has melted back into the lake by now. It's a shame I wasn't able to ski when there was over a foot of powder, but my time will come. I couldn't allow myself to start skiing because I would spend all my money on lift tickets. I need to wait to start at the rental shop and get that free pass for Heavenly.
Besides my half ass attempt to find a 2nd job life has been great up here. The always beautiful Lauren Dickinson helped me move up here and was a big help with keeping me awake during the 13 hour drive. It was nice to have her around helping me unpack and get my place together. I was a little lonely on Christmas being by myself, but it was my own doing so it didn’t hurt. If I was alone on Christmas because I had no family or friends then I would have been sad, but I was alone because I choose to be alone. I went to the sports book and made a few bets then treated myself to the buffet at Harrah’s on Christmas and really had a good day for myself. Kevin and David showed up a few days later and really helped making our new place feel homier. I had no real furniture for the first week and was sleeping on an air mattress, which wasn’t too uncomfortable but just really cold sleeping on the ground. Thankfully Kevin was able to get an extra bed from his cousin’s place in Meyers and now I sleep in a nice double bed. I was able to find David a twin bed for free on CL and drove up to Kings Beach with Kevin to collect it. Thank god I was able to get the twin bed because most likely David would of gotten the double and I would still be sleeping on an air mattress.
Speaking of jobs and David that son of a bitch got one in 24 hours. As a breakfast chef at Bear Beach Café, where I applied the week before. David just got lucky and went in as one of the cooks was quitting and they needed someone for that shift and hired David on the spot and was working a few minutes later. Needless to say David all ready hates the job and will probably quit once he finds a better job.

New Car, 1 week left in da PHX

Purchased my first vehicle of my short career in this game called life. It took a while to find the right car for the right price and wasted a lot of time driving around. Until I found my Monti, thats the nickname I gave the bitch. Its a 2002 Mercury Mountaineer with 99k miles AWD with all the options. The only thing that it didn't have is moonroof, but I think I will manage with out one.
I really developed my negotiating skills in the last week and was able to bargain the price of the Monti from $5400 to $4850, and it KBB for 6700. I feel that it is a good car for the price, but only time will tell. I was inbetween a 2001 Mitsubishi Montero Sport that had 90K for $5000. What made the difference was that the Mountaineer was had a lot more luxury options and was a overall more comfortable car.
A week until I leave for Tahoe and start a new chapter in my life. I've been looking forward to this adventure for a long time and it is now reality. I've got the first months rent paid and some cash to float with until I secure a job. Once Heavenly opens to 100% I will be hired on a the ski shop but for now I don't have any work when I get up there. It snowing all week in Tahoe, so I praying that it will be enough to open the whole mountain. That is all for now, please join me in prayer for snow in South Lake Tahoe.

Sean Avery

Sean Avery aka the only reason I give a shit about the worst professional league in American sports. I wasn't able to see the comments he made yesterday until just a few minutes ago but that's some funny shit.

Ya its vulgar but who did he hurt? I'm pretty sure Sean didn't punch hooker in the face in a strip club riot with his comments. They were just words and Avery was just having fun and being an asshole on purpose to give the fans a better game to watch. If the NHL had any idea on how to market they would of allowed Avery to play the game. And give us the opportunity to see Avery get the shit kicked out of him and see a good ol' hockey fight.
What the NHL doesn't understand is that it needs characters to create a marketable game. The game itself doesn't have a valuable enough of a product to support itself with out some drama and they need some villains. And where there are villains there are heroes, which also happen to be marketable. They need some marketable players. If I were the NHL I would not be suspending Avery, I would be thinking of ways to market him.
“There is never such thing as bad press.” This is very much the case with Avery’s comments because for ESPN I spending more than 10 seconds talking about the NHL. What the NHL needs to understand that his comments were bad, but who did he really offend? His hottie ex-girlfriend and Dion Phaneuf might have been. Oh and the people who are offended by sexual comments. Grow up and realize what he did was funny. People can be hateful with their words, and what Avery did wasn’t hateful. He didn’t make a racial slur, he used a funny pop culture phrase.
The reason that I even knew Avery’s name before the sloppy seconds comments was from this e60 interview. You can see that this guy is truly bizarre and doesn’t care. You can see that this guy is undeniably marketable.

Thanksgiving

Things that I'm thankful for (in no particular order)

My friends (except Melling, his feet stink)
My socioeconomic status
My education
My family
My health
My sweet new bike
Obama
My arms and legs (especially my nice legs)
My attitude towards life
My dashing good looks (this can be argued)
My height (except when flying coach)
My shitty hotel job (at least I have a job, but I leave next week)
Moving to Tahoe
Skype (so I can talk to Terese and Roger)
That I might sell my car on Monday, and get a Subaru
My youth
My age
My maturity
My immaturity
My killer ninja skills
And many other things that I cannot think of

Tucson

I went down to Tucson on Friday night for the Aaron Wolfley Party. No it wasn't Aaron's birthday but just a celebration of an amazing individual and his consistent outfit of a polo, cargo shorts, and sandals. The party was a good time and most every guy wore a polo, cargos and sandals. I thought, just think if some random came over they think 'why the hell is every guy dressed the same'.
The party was at Cam's house and Ahren was in town for Thanksgiving this week. It was a killer time and I forgot how much fun Tucson can be. The next morning I had to drive straight to work form Tucson and work till 11pm, it sucked, but totally worth it.

The Red Rocket

Yea that's the name I decided to give my sweet new 1988 Schwinn road bike. I bought it yesterday from an old guy named Mike. He was 80 something and had a lot of time on his hands to fix up his old bike. He put new tires, derailleur, bar wraps, cables, everything. This bike was factory new, I think he even waxed the bike because this thing was poppin' in the light of the sun.
Anyways I was feeling all kewl and shit and decided to go on a bike ride with Melling and P Man. We started on campus and went down Mill to Washington and just kept riding until we got hungry and went to the first Mexican food place we could find. Which is always a good choice.
This fine establishment was in the traditional Mexican strip with a deli, convenience store, and the eatery we dined in. Before entering the restaurant we awkwardly looked around for a something to lock our bikes to and realized it would be best if we brought them inside. Don't judge a book by the cover because this placed looked like shit from the outside but tasted great on the inside. Got 3 street tacos and a Mexican Coca-Cola (different than the American formula) for under $5, great fucking food.


This is a map of ride we took

View Larger Map

Another 6am shift and you what that means, I will treat myself by writing another sweet blog. I took an Ambien last night before I went to bed so I had a nice deep sleep and didn’t have to drink any coffee this morning. Which is always a good thing because this means no noontime poopies for me. I don’t drink coffee much, but when I do I punch holes through walls and have too poo. Enough about my bowel movements.
We decided on the place we are going to move to in Tahoe. It’s a 3bdrm 1bath condo on the Nevada side of Heavenly and a quarter mile to the lifts. It’s unfurnished which is no big deal for myself but Kevin was dragging his feet saying it will be pain in the ass. Yea a pain in the ass if CraigsList was never created. Over 6 months we will save $700 each and for $200 I could definitely find a bed and furnish my room with ease. I thank the Lord daily for giving us CL.
This is a pic from the balcony of the place we're moving into, looking down into Carson valley.

Speaking of CL I found a sweet bike that I probably buy after work. It’s an old school Schwinn road bike that is 63cm, which means its tall as fuck and perfect for me. I’ve been riding a good amount in the last year on an undersized Schwinn that becomes uncomfortable during a long ride and makes me feel inefficient. Why spend $100 on a bike that I won’t be able to use in Tahoe? Because I have never had a bike that will fit me correctly and I can’t pass up a good bike that will last me for years to come. Also if I stay up in Tahoe once the snow melts my bike will become my weapon of choice.

It has been a while

Being the intellectual that I am I forgot what email address I used from my original blog and haven't blogged for a while because I couldn't sign in. So I created a new blog but you can check out my old posts at http://ehenning.blogspot.com/ , but you aren’t missing much unless you are totally obsessed with me, which would be a very sad existence if this was the case.
I’m blogging from my 6am shift at my hotel job, which means I’ve been up since 4:30am. Thank god for adderall and caffeine because this would be a rough morning if that euphoric feeling from the adderall didn’t just kick in and inspire me to commit time theft by blogging from work. Hopefully someone from corporate is monitoring what I am doing on the internet and busts me for this crime, but I’m logged in under my managers username because she left it open, because I’m ninja like that. Not that it would matter much seeing that I’m out of here in less than a month to become a professional ski bum (see previous post).
Moving to Lake Tahoe is becoming my reality and not just some of the usual bullshit that comes out of my mouth. We are deciding between two places and will have made our decision by the end of the week. I have a job lined up with the Heavenly Ski Shop at the California base and will hopefully find another service industry job that will keep my cash flow up. The job with Heavenly will be boners and will give the chance to ski my ass off (Yes that was ass and boners used in the same sentence w/o being too gay). The typical work day will start at 7 and I will work till the morning rush ends around 10:30-11 and then get a ski break until 2:30-3 to work the evening rush. Hopefully that will be 3-4 days a week and get night job serving 2-3 times a week. Making it possible to ski almost every day.
Rent won’t be too bad ($1000/3) if we go with the unfurnished place (3bedroom/1bath) that within walking distance of the lifts. Our second option is a little more ($1350/3) but is furnished and has a second bathroom and is a mile from the casinos and closer to town. Both places are in Nevada so that means no state income tax but I’m unsure how it works if you work in Cali but live in Nevada. I’m a big fan of this because it falls into my radical Libertarian perspective that I prescribe to. Not to get start on politics but let hear it for a step towards socialism and Obama. Whoo O BA MA!!!
As much as I am against big government, Obama might just be what we need to make this country prosperous again. For the first time since 9/11 people are proud to be American and ready to rally behind our new president. Not since JFK has there been the amount of celebration about a president and having a “Change”. We are in desperate need of a change of direction of where our country is headed and how we view our government. Our last administration has given America a black eye and we need to change how we feel about our government. Many of us have lost trust in our government and Obama can hopefully change this feeling. Even though I am on the complete opposite side of the field when it comes to my political beliefs hopefully Obama can bring real change my country once the Obamamania wears off.
Enough with politics and back to something more important, like me. School is winding down and 18 hrs was a little more than I can handle but then again Cs get degrees. I am very disappointed in myself and the direction I allowed my education path to take because I didn’t live up to my potential. This is something I realized years ago and did nothing to correct and now I’m stuck with a generic degree with a poor GPA. Hopefully the piece of paper that I receive upon graduation will open doors for me and give me the opportunity to be successful one day. Not to discredit the BIS program but it’s a major cop-out and I wish I had been forced to choose a specific degree, instead of being able to fall through the cracks. I have taken a fondness to communications and wish that I could explored this field in greater depth but it’s too late for that seeing that I’m 4 weeks from graduating. I have excelled in the communication classes I have taken and the subject comes quite natural to me, something that I wish I could of realized two years ago. Anyways I have to deal with my choices and they probably won’t catch up with me right away because I’m moving to Tahoe and doing nothing with my degree for now.But then again I will have a degree and hopefully this can open doors for me and give me the opportunity to grow into a good job in Tahoe. I know I will be starting out an hourly worker at the ski shop, but I could very much manage a place like that with ease. Not that I’m saying that its my goal to do this but any good opportunity in the ski industry will be very intriguing to me. I’m planning on being in Tahoe for at least 5-6 months but I wouldn’t mind a permanent job in the area and will explore those options as they arise.