AtomJohnson Blog

I have rarely been to Target and only purchase what I had gone there to buy. If I go there for toothpaste, somehow I will also leave with a throw blanket, a scented candle and a dog sweater. This time it was a bit more ridiculous though. I had gone to Target to get a duffel bag. Jess showed up at my house this time with five various small bags to carry her stuff. I know she’s not been enjoying living out of a suitcase so I figured I’d make it a bit easier by getting her a large duffel and some compartment bags to fit inside. Well, I could have gone to the luggage section via the seasonal section of Target or through the games and electronics. Knowing it would be dangerous, I opted for the games and electronics route. I figured it would be OK since the only game I’m jonesing for right now is Guitar Hero III. I have already checked every store from here to Kansas….nobody has it in stock. However, I failed to take into account the fact that they might have Rock Band. This is Guitar Hero + Drums + Microphone. The only thing it is missing is heroine, hookers and Jack Daniels. This is only the first release of the game though. I’m sure they’ll have expansion packs available soon….

I’ve never been to Mexico, but I cannot imagine that the food is as authentic as it is in Brighton, CO. This is a town where you can buy live bait out of roadside vending machines. It just screams “authentic Mexican food here”. Well, I’ve now heard the screams twice and answered them on both occasions. If I had to choose a lunch to close out the year 2007, I would again choose this one. Plus, it is one of the few places you can still get Coke in the bottle….the kind made with “real sugar” (not that high fructose corn crap).

There are few things that can compare with celebrating Christmas with your family, but getting to celebrate a second time with Jess’s family kicks some serious Christmas a$$. After a short night of sleep, Jess, Rocky and I began cranking out salads, pies and loaves of bread for their Christmas dinner and gift exchange. Jess’s soon-to-be sister-in-law brought over a bunch of Cornish Game Hens for our eating pleasure. I don’t know that I’ve had alot of hen in my life, but that is about to change. These little guys were not only cute, but incredibly delicious. By the time we had each found our tiny, little wish bones, we had also found our way through several glasses of wine. It was time for Taboo. The very competitive Jess had to find a way to deal with the team of under-experienced male Taboo players taking home this year’s trophy. Victory is still the sweetest dessert on the market.

With airplane tickets getting more and more expensive, I was only able to make it home for Christmas this year out of the Christmas/Thanksgiving power duo of holidays. I must say that I choose the wiser of the two. While I love Turkey dinner on Thanksgiving, prime rib at Amy and Alan’s house on Christmas Eve can certainly give that meal a good run for its money. Also, on Thanksgiving morning, I usually just wake up and eat a piece of toast…I might go for a run or something. On Christmas morning, I wake up and people give me presents. There is just not contest…it is a much cooler holiday….

All Christmas jokes aside, it was a great trip home though. As usual, I am astounded at people’s generosity and thoughtfulness on this holiday. I got way too many gifts this year. I guess its a good problem to have. I also got to play and watch lots of soccer at my brother’s house over the 3 days that I stayed there. I had a chance to hang out with my good friends George Demetriades (a quasi-regular on the blog) as well as my good friend Leslie Clark and her lovely girlfriend Meg. George watched me eat pizza, while Leslie got to see me eat tacos. They were delicious visits.

Upon returning home to Colorado, the never-anything-but-beautiful-and-lovely Jess picked me up from the airport with gloves, boots, shovels and two cute dogs. I was afraid with all of the snow that I would not be able to get my Civic out of the parking lot. While I did not need any of the tools she brought, it was so nice to see her right when I got home. We took the toll road back to her house, which is where I discovered that for the second year in a row, my driver’s side window would not roll up. Why doesn’t this ever happen in the summer? Needless to say, it was a chilly ride back to the house.

I used to make fun of people that played Guitar Hero III.  As karma goes, I am now addicted to the damn game!

Wednesday night was my first opportunity to cash in on this glorious religious holiday that we call Christmas.  Jess and I got together for our first annual “holiday gift exchange”.  I had spent much of the day shopping, wrapping, and cooking in preparation.  The menu included grilled pork chops, prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, rosemary roasted potatoes and parsnips and a delicate mixed green salad.  We chased this down with a phenomenal Malbec from Argentina that we decanted in one of my gifts from Jess.  I also got a glass pickle for my tree, a framed photo from our Arches NP hike, and a USB powered coffee mug that plugs into my computer.  I hear that Apple promises to introduce a wireless coffee mug in the first quarter of 2009.

The snow keeps on falling here in Boulder. I’m guessing we’ve gotten four more inches of snow overnight and it keeps on coming….

We got our first big snow storm of the year here in Boulder yesterday. Over the course of the day and night, it dropped about 8 to 10 inches of the cold, white powder onto our cars and streets. This would have been incredibly welcome any night that I did not have front row center seats for Iron & Wine at The Paramount.

After much debate, we Ben, Amy, Jess and I decided to brave the storm and drive down to Denver for the 9pm show. After seeing this show, I could not have imagined missing it. We were literally front row, center for an all acoustic performance from Iron & Wine. They are traveling with an 8 piece band this tour, but the bad weather prevented all but the lead singer and his acoustic guitar from arriving. After listening to the show on NPR’s live concert series today, I realized how lucky we were to hear acoustic versions of the new album. You can get a sense of some of the songs at this NPR In Studio session.

His rendition of The Trapeze Swinger will forever give me chills. Here is a version of the song performed earlier this year.