atmosphere blue

Put your loving arms around me
And you whisper to me when you
Put your loving arms around me
And inside your arms I'm burning
Put your loving arms around me
And you whisper to me when you
And inside your arms I'm burning

I'm burning, inside your arms I'm burning...

yesterday was a day of false starts. new carpeting was to be installed in my townhouse. my mom and aunt came over to oversee the work as i had to go to the office. and my aunt had offered to paint my bathroom and kitchen for me while the work was being done. so they arrived on thursday evening, we went to dinner, and they stayed over. in the morning we moved all the items on the floors onto the patio before i went to work so the installers could have at it. and i had purchased paint (atmosphere blue) at restoration hardware to be put on the walls of the uncarpeted rooms. i left for work.

i got an emergency call during clinic with a message of paint problem and no carpet. i called to find out that the installers had not shown and the paint had some textural issue as it was runny and oily and would not adhere to the walls. we decided to run to the local hardware store and ask them to machine shake the paint and i phoned the carpet salesman. He assured me he would check on things and get back. i left my mom's number for him to respond.

the install was rebooked for today and the remixed paint remained runny. the decision to exchange or return the paint was made. if return was necessary, a second visit to the hardware store to mix a paint to the swatch of atmosphere blue. my houseguests stayed an extra night. i made a steak salad and we watched a don cheadle film called "traitor". both of them fell asleep- possibly a relevant movie review.

it is pride weekend in denver. i have lots of furniture to move this morning and then again this afternoon. the kitchen is left to be painted. i need to get a new drill and possibly some shelving. i am looking into refinancing to upgrade the kitchen appliances, move the plumbing and add a gas line for cooking. am having an appraisal on monday. we'll see.
i still love this process of nesting i am in. it feels like getting a big hug.

happy pride....

today's sound choice is armin van buuren's remix of karen overton with "put your loving arms around me"

rockin at home

i thought i would share one of the big reasons why i am sad i won't be in town for the dnc. it is the controversy with tent city and the protesters. denver is not necessarily known for its ability to honor the voices of dissent gracefully. not that it won't, it just hasn't had much experience in that realm. i think it will be interesting to see how it plays out. maybe it is better to be preoccupied with the national hiv system of service delivery.

so many voices have been so muted for so long in america(likewise in denver), it's hard to imagine that we could hear some loud, true dissent amongst us. and when we do, we usually turn away. it makes us feel so uncomfortable. after all, we're civilized and we don't behave like that. whining and complaining aren't attractive. one very audible set of voices in this milieu is definitely rage against the machine. you don't have to like them, but you gotta love them. they personify free speech in a nation full of whispers.

anyway, here are two articles about tent city, the first seen in april, the second in august. the heat is no doubt on...

A small collection of political activists pounded a homemade sign into the soil of Denver's Civic Center Park on Wednesday, claiming it for their own the week of the Democratic National Convention.

From this point forward, Civic Center Park will be considered the property of the people, and it will thus be renamed Free City," said Glenn Spagnuolo, spokesman for Recreate 68, which is coordinating protest efforts with a variety of activist groups for the Democratic National Convention week.[...]

"Regardless of the city's claims, we're going to be having free housing here in the park," said Spagnuolo. "We are going to be having free housing here in the park. We will stay past the curfew, we will enjoy each other's company."

He also said, "We will be putting up a tent city here that's going to include space for homeless people, too."

Spagnuolo also claimed that at some point there will be a "nude-in," in which demonstrators will spell out the word "PEACE," using naked bodies. read entire article here.

All of a sudden Tent State University's vow to bring 50,000 protesters to Denver seems within reach.

The game changed Thursday when Rage Against the Machine announced a free concert for the anti-war group.

"We're honored that they came," said Tent State organizer Adam Jung. "It's going to bring more attention and get the message out and make it stronger to the delegates and the public: Immediately end the war.

Sixteen months is too long. We're going to hold the Democratic Party and every other elected official accountable."

The Aug. 27 show at the 10,500-seat Denver Coliseum now has a headliner that easily fills arenas twice that size. Free tickets to the show will be distributed through a lottery system. read entire article here

now in contrast to tent state, is the dignitary roundtable discussion that is to take place. i would give anything to be a fly on the wall of that room. also in contrast to the free show with ratm and the flobots, on tuesday there is an invitation only show starring chris daughtry(definite hottie), the flobots(local band), and everclear(memorable tune or two) at the church. this is a benefit show for the grammy foundation. definitely won't have the edge of the free show.

home

image credit: kees bruin

i really want to thank you.

that has been really bothering me for quite some time and so i thought it best to blog about it because it's a blog world issue. i feel much better about it today. hopefully ready to move on.

i spend many of my days speaking with people with substance use and abuse issues. i can't remember a time when i wasn't spending time with addicts anyway, so it makes sense that i have moved into this direction professionally. today was a day like many other days. i teach 2 dui classes and meet with a sponsee, and attend a 12 step meeting. some days it's invigorating and some days it's draining. today it was the former. i also had lunch with the first man i sponsored. he only made it to the 7th step with me and then we had a shift in philosophies and he moved on.

that was certainly a challenging time for me because i thought that i had let him down somehow and i wondered about my own capabilities as a sponsor in general. the 12step program is an apprenticeship program and one is expected to move from apprentice to journeyman and begin sharing knowledge and experience in troubleshooting life with new apprentices.

today, seeing and talking with him was a blessing. i was able to recognize that i had not failed. it wasn't about me and didn't need to be.(of course, i always like to make it about me.) this man is doing fine, he has been sober a couple of years and we will always have a bond. he has some struggles just like the rest of us experience, but he is on the road to recovery.

recovery.

recovery is home.

there's no place like recovery.

there's no place like recovery.

there's no place like recovery...