Pedal Power

The summer seems to have evaporated. I got in one lovely bike ride, which I have chronicled at
http://picasaweb.google.com/wigjeff

In other news, I am on the cusp of being a homeowner again. I'll post some shots in a month when I actually live there. Otherwise, just twiddling my thumbs until Sreyoshi returns from Delhi.

-Wiggins

It is time for more posts!

Well, Dave beat me to it, but I agree that it is time to hear from everyone again. Drew and I are now settled in our new apartment. Things are going well with that. Parking on the street hasn't been too bad and it turns out our laundry facility here is cheaper!

Dave, I'm jealous of your NeighborWorks training. I'd love to do that sometime too. Life as a consultant is going well. I just had my annual review, which was very positive and I did get a pay increase! Things are ever changing and my responsibilites are growing. Through the past few months and in the months to come, I'll be taking on more and more responsibilities as my immediate supervisor is having a baby the beginning of next year. Next week, I won't have to be in the office at all as my team is conducting a housing conditions survey in Grass Valley. We'll be driving around all day every day surveying the housing there and recording on our ArcPad program that is synced with a GPS tracker. It'll be fun!

I've finally heard from Banks and he has moved back to Cali, so I look forward to catching up with him in person sometime soon. He's only a few hours away in Santa Cruz.

Drew is doing well and working his way up at the taxidermy shop but still hasn't found a band out here. He is not going on tour with the Hudson Falcons this year thank God!

Otherwise, not much else to report...what's everyone else doing?

12 pounds 6 ounces

Well...baby Joanna is now 12 pounds 6 ounces and I am finally getting to posting some pictures. Taking care of the new creature in our life has been amazing. After making a few major adjustments the first week home, we are now settled and she has even decided to take it easy on us only waking us up once through the night! Ohbe has adjusted to our new pace of life and tolerates cutting his walk short when Joanna gets overly cranky.

I'm glad to hear everyone is doing well and I will be sure to save you a seat at Joe's your next visit to IC.

Oh, and if you want to view more photos of Joe's newest patron check out...http://picasaweb.google.com/agalluzzo

Bachelor Party anyone?

Any of you men out there visiting Minnesota over the Aug. 24th-25th weekend? If you are, you're welcome to come along on a kick-ass bachelor party (that would be mine). The plan right now is to visit several places throughout the day on Saturday (like bars, bowling alleys, other bars, and whatever else is planned for the day).

If you would like to attend, you can call me (952-200-0420) or reply to this posting (which might actually be easier) and I'll have my best man include your email address on the Evite so you can respond.

Congrats to all the people with humongous news lately. Cheers to Kent for the baby -- any names picked out yet, like Kent Jr.? And cheers as well to Dave for his new digs. Congrats to Sreyoshi on becoming a transportation planner (it's not that bad after all, really). And congrats to Matt who has a new dog now, he looks like fun.

Hey Michaela ...

Hey Michaela and hey everyone! I apologize for not being in touch. Blogging, posting pictures and writing updates are not my strongest points! I am alive and well and very busy. Don't have too much to report though. No, I did not buy a house or a dog; neither did I get married or am pregnant! I did quit my job at NC and now have assumed the role of a transportation planner with the Cheyenne MPO. Work is exciting, yeah its true! Some people learn through trial and error and am I the classic example?! I have tried housing, community devpt, economic development and transportation. I'd like to think that 'wildlife photography' is next but maybe I'll settle with transportation at the moment. Apart from work, Jeff and I am having an amazing time exploring this part of the country.
Also, I am on my 3 month sabbatical at the moment (note without pay). Next month I leave for India to spend around 5 weeks with my family. Apart from the 15 hour flight, I am really looking forward to it!

Ciao!

Onion

Ok the article isn't one of their funniest ever but the headline cracked me UP...
http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/5_million_car_pileup_kills

Update time, I guess

I knew that someone else was going to be expecting!!! Now its Derek and Casey's turn.;) Congratualions to Kent and Tiffany! Nice house Dunns! Kristen- I'll have to check out the band. Oh, and what's up with Sreyoshi? I've asked before and no one answered but I take it she is no longer in North Carolina (?)? Drew and I are moving into a smaller and cheaper apartment this week and next. We are excited as it is close to the downtown grocery store and number of restaurants and bars. It'll also cut down my commute about 10 minutes. Job is fine, but we're out of work, which is very bad and makes for long, tense days. We did finally move into a new office where everyone has their own desk and we have a kitchen that does not double as someone's office and about 16 conference rooms!

Drew is mastering the art of taxidermy and is driving me crazy with his heightened sense of detail. He's still looking for a music project.

I guess that's all. I should get back to work

Bye now,

Oh My God (and I'm not a religious man)

I swear I just now figured out how to post a blog.... turns out it's really quite easy.

Anyhoo, I've been reading all of the entries posted and am happy to hear people are doing well. Congrats to Matt on his new pup, the Dunn family on their new digs, Matt again for his new job, Wiggins for having what seems like the best job ever, Kristen for a rocking band, Dan on his new home, Galluzzo for having a child, J-town for having a child, Sreyoshi on her newer job, Aaron for getting hitched, Derek for being a bad ass, Michaela for representing the west coast, and anyone else I missed...

As for me, work is wonderful and keeping me quite busy...I am however having some difficulty sitting in my office during the summer months. To remedy this, I've been trying to spend as much time outdoors as my days allow. Tiffany is well and now working as landscape designer at Forevergreen nursery. I'm also pleased to report that Tiffany and I are expecting our first child on December 26th...So, I'm completely nervous to say the least. And, with any luck, I'll figure out exactly what one does to take care of a newborn before this date.

If anyone ever passes through IC you've always got a place to stay...

Cheers

Still Alive

No word from Wyoming recently. Sorry...

A new show in the UK that may be of interest:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/06_june/01/planners.shtml

Cheyenne acquired a 20,000 acre ranch a few years ago to explore water rights and a potential landfill site. The former is alive and well; the latter is pretty much dead in the water. Now, it's looking mostly like an immense trail paradise that's 25% bigger than the entire city. Check out the master planning and some pix at:

http://www.belvoirranch.org

Otherwise, the usual work sclock, some good hikes, plenty of company from Sreyoshi (who is on a long vacation currently), and enough aridity to stimy this world-class spitter.

Oh, BTW, they're bison (not buffalo). Blame the french (cow = boeuf), and their crazy fur-trapping ambassdors to the new world.

Looking forward to 8 days in the saddle starting next week for a tour of Glacier and Waterton Peace Park on the Canuck side. Winter makes one really savor the summer. The world's largest rodeo starts this Friday a mile from my place...

That's my cue...shrimp curry's ready!

A bientot

-Wiggins

Photos of the new Dunn digs

If I did this right, there should be three pictures of our house on here. If not, then I need a tutorial on how to upload photos to a blog!!!!!

what I've been doing with all my time

(besides the job thing - which is pretty lame and there's not much to say about it besides I'm not fired yet and there's a paycheck)

If you didn't already know, I joined a band in Dallas and we've finally started to get our shit together enough for me to tell people about it. We just finished putting together a MySpace page at: http://www.myspace.com/gurlfriendzband

It's still in the preliminary stages. We need to get better recordings of a few more songs and probably some other stuff that I can't think of at the moment, but you can get the idea at least. We're not like super "talented" or anything but anyway, we're having fun and that's what counts, right?

I'll warn you though - the other "girls" in the band are all TG. I know none of you have ever really been the type to judge -- I just didn't want you to think they were all just ugly or something. hee hee jk! OK hope you like the noise! And I hope everything is great with you all!

Trouble...

So I haven't been online much lately and here's why: I adopted Toby last weekend. He's 10 weeks old now and full of demonic energy. And we have slightly differing views on the whole housebreaking philosophy. Anyway, he's a handful. Makes me wonder how those of us with kids we can't lock in a crate at night are doing :)

My Update...Finally

Well, sorry it has taken so long for me to post. Life is going pretty good, although hectic as always. The last 6 months or so has been the craziest time ever. Logan was born on February 5th. He was completely healthy and is doing great. He has started to roll over and is making all sorts of fun sounds.

We also bought a house on Friday, April 13th. Yep, that's right we bought a house on Friday the 13th. So far the house is great. The lady that owned the house before us barely lived at the house. She told her realtor that in the past 5 years she probably slept there less than once a week. So, we have had to take care of several things that we neglected, but we got a GREAT deal on the place and compared to our 1,100 square foot apartment we feel like we are in a mansion. For our first project we hired a contractor to completely rip out the master bath and redo it due to a leak in the shower and a horribly out of date tile throughout the room. The bathroom is finally done and in working condition.

To go along with all of this, Logan was baptized recently and we had tons of family in town. Then, the next week we had the sewer line that runs from our house to the street backup and that was ... well, that was NO fun at all. Then, two days later my car finally died. We had been waiting for this to happen and I refused to buy a new vehicle until mine died. We have now found a new car and hope to have it tonight.

On the work front, things are okay. If any of you still get Planning, you should read the article in the latest publication about St. Louis (I think it's called "Bustling Beyond the Arch" or something like that). In the article they make a small mention about a development downtown that includes a grocery store. This is a project I have spent the last 1-2 months of my life working on (kind of cool to see a reference to it in Planning although the mention is extremely brief). I am also looking for a new job, as mine requires far too many hours when you have a 4 month old baby at home. For the first month or two of Logan's life I don't know if I saw him awake, unless it was 3:00 am and he was hungry. I have been trying really hard the last month to stay at 45 hours, but sometimes that is simply not a possibility. I also have an interview for a City Planner position on Monday and am hopeful it will work out.

So, that is my life in a nutshell. If anyone ends up in St. Louis, look me up.

15 Ashbrook Dr.
St. Peters, MO 63376
(636) 447-6691

Up and running again

Well, I didn't have scarlet fever, but both me and my computer have been out of commission for a few days too. Great time to switch jobs and not have any sick time... But now that I'm keeping solid foods in I managed to get the old piece of electronic garbage running again. ANYWAY, here's my new address:

2108 S. Franklin Street
Denver, CO 80210

And that's my house from the street. You can't really tell, but the big wall on the left side is the convenience store that shades my house...

Damn it Hot!

It's been awhile since I've posted anything. I'm sitting here in my own personal Joe's with a beer and thought I'd post something. It has been nice here but starting yesterday it started reaching 100 degrees and it sucks! We are still planning on looking for a new place soon to save money. I just got over Scarlet Fever, which for those who aren't familiar is similar to Strep Throat but with a strange red, sunburn-like rash. I'm glad I have health insurance! I guess there isn't much more to report, but that we're gearing up for a hot, but eventful summer here in Northern Cali. Will hopefully go to as many summer fests, car shows and the most anticipated Gilroy Garlic Festival in July!! Its good to be done with school and able to get excited about an entire weekend festival devoted to Garlic!!!

What are others planning for the summer?

Mic

Not me, but close

Hey all! Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. And unfortunately this one's gonna be short too. BUT Todd wanted me to let you all know that he was planning to head to Chicago and Iowa City in a couple weeks. (June 26 - July 5) I regret to say that I will not be going with him - since I don't even have enough vacation to cover 1/4 of that trip. But if you're one of those people that liked him better than me anyway (hey it happens) and you'll be aroung that general area... let me know if you want him to look you up when he's there (or pre-book a time slot if you're one of those "always busy" people) ;-) ok that's it for now - I'll try to get back on soon with a "real" update.

Address Change

I just realized I didn't send the actual address out with that last long post. Here it is if people are curious:

2619 Aldine St.
St. Paul, MN 55113

By the way, Gavin Poindexter (remember him??) will be interviewing with my office next week, so I may be seeing more of him soon.

1st Day

Hey folks, sorry for the lack of communications lately... moving sucks. Anyway, I'm settled in and started today at the South Suburban Parks & Recreation District. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed right now, but the people seem pretty cool and there is definitely a ton of work for me to do. I'll send some pics of my new place in a few days. I haven't taken them yet...

my long overdue update

Here is my long overdue update to the almostjoes.blogspot, now that I've been called out by Dave Dunn ....

The biggest piece of news is that I have now moved into a house in Roseville, MN, although I've been told that I should actually tell people I live in St. Paul because the mail will come faster. It is a three-bedroom house on the main level, with a good-sized living room, and a basement with zebra-colored walls (the previous owners has some zebra fascination). Here are some pictures:

Though we are both happy with the place and the location, holy shit! -- owning a house is exhausting some days. I am trying to get a dishwasher installed and having a hell of a time with that. So I quit that project, thinking I would have a better time with the grill outside, and had no luck trying to get that to work. And now my whole Saturday is gone, and my back is killing me again. About the only plans I have for this holiday weekend are to finish those two projects and bet on the horses at Canterbury Park on Monday (and have a few drinks too).

While the house has taken up all of our time lately, I have to remember that Kayla and I are getting married in September and still have to get invitations sent out, tuxedos rented, etc.... Work-wise, Kayla is doing great working with Children's Hospital in St. Paul, and I am still working in Minneapolis and now taking a new bus route. I have to stand most of the time though, as ridership has jumped with the gas prices going up as of late. It's $3.30 a gallon here, but it might be worse elsewhere. Somebody told me it was over $4.00 on the west coast, is this true Michaela??

Dave and Jill came up to visit us last month and Kayla and I will be visiting them in Des Moines next weekend, provided that a snowstorm doesn't blow through southern Minnesota the night before, which is actually what happened to us last March. So, Des Moines, here we come ...

And lastly, I have found a close substitute to Joe's Place near the U of M campus, though it doesn't quite live up to all of Joe's standards, like the pool table and the dartboards and the quality graffiti in the bathrooms. Cheap beer is really the main attraction there, which makes me think back to those much simpler, less back-breaking days. Hope everyone has a good holiday weekend --

Dan

I should be working

Congrats to Jill on finishing school and to Matt for getting a new job and moving to Denver. I expect you'll be much happier there.

Wanted to say "yo" since its been awhile. I've been back in the midwest off and on for the past couple weeks. One of my best friends got married this past weekend. I was a bridesmaid for the first time and now understand why be able to say "always a bridesmaid, never a bride" is usually meant to be negative. I just don't like the ceremony part of weddings - just skip to the reception!! That part was fun except for when I took pity on the 8 year old junior bridesmaid who wanted someone to hold her up during "Loveshack". My arms are still sore!

Anywho - saw lots of friends and family in the past few weeks and came to the conclusion that our days in California are numbered. We like it here but not enough to miss out on so many things with friends and family. Flights are too expensive and unreliable as well.

It is hot here already (well, sort of). We'll soon be looking for a new house or apartment, which will be tons of fun. We're also both hoping for raises in the near future - we'll see...

I should get back to work - its been an especially unproductive afternoon.