The DNC Hits Denver

It seems like ages since Denver started buzzing about the Democratic National Convention hitting town, and now, like a big fat tidal wave, here it comes. Somehow it still seems to have sneaked up on us. Perhaps it is because so many details that directly affect our household have been left to the last minute...

The change of venue to Invesco Field (from the Pepsi Center) for the Obama speech Thursday puts the crowds less than a mile from our home. Road closures have been changed around us and our work schedules and job descriptions are daily redefined. 

My part-time job as a tour guide at Invesco Field for the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame will be traded in for full-time transportation coordination for the delegates, and Randy is Mr. Overtime and Mr. Overnight with no days off for about 11 in a row. Our friend Melanie is helping with concierge service for people leasing downtown lofts from her real estate firm and she will be camping out with us to avoid all the crazy commuting.

Some people say that Denver is ill-prepared for this convention and it's going to be a nightmare while others are assuring us that Denver is ready for it and all has been planned well. Today, I am acutely aware that when they say "Denver," they mean us: a law enforcement worker, an event worker, and a real estate administrative assistant. Our household of three this week is bracing to be part of the execution team that tries to make the second group of people right. 

Pray for us!

Winter in August!

After surviving a heatwave in Denver these past couple weeks, the weather finally broke and we enjoyed some Scotland-esque grey and gloomy rain. It was fantastic and it made me feel like heading outdoors again.

Yesterday, Randy's sister Julee (who has been visiting from Oregon) and I decided to drive up the Mt. Evans Byway...the highest altitude highway in the USA. It was a beautiful drive straight into winter, even if the road was closed at Summit Lake. Just as we hit snow, songs we had put on a mix CD from the Narnia soundtrack started playing...perfect!

We drove up past the treeline and saw marmots, deer, and on the way home, bison. Diego wasn't too sure about the leash laws but I think he had a good time too. 

The full set of photos is viewable by clicking HERE.

In Which I am Accidentally a Collector's Item...and A Collector

THIS MONTH IN MUSIC:

A cassette put out by the band I fronted in the late 80's (Otto Bootzman: The Legacy of No One) was listed on eBay as "Very Early Beki Hemingway!" and actually sold for $12.50 plus shipping. I think it was originally $5 or $6 so that's a good markup for our little ep recorded right here in Denver in 1989(?)

On 08/08/08 (a magical Chinese date according to my new friend Bill), Randy and I played at Solid Grounds in Littleton and had a good time trying out some new songs amidst a bunch of our oldies. Kathy took some pics of us and this relatively new location for SG:

Melanie and I went to see Newton Faulkner at an in-store performance at Bart's CDs in Boulder. It was a spur of the moment decision based on the fact that we both like his single "Dream Catch Me" and I happened to hear a KBCO Studio C performance/announcement as I was driving home from a job the other day. So...we didn't have a clue about Newton, but we were "Newton-curious." 

After all, I live on Newton Street, love Fig Newtons, and know lots of Olivia Newton-John lyrics. Anyway, off we went. 

It was well worth the trip. A very good time! As it turns out, Newton Faulkner is a UK pop star who has abundant dreadlocks. The store wasn't too crowded so we asked for a pic:

After getting our picture taken, we realized that this photo bore a striking similarity to one we had taken in November 2006 in an alley behind the Olympia Theater in Dublin with our good buddy Duke Special. 

Could it be that we have a penchant for dreadlocked UK pop stars? It seems we have started a collection. If anyone knows of more dreadlocked UK pop stars, please leave a comment here so we can add it to our list of people to get our picture taken with (Melanie stage left, and Beki stage right of course).

CD PURCHASE: BIG BLUE BALL (Peter Gabriel/Karl Wallinger/Various)  = AWESOME!

Construction!

today, randy and i both had the day off so we decided to work construction. since i have no qualifications and am generally not handy, it seemed like a great idea! through our church, we volunteered for our first ever habitat for humanity experience. 

i thought that you couldn't do construction if you didn't have experience, but then i saw this link and felt better. 

we worked alongside people from tnl, one other from our church, st. john's lutheran, and pepsi. the pepsi team brought excellent beverages. yaaay.

so...first off, i had no idea that randy was so good at construction. he was up on the roof and all over the place, being singled out by supervisors to do all the hard stuff. 

i got pegged for tasks like "can you hold this measuring tape?" etc. at first, but then i solved a confusing math error on the window plans for the crew leader! ha! 

by the end of the day, i had learned a lot from the supervisors, and i now know things like how to "walk out" a nail, what a "cat's paw" is, and the correct way to load, use, and change a caulking gun. big steps for a girl who usually works in the office, on the stage, or in the studio. we got three walls built and raised on the 2nd floor, plus some other odd tasks. 

that's randy on the left side of the duplex, top floor.

trivia: 708 was the area code for most of randy's life in aurora, il. and also when we lived in oak park.

when we volunteered for the job, we didn't know where the build would be, but we were excited to find out that it was not really far from our house at all. it's in our neighborhood, which made it even cooler to be helping out. in a way, it was like helping ourselves to improve our own community, and it will be exciting to be able to drive by often and see the progress!

also, we look dumb in hardhats...

This Week in Pics

It has been a busy week! I spent most of it in black pants, comfy shoes, and a polo shirt working for a conference in town. I like holding up the sign at the airport even though so often my intended party completely disregards me and walks right on by to baggage claim. It has occurred to me at times that there really isn't much difference between this job and that of a street person except:

a) I get to be indoors.

b) I have a uniform provided.

Example (not me):

c) My sign says "Microsoft" or "Pfizer" or "Welcome Ms. Brackenberry" instead of "Will work for food." or "Need a beer" or perhaps, as in the example below, "Free Robot Sex."

c) My income is not tax-free and I have to bill someone to get paid.

d) Nope. That's about it.

It has been shown that the hourly rate of a cardboard sign panhandler in Denver and that of a conference meeter/greeter is actually quite comparable.

Anyway, aside from all this people watching, Randy & I got to do a little bird-watching when we went to the hardware store to buy screws for the license plate that fell off our car this week. These ducks were trying to escape the weather under someone's parked car.

Tuesday, Melanie came over to watch American Idol and the reunion show for The Real Housewives of NYC. Yes, we know that is bad tv, but when I used to watch Sex & the City (not recommending it--just admitting to it), I didn't believe there were really people like that. The Real Housewives of NYC is proof that people actually talk like that! Anyway, back to Melanie... 

I had promised to make her a pavlova back in March on her birthday. She was really jealous and drooly when she saw the Gowanbank pavlova pic on this blog, having previously taken that trip and eaten Isabel's amazing pavlova there, so since Isabel said it was "the easiest thing in the world" to make, I figured I could make it for my friend. Well, ladies & gentlemen, the third time is the charm:

Lessons learned:

1. Liquid egg whites are not recommended for meringues.

2. Stiff peaks means really really stiff.

3. Metric conversions are not the forte of Lorraine & Isabel Smith.

4. Castor sugar is different from "extra fine" sugar. 

5. Pavlova must be cooled SLOWLY and IN the oven.

6. Pavlova is not "the easiest thing in the world." 

It is, however, one of the most delicious. Here is the finished product, which only looked this way for mere seconds. If this thing were a clock, let's just say that 11 o'clock to 7 o'clock were missing about in about 15 minutes.

Our last photo is just a reminder that the Democratic National Convention is just around the corner here in Denver. Randy was fitted for one of these this week as he has been recommended for a special unit which may or may not be stationed downtown in front of the capitol building.

I am going to be working events during the DNC and no one has yet offered to issue me one of these so Diego is a little concerned. I think he is saying "You ARE going to call Beki on her cell phone before throwing any gas bombs into the crowd, right?"

Let's all hope & pray it doesn't come to that here in the land of the free and the home of the brave!  

Wrapping Up

So, we did finally make it to Munich, and after landing safely, we paid €17.60 for the local train fare to the Ostbahnhof. George & Ilsa were waiting there for us and fed us all those lovely German things--good bread, meats, cheeses, and of course, beer. 

(George is a friend of my father's from early military days in the BOQ - that's Bachelors Officers Quarters)

It was a shame to have such a short visit, but we kept them up until 1:00am and I broke all rules of conversation, bringing up both religion and politics. I just can't shut up sometimes!

In the morning, Ilsa woke up to fix us breakfast and George drove us to the airport. We gave them our CD which they insisted on holding up in the picture, and they gave us loads of gummi bears. Danke!

Once again, shame on Aerlingus for making our visit so short and keeping us from seeing their daughter Colette & son-in-law Michael who were only free to visit the night before! 

In the airport, we spent a bit of time in the duty free shops, but alas, this €1,250 whiskey for only €1,000 is still no bargain! The box sure is pretty though.

Our trip was a fast paced one, but it was a great one. I was struck by how many friends we have made on the other side of the pond over the years, and also by how content I am these days to be settled in Denver. I really missed our house & Diego by the end and was happy to be returning to such a good life. 

The conversations we had over there challenged me and made me think. Hopefully, that will have some lasting affect. On a shallower note, I actually LOST 3 pounds somehow! 

I found the picture below of Randy on the blue line El in Chicago from our very first trip overseas in 2001. In this photo he had just said that he was worried that Ireland couldn't possibly live up to how great he hoped it would be. 

Little did he know that we would love it so much that we would be spending most of our excess cash to go back again and again! This was our 5th trip together--not to mention my trip without him last year (and please lets not mention it! I have not heard the end of it!)

Workouts & the Future in Edinburgh

Well, I was so mad about that delayed flight that I forgot to post these from our day in Edinburgh. This city is full of ups & downs. It is the perfect opportunity for an accidental workout. 

Even though the weather was far too windy for a climb up to the top of Arthur's Seat (some businesses were closing early due to the strong winds on the day we were there), we still got a good workout, just going down these stairs for a cup of coffee:

Along the way, we found out that Presbyterian founder John Knox apparently did his stairmaster workout here during part of the 16th century:

Now that I have my coffee, the real work begins...what goes down must go up, and then down again because I am actually about to climb those stairs to take a tour of underground Edinburgh.

On the way from the hostel to the bus station...pull that suitcase!

And at the airport...we are welcomed just before leaving.

There was a funny little art exhibit done by kids entitled "Edinburgh Airport 3007" 

BEHOLD! THE FUTURE!