Happy F*#king New Year (part fourty-eight)!

Happy Fucking New Year! Here I am, in my boxers, just got in from work. Good day. Fun people. You listen to Pink Floyd and you chop down Cannabis flowers. It's a very interesting business.

And I'm here in Denver. Things are progressing well so far.

It's 19:10, Mountain Time, and I might fall asleep. After I shower. But I like like the work. I like being active. Horticulture. Farming. I was shocked today to be able to go in so late as 9:00. When I woke up, the sun was up and I was sure I had overslept. I usually drive to work in the dark.

 3 Sisters Trail, 10/15

Salty Bitch

You say good-bye
I say hello
-The Beatles



Today, December 30th in history:
1972 - Pres. Nixon halts bombing of North Vietnam & announces peace talks. He refused to exit Vietnam while running for his second term. Tricky Dick.

Good-bye Meadowlark Lemon. Good-bye Scott Weiland. Good-bye to the great BB King. Chris Squire will be missed. He was one of the greatest musicians ever. Good-bye Connecticut. Good-bye sales. 

Hello Colorado. Hello farming life. Hello 2016, you salty bitch!

In the Green Room

Trimmed cannabis all day long. Some of the strains, one of them Princess Leia, had perfectly formed buds. It was so sticky that a pair of gloves only lasted an hour.

The year is ending. What the hell? I just got here. Didn't I just get laid off?

Rib Eye

From 12/26/15

It's been another great day. I just cooked and ate a 14oz bone-in, rib-eye. It was amazing! It was like $8. Oh, welcome to the land of carnivores! I had a nice bottle of pinot noir as well, because people from Jersey have class.

I have been cleaning and listening to some great albums. We lost some amazing musicians in 2015. We lost Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots, the blues king, BB King, and Chris Squire, bassist extraordinaire, of Yes. So I've been listening to all of them today. BB and Squire has long, full lives. Weiland's was short but full, musically. With his brand of drug addiction, it's amazing he lived to be 48. I read his autobiography, and he was a train wreck and then some.

Boxing Day

It is cold! It's 23F at 2:00pm! And the East is in a heatwave.

I saw the new Star Wars yesterday. It was very good. I dug it. The theater was jammed with all the Buddhists and the Jews going to the theater on Xmas!

I am organizing my room, doing laundry and digging having some time to myself as James and Kara are visiting his folks in Nashville. I am also still trying to find a place to live.

Enjoy your Boxing Day!

Christmas Out West

Merry Xmas my dear friends and family. I miss you all, but it was not sensible to fly back after only arriving on the 9th. Besides, I've been up to my ass in work, sometimes literally. I've met some very nice, interesting and intelligent people at work. I know I made the right choice when I decided to do this.

My right toe (arthritis) gave me a lot of trouble last night and today.  I think it's just a weak point and I worked 5 of the last 6 days. I took what the doc always prescribes and I have 3 days to rest.

I cooked a rack of lamb and had it with a nice Mark West Pinot Noir. Then I watched the last three episodes of Into the Badlands, which were awesome.

It's 8:08 here. 10:08 back east. It's 14:00 in Madrid. They are sitting down to Xmas dinner right now.

So kiss a baby! Hug your siblings! Call someone you've been meaning to call! Have an extra glass of wine AND a piece of cake! Thin about all the cool things in your life! Peace on earth.

Joe Buck Yourself

I m so tired. One more day of work mañana, at the packaging place. The last few days we've harvested such strains as Bruce Banner (hysterical,) Jelly Roll, Blue Dream, Gray Ghost Haze and Joe Buck! What happens when you smoke Joe Buck? You get high and then say "I'm friends with Troy Aikman," every 30 seconds? No thank you.

Beat

Worked today and will work again tomorrow, long ride. Too tired to write. But it was fun. Mañana.

Back to Work!

Well, I worked 5.5 hours today, packaging edibles, earning money other than unemployment for the first time since the beginning of July. I packed Cannabis chocolate bars and breath mints (also with marijuana,) who knew such things existed. Not I. Not I.

And then one of the full-timers offered Rob and I some ganja tea. It's very mild, this guy, Dylan, told me. Sure. Why not. I didn't feel anything much, but still. We're through the looking glass on this one, people. I've met some very interesting people here. All types. It's kind of mind boggling, but it's cool. A lot of people have similar stories to my own. They came out to experience it.

In 1859, Colorado experienced a Gold Rush. In 1879, they experienced a Silver Rush that lasted until 1893, when the price of silver collapsed. On Nov. 6, 2012, Colorado Amendment 64 passed, which started the Green Rush, of which I am a fortunate participant.

It's a new world. I'm just living in it.

A New dawn

I've got two weeks to find a place. 14 days. I won't be out on my ass, but I need to feel settled.

- - -

I still don't feel settled.

Went with James and saw the Avalanche beat the Islanders 2-1. Great seats. Great company! We'll be back April 1 when Washington comes in.

From today's Craiglist:

newly built house. would love a bossy big booty woman to move in free (denver)

my name is tanner. im 28. very easy going. i own a roofing business with my dad and in school for engineering. i have a beautiful newly built 3 bedroom 2 bath home to myself. as u can see in the pic of the house there is still work that is being done to the outside of it. but the inside is beautiful and complete. i am looking for a beautiful bossy big booty woman or a woman who has a bf or is married. whether she is single or has a man in her life it doesnt matter to me. nothing sexual of course has to happen at all. i just want a beautiful bossy woman to move in and make me be her houseboy servant. no need for rent bc i make good money. its something i enjoy doing is being bossed by a woman i cant have who has a big booty. i just want someone who will be the queen of the house and order me to clean do errands laudnry dishes wash car cook massage if possible.

Wow. I could have lived my whole life without knowing that. For that reasons, I 've started using some sites other than Craigslist.

xxx

Got to wake up tomorrow and be to work by 6:00am for my first paying job. I knew the farmer's hours were coming.

NE and OK Can Bite My Shiny Metal Ass

http://www.ganjapreneur.com/obama-administration-calls-dismissal-cannabis-lawsuit-against-colorado/

Tow the line and play their game
Let the anesthetic cover it all
Till one day they call your name
You know it's time for the hammer to fall.
-Queen




Nebraska and Oklahoma have just followed a federal lawsuit against Colorado. They claim it is draining their police forces. Kansas is thinking of joining and they can bite me too. NE has 1.2m people, Kansas 2.9 and Oklahoma 3.9. That's 6 million people. New York City alone has 8.4 million! Legalized recreational marijuana in CO has cut drug related crime by 80% in the first year alone. The state has saved a minimum of $3m in court costs and the tax revenue from year 1 was $68m! This is a no brainer. If these people weren't getting weed from CO, they'd be getting it somewhere else.

PS.

Dear Nebraska, Oklahoma and Kansas!

That's why nobody actually wants to live your state! You guys are as much fun as a poo covered stick.

Cross-Country Crap

Stuff accumulated along my five day trek across this great country. And big. So, so very big. Damn thing never ends. Why is the Steelers lighter I got in PA purple? I have no bloody idea. The Rush disc and DVD, I got in Grand Island, Nebraska, in an attempt to keep my driving sanity. I'd been looking for a back scratcher and didn't know where to find one. The answer is at a truck stop in Iowa. Who knew?

When I saw Dan O in Chicago, he talked about getting some of the gang together who are out west. Besides me being in Denver and he in Chicago, Bernie is in Idaho, and Fagen is in Montanna. I don't know of a place equidistant. I'd have to look at a map. +++ I just did. I have no idea what would be central. Hopefully, they'll decide they want to come here since cannabis is legal. Everyone is eager to see what that's like.

After the Storm

I am officially an employee of Trim Jobs. They email us the night before if they have work. I will most likely not get anything until the weekend, or Monday.

Xmas fast approaches. I will be alone and will cook a steak. I will curl up with a book or a movie and forget that the planet even exists. I also might go see Star Wars. Boo yeah! Maybe go to the local pub on Xmas Eve (I know a lot of waitresses now.)

I went home with a waitress
The way I always do
How was I to know 
She was with the Russians too
-Warren Zevon

It's sunny and the snow is melting. It's 25 and we will not get above freezing, but that hight altitude sun will melt it.

It's like I now live on another planet.

But it's exciting. It's been a while since there was any REAL excitement in my life, other than bad shit like fear of bankruptcy and starvation.

I want to learn how to snowshoe. I also want to go see the Stanley Hotel, which inspired Stephen King's The Overlook Hotel in The Shining. Also, Cheyenne, Wyoming is just 2.5 miles away. That would be fun too.

Let me tell you, that storm yesterday came out of nowhere. And quite formidable it was.

Training Day / Snowstorm

Today, I harvested marijuana for the first time. I came home a bit sticky and reeking of it, but I had my badge and my case in the car in case I got pulled over.

But it was fun. I fanned out the water leaves of some of the big buds, then these are discarded and the buds are put away to dry or cure.

Then, with some of the little buds, you pick the sugar leaves off of them. These are leaves that have deposits of resin on them and can be saved for use in extractions and such.

It was a long day on my feet, but fun.

The measure of the moment
In a difference of degree
Just one little victory
A spirit breaking free
One little victory
The greatest act can be
One little victory
- Rush

Tuesday

We got a foot of snow today. Schools closed, which is a rarity here.  But the crews did not get a jump on the storm because so much snow was unexpected. The healthcare insurance guy called at 9:30. I was just getting up. I told him I'd be there at ten. He said, "I just wanted to check with the snow."

Snow? There was not supposed to be much. I looked out the window and there was at least eight inches of snow. The roads were a disaster, because most things had been closed, so Arapahoe, our main road/highway, was nothing but slop and people skidding and accidents. Luckily, my first thing to do was at ten.

So I knocked the snow off of the car and pulled out onto an unplowed road, on the grounds where we live. But the Toyota pulled through. I used 2nd gear a lot! I got there and got new health insurance, dental and vision. Woo hoo! Then I had to create an online account, so that I could cancel the account in CT. But fine, I jumped through the hoop and it got done. So thank you CT. Thank you, Northeast. I leave you with a heavy heart.

But things are exciting here. There's a vibe and a pride to being the first state to legalize it recreationally. There's also people out there who like to cut off people, just because they have Connecticut plates. A local told me some of the people don't like newcomers, like me, because the price of everything has gone up. Yes, there is a bit of a boomtown feel, because this is Denver, and it's where all the big players and growers have set up shop. But the economy is booming. The boom will thin out a bit as more markets open. I think they'll be some sweet positions opening up in the next five years or so.

So that's the past two days. It's been an adventure! First day on a weed farm. Then first day in a Mile High snow storm. It dropped about a foot in the span of four hours. That's nuts. Denver has already broken the December record for snowfall.

Looking for Somewhere

growing up
(growing up)
looking for a place to live
-Peter Gabriel

Looking for a place. Haven't gotten much of a response yet. It's snowing here. My first snow in Colorado. One of many to come, I'm sure. But it's not so bad, talking to you, sipping a Goose Island Pale Ale, with some old Pink Floyd playing.

I got big snow boots and Gor-Tex gloves. I'm ready for the snow. I am trying to stay one step ahead but it's never that easy.

- - -

Wow, people ask for some very specific things in a roommate:

- must be man without facial hair and adores Martha Stewart.

- must love seahorses.

-looking for non smoker (will consider pets if they are reptilian.)

-prefer someone who is not a dwarf (above 4 ft.)

A lot of people have big issues.

Logistically Speaking

Much to do.

+Talk with unemployment at 12:30. Fuckers.
+Go yell at people at Wells Fargo, then pay credit card.
+Clean Car.
+Get Clothes from storage.
+Get sanity checked.
+Wait to hear from people I emailed about place to live.

Blind man runnin' through the light of the night
With an answer in his hand
Come on down to the river of sight
And you can really understand
-Neil Young

Vapor Trails

It's good to be here. I feel like I'm in the right state at the right moment. The right state of mind, too.

It's quite beautiful out here. And it has a way cooler vibe than other parts of midwest. There always seem to be cool cloud patterns over the Rockies, and the most amazing colors at sunset. And that's why you will have to come out and visit!

Vapor Trails Over Iowa 12/5/15

December 9th

Today I went down to the temp agency and took a course on harvesting and trimming. I passed the test and I start a temp job on Monday. I am thrilled. 

So here we go, down the rabbit hole. I can't wait. I promise to keep blogging.

Journey's End

The sun sets in Eastern Colorado as I near the end of my journey.

Dec 8

After five months of laying the groundwork, I have moved to the Denver area. Woo hoo! Thanks to the many who helped along the way. And thank you to my Toyota! 202,000 miles! To me, my 1997 Toyota Corolla like Tony Stark's Iron Man Suit.

I had a 20 ounce, bone in rib-eye in Nebraska. There are more cattle than people, and they taste better too. It's beautiful country out there, and there's so much of it. Farm after farm after farm. But I hung out in a dive bar in Grand Island (it's not an island, it's Nebraska) and it was a cool crowd. The older ones were cool, the younger ones were alcohol soaked.

One guy asked if I wanted to play darts, loser buys drinks. I agreed and annihilated him in about ten rounds. Then I found a free Miller Genuine Draft in my hand.

Having done the East Coast to Denver thing twice now, I can finally conceptualize just how vast our country is. The space goes on forever and ever. As do the cattle.

Delicious.

3:34am

Still can't sleep. After driving for almost 9.5 hours, I thought I might drop as I fell in the door. But, after that long of paying attention, it's never easy to come down.

Take a little trip back with father Tiresias,
Listen to the old one speak of all he has lived through.
I have crossed between the poles, for me there's no mystery.

-Genesis

Sleep is beckoning from across the street. “Not yet,” she says, but whispers, “...soon.”

“That'll do sleep. That'll do."

2,000 Miles to Denver

I got here safely. Thanks for all the well wishes. It's good to be back. The trip was fantastic and I'll fill ye in mañana. I have tales to tell from PA, Chicago, Des Moines and Nebraska. I drove 2,000 miles in 5 days. It was a whole lot of driving, but an amazing experience. Sleep well. I know I will.

CowMageddon

Just when I thought things couldn't get any weirder. I was delayed 2 hours, leaving Jersey, because my of credit card, which was below it's limit. I couldn't even buy gas! Mum helped me out and saved my ass, yet again.

Then I was cruising across New Jersey and Transylvania (I mean Pennsylvania,) and it was fun. There was snow on the ground in PA in the western Poconos.

Then, as I was less than an hour from the Ohio border, where I figured I'd stop and get a hotel room, we were suddenly at a standstill. It was obvious there had to have been an accident up the road.

I called Mum and as we were talking, I suddenly yelled, "What the hell?" Three cows had just walked past my car on the shoulder (going east on 80 west, no less!) I was like, "That really happened!" Turned out that a tractor trailer, filled with cattle, had flipped. Cows were running around on route 80! It was madness! The rescue crew was trying to retrieve them, but the cows could climb up the embankment! It was a bizarre 2.5 hours. There were 40 something cows. And a lot had to have died. I remember screaming, "Oh, the Bovinity!"

But it didn't stop me from ordering a steak later on.