weekend plans.
mcfall campfire dinner and drinks, drag show, bar hopping, clo's triumphant return, coco's
...then sunday.

i'm not a big fan of over planning my free time. most of my friends hate this because i'm never able to truly commit to anything; my flakiness tends to intensify as spontaneous plans develop. this weekend was no different.

i stupidly signed up for a weekend class throughout the month of april. it's hindered my weekend life, but it also provided me with a new found appreciation for free time. i was in class on saturday and itching to be released from the power.pointless presentation that my professor developed. hours turned to minutes and minutes turned to seconds and with the final words, "have a good rest of the weekend," i was done. i hustled home, only to realize that bryan had to work, connor was djing his sister's high school prom in iowa, plankis was on a long bike ride, and brown was chillin' at the sports hub across the river.

what a jam.

i needed to kill a couple of hours so, i decided to set up the slackline and catch up with an old friend on campus. we did a couple of passes, when my cell phone rang. i answered and mickey was on the other end, "here's a hypothetical for you... if someone wanted to build a campfire in their backyard, how would you do it?"

*now, let me remind you about mickey. he's the guy that committed to spending spring break in spain, on a whim. he's the guy that loves to do fun shit, without hesitation. he's the guy that comes up with an idea and figures out a way to make it happen. 

his hypotheticals are ideas on the cusp of becoming reality, so i gave him the basic 411 on building a fire in his backyard. i wrapped up slacklining and joined him and some friends for dinner and drinks. the fire pit is the perfect example of mickey's unbelievable determination to do the things he loves.  

the night continued... 
we cheered on jamar, mickey's roommate as he competed in a regional drag show (my first drag show experience, which he won), we ventured on third st. hitting up bar after bar (brothers, impulse, the state room, the helm, etc.), then i received a phone call from connor. dj c-lo was driving back from his sister's prom in iowa and he was wondering what our plans were for the rest of the evening (mind you, it was already 12:58 am). i notified him of our current location and our plans to hit up coco's by the end the night. his chevy malibu towed his trailer full of dj sound equipment at breakneck speeds back to wisconsin; he updated me via text of his approach:
1:20 am - spring grove, minnesota
1:25 am - caledonia, minnesota
1:39 am - hokah, minnesota
1:43 am - la crescent, minnesota
1:47 am - blue bridge... i need 2 shots ready!

connor finally arrived to the bar wearing his typical dj outfit: black pants, white button up, and black bow-tie. a few drinks were consumed, dancing continued, and last call was eventually made. 

in most scenarios, this is the end of the night but, connor decided that la crosse's downtown bar time meant that it was time to open the nest for an a-bar of pool, drinks, and popcorn. he unlocked the door to our favorite la crosse establishment and we shot pool while listening to a playlist of our favorite songs. then, mr. plankis drunkly suggested a plan for sunday (which was already upon us because it was nearly 4 am). the plan included canoeing the mighty mississippi and camping out on a sandbar. 

on sunday afternoon, we did it.
we packed up the plankis van with paddles, 18 silver bullets, a package of hot dogs and buns, ketchup packets, a couple of sleeping bags, and made our approach to the river. we spent time exploring the channels north of la crosse and enjoyed the setting sun as we landed. we collected wood and kindling, started a fire, had some beer, and slow roasted our dogs.

we were completely in our element, free of worries, free of stress, and focused on enjoying each other's company. the trip was memorable, not only for the actual overnight, but for everything that led up to the spontaneous sunday trip. i love these guys and this was another defining moment for our friendship. there's more to the canoeing story, but i'll leave that for another time.  
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how do you allow spontaneity into your life?  
i rarely pass up these types of opportunities, basically because i don't want to miss out. 

i recently was discussing the logistics of my summer. my summer camp job is 24/6 and the 7th day of the week is usually for rest and hang out time with my camp friends. this erks all of my friends because i usually fall off the grid from the memorial day to labor day. it's awesome hearing stories of their crazy summertime adventures, but at the same time i can't help but wish i could've been there. don't get me wrong, i love my job. the only issue is that i'm unable to effectively balance life, work, friends, camp, and family.

i think i'm used to severing ties in the spring and rebuilding them in the fall... it's a unique method of friendship, but i feel like it's become an indicator of my true friends. the people that understand my love for camp, get it... and these people are the ones that i want in my life because no matter what the issue or the length of time between seeing each other, we will, without a spec of hesitation, return to the way we were.

if you got'em, your chances 
for success go way up.
each and every person i've ever met has an idea. it may be an online website that is dedicated to offering daily lessons on life or an environmentally friendly way to make importing items more efficient, it may even be an unique bar in the heart of an already saturated college nightlife... whichever it is, we all have them. 

a successful business person looks at every situation as an opportunity. often times, the focus derives from challenges or cravings that can't currently be met due to a lack of product or service in the market. any product or service that doesn't convey perfection is an opportunity waiting for someone to take a chance. 99.9% of all people don't take the chance... some fear failure while others fear financial turmoil and bankruptcy. these are a few deterrents that are responsible for killing ideas.

i look at ideas as sparks, unfortunately sparks are usually too small to start a fire. on the other hand, successful business people look at ideas as dry brush waiting for ignition. the ballsy business person strategically looks at the potential and determines the best way to make it burn. 

some succeed while others fail, regardless those who never take a chance remain the same. 

you and me... we're not likely going to come up with facebook or the iphone; rather, we'll create the small fixes that customers will appreciate.

i read the attached article about the owners of five guys, a burger and fries joint that dedicates itself to product perfection. their story peaked my interesest and acts as the basis for today's post.

five guys burgers and fries: how they did it.
http://www.bspcn.com/2010/04/09/five-guys-burgers-and-fries-how-they-did-it/

i shared a trip with a friend to spain. mickey and i spent the majority of our time exploring the city and enjoying incredible food, culture, and night life that saturates madrid. we were, on a fluke, introduced to a place called el tigre. it's a bar in madrid that reminded me of home, but with a twist. the bar itself was narrow and long, however there was no place to move and just enough place to stand. the environment immediately made me feel comfortable and the experience resulted in mickey and i seriously discussing the possibilities of starting a bar in la crosse. a bar that taps into the mentality that people drink:
people eat... and drunk people really like to eat. 

a few dinners later, we had accumulated a huge sheet of ideas and concepts regarding a tapas bar in the la crosse downtown. the creative process was fueled by mahou and a bit of delicious paella, a fitting precursor to our success. we returned to the states and the idea began to fizzle. 

here are the two questions that will determine what happens next:
will the sheet full of idea and concepts be placed away as just another idea?
o r 
will we find the perfect location, research loans and licenses, and go for it?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
the five guys article captured everything i want to see in a business:

• educated and dedicated staff
• near perfect product 100% of the time
• methods of recognizing our most successful staff
• hold strong values, morals, and business vision

and most importantly...

• owners with balls

i don't think there is such a thing as a wasted day.
a friend shared this comment after an incredibly lazy day of sitting, sleeping, internet surfing, and watching a thunder storm roll through la crosse. 

i can't help but agree with her. 

for a long time, i hated the idea of wasting a day. a day of lounging on the couch always seemed useless and unfulfilling, but i have recently begun to realize that it's these moments that enhance the happiness derived from really doing something. life is all about the poles and extremes... it's a matter of how you manage them that will result in joy.

it was a cloudy skied spring friday and none of us really left the living room. the weather deterred any outdoor time, so we made due inside. after a full morning and afternoon of doing nothing a storm brewed outside. we took advantage of my roommate connor's dj-ing equipment and pressed play on a youtube virtual thunderstorm video. we turned up the volume and enjoyed our huge living room window's view of the downpour. 
ac/dc's thunderstruck was the obvious next choice, which was later followed by ccr's have you ever seen the rain... it wasn't as enjoyable as playing in a warm summer storm, but it was still very fun.

8+ hours of doing nothing and i have no regrets. some days are just supposed to be spent sitting in the living room amongst friends. for future reference, it should be assumed that sitting is synonymous with sleeping whenever i mention my friends.

did you know that the earth's day has increased in length since its creation? 
at 4.5 billion years ago, during the earth's infancy, a computer simulation determined that the length of a single day was 6 hours. it was 21.9 hours about 620 million years ago due to the tides raised by the moon which consequently slowed the earth's rotation. the mean length of a day is now about 86,400.002 seconds, and is increasing by about 1.7 milliseconds per century. 
(thanks wikipedia)

unreal.

i feel like we're always pushed to fill our time with something "worthwhile" and for the most part, i agree. i hesitate to fill every living minute with something deemed "worthwhile" because i appreciate time to think, relax, sleep, and wonder... without any true responsibilities. so, i do things that feel right. i sleep when i'm exhausted, i stay up with friends even though i'm tired, i dream up crazy ideas and try to make them realities... in all, i do what i want. sometimes there are consequences but that's what life's all about. i volunteer at events, i go to amazing concerts, i sit on the grass for hours and i'll continue to sprinkle my life with all sorts of ways to happily pass the time.   

what is your earliest memory?
i'm a rec management major and one of my class assignments was to develop and lead an experience in teambuilding and initiative activities. our presentation date was approaching so, i scheduled a group meeting on campus. we initially planned to meet inside, but i decided to scratch that idea and meet under the setting sun. i arrived fifteen minutes early and took a seat at a picnic table. i spent the first few moments pushing the stress from my mind and a few deep breaths later, i was able to fully enjoy my time alone. it was the perfect opportunity to relax and reflect on the day. the green grass, the tall trees, and a few parents with their children kept my mind at ease as i waited for my group to arrive. a minute felt like an hour and this, coming from a serious go go go society, was a refreshing change from the norm. 

i've become more aware of the pace of the world around me and i'm making a conscious effort to slow down.    

i glanced around the area and spied a woman hiding in the bushes. initially, i was startled by her, but then i realized that she was a mother hiding from her 2 year old son. i scanned the area another time and saw the young man appear from behind a tree. he was running full throttle with an ear to ear smile on his face. his happiness and excitement spread across the air and hit me right in the chest. 

it made me wonder, will this child remember this moment? 
is there anything i can do to help him remember that feeling of pure happiness?

i was intrigued and decided to consider my own earliest memory. it was troubling to find that, after 25 years, my mind is already clouded with all sorts of mix matched details and experiences. in one early memory, i recall holding my baby brother after he was born. i was born in 1984 and he was born in 1988, so i must've been four or five, but i can't remember much else before that. i also remember playing catch with my dad in the living room and accidentally throwing the ball and hitting him in the nuts (hilarious, he went down hard), but i can't pinpoint my age. there's also a vague memory of me walking around the backyard of my grandparent's home on a very hot summer afternoon. a tiny pool was set up for the grandchildren's enjoyment, grandma was cooking food, and the summer heat had everyone reaching for beers... although, i'm still unable to grasp which memory came first.

i feel like it's just out of reach. it seems that any unlinked memory is lost to my mind's creativity. my mind tends to connect the dots and produce a full story and sequence to any of my unlinked memories, which causes an interesting confusion. 


have you ever looked at a photo or listened to a story so many times that your feel like you were actually there? it may be something from your childhood and at times you may not be certain if it actually happened or if your mind fabricated the experience over time.  

photos and stories play a big role in my mind's ability to recognize memories and for this reason i journal, blog, and try to document everything i do. one day i'll crack open my box full of artifacts, movie tickets, concert tickets, countless photos, and journal entries in hope of feeling and remembering my favorite life experiences.  

i believe the study of the mind is the future of science. a better understanding of the intricate nature of the mind may help us better interpret feelings and ideas. i feel like we're a society that has yet to tap into the deep thought examinations that may shake up the certainties of our known philosophy, innovation, and perspective. 

- TANGENT ALERT - 
we are raised to believe that we've expanded our ability to absorb knowledge due to our advances in technology. 

unfortunately, i don't feel like this is the case. 

all of our advances are credited to the smartest of our society and the average joes, including myself are riding the coattails of the ingenious minds of our world.

a friend of mine shared the following conundrum. how long would it take for an average joe to create the microwave, if given a household computer? the process may take years or even decades of exploration and experimentation. but why? we are the most technologically advanced society in the history of the human race, but there are probably only a handful of people actually responsible for the ease of use offered by google, the invention of the internet, and the development of such tools as the iphone or the global cellular network. 

we have become reliant on the skills of others to solve our problems.
help resource centers solve our computer problems with a 10 minute phone conversation. teachers provide students with directions that often give away the answers. i feel like our future will require us to regress technologically and redevelop some of our advances, so that one day the average joe can understand and manipulate the technologies to better suit their needs.
- TANGENT COMPLETE - 
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
in all, i remember faces. 
my life's chronology can become uncertain, but the faces, the people i meet and share experiences with, are the key. i've worked 8 summers at a summer camp in wisconsin. i have countless memories during my time at my camp and the only way i can determine when something happened is to determine who was at camp during that specific summer. through deduction i'm able to pinpoint when things happened.

when my memory becomes fragile, at least i'll have the faces as my historical markers.

fayze's.
class finished and i had a coffee date with a friend i've not spoken to in some time. the weather was gorgeous and the opportunity to play outside was knocking at my door. i heard the sunshine was going to turn to rain in the coming days, so i geared up and made my way to drake field, my campus' most popular green space. i had my bike and a couple of bags, one of which held my slackline equipment. i set up the line, played catch with my roommate bryan, caught some rays, tossed the baseball around, and tried my hand at a pick up capture the flag game. i walked the slackline under the sun and some students curiously approached me about the activity. some inquired about the cost of the gear while others asked if they could give it shot. about 15 people tried walking the line for the first time and it felt great sharing something i love with strangers. i spent five hours enjoying the weather and sharing conversations with new people. 

at the conclusion of the day, we grabbed our bags and hopped on our bikes... 
destination: the nest - our favorite dining and beverage establishment in the greater la crosse area. we took a seat at the bar and our good friend brownie was bartending. we asked him about his day and plans for the night as connor and i began rehydrating after a long day in the sun. two of the distance runners walked and invited us to join them for dinner. selecting a place to eat took a little time, but we eventually decided to ditch the nest and head downtown for a hearty meal at fayze's restaurant. 

we were sat by the hostess and introduced to paul, our waiter. he seemed like a nice enough guy and coincidentally, he knew shonat, one of the guys sitting with us at the table. i guess they shared a class together last semester and shonat described him as one of the nicest people he's ever met. paul was courteous, friendly, and a bad ass waiter (i value great wait staff and this guy knew what he was doing). he had grabbed our empty glasses and was in the back refilling our drinks as shonat told us that paul used to have dreadlocks. we all couldn't help but consider the reason why he was so clean cut now, sporting short hair. 

why did he cut them? 
was it a personal decision or was it something more in line with his job as a waiter at fayze's? 
we erupted into a discussion about our society's backwards concepts and our conversation highlighted the teaching of tolerance and acceptance in our education. great teachings and incredibly important concepts, but the hypocrisy in our society is immense and counteracts the efforts in our education. our society's hypocrisy grossly outweighs any efforts to reform and offer equality rather than judgement. 

we're taught to accept others for who they are and also to be our own person, but why can't a guy like paul sport dreadlocks and work as a waiter at fayze's?

what a joke.

it's one of a huge list of things that doom humanity. at times, there is a right way and a wrong way, but as of recent it seems like there is no way at all. i think we've been lead down the wrong path for so long that we've become lost. the drivers remain silent and ensure us that they know where we're going, however, i think they're the most lost of us all. we need leaders that are willing to look at the irrationality in our laws and programs and reevaluate old thinking for better and more appropriate considerations. this goes for government, education, legislation, and religion... unfortunately, i believe that this is a huge challenge to undertake and its sheer size alone will hinder any substantial change.

our financial and political system are in dire straits with more struggles ahead. i think we'll have to endure some serious hardships on the global level before people recognize that centuries old dogma and silly rules are the faults of our society. 

it's not the most optimistic view, but i don't see anyone opting for true change in the methodology of everything we do... and until that occurs, i believe we'll continue to struggle and apply band-aids to the problems and issues we face when the true problem is the way we get things done (or the way we don't get anything done, for that matter). 


so, tomorrow will be another day and i'll continue to enjoy the benefits of my life. in time, someone will step up and present a new perspective with unyielding desire to make things right. i hope to see it happen and i hope to be a part of the solution.
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i considered a life in politics at a very young age. 

i thought i could make a positive impact on the world around me through legislation and within the political bubble. unfortunately, i don't see much hope in the u.s. government. the corruption has become the norm and the challenges are all too unsurpassable. 

so, i will seek other avenues to share my thoughts and perspective. it may come in the form of writing or in the form of film. whichever the method, i look forward to doing something that will make an impact.