Mile Hi - New Things

I didn't have time to post last night, therefore I'm posting this a day late as this occurred yesterday (Fri 3/30/12). We watched a movie entitled Unknown  with Liam Neeson and Diane Kruger that came out on February 18, 2011. The film is based on the 2003 French novel Out of My Head  by Didier Van Cauwelaert. It is about a man who is having difficulties remembering after a car accident in Berlin. Another man assumes his identity and his wife seems to not know him either. He is chased by assassins. He finally gets some help remembering bits and pieces and then once he remembers who he is, he wishes he didn't. It was a strange movie because the storyline and plot changed quite a bit. Some of the action scenes were ok. IMDB gave it a 6.9 out of 10 and I agree with that rating. What did you do today?

After a long day of work, I went to  Wash Park Grille  for happy hour with a co-worker tonight. Wash Park Grille is neighborhood lounge and restaurant in the Wash Park neighborhood. Their happy hour special is every day 3:00pm-7:00pm. There was also another special, as Thursday Night is Ladies Night. $2.00 for wines, drafts, and well drinks so I had 3 Vodka Cranberries. It was a good night to vent about work and life and also laugh about the good times of the past and present. What did you do today?

I bought a song today entitled " Don't Go " by Wretch 32 ft Josh Kumra. It is the 1st Wretch 32 Song that I own. I heard it on 90210 , the Blue Ivy episode of Season 4, tonight. I downloaded it from iTunes for $0.99. Technically, I bought Don't Go by Cover Nation since the Wretch 32 song is only sold on the iTunes UK Store. Jermaine Scott is Wretch 32. He is an English rapper from London that grew up with Combination Chain Gang and The Movement, then ventured on his own in 2006. He released his first single "Traktor" in January 2011. In December 2010, the BBC announced that Wretch 32 had been nominated for the BBC's Sound of 2011 poll and MTV named him as a nominee for MTV Brand New for 2011. What did you do today?

We watched the new series on NBC called  Bent  tonight with Amanda Peet. The show is a romantic sitcom about a single mom lawyer that downsizes to a smaller house that needs renovating. She hires a free-spirited contractor and his crew for the job that transforms her worldview. IMDB gave it a 6.2 out of 10 and I probably give it an 5.8 rating so far after seeing 1 episode. It was a little slow and lacking comedic one-liners. What did you do today?  

While we were at Albertsons doing our weekly grocery shopping, there was a lady there giving away free sample bags of Popchips so I took a sample of their Sweet Potato flavor. I had my 0.8 ox bag of Sweet Potato Popchips today with my lunch. Popchips were founded in 2007 in San Francisco as a healthy alternative to traditional potato chips. They aren't fried or baked, but popped by taking potatoes and adding a heat and pressure. They have won awards such as 'Best Snack' from Shape Magazine and 'Best Chips' from Health Magazine. My 0.8 oz bag had 100 calories, 3g fat, 95mg sodium, 16g carbohydrates, and 2g sugar. They had a slightly salted and sweet flavor in the airy chip. It was a good snack with my lunch.   What did you do today?  

I few days ago, I bought an AmazonLocal Deal  for Wine.com . Today, I shopped at Wine.com and redeemed my code for $40 off. Here is what they say about the online store: "Wine.com makes shopping for that perfect bottle fun and easy. Sort wines by varietal, region, or style (think "big and bold" for reds, or "crisp and light" for whites), or use the Wine Finder to narrow down your choices by multiple options. Wine.com has the biggest selection and best prices around, so you're sure to find just the right bottle or gift for any event." I bought a Fine Wine & Cheese Wine Gift Basket  which included Raymond R Collection Chardonnay, Three Pepper Crackers, Sonoma Jacks Parmesan Peppercorn Cheese, Spicy Cocktail Almonds, and French Country Olive Mix. I think this will be a great gift for the couple I sent it to.   What did you do today?  

I didn't have time to post last night, therefore I'm posting late as this occurred yesterday (Sat 3/24/12).   I had a $50 gift card to Maggiano's Little Italy so we went there for dinner last night. We ordered a Maggiano's Signature Aperitif (Hendrick's Gin, Passion Fruit Liqueur, Campari, Fresh Sour), a draft of Stella Artois, and Pepperoni Fondue (four-cheeses, pepperoncinis, served with crostinias) as our before dinner drinks and appetizer. Then ordered Linguine di Mare (lobster, shrimp, mussels, clams, and spicy lobster tomato broth for $20.50) and Bowtie Aglio (farfalle pasta with broccolini, fresh spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and grated parmesan for $12.95) for dinner. The Bowtie Aglio is a 'Classic Pasta' which you order the classic pasta to eat now and then take another one home complimentary for the next day. It was a lot of food. We definitely brought home some doggie bags. We used the entire $50 gift card, $10 off coupon, so paid about $15 extra ...

I didn't have time to post last night, therefore I'm posting late as this occurred yesterday (Fri 3/23/12). I invited a couple friends over for pasta dinner last night. We made salad, spaghetti with meat sauce (and mushrooms), and garlic texas toast. We also drank some red wine since red wine goes best with spaghetti. I tried a Columbia Crest   Two Vines Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington State 2009 that my friend brought over. It is a full-bodied wine with tastes of toast vanilla and black cherry with 13.5% alcohol. The wine has won some awards like “Year's Best Cabernet Sauvignon & Blend” by Wine & Spirits . It was a nice drink with a nice meal. What did you do today?  

I went to Jamba Juice this morning to have a smoothie for breakfast. I don't go there often because I make my own smoothies in my blender for breakfast from time to time. I tried the 16 oz Aloha Pineapple smoothie with pineapple juice , pineapple sherbet, strawberries, nonfat plain yogurt, bananas, and ice. I added an immunity booster for free. The 16 oz Aloha Pineapple smoothie has 290 calories, 1g fat, 50mg sodium, 67g carbohydrates, 3g fiber, and 63g sugar. I thought it was a decent breakfast.   What did you do today?  

Since I am an Amazon customer, I received an AmazonLocal Deals email today. AmazonLocal Deals are similar to Groupon and LivingSocial. It is a deal-of-the-day website that features discounted gift certificates to spas, restaurants, and other services, usable at local or national companies. AmazonLocal Deals are in about 30 cities in 10 states, including Denver. Today's deal was for a $40 certificate for Wine.com for $20, a savings of 50% or $20. Since I was just thinking about sending a wine gift to somebody, I decided to purchase it. Now I can redeem for a Wine Gift for a $40 value instead of a $20 value. Thanks Amazon!   What did you do today?  

As I stated yesterday, I am a previous subscriber of Self magazine (who is under the  Condé Nast  umbrella).   The Good Life has emailed me today asking if I would take a survey. The Good Life is an exclusive members-only community designed to help shape the Condé Nast brands and partners’ brands through meaningful feedback. Members have the opportunity to share opinions to help improve their services, strategies, and offerings by answering short surveys. After completing surveys, members are eligible to receive cash prizes, free samples, discounts, and more. This particular survey was a personality survey and was short. It asked questions about my my personality, my friends, and social media use. It probably took about 5 minutes. At the end, I was registered to win $100 Amazon Gift Card. What did you do today?  

I didn't have time to post last night, therefore I'm posting late as this occurred yesterday (Mon 3/19/12). Since I was a previous subscriber of Self magazine (who is under the Condé Nast umbrella), the Preferred Subscriber Network (PSN) subset has emailed me asking if I take a survey. This particular survey was from Condé Nast's Glamour brand. The survey was their most important survey of the year and quite long. It asked questions about my lifestyle, purchases, and future. It wanted to know what kinds of beauty products I buy, apparel I wear, places I travel, media I use, and many other things. It probably took about 15 minutes. At the end, I was registered to win $50,000. What did you do today?  

This weekend for St. Patrick's Day, Burger King offered free french fries and green sauce to customers who visit any of its locations. The green sauce is called "St. Paddy's Sauce" and has the same consistency of ketchup. It actually is green Heinz Ketchup. It looked gross but tasted like normal ketchup. Happy Patty's Day!  

I didn't have time to post last night, therefore I'm posting late as this occurred yesterday (Sat 3/17/12). After slush skiing at Beaver Creek , we did some après ski at McCoy's Café in Beaver Creek Village. It is located by the Centennial Express Lift. There was live music by Shannon Tanner and Steve Wickham and a promotional server offering free shots of Bacardi rum. I tried a shot of Bacardi Rock Coconut . Barcardi is a rum created in 1862 by Santiago de Cuba and is currently headquartered in Bermuda. Bacardi Rock Coconut is the latest Bacardi rum flavor with 35% alcohol. It is the 1st coconut rum infused with rock melon and coconut water. The combination creates a sweet, refreshing, exotic taste. Then I ate some snacks and drank a few green beers for Patty's Day. Erin Go Bragh! Happy Patty's Day!

 I didn't have time to post last night, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred 2 days ago (Fri 3/16/12). After slush skiing at  Vail , we did some après ski at Los Amigos in Vail Village. It is located by the Vista Bahn lift. There were promotional servers offering free ski shots of Grand Marnier . Grand Marnier is a liqueur created in 1880 by Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle. It is made from a blend of cognacs and distilled essence of bitter orange. Grand Marnier is 40% alcohol. Matt, my brother, and I decided to do this ski shot. Then I ate some chips, salsa, and queso con carne dip, and drank a few house margaritas. Nice end to a nice day! What did you do today?

I watched WVU take on Gonzaga in the 1st Round of the 2012 NCAA Basketball Tournament after work today. Big mistake. It was the worst basketball game I've seen in a long time. Gonzaga played basketball and WVU stood around and watched. They won 77 to 54. Since the game was so terrible, Matt and I walked to the store and bought a 6 pack of  Laughing Lab by Bristol Brewing Co . Laughing Lab is a Scottish-Style Ale made in Colorado Springs. It is a blend of specialty malts that gives it a nutty, roasted flavor that’s mildly sweet, but not too rich. It has won 9 scottish ale medals since 1994 making it the most decorated Colorado beer at the Great American Beer Festival. It is also winner of the Silver in the Scottish Ale category at the 1996 World Beer Cup, amongst other awards. It is a pretty good beer.   What did you do today?

In the past, I had a 401(k) with my old company and rolled it over to an IRA at Invesco . A 401(k) is a type of retirement savings account in the US, which takes its name from subsection 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code. An IRA (Individual Retirement Account) is a form of retirement plan that provides tax advantages for retirement savings in the US. A contributor can begin to withdraw funds after reaching the age of 59½ years for both the 401(k) and IRA. The money has been sitting with Invesco for a few years now and they have been taking out annual fees. Therefore, I decided to move the money to an Traditional IRA with JPMorgan Chase since I have other accounts open with them and they won't charge me any fees. I can add up to $5,000/year to this retirement account. I think this was a wise move of money. Hopefully, contributing to my retirement will allow me to retire at 59½ years old. What did you do today?

I didn't have time to post last night, therefore I'm posting a day late as this occurred yesterday (Tues 3/13/12). Matt likes to play certain games on his Droid Razr. I think his favorite app is Runnergames' Ceramic Destroyer . This app is described as a blasting game which you use the bombs to explode various ceramics. The key point is you need to destroy the whole ceramic, not to leave one tiny piece. I wanted to see what it was all about so I played the app on Matt's Razr to check it out. You can catapult the bomb with your finger and watch the ceramic explode. There are more than 140 beautiful ceramic style pictures. The game is ok, but I don't think I would download it on my Razr.   What did you do today?

We stayed at the La Quinta Inn & Suites  the past 2 nights since my brother and sister-in-law were visiting Colorado to ski. LQ's serve free Bright Side Breakfast daily as an amenity to all guests. The Bright Side Breakfast includes: waffles, hot and cold cereal, bread/bagels/muffins/pastries, hard boiled eggs, fresh fruit, and all-you-can-drink coffee/juice/milk. This morning, I made-my-own LQ Belgian Waffle. They make the batter and you make the waffle on their iron. It cooked evenly and turned out fluffy and tender. I wonder what mix they use for the batter (my 1st internet search suggested that they buy their waffle mix from Sysco , my 2nd internet image search found out it is Carbon's Golden Malted Original Pancake & Waffle Flour). I ate 1/2 of my waffle with syrup and fruit and the other half with PB&J. It was a good breakfast to have before skiing, again! What did you do today?

I didn't have time to post last night, therefore I'm posting a day late as this occurred yesterday (Sun 3/11/12). After skiing at Beaver Creek , we went to Arapahoe Café and Pub in Dillon last night. I went with Matt, my brother, and sister-in-law. They have Nightly Pub Specials and yesterday's special was $6.00 Burger Night. They also had Coors Light pints for $1.50 so I had 1 of those. For Burger Night, you can choose from any of their 5 specialty 1/2 lb burgers with fries. I choose the Green Chile Cheeseburger (jack cheese and fire roasted green chilies, normally $9.25). I substituted the fries for a Café Salad (romaine, cucumbers, tomato, and carrots). Matt chose the Mushroom & Swiss Burger (sautéed mushrooms and swiss cheese, normally $9.25). My brother chose Rob's Smokehouse Cheeseburger (BBQ sauce, cheese, bacon & tobacco onions, normally $9.25). He substituted Beer Battered Onion Rings. And his wife chose Colorado Angus Beef Cheeseburger (normally $8....

I didn't have time to post last night, therefore I'm posting this late as this occurred 2 days ago (Sat 3/10/12). After skiing at A-Basin , we went to dinner at  Ruby Tuesday  in Dillon. They had a special for NCAA basketball games with $2.00 bottles of Miller Lite, so I ordered 1 of those. I wanted something different so I had the Triple Prime Meatloaf. This meal is a generous portion of fresh, 100% USDA Prime beef, blended with special seasonings then baked with tangy barbecue glaze. It comes with their Create Your Own Garden Bar (with 1 Garlic Cheese Biscuit) and one side, which I choose White Cheddar Mashed Potatoes, all for $11.99. Matt had the Baja Chicken Quesadilla. This meal is spicy chicken with grilled peppers, onions, and cheese, topped with chile-lime sauce. It comes with their Create Your Own Garden Bar (with 1 Garlic Cheese Biscuit), as well, for $10.99. This was an enormous amount of food for a low price. All of the food was great. I think...

Yesterday, my co-worker asked if I wanted to join her Friday Bagel Club. I love bagels, so I said yes! 13 people are in the bagel club so every 13 weeks you rotate buying a baker's dozen (13 bagels) with 2 cream cheese tubs. The bagel buyer also asks for your order. I ordered a Dutch Apple Bagel from Einstein Bros Bagels . There are over 300 Einstein Bros locations within 38 markets in 27 states. Their corporate headquarters are in Lakewood CO. The Dutch Apple Bagel is considered a Gourmet Topped Bagel. I had the bagel sliced with plain schmear (cream cheese). It was a sweet bagel with sugar and cinnamon. I decided to look at the nutritional information online since I know bagels are not good for you. The bagel alone had 346 calories, 530mg sodium, 68g carbohydrates, and 17g sugar. When you add plain schmear, you add about another 100 calories. Nevertheless, it tasted good, it was good breakfast and good way to start my Friday. I worked out for 45 minutes at noon, as well, so I bu...

I received a Jury Summons in the mail from Denver County stating that I needed to report for juror service. Jury Duty is service as a juror in a legal proceeding. When a person is called for jury duty in the US, that person must attend or face strict penalties. Employers are not allowed to fire an employee simply for being called to jury duty. Potential jurors may be asked to serve as a juror in a trial, or they may be dismissed. I hear you have to sit around for a long time. I read over the juror qualifications in my summons and saw that I wasn't qualified because I don't reside at least 50% of the time in the county from which I have been summoned. I do not live in Denver County anymore, I live in Arapahoe County. I went online to fill out a form saying why I wasn't qualified. The Denver Jury Commissioner emailed me back within a 1/2 hour saying I could disregard the Denver Jury Summons. That was nice of her. I've never gone to Jury Duty before. I actually am interest...

I wanted to see what OMGPOP's Draw Something app was all about so I downloaded the game to my new Razr to check it out. Draw Something is a social mobile game that challenges players to draw and guess pictures with their family and friends (basically it is the digital version of Pictionary). I started a game with Matt. I drew the word Grapes and sent it. Then he guessed (correctly) and drew the word Sit for me to guess (correctly). I'm not sure how points work. Draw Something is relatively new and went viral fast. It reached 1 million downloads before it had a single search result in Google News. At 4 weeks old, the app has about 6 million downloads and users that are creating 1,000 drawings every second. It is currently the #1 free app in the app store. It's also the #1 word game in 26 countries. That's what I call good word of mouth marketing! What did you do today?

I didn't have time to post last night, therefore I'm posting this a day late as this occurred yesterday (Tues 3/6/12). From March 5-10, 2012, participating Chick-Fil-A restaurants are giving away a variety of free breakfast entrées to customers who made a reservation online. I reserved for March 6 at 7:30am for the Chick-Fil-A by my work. The Chicken Breakfast Burrito has chunks of Chick-Fil-A chicken mixed with scrambled eggs, fire-roasted onions, peppers, Monterey Jack, and Cheddar Cheeses, all wrapped in a soft flour tortilla and served with salsa. This was a pretty good breakfast burrito from a fast food joint but FAR from the best breakfast burrito I've ever had. Actually,  Santiago's is the best cheap ($2,00) lil fast food burrito. They come to my work every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with a couple cases of burritos in mild, half-n-half, and hot. Their burritos have egg, potato, cheese, and green chili. BUT Santiago's is a local joint in Colorado wit...

In all my previous places of employment, I've felt I've been compensated pretty well and was offered raises in appropriate time frames (annually or more often). My compensation usually matches my education, experience, hard work, and dedication. Since I've graduation DU with my MBA in August 2012, I feel a little overqualified and undervalued in my current position. In addition, my department went through re-organization 2 weeks ago. They actually eliminated my position and combined my roles and responsibilities with another position. It is a good change that will streamline our department to create efficiencies and provide more opportunities but it is still more work at the same pay rate. Therefore, I decide to talk to my new manager about a raise. She agreed with me 100% but doesn't have control over things like that. She will address my questions and comments with her report. The truth is, the economy is still rough, and my company is going through a hard time. I...

I have a total of 5 old and unused cellphones now that are pretty useless so I decided to charge them, play with them, delete all info, and then recycle them. I can easily part ways with 2 of my old cellphones. My 1st cellphone was an LG 4NE1 (featuring MIDI ringers, neck strap, and changeable side covers) with Sprint PCS and an old 304 WV area code. My 2nd cellphone was a Samsung A670 (a flip phone featuring a colorized display, 32 mb memory, and 0.3 megapixel camera) with Verizon Wireless and my current 773 IL area code. Technology has come a far way from 10 years ago. I knew Target had a MP3/Cellphone/Ink Cartridge Recycling Bin at their store so we walked over there since it was 60F outside today. Electronic waste is collected by a national vendor who resells them for reuse, refurbishing or recycling. Anything that can’t be reused is scrapped by companies that dispose of the materials responsibly. In the 1st 9 months of their recycling program, they collected and recycled approxi...

I didn't have time to post last night, therefore I'm posting this a day late as this occurred yesterday (Sat 3/3/12). We watched a movie entitled Due Date  with Robert Downey Jr and Zach Galifianakis that came out on November 5, 2010. It is about a 1st time father that his wife is due in a few days in LA but he is stranded in Atlanta. He is forced to hitch a ride with a aspiring actor and his little dog across the country. This stranger is quite crazy, one-of-a-king. It wasn't all that good but I guess some parts were funny. IMDB gave it a 6.6 out of 10 and I agree with that rating. What did you do today?

I didn't have time to post last night, therefore I'm posting this a day late as this occurred yesterday (Fri 3/2/12). We bought Private Selection's Lobster & Shrimp Ravioli from King Soopers since we had $1.00 off coupon. I've never bought or made Lobster & Shrimp Ravioli. This type of ravioli is made with lobster, shrimp, ricotta cheese, onions, celery, carrots, and garlic in a flour pasta. I think 16 ravioli cost about $7.00. The package also suggested a serving sauce made with olive oil, butter, garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon, and parsley. I added mushrooms, orange pepper, and onion. It took about 15 minutes to make and was a good dinner served with a salad. What did you do today?

My graduate school had a happy hour tonight at Hanson's Grill & Tavern in Platt Park. They invited us to join the other cohorts for free drinks and appetizers. I had 2 Stoli Vanil and Ginger Ales and some apps (turkey mini sandwich, roast beef mini sandwich, carrots, celery, zucchini, cheese & crackers, and bite sized stuffed baked potatoes. A few of my old classmates came so we caught up on work and old times. It was a nice time. What did you do today?