Stop Bird Porn

I think I discovered today why I haven't seen any celebrities. It's because I don't have the patience for standing in a big crowd of people and pushing closer, closer just for a tiny glimpse of someone. Today at lunch when we were walking around there was a huge crowd of people outside the Hard Rock Cafe where it seemed there was some sort of VIP party going on. At one point there was a big cheer and the rumor was that it was for Oprah. Who knows, I couldn't see anything.

I got a teeny tiny bit closer to the big guy today though. I had to pick up a credential for tonight's event at Invesco for my boss and was meeting a woman at a hotel. (Sounds more like a drug exchange, I know.) When I got there it turned out she had been whisked away for a meeting with the candidate, so I walked back across the city to meet her at a different hotel when she was done meeting with him. So I shook a hand that had just been in his presence. Surprisingly not that thrilling.

I have now seen bunches of protesters. I still don't think they were any threat to our building, but i was walking on the 16th Street mall yesterday at Arapahoe when this big group of protesters came by and then the leaders with the bullhorns turned right toward where we were standing. I froze - thankfully my friend grabbed my arm and we ran out of the way. I have now seen my favorite protesters twice - these two guys protesting bird watching. They chant "Bird watching is bird porn, stop bird porn." Hilarious! The crazies are out - that's for certain!

In case you've been living under a rock, or without television, radio, newspaper or (god forbid) the internet, the democrats have descended upon Denver for their national convention. So far I've stayed almost completely out of the action. Aside from hanging out in downtown on my lunch breaks trying to spot celebrities, I've really not gotten that involved. The thing is that it's turning out that so many of the activities and events that are open to the public are happening during the day while I (and much of the rest of Denver) am at work. Turns out democracy really is still for politicians.

Sitting now at 4:00 on day 2 I have yet to spot anyone famous. A friend of mine saw George Stephanopolous and the most she had to say was "that guy is really short!" I've heard that there's a screen actor's guild event at one of the clubs downtown - and it would be interesting to try and crash it - or to sit at a neighboring club and try to get a glimpse. The thing is I have other plans tonight, and (gasp!) I'm just not sure it's worth it. Unless of course I had a hella good camera and could be a temporary paparazi. Eh.

I will say that while my routine hasn't been adversely affected by the whole thing it sure has been fun to have all sorts of people downtown. There is so much energy - people everywhere - and that is fun. I do not like seeing all the cops with their big guns (even if they are rubber bullets) and plastic handcuffs and tear gas. It's really strange to see them wandering around just waiting for a protest.

We'll see what happens the next two days. Hopefully some rioting free celebrity sightings :)

Lost Opportunity!

There is tons and tons of hype in Denver right now about the Democratic National Convention starting officially on Monday, but as I understand it with festivities starting as early as Saturday. Our building is going on lock-down - you have to have an access card to get into the elevators, there are extra guards checking who goes into the parking garage and many people are lobbying for our office to be closed or on barebones staff. My opinion is that this is going to turn out like Y2K - tons of hype, no real problems. I'm feel strongly enough about this to put it on my blog, and I'll eat my words if I'm wrong. (Keep in mind that I don't drive, and I think closed roads and congestion are what people are most concerned about.)

I am excited about many things for the DNC - there are bunches of activities going on downtown next week and since I love hustle and bustle I think I'm going to like having a full city. My biggest excitement though has just been given a big giant buzz kill. Flava Flav is no longer scheduled to perform a free concert next week (article here). I was counting on that to as my chance to be (as Vivian put it) the next New York, or Pumpkin or whatever fake name the Flav would have given me. I've totally lost my chance to be MTV's newest slut and I'm devestated. Crying at my desk. Guess I'll have to hook up with some other celebrity - I hear bunches of them are coming to town.

My next best chance at fame? The buzz is that Obama is staying in the Westin right next door to our building. Now occasionally I have the misfortune of looking out the window while working in my boss' office to catch some unknowing person in their birthday suit. Now I'm not saying I want to catch a glimpse of the nominee in his skivies, or that I'm going to be sitting in her window with binoculars, but it sure would be a funny story.

Summer of Swag

I'd like to officially name the summer of 2008 the Summer of Swag for me! Not only did I get to host the Nintendo girls party, I've now won an iPod Shuffle as part of the Downtown Denver Partnership's program to encourage people to take public transportation to work during the DNC next week. The point was to log how you've been commuting to work, each time you didn't drive you're entered into a drawing for prizes and today I won! How cool is that?

I would also like to give props to all you living gluten-free out there. My nutritionist suggested that I may be gluten sensitive or intolerant so I've (painfully) cut it out of my diet for the past week and a half. I'm just now starting to feel a bit better, and I can't decide what to feel if I find out that I really truly do need to go gluten-free for the long term. On the one hand, I would love to feel better, and on the other it's a big fat pain in the arse. I know I gradually learned and even embrace being dairy-free, but that took years. It's not even that I'm craving bread or anything that's blatantly filled with wheat, it's more that there is gluten in almost everything, and so doing anything is harder. I've taken reading labels to an entirely new level, and eating anywhere other than home is such a hassle. Asking for a gluten-free menu is one thing, but the (few) places I've done this had a menu full of gluten-free but dairy-heavy items. Looks like I may turn anti-social for a while until I get some of this figured out!

Mid-August Update

Hey there readers (if there are any of you left out there) - I realize I've been absent for a bit and while there are plenty of reasons why, I figured I'd just give you a quick update. (Especially since I really don't feel like working today.)

I think I posted earlier about how I was planning to see a nutrition therapist. I chose to see her mostly because I have a pretty unhealthy digestive system, which I thought was getting a bit better, but now has seemingly taken a turn for the worse. I have really enjoyed my time getting to know more about how my body uses food, and it's starting to look more and more like a Detox is in my not to distant future. If I go that direction, you're sure to read about it here.

The first few weeks of being car-free have been wonderful. I've enjoyed getting to know the bus system, have asked for very few rides, and am more motivated then ever to get a bike. I have a car on loan for the weekend and I may take advantage of that to hit some bike shops and see what's out there. I really want a cute townie bike - one with the fat tires - that I can have baskets put on the back for grocery runs. Once I have that I hope I will feel more mobile.

Burt came to visit the first weekend in August (as evidenced in the above photo above of us in Ft. Collins) and we celebrated Burtapalooza by seeing three concerts in three days. I had more fun than I imagined I could have in one weekend and I am more motivated than ever to get Burt to move out to Denver. Obviously he would love it because Sheralee and I are here, but I think there are many compelling reasons why it's time for a cross country move. :) (are you reading Burt?)

And in a final, more somber note, the brother of a dear friend passed very suddenly earlier this week. She's flown to be with her family, but thoughts of her (and the family) are with me constantly this week, making it hard for me to work today. So unfortunately I'm allowing myself to be distracted. Eh.

I hope you all are enjoying summer :) mg