Irish-Celtic Music

Congrats to a friend of mine for admitting that he likes country music. That is great and all, I definetly enjoy country music. But the next step to enlightenment is irish/celtic music. Actually, unbeknownst to him, he made a reference to a LEGENDARY fiddle player.

And out of the Irish/Celtic genre Gaelic Storm has taught me life's lessons... after all they have learned them all the hard way! ;) LOL

Irish, Bounty Hunters, and Furniture?!

Well, I spent saturday at the Sioux Falls (SD) Irish Fest. I had a great time, it may be considerably smaller than the Minnesota Irish Fair, but is still a blast!

Below aare a pics of a couple of the bands that performed there, first from Dublin (well except the one on the far left, she hails from Galway) is Accabella.
And the second pic is of the Wild Clover Band, hailing from Kearney, NE.
When I went down there I shanghaied a friend and brought him along. He also seemed to enjoy himself. There was some added excitement though...

Before we left Sioux Falls, we decided to try out our bounty hunter skills and search for the another friend from college that we have had little communication with since he graduated: the infamous BVL! By overcoming dyslexia (we address reversed the address), we managed to find where he was making his lair. I didn't manage to get any photographic proof of our encounter, but I have found (thanks to google) a pic from when he was in high scholl (apparently). I circled him in red.

After all this excitement I elected not to conmtinue driving back to Pierre past Mitchell and crashed on a rather comfortable couch.

I also upgraded the surface that holds my monitor, keyboard, and mouse... from a $30 folding table to a rather nice desk from Office Max:

Bring Yer Wellies

A storm is a brewin', so you better bot forget your wellie! Or so the latest CD from Gaelic Storm states.

The sixth CD released by Gaelic Storm is titled "Bring Yer Wellies" and this is a great cd. A quick listing of the tracks:

1 Scalliwag
2 Me And The Moon
3 Never Drink 'Em Dry (Johnny Tarr's Funeral)
4 The Devil Down Below
5 De Luain, De Mairt
6 Bare In The Basin
7 Kelly's Wellies
8 Slingshot
9 Hello Monday
10 The Long Way Home
11 The Salt Lick
12 Don't Go For "The One"
13 Tornado Alley
14 Kiss Me I'm Irish

• In Johnny Tarr's funeral we learn about Irish roundabouts (ironic after I learned so much about roundabouts in Washington ;) ).
• The Devil Down Below is a good ole' fashioned whaling song... you can never beat those ;).
  
• In Kelly's Wellies, Kevin Kelly shows you what women really want ;)
• Don't Go For The One had me on the floor laughing... I actually fell out of my chair!
• And since the band does alot of touring in the midwest, what better for a name of a song than tornado alley?

Savings

I have found a definitive benefit to turning 25. Before I left SD for WA, my auto insurance premium was $600/6 mos. under my parents' policy. My premium, with Progressive, in WA was $800/6 mos. (high crime rates in Yakima, including car thefts). Well, now that I am back in SD and 25 years of age, my premium has dropped to $475/6 mos. All of these include full coverage and roadside assistance. My age was not the only factor in this large reduction, though. In college, I wrecked my Chevy Blazer but that is no longer on my driving record with Progressive because it was over three years ago now (Progressive only looks at the last three years).

Well, now I need to devise a way to share my luck... or whatever it is... with friends that don't seem to have Lady Luck on their side.

Random Thoughts... but are they foolhardy?

I am in a great mood... my new job is going well, my transition after my move has gone smoother than the English victory at Agincourt!

I just turned 25 yesterday and yet I feel as if I am still 23ish... I know, I know two years aren't alot, but alot has happened to me since I was 23... I graduated college and started at WSDOT before my 24th Bday and since then I was promoted and I resigned to accept a position with the Bridge Office in Pierre, SD... my dream job.

I have finished The Gold Falcon... it was a great book, but now I have to wait about a year for the release of the next book in the series... The Spirit Stone!

Ok only three random thoughts today... sorry!

GF

Wonder why my blog has been fairly quiet since I moved back to SD? Well, between kayaking and GF my free time is pretty much full... no GF is not a girlfriend but The Gold Falcon by Katharine Kerr.
I do have a few more pics from kayaking and maybe even more after this coming weekend... I just need to go through them and pick out the ones to post.

A SD Welcome

South Dakota sure knows how to welcome a native son back! On the day (July 6) that I crossed the Wyoming/SD border to return to SD after a year long absence, the winds were blowing 80-90mph statewide (or at least from Rapid City to Pierre).

And today the summer heat** set in:
What is next? Oh, wait I know! Thundstorms, Hail, Tornadoes... YIPPEE! Yes, I said "yippee". Despite the wind, the summer heat, the winter cold, and the storms, I still love the state of South Dakota.

**A record high was set today!

KAYAK UP!

Well, I have mentioned kayaking before but I have not been kayaking since I started this blog (actually dates back to June 2005)... that is until today! After work I loaded my parents' kayak onto their stationwagon for the trek down to the river.
I love kayaking. I can't even think of anything specific about it that I especially like... I just love everything to do with it! Well on tonight's journey, I had a great navigator along with me. His sight may be questionable now, but he can still out navigate any jetskier this side of the Oahe Dam (LOL)!
Actually, this was just a "break-in" cruise to get back into the kayaking frame of mind (which tends to revolve around a "Jetskies Suck" philosophy) We... er I just paddled down to the infamous (or not) Dump Island of Pierre, SD (center of the above pic). It is no longer a dump, but apparently LONG AGO it was or something to that extent ;)

The Bathtub Test

It doesn't hurt to take a hard look at yourself from time to time, and this should help get you started. During a visit to the mental asylum, a visitor asked the Director what the criterion was which defined whether or not a patient should be institutionalized.

"Well," said the Director, "we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub."

"Oh, I understand," said the visitor. "A normal person would use the bucket because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup."

"No." said the Director, "A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a bed near the window?"

DID YOU PASS, OR DO YOU WANT THE BED NEXT TO THE WINDOW?

Internet [Connection] Secured

Not alot to say... I have managed to secure an internet connection and cable hook-up (from Midco). Also, I started my job with the SDDOT Office of Bridge Design today. Not much happened, typical first day stuff: W4, benefits, etc.

I have decided to share a few replies I had to my farewell email to the WSDOT South Central Region:

Congratulations and good luck in your new position - not to mention you get to go home.

Wish you the best on your new journey Patrick.

Good luck in SD, have fun!

It has been nice working with you. I know you will have a wonderful career ahead of you. You are super sharp and a joy to work for. Thanks for coming to work with us this year.

It's been a pleasure working with you. Good Luck on your new job and adventures in South Dakota.

See Ya Later. Oh. No, I won't. Have Fun

Remember all the good times at WSDOT!

a safe trip & my existence

well, I made it to Pierre, SD fine... not sure when I will secure that internet connection (I am using a library pc right now) So, I wouldn't expect any lengthy blog entries, just short comments verifieing my existence.

SD Or Bust

Don't expect any foolhardy action here for the next week. I am leaving tomorrow morning to move back to Pierre, South Dakota and I am not sure when I will be able to get an internet connection secured.

Smoking Quarantine Area

As I was watching episodes of the TV show Seaquest, I created a couple of interesting screenshots.

Apparently by 2018, smoking has to be done not just in the smoking in an establishment but it must be done behind glass... not too dissimilar to the room where convicts can visit family memebers in prison.

You might think this is a good idea, but Washington state has already done better. All public places (excluding clubs*) are completely smoke free.

*clubs like the Elks, Eagles, VFW, American Legion, etc.

Photoshop Sunday: Rural Sprawl

The opposite of urban sprawl is rural sprawl... the skyline in the picture is of Los Angeles!

Rural Sprawl is real?!