This is not a new blog so before you read I want to explain why I’ve posted it here. I recently became more invested and committed to my Alice blog, but I have been blogging for awhile on a couple other sites. This one is one of my old favs because it truly was a moment of clarity for me. A moment where I understood myself just a bit better. Hope you enjoy it.

Have a safe holiday weekend!

 Originally posted March 27, 2008

At my ripe ol’ age of 33 (haha), you would think that I would’ve figured this out long ago… but no… it escaped me.. until this very moment.

I have been feeling OFF for a few weeks. Not just off… but really truly OFF. To the point where I have these grumpy, gloomy moments for no truly good reason and though I know there’s no good reason, I can’t kick them. Being the logical one that I am (ok, stop laughing… I’m logical most of the time), I have been really analyzing what may really be bothering me. I even went through my journal and my blogs to see if there was some parallel that could describe why I would  be inexplicably wallowing in funk-land.

I am not talking of unhappiness. I’m am not unhappy. Quite the opposite actually. I have much to be thankful for in my life and I am very happy.

Ok, back to my investigation into the cause of my ’funk.’ I am one to want to know why and then I like to solve. Today… the imaginary light bulb popped on in my head. I was able to identify three significant things that have severly affected the general mood in the past several years and here they are:

1. The tail end of winter/beginning of spring. The weather is ok, but not always nice as those last few threads of cold refuse to leave. I hate being cold. Every year through high school and college I came down with what could only be described as a bad case of being lethargic. I got tested for mono at least 6 years in a row. No mono.. just the blues, baby.

and next…

2. When a major transition occurs in my career… including changing gigs, gaining a new superior and the adjustment to said superior’s new methods. Care to join me in some imaginary fun?

Imagine if you will that you have lived in your house for three years. The first year goes pretty damned good… but one morning as you head into the second year, you wake up and the entire layout of the house has changed around you. You spend a little time bumping into walls and falling down stairs until you get the unfamiliar layout down. Things are once again… going all right. Then, in year three you step out of bed one morning and land in the bathtub… because yet again the layout of your place has completely changed. For the record… the latest layout is pretty sweet. (Note: that last statement remains true today!) All righty, pop out of imagination land now…

and finally….

3. When I feel vulnerability in any situation. Since it’s so rare that I feel that way, I haven’t yet figured out the best strategy to combat it. And by the time I think I need to do that, the vulnerability has passed and doesn’t return for a long enough time that I completely forget about it in the first place. This can be personal or in dealing with day-to-day surprises in the financial department… like the complete meltdown of my washing machine and the unexpected cost of rewiring and replumbing the entire setup.

Now, any of the three has been the source of a temporary ’funk’ in the past. However, combining any two of the three (or God help me, all three) and you potentially have a cocktail of disastrous proportions… aka: irrational woman! And, yes… when someone asks me what they can do to help I always think… shoot.. if I knew that I would all ready be helping myself! Hahaha.

Whew. Worst Case Scenario… all three things together… in that case I think all that’s needed is a good week of warm sunshine, settling into a sort of workable groove with the day to day and finally, having someone you love take the time to tell you how much you mean to them (which has been my saving grace!) Family and friends, I’ve always had the best… they have always seemed to know when I need an extra bit of love… whether is is a simple hug or a goofy little gift in the mail.

So, here’s my idea:

Think of someone you care about. Or pick a couple of someones.. whatever.

Now, do something completely random that you know would tickle them. Drop off their favorite coffee to their work if you live in the same city… mail ’em a dorky card if they don’t. Call ’em now and tell them you miss them. Set a time to get together and catch up. Considering the way life is lately, it’s tougher than ever to find the time and energy to properly nurture our special relationships. But it needs to be done. If it weren’t for my relationships, those 1’s, 2’s and 3’s would be much more difficult.

I have my someone(s) in mind right now…

The funniest thing happened shortly after I posted this blog originally. My boyfriend showed up here at Alice with my favorite coffee. I asked “did you read my blog?” and he smiled mysteriously and replied, “maybe…..” He had turned my own suggestion into something for me! It was a very sweet moment and completely unexpected.

Thanks for reading!

xo,

Sam

Ok, I love funny billboards, signs and bumperstickers. The one above just made me laugh. Doesn’t matter if you are a religious person or not, at one point we’ve all asked for a sign to point us in the right direction. If you’ve been asking for a sign today.. there you go. Way better than receiving a strike of lightning!

With that said… who wants a drink? No no no… I’m not suggesting we all drop what we’re doing and start pounding ‘em back right this second. I wanted to remind you that Sam’s Six in the City is back and next weekend I’m taking one of you up to Vail for the first weekend of Oktoberfest. As you probably guessed, that means beer, fun and frivolity. The last time I was in Vail was last winter when we did this promotion called “Sam on the Slopes.” Yeah, it’s a bit fuzzy, but man did we have a good time!! Hahaha. I think all of us survived intact.

Well, this time it will be me, you and 4 of your friends (that’s the Six of Six in the City in case you’re new to it), enjoying some brews in Vail! We’ll even put you all up at the Lodge at Vail. It will be a very cool time and I’m very excited to be able to share this cool event with Alice listeners because there is no doubt in my mind… we have the greatest listeners and I always have a blast at these events. Nothing like getting some face time with you! It’s easy to enter to win… just text SAM to 83253. I’ll choose a winner next Thursday and we’ll be off to Vail next weekend. Keep checking back often as we are adding new Six in the City prizes in the coming weeks. Ahh, feels good to be back.

On a totally different subject.. tonight I’m having a couple friends over to watch the Obama speech. We’re opening some good wine and watching what our Democratic Candidate has to say when he officially accepts his nomination. My concerns continue to grow over the state of our nation and I really desire to see some leadership that instills some confidence that our future is going to be better. I want the decisions we make to not only benefit us, the American people, but the entire planet since time is running out for us to begin fixing the problems that we all have to face environmentally as well as socially.

We shall see if Obama’s speech will be as inspiring as many hope it will be.

Thanks for reading!

xo,

Sam

When I was at a friend’s wedding weekend before last, I noticed she still had the tiny yin yang tattoo on her ankle that she had been talking about removing. She’s had it done as a teenager and has been regretting it recently and wondering whether to cover it with another or just have it removed entirely.

As we were discussing the tattoo and what it meant (at the time she’d had it done, it meant nothing really. It was just ‘cool’), I recalled something a dear friend said to me about the yin yang.

A while back, I was really feeling a bit down about some personal things and someone shared something with me that helped put a lot of things in perspective.

I don’t know if you’ve ever felt like you’re just not doing that great of a job at life or that you aren’t living up to even your own expectations, but I have! I feel we all land there sometimes when things are particularly rough. I was having a deep discussion with an old friend about this very thing and I said, “sometimes it just feels like I’m not the ‘good’ person I thought I was. I feel like I’ve made too many mistakes.” And here is how he responded.

He drew a yin yang on a piece of paper and said, “everyone knows this symbolizes balance, right?” He went on to say the yang, the white half of the balance, has a dot of black and the yin has a dot of white. And to create perfect balance in anything (society, nature etc), both need to be united.

He pointed to the yang and said, “the black dot signifies that even the ‘good’ side of the symbol has a bit of darkness and the white dot on the ‘dark’ side indicates a bit of good.” Therein lies the perfect balance.

What was his point? Even though you belong to that light you are going to have moments where there is darkness. Unfortunate? Yes. Essential? To make the balance, yes. I guess all we can do is learn to keep that little black dot under control so it doesn’t upset the balance.

I told this story to my friend who was considering getting rid of her yin yang tattoo in hopes of at least giving her some reason to appreciate it while she still has it, even if just by looking at it a different way.

Ah, who knows if it made her feel any better about it, but I know that my little yin yang drawing is something that will always remind me of the true balance of life and of how the simple wisdom of a great friend adjusted my perspective… in the perfect way.

Sorry if this sounded too serious.. sometimes I ramble. Thanks for reading.

xo,

Sam

Yesterday morning I was informed that Mikey from the Alice Morning Show was going to be crashing at my place because he’d rented his place out for the DNC. The Wheel of Couches landed on me. I honestly did NOT know what to expect. Especially since BJ, Howie and Jennifer were giving me the subtle warnings that he might just be coming over to create pure havoc in my home. And I didn’t have a choice. I KNEW I should’ve examined my contract more closely! So, Mikey stayed over in my guest room.

I wish I had something more crazy to report, but other than the hairy guest shower, Mikey left hardly a sign that he’d been there. Oh.. and the dinner he left in the fridge for me as a thank you. He even made the guest bed which is something my own best friend doesn’t do when he visits Denver!!

Mikey was a great houseguest… at least to me. Then again, my live-in boyfriend is 6′ 4″ and could’ve probably tossed him out had he not behaved. Who knows?? Hahaha!! Well, I for one wouldn’t mind having Mikey over if he needed it again sometime. I hope Jennifer has as much luck with him tonight as I did. I somehow think it’s not going to happen. Call me skeptical!

 Thanks for reading!

xo,

Sam

5:13pm: “The DNC is coming!” they said. “Traffic will be a night mare,” they said. “If you live downtown stay far far away,” they said.

Looking out of our studio windows…there are negative cars on I-25 right now.  Traffic is lighter than normal.

Probably won’t be the case on Thursday when they shut down the highway for half the day…

So I guess we enjoy it while it lasts.  Calm before the storm?  Traffic in Denver is always awful, political conference or not.

Here are some of the releases for August 26^th 2008

Blues Traveler- North Hollywood Shootout

You can hear a much more melodic side to the band in their latest release, but the signature vocals of John Popper are instantly recognizable as always! Also apparent is the influence of legendary producer David Bianco, who has worked with the likes of Mick Jagger, Ozzy and Tom Petty. A solid piece of work albet a bit slower.  

The Verve- Forth

You will remember them best from the song “Bittersweet Symphony” off of the band’s album Urban Hymns that came out in 1997. And until now, we haven’t heard anything new. The reason being the band split for the second time in 1999. Last year, they reunited with the original lineup and began plans for a new album, plus touring. This is what singer Richard Ashcroft had to say about the leak of their first single. With the release of this new album, the band collectively claims the band is back together for good… for now.                                                                                                                                              Additional Releases:  Gabe Dixon Band- The Gabe Dixon Band **Sam’s Pick** Matthew Sweet- Sunshine Lies  **Sam’s Pick**Earshot- The Silver Lining

The Game- LAX

BB King- One Kind Favor

Dragonforce- Ultra Beatdown  **Sam’s Pick if you dig metal**

Solange Knowles- SoL-Angel The Holiday Street Dreams

Little Feat- Join the Band

Raine Maida- The Hunters Lullaby

Motorhead- Motorizer

Slipnot- All Hope Is Gone

Uriah Heep- Wake the Sleeper

Gypsy- 2008 Origianl Broadway Cast

Eva Cassidy- Somewhere

Jimmy Wayne- Do You Believe Me Now

JJ Grey & Mofro- Orange Blossoms

Various- Now That’s What I Call Country

The Lost Trailers- Holler Back

Jordan Pruitt- Permission To Fly

George Duke- Dukey Treats

Jonatha Brooke- The Works

Decemberadio- Satisfied

Electric Touch- Electric Touch

The Week That Was- The Week That Was                                                                                     

Catalogues: 

The Veronicas- Hook Me Up **Sam’s Pick** Alabama/The Essential 3.0 Johnny Cash/The Essential 3.0

Leonard Cohen/The Essential 3.0

Commodores/Gold

Miles Davis/The Essential 3.0

Earth Wind & Fire/The Essential 3.0

Merle Haggard/Greatest Hits: Limited Edition

Heart/The Essential 3.0

Michael Jackson/The Essential 3.0

Michael Jackson/Gold

Tommy James & The Shondells/The Essentials

Jan & Dean/The Complete Liberty Singles

Waylon Jennings/The Essential 3.0

Billy Joel/The Essential 3.0

Janis Joplin/The Essential 3.0

Journey/The Essential 3.0

Judas Priest/The Essential 3.0

The Judds/Greatest Hits: Limited Edition

Kansas/The Essential 3.0

Kenny Loggins/The Essential 3.0

Tim McGraw/Greatest Hits: Limited Edition

Mott The Hoople-Ian Hunter/Old Records Never Die: Anthology

New Order/Best OF

Ted Nugent/The Essential 3.0

Elvis Presley/The Essential 3.0

Ratt/The Essentials

Kenny Rogers/Greatest Hits: Limited Edition

Sly & The Family Stone/The Essential 3.0

Bruce Springsteen/The Essential 3.0

Til Tuesday/Coming Up Close: A Retrospective

Luther Vandross/The Essential 3.0

Hank Williams Jr/Greatest Hits: Limited Edition  

DVD/Blu-ray: Blue Man Group- How To Be a Megastar Live! (Blu-ray)Fantomas and Melvin Big Band- Live from London 2006 (DVD) 

Reissues:  Tesla- Gold 

3:10pm: The DNC is in full swing…yee haw! Who’s been partying like rock stars? Who’s been avoiding it like the plague? Who’s over hearing about it already?

And that’s not what makes Steve cry…but Rudy does. Every time. Sobs like a little girl. Misty eyed, choked up, manly-man driven to tears by a movie. At least it’s a football movie. I mean Slacker cries at Phenomenon and The Notebook. And admits it! He’s a brave dude.

5:30pm: Tornado Warning in effect for parts of Adams and Arapahoe counties until 5:45pm. Thunderstorms are serious today folks.

Got Drunk & Blanked is such a fun topic. Especially the woman who made out with Fabio. Sooooo gross!

6:16pm: Describe Your Life In Six Words

To describe your life so shortly.  It’s harder than would you think.  We are all works in progress. All above statements are six words. Try this at home with friends!

I would like to think that I am a great hostess. When people stay over I tend to try and treat them very special. I like to turn down their beds, provide toiletries and make them meals if I have time. I want my guests to feel comfortable and happy, like they are in an extension of their own homes!

Howcver, like you… I occasionally get surprised with an unexpected guest or one that gives me very little warning. There are only three potential things I don’t like about the unexpected houseguest and here they are:

1. I like my house to be very clean when I have guests and though my house is never trashed (well, rarely), I feel self-conscious if people see it a little dingy.

2. When I don’t have time to make time for my guests, I feel like I am neglecting them.

3. When they assume I can pick them up/take them back to the airport. (fortunately, this has never happened as my friends are courteous enough to ask me if I can help or they rent a car).

I rarely get the unexpected guest. The last time (before today) that it happened was a couple years ago. A girl that I had known as a teenager sent me an email telling me that she and her family were coming into Denver for a funeral the next day and she wondered if they could stay with me. I was a bit surprised because I hadn’t seen my friend in well over 10 years. Also surprising was she has 4 kids. Now, my house is pretty small, but I’m willing to help out, so I said yes. What else could I do?

It turned out ok. Her kids were polite and though my house was WAY too crowded with her family of 6, nobody threw a fit and it was actually cute to see them all around the table eating breakfast together. Made me miss my family.

Anyhow, this morning I was eating my usual 2 egg-beater omelette and my cell phone rang. It was BJ, Howie and Jennifer from our morning show! Apparently since Mikey their producer rented out his place during the DNC, they are spinning a wheel of names every day to see where Mikey will crash each night. Guess who won today? Yep.

So The Wheel of Couch picked me.

I get along with Mikey great at work but we don’t see each other much outside of it so I really don’t know what to expect! With all the teasing BJ, Howie and Jennifer were doing, I naturally began to wonder what on earth I am in for tonight? I barely had a chance to warn my live-in boyfriend, too, so hopefully he’s ok with this. He’s pretty chill, so I’m hoping!!

Oh well. Tomorrow we shall see how my night with Mikey as my houseguest plays out.

Wish me luck and thanks for reading.

xo,

Sam

3:21pm: Le sigh. The last Live@5 of the summer is later on today. It always makes it feel like summer is officially over.

Right now we’re talking about why folks could never run for president. There’s always some funny stuff to be had, especially in this day and age of technology. It seems like everything ends up on video somehow, somewhere!

5:20pm: I see you clouds…you go away!  It can’t rain on the rooftop of the Tavern DTC. Let’s all do a little backwards rain dance to make sure it stays sunny for Live@5!

Holy Hugs For The Hospital Batman!

What an incredible day and an incredible event. I think Slacker & Steve’s arms might fall off! Be glad you can’t smell inside that studio…it’s more than a little gamey right now…

The guys gave out 1,007 hugs and raised $5,447 for The Children’s Hospital. Woo Hoo!

We just did “Claim To Fame” in honor of today’s event and lots of folks have ended up on stage with random performers. We had TWO Manilow moments: one woman was in a Barry Manilow video and another guy sang back up for him at a concert. Stranger things have happened…

4:23pm: Today’s OPP is from a young lady who shares her birthday with her sisters-in-law and wants to have a day of her own…

Birthdays are important to some folks and something to avoid for others. Now if you’re a birthday person, how do you celebrate you and spend it with people who love you without being a total diva?