so i decided to re-up. kinda missed it around here. 
life has been good. i moved back to denver, and am living in the best apartment i've ever had. i love it. working two jobs, and aiming myself at an astronomy degree. well, several successive ones, eventually. still buying too many records and not caring, but not going to nearly enough shows. as i rarely work nights anymore, the show thing should amend itself shortly.. want to check out the fleet foxes and thao at the hi-dive at the end of the month. recommendations for more welcome.
todays grande adventure was stopping a building from being blown up. my friend betsy lives down the street, and i've been watering the plants and such while she is out of town. after being home from work for awhile, i realized my phone was still off and in my bag. upon removal, i was greeted with several frantic texts.. her neighbor had called to tell her there was a natural gas smell coming from her apartment. i threw on my shoes and boogied down the alley to her building. entering the stairwell i was greeted by that rotten egg smell, but the apartment itself was fine. i called the landlady (joyce, who is this awesome little hobbit of a lady, and also owns my building). after telling her it seemed to be coming from the basement, (and informing her i didn't have a key to that door), she called another resident to come open that door for me. as he came down the stairs from his second floor apt, the smell of natural gas was superceded by the smell of sweat and alcohol. "it seems to have dissipated" he said. "how in the f*#K could you tell??" i didn't say.
went into the basement, no smell. so ken called joyce, who was without a vehicle so couldn't come to check it out, and joyce said to call the emergency number.
i fell back on logic. if i could smell it at the foot of the stairs, and had eliminated 2 of three possibilities, the answer seemed obvious. the girl in the back apartment is also out of town, but her dog was barking (which apparently meant to nefarious oddballs on the upper floor that if the dog was alive, the gas couldn't be coming from in there). i looked through the tiny crack in the door blinds, and could see a stove knob askew. i bolted back into betsy's, found a screw driver, and a step ladder and went around to the open bedroom window, and began removing the screws from her screen. at this point i look up to see another man watching me from the balcony. (ken is trying to explain the situation to the gas co, but was having trouble spelling his own name). i explain to the second man what i am doing, and trying to be friendly to the bark coming from the bed just inside the window. the man watching me is shirtless, Hispanic, mid to late 40s, and is carrying a stuffed animal under each arm. this does not strike me as odd at all until several hours later, when my brain reminds me HE WAS CARRYING AROUND TWO STUFFED ANIMALS!
i get the screen off, and betsy calls. i tell her im balancing on the window sill and trying to climb in without being bitten. she tells me the dog's name is cambodia (who name their dog CAMBODIA??). i hang up, step in, and talk softly to "cam". cam mellows as soon as i actually set foot in the apartment. i walk through the bedroom, and find the kitchen TRASHED.. the garbage is all over, and everything is pulled off the counters and stove. TWO of the burner knobs are all the way on, and i can hear and very much smell the gas. i turn off the first knob, and quickly reach for the second, which "HIGH" being right next to "LIGHT", and my hand being a bit overzealous, i turn the wrong way and the burner pops on in a flash of blue flame. i nearly piss myself, and turn the burner off. most of the windows are open, but the door is deadbolted so i can't open it. i move a fan into a window to suck the gas out of the apartment, and call the landlady to tell her its taken care of. i am heaped with praise. i climb back out the window, screw the screen back in, and ken is still on the landing talking to the gas co. i tell him problem is solved, water the plants, double check betsy's stove, and walk home.
how many apartments did YOU get to break into today?
life has been good. i moved back to denver, and am living in the best apartment i've ever had. i love it. working two jobs, and aiming myself at an astronomy degree. well, several successive ones, eventually. still buying too many records and not caring, but not going to nearly enough shows. as i rarely work nights anymore, the show thing should amend itself shortly.. want to check out the fleet foxes and thao at the hi-dive at the end of the month. recommendations for more welcome.
todays grande adventure was stopping a building from being blown up. my friend betsy lives down the street, and i've been watering the plants and such while she is out of town. after being home from work for awhile, i realized my phone was still off and in my bag. upon removal, i was greeted with several frantic texts.. her neighbor had called to tell her there was a natural gas smell coming from her apartment. i threw on my shoes and boogied down the alley to her building. entering the stairwell i was greeted by that rotten egg smell, but the apartment itself was fine. i called the landlady (joyce, who is this awesome little hobbit of a lady, and also owns my building). after telling her it seemed to be coming from the basement, (and informing her i didn't have a key to that door), she called another resident to come open that door for me. as he came down the stairs from his second floor apt, the smell of natural gas was superceded by the smell of sweat and alcohol. "it seems to have dissipated" he said. "how in the f*#K could you tell??" i didn't say.
went into the basement, no smell. so ken called joyce, who was without a vehicle so couldn't come to check it out, and joyce said to call the emergency number.
i fell back on logic. if i could smell it at the foot of the stairs, and had eliminated 2 of three possibilities, the answer seemed obvious. the girl in the back apartment is also out of town, but her dog was barking (which apparently meant to nefarious oddballs on the upper floor that if the dog was alive, the gas couldn't be coming from in there). i looked through the tiny crack in the door blinds, and could see a stove knob askew. i bolted back into betsy's, found a screw driver, and a step ladder and went around to the open bedroom window, and began removing the screws from her screen. at this point i look up to see another man watching me from the balcony. (ken is trying to explain the situation to the gas co, but was having trouble spelling his own name). i explain to the second man what i am doing, and trying to be friendly to the bark coming from the bed just inside the window. the man watching me is shirtless, Hispanic, mid to late 40s, and is carrying a stuffed animal under each arm. this does not strike me as odd at all until several hours later, when my brain reminds me HE WAS CARRYING AROUND TWO STUFFED ANIMALS!
i get the screen off, and betsy calls. i tell her im balancing on the window sill and trying to climb in without being bitten. she tells me the dog's name is cambodia (who name their dog CAMBODIA??). i hang up, step in, and talk softly to "cam". cam mellows as soon as i actually set foot in the apartment. i walk through the bedroom, and find the kitchen TRASHED.. the garbage is all over, and everything is pulled off the counters and stove. TWO of the burner knobs are all the way on, and i can hear and very much smell the gas. i turn off the first knob, and quickly reach for the second, which "HIGH" being right next to "LIGHT", and my hand being a bit overzealous, i turn the wrong way and the burner pops on in a flash of blue flame. i nearly piss myself, and turn the burner off. most of the windows are open, but the door is deadbolted so i can't open it. i move a fan into a window to suck the gas out of the apartment, and call the landlady to tell her its taken care of. i am heaped with praise. i climb back out the window, screw the screen back in, and ken is still on the landing talking to the gas co. i tell him problem is solved, water the plants, double check betsy's stove, and walk home.
how many apartments did YOU get to break into today?