See A Concert at Red Rocks

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2-4-1: Dave Matthews Band

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Go on a Blind Date

Ok, Some things I'm adding as I go along - things I didn't think of ahead of time, things that sound interesting enough that I should have had here anyways.

Blind Dates: scary, exciting, awful, fun, whatever the case.... we should all go on one and figure out how we act under pressure. It's a job interview like no other.

Remember that one show Blind Date, with the thought bubbles and the hilarious commentating. Remember the 10 minutes in which the couple could find to hate each other? The guy's a total asshole? The chick gets hammered? The one with the two drunk body builders that end up in the hot tub, THEN the hotel room?! That one was real. Ha! Ok... All I want is to get to know someone... but those are all still good.

So in the ripe old age of 29 I gave it a go. I even, rising head high without shame, did it internet style. And sure enough it wasn't love at first sight. What! How dare I not fall in love in a 2 hour encounter with a stranger. I want my money back. Ok, I didn't pay - I had a 3 day free trial. I'm cheap, what can I say? I know for a fact I was the more nervous of the two but my game was on. Not a dull moment. I can definitely do this. But - let me forewarn any possible future blind datees, my customer service skill set allows me to never let you know if you're doing great or horribly bad. I'm proud of that talent... but it is hard to deny a second date when I'm just not that into you. Another problem for another day I suppose.
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Roadtrips!



UPDATE 6.21.10: Coincidentally enough last weekend I took a road trip to Noblesville, IN with my "bmff" to see 2 Dave Matthews concerts. This whole blog of inspiration was inspired by Dave Matthews' song lyric "celebrate we will, life is short but sweet for certain"... and he helped me complete a task. Not surprising: he is even more amazing than I already consider him for being talented and hot. This is not the "checking off" of this task, though... it's only inspired me to look around closer to home a bit more.

There's nothing more nostalgic or has more American youth than the good ole roadtrip. I've taken but few, and very short, in my life. There was this one to Canada, eh, it was - very eventful. And that was 5 years ago. Just because I'm not 18 doesn't mean the times of roadtrip are behind me.

I've been thinking about this for the first half of 2010 and I'm excited to say I found an incredible website and some books to help make a Wisconsin Roadtrip possible. Sometimes the most fun can be had in our own backyards. Why do I need to travel to a tropical island or a European country to see something new? I've never spent time in Western Wisconsin for cryin' out loud.

But I don't want just any ole roadtrip... I want the fantastically weird and off the wall destinations. I want to see the largest twine ball, the heaviest wooden bear, the man with no eyes that carves ice with a chainsaw! Ok - I don't know if that exists, but you get the point.

And I want to take my sister.

I think that the fun and mystery and problems and excitement... all of it... is a rite of passage for living. Now the only complications: making sure my car is dependable, or at least getting an AAA membership, and saving up a couple extra bucks - since I already have a few summer activities planned. This may be a Spring Break 2011 trip... and that makes me sad.

interested in your own? this site is quirky and helpful: www.roadsideamerica.com/
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Attend A Convention



A convention? Like... A Star Trek convention? A company convention? A sex toy convention in Vegas?
Maybe.

But my goal is the 2011 Photoshop convention. 2010's is taking place in Vegas, hello!, over Labor Day weekend. Sounds fun... but my education level isn't high enough yet to spend that kind of loot on an impromptu 'want'.

BUT - with practice making perfect ... I hope to be good enough to go next year!

I want swag, I want a nametag, I want to socialize with nerds on how awesome Photoshop is and how awesome they are at it! Maybe I want to be that nerd! Ok, I do. I'm trying to find that passion of mine... and so far... i'm not doing well.
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Sell my Art.

UPDATE, 06.01.10: No, I know what I want to do - but it's not an easy task. The business side of it all - I'm clueless about, but I want to freelance photo retouching and composite imaging. And soon as my experience is there - I'm gonna go for it. I also want to do quirky greeting cards and I'm looking into how that can be relatively cheap.

OLD, 05.24.10: I haven't made it yet. In fact... I don't even have an idea. Ok - maybe a few - base ideas that don't even have a vision yet. That's my downfall, my fear. Feeling that I was meant to be creative - but lacking that very bone. What's a girl to do. My idea of selling my art isn't to make millions of dollars... in fact the art I'd love to sell would be small, simple, a paper based product - graphic design related - and sell for a few dollars a piece. But if it sold that would mean someone wanted it and that, my friend, is the selfish pleasure I want to feel.
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Move.

I don't know to where, but the hot sun and laid back Californian city of San Diego intrigues me. I hope my friends that live there continue to do so for a few more visits.

I must admit the 2 factors of me not leaving my city, not even my zip code: my consumer debt and my family. But I know that this is my live to live and when I take care of number 1, number 2 will handle it. I also know that I might not be able to direct myself as much as I would like but I feel a significant other could motivate me just enough. Now just to find a man, that wants to move, far far away - but not to the country! It's a large city or nothing.
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Get my Tattoo.


By 12.31.10 - hopefully much sooner - I want my arm piece... I want her in grayscale with some color, large and in charge under my tree on my left. Between $$$ and building the cojones to do this - I've got my work cut out for me.
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Declutter My Life.


Ok, that is not me. I'm better defined a clutter bug, a pack rat - definitely not a hoarder, but I do have a psychological attachment to material objects. Not every luxurious or expensive items - in fact that is pretty unimportant. Just as you fall in love with a person I have chemistry with things as well. It's not something I am proud of, but it is me. Despite this - there are lines to be drawn - and I want to dig ditches in the sand.

There's no need for 4 lotions, 2 toothbrushes, piles of unhung empty frames. My paper work needs to be sorted and the important stuff needs to be filed, the rest needs to see the green machine (newly named garbage can - I just did that, impressive). For the frames sitting and waiting to be hung - Where, oh where, is a drill that will go through my walls? I don't need to buy everything on sale, I don't need to buy something because I like it... but I don't know how to say no.

Beyond even this, I want to be able to detach my self from old memories. I don't want to rid myself of all... but there is no need for that coffee cup I filled with my first cup of beer in a public space at Pridefest almost 10 years ago... or do I... Look at that memory, kept physically in a box, I'll never forget it! Ok - maybe that one I can keep - maybe I can keep all my keepsakes, maybe I just need a bigger and better box to store them away in.

Maybe not only decluttering but organizing as well - they are definitely the right and left hands of a peaceful serene mind. This is something I must master,



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Complete as many of the 2 "100 Top Things to do in Milwaukee" lists as I can


Well on my way!

1. Cheer on the Brewers at Miller Park ...

2.... and be sure to tailgate before the game

3.Check out the lights and live music at the Domes

4.Explore Milwaukee's spy bar, The Safe House

5.Pull up a boat to a slip at Barnacle Bud's or Water Buffalo

6.Eat (and request a song) at Organ Piper Pizza

7.Wind your way along Grant Park's Seven Bridges Trail

8.Get up early and watch soccer at the Highbury Pub

9.Climb Holy Hill in Hubertus

10.Close Wolski's and get a bumper sticker to prove it

11.Bike the Oak Leaf Trail as far as you can muster

12.Buy a wax Samson at the Milwaukee County Zoo and tell the kids about the famous gorilla

13.Visit the Milwaukee County Historical Society, where scenes from "Public Enemies" were filmed

14.Commiserate with the butterflies at the Milwaukee Public Museum

15.Buy a brat at the Usinger's store

16.Take the Lakefront, Sprecher and MillerCoors brewery tours in one day

17.Experience Jim's Time Out, the Downtown "towny" bar

18.Enjoy family-friendly live music at Bayshore Town Center

19.Marvel at the beauty of the Milwaukee Art Museum

20.Take a Milwaukee Ghosts tour and learn local haunted history

21.Smell the flowers at Boerner Botanical Gardens

22.Find the Streetza Pizza truck and buy a late-night slice

23.Skate a few laps on the Olympic Oval at the Pettit National Ice Center

24.Eat a corned beef sandwich at Jake's Delicatessen

25.Shop for vintage clothes on Brady Street

26.Take a booze cruise

27.Catch the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra on Monday nights at Alterra on the Lake

28.Buy farm-fresh produce all winter long at the State Fair Park's winter farmers market

29.Fall in love over a Tiki Love Bowl at At Random

30.Have a drink in The Yard at the Iron Horse Hotel

31.Eat like a king at 4th Base

32.Tour Palermo's Pizza in the Menomonee Valley

33.Interact with nature at the Schlitz Audubon Center

34.Make a difference at the Volunteer Center

35.Pet the animals at the Wisconsin Humane Society

36.Tour the Pabst Mansion

37.See an indie band at the Cactus Club

38.Cheer like a maniac with the Bucks' "Squad 6"

39.Experience intimate theater at Boulevard Theatre

40.Bowl a few lines on America's oldest lanes at Holler House

41.Tour the Harley-Davidson Museum

42.Crack up at ComedySportz

43.Say "Ayy" to the Bronze Fonz

44.Sunbathe at Bradford Beach or South Shore Beach

45.Swim in the Brown Deer Pond

46.Wander around the Bong Recreation Area

47.Marvel at the Mars Cheese Castle

48.Eat a bowl of Real Chili

49.See an Admirals game

50.Sled down the North Avenue hill

51.Watch kids playing soccer at Uihlein Park

52.Visit the Beulah Brinton House in Bay View

53.Star gaze at UWM's Planetarium on Friday night for $1

54.Stroll back in time on the Streets of Old Milwaukee at the Milwaukee Public Museum

55.Step back in time at the Wisconsin Automotive Museum in Hartford

56.Bask in the beauty of the Basilica of St. Josaphat on 6th & Lincoln

57.Buy a kite at Gift of Wings and fly it at the lakefront

58.Join the Milwaukee Community Sailing Center

59.Get saucy at a Brew City Burlesque show

60.Find the city's Frank Lloyd Wright architecture

61.Visit the North Point Lighthouse

62.Take the kids to the Betty Brinn Museum

63.Hike the Hank Aaron State Trail

64.Visit the birthplace of the American League (now a Downtown parking lot)

65.Hop aboard the Lake Express ferry

66.Grab a meal at Friday's Front Row Grill to enjoy Miller Park in winter

67.Experience a real Milwaukee Friday night fish fry at Lakefront Brewery's Palm Garden

68.Rent a kayak and take a ride down the Milwaukee River

69.Enjoy a beer in a smoke-free Von Trier (or have a smoke out on the patio)

70.Eat a butter burger at Kopp's

71.Have breakfast at the Plaza Hotel on Cass Street

72.Order a Brainbuster at Bryant's

73.Find Milwaukee's smallest park, Kaszube's Park, on Jones Island

74.Rock out at Verge -- the Lakefront rock fest - have tickets!

75.Get a doughnut at the National Bakery & Deli

76.Watch people play lawn bowling at Lake Park

77.Take a picture at the intersection of "Keefe" and "Richards"

78.Ride the mechanical chili pepper at La Perla (or have a margarita on the roof)

79.See the statues in Doctor's Park

80.Bowl with tiny balls at Koz's Mini Bowl

81.Shop for a vintage LP at Bull's Eye Records

82.Sing along at Lucille's Rockin' Pianos

83.Take a Milwaukee Food Tour

84.Tour St. Joan of Arc Chapel on Marquette's campus

85.Find Gertie the Duck along Wisconsin Avenue Downtown

86.Admire the Carl von Marr collection at the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend

87.Get hot ham and rolls on a Sunday morning

88.Tour the city's longest thoroughfare, 27th Street

89.Enjoy outdoor movies in summer at Discovery World, Pere Marquette Park, Miller Park and State Fair

90.Buy locally produced food at Outpost Natural Foods

91.See if the security guard at the Midwest Airlines Center is real

92.Take a photo of the boat house on Cambridge & Hampshire

93.Quickly order a drink at the world's shortest happy hour at The Nomad World Pub

94.Window shop the boutiques and the mod furniture at Rubin's in the Historic Third Ward

95.Grab a dog from "the hot dog guy" on Water & Wisconsin

96.Tour Growing Power, Milwaukee's urban farm

97.Tour Bolzano Meats in Riverwest

98.Eat thin crust pizza at Zaffiro's

99.Cheer on the all-girl roller derby, the Brew City Bruisers

100.Sample Great Lakes Distillery's Milwaukee-made spirits
 
*list 2*
 
1.Hit up all 11 days of Summerfest

2.East duck fat fries at MOCT

3.Squeeze your family into the Pizza Shuttle photo booth

4.Hitch a ride Downtown from Cream City Rickshaw

5.Fill up your gallon jugs at Bay View's Pryor Street well

6.Watch a European soccer game on the telly at the Nomad

7.Pedal a boat on the lagoon at the lakefront

8.Eat deep fried pickles at Stack'd Bar

9.Join a bocce league at the Italian Community Center

10.Take your grandma to brunch at Watts Tea Shop

11.Order mini donuts at bar time at Sil's (North and Oakland)

12.Get dinner, drinks and a movie at the Rosebud Cinema Drafthouse

13.Take a ride out to Lapham Peak and enjoy a hike

14.Dance your ass off to '80s music Friday nights at The Mad Planet

15.Get the boys together for a day at Paintball Dave's

16.Find the painting of "Jesus knocking at the U.N." at Jamo's

17.Appreciate creative local talent at the quarterly Gallery Night and Day

18.Figure out who makes better custard: Kopp's or Leon's

19.Prove you're a pool shark at Romine's High Pockets

20.Indulge in the mozzarella marinara at Saz's State House

21.Find unimaginable treasures at American Science & Surplus

22.Explore Milwaukee's German culinary legacy at Mader's

23.Walk along the breakwater towatch the sun set over the skyline

24.Take a summertime trolley ride through Downtown

25.Make the snake rattle at the Milwaukee Public Museum

26.Take a stab at Milwaukee Community Acupuncture

27.Sing karaoke any night of the week at Frank 'N Stein

28.Celebrate with champagne at Cuvee

29.Buy handmade gifts at Art vs. Craft each November

30.Sample rare craft beer at Sugar Maple or Palm Tavern

31.Find the best pita bread in town at Attari Supermarket

32.Learn how to compost at the Urban Ecology Center

33.Get fresh food from a Community Supported Agriculture farm

34.Sip a flaming drink at the Foundation Tiki Bar

35.Share a round of tapas at La Merenda

36.Drop in for a pay-what-you-can yoga class at Saffron

37.Shop for second-hand clothes at Rethreads

38.Celebrate Halloween in April with Hallowang

39.Teach your own art class at BYO Studio Lounge

40.Break out the two-wheeler for Bike to Work Week in June

41.Save your appetite for the annual WMSE Food Slam in October

42.Take off work for the party that is Brewers opening day

43.Shop at Bayshore Town Center outdoor mall

44.Take an early-morning jog along Lincoln Memorial Drive

45.Get a double punch on your card each Tuesday at Alterra

46.Save a few bucks by joining the Bay View Cheap Beer Club

47.Buy locally-designed clothing at Project M in Riverwest

48.Test your trivia with the British Pub Quiz

49.Fill up on M&Ms, Chex Mix and Guinness at Paddy's Pub

50.Sip some fine wine at Balzac

51.Visit Kana, Milwaukee's only mojito lounge

52.Run the pups at Estabrook's dog park

53.Order cannoli at Peter Sciortino's Bakeryon Brady Street

54.Shop for an erotic toy at the Tool Shed

55.Play Atari at Koppa's Fulbeli Delion Farwell

56.Secure a good lakefront spot for the fireworks on July 3

57.Buy a bag of kettle corn at Jazz in the Park

58.Throw your peanut shells on the floor at AJ Bombers

59.Try the baked potato pizza slice from Brick 3

60.Save room for authentic Indian desserts at Bombay Sweets

61.Attend as many ethnic festivals as possible

62.Ride your bike across town on the Oak Leaf Trail

63.Arrive early to get a lane at Bay View Bowl's Glow Bowl

64.Bet it all on black at Potawatomi Bingo Casino

65.Cheer for a sausage during Miller Park's sausage races

66.Take in the views (and a great meal) on the Roots patio

67.Kick it old school with a martini at Angelo's Lounge

68.Let the kids ride the bumper cars at StoneFire Pizza Co.

69.Eat something on a stick at the Wisconsin State Fair

70.Chill on the Hill in Bay View each summer Tuesday night

71.Get romantic on a Downtown carriage ride

72.Take a tour of The Pfister art collection

73.Brave the lake on New Year's Day, take the Polar Bear Plunge

74.Marvel at the wattage used on Candy Cane Lane

75.Learn to home brew your own beer at Northern Brewer

76.Splurge on a few $3 Tallboys at The Pabst Theater

77.Shop, eat and people watch in the Historic Third Ward

78.Stock up on sage and coriander seeds at The Spice House

79.Ditch your diet for flaming cheese at a Greek festival

80.Go fishing near the lighthouse behind the Marcus Amphitheater

81.Rent "Major League," look for familiar Milwaukee places

82.Get a history lesson at the Milwaukee County Historical Society

83.Say "Art Smart's Dart Mart" five times fast

84.Buy a Teecycle shirt and support the River Revitalization Project

85.Play a game of shuffle board at Burnhearts

86.Sit in the right Newsroom Pub chair and end up in the Safe House

87.Shop the East Side Green Market on Saturdays in summer

88.Eat the pickled eggs at The Bomb Shelter (we dare you)  - wellll I ate the pickled egg at Wolski's! Never again!

89.Order a pizza with whipped garlic at Transfer Pizzeria

90.Get educated at Comet Cafe's Beer School

91.Eat $5 pho on Mondays at Hinterland

92.Count the number of Milwaukee's Irish pubs, visit each one

93.Show off your baking skills at the next Iron Cupcake challenge

94.Sign up for a cooking class at the Milwaukee Public Market

95.Try the macaroni and cheese slice at Ian's Pizza

96.Get lost in literary splendor at Boswell Book Co.

97.Relive your teenage glory at Dave and Buster's

98.Find a bargain at Goodwill's Retique in the Third Ward

99.Eat dinner at Meritage before a movie at the Times Cinema

100.Join the stein club at the Old German Beer Hall  

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Create and Research a Family Tree.

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Celebrate We Will: A Life's 'To Do' Design by Insight © 2009