The process of booting a vehicle has been around for centuries. First, there was the horse boot which was my personal favorite. The horse boot was kind of a dumb idea, a little animal cruelty. Then there was a carriage boot, then finally the car boot.  I have never felt that I have ever done anything bad enough to get a boot. The other day I had my first run in with the Provonian boot patrol (University Parking Enforcement).

We stopped in at Del Taco in Provo to get some Macho Combo burrito action. We all noted the sign and Natalie made sure to warn me that people have been booted here. We weren’t planning on staying too long, and we were eating at Del Taco. The sign says Del Taco parking only, it’s not like I am going to get booted for eating at Del Taco.

Seriously, we were in there for maybe 15 minutes, when we got back outside to my car I was surprised (and not too happy) to find a boot attached to my front drivers side wheel. WTF? The sign says Del Taco parking only and that is where I went. So as disgruntled as I was, I called University Parking Reinforcement. Yeah, I yelled at him a little bit, who wouldn’t be upset about getting booted for not doing anything wrong. It’s a waste of my time. At first he did tell me that that parking is for permanent Del Taco employees. Which is completely ludicrous it says in big letters CUSTOMER PARKING ONLY.

(Note, my car is on the right. Within five feet of the sign.)
While we were waiting for the guy to show up I noticed a couple park in a Camero on the other side of the trash can and walk in to Del Taco. Boot patrol finally rolled up in in his jeep liberty. He told me that most people will park here and go up to the apartment building on the other side. He said this is the first time he has ever had anyone actually go to Del Taco and park here.

Key word: MOST. You cant just automatically assume that people are parking here to walk to the apartments. But, I  consider myself a fairly understandable person and am fairly easy going.

As we were leaving I noticed him pull up next to that Camero and proceed to attach a boot to their front right tire. I threw it in reverse and yelled out my window “Yo! those people just went into Del Taco.. To eat!” He says to me ” Oh Really? How am I supposed to know that, I just got here!”

Good point. However, Is that not your job to know these things?  These guys are just out there to make commission  Make sure you keep your receipt if your going to eat at Del Taco . Because you will probably get booted.

After 95 years, absinthe is finally legal in the United States. It has to have less than 10 ppm of thujone. Good absinthe never had anymore than that in the first place. The thujone was the original cause for the uproar since it was thought to have psychedelic side effects.

On our way out of Las Vegas we stopped in Mesquite to get some beers. As I got closer to the counter to pay for those beers, I noticed they were selling some Le Tourment Vert and I just had to buy it. It was right around 60 dollars and I got a chance to win a absinthe kit (woot!). I sort of assumed they wouldn’t be selling it out here in Utah (I later found out that they do sell it at the Provo liquor store). This stuff is my pride and joy. I was gonna take a picture of it and frame it. I don’t know why I am so excited about it.

Absinthe’s can range anywhere from 100 to 150 proof and are meant to be watered down.

Finally last night, I went over to Wal-Mart, bought some sugar cubes and took absinthe out for a test drive.

I found that there is a special way you are supposed to drink the stuff. Necessary ingredients: Absinthe, ice cold water, and a huge strainer. You pour the absinthe into about 1/3rd of your glass, throw the sugar cube into the huge strainer and lightly pour the water onto the sugar cube dissolving it in the process.

One site said you should take a couple practice pours, you don’t want to miss the sugar cube or it won’t dissolve. After pouring, you will notice that the water does not mix right away with absinthe causing a sort of green to clear fade in the glass called the louche. Should look something like this.

The absinthe that I bought probably is not the best absinthe out there. My louche was pretty weak compared to this one. I guess you can’t really see the louche in mine because of my flash-o-matic camera. It turned out pretty good and my parents and I really enjoyed it. You can taste the fennel and the mint which gives it a really different sort of taste.

Dude, downtown Las Vegas is 8x cooler than the strip. Every time I go down there the street performers get better and better. Next time people will be lighting each other on fire and playing hot potatoe with burning babies or something. You can’t beat a guy riding a 2 stroke dirt bike all over the inside of a giant metal globe. I thought he was going to fall over. Apparently if he goes real fast he can get upside down in there (something about physics). They put 2 guys in there on dirt bikes, I was hoping they would hit into each other and we could see some bloody carnage but no.

2 guys riding the globe–video

That’s my dad at the end getting his mind blown. Next they threw in a guy standing in the middle. If you watch real close you can see one of the guys on the bikes take his hat then later put it back on his head.  The show would have been much cooler if the guy standing in the middle was a dwarf. But you can’t get everything you ask for.

2 guys riding the globe 1 standing–video

In this last one they got all three in there. Looks like they have done this a zillion times.

3 guys riding the globe–video

Last time I went up to Ikea I bought a bunch of this cheap material. The stuff is thick as hell and I didn’t think about the thickness until I started sewing it. It ended up being really hard to keep those seams straight. But I would have to say it ended up pretty nicely. It is a take off of that camo man bag I made for Sdot.

Technically it is a beta release bag since this is the first time I have ever sewn button holes. I could have added one to the top of the mix tape holder, but I am sort of done with working with it.

It seems like all everyone is talking about these days is the high price of gas.  Well when I left to PR gas was right around 3.19 a gallon and now its just over 4 bucks. Thats almost a dollar in six months (I can add too)! I found myself needing to do some serious changes in my driving habits to make it by . My current job is about 50 miles away from where I live. As of right now I work 4 days a week.

First thing I did when I got back from PR was register my scooter. It does not get super great gas mileage but it’s better than my car. I was driving it around Provo a couple weeks ago when some jack ass rap kid in a Escalade points and laughs while passing me.

Dear I belong in 2004,

How much does it cost you to fill that beast up? How much does it cost me to fill this beast up? Who is laughing now.  Ass.

With all my love,
Brikon

He was probably laughing because I am a bit tall and my scoot is a bit small. On top of that I was wearing a poncho that I bought from a yard sale about an hour earlier. Whatever.

Fast forward to a couple hours ago. I am driving home from work in my Scion Xb. People are passing me left and right (actually only on the left side since I am sitting in the slow lane and doing 60 mph in a 75). As they pass me they do one of two things

• give me a full 180 degree head turn which in turn makes them look like the elusive human owl and stare at me until they get too far ahead.

• give me the chin up in staring in rear view mirror, staring until they get too far ahead

Dear Owl Head and Chin Ups,

I know you are most likely awaiting the resurrection of christ while staring into my windshield for that long, but I am getting 40 mpg. What are you getting going 80mph in a 75 in your lifted F250 Ford Super Truck? Ass.

Your pal on the freeway,
Brikon

I am going to do what ever I can to save money on gas. Even if it includes driving like an old lady or looking a bit ridiculous on my scooter.

Back in Utah and living with my lovely parents until I can save enough money to pay off my credit cards and move somewhere else. My parents and I took a drive up Payson canyon and went for a hike up to Red lake. It was really quite amazing. Makes me realize just how much I missed the mountains. Crazy there is still snow up in the mountains I guess Utah got a lot of snow while I was in PR.

Half way hiking up to Red Lake, I noticed something peering at me through the through the trees. I thought at first it was a tent, but as we got closer we found it was just two big blue tarps strung up against some trees. Apparently used for some sort of makeshift shelter.

Do people here do this often? I mean making a sweet shelter out of dead branches and two brand new blue tarps. Do normal people eat a couple chicken flavor Top Ramen (leaving about 10 unused packages and all the wrappers). Do they get all blitzed off of little baby sized Coronita’a (leaving all of the bottles) then run around chopping down trees (cutting near the base, leaving the top fallen down where ever it falls). I am assuming they used some of the trees to make a fire but then got a little carried away.

Since I have been home I have gotten many offers to go hiking, camp for the night then hike out. Now I know the way the locals do it.

I don’t know about you, but in my elementary school if you brought cold lunch (lunch from home) you were considered a total dork. However if you did bring cold lunch you were considered cool if, and only if, you brought Lunchables or a Capri-Sun. All of the “hot lunchers” (kids who ate lunch at school) would make fun of the “cold lunchers” but worship the kids with Capri-Suns and Lunchables.

Well recently I discovered there is a drink here in Puerto Rico (only) called Gasolina. Running at right around 8 bucks, It comes in a box full of 10 pouches.  It looks just like the Capri-Sun, comes in a 6.75oz silver pouch and has a straw. . There are 3 different types of cocktails, one is a mohito (9%alcohol), one is a margarita (11%alcohol), and one is a pink martini (9%).  They are pretty dang good too, if I do say so myself.

Yes! A pouch drink for adults and finally I can pull out my teenage mutant ninja turtles lunch box. Throw in a Gasolina and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and I am ready for a day in the office. Sure makes you look forward to lunch again.

I have seen on many occasions (twice today) people blatently throwing their trash on the ground, when a trash can is within the 15 feet of them.. I was in back of these two kids with their mother. The kid finishes his M &M’s and throws the wrapper on the ground, turns around and looks at me then proceeds to walk away. I don’t get people I mean yeah he is just a kid but his mom watched him do it. I guess she was more concerned with keeping the Pueblo grocery stores shopping bag on her hair to keep the rain off.

Yeah, this island is small, only 30 by 100 miles. I would think people would know the consequences by now. As of 2007 there were right around 4,000,000 people living here and one of two people own cars

When we first moved here we stayed in Humacoa for about a week. The beach was just lined with a fresh coat of used diapers, old toys and shoes.

Last time we went to Old San Juan we went to some nature conservation place and watched a video in english about how we should be taking care of our island. I am just guessing, but don’t you think it would be better to show this video to the people who actually live here. In Spanish?

I gotta say after living in Denver and going hiking around the Boulder area I came to think that by Colorado’s standards, Utah’s forests are not very well taken care of. But compared to Puerto Rico’s standards Utah is as sterile as an operating room.

Dear Puerto Rico,

Trash goes in  the trash can, duh.