j.g.s.

The Drive Click Here to Watch Finally another video. This is just a short video about a drive that I will miss when we move this Fall. Neil thinks this drive is one of the worst, but I love it for the subtlety of the southwest landscape. I know it's not as green as other drives and it's not as hilly, but the sky stretches forever and the mountains touch the horizon and it's New Mexico. We went to the Santa Fe Opera over the weekend and saw The Barber of Seville, which was amazing. I was afraid I might be bored or too tired to stay awake, but even though the opera is sung in Italian, I still found myself riveted. (the little translator screens helped, of course) We also saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory -- awesome. It really exceeded my expectations. Happy Monday.

Sick Aaak. I am so annoyed! I'm sick and it's like 80 degrees and sunny out. We were supposed to drive to El Paso this weekend to meet Christina and Bobby's new baby -- Jacob. But there's no way I'm giving the baby this cold. So there goes the plan for the weekend. I left work early yesterday with a fever and proceeded to spend all afternoon sleeping. Today I got up at 1 and finally took a shower. This seems a little weird for a plain old cold.. but that seems to be what I have now that the fever is gone. Ahh what fun. Meanwhile, I have a bazillion things to get done at work and home and I've barely ventured from the couch for the past 24 hours. Baah. I just heard an ice cream truck go by in my neighborhood! It is so inappropriate to be ill in the spring and summer. In other news, my dad told me yesterday that since we were in Italy last month, my brother has taken up smoking. This makes me really mad. What an idiot he is! I also feel like a jerk for being so mad. I don't get mad at friends who smoke. I have smoked in the past (but never to the point of addiction..) But because he is my little brother and I have this crazy protective instinct when it comes to him, I am upset about this latest development. I started worrying about whether or not he will attract the right girls, will be able to be as fit as he has been in the past and whether I'll be able to stand being in a room with him if he's all stinky and smoker-like. So, I made a video about the smoking (which is, perhaps, less articulate than this blog post) and you can watch it and hear my whiny sick voice and see how neurotic I am about my brother. Here's hoping my cold goes away fast and my brother quits smoking and some little magic elf has been at work doing my work for me for the past day and a half. Dustin Smokes Click to watch I apologize for my sick voice... also, I am aware that I need a real camera instead of my digital camera. Does anyone know about the clicking noises my camera is making?

Doggie Dinner Click to watch My dogs have some strange eating customs... yes, we have tried feeding them out of separate bowls -- no go. Music: The Meters -- "They All Asked For You"

Click here to watch Finally, after many months of watching other people's video blogs, I have made my first video and figured out how to post it on my blog... or is it now a vlog? Thank you to Michael Verdi and Ryanne Hodson for the site Free Vlog which walked me through all the steps. So, the video is from my trip to Italy in March. Be kind since this is the first time I ever tried editing video... I am sure I will improve with more practice. The song is "Another Traveling Song" from Bright Eyes. The video was shot in (in order) St. Peter's Basilica, on top of St. Peters, a piazza in Rome, the Trevi Fountain, a political press conference in Salerno and the coloseum in Pompei (that's my little brother waving his arms around).