Week in Palatine Then Seattle Bound

So driving through the Great Plains was fun... But seriously, it really wasn't that bad.  I just took two gas breaks and two other mini stops to take pictures with state signs in the 15 hour drive to get back to Illinios. If you look below i'm straddling the boundaries of Colorado and Nebraska... so I'm in two places at once.  I got back into Palatine, Illinois by 11pm Wednesday night.  I have learned 2 things:

-Truck drivers do not honk their horns when you signal them or I was giving them the wrong hand-signal 

-Don't trust Pandora on a cross-country road trip.

     During one of my breaks I got a call from Seattle to start tomorrow, Saturday, but I chose to take the extra week at home to spend time with the family and reset my batteries before I head to the boat.  Yesterday, I bought my ticket to Seattle for Wednesday morning and then I'll fly from Seattle to Dutch Harbor Alaska Friday morning.

       

Don Macatangay

F/T REBECCA IRENE

c/o North Pacific Fuel

P.O. Box 920088

Dutch Harbor, AK  99692

I will be aboard the F/T REBECCA IRENE (pictured above) and it operates largely in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands area.  If you send me anything expect it to be delayed but it'll get to me as long as you provide the address above.  Feel free to send me postcards and/or letter's at most!

On the boat my blog writing might come to a halt it sounds but hopefully I can work something out where I can try to post once a week still.  I definitely will be able to e-mail people though!

In case of emergencies, call the office for assistance in contacting me. The telephone number of Iquique U.S., LLC office is 206-286-1661.

 Next time on Don Macatangay and the Road to Sinehan:

Today I stop shaving for 3 months... notice the fading goggle tan...

When I make my Triumphant return from Seattle I have my highly anticipated tie/bow tie blog!  WHAT ARE THE STORIES TO THESE BOW TIES?!

The Eve of My New Adventure! PART 2

     The past week at Copper Mountain was great,  finally had a night of dancing and karaoke in the same weekend.  Yea, I rocked it.  If you watch The Voice, Beau Thomas performed during the blind auditions but unfortunately did not make it.  He performs every week at Stormking Lounge at Copper Mountain and I've seen him a few times and I think he's great and I'm positive things will work out for him.  Click here if you would like to see the performance. 

Anything is possible!

Beau Thomas

     I decided that I would start my travels back to Illinois yesterday after work. When 5:30pm hit I did some final shopping for the family and then picked up my car from the parking lot to start loading my car. 

     When I got to the lot my car was no where near where I parked it.  That's when I started freaking out because I was towed away.  I ran into a friend and I told her about my situation and she said that another one of her friends was towed but was towed to the other end of the parking lot.  At that moment I just started sprinting, and there she was.  I was so relieved that I laid on top of my car and gave her a big hug.

I drove back to the edge to pick up my stuff and I said my final goodbyes to some friends before I left.  Maybe I'll come back next season, who knows?

     I started driving and it started snowing.  I figured since it's only an hour and a half drive I would be fine.  I wanted to leave that night so I could avoid driving in the mountains during the morning where there would most likely be more traffic and the roads would have iced-over over night.  I soon realized that I made the wrong decision.  It started snowing harder and by the time I passed Frisco I was getting dumped on.  The wind was so strong that the snow was coming from the side and I could barely see the road lines.  I then started to slip to the side of the road.  I had to resort to following a trucks tracks in order to get traction.  Many cars and trucks I passed were having the same problem but worse.  Cars got stuck all over the road due to no traction leading to numerous close accidents.  Once I got out of the mountains the temperature jumped up another 10 degrees making snow melt when making contact with the ground. My worries subsided and I finally made it to Denver after a 2 hour and 40 minute drive.

     It was as if the universe was trying to keep me at Copper or it tested my resilience.  Interpret it however you'd like but I'll be back in Illinois by Thursday.  

      When I got to Dennis' place in Denver we went out to watch one of his friends play in a cigar bar downtown. I've never smoked a cigarette before I only smoke cigar's during special occasions and since I'm starting a new adventure it was a perfect time to have a celebratory cigar. I haven't had a cigar since my last days of working at Disneyland with Matt Shaff almost 2 years ago.  That night I also took pleasure in trying to wingman for Dennis, unfortunately I was not successful that night,  I shall wingman for you once again.  I also had free drink tickets that night but since we had to leave I had the opportunity to give them to a random person and I'm glad the guy was extremely appreciative.  We ended the night watching Pokemon and eating DP Dough, good times.

      Today I was supposed to start my drive back to Illinois but first I thought it would be best to get an oil change and to have my front passenger side tire checked since I've been refilling it every other week. I arrived at Walmart at 9am and  I find out that my tires have not been rotated since I got them.  Totally my fault,  I thought my tires were being rotated whenever I went in for an oil change.  I thought that's what someone told me at the Walmart Auto Center but apparently I was wrong.  So I had to get my tires realigned and then replace the front two tires because they were totally worn and get my oil changed adding up to around $300.  I'll take it as a blessing in disguise.  I could have been in the middle of Nebraska with a blown out tire or worse.   So here I am now sitting at a Starbucks in Denver writing this blog. I leave tomorrow morning so I get to see Elise Bucher tonight!

Don Out.

MY BIRTHDAY AND BACK TO PLAN A!!!!

      My Birthday started off AWESOME! During my lunch break I watched the Bulls game in the lobby of the building I live in.  My hour lunch was coming to a close barely into the 4th quarter when I decided to call into work and ask if I could extend my break to another hour and they gladly agreed.  So there I was in the lobby watching the bulls come back from a 12 point deficient on my feet cheering for every amazing defensive and offensive possession they had for the entire 4th quarter and OT.  My Birthday couldn't have started any better. Only the Bulls.

     
     That night I wanted to go to karaoke night in Frisco and I thought I got other people to go but we just ended up hanging out in Brooke's room when suddenly Brooke's roommate Georgie saw something ridiculous...  the rest of the story is quite disgusting but at the same time we couldn't stop laughing from the sheer awe we were experiencing. If you would like to hear the story in full detail do not hesitate to ask me personally.  And that pretty much sums up my birthday.

     Yesterday was an eventful day.  At work I received a call from Alaska for a job on a fishing boat. They asked if I could be ready as early as this Saturday but I asked if I could push it back until next week and they said yes and that I will MOST LIKELY have a spot.  I told my current employer weeks ago that I might be getting a job offer in Alaska so I told them about the offer and they asked if I could stay at least until Monday.  So that's when I plan on leaving.  Monday night after work i'll head to Denver and crash at an undecided friends place and then make the long drive starting Tuesday back to Palatine Illinois.  To top off the day our trivia team, "Butter's Bottom Bitches", got 4th at trivia!  You can look at the score board to the right.  The Final Jeopardy question was, "How much power did it take the Delorean in Back to the Future to go back in time?" I was extremely proud since I was the one who knew the answer on our team, "1.21 gigawatts!".

     Today I went snowboarding all day with friends and I finally went on my first black run which wasn't too bad.  Sure it wasn't the hardest black run since there were no mogul's on the run and it really wasn't that choppy.  But it was a great day of riding and I definitely feel pretty confident on my dominant foot.

    So I'm officially back onto my original plan to work on the fishing boat.  I have a few options.  Try to work into July or August on the boat but that would mean that I would miss two weddings.  I already know I am going to miss Trevor and Michelle's weddings on May 8th and  on June 29th is Kyle and Mallory's wedding.  The fishing boat job pays extremely well with ridiculous work hours so It is really dependent on how my state of mind is come June.  So I'll let time tell.

Don out.

On long day's I stuff my face.

Chair Art: PacMan getting chased!

It's all about the little things.

Maybe to Plan B

  I sit here on my Friday afternoon working on my taxes and looking up healthcare... UGH.  Well anyway that's exciting.

  This past weekend I was visited by a few friends.  Friday, Huber and Dennis came to Copper Mountain and we hit the slopes all day and Saturday, Billy stopped by since he flew into Colorado.  Thanks for visiting guys!

At work it's been slow so I've been looking to find things to keep me occupied before the spring breakers come next week.  I think my next peice will be some 8-bit nintendo characters. but for now let me leave you with this gem.

  I've been pondering about my future plans and things are still in the air.  I've called that fishing boat gig every other week and each phone conversation ends the same, "I might have a job for you in two weeks so call back then".  I might have to fall back onto plan B which is to live at my parents shindig and work for some production company in Chicago to save money up until August or September before I make the move back to LA.

  I've also been talking to friends here at the resort and they are trying to get me to stay in Colorado.  As dandy as that may sound I don't see it advancing my career in film at all.  I won't lie, watching the Oscars this past weekend really pumped me up hearing all the winners speeches and how some are trying to change the world which is what I want to do, "alright, alright, alright".  I want to create and to explore film.  Sure,  all my movies won't be life changing for everyone that watches them but I want to work toward projects that do.  Whether behind or in front of the camera.

Also good luck to the Fresh Pots this weekend at the LAOUT Winter League Tournament!!!

It's Batspork

Friend had trouble with a math problem so I figured I would try it. Fun stuff.

Finally an Urchin?

My Valentine from Ryan and Mariana!

First of all I want to let the world know that I have the best friends a guy can have.  You all are so supportive and that's what continues to push me forward.  It's all about the little thing's that you all do and I really need to let you all know that I appreciate all of it!

This past week I've teched the SMALLEST snowboard and ski's.  The kids are about the size of the kids to the right.  They can barely walk!  I also am starting to get families that remember me at the rental shop and come to me specifically because of the past experiences they've had with me and it's a good feeling.

Goggle tan

I've continued practicing my snowboarding but I needed some feedback.  I had no idea what I was doing so I decided to take another free class last Friday.  I've been having trouble with my toe edge of my board but literally 2 little notes and I was carving down the mountain.

Tip 1: lean your crotch in carrying the weight of your hip toward your toe edge.

Tip 2:  While gaining more speed bend your knee's to bring your center of gravity lower helping you turn easier and on balance.

After those tips I was pretty much on my own exploring and getting used to using both of my edge.

First blue run

SKY

If you take a look at the video below it'll give you a rough summary of where I am at in my snowboarding.  Not the greatest but I know enough to have a good time.

I didn't get a picture but I was
on the jumbotron!

New seat

Last night housing set up an event to go to the Nuggets game.  I had an amazing time.  Tim, Mike and I ended up sneaking onto the 100 level to watch the game. We were located in a VIP section so we had someone taking food and drink orders for us.  Since everyone else stayed in the 300 level seats I decided to order drinks for Brooke and Dillon from my lovely 100 level seat.  I ended up delivering the drinks myself but my point was still made. Everyone had no idea where we were sitting until they saw me on the jumbotron and I got some epic dancing in but unfortunately I wasn't quick enough to take a picture but hell it was AWESOME.  During the game I didn't really look at the score.  I'm sure part of the reason was the beverages I had consumed before and during the game.  I had a terrific time yelling at players and watching some good basketball with the occasional slow clap.  We made friends with everyone we sat by and I even ended up buying drinks for the gentlemen pictured below.

Old seat

Face tan

seat buddies

From our seats!

This weeks Jesus Cookies

My Love Life and Other Thing's

I'm sure some of you are reading this blog due to my romantic conquests from my past such as, but not limited to, Highway Girl, Library Girl, Vending Machine Girl, or even the infamous Thai Girl.  You might even be one of these lovely ladies that I've elegantly nicknamed. 

In the past week I have acquired 3 phone numbers.  You must also be thinking, "Don you're not going to be in Colorado for that long, why even look?" and my answer to that is, "you never know, you pessimistic prick... just kidding, but seriously". I'll be giving a full summary of my past week and throw in each "encounter" as they come up chronologically but you should know upfront,  these are not love stories.


Tuesday at work was a nice slow day, as most weekdays are, and my coworker Ryan came into the rental shop on his day off with his girlfriend and her friend.  Let's call that friend "Argentina Girl".  I thought Argentina Girl was cute and I helped her put on her snowboard boots.  The encounter didn't last for too long but I hoped to see her again once they returned their rentals. It did help to know that she stored her shoes in our break room so I knew she would be coming back.

As the day at work was coming to an end I was transferred across the hall to retail since I hadn't had the experience yet.  I thought, "there goes my chance to see Argentina Girl" but as I was restocking merchandise in the store I turned around and there she was!  We spoke with each other for a little bit until my boss came in and then she lost interest and left.  My boss immediately apologized for his unintentional cock block.

As we were closing I was sent off to pick up carts outside that guest's had taken to move their skis to and from their cars.  As I was stacking these carts there she was! I spoke with her and immediately asked if I could call her sometime.  Unfortunately when I dialed it into my phone I forgot to save it. #DonDumb

The next night though was Wednesday Ladies Night and I was psyched because I didn't know of any other place I could go out to dance.  I went out with a bunch of the guys and Brooke.  It felt like old times.  The night was great but most of what went on was more "you had to be there" kind of moments.  Anyway, 12:20am rolled around and Brooke was leaving and was rallying the troops but I decided to ditch them and wait for the 1:30am bus to hang out with some of the other guys at the bar and that's when it happened. I saw this cute girl next to me, let's call her Ladies Night Girl.  I never saw her before but opened with this line, "don't you work at Copper?" That prompted her to start talking about how she was from the midwest and then we found that "connection".  She asked for my number and said she would give me a call if she was ever in town.  Before she left she said, "My boyfriend and I will probably make it out there soon." Terrific...  Well I guess new friends?

The tubing hill.

Friday was the start of an awesome but long Holiday weekend.  Brooke and Dillon invited me out to tubing Friday night for my first time ever. Fortunately and unfortunately there were only about 10 people on the tubing hill so we couldn't make massive links down the slopes but there was no wait to go down. It was definitely a good time though and the few drinks didn't hurt either.  After tubing we hit up a bar and Brooke and I had a heart to heart and really caught up for the first time since my arrival at Copper.

We then took the bus to the sushi place and our group got separated somehow but I bought Dillon and I a shot and then left back to the Edge to see if I could find everyone else. I then ran into Brooke and they were on their way to a hot tube at one of the local hotels.  It was an amazing site.  The hot tube was outside with a clear sky overlooking the snow peaked mountains and that ended my Friday night.

Saturday was the real start of hell at work!  It was just mega busy where we had people from other departments come and help due to the surplus of people for the holiday weekend.  I was on boot duty with a man named Ben.  I believe he is from Australia so I instantly found talking to him interesting.  He got boots for one girl that said she fit in a kids size 2 shoe but she was at least 5 feet tall,  It was crazy! Let's call her Fun Size Girl.  I ended up teching her skis for her.  I won't lie, I wanted to give her adult skis since she was technically a woman and she was tall enough to have them.  As I was trying to fit her boot in the ski I realized that the adjustable ski couldn't get that small in boot size and I already rented the skis out to her!  I had to get her new paper work but I was adamant about getting her adult skis so I got her another pair of skis but same thing went wrong.  I'm seriously running all over the place because I had to run to get new skis and new paper work.  The only reason I was happy doing it because she was joking around with me throughout the entire process. I know somewhere in that conversation we talked about her difficulty in finding shoes and how she wondered how stilettos felt and I had to tell her I hope she doesn't ever get that feeling because that means they make stilettos for children. Finally, on the 3rd try I got skis to fit her boots.  They were girls polka dotted skis,  they were adorable and she swore to me that she would rock them.  

First run in Colorado.

Later on I was on returns for skis and there she was, Fun Size Girl.  She came up to my table enthusiastic and was insistent on how awesome she did and how jealous people were about her skis.  I couldn't help myself so I asked for her number and without a beat she gave it to me.

The next night I decided to go on my first run at Copper because I just felt great and I needed to start running again.  It was after work and snowing.  As you can see it was a padded down path of nice snow cushioning my strides as I glided through.  I stopped to take one photo with an actual camera this time.  It was beautiful out and I forgot how awesome it is to run in the snow while it was actually snowing.  The only bad part is that my quads are on fire due to the hilly terrain.

After my run I decided to give Fun Size Girl a call but her voice message box wasn't set up yet so I resorted to texting her instead.  We had a nice little text message conversation but at the end of our conversation she wanted to let me know that she's seeing someone and didn't want to lead me on but is up for making new friends.  I did appreciate the immediate honesty.  Unfortunately, it is what it is.

So for all those keeping score at home that's 0 - 3.

 Mini updates:

Life at the Edge: challenge accepted. 

Sunday's we get Jesus cookies from church people that walk around.

Who are you going to call? 

MY PASSION IS: YOU, GOOD LOOKING

It has been exactly one week since I arrived here at Copper Mountain, CO. Wednesday night I had my phone interview. Thursday morning I started work. Yesterday was my first time snowboarding EVER!

I have decided that this blog entry will just be a bunch of pictures with blurbs so you may see the beauty I see everyday,  It's just breathtaking living here in Colorado.

My Walk to work every morning

It has been snowing nonstop since I arrived.  In the pictures it may not look like it's snowing, but it is.  The picture to the left you can see 3 men on a roof shoveling snow off the rooftop.  The picture to the right you can see me waxing ski's.  I have been fixing customer ski's/boards all week and I talk to them as if I have so much experience. 

Everyone at work is awesome and whenever customers bring their rented equipment in we have impromptu snowball fights in the store.  There are feuds brewing daily and you never know when someone will strike next.  I'm learning much in snowball warfare. Soon I will have to choose sides before I have no allies.

My first run: Green Acres.

Green Acre's was a nice easy run for my first time to ride.  I jumped onto a snowboarding lesson during my "ride break" (Yes, at work you have a choice to either take a lunch break or a extra long break so you can get some runs in for the day) and in the class there were two others and  Ironically I fixed up their boards for them. Yep, they were super surprised that this would be my first time boarding.  Today though I decided to try a green run and be a little more adventurous and test my "limits". I fell a lot especially on my first ride down the mountain (I counted like 10 times?).  The chair lift at Green Acres was super short so my expectations for green runs (beginner level) were the same. Instead of a 1 minute lift like Green Acres,  the Union Creek lift took at least 5 minutes to get to the end and ran MUCH faster. To the left you can see the Union Creek lift.   To the right I take a picture after a wipe out because... DAYYYYYAMNNNN.  I'm just waiting for my first big air to automatically make me awesome and to take on some Sky's.

First time seeing the sun hit the mountains and yes it was snowing where we were.

My roommate Ryan on our way home from work today.