OK I Admit It, I Like Phoenix

Cameron — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 23:21:00 GMT

I sort of had a chip on my shoulder when I moved back here in 2004. It would just be a temporary thing I said -- I was not about stay! Screw that. Phoenix sucks, it has no character, or decent restaurants. It is hot, has dirty air, lots of traffic...waah waah waah! Well I have finally relaxed and learned to appreciate the blessings in my life, many of which have occurred -- you guessed it -- since I have been back here.

I wanted to do an "I Luv Phoenix" blog post because this city has been growing on me. Yes I admit it, I like it here. Sure there are the potential negatives I just listed. But I look at places like Atlanta Denver, San Diego and Orlando and in many respects they are not any better off. Besides a lot of those other cities have additional negatives like foul weather (crazy humidity) and natural disasters. Playing tennis or basketball with my friends does not go in and out of season here. We can play all year long.

Most importantly though, the older I get the more I feel like home is wherever my loved ones are. Honestly, as long as I am in the same area as my family (or my spouse when I am married) -- that is home. And most of my family is here. Are there cleaner, cheaper, greener cities than Phoenix? Of course there are. But even my favorite city Portland, OR, is missing one thing. Family. At the end of the day, what else really matters other than my health and sharing my life with people I care about?

Anyhoo, not trying to be sappy. Back to my post. So on the days I workout my back I have been finishing up at Granada Park where I try to do 50 chin-ups. I have been wanting to take my camera we with because it is so beautiful where I live. Today I remembered to bring it. Nice views eh? I think so. After my 38 chin-ups (I was tired today) I started taking photos.

The area around Granada Park is raw, unlandscaped desert. It is really neat. I like the smell of the rocks when it is hot out. Almost smells like they are cooking. If you live here you probably know what I mean. The area around the park is a revitalization area. The Phoenix Parks Department planted the little plants you see in the foreground. I take a bottle of water with me when I go to do chin-ups and as I am walking back out to my truck I use whatever water is left in my bottle to give a couple of the smaller bushes a drink.

Metallica Footnote

Cameron — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 22:20:00 GMT

‡ Had a quick second footnote from my post yesterday but it was way OT (off topic). True story though. Once upon a time I saw a heavy metal show at the historic Orpheum Theatre. I put my words in bold because the show was flippin louD, craZy and X-rated -- like any good 80's metal show was. Duh.

However, there was something note-worthy about this particular evening. The show I saw was Metallica...opening for W.A.S.P. That's right. Metallica was the opening band! There were a couple thousand prescient hooligans in attendance that evening...years before the rest of the world gave a flip about Metallica Alternica.

And no, this type of act was not booked in Downtown Phoenix back in the day. The smallest rock acts got Mason Jar^* (Black N Blue, Exciter) or After The Gold Rush. A little bigger and they'd book you into Celebrity Theatre (Warrant, White Zombie, Danzig) or Mesa Amphitheater. (Skid Row, Love And Rockets, Slayer). Oh and Big Surf! Dude I forgot about them. Big Surf hosted mega fun rock shows. Not sure why they stopped. Nothing kewler than floating on a raft and watching Tesla blow everyone away. Good times, good times.

* Gosh, Mason Jar -- haha, that was like seeing a show in your bedroom...only you didn't need a fake ID to get into your bedroom. Yiieee!

Cameron Scholtz's Blog : Arizona, milo

OK I Admit It, I Like Phoenix

Metallica Footnote