I have a new goal to do a Keep Braggin Shout Out each week and I couldn’t think of someone more deserving for this first honor than Mike “MikeyGraffiks” Nance.

I love to see someone follow their dreams, their passion, their skill set, and instead of working to live; they live to “work”. The reason I put the little ” ” around work is because when you are doing something you truly love, work stops feeling like work. In my eyes this is exactly what Mike is doing by following his dreams to be an artist.

Mike was one of my very first friends when I moved to Colorado back in 5th grade well over 10 years ago, and to witness his progression as an artist has been a breathtaking experience. I always knew he had talent drawing and remember being constantly impressed with the different sketches I saw him do during high school. This last year, when living in downtown  Denver (HUGE BRAG), I was fortunate enough to live just a few minutes away from Mike and witness first hand the tattoo’s he was doing and all the amazing oil paintings he was learning to master. He had an amazing work ethic and it showed in the work he was putting out.

Luckily for Mike, his hard work has already began to pay off. He’s now doing tattoos in a shop in Denver, has been showcased in a Denver art show and most recently (and most brag worthy) drew up the cover for Smoke DZA’s album.

If you would like to check out more of Mike’s artwork like you see here, you can find it at his site http://misternance.deviantart.com/.

Also you can follow Mike on twitter @MikeyGraffiks

Keep Being Bragworthy Mikey

 

this was my first cubs game and figured what a better team to see them play then the good ol coloado rockies. me and my roomates showed up to pick up some last min tickets and lucky enough a lady was selling 4 tickets behind home plate for 8 bucks each. after some beers and brats and alot of cheering and boos from chicago fans rockies ended the game with of course another win!!!!

Maui is hands down my favorite place I’ve ever been to. The “Aloha Spirit” is awesome and I love the chill vibe.  The crew and I hit up some surfing lessons and we crushed it. I’ll let the video do the braggin for us.

Here’s a bonus picture Baby C took over at the Big Island

If you want to see this picture bigger just click on it.  Also lately we’ve had a lot of new people signing up. Go out and do something awesome and start braggin. It can be as simple as taking your dog on a walk and taking some pictures.

Yesterday concluded my Hawaii trip and it was amazing. I only wish I could of stayed out there longer. We had to check out of our rental house at 10 AM and I had a red eye flight leaving at 11:30 PM, so Samantha, Gabe and I decided to take one last scenic drive & hike around Maui.

We first drove to the summit of Haleakala, the east Maui volcano .  The last eruption was over 200 years ago, and is still an active crater volcano. This drive was amazing. The summit was 10,000 feet and there was lots of winding roads  with amazing views of the ocean and awesome island houses. Eventually we found ourselves driving straight through the clouds,  until finally you were sitting above all the clouds and at the summit. I took this picture off the internet to do it justice.  This is a spot that many bikers go up at 3:30 AM to catch the sunrise and then coast the bike down and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

After checking out the volcano we decided to make a big loop around Maui and do some hiking trails known for crazy amounts of waterfalls in the area. It was a 2 hour drive, down windy and sometimes unpaved roads, and it was well worth it. Here are a few of the shots we got on this adventure.

I woke up this morning with more physical pain than I have in quite some time. You know the feeling: a bruised leg, headache, upper respiratory infection, your nose hurts and a there’s pain in your side that you still can’t quite explain. Yes, I was in pain, but not surprised. It’s Monday, and I had one hell of a weekend.
Friday: No school. Me and my buddy ‘SkyWalker’ head up to the mountains for some boarding. After a coin flip along I-70 we decide to head to Copper Mtn (excellent decision). Tree dodging most of the day. Caught one on my leg mid-day (Explanation of leg bruise: check). We make a stop at Tipsy’s on the way back. Skywalker spots a great deal on a rack of Rolling Rock. We kill it with a little help later that night.

Saturday: I wake up feeling like death (upper respiratory infection: check). It’s 11, me and my friend ‘Selena’ are leaving for Foco in an hour. Time to buck up. Quick shower, bags packed, chug some airborne and we are on our way. We get to Foco, meet up with LegallyBlonde, SoxD, PinkStarfish, and RogerRabbit. Then comes one of my favorite parts of Foco (Jim’s Wings). I get the 25 wings, pitcher of microbrew, and fries for $25. My wings partner, Selena, doesn’t drink beer. That leaves me to drinnk an entire pitcher before 7 pm: Fateful decision.

SoxD had a play at 9, so he suggests we head across the street to a bar so he can buy me a shot before he leaves for rehearsal. This seems generous, but I don’t ask questions. I come out of the bathroom at the bar and the bartender informs me I should take the shot with her behind the bar (again, seems generous, I don’t ask questions). She claims to be drinking water. We cheers, I shoot. She throws the water in my face and slaps me. Apparently this shot is called a Hurricane. It should be called a ‘My friends a dick.’
We head back to LegallyBlonde’s so I can change my now-soaked clothes. Next comes the play. Idk if it was Sox’s excellent acting or the heavy buzz coming on, but I thought the play was EXCELLENT. Play ends. Bar time.
Our group finds an excellent spot at the bar and I immediately notice what can only be described as a damsel in distress. I eventually learn her name, but we’ll call her GirlInWhite. Girl in white is surrounded by a three man army of free shots in collar-popped polos. Her friend, also cute, is in man-to-man coverage on the outside. Her other friend is open in the endzone (for obvious reasons). Decision time. I can aim for the friend, or attack the zone coverage. I’ve never been a fan of silver, so the choice seems obvious. The next thing I know, GirlInWhite breaks from the group and heads to the bathroom. (Lightbulb)
Pius: “Selena, you need to pee??”
Selena: “Well, I do now!”
Pius: “I need you to go to the bathroom, and come back with that girl!”
Selena: “Done!”
Three minutes later and I’m shocked. Here comes Selena with GirlInWhite on her heels (best wingman ever?)
Selena: “This is my friend Joe, you’ll like him”
Pius: “Are you with those guys? Cuz they’re hating me with their eyes right now.”
GirlInWhite: “No, they’re just some friends.”

Game on. I break out the corny jokes, attempted boyish charm, and free shots. GirlInWhite’s choice: whiskey (headache explained). This pattern get’s us to the worst time of the night. LAST CALL. Lights come on. The bar turns into a scramble. Time to gameplan. I turn to SoxD for our next move. Beer pong at his house. I turn back to find none other than a zone blitz. The aforementioned Army is back to check on their early-night investment. Damn, night over. But wait, outta nowhere Selena throws a block and sweeps the damsel in true wingman fashion. Nut-up time.
Pius: “So you think your friends will allow me to steal you away for some late night beer pong?”
Goon1: “You told him I was just your friend?”
Uh oh, apparently the damsel has been misleading someone tonight. As much as I love having pissing competitions with strangers over girls I just met, I remove my name from the running. Nice to meet you. Time to go.
The night gets shady after this. We get back to Sox and PinkStarfish’s place. Selena has trouble deciphering the difference between left and right. Adds a nice shade of pink to their stairs. Me and SoxD decide to have a wrestling match in the snow (to prove our manly drunkness I assume) We play some beer pong, and call it a night around 5 am. The night ends with a mile long walk back to LegallyBlonde’s in the snow. I get a nose bleed and have to stop it with a snowball (pain in nose: check).

Sunday: Uneventful, for obvious reasons. Awesome food, interesting game, mediocre commericials, terrible half time show.

Overall I give the weekend a solid ‘A’. But as my prof. asked this morning after a swig of coffee, “Why is the Monday after the Superbowl not a national holiday.”

Keepbraggin,

ThePius

So like I said before, I am living in Hawaii for the next month and a half. Well a few days ago we went to a local beach which is considered a sacred place of refuge called Honaunau. It’s about 15 minutes from my house, but this was the first time we had gone there. It is also called “two step” because the lava flowed down the volcano and to the ocean and literally dried in a perfect 2 step pattern to where you can walk into the ocean. It was probably the coolest place I’ve seen so far. The snorkeling was amazinggggg and there where like a thousand fish in the first 100 yards off of the shore. Absolutely breath taking.

So as stated before this is a place of refuge. If a warrior was caught and imprisoned here on the island and he was able to escape and make his way to this particular spot then he would be viewed as a worthy opponent and warrior and would be allowed to live. These are some pictures that I took while there along with a picture of  “Honu” which means sea turtle. Such an amazing experience. This has been one of the most spiritual and life changing trips I’ve ever been on. I highly recommend to anyone to come and experience Hawaii and all of its natural if you ever get a chance!

SOOOO AWESOME! These turtles swim thousands of miles to get to this point. They are considered sacred and are protected by law here. Hawaiians consider Honu guardians of the surrounding sea filled with the spirits of their ancestors, as well as sharks and other marine life.

Today started almost the same as any other day, except Melo was especially eager to go outside. Little did I know, Melo would lead me on one of my most brag worthy dog walks I can recall.

Usually I’ll bring him to the grass field next to my unit and jog back and forth to get my blood flowing and to stay warm. We had already been outside for around 10 minutes, when out of the corner of my eye I catch the bus pull up next to the field. Out walks a blind man using a white cane to aid him down the street. Immediately this caught my attention and I began to think just how hard life must be for this man. I make sure to be thankful for all that I have, because I see this man struggling and realized just how lucky and blessed I am.

He struggled to find the sidewalk through all the snow and when he finally found it I could see him trying to figure out just which way he should embark. Just as a reference, the other people that got off the bus were already well across the street and on their way to their destination. This blind man though, was literally making his first step in what he thought was the right direction.

I watched him get frustrated when he knew he was losing his path and watched him run into multiple cars along the road. He literally had no idea where he was at one point and started wandering back into the road.

What happened next surprised me big time. Usually, Melo is very well behaved and will stay in the field where we play making sure not to run off, always at least listening to my command to stop and heel. The only time I can think of that is different is when he will run off is if he sees another dog. Out of nowhere though Melo darted into and through the street all the way over to the blind man. This offered me a great opportunity to lend a helping hand. I ask the gentleman if he knows exactly where he is and if he needs any help.

Lucky for you, if you are reading this, you have your vision. So, I made you a little picture in mspaint to help you visualize this story a little better. The numbers in the picture represent the path the blind man took.

We talk about what street he is on and where he is trying to go, and at this point we realize he was walking in the wrong direction. I offer to walk him across the major street and help him on his way. He grabs my arm and we begin walking. Not much is said, I asked him how long he was blind and he told me he was born with it. Then I told him a little about Melo and let him pet him. As he was walking off I got a quick video to have to always remind me of this man and our short walk together.

Bind man walking

“Now what?” I thought. Usually I would of just head back inside, but today I just felt a little different. Like I needed to do something worth a brag or two. This is when Melo and I embarked on the rest of our journey. The rest of this post will just be a quick picture walk-a-long with me and Melo. Enjoy!

Feb. 2, 2011. Current Temp: 1.7 F (that’s -16.8 C for our international constituents) UCCS Campus closed for just the second time since I started my undergrad.
That’s right people. It’s a snow day. The occassion that stirs up so many great childhood memories. As a prominent member of the school district, my father (who we’ll call ‘PappaPius’) would receive a call from the higher ups when the district was planning on shutting down. For this reason, I would have about a 30 min head start on my friends on the rare occassion that WSD3 ever closed. I would be out the door (in my light blue, one-piece snow suit that my mom thought was so damn sporty) and beginning preparations on an epic snow fort before my friends even had the chance to hopelessly watch the blue scrolling bar on KRDO. Now, as some of you may know, my mom ran a daycare when I was growing up which supplied me with about 10 built-in friends at any point. Now on a snow day, this little fact meant that I also instantly had the numbers required for a legit snowball fight. Admittedly, we all celebrate snow days a little differently now. Perhaps sleeping off the hangover caused by preemptive celebrating the night before or catching up on the work that was assigned last week and has been pushed back due to more pressing issues like a Jersey Shore marathon. Whatever the case, I hope you all still get the feeling of unadulterated, childhood happiness when you get that text that ALL CLASSES AND ACTIVITIES HAVE BEEN CANCELLED.

Now this snow day is even more special because it falls on one of my favorite holidays. You know the one, where we base our weather predictions on the ability of an oversized hamster to see its own shadow. By far the best part about grounhog’s day is that there will undoubtedly be a low budget cable network featuring an all day marathon of the movie starring Bill Murray. The movie is a 3-star at best, but a classic nonetheless. For those who haven’t seen it, it’s about a guy who keeps living the same day (groundhog’s) over and over again. While this concept is comical, I think we are all afraid to admit that we often times feel the same way about certain mundane aspects of our own lives. For this reason, I offer a challenge for this most glorious double holiday: Escape from the mundane, find that unadulterated joy from your childhood, throw on your light blue one-piece (figuratively of course) and just enjoy life for what it is: a collection of unique moments that we too often take for granted. And MOST importantly:

Keepbraggin’!
The Pius