blog.noetech.com

Concert Series

I spent this weekend at two concerts. Fist up on Saturday night was Tony Bennett at the Hollywood Bowl with Devon. He was great and played for two hours. Not too bad for someone his age. He's a real entertainer, filling the night not only with great music, but with a lot of stories.

The surprise hit of the night though was the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Jeff Tyzik. They played a great collection of Jazz from the 20s.

On Sunday I went with a friend from work and Devon to see Tom Petty at the Verizon Amphitheater in Irvine. After the two hour drive (an hour of which was spent going less then a mile), we had to walk a half mile to our seats. Not the best venue. Our seats were very much nose bleed, but the show as awesome. I've never seen them perform before, so I was very excited.

He played my two favorites, Refuge and Breakdown. Because the drive took so long, some kind of accident, we missed Jackson Browne opening. Too bad, the last song sounded great while we were getting our beer.

Next week, James Taylor, also at the Bowl.

Technorati Tags: Jackson Browne, Tony Bennett, Hollywood Bowl, Tom Petty

Living in LA

I've lived in LA now for almost two years. It seems crazy to me that it has been that long, but a lot as happened to me since I've moved here.

I'm make more money then I did in Chicago, and not just by a little bit, well more then double. California salary ranges are ridiculous, but thank God for it.

I have a new, absolutely awesome car.

I'm finally getting my Bug out here next month.

I'm still looking to pickup a Triumph TR-3

I've made my mark at World of Wonder and my name is on several films (including a successful theatrical documentary) and countless televisions shows.

I some how turned my tech job into "Head of Post Production and Technology" which, if I do say so myself, sounds very impressive.

I have a corner office (it's easy when you are the one who designs the new space).

I get to work on exciting projects that go beyond traditional TV, including one now that I can't really talk about, but should be very cool.

I'm dating a wonderful person.

I'm finally divorced.

My hours have dropped down to a more normal range, only about 60 a week at most.

I'm seeing Tom Petty on Sunday, and James Taylor the week after.

That's better. It's important sometimes to list all the good things, otherwise I'll forget. My job can be very stressful so I like to remind myself that I work for and with amazing people and I need to be grateful for the position I'm in. I could still be working at Columbia College after all (though I wouldn't mind the hours).

I still need to move to a real apartment, but that's my doing. I'm too cheap, I really don't want to pay 1,200 in rent. Currently I don't even have to think about paying rent, I don't really want that to change.

Technorati Tags: GTI, VW, world of wonder, triumph

A New Car

Apparently my Gallery installation has broken since I last used it a few months ago. I'm not looking so good in these pictures, really need to straighten out my back and lose a few pounds.

Buying a new car sucks, I'm not very good at negotiations. Lots of "I'm walking out", "you're screwing me" and of course from them, "I'm not making a dime on this deal". Almost too much trouble, but I did end up getting a good price. Devon was kind enough to drive to the shop and sit with me for the three hours it took to sign the deal (more on her soon enough).

Now I need to get the Bug to LA, and sell the Jetta.

Technorati Tags: Cars, GTI, VW

A New Car

I bought a new car this weekend, a VW GTI 1.8T. It's red with black leather interior. After a year of trying what to do about a vehicle, I finally found one I liked. It's a small high-school flashback, when I drove a '87 GTI.

After I decided what I wanted, it took a few calls to find a lot that had the exact model in stock. I ended up getting it in Santa Monica. I got it for 4k under sticker, and feel good about the price I payed. Anyway, in love. Now I just need to chip it, get new tires and stereo :-)

Pictures to come soon.

Technorati Tags: GTI, Cars, VW

Divorced

Finally after 7 months of paper work I'm divorced. It actually happened on the 13th of July, but it took the paperwork a while to get here. Now I just have to go through the huge, gigantic process of changing my name back on all my IDs, bank cards, etc. It will take me months, I know it. This should make dating easier now anyway.

The New Yorker

Every year for Christmas my maternal grandmother gets all her kids and grandkids a subscription to The New Yorker.

I love the New York, and not just for the cartoons either, though they're great. The problem is that it's a weekly magazine and I just have a hard time keeping up with them. Currently I have a backlog of 5 weeks and I don't see myself catching up. What usually happens is that I fall so far behind, that I give up, and start over with the current issue. Then inevitably, I fall behind the next week. It's a shame, because I really do want to read them all.

But of course, I could have bigger problems.

Technorati Tags: Magazine

Wisconsin and other Travels

Well I've been busy, off traveling around the world, or at least the midwest. And that was weeks ago actually. I went back to see an old friend get married and it was very nice. I got to see some friends I haven't seen in 10 years or more, so that was nice. But I only got one day in Wisconsin, the rest was spent in Chicago, sleeping. I couldn't believe how much I slept, but it was good to finally get some rest.

I flew there, which was a tough one for me, but it ended up being much worse in my head then in reality. I think I may just get over this fear after all. We'll see.

And a quick work plug, Sports Kids Moms & Dads starts airing on Bravo this Wednesday at 10/9c, you can see my name for a split second before they squeeze me out.

And if you're in the UK, or get UK channels, you can see our doc Power Lesbians on Sunday at 10pm, it's on Sky. Camp Michael Jackson also premiers on Sky in early June, so that's something to watch out for. On CMJ, I actually get my own card, which is a big deal let me tell you.

Technorati Tags: TV, Travel, Wisconsin

Dentists & NAB

So again I find myself neglecting this site.

There really hasn't been much going on lately except for the fact that I have reintroduced myself to a dentist. I hate dentists, they hurt you and take your money. I guess you get better looking teeth, but still not sure it's worth it. I had a nice little savings going all ready to be spent on a new car. Instead I have to spend 3k to fix a few teeth.

I keep telling myself that it's worth it, but still not that sure. I really wanted a new car, and a new digital camera for that matter.

I really wish I had dental insurance.

On the plus side I'm going to NAB in Vegas in a few weeks. I'm only going to be there for one day of the conference, a half day at that, but I'll be at the Apple event. Here's hoping for a kick ass FCP 5, with a new media management system, shared projects, amazing realtime effects that use Core Image and possible some new hardware announcements that will compete with Avid's Adrenaline. I mean, they are so close with Xsan, so close.

Empty

I couldn't stand this being empty anymore, but I have nothing to say.

Josh and Serena were here over the weekend and I took a few days off to go to Vegas. Up a few hundred but lost my digital camera and my blackberry. So, as with everything, some good some bad. I would have had pictures, but, you know, lost the camera. Right now some stripper is looking at pictures of the three of us.

I can't really afford a new one, so no new pictures for me for a while.

House Sitting

Tonight I'm watching the O.C. on a 50 inch television while sitting on a very comfortable sofa. You can imagine the improvement from my studio apartment with my 21 inch set and not much furniture to speak of.

The home sits in the hills of Hollywood, overlooking the Magic Castle*. It's multi-level. I have to walk up stairs to get to the kitchen. Did you hear that? Multiple levels! I don't even have multiple rooms.

I'm enjoying myself immensely. So why am I living in such lavish quarters? I'm house sitting for one of my bosses while they are at Sundance for the Inside Deep Throat premier. To tell you the truth, I was tempted to make my way up to Park City as well, but I'm glad I didn't, this is just too much fun. I do fear that I may get a little spoiled though.

So you know, it's not all fun and games, I have two little critters to watch while I'm hear. I was a little afraid that they wouldn't take to me, but so far they seem to love me. All cuddled up by my feet. Not so much my personality as the treat.

*Weird right?

xmas

Christmas is just a week away. Lovely.

I bought myself an iPod Photo as a little christmas present to myself. I'm on to my third one now. My last iPod was getting a little old. Only 20 gigs (not enough to hold all my music) and, most importantly, it didn't have the click wheel. I also picked up the iPod socks, which are just too cute. I mean really, socks. How much cuter can you get?

Speaking of iPods, you can still win an iPod Mini from World of Wonder by sending in your Hot Christmas Story. I know it says by the 15th, but we extended it till Monday.

Don't be fooled, Apple really is filled with geniuses. Well, except for their enterprise system engineers who take 8 hours to setup a demo of... well unreleased products and all that. You get my point. They really could use a guy like me :-)

I kid you not, at one point when they couldn't get it running, I stepped in and plugged it in...

Ok, I'm getting away from xmas, the whole point here.

I received a bunch of stuff at work on Friday; it was secret santa day. I got a nice gift card, some white t-shirts and hot chocolate. Nice. I also received a belated b-day gift; a very nice ashtray. They know me so well there, don't they?

I also received a great gift from my Dad. Lenny Bruce: Let the Buyer Beware. It's a great book with six CDs filled with performances and interviews. Really, it's amazing. Great packaging. I never would have thought to get it myself, but I'm sure glad someone else did. Thanks Dad.

As for those of you who have yet to send me anything, iTunes gift certificates work as well as they did last year.

I hope everyone enjoys they holiday, and if not at least you get the day off.

Birthday

It's my birthday. I'm 27. I received a globe from my mother, a Kringle from Erica, and something "bizarre" from my father, that hasn't arrived yet. All and all, not a bad take, but couldn't someone have gotten me that TV?

Time to take a nap in prep for tonight. I'm on strict orders from my boss to get some action tonight so I'll need my rest.

Sick

I'm sick. I hate being sick.

I remember liking being sick when I was a kid. I guess getting out of school outweighed feeling awful. Now, not so much.

Interesting Mail

I received two interesting pieces of mail today.

First, and most interesting, was a post card from my high-school, Wayland Academy. they are looking to update my biographical information to be included in Wayland Academy's Sesquicentennial Alumni Directory. The thing is, I never graduated. I'm not an alumnus. In fact, I have no idea how in the hell they would have gotten this address. Not that I mind. It's just a little strange. Not sure if I'm going to call them or not.

The other piece of mail was a small package with two cards, one a birthday and the other a christmas card. From 2002. From my sister. Seems they were lost in the mail, I guess.

Thanks Kate.

iPod Photo

Just in case anyone was wondering, I'll take an iPod Photo for my birthday.

Birthdays

It's getting pretty close to my 27th birthday, and from the way I talk, you would would think it's tomorrow.

After your 21st birthday, there isn't much to look forward to until 65, that artificial retirement age. You have 16, 18, and 21, then nothing. It doesn't seem fair. There should be something you can't do until you're 30. I don't have any suggestions, but it would give you something to look forward to other than just getting older.

Work and Mom

Continuing in the busy as hell vain, I was at work till 9:30 last night and back at 8:30 this morning. Believe it or not, we still didn't get what we needed done.

Just when you think you're over the hump, and everything will finish on time, a $40k piece of equipment decides to stop working. And it just happens to be the only thing you actually need to work. You have to love technology.

It was so bad, I had to take to bed. What else can you do?

Speaking of taking to bed, it was my Mom's 60th birthday last Thursday. The whole family had a big conference call. Fun, but you couldn't really follow the conversation.

Well here's to Mom, 60 and plenty left. Sure to be spent sailing the Mediterranean. Can you imagine something better? Not me.

Before / After

Before #1:

After #1:



Before #2:



After #2

Mom's Visit Continues

Mom is still here and making me spend even more money. Yesterday after lunch with Thairin at the fabulous Musso &38; Franks we went to Ikea. I purchased a stand for my TV, a chair and some little things.

Then today we went to Pier 1 to pick up some curtains for my big door. We also stopped by Home Depot for some plants and a tape measure.

The place looks so much better it's amazing, and it doesn't look too Ikea, which is always a concern.

The best thing is I finally framed and mounted the photo book that the late great Nate (not so late) gave me almost a year ago. Originally meant to be bound in a book, I thought I would destroy them that way. So instead they are just simply framed and hung around the room at eye level. Some have prints on both sides, so now and again I can switch it up. The best part is that they are all pictures of Chicago, to remind me of home.

Combine this with my new wall clock to replace the one left in Chicago, and I feel right at home.

She may have made me spend all my savings, but I think I'll be able to live here a bit longer now.

More photos of the completed room on page two of my gallery.

Mom Arrives and Cleans

My Mom has arrived and has already started fixing up the apartment as you can see. We did a trip to Target and I felt how my mother most have when I was a kid, throwing everything into the cart. She just wouldn't stop. So a few hundred dollars later and I have a throw rug and a couple of candles. Oh yeah, and a doughnut chair.

Loving it.

More photos

Work Dreams

I've been working pretty hard lately, putting in hours and days I've never done in the past. I don't mind, it's part of my new position and besides I'm trying to be successful and move up in the world. It usually helps to work hard, and smart of course. It also makes it easier that I don't really have anything else to do.

So anyway, I've been working hard and I'm starting to have horrible dreams about work. They usually involve missing air-dates, assistants deleting media and my bosses yelling at me at unbelievable sound levels. It's not even fair to call these things dreams, they're nightmares. I'm waking up in cold sweats for christ's sake. I've had nightmares about work before, but never this often and this intense. I'm also waking up in the middle of the night thinking I've forgotten something absolutely vital, but then realizing that I didn't.

Anyway, it will be nice to have a couple of days off to relax a little.

Setups

One of my friend Josh's coworkers is coming to LA for a visit, she used to live here you see, and he told her she should meet up with me while she's here.

See Josh thinks that I need some friends, mostly I sure so I'll stop bitching to him about LA. I'm not big on setups, for anything and I'm not really big on meeting new people in general. I prefer old friends and if I have to meet new people I prefer it to be through them or work. Which is why Josh probably thought to tell his coworker that I'm a "social retard".

I can be perfectly social, as long as I've been drinking, I just usually prefer not to be.

See it's my choice :-)

Leonard Cohen

I can't stop listening to Everybody Knows.

I've been kind of obsessed with Pump Up the Volume lately.

While I'm at it, his version of Hallelujah is pretty damn good too.

A Visit

My mother is coming for a visit, arriving tomorrow and staying until Monday.

I have no idea what I'm going to do with her. I currently have two things planed, dinner with a friend from work and a movie.

Somehow I don't think that will fill three and a half days. Maybe we'll take that Jetta in to get fixed so I can sell it.

I haven't told her that I need to work on Sunday either... I'm sure she'll find something to do. She mentioned wanting to take one of those Hollywood home tours, and there's no way in hell I'm participating in that.

Divorce

So yesterday was my four year anniversary. How funny is that? I really need to get around to that divorce.

Blasé

If there's one thing that drives me crazy it's people who tell you how to do your job. Especially people who have never had your job, or anything like it. Of course your boss is supposed to tell you how to do it, that's his job, but random people constantly telling you how they would do it? Well I'm just about to lose my mind.

Now I'm not saying that my department is perfect, it's not. But I've only been in charge there for about three weeks and I'm happy with the progress we've made. We still have a ways to go to make it as efficient as it can be, but in my short time I've begun to make the changes need. I'm starting to feel the shift.

The last thing I need is someone looking over my shoulder who has never run a department in his life and has no idea what it takes to change a very intrenched culture.

I'm ranting a little because it's been a pretty hard week and I still have to work this weekend. I swear, I would really love to turn over my job to this man. Oh and the PC thing? Really needs to end. We're a Mac company, just deal with it already.

What I really need is a private office / space. Some day.

Blasé.

The Tattoo

I've been tattooed six times now, and never before has anything gone wrong. Well, something is wrong with the top bar. The scabs are much thinker than they should be and it's much more painful than it should be. At first I thought it was infected, it was giving off a lot of heat, and the redness was spreading about an inch or so around it. But today it seems to have gotten better. The thicker scabs have come off with the cleaning and left a much thinner one. Also there's no puss, some fluid, but no puss.

I've heard before that red ink causes more problems than other colors, so I'm hoping that's all it is. Either way, I'm probably going to need some serious touchup when it heals.

The Bandage and the Work

Bloody

Clean

The Tattoo is Done

I'm back from getting my new tattoo. It looks good, and I'm glad I finally added some color to the mix. It didn't hurt nearly as much as I remember. Not sure if it was because of the artist, my body or my memory.

I headed straight out to the Sunset Junction street thingy and I have to go out all badged up. My whole arm is covered because I had work done on my wrist, by my elbow and upper arm. I look like I was attacked by some sort of rabid animal.

I didn't get any pictures of it being done, but I'll be throwing up some of the bandage in the morning.

Off to Work, But

What the back of a city should look like. If LA had Alleys it would go a long way.

See how nice I used to live?

That's it for complaining about LA I promise. It's really not that bad at all, and besides where else would I be?

Getting a New Tattoo

I have an appointment tomorrow to get another tattoo. 'm getting a few lines added to the last piece I had done, which was almost two years ago now.

I have to be honest, I'm a little nervous. I'm not one of those people who claims that it doesn't hurt or that I enjoy the pain. No, the shit hurts like nobody's business. To make it worse, this is the first time that I'll be sitting without someone to talk to. The other five times I've had friends to talk with, it helps to take your mind off of it. Don't get me wrong, it's worth it.

At least it should be short, I'm guessing about 45 minutes, maybe less. Nothing compared to my back piece which took four hours. While I'm there, I'm going to have him draw something up to cover my upper arm. Because it's so dense, I think my only real option is to get my whole upper armed covered in black and have it blend into the tribal work on my shoulder and back. People keep trying to talk me out of it, probably for good reason, but I think I'm going to start on it anyway.

The thing about tattoos is that tattoo artists are not really the nicest people in the world, with exceptions of course. They tend to be a little condescending, arrogant and, well, snobby. The guy I'm going to tomorrow was recommended by an artist in Chicago who's none of those things, so here's hoping. I bring it up because I plan on asking someone there to take some shots of the work being done.

The TR3

My sisters sitting on the TR3. It doesn't look as bad as I remember it. Both of my sisters wrote to tell that they remember being driven home from the pool and stopping at the Dairy Queen. I don't remember that, but it sounds nice.

Also, my Mom used it to bribe me.

p.s. Mom also used the T to toilet train you. If you used the potty like a big boy all week, you'd get to go for a ride on Sunday. :)

I knew cars even then.

Triumph TR3

When I was a little boy, before I could come anywhere close to seeing the big picture, my Dad had a Triumph TR-3. A little red one, much like the one pictured to the right except his had a roll bar and a lot more rust.

We all loved that car, but not nearly as much as my sister. When my Dad sold it to buy a very cool, but not working at all, Jaguar (pictured at left), she cried. I don't think it's going too far to say that that experience ruined cars for her forever. Somewhere there's a really great photography of her as the car is being taken away (I must admit that I could be making this part up).

I don't remember much, the rust holes, standing in the back holding onto the roll bar, and most of all, the smell. A mixture of gas and, well I guess, age. It was a beautiful thing.

I mention it because I'm seriously looking for a new car, though I haven't even begun to think about paying for it. A TR-3 is in the running along with a mid 60s Porsche 912, and another Bug. Surprisingly, they're all in the same cost range.

I'm sorta partial to this one. He's cute with the racing stripes. and so far not too badly priced. I could get it shipped from Texas right :-)

Yeah right, just like I'm going to have my Bug shipped from Chicago. Any day now, I promise.

Burning a Hole in My Pocket

Lately I've been feeling especial broke. It seems like I don't have any money at all, which is ridiculous seeing as I make more now than ever. So where's it all going?

Well, I pay over double the rent here than I did in Chicago, for a much shittier place I might add. So that's one thing, but that doesn't account for it all.

I was walking home from work contemplating this dilemma when I think I figured it out.

Beer.

When I lived in Chicago, there was always at least one of us in the group who didn't have any cash, so we didn't go out more than once or twice a week, drinking in the rest of the time. And when we did go out it was to a very cheap bar where you can get PBR for $1.50. Here, I drink about four times a week and pay, at minimum, twice that. So that's at least $100 a week gone. If I go to a club, which isn't that often, you can probably add another $50.

Then there's living alone, no more sharing all the bills. I believe my monthly bill total was somewhere around $40. Now it's something like $200.

Combine this with eating out twice a day most every day and you start to get the picture.

I have got to start eating at home more and maybe, just maybe, cut back on the drinking.

I really should be living large right now.

So when anyone asks why I hate LA, it's not the people, the job, or the crappy layout. No, it's the sucking noise it makes as it eats my money.

Ok, it might be some of the people.

Erica's Visit Photos

A photo gallery of Erica's visit to LA a week or so ago. Mostly at the Powerhouse, the greatest bar in Hollywood, and recently purchased by a hottie.

Right, I should make that clear. From left to right, Alyson, Matt and Erica. In the gallery, I'm the guy in the last two photos, in case you didn't know.

Work Upgrades

Starting on Monday I have a new title and responsibilities at WOW. I'm now the Head of Technology overseeing both the IT and post production departments. Though it's still just me for IT. It's going to be even more work than I already have, but it should be a good experience. WOW is a growing company and it's a great to be apart of it.

One of the main reasons I left Columbia was that there wasn't any room for growth. So it's nice that after only nine months, they had enough confidence to promote me, really create a whole new position for me.

Just a little pressure.

Shower

My sister had her baby shower in Antibes. Not a whole lot of family there, but they all called in from the cottage. She's really starting to show, it was surprising. My other sister has more details.

Room Change

I finally got around to rearranging my studio today with Erica's help. It seems to have much more room now. Now I just need some furniture.

Vegas

Ahh, so my trip to Vegas. A friend from work's sister was in Vegas for some kind of convention (isn't everyone) and he was looking for a driving partner so I tagged along. I've been to Vegas a couple of times before, but never to gamble, so I made the most of it. the problem was we were having a hard time finding a room, either they were sold out or way too expensive. So for Friday night, we just gambled all night and crashed in his sister's room when she left for the convention.

Gambling all night not the brightest idea. When we first got we sat down at a blackjack table, and within ten minutes I was up $75. Not bad, but it didn't go so well after that. After we meet up with his sister and her husband, we played (I think) Gai Pow Poker. Not my game, but slow enough that it took three hours to loose $100. So down about $25, we left to go to the Bellagio poker room. The lowest game they had was a 4/8 table. I sat down with $100, not nearly enough to make a really go at it. Within 20 minutes that was gone and it was time to return to his sister's hotel. Back at the Westin I took a lesson in Craps before returning to the blackjack table, the only place to give me money that night. By 9 in the morning I was in for $270, more than half of what I had allotted to lose. The only good thing was the free place to stay.

The next day was spent at the Aladdin where I lost another $100 at a three card poker game. That's about how long it took me to realize that I shouldn't be playing anything based on poker. I stuck to the only $10 minimum blacktable in the place for the rest of the night. I had a really good run and ended up only being down $200 for the weekend. Not bad.

Around midnight Saturday, we decided to head towards LA, hoping to get a room a the last casino before hitting California. We were shocked when they as well were sold out, along with every casino around. In sort of a pickle, and tired as all hell, we sat down at a blackjack table. We each bought in for $50 and in about 15 minutes, my Vegas partner was coloring up to $500. It was an impressive run, while I just broke even. That run was a god send, and he ended up down only a few hundred thanks to it.

After that we decided to head to the next town, about 30 minutes up the road to find a hotel. Sold out as well, who knows why, the only thing they have there is the worlds largest thermometer. So we ended up sleeping in his truck on the side of the highway for four hours and then finished the drive into LA.

It was a good time and had I stayed with blackjack, I would have been up a few hundred. Lesson learned, I'll do better next time.

Vegas Weekend

I spent the weekend in Vegas. I've slept 8 hours in the last 52, half of which were in a car in the desert. Needless to say, I need some sleep. Take a look at here to see a couple of pictures of the drive while I sleep it off. More details to come I'm sure.

Drinking

Oh and I didn't drink tonight. That always helps with poker. I'm actually fairly proud of myself for sticking to it. Something I'm not usually able to do. After waking up this morning on the floor between the bathroom and my bed in a crawling position, it seemed like a good idea to skip a night.

Poker

It turns out that I'm really good at poker, or just really lucky. I played another house game tonight and I took home $20 +. That's better than it sounds. This was dealer choice with nickel antees. I bought in with 5 bucks, most everyone else bought in $10. Only one other person was up at the end of the night, and they were only up 85 cents.

Not a bad way to spend a Saturday night, have a little fun, make a little money.

Next stop Bicycle. The I'll lose it all.

LA

I think I'm on the verge of being done with LA, and not just because it's not what I expected, which is to be expected really. No, I don't think it fits me very well. I don't think I'm outgoing enough to make it work.

Five Things to Work on in the Next Month

1. Making work more enjoyable and getting out of the rut that I'm in.

2. How to make more of my LA experience. How to turn it into a good story to tell in ten years.

3. How can I dress up my studio apartment to make it seem more permanent and comfortable.

4. Getting rid of the car I have and into something I would prefer.

5. Plan a long weekend to Chicago (must work on fear of flying).

Father's Day

So I'm not the brightest boy in the bunch it turns out.

Last Sunday as I was slowly waking up, I had the TV on and I heard something about Father's Day. Not being completely awake and the fact that I knew it was coming up, I concluded it was that day. So off I go to call my Dad and wish him a good Father's Day. God Bless him, if I believed in such a thing, he was kind enough not to mention that I was two weeks early.

I didn't even realize my mistake until the middle of the week when some else asked me when father's day was and I said last Sunday. After some disagreement, we looked it up. Yeah...

Jewelry

A couple of weeks ago I ordered some new jewelry, 2 2 gauge 3/4 inch captive bead rings and one 2 gauge flat-back plug. These are fairly large gauge jewelry so it took awhile for them to come in. Finally today I received them. Man did they ever fuck up my order. Instead of the flat-back plug I got a normal O-ring plug. Yuck. And instead of two rings they sent three. You would think they would be careful with the number of pieces they send out, at $50 a pop those aren't cheap.

Now I have to go to the post office and ship them back. What a pain.

Putting rings of this gauge in is tough. I can't believe I got them in without any help. It did take 20 minutes, but still, impressive.

New Number

Just wanted to let the friends know that I have a new LA local number. The old one doesn't work now so if you know me and you need it send me an email.

Flip-Flops

I few weeks ago I bought my first pair of flip-flops and I'm loving them. They're comfy and very convenient. And I don't feel too much like a schmuck for wearing them. The only downside? Dirty hippy feet (no offense to hippies).

A picture of my flip-flops.

Family Album

I added another album to my Gallery installation. This one is of some family photos that I used to have an iPhoto book made a little while ago. This was the first one and I'm pretty happy with it. I might just have some others made.

Speaking of family photo albums, I really need to get a hold of all our family photos so I can digitized them. Along with all my grandfather's slides. I should of done this when I worked at Columbia*, with the Imacons it would have been really nice. Hindsight I guess.

*They really need update that page. The 18 new Quicksilver g4s in 2001 just isn't that impressive anymore.

Where else would I want to be?

New Tattoos

I'm looking to get some more work done and am in need of a good tattoo artist/ shop in or around Hollywood. Any one have suggestions? There's a whole strip of them on Hollywood Blvd, but I don't want to just walk in without any recommendations. Skin is pretty important after all.

I forgot that I used to shoot

Falling Asleep

When I was still with my wife (we weren't actually married yet), we lived in this cute little house in Logan Square in Chicago with a few friends. It was a small place with two cute bedrooms on the second story. It was one of those second stories where the ceiling was really the roof and the walls started coming in at your waste. The lower part of our bedroom walls were painted red while the rest was left white. I loved that bedroom. I loved that house really. If only it was in a decent neighborhood.

When we lived there, we would always play music as we went to sleep. It was almost always X Marks the Pedwalk. Anyway, my point is that I miss falling asleep to music. I only have one stereo and I use it as an alarm, so I can't use it to fall asleep. The volumes just wouldn't match.

Now, I'm really just romanticizing the whole place. In actuality we received death threats over the phone, "die" was written in snow on a friends car, it had a "KKK" room with terrifying, racist graffiti, and a really horrible thing happened to a friend while living there.

Still, I liked falling asleep to music.

Now that I'm thinking about that house, I wonder if anyone has any pictures of it? Two of my films were shot there, so there's always that. But I would have to have them run through a telecine....

Cribbage

I haven't played Cribbage in years. My grandfather and I used to play whenever I would visit them in Nebraska. I don't think I even know anyone that knows how to play anymore. Not sure I remember either. I'm going to make some one play with me. It'll be good for 'em.

Poker Virgin

I played my first game of No Limit Texas Hold 'em tonight. I did pretty damn well if I do say so myself. We ended up playing 6 rounds. I won twice and came in second twice. In the second round it was down to me and two other people. I was only holding one chip, but I managed to come back and win. It was a sight to see. I played in perfectly, again, if I say so myself. The first 6 games had a $5 buy in and last was a $10 buy in. I won the last hand as well, which made me up $25 for the night.

I loved it, I loved it, I loved it. I'm going to have to make it a weekly thing. Here's hoping it wasn't beginners luck.

Wisconsin Night Out

I finally made it out last night. Around midnight my friend Mike called and asked me to join him and some friends out at a bar not too far from me. It turned out to be a good time. Mike and his friends are from Waupun, about 10 minutes from my hometown. Soon we were thinking of common friends and places. Chatting about Wisconsin and friends we all knew made me feel a little homesick. It's been almost a year since I last visited. Don't get me wrong, Fond du Lac is the black hole of the world, but my friends are still great. I'm going to have to make some time this summer for quick drop by when I'm in Chicago.

Driving in LA

I'm at home tonight when there's a perfectly good viewing party for Totally Gayer going on right now. For some reason I just can't bring myself to drive there. I really have to get accustomed to LA, where you have to drive to do anything. I'm lucky enough to live in Hollywood, where I can usually go out without driving, but not tonight. I may end up dragging myself out yet, but I doubt it.

This city needs more cabs.

The thing about waking up

The thing about waking up everyday for work is, no matter how late I stay up the night before, come saturday morning, I'm up. No amount of tossing and turning will help. I just have to give up and get up.

So here I am, 9 o'clock in the morning on a Saturday with nothing to do. I've already been to work and back to finish up some small things left over from Friday, my Tivo is filled with nothing good at all, and I just finished reading Party Monster, just because it seemed like something I should do.

I could always clean or maybe do my laundry, but that's what Sundays are for. If I do it today, what would I do tomorrow?

I guess Saturdays are errand days, but I have all the groceries I need, I don't wash my car, and you'll never see me at Target on the weekend.

So...Here I am, writing about nothing in particular, for no particular reason, and looking for guidance really. I'll be sure to let you know if I receive any.