I've had a hell of a time writing lately, but I found something to post. I found this at area.autodesk.com and thought it was pretty funny...
...I can relate to the annoying sense of urgency.
In other news:
I really want this painting! 
I've had a pretty rough time as of late and it's put me in a rather reflective mood. The more I look back on my life, the more I realize that, though I've certainly had my rough times, I've also done some pretty cool shit. Unfortunately, I've also come to the sad realization that my memory is fading just about as quickly as my hairline.
It's not so much that my memories are gone...it's just that they seem to pop up more randomly as the years progress.
So, before I start forgetting things permanently, I'm making a list. When one of those random memories pops up I write it down. The longer the list gets, the more thankful I feel and the shorter my pity-parties last. It's not that I've had the most amazing life, but it has been interesting (at least I think so).
Here's the list so far:
• Seen the Ramones play live
• Eaten pickled herring in the Netherlands
• Shared wine with Eddie Vedder
• Played in front of 200,000+ people at Wembely Stadium
Had a police escort to the gig
Performed the ½ time show with the Raiders/ Saints game
• Got piss-drunk with the Blue Angels
• Taken a tour of the Partagas factory, in Havana Cuba
• Lived for a few months in Trois Rivieres, outside Quebec
• Performed around lake Geneva in Switzerland, appeared in their newspaper
• Canoed through a swamp in Florida, while being followed by an alligator
• Slept in an underground bunker in Switzerland
• Worked as a bouncer
• Seen the Royal Philharmonic perform at Royal Albert Hall, in London
• Driven through the French countryside
• Eaten horse meat (in Cuba)
• Watched a Santeria ritual, including the offering of animals, in a building filled people playing drums while in a trance-like state (Old Havana, Cuba)
• Danced, in drag, at the Beefeater in London
• Walked through the Mayan ruins of Chichén Itzá
• Spent a weekend being homeless-by-choice, just for the experience
• Visited the Petersen House, where President Lincoln died
• Snorkeled in Cancun
• Been to the site of the Twin Towers, post 911 (pre-construction)
• Shared a bottle of home-made rum with strangers in Cuba, on a beautiful night
• Driven through, or spent time in, 48 of our 50 states
• Visited the MET in New York
• Became an ordained reverend, and performed weddings
• Performed live music all over the US, playing 7 different instruments
• Run several multi-million dollar projects as an Electrical Forman before leaving the trade
• Seen well over 100 live musical acts (including the majority of my favorite bands)
• Met David Hasselhoff and KIT, during the Knight Rider days
• Was one of the stars of a made-for-tv movie in Japan when I was about 7 years old
• Watched the largest, most incredible thunderstorm of my life while sitting on the back porch of George Washington’s estate, Mount Vernon
• Visited the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the Vietnam Memorial
• Been woken up by having a wild boar enter my tent (on Catalina Island)
• Stood on the roof of the famous Capitol Records building (thanks Dan!)
• Been in a few, proper fist-fights
Knocked a man out with a single punch
• Owned many different pets, including:
Dogs
Cats
Rats
Fish
Parrot
Salamander
Python
Hedgehog
Desert Tortoise
Iguana
• Eaten proper fish & chips, on a boat, while gazing at the white cliffs of Dover
• Seen a Broadway show
• Posed for cheesy photos in the actual Baywatch scarab (boat)
• Bumped into (and knocked down) singer Paula Cole
• Sat in Sinatra’s chair, in Capitol Records
• Played a note or two on Nat King Cole’s piano (also at Capitol Records)
• Played in a jazz group which opened for Tower of Power
• Watched the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
• Watched the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace
• Taken a few dozen tours behind the scenes at Disneyland (thanks Mom!)
• Had a nice conversation with Paul Stanley (of KISS)
• Spent a few days stuck in a hotel room during a hurricane in Florida
• Watched the Angels kick the Yankees ass, with great seats, in the World Series
• Kayaked around Catalina Island
• Fed the homeless on Thanksgiving
• Partied with Amish teenagers
I can't remember where I first came across this, but it makes me smile everytime I see it.
Happy Genocide Day!
Just as Columbus did not "discover" a hemisphere that was already inhabited by nearly 100 million people, his arrival should not be recognized as a heroic and celebratory event.
Columbus was the beginning of the American holocaust. Ethnic cleansing characterized by murder, torture, raping, pillaging, robbery, slavery, kidnapping, and forced removals of Indian people from their homelands.
To celebrate "Columbus Day" is to celebrate genocide.
Don't believe me? Stop believing the bullshit they fed you in elementary school and do some research for yourself.
"Friendship with oneself is all important because without it one cannot be friends with anybody else in the world."
- Eleanor Roosevelt
Every so often, I'm hit with a yearning for my favorite place.
I’m making a few changes which I’m rather excited about.
The first is giving up fast food again. I truly hope that I’ll be successful this time around. After all, it’s not like it tastes that great. I think my inability to avoid these horrible places comes more out of convenience and habit than anything else. It’s only been 4 or 5 days so far, but I already feel better. I’m noticing that I have more energy in the morning and I don’t get hungry quite as often. I’m also drinking more water again and doing my best to avoid soda.
The change I’m most excited about though is cycling. I have always loved bicycling, especially back in my healthier days. In fact, I can remember when my “dream job” was to be a bike messenger. Over the years, however, I drifted away from cycling (much to my regret). It was a combination, I think, of far too many knee surgeries (I’ve had 3) along with the stupid notion that I simply didn’t have enough time. Luckily, that’s all going to change.
I am going through all of the crap stuffed away in my garage and selling it to buy a new bike! All of my unneeded furniture, extra TVs, etc… will be sold so that I can purchase this beauty:
My plan is to ride daily, no matter what. No more driving to the coffee shop (to hang out), when I can bike there in only a few minutes. In fact; unless I really need to carry something (like groceries) I don’t plan on using my car within city limits. Hopefully, within a month of getting back in the saddle, I’ll be able to start riding to work at least twice a week. It’s about 9 miles each way, and fairly flat. Sure, it will take longer to get to and from work, but at least I can avoid all the damn freeway traffic! And let’s be honest here… it’s not like I need to be in a big hurry anyway.
If nothing else, this should be interesting...
I know, I know... fast food is bad for you. It will clog your arteries and shave valuable years off of your life. I'm not going to offend your delicate sensibilities by suggesting that you start frequenting your local Jack in the Box or Carl's Jr. No, I'm talking about those great little mom & pop joints, happy to have 3 or maybe 4 locations, that are becoming as scarce as my hairline.
Places where the employees actually care about the quality of the food they give you. Where the staff is large enough to serve you quickly, but small enough for them to actually remember you when you come in. I'm talking about a spot where you can get a burger and zucchini strips that look as good as this:
Once, when I was in high school, I spent the weekend down in Laguna Beach pretending to be homeless.
Now don’t get me wrong. This wasn’t some kind of game to me. I didn’t walk around in dirty clothes, begging for money only to go home and sleep in my nice, warm bed. I genuinely felt that I needed to know what it was like, if only for a night or two. So, I told my parents that I was spending the weekend with my best friend Doug (sorry guys), packed a few extra layers of clothes in my backpack and away I went. Days were spent watching tourists while eating the tortillas kept in the pocket of my jeans. I’d watch the surfers, tourists and basketball players and say hello to anyone passing by as I sat on my bench or against a wall.
It didn’t take long for me to see just how invisible you feel being on the street. People will walk past you, almost through you, as if you were a phantom. You don’t have to smell bad or look dangerous. You only have to appear in need. In need of food, money, courtesy… it doesn’t matter. If people feel you want or need something they have, you’re done for. Written off and ignored. Of course… they aren’t really ignoring you. They don’t trust you enough to ignore you. They just try their hardest to avoid looking at you or hearing you. It's like dealing with children at bedtime.
The nights were better. Walking along the street, peering through the windows of stores I wasn’t welcome in… the sound of the occasional passerby. Sleeping in the shrubs that face the ocean. Looking down the cliff at the waves crashing under the moonlight. Of course it was just as lonely, but at least it was peaceful.
I was reading a collection of poetry today by Charles Bukowski (one of my favorite writers) when I remembered this experience. It was this poem in particular:
Trashcan Lives by Charles Bukowski
the wind blows hard tonight
and it's a cold wind
and I think about
the boys on the row.
I hope some of them have a bottle of
red.
it's when you're on the row
that you notice that
everything
is owned
and that there are locks on
everything.
this is the way a democracy
works:
you get what you can,
try to keep that
and add to it
if possible.
this is the way a dictatorship
works too
only they either enslave or
destroy their
derelicts.
we just forgot ours.
in either case
it's a hard
cold
wind.
Coffee; black and hot.
There's nothing more perfect in it's simplicity.
Corned Beef Hash; made fresh daily and cooked just right. Eggs; over-easy and ready for toast-dipping. Potatoes; crisp skin covering molten hot deliciousness. Just enough onion & pepper to compliment without overpowering.
Sourdough Toast; burnt...on purpose, with butter finding its way into each nook & cranny.
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So, I was working on a nice post about my weekend when all of the sudden this happened:
Ah yes... the joy of living in California. Nothing like a good, 5.8 earthquake before lunch to really wet the ol' appetite.
I'll do my post-weekend post a bit later I guess.
This should be a nice, productive weekend (I hope).
I'm off to Home Depot to get some supplies so I can finish sanding/ prepping the bedroom I'm painting this weekend. I'm hoping to have all the prep work finished early so I can get out and enjoy this beautiful day..
Then tomorrow, I'll get the room painted first thing so I can go out and play.
If I don't update with photos of a newly painted room by Monday, then you'll know my plan failed. haha
It's true. I love Radiohead. I have since the first moment I heard them. In fact, I have one of their lyrics ("Immerse Your Soul in Love") tattooed across my collarbone.
Today I was stumbling around the internet and came across a YouTube video of Thom Yorke performing "Videotape". It's just Mr. Yorke and a piano, and I think it's perfect in both its simplicity and its beauty.
Videotape
When I'm at the pearly gates
This'll be on my videotape
My videotape
My videotape
When Mephistopheles is just beneath
And he's reaching up to grab me
This is one for the good days
And I have it all here
In red blue green
In red blue green
You are my center when I spin away
Out of control
On videotape
On videotape
This is my way of saying goodbye
Because I can't do it face to face
So I'm talking to you before it's too late
No matter what happens now
I shouldn't be afraid
Because I know today has been the most perfect day I've ever seen
There are few things in this world that touch my soul the way a well-crafted song can.
If I were to lose my sense of hearing, I honestly don't know if I would chose to continue living.
Pearl Jam played a show a few days ago honoring The Who. This performance wasn't just the best of the night, but one of the best live performances I've ever seen & heard. The performance was so powerful that I actually got teary-eyed... and that was from watching it on TV!
I recently came across a quote by one of my favorite artists, Banksy. It was so good, so truthful, that I just had to post it...
What a great weekend.
Saturday, I took my lovely fiancé down to the city of Lake Forest (formally El Toro) where I grew up. I showed her my childhood home, a few old hang outs and all of my old schools (Elementary, Jr. High and High School). For the high school, I actually gave her a walking tour of the campus. Other than a few additions (including a huge new building), it was pretty much as I’d left it. I was amazed at the flood of memories that hit me while we were there. I was really glad that we went, even with the ridiculously hot weather.
Later that evening we joined some friends from work at a party my boss was throwing. The weather was lovely and the drinks and Jello shots flowed freely.
Sunday we went up to Simi Valley to visit my sister and her family. We had the pleasure of watching my nephew and his team kick some serious ass in their baseball game… winning by 10 runs! Then we headed to their house for some swimming and food. It was a really great visit. Hell, we even got a new (used) couch out of it (The kind that turn into a semi-comfortable bed)!
All in all, I have had a pretty amazing couple of weeks. It’s hard to describe, but I’ve basically been lucky enough to re-live falling in love with Christa all over again… and I can’t begin to describe how amazing it feels.
I may not have all the material bullshit I’d like. I’m not rich and my hair is much thinner that I’d like. Yet, I can safely say you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who feels luckier than I do.
Next week… ROAD TRIP!
I am stretched as thin as I can stand.
I have no more to give.
I feel overwhelmed and alone, even though I know I am capable and loved.
I hate this.
I’ve caught myself daydreaming a lot lately. I think it’s my quick and easy way to escape stress.
A major theme, as of late, has been “things I miss”. Most of these things are rather obtainable, so I figured I would write them down (kind of a to-do list) and see if I can’t make them happen.
Things I miss:
Now that I’ve written them down, I have to say this list could also be titled, “My Happy Thoughts”.
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