well, it's official! i'm the godfather of the beautiful Ava Grace VonKanel.
[sfx: insert your own impression of a jowly italian here]
it's an honor to say the least. i've also had the pleasure of being back in my old hood. it's nice to be back in Texas, but one thing is for sure, i don't miss the humidity. it's like breathing water.
[sfx: underwater bloop bloop]
i've had a good time hanging out with the old crew and Ava's biological parents. it's been great. wii parties, karaoke (and drinking too much), and glorious casa olé green sauce.
worthy of mention in detail, at karaoke the VonKanel's and I totally pwned the bar. at first we thought we were out of our league because it looked like we stumbled across a bunch of cowboys in a hillbilly karaoke bar [sfx: hillbilly "yuk" and backfiring truck], but it turned most of the people were normal folk.
we spent most of our time heckling people - like the girl who is so intoxicated she dances by herself and then joins people on the mic, phil, the guy who said "that guy better not ruin my [sfx: explitive censoring beep] song!" and the table of ... err.... less than reputable women. we also got the party started with some high handclaps and i had the honor of closing down the bar with Otis Redding's Try A Little Tenderness - it was great and i'm motivated and ready to start my Otis Redding coverband "White Otis".
[sfx: cue horn section to slow build]
melting hearts and bringing down the house with my white bread soul aside, i've had a great time being home. and since i'm carless, i've been able to steal wi-fi during the days (California has serious lack-of-wi-fi issues) and do some continuing work for paravel. i think i've officially made the mental shift from "being unemployed" to "being self-employed" and "taking apart in a startup design company".
another nice thing about being home is cable TV. there are a lot of nay-sayers out there who think that "books" are better than TV. but ya know what. that's a lot of hoopla. Books can't teach me how to Design on a Dime in half an hour. fie! it'd take at least a day. I'd have to go to school for 5 years to learn Law & Order, but with cable TV, i can ingest that in an hour. How many Yo Mamma joke books would i have to buy before i could have the material that can be taught me in one glorious episode.
but as great as cable TV is, there is a downside. having cable again has brought Nancy Grace back into my life. i hate this woman. hate her. hate her. hate her.
well. it's late and i'm coding up another masterpiece. so i'll bid adieu. the comments go below.
here are some lyrics from my old punk days. and they apply quite well to my life and today's plane ride to Houston, Texas. Yee-haw. i might go download the hates as we speak...
Well it's lonesome in this big town everybody puts me down
I'm a face without a name just a walkin' in the rain
I'm going back to Houston Houston HoustonI got holes in both of my shoes and I'm a walkin' case of the blues
I saw a dollar yesterday but the wind blew it away
I'm going back to Houston Houston HoustonI haven't eaten in about a week and I'm so hugry when I walk I squeak
Nobody calls me friend it's sad the shape I'm in
I'm going back to Houston Houston Houston
I got a girl waitin' there for me where at least she said she'd be
I got a home and abig warmbed and afeatherpillow for my head
I'm going back to Houston Houston HoustonI take a bus or take an old freight train I come ride or walk it's all the same
I'm goin' back where they know my face and I'mnevergonna leave that place
I'm going back to Houston Houston HoustonWell it's lonesome in this big town everybody puts me down
I'm a face without a name yeah I'm a walkin' in the rain
- Lee Hazelwood
i'm housesitting at the zoo again. this morning i got nudged out of bed by the dogs, fed the dogs, pet the cat(s), and fed and watered the chickens.
now i'm sitting in the dining room of "my pretend home" listening to Rosie Thomas. Did I ever tell you about the time I met her and ran sound for her concert at Fuller? probably not. but it did happen.
speaking of piano music, last night one of the dogs started to pay the piano. this is no joke. Lazlo saw it. it was surreal. if i had a digital camera, it'd so be up on youtube right now.
the house has a copy of Slaughterhouse-Five, having only paid lip service to it without actually reading it, i've decided to try and read it. maybe i'll have to put the internets down a bit and read.
totally contrary to my previous sentence: anyone want to watch the starwars trilogy?
Los Angeles has been quite a whirlwind. I think -to date- I have stayed under 4 different roofs in 3 months. I moved out of my apartment in Pasadena -California, not Texas- this past week because i wasn't able to make rent. As bad as that sounds, it ended up decomplicating my life for me to move back into the Hollyfeld's (lest i forget Arkay and mister and missus cwess -sans the mister).
Though my return to this house is in someways a cosmic karmic defeat (Curse you, Fates!), this is a definite upgrade for me in many ways. Allow me to list them:
#1 is Internet. I'm a webdesigner, this should be ipso facto and a non-negotiable in my life. My last place didn't have teh nets, so it's nice to be back in a place where I can get my email at anytime of the day, and i can code long hours into the night.... ummm... much like right now.
#2 is the shower. God bless water pressure.
#3 is Wren. it's nice to see a toddler "understand my art" and spaz out in your room whilst i shred a ludicrous solo on my guitar.
#4 is Ramona. 'Mona is the dog with the smallest threshold for playing fetch and who only lets you pet her when she's forcing herself through your legs. It's quirky, but loving. she'd excited to see anyone come home and she's more than willing to bark at strangers in the middle of the night.
#5 is TV. more specifically, a device to hook my Wii up to. the summer wii parties will never stop.
#6 is homemade food. being culinarily deficient, it's always a joy to smell cookies, brownies, muffins, pancakes, bacon, scones, steaks, and/or some vegetable medley.
#7 is the Hizzle Pizzle. Highland Park, or "el barrio", is way way way better than Pasadena. i'm closer to my friends and co-sworkers.
#8 is doors. Not that this house is unsafe, it's just that in my last apartment the door would be locked at all times, even if someone was in the house. this house is kind of the opposite.
#9 is the company. again a comparison, but in my last place people kept to themselves and inside their respective rooms. this is fine, to each their own. but i'm a much more social individual and the communal living attitude is an encouragement for me. after a convo with Locke about it, it seems a need for southern hospitality.
#10... hrmm... don't really have one... but it'd be a shame to get to nine and stop... so.... number ten will be... lamp. i love lamp.
... wait!? can i change lamp to road noise? or churd's skateboard? dang....
well that's all. i don't have much to say except that i went to a church in hollywood this week and Buster Bluth was there. and i was more than a little starstruck. i had to keep myself from gawking and play it cool. i'll probably go to that place again.
well, it's late. on to watching Avatar the Last Air Bender.
