Quickly

Lucky you! I was so focused on my client's time zone that I forgot 4 o'clock my time is indeed 4 o'clock my time and not 5 o'clock. So, I finished an hour early. Now begins Daddy Weekend.

 

The Mrs. is out of state until late tomorrow night. It's just me and the little 808's for 30 hours (give or take).

 

What have I been up to lately?

 

Music - After speaking with my new friend, Mr. Jeans, I've spent the day listening to my previous bands' CDs. It's been a blast visiting memory lane and left me wondering why I'm not playing right now. I still wish I could get each band together for a week to record all of our songs so I have a decent recording to cherish. Yes, even Endangered Blü. Perhaps I'll spend my evening playing for the kids.

 

I've also been listening to A LOT of the following: Jurassic 5, Common & Ben Folds.

 

Television - Life after satellite pretty much sucks. I did spend a month watching five seasons of my new favorite show, The Shield, courtesy of Otto. Vick Mackey kicks ass!

 

Now it's 5 o'clock my time. I'm outta here. More later.

Uh, Happy New Year's!

Luckily, updating my blog was not one of my New Year's resolutions. This year's list is fairly simple:

• Get a new job
• Make more money
• Put a trash can in the laundry room so I don't have to carry the lint screen 20 feet to empty it
• Let the dentist pull the tooth he's been trying to pull for a year
• Let the dentist crown the other tooth before he has to pull it too

There you have it. It's not that I am afraid of the dentist, it's that I've had enough procedures done on my mouth to know it's not a picnic. So, like a typical guy, I'm waiting until it hurts so bad that the painful procedure feels like a little pinch compared to the misery I'm in.

Here come the Dundees!

Geez. What's it been? Two months since I posted. Sorry, folks. Sometimes the crazy adult-life gets the best of you. I'm still here, alive, a year older and still working the same job. Yes, the job search has gone oh so well. Winter finally moved in after a beautiful, three-month Fall. Right now, it's 32 degrees with a wind-chill of 24 degrees. (For those of you who live in climates unaccustomed to wind chills, that means it's 32 but feels like 24.)

 

Tonight is the company Christmas party. They hold it in the warehouse. Very Dundler-Mifflinish. Of course, if it feels like 24 outside, the warehouse should feel about 50 degrees this evening. Sounds ideal, doesn't it? Whatever happened to the glory days of having a Christmas party at The House of Blues on Sunset?

 

Well, I'll leave you with an interactive question for the comment section. A coworker said this week that you can judge a person based on their book collection. While there are too many books on my shelf to list, I'll truncate it to the four writers I own the most of: Stephen King, Ian Fleming/John Gardner, Jack Kerouac, Irvine Welsh. Have at it. Make your judgments as if you don't know me personally, but just by my book collection. Post your own list and we'll play along.

 

Have fun!

Guess I better post something, eh? Before the natives get restless and all. I'm feeling a bit uninspired these days, so here's a list: My iPod's current Top 25 Most Played.

 

Safe from Harm - Massive Attack

Mankind - Pearl Jam

Whipping - Pearl Jam

Bastard - Ben Folds

Hatfield 1980 - Everything But The Girl

Jesus of Suburbia - Green Day

Go - Pearl Jam

Packt Like Sardines in a Crushed Tin - Radiohead

Ol 55 - Tom Waits

4th of July - Soundgarden

Sure Thing - St. Germain

The Analog Kid - Rush

Make it Rain - Tom Waits

City of Blinding Lights - U2

Mexico - Cake

Strict Machine - Goldfrapp

Spying Glass - Massive Attack

Como Ves - Ozomatli

Spin the Black Circle - Pearl Jam

Karma Police - Radiohead

Cottonwool (Fila Brazilia Mix) - Lamb

Jesse's Girl - Rick Springfield

Poor Leno - Royksopp

Mailman - Soundgarden

Waiting Room - Fugazi

 

Group participation for iPod owners: In the comments, post some or all of your Top 25.

Group participation for non-iPod owners: Go buy an iPod. Or, you can post some of the songs that you think would fall under your Top 25.

 

Enjoy!

9/11 and 808.2

It wasn't the alarm clock that woke me that morning, it was the phone ringing incessantly. Who could be calling me and why in the hell won't they stop? As I stumbled out from the bedroom, I could hear his voice but it didn't make sense. He was still in Missouri and wouldn't be home until later today. We had flown home on Thursday for a long weekend and I flew back to LA last night because I was starting a new job today. There was panic in his voice, yelling for me to get up and turn on the television. I picked up the phone, "What's going on?"
...........
It was the second break that morning. I walked out of the classroom and pulled the cell phone from my pocket, flipped it open and pressed the call button. I thumbed through the menu until I found my wife's name. I pressed the call button again and waited.
"Hello?"
"Hey babe, what's going on?"
"It's time."
"What?"
"Mrs. Sato and I went for a walk and I think it's time. How fast can you make it to the hospital?"
"30-40 minutes, depending on traffic. I'll see you there!"

...........
I could not believe what I was seeing. The images on TV were just so wrong. I must have turned the TV to HBO or something. He assured me that I had not. This was really happening. They were stopping all the flights and he didn't know how or when he would get back. I told him I had to go, had to hurry, and would call him later. I dressed in the living room that morning, in front of the television, afraid to turn my eyes from the screen. When I left, I turned to NPR for coverage as I sped to work.

...........
I made it in 20. I haven't driven that fast in a long time. I don't remember, but I may have sprinted into the hospital. I "came to" at the nurses station on the 7th floor, asking for my wife's room number. She hadn't arrived yet. I stepped into the waiting area and called her again.
"You're already there???"
"Yeah, where are you?"
"We're just leaving now, we'll be there in 20 minutes."
And the waiting began...

...........
We sat around a radio all day, waiting for some sort of news. The planes were grounded, there could be no more attacks, right? Would they pull anyone from the rubble? Were there survivors? When would this day end so I could get home, watch the coverage and call my family?

............
It was time. My mother on one side and I on the other, supporting her, giving her our strength to push him out.

...........
It was time. I rushed home, calling family and friends on the way home. I sat alone that night, in front of the TV, watching a city and nation beg for strength to get past this.

...........
After they all left, I held him, slowly rocking in the chair. What would the future bring for him? What would he be when he grew up? Would he be protective of his sisters, or they protective of him? Would he be healthy and strong? So many questions.

...........
The room was still dark this morning when I picked him up to leave. On the television, the newscaster told us that it is still such a sad day. I kissed him on the temple and whispered in his ear, "No it's not. It's not a sad day for daddy anymore. Happy birthday, son."

Welcome to September - Friday 8

1. I hate the Waiting Game on so many levels. I'm usually a very patient person (less so since I having children.) Today's Waiting Game: How early will the boss let us go for the weekend? Will it be a 1/2 hour?An hour?

 

Holy Crap! The boss is bringing in Minsky's pizza for everyone working all day. I'll shut up now.

 

2. Latest book read: Stephen King's Salem's Lot. I just finished it this morning. I love audio books, they work well with my hectic schedule. This was one of King's early novels that I never read. So much better than that crap he wrote during his rehab days (Rose Madder, Gerald's Game.) It was odd to read a book placed in the '70's though. Speaking of the 70's...

 

3. New favorite TV show: BBC America's Life on Mars. John Simms plays a Manchester detective who is hit by a car and wakes up in 1973. Philip Glenister is fantastic as another hardcore, Sweeney-era detective. For those without BBCA, don't worry, David E. Kelly is already working on an American version for next year that will probably fail to live up to the original.

 

4. Bruce - Edward Woodward was in the original Wickerman and the star of the 80's series, The Equalizer. (Sorry folks, inside conversation.)

 

5. Kids say the darndest things: During the drive home the other night, 808.3 said, "Daddy, we need to find you a girlfriend." I think it's funny, Mrs. 808 does not.

 

6. Ladies and Gentleman, please keep in mind that while our beloved president is touring the nation and trying to gather support the war in Iraq, that he does not want "others" to politicize it. You should also remember, that per Rummy, if you are against the war, you are a fascist.

 

7. Poll time: If you were contemplating some educational, non-fiction audio book listening, which of the following would start with: Introduction to Judaism, the Bible or Introduction to Buddhism. Place your votes.

 

8. Finally, have a great Labor Day weekend. I'll be cleaning the house (again), watching TV, playing with the kids and blah-blah-blah.

 

Au revoir, mes amis!

Give your fingers a rest

That would mean "No." This was the one job I really wanted too.

Yes, it's been exactly two months since I graduated and still no new job. Do I feel discouraged? You betcha. It's the whole catch-22 of a career change... Need experience to get the job, need the job to get experience. Some lucky bastards find a company willing to take the risk. Apparently, I am not one of them.

Thank you for your support.

The search continues...