There's a New Girl in Town

While the world is enamored with YouTube, I'm stuck on AOL Television. Although you can find some cool stuff on YouTube, the quality isn't always the best. And you have to wade through weird Jackass-style stunts.

AOL Television has a bunch of old TV shows, like Animaniacs, Chico and The Man, Eight is Enough and Alice! It was one of my favorite shows when I was a kid. I watched an episode today and laughed my ass off. Some shows don't stand up to the test of time. But this one is still funny. Flo cracks me up.

Did you know that there were NINE different versions of the theme song? I didn't. I knew there were a couple of different ones--I sang them before each show. Seasons 6-9, hands down, had the best version.

AOL Television also has TV Karaoke. It plays the opening of shows with the words so you can sing along. It's awesome!

I actually have a connection to the TV show. When I worked at Skyview Satellite Networks I used to work with Tom Tayback. Tom is Vic Tayback's (Mel) brother. Tom owns a radio station in Sedona.

And just like Alice, I thought I'd be in Phoenix for a short while. But things worked so I stayed awhile. ba ba bum bum bummmm

Lost Post

I posted. Blogger ate it. I don't feel like rewriting it.

Here's the short version.

I played 2 1/2 hours of tennis. I love playing with Tim--he's very competitive. I prevailed but it was close.

The end.

Oceans

I have five older sisters. Five very fertile sisters. Despite all of their various pregnancies, I've never been to a baby shower. I had to join a gay rugby team to go to one. Oddly enough, the baby shower was for the straight guy on the team.

Fortunately, Jacque and John registered at Babies R Us. You would think that would make the shopping easier. It wasn't. None of the clothes are in any kind of order. So after 40 fruitless minutes of searching for the red satin dress, I went boring and got the froggy play mirror and some ducky towels and wash mitts.

As I was checking out, I gave the lady at the register the registry sheet to update what items were bought. She immediately said, "I've NEVER seen a GUY buy from a registry."

My penis instantly shrunk a few inches.

I puffed up my chest and dropped my voice a few octaves and told her that I was on a RUGBY team and it was for one of the GUY's on the team.

She scanned in a few more things then said, "Honestly, it's the FIRST time I've EVER seen a GUY buy off a baby registry."

Feeling completely emasculated, I walked out with my ducky towels and froggy play mirror.

Anyway... John and Phill hosted a very fun baby shower and I won some candy playing a baby shower game. :-D

Saturday I spent a few hours watching The Poseidon Adventure (the original classic) and Scream 2 as I rewired the lights to the upstairs fish tank. I saved $250 doing it myself. I basically had to completely rebuild the lighting canopy from scratch--new ballasts, new endcaps, new wires, etc. It took a long time but it was really rewarding when I clicked the buttons and the lights worked! I love projects like that.

Sunday was very exciting. I got to meet a fellow blogger in town on vacation. We've been following each other's blog for about a year now.

We had been communicating via e-mail for the past week trying to nail down a time we could meet for dinner (I didn't think meeting for coffee or drinks would cut it). Sunday was a good time for both (she got a babysitter and I cleared some time). So the big day finally rolled around and I called to confirm time and place. I was VERY nervous. I was FINALLY going to talk to her in person. But I got voice mail. LOL.

Earlier Kim suggested we invite Jeff to dinner too and he obliged. Jeff and I got to Barrio early and had a drink. Then Kim walked in and it was so cool. It was almost like a first date--I didn't talk much except for the fact that I was starving. But after a few minutes the conversation flowed and it was like catching up with an old friend.

The dinner was REALLY good!

After dinner we said goodbye to Jeff and headed up to Miggee B's so she could meet Joe (and we could have another drink). It's funny because after reading her blog for so long I knew she was fairly liberal and open-minded. But I never realized how much alike we were in the way we thought.

Joe liked her because he thought she is very sure of herself. I responded with, "Exactly! She knows what's right and doesn't understand when the world doesn't agree with her."

I think that kind of sums her up. Anyway--she's VERY cool. And I'm disappointed she and Jonny live so far away. I would love to hang out with them and talk rugby, politics, religion and everything else under the sun.

I guess I'll have to wait until they move back from Chengdu.

HAPPY TUNESDAY MOTHERFUCKERS!!!

Kim has similar taste in music as me except for Pearl Jam (she liked Ten but nothing after). That's okay, Kim. We all have our flaws. ;-)

Since she did like Ten, I tried to find a fun song to dedicate. But nothing seemed to work--so here's Oceans. It's probably a love song but if you think of it in a different text, it could be about friends. :-)

Lyrics
Song 

I Can't Drive 55

As I was driving to bowling Monday I was blinded by three quick flashes of light in my face. I got nabbed by one of those damned cameras setup by the Nazis--I mean police. I either ran a red light or I was speeding. Probably both.

I was REALLY pissed for about two or three minutes. But by the time I got to the bowling alley, I stopped being mad. I figured that since I speed all of the time it was only a matter of time before I got caught. This means that I'll have to go to traffic school to get it erased from my record. Which is just a waste of eight hours of my life. My driving habits will not change because of an eight hour class. Despite, my need for speed I'm not reckless. I just find it ridiculous to go the speed limit. I hate going slow.

This transcends into other aspects of my life. Friday, when Joe and I climbed Piestawa nee Squaw Peak, I had a hard time maintaining a slow pace. I much prefer to race ahead and wait. Race ahead and wait.

I told Joe that it must be a backs versus forwards thing. Backs like to be speedy in short distances. Forwards, move slower, but can handle sustained runs for longer. It's kind of like the tortoise versus the hare thing. Maybe not.

When I got home from bowling on Monday night, I discovered the upstairs aquarium's lights were out. Not completely, one half of one bulb remains lit. So my poor fish are stuck in twilight all day. So, I had to order new ballasts, wires and endcaps. Saturday afternoon/evening I'm going to be bent over a four foot lighting set for hours. My back hurts just thinking about it.

Awesome

When I was 9, 10 or 11 years old (I honestly have NO idea--it was so freaking long ago), my sisters Karen and Michele, my dad, and I drove cross country from Baltimore to California and back.

We drove in a brand new station wagon. And it had cruise control. The cruise control wasn't built-in. It was a little box that hung below and to the right of the steering column.

This was the summer of 1980 - 1982 (pick one). Back then we didn't have modern conveniences, such as satellite radio, iPods, GameBoys or PSPs. We had to rely on spotty radio reception and each other for entertainment.

This meant we got on each other's nerves a lot. I especially irritated the girls because they were older, and well, girls. I'm sure my dad felt like pulling over the road at any given moment and dropping us off in the desert to find our way back home (preferably someone else's).

Surprisingly, my favorite moments did not come at DisneyLand. I really loved seeing the Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon, Utah. We didn't stay long at those places--only a day. And we basically just got out of the car and looked. But I still remember thinking to myself that it looked fake. It was so damned pretty and so large that it just couldn't possibly be real.

The Grand Canyon is where I learned the word, "awe." Some guy standing next to my dad and I were talking to us. He said that he couldn't put into words the feelings he had looking, but that he was full of awe.

When I went back to the Grand Canyon in 1997, I understood what he meant.

I've been getting on Joe's case that we needed to go camping before the summer was over. It's a cheap way to go on vacation and it gets us out of Phoenix. The problem was, Joe has been working every weekend since he started back at his part time job.

So, he decided to quit and look for a different one because the hours are too much. This is good because we've been trying to take a mini vacation up at the Ranch, but our work schedules never permitted it. Now we can.

And he said we'd definitely go camping. So last night, I booked us a camp site at the Mather Camp Grounds on the South Rim. We're driving up Friday, August 11, and driving back that Sunday. It's short but I'm very excited!!!!

Joe's never been to the GC, so it'll be fun to see his reaction. Now I just need to rustle up some camping gear... 

ZZZZ

I'm not sure what the hell is going on but I can't get enough sleep. I don't know if it's the heat or what, but I've been super tired all freaking week. And no amount of sleep seems to help.

For example, yesterday I woke up tired. I dragged through the day. After work, I went home, ate and took an hour nap (I NEVER nap--Jim never naps at home--Airplane! anyone?). I got up, played tennis with Tim and ate again. Then I got ready for bed and crashed. I slept over 8 hours and woke up tired.

Buddy was like this a week or two ago. I thought he had the flu or something. But I feel fine, other than being in a daze for most of the day and night.

In other news. Buddy is having a bad week and posted in his blog things that annoy the fuck out of him. I'm going the opposite route. Here's what's making me happy:
Ann Coulter is being accused of plagiarism
Adam Carolla hung up on her
Valerie Plame and Joseph Wilson are suing Dick Cheney, Scooter Libby and Karl Rove
People are FINALLY wising up to Joe Lieberman. Assholes in Democrats clothing will soon be unveiled
I get to kiss this guy... a lot!

Don't Give Up on Us

I can't write much because I have to get to bed soon. The thing is, I'm re-reading Salem's Lot by Stephen King. I've been a huge fan of Stephen King since I was 12. I used to go to the library (it was a short walk) during the summer and read just about anything and everything. That's when I read my first Stephen King book.

It's funny because, I already knew his work from the miniseries for Salem's Lot. It was broadcast in 1979 over two nights. Why my mother let me stay up until 11 p.m. to watch this I'll never know. But the movie scared the crap out of me. I'd like to see it again to see how it holds up. TNT did a remake last year with Rob Lowe that was just horrendous. :-(

Anyway, the book is really good. Stephen King has written some clunkers in the past (The Tommyknockers, Gerald's Game, etc), but when he's on -- he's REALLY on. I've actually read every novel he's ever written. And there's a shit load. What keeps me interested is not the scary parts (although there are many). What keeps me interested is the characters in the story. They are truly fleshed out. And everything that everyone does -- every action or thought -- makes sense.

In contrast, Dan Brown, although wildly popular, writes stuff that leaves me scratching my head. I can enjoy Dan Brown's stuff but when reading it, I know it's fiction. The things his characters do and say are just in left field. It all reads fake.

With King, I'm drawn in because of the verisimilitude.

Anyway, the book is extremely exciting and I've been staying up WAY past my bedtime each night to read....

In other news... I spent a lot of time with friends and by myself the past couple of days. It's been really nice. Friday I saw Pirates of the Caribbean with Kevin, Jay, Buddy and Phillip. The movie sucked -- read Jeff's review. It was really disappointing because I enjoyed the first one.

Saturday I went to lunch with Neil G. I only get to see him a few times a year now that he's a hotshot executive hobnobbing with celebs. So, it was nice that he set aside some time for me. Sunday I spent most of the day with the rugby board of directors. It was draining but good.

HAPPY TUNESDAY MOTHERFUCKERS!!!

Salem's Lot, the miniseries, starred David Soul AKA Hutch from Starsky and Hutch (one of my favorite shows when I was a wee lad). In 1976, David Soul had a hit song called Don't Give Up on Us. I owned the 45 (I've always been into music). I think the B-side was Black Pea Soup or something really strange like that. Anyway. Thanks to the WWW, I found it. It's kinda cheesy, but hell. It was the 70s. I'm listening to it now and I swear I feel like a little kid again, playing records in my room. :-)

Lyrics
Song

Time

And you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but its sinking
And racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in the relative way, but youre older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death

Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines

I usually don't post songs on Fridays, but listen to this live version of Time by Pink Floyd. (It's a really great song from an amazing album).




OK. Before you think that I'm depressed because I'm quoting from Pink Floyd, think again. It's just a very appropriate song for me right now. I've inherited this terrible trait from my mother. My mother thinks that if she's not working a 16 hour day, taking one my nephews to Boys Scouts or taking one of my nieces to the movies she's lazy. Actually, I don't think that's her rationale for never stopping (it's far deeper than that), but that's a cursory explanation.

If I'm not at work, I'm at rugby or bowling or tennis or the gym. Or I'm working on board stuff. Or I'm working on my freelance writing. Or I'm cleaning the fish tank. Or I'm trying to do a little work on the house.

The problem with this equation is I'm never making time for myself or for others.

Last week, Joe had to ask me if he could get alone time with me. It seems that everything we've been doing lately has been joint activities with friends or rugby-related. I immediately apologized, set a date, and told him he'd have to keep me in check at times. He told me I needed to block out specific times for myself and for him and for friends and that was it. I had to say no to other things. He's right.

Then Jeff mentioned that if it wasn't for bowling we wouldn't see each other. Once again. He's right.

I certainly don't mean to not make time for others. I just get so caught up in the next chore that I forget.

Seeing the error of my ways I set aside Tuesday for just Joe and me. Ok. I started off the morning playing tennis with Tim. Then Joe had to sit on the couch and watch TV while I cleaned the fish tank. But the rest of the day/evening was just him and me. Until we met up with Amanda and Ryan to see Superman 3-D at the IMAX.

Ok... Maybe I'm not doing such a good job after all.

BUT!!! I'm trying. Next Friday we have a date. It's going to be fun. I'm looking forward to it. Just us two. I promise. :-)

Dog and Butterfly

I had issues uploading last night. GRR. Anyway, this post is a day late and more than a dollar short. I'll update later this week.

This past weekend was really nice. Friday night, I went to SJ's after the gym. He gave me the nicest keepsake. It's a picture frame filled with memories that go back to October. It was from the heart and made me (and my heart smile).

Here's a picture of us at the rugby banquet. I forgot to mention that he got me a very nice boutonniere for the banquet (it's blue and gold--the Storm's colors). If you haven't figured out from this very small paragraph--he's a very thoughtful man.

Saturday we went to a rugby pool party. This is the same pool party that I went to last year where my phone got fried because I got tackled in the pool before I could empty my pockets. This year, I had all of my valuables in a Ziplock bag.... just in case.

Sunday, Buddy, Joe and I went bar hopping in the name of Echo. I talked to a bunch of people and listened to some fascinating stories. Look for the article in next week's issue!

Oh and I found out that somehow I ended up on that best gay blog's list. I don't know how or when, but when I was doing some sleuthing last week I found a bunch of referral URLs with it. I went on the site and sure enough, I'm listed. How bout them apples?

This is short and disjointed but I have to get up early tomorrow to play tennis with Tim.

HAPPY TUNESDAY MOTHERFUCKERS!
The past couple of days have been too crazy. I wanted something to bring me some inner peace, so I turned to acoustic Heart. I love Heart. I've been a fan since their first album came out when I was a wee lad. This song is from their second or third album (this version is from a live concert). It's a perfect song for a lazy summer afternoon. Happy Independence Day everyone!

Lyrics
Song