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how does one follow last night?

Frustrating work day. Afterwards, I assisted Sam in the pick up and delivery of the new outdoor playground set he purchased for his children. They are really beautiful kids. He fed me a traditional raclette dinner and we sat over home burned schnapps and absinthe for conversation. There's nothing like smuggled in spirits to help the digestive system. I'm tired and am still catching up. I did op-check sat my DVR however... I had the new system HD record House while I was out being silly last night and I watched it (sans commercials) this afternoon. Win! I'm looking forward to some pillow time. I wish the bed wasn't so lonely. I could use some snuggling.

"Ambient Music must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting."

half way into our 3rd bottle via Mike's phone

Part of the recuperation process after a night of decadence is piecing together the evidence. Mike and I were the only two people at the party drinking Crown, so you can imagine by the time he snapped that photo of me, we were feeling no pain. This was over the duration of a basketball game... which we won by the way. I have such little interest in sports. When it comes to basketball, I'd be lucky if I could tell you what inning it was or how many penalty shots you get for a fumble. ;-) I did manage to document the pad before people showed up. Pretty swank. Kurt, Mike, and I went "out" after the game. I did a lot of people watching, got to catch up with old friends, drank entirely too much, and generally had a good time. By the time I hit the house however, I remembered why I don't do this sorta thing very often anymore. When the alarm went off this morning, I wasn't hanging thanks to my war veteran 18 pound liver, but I was extremely tired and kicking myself for staying out so late on a school night. I need a nap.

I'm home safe. Drunk. I should have stayed home. More tomorrow... sleepytime.

silk and the buttons have martini glasses in them... I lurv this shirt

I survived Thanksgiving. I really haven't felt like writing anything... kinda been in a emotional slump without EL. I ended up having a nice meal out at Ted's parent's house on Turkeyday. I rode my motorcycle out to their place in the country. I haven't done much else since other than take advantage of the "Black Friday" sales to acquire a new television. Finally, after over 15 years of the same little 19" brick, I've evolved into HDTV. It's quite an upgrade. I haven't been out of the house much... went to see the new Tenacious D film... laughed. I was invited to the Rockets game tonight... private party in a box suite with loads of free food and an open bar. I grabbed a new coiffure and manicure at lunch (seen above). Part of the HD migration included a DVR/Tivo, so I'm set to record House tonight if I decide to attend the game. I'm still on the fence. I wish there were juicy tidbits of interest to share. I get up, go to work, eat, and sleep (sometimes). I hope the holidays were good to everyone. Cheers.

"We may be better than our reputation, but we are never better than our principles." Last night, after work, I was invited to attend a neighborhood gathering. The food and conversation were great, but I couldn't stay. It was full of happy couples and their beautiful kids... smiling, laughing, and full of holiday excitement. I didn't fit. Everyone I know has graciously invited me to join them for the holiday or spend time with me today like there is something that can be done to make things "better". I wanted to spend Thanksgiving at the 22P if it weren't for the drive. When I'm feeling especially sad, being alone in the car for hours is not my favorite thing to subject myself to... I know. I left the assortment of yummy dishes, cheery faces of welcoming neighbors, and homemade microbrew early return to our home. It was dark and quiet... completely opposite from last year. Henry was ready for bed. It took me a long time to fall asleep, but I was assuredly dehydrated by the time I finally made it. Henry used to get really worried when I would cry in bed... wanted to know what was wrong with Daddy. I think he assumes that's normal now because he was snoring before his head hit the pillow. Heh. I wanted to sleep as long as I could this morning, but he wasn't having it. So I'm up, and unsure of what the day will hold. I'll probably drive out to the country and visit Ted and Jenny's family this afternoon if I start to get cabin fever. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving together... and are truly thankful for what you have. It could be gone.

Have you ever just had one of those days? Of course you have... else that question wouldn't be so cliché. Today is one of those days. I have burned myself twice, spilled stain inducing substances on the carpet in the den twice, spilled my coffee, etc. I have fallen behind on tasks that I need to get done at the house. With the holiday just over a day away, I've been feeling down and all in all not healthy. I've decided to not drive out of town to see my family over the holiday. I don't even want to leave the house to be honest. If it were not a work day, I'd be back in bed trying to sleep. Today is just not going well for me. Last night, a large group of us went to see Casino Royal at The Movie Tavern. I think it is my favorite Bond movie since Connery left. The story and character are more in line with the original character from the books. They take some liberty in diverting from the main plot to develop his character and provide some insight into how he becomes 007, strays, and returns. Overall, I thought it was well done. There was one scene toward the end that was incredibly difficult for me to sit through, but I won't spoil anything for you if you haven't seen it yet. Other than that brief scene, I enjoyed the movie. Because we went for dinner before the film, I missed House. It is times like this I kick myself for not having a PVR. I'm going to try to stay away from anything hot or sharp the rest of the day... and maybe clean the carpet in a little bit. :-(

The bulk of the furniture is moved. That completely sucked. I don't think I'd make a great mover. It's hard to do a job that you can't get yourself into mentally. The going in-between offices is a bit tedious at the moment, but all the functional items and services I need to do my job exist at the new place now, so for all intents and purposes, I am moved. I have a rack of networking equipment to transport to the new place sometime between now and the end of the month, but there's no rush. It's nice to have this evolution in the rearview mirror.

So after I realized I was up entirely too early this morning without alarm clock provocation, I remembered that I didn't mention the peanut M&M lady last night. This lady comes walking up with her hand in her pocket like she's searching for something. As she is excusing herself into our conversation, she pulls out four candy pieces and displays them in the palm of her hand... one orange peanut M&M, one blue, and two partial pieces sans peanut. She, with the most sincere and serious look and tone, offers them to Ted and I as if her only motive was the desire to share her candy unconditionally. When we politely decline, she throws them on the bar and breaks into this Shakespearian monologue on the struggle and woe of searching for the M&M colors you really like best, always being shorted the favorites, and the struggle of disposing the extras while dreaming of the ones you really wanted. Umm... yeah. It's candy. She wandered off, but kept coming back by our corner of the bar periodically. All we needed to do to get her to leave was pick up her orange and blue M&M and offer them back to her. Problem solved. If it weren't so entertaining, it would have been annoying. The other event or series of events that stand out in my memory as entertainment worth mentioning would be the sheer acts of humiliating stupidity guys go through trying to hit on women in a bar these days. I meant, I realize men have always been stupid for women... it kinda is in the DNA... but what happened? I have to assume that it is environmental and not epidemic. The lines thrown out are even cheesier when spoken (if you can call it speech) in whatever that g-thug/k-fed/white-wif-grillz/anglo-ebonic crap that is so popular in the waste-around-mid-ass culture that has attacked the youth of today. I would try to phonetically deliver a few I heard last night, but I couldn't do it justice... at least not enough to paint the image it deserves. Snap.

Ted took a video to document the pseudo-drunken occasion. He then beamed it to my PDA so I could post it here tonight. Unfortunately, there was a transporter accident ala Star Trek mystery death in transit and the vid is most definitely afk atm. I worked later than expected. Henry was so happy to see me when I got home that he practically burned fire trails in the carpet circling the den at hyper-Yorkie-speed when I arrived. I love that little fella. Ted had called early in the day to ask me out for drinks after work. I had no plans obviously. I don't plan anything anymore for the most part, so I accepted. The bar was called Oz and it was assuredly a 99.95% local hangout... your "Norm and Cliffy" kinda joint. It was karaoke night and everything in every flavor (regardless of branding) was $2.00. We were ambitious to say the least. I had not eaten dinner, but was oh so hungry. I counted twelve Crowns (bourbon), two beers, and a Jager-bomb (Jagermeister and Red Bull) personally and I think Ted was with me one for one the entire night. We were expecting the worst when the tab came, but his sister was a regular and apparently pulled some strings. We were spared the agony of liver endurance and simply brought the local special. Cheap is the best way to sum it all up. We were on the list to sing. I was going to sing (Bob Dillon if you must know). We were passed over for some newer, younger, hip-hop type music that fit the crowd a little more closely. It's ok... I think I might be able to sleep anyway. ;-) I have a long rant essay on my personal conflict needs issues desires thoughts of recent, but I need to sleep. I hope I remember at some point. Sweet dreams.

I know I've said this before, but it deserves mentioning again: I hate moving. All sorts of moving. Little moving, big moving, and everything in between is just not for me. Perhaps it stems from my inherent packrattiness or the fact that every time I move, I end up losing track of something that I wish I hadn't. We've outgrown the executive suites we're leasing at the office (not imho, but I'm powerless in the decision) and are headed for "greener pastures". My company has signed a contract on larger office space and everyone but our Director and his technical counterpart (my boss) is headed for a cube. I haven't worked outside an office of my very own in over 5 years. I don't particularly mind as long as I can make it a cave of my own. With an office, ownership is a given and privacy is luxuriously yours to be enjoyed. With a cube, personalization is necessary to identify it as your space to be invaded. You have to figuratively pee on the bush to mark your territory. Being a senior fellow in the office, I naturally have the cube right next to the window with the best view, but it wasn't always to be just so. The contractors that built the cubes out when they designed out floor (fourth, if you are curious) build full height cube walls along the wall containing the glass that separates people space from green space thus obscuring the view. We aren't fully moved in yet, so this morning I took to the cubes with a screwdriver and hammer. It wasn't quite as dramatic as Peter's wall tumble in Office Space, but close. I reconstructed my cube so I have an open side directly facing the plate glass to provide about 15 linear feet of piney forest view. I dig it. It's much better than the view from my old office (now, post DIY makeover). Our new pure VoIP phone system is in and the new numbers are online. If you are in vocal contact with me on a regular basis (or even irregularly), you'll probably be getting the new contact info shortly if you haven't already. Once the dust settles, it won't be bad (repeat to self ad nauseum). I feel like I need a red Swingline stapler now. The head hancho around here decided arbitrarily that tomorrow will be the furniture move day. This is significant because he volunteered his employee's trucks without asking (all of us have at least one vehicle that is a truck with the exception of Todd... his version of a truck is a Porsche). So the move has officially begun. Joy.

I love marketing folks with a sense of humor. I simply refuse to believe this was an accident. Get yours today! I guess the Aquapet floats up and down? "Interactive pet - fun for all!" Awesome.

Ted and I have been talking about going back to Brazos Bend for a long time, but never really set a date. Our friend, Miranda, is taking some photography course in college and has a project due soon, so we all agreed to head there for a photo walk around the park. The last time I was there was during the mating season of the indigenous American Alligator. They were everywhere and quite wild. One time, I counted 89 gators from one to 14 feet in about an hour and a half. The morning was brisk and by the time we arrived at the park, it was still around 50 degrees out. We did manage to see a few alligators after the sun came up and started warming the surface, but even the avian population was scarce by comparison to the other half of the year. It was a nice walk. Peaceful. I managed to complete the loop without too much pause due to the 1600 mg of Ibuprofen staged in consumption throughout the morning. My back is still is constant pain and I plan on investigating professional help of some sort this week if I can manage. The afternoon was quiet and I'm headed for a glass of wine and some couch time... hopefully to be followed with early bed. I didn't like any of the photos I took, but then again, I wasn't really trying for anything today. Just killing time between sleep.

Home. The concert was nice... well done. I guess that's what you get with decades of experience and a bankroll. The one significant change I would have made would be to tone down the excessive use of brilliant flood lights pointed at the audience's eyes. I strongly recommend avoiding Who concerts if you are susceptible to seizure induced by flickering visual stimulation. My head hurts. There was a moment of honorable mention where Chrissie Hynde made remark about PETA and vegetarianism and was abruptly booed by the stadium. I was surprised, but I suppose it could be expected from the statistically obese, meat loving city of Houston, TX (ranked #1 most overweight in the US 4 out of the last 5 years... seriously, who would be proud of that?). I enjoyed the "people watching"... especially the folks reconnecting with their youth through music of their generation. It really brought smiles to a lot of faces. I cried to myself through the first part of the show. I've really been emotional this week. I'm sure it will pass. Sam and I ate at the original Ninfa's on Navigation before the show. We managed to get a nice patio table and dodge the crowd. Fresh avocado and jalapeños, yummy salsa, and pechuga gratinada were perfect under the cool night sky. Other than being emotionally troubled and not being able to shake this back ache, I had a nice time this evening. I'm headed to Brazos Bend in about 6 hours for a photo outing, so it bed time.

So yesterday was the suck for me. I was pretty depressed all day and stayed home from work... again. I was feeling ill on Thursday and took as sick day. I worked from home on Friday because my back was still in a lot of pain. Mike bought a bundle of tickets to the BLS concert a couple of months ago. I don't listen to their music, but he always invites me to go to concerts he attends and in light of my natural tendency to withdrawal from everything around me these days and feel sorry for myself, I accepted. The opening bands were Priestess and Black Stone Cherry. The only thing I knew about Black Label Society was that Zakk Wylde was the frontman and there was going to be hair band guitar rock going on. It was loud and the crowd was sucked right out of the 80's best metal years. There was a group of us there... Mike (my old friend), Mike (his neighbor), Miranda, Jennifer, Charles, and myself. We met for drinks before the show at The Strip House because it was close to the Toyota Center. I thought that was where the show was to be performed, but it ended up being at Warehouse Live... which is over by the Meridian. It was my first time there and I was really impressed with the venue. I am kicking myself now for not making a larger effort to see the Burden Brothers there when they were in town. In synopsis, the show was an experience even if not my choice of music. Black Stone Cherry was the better of the three bands in my opinion. I slept in today. Still under the weather, being alone is easier because I don't have act like everything is ok. It's not like anything can be said or done. It just is what it is. Sam and I are going to see The Who tonight. The Pretenders are opening up for them... I think. I saw the Rolling Stones last year with Ted and I figured I'd scratch another staple in music history off the list tonight. Again, not my normal fair, but I'm pretty open minded when it comes to music and the arts. Hopefully I'll start feeling a little better. I'm almost certain it has something to do with the proximity to the holidays. I'll write more later...