Family Time
turkey talk
Nov 25th
Rachel and I are in NYC for Thanksgiving, basking in the chill of true Fall weather. Being the massive travel holiday of choice, we had to earn our trip here.
Our stopover in Houston went from a 30-minute pit stop to a 2-hour marathon. La Guardia issued a travel restriction that kept us on the runway just long enough for a guy in row 12 to have a panic attack. We returned to the terminal to boot his jumpy ass off the plane, and then waited for American to dig Mr. Jitter’s baggage out from under the plane. This whole production caused us to miss our next departure window, setting us back another 90 minutes.
While there’s probably some highly critical national security rule that prohibits the shipping of unattended bags, anyone who loses their nerve after the doors close should be separated from their bags just on principle. Even better, let’s kick the guy off and then split up his luggage like pirated booty.
We finally made it into New York, and have been enjoying the holiday atmosphere ever since. The annual Thanksgiving feast in Brooklyn went off as expected, with temptations from cold cuts, sausage, lasagne and stuffed artichokes preceding the traditional fare. Max and Courtney joined us, and we strolled down to the Brooklyn Promenade to witness the famous Manhattan skyline. Our enjoyment lasted approximately 32.4 seconds, or the amount of time we could survive in freezing temperatures with frigid 40 mile-per-hour gusts.
While the REAL patriots were propping up the economy on Black Friday, the wife and I made like a couple of draft dodgers and visited the MOMA and strolled through Central Park. Art and natural beauty were admittedly meager substitutes for long lines and fanatical consumerism, but it was just enough to assuage my guilt.
Another pleasure of NYC is eating at fine neighborhood restaurants. Gennaro’s served reasonably-priced, high quality Italian food that crops up all over New York but is all but impossible to find in Austin. Tonight’s meal at Indus Valley was almost comparable to the incomparable Clay Pit, which is good enough for me.
Tomorrow it’s back home to the dog and warm temperatures. I’m glad we got a taste of winter, but I’ll need a warm weekend to run off the excesses of New York.
iWedding
Sep 21st
Everybody’s had their experience with a wedding or special event that is marred by a truly horrid band or DJ. For me, there was the bar mitzvah where the “band” (an older duo crooning a la Marty and Elayne from Swingers) drove me to drink, which led to an extended chat with the 19-year-old coat check girl that is often recalled at family gatherings. These embarrassing consequences are slowly being eliminated as more people replace DJ’s with an iPod, pre-programmed with their own set list.
That’s exactly what we did for our wedding six months ago. We weren’t necessarily trying to low-ball the whole affair, but a band was way too pricey and we didn’t want some up-with-people DJ jackass trying to “pump up” Grandma with Sir Mix-a-lot. I knew a handful of songs I wanted for dancing or ambience, and figured I could pound out a song list that would represent us and still entertain the crowd. The iPod was the perfect resource, and we only had to spend another $50 for a PA system. Genius!
Except, of course, it really wasn’t that easy. Predictably, I waited until the last minute, programming the song list the day of the wedding. Some songs I had envisioned as “perfect” turned out to be too long, too harsh, too dumb, or (cruelly) not even available through iTunes. Then I not only had to figure out the perfect progression, but also how to force the iPod to play it in order. Finally, there was the moment of dread when we hit “play” and nothing came out of the PA; Larry quickly figured out that the iPod volume was too low, but not before a few bullets were sweat.
All of our struggles were vindicated when, in the middle of Wilco’s “I’m the Man Who Loves You,” the photographer ran by yelling “this is the coolest wedding, GREAT MUSIC!” Perhaps the only regret was picking “Tupelo Honey” as our opening dance number … 7 minutes is way, WAY too long to make everyone sit around feigning enchantment.
barfday gifts
Aug 14th
The weekend commemorating my aging ephemerality, along with its accompanying mental and physical deterioration, is nearly over. Damn, it’s been a good one. Music, movies, stiff drinks, scrumptious food, social interactions both planned and spontaneous, and above all else some quality time with Rachel, all conspired to form a memorable and fulfilling birthday.
One of the highlites of the weekend was a luncheon with Ren & Stimpy creator John K. organized by the Alamo Drafthouse. Since John K. and I were seated at opposite ends of the table, I actually spent most of the lunch talking with Alamo owner Tim League, which was a nice opportunity to meet someone whose labors I greatly appreciate. Alamo chef John Bullington treated us to a fantastic meal featuring crab cakes, duck breast, and LOG for dessert (i.e. a tongue-meltingly rich cake cooked in the shape of a tree stump).
While everyone relaxed and digested the LOG, John K. came around and drew caricatures of each attendee. Drawing is something I used to do a lot of, but it never came naturally. My method was to painstakingly etch, erase, and re-etch slow and exacting lines that ultimately never quite came together how I wanted. But someone like John K. clearly has spent his life drawing from instinct, and he quickly put down a series of caricatures that manage to nail each person’s distinct features while retaining a cartoony simplicity. Rachel and I were blown away with the result.
Turns out that there have been a recent spate of John K caricatures posted in other blogs. Two cartoonists have posted a series of sketches that show John K’s unique take on various celebrities. The Tom Cruise / Katie Holmes portrait really hits the mark, and most are better than bad … they’re GOOD!
tico suave
Mar 21st
There’s nothing like driving 180 km through three tropical zones and flying across half a continent to make you feel like you’ve traveled. We’re back from Costa Rica, and I can now say I’ve accomplished a number of “firsts”:
- Made love to a married woman
- Ridden horseback through plantation fields
- Played with a monkey, and not meant it as a euphemism
- Received a hot oil massage from a man … and liked it
- Observed a Toucan without Fruit Loops somehow being involved
- Swung through trees like a modern (i.e. heavily-secured) Tarzan
- Listened to howler monkeys awaken in the rain
- Watched the sunrise from a private mountainside villa
- Found the only place on Earth with worse drivers than Austin
Hopefully there will be many pictures and stories posted shortly. In the meantime, I’m going to get some sleep and dream in happily nonsensical Spanish.
nuptuals T minus 7 days
Mar 5th
The next week is going to be a slippery mudslide into marriage. Until now, the schedule has had a cushion and the details could wait. Not any more, bubba. All the major items are crossed off the ‘to-do’ list, but there’s still plenty to finalize in terms of the song list, the ceremony, and the logistics. Just like work and school, there’s a buzz to be had by nailing things down at the last minute. I only hope we pull it off and get an “A” for our efforts.