Please notice the soccer cleats. They are necessary to keep me from sliding fully under the whirring blades of my mower and becoming Joe mulch.
That's okay, Jane and Sarah can earn their keep when they get here by doing the impossible side yard.... :0)
6/02/2005
Yabba Dabba DO!
I would like to officially announce that I have Flintstone feet.
Bummer.
Or, maybe not!
An excuse for extra foot massages and pedicures!
Bummer.
Or, maybe not!
An excuse for extra foot massages and pedicures!
Memories...light the corners of my mind
I miss:
My sister, my friends, A Cote, Rockridge/College Ave. for shopping, eating and flower buying, the place in N. Berkeley that's run by lesbians and has basic super-yum breakfast treats, Lands End cliff walk in San Francisco (where Joe proposed and has the best view of the Golden Gate bridge), Chouinard Winery in Castro Valley, Picture + Pizza + Pub movie house,Woodwards Garden restaurant in SF, bonfire parties at Ocean Beach (esp. happy memory as that's where I met Joe).
Don't miss: Summer that's chilly and damp. Not being able to park just to see a movie or go to the grocery store. That working like a dog still doesn't allow you to buy a house that's not teensy.
My sister, my friends, A Cote, Rockridge/College Ave. for shopping, eating and flower buying, the place in N. Berkeley that's run by lesbians and has basic super-yum breakfast treats, Lands End cliff walk in San Francisco (where Joe proposed and has the best view of the Golden Gate bridge), Chouinard Winery in Castro Valley, Picture + Pizza + Pub movie house,Woodwards Garden restaurant in SF, bonfire parties at Ocean Beach (esp. happy memory as that's where I met Joe).
Don't miss: Summer that's chilly and damp. Not being able to park just to see a movie or go to the grocery store. That working like a dog still doesn't allow you to buy a house that's not teensy.
6/01/2005
One year in DC...whoa that was fast!
Well, it's been a little over a year since Jenny and I left San Francisco/Oakland for the Washington DC metro area. Amazing. Time really, really flies now. The Bay Area is really much better to visit than to live in, if you ask me. (Nobody did, but what the hell, it's our blog, so....) Still, it's got me into a little reflection mode about what I miss and don't miss about living in the Bay Area.
What I don't miss: lots of things that really begin and end with the $700,000+ housing prices....
Now, what I miss:
EBOT soccer. It's been a serious pain in the ass finding non-competitive soccer out here. I miss my EBOT family and the weekly chance to score goles.
The wine country. Man, do I miss this one. Livermore Valley, I barely knew ye!
Friends. Obviously. Although almost all of them have moved out of the Bay Area already due to the factors listed above.
We are much happier in DC. It was a nervewracking decision to pull up stakes after a decade of S.F. area living (an average of Jenny's and my time in the area), but we're convinced we made the right one. I just don't see how people get ahead of the game out there.... Here in DC we've got a house, upcoming baby, jobs, family...all is good. It's been a hell of a year. For us, it was the right choice.
What I don't miss: lots of things that really begin and end with the $700,000+ housing prices....
Now, what I miss:
EBOT soccer. It's been a serious pain in the ass finding non-competitive soccer out here. I miss my EBOT family and the weekly chance to score goles.
The wine country. Man, do I miss this one. Livermore Valley, I barely knew ye!
Friends. Obviously. Although almost all of them have moved out of the Bay Area already due to the factors listed above.
We are much happier in DC. It was a nervewracking decision to pull up stakes after a decade of S.F. area living (an average of Jenny's and my time in the area), but we're convinced we made the right one. I just don't see how people get ahead of the game out there.... Here in DC we've got a house, upcoming baby, jobs, family...all is good. It's been a hell of a year. For us, it was the right choice.
5/27/2005
Last "date day"
Last Saturday, Joe and I took our last patented Jen-Joe roadtrip and had a "date day" in St. Michael's. It's on the Eastern side of Chesapeake Bay.
It's a very cute town with a main street, a ton of mid-to-late 1800's era buildings and yummy seafood. We ate at a restaurant right on the harbor that a local recommended -- it was SO good. Crab cakes for me. YUM. Plus a virgin piña colada. I am crazy that way!
Basically we walked up and down the main street, looked in shops, looked at cool houses, had an ice cream cone and sat on a porch and watched people go by. Also, I signed up to try to win a 1966 Mustang convertible (cherry red with a beige top, aka my dream car). The St. Michael's Rotary Club was selling raffle tix...so I signed up...
It's a very cute town with a main street, a ton of mid-to-late 1800's era buildings and yummy seafood. We ate at a restaurant right on the harbor that a local recommended -- it was SO good. Crab cakes for me. YUM. Plus a virgin piña colada. I am crazy that way!
Basically we walked up and down the main street, looked in shops, looked at cool houses, had an ice cream cone and sat on a porch and watched people go by. Also, I signed up to try to win a 1966 Mustang convertible (cherry red with a beige top, aka my dream car). The St. Michael's Rotary Club was selling raffle tix...so I signed up...
5/26/2005
Totally Rad
My evil twin is pictured at right, doing what he does best: playing the hell out of a guitar.
Johnny Rad was the other guitarist in my college-era band, The Feast of Stephen. Nowadays he's living in Parkersburg, WV and plays mostly at singer/songwriter events. His songs are fantastic, with "Free the Frogs" being my personal favorite.
The cool thing about playing in a band with Rad was that our styles are completely different, so they compliment each other well.
Where he is technically adept at the instrument, I am a sloppy mess of a player; where his phrasing is modal and uses complex chord voicings to weave texture into the song, I bash on my strings as hard as I can in the hopes of an unexpected, feedback-aided sonic discovery; while he can play YYZ, I can play Tom Sawyer. You get the picture.
Anyway, in the photo at right he is using his super powers for good at a songwriters' cancer benefit. Go Rad!
Johnny Rad was the other guitarist in my college-era band, The Feast of Stephen. Nowadays he's living in Parkersburg, WV and plays mostly at singer/songwriter events. His songs are fantastic, with "Free the Frogs" being my personal favorite.
The cool thing about playing in a band with Rad was that our styles are completely different, so they compliment each other well.
Where he is technically adept at the instrument, I am a sloppy mess of a player; where his phrasing is modal and uses complex chord voicings to weave texture into the song, I bash on my strings as hard as I can in the hopes of an unexpected, feedback-aided sonic discovery; while he can play YYZ, I can play Tom Sawyer. You get the picture.
Anyway, in the photo at right he is using his super powers for good at a songwriters' cancer benefit. Go Rad!
5/25/2005
Working for the weekend
Life here in the D.C. Metro area is all wet right now....yuk! Last year at this time it was 90 degrees. Where is summer? I'm sure it will arrive soon enough and press its heavy, humid foot down on the back of our necks and make us beg for fall again.
Actually, I don't mind the heat too much. Some folks find it oppressive, but after almost 10 years of Bay Area 55 degree backyard BBQs all "summer" long, I'm ready for some bakin'!
I can't believe the baby is almost here!!!! Jenny and I went to her doctor's office today for a scheduled appointment, and the doc told us that the baby could come at any time now (although we're still scheduled for an Independence Day arrival). It's so weird to think of being a dad. I hope I can live up to a tenth of how good a dad mine is. It's scary as hell, mind you, but exhilerating nonetheless.
This weekend promises to be a busy—and fun—one. Jason and Liz are both coming in to visit and we have a BBQ scheduled with our cool neighbors, Bill and Kim, for Memorial Day. Fun!
Actually, I don't mind the heat too much. Some folks find it oppressive, but after almost 10 years of Bay Area 55 degree backyard BBQs all "summer" long, I'm ready for some bakin'!
I can't believe the baby is almost here!!!! Jenny and I went to her doctor's office today for a scheduled appointment, and the doc told us that the baby could come at any time now (although we're still scheduled for an Independence Day arrival). It's so weird to think of being a dad. I hope I can live up to a tenth of how good a dad mine is. It's scary as hell, mind you, but exhilerating nonetheless.
This weekend promises to be a busy—and fun—one. Jason and Liz are both coming in to visit and we have a BBQ scheduled with our cool neighbors, Bill and Kim, for Memorial Day. Fun!
5/23/2005
34 weeks and '80s movies
How do these two relate? Well, I am 34 weeks along being prego and the AP (aka alien peanut) is playing out scenes from "Footloose" and "Flashdance," while inside.
It's insane the amount of movement that's happening. Arms/legs are flying around and rise up from the belly. Day...night...afternoon...sitting here at work... doesn't matter...it dances around so much! Sometimes I think it's doing jumping jacks, as it feels like all limbs are going at the same time. Watch out Denise Austin, we may have a fitness prince/princess that will be challenging you in the near future.
It's insane the amount of movement that's happening. Arms/legs are flying around and rise up from the belly. Day...night...afternoon...sitting here at work... doesn't matter...it dances around so much! Sometimes I think it's doing jumping jacks, as it feels like all limbs are going at the same time. Watch out Denise Austin, we may have a fitness prince/princess that will be challenging you in the near future.
5/20/2005
None more blech.
Yuck city! Today's weather is fantastically horrible! Rain rain and more rain! Stop me before I bang* again! Bang! Bang!
(Okay, I think I need some coffee.)
*"Bang" is printer's slang for a typeset exclamation point, btw.
(Okay, I think I need some coffee.)
*"Bang" is printer's slang for a typeset exclamation point, btw.
5/19/2005
"I congratulate you on the marriage of you."
There is apparently a market for carved melons in Asia. While not exactly my cup of green tea, I've got to admit that this is pretty good knifework. Still, it's pretty effed up to give someone a melon calling him a "muron." (See work #21.)
Somewhere in Japan, a kid is looking at a Halloween pumkin carving web site and going, "what the hell is up with these Americans and the goard carving?"
Somewhere in Japan, a kid is looking at a Halloween pumkin carving web site and going, "what the hell is up with these Americans and the goard carving?"
5/16/2005
Hobby of the month
One of my best and worst traits as a human is having flights of fancy in regard to life interests and hobbies. Usually it goes like this: I find a neat topic, dive in head first, read anything and everything I can find on the subject, work out a business plan for it, find out that it's too riddled with liabilities and/or costs to take a risk on, get disinterested, move on to next topic.
Luckily, I've got the common sense to get a steady job and stick to it while persuing all the other things, so I don't feel too guilty about it.
Still, I sometimes wonder what it must be like for those lucky folks who knew, just knew, exactly what they wanted to do with their life, and did it. That has to be a cool feeling.
No regrets, though. I'm pretty happy with myself and the fact that I can usually become pretty decent at whatever it is I want to teach myself about until I get bored with it. For now it's guitar amps, and this one's lasted for quite some time now. Maybe it'll stick!
I get this honest, btw. My mom taught herself the following things from library books alone:
Furniture refinishing: Her pieces are amazingly good. If you ever come visit, check out the bedset in the office/spare bedroom. People can't believe it wasn't professionally redone.
Upholstery: She taught herself how to upholster a couch, and then taught me. Hence, the red velvet love seat in our living room.
Painting (oil, watercolor): Again, it's amazing that she taught herself to do this. She can paint from a photo no problem. That's something I could never do.
Spanish: She got tapes and books and taught herself so well that when we went to Spain, she would sit for hours in the lobby of our hotel just talking to the old men who gathered there to watch soccer. That's pretty freaking cool. And my mom isn't even from the Spanish side of the family!!! :-)
In case you haven't guessed, I'm really proud of my mom. She's sweet and smart, and the most creative person I know. Go mom!
Luckily, I've got the common sense to get a steady job and stick to it while persuing all the other things, so I don't feel too guilty about it.
Still, I sometimes wonder what it must be like for those lucky folks who knew, just knew, exactly what they wanted to do with their life, and did it. That has to be a cool feeling.
No regrets, though. I'm pretty happy with myself and the fact that I can usually become pretty decent at whatever it is I want to teach myself about until I get bored with it. For now it's guitar amps, and this one's lasted for quite some time now. Maybe it'll stick!
I get this honest, btw. My mom taught herself the following things from library books alone:
Furniture refinishing: Her pieces are amazingly good. If you ever come visit, check out the bedset in the office/spare bedroom. People can't believe it wasn't professionally redone.
Upholstery: She taught herself how to upholster a couch, and then taught me. Hence, the red velvet love seat in our living room.
Painting (oil, watercolor): Again, it's amazing that she taught herself to do this. She can paint from a photo no problem. That's something I could never do.
Spanish: She got tapes and books and taught herself so well that when we went to Spain, she would sit for hours in the lobby of our hotel just talking to the old men who gathered there to watch soccer. That's pretty freaking cool. And my mom isn't even from the Spanish side of the family!!! :-)
In case you haven't guessed, I'm really proud of my mom. She's sweet and smart, and the most creative person I know. Go mom!
5/12/2005
Your browser sucks.
My Webmaster at the office recently turned me on to Firefox. Firefox is pretty much the anti-Explorer, in that it's easy-to-use, popup-unfriendly, and not as vulernable to attack as that browser from Microshite. It's also open source, which is way cool, and so indie. (Like me, right?)
Anyway, I recommend that you download it and give it a trial run. I'm pretty sure you'll like it.
BTW, there is a little extention that goes with Firefox called Stumble Upon that will ROCK YOUR WORLD. And no, all-caps italic bold is not overkill in this case.
Basically, Stumble Upon is preferences-targeted Web browsing that suggests sites you might be interested in, based on your search history and interests. I've found some killer sites through this thing (Questionable Content being one), and I have a very hard time keeping my cursor away from it, so be warned!
Anyway, I recommend that you download it and give it a trial run. I'm pretty sure you'll like it.
BTW, there is a little extention that goes with Firefox called Stumble Upon that will ROCK YOUR WORLD. And no, all-caps italic bold is not overkill in this case.
Basically, Stumble Upon is preferences-targeted Web browsing that suggests sites you might be interested in, based on your search history and interests. I've found some killer sites through this thing (Questionable Content being one), and I have a very hard time keeping my cursor away from it, so be warned!
All Hands on the Bad One
Just finished interviewing Carrie and Corin from one of my favorite bands, Sleater-Kinney. Both very cool people. Look for the whole article in a Guitar Player magazine near you!
5/10/2005
None more black.
Well, it looks like I'm in a band again.
Jenny was taking food to a new mother in my neighborhood (something all the new moms do in my neighborhood) Saturday before last, and when she mentioned to the woman's husband, Glen, that I couldn't come along because I was playing at a blues jam, he told her that his band was looking for a guitarist and gave her his number for me.
I called and we chatted for a while about music and musical goals, and found that we both wanted to do original music locally, with no touring (we met through the new parents' network, after all). We saw eye to eye on most things, so he suggested that I come over to audition that Sunday.
On Friday the bass player, Aaron, brought by a CD with three tunes from their old band for me to learn for the audition. I hadn't learned entire songs note-for-note in about 10 years, so I dropped my plans of going to see a show at the Velvet Lounge in DC and started working out the guitar parts.
The first song was pretty fast with a difficult rhythm, and it took me until the next morning to get it down. The other two were pretty much cake to play, technique-wise, which was good. Still, the tough part of learning three songs in a day and a half is remembering how the songs go: i.e., what part comes after what. This can only be done by listening to the song again and again and again and again and then shooting yourself and then listening some more. So that's what I did.
On Sunday I arrived at the drummer's house and we gathered in the toy-strewn basement to go through the songs I'd learned. (By the way, can I just say that day-glo Fisher-Price toys in the rehearsal studio is so rawk? Yeowww!)
I used my newest build, the Lo-Fi 5881 and my Les Paul Standard, and immediately got a good sound that fit in the harmonic space between the bass and vocals really well. To the non-musicians out there, let me say that this is one of the most important parts of playing with other people: getting a good sound. Nothing builds confidence in your playing faster than a good sound, and nothing destroys confidence as quickly as a bad one.
Now that I had dialed in my sound, it was time to impress or die trying (which would be quickly be following by my slinking out of the guy's house with my guitar cord dragging between my legs....).
We went through the fast song with the difficult rhythm first. To my amazement, I played it pretty much flawlessly the first time through. In fact, I had to show the bass player (who wrote the song in the first place) how a break in it went. At that point when I started to feel really good about my chances of getting into the band (and really good about my massive cram session in the preceeding days).
We played through the other two songs in like fashion, and the band sounded really tight, especially for three guys who had never seen their guitarist before that morning. We even wrote an original song on the spot, which is a really good sign.
I am too experienced with flaky musicians and the whole garage band thing to expect too much from this, but one thing's for sure: this experience has reminded me of how much fun it is to play music with other people, and I want to do more of it. I enjoy writing and recording music on my iBook, but nothing really compares to the thrill you get when you connect to another living, breathing person on a musical level. It sounds trite, but it can be pretty trancendental. And if not that, it's at least pretty damn cool. You can't ask for much more than that.
Jenny was taking food to a new mother in my neighborhood (something all the new moms do in my neighborhood) Saturday before last, and when she mentioned to the woman's husband, Glen, that I couldn't come along because I was playing at a blues jam, he told her that his band was looking for a guitarist and gave her his number for me.
I called and we chatted for a while about music and musical goals, and found that we both wanted to do original music locally, with no touring (we met through the new parents' network, after all). We saw eye to eye on most things, so he suggested that I come over to audition that Sunday.
On Friday the bass player, Aaron, brought by a CD with three tunes from their old band for me to learn for the audition. I hadn't learned entire songs note-for-note in about 10 years, so I dropped my plans of going to see a show at the Velvet Lounge in DC and started working out the guitar parts.
The first song was pretty fast with a difficult rhythm, and it took me until the next morning to get it down. The other two were pretty much cake to play, technique-wise, which was good. Still, the tough part of learning three songs in a day and a half is remembering how the songs go: i.e., what part comes after what. This can only be done by listening to the song again and again and again and again and then shooting yourself and then listening some more. So that's what I did.
On Sunday I arrived at the drummer's house and we gathered in the toy-strewn basement to go through the songs I'd learned. (By the way, can I just say that day-glo Fisher-Price toys in the rehearsal studio is so rawk? Yeowww!)
I used my newest build, the Lo-Fi 5881 and my Les Paul Standard, and immediately got a good sound that fit in the harmonic space between the bass and vocals really well. To the non-musicians out there, let me say that this is one of the most important parts of playing with other people: getting a good sound. Nothing builds confidence in your playing faster than a good sound, and nothing destroys confidence as quickly as a bad one.
Now that I had dialed in my sound, it was time to impress or die trying (which would be quickly be following by my slinking out of the guy's house with my guitar cord dragging between my legs....).
We went through the fast song with the difficult rhythm first. To my amazement, I played it pretty much flawlessly the first time through. In fact, I had to show the bass player (who wrote the song in the first place) how a break in it went. At that point when I started to feel really good about my chances of getting into the band (and really good about my massive cram session in the preceeding days).
We played through the other two songs in like fashion, and the band sounded really tight, especially for three guys who had never seen their guitarist before that morning. We even wrote an original song on the spot, which is a really good sign.
I am too experienced with flaky musicians and the whole garage band thing to expect too much from this, but one thing's for sure: this experience has reminded me of how much fun it is to play music with other people, and I want to do more of it. I enjoy writing and recording music on my iBook, but nothing really compares to the thrill you get when you connect to another living, breathing person on a musical level. It sounds trite, but it can be pretty trancendental. And if not that, it's at least pretty damn cool. You can't ask for much more than that.
5/09/2005
Flora and Fauna
Spring is definitely here...and it's been amazing to see the change from winter to spring.
The birds are going crazy and our flowers are blooming!
The peony bush from the previous homeowner JUST started to flower and I am waiting to see if the new bushes I planted have blooms. The azaleas are insane...it looks Hawaii-like around the border of our house! Will post a photo soon!
The birds are going crazy and our flowers are blooming!
The peony bush from the previous homeowner JUST started to flower and I am waiting to see if the new bushes I planted have blooms. The azaleas are insane...it looks Hawaii-like around the border of our house! Will post a photo soon!
5/04/2005
Questionable Content: Too indie for my own good.
Meet Faye. Faye is a character on one of the cooler and better executed Web-based comics I've run across: Questionable Content.
Faye lives with Marten (the "show's" central character), and they enjoy a roommate relationship based on the stereotypical, yet strangely unannoying Scully/Mulder, Dave/Maddy, etc. sexual tension employed by countless sitcoms. Will they or won't they? Oooo, they almost opened up that episode.... Are they gonna kiss????? You know the drill.
The storyline revolves around these two indie rock hipsters living in an anonymous northern city: rest assured that with this entire cast of characters (robot computer sex-addict pet, best friends with 17 year-old jailbait girlfriends, recovering goth rocker boss, annoying, yet lovable ex-goth co-worker, et al) wacky indie hijinks are sure to ensue.
The artwork is superb, and the scripts, while clichéd, are strangely addictive. You can't read just one.
Start at episode one and keep going. Pretty cool stuff.
BTW, I'm not really the comic book geek in the extended family. That would be Suzi.
Faye lives with Marten (the "show's" central character), and they enjoy a roommate relationship based on the stereotypical, yet strangely unannoying Scully/Mulder, Dave/Maddy, etc. sexual tension employed by countless sitcoms. Will they or won't they? Oooo, they almost opened up that episode.... Are they gonna kiss????? You know the drill.
The storyline revolves around these two indie rock hipsters living in an anonymous northern city: rest assured that with this entire cast of characters (robot computer sex-addict pet, best friends with 17 year-old jailbait girlfriends, recovering goth rocker boss, annoying, yet lovable ex-goth co-worker, et al) wacky indie hijinks are sure to ensue.
The artwork is superb, and the scripts, while clichéd, are strangely addictive. You can't read just one.
Start at episode one and keep going. Pretty cool stuff.
BTW, I'm not really the comic book geek in the extended family. That would be Suzi.
On the home front
Well, I haven't been blogging too much lately due to work stuff, mostly, so here's an update to get you up to speed:
Jenny is so cute with her big ol' belly. Skinny girl, big belly! I love to put my hand on there and feel the little thing kicking and rolling around....so weird, yet so cool.
I played in a blues jam on Sunday in Takoma Park. The DC Blues Society puts on this open-mic type jam on the first Sunday of every month, and I finally got around to heading down there. Didn't rock, but I didn't stink up the place either, which is fine since that was the first time I've played on stage with other human beings since the "Creek" debacle two years ago. I had to sing for my three-song set, and I can never remember the words to songs, so I just mumbled in true blues fashion. As long as you throw in a few "you make me so sad, baby"'s and "I woke up this morning"'s, all is cool.
I've got an "audition" for a band coming up this Sunday, if all goes well. (Musicians are notoriously flakey, so you can't really count on anything happening until it does.) Dudes live right in our neighborhood, so the commute to practice would be cake.
Jenny and I are in the midst of a "how-to-have-a-baby" class at the hospital where we expect to give birth. Did you ever see the Bill Cosby bit about those classes? It's totally like that. We've learned a lot, though. Stuff like: Epidurals are good. Very good.
Jenny is so cute with her big ol' belly. Skinny girl, big belly! I love to put my hand on there and feel the little thing kicking and rolling around....so weird, yet so cool.
I played in a blues jam on Sunday in Takoma Park. The DC Blues Society puts on this open-mic type jam on the first Sunday of every month, and I finally got around to heading down there. Didn't rock, but I didn't stink up the place either, which is fine since that was the first time I've played on stage with other human beings since the "Creek" debacle two years ago. I had to sing for my three-song set, and I can never remember the words to songs, so I just mumbled in true blues fashion. As long as you throw in a few "you make me so sad, baby"'s and "I woke up this morning"'s, all is cool.
I've got an "audition" for a band coming up this Sunday, if all goes well. (Musicians are notoriously flakey, so you can't really count on anything happening until it does.) Dudes live right in our neighborhood, so the commute to practice would be cake.
Jenny and I are in the midst of a "how-to-have-a-baby" class at the hospital where we expect to give birth. Did you ever see the Bill Cosby bit about those classes? It's totally like that. We've learned a lot, though. Stuff like: Epidurals are good. Very good.
4/27/2005
4/26/2005
Cool crap
I love good design (Jenny and I both do, actually), and this student entry--and Gold medal winner--in the BusinessWeek Design 2004 contest is pure brilliance. This kid is going places. Get it? going places?
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