Happy Thanksgiving!

From my family, to yours [back row: Eric (son#1), Me; middle row: Noah (2nd cousin), Dylan (son#2); front row: Wyatt (son#3), Karen Cowan Clark (my cousin), Joyce (Grannie) Lee]

My meal plans? I found a restaurant open on Madison, and will be there at 2pm. Although I'm glad Joe Pritchard is still doing his annual Thanksgiving potluck for those without family in the area, it's time I let others more needy than I partake of his hospitality. Thanks Joe for opening your home again - You Rock.

Simple Gifts

This year, I'm thankful for my sons, for health, and happiness... even if I'm not exactly at my happiest at the moment. I'm thankful for having met most of my early goals in life, and hopeful that I'll meet most of my remaining goals.

I'm thankful for family - my mom, and brothers 'back East'. My nieces and nephews - both my brother's sons & daughters, and my niece-and-nephew in-laws - I'm still the father of their cousins whether they like it or not, and I appreciate each of them - they're great kids.

Thank God for the ability to start over... I'm thankful that I have a job in this time when unemployment is over 10%. I'm thankful that I could take my high-tech skills, and work for many companies in the area. I'm hopeful that the current project I'm working on will lead to many new and interesting projects on middle-tier, and handset (iPhone/Blackberry) applications [I'm following a widget called 'Swype' which I think could revolutionize the handset / tablet-PC, and would LOVE to be a part of THAT revolution's evolution].

I'm thankful for the ability to muster up a shred of optimism amidst all the problems I deal with - budget worries, struggling paycheck-to-paycheck, watching my new investment nest-egg grow, shepherding my sons' custodial accounts toward their college educations.

And I'm thankful that I'm still plugging away at that QWERTY... thing. Oh, sure... I'm staring at the glowing rectangle FAR too much - more than 8 hours a day, and that can NOT be healthy... but hey... it's a living.

I'm thankful for Kayla - my dog / daughter / girl-friend... well... she *THINKS* she's my girlfriend, and I hate to break the news to her. She's the 'alpha-bitch' (literally!) of the house, and she knows it. But she's a PRETTY GIRL... and I remind her of it every chance I get.

Memento / Our Hospitality

Last night watched the Buster Keaton silent film "Our Hospitality", followed by "Memento"... Buster Keaton is an overlooked visual genius - and some of the scenes in Our Hospitality show this - especially scenes on the river, or involving the 'mountain'. Otherwise, the plot was a bit contrived, and predictable here in this 'Hatfields vs. McCoys' hillbilly feud story.

On the other hand, Memento was one of those films that not only kept your attention, but when it was over, made you want to then see it again... in a different... way (or a different order - no spoilers here).

Made contact with my Finnish friend - good to hear that she's doing well. I knew her from her picture right away, even though it's a picture taken from a distance, and showing her from the back & side - not her face. She looks great. I wonder if she has ice tires for that bike? The last semi-contact I had with her she wasn't even involved with... an ABC sports crew was interviewing the parents of Matti Nykänen (the Flying Finn of ski jumping), and the person translating for the news crew sounded like... in fact could ONLY be... my friend's mother. Now I need to mail her the photos of her high school graduation, her family, and BOTH grand mothers. Looking at them, I just didn't have the heart to do either of the typical things: a) put them in another box for the next 25 years, or b) toss them in the trash. Nope. Too much sentimental value in these.

Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation

Coming to an ABC/Disney channel near you - watch for the Zac Moncrief / Dan Povenmire directed "Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation" special. Dr. Doofenshmirtz is trying to make "Naughty" into "The New Nice" with his 'naught-inator' device, while Phineas and Ferb attempt to turn Danville into a lighted thank you card to Santa.

Dan (a lifelong friend, and fellow high school filmmaker) directs, and produces P&F for Disney, and it's good to track his success - especially since my kids love the show.

Nov 23:

A short work week - Thursday Thanksgiving Holiday followed by 'Black Friday'. I'm on my own again this year... the boys are with their mom's family in Utah.

Watched a documentary on the 1996 Mount Everest tragedy - Scott Fisher's team members were mostly from Seattle, so it was heavily covered in the local press, and again 10 years later. This film was from PBS/Frontline by the director of the IMAX film made in the days before and after the storm that year. I've never climbed above 12,000 feet, but all that climbing / heavy-breathing makes me long to summit Mount Rainer. Just remember to keep those fingers & toes warm.

Why do we work at jobs doing things we wouldn't do if people didn't pay us? If the things we really loved - like making movies, etc - paid as well, we'd do THOSE things full-time. I guess this also answers the question "Why do employers have to PAY people?"

Nov. 20:

Wow! Synchronicity is really kicking in... today, I missed my early bus, and caught the express (7 minutes later). On that bus, glancing over from my book, I noticed someone flipping through a binder of sheet music. On a hunch, I glanced over to see if it was in bass clef or treble - and it was bass! I said, "Trombone?", and my fellow passenger said, "Baritone, actually."

I was floored... "Wow! I play Euphonium." I said, and it led to a conversation about the Sounders FC band 'SoundWave'. It's a PAID GIG (!) which for a baritone/euphonium player is a very rare thing. He said they own 6 bell front horns, but only have 4 players. Auditions are in January, so it'll be a while before I can start, but I should figure out where they play next, and either 'sit in', or at least listen.

This could be fun!

Nov 19:

Yep... twice in one day. Hasn't happened since May, but here we go. Just finished watching "The Opposite of Sex" with Lisa Kudrow and Christina Ricci; a great independent film with interesting characters, not many unpredictable plot twists, but the script, and acting made up for the predictability. Ms. Ricci played a truly reprehensible reprobate - Ms. "Trailer Trash" with a capital 'Bee' - Yotch.

Yes, I'm still working my way through the 1001 Movies list, and the next films on my watch list are 'Memento', 'United 93', 'Adaptation', and 'Live and Become'. I saw 'Chungking Express' earlier in the week, and I really don't understand why (or how) that film made the list.... Oh, sure... Mr. Quintin "I'm-a-God-among-film-makers" Tarantino liked it, and introduces the DVD, but PLEASE. Two disconnected rambling stories. No script, no plot, no likable characters. Come on! Give me characters I can care about! His introduction was almost as unbearable as the introduction to 'Spirited Away' by John Lasseter [how many drinks had HE had while filming THAT intro].

Nov. 19:

[Ansku reads the paragraph that starts with 'The Box']

I guess the last 'dating related' thing I did was the speed dating thing a couple of weeks ago... since then... nothing. Now that it's no longer a 'dating blog', I can REALLY ramble (since no one's reading anyway... heh heh).

Life got even stranger this week. First, there was the dictate (at work) that we do everything possible, and necessary to kill ourselves to make a ship date. For those of you familiar with agile software development, that goes against the whole principle - you're supposed to commit to what you can produce in a short time frame, and deploy workable software. BUT... In this case, it's more like 'waterfall' where we come up with a plan, and a ship date, and throw everything-but-the-kitchen-sink at the project until we drag our exhausted carcasses to the finish line, get a 'free day off' as special payment, and numbly stagger onward toward the next project. THAT'S what we've been asked to do.

So plans to take a week off in December, and visit relatives in the deep south are right out the window. Now instead of only losing 50 hours of vacation time at the end of the year, I'll lose over 80 hours. joy. Fortunately (?) I can carry 40 hours of paid-time-off into the next year. yay.

Today was even stranger... I left the employ of Amazon.com over 18 months ago... and I still don't understand exactly why... in any case... I got a phone call out of the blue today on my trusty cell phone - the number has been my only number since the mid 1990's, so many people have it - from an employee I hired at Amazon. She let me know that I had a box of 'stuff' that got left at Amazon, and that I should arrange to pick it up. She had no idea I now work 3 blocks away from Amazon, but I explained things, and arranged to meet her at lunch and pick it up.

The Box... it included many magazines, and science fiction collectibles - like a theatrical 'program' from the Battlestar Galactica Movie (1978), and all the Star Trek Poster Magazines from the same time period. There was also a smaller box within that contained old photographs dating from the early 1980's through to 1992 or so. These were VERY interesting to see again, as I thought they were all LOST long ago. Among the pictures were a set of photos sent to me from a very dear friend from Finland - while we were dating once upon a time... Those photos were of her family, their summer cottage on a lake, her brother holding up a large pike, her mother's mother... her... father's mother... wow... I realize that with the health, and stamina of the Finns that the grandmother's are possibly still living, but if they're NOT... these pictures could be precious keepsakes. And here they are in a 'found box'... left at 705 Fifth Ave S... over a year and a half ago.

But... how to locate her. Hmmmm... I tried for years to locate her, but with no success. And I'm not sure I really want to make contact again after all these years... with all that's gone on... marriage... PowerPoint... riches... losses... divorce... starting over... etc.

It makes me want to take a long sauna.... now THAT sounds like a great way to spend an evening!

Nov 16: Goodbye To You

With the end of summer came the dawning of another realization: I spent my entire summer putting most of my energy toward 'meeting someone'. And as a 'goal oriented person', when that didn't happen, my summer seems like a complete waste.

My youngest son turned 10 years old, and I took him to his first 'concert-like' performance (Jeff Dunham at the Tacoma Dome) as a birthday present. PowerPoint turned 20 years old sometime recently, and I didn't even notice - but I saw a link to a presentation given by David Burne (Talking Heads) featuring photos of the 'Wizards Of Menlo Park' who created PowerPoint, and found pictures of my younger self staring back at me... was I really that chubby?! Why didn't somebody SAY SOMETHING!?!

But those two events got me thinking - retrospectively - about plans, goals for myself, etc, and I realized I had not yet written and completed a SINGLE FILM PROJECT. No 'Zombie Nerds from Outer Space', or 'Outsource This', or 'Wingman', or 'Yellow Brick Shaft', or even 'Walter's Christmas Carol'. And the only thing I have to show for a couple of years of working on other peoples film projects is... well, okay... 3 or 4 completed films with my name in the credits, 3 or 4 still in some state of post-production, and 2 short films from the 48Hour Film Project. That's probably more than I expected. But of the films I've written, and am passionate about... nothing. A completed 'act 1' script (of 3 acts). Some locations picked, and key cast and crew selected, but I'm NO WHERE NEAR beginning production on anything. It looks as if I'll have to SELL 'Zombie Nerds' to get it made - and if actors like Ricky Gervais and Rainn Wilson were cast as the leads, it would be a better film than I could make on my own.

But, but, but.... no script. Instead, I've frittered my time away trying to meet someone so I can get laid. Hell - it's going on two years... I've got to face facts. This isn't a DRY SPELL, this is it. There was a sexual revolution, and I got left behind at the station. Hermitsville. Monk City. Goodbye sex. Goodbye dating. Goodbye hope at being able to meet someone. Now *I'm* one of those people who've "Given Up" on dating in today's freaky singles culture. And it's not because everyone I meet seems to be 'broken' in some major way - i.e. 'insane', or 'overly needy', or 'too much a soccer mom', or 'they come with kids' - but because I realize *I* am the one who's BROKEN.

I'm the guy with three sons - they're my priority, and my sons are NOT going to meet my woman-friend [yes, she's still hypothetical] until I've been seeing her for at least a couple of months. I'm the guy who schleps the boys back and forth to soccer games - leaving at the crack of dawn for the first one, and not getting back home until mid-afternoon. I *DESPISE* all the driving involved, but I grit my teeth, and bear it for the boys - THEY LOVE soccer. And in hindsight, soccer season isn't nearly as long as baseball season - but soccer season weather is always SO RAINY!

I'm the guy who thought marriage was supposed to be 'forever', but who couldn't 'save' it - couldn't make the other person happy, or at least keep them from being constantly 'angry at the world'. Never again.

Taking a breath... (whooooo... sssssss) out with the old.... (ssssssshhhhhhh) in with the new... (aaaaahhhhhhhhh... haaaaaaa... haaaaa... haaaa... ha.. ha.. ha ha ha). This is why I don't *DO* New Years Resolutions. I'd rather adjust life goals on the fly, and make changes as needed. Maybe a good workout will cheer me up...

[P.S. - the workout 'weigh in' was a happy event! I've only gained 3 pounds since end of summer, and after not really working out that much... woo hoo! Now to keep up the workouts through the 'ho ho holidays'... again, not because I enjoy it, but because I *need* to.]

Nov. 4:

I didn't end up attending the party for the kids - good thing, since it was just 3 teens, 4 pre-teens, and the adults were the boys' mother, and the 'swinger' couple from across the street. Glad I missed it.

Did NOT go to the election night party I was planning to attend - spent the night scratching my dog instead... we both enjoyed that. All the initiatives, and the major races are turning out the way I'd hoped - smart people in Seattle will rule the day.

Still haven't followed up with Sunny regarding the movie Zombieland. I'm over the flu, but have been in a 'funk' ever since the abortive Halloween dance, and not really wanting to face the dating scene - even if it's someone I really like - because now I'm not sure how she's going to perceive me... and it has to be a two way thing for me, or it's a no starter. Measuring the level of interest is key.