Live from Los Angeles

It's finally here

2006-05-14T22:12:00.000-07:00

Woo hoo!! The adventure that I mentioned a while ago has finally been sprung upon the unsuspecting public!

Watch it (or die)

And then buy the book, especially if you like to support talented, self-published authors with lots of spunk. (Which reminds me, I still need to write my review of Aidmheil - Jess, I swear that it will be coming soon!)

Working on the project was fun and exhausting, with lots of laughs and classic 'you-just-had-to-be-there' moments. It was great to meet all of the talented people who helped out, joining together to lend their various and unique forms of genius to the betterment of the experience, all while braving ice cold water, bone chilling dark alleyways, guerilla-style film-making in a bitterly cold Ralph's parking lot (glad it was WINTER when we were doing all the night shots!!), a VERY un-cooperative tumbleweed, and much more.

Can't wait for the out-takes to make an appearance...

Music meme fun.

2006-04-12T23:24:00.000-07:00

I visited Kevin Apgar's blog last night because I was intrigued by his contest promoting Paul Davidson's shiny new book. (I've obviously been missing in action on the internets lately, but my Goth skating escapade with JSto has brought me out of my stupor and spanked my ass into paying more attention to what's going on in the online world again.... who needs 'real life' anyway??)

What was I saying?

Oh yeah, so I visited Kevin's blog. Reading down the page a little, I came across a pretty cool meme thingy. I was bored (um, I mean, procrastinating) and I have a metric ton of music, so I decided to try it. It turned out to be kinda fun. I'm not gonna tag anyone 'cuz that's lame, but feel free to carry it on throughout the internets.

Here are the rules again, in case you were too lazy to read them on Kevin's page: Put your music player on shuffle. Press forward for each question. Use the song title as the answer to the question even if it doesn't make sense. The results can be pretty funny.

30 Songs:

1. How am I feeling today?
Suck My Kiss (Red Hot Chili Peppers) - actually, this is not far from the truth

2. Will I get far in life?
Check the Skillz (Freestylers) - I will take that as a resounding yes

3. What's your current state of mind?
The Sun Moon and Stars (Trout Fishing in America) - optimistic, anything is possible

4. How do my friends see me?
A Boy Named Sue (Johnny Cash) - bwahahaha!

5. Where will I get married?
Broke Down (Slaid Cleaves) - hmmmm, I'll be getting married on the side of the road after my car breaks down?

6. What is your view of marriage?
Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring (Claire Lynch) - exactly

7. What is my best friend's theme song?
Naked in the Rain (Red Hot Chili Peppers) - Rosalayn will be thrilled

8. What is the story of my life?
Drowned World/Substitute for Love (Madonna) - interpret as you will, 'cuz I have no idea

9. What is/was high school like?
Caring is Creepy (The Shins) - meaning I shouldn't give a shit about what high school was like?... done

10. How can I get ahead in life?
Concerning Hobbits (Howard Shore) - chill and enjoy it, and don't forget the weed

11. What is the best thing about me?
She's Crafty (Beastie Boys) - not sure if this is a compliment or not

12. What is today going to be like?
Welcome to the Jungle (Guns N' Roses) - yes, that's it exactly

13. What is in store for this weekend?
Keep on the Sunny Side (The Whites) - weekends are good

14. Describe my parents?
I'm Good Now (Bob Schneider) - happy with their lives... very nice

15. Describe my grandparents?
I Miss You (Kelly Hunt) - awwww, how sweet

16. How is my life going?
Wake Up (The Jazz Jury) - how apropos - I definitely need to wake my ass up...

17. What song will they play at my funeral?
Past the Point of Rescue (Dixie Chicks) - welll, seeing as I'll be dead, I guess that's true

18. How does the world see me?
Route 66 (Asleep at the Wheel) - a traveler in search of some kicks?

19. Will I have a happy life?
You're Speaking My Language (Juliette & The Licks) - I'm going to take that as a yes

20. What do my friends really think of me?
Beautiful World (Colin Hay) - that I enjoy the world for what it is

21. Do people secretly lust after me?
Baby Got Back (Sir Mix-A-Lot) - again, bwahahahaha! Definitely taking this as a YES ;)

22. How can I make myself happy?
Work It (Nelly featuring Justin Timberlake) - and some more... bwahahaha!

23. What should I do with my life?
Don't Take Your Guns to Town (Johnny Cash) - good advice, guns are bad, mmmkay?

24. Will I ever have children?
Readymade (Beck) - they're already made? maybe this means I'll adopt eventually....

25. What is some good advice for me?
Wrap It Up (The Fabulous Thunderbirds) - I do tend to have trouble putting an end to things

26. How will I be remembered?
Flesh and Bone (Bear McCreary) - there could be worse things to be remembered as

27. What is my signature dancing song?
Pushit (Tool) - can one really dance to Tool?

28. What is my current theme song?
Blowin' in the Wind (Joan Baez) - following life wherever it may take me

29. What do other people think my current theme song is?
Christmas in Hollis (Run DMC) - ha

30. What type of men/women do you like?
Anakin's Betrayal (John Williams) - guess that means I like 'em dark and dangerous... with yellow eyes... yep, Anakin's definitely at his sexiest in those scenes (mmm..... Anakin)

If anyone needs me, I'll be over here watching Revenge of the Sith.....

Watch this.

2006-04-12T00:13:00.000-07:00

If you want to laugh.

Improve your English

And if you don't want to laugh, what the heck's the matter with you?

P.S. Is there a club for people who are addicted to watching Pride and Prejudice? I can't stop watching it - I swear I've seen it 7 times since I bought the DVD a few days ago...

And now, a live weather report from Los Angeles...

2006-04-04T20:55:00.000-07:00

It needs to stop raining now.

That's all.

Too bad, so sad.

2006-03-25T16:13:00.000-08:00

Well, UT came fairly close to winning a National Championship in basketball as well, but then LSU made us look like crap in overtime. Oh well, I don't like basketball anyway.

USC is humbled

2006-01-13T22:31:00.000-08:00

Video:

Seconds After the Winning Touchdown

HI got in the spirit too!

More video:

The Eyes of Texas Are Upon Us
(I deeply apologize for the horrible singing, some of which I freely admit is coming from me)

I had the pleasure of getting together with a big loud group of University of Texas alums at the Hooter's (yes, Hooter's) in Pasadena, 1 mile from the Rose Bowl, to watch this, the best game in college football history!! Wish I coulda been at the actual game, but this was the next best thing - although being in Austin would have rocked too.

Take THAT USC!! Unbeatable eh? It's always dangerous when teams get too cocky. Hope that doesn't happen to my Horns...

Hook 'Em!

It was a good year.

2006-01-01T13:49:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to make my monthly check-in to say:

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and all that.

Hope everyone had a good one, whichever way you may choose to celebrate the season.

I know I did.

And so did fatty fat-fat, who had the pleasure of discovering a distinct taste for beer out of the bottle.

(The BF took care of him for a few days while I was out of town over the holidays, making him feel like a one of the guys by putting the poor cat through Hell Week - he was kind enough to journal it with the following video.)

P.S. Go HORNS!!!!! Show those USC fanboys who's boss on January 4th.

(more soon, specificaly concerning this)

The Greatest Adventure of All Time

2005-12-08T18:13:00.000-08:00

I was cleaning out my files, and I came across the URL for my poor, neglected blog. I dusted it off - realizing that I perhaps should not even be keeping a blog in the first place if I can't even write once a MONTH, never mind once a day - and stared at the blank page. I'm back from H-I-A-T-U-S with nothing to say. Hmmm....

I have been working on a project with some awesome fellow bloggers (although I really can't call myself a blogger at this point in the game - blogposer would better suit) - so I'll finally have SOMETHING TO POST at that point.

In the meantime, this piece of internet awesomeness should keep you busy.

My Dad the video blogger

2005-10-13T00:25:00.000-07:00

Since I haven't updated very much lately (okay, not at all), here's a little video my dad took while in Nebraska for the grandparent's 60th. I'm so excited that I figured out how to do this, I just had to share - please forgive my dad's cheesy-ness. Click the picture:

My dad's a vlogger and he doesn't even know it. He's quite the hipster. For guy who's nearly 62 years old, I must say he likes to keep up with technology and is not the least bit frightened by it. Unlike my mother who's afraid to surf the web because she "might get lost". Don't even ask...

EDIT: of course now it's messed up for some reason. But I swear it was working for a while. I guess that's what happens when one neglects one's blog for months - technical difficulties.

DAMN, it's been a while.

2005-09-29T00:16:00.000-07:00

Very very busy.

No time to talk.

But have not forgotten about this place (I got a few emails to remind me - thanks!).

Will be back soon.

PS: GO SEE SERENITY

Happy Labor Day

2005-09-05T17:09:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone has had a fun break from work/school. I've been without internet for the past 3 days, out in the sticks of Nebraska celebrating my grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary. I've just now made it back to civilization (ie: the stream ecology lab at Colorado State University where my older sister is working towards her PhD). No time for a longer post, but I'll upload some lovely and exciting pictures of Nebraska corn fields when I'm back to LA. Believe me, you won't want to miss it!

Who's Katrina?

2005-09-01T19:31:00.000-07:00

After digesting some of the news over the past few days, I suppose I should attempt to post something about this thing called Katrina that's shaking up the US. It's shaking us up bad, and I don't think people quite realize yet how much worse it's going to get in the following months, in regards to the economy, race relations, human suffering and health, and politics and finger pointing. Some people are saying that New Orleans is nearly completely destroyed and that it's a lost cause to spend money trying to repair it, since it more than likely will happen again in the future, it being below sea level and all. My question is, where will all those people go? Can you even imagine a world in which you were not only unable to go back to your homes due to forces beyond your control, but also were not allowed to go back? It's like Mother Nature's relocation tactics - these refugees from New Orleans have become like our own personal Gaza refugees, forced into relocation from the place they've called home for generations. Life will never be the same for them. In a way, my mind is saying that they should be relocated, so that it doesn't happen again - but on the other hand, I can't even begin to imagine the sadness they must feel when confronted with the possibility that they will never be able to return to their homes.

Honestly, I can't help but say, "It sucks to be them." Because it really does suck to be them. And I am incredibly happy that it isn't me. But it very well could be me - and its ripple effects will definitely affect you and me - and that's what makes it so scary. That's what makes tragedies such as these conditions of human suffering, not just conditions of South Eastern United States suffering. To those people saying, "Damn, those dumb people who chose to live below sea level just got what they deserved, and in the process fucked everything else all to shit" can bite me (and there are a lot of those people out there, just read a few of the comments following this blog entry, which I linked to above - it's just sad). You type those words from thousands of miles away - in your tornado alleys or on top of massive fault lines just waiting for the right moment to shimmy and shake your house down the cliffside - and the sad thing is, I think you really believe that you are right. That they just got what they deserved. Because they chose to live there. Bullshit. Circumstances chose for them. Perhaps their jobs led them to New Orleans, perhaps their families have lived there for generations, perhaps they truly cannot afford to just pack up and move. Regardless, it effects us all because it could happen at any time, at any place. This time it was the Gulf of Mexico - next time, take your pick of all the big cities in the United States or the world. It's going to have long-term consequences for sure.

To conclude, causes and effects amaze me and make me feel very small. There are patterns, there are causes, and there are effects - and you can see them all in hindsight - but that doesn't help us much in the present, now does it? And, if history has taught us anything, it won't help us much in the future either. People will continue to do stupid things that will effect everyone on a much larger scale than they ever could realize - be it deciding to build a city below sea level, surrounded by water, or not providing adequate protection for said city, or not perfecting search and rescue tactics ahead of time. Let's just face it, the human race is pretty much lazy when it comes to planning ahead.

As I type this, conditions are getting worse and worse. This report makes me want to punch a wall.

And yet, the internet proves that there are still good and just people out there trying to help. The lists of people trying to find loved ones are rampant, and it seems that the internet community has reacted and coelesced into an organic and ever-growing group of saviors even faster than search and rescue crews. Being a lover of all things Flickr, I am especially impressed by the speed at which this Flickr auction has been organized. It's just too bad that the people who are actually the ones being affected by the situation the most are acting like animals and shooting at rescue crews, thereby increasing their own suffering. It hurts my heart.

If you want to donate and haven't yet - or haven't been able to decide how or what to donate - try this site, which is a good resources for every-which-way to donate.

My favorite subject - ME!

2005-08-26T00:18:00.000-07:00

At one point there was a rash of "100 Things About Me" lists making their way across the internet. I don't like to be put under pressure (plus I hate numbers), so I'm not going to number my list. If it comes out to exactly 100 that's going to be weird. Don't feel obligated to read the whole list - I'm just doing it to take up space and actually post an entry in a timely manner. So here goes:

I'm 27 years old - born Dec. 3rd 1977 (obviously, this age will change depending on when you read this post, duh).
I am 5'9".
I weigh 140(ish) pounds.
I have straight brown hair, currently flowing to a length about 8 inches below my shoulders (but I'm getting bored so I'll probably cut it soon).
I have hazel eyes.
I tan easily and hardly ever burn.
I wear a size 7 or 7 1/2 shoe, depending on the manufacturer.
Measurements: 34-28-36
I don't really have a favorite color, but I look good in jewel tones - especially Gucci purple :)
I hate gold jewelry - I choose platinum any day.
This picture comes up first when I do a Google Image Search for "dusty":

(WTF? Does it look like that one guy's pants are on fire or what? And what's up with the girl standing in the front of the room watching? It came from this site - aaaaah, rugby - that explains it.)

My mother's family is mostly German, my father's mostly Irish (therefore I can drink all of you under the table - it's in my blood... and I never get sick or hungover... no shit).
I'm a middle child (which explains quite a lot actually).
I have 2 sisters - Drew, who is 11 years younger - and Debbie, who is 6 years older (same set of parents gave birth to all 3 of us).
My siblings and I all have the same initials - DSF - because my dad's name starts with a D and my mom's starts with an S.
I was born in Lubbock, TX where it's really dusty - isn't that clever?
I spent most of my youth from the time I was 2 years old in Ft. Worth, TX.
I got the hell out of there and moved to Austin, TX when I graduated from high school in 1996.
I graduated with a BA in Archaeological Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in the year 2000, which I thought was pretty cool (both the year 2000 part and the UT part).
The only city I like in TX is Austin.
I moved to Los Angeles in February of 2004 because The BF (at the time) got his second degree in Film and wanted to pursue a career in the 'biz.
I did some extra ('background') acting (if you can even call it that) work when I first moved because I didn't have a job and they give you free food. You can see me in Arrested Development, Scrubs, The OC, Las Vegas, Navy NCIS, NYPD Blue, and some others (if you look REALLY hard). Then I found a real job and playtime was over.
I have been dating the same person for 6 years - holy crap that's a long time. Important Update: I decided that I needed to be on my own for a while, so we separated in April 2007. Now I'm having fun discovering who I really am, without being defined by a relationship. It's been very interesting so far.
Important Update #2: Well, I guess I discovered what I really wanted as of November 2007 because now I'm engaged to a fantastic guy who I've worked with for the past 3 years, and I'm blissfully and incredibly happy. Now I know why people write love songs.
I have 2 fat cats - one orange and white male named HI after Nicholas Cage's character in Raising Arizona (and also because, as a kitten, he would always come and say "hi" to me when I got home from work) - one black and white female named MIA, short for Missing In Action because I couldn't find her for 2 weeks after bringing her home (she was hiding in a tiny little crack under the bathroom sink, which I discovered by lying in wait for her to come out and eat food in the middle of the night). Here are their pictures:

I can get along and be friends with almost anyone.
But I'm not really very close to anyone.
I am not very easily bored by life - there's so much to DO!
I wish I didn't HAVE to work - I wish that work was a choice. Which means that I like to do things that I enjoy, even if they are considered 'work' - but unfortunately most of the things I enjoy don't pay shit. So I guess it also means that I wish I had a wealthy, long-lost relative who would die and leave me lots of money.... or a Sugar Daddy, preferably an anonymous one whose only demand is that I write in this blog periodically in order to entertain him.
I believe that there are two types of people in the world... those that litter and don't give a shit, and those that pick up other people's litter. Those people who litter and don't give a shit can bite me because they are part of the problem and believe that it is not their concern to be a part of the solution.
I don't cry when people die.
But I cry hard when pets die.
And I cry really hard while watching movies - even animated ones like Disney's Beauty and the Beast.
I told my dad that my company is helping me pay for my new computer (which is a big lie) because I'm always whining to him about how I don't make enough to pay back money that I owe him, when all I really do is blow the money on stuff I don't actually need (but this PowerBook is so cool - I do NEEEEEEED it!).

I'm addicted to the internet. I must have my daily hit. I start shaking and convulsing when I can't plug in to the Matrix and mainline millions of pages of useless information at 300 kbps (my DSL is slow).
I have no motivation when it comes to the distractions that life throws at me. Sometimes I just can't "stay on target".
This blog is the longest I've ever kept anything close to a journal or diary (usually they only last about 3 days tops). I'm pretty sure it helps when I know that people may read it. It makes me think my thoughts through a little more.
My greatest fear is not living up to my potential.
My hardest goal to reach is discovering what that potential might possibly be.
I care too much about clothes. I care to the point that I can never make a decision about what to buy because I am convinced that only the expensive stuff looks good on me. When I do splurge and buy something that looks and feels awesome on me I feel incredibly confident, but then I usually end up taking it back because I feel so guilty about splurging. Therefore, even though I care too much about clothes, it ends up looking like I don't give a shit because all I ever wear are jeans and t-shirts.
I'm pretty lazy, except when it comes to work.
I take pride in doing my best everyday at my job.
Right now, I'm sweating my ass off in our air-conditioner-less apartment because it's about 105 degrees in the Valley.
I need to clean my apartment - badly.
I need to find a vet for HI because he's getting really fat:

(There is no photo-shopping involved in this picture, he's really that fat - I'm a bad pet owner - but he's so sweet!)

I love watching movies in the theater - complete with popcorn, Mr. Pibb, nachos, and speakers that make my eardrums crack.
Favorite movies include:
- The Lord of the Rings trilogy (TTT extended edition is my fav of the 3)
- Star Wars (only the original trilogy counts among my favorites)
- Pulp Fiction
- Kill Bill (I like the 2nd one best)
- A Life Less Ordinary
- Evil Dead (all 3)
- Donnie Darko
- Shaun of the Dead
- Edward Scissorhands
- The Rocketeer
- Sleeping Beauty
- Far and Away
- Moulin Rouge
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- and I hope to soon be able to count Serenity among my top favorites! (my friend worked on it and said it should be pretty awesome)
I don't watch much TV and I don't have cable.
Favorite TV shows include:
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- The Office (both versions)
- Fawlty Towers
- Scrubs
- Arrested Development
- Angel
- Seinfeld
- Firefly
-Battlestar Galactica (new one)
I love to read, and totally ruined my vision by reading too much in bad lighting as a kid.
Favorite books include:
- Tom Robbins' "Jitterbug Perfume"
- Tom Robbins' "Another Roadside Attraction"
- Stephen King's "Firestarter"
- Stephen King's "On Writing"
- John Jakes' "Homeland"
- Caleb Carr's "The Alienist"
- Carl Sagan's "Contact"
- absolutely anything by Lloyd Alexander

Okay I'm bored now.

A success

2005-08-24T20:28:00.000-07:00

So AntiViolence L.A. was a huge success! A whole bunch of great people showed up in support of Joshua and others that have been in his situation (read more about it through his Friendster blog starting here). I'm guessing between 200-300 people showed up, and Sam told me at work today that between 6,000-7,000 dollars were raised through raffle and ticket sales. Very cool. I must say that when we first walked in there was a crazy, loud, 2-foot-mohawked-what-the-heck-kind-of-hair-products-do-those-guys-use band yelling up on the stage. At first I thought perhaps we had walked into the wrong club because it was quite violent for a concert promoting non-violence. But the following bands were much better - more electronica, less screaming. Sam's band Imperative Reaction played last, and they brought down the house. The music they play is very much reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails, which I like. If that sounds cool to you, take a listen to some of their songs (just click on the song title links to the left of the album cover art).

I took a couple of pictures before I got too tipsy. Click the link to view the set. The pics of us dancing were definitely taken after the "too tipsy" point, but hey, it's all good:

The Predator bust was kindly donated by Sideshow to the raffle. Yay for Sideshow :) I unfortunately pretty much suck at taking good crowd pictures, so I didn't get any of the crazy characters that were there. (Besides, I was a little scared that they'd beat me up if I tried taking pictures without asking.) This one guy had his whole head shaved, save for a little piece at the very front that he had somehow made to stand 3 feet straight up in the air. It was awesome. I'd be willing to bet that most of the males that were there take just as long getting ready to go out as the females do, what with the make-up, the carefully chosen clothing, the hair products, and choosing which piercings to wear! A very different crowd from my normal SoCal-casual, flipflop-wearing, barely-brush-your-hair-in-the-morning group of friends. It's good get away from the norm once in a while.

Needless to say, my friends and I had a ball, and I'm very very happy for Sam that it all worked out so well. He has not only spent the last few weeks organizing that whole thing, he has also been slammed at work designing our next catalog. He's one of Sidesehow's graphic designers and pretty much the only one who works on the catalog, which is a pretty difficult job requiring 12 hour days staring at a computer screen for at least 3-4 weeks. So to pull something of this scale off while simultaneously working his butt off during the daylight hours deserves great kudos. Yay for Sam!!

You know you're ready to rock.

2005-08-20T23:41:00.000-07:00

This is happening tomorrow night (picture is a link, so click it) - Sunday August 21st - at the Key Club on Sunset Blvd. Me and my co-workers, all of our friends, and all of Josh's friends and probably many more fun people will be attending... so if you wanna hang with the cool kids, come on down and join us! Good music, good company, good cause, and good times will all be had... so be there, or be square. Rock!!!!

(pass it on)

Gross

2005-08-18T18:26:00.000-07:00

So I ordered a low cal blueberry something-or-other smoothie from the neighborhood Jamba Juice today. It started out bluey-purpley and after about 15 minutes it changed to this color:

It's in the trash now.

Lunch

2005-08-10T21:59:00.000-07:00

It's a rainbow of nachos!

I certainly do miss my Tex Mex, but So Cal has lots of "healthy" Mexican food eateries (healthy in quotes because I'm pretty sure nachos with one metric ton of melted cheddar cheese on top does not necessarily qualify as healthy - but hey, I got the black beans instead of the pinto, so gimme some credit for that choice). I took advantage of one called Sharky's for lunch today. Talk about bang for your buck! This photo was taken AFTER consuming enough nachos to make my stomach bulge to the point of un-buttoning the top button.

Yesterday morning the space shuttle Discovery made a surprise landing at Edwards Air Force Base, about an hour from my apartment. The twin sonic booms scared the bejeesus out of The BF and me. Whenever he hears something that frightens him suddenly out of a deep sleep, he always ends up giving me a good left hook - like *I'm* the one making the God-awful noise and he must protect himself and me... from me. That's always fun at five o'clock AM. Then the garbage truck started in at six and the leaf blower thingy at seven. It doesn't help that our walls are made out of tissue paper. I didn't get much sleep that night. But I did find out that I'm not too freaked out and paranoid that terrorists are going to start setting off bombs in LA because, now that I think about it, that's what it sounded like. Instead of breaking out the instant bomb shelter, I just said, "Well, what the hell, we're not dead so it can't be too serious", iced my black eye, and went back to sleep. Until the garbage truck rolled up.... no wonder everyone in this city is stressed to the point of shooting people on the freeways - no one can get any sleep with all the goddamn noise.

Holy shitballs - I knew I avoided video games for a reason.

Haiku #1

2005-08-05T13:20:00.000-07:00

read some phat rhymes then
groove it fresh and funky style
nerds can bring it, yo

BAD KITTY

2005-08-03T23:19:00.000-07:00

(I did NOT pose this picture. Just look at him, rolling around, enjoying every second. I've never heard him purr so loud. Fatty fat fat likes paper, eh? I hope he got a million little paper cuts on his tender white belly...)

By the way, I forgot to mention that I became a famous hat model over the weekend. I think I should charge extra for my modeling services.

Can I work from home more often?

2005-08-03T00:36:00.000-07:00

Today I drove the 25+ miles to work and thought I had entered the Twilight Zone. Not only was there no traffic, there were also no cars around when I pulled into the parking lot. Now, you gotta understand that I am usually one of the last of the Sideshow staffers to arrive in the office (what can I say, I'm bad with time... but I always stay late, plus work from home a lot so don't gimme a hard time, alright?), therefore I thought I was going crazy and had accidentally come in on the weekend or a holiday or something dumb like that. Nope. It turned out that there was a power outage in the area around our offices. Everyone else had gotten a telephone call except me and two other relative newbies. Great, I feel so important.

It was pretty cool to arrive and see the IT guys huddled in a bunch just inside the back door with their coffee, waiting for the electricity to come back on (which still hadn't happened by 6pm). Anything that adds some excitement and change into my day is very welcome. I was told to go back home and work from my laptop... so I did. Not all of my colleagues embraced responsibility though... I know a few took it as an excuse to sit around the pool drinking margaritas (ahem... don't want to name names, but you know who you are... and yes, I'm jealous).

It's amazing how much time driving to and from work takes from my day. Not having to drive the 45+ minutes (on a good day) home from work this afternoon made me much more productive. Normally, after spending that amount of time sitting on my ass in a car during rush hour traffic, I get a pounding headache and my brain absolutely convinces the rest of my body that I can do nothing other than lay on the couch as soon as I set foot back into my apartment. Commuting and traffic are very very bad for productivity and motivation levels. I haven't been to the gym in months.

But that's beside the point. My point is that I was much more productive with my day today. I worked. I got the leaky faucet fixed since I was home all day and finally able to let the plumber in. I watched some Angel. I took a nap... oh wait, scratch those last two items off the productivity list. Where was I? Oh, I finally caught up with some blogs. And was inspired to get even more productive by reading about Magazine Man's basement adventures today. So I started cleaning out the apartment's office area, which looks like this:

currently. There are a couple more pictures in the set that really scare me. Unfortunately there is absolutely nothing contained within the mess that is even worth giving away, so alas, there will be no fun free junk party. There are a few important things hidden away in that pile 'o shit though, such as bill and bank statements, paycheck stubs, and magazine subscription info:

So that's what I did tonight. I'll post some "after" pictures if I ever get around to finishing the clean-up. As it stands, I'm still staring at piles of paper on the floor (at least they are now organized by company and date)... my cats are going to have a field day with those tonight I'm sure. To do: buy new Rubbermaid filing drawers.

And before my battery runs out:

busblog turns four

Welcome Art Lad!

... and...

Remember when the internet looked like this?

Harry Potter invades my life.

2005-07-25T21:30:00.000-07:00

I feel like a pedophile - I'm infatuated with Harry Potter. Damn JK. She's caught me up in her web once again. Yes, there are flaws in the new book, but it is also rocks. Mostly I just like the experience of immersing myself in the world of Hogwarts once again. Right now I'm trying to get over the inevitable sadness that grips me every time I finish a fun book that captures my imagination. I try to read slowly so I can savor the experience, but of course that doesn't work. And now I'm missing the world so much that I'm thinking I should start from Year 1 and read all the way through all the books again. I'm such a dork. At least I have the movie version of The Goblet of Fire to look forward to in November. I love the beginning of the trailer where it shows images of the characters growing up over the past 3 films and into the 4th. Not only am I a dork, I'm also a sap. Oh well, so it goes.

Now that the San Diego Comic Con is over and done with, and we've moved on to the next item on our plate at Sideshow, I'm having a lot of fun looking back and actually missing some of the - admittedly exhausting - excitement. We somehow found the time to make a pretty cool video documenting the Con experience as seen from the Sideshow booth. You can watch it here... it's Quicktime and it takes a little while to download, as it's over 6 minutes long and fairly high quality - so be patient. I have a very dorky moment toward the middle, quoting Planet of the Apes of all things. But it really was a madhouse, which is entirely evident from the video. I have seen some pretty nasty crowds in my day, but believe me when I say I have never ever experienced anything like the masses of people at Comic Con this year. Fun and annoying at the same time... I love people-watching, but there is a limit, especially when I'm stressed out and tired.

Some more fun little tidbits from the Con: people are selling our Star Wars over-sized bags on eBay. I wonder if they will actually sell? That would be insane.

And as a shout-out to my friend and co-worker, Sam (whose brother, Joshua, is the guy who blogged about his horrendous experience on the MTA here in LA), let me just say that it's super-cool that the Werewolf Oz figure that Sideshow made as a Con exclusive comes wearing a Imperative Reaction t-shirt. What exactly is Imperative Reaction, you ask? Well, Google it and find out! It just so happens that it's Sam's band - a band that happens to ROCK. Sam plays the drums, and I admit that I have never seen them live, but I plan on doing so at the AntiViolence LA benefit concert on August 21st at the Key Club. All LA bloggers should come! Actually, scratch that... everyone in the LA area should come (although they'd probably have some trouble trying to squeeze into the Key Club)!!

To close, I think my bitching and moaning has paid off - Sideshow may soon have an official blog! My pro-blogging persuasion - and my complete confidence in blogging as the way of the future in regards to communication between corporations and their customers - has been heard!! It's in beta testing right now... by reading this blog, you'll be among the first to know the minute it's live - how special - and geeky. Don't miss it! :)

D'oh.

2005-07-20T01:26:00.000-07:00

Did I mention that I was planning on blogging the San Diego Comic Con from July 13th-17th? Obviously that didn't happen. Click the picture to see why:

This was my first Comic Con, and I was completely overwhelmed by the amount of people. After working 10 hours on my feet all day, then having to go out and schmooze with customers and co-workers at night, I just didn't find the time to blog. I have no other excuse besides pure, unadulterated exhaustion and sensory overload. I'm still hungry, exhausted, and dehydrated after having been home for a day and a half now.

I hope I don't get sick.

Today was a good day.

2005-07-13T00:52:00.000-07:00

Excuse me while I push Independence Day stories aside for now - I have something much more important to talk about. And of course it's all about me me me.

(Celebrating today after discovering that I had, in fact, won an iPod Mini and 50 free downloads direct from Apple.)

I'm not kidding. Here's the email, just in case you don't believe me:

To: "iTunes Marketing"
Subject: iTunes 500 Million Song Countdown
From: "iTunes Marketing"
Date: Tues, 12 Jul 2005 10:27:06 -0700

Congratulations! You've been selected as a winner in the iTunes 500 Million Song Countdown. Your recent song purchase was made at one of our 100,000-song milestones, counting up to 500 million songs.

You'll receive a 4-gigabyte iPod Mini in the color of your choice - pink, green, blue, or silver - and a gift card good for 50 songs on the iTunes Music Store. Your iPod Mini and gift card will ship 4-6 weeks after the promotion ends.

In order to claim your prize, please:

1. Complete the attached Affirmation of Eligibility and return within five (5) days of receipt to Apple at U.S. facsimile number (xxx) xxx-xxxx, Attention: iTunes 500 Million.
2. Reply to this email with your preferred shipping address and iPod Mini color choice (http://www.apple.com/ipod/).

By responding, you will not be added to an email list or contacted by Apple unless your have previously authorized Apple to do so.

Thanks for being a customer of the world's #1 music download store!

The iTunes Music Store Team
http://www.apple.com/itunes/500million/

To think I almost didn't read the email because it had the word marketing in the address. I just thought it was Apple spam. It wasn't. I had to read the darn thing twice for it to sink in. I have never won anything in my life. I know everyone says that, but with me it's totally true.

Oh, wait - I did win a ginormous tub of jelly beans one time at my elementary school carnival by coming the closest to guessing exactly how many of said jelly beans were in the tub. But to be completely honest, it was only because my dad told me what to guess. And I don't even like jelly beans - I'd have to say that they are my least favorite candy. So that prize doesn't really count in my book. Those jelly beans lasted nearly 2 years until I used them one night to foil some bumbling burglars by tossing them all over the kitchen floor. (that might be true - if I was McCauley Culkin)

And for those of you wondering - no, I don't have an iPod yet. I know I know, join the 21st century already. But I could never completely convince myself that I should spend over $200 of my hard-earned cash on a music storage device, no matter how badass. I even held back the urge when I bought my new 12" PowerBook a few months ago - even with 18 months same-as-cash financing whispering sweet nothings in my ear. It must be Fate. I was MEANT to win this iPod. Apple ROCKS. On that note, Steve Jobs is pretty cool.

I chose boring silver, by the way. Only because I could NOT make up my mind between the blue and the green. I gotta work on this indecisiveness before I spend another good 2 hours of my life standing in Target trying to decide which shampoo to buy.

And we have lift off (finally).

2005-07-12T02:25:00.000-07:00

So, I signed up for this blog like two weeks ago, inspired in part by this entry from Jessica Mae Stover, the most awesome ninja in town. I guess it's about damn time I start posting in it, eh? What can I say, I'm a classic procrastinator.

Here's a little bit about me:

I picked the title because I live in the greater Los Angeles area (duh - what can I say, I'm boring). It's a pretty new experience for me, being originally from Texas, directly from Austin. Sometimes I miss Austin quite a lot, but more often than not, I don't. There's just so much shit to do in LA that it's impossible to yearn too long for something else. This very large city is definitely not the greatest place in the world and has a lot of crap contained within it, but it's become my home over the past year and a half. So it'll do just fine. I will share my perspective on it from time to time.

I picked the color because I graduated from the University of Texas (BA in Archaeological Studies, class of 2000) and in so doing, became very fond of that lovely burnt orange color. Hook 'em.

I hardly know any HTML - and can't afford a webmaster - so there's nothing fancy about this layout. We'll see if I ever get inspired enough to want to change it.

I found out about Flickr about 5 months ago and finally decided to start using it. I took the big plunge and went Pro - here's my Flickr photo album (also linked to the left). Not much in there yet - we'll see how that goes. Like I mentioned, I'm a horrible procrastinator - I always have great ideas for stuff (well, great in MY head anyway), but I seem to let them fizzle more often than not. Maybe this whole blogging thing will keep me going.

I work for Sideshow Collectibles. This automatically signifies that I am a geek. It's cool, I've learned to accept that part of myself. It also means that I will geek out occasionally - okay, more like frequently. For instance, this week is the San Diego International Comic Con. I will be working the Sideshow booth from Wednesday night through Sunday. And I'll hopefully do some live blogging and updating my Flickr photos. It'll be fun, I promise. Why don't you believe me? Gooooosh

I spend most of my so-called free time babysitting for this kid:

That's Alex. Alexandra Jade West to be exact. She's 2 and is quite possibly the greatest kid on the planet. She's the daughter of Adriana West, my older sister's best friend from high school. Last year when my sister was visiting, we happened to discover that we live 10 minutes from each other, which is a pretty big deal when living in a city the size of LA. I also discovered that she and her husband, Jason, hadn't been on a date in 15 MONTHS (ie: since Alex had been born) because Adriana doesn't trust any of the LA natives with her kid. Thus, I became the nanny. And I love it. There's nothing like taking care of a child to make you realize the important things in life. Things like learning to hold your breath long enough to change the diaper, making sure the knives are out of reach, and practicing the fine art of tuning out the "Heeya go. Heeya go! HEEYA GO! HEEYA GO!! HEEYA GO!!!!" repeated over and over and over and over from the back seat until you take the damn cup already!!!!!11!!!!1!!!!1

Which reminds me, Adriana sure could use a good dose of Heather B. Armstrong in her life. I'll have to send her the link. I'm sure she will be able to commiserate with Heather on the finer points of poop crises.

Speaking of Dooce, that's one of the other blogs, other than Teh Awesome blog of J. Sto, that has inspired me to join the "blogosphere" (I swear I won't use that word again). Here are a few more (also linked on the side):

Magazine Man's Somewhere on the Masthead. Quite possibly my favorite blog out there. He really sucked me in with his tale of introducing The Brownie to the Foxhole, and I continuously find myself in awe of his writing. I only wish I knew who he was so that I could buy his books. Oh well, a bit of a mystery is sometimes good...

Shane Nickerson's Nickerblog. I like his unique take on LA and the life of a Hollywood "insider" - whatever that is. Plus he's a great writer and takes interesting photos. And he was the one who introduced me to Magazine Man - I wonder how Shane found Mr. Man in the first place? Oh, and he vlogs, which is just really very brave of him. I admire that...

Wil Wheaton's WilWheaton.Net (aka WWdN). I couldn't call myself a blogger if I didn't mention Wil. He's the man...

Tony Pierce's busblog. Again, wouldn't be a blogger if I didn't mention Tony. Although his lack of caps gets on my nerves sometimes. Depends on the kind of day I'm having...

Metroblogging's blogging.la. It keeps me in tune with this city I now call home. Oh shit! I totally missed the LA bloggers get-together thingy tonight, which I 100% meant to go to, now that I'm finally making my first post. Oh well, life gets in the way... guess I'm not so in tune after all, eh?

I'm sure there are more. I'll have to mention them as I think of them. And add them to my links. I'm too lazy to check my newsreader at the moment.

I'll post about my, shall we say unique, Independence Day experience on the top of the bluffs in Pacific Palisades tomorrow. And then Wednesday will start my Comic Con coverage... joy!