Igby.

As promised...get your oooh's and ahhhh's out now...cutest puppy ever...IGBY!!

Finally!

I had to open at work yesterday and while there, I kept checking the fed ex website every 2 minutes for my package. It was really kind of sad...and scary. But I wanted my damn game! I went home around noon and took a nap. When I woke up it was like, 1:30 and STILL no game. I checked the fed ex website and it said the package was delivered. Huh? I looked outside and there it was! Woo hoo! The game is aweosme! But, I went to see Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven last night and while I was out, my wife got really, really good at the game. Way better than me. It kind of ruined it for me.

Last night was fun. I went to Dempseys and had the once in a lifetime opportunity to say to Scott, the bartender, "Hey...I know this is a bowl game, but can you switch to CNN so we can watch the hanging?" He complied but they didn't really show much. It also seemed very off color to have a hanging on TV in a restaurant.

Today we're getting a PUPPY! Adorable photos to follow...

DAMN IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

I still don't have my Guitar Hero 2!! Ugh...sooooo annoying! I keep checking the Fed Ex tracker like an obsessive stalker, waiting for it to enter Sonoma County, but no luck. The last time it was scanned was last night at 8:49 in Sacramento. Impatience is not a virtue.

Update at 5:19 p.m.
So I just called Fed Ex to figure out what the hell was going on and it appears the douchbag I bought my Guitar Hero 2 set from sent the package to SAN JOSE! Whatta frigging idiot. I'm emailing Ebay now...

Post Holiday Wrap

Before I launch into my usual musings, I just wanted to say that Nates memorial was really, really nice and very special. Almost all of the "Phoenix Family" was there including people I haven't seen in close to 15 years. It was a really nice way to give love and respect to our fallen friend and celebrate his life at the place where most of us grew to know him. We miss ya Nate!

That was Saturday and then Sunday we did our annual Christmas at my parents. We open presents on Christmas Eve at my parents house. I used to think it's because we'd drive to my Grandparents house on Christmas Day so we got the big stuff out of the way on Christmas Eve. Now I think it's got something to do with me pestering my parents into letting us open gifts. Since we're getting a puppy Saturday (oh, I forgot to tell you all...we're getting a puppy Saturday...a Puggle!) most of our gifts were gift cards to Petco/Petsmart. I also scored some cash and my mom got me some new Wilco gear that hasn't arrived...still. More on that later.

That night my wife and I exchanged stockings (the Christmas ones you pervs!) and I got some candy, a DOUBLE INDEMNITY Special Edition DVD and a years subsciption to Paste magazine...which kicks ass. The next day we had Christmas with my dads side of the family, and it was nice. However what I really want to blog about took place last Monday, December 19.

On that day, I bought myself GUITAR HERO 2 off some dude on ebay. Look at that playlist! My goal for the four day weekend was to drink beer and play GH2. The guy assured me I'd have the game by Friday but when Friday rolled around, no game. I searched everywhere...maybe they came and the note blew off the door. I went to our old house in case there was confusion in shipping. No game. Anywhere. I eamiled the guy and he said Fed Ex had "lost the shipment" and they would call Tuesday. Dammitt! Around 1:00 Tuesday I hadn't heard anything so I called Fed Ex and gave them the shipping number. They said a tag had been created, but nothing ever shipped! What an asshole this guy is! He obviously didn't have the product he was selling and planned on getting it later. I mean, had this been my kids "big" Christmas gift, this jerk just ruined Christmas.



So after hearing this, I sent him 4 emails saying "I want it now" in varying degrees of anger. Now I see it's apparently on it's way as is a boatload of bad feedback for this dick. I just want my game dammit!! Grrr! I hope everyone else had a great holiday and oh! GO SEE "LITTLE CHILDREN!" It's the best movie of the year. Speaking of that, look for my top 10's this week!

Grief.

I'm sure I'm not stating anything shocking or uncommon here but man do I hate funerals. My family has been really lucky so far in that we ahven't had all that much death. For me, grieving has always been a personal, quiet kind of thing. But everyone reacts differently. Today's Nate's memorial and there's going to be upwards of 300 people there I'm guessing. I just don't want to deal with all these different feelings and personalities and peronality disorders. Like...

When nate died this guy we all know called my wife's friend and left a message that went something like, "Hi _____ this is _____...Nate got stabbed and killed. Merry Christmas." Click. I mean, some people are insensitive and I get that, but when you're calling your phone list in a snide way to be first guy on the block to shit in someones stocking, it just seems wrong. But that's what I'm getting at.

When Nate died, I called our friend Dave. He lives in New Mexico and he and Nate shared a close bond. I sure as shit didn't want to call him...but I did because that's what friends do. But I also have respect and class and I'm not a self absorbed asshole who needs to like...gossip about tragedy. The other thing that brings this blogging on is the internet.

The local paper, the Press Democrat has been covering the story and if you read it online, there's a place where you can comment on the story. The thing is, it's all anonymous internet posting and some of it is just plain creepy and sick. One person decided to say that maybe Nate had it coming because he was at the Phoenix and what kind of adult goes there. Another person alluded to the fact that people shouldn't be hanging out at bars. Even more sad and disturbing are the people advocating some kind of lynch mob for Nate's murderer. Erica and I know who some of the people posting are...even behind their pseudonym. And again, I understand everyone grives differently and deals with tragedy differently. But I frigging hate the way some people simply must be suffering more than everyone.

It's like that person you tell, "Hey...my wife has cancer" and they go, "oh yeah...well, my mom had cancer and so did my aunt." It's like a cancer pissing contest. I don't get people's need to try and outdo one another in the tragedy/grieving process. And it's going to be in full swing today. Lots of sad, screwy people vying for attention. Ugh...funerals suck.

losing one of your own...

From the time I was in about....11th grade until...sheesh...now...I've hung out at the Amazing Phoenix Theater. Basically the Phoenix is an old movie theater that became a hang out/concert hall once the single screen movie theater bizz dried up. I think the first Timothy Dalton Bond movie was about the last big movie they had. And the Yahoo Serious movie. Then it was second run...then it was no run...then it was us. Our ring leaders were Tom Gaffey and Dave Marquez and the rest was a collection of basically...societal orphans like...me, matt and marc, jeremy, danny mckenna, scotty, mikey, big mike, jodell, robert and Nate. There were others too but those come to mind.

Later in life, all of our paths always crossed as we were forever part of "The Phoenix Family." If a big show (Faith no More, Greenday, Primus, metallica. d.o.e.) came around, we all came to the show, helped out, got loaded (later) and had fun. It was like...our playground. Hell, when I was 17 I was booking half the shows there. We slept in there, looked for ghosts....made out with chicks. Well, not me...but people did. But as we got older, we all still kept in touch and Tom has an annual Christmas Eve party every year where us oldies can socialize with the new breed. Nate Reifers was always around. When I finally decided to really give in to my teenaage insecurities and officially "hang out" at the Phoenix, Nate was one of the first to welcome me.

My first real memory of Nate was...we were going to go inner tubing like we had a hundred times before, but we "had to go get Nate." "Going to get Nate" I soon found out is like a catch phrase for, "be ready to be delayed an hour due to fire, maiming, arguing, stumbling, sleeping, writing a paper, on the phone, listening to music, general stonerness" or just plain "Nate said he'd be here..." This time we went to Nates house and he was knee deep in making pot brownies. I frigging hate pot and he was all of 15 years old but immediately launched into a long explanation of how you have to put the buds IN the butter and let them rest. His excitement and apparent knowledge was both interesting and annoying. Luckily that only took an hour and we went tubing. Nate was a fucking blast. We did the river round TWICE.

As life rolled on, I got married to my wife Erica. Erica, as it turns out, was best friends with one of my old Phoenix Family friends, the aforementioned Nate Reifers. Ironically, I remember about a hundred conversations with Nate when he and Erica hung out, but I never met her to my knowledge. But that's another blog. Life went on and Nate wandered in and out of my life. He was at our wedding and actually got in a scuffle with his best friend at the wedding after party. His mom lives like, 50 yards away from my in-laws. Trhough all the incarnations of knowing him, Nate was...Nate. You all have a friend like that. Flakey, annoying, honest, funny and always there. In his heart, Nate was the best but sometimes he was prone to being a pain. But dammit...all the best people you know are all over the map and you wouldn't want them any other way.

Unfortunately this blog has a sad ending as Nate was somehow stabbed and killed Saturday in Petaluma. You can read about it HERE. I don't know at this point where the sadness ends or starts and where the anger/frustration/apathy towards society begins with the same jumbled confusion. I think I speak for everyone when I say, "what the fuck?"

I went down to the Phoenix Sunday after I heard the news and a good bunch of us family were all there. We hugged Gaffey and kind of stood around dumbfounded, just like when Danny McKenna died. But when Danny died, it felt like he had succumbed to his demons and kind of gradually drifted away. At least, that's the way I felt. With Nate....it's just surprising. We're talking about a guy who two years ago nearly blew himself up trying to see why his gas generator had went out by using a lighter to see. He shouldn't have died at all let alone a year after his daughter was born...let alone by not doing something really boneheaded....let alone at the frigging bars in Petaluma. It's just not the way Nate Reifers was supposed to go. But he's gone now so all we can do is let the magic and memories of the Phoenix try and make it O.K. this Saturday. Godspeed Nate!! We miss ya man!

Funniest thing I've seen in a while...

Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

Garbage Sa...err...GARAGE Sale

We had a garage sale last Sunday and boy, did it ever suck. I hate getting up at 6:00 a.m. and getting up that early on a Sunday especially blows. But, we have a bunch of junk to get rid of and earning some extra Christmas money sounded cool. I rolled into Petaluma at 7:15 and sure enough, there was an early bird parked in front of our house. I snuck right past her and darted into the house. We took an ad out on Craigslist and it clearly stated the sale started at 8:00 so she should have paid attention.

I went out and set up the garage and sat down to wait. At about 7:30 the early bird came down the driveway looking pissed. She was Asian and her English was so-so but I gathered she was mad to have been kept waiting. I said we started at 8:00 so...there. She then proceeds to ask me if I have any "electronics...cell phone....computers...cell phones...printers....calculators...cell phones." I told her nope, sorry but she kept asking if I had any cell phones. Finally after idly rifling through some stuff she stormed off.

About 30 seconds later this Asian guy came down the driveway and said "What did that lady just buy from you!?!" I told him nothing and then he started in with the "you got any cell phones....electronics...computers." Ugh. It was destined to be a long ass day. Fortunately he bought an old vacuum cleaner and some speakers. About that time my wife arrived and proceeded to try and boss me around which didn't go over well. Her parting words were in regards to this slightly broken partition we had...kind of like portable french doors. She said, "why is that even out here? No one's going to buy that..."

About half an hour later the only normal customer of the day came down the driveway. He bought some old records (three Faith No More imports to boot) and then he bought...you guessed it....the slightly broken partition. In your face Miss Bossy Pants! A while later two hardcore garage salers swung by and bought a box of crap apiece and then I saw a big ass truck out front with George Bush bumper stickers on it. Oh, great. Some old lady comes down the driveway and I say hello. She goes, "You got any old shotguns or pistols?" As I told her no I notice this Hispanic guy coming and talking loudly, in Spanish, on his cell phone. He brushes past the gun lady while blabbing on his phone, picks up a car stereo...looks at it....puts it down and walks off all the while talking on his cell phone. I could tell the lady desperately wanted me to make some racist comment to like, support the look of contempt in her eyes, but I didn't oblige.

When all was said and done we made about $40.00. Total. Waste. Of. Time.

Update central

Ugh. I'm tired, stressed, confused and am generally going nuts. Here's a quick and dirty update.

Last weekend I:

1. Shot my first short
2. Moved
3. Worried about my grandpa who was sick in the hospital

It was not fun. Last Wednesday the stress of moving and shooting my film got to me and I went downtown and blew off some steam at Dempseys. Five hours later and a tour of the downtown bars in Petaluma to the tune of $75, I arrived home. Although I needed to spazz out and be free for a few hours, I felt crappy all day Thursday and was even farther behind than I had been.

But, I got caught up and the shoot really couldn't have gone any better. My actors were simply awesome and it was fun and fast. However, when I get stressed I tend to cut corners and just push towards the finish line. As a result, I neglected to check over the equipment I borrowed from school when I checked it out. I was in a hurry as the shoot was the next day and our house was in disarray. I just grabbed the stuff and went.

I also neglected to spot-check the camera and whatnot during the shoot. Those two antsy moves were just plain stupid. I mean, it's frigging filmmaking 101 to check your stuff before and during the shoot. I just didn't do it. As it turns out, the camera I was using was slightly broken and the first 1/4 of my footage is virtually unusable. Grr. Now I really have to buckle down and edit to try and piece something great together. I refuse to try and make something "good," I want to make something great. All in all, I'm making progress but have a shit ton of work still to do.

The good news is, our new house is cavernous. I love the space but still hate Santa Rosa. The other great news is, my grandpa is A-O.K.! More soon, I promise...