The First Day of the Rest of My Life

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Saturday morning, my phone rang. It was my dad, asking me to come over to the house for lunch. He said that they had something to tell me. Right away, I started wondering what the subject would be about.



On the way to the house, my mind went over the possible scenarios. Even though my dad said the news wasn't about them, I thought that the line might have been a cover of some sort. Would they be selling the house? Was my grandmother (who has been living with them for some time) not well?



When I got home, my dad handed me an article he printed from the web. I first noticed the headline, "Would-be groom dies suddenly after party," before I noticed the couple in the picture. Immediately, my heart sank over what I would hear about.



The Timmons' have been friends with my parents for years, even before I was born. I remember visiting with the family, especially their daughter, Tracy. I had a bit of a crush on her, and showed it by chasing her around the house playfully, in an attempt to kiss her. (Mind you, I was in elementary school at the time.) One night, while I was in high school, I was watching TV in the living room when my mom walked in. She solemnly gave me the news that Tracy had passed away. She had run away from home, and was living with friends at the time. One night, she had some drinks, and because of some sort of heart ailment, she died.

If you're the praying type, mind saying a few words for the family? They could definitely use it.

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Tuesday, March 25, 2008

THINGS TO BLOG ABOUT WHEN I HAVE MORE TIME:
- Going back to high school.
- Going on medication.
- Coming back from debt.
- Going back to work.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Okay, about the beard...

So I've been trying my hand at facial hair. I never really thought I'd be one to have the cool goatee or anything. But a few months ago, during a seemingly innocent chat with a co-worker, that changed.

"You should be like Jason from 'The Hills.'"

So said my friend Kacie when I asked her advice about women. Specifically, she told me to put product in my hair, and start growing some facial hair. At first, it started with the perma-five-o-clock-shadow. Then came the more modest growth. Finally, it turned into the "Grizzly Adams" look you see below.

I kinda dug it, it was a change of pace. But with friends of mine, it wasn't really well received. So I ended up shaving it over the weekend. Friday, I took it down to a goatee. Saturday, I shave the bottom half, leaving only a moustache. I saw how sketchy I looked, so off it came soon after. My mom saw me on Sunday and said, "THIS is my Easter present!" (My Easter basket must have gotten lost in the mail, but I remained silent.)

I wish I could be able to grow one of those long, straight beards. However, the scourge resting upon the top of my head (my curly hair) foils me again on my chin and face. So I guess I won't be Jason from "The Hills."

I can't say I'm too broken up about that...

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In case you were wondering, I had a grand Easter.

Friends, family, brisket, babies, cheesecake and cascarones were the order of the day. I know I don't acknowledge this enough here (or offline either). But I love my family.

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Tuesday, March 18, 2008


I'm on the Candy! But did I have to make so silly a face? Is this how readers of USA Today will remember me?

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Monday, March 17, 2008



"You didn't think I'd spend 10 days in Texas without meeting you guys, did you?"

So began a post that set in motion another memorable weekend in Austin.

At about 3:45 pm on Friday, I left work in west San Antonio, thinking that I had enough time to get to downtown Austin to enjoy at least an hour of my first blog meetup. After surviving a 30 minute excursion from downtown to the SA city limits, I figured I was home free.

Unfortunately, a bad accident in San Marcos brought those thoughts to a screeching halt. It took me about an hour to travel all of three or four miles. All the while, I was texting my friend Stephanie (middle, in photo) about my progress...

"Stuck in San Marcos traffic, and I have to pee. I am NOT a happy camper right now..."

"An immigration van just passed me on the shoulder. Might explain the traffic jam."

"Huzzah! Moving at 25mph!"


Part of me was livid at the circumstances that would come between me and a party, but then I saw the sand and oil on the highway at the point of the accident. (Any cars involved were towed out of sight.) Then I had a reality check. (Okay, first I urinated, THEN I had a reality check.)

I was reminded that there are more important things than drinking at a hipster bar. I said a quick prayer after leaving the location of my pitstop, and gave $5 to a homeless woman on the corner of 35 and Riverside as a quickly hatched act of penance. At 7:10 pm, I made my way to the party. I was there only for a little while, but I did get to meet Ms. Whitney Matheson (right, in photo). She gave me a hug when I told her where I drove in from. Stephanie gave me a gin and tonic. I'll let you be the judge of what was better...

After the party, Stephanie and I headed to 6th for some surprisingly good Asian food, then set off to take in the music festival. We ended up at an industrial club called Elysium for Japan Nite. My thoughts about what I saw:

- Detroit 7 is not from Detroit, and they are not seven people. They do rock the house.

- 2 ukuleles + 1 mandolin + 1 fiddle + 1 upright bass + two Japanese girls with high voices + a sing-along of "Que Sera Sera" = AWESOME!

We left the club, and walked back down 6th to get our late-night pizza fix. A few minutes later, a familiar face got the same fix. A guy by the name of Perez Hilton. Him and a buddy got a slice and went on their merry way. A couple of sorority girls tried to get pictures/autographs/felt up, but he just smiled and went on his merry way. Soon after, so did we.

The next morning, Stephanie and I met up for breakfast in her barrio. She said she had work to catch up with, leaving me to explore the conference on my own. I ended up at a free party put on by the Guitar Hero III people (In case you were wondering, I suck at Guitar Hero III.), followed by a free show at Waterloo Park. I caught some stand-up from Janeane Garofolo (sp?), and I can draw one of two conclusions:

1. I'm not as liberal as I thought I was.
2. She's not as funny as I thought she was.

Soon after, I headed back to SA. And wouldn't you know it? My drive back was the usual 90 minute sprint.

Next year, I may just have to block out the week in order to REALLY get my hands dirty with music, film and "interactive."

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Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Some quick thoughts before I retire to my couch...

-I finally downloaded the pictures from my camera from my "Photo-an-Hour" marathon last week. Will post them soon.

-Went to high school today, in preparation of a volunteer gig starting in a couple of weeks. The memories came over me like a flood.

-Can someone explain to me why a botched interview of the Facebook guy is such a big deal? Or why the Facebook guy is such a big deal, period?

-Had a talking-to from my boss about my attendance. Apparently the "me" days I've been taking over the last couple of months are looked down upon.

-Anyone out there ever attended/presided over a round of speed dating? If so, any tips for pulling something like that off for a group of Catholics?

-G's coming to party with me in Vegas. How about you?

Sunday, March 09, 2008

I went to Austin last night. The evening consisted of the following:

- Learning about sexual purity during the drive up.
- Having a dinner date with a blind woman and her seeing-eye dog.
- Drinking on 6th St.
- Dancing with a young lady.
- Inappropriately touching said young lady while on the dance floor.
- Meeting up with said young lady at her hotel after the bar closed.
- Dryhumping with said young lady.
- Waking up semi-early (8 or 9 am) to depart the hotel room before her friend woke up.

If it wasn't for this party coming up, I'd stop going to Austin altogether...

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