August And Everything After

Here we are, a week later. Tomorrow is August 1st. I welcome the new month with opens arms and a plea for cool temperatures. I know August can be the hot one, so I'm hopin' it'll go easy on me up here in Portland.

Had a great weekend. Enjoyed my new DVD player, organized Legos, roamed around town, slept in, read, cleaned and caught up on the Once-A-Month production duties. The kits are almost finished and will be shipped promptly.

Matt Cooley came over last night. He needed a shower and ended up spending the night on the couch. Little fucker. He's a good kid, with a above-average thinker. People often take him the wrong way, because in all honesty, he is smarter than they are. Funny young man.

Work is good. Haven't had a late night in awhile. Been getting home by 6:30ish, by which I'd like to thank folks like Dean Gross and Goo Phemister from work. The projects have been doled out in such a way where I can pace a good day's work without going into the wee hours.

Damn Straight

Any self-respecting Midwesterner should see "The Straight Story." Hell, any self-respecting human should see it. I won't go into detail. Don't want to spoil this one for y'all. It is instantly placed high in rank of my "Top Ten Films of All Time" list. Extraordinary. Exactly... "extra", "ordinary."

This is the kind of story that makes the Midwest what it is. Human, real, honest, simple, quiet.

Iowa never looked so good. Makes me want to move home. A couple times during my tenure in Minneapolis I ventured down into Iowa. It was so beautiful... in such a quiet, simple way. Someday I see myself living out there in the middle of nowhere.

The Place To Myself

Been enjoying having the place to myself. The rebuilding process after the fall has been slow and steady. I'm feeling a ton better about everything. Many thanks to my friends and family for their ears these last bunch of days. Rose, Jay, Fred, Mom…. good people.

I'm enjoying this new sort of "appreciation" for my current situation. A good flat, a great job, health, friends, a good city and the most refreshing breeze a heat-loathin' troglodyte like myself could ask for. With Melissa gone, I have yet another "second wind" phenomena in me. Just like last year when she split, once the stingin' subsides, you realize it's in yer best interest to move on , and in a hurry. You gotta get back to livin'. And that’s what I'm doing.

I got a new mop and gave the place a serious spit shine. Actually, upon her departure, she gave the place a good scrub too. At least the joint was tidy as I got back. I appreciated that one part of coming home to the empty place. Once again, I feel like I'm making the place "mine" or something, versus, "ours." Just like last summer. When she split I had to start over. I cleaned and organized and got the place up and running.

So I'm enjoying it. Cooking meals, making lunches for work, watching movies, reading, walking and wondering.

And yeah, I got the Legos out. I dragged the collection up those friggin' stairs and am in the process of organizing the bricks by color and specialty. I'm gearing up for a large operation, a creation of such a grand scale, of the sort unprecedented on the factory floor. Rhajer Cameron, no stranger to the bricks himself, has inspired me (for the grillionth time) to attack the bricks with a new found vengeance. Special thanks go out to Dad for his recent fruitful additions to the collection. He's on the prowl for me, keeping an eye open whilst garage-sailing. And you bet, he's got an eagle eye for the Real McCoy. His eagle eye can spot a traitor from an arm's length away. No Tyco or Mega Block chumps will invade this motherfucker's collection.

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Saw Rose and Jared on Thursday. On their way up to Hood, they stopped to chat a bit. Rose went shirtless in no time, due to the humid constraints of the penthouse. We caught up on all the latest. It was good to see them. I'm sure we'll catch up again before they head back down to Assholeville, California.

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That new Flaming Lips is real good.

Fred Green has been sniffin' around lately. We have been hangin' out a bunch lately. All shit talkin' aside, we share a bond that was cemented by a grillion beads of sweat, drops of blood and charred hunks of prime rib during our tenure in the Alaskan theater. I can't shake the motherfucker. We are brothers. I look forward to suffering with him during my time here in the big/little Portland.

Hope everyone is enjoying July, wherever port you might be reading this post from.

Not All That / All That

Monster's Ball wasn't all that. I was hoping it would have that little something, that clever hook that would make the story memorable. In all honesty, I was actually fast forwarding through parts. Billy Bob was good. or, maybe he just sort of "wasn't" or something. He has this ability to make himself so transparent. Hally Berry was too polished. Hollywood bullshit. No big whup.

Get off yer ass and get over to the record store. Pick yerself up a copy of the new Flaming Lips long player, "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots." Music for the human race. Grand, adventurous, uplifting, oblique, convex, large. Say mother earth needed a soundtrack; the Lips would be men for the job.

Each time I pass through Oklahoma City I make a stop at Wayne Coyne Manor. I pay my respects and jump back onto the interstate.

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Rose and Jared E. are coming up tomorrow. They have some business to take care of up at Mt. Hood. Summer hijinx involving Jeenyus operations. It'll be good to see them. They are good people. Rose has offered good conversation in the last couple weeks. I need it as of late. Been in a peculiar rut. He's a good brother. Thanks.

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The Portland weather the last week or so has been amazing. Days up to around 85 degrees, nice cool nights. Good summer living. This climate is beautiful. Bring on the rain. I look forward to the gray skies and wet shoulders.

Missin' Her

Saw Road To Perdition last night. I gotta say, It was excellent. Another Sam Mendes masterpiece. The sets, the scenery, the cinematography and the language all factored into the subtle success of this film. A gangster film at the root, the difference of the narrative was the believability and human quality. There was nothing romantic about the dirty work here. The characters felt real. An amazing film, a "must see."

I'm settling into my routine without Melissa being around. It's lonely, but it's for the better. The apartment feels so empty. No cats, no hair, no Melissa propped on the couch. It's amazing how someone can be such a part of yer everyday existence.

She was always around. There was always another person to talk to. The place just sort of seems "regular" now. Oh well. She is home, enjoying being with her family. She needed that. Hopefully that will allow her to reevaluate her situation and inspire her to do something fruitful. I wish I was back there too.

That part is eating at me. I want to be home, in comfortable surroundings. As much as I love Portland, and Oregon in general, this isn't my home and I feel disconnected. I have the most amazing job a fella could ask for, and I'm wrastlin' with where I should be. The folks of CINCO have been good to me, and I intend to do a good stretch of time with them.

So I deal with this change in atmosphere by focusing on work and projects. It keeps me busy and keeps my mind off the bigger things. I'm doing very well here and in a couple months will be out of the red. I feel good about our projects and our contribution. It's a good place that puts out good work.

Funny how things go. I just miss havin' her around.

Back In Town

Back from Michigan and feeling recharged. It was a good trip. Expect a full report when time permits.

Melissa jumped ship and floated back to Minnesota. One part sad, one part relieved. She will be missed, and we wish her the best in her new adventure.

Homeward Bound

Heading back to Michigan tonight. Real excited to see the parents. Been missin' them real bad.

I'll be back on the 10th.

Damn, that week went by right quick.

Lots of action including a daytrip to Encinitas, SoCal to go over some Nixon watch proceedings. It was really cool. Got to meet all the Nixon people and get a glimpse of their operations. It was a very productive day.

Been real busy on the job front. Lots of projects to wrap up before tomorrow night. I'm flying back to the homeland early, early Wednesday morning. Lots of connections. I fly to St. Louis, then Chicago, then up to Traverse City. Phew! I'll be at the Draplin compound the days including the 3rd through the 9th. Nice lon weekend with Ma/Pa. Lots of friends will be in the area also so we'll all have to meet up and raise hell.

Evan Rose may even may an appearance on his summer circuit. Northern Michigan, beware. He's talking some big game here, about Cherry festival this and Cherry Royale Parade that, etc. We'll see if he can make it outta SoCal for some down home Michigan summertime.

Lots of Gocco action being wrapped up. Cards are being collated. Envelope situations resolved. It's all coming to a head.

Adam Michaels swept through town this over the weekend. It was good to see him. He's on one beast of a roadtrip with his friend Brett. He flew out to bigtown Los Angeles and they cruised up the coast, and will continue up to Sea-town, over to Minneapolis, then Chicago and finally New York City. Man, to be young and on the road. Beautiful. He's doing really good. The city has been good for him. We had some chow, talked about our respective employment dynamics and then capped the night off with a cold one at the Matador up on Burnside Ave.

Couple days of slaughter and I'm back to Michigan. Real excited.