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THE TRIP

June 8th, 2009

S: Visiting your best friend is always the best kind of trip that you can take. My recent visit to see A was wonderful and we enjoyed ourselves, well at least until she pulled the Coq Awe Van on me. But I digress… My trip to see her was great. But I have to say I had to travel through Nashville to get to A – she’s in Tennessee somewhere – and the problem with having some time to wait in a city airport with a theme is that you can’t enjoy your double-frickin’ bloody Mary in peace without listening to some sad live country western duo in a place that has THE WORST f’ing barbeque – Tootsie’s. Now I’m sure there are those among you that would say, “What? Tootsie’s is great, and I love me some George Strait and Trisha Yearwood.” I’m not so down on country, but after spending an entire weekend with A – all I was in the mood for was M. Manson or My Chemical Romance. So I downed the double drinks and rushed down the hall to Gibson’s –they were playing classic FM – Yes, Police, etc., and while that is not what I would choose to listen to, it helped me keep my 3rd bloody Mary and salad down without hurling.

A and I had an awesome time, and we will be blogging about the film experience. We both love action flicks and thought we would see Terminator and other such fare, but in the end – maybe due to where we found ourselves on this particular weekend – we needed to laugh. So STUPID COMEDIES to the rescue it was!

However, this blog is about traveling so I will have to discuss the movies later.

Here’s what I learned on this trip:·

-A restaurant with a picture of a Gibson guitar is safer than a restaurant with a picture of Tammy Wynette on the wall.

– If you are from Texas and you find yourself in Tennessee: Don’t eat the barbeque. Just don’t. If you do you will find yourself on the upper tier of hell.

– While having a crazy aunt named Dot is perhaps cool at Christmas, having a waitress named this is just not tolerable for a person that get’s pissed off easily.

– The secret to flying is to figure out the precise body weight/height/time/anxiety ratio to the vodka. Once you have this – you have Airport-vodka-vana. Fear is the mind killer, after all.

– When waiting for a flight and trying to get plastered, listening to Styx is much more palatable than listening to a cover of “god bless Texas,” I swear to god – and I’m from there.

– Traveling down I-40 screaming the lyrics to My Chemical Romance’s “Mama” or Squeeze’s “Tempted” is the only way to prepare to fly when you don’t like leaving the ground. I mean, when the plane takes off, I’m praying to every saint I know just trying to figure out why the hell I’m doing what I’m doing. Every cell in my brain is screaming WTF!!!!!!

– This one is for A – Salmon doesn’t taste good with a red wine/chicken broth fondue. Ask the rude bastard waiter you get to give you more chicken and skip the damn fish. Oh and I did order it dry and VERY dirty, you douche!

– It really helps to have good friends in the travel agency business. My friends Michael and Bob at Uni-Travel rock – yes thanks guys.

– Having a mother that forces you to use her AA miles to travel 1st class is a godsend.

– Flying first class is really something. Steward: Would you like something to drink? S: Yes, give me a bloody Mary as fast as you can. Two minutes later – Steward: Wow, somebody is thirsty – can I get you another one? S: Yes bring me the fucking drink now. S: wakes up and finds the 3rd (I shit you not) 3rd bloody Mary sitting on the tray table. Jeez – 1st class rocks and I am now officially spoiled!!!

– Saying goodbye to your very best friend is not recommended on an empty stomach – I love you A! Thanks for lugging me around for 4 days and for the scenic drives, even though we were taking hairpin turns at 50 MPH with Arma-GDMF-geddon playing loud enough to make my eardrums burn!!!

I miss my furkids and can’t wait to get home. I had a great time and it can all be deducted from the income tax (makes me think I’m a fucking genius). I loved seeing A’s place and visiting with her mom – who I haven’t seen in a few years. AND even though she made me sit in some nameless stain on her seat – I know she loves me and that I’m welcome anytime. Well, at least I hope so.

Oh my god, are they playing Blinded by the Light? I have to close now – yes I’ll have another bloody mary, thank you mister Nashville airport waiter –

PS – if you have to wait in the Nashville airport, do yourself a favor and skip Tootsie’s and head on down to the end of Terminal C and go to Gibson’s. The waiter just noticed my drink was empty and brought me another one without asking. I would offer to have his baby if I had a working ovary somewhere – checks backpack for appropriate gonad.

Gotta go they are playing U2… fuckin A

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The Fellowship of the Ring

April 23rd, 2009

S: EMO WARNING 🙂

Well, trying to save money, I’ve been rereading books I have read before (series with lots of sequels seem to be my favorite) so I just reread “The Hobbit” and had started on “The Fellowship of the Ring.” Because I was heading into the Mines of Moria in the book, I decided to watch the movie to get me into the mood.

I put the DVD in and watched it while doing some other things around the house. At the end of the film, I sat down and paid attention to all of the things that happen to break the fellowship, cried when Boromir died, and thought again about how much Tolkien loved the hobbits – unattractive, short, brave, loyal, hardy creatures that loved to eat and were just as interested in “second breakfast” as they were in saving the world. I love hobbits too! In the end, watching Sam and Frodo leave for Mordor wondering if they would ever see the others again made me sad, even though I know how it all turns out.

This movie is bittersweet for me. When I found out that they were making a movie of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I was excited. I started looking things up on the Internet and tried to read everything I could about the movie. I scanned forums, IMDB, etc. and discovered that the “Fellowship” movie was coming out on December 19th, 2001. I was really into this. I reread the books and even put a 3 x 5 card on my bulletin board at work with the date 12-19-01. Sometimes, when I was having a bad day, I looked at that card and thought about seeing the movie. I had already talked with Ernie about going to see it on opening night. He reread the books too so we were ready.

That year I had quite a bit of vacation left at the end of the year. I remember taking off from work the Friday before the 19th for the holidays. I was cleaning out my closet. On the 18th, I had planned to take the train down to see my parents, but I called my Mom to tell her that I was still working on the closet and would come on the 19th. I figured I could run down and see them, and still get back to see the movie that night.

At about 6am on the morning of the 19th, my Mom called to tell me that my Dad had collapsed in the bathroom and that she couldn’t wake him up. She called the ambulance and they were on the way. Ernie and I left the house and he drove me to the hospital. About an hour after we got there, they came in to tell us that my Dad had died. This was so unexpected. Looking back, I don’t think he felt that well, but I don’t think any of us, including him, expected this. All thought of the movie went right out of my head. I spent the rest of the day with my family, trying to help my mother cope with things, arranging for family members to get here, visiting the funeral home, etc. I remember working on his obituary thinking it was the last thing I had ever dreamt of doing that day.

The 20th, a Thursday, was a long hard day. My Mom’s sister arrived and planned on staying with her, so I decided to come home to get some rest. About 5pm, I walked in the door and just crashed. When Ernie came home, he suggested that we go to see the movie, just to get out of the house and get our minds onto something else. At first I didn’t want to go, but then realized that I did want a distraction and that after waiting so long, I really was looking forward to seeing the movie.

I was transfixed through the whole 3 hours. Any emotional reaction I had was deeper and more meaningful because of how raw my feelings were. Even after all this time, when I watch “Fellowship” the movie is forever linked with my Dad’s death. website host information It’s hard for me to believe that all those months when I looked at 12-19-01 on my bulletin board, I wasn’t looking at the date I would see “Fellowship” but was looking at the day I would lose my Dad.

So here I am, 7 1/2 years later watching the movie again and thinking about all of that. I know people say that time heals, but it doesn’t. That is a lie. Maybe you don’t think about your loss as often, but when it hits you it hurts just the same. wall cloud . As I watched the end of Fellowship and the credits, there is a song called “In Dreams” sung in a boy’s pure voice and it always makes me think of losing my Dad and how I felt that night sitting in the dark and hearing the words – “And in dreams, we will meet again” and praying that it would be true -that just like Sam and Frodo think they will never see their friends again, in the end they are reunited.

Dad I miss you every single day. Because of you and the things you taught me, I truly love movies and books like Lord of the Rings. You gave me so much. I love you.

“In Dreams”
When the cold of winter comes
Starless night will cover day
In the veiling of the sun
We will walk in bitter rain

But in dreams
I can hear your name
And in dreams
We will meet again

When the seas and mountains fall
And we come, to end of days
In the dark I hear a call
Calling me there,
I will go there
And back again.


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				Santana and the train
				March 31st, 2009
				
					S: The city rail system runs from near my house, way, way north of town,  to my  Mom’s house, way, way south of town. Today I road the train to see her.

First thing to say is, if I made a flow chart for public transportation the first decision block  would have to be “need to pee.”  Then if yes, pee, if no,  pee. Yeah, it’s a good idea to pee before beginning the process. Also, it’s a good idea to have a walkman or MP3 player with you so that you can turn on, tune in, and drop out, ala Mr. Leary. My favorite playlist is full of songs that I have loved over the years I have been listening to music that my parents didn’t buy for me. These songs lie all over the map of music, from Squeeze to Joni Mitchell, Roxy Music to the Dead Kennedys.

Just as I was leaving downtown and hitting the Tyler street station, Santana’s Oye Como Va started playing. Wow, what a great theme song for that part of Oak Cliff. Then as I hit my old neighborhood, Stevie Ray Vaughan’s version of  Hendrix’s Little Wing played. On the way back I discovered that Blue Rodeo’s 5 days in May and Bring on the Night by the Police fit the train ride perfectly.

The sun was shining, the air was clear and dry – the people on the train didn’t smell too bad.

Being on the train is like meditation. I lose track of time. I watch the scenes go by, detached as they pass – with no sense of loss, just watching stuff float past the windows. Graffiti, plastic bags blown into the trees, rust, buildings with every window broken, lots of glass and chrome, Grecian sculpture, pit bulls in back yards, flowers galore, yuppies, rappers, families going to the zoo. I find it very calming to ride the train for an hour and let my mind slow way down while life passes by the train windows.

It occurred to me. This was that perfect day. The day you don’t expect and cannot plan for. The day when you realize that you still have something to live for, even if it’s just that moment when the iPod syncs with the train trip to create some kind of city-born Nirvana.

Ahhhhhh – springtime is here.
A: Funny, we’ve never talked trains. They strike a distinct feeling in me too, and I’ve spent most of my time on them listening to music as well. I love how the music fills my ears and serves as a backdrop to the  scenes I witness around me. Trains remind me of when I lived in Boston and was regularly on a subway, trolley, or commuter rail…always sitting there, gently rocking with the motion of the moving train and looking out the window. My favorite time of day to be on them was dusk, when the sun had nearly sank past the horizon and left black silhouettes of trees and houses against an indigo sky.  I always remember seeing my reflection in the window and feeling so aware of the conflict that always lingered beneath the surface. You can’t look outside a train window at dusk without seeing your own reflection in your peripheral vision; it’s not like looking in a mirror, it’s like you’re witnessing yourself without directly seeing yourself, all while the rest of the world spins by outside. Yet you remain still and observant, seeing others who are sharing this same moment of stillness in the train. It has a surreal quality, much like a Proustian recall, that I’ve never been able to shake, regardless of where I am when I’m on the train and regardless of whether I’m with other people. Oh, and yes S, be sure to pee before you get on the train. Those train toilets are just plain scary.
 
				
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				Amazon Prime Shipping
				March 27th, 2009
				
					From A: A general word of advice for anyone who happens across this page: If you shop on Amazon.com and haven’t subscribed to Amazon Prime shippping, you are missing out! I’ve subscribed to it for several years, and since then, I have enjoyed free 2-day shipping, which comes in mega-handy around the holidays or birthdays when I order gifts to be delivered to family and friends. Because of Amazon Prime, I shop on Amazon probably 75% more . It’s so cool to have the items arrive so quickly and not have to spend time standing in line or hunting for a DVD amongst shelves that with no logical form of alphebetization or categorization. It’s especially nice when ordering large items that typically require more expensive shipping costs. It really does end up paying for itself and saving me lots of cash even beyond that. I also like it that if I want to upgrade to 1-day shipping, I can pay just a few dollars to do so. That’s really cheap compared to many other online shopping services.   available domains  I know I sound like a cheesy TV ad, but I really do want to share this feedback because I’ve been surprised at how beneficial this service has been, not just in monetary savings but also in convenience. Okay S, go ahead and tease me for wasting valuable movie reviewing time by gushing over Amazon’s shipping options. 😉
Go here to check out Amazon Prime shipping for yourself. Subscribe and thank yourself around Christmas time. 😉
From S: uh where is my xmas present? I don’t remember getting anything from you in an Amazon box. huh? I’ve been an Amazon Prime member since about 2005 and I think it really helps me give presents to myself.  <cough> I mean to my friends, uh huh.
From A: Hmm, so I guess having your BFF travel all the way from TN to hand-deliver your xmas present just isn’t the same as receiving that Amazon box in the mail? OK, next time I’ll put in an Amazon box, LOL. 😛
 
				
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				Halloween
				March 19th, 2009
				
					Hey A, I’ve got an idea, next Halloween,  let’s get  in the same town and dress up like shaun and ed. You can get a white shirt with “red on it” and I’ll wear a T-shirt that says “got wood?”  It would totally work – you with the cricket bat me with the – well I guess I could fart, LOL.
 
				
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				Yay! Popcorn for dinner!
				March 16th, 2009
				
					And  a front-row  seat.  🙂 Cya  there!! relevant domains
 
				
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				Pass the Popcorn!
				March 16th, 2009
				
					Hey there A, I’ll save  ya a  seat!!! google cloud premium domains
 
				
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