Florida fun and sun
Current mood: cheerful

Ahhh. Okay, aside from just lounging out on the beach and floating on some nice waves, there are sometimes fantastic areas and places that grab your attention and are off the beaten path. Fortunately Florida has always been good about dropping these little pearls of interest to me on every visit. However this time around I was amazed to dig up information on this place called the Venetian Pools in Coral Gables. Wow! Just like stepping back into time. The place was built in the 20s or 30s from an old quarry the pools use 860,000 gallons of water. It serves as a neighborhood pool! Man I could only imagine having such a cool place to swim around all summer. Jayna and I both had a great time floating, diving and splashing around. As much as I could go on about this place, but it is better just to see what amazing things there are here.

6:48 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Vegas Trip
Current mood: amused

At home enjoying a pleasant fizzy, Portuguese wine and a reheated fancy pork chop from a photo shoot. The hot oily delight mixes in my mouth as I sit soaking up a multiple media movie bucket oozing from the television and from the lips of my beloved Jayna about Americas next supreme model or some such thing... however... I remain vigilant and attempt to coax myself back into getting my thoughts collected from my brain and transferred to the written page. Funny how even with all of the modern conveniences of the day I can still never seem to get my self into a state to leverage them. The files that are the essence of the uneasy glut of booze, food, gambling and prostitution are neatly sorted and numbered in a little white drawer underneath my words waiting to be placed properly into their respective area like a sloppy daub of blush on a haggard old drag queen. No matter how much you put on or where it is, it isn't going to make the reality much prettier.

Morning, Afternoon, Whichever... at this time of day in Dallas things like time of day don't really tend to get in the way. After dropping Jayna off at the giant hulking mass of concrete and jet fuel known only as DFW, I was stuck in limbo, awaiting for my own journey to Las Vegas a far away capital of excess and entertainment. Wandering around the suburb of the airport, I pulled up to a Starbucks for a coffee and a bit of time killing... Over a hot tea and some sort of random sweet pastry, cookie, bread, or whichever I catch up on work and plot my next ideas for stories and ideas. After a time, I grudgingly struggle back to DFW at the remote south parking lot. The pale gray white gravel field adjoining the lot is full of blackbirds clustered together and making an insane sonic peeping sequence. Some sort of omen?

Eh? who cares... I shrug it off and hope for the best. I drag my suitcase droid along with me all the way onto the plane through the ticket counter, through the security check points, the gate the ticket queue, the front of the plane, the back of the plane the overhead compartment and finally down to the back of a seat not made for mutants of my kind, instead designed by sadistic dwarfs with a severe hatred for kneecaps. The seats in front me have a thin protective layer of blue cloth separating my already cramped lower extremities from the sharp aluminum support frame digging into my legs. I make the most of it chatting with a large group of dental hygienists from Shreveport, these cordial young ladies had a peculiar glimmer in their dentally trained eyes, one that I couldn't contain properly in my own head. What were they going for? Did they want to gamble all of their tooth money? Were they off to go see some Chippendale show? Eat themselves sick with buffet food? Drink until they vomit in their respective hotel room or the room of some random, sweaty, one night stand with a relatively less disgusting sales rep? Not that I cared much either way for this pack of blood thirsty alien creatures, except for the fact that I turn my head for one moment and realize to my horror that it is snapped clean off.

Pretzels, ginger ale and finally a Bloody Mary help relax my fears of all of the novelty items on the airline catalog. UGH as if my flight isn't dull or painful enough that I somehow seem to look forward to reading a giant book of sales pitches for irrelevant items of crap that I will not need or want except for them to get lost deep into the rectal passageway of the business owner that is selling it. I sigh and flip through the pages understanding completely how simple it would be to gnaw away one's own arm for a quick escape, the forfeiture of one's own appendage seems a fair trade. The glass of booze mixed well with the oxygen in the flying tube painting over the weeks previous events. Some of the hygienists have never flown so their giddy squeals alert me for a hopeful landing... I look up from my computer and flick my eyebrow up looking over the mountainous terrain below from my window. The expansive wasteland below glows a deep orange, I think to myself... gads is there a shadowy robed creature steering this boat? A passageway to Hades? I quickly remind myself that I haven't killed or maimed anyone (at least that I am aware of) and breathe a sigh of relief as the Boeing 727 commuter flight touches down onto the alien moon known only as Vegas.

My flight is in on time, however my wait for baggage was predictably slow. My ride to the hotel was a caustic realization of how much this place has grown since my last visit. The casinos much like giant stumbling toddlers, drooling and spitting out even more artificially grand appendages and discarding the old like a dirty diaper smearing it to an fro with a past present future homage. I need a drink already, some how there is an alcoholic that is born in all of us and those that are stupid enough to visit this town seem to awaken them. Due to a mix up I am relegated by my client's travel planner to the flop house retirement casino next door to the Palms. My driver some shady looking ex-KGB type, shifty eyes, he gave me a second shift when I said Gold Coast Casino please. He shifted again, I looked in the mirror, wandering if I was shifting my eyes also. He prodded me about my visit, I thought and lied through my teeth, he nodded at my responses, I think it was a series route responses to whatever crap is being shoveled out from the back seat. I commented about the loss of the great old Frontier Casino, a palace in it's heyday now a pile of rubble. I just missed it, my flight came in a mere 8 hours past the glitzy destruction sequence the night before. From what I watched later in my hotel room the glamorous end to a cornucopia of vice and sin for greats like Elvis and Sinatra, this stoic old structure collapsed on it's own weight like a great stoic barbarian king from a dark time betrayed by it's very knights pledged to prolong the empire. It's time had come, as has much of old Vegas. Ironically most of the ancient main drag structures are most likely giggling as their more modern counterparts are doomed to the scrapheap. My KGB officer chimes in as I absorb the scene. Long time that was going away (shift). Really? I have always liked that place, a bit run down but pretty cool (shift), I comment casually. I made my way finally to the Gold Coast, it appeared to look more like a strip mall more than a casino. The place was dwarfed by the Palm across the street, the style of the place was ironically a Tuscan villa motif a very common theme in the northern suburbs of Dallas. Do you think that Italy gets some sort of royalty check for all of the nightmarish distortions of it's original rustic charm? Do Italians want to use a 60s Bradey bunch motif in their charming villas? Too much to consider.

The cab slid into the large but rather empty valet lanes. Struggled with my luggage droid and walked from the rather quiet street noise into the audio and visual onslaught from with in. The whole casino was appointed with the similar suburban home appointments. The front desk was a mere trifle compared to the sprawling gaming floor around it. My head already started spinning from the brightly lit comfortable retirement home look that I was presented with. I was shocked from the strange cavalcade of sweet elderly people, younger hipsters, and asian tourists all gambling their hearts out all looking to score their big break. Plunking money into slot machines and onto gaming tables. I was surprised how little I cared for the concept of my contributions to these money making industries. I was never really much into gambling anyway, I think the first time I was in Vegas, I looked around at the space and how grand it was thinking someone dropped a lot of coin for this, so that must be one hell of a profit margin. It was like this the whole time I was in Vegas it remained a stoic constant, a beacon of commerce that was dependable as death and taxes. By Thursday night/Friday morning I had grown disturbingly comfortable with this atmosphere, however I was quite inebriated at the time.

The elevator took me up to the sixth floor looking down I looked down the identical hallways on either side and was reminded me from The Shining, striding down the hall, I was hoping that the two butchered girls in the movie would show up just so they could confirm my suspicions about this place. Where is a hatchet when you need it. My generic plastic card key was sheathed in a paper jacket plastered with marketing promotions and a room number written in a bubbly font from the front desk employee. Hmm 660? Really? I obviously needed to make sure that my room nearby is 666 do you think hotels have that number? Seems a bit wrong. Indeed, there was the number of the beast a gateway to hell dressed up with a pleasant wall paper pattern and a pleasant plastic placard. I get a call from my client, he inquires about the trip in and to make sure I am all settled. I politely respond getting a feel for the mood of this gaming conference, it is sounding already that he is coming to the end of a long day in the convention center. I told him I would get some work done at the room and I would meet up with them when they are ready to hang out for the evening. We hang up and I decide to check out more of the battleground on the lower levels. I stop by the coffee shop and relive my nagging urge for caffeine and walking by the gift shop I am bowled over by the complete liquor store within. I jump at the chance and purchase a small flask of bourbon for my coffee... I need a bit of a smoothing of the sharp edges for the meet up tonight. I wander around the casino, pouring liquor from the bottle into my coffee and watching the random sets of people mostly loosing money in numerous ways. I even thought about how I was loosened of my cash by the gift shop because of the novelty liquor store. I frown and look down into my coffee which has a murky tinge of orange from the bourbon in it. I do a once over around the pool and the other amenities at the casino most of which are not active. I walk back up to my room and play on my computer and get caught up on work. The room smells like it was once occupied by a chain smokers. I notice that the night is starting up, I look through my luggage droid, it opens up a wealth of wrinkled clothes and such, I drag out a pair of decent slacks and a button up shirt, as I am about to get ready to go my client calls.

"What's up? You drinking yet?" Bill chimes in on my cell alerting me to getting outside to meet up for the party that they are putting together for the industry professionals tonight at the Palms. This is a practical question from my client, the last time we had a trip out side of town, it involved having a few drinks just waiting for our plane to arrive. This makes the environment more suitable for tossing a few back, something about the gambling biz, they like to get attention. A giant black Ford Expedition rolls along the front entryway of the Gold Coast. This must be how Vietnam vets must of felt when they were getting a pick up from a Huey Helicopter I was hoping that twin m60s were mounted on either side to air drop me into "the shit" that being a night of fancy food and glitz. My deep contemplation was quickly broken as the rear door swings open and I dive into the glossy executive flair of the cab.

End part  1

8:01 AM - 2 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

heavy heavy northern food...
Current mood: sleepy
Category: Food and Restaurants

okay... okay... it is official... I think my food tastes are officialy not in order with the norm in boston... The two places we have eaten have an almost drug like effect on my stomach and brain... everything here is incased in oil... the italian food from the first night was brutal... I ordered Pollo Venicia... it sounded light and tasty... it stated that the chicken is a marinade of white wine with mushrooms, artichokes... however what I recieved is a fast boat to constricted blood flow... I ate it and felt instatly dizzy and had a headache... I literally started getting a headache and clammy... right when I recovered from the italian... the next day I was filled up with what I thought was a safe bet... chinese food... amazingly oily... not greazy and pretty much the same format as the italian food... giant plate full of chunks of food... So basically 2 days of oily food is getting a bit distressful... and btw combining that with zany family food is also completing the set as far as cullinary extremes... I am not jewish, but I am pretty effective at eating weird food... however the Gefelta Fish has to be one of the more disturbing textures created by the food gods... This strangely sweet pickled fish is pulverised into a lumpy, packed football shaped lump that is submerged in a translucent gelatin with carrots floating within it... Of course it is pretty decent with a spoon full of horseradish coating but man... it is not what i look forward to seeing on my dinner plate everyday... Cool side of the trip so far is that I learned how to play Cribbage... fun game with lots of nice little rules and tricks...  Jayna's grandfather is pretty cool and I appriciate learning new things.

11:05 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Malibu Love.
Current mood: cheerful
Category: Automotive

My Malibu is at the spa ... Enjoy the treatment....  it is amazing how much crap builds up over the years.

6:39 PM - 6 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

House is a done deal.
Current mood: chipper

It was kinda funny in a secret agent kind of way to not say anything about Jayna and I buying our new house... really didn't want to jinx it... it was an effort in keeping quiet, putting a lid on it... "hush hush".... well today, we made it official... the house is now ours and is ready to be cleaned out and worked on... the place has great bones, but man is it a dump inside... i couldn't live in an environment like that and stay sane... not to fear... the house I can tell is so happy to be loved, it is a little gem that has just a bit of crust on it. Well I am going to H.D. to get some supplies, and start cleaning this thing up!

1:44 PM - 4 Comments - 8 Kudos - Add Comment

The new place.
Current mood: bouncy
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes

The new house is a monster... it is one that I have been looking at for a long time... I really can't wait to see what Jayna and I can do with it... it will be a bit of a struggle since I can only work on this in my spare time... alot of professionals can work on this one, basically the place has the coolest converted attic living area I have seen... really cozy... I have always loved houses, but have you ever noticed how there are certian houses that call out to you? This one sorta like that... the more I go see it, the more ideas and fixups can be done to it... There is so much studio space I won't know what to do with it all, it is spacious and has tons of storage space. Jayna has come up with so many great ideas and we are lucky enough to go through the stacks of interior magazines our neighbor has next door... Oh! one really unusual thing about the new place is that it is only 2 doors down from our current house... I get the feeling that I am going to make big cool things there... I can't wait to play!

9:59 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Many cool things not enough time...
Current mood: sore
Category: Dreams and the Supernatural

    I write to you all while listening to an unintentional mashup between drum and bass... Madonna lucky star and some folk music... the dominant music is the one plugged in to my ears... dnb... yes... audio meth... i use it... it feels good and makes me work like a machine.... Anyhow... feeling a tad antisocial so a drag assed with my bestest gal in the world to figure out how to make cool logos for her dad's new company... tomorrow i get to look forward to a fun time of working on web pages... yay...:) I really am trying to get back into the swing of writing ... what is funny is that i don't know how much reading i do for fun compared to writing lately... but isn't that the culture nowadays? Gads... what I would do to be a kid again... perpetually getting bored because there is nothing to do all day... I can still remember going to a shitty corner store and playing track and field... hehe...

So now I am doing art, writing, acting, and keeping my house and office in order and helping my bro paint his house... AND i still need to do xmas shopping... been figuring out what to get everyone and i have that on lockdown so that is good... but I still need to get it all bought.., yay... consumerism... yeah what the hell... I dont treat myself much... nor would I want to... I don't understand people that spend all their money on their clothes or house or dog... i think it is a great way to be miserable like that... erp... I really love my house and my life and it doesn't cost much either... so I get to spend money on food or travel etc... and that rocks... well I am off...need some zzzzzz

More art i promise and it will be more of more :)

9:00 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Halloween with sunny sand and ocean
Category: Dreams and the Supernatural

Who would have figured that the beach would be the place that I would spend my hallows eve on... For years I have been a quiet contributor to an absolutely fun party in Dallas... I have lent a hand in building concepting and developing fantastic alternate realities for the hordes of weird, fun, odd and unusual for over a decade and had a blast doing it... But for this year I am in the land of surf and turf and boat shows galore... it in of itself is surreal enough to make me wonder if I haven't imported a bit of D-thon to the coast... or I guess when you examine anything close enough, that it is rather surreal... I think these are valuable ideas to take to the events to develop next year... D-thon included... Tropical Tiki Palapa Bar? Hmmmm? Well anyhow... It is really unusual to think about it but there are a lot of directions to take the Dallas party goers on... Dallas does really sorely lack a lot of creativity in its public events... there is definately money, and glitz, but man it is like eating styrofoam when your expecting steak... :) How can this snowball of vanilla milktoast to ever be countered? It is the efforts of a few good people making events that are just plain badass and weird :)

10:45 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

I think I was a castle builder in one of my other lives.
Category: Life

I am curently having an unusually relaxing time working my ass off and tearing my fingers up building a stone deck in my back yard... yeah... i know, sounded like a good idea at the time... but it really is fun now that it is coming together... i found out that i have uncovered what it must have felt like to build shit back in the dark ages...damn... it would suck... shaping rocks is satisfying only AFTER you do it... especially when you are splitting them right... and once you order the rocks in such a way that it makes sense... i feel like i need to be in some masonic secret order and wear the rings, do the secret handshake and ride around in the mini-caddilacs and wear a fez. Anyway you are probably asking... Erik? What the hell are you talking about and if you are smoking something... please put it away or give it to me so i can puff it a bit and better understand your freakin point.

Well that is the thing... i am understanding alot recently... see, specifically about the ego... what it does to the mind... it is a true poison of the mind... the ego is the voice in your head that says you "can't" as in... your not good enough... you don't understand this... you will look stupid... etc. etc. in my earlier days is to just not give a fuck... you know try or do something stupid just to try it and say you did it... usually involving a bit of liquid courage and a loss of braincells... i am now starting to understand to have more of a i think i can do that mindset... that way you believe that you are doing it... just not giving a fuck indirectly means that you could give a fuck but you choose not to which kinda is like you could care and really screw up... hmmm much to learn... i am learning... that i can do anything and find out that i cant basically if i try it and cant do it instead of just not doing it at all.

10:03 AM - 1 Comments - 1 Kudos - Add Comment

Dammit! I hope I didn't fuck this one up.
Current mood: frustrated
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

So, about a week or so back I was called down to Austin to try out for a movie... not just a movie but a zombie movie and not just a zombie movie but a really cool movie with two directors I seriously admire and I was really hoping I would get it... I don't give up hope but it has been a while and I havent heard anything back.... granted, I have never been much of an actor type, I just say what I mean and don't like to be overly dramatic in real life much less a scripted one... I didn't realise that saying words someone else wrote and meaning them is difficult especially if you have no understanding of what the writer is thinking... it was very frustrating to figure out because the script had parts that made me feel one way then parts that made me feel totally the oposite...

I guess I did ok for a guy that is new to this... if I didn't get the part I think I will feel like when you get flaked on by someone that you really like. Just a general funk feel... I mean you get over it and you move on and possibly to bigger and better things, but man it is a paint because you always wonder what it would have been like if you went down that path... You also understand how hit or miss the whole process is in general... I was picked because the director thought my face was perfect for the part... but who knows.... maybe my height or voice just didnt work for him at all.... which makes me feel better.... because at least if that was the case, I can't help how I sound and at least I tried my best... Bleh! I sound like a baby... Anyhow... rant off.... I need to just chill and accept it.

8:52 AM - 4 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment