Bands I've seen live

I'm sure I've forgotten some, and Listal doesn't recognize many bands I thought of (especially ones that were never on a major label), but here's my list of bands I've seen live. Just in case any of you are interested.

sitting out the dance

Well everyone, I am no longer employed. This past Friday was my last day to play with the TAKS test, and now I'm taking an unscheduled "vacation" until I find another job. I suppose I should have found a job sooner, but they didn't let anyone know whether they would still be working there until last week, the same week that our current project ended. So a last moment notice doesn't leave one with much time to make other arrangements. Fortunately, I still have the bowling tournament to support me for a few more weeks, which should cover my bills for now. Also, I applied for unemployment, which will further help me survive financially for the time being.

So now I get the benefit of sleeping in during the week, and having a (hopefully very short) break from work while I look for something else. Send all positive thoughts, prayers, and so forth my way as I certainly need them.

As I think I mentioned before, ideally I'd like to find a job I can work evenings/nights and stay home with Baby E during the day while Mommy V works. The trick is finding one that will cover my share of bills & expenses, but I'm optimistic (as usual) about my chances. I'm trying to be patient about it.

Other than that, there's not much news to tell. I FINALLY made it out to a show over the recent holiday weekend to see Denton's mighty Brutal Juice here in Austin. I went alone, as it was an outdoor venue & Mommy V doesn't need to be surrounded by secondhand smoke, but I had a good time all the same & it was good to see them again, especially since for all intents and purposes they're broken up. Tomorrow night I'm seeing Screaming Females, next week I'm seeing Sage Francis, and beyond that any other shows will of course depend on whether I have the money and/or a job by the time they roll around.

We DID order tickets to see the Pixies here in Austin in late September, and we're determined to make it to the show...the trick there will be finding a sitter for Baby E. Surely someone will be kind enough to watch him/her for a few hours while we take a night off to see Doolittle played in its entirety. Surely.

And I guess that's all for now. I leave you with a recommendation: go to your local bookstore, or visit Amazon, or head to the library and pick up any book by Joe Meno. Any of his novels will do, as they are all more than worth the time spent reading them. I just (this afternoon) finished his latest, The Great Perhaps, and I'm still reeling from it, pondering it, feeling its impact inside me. It's an amazing work about, well, many things, but primarily the choice between fight or flight, as seen through the experiences of a family of five in 2004. I'm a big big fan of Meno's work, and I'm trying to share it with the rest of the world...so yeah, go pick that up.

OK then...

for all things baby-related

You will want to head over here: http://giraffe-baby.blogspot.com/

V created that especially for our friends & family, and we'll both be posting to it. The blog also contains links to registries and photos and all sorts of good stuff. Go check it out.

not that anyone asked

Been a while since I last posted...this blog continues to suffer from a severe case of anti-computer sentiment on my part. While I am no longer suffering through a shitrain of horrible essays at work, I am still reading student responses at work, 40 hours a week, and those run the gamut of utter crap to average to highly entertaining. I'm sure the state would be horribly dismayed to hear that the entertaining ones are all from students who refuse to take these questions seriously, but that's the truth of it.

Add to that the fact that my weekends have, of late, been spent photographing lady bowlers. Yes, the state bowling womens championships are held in Austin this year, and it turns out I used to work with one of the dudes in charge of photography during the tourney. So he extended an invitation for me to work for him and I agreed. Which has meant 16 hours per weekend taking pics, uploading them to a computer, cropping them, printing them off, & placing them in frames to be sold. I also have the dubious privilege of gluing the frames together (they're cardboard) and so at present I have a box of them to put together before this weekend gets here. I'm sure it'll arrive sooner than I expect. I suppose I could be doing that now, but instead here I am. Really though, the bowling gig has been mostly fun so far, and essential in helping me maintain my bills. I am thankful for it.

Other than that, well...the giraffe baby continues to grow steadily & spends a lot of time dancing around these days. We have confirmed the baby is ours by its big feet. That picture is from a few weeks ago (maybe a month now? Jesus has it been that long?) so hopefully the feet won't get so big that the baby gets hung up on the way out. Heh. And we've taken to referring to our child as Baby E, due to the fact that regardless of gender the baby's name will have the letter "e" somewhere in it. Ah yes, let your speculation begin...

And that brings us up to the most recent events. This coming Saturday, V and I will have been together ONE YEAR. If you'd told me at this time last year she'd be pregnant now I would have laughed hysterically. And yet here we are, and we're both very happy of that fact. Normally, we'd go out this weekend and celebrate, but as luck would have it I have photography work this weekend. So instead we celebrated this past weekend. Saturday we went to UT to check out the Our Body: the Universe Within exhibit, which was like a crash-course anatomy lesson with actual human samples. Infotainment! Dinner Saturday was hibachi-style Japanese food, which was Tasty. I dig the musicality in their food preparation even more than the visual spectacle it is. Yesterday, aka Sunday, we slept in, then went & got full-body massages together. And now I'm addicted and want to go once a month. Heh. I felt so much better afterward, and I'm hoping regular trips will help work out the knots I've built up over time. Beyond that, we mostly relaxed and enjoyed spending time together without any obligations. We both needed it.

And now we're back to the grind, such as it is. She started a new job at her work, and they rolled out the red carpet for her today. I take that as a good sign. She'll be doing technical writing work now, and I know she'll be awesome at it. Meanwhile I'm looking for a new job because lord knows this one won't last me much longer. So that's fun. And I've got bowling photography now through the end of June at least, with one more possible weekend gig in July. We shall see.

OK, that's it for now. I'll be back when I have more to say...

still alive & kicking

Greetings lovely readers. Just thought I'd drop by long enough to let you all know I am alive & well.

Haven't spent as much time online as I used to due to work. When you spend 8 hours a day reading essays of varying degrees of quality on a computer, the last thing you want to do is hop online and continue looking at a computer screen. Hell, most days I don't even want to read my book when I get home. Instead I've been passing the first few hours after I arrive home during the week playing with V's cat Toby, doing household chores, starting dinner, and/or watching the occasional movie. By the time dinner is in progress (if V cooks, and she typically does) and/or eaten I'm finally willing to subject myself to a little recreational computer use before I make my way to dreamland. Which pretty much leaves me the weekends to hop on here, but since I moved to Austin we've found plenty to keep us busy on the weekends without having to turn the computer on.

There have been movies to watch (both in theatres and at home), walks to take, necessary shopping excursions, outings with friends, and meals to eat at a variety of local establishments. The options for food consumption in Austin are Awesome...so many great places that aren't major chains. I could list them all, but I'll refrain as I'm already itching to be back off the computer again. Just know that the majority of non-home-cooked meals we consume come from local businesses (some of whom get their food from local producers), which is the way it should be.

I'd like to tell you that we've been to a bunch of shows since I've been here, but that'd be a lie. Not that we haven't wanted to go to shows, just that either a better offer for entertainment comes up, or we're too tired to catch a late show the night of, or in the case of SXSW it just doesn't work out. We wanted to hit up some free shows during SXSW, but the first problem there was that many of them took place while we were both working. Then we wanted to go to the Mess With Texas festival, but we came to our senses & realized that trying to get downtown during both SXSW and rush hour on a Friday was a Stupid idea. So then we thought maybe we'd show-hop on Saturday, but when we woke up to find the temperature had dropped into the upper 30s we gave up completely. Maybe next year will be better, but I won't hold my breath.

Anyway, that's all I have for now. V should be home from school soon, so I'm going to spend some quality time with her before I crawl into bed and pass out.

P.S.--Bought 3 new albums this month...the new Liars album I haven't fully formed an opinion on because I've only had the opportunity to give it one spin & I was distracted at the time, but I didn't hear anything I disliked so I'm assuming it's Amazing. Also picked up the new Daughters album, which is blissfully noisy & I'd be disappointed if it were otherwise. The other album I picked up was the new Gorillaz album which I was very disappointed with...I liked a few songs on it, but the rest were Terrible...hopefully through repeat listens the album will grow on me, but I know I don't like it as well as the previous 2 albums. We'll see....

Shows I may go to this month

3/16 - Hank III & Assjack @ Emo's

3/28 - Cursive (opening for Alkaline Trio *yawn*) @ Emo's

...I completely forgot that Scout Niblett was in town last night. Not that I probably could've stayed awake for the show anyway.

And yes, I'm aware that SXSW will be going on between the above dates, but I don't intend to attend any of it. I may find my way into one of the off-site house party shows, but I can't see the sense in purchasing an expensive wristband that doesn't guarantee my entrance to any of the official shows. Most likely V & I will avoid making any trips in the general vicinity of downtown Austin during SXSW...too much chaos to endure methinks.

Other shows in the coming months:
4/15 - Murder By Death @ Emo's (I'm sensing a trend here)

6/10 - Rev. Horton Heat w/Cracker & Legendary Shack Shakers @ Stubb's (mostly for LSS)

6/15 - Sage Francis @ Mohawk

let the unpacking begin

Well it took a couple days, but I have now moved the bulk of my possessions & myself to Austin. I said my farewells to DFW for now, though of course I'll return periodically to visit.

I'll miss my DFW friends, but that won't stop me from making new ones here. V & I need more people to hang out with in Austin, so we'll be putting all new acquaintances through rigorous testing to determine their worthiness of being our new friends. I pity those who fail...

So anyway, I'm happy to be here finally. I've said for years that I wanted to live in Austin, I just needed a good reason to move here. And the time I've spent in this city over the course of V & my relationship has deepened my appreciation for the city & all it has to offer. There's nowhere else I'd rather be than here with her.

Now to get these boxes emptied so I can start enjoying myself properly. Hopefully it'll all get done in time for me to have a few days to relax before work starts next week. That's my goal for now...