I quit smoking again! This time for good. I’m 4 days into it. I’m really looking forward to having fun and not worrying about whether I have smokes or when I’m going to smoke! Since I’ve been wanting to make a list of all the things I want to do in Sacramento anyway, I thought now would be the perfect time:
More later!
We moved! We now live in lovely Sacramento, California. Who am I even talking to?
If anyone does read this site…you might wonder why I post so infrequently. The reason, dear non-existant reader, is that I just plain and simple am spread way too thin on the web, writing and maintaining many many different personal-type sites that no one ever looks at. I’m thinking it may be time to consolidate and focus my energies on doing just one thing on the web that might actually be worthwhile. Now, I just need to figure out what that might be.
Our house is for sale as of Feb. 1. We’re excited to be moving the process forward, but at the same time, we’ve just started to feel like we’re a little bit connected to this house and to Austin. We have friends here now, and we really didn’t when we first started thinking about moving. We’ll be sad to leave, but we’ll be happy to get back to Cali…we really don’t belong in Texas. We watched Deliverance the other day. The trailer (it’s on the DVD) starts with something like “Four men from the suburbs decide to go canoeing out in the sticks.” I couldn’t help seeing the parallel with our story– “Two yankees suddenly decide that it would be fun to live in Texas”. Anyway…not to put down Texas, but–actually, yes–to put down Texas. I don’t need to make excuses. I’ll be glad happy to get out the confederacy.
Here are some random links:
Wil Wheaton’s website
Small Car Driving Radio
Where does cork come from?
What’s the deal with cinnamon?
Happy 2002. The official Minnick motto for this year is “No fucking around in 2002”. Margaret gets the credit for “penning” it. We’re very excited about this new year (and new motto).
We drove to Michigan for X-mas and New Years. Another great time. We spent plenty of quality time with the family, went to Henry Ford museum and Greenfield Village(I’m amazed at how cool that place is…I hadn’t been there in years), had a great dinner at my brothers, recorded some stuff, went to Greektown, and so much more.
On the way back to Austin, we stopped at Graceland and did the whole tour (the planes too!). On my first visit to Graceland with my sister Kathy, back in 1995, we were too poor to buy the “platinum” tickets, so we just did the mansion tour. Since then, it’s been a dream of mine to see the planes (there are two, the Lisa Marie, and Hound Dog 2. The Lisa Marie is the big, impressive one).
We spent New Years Eve at the Ramada Inn Airport in Memphis, spent an hour at the painful party in the hotel lounge (because it was too cold outside for us to want to do anything else), then woke up early on New Years Day and drove home. Good to be home, good to have a new year for not fucking around in.
I got a few new CDs with gift certificates that I got for my birthday:
The Legendary Marvin Pontiac. Pure genius.
The Wipeouters. Also amazing.
I’m noticing now that there’s a connection between these two selections, that also hooks up with the events of last weekend in a wierd way. I won’t spell it out, but if you understand, that’s good for you and you’ve gained about as much insite into the depths of my mind as I have.
Saturday (Nov. 3) was my 30th birthday! The weekend before, we had a party–complete with Karaoke machine and a man in an Ape suit with a Tu-tu. It was great. Certain dependable and good friends stuck around after the food was gone and the party really took off…everyone who was left (around 10 people) was singing at one point or another and there was way more than enough beer for all (we still have plenty left over).
Then, Margaret took me to New Orleans last weekend for my real birthday. That was also excellent. We took a riverboat tour/cruise, saw Galapagos 3D at the IMAX, drank lots, hung out at Coops Place (my new favorite place), sat by the pool, were annoyed by several employees of the hotel (who were clearly taking the whole “french” thing too far), and just generally had a good time. I love Margaret like crazy.
I also had my palm read, and Margaret and I both had our “cards” read. Both of these experieces reconfirmed my dis-belief in superstitious mumbo-jumbo. Only a small number of the things that either one said could remotely be considered to be accurate. Strangely, though, the card reading lady (I didn’t say Taro, because I don’t know how to spell it) kept saying that I’m searching for who I am…blah blah…which does seem to be an ongoing theme in my life. I don’t read too much into it…I’m still young–of course I have issues with wondering what I’m supposed to be doing and who I am. That’s nothing new. What I really want is to remake myself into something completely different (at least on the outside) every 6 months or so.
Turning 30 was great, and I’m very happy about it. I want to list all the people who I want to thank for making my birthday so good, but out of respect for their privacy I’ll refrain. Like I said before, no one reads this anyway. If you are reading this, you’re probably on the list I was going to make. Thanks!
sigh. I’ve let nearly a month slip by without posting anything again. I’m making an effort not to think, talk, or read about politics for a while. I’m conflicted as to whether that’s a good thing to do or a bad thing…here’s my thinking: There’s really nothing I can do except make damn sure to vote and encourage people I know to vote. Living in Texas has got me feeling like I’m trapped in a world of morons (apologies to anyone I know who might be reading…you’re not a moron). Am I in the minority in thinking and caring about things that are happening outside of my living room? Where has long-term thinking gone? Does no one else see that EVERYONE has a stupid excuse for why its OK for them to drive an SUV?
2000 was supposed to be the year of Robots in our houses. 2001 was supposed to be the year of a manned (and womaned) mission to Jupiter. What do we have instead? A (p)resident who’se advocating that we use more coal, a scary rise of nationalism, everyone taking advantage of a horrible crime (terrorist attacks) to make a buck and/or justify racist thinking and state-sponsored religion. Everyone’s getting poorer except the really really rich people who are running the show. And, I’ve started smoking again! WHERE THE HELL IS THE FUTURE I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO?
So, what can we do to keep from sinking into big depression? I’m eating, buying toys, smoking, and drinking. I don’t think these are the right things to be doing. Constructive action is necessary. Stand by…
Not much happening. I’ve been thinking quite a bit about crispy-ness. Imagine how different the world would be without crispy-ness. It’s shocking, really. I wonder if there are people anywhere who go through their entire lives not knowing crispy-ness. What is that like? If such people exist, their experieces ought to be documented–quickly.
Margaret and I are making an effort to talk about things we like. (this is not related to the mass hysteria/brainwash currently sweeping the nation that is making people suddenly very happy with “Dubya”–who I still don’t think is capable of running a lemonade stand in Texas, much less this country…be afraid). Despite how it might seem on Motel sometimes, there are lots of things that I like and that Margaret likes. Crispy-ness is one example. Bowling, family, dependable friends with their priorities straight are another (1,2).
We ended up buying a video camera with our republican bribe check. I’m finally getting a chance to make the movie I wrote 10 years ago…although it’s completely different from then. Maybe in a better way. I’ll be posting movies here as they get done.
Well, today is as good a day as any to write something here. Events in NYC and D.C. have us seriously freaked out. Our desire to get out of Texas just increased about 10-fold. I guess being in the middle of nowhere, and a nowhere like texas at that, and not really having anyone around during a time like this has got us feeling very anxious to get away. It’s also got us thinking about how fragile our situation really is. We’re thankful that we don’t live in a big city, or go to work in a big building, and that we have each other for support. Flying is out of the question for me and Margaret for a while.
Last weekend, however, we did fly. We went to Sacramento for the weekend, then to SF for meetings. Met with a realtor and looked (in a not-ready-to-purchase) way at houses. Out of 6 houses, we liked 5. Sacramento seemed much more friendly and homey during this visit. That was nice. There are people in Austin I would miss…but all things considered, this isn’t where we belong.
I wonder if anyone reads this besides me. I really don’t write often enough to keep any sort of audience interested.