Last Day of Work

Definitely bitter-sweet. I had a pleasant surprise though. My friend Taylor was able to get video of Jessica Alba, Keira Knightley and Jodie Foster wishing me well at Vh1. At some point in their lives, all three have been members of my "Top 5" list. It was very touching.

Tell me, is there anything better than seeing three sexy women calling out your name and telling you you'll do great at Vh1? I think not!

Once I find a place to serve the video, I'll post the clip.

One More Day of Work

Eight more hours and I'm gone, daddy gone. It'll be kind of bittersweet, as it always is when leaving a job.

I actually really liked my job. I also liked the people I worked with. But, I think it was just time for a change. Five years is a long time. Longest I've ever held a job, actually.

Which makes me wonder if I'm really meant to be with one woman for the rest of my life. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there... no sense in thinking about that now.

Gettin' Close

I don't really seem to sleep anymore, which kind of sucks. But, at least I'm getting stuff done.

My clothes are now completely separated. I'm donating about half the clothes I owned (which is a lot, by the way.) I'm taking two large duffel bags of clothes with me to NY this weekend. Next time I go out, I should've completed the move of my entire wardrobe. Though, I don't really know what to do with all of my shoes.

I also set aside one bag for "Seattle" clothes, that will stay here; and one bag of "Maui" clothes, that I'll be shipping there. This way, when I visit home and Hawaii, I won't need to pack anything more than a light carry-on.

There seems to be a glut of one bedroom apartments on the Upper West Side currently available. Looks like my timing is good on finding a new place.

Three more days of work. I'm so excited to go!

How Cute is my Niece?

Take a look at my brother's blog. Isn't my niece the cutest? I bought her that shirt! It's from Gymboree, a ridiculously high-priced clothing store... but wasn't it worth it?

Again, if I could post a frickin' picture, I would've just a put a photo up of Kaia myself.

Why Can't I Add Photos?

Both of the posts I just added deserved photos, but for some reason, this Blogger software just refuses to cooperate. I'm hoping it's not a Firefox issue. I've been having Firefox issues with the site of late.

It's going to be nice not working for Microsoft anymore. I won't have to feel guilty about using competing products.

A Night at the Rainbow Room

Thursday night after the Disney-thing, I met up with Josh and we went to Mexican food at a restaurant in Hollywood. It was really good.

Afterwards, we picked up my friend Jill and her friends Jay and Chris (I think that was his name) and we went to a dive bar called The Rainbow Room. Though, it wasn't that divey, as they charged a $5.00 cover. But, at the same time, they gave you a free drink coupon when you entered. So, it really only costs about $2.00 to get in. Yeah, OK, it is a dive.

The Rainbow is kind of a Hollywood/Sunset Blvd. institution. It's kind of famous for being a part of the rock scene that helped launch the careers of acts from The Doors to Guns 'n Roses.

Jill and I have been friends forever. She's one of funniest people I've ever met. She performs for an improv group in Seattle called TheatreSports. Once seated at the bar, Jill, Josh and I never moved. Jill proceeded to get me DRUNK. So drunk, I had to leave my car in Hollywood.

Josh and I got back to his apartment at 3am. Josh had a meeting at 8:00 (and I had to catch my flight back to Seattle) so we woke up at 6:30. That REALLY sucked. I was pretty much hungover all day long and into Saturday morning.

I ran three miles on Saturday and started to feel much better. But the night was so fun! It was definitely worth a two day hangover. I had learned this lesson many times previously, but the moral of the story is, never go drink for drink with a Cougar... those Wazzu folks will fuck you up!

"Desperate Housewives"

I needed to see what the fuss was all about. So, I watched all 23 episodes of the first season last week. Being in LA, I watched each night until about 2am. Then watched in the airport and on the plane. I finished up on Saturday, to coincide with the season premiere tonight.

I'm definitely hooked. It's really funny, and the mystery is outstanding. If you haven't seen it, you should rent the DVD's. I'm sure you'll become addicted, too.

Star Struck

I'm in LA right now. Kind of a last hurrah before leaving MSN. I'll just give you the quick update.

On Tuesday night, I went to a restaurant called Mr. Chow in Beverly Hills. While there, we were seated at a table next to Cindy Crawford. I spent all night staring at her lovely mole. She's really beautiful.

Today, I went to an event hosted by Disney to introduce their big films over the rest of 2005 and 2006. I got a great seat, seventh row, center. Oh, the event took place at the Kodak Theater, home of the Academy Awards. The place is really small. It looks huge in person, but believe me, the actual place is small. The main floor is smaller than your average movie theater.

Over the course of the afternoon, we got to see the entire movie "Chicken Little", their big computer animated film opening in November. We also got to see about 10 minutes of "Narnia", clips from "Cars" (the upcoming Pixar film) and various trailers.

There were also numerous appearances. Among the people that came on stage were Jodie Foster(!), Elton John perfomed Crocodile Rock, some country dude sang some hit song about mud on the tires of his Chevy, Pat Riley, Josh Lucas, Mel Gibson, Jerry Bruckheimer, and finally, wait for it... Johnny Depp in full Captain Jack outfit! It was so cool. They showed the trailer for Pirates 2, then raised the curtain to a pirate set with lots of smoke, and Depp walked onstage. Fantastic.

The best part of the event, though, may have been a 15 -20 minute montage of classic Disney clips they ran, accompanied by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and choral group. It literally brought a tear to my eye.

Taking A Bite of the Big Apple

I gave notice and officially accepted a job offer at Vh1 today! I feel like I should be on "Best Week Ever" because today was one of the best days ever.

So, I'm packin' up my stuff and moving to Manhattan. The Upper West Side, to be exact. Well, I still don't have an apartment, so we'll see if I actually end up there, but that's the plan for now.

The only downside to this move is that I'll be 10 hours away from my lovely niece. But, I still hope to make it out there a couple of times a year.

My first day of work will be on October 17. Sweet.

New York, New York

Start spreading the news
I'm leaving today
I want to be a part of it, New York, New York
These vagabond shoes
Are longing to stray
And make a brand new start of it
New York, New York
I want to wake up in the city that never sleeps
To find I'm king of the hill, top of the heap
These little town blues
Are melting away
I'll make a brand new start of it
In old New York
If I can make it there
I'll make it anywhere
It's up to you, New York, New York.

I want to wake up in the city that never sleeps
To find I'm king of the hill, top of the heap
These little town blues
Are melting away
I'll make a brand new start of it
In old New York
If I can make it there
I'll make it anywhere
It's up to you, New York, New York.

"Here Comes the Sun"

I think "Here Comes the Sun" by The Beatles is my favorite song. I hear it and just feel better. I remember one time in college, I walked out of a huge lecture hall, feeling drained and having one of those what-the-Hell-am-I-doing moments. I just felt like dogshit.

But, right there on the front steps of the auditorium was a dude playing "Here Comes the Sun" on his accoustic guitar. I listened to the song and it made me feel a little happier.

It's funny, I thought once I got "old" I would stop with the what-the-Hell-am-I-doing moments. Now, though, instead of getting anxiety when thinking about the future, now I just get depressed. OK, depressed is too strong a word. I just get a little gloomy.

Organizing Stuff... AKA Cleaning Up My Shit

So, I've been slowly getting rid of my 'stuff.' Over the past couple of years, I've accumulated so much crap it was starting to overtake my apartment.

Two weekends ago, I packed up EIGHT BOXES of DVD's. I'm giving one box to my parents, one box is going to my niece, one box is going to my brother, and five boxes are being sold to my cousin's used record store. I kept 150 of my favorite DVD's and am currently in the process of putting them into binders. Before you begin to think I'm some kind of kook who blows all of his money on little plastic disks, I get a about 95% of my DVD's as part of my job.

Last weekend, I moved all of my CD's out of their cases and into two binders. I also got rid of about 75 CD's.

Tonight, I took 16 books to the used book store. I only got $18 back, which hardly seems right, since I paid $12 for one of those books less than two weeks ago. Yes, I'm going to start using the library!

Next up is my clothes. Goodwill better say thank you when they receive this haul.

Change for the Sake of Change

At what point do the changes we make in our lives not matter? If, for example, I were to quit my job and move to Hawaii, would I really become a new person? Or would I be the same old me, but with a tan?

If I were to sell my car and buy the little Lexus convertible that I so lust after and can't really afford, would I be a happier person, or just an asshole with messy hair?

Speaking of hair, I got a sexy new haircut, and maybe for a couple of days I felt like a new person, but after a week, I felt like 'me' again. I can't really cut my hair any shorter or I'll be bald. Now, that would be a change!

Where am I going with this, you ask? I wish I could give you an answer, but I'm not really sure. And that, in a nutshell, is exactly my problem. I have no idea where I'm going with 'this.'

25 Words or Less: "The Book of Joe" by Jonathan Tropper

My favorite book of the year. Funny, sad, angry, depressing, sweet... kind of like life. Kind of contrived, but I loved it anyway.

More Blogging

I hereby vow to write more often. Even if I have nothing to say. Like right now, for example.