UrbanSkies

Art

While being ill at home the last two days, I watched lots of "Clean Sweep", "Designer Guys" and "Trading Spaces". This motivated me to rid myself of some clutter. While going through the crap, I found an old framed poster of Garfield the cat. Well, obviously I've outgrown that, and added it to the Goodwill pile. But I kept the frame, because it's still good, and I can use it elsewhere in the apartment. So off to HEB I go to buy $1 worth of poster board. The result is the fine art work you see above. I call it "Dancing in the Rain". I'm not sure where to hang it yet..most likely the kitchen, should I find some wall space.

Now, you might be saying, "Hey Ben, that sure looks a lot like Matisse's 'The Flight of Icarus'". And you would be correct. A print of the Matisse is hanging in my living room, and my art is a tribute to Matisse.

Sick

I've been sick since Sunday. Saturday night, my left lymph node started swelling a tad, but on Sunday morning, BAM!...it was the size of Rhode Island. The problem is that the enlarged node brings much pain when I move my jaw. So talking, eating, and yawning have all been avoidable activities the last several days. Yesterday, I went to the doctor for some relief, and she thought it was my allergies kicking it into high gear, and that caused the lymph node to work a lot and swell up. She gave me allergy meds, and then some pain pills, so I won't flinch everytime I move my jaw in the wrong direction. I'll most likely return to work on Wednesday.

This weekend was great, except for the whole swollen lymph node thing. I hung out with Kenton, Josh, Heather, Corey, et. al, for Will's birthday. First was 36 holes at Peter Pan Mini Golf, then to Bennigan's for drinks and food, then a smaller group broke off and went for coffee at Ruta Maya coffee house. We sat on the porch, chatting about random topics, such as gay sex, gay sex, and oh ya, gay sex. We watched the rain oscillate between sprinkles and sheets. Finally, we watched drunken men stagger out of the "gentleman's club" next door before departing on our separate ways.

Sunday was the Austin Wranglers game, which we lost in the last 3 minutes, despite being up by 11 points. QB John Kaleo threw a potentially game winning pass into the end zone, only to have it intercepted as time expired. I'll refrain from making any Chris Simms references here.

Wednesday: Symphony Band concert at Bates Recital Hall.

Small Victories

Small victories:

1. I worked out yesterday for the first time in about 2 weeks. It was a good workout, but I need to go to the gym more consistently.

2. Finally replaced the blades on my car's windshield wipers. The random rain showers are reminders to do so, but the thought would leave my brain shortly thereafter.

3. Another auto related victory...there has been an old Corvette convertible parked in the same spot outside my apartment for about 5 months. While that wouldn't normally piss me off, it took a valuable spot (aka, "Princess Parking"), and when I had to park 3 buildings away, I would curse the Corvette and blame it for my all my life problems as I trapsed from the BBQ pits to my apartment. So, with my March 1 rent payment, I included a letter asking the complex to tow the car. Three weeks later, there was an orange sticker on the windshield indicating the car would be towed in two days. "YES! Victory is mine", the little man in my head shouted. Well, two days later, the car was still there and the sticker had been removed. Damnit! What the hell happened?? I let it go, and figured I would complain again shortly. Then yesterday, I parked in the space. It suddenly hit me...It's gone! I don't know when it left, but I don't really care. The space is open now, and that eyesore is gone! It only took a month and a half, but it's gone. VICTORY!!! I'll celebrate by making a t-shirt.

I've only been saying this for about 27 years.

Pomp and Circumstance

It's April, and a new coat of yellow paint is going on the curbs at the Factory of Education (aka. my employer). That can mean only one thing: graduation is around the corner. The campus is cleaned up twice a year to make good impressions...in August for the incoming freshmen, and again in April for the upcoming graduation ceremonies. I think it's really meant to prevent the scaring of parents...they need to feel secure that Little Johnny is attending a fine upstanding institution of higher learning. And what better way to do that than put up some banners and slap a little paint on the curbs. And while it's nice to see this twice a year, it would be ideal if this level of appearance was kept up year-round.

Monday, Monday

Ahhh...Monday. Well, my weekend was FANTASTIC! I was quite wary of it by Friday afternoon, but all the social events went well, and I survived them all. Ernest's birthday dinner went well, but hanging out with Heather at IHOP afterwards was great. I suddenly became "The Man" when I got the waiter to get a table with 10 seats around it. And lord, what a hot waiter we had! Congrats to Will and Jackie for correctly guessing that he was in the medical field in this edition of "What's Our Waiter's Real Profession?". Actually, he's now a computer guy, but he used to be pre-med. He really should be a model...he had a gorgeous face and flowing brown hair. Dreamy....

Saturday was Mary's wine party, and again, I survived that as well. I actually had a great time after initial nervousness. Oddly enough, the dozen attendees quickly grouped in to 2-3 person cliques and never switched cliques through the night. I paired up with Mary's cousin Emmy and her schoolmate Gillian. They're both in the petroleum engineering program at Texas... I learned so much about oil drilling I'm changing my last name to Ewing. Honestly, I found it terribly fascinating. Sunday was Melissa's birthday, so we went up to her house where Justin, Matt and I grilled burgers, sausage links and a steak for Melissa. Yum Yum Yum! Then over to Chase's house to watch the season premiere of Queer as Folk. I *love* the new intro. The music is not as blaring and the black and white cinematography has a more classic look and feel. The episode was awesome...I'm glad it's back after such a long break!

Random happy from this weekend... I got a gorgeous circle mirror from World Market for $10 (normally $40).

Random sad note... I went to Northcross Mall, the first completely indoor shopping center in Austin. It's a few blocks from where I grew up, so we shopped there frequently. In my pre-pre-teen years, I would gaze at the figure skaters on the indoor ice rink. Mom would get me chocolates from Lammes Candies. I would make wishes on pennies thrown into the fountains.

But now...it's dead. Around 1/3 of the shops are empty. The food court is closed. A half dozen inflatable "moon walks" shaped as cartoon characters fill the space where the ice rink existed. And at 5:30 on a Saturday, half of the remaining businesses were done for the day! How can that be?!! But apparently, gaming is a profitable industry, as there were three gaming stores open. Those three constitute roughly 20% of the remaining stores. It's sad to see a once popular landmark being cast aside as an obsolete giant. Perhaps I'll make that a photojournal project... capturing the images of a once-proud mall, since it seems inevitable to me that it will be torn down or unrecognizably changed to meet a new retail paradigm.

This Week

This week has been filled with social events. Wednesday night, The Chase and I went to see comedian Stephen Lynch at the Texas Union. I've heard him on the Dudley and Bob Show on KLBJ in the mornings, so I was aware of his...uh...unique brand of humor. But the great part was that his ad-lib transitions between songs were just as sidesplitting as his prepared material. Lynch's trademark is his songs with intros much like any fare you'd hear on the radio, but that quickly take you in an unexpected, yet hilarious, direction. I invited Lynn, a co-worker, and her roommate to sit with us. Everyone seemed to enjoy the comedy, even when it turned to the topics of abortion, herpes, and superheroes such as Butt Sex Man and Captain Quadriplegic. Of course, that last one was dedicated to the kids.

Thursday night was dinner at Zen with Chase, and then watching the finale of The Apprentice. I'm not sure which Donald Trump has been more successful at...real estate development, or image building. Even compared to other successful and wealthy people, I think he has an enormous ego. And people buy into it. Can you imagine a reality show where the winner gets to work for Alan Greenspan, Warren Buffett, the Walton family, or Bill Gates? Of course not! They're boring. Is it the type of business Trump is in? Or is it him? I think it's him. Women want him; men want to be him. Crazy isn't it? He's not that attractive. It's really just an image thing. Anyone have thoughts on that?

Coming up on Ben's agenda...Ernest's birthday tonight. Then a wine party tomorrow at Mary's. That should be interesting, as I'll know one person there. Sunday is Chase's party for the season premiere of Queer As Folk. For better or for worse, my social calendar is full.

When it rains, it pours.

One

One.

It is the number of this entry...the floor on which I work...the floor on which I live...the number of websites I've had before this...

one.

One sun. One sky. One heart...

...bridging the canyon between zero and two...

One life.

One me.