Autechre / Deutsch / Hair Appointment

11:30 PM - Autechre takes the stage. All the lights go out, bizarro beats start dropping, and the lights were never to return. Not a strobe light, not a discoball, notta damn thing! I could hear visions of KID A in the beats, offbeat rhythms, and an underlying depression, kinda gave me an uncomfortable feeling. Big time rave music, guess if I was all about the X or other speed alternative, I may have been groovin pretty hard.

Like Ben Folds says:
\\ Visions of Pills that put you in a lovely trance,
\\ that make it possible for all white boys to dance

Well that's exactly what I would have needed to tear the floor up, considering my 'hair appointment' at 3:15 in the afternoon. The hot mom that was burning the hair off my chest said I have a high tolerance for pain, so she jacked the settings up about 3 notches, therefore making it much more painful than my first outing. The put about 1/2 centimeter of cold a$$ gel on you, and then just go to town with the lazer. Quite painful around the chest area, back not so bad. But I sure did feel like I just came out of a prize fight after that, smelling slight charred from the heat.

Somewhere in the middle of that was the first German II class given by Frau Kaminska, which I had to skip out early for to catch the show.

Thanks Emanuel and Mike D for the company -- Look forward to hanging out with you in Germany sometime next year when Franzi's wedding happens. For all of you who know Franzi, she's pregnant and getting married. - Yowzers -

Believe In Happy Endings - Even If There Isn't One

-----
Believe In Happy Endings - Even If There Isn't One

For all my buddies, to people who read this -- please pardon my temporary departure from humor for a brief bit of introspection.

For the past few weeks I've been contemplating a very simple question, but a question that plagues me. The question is 'How Do Relationships Work, and how do you begin them?' Simple to you guys who have figured it out, but gruelingly complicated for us 'lost souls' floating about, ever so painfully searching for perspective. For all you floaters, as I try to get down to the heart of it all, I find that it's all about balance, and the balance being between want and need.

'Honey I'm Home,' a typical Leave it to Beaver reference, said by many people around the world everyday. Well what happens when you 'Honey I'm Home', and no one is home? Its human nature to be insecure and insecurities drive a desire to find an echo to the simple question. Insecurity can bind us to people, people who we possibly know in our hearts to be not right for us, but rather simple and convenient. Insecurities potentially make us compromise the very fundamental things which are most important to our human existence, our body and soul. Insecurities have the nature to develop habit out of time and create understanding thru apathy. Insecurity protects you from leading an introspective life. Loneliness and uncertainty swell when you embrace your insecurity and not let it control your existence.

The other side of need / insecurity lays want / passion. This too can be a consuming factor, which causes things to not be balanced in a relationship. To be cheesy for a moment, what happens when you want something so badly it hurts? How can one sift through desire and see objectivity. How do you calm your passions and understand that there are 3.2 billion members of the opposite sex out there, and go on your merry way in finding other suitors to be passionate about. Is intensity a good thing or a bad thing, especially if you can't master your passions? Is passion more fulfilling, or is that the 57% of Americans that get divorced every year? Is there a thin line between love and hate when fueled by passion? My thoughts are yes. Passion is what drives the wrestless heart.

Balance is Unity. When there is mastery of want and need, a wonderful bond is formed. At any point in this rambling, just acknowledge that I'm a 28 year old computer geek that is far from having it figured out. I sat in college and heard of the benefits of teamwork and how effective teams are what drive successful endeavors. That big-time implies to relationships and life as we know it. Apon achieving balance of want and need, I, Robert, going out with Sally Smith, who I love and care for, is not in the slightest bit tempted even when my dream girl, Fiona Apple comes on strong. I say, sorry Fiona, but f*ck off, I have all I want and need in Sally. Balance says honey I don't give a damn if we pull weeds in the flower bed today or go see Def Leppard tonight. Balance conceives a genuine interest in what the other person is doing, thinking, feeling, and you hurt when that person is not around to give you what you need and want. Unity is inspiration, hope, love, courage, facing difficult adult situations with a smile.

How does this apply to me? For the most part, I like to think I check my genitals and insecurities at the door. I listen to 'good' music, good music comes from people that have tortured souls and from individuals most have never even heard of, not Justin Timberlake. I hear these individuals crafty, clever sentiments on love, and the intelligence of it all doesn't allow me to come up with an answer, but definitely lets me admire the question. I'm consumed by the passion of it all; notice all the questions in the passion paragraph. Big Bubock Ulcak once introduced me to a friend saying, 'this is Robert, he's turned down more chicks than I can even dream of.' Well Bubba is right about me turning down girls, but I don't know if its been that many. I'm very particular; therefore it's hard for me to strike a balance between want and need. On the need side, I don't take care of myself, I eat at 7-11 every other night, my apartment is a cluttered, haven’t' washed clothes in ages, I don't allow myself time to watch trashy shows like American Idol, all this equals to not being able to chill out and also not being able to accomplish what I refer to as 'the overhead of life.' On the want side, I can tell you that I 100% of the time overlook girls I meet that are 70-80% 'compatible' with me. Why? I'm a perfectionists, I want better, and I know it’s not abstract, and it’s out there, I've seen it. What happens when I'm going out with Ms. 70% and Ms. 90% rolls around, well I'm in a pickle if I settle for 70% when I'm not really happy. Someone once told me the sniffer test is 96% accurate, I agree entirely.

To let everyone in on a secret, and I'm sure family who reads this, if they've made it to this point in the blog piece, think I've totally lost my mind, I have signed up on match.com, why? To find mrs 90% or above. Hell it's easy to do a global search for belle and sebastian, and see what comes up. I'm light on my feet, I'm a dreamer, I'm a hopeless romantic, so if the stars align and I find the ideal person in Istanbul Turkey, well hell I hope there is a market for Portal / Biztalk developers there. So what do I want in a relationship, that's one of the questions asked? I want someone who not only 'completes me' as it pertains to the insecurities, but also someone who I can ride the 'slow boat to China' with, enjoying every moment all to ourselves. I want someone to challenge me, motivate me, inspire me, suggest things to me, and help me to look at life constantly from different angles. Isn't that the most fulfilling? I want someone that is high strung, ready to approach life with a complicated vigor, and do it with dignity. I want someone who will poke me in the ass on Saturday morning and say, hey lazy wake up, we got life to live, that's why we're here. I don't want to be put on a shelf in the sense that when I become the lucky one and find that girl or the girl finds me, there will never be an 'as a matter of fact' attitude. I know I will have and be with the girl that in my mind is the best freakin thing on the planet, and I'm going to show and tell the world how proud I am, and how humbled I am that she's with me, I'm going to be her cheerleader till my legs fall off. On the same token, she's going to acknowledge that she's with a bada$$ mofo, worthy of serious bragging rights of her own. I want to be touched, I want to feel the passion in my heart, I want to be completed.

To conclude this gory, convoluted tale of introspection, I'm not seeking sympathy, just tired of being so damn lonely, but I will not compromise for anything but the best. I'm ruled by passion, not insecurity, otherwise I'd pick me up one of the many 70%'ers I know to engage in a honey I'm home scenario with. The great philosophers ask, cheap happiness or sublime suffering.....until the right person comes along, I choose sublime suffering everyday and twice on Sunday. My sentiments on employing this train of thought only lead me to believe that greater introspection only leads to more to offer for a person who is currently doing the same, bam we meet, stars align, everything is complete ---- BOOYAH!

Stars of Basketball and Tennis are Beautiful People

Well damn, tonight was a night of athetic rigor, which brought on two different sports.

First -- Basketball

I must say that I'm tired as sin, not really knowing what to expect rolling up to the park in good ol Shi-Town. Rolled up and saw Marty, Ryan, Julie and Ashley. We proceded to play 5 on 5 with many of the members of the SHS High School Basketball team, full court killer sh*t. Well Julie was swatting their stuff left and right (she's good), Ashley was hitting some killer pullup shots, and Marty, Ryan and I, um , well we were agressive? We did take a game off their a$$es, but considering they were 1-16 on the season, not really a bragging right. Mental note to never play basketball in KSWISS ever again for my toe is all jacked up, blood under that nail and such.

Second -- Tennis

Wanted to relive the old glory days of tennis playing with the roomies, so we strolled over to the tennis courts. We almost got a set in, but Marty said the wife had some fish cooking, smoked samon to be exact, and I think Ryan had a baby or something to attend to? At any rate, Ash and I worked em over the time we did play. Ryan did ace me one time though, may have been out?

Anyway, Marty is a great friend / avid reader of this blog, so he wanted some recognition. To recall the college days, Marty was acting cool with his shirt off playing tennis one time at the SWT courts, and had 'Thug Life' written on his belly, I thought it was little strange b/c at the time I didn't know Tupac or whatever, but anyway, this is what Marty looked like with his shirt off that day, except without the abs, the gun, the middle finger and a little bit whiter.....OK, maybe it wasn't Marty --

Bidets / General Water Fun

Ft. Worth, a lovely town definately worth the visit. We went to the Cowgirl Museum to cool off, it was so damn hot, just coming out of the horse races. We participated in some crazy antics!

Here Mike D is having a Bidet, notice the double peace signs!

Here Toshi is literally head first in the water, looks pretty painful if you ask me, but didn't seem to bother him.

Here's Manuel grinning his a$$ off as I run thru the water. Notice the kids behind us laughing. It was funny we basically kicked them out of the way so we could play! hahahahaha

Good fun, and nice to cool off. We had to ride in the back of the truck on the way home, b/c Manuelabor didn't want to get the interior of the MT wet.

Yee Old Bull and Bush

That night, toasted with sunburn, even though I sported my brand new Boston Red Socks hat at Target, the Boddingtons was great, and the banter was spot on.

John, a bada$$ graphics artists / biznessman, founder of Creative Fuel sportin his Christ-Pose with a beer in each hand, a Boddingtons in one hand, and a Lone Star in the other, what a combo!

On the way out we saw a 'Nut Truck', so we decided to take a nutty picture. If you are wondering what I'm doing, I'm tickling John's underarm. I also regained my good ol grey Travis shirt that I thought was lost, but Manuel had it safely tucked away for me.

Went to a ton of bars on the evening, took tons of pictures, the weekend was exhausting, the Stella was strong. Here's the rest of the pics if anyone is interested.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/59134211@N00/15170142/

Thanks for the fun / accommodation Manuelabor / Lacinator -- Cheers

Horse Races - DFW

Talk about a hot SOB, the horse races were pitiful, fun, cool, yet just unbearable for being outside. Check out this intense condensation on my head after a mere 5 minutes of being outside.

Mike D and Laci place some 2 dollar bets, Laci won $3.60 on her two dollars. 1 dollar to get in, and free Dr. Peppers, how could you go wrong! 'Must a had me like 15 Dr Peppers'

Kissenger CD Release Party

Tonight Kissenger's CD Release party at Emo's. Kissenger won the Austin Music Foundation 's Incubator contest for best rock category. They are all very nice guys and it would be great if y'all all go support them.

It was a good show, although I could only stay for 3 songs, b/c it started at 1.20am, I was tired, so I went home. I just remember Emo's being so damn hot inside with all this record heat, I could literally feel my a$$ sweating.

Sith Happens

Last night was the overhyped primier of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith. A pretty good movie, great effects.

There is some very cheesy dialogue in this movie, I mean why hire a dude like Samuel L. Jackson and make him talk like a monotone jedi? It was pretty cool to see the flaming limbless torso though.

The company of geeks was brilliant --, Paul, Mike D, Mike P, Dale, Frank, Nick, Wilton.

Brad I owe you big time for dogging you out, and Jenny, I sincerely hope you won't be mad at me forever.

Geek Road Trip

Today we went on a road trip to Dallas to the SQL Server 2005 Roadshow, some intense hardcore geeky stuff. The morning talked of enhanced log files for debugging, and the afternoon was xQuery for XML, stuff big time over my head so I glazed over and went to Happy Land.

Here's a picture of the group, Mike P, Wilton, myself, Lon, and Garth. Lots of database guru's, lots of geek talk everywhere! Taken by Mike P's Treo 600.

After the show, hauled ass home, pushing the Department of Public Safety van at up to speeds of 85 mph to catch the 7pm showing of Star Wars.

Ahhh the blurry life of an over-urgent individual.

Bloggin' Bout Bob's Bada$$ BBQ (alliteration)

Whenever the Spurs are playing in the playoffs, as well as other times, Bob is firing up the grill with some steaks, sausage, etc. Afterall, we are at the top of the food chain, so why not pig out on nice juicy steak. Creamy italian dressing usually is the maranade, and the stuff just melts in your mouth.

Bob also has a 52 inch TV that kicks ass, it's big, roughly the size of, ummmm, well, roughly the width of my VW.

Anyway, love that BOB BBQ --

Mando Diao and Friends

After City Hall we went to Emo's for the Mando Diao show. Who do you ask? Of course the constants Toshi and I. We have been looking forward to the show for a few months now, and the day finally came, started at 10:45, which is pretty damn late for a Monday night show!

Three of Toshi's wonderful Japanese friends also joined us. They were all wonderful and beautiful. Don't I look like such a pimp with these three lovely ladies?

The opening band was Danko Jones, who was really good. He had a tongue that was all over the place, one that could rival Gene Simmons. Out of the blue, Gordi Johnson, the lead singer / guitar player for Grady comes out. I spoke with him for a while, said Danko and him were buds, and Danko played a song and dedicated it to Gordi. Here's a picture of Gordi and I, y'all should go check him out one day, he plays at the Continental Club frequently.

To end the night, Toshi and his friends expressions say it all. An excellent evening had by all. It was great to see Toshi and his friends jamming in front of the stage all excited!

In my opinion, Mando sounds much much better on the album, but all around a quality show, some quality songs, and for 10 buckeroos, you can't beat it!

'And we never cut the hope
'Cause we never cut the rope '
Mando Diao

All You People Up There In City Hall

Today we went to City Hall, probably saw some important people that I didn't know, and had some good food / good music. The new City Hall is an amazing building, and it still has the new smell to it, which is great. Here is a picture from the top, you can see Town Lake and the wonderful jogging trail. It's a really great view from up there.

The place has many tiers, here's a picture looking down from one tier to the other. Down there was good ol Taco Deli catering, and Rachel Loy providing the entertainment. She won one of the categories of the Austin Music Foundation Incubator competition.

Didn't meet the mayor, and didn't even get to hear him talk b/c Ian and I had to make a beer run. Beer run for City Hall, now that's pretty damn nifty!

Z Cabaret /w Meredith McCall

Tonight I had the distinct pleasure of watching Meredith, a friend / co-worker perform at the Zach Scott Theatre. The performance was brilliant, she came out all light and fluffy singing some really good tunes. There was a brief intermission, and the second part of the show was the heavy / contemplative songs, of course which I apply to the daily emotional struggles that go on in my head. I am definately going to bug her for the setlist when she comes back to work on Tuesday.

Here is a picture of Meredith, the star of the show, with Lee, my boss and I. Lee and Meredith are not only cool people, but play a very pivotal role in the re-engineering of the private security systems at DPS. What a dynamic, Meredith during the day, b*tching (not really) about SID numbers, to her beautiful voice by night.

The songs were beautifully chosen and beautifully sang. Check out Meredith singing Besame Mucho (takes a while to download -- 9mb). This song in particular struck my attention b/c I love The Beatles rendition of this tune. For those who you who can't translate, I think it means 'Kiss Me Lots' or something like that.

Thanks for the great performance Meredith, was a great time, thanks for the company Lee and Emanuel. The band played perfect too, loved the bass. Look forward to the next one, and for all you peeps who read this blog, do yourself a favor and check out a show at the Zach Scott. And to all my meathead friends, if you find a date, bring her to this, she'll be impressed (and I promise to take the same advice myself!).

PS - The nachoes, Sangria and Margaritas at Guero's aftwards weren't too bad either! Tomorrow brings me to a trip to City Hall and Mando Dio with Toshi and an entourage of Japanese girls, YIPPIE!

Snoop Dogg / VWA

Tonight brought Snoop Dogg and his b*tches to VWA.

This is my second year working the VIP section at the ampitheatre, I'm on a 'part time' basis, meaning hopefully I don't have to work shows like Hall and Oats and the like. Being the first gig I worked this year, I was greeted with a stylish new cucumber green shirt, and a nifty name tag.

Now, on to the show. As I walk to my VIP duties, I stroll by the merch table and could help but notice a shirt that said "White Beater," I suppose instead of "Wife Beater." Having said this, I'm a bit apprehensive about entering the lions din of thugs and gangstas, of course being a bald headed white boy wearing a green button down.

The opening act, The Game, took it apon himself to invite the crown to come 'down', meaning all these meatheads climb over the rails, much to the dismay of the VIP staff. The show was pretty good, although I don't like the gangsta rap much, he being totally west coast.

Then the main event, Snoop Dogg. The opening 'film' depeicted Snoop going to his chicks house, much to his surprise another chick was over named Peaches. Peaches, Snoop, and Snoop's chick participate in foreplay, then some white dude comes in and starts shootin sh*t up, until Snoop finally puts a cap in his a$$. Tons of weed references, some T&A on the big screen, and cussin cussin cussin equals good family fun. There was also a bed on stage with some scantily clad girls, one is wearing some white lingerie with blue trim, which kinda reminds me of the gmail notifier for new messages that's running in my taskbar. Last time I saw Snoop I recall him asking for '7 backstage passes for 7 backstage a$$es.'

All in all a fun night, met some new peeps, sad at Chad's departure, who's trying his luck in Vegas, listened to Snoop, and hell, getting paid for it, can you beat that? Thanks Leslie, you rock.

Tomorrow is Cabaret performance at Zach Scott for me, to all my co-workers have fun at Kenny Chesney, y'all can only hope for Renee Zelwegger, or however you spell that, to come out and they can do a 'You Had Me From Hello' duet. Great stuff!? -- Maybe Snoop could come out and put a cap in bofe of their a$$es ---- hahahahah

Peace!

Shootin the Shit with BB King

Folks if Rolando isn't the most celebrity connected friend I've ever had, then let the powers that be make me wake up with an afro tomorrow.

This picture was sitting in my inbox this morning, as Roland's commentary said "Mr. Bruns, here's a picture of me shootin the shit with BB King.

Hats off to BB King, Roland said he's a really nice guy, and he celebrated his 80'th birthday last year.

So when Rolando's not hanging out with BB King, he's calling me from the NBA all star party saying he just served some famous person that I don't even know a shot of something I've never even heard of.

Rolando Rolando Rolando -- You did get the "R" you know ;-)

Pacific Seafood / Flounders O MY

--------------------------------
1--
Tonight I think is the first time I had flounder. Had the distinct pleasure of hanging out with Maggie and Brad at Pacific Seafood. Tucked away in the midst of Kia and Acura dealerships is a gem of a seafood joint with noteworthy gumbo and blackened fish. Needless to say I pigged out beyond belief.
--------------------------------
2--
After that we got our Target on. Man is it a prerequisite to be a hot chick in order to work at Target. I recall C-Dog feverishly trying to get a job at Target when we were roomates in order for him to find us some girlfriends. Well Brad was picky picky with pants, so I stocked up on 4 months supply of TP and also picked up the new SPOON.
--------------------------------
3--
Then we went to a posh import car dealership and I salivated over some rediculously priced vehicles. Don't you have to have a small pen*s to drive a 2005 Corvette? Anyway, the VW treats me well, after all Volkswagon means (the people's car), and that it is, a nice car for the common people. We also taked that with the advent of the Elements and Scion's, VW needs to bring back 'The Thing' or make a vain VW peace lovin van.

Lovin the Brad / Maggie company -- will try to make it to Crawfish on Saturday if I don't work Snoop Dogg.

Bow WoW WoW Yippie Yo Yippie Yea

The Midnight Ride of RB / Mike P

One if by land, two if by see.....Just as Paul Revere made his midnight ride, Mike P and I set off at about 12:08, on a chilly night. The ride was overall pretty easy, with the exception of a few monster hills. We left with the blessing of my neighbor Phil Morris and Ben, high fives, good luck sentiments and all.

The first stop for picture time came as we approached the captitol. Here you can see the capitol with the Frost Bank Tower (this building reminds me of nose hair clippers) in the back.

Next is the good ol Bat Bridge, right before the sinister South Congress Hill. Pretty cool to think the bats are out of the bridge at the moment chowing down on all the pesky insects that live in Austin.

What midnight ride would be complete without a picture of the Austin Hotel, a staple image of South Congress. Taking the bike ride down there reminds me of the great show we saw at the Yard Dog during SXSW.

Here we are pretty darn close to reaching the top of the hill, and looking at the wonderful view of downtown Austin, and Congress leading up to the capitol. It's really hard to make pictures look good at night, total bummer.

What bike ride would be complete without a massive whipe out! We are hauling a$$ down a semi-steep hill near the Dog and Duck Pub. We were cruising the sidewalks that had open ends, came to one that didn't, I saw it, jumped the curb, and behind me I heard some tires squeel, and crash, and then a grunt, I look back and Mike P is laid out. It sucks when a buddy is in distress like that, and its hard for you to hold back the situational laughter. Needless to say Mike P has a few huge strawberries on him from the trip.

To sum it up, the 14.6 miles took just shy of 2 hours, on a casual pace. The verdict for today, the legs hurt a bit, but for the most part just tired and having trouble focusing on web parts and portal integration. Next time we'll try for 20, but not at midnight, especially on a work night.

For all you people who like Bicycles, check out this killer website that shows all the bike routes in austin. http://www.austinbikeroutes.com/

--------------------------------------
'Bicycle races are coming your way
So forget all your duties oh yeah!'

Tonight We Fly

Today, Mahon and I are going to attempt an almost 15 mile bike ride, leaving my place at 12 a.m.

Here's the route: Start here, go to capitol bldg, head up monster soco hill, right on Oltorf, right on Lamar, back home. May Allah have mercy on our souls!

As you can see, or kinda, the VW reads just shy of 15 miles for the bike trip. I'm sure Mahon and I will hate each other after this bike trip.

Lee, we apologize in advance, for we aren't going to be worth a sh*t at work on Thursday, perhaps some mindless activities?

PS - Pics taken on Mike P's new treo 600, which has already started to rattle?!?

----------------------------------------
Tonight we fly Over the chimney tops
Skylights and slates -
Looking into all your lives
And wondering why happiness seems so hard to find
--another Divine Lyric from Neil Hannon
----------------------------------------

First Trip to Whole Paycheck, oops, I mean Whole Foods

Jenny K (used to be called Jenny II, said she didn't like that title) and I went to pig out at Whole Foods. Needless to say the selection was increadible and posh. We noticed there isn't very much 'white trash' that shops there, nor any fat people. For the most part is the Livestrong variety of people munching down or organic treats.

We browsed the breakfast isle, and saw small boxes of cerel (is that how you spell that?), we saw 4 dollar boxes that on a good morning, I would have to eat two of them to be filled up. Also saw about a 1,000 different bottled waters, some from Norway! O Boy O Boy!

To sum it up, I'm sure there are great Novelty items you can get at Whole Foods, but as for conventional grocery shopping, I'll stick to HEB, there you don't pay for the 'lifestyle' statement.

--------------------------

Mike P and Laura, good seeing y'all at Sherlock's for the nightcap, but next time lets go somewhere other than that bullsh*t wanna be irish pub. The bouncer made me take my Muse wristband off.....what the hell was that all about? One word, that place "BLOWS."

The Best Mum In The World

For all of you who know this lady, I know y'all will vouch for her being the best! For mothers day, we went to the dreaded 'Country Corner Cafe' in Shiner. It was raining cats and dogs, and we had to sit outside on the patio of all things. Needless to say we scarfed down the grub b/c it was cold and wet.....Not a great way to honor the best mum in the world.

Hats off to you mum, thanks for everything -- you rock!

Muse / Razorlight

Both Brilliant Performances

--------
Razorlight
Very Tight as a band, debuted a new song 'All the Brunettes in America.'

--------
Muse
Amazing 3 piece band, plesantly surprised, Amazing guitar player, amazing light show

Rilo Kiley / Stubbs BBQ

"Keep the Wind at your back and the sun on your face", The immortal words of Rilo Kiley. When you go to a concert in which the message is not bubble gum, it only makes you ponder life and days gone by.

The show was riddled with little people, I had a bit of trouble focusing due to the master cylinders of Fosters, but the brilliant parts did shine thru.

Has anyone ever looked up at Stubb's? Here's the view, unfortunately the camera didn't pick up the stars. Stubb's BBQ, what can you say about the place!? There are trees inside, that totally rocks!

All in all, the band had style, they swapped around instruments, guitar dude sang a few songs. A quality show.

I took a 1 minute avi of the song "Does He Love You" if anyone is interested. Don't want to post it though in fear of RSS leachers.

Thanks for the company Jenny, Mike D, Ashley, Becky, and Toshi.

Shenanigans at Logans / Lovejoys

Well to anyone who hasn't been to Logans at Sixth and Congress, let me tell you the have the most gigantic beers in Austin, and happy hour is dirt cheap! Pictured here is Maggie tearing up one of those huge monsters!

I was seriously getting on Jenny's nerves, as she was in a bad mood, therefore I was doing anything I could to make her not in a funk. It wasn't working too well unfortunately...so um..."Waitress can I have another tall boy for Jenny?"

Here is a group 'let's flick off the camera shot.'

Then on to Lovejoy's, this was after Rilo Kiley, so hmmmm, Jenny falls by the wayside already and the rest of us aren't far to go. Even Toshi slammed down a Tecate, helped me finish my 24oz can of Fosters, and then pretty much finished off my bourbon and coke, kudos to him for helping!

Notice how red my head is, when I've had a few too many drinks, I turn really red. By this time it was definately time to head to the house, some pizza before bedtime of course.

Sterzing Italy - Fantasy or Reality

Taking another trip down memory lane, Sterzing is a beautiful place. Manuel and I signed up for the trip, not knowing it was a trip for german senior citizens. We stayed at a beautiful lodge, amazing views all around, the stars were brighter than I've ever seen. As seen in this picture, we were literally higher than the clouds. Kinda reminded me of 'heaven' I suppose?

When you have Under Seige II on the tele with Steven Segal speaking in Italian, and surrounded by the marvals of nature, and looking at your best buddy, it's great bonding, but lonely in many ways, especially if you are one with romantic dreams.

Well me and Manuel ventured to downtown Sterzing and saw lots of nuns walking to church, as they were probably thinking 'damn tourists.'

Then we hiked on this big mountain and took a picture up there. One thing I remeber clearly was sitting down up there drinking a coke and eating a pretzel and hearing Macy Grey's 'I Try' on the radio. Guess you can't escape the American Pop anywhere you go!

The place was awesome, from here we took a train to Venice, which I'll blog about one of these days. Lots of funny commentary from that trip.

Its amazing thing, the senses, I was using Irish Springs Sport soap in the mountains, and now whenever I use that soap I think of the mountains of Italy. So, take some good smelling soap with you next time you are in Italy, and you can be wisked back to the mountains every morning in the shower.

"Well I've seen the power of the lightning storm,
I've seen the endless ears of corn,
I've seen the lakes at the break of day,
And that shit takes my breath away"
Neil Hannon - Freedom Road

The Hottest Tennis Match Ever

Well as I browse thru the ol archive of pictures and decide what to post today, I couldn't help but notice this old tennis picture taken in 2000.

The place is Speisen / Elversburg Germany, which is about 20 minutes from the French border. The participants are Manuelabor and I, our German friend Andrea and her friend. Andrea's friend, who's name escapes me, is the hottest girl I've ever had to pleasure of playing doubles with. The german language is very literal and sloppy, but she made it sound very elegant! She was in some kinda big beauty pagent or something, don't really know for sure.

Anyway, we the beauty queen and I beat Manuelabor and Andrea in straight sets, here we are posing with the Bitburger Logo in the back 'Bitte Ein Bitte' -- the Budweiser of Germany. Drink 10 pints at 'keller' temperature, you'll love it!

This was taken right before Manuel nearly killed us by whipping a U-turn in the middle of oncoming traffic in D's VW Rabbit. Whew.

Great Times --

"Walk on with hope in your heart and you'll never walk alone" -- Die Toten Hosen (The Dead Pants)

Poo On Shoe

Quick show of hands, and be honest now, how many of you has this happened to? Yea, we've all been there, the tedious process of washing the poo off your shoe, maybe with an old toothbrush to get the poo out of the crack, or simply just trying to rub it off in the grass.

Nevertheless, it's a pain, especially on people with weak stomachs. Here is a picture of my poor Reebox. I remeber the day clearly, the day of our geek team picture, a dog must have left a nice ripe steamer there waiting for me to step on it, and YES, I did! Yee Haw! The funniest part of the episode, I had to ride the elevator up to the third floor to clean the shoe off in the sink, much to the dismay of my elevator companion.

Could I be running out of things to blog about.......naw, just what was on my mind today as I dodged some 'yard pickles' coming back from the evening stroll. I'll leave you with the nice sentiments of this man who seems to be pretty smart.

-------------------------------

I walked on toward Ploughwright, thinking about feces. What a lot we had found out about the prehistoric past from the study of fossilized dung of long-vanished animals. A miraculous thing, really; a recovery from the past from what was carelessly rejected. And in the Middle Ages, how concerned people who lived close to the world of nature were with the feces of animals. And what a variety of names they had for them: the Crotels of a Hare, the Friants of a Boar, the Spraints of an Otter, the Werderobe of a Badger, the Waggying of a Fox, the Fumets of a Deer. Surely there might be some words for the material so near to the heart of Ozy Froats [an academic studying feces] than shit? What about the Problems of a President, the Backward Passes of a Footballer, the Deferrals of a Dean, the Odd Volumes of a Librarian, the Footnotes of a Ph.D., the Low Grades of a Freshman, the Anxieties of an Untenured Professor? -- Robertson Davies, "The Rebel Angels"

The Viper Room Has Fried Our Brains

Funny story of Last time in Los Angeles -- The protagonists in the story are Blair, Mike D, Roland and I. To make a long story short, hung out with stars and stuff at this posh party at the Pacific Design Center -- wanted to go home afterwards but Blair was like "O NO - We are going to the Viper Room." As per his request we went there, and he paid for our $12 cocktails. Saw a few great bands, sat there and bickered about SQL Server vs. Oracle databases.

After all the excitement we listened to Belle and Sebastian's 'Your Cover's Blown' for the 1 zillionth time on the trip in our rented Ford SUV thingy.
Blair kept wanting to play peek-a-boo that night, very strange man he is.
He also professes his love for Chad Kroger via text message on drunken nights.
At any rate we jammed pretty hard on the way home.

The Moral of the Story:

• When You go to the Viper Room, Go with a friend who wants to go bad, and
  committ to going only if he buys the drinks


• Check Out Whisky-A-Go-Go Right Across the street


• Experience Freakin' Traffic on Sunset at 2:30 am on the drive home


• Catch an all chick used to be U2 cover band called 'Exit Band' -- You won't be disappointed -- The lead singer was spectacular!

Hair Today / Gone Tomorrow

Many of you know, but here's the details. Last month was the first treatment of my professional laser hair removal surgery. A wise old friend of mine, Jenny I, said and I quote "If you are insecure about it, and you can afford it," get the hair lasered off.

That being said, I suppose I can be shaved and tapered for the swimming lessons Ashley is giving me. The only thing I'm going to be sad about is losing my farmers tan, and the 'shave Robert' ritual over Easter weekend in Shinertown. O well, I suppose there are other things to shave?

Before the treatments, I have to shave (the hair grows back for a while, I have to get six treatments). This is a sign of true friendship, Jenny shaving my back and the hard to reach areas. Even as the wind was blowing the freshly shaven hair into her mouth and nose, she perservered.



I'm going to try to lose that gut one of these days too. Perhaps I should start drinking light beer, no beer, or something like that. Fried food is gone from my life!



So, to recap, here's the facts in a nutshell

1. 6 treatments, 2 months apart, lasting close to one year
2. Minimal exposure to the sun, therefore my swimming lessons are in the evening or indoors
3. They say its like a gentle pulse of heat, its more light 'O F*ck', and you leave the center feeling like you just got out of a prize fight, or grandpa was pissed and decided to put his cigar out on you a few times
4. Back / Chest / Stomach -- approx $2,700 USD -- Man o Man, the price of vanity. They at least break it out into 2 years of interest free payments
5. Hair is guaranteed not to grow back, and you get a 2 year guaranteed
6. A 'hot' girl is usually the one giving the treatment

Shannon, I think you are next old buddy, that back is pretty repulsive -- Don't know if I want to be on your team when we play water volleyball, I'd rather be on that old dudes team, you know the one with the purple speedo's.

OK - enough of this -