Headvoice

Upgrade Andy

On the way to the airport this morning I said to my parents, "I think I'll ask how much an upgrade costs." Cut to the check in counter in Newark where a beaming woman checks me in. It seems ordinary. Boring.

But when she hands me back my pass she starts to giggle. I say, "Thanks a lot." She smiles and then laughs. I wish her a happy new year. She laughs again and beams.

Walking into the terminal I read my pass... is has courtesy scrawled across it in ball point pen blue ink, but has Executive Class in the all important ticket printer area.

Then at the gate... when boarding. She is there! She starts laughing when she recognizes me. I say, "It isn't that funny."

"No, it isn't," she replies.

It is so nice to be home. I had the nicest Christmas, sourrounded by my parents, friends and family. Thank god I didn't linger here in the land of dysfunctional crippled communication.

Bring on the new year... go ahead. I am SO ready. And don't even think about getting in my fucking way, especially you selfish cold fish out there... .

It is now time to upgrade. Word.

Eve

It is Christmas Eve. I am at my parent’s house on the New Jersey shore. The air is still at this moment. It is early evening, but the light is disappearing quickly here on the bay. The water is shimmering in the dim early winter sun… and it is very quiet, until a knock sounds. But it isn’t what you might think. I turn to look… it is a gull dropping a clam or some other hapless shellfish on the dock across the street. There isn’t a human in site… but this gull is enjoying his seafood appetizer.

The angel on the tree is a family relic of sorts. My parents bought it when they were first married and has looked down from the tops of every single Christmas tree year after year.

Happy Holidays to all!

Professor Pixelbauer

Our dear Mark takes some time away from his blog to smile for the camera. Yeah right.

But it is the new camera. A real camera. The big Christmas present camera. The exact same one I bought him this morning. And then we celebrated with expansive memory cards to use with them... dork alert!

Now he is singing in the next room; the studio. How romantic is that? Finally I remember what is happy about the holidays. Cheers!

Seasonal White Knuckles

Am I done with the shopping yet? Did I send the cards? Are the travel plans complete? Isn’t there another tedious holiday party coming up soon? Is the new project at work on track for success or derailment? Why are there no snow tires on the new car yet? Whose mother has had a sudden severe attack of sciatica? Why are Mark and I the last on our respective gift lists? Is Barnegat Light the right place for Christmas this year? Why can’t I find any pants in the morning? Why don’t my old friends from NYC stay in touch? Am I done with the shopping yet?

Restarting

Everything around me needs a good restart. Our bathrooms need to be gutted and renovated. My clients need a good full stop and refocus for their interactive strategies. And I hate all my shoes.

Time to SHOP!

Finally a decent solution for all my problems has occurred to me. Spend lots of money! Yes I have to buy gifts… but really I need to spend on myself. People who are complete TURDS get lavish gifts for being the true and complete assholes they are… and what do I end up getting? The shitty sweater in a Will and Grace color. Push an ice pick into my temple now…

God bless my credit card companies.

Fits and Starts

Here I am using pictures that I have used before. There aren't any good new ones is the excuse... and I like this one. Willie and I in the morning.

And morning it is, with a pile of paperwork on my office desk at home and a briefcase full of file folders from the office lingering threateningly nearby. And then there is retrieving the dry cleaning, food shopping, laundry, cooking, cleaning and dog walking which need to be added to the mix. Oh... and working on and writing for headvoice.com.

Well, if that is done now, albeit lamely, maybe I should go get Willie and get back in bed.

Going Home Again

Who said you can never go home again? You can go home again...it just isn't the same place. Get it?

Long Beach Island is a special place. It hangs off the coast of New Jersey, straddling the Atlantic while sheltering the shore. It is close to New York and Philadelphia, but worlds away at the same time. It is a completely different place in the winter as opposed to the summer. Once the weather is warm enough, the island is a frenetic seashore stretch of vacationland. But in the winter, days of blustery isolation lead to weeks and months of lonely streets and oceanside houses endlessly dark, waiting for the summer months to come again. It was a pretty schizophrenic place to grow up.

But even I can come home again. It is as simple as a ten hour drive. And it will always be home...

Professor Steve

Another lecture at the University of Toronto last night, which went well, much better than my first lecture when I stammered and rushed through the first 20 minutes or so. Students are not the same as business audiences where either feigned attention or outright fear causes meetings to stay on course. In an academic setting the complacency and boredom is a given… or so it seems. But last night I managed to cut through and make an impression. This college dropout isn’t looking for a steady teaching gig yet… but you never know.

Home for almost a Holiday

Last week was a whirlwind of packing, driving, mourning and visiting with friends and family. It was like being picked up and thrown around by a maelstrom. But now I find myself quite suddenly ejected back into my regular life both at work and at play. What was I up to? What about that lecture tonight at the University of Toronto? There is an itinerary for a business trip to LA later this week on my desk... are we really going? What about that reception for Czech diplomats and community leaders that I am trying to get arranged for March?

Hello? Is anybody still here?