Thank You, Craig.

So, one year ago today, this adorable brunette showed up on my doorstep to audition for And Tears Fell. She sang a few songs, left me some demos and headed back to work.

Life would never be the same.

It's been one heck of a year. Full of ups and downs (but mostly ups). And Monica Guzman of the online Seattle P.I. has put everything into perspective. And you know I'm all about the perspective.

Happy "Click Day" to TFMD.

As she says, we had a terrific evening with dinner and a wonderful show at the Paramount. And Monica's article was a really nice present to find online this morning. I'd just come home from taking Kayleigh to the doctor for a persistent cough she'd been having (just your everyday spring virus), and I was away from the office most of yesterday, so I am just now catching up with everything.

Some highlights from last weekend:

The rockstar birthday party for Raechelle was a hit (as was the signature drink I invented for the occasion - The Stage Dive: equal parts coconut run & Rock Star energy drink, served over ice with a wedge of lime). Much loud singing and thrashing was done.

Much of Sunday was spent with my high school buddy Colin and his son Sean, who were in Seattle for an audition. After I dropped them at the hotel, I assembled Rae's new bookshelf, which she is using to stack her sweaters in, next to her dresser. After half an hour sitting cross-legged on the floor with prefab wood product and hardware, I only realized when I tried to get up that my knee had actually dislocated. Like fully slipped out of joint. It was the most terrible knee pain I've ever experienced; even worse than in eighth grade, when I grew twelve inches in one year and had to miss a lot of PE due to my Osgood Schlatter condition. After writhing onto the bed, unable to move my left leg without severe agony, I slipped my right foot under it and extended my right leg underneath my left. The knee slipped back into joint with the loudest POP I've ever heard come out of my body (and I've done years of chiropractic). And suddenly I could walk again.

And yesterday, as I mentioned, was spent driving around doing errands. Which was a lot of fun for my knee (clutch and all).

So, yeah. Crazy year. Crazy year indeed. And if I hadn't placed the audition ad on Craigslist, things may have turned out very differently. I'm glad I did.

Thank you, Craig.

Funny Porn & Live-In Girlfriends

Our hero, the erstwhile Captain Hammer from Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog, the great Nathan Fillion, stars in a very funny viral video from the Gunn brothers (a couple of which were responsible for The Specials). It's a parody of crappy 1980s shot-on-video porn. Good stuff - thanks, Gavin!

Nailing Your Wife | Girls | SPIKE.com

And also, Raechelle is moving in with us on November 8th. And it has nothing to do with the fact that I show her funny Nathan Fillion videos.

So I Lied.

Warning: This post contains liberal amounts of mushiness, angst and photos. Not for the weak of stomach.

(Our view from the Master Suite at the Ann Starrett)

Yeah, I promised Raechelle and myself I would ignore the online world and ice my back, and in my own defense, I did just spend twenty minutes on the ice pack and can't currently feel my shoulder blades. But I feel like I can probably make with some bloggity before the pain returns.

Port Townsend Weekend '08 was a blast. Our first getaway sans children, and it was wonderful. We holed up in a beautiful room full of antique furniture and commanding views of the surrounding hamlet, and we were only about three or four blocks from the main strip.

(My lovely traveling companion)

(The bed that proved my undoing - my BACK, you pervs!)

(Raechelle on the "fainting couch")

(The bed canopy ceiling - we agreed the rose was a bit... "sphinctery")

We had great weather for a sleepy getaway: some sun, some bluster, a bit of rain. We ate, we drank, we window-shopped. I made it out with just one extra T-shirt, while Raechelle ended up with three (count 'em) THREE hats.

(Showing off the hat some big Scotsman bought her)

(Some big Scotsman trying to be all sexy on no sleep - this can't end well)

(And yet, she's adorable. Where is the justice??)

We even saw a kinetics parade, where locals showed off their crazy human-powered conveyances. It was a very lovely couple of days, spent with a very lovely woman. Lots of hilarity, and lots of mushy too. We had a great drive back to the Bainbridge ferry and were home in the mid-afternoon (after learning that the Seahawks had been slaughtered by the NY Giants - mother pus-bucket!).

Unfortunately, the physical toll of no sleep in a Victorian-era bed that was at least two inches too short and a chronic ear infection that returned in the cold Port Townsend weather combined with the mental stress of coming home to find the interior temp at 75F and two stove burners going unattended (among other lesser issues), making my spine into a crackling labyrinth of pain. To top off this amazing agony sundae, I slammed my left knee into the corner of the coffee table just in time for that pain to join the fresh migraine (and the knee is all kinds of colorful today!). Despite this, I still made a trip to Bed, Bath & Beyond for some drawer organizers as Raechelle kinda went on an organizing binge. She made a dent in the wine from the previous night, and I had a couple beers (it had been that kind of afternoon). She cooked a really yummy dinner, and we settled down to watch a bit of the Pittsburgh/Jacksonville game and some Sunday night Fox animation while Raechelle caught up on some of her blog reading and helped Kayleigh a bit with her homework (I know! Crazy, I tell ya!).

Then it was an episode of Buffy (1st season), and bedtime. Well, bedtime for everyone but me. I'd had such a great weekend, but all of the frustration of physical pain and finding stove burners going full blast when I walked into my home (when I'm already paranoid about fire) meant that I was wound way too tight to get to sleep. Raechelle was pooped and was in no condition to chat, so I couldn't even "download" all the crap spinning around in my head like marbles in a glass jar.

Needless to say, not a good night for the Toddster.

I awoke to conflict with Tyler (gee, who saw that coming??), saw Raechelle off to work with a latte and lunch, and dropped Kayleigh at school. Immediately made an appointment for Tyler back with his old counselor at Highline (now that the kids are covered again, I'm hitting the overdue maintenance, and that includes mental & emotional upkeep). Next up, both kids to the dentist!

That should just about bring y'all up to date on my part of the weekend. Raechelle says she will post tonight after work, since her new gig doesn't allow her a lot of leisure web time. She has some pics on her camera too, including one of me on the "fainting couch", for contrast.

And I just received the replacement bulb for my video projector, so it looks like I have a project this afternoon.

Last Day for the Girl

Congrats to TBGE on her last day in her former department, and best wishes in the transition to her new gig!

Love you, baby!

Four Months

For those of you keeping score, Raechelle and I have been together four months today. I may have mentioned that, after we'd passed three months, it became my longest relationship, post-Sam.

It's good. Really good. I look forward to celebrating many more anniversaries with this adorable little lady who makes me laugh and my heart take flight. Corny? Maybe. Deal with it.

Cheers, baby.

Thanks Babe

I have to admit that I was in more of a panic about my impending physical exam than I let on in my previous post. Lots of triggers around doctors and hospitals, as you might expect. And freaking out that the one or two "creaks and rattles" might be something worse than they are. After all, it was a simple kidney stone CT scan that alerted Sam's doctor that she had a rare and frankly untreatable cancer. So... a bit touchy about medicine in general? You bet.

But mushy to the rescue. Raechelle called and talked me down. Best. Girlfriend. Ever. Can't wait for the weekend to start. Can't wait for the exam to be over. It's just a routine (and much overdue) physical. It's really nothing. It's really nothing. It's really nothing. It's really nothing.

Thanks Babe

I have to admit that I was in more of a panic about my impending physical exam than I let on in my previous post. Lots of triggers around doctors and hospitals, as you might expect. And freaking out that the one or two "creaks and rattles" might be something worse than they are. After all, it was a simple kidney stone CT scan that alerted Sam's doctor that she had a rare and frankly untreatable cancer. So... a bit touchy about medicine in general? You bet.

But mushy to the rescue. Raechelle called and talked me down. Best. Girlfriend. Ever. Can't wait for the weekend to start. Can't wait for the exam to be over. It's just a routine (and much overdue) physical. It's really nothing. It's really nothing. It's really nothing. It's really nothing.

Open House

After a craptacular morning yesterday, I got home and tried to write. No luck. Funny how fighting with your teenager can take all the wind out of your sails. I burned a bunch of CDs I'd promised the girl, ran a couple errands and crashed out for a much needed 2-1/2 hour nap.

I felt better, and was looking forward to counseling. Unfortunately it turned out to be a waste of time and money. Tyler kept playing with a helium balloon he'd found out in front of the community center, rolling around on the floor, and deflecting the counselor's questions. When both kids lapsed into a giggle fit, I gave up. Don't get me wrong - I love to see my kids happy. I live for those giggle fits. But I was also hoping we could make some progress on Tyler and his relationship with others in his family. Alas, it was not to be.

Got home with a black cloud over my head. Discovered Raechelle reading her book on the sofa. We chatted awhile, then walked down to grab some teryaki before walking up to Denny for Kayleigh's open house.

Let me reiterate: Raechelle went to my daughter's open house. She took notes and talked to the teachers. She's dissected the school website. She knows when picture day is. It's pretty damn close to being a real family.

I won't lie. Sometimes I see where we're going and I panic a little. You see, there's a bit of a security blanket to being a widower, a single dad. There's some social leeway in that status. You get sympathy. You get help. You can be antisocial at your whim and people chalk it up to grief. And there's also the fact that I got used to being a single dad. Sure, it's hard; it's damn near overwhelming sometimes. But I got to where I not only could do it, but I'm pretty proud of the fact that I navigated my own immediate grief while providing a loving and stable home for my kids, helped them through their grief (as much as I could), ran my household and a couple businesses, and even managed to date. For over three years. I kick ass.

So I have some idea as to what Raechelle is talking about - she finally got out of her "couple" identity and became a strong, single woman. And now, here we are. I guess the Universe doesn't tolerate getting too comfortable in a given situation.

At least Raechelle isn't the only one having mini-freakouts. Kind of evens the playing field. This is exactly what each of us wants... which is why it's so scary sometimes. It's the crest of the rollercoaster, just before the first drop. You know it's gonna be fun. And scary. And your stomach wants to crawl into your throat (and if you're a guy, your nuts want to follow suit).

It's a good panic.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch:
After Raechelle left, I finished up some emails and put the kids to bed, following suit immediately. Awoke at 4AM. Jeez. Finally rolled out of bed at 6, showered and dressed. Took Kayleigh to school, came home and crashed for an hour and a half. Exchanged some emails with the girl and finished this very blog post. Tyler's having some cold symptoms, so it's lucky I'm taking the kids in for physicals today.

Really looking forward to the weekend. Helping Dan & Trish move, looking at a couple houses, and of course there will be movies.

A Good Weekend

We had a pretty good weekend...

Except for the part where we were glued to CNN and The Weather Channel, watching Ike updates. And waiting for any communication from Rae's folks (they survived - their roof didn't, but they did - we're so glad they're okay!).

And the part where the Seahawks sucked and got beaten at home by the Forty-Friggin'-Niners.

And the part where we went to the Bamboo Grill for dinner last night, and our server dropped off the food and immediately went to attend to the large party next to us without finding out if we needed anything else and I waited for fifteen minutes for anyone to check on us but no one did and finally as Kayleigh and Raechelle were almost finished and my burger was getting cold I went to the bar and got my own mustard thankyouverymuch, only to find out that the burger was totally undercooked and I ended up sending it back and having it comped on the check.

[deep breath]

So yeah, when the manager is busing your table and apologizing for his shite service, you know they're having a rough time. I didn't raise a fuss, nor did I leave a tip.

Friday night was a zombie movie fest, with pizza and wine. Fun times.

We drove up to Bellingham on Saturday to drop an old family gate-leg table at my sister's home, then went to Greek food and window shopped awhile. Then we dropped by my grandparents' place on our way out of town. Great visit, a nice drive, phenomenal weather, good bonding time with my girls.

Raechelle has indoctrinated Kayleigh into the COJ (Cult of the Organizational Junkie), and the two of them overhauled the front room last night. Earlier that morning, we'd gone to Home Despot and pulled some paint samples for the master bedroom. We settled on a two-color scheme (opposite walls). All day long, Rae planned Kay's birthday party with her.

With all of our tales about Raechelle getting more comfortable in our situation, I sometimes forget that I'm still out here on the path myself. And I did something symbolic today that was kind of a huge step. For the three-plus years Sam's been gone, I kept my old wedding band on my keyring with my keys. This morning, as Rae was getting ready for work, I removed the ring from among my keys and put it away.

Apparently, I no longer need the security of that symbol on my person at all times.

Methinks this is getting serious.

And, surprise surprise, I'm okay with that.

Recharge

It's mornings like this when I'm glad I live so close to Alki beach.

Had our celebratory dinner with Raechelle at the California Pizza Kitchen at Northgate last night, but Rae was so frazzled from work that it was somewhat less celebratory than we both would have liked. Still, the food was good and afterward we went to Display & Costume to browse Halloween costumes and decor. I got a pair of little ghosties to hang from the porch roof with the skull lights (more detailed pictures coming at some point). Then we browsed the Christmas section and let ourselves become lost in that warm holiday feeling that comes from looking at beautifully decorated trees and white lights and crystal snowlakes. Turns out, Raechelle and I have the same holiday design aesthetic (classic/Victorian decor, reds and whites, white lights, no blinkies, etc). Go figure. It's been a long time since I've even wanted to decorate for the holidays, and I'm pretty much the first guy Raechelle's been with who has been into the holidays enough to want to decorate.

Even with the nice diversion of D&C, the energy was definitely low, so following a quick stop at Staples for school notebooks, we went home so Kayleigh could do her homework and I could fill out a gajillion school information forms and releases. Tyler complained of having no clean clothes, so I had him get a load of laundry together, then suggested we go to Target to get him some new track pants (you know, the kind that actually fit his rapidly expanding-in-all-directions 14yo frame), but he declined. He then waited until 9PM to make his own dinner, so there was a bit of conflict and lecture about time management. I hate having to give those lectures, but until he gets it, lecture I will. I tucked in the kids and fell asleep as my head hit the pillow at 10:30.

Woke up at 5:59AM from a disturbing dream (been having a few of those in recent months, all part of getting my past baggage squared away). I hate abrupt awakenings - the ones where you sit bolt upright, heart pounding, adrenalin surging. I don't remember what the dream was about, but at least I know it's a symptom of PTSD and can talk about it with the counselor. Came upstairs to find the remnants of Tyler's dinner project: an open can of tomato sauce, the lid to said can of tomato sauce on the opposite counter, splats of tomato sauce all over the freshly cleaned stove top, and the pot from the pasta dumped on the sink, half full of water (and the rest of the sauce dried to the top). So Tyler awoke to another lecture. That's gotta suck. I would hate to have me on my ass all the time.

My standing offer to the kids is for a one-way ride to school, as it allows us more time to prep in the morning. And my kids totally need that extra time (although they are slowly getting more of a handle on time management). Dropped Kayleigh at her school, then took Tyler across West Seattle to his. He fired an opening salvo of criticism regarding the notebooks I'd purchased, and my response was swift, surgical and left no room for argument. If he declined to go shopping for clothing and supplies when I offered, then he has no right to complain if I got the wrong stuff.

Silence.

Maybe he got it? Hope springs eternal.

After dropping off my surly boy at high school, I found myself so close to Admiral Way that I decided to recharge. I found a shady little spot by the Alki Tully's, grabbed a coffee and headed down to the beach to watch the fog burn away and the ferries go back and forth. It's so peaceful there in the mornings, as traffic (of both the wheeled and foot variety) is extremely sparse, and one can actually hear oneself think. I hadn't been to Alki on a quiet morning since last summer, so this was definitely what the doctor ordered. Feeling much more serene and energized, I returned home to take care of doctor appointments and financials (Q3 reporting is almost upon me).

Looking forward to a fun weekend. Zombie double feature on Friday night, trip to Bellingham on Saturday, and the 49ers play the Hawks in Seattle on Sunday. Hopefully our boys won't suck like they did last Sunday.

Oh, the New!

I invite my loyal readers to check out Raechelle's post (with pics) about our massive cleaning/organizing effort in the master bedroom. It's a totally different space in there now. And since I hate the wall color (not the color I thought I was getting when the house was rebuilt), I'm going to do a different scheme in there altogether.

Okay, so, backing up... Friday night vampires. Good stuff. Saturday morning, up early (bleh), took the kids to meet Katherine, and they went camping while Rae and I rolled up our sleeves.

I really should mention what a huge thing this is for me, sorting through not only fire salvage, but old files and Samantha memorabilia. And I got through the whole stack of boxes in my bedroom. Every now and then, I'd get a hug and kiss from Raechelle, and would continue purging. I got rid of a lot of junk (literally and figuratively) from my old life.

Raechelle took off in the afternoon for a celebratory lunch with Jamie (congrats!), while I ran errands, took boxes of stuff to my brother's house, and put up Halloween lights on the front porch area. The girl got back and we chilled awhile, then went to dinner and headed to the pie party. As Raechelle stated, we made three pies, hung out and socialized a bit, then took off home.

Up relatively early (what the hell is this pattern?!), prepped the house for our first brunch of the football season. Had a house full, with some good food and (thanks to the lousy performance by our Hawks) lots and lots of mimosas. After everybody left, we went back to cleaning, moved the cleaning out into the carport, then picked up the kids from camping. Dropped Tyler at home (by his request) and had dinner down at Bamboo Grill on Alki. Got back in time for jammies, tea and Family Guy.

Back to a normal schedule this morning. Dropped Kayleigh at school, then took Tyler to his first day at West Seattle High. They have some really great folks there. And he got the same web design elective that he had at Sealth! And to top it off, now he'll be a Metro veteran (Meteran?).

Orchestrating yard service and office tasks today. Since I'm not playing taxi all day, I'll hopefully be somewhat productive, although I've got an inflamed ear canal and a headache to match, so I may need to have an "old man" nap in the afternoon. Fortunately I have my first physical in over 5 years coming up this week. Raechelle was snuffly and a bit warm last night - hope it's not a cold (which would suck).

That's all for now... I know, aren't you just on the edge of your seats??

Wonder Weekend

Holy crap, I'm exhausted.

Friday night, Raechelle and I hosted the football game at my place (good win, guys!). Ron, Dan & Trish came out and we had pizza and beer/wine. Kayleigh and her fanbear partook of the spectacle while Tyler hung out at Uncle Gavin's. After the ballgame, I showed Near Dark, which has been a cult film staple since college. Everybody was kinda "meh" about it for all the reasons I like it - it presents a unique (and uniquely American) take on the vampire movie without ever saying the V-word. We've promised to show Trish The Lost Boys next. Made in the same year, yet a very different vampire film (and shot in Santa Cruz, where we will be hanging out in less than a week).

Saturday, as Raechelle mentioned in her weekend wrap-up, we went to IKEA and were in and out like a surgical strike team made up of greased ninja. Then it was organization to the extreme, which meant Kayleigh's bedroom and my office. And organizing my office meant sorting a lot of papers. A lot of documents. Official documents. Like Sam's death certificates. And Raechelle had the patience of a saint, helping stack the various piles and being quick with a hug when needed.

We went to dinner at Spiro's, then headed over to Crazy For You. First summer show by Twelfth Night I've had absolutely nothing to do with (not even poster, program and/or video) since Bye Bye Birdie. While Raechelle reports only the Twelfth Night gals shouting my name and running up to hug me, what she fails to mention is the sheer number of burly guys doing the same. Guys like Raff, Mark Wissing and Travis Pavey (not so burly, but man can he French kiss... wha-??).

And how is my crowd (formerly Sam's crowd) accepting Todd's New Woman?

My observation was that people were either very outgoing and engaging, or very nonchalant (so as not to make a big deal about it), but nobody has displayed Bitter Beer Face or given any indication of dislike in any way - quite the reverse. They all want to see me happy, and if Raechelle makes me happy, then they LOVE her. Simple, really.

Plus, I found out that the aforementioned Mark Wissing is cooking down at the Swell now, so we will be having lunch there more often. And of course, Travis tends bar at the Corner Pocket - and since Raechelle is no longer going to the Lock-n-Keel, I feel obligated to take her to a happy place where we can play some pool and where I've known the bartender since he was Tyler's age.

We got home and it was straight to bed. Sunday morning was a quick home tour of a place near the Junction with some great views and a lot of great character. For the first time in the process, both Raechelle and I could see ourselves living happily there. It's still early on, and I told our agent that I want to look at more homes like this before making any decisions, but that I was interested enough to bring the kids back for a look.

We got home and had some breakfast. Raechelle and Kayleigh went to take Tyler over to Gavin's to hang out while we continued cleaning. After four hours of looking at the fire-damaged family photos featuring Sam or the kids when they were younger, and the copy of our first mortgage on the house, and a bunch of joint account information, I ran across a newspaper insert that said in big letters "Give Grandma What She Wants!" and I was done. You never know what triggers are going to finally ignite the bullet. The physical sorting is really a great metaphor for the sorting I'm doing emotionally (and I'm doing great!), but sometimes you just have to take a break.

By that time I'd really not eaten much, and 6'4" + not eating + sitting on the floor for long periods + standing up quickly = dizzy. So Raechelle offered to take us to Mexican food for dinner. We piled in Sportacus and headed down to the Guadalajara cafe down by Fauntleroy, then came home (with a brief stop at Target) and watched Blazing Saddles, which Raechelle had never seen. I'm doing a good job getting her all caught up.

And she spent her third night in a row here. I gotta say, it keeps getting easier and feels more natural all the time. And Kayleigh has been bonding with her like crazy. While she was in the shower getting ready for work, I walked down to Westwood and grabbed some coffee. Unfortunately mine took a header in my front yard, so I only got about 1/3 of my latte. Crap.

If and when we do move, I will miss walking a block to almost everything I need. But as I said back at the start of this new blog, it's time for new.

And now we start the countdown to California.

Why Being an Artist Sucks

Reason #2,457 (you know, after all the ones about not being able to make a living and the public perception of not having a "real" vocation): The Muse.

That bitch. After a great OA series development session with Dan & Trish, I felt like a Whedonesque writing god. The Muse was whispering ideas in my ear and massaging an ego which had been somewhat battered recently. I should have seen it coming - the insomnia that comes with any great artistic stride.

At 2:30AM I finally calmed down enough to let myself fall asleep.

This is a perfect example of what the artistic temperament is like. It's really a case of mild bipolar disorder. The waves of high energy and achievement I surf like a Hawaiian tiki god on a longboard, full of confidence and hubris and a sense of "anything is possible". Then the low energy period when I go quiet and internal - the angst that fuels the need to paddle back out into the surf.

Meh. It's not so bad. I've surfed these waves of creativity all my life, as long as I can remember (and I can go back to 2 years old). At least I'm not hacking off my own body parts and sending them to my girlfriend, unlike SOME people.

Speaking of girlfriends, reason #346 why I love mine:

As I've mentioned previously, there's a person from the painful part of Raechelle's past (which she has alluded to in general terms on her own blog) who continues to monitor both her blog and mine. It's not like he's stalking her physically - he's just quietly lurking, the virtual equivalent of the creepy guy in the bushes peering in the window (whereas the majority of our readers are more like invited houseguests).

Maybe it was the shared wine or the creative high I was on from the production meeting, but for some reason when I logged onto Sitemeter and saw his IP and the referral from Rae's blog, I let myself get pissed. I know I shouldn't - that's a really ugly, jealous aspect of my psyche I'd just as soon keep locked away. But that stuff triggers my alpha male protection instinct, as I don't like the thought of anyone hurting my woman like he did.

So I called her, and she talked me down. We agreed that any energy directed at this guy would be better used in loving each other and creating a wonderful future together. Our best revenge is in our own happiness. And some people are just not worth the bother.

And speaking of happiness, we have seven (count 'em) SEVEN houses to tour tonight. I've had at least a little time with my girl every day this week, and it's been fantastic. And this weekend is slated to be chock full of activity. Starting next weekend, we're in Cali.

* * *

Wow. I just heard a guy on the building construction kitty corner to us get injured. We get all sorts of entertainment out here. Hope he's okay. He's sure vocal about it, which is probably a good sign.

Stray Bullets

• Met Raechelle's sister Wendy last night. Due to some crossed wires on the proposed time and a cell phone left in a car, Kayleigh and I ended up going to The Swell first for happy hour appetizers because by that point we were hungry. And when TD is hungry and blood sugar is low, peasants beware the full fury of the dragon.
• So with the edge off my hunger and a pint of Manny's in me, I was in a much better mood when Raechelle and Wendy arrived. Wendy & I got along just fine, being a couple of freckled, redheaded Celts with similar opinions on alcohol, sports and sailing. And she and her husband used to live aboard a sailboat at Shilshole Marina briefly at the same dock as Volant! Curiouser and curiouser.
• Booked our trip to California. Now I just need to arrange for the housesitting.
• Today, I did the week's grocery shopping. Picked up some fresh sushi and took it to Raechelle's office for some lunch in the park (after adorning the whiteboard in her office with some dark clouds and lightning to compliment the drawing of "Raechelle's Mood Is:"). Sun, sushi and a hot chick by my side. Life is good.
• Have to replace our land line telephone. It is totally McFuggered. The cordless handset has been dropped so many times the battery cover is gone and the battery pack hangs out the back, and both the cordless and the corded desk handset deliver nothing but static.
• First OA series production meeting in a long while tonight. I'm looking forward to getting re-inspired. And I've written a few more scenes in the pilot script. It's coming together pretty well.

Sunday Wrap-Up

Friday night found us hunting down the motel where Kenni and Joel were staying, and showing them down to Anthony's on the waterfront. Real nice couple, fun conversation, good food. Raechelle had planned on paying for dinner, but Joel got sneaky and intercepted the check before she could even look at it. Well played, Joel.

By far the highlight of the dinner experience was when I got up to visit the men's room, and not for the simple pleasure of giving back the Pike ale I'd had with my meal. As I was standing at the urinal shaking the dew from the lilly, seeing a man about a horse, or whatever euphemism you'd care to use (and also watching the sports scores - sometimes it's cool to be a guy because in some restaurants you can watch TV while having a tinky), I heard the door open and a brief gasp of shock from over my left shoulder. The janitor who was mopping looked up and notified the non-male interloper, "this is the men's room." There was a pause as the info apparently sunk in, and I heard a familiar voice say in an embarrassed tone, "Oh, men's room!" followed by a nervous laugh and a quick exit. The following conversation then transpired:

Me: "Was that a 5'2" brunette?"

Janitor: "Jean jacket?"

Me: "Yeah."

Janitor: "She with you?"

Me: "Yeah."

Janitor: "That's awesome."

Me: "Yeah." [smile]

Later I found out that Raechelle had remarked (in the correct lavatory) that "the guy at the urinal was cute...", which is hilarious (and ever so sweet) because she didn't really realize it was me until much later.

We dropped Kenni and Joel back at the motel and headed home and straight to Cuddle City, population: 2. It'd been a stressful week and the girl was finally relaxing. Aside from a brief tussle with dinner in the middle of the night, she did okay, and we awoke ready to hit the road for Bellingham.

I'll leave it to Rae to post her own impressions of the trip, but for me it was a bit of a sensory overload. We met my mom, sister and niece at the Bellingham farmer's market, where I bought a sweet hemp long-sleeved T-shirt (or light sweatshirt), which not only looks awesome but apparently I can smoke it later.

Lunch at Boundary Bay, then my sister went to work and the ladies and I went to a women's consignment store. Imagine Raechelle's surprise when, within thirty seconds of entering the shop, I recognized the young, attractive counter clerk. Brittni Thoreson was in our production of Fiddler on the Roof back in 2005, and her dad Mike was the mastermind behind my Deathtrap set (as well as a fantastic Tevye in FotR). Still, it remains a running joke that I can't go anywhere without running into someone I know, especially cute actresses.

As far as being a guy and going shopping with my woman, which most guys bristle at, here's a couple nuggets of wisdom:

1. Guys who have the patience to go shopping with their women are rare. Doing so makes you look really good.
2. By going shopping with your woman, you can exert an opinion and tell her what you like her wearing, or conversely what looks frumpy. After all, if you look at her probably more than anyone else, why not point her toward something sexy? Ladies do the same for us all the time.

After a quick drop-in at Sara's work, we headed out to my grandparents' place near Lake Padden for pie and a quick visit. There were stories repeated, embarrassing family photos shared, and spontaneous folksinging. That was where the full weight of the day finally settled on me and I felt like we needed to hit the road before I fell into a coma.

Back at home, Raechelle took off for dinner with Jamie, and I took Tyler to his weekly game session at Gavin's followed by dinner for Kayleigh and me at Charlestown. I was asleep by 9:30.

Then I was up at 3AM when some vandals broke into the new multifamily building behind the licensing office and threw a bunch of computer monitors, microwaves and glass bottles from the roof. Sometimes you pay a price for having that prestigious Seattle address.

Up for coffee with Ron, picked up the latest Futurama movie on DVD, found out The Shield season 6 is out in just a few weeks. Came home to find Kayleigh had arranged an overnight with a friend. Went shopping for dinner stuff. Took K to friend's house. Gonna watch some John Adams before I have to get dinner started. Raechelle is here tonight.

And another action-packed week lies ahead! Including getting to meet Rae's sister Wendy on Tuesday, more house hunting on Thursday, and the first Hawks pre-season game in Minnesota on Friday night. We're having it on the projection screen, and some friends may be joining in.

Stay tuned, loyal readers!

P.S. Raechelle says my head doesn't smell like Thin Mints. So there's that.

Quick Bullets for Sunday Night

• Raechelle came over on Saturday afternoon. We walked to the store and got a few things for her marvelous baked spaghetti.
• Tyler was hanging at Gavin's, so the girls and I watched the SNL Best of Alec Baldwin DVD, followed by 50 First Dates (my favorite of Adam Sandler's romcoms, probably due to the presence of Drew Barrymore, Sean Astin and Dan Aykroyd), and then Airplane!. Chuckles akimbo.
• Had a good heart-to-heart with Raechelle, and I'm happy to say we're back on the same page. It's good.
• My stomach was still bugging me late Saturday night, so I pinged Ron to tell him I'd be a no-show for Sunday morning coffee and had a late sleep-in instead.
• Cleaned a bit, played some guitar for Raechelle - I'll be able to accompany her on "Angel From Montgomery" with a bit more practice. I love playing and hearing her sing along with me.
• Played her some New Model Army from their (IMHO) best album, Thunder And Consolation. Almost have "Green and Grey" worked out on the acoustic.
• Took Rae & the kids to lunch at Red Robin at Southcenter. Tyler slept in the car (he's on his own food schedule). Then we went and saw WALL-E. Pixar does it again. Great job, Mark! I swear each of these films gets more technically brilliant, and never loses Pixar's hallmark character design and story development.
• Came home, took a short nap, got Raechelle packed up and on the road. Had a low-key Sunday night with the Simpsons & Family Guy.
• More plans for the week, but not feeling as much pressure to cram the schedule full. Raechelle will probably be here one night during the week and then we have Friday night plans with a visiting Texas friend and a day trip to Bellingham on Saturday.
• But first, let's get the week handled...
  

I'm With the Band

TJ Sherrill @ Hotwire North

So after dealing with a full day of stomach issues (yet still somehow able to do a load of laundry, a load of dishes and get Tyler to and from school), I decided to brave another live music night.

This time, I would be taking Raechelle and Kayleigh, an all-ages show and not ending too terribly late. I almost canceled, but thought it would be a Good Thing (TM) to get out there and support my friends. Picked Raechelle up at her place and headed up to Shoreline in the rental car. Had a quick dinner at Shari's. Even though I was starving, I could only eat a small portion of the giant plate of comfort food. I did drink about 4 Sprites, which helped settle me some.

Mmmmm. Leather chairs.

Got to the Hotwire North just before the show. Talked with Kyle about Duo and not only his track but also about him producing Raechelle's song for the soundtrack. Saw Brian Meredith and his 8yo daughter. After a few songs by TJ Sherrill, we switched seats and ended up next to the stage in a couple leather chairs. Kayleigh climbed up on my lap and we cuddled through the sets. Raechelle snapped a pic of us with her phone...

TD & his little girl

Kyle Stevens @ Hotwire North

TJ and Kyle are similarly-styled singer-songwriters (the difference being Kyle also fronts a rock band). They are both talented, and really own their instruments on stage. Kyle has a bit more energy, moving around and really rockin' the ol' acoustic. And he did a cover of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" that rocked our balls off. Amazing cover, really.

The Hotwire Cafe, being a coffee/internet joint, provided the customary noisy, boisterous environment you'd expect, however TJ and Kyle had enough presence that I was really able to ignore the hiss of the espresso machines and coffee orders being called. It was a fine, energetic acoustic set.

Dropped Raechelle at her apartment and headed home immediately. Kayleigh collapsed in her bed, Tyler in his, and I popped online long enough to check my girl's blog (as she mentioned doing a post last night), and was happy to see this. Went to sleep calmer and more serene than I have been all week, and before my bedside clock said 10:30. Slept straight through 'til 7AM with no disturbance.

And this morning I get to drive back up to Shoreline to pick up Sportacus. Damn squirrels.