Roommates...

Stacey's cousin, his wife, and their baby are staying with us for just over a month. They've bought a new house, and are renting out their old one. There is a month or so of overlap between occupancy and when the renter needed to move in. So we've got house guests.

It never works out perfectly. They're always just a little too messy, too loud, or have too much stuff, than you'd like. And with family, it's tougher. So we're making the best of it, but as i said, "It's never perfect."

Don't have much to say today... except to say congrats to LaughingPlace.com on its two year anniversary yesterday (okay, so I'm a day late and more than a dollar short). It's been a fun two years and I hope to be around 18 years from now when we're celebrating being Almost Legal like MTV was yesterday. Kinda of a weird birthday to share, don't you think?

Come buy a t-shirt

Do you have yours yet? no... Well, the LaughingPlace.com T-shirt is a must have. Five, count'em five, lovely colors embroidered on a perfectly swell Ash Grey T. Help support the best independant Disney web site and yours truly.

Stacey's friend Trina had a brial shower (read bachelorette party) this weekend. While Stacey played I watched Barrage, for whom I used to have a fan website, perform at Disneyland. When Go.com closed up shop, they also stopped supporting the free websites that Barrage(d) was hosted on. So I'm looking for a host site, but not seriously as I don't have the time to update the HTML code. Not until I get a steady job here...

Anyway, it was great to see them and I hope to see them when they come to Vegas... no word on dates yet. But it should be for an extended stay.

Oh well, back to faxing resumes... email me

Another day in Paradise

Last night at sunset a small thunder cell rolled over the hills behind us. The light, rain, and wind combined to generate one of the truly amazing natural effects I've ever seen. The sky looked to be on fire; rolling waves of rain illuminated in deep reds and purples cascaded down until they shrouded the hills in a burning mist. It was over in a few instants. By the time I thought to run and get my camera, the moment had past and a thin, but long, rainbow had appeared. Was that a sign of hope?

I need some hope right now. The job search feels like it is going no where and August is our drop dead month. Don't know what we'll do when the money runs out.

Oy... where have I been. Well, I've been busy looking for work. Have had quitea few nibbles, but nothing serious that pays anything near what I need to make. There is a serious gap between LA rates and and Vegas pay. Something closer to 50%... I was expecting 70% or so. So that's a big shock. I continue to look

I've also been working hard on LaughingPlace.com. Selling T-shirts and selling ads. Have a few great starts, but no closes yet. I'll keep you updated.

Well. I didn't win the $141 million lotto. So I'm back. =) I had won two $5 prizes with my usual numbers, so there was hope... oh well. back to the job search. Said search is going slowly despite the 4% unemployment level here. So many of the jobs are $8/hr or less than half what I was earning for a similar job. However, I have had a couple of interviews and liked those companies... so who knows.

Meanwhile, I' ve been working hard on selling ads for LaughingPlace.com. I've had some nibbles, but no bites yet. We're also getting ready to sell some LP Gear... So that should bring in some money soon.

Whew. Looks like Disney is getting its ass kicked at the box office. It's a shame really. Both are very entertaining movies that deserve a second, let alone first, viewing by audiences.

Of course, there are other movies coming down the pike this summer that are sure to be big hits. Steven Speilberg's filming of Stanley Kubriak's last project is one. As a matter of fact, "A.I." has already begun to be felt on the internet. Follow this search on google and see what I mean.

Here's a link to a very nice Douglas Adams tribute. Douglas Adams has heavily influenced my sense of humor and through his writings has inspired me to write some of my own material.

Btw, this weekend Stacey and I will be at Disneyland for a friends birthday and a special event.

Went down to LA for the weekend. Saw Disney's Atlantis... was very good. Only had a few week script moments. But loved the animation and the characters. It really is something the whole family can enjoy.

D-Day

Today is the anniversary of D-Day. Seeing as how I just watched 'Saving Private Ryan' I thought I'd watch 'The Longest Day' -- The other seminal D-Day flick. While the pure horror of war as brought to you through SPR was much more graphic, TLD had is fair share of horrifying moments as well. TLD definately was more of a patriotic rally the troops kind of fare. Made me want to bleed Red White and Blue. In the end, SPR was a story about how important it is to live your life the best you can everyday of your life.

I'd hate to see any warfare on the epic scale that was brought to us in WWI and WWII. But on the otherhand evil on the scale of Hitler and Japanese agresssion has to be stopped. For America to sit idly by for as long as it did probably resulted in millions of extra deaths. But you can't armchair quarter back these sorts of things. The best you can do is just learn your lessons and move on. Then hopefully you will be better at preventing these sorts of outbreaks of oppression and what-not in the future.

Which brings me to a tragedy that is ongoing in the world right now. The Taliban in Afganistan. As of late, they've taken to making anyone who isn't a strict follower of islam wear an identifying tag or color of clothes. Sound familiar? I don't think enough attention has been paid to this corner of the world... I really fear that before I die the conflict will grow to such horrendous proportions that D-Day and Pearl Harbor will be made to look like simple foreshadowing.

I hope I'm wrong.

Shrek!

I seem to have turned into a Movie review site... Hmmm. Stacey and I went to see Shrek a second time. See if there were more in jokes and parodies we might have missed. There were... in fact, there were so many, one really needs to get the DVD (which I hope is packed with kewl features) and pause the frame at the interesting spots.

Another thing we've noticed here in Lost Wages, the audiences are less sophisticated when it comes to movie humor than your typical Los Angeles audience. Many times Stacey and I are laughing at completely different places than the locals out here. I wonder if that will change once a few movie studios open up out here (they're in the works) and the industry moves a little east.

Pearl Harbor

Go see it. At least once. It's a good film despite what the critics say. It is not, however, a classic for the ages. Which is too bad, because the directors work so hard to make it so. What it is is a good love triangle story, albeit a bit predictable, and some incredible special effects. Together they combine to really drive home the horror of what happened at Pearl Harbor.

Not much news on this front. Been working hard on things for LaughingPlace.com. Got another contact for selling ads, been sending out surveys like crazy. But am still less than 10% done on that.

the other major event is doing inventory on all our collectibles. What I need now is a copy of filemaker pro for the PC. I have to make a database to track our inventory and print it out for insurance purposes.

I'm back!!!!

Went to Sam's Town Hotel and Casino last night. The also have some bowling lanes there. Stacey and I gave them a try. But I don't think we'll be going back anytime soon. The approach is way to hard, Both of us had problems sliding even an inch after planting our foot. Not good on the old legs... I think we'll try Texas Station next.

I've also been working on some stuff for LaughingPlace.com. Ordered T-shirts to sell. There has been a demand for LP merchandise, so it's about time we answered it. Now I have to hope the demand is large enough to make this effort worthwhile.

Stacey and I also had the pleasure of entertaining Ammy and Rick this last saturday. We met them at Mon Ami Gabi at the Paris Hotel and Casino. Good food and nice atmosphere, but I didn't enjoy the service at all. After that we traversed the newest hotels on the strip and wore out the soles of our shoes. But it was nice seeing them again.

Am amazed at how much work goes into getting a house in order. We need to do so much, but only have so many minutes in a day. It's frustrating at times. Gotta call the landscape people, the flooring people, the display people, the bank people. Etc... Homes really need to come with a full-time assistant as part of the mortgage cost. An end to unemployment.

Well.

Finally.

The phone line is in. Now to order DSL. Oh, and get serious about my job hunt. Start bringing some dough in instead of merely continuing the outflow. We should be returning to regularly scheduled iURL updates soon. So email me and let me know what you want to see.

Ack!... still no phone line to our house. So updates will be sporadic until then... but expect a full update soon there after.

Everything is great, however.

It's been a while since my last confession... and I must confess it may be a while more. The big move is in full swing and we really don't have much time to slow down and take care of the little stuff. I promise to write more once we're settled.

The carpenter always hammers twice

Oy. They've finally fixed my lateral file so I can rescue those last few personal files from the cabinet. Which means by the end of today all traces of John Frost should be gone from this cubby. (Well, maybe I'll leave a hidden mickey or two.)

Tomorrow is the last hurrah before a lightning drive through the cajon pass hopefully while the sun still shines. I can look out my window and see snow still falling on the pass right now. Should be interesting.

The Last Friday

It's the last Friday. The last weekend primer that I spend downtown walking around exploring nooks and crannies. Side stepping panhandlers and avoiding the eyes of those who look to hustle me for money.

It's also the last friday I eat at my favorite downtown lunch restaurant, California Pizza Kitchen, and am served by my favorite waitress -- Billie F. Gave her 100% tip today, no explanation why. Maybe she'll figure it out eventually. What's nice is that she took the trouble to learn the names of her best customers. I always left her a little more because of that.

So now, I'm packing up my desk in advance of my final three days. What do I leave behind, what do I throw away, what do I take. Hopefully I leave behind a deparmtment that is better off for my being her. More organized, better trained, better equipped.

Life changes like this are never easy.

Changing jobs and moving at the same time is a bit overwhelming. It's nice that I already have a couple of irons in the fire, but it is still very stressful. For those of you keeping track, we do our walk-through a week from today, then sign mortgage papers that afternoon. After that we can get our keys on the 8th.

I've also been working on selling Ad space on LaughingPlace.com. We're now listed in the major media selling directories. Next step is developing a media kit (online and dead tree versions).