1) Helen and I left the snow in Portland on Christmas day to visit my parents in Santa Fe, NM. We ate and drank a ton, went blind doing a gazillion-piece jigsaw puzzle, watched college football, and went snowshoeing and snowboarding. I saw my first ever coyote and he appropriately took a crap in the middle of the road. I expected nothing less. We had a great time, as we always do.
2) We came back to Portland on New Year's Eve and since the beginning of 2009 I've been looking for a new job. I "retired" from the day trading business because the uncertainty of my earnings was getting to me. It's difficult to budget when you don't know how much money you'll make (or potentially lose) in a given month. My heart was no longer in it and I decided to move on. I figured that with Barack Obama becoming president on the 20th, I'd receive an envelope with a job in it no later than the 24th. No dice. I didn't vote, but if I did and had voted for him, I'd be pissed. I thought this guy was supposed to be a savior. I don't know about the rest of America, but I'm putting my full faith in Aaron Neville. Ye-hes-hes-hes-hes he-e-e-e-e ca-a-a-a-an! (Spoken like Mr. Neville himself)
3) I went to go see Stella perform at the Aladdin Theater on inauguration night. Stella is comedy group made up of Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, and David Wain. I grew up watching them on The State on MTV. They've also been involved in the movies Wet Hot American Summer, The Ten, and The Baxter. Helen and I saw Michael Showalter over the summer when the Mission Theater showed Wet Hot American Summer and then had a Q & A with him afterwards. Funny, funny stuff.
4) Pub Trivia. What better place to showcase my knowledge of otherwise useless information. I wowed my team and the competition with my knowledge of Baywatch. Did you know that Elvis had a twin brother who died at birth? Neither did I until I went to trivia. Cru Jones and the Helltrack Racers will one day win the pot.
5) Because I have no regular job to go to I've started the Master Cleanse again. It's almost over. I didn't post my adventures with it this time. Let's just say that everything is flowing smoothly.
6) Anticipation for the new/remake of Friday the 13th. The Friday the 13th movie series holds a special place in my heart, as many of you know. I don't think the movies are screen gems by any means, but I do find them to be highly entertaining. I will one day write a thesis on how I believe that Jason Voorhees is an angel of God sent to kill promiscuous youth. If you've been to our place before, you know that I have an autographed picture of Jason proclaiming that "You're Next!" It hangs proudly next to my autographed picture of the Million Dollar Man, Ted DiBiase. I'm hoping that Michael Bay doesn't screw this up with too many explosions. I wouldn't put it past him to try and sneak in some Transformers.
