Gas Happens

Summer's Bash

2008-10-28T05:04:00.001-07:00

Well, just when we didn't think we could outdo another party, we did. See usually when you go to a kid's birthday, there's nothing really for the adults. It's usually at a place where you can play games, or jump on inflated mattresses or dress up ladies of the evening; nothing super fun for the above 25 crowd - unless you're into those types of things...
Not at the Gasaway house. We like to poison our young children's minds with the idea that you have to have alcohol to have fun. Actually, you don't HAVE to have it but it does make for a great party.
This year was huge. First, since we moved, we have gained a ton of new friends mostly because this neighborhood is super cool. Not only are there a ton of kids for Summer and Reece to play with but the parents are very similar to H and I. Basically, they like to have fun.
And fun we did have.
The guest list was right around 100 and we knew there were plenty that didn't RSVP. Since Summer's bday is around Halloween, we always make her party a costume affair. Oh, it doesn't just require the kids to dress up - the adults must as well, save for public humiliation. The adults definitely didn't let down. We had some seriously great costumes. H and I usually go for a couples' theme. This year was Sonny and Cher, although nobody could figure just who the hell I was.
I didn't have any of my beer because we drank it all the previous weekend at Oktoberfest - see next post. So I ended up thinking - sure, one keg (5 gal cornelius keg) would do. Now, there's about 50 pints in one of those kegs so I thought we would be good.
I forgot that the beer I was getting, people weren't familiar with and that it has a slightly higher alcohol content than Bud. Man did I UNDERestimate.
First off, the beer is my favorite - Allagash White from Maine. It's a Belgian white which is my favorite type right now. It's made of coriander and orange peel - just like the type I like to make. Well fortunately, everyone else dug it too.
The party really hit its stride once the karaoke started up and the juices really flowed. Joe Elwood and I were manning the grill and we flew through the burgers and dogs. Man, I've never cooked so much meat in my life let alone in 30 minutes. The grub was gone that fast!
Next was the beer. I couldn't believe it! The beer was tapped out! Now, I've always prided myself on having enough libations to make it through the evening unscathed. Not this night. We had to actually go on a beer run - the last time we had to do that was my wedding. I guess that should have been an omen of what was to come in our life - running out of beer on your wedding. Either we underplanned - NO WAY! or our friends are complete and udder alcoholics. I take the latter.
It wasn't bad enough that we had to run for beer for a nine year old kid's party - we grabbed another 2.5 cases - but we ended up running out of that!!! Insane I tell you! We had to go on ANOTHER beer run! Funny thing is, we didn't just have beer. We had some of that foo-foo malted drinks that the ladies like - a CASE of it - and that was gone too!!!
Holy crap - onto another 2 cases. But it didn't stop there. A few neighbors down the street brought some tequilla and that started flowing - a LOT.
Needless to say, the rest of the evening got a little foggy. There was still karaoke going on - both kids AND adults this time. It just was raucous all through the night until the wee hours of 11pm! We couldn't keep up anymore! BUT it was a great time. Summer got tons of Pokemon stuff and everyone had fun.
The legend grows...stay tuned.

Animating across the globe

2008-08-21T22:23:00.000-07:00

Jet lag is a crazy thing. Just when you think you got it licked, it bites you back. I didn't believe everyone when they said it takes about a week to get used to the normal time. I thought, heck, I'll sleep a ton of hours and force myself to stay awake...yeah right...didn't happen.

Why the lag you say? Well, I say, I went to Bangalore, India for another trip with my old friend/co-worker Tom Grevera (or as my girls call him - Mr. Tom) to check out our overseas animation partner - Paprikas.

To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to the trip - about 20 hours with a stop in Germany, a week away from the girls and most importantly, no pizza for 7 days!!!

BUT to my joyous surprise, the trip was actually very cool. The artists and production peeps at the studio were fantastic. They are a talented bunch out there, hungry to learn more. Tom and I were to go out there to help them take "Back at the Barnyard" to the next level. I was also out there to help approve shots for my hour special - Cowman: The Uddered Avenger! (Part 2 of the Cowman Series).

It was fun hanging out with our new friends, talking animation and eating a TON of food. Man, it was some delicious stuff. The surprise was some meal with these little ears of corn. I thought I was a giant when I picked them up but soon felt like Tom Hanks in Big when I ate them. Remember the scene when he's at the party and he eats something hot? Holy K-RAP were these things hot. Hoochie momma they burnt my tongue for days. The only thing that ailed my pain was the local beer - Kingfisher - and lots of it. Can't beat it for like $3 per. Tom and I had a few...

We had a good time on the weekend too - heading downtown to do some bartering. Now, just a few days before, there had been a few bombs that went off near a shopping mall in Bangalore. Heather wasn't too keen on me heading out but I was assured that things were fine. And they were! The weird thing is that Tom and I went to a mall and thought nothing of it - except being the only white dudes for miles...BUT I soon learned that the mall we were at was the SAME MALL the bombs went off. EEEEEP.

Still, no problems a few Kingfishers couldn't solve.

It was odd though that we found probably one of the only places in Bangalore that served Belgian Beers!!! I couldn't believe it...leave it up to me to find them. Needless to say, the ride home was more tolerable than normal. Man, the driving there is INSANE!!! I couldn't do it. Imagine a 2 lane highway filled with 5 lanes of traffic. Oh, not your ordinary calm parking lot LA traffic, either. 5 lanes of cars, scooters, motorcycles, cabs, tricycles, green machines...you name it - all HONKING! It's crazy. Everyone honks - all the time. I would think that with so much honking, everyone would be immune to it...my hotel room was facing the road...I can still hear the honking in my head when I close my eyes....

It was all good though. I think we made some good friends over there and learned a little more about a different culture. I learned also how much I love my sportscenter though - being that I didn't have it for a week. The bollywood movies are interesting and I learned that they really make the movies for the songs, not so much the story. If they can sell a song for the movie, it's considered a success. The crazy thing about this fact is that they have a TON of TV channels that show the songs. I mean A TON! I thought there were a million Indian MTVs or something. I soon learned that it was just the songs from the movies. WOW!!!

But now we're back and the lag of jets is gone. I'm finally back to sleeping my whopping 6 hours a night. Thank goodness the Olympics were on or I would probably be knee deep into Designing Women repeats. Delta Burke was hot at one point, right???

Well she was...maybe after a couple of Kingfisher Beers....

No Emmy for You!!

2008-06-21T10:07:00.000-07:00

Well, at least the trip to NY was fun :) We came close but came away losers. It is such an honor to be nominated, or at least that's what everyone else says. Still it would have been cool to have that HUGE (It was really big) award on the mantle. My producer even said, it would only be cool for about a year and then it becomes just a piece of furniture - yeah RIGHT! At least you got nominated...

The pre-party was a little surreal because we kept saying, "What the heck are WE doing here?" It was held at the Lincoln Center right next to central park. The view from the party was simply stunning. It looked right down a major street with buildings on the right and Central Park on the left. Very cool.

The event was kinda fun and very long. The Best Directing category came up and my heart was pounding faster than a roided up Jamaican sprinter. I wasn't really nervous about the award but more about what we were going to do at the podium. The four of us (2 other directors and a voice director) decided that we would just all talk/thank at the same time. Alex Trebek had said at the beginning that only one person should talk and was only allotted 30 seconds. Rules be damned! It was going to be pretty funny too but alas, a different name was called.

Who wants a big dumb old Emmy anyway...besides me? :) Well, the show went on and the second category we were nominated for was up and...we lost that too. Kind of a bummer to the evening but we would prevail. We went to the Nickelodeon after party where salt was poured into the wound because Nick won 2 other awards (one against US!) and the winners were at the party getting pictures taken with their prize.

The other 2 directors were holding the award and getting pictures taking with it but I refused. I didn't earn it and, like the NHL players who won't touch the Stanley Cup unless they win it, was afraid to jinx my future possibilities. JINX IT?! The other directors asked me - "Why didn't you tell us BEFORE we picked it up and took pictures with it???!!" I simply laughed and said, "Well, at least you got nominated."

Emmy Nom!

2008-04-30T21:28:00.000-07:00

Holy Crap! Today we found out that our little show about a talking male cow with udders got nominated for not one but TWO daytime EMMY Awards! First, the entire show got nominated for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program. That seems like a long term for Best Animated Show to me :) It was the only Nickelodeon show to get a nomination.

The second and a little closer to home for me was for Outstanding Directing for an Animated Program. Yipes! That's me! Like I said earlier, Holy Crap! It's extra special to me because not only am I the Supervising Director but my show - Cowman and Ratboy, was the show that got nominated. To say I'm excited is a little bit of an understatment...

Anyway - fun news! Hope to see ya on the TV near the end of June! Maybe the little statue is heading our way!!

We've moved!!!

2008-04-21T21:44:00.000-07:00

We finally took the last step in becoming a full-fledged San Diegan and bought a home in Carlsbad! We had been renting a house for the past year and a half and we're ready to do our own lawn work :) We were looking for about 2 months online and another almost 2 months by going through a ton of houses. Housing market problem my butt!! Well, at least not in Carlsbad. We had looked at other towns close by but nothing was better than our little beach city.

We put a couple of offers on homes to no avail. The first was upside down - no not like the attic down, basement up (wait, there's no basements in california) but the owners owed more on the house than it was worth. This made it a short sale. It didn't mean that they had to sell it shortly but that they were going to lose money on it or selling it short of what it was worth.

ANYWAY - So California has this weird thing where the house are not listed at one price but at a range of prices. The house isn't 800k, it's between 775k and 825k. Well, of course I'm going to offer the low end! Well, the thing about short sales is that the bank is "kind of" in charge. They own the mortgage and almost the home - it hasn't gone into foreclosure yet. The owner can still say which bid it would like. So we basically offered the low end of the range. There was another offer on the table and the other agent said, we were the best offer.

We thought we had it in the bag, right? Well, for some reason, the owner picked the lower offer! My agent thought that either the other couple put more money down or the seller's agent was the same as the buyer...

So, one down...So after a few more houses, Heather walks through one and calls me right away. You're going to love this one, she says. I go and see it the next day and can't really control myself. It's stunning. Not a thing to do to it. Totally upgraded. Big back yard. No back neighbors, great views, did I say totally loaded?

So we put a low offer on it and get into negotiations. It was rough because the owner wasn't budging too much. Finally, we thought we were over our limit. I did some magic numbering with our financing and found we could actually do the number the owner wanted so we waited for our agent to get back from vacation and agreed to the number. Problem was, that exact same DAY, someone else came in with a relocation company and bid the EXACT SAME number we did. The owner did what I think anyone would have done and said, who wants it more? Of course we were already at our limit so we couldn't dance anymore.

I was devastated. I really dug the place and wanted to close the deal. Now it was out of our reach. We looked at a few more places but nothing could take the place of the dream house. We put another offer and was quickly rejected. I kept thinking...what housing problem??

Then a miracle happened. Our agent called us late on a sunday telling us we weren't going to believe what just happened. The agent of our dream house called our agent asking if we still wanted the house. The relocation company didn't want the house and made it fall out of escrow. It was available if we wanted it. I got greedy for a quick second and thought I should lowball them for 20grand less. Then I thought better of it and wanted the place too bad. Instantly, they accepted!!

We couldn't believe it. The place was to be ours. After some intense weeks of dealing with lenders - we had perfect credit, great incomes but not too terribly much in the form of downpayment so we had a VERY rough time getting the loan - we moved into the house!

House warming party in about a month when we should have half of our stuff moved in. Want to come???

Kids' Choice Awards part dos

2008-04-09T10:21:00.001-07:00

So the day finally came and after scoring 4 tix - me, Summer and the O'briens (Hannah and Sean) made the trek up to LA for the day. The trip wasn't too bad; a little traffic but about normal for LA. Sean got to experience the infamous gasman patience. Wears very thin when dealing with slow drivers.

We got to UCLA relatively early and decided to walk around a bit. See, a few years back, we went to the KCAs (Kids' Choice Awards - at least that's what the hip 9 year olds call it) a little early. Make that a LOT early. Like when the doors opened. We waited nearly 2 hours before the show started and the girls were spent. They couldn't really enjoy the show because they were already anxious to leave. I wasn't about to make that mistake again this year.

So we walked around Westwood for a bit and after realizing how excited Sum and Hannah were, Sean and I decided to take the edge off and head to a pizza joint for a beer. After nearly having a beer spilled ON me, we headed off to the show.

Tons of kids from all ages, really. Lots of under 10s and then surprisingly a bunch of tweeners all decked out. Was a bit odd for me to see and then also a bit depressing to know that Sum and Ree aren't too far from that stage. Can't they stay young forever??

Inside we saw tons of celebs. A lot that I knew and a lot more that I didn't. Needless to say though, we had choice (get it - choice) seats. They were pretty close to the stage and right by where all the stars were sitting. A preggo Jessica Alba was next to Jennifer Love Hewitt who was ahead of Hayden Panitierre from Heroes. That was the corner to be in.

The biggest question from me was, who the hell are the Jonas Brothers and why was everyone and I mean everyone (including Sean) screaming like 8 year old girls? Oh wait, maybe it's because they are the hottest group FOR 8 year old girls. You would think the Beatles were walking around Pauley Pavilion or something. Everytime they would move, a shriek was heard throughout the building.

Oh and one other thing I found interesting. I just happened to look at tix prices for the soldout show and saw that a pair in the nosebleeds were going for about $600 each - holy cow! I couldn't believe it until I realized - Oooooh. Miley Cyrus was going to be there.

I know very little about Miley and her alter ego Hannah Montana but the midgets do. I couldn't believe the hype surrounding this singer so I was definitely interested in seeing what's doing. Sure enough, she can perform. The crowd was going crazy and she lived up to the hype. Now, I'm not going to pull a Matthew and buy all of her CD's or anything (I'll just borrow them from Reece) -(I KID I KID!!) but it was entertaining.

Overall, it was a pretty good show. Jack Black was great, as usual. Harrison Ford was there getting slimed,Janet Jackson looked pretty fine and Cameron Diaz has a set of legs that wouldn't stop.

It was also fun to see my buddy Jeff Garcia who plays Pip on Back at the Barnyard and Sheen on Jimmy Neutron and soon another show that I can't say anything about but it rhymes with Blanet Treen...

Hopefully more on that VERY SOON!!!

Kids' Choice Awards part 1

2008-04-02T05:52:00.001-07:00

So we got lucky enough to score 4 tickets to the KCA this past saturday night. How did I get the precious tix that were going for about $600 per? Well, duh, I am directing on one of the most popular shows on Nick...well, maybe that had something to do with it. I also directed a live action spot for the KCA's themselves. Now THAT was pretty cool.

I thought I was just going to go to the shoot to help with the lighting and camera composition for when we added the 3d elements. I was a bit nervous at first - this being only my second live action shoot that I was actually a part of. I did a best buy spot about 10 years ago that really wasn't anything. The talent was someone pushing in a vcr tape in a vcr - anyone remember vcrs?

Anyway, this shoot was a little different. First off, it had two of Nick's big stars. If you're above the age of 16 you may have never heard of them. One was Lil JJ, the star of Just Jordan (on Nick) and the other was Miranda Cosgrove of ICarly (also on Nick). You may remember Miranda as the bitchy manager type on the movie School of Rock. So it comes down that we (at Omation) are doing this spot for the KCAs. I was asked to direct it so after the voices were recorded, we storyboarded the spot and married the audio to picture. I tried to think of the cameras that I would use in the live shoot to make things easier. None of my favorite traveling camera shots were allowed:(

So we get to the shoot and like I said, I thought I was just there to make sure they did what I had done in the boards. Well, right after the first take, everyone started looking to me for the overall direction as well. Now I've directed a lot of voice over talent but never action in front of the camera - even if it was two 15 year olds. After the initial nerves were gone, I was rolling. Really getting into it. Telling the Camera dude (the DP) what to do, the AD (assistant director) what to do - even the talent themselves. I was feeling all powerfull! Nah didn't like that - DO IT AGAIN! Now with more feeling!!!

Well, not exactly BUT it was unbelievably cool. I was on such a rush even for this tiny little 1 minute spot. I started to get in my groove and really let it fly. I kept thinking - I could get used to this. See the thing is in 3d animation, you tell someone what to do (like animation) and it takes days to get it back exactly the way you want it. Here, since there are REAL humans, its instantaneous. Man, I know that sounds very odd - like, no crap, Mike - but I loved it. Let's try this...now let's try this. I was definitely bitten by the bug of directing live action.

Oh and how did the actual awards go? I'll let ya know in a second...

Winger RULES!!!

2008-03-16T20:34:00.000-07:00

No seriously.
They do! I found out about a month ago that one of my favorite bands (once again, seriously) was coming to San Juan Capistrano. Holy crap! Why San Juan? Turns out there is this little dive right down the street from O Entertainment where a lot of bands come to play.

I was pretty stoked and dragged a few of my friends from work. Two were about my age and wanted to experience the joys of the eighties again and the other friend was a 20 year old girl...She got her first taste of Winger at about the same age I did - made me feel reeeeeeeealy old.

Anyway, we went a little late so we didn't have to sit through the opening acts. We're walking in when I ran into Rod Morgenstein, the drummer. He was pretty cool and I got to shake his hand. Yeah yeah..I'm a fan boy.

The second opening act wasn't quite finished when we arrived. They were exactly what I was expecting. Some guys that may have looked like rockers when they were like 20 or so; but now they are in their mid to late 40's and were trying to look in their 20's. The spandex pants UNDER the beer belly was very amusing to our lady friends. The singer had a tight curled hairdo but the back was mullet city! Business in the front, party in the back. The guitarist looked like he may have had a mane at one time, but now it was thinning and looked bad. Ah, what did I expect.

So on to the main event. The boys came out and definitely rocked. My friends were kinda digging it - saying they sounded really good. Kyle, the other dude with us was having a chuckle with the lyrics but I didn't care. I was singing every song - yep, like I said - Fan boy. Look, we all have things in our life that we love but are a little embarrassed by. Well, Winger is that for me. I can't help it but totally dig the music. I think Kip (Yep, that's his name) is actually a very good singer (the other three in my party were impressed by his voice) and Reb Beach is one hell of a shredder.

That was by far the coolest thing of the show. He friggin rocked! I mean, this dude makes the guitar do things, I didn't think possible. Fingers ablaze, he makes this crazy noise wail out of the 6 strings. The songs sounded great and his solo (ala the 80's once again) was spectacular. Damn that dude is fast. When he starts tapping on the fretboard, he uses his index AND middle finger on his right hand. Freakin nuts!

So they played all of the favorites from all of their albums (yes, there is more than one album - for all you haters out there). The funniest part was when they played their biggest hit, Seventeen. This was a hit in 1990 and is kinda like their calling card. I saw them in 2002 and Kip started the song saying that he's a little creeped out by still singing this song. Well, tonight they changed up one of the lines of the chorus to - sing with me - She's only 35! See, the song came out in 1990 and now it is 2008 so....well, you can do the math on your own.

But that's not all! Oh no my fellow mullet wearing fan. We left the place and I was truly content. I had a relatively rough week at work while trying to figure out how we are going to pay for our new house so I needed Winger to soothe the ails. So, we're walking out of the show going back to our car when the door opens and out walks Reb Beach. I yelled out to him with arm in the air and gave him a firm handshake. Now I don't have a man crush or anything like that but I look up to this dude. Like I said earlier, he seriously shreds on the guitar. I had to shake his hand and tell him that. He was a very genuinely nice dude. The others in my party also shook his hand and we chatted just for a second. It was a great topper to a pretty fun night.

Next up? Whitesnake!

just kidding.

Countdown to Strong Ale

2007-11-30T21:13:00.000-08:00

I haven't been this excited for a beer festival since...well since my last beer festival...The Pizza Port Strong Ale Festival 2006!

Actually, I didn't know what to expect last year and it was kind of last minute. But the LAST time I was excited for a beer festival was the 2005 Bluebonnet in Irving, TX. My brewing partner Mark Thielen and I had been going to the festival for about 4 or 5 years. We were like kids in a candy store. So excited to be around so much tasty brew! Every year we wanted to bring our own just to partake in all of the action...

Well, this year it's time for the Pizza Port Strong Ale Festival 2007. It's such a great festival because the beers are soooo good and soooo alcoholic :) I really try to taste some different beers and expand my palate but the abv is so high that after the 4th or 5th, I'm pretty much out of it.

So here's the deal. Costs $25 to get in that includes the taster glass and 8 four ounce tickets. The tix buy you beers that aren't less than 8% abv(alcohol by volume). That's some potent beers.

Needless to say...we ain't driving.

I'll give you an update in the next day or two...

San Diego Fires

2007-10-22T20:49:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard, a good part of San Diego County is on fire. It started early sunday and really hasn't been too contained as it moves steadily towards the ocean. Carlsbad, where we live, is under a voluntary evacuation and is about 15 miles from the blaze itself. I think things are pretty secure for us but the winds are very unpredictable and could change instantly.

I just wanted to make sure that everyone knew that we were fine. It's a bit smoky and there is a lot of ash in the air. Besides that everything is good.

Its very difficult watching the local news because you see house upon house going up in flames. They say that about 500 homes are already lost. I have a feeling that will be more like 1500 once this is all finished.

Hanging 37

2007-08-20T21:04:00.000-07:00

Man, nothing says you're getting older than using muscles you haven't used in a while. Maybe never. I finally joined the ranks of the true San Diegans this weekend and got on a piece of foam and rode some tasty waves.

Huh?

That's right - I went surfing. Got up at 7 on a sunday...headed out to Terra Mar in Carlsbad and jumped on a 10 foot Bear surfboard. My buddy Mike has been asking me to go for a while and I finally took him up on it. Damn glad I did too. I had a real blast. Even stood up on the second wave! All in all, about a dozen waves in about an hour and a half. The locals were really nice to the newbie and even gave some words of advice when we were out waiting for some more sets. I even had the state of euphoria for a few hours after I got out of the water. It was quite an experience that definitely look forward to doing again.

However...

Oh man, am I SORE! Holy crap I am feeling the tender age that I am. The worst is my left hip. I'm taking about half the stride I normally do because the pain is so friggin bad. I couldn't figure that one out either. I understood the burning in my shoulders, the bruises on my knees and even the slight pain on my sternum but my hip?

Then I thought about it. What was the one thing I was doing the hardest when out in the water? It wasn't the abuse I took from the sets after grabbing the first wave. As soon as I got through one, another slammed me...no...it wasn't the absolute out of shape feeling I had once I finally got outside. That was extremely embarrassing though, lying completely flat on my board, out of breath while these young punks of about 60 would cruise by me...no...not that either.

After retelling the tale to a few coworkers, I figured it out!

See, the board I was on was 10 foot long. TEN FEET! That's from the ground to the top of a basketball rim. Carrying the sucker was hard enough. The thing is, when its in the water and you are laying on it, you don't realize how much board is still behind you. I thought I was sitting on the back of my board. Mike told me to scoot back and I told him I didn't want to slide off. He told me to look behind me and that I still had a football field of board back there. Holy crap he was right!

Anyway, with that much board it is hard to turn to face the beach so you can start paddling to catch the wave. Usually what you do is sit pretty far back on the board, tilt back, let the board basically sit almost vertically in the water and pull the board and twist. Sounds very easy, doesn't it? HA! I laugh at you. Well, it actually is...to everyone in the ocean but ME!

It had to look funny - me struggling, waving my arms in the water, spraying the other surfers and kicking my legs like mad under the water to turn. AHHHH...That's it!! That's why my left hip was killing me. See, I didn't know how to get that board up in the air, turn and twist to the beach. I was doing the bicycle faster than a blood doped Lance Armstrong sprinting through the alps. From the ocean floor, I had to look like those kids treading water, unaware that they were next on the 5 course meal. Jaws laughs at me!

I thought nothing of it in the morning because eventually, I did get turned around, paddled like a madman and let the wave take me in. It was definitely a blast. The rest of the day was spent trying to find a comfortable way to lay down and to try not to walk.

Can't wait to do it all again next week!

In Memory

2007-07-22T16:34:00.000-07:00

This week was a little tough for us in our little beach town. A member of the family who has been with us for 13 years had to go see the big man in the sky. Mation Gasaway died due to being a very old kitty. She went very peacefully and painlessly.

Mation was with us for over 13 years. Heather and I would say that we didn't pick her; she picked us. We were at a humane society in Minneapolis looking for a little kitty. One of the first that we saw hissed and clawed at us. We instantly moved on. We then saw this little orange tabby that calmly crawled in our arms. We knew she was ours.

When we took her home, she took turns cuddling between me, Heather and our friend Jim. She was coolness with a capital K.

Mation went through a lot with us. We lost her for almost 3 days when Mike lived with Jim. Flyers went up and a few scary nights ensued. She meowed back like it was no big deal. Moving to California was a big deal. Getting another kitty was surely a test - Anna...get it...anna plus mation = ....

Then came the kids...Summer was a welcome addtion that Mation didn't know how to handle. She eventually came around just in time to move to Texas - a trip that Heather will never forget...she was burdened with a child seat, a child, luggage and 2 kitties. Well, poor Mation got sent through the x-ray at the airport...she was fine save for some glowing at night...

6 years in Texas couldn't keep the old cat down. We lived in 3 different places in 6 years and she never ventured too far from the house(s).

She was even digging the new place in San Diego. She met the neighbor cat and made noises that even the best sound designers have never heard. Mation was a master fighter behind 2 inches of glass. One time, she even chased the neighbor, June through the yard. June had a mouthful of orange fur but Mation still got the better of the battle.

She was a good cat that even up to the end, loved to cuddle and be petted. Her purrs can still be heard in the house. We miss her very much.

Little girls say the darndest things

2007-07-12T23:26:00.000-07:00

I really need to bring a notebook with me wherever I go. No not to jot down those brilliant screenplay ideas or those sure fire next big thing television projects. It's to keep record of what the youngest rugrat comes up with.

Little baby Reece, as we still call her, comes up with some gems. She is definitely the comic genius of the family. The rest of us pale in comparison. That is unless you heard my JC had to be a dope smoker standup...

We knew Reece was a comedian almost at birth. She was but a toddler when I asked her what she thought about something. She couldn't even speak at the time but she could respond - a quick raspberry. Amazing...her timing was perfect.

Since then she's come up with a bunch of sayings that really don't make sense even if I could explain them in context. The best of the bunch is the reason I write today.

The midgets were making me head hurt on a recent trip about town. I couldn't take it anymore and told Reece that she was driving me to crazytown. No harm, yes? Little Reecie's response was stone faced as ever - "But Daddy, I didn't pack!"

Heather almost pulled off the road for fear of crashing. We couldn't stop laughing. Her line was perfect; timing was impecable.

So I now carry a notepad with me at all time to record these little gems and store them away to hopefully be seen on a big or little screen sometime soon.

oh..did I tell you the show idea about an alien and a nun who inherit a casino from the mob?

Joys of Aging

2007-05-06T21:37:00.000-07:00

Getting fun is old. Actually, getting old is fun.

Not really. Trusty old metabolism slowing down? Check. Grey hair? Check. Bear-like pelt growing on every inch of skin? Check. Forgetting what you...

Part of that joy is also forgetting that you aren't 18 anymore. Can't just take off and lift a ton of weight, jump high and run as far.

That last part is what got me: run as far. See, I was a long distance runner in high school. Yep. 4 years of Cross Country and 3 years of track. Even got an MVP trophy to prove it. Seriously, it's still in my office at work. I even ran 26 miles at one time. It wasn't a marathon but my intense stupidity after a bad track practice.

ahhh. To be young and stupid. No seriously, I would LOVE to again.

This past weekend, I decided to jog (notice I didn't say run) to the beach and back. It's not a bad distance. About a mile there and for all of you without a math inclination, a mile back that would equal 2 miles. Well about half of the way to the beach (once again about a half of a mile), I felt a pain in my calf. No biggie. I've worked through pain before. Suck it up, my old track coach would say. This is easy...for an 16 year old.

I got to the beach and was in agony. Dear Lord what did I do? Left right left right. Not too hard. Believe me it wasn't that the pace was too fast. An old lady passed me in one of those scooter grocery carts - driving backwards!

My calf was in pain. I thought it was just a cramp so I did the smart thing and RAN ON IT BACK HOME. Yep that me. Young and smart. Actually neither of those...

The worst part wasn't the rest of the way home or complaining to Heather and the kids. It wasn't even walking, no limping around Sea World for the day. I asked for a senior discount because I knew I wasn't going to see everything...Even a vicodin only slightly numbed the pain (Heather's a nurse so she can get all of the good stuff).

No, the worst part was about 4 days later. Everything was going fine. The leg was healing better. No more elephant man walk. Small children no longer ran from me. Then I thought I heard my evening train run a little early.

Instinct (or as Summer and Recce call it - instink) took over and I bolted after my ride home. Sweet mother of Jerimiah did I go down in a crumple. I believe I cried like a 4 year old girl when her dolly gotten stolen. It felt like someone had inflated air directly into my calf muscle. Steps were not in the future. I thought it was it. The pain was definitely incredible. I couldn't flex the leg at all. Holy crap did it hurt!

The best part about this story is that I hadn't actually heard my train at all. I have no idea what that sound was but I will curse it until my last breath.

Bring on osteoporosis old age!!!

Cabo Wabo Reposado

2007-04-14T21:30:00.000-07:00

Well, I did promise that I would yap about a favorite tequila of mine a few weeks back. I thought I would talk about our love hate relationship or about the time in florida where I almost got electricuted...

but no...I would rather wait until something else stupid happened to me to speak of my mexican mojito...

Take one part...wait make that 3 parts Cabo Wabo...

Wait...I'm getting ahead of myself.

Dateline. Saturday. We'd just had a good day with the family and decided to make some brats on the grill. I decided I would perfect a margarita. Two, in fact. See Heather doesn't drink much but she found a marg at a local mexi watering hole that she likes...no make that loves. When heather says she loves a "drink", daddy learns how to make it. We did our due dilligence - ask barkeep, get ingredients. We were ready to roll.

Now, Mommy had to do some last minute Easter preps (remember that for later), so Daddy decided to start on the Cabo. Little history about mi amigo. We first met about 8 years ago in Cabo Wabo, Mexico. A small group of us went to the little Mexican villa and tasted the fruit of vine or I guess cactus - agave, more to the point. Anyway...we went to Sammy Hagar's place - met him in person...and loooved his tequila. Great stuff.

Lesson about tequila. It's made from the agave plant (which actually ISN'T a cactus) and it has a few different types - in order - Blanco (silver), Gold (the stuff in frozen margs), Reposado, Anejo, and last but not that common Reserva. If you can get the Reserva, do! It's a very good "sipping" tequila - Do NOT do shots with this stuff - it's tooo good.

Patron Anejo is our favorite for sipping but Cabo Wabo is the best for making you stupid.

SO.

I started concocting my margs using 1.5 shot of Cabo, 1 shot of triple sec and 2 shots of this slice of heaven called El Paso Chile Co Margarita Mix. This stuff has key limes and meyer lemons in it and DAMN is it good.

First one tasted great. I wanted to test out some things and get the mix exact so I made another. And another...but this time I wanted to try some Cointreau and up the Cabo factor.

Next thing I know is it's Sunday morning and my elbow hurts, my nose hurts and my leg hurts. What the hell happened?

CABO WABO!!!!!!

I started piecing the puzzle together. First, Heather took too much time getting groceries at the store. When she came back, I had grilled some brats and was eating upstairs on the balcony (don't remember doing it but the fold out chair and plate was still sitting where I left them)

Summer told me that I was funny when I was drunk and fell down the steps. What a great role model I am. At least I found out why my elbow was hurting.

There were still missing pieces. Why did I bruise my leg and why did it look like I just got punched in the face by Matt Hughes (an ultimate fighter)? And why was Heather mad at me? - Oh, that was easy...see "Easter Bunny" had to hide about 100 eggs by herself while I "slept" upstairs...

It wasn't until monday morning that the case was solved. Heather was brushing her hair in the morning and happened to look out our glass sliding door in our bedroom and started laughing. Turns out there was a big nose mark on the glass...

Are you done laughing? It turns out, I slammed into the glass sliding door, smashing my nose. How did I bruise my leg? Easy. I then turned around and hit our small side dresser that points right about mid thigh level. Smash...turn...Boom! All ouch...

I've had fun repeating that story....Lesson learned? Well, not really. I know my girls will have years of therapy so why try to stop it now. I do keep the Cabo a little further out of reach...until Cinco de Mayo!!!!

adios!!!!

And that was the last we heard of Mike and Eric (or Bangalore and Mysore)

2007-04-02T21:48:00.000-07:00

We first arrived in Bangalore, India to visit two of the three studios we are using for the Barnyard project. I had never been so far out of the country without seeing a beautiful beach. What a culture shock. First, there were people everywhere. I mean everywhere. We arrived about 2am after an 18 hour flight. We stopped over in Germany and had a beer at the airport. Sure, it was 10 am but we couldn't not have a beer in Germany.

The next morning, we awoke to a bustling Indian city. It was saturday but there was still tons of traffic. The traffic is interesting there because they really don't follow too many rules. Lanes are a mere suggestion. The traffic lights have visible timers that tell you when the light will turn green. What that allows the drivers to do is start heading into the intersection when there are about 5 seconds before it turns green. There really isn't too much signalling either. A honk of the horn is all that is needed. And do the Indians honk. My goodness, it was a cacophony of horns everywhere. Surprisingly, not too many accidnets. I was sure we were going to be in a few but didn't.

We got to hang out with Paprikas for a few days. They are about ready to move into a huge new space but are still tightly packed into a smallish studio. We then went to AniRights who are located on a Hare Krishna temple compound. The temple itself was stunning. The studio was located in the dorms next to it. We got lost a few times walking from the modeling dept to animation. Every floor looked the same :)

The coolest part of the Bangalore trip was going to Mysore, a small city about 1.5 hours south. It was on this trip that Eric and I coined the phrase, "And that was the last we heard of Mike and Eirc". The ride was pretty amazing. We saw a ton of very small towns on two lane roads. There were people everywhere. From small shantys to bigger high rises, folks were walking, riding, standing, selling everything everywhere. The trip back from Mysore (hold on, I'll get to the city in a second), was the most harrowing experience we had. I've said it before that driving was an adventure. Now imagine doing that at night when not everyone turns on their headlights...Marge "suggested" I sit up front...and that was the last we heard from...man, I thought for sure we were dead. There were so many near misses, it was amazing. Our driver did things I wouldn't even THINK of doing in the states...Keith, you wouldn't have made it my friend - you thought New York cab drivers were insane...

Mysore - small town with a huge palace. Wow, this place was cool. First, we had to take off our shoes and walk in the place naked...well, at least our feet were naked. We saw one of the largest paintings I had ever seen. It just kept going and going and going. The best part about the palace was at night. Well, not just any night but only on Sundays from 7pm to 8pm. What luck that we happened to be there on a sunday. Tons of people were let into the compound shortly before 7. It was a fun atmosphere when suddenly the lights came on. 9600 lightbulbs to be exact. I let out a gasp - something our guide earlier in the day predicted. Amazing.

Check out the pix!Bangalore

More to come later.

Back from India

2007-03-31T10:31:00.000-07:00

Just dropped in to say that I finally got back from my week and a half trek to the other side of the world. Had a really great trip but missed the states. I'll post more later but wanted to direct you to some of the pictures from Mumbai/Bombay - the city of a population of New York and LA combined!! That's a lot of peeps!!

check it out here: Mumbai

micro trends?

2007-03-09T21:05:00.000-08:00

I like my beers.
No question that Belgians are the best. I'm actually looking into a beer trip to Belguim. Who wants to join me??
Micro brews are everywhere. Heck, there's even one in my backyard! Thanks, Thielen!!

There is something interesting that I read in the Union Tribune. First, I didn't know that San Diego is such a hotbead for brewing. Damn, is there anything about this place we don't like?? But second of all, a lot of microbreweries are now using their facilities to branch out into the distilling business. Great idea! Got facilities make more alcohol.

The first one that I tried was from Anchor Brewery up in San Fran, makers of Anchor Steam. Gotta admit, I'm not a big fan of the brew but I am a fan of gin so when I saw that a well known brewery was trying out a distilled spirit, I had to give it a go.

Gin is definitely an acquired taste. Thanks to Troy Saliba and Aaron Werntz making the best damn gin martinis in the world, I've gotten accustomed to the juniper drink. Bombay Sapphire the libation of choice thank you very much.

Well, Anchor did a great thing by making a juniper of their own and I have to tell ya. It's really damn good. I mean REALLY damn good. Called Jinipero Gin, it's a relative newcomer into the spirit world. The juniper is strong but not overwhelming and the aroma really helps flood the taste buds. Mix 2 parts gin with 1 part vermouth. If you like it dirty like myself, 1 part olive juice. WOW is that good.

careful, as I have yet to learn, gin is more potent than beer...I'm getting better. Please try it out and lemme know what you think. It is definitely a part of my growing bar. Next up - Cabo Wabo Reposado!!!

The healing finger

2007-03-06T19:53:00.000-08:00

Who said making beer wasn't dangerous? This is what happens when you drop a 7 gallon glass carboy on the concrete and try to catch it before it shatters into a million pieces.

First of all to allay any fears, the beer is fine. I had already transferred it to the keg and was cleaning out the carboy (huge jug). It was filled with water weighing around 30 pounds. I decided to put it on my retaining wall and then grab it and flip it upside down to get the water out. This is something I have done about 100 times without problem. This time was a bit different.

I thought I sliced off a few fingers right after I dropped it. For some stupid reason, when it slipped out of my hands, I thought I could catch the jug. Blood was spurting everywhere. Good thing I take aspirin every day or I would have bled forever....wait...I did bleed forever.

The Urgent care in Oceanside was packed and they told me to go to the ER just down the street. After waiting for only 2 hours (I know others have horror stories of 6 to 7 hour waits) and bleeding THE ENTIRE TIME, I finally got in to see the doc.

I did realize one thing that I'm sure a bunch of you have known for a while - I am a humongous baby. I mean, I was squirming like a worm freshly plucked from the earth. Dude put 3 shots IN MY FREAKING FINGER. One I swear was going in one side and poking out the other. OH and good thing Heather was there to laugh...I mean witness this fun day. The doc wanted to see if I had tendon damage so I had to flex my finger - something I had been avoiding for nearly 3 hours because it hurt so damn bad!!! Heather said she could see everything in my finger - tendons were fine...

6 stitches later and it was off to home. FLASH FORWARD 4 weeks later (present day) I had to get the stitches out last week. Good thing Heather's a nurse, right? Holy CRAP did that hurt. I took 2 vicodin BEFORE she pulled and I mean PULLED those suckers out. Wow, I was writhing in pain, my palms were sweating...something that should have taken 5 minutes took about an hour because of my whining. Even Reece was calling me a baby (not really but she would have).

I have regained full movement but the scar is still taking it's own sweet time to heal. Still hurts like a mother and my pointing looks a little weak but hey, at least the beer tastes good.

And man is it gooood. Now I just need to think of a name...

Back from Palm Springs

2007-03-05T21:24:00.000-08:00

We got back yesterday afternoon from beautiful and warm Palm Springs. Only took a little over an hour to get back but what a drive it was. First, we got to see the miles and miles of windmills. What a kick that was! Its truly other wordly when you drive through the varying heights of these energy producing machines. We're very interested in supporting those power companies and are looking into switching to the companies that rely mostly on wind for energy.

The coolest was driving on the 60 on the way home. We almost quite literally drove through flames! The mountain was on fire and I think the firemen had just arrived. Smoke was everywhere and the traffic slowed. We then saw why. Flames were shooting up the sides of the mountain. They had even gotten to the side of the road. We drove through a part where the you could feel the heat from the flames - our windows were up even! Pretty scary yet cool as all hell.

anyway, Summer did great at her first Odyssey of the Mind competition. Her team could only participate due to her age but she got a great experience. I even got to judge a problem. Pretty weird being on the side where you help determine if someone's dreams come true or crash and burn. Love the power!! well, not really but it was fun anyway.

Summer's Birthday

2006-10-31T21:45:00.000-08:00

Summer had her annual birthday/halloween party this past weekend. We had a great showing with a ton of kids from her class and brownie troop. The kids found the play treehouse in the back and hung out on the balcony throwing things most of the day. The back hill vegetation got a little trampled but it will grow back.

Summer had a ton of fun with her new friends. Heather and I met a bunch of new friends who really dug the homebrew. My mom and dad flew in from Ohio and Dave, Stacie, Chase and Kiera Peddemores drove down for the afternoon.

I'll post the pix as soon as I can. The site is still being reworked the more I learn about creating these things...stay posted.

Running in Carlsbad

2006-10-22T21:56:00.000-07:00

Well, you know I have to complain about something. I've been running a lot since we moved out here. I haven't necessarily lost any weight or trimmed up - I blame it on pizza and beer...We moved to a house that is on a hill and wherever you go you have to either go down or up a hill. Down isn't bad but up is another story.

For those of you who haven't lived in Dallas, it's pretty darn flat. It's absolutely flat. It gives a new definition to the word flat. It is so flat...anyway...it's flat. Flat.

Carlsbad isn't flat and the hills are very tough to run up. Their also tough to bike up - just ask Mr. Tom Grevera. A quick bike ride to the beach is a workout.

So there you have it. A complaint about Carlsbad. It's not flat. Oh and it was 75 and sunny the last few days...

Hangin with Sheen

2006-10-08T21:39:00.000-07:00

Me and the gals went up to Orange County to hang out with Jeff and Lisa Garcia and their kids. For those who don't know, Jeff is the voice of Sheen and Pip the mouse on Barnyard and also a standup comedian. We've been friends with them for a few years now and have always tried to catch Jeff's shows.

This past friday, we hauled but up to La Verne - where the Garcias live and then jumped in the Escalade with a few other comedians. It was one heck of a night. We got to hang VIP with Jeff and the other comedians and watched some very funny sets. The complimentary food and drinks were an added bonus. We even got to hang out with Kid from Kid n Play - I know you remember them, Matthew...

Anyway, I highly recommend seeing Jeff if comes to a town near you.

Mr. Tom!

2006-10-05T20:24:00.000-07:00

My good buddy, Tom Grevera stopped in sunny SD for the weekend. Summy and Reece wouldn't leave him alone :) Mr Tom, can we go to the beach again??

I don't think Tom got too much sleep on his visit. The girls decided to sleep in the same bed and then get up early and watch TV. Welcome to our world, Tom!!

It was good to see Tom while he was travelling through on his tour of America. We got some good pix of the girls at the beach and the cold surf. Drank a couple of local brews at my new favorite hangout in downtown Carlsbad - Pizza Port. The place is a zoo. People/kids everywhere. Really great pizza and tons of specialty beers. Oh and Charger stuff everywhere.

Still not used to that but love it nonetheless.

Best Commute ever

2006-09-30T17:27:00.000-07:00

Took the train to work thursday and all I can say is wow.

The trip is only about a half an hour but the coolest thing is the route. It starts out in Oceanside and heads through Camp Pendelton north. That's not so special but what just past the Marine Base is the Pacific Ocean. The train gets about 20 feet from the water and travels past it for nearly the entire 30 minute trip.

The only thing I kept thinking was, "Now this is the way to commute to work!"

Needless to say, the rest of my day was very laid back. It was amazing just how much driving can stress you out even when you're not aware of it.

The train trip home was just as beautiful. I rode on the top part of the train and got to watch the sunset on the ocean. Nothing beats it.

Next up - Monthly pass!

Bolts!

2006-09-27T08:22:00.000-07:00

So since moving to San Diego, a top priority has been getting Charger tickets. Opening day, Dave P and myself traveled about a half an hour south to watch my beloved bolts beat up on the lowly Titans. It is so nice to see that there are other Charger fans in the world. This day there was about 70,000 of us.

The cool part, besides our awesome seats, was tailgating. 6 years ago, H and I had season tix and tailgated with a group of folks lead by the great Boltmeister Lee. We all had great food and cold beer. I wanted to relive those days but couldn't remember Boltmeister's last name. I searched the internet high and low but to no avail.

Cut to sunday morning. I tell my friend Dave that we are on a mission to find Boltmeister. The sea of 70 grand wearing blue and gold (some powder blue - including myself) was daunting but we pushed on. Plastic bottles of Coors Light in our hands (I was out for quantity not quality), we walked up and down the massive parking lot.

Then I remembered. D4 or E4. One of those two was the magical spot. D4 was closest so we trudged through the open bbqs searching. My excitement was turning to fear. I can see that Dave was growing weary carrying the 18 pack of beer. Well, it was down to about 12 by now.

D4 was a wash. On to E4. My spidey senses were ablaze when we walked closer to the sign. I turn the corner and there he is! Boltmeister Lee cooking away on a huge grill with beer in hand. Gasman! he returns. I am back home. There's all the familiar faces all in Charger unis. The trek was complete.

Now the mission is to get season tix. Could be an expensive one but for my bolts, it's worth it.

Best Brew Day ever.

2006-09-03T17:44:00.000-07:00

I"ve been brewing classic (HA!) brews for about 4 and a half years now. Thanks to my good pal, Mark Thielen, who made me a beer nerd way back in 2002. I've been trying to perfect the technique from the kitchen to the backyard to even the garage. Things were good but not great.

Until today.

One small reason we decided to rent this house was the side of the house. I knew it was perfect for brewing. Man, did I underestimate that. It was more than perfect. It usually takes me about 6 to 8 hours to brew my Gaspail ale - a favorite among the locals of DNA. Today, it took me a mere 4 hours including cleanup.

Why so short Gasaway? Usually, I answer that question differently but today it's in regard to my brewing. Everything was perfect for me. Hose, drains, cleaning, different levels for getting the wort from kettle to carboy. WOW! I couldn't believe it.

anyway... pictures of the house and brewing facility will be on the site soon. Heck, I even found a brew supply store less than 3 miles from the house...funny part is they also did "hydro planting" - I love socal - they had tomatoes to show off their stuff. Sure, that's what it's there for...

Beer will be ready for Summy's birthday in October. We'll keep ya posted.

I (heart) San Diego!

2006-09-02T18:20:00.000-07:00

Well, it took a long time but we finally got in the house.

Day one - 15 hour drive to Gallup, New Mexico. Crappy food, crappy hotel. Easy drive.
Day two - 7 hours to Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Great food, good beer, hotter than Dallas.
Day three - 6 hour drive from hell.

To summarize. We needed to take 2 cars across country. That meant that both H and I drove seperately. Not surprising, the kids wanted to go with her. No problem with me! Got to jam all the hair metal I could. AND I DID!!! Thank you Sirius satellite. (Tom, you have to listen to Stern again...)

But I digress. With this trip, I couldn't really burn the 4 runner over 85 mph, so we had an easy drive. H took the lead with the Prius and the navigational system (if you don't have that, GET IT - it's the best way to get around a new/foreign city) Now you see that I said, H had the nav system. Mike had a really bad map and that's it.

The trip was simple - follow H and call and scream on the phone when she got too far ahead (happened about every 2 hours). Simple until day 3.

As soon as we got into LA traffic (about 3 hours outside of LA), H forgot she had someone following her. Yeah, that was fun. Tons of cars zipping around, I have no idea which freeway to take to get to Daves...I think I busted a blood vessel or 10.

We made it to dave and his lovely wife stacy's place (both of whom I am eternally greatful). Stayed there for 2 days before we could move into the house.

The house is absolutely perfect. It's bigger than H and I remembered and the girls love it. We can see ourselves staying here quite some time. We'll post pix soon.

We went to the beach today and the girls had a blast. We're really getting around much more and easier than we ever did in Dallas. It just seems more inviting here. We still miss our friends and are sure they will all come visit now. The guest room is all ready!

Packed and ready to roll

2006-08-21T16:40:00.000-07:00

Everything is over but the crying. We had a little get together last night at the Northern's household. We would have done it at our house except it's completely empty!

The house goes on the market officially today even though we had some showings saturday - when we were moving out!

Anyway, it's off to Albuquerque bright and early this morning then Phoenix then Orange County.

Go West my son!

2006-08-16T21:51:00.000-07:00

Going back to Cali...Cali...Cali...

San Diego, California. Well, Carlsbad, exactly. I got a job at O Entertainment as Supervising Director on the Barnyard Series. I'll be directing television shows again! wooohoooo! Now I can actually get paid to work again.

My family and I can't be more excited. We found a very cool house in Carlsbad about a mile and a half from the beach. It was buit in the '70's and has a great funky design to it. Kinda Brady bunch without the wood panelling. It has all the essentials - huge back yard, giant trees, very large balcony off the master and most importantly a wet bar! Hear that Grevera?!

It has tons of space for my brewing as well. I think I may do a batch in a week or two to get ready for Summer's birthday party. Nothing brings more new friends to a party than homemade beer.

Heather got a job too! Seems like nurses are always needed around these parts. We'll be moving in less than a week to get the girls in school. Nothing like doing things fast.

No Mo DNA

2006-08-14T19:13:00.000-07:00

We all knew it was going to happen but didn't want to believe it. Well today it finally happened. DNA told the remaining 18 or so employees that today was their two weeks notice. I guess DNA didn't take into account that everyone was already making half pay so essentially everyone got a whole week notice.

Hey thanks for all of your hard work and sticking it out now get the hell out.

There are a lot of words I can say here but I choose to only say the good things I remember about DNA:

1 - The people. No doubt some of the best folks to work with in the biz. Not too much egos and a ton of work ethic. That will never be duplicated. It just won't.

I didn't want to name individuals but there are a few that really meant a lot to me.
Ben Gilberg - I loved him, I hated him. Dude really helped get our stuff done. I always wanted things right now and Ben never accomodated me but you know what? Things worked great. If you don't believe me, ask anyone that worked on the series and feature. If they say anything contrary, they are lying.

Rena Archer - my work wife. Girl put me in my place and made sure things got done. Working with Rena allowed us to play because she wouldn't let us play. That might not make sense but what she did was keep our focus on the job and let us play within the job. All I can say is she has mad Jedi skills (whatever a Jedi is...)

Joe Elwood - Best damn editor on the west side of Irving between beltline and MacArthur on weekdays that start with the letter M. Joe always made me look good and always let me take the credit for his ideas if he ever had them.

I can go all down the list from Tom G, Deanna, Ian, Dave S, Ann, Troy, Dave B, Rod, Jason, Paul C, Greg, Ellyn, Joanna, John C and Angie P/G. Thanks for all. I can't wait to hook up again.

2 - Creative freedom. I got to play around so much directing the television series that it rarely felt like "work." I would wake up every day and be surprised that I got paid for what I did. I was also lucky enough to savor that feeling because I knew it doesn't happen that long in this business.

3 - Keith Alcorn. Can't say enough about the guy. Without a doubt, I had the most fun at DNA being around him. Everything from writing studpid jokes and funny stories to "disagreeing" about Barry's shots. My writing will no doubt suffer from not having him fill in where I write, "insert joke here". I wish him the best.

anyway. Spout off. And don't cry for me, Brazil or any other south american countries. I will land on my feet - in a barnyard near you.

The world as we know it has ended!

2006-08-13T20:09:00.000-07:00

Mike is now officially blogging...

I know. I know. I can't believe it myself. But with what has happened to us the last few days and not being able to keep up with everyone has made things a bit tough. I feel like I am saying the same story over and over.

Please push play....

Seeing all of my friends with blogs and watching what happens in their days is pretty cool. So enter the Gasaways...

Hey if Tom and Matthew can do it...