Traffic

Austin Tx has the worst Traffic I have ever seen. Not to be confused with Utah drivers are the worst I have ever seen. These are two different things.

Really...Austin the city that never met an elevated highway it didn't like. Every single freeway is almost entirely elevated. Which means they have spent a crap ton of money on them. Yet they clearly arent working because...Austin TX has the worst Traffic I have ever seen.

Oh and its not like I haven't seen much. Los Angeles...not exactly a bastion of free flowing clear freeways.

Its really just been the one day. but wow. I mean wow. I called my buddy Josh who lives here. Josh who used to live in the NY/NJ area. He says its the worst he's ever seen too.

I hate traffic. More than just about anything. Live downtown work downtown play downtown. Thats what I say.

-T

Super Week.....blech

Just a quick note to say that today begins the worst and most obnoxious week of the year for sports. 7 straight days of talking about one game that really isn't that good a match up. I can't take it. Wake me up when its over please.

-T

Fantasy Baseball

Just a little post to talk about whats on my mind. Its that time again. This will be the 4th year that I have hosted a fantasy baseball league. Its kind of nerdy. Yes, thats true. Beyond that though, its a pretty cool way to follow baseball.

I'm not sure, but it may be a little contradictory to some of my baseball beliefs. I believe that it is more important to be a fan of a particular team than it is to be a fan of a particular sport. I think this is very important. We have too many fans of a league (the NFL and NBA leap to mind) and not enough fans of the Chiefs, Lions, Raptors and Kings. The sport becomes more important than your team. I think that creates a very dull, low-passion, league.

So I worry a little that playing fantasy baseball goes against this principal. I know it does in theory, but it doesn't really affect my love for the Dodgers so in actuality its fine.

What it does do, is keep me more in touch with the players that are out there and what teams they are on. It gives me something to check on every day. That is what is great about Baseball anyway. There is new input every single day. And it is a 6 month race that moves just a little at a time. I love that.

I'm excited to get started once again. We will see if this year I can actually win my own league.

-Tom Andrews
Team Owner
Hollywood Swingers

A moment to relax?

Its Friday night in Texas. I finally have a minute to sit and chill. I am cautiously happy about our future here.

This morning began with some housekeeping stuff. Checking out our trailer to figure out what all is on board. Followed by doing timesheets and expense report stuff. Ho hum boring.

Later on, we went out to one of our work sites to find out what the deal is. And the answer is.....

Its work. Whatever. Better than some jobs, much worse than others.

The big deal is... Living in Austin and can we do it?

And the answer is...probably.

I did a lot of digging, and made a bunch of phone calls. I took these guys out to look at some corporate apartments and they liked them. I found out we can get into one a week from Tuesday. I really didn't want to wait that long, but I think I can.

The only hitch is getting the folks at the home office to sign off on it. There is no reason why they shouldn't, but there is no reason why a lot of things shouldn't happen. But they do happen.

So we will wait until Monday to see, but if feels good.

So for tonight, I will relax. I will enjoy a minute or two to sit back and watch HBO and hang out with my two favorite people.

Finally here

We got to Texas today. We ate at a Burger King just inside the border. It had a stuffed bull head on the wall. Whoa!

We saw Dallas from afar, we will go there eventually.

We got to Austin tonight, we got into our crappy hotel. Its a nice hotel, but crappy that it is a Hotel.

Work tomorrow. Find an apartment tomorrow, but at least no more driving.

Still driving

West Monroe Louisiana. Thats where we landed tonight. We had Hooters, which was a nice treat. We watched Veronica Mars. Also nice.

We are moving along. One more day. Hopefully.

Struggling

Today was just one of those days. One of those days I'm going to have to write about another time. Just like this other day back in December, there will be an over-the-top rant and rave coming one day. Maybe sooner rather than later. We will see.

But we are on the way to Texas. Austin Texas Baby

A little sad. Is that ok?

Here is a quick but serious one. I am a little sad tonight. Its tough, but I can't desice if I am nuts or if I am normal. I have been packing the car and cleaning up my place in this house. I find myself walking around here and pouting a bit.

The fact is. I'm sad about leaving. Its odd, considering I have recently decided that I would be very happy if I didn't live in Charleston anymore. I always thought I'd come back and live here eventually. But I now know that its ok if I don't.

So its funny that I find myself sad for leaving. But I think its because I know that I'm comfortable with not living here that makes me sad. Does that make sense?

It's like I am really leaving now. I'm really moving away. For real.

And my question is, is that ok? I know it is, but I still feel silly. I feel kind of dumb. Stephanie says one of my problems is that I am afraid to let myself feel the way I naturally feel.

So here it is. I'm leaving Charleston tomorrow and it could be for good. And while I am glad that I am good with this possibility, I am sad that I am leaving.

Off to the future now.

Some stuff about me.

I learned a few things about myself while I was home again. I learned a lot about what I wanted to do. I learned a lot about what is important to me.

You hear people say these kinds of things a lot, but you don't think they apply to you. But then you find yourself saying things like I learned a lot about myself.

One thing, that I have mentioned before, is that I don't have to live here anymore. When I was in California, I loved it. I really did. But it always felt like I was "Out here" when I was there. Like Charleston was my homebase and I was always away. But now that I have come back. I realize that this is just another place. Just like LA, just like Utah, and probably just like Austin. And there is nothing that makes me stay in one place or another just that I like being there.

Another thing that I learned was that I'm ready to be on my own. Here is something that I didn't know that I didn't know. What I mean is, I thought I already was on my own and was already happy to be there. Turns out that I was still dependant on my parents. Its not really about money or that kind of technical dependance. Its more of an emotional dependance that I didn't really know existed. Mom and Dad and me and Jesse have been my main family circle for as long as I can remember. Maybe its just from being around Jesse and Kristi and Aris. Maybe its from bringing Stephanie and Sonny home with me. But I get now that I can make my own circle.

Its not like I never wanted to grow up, but I never really cared too much to set up shop as a full fledged adult. I just never saw much reason too. But I do now. I think its cool. I'm excited about the chance to make my own life in my own place. Growing up was one thing. But becoming an adult is another. I think that I was worried that becoming an adult meant giving up. It meant that I was going to have to settle down and get a boring, non-creative job and spend the rest of my life doing nothing important.

I don't know really what it is exactly, but I know I'm damned excited about going out to find it.

No Trains in Austin

I looked it up. There are no trains in Austin. Commuter trains I mean of course. What will I do? I pretty much don't ever want to live anywhere where there isn't a commuter train of some sort.

You can call me a snob if you like, but I just don't want to drive anymore. No no. I love to drive. What I mean is I just don't want to HAVE to drive anymore. Driving should be luxory, not a neccesity doggonit. So I want to spend my life somewhere, where I can walk and take simple train and trolley trips to where I need to go. If I want to drive I will. I ll drive through the city, through the countryside, enjoying myself all the way.

I think Austin should be cool, but they better get their crap together soon or I simply can't like them if they aren't at least thinking about it.

-T

It Texas for Real

Howdy Pawdnuh. Its Lone Star State time. Woo Hoo. It looks like its real and it looks real good. I found out that Steph and I are officially going to Texas. Austin Texas to be precise. 3 months there and three months in Dallas.

I am pretty darned excited about this development. First because I was getting really nervous about whether or not this was going to work out at all. Second, because Austin sounds really cool.

Its a college town with a college that I particularly like. 2005 National Champion Texas Longhorns. Another thing is that Austin is one of the best film cities in the country.

In addition to all of this, its Texas. Davy Crockett, The Astrodome, The Grassy Knoll, Giant, LBJ, JR Ewing, Issac's Storm, Tumbleweeds, The Birthplace of Dr. Pepper, The Red River, Steers and uh..well...and most importantly the home of Sheriff Buford T. Justice.

I can't wait.

-T

An apology

I owe someone a sincere apology. There is someone that is special to me. Someone that came along at an important time in my life. A time when I was graduating from College and really looking to move forward into the future. Someone that was a very significant part of my growth and evolution. Someone I met in Charleston, came with me to Columbia and accompanied me to football games, road trips, movies, and just about anywhere else I went. Basically, someone more special to me than almost anyone else I know. I did not treat him very well I must say. I took him for granted. I assumed he would always be there. I didn't care for him. I didn't pay him the attention they needed from me. And then I left for California without him.



I'm sorry buddy. I really am. You were very good to me and I let you down. I ran you down until you couldn't run anymore, then I towed you home and left you in the driveway for 2 years. I'm a jerk. You deserved better than me.

And in that time, I forgot about you. Not only did I forget, but I developed a harsh anti-car political agenda.

I bought you the very day that Star Wars: Episode I came out. I named you The Phantom Menace. I went out and bought a Sun Visor a Steering wheel cover and a University of South Carolina sticker. But it was all downhill from there.

Tonight I watched in sorrow as you were towed away from my house. I am sending you off to find out the extent of the damage I have done to you, and what can be done to bring you back to life.

But I make you a promise. If its not too late, and you're not too far gone. I promise to bring you with me wherever I go. I will never let you down again. I love you man. Come back to me.

-T

Tony Dungy and the Damned Colts

The Colts Lost yesterday. While they managed to make it a close game, they really looked lousy.

Several weeks ago I wrote about how mad I was at Tony Dungy and the Colts. How I thought that played a half-assed game against the Chargers. They couldn't decide if they wanted to go for it or not. They couldn't pick a side. Either go for the record or rest your players. They chose to just sort of play half way and see how it goes. They played like crap, they looked like crap and they lost at home in ugly fashion.

People said that they would ok and that they were still the favorite to win the Super Bowl. I said no. I said that they would not win another game this year.

Guess what. I was wrong. They lost the next week, and in the last week of the season they played lackluster football and beat a lousy Cardinals team by 4 points. Then the played uninspired football against the Steelers yesterday and they got beat.

Today, Tony Dungy has come out and said this season was a failure. Hey T, who do you blame for that? I know his son killed himself, and that is certainly sad. It has no bearing on this however. Look back and see how you handled this team. Tell me what message you sent to your troops back in December. What message did you send when you said things like this? We want to get the record, but our goal is to stay healthy for the playoffs. or We play every game to win but we know the playoffs are what is important.

I think they should have gone all out for the record, but I won't get into that. The point is that he should have committed one way or the other. Not play the "well, we'll see how it goes" game. Either come out and say we are going for it. Or come out and say, Payton and the starters are going to play 3 or 4 series and thats it. No guts.

And now the "season is a failure." Thats not right. I am very unimpressed.

-T

I'm keeping my car

I decided. I'm keeping it. I love it. Its my car and I'm keeping it. Dog gonnit. I had kind of ignored it since I have been here. But I climbed into it today and realized just how much I really like it. I have 1100 bucks to take care of it. There seems to be no reason why I can't make the thing run well enough to take back to LA with me.

Cleaning!!!!!

Another day spent cleaning, another day I feel like I got nothing done. What does it take. I am getting a storage room and shoving all my crap in it this week. Out Out I say. I want no more of this STUFF everywhere. I shall keep plugging away at it this weekend I guess.

errrrr

And to top it off the Redskins lost today.

-T

Ready to Go

I was told today that I would be going to Austin Texas for 3 months and then to Dallas for 3 months. I hope upon hope that this is true. If it is, it will work out very well for Steph and me. And Sonny too.

I am so ready to get out of here. Its been too long. We were only supposed to be here for 5-6 weeks. I accepted staying through New Year's, but I really wanted out at that point.

I am just about ready to get all my stuff out of here. I want everything out. Its time to be, once and for all, untied to my family. I am glad to have this chance to do it. By the end of this weekend. I will have everything ready to go except my car. The car will be the only thing to work on this coming week.

Its almost time to go. Woo Hoo

-T

Building a wall

No, today I was actually building a wall. Physically. At work today, some of the techs and I spent the day building a wall and making one pointlessly large room into two more functional small rooms. Really the other guys did most of the work and I watched and did small tasks. Really, I don't know much about building walls.

I learned one thing though.

Its very easy.

So this leads me back to something that Stephanie and I have discussed a lot. Why does building stuff cost so much. It costs 300 million dollars for just one mile of underground subway. It cost 18 million dollars to build that school that I was working at. Why? Why does it cost so much to build stuff?

The wall we put up today didn't cost that much. 8 sheets of drywall for about 5 bucks each. 40 bucks. about 20 long 2x4s. Not maybe 60 bucks. Some nails, a cool nail gun. Maybe 150 bucks in materials. Then, really, it only required 3 guys for 8 hours. These guys make nearly 20 bucks an hour. But only because they are trained to do much harder stuff. But we will give them that. 480 bucks for Labor.

So this wall cost maybe 600 bucks give or take. Thats really not very much. Now I grant you, its just one small wall. And it wasn't exactly built with perfect precision that might be expected from a high end project. But still.

Cinderblocks cost like 50 cents at Lowes. Almost all of that school was built with Cinderblocks. Now I know you have to pay a guy who is good at laying them down. Electricians, plumbers, tile guys, painters. I do understand that it adds up. But 18 million dollars is rediculous. I simply don't see it.

Can someone help?

-T

Could be Texas

Today I found out that Texas will likely be the spot where Stephanie and I will land. I won't say too much more. We will see.

But I will be here for another week and a half. Thats not so bad. It will give me enough time to finish up here. Take care of all my issues. Clean out my stuff and leave here with no lingering obligations.

That was the goal when I came here, so hopefully I'll be able to do it.

So, we will see what happens.

-T

Customer Service

Over the last week, I have gotten about 4 calls from someone of Unknown ID. Typically I do not answer these calls. However, when I get three or four in a short period, I tend to think it might be important. I answered it tonight, and it was important.

It was a collection agency, calling to tell me that my Utah Power bill was delinquent. Ahhh Utah. It couldn't be Training Table calling to tell me that they overcharged me one day and would I like them to send me a check or a free Double Extreme burger.

This is a mistake I thought and set out to take care of business. First off, I know I paid on the phone in Novemeber when I scheduled the power to be turned off. I checked my bank statement online, only to find out that no payment had been posted. Ok, I guess I do owe them money. But I'm upset that no one ever bothered to tell me. So I called.

Here is what I got:

The Lady I talked to first told me that if I didn't get a statement in the mail, then something must be wrong with the post office. Then she told me that if my payment didn't get posted its because there was something wrong with my debit card. She followed all that by saying that since their company uses and outside company to handle phone payments, then it is "Not our problem."

I was pretty upset by this. No, I was really upset. I didn't appreciate being treated like a liar or an idiot. I asked to speak to her supervisor. He was a delightful fellow who also seemed to think that I was either lying, stupid or just trying to get out of paying my bill.

These people made several mistakes. Starting in November when the guy told me that if I made the payment then, then I would have no further business with them. Followed by not sending me any kind of notice either by email or actual mail and then claiming that they had done both. Then having a third party payment company that did not actually make my payment. The second time that happened by the way.

At this point, what I wanted was for him to say, that he was sorry for what happened and for the way I was treted. I told him this, and his response was "I'm sorry you didn't get the mail" Wow thanks. I feel better now.

I was mad. Very mad. And here is the important part of this story. I didn't want to call back. I just wanted to move on and not think about it anymore. But Stephanie pushed me to call back. I did, on faith. Stephanie is always right about this stuff. And she was right tonight. If I hadn't called back, I would have been grumbling all night long.

but....

I called back and talked to another supervisor. Steph said to make sure that I start by saying I WILL pay the bill. Which I did. I explained what happened in November and what happened tonight. I told him that I did not appreciate how I was treated and that I wanted to know that they appreciated this fact. He said that they did. He apologized to me. He explained that it is unlikely that they would have sent out any mail statements and apologized for that mix up. He stayed on the line through my payment process, made sure it went through and then promised to call the collection agency as soon as I got off the phone. Generally speaking, he handled the situation with a lot of class.

Stephanie was right. She said, just get it done now. No sense in feeling bad the rest of the night. Especially if you have to call again the next night to take care of it. Just take care of it right now. I am glad I did.

In the end, I can't believe those two people talked to me that way. I'm not an idiot, do your damned job. Its not my fault you hate it. Furthermore, believe what I say and take a look at your system and ask yourself "Is this working?" Its not that hard to just do what you are supposed to do. And what you are supposed to do is to be friendly and help people figure out what they need to do.

-T

Stephanie

Stephanie and I argued a lot this weekend. And I hate arguing. One of the great things about me and Steph is that we see the world in very similar ways. We have been living at my parent's house, waiting to get a job assignment. Trying to figure out our future. Its a lot of stress on us. When we argue, its usually because we are just not communicating about something that we probably agree on.

I have been just out of my head lately. I am stressed about family, work and our future. And I get mad and snap at her. I don't know why, but I have just been freaked out lately.

Stephanie gets it. She just gets it. Now she fights me back, and she doesn't take any crap off me. But when we take a minute to be cool, she reminds me of all the reasons why I should calm down.

Tonight she helped me a lot. She helped me to realize things that I really already know. She reminded me of why I got into this business. Because I wanted to live a life that was fun and exciting. She reminded me that while its important to work to get money for our movie, it is also important to make sure we are living the way we want to. I love her. She gets it. I'm so stressed out, and I'm sure glad shes here to keep me moving in the right direction.

Thanks Steph.

-T

Downtown Charleston

Stephanie and I went downtown again today. Hopefully the last time we go before we leave. It was nice. Sans Sonny. We walked down King Street. This is one of my favorite places in Charleston. More so now than ever before. Mostly because its like a real city street. Stores and restaurants and apartments and art galleries. Its wonderful. We had a great time.

If I were to ever live here again, I would not live anywhere other than Downtown Charleston. I used to get all into the Charleston and Vicinity. What I considered to be practical Charleston. It stretched from the beaches all the way to Summerville.

I-526 is a beltway freeway that makes a loop through the city. I have now decided that anything outside of that can fall into the ocean for all I care. I am sick of the suburbs.

Im outta here.

Lets talk about Film Noir

No one understands Film Noir, no one but Steph and I apparently.

Film Noir is not about shadows. It is not about crime. It is not about violence. It is not about bad women. Its not about camera angles. It is not about lighting. It is not about water. (as one person I know thinks it is)

Film Noir is about desperation.

These films were made starting around 1940 and ending in the late 50s. 2 very significant things happened around 1940. World War II began and the Great Depression ended. Most of the world was up and busy. The economy recovered, people had jobs again and things to do. The world was at war. War is an exciting time. I don't mean that its fun, just that it is exciting. People are really worked up. Most of popular entertainment reflected these things.

However, there was a smaller group that felt isolated from these events. Artists who did not really join the rest of the world in coming out of the depression. Some who did not share in exuberance that was being displayed in many parts of the world. They shared a view of the world that was negative and hopeless.

The mood at the core of the film noir movement was born out of this feeling. These movies are about desperate people. They are dark and brooding people. They are bored and without hope. They are miserable in their lives. They no longer see any difference between moral rights and wrongs because they don't think that anything matters anyway. This is why they commit crimes. Because what would be the difference? And at least the crime might shake up their lives in some way that being right would not. Most of their actions are dictated by boredom in some way.

The Maltese Falcon: Bogart is a private investigator. His partner gets killed, and he is almost totally without concern. Why? Not because he hated the guy, but because he simply doesn't care about anything. He gets involved in the case, because that is what he does. He believes he is in love. Because at this point, even a mild attraction would feel like love. In the end he is stuck with a bunch of squabbling thieves. He turns them over to the police, not because he is particularly honest, but because it simply isn't worth trying to get involved in.

Double Indemnity: Fred MacMurray is an insurance claims investigator. He has been doing it for a long time. He is great at it. He is bored and tired and is searching for anything that would make his life more interesting. Not searching particularly hard of course, because that would take desire and effort. Then something falls into his lap. A woman. Together, they cook up a scheme to defraud the insurance company. It eventually goes wrong, she dies, and he confesses before he dies too. He throws away his life because his life is miserable.

None of this has anything to do with lighting or camera angles or crime specifically. But these things are great devices to convey this mood. And it is not enough to just say it is a desperate and hopeless attitude. It is an attitude specific to the during and post war era in the U.S and Europe. The people who made these movies did not set out to make these kinds of movies. They just made movies. They just told stories that represented how they felt. It was only later that these movies were studied and grouped together.

I see all the time how people talk about new Noir Movies just because they are about crime or are dark or mysterious.

The Usual Suspects is not a Noir. Pulp Fiction is not a Noir. Sundance darling Brick, is not a Noir.

There are no new Noirs. But if there were, Fight Club would be closer to one. Because it deals much more with desparity of mankind. Not because its about crime and has some dark shadows in it.

I just wish people would know what they were talking about before they talked.

-T

Another week down

Ok, its been my uh..um..some number week at work and living here in Charleston for 2 full months now. I am so ready to get the heck out of here. I want out. I think today, I may have found out where I am going and when. I won't jinx it, by saying anything, but things may be looking up.

-T

Oh Wow!!!

Ok, just to update. Holy crap-a-moly! What a game. I hate to get all Kurt Warner on the situation but.....that was one of the greatest football games I have ever watched.

First off, its only great because of the importance of the game. Thats just the way it is. Plenty of great games in September just don't mean as much.

But wow. I have been waiting for USC to lose for what seems like forever. I had been favoring Texas over the last few years just because I had contemplated going there for a PhD program. But now, I must say, I think I am going to be a Longhorn fan for the rest of my life.

Hook'em baby!

-T

The Granddaddy of them all.

Tonight is the night. The Rose Bowl. The Granddaddy of all bowl games as some would say. The BCS got one right finally, some others might say. Some others might say that this is the most anticipated game in Football History. I don't know, but it should be pretty darned interesting though. I have been looking forward to this for a while.

As one of the few people that don't want there to be a playoff, I enjoyed this season thoroughly. I took great pleasure in watching the undefeated teams lose games week after week. You get to about 4 weeks in and there are about 8 unbeaton teams. Week after week, they get knocked off. The problem is that ususally there is only 1 unbeaton team at year's end. And then all the sorry 1 loss teams are fighting over that second spot. Last year's problem was that there were 3 undefeated teams.

Most people think this is a big problem and year after year they complain about how bad it is. I don't think its bad year after year. I ll fight over that issue like anyone. But in this case. We got exacly what we wanted. A clear cut 2 best teams playing each other game. So lets put the argument on hold until next year.

This is the Rose Bowl after all.

-T

Hook'em Horns!!

The Tom and Steph Constitution

A little something Steph and I did on New Year's Eve was to draft a constitution for our Movement. It may sound silly, but thats ok. Its what we do. Because Stephanie and I are tired of people not striving to be the best they can be. We are tired of people settling for less than they should. We believe life is for living, and not just surviving. Ourselves included. For that purpose, we wrote this.


We the people of the United Minds, in order to form a more perfect society, establish truth, in sure growth and creativity, and secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United Minds of America


Article I: Integrity
Do that which you claim you will do. Be that which you claim to be. Live a life that is both genuine and true. Treat every action you take, every task you perform and every promise you make as the though the sanctity of your name were staked upon its success. Every word you speak is a promise you make.


Article II: Presence
Be present in the world around you. Let not one moment pass by without your knowledge. Be in charge, take control, direct yourself purposefully at all times. Waste not by lethargy, apothy or timidity one moment better spent in the pursuit of truth.

Article III: Purpose
Seek meaning and substance in your life. Spend the short time on Earth that is yours in the pursuit of accomplishments that better yourself and the world around you. Search for that which exists within you which is creative and true and which serves to enlighten those who exist in darkness.


Whether life exists by accident or by intelligent design, its existance shall be revered as a gift bestowed upon us all. We shall live our lives in appreciation of this gift and in understanding of its importance. We shall utilize for the good of all, the gift of the mind. Think.

New Year's Eve

A little more about my New Year's Eve celebration this year. Or last year I guess. Steph and I tossed around some things we might do, but in the end we decided to stay in. So went out and got a little Champagne and I dug out my collector 2000 Millenium glasses which were never used.



We had a good night. We watched When Harry Met Sally and then had ice cream as we waited to ring in the New Year. As the time approached, I popped the cork on the Champagne

This is something I won't soon forget. I have never done this before, and wasn't sure what to expect. I know this though, it made quite a loud POP sound and the cork fired in the air, hit the ceiling and landed behind the television. Its scared the crap out of me and I am glad no one got hurt. The Champagne was ok. I'm not a huge fan of it, but it was fun.

Steph and I set out to write a constitution for ourselves. Kind of like New Year's Resolutions, but more like mission statement for our Future endeavors. I'll post it tomorrow.

As the time came and the ball dropped (its nice to be in the same time zone as the ball for once) we shared a kiss and promised to make 2006 the best year ever.

It was probably the best New Year's Eve I have ever had. It was a great night, and I feel energized to take on the New Year.

Welcome 2006

Happy New Year everyone. Its 2006. Can you believe that? 2006? I love New Year's Eve and Day. Its a real time of reflection and contemplation. Something that is really needed by a lot of folks. Me especially. So there are two things to do today. Determine where I am now and where I want to be at Year's end. Then to make some specific resolutions.

Resolutions are kind of an overdone thing. They are talked up and made into a big deal, but are usually joked about. I think they are important though. I think this is a time that you can really use to help you better yourself. Most people struggle to do things to better themselves. It can be hard to just set a goal and stick to it. Sometimes, you need a little something to make your resolve stronger. It would be nice to be able to just make a change on its own merits, but sometimes we need more than that to make us stick to it. You know what? Thats ok. Don't worry too much about doing something the right way, just get it done. If it takes doing it this way, then do it this way. This is what I want to work on this year.

Where I am and where I am going.
Something Steph and I talked about was learning to work with yourself. I need to relax a little about fixing problems and make sure I get done what needs to be done. Sometimes its not important to do it the "right" way, its just important to get it done. If last year was about fixing and breaking down, this year is about building up.

I will continue to build a relationship with Stephanie. Last year I broke away all of the nonsense and issues and questions that we had before. This year, I am excited to build something positive and great. We will continue our quest to unlock the secrets of the universe.

The Movie is coming. Stephanie and I will make our movie. It is our dream. No, it is the beginning of our dream. Making dreams come to life is the theme of 2006. And oh by the way, I'm going to see a baseball game at every single baseball stadium this year. Not bad huh?

and now for some resolutions.

I will get in shape.
Not just that. I will run a 10k in under an hour. I will do more than 10 pull-ups at a time. I will have one of those tight hard stomachs.

I will write.
I will write a feature length screenplay on my own. I will organize all projects that I have in my head. I will work on them all and plan which ones can be made and how.

I will learn to speak Spanish
This one I am ripping off from Stephanie. I have always wanted to do it. This year will be the best time, Steph and I can work together on this one and it will make it easier for us both.

I will learn to to be more socially acceptable. I will cuss less. I will dress better. I will eat better. I will learn how to manage the post office and the grocery store and social situations. I WILL ATTEND SOCIAL SITUATIONS!!

These things, and others, are what will make 2006 the best year yet. And next year,when Steph and I are in NY or some other fun New Year's Eve local, I will recap what I have accomplished. It will be an incredible year.

So lets get it on.

-T