Monday, July 17, 2006
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Nothing will make you believe in the relativity of time like a little bit of a travel. Was it only Thursday afternoon that I left the desert? Was it yesterday afternoon that I wound up at my old office, last night for the service? Then finally eating something? (and why doesn't it occur to me to eat when I'm left to my own devices?)
I was in Austin by Thursday night. Peabo and I dropped my bags, said goodnight to Adriana and hopped over to Kerbey Lane on S. Lamar. The people are all so young inside. You forget out here amongst the families and a-dults that there's this other thing going on. The service is no better at Kerbey Lane now than in 1996 or whenever it was I first hit that location. Peabo, though, has landed himself a beautiful home in my neighborhood of neighborhoods. I'm afraid to ask how he swung that.
He's got a little schnauzer, Homer, and I'd like to say that Homer and I really took to each other, but I sort of get the feeling Homer is a dog who is going to love anybody willing to play with him (not that he's want for attention).
Friday morning was the graveside service. The Memorial Park is lovely in that all-encompassing-green way that the older neighborhoods in Austin tend to be. It's oaks and spanish moss.
Afterward I stopped by Jason's house and then the Wilson's for a few minutes. Then off to my old office on campus at UT where time seems to simultaneously never progress and lurch forward in hops and leaps. They've painted the walls. People have left, people have joined. New furniture. New hardware. New technology. No small amount of jealousy, there, given what they're playing with.
Ran back to Jason's, met up with my parents, Sue and Jason. In separate cars we headed over to the Umlauf Sculpture Garden. And people showed up. Lots of people. Reedo, Larry Lee, a sea of attorneys. I'm still hesitating to guess how many folks.
Afterward, off to Threadgill's with the folks and Sue. Then back to Peabo's where we stayed up until 1:30 AM or so. I miss that with Peabo. If ever a man got my mental wheels spinning, it was that guy. We've been staying up too late since 6th grade, I think.
This morning I was up and out the door before Peabo & Family were up. Wagner picked me up, we hit Maudie's for breakfast, floated around the WestGate area for a while not wishing to wake the guys at Jason's house whom Greg informed us had made a night of it last night, and stayed up entirely too late.
Said my adios to Wagner, met up with the family, had some lunch at Casa G's (I know, I know...) hit the airport. My flight was delayed, which was problematic. You see, last night at 10:00 or so, for some reason The Admiral mentioned that this evening was the 15th. For which I had Lyle Lovett tickets and had completely forgotten.
Long story short, mother nature and ineptitude of both Southwest Airlines and the Las Vegas airport (which had sent my craft) conspired to prevent me from making it home in time. I missed the darn show. Sorry, Lyle.
Now, here was an odd bit about the weekend...
All these folks who have been nothing but a name or some folks I had only heard about in passing... two things.
There's nothing like meeting someone you've never met before and them taking a look at you and saying "I saw you eating Cap'n Crunch!" Or, "We saw you and your brother drinking Jones Soda!" I finally met some folks I'd corresponded with only through this oddity we call the internet. Hello, Diva.
But, but, but... it's not just the League, thank you, Steanso... Over at Adventures of Steanso, my brother dearest occasionally refers to me as "Roundball". The name has no meaning, and was used briefly in reference to a book I read in 3rd grade called, I believe, "Anastasia Krupnick." Anyway, apparently Steanso's Austin based-pals believe my name to be "Roundball". Just as they believe my parents' names to be "The Admiral and KareBear".
Now I mention this as I am now not sure what the future holds.
Jamie and I have decided that in very short order we are placing our house on the market and we're moving back to Austin. If any of you have a job you would like to give me (I require a 6-figure salary, four weeks of vacation, an expense account and a company car), I'm game.
We plan to be back in town before ACL Fest and just as the summer heat is scheduled to break. I want to be back in Austin for a lovely Austin fall, all football games and bright sun and those wonderful Northers blowing through once in a while to remind you that winter will be along shortly.
This has been a surprisingly easy decision, but it's turning into the monumental task that I said it would. But remember what I said back then? No limits. This is the right thing to do, and if I was ever unsure of my choice, the past forty-eight hours has been frought with a thousand whisperings telling me that it's time to get on with it.
So I'm a'coming, Austin, Texas. Me and the whole, darn League of Melbotis. No limits.
So when I get back, and I'm back in my home town, do I have to worry about attorneys on the street leaning out their car windows and shouting "Roundball's back in town!"?
I was in Austin by Thursday night. Peabo and I dropped my bags, said goodnight to Adriana and hopped over to Kerbey Lane on S. Lamar. The people are all so young inside. You forget out here amongst the families and a-dults that there's this other thing going on. The service is no better at Kerbey Lane now than in 1996 or whenever it was I first hit that location. Peabo, though, has landed himself a beautiful home in my neighborhood of neighborhoods. I'm afraid to ask how he swung that.
He's got a little schnauzer, Homer, and I'd like to say that Homer and I really took to each other, but I sort of get the feeling Homer is a dog who is going to love anybody willing to play with him (not that he's want for attention).
Friday morning was the graveside service. The Memorial Park is lovely in that all-encompassing-green way that the older neighborhoods in Austin tend to be. It's oaks and spanish moss.
Afterward I stopped by Jason's house and then the Wilson's for a few minutes. Then off to my old office on campus at UT where time seems to simultaneously never progress and lurch forward in hops and leaps. They've painted the walls. People have left, people have joined. New furniture. New hardware. New technology. No small amount of jealousy, there, given what they're playing with.
Ran back to Jason's, met up with my parents, Sue and Jason. In separate cars we headed over to the Umlauf Sculpture Garden. And people showed up. Lots of people. Reedo, Larry Lee, a sea of attorneys. I'm still hesitating to guess how many folks.
Afterward, off to Threadgill's with the folks and Sue. Then back to Peabo's where we stayed up until 1:30 AM or so. I miss that with Peabo. If ever a man got my mental wheels spinning, it was that guy. We've been staying up too late since 6th grade, I think.
This morning I was up and out the door before Peabo & Family were up. Wagner picked me up, we hit Maudie's for breakfast, floated around the WestGate area for a while not wishing to wake the guys at Jason's house whom Greg informed us had made a night of it last night, and stayed up entirely too late.
Said my adios to Wagner, met up with the family, had some lunch at Casa G's (I know, I know...) hit the airport. My flight was delayed, which was problematic. You see, last night at 10:00 or so, for some reason The Admiral mentioned that this evening was the 15th. For which I had Lyle Lovett tickets and had completely forgotten.
Long story short, mother nature and ineptitude of both Southwest Airlines and the Las Vegas airport (which had sent my craft) conspired to prevent me from making it home in time. I missed the darn show. Sorry, Lyle.
Now, here was an odd bit about the weekend...
All these folks who have been nothing but a name or some folks I had only heard about in passing... two things.
There's nothing like meeting someone you've never met before and them taking a look at you and saying "I saw you eating Cap'n Crunch!" Or, "We saw you and your brother drinking Jones Soda!" I finally met some folks I'd corresponded with only through this oddity we call the internet. Hello, Diva.
But, but, but... it's not just the League, thank you, Steanso... Over at Adventures of Steanso, my brother dearest occasionally refers to me as "Roundball". The name has no meaning, and was used briefly in reference to a book I read in 3rd grade called, I believe, "Anastasia Krupnick." Anyway, apparently Steanso's Austin based-pals believe my name to be "Roundball". Just as they believe my parents' names to be "The Admiral and KareBear".
Now I mention this as I am now not sure what the future holds.
Jamie and I have decided that in very short order we are placing our house on the market and we're moving back to Austin. If any of you have a job you would like to give me (I require a 6-figure salary, four weeks of vacation, an expense account and a company car), I'm game.
We plan to be back in town before ACL Fest and just as the summer heat is scheduled to break. I want to be back in Austin for a lovely Austin fall, all football games and bright sun and those wonderful Northers blowing through once in a while to remind you that winter will be along shortly.
This has been a surprisingly easy decision, but it's turning into the monumental task that I said it would. But remember what I said back then? No limits. This is the right thing to do, and if I was ever unsure of my choice, the past forty-eight hours has been frought with a thousand whisperings telling me that it's time to get on with it.
So I'm a'coming, Austin, Texas. Me and the whole, darn League of Melbotis. No limits.
So when I get back, and I'm back in my home town, do I have to worry about attorneys on the street leaning out their car windows and shouting "Roundball's back in town!"?
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Headed for Austin
I'm taking a flight to Austin this evening and will be staying with Peabo and his lovely wife, Adriana. Peabo is finally paying me back for the 1993/94 era loaned car experiment wherein I let him drive my totally rad Mitsubishi Eclipse on a semi-regular basis. While he's out defending the law on Friday, I'll be free to roam Austin.
What can you say about the circumstances of the trip that hasn't already been said?
It sounds like Mandy has picked a beautiful location for the memorial. My memories of the Umlauf Sculpture Garden consist largely of hauling video equipment around and being asked to chase birds away while we recorded. This, of course, meant I ran up and down a creek bed trying to intimidate grackels into leaving. Five years of college, Leaguers. Five years of college.
Anyhow, please consider the fund Mandy has set up in Jeff's honor.
Jason says:
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to a memorial fund in Jeff's honor. Make donations to the Jeff Wilson Memorial Account, care of Amanda Wilson, at 1504 West Avenue, Austin, TX, 78701. Donations will contribute to some form of charity, but Mandy is still working on deciding exactly how they will be used.
I'm taking a flight to Austin this evening and will be staying with Peabo and his lovely wife, Adriana. Peabo is finally paying me back for the 1993/94 era loaned car experiment wherein I let him drive my totally rad Mitsubishi Eclipse on a semi-regular basis. While he's out defending the law on Friday, I'll be free to roam Austin.
What can you say about the circumstances of the trip that hasn't already been said?
It sounds like Mandy has picked a beautiful location for the memorial. My memories of the Umlauf Sculpture Garden consist largely of hauling video equipment around and being asked to chase birds away while we recorded. This, of course, meant I ran up and down a creek bed trying to intimidate grackels into leaving. Five years of college, Leaguers. Five years of college.
Anyhow, please consider the fund Mandy has set up in Jeff's honor.
Jason says:
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to a memorial fund in Jeff's honor. Make donations to the Jeff Wilson Memorial Account, care of Amanda Wilson, at 1504 West Avenue, Austin, TX, 78701. Donations will contribute to some form of charity, but Mandy is still working on deciding exactly how they will be used.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
I'd like to thank the folks who sent e-mails over the past few days and then yesterday following Jeff's passing.
If you get an opportunity, I'd like for you to do the same for Jason.
If you've been following Jason's blog, like me, you might have been truly amazed by the outpouring of admiration and adoration for Jeff and Mandy.
I'm going to try to be brief this evening, but I want to point out how clearly loved Jeff was by so many people. This list includes folks from high school, college, family friends, co-workers, and even folks who didn't know Jeff outside of the internet, all of whom have taken a moment to remember him.
At Jason's site, more than 30 people have logged in to leave a message.
On the Statesman's site, I lost count of how many folks had left a message, but it goes on for four pages.
Some Leaguers have posted, too.
Sugar and Splice
CBGblog
Maxwell of Cowgirl Funk
Natalie
Distorted Veracity
The broadcast news in Austin has also covered Jeff's story.
KXAN
KVUE
Thanks to Jim for pulling some links for me on this one.
I didn't meet Jeff until shortly before leaving Austin for Phoenix, and thus I'd only see him when I'd pop into town for a few days. He and Jason literally live across the street from one another, and I sort of thought they really needed to build a bridge across the street or some sort of point-to-point pneumatic tube as it occasionally felt like one shared space.
Like a lot of you, I know Jeff largely through e-mail and blogs, and his contributions to Nanostalgia.
and, like a lot of you, I'm going to miss him, too.
We should all be so lucky as to have so many people ready to speak as kindly on our behalf.
If you get an opportunity, I'd like for you to do the same for Jason.
If you've been following Jason's blog, like me, you might have been truly amazed by the outpouring of admiration and adoration for Jeff and Mandy.
I'm going to try to be brief this evening, but I want to point out how clearly loved Jeff was by so many people. This list includes folks from high school, college, family friends, co-workers, and even folks who didn't know Jeff outside of the internet, all of whom have taken a moment to remember him.
At Jason's site, more than 30 people have logged in to leave a message.
On the Statesman's site, I lost count of how many folks had left a message, but it goes on for four pages.
Some Leaguers have posted, too.
Sugar and Splice
CBGblog
Maxwell of Cowgirl Funk
Natalie
Distorted Veracity
The broadcast news in Austin has also covered Jeff's story.
KXAN
KVUE
Thanks to Jim for pulling some links for me on this one.
I didn't meet Jeff until shortly before leaving Austin for Phoenix, and thus I'd only see him when I'd pop into town for a few days. He and Jason literally live across the street from one another, and I sort of thought they really needed to build a bridge across the street or some sort of point-to-point pneumatic tube as it occasionally felt like one shared space.
Like a lot of you, I know Jeff largely through e-mail and blogs, and his contributions to Nanostalgia.
and, like a lot of you, I'm going to miss him, too.
We should all be so lucky as to have so many people ready to speak as kindly on our behalf.
Monday, July 10, 2006
As many of you know, Jeff Wilson has been hospitalized since the evening of July 3rd. It is my understanding that as of today, Jeff has passed.
Jamie and I wish to express our heartfelt sympathies to Jeff's family and his many friends who will all be so profoundly touched by this tremendous loss.
God bless you and keep you, Jeff. We will all miss you so very, very much.
The Austin American Statesman has posted a short article.
here.
Jamie and I wish to express our heartfelt sympathies to Jeff's family and his many friends who will all be so profoundly touched by this tremendous loss.
God bless you and keep you, Jeff. We will all miss you so very, very much.
The Austin American Statesman has posted a short article.
here.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
God bless my brother for being the guy he is. I don't know how many of you have been following his blog over the past few days, but he's been up at the hospital in Austin standing vigil with Jeff Wilson's family as Jeff continues to fight for his life.
I've done my fair stints in a hospital, but nothing, absolutely nothing, is like what he and the Wilsons have been going through. I love that guy, and I wish I knew what I could do to help him out.
Sorry, ya'll, but right now Jeff, Mandy and Jason are on my mind quite a bit.
What else...?
Did anyone else watch the two final World Cup games? Nerve wracking. Absolutely nerve-wracking. Both games. Well, Germany won pretty decisively, but if you watched the game... Heck of a game. Germany deserved their win, especially at home. I was rooting for Italy in the Italy/ France final, mostly because France had the 1998 Cup and I've come to really like Italy's goalie over the course of the tournament.
I have no explanation for Zidane's headbutt. I confess, it was kind of awesome, but I was left with a huge questionmark floating over my head. No matter how angry I've ever become, it has never occured to me to hit someone with my head. Who does that?
Went and saw "The Devil Wears Prada" today rather than brave the maddening crowds in attendance to see Pirates. "The Devil Wears Prada" is not a movie for fashion-impaired dudes, like myself. Honestly, my RTF Narrative Strategies training was going into the red zone for a huge chunk of the movie, and I went into "dissect the movie" mode for the first hour, eventually wearing myself out and just giving up.
The movie is the sort of morality play that's possibly worth seeing for folks ages 18-24, but once you've actually gotten that first job and realized "my boss is an autocrat, and what I think is largely irrelevant", a lot of the movie just doesn't have much of a lesson to share (and it most certainly exists to share exactly that lesson). I had a laundry list of issues with the film, but I won't go into that here.
I will say I never thought the movie did a good job of ever explaining why anybody should care about fashion, and I think that was a major failure of the film. Yes, they explain how fashion eventually trickles down to stores like "Fashion Bug", but it mostly told me what I already know about why the stuff on the rack is there. They never made it sound any less silly than I always suspected the process to be. The rest is largely like most 80's "it's not all about professional success" movies where Michael J. Fox realized financial wealth isn't worth it when you hurt the ones who care about you.
That said, both Streep and Anne Hathaway were okay, although I think Anne Hathaway was getting away with just being pretty an awful lot, but, hey... that's what the movie celebrates even when it's decrying all that.
Anyway, enough.
Ya'll keep Jeff in your thoughts and prayers. And Jason, too.
I've done my fair stints in a hospital, but nothing, absolutely nothing, is like what he and the Wilsons have been going through. I love that guy, and I wish I knew what I could do to help him out.
Sorry, ya'll, but right now Jeff, Mandy and Jason are on my mind quite a bit.
What else...?
Did anyone else watch the two final World Cup games? Nerve wracking. Absolutely nerve-wracking. Both games. Well, Germany won pretty decisively, but if you watched the game... Heck of a game. Germany deserved their win, especially at home. I was rooting for Italy in the Italy/ France final, mostly because France had the 1998 Cup and I've come to really like Italy's goalie over the course of the tournament.
I have no explanation for Zidane's headbutt. I confess, it was kind of awesome, but I was left with a huge questionmark floating over my head. No matter how angry I've ever become, it has never occured to me to hit someone with my head. Who does that?
Went and saw "The Devil Wears Prada" today rather than brave the maddening crowds in attendance to see Pirates. "The Devil Wears Prada" is not a movie for fashion-impaired dudes, like myself. Honestly, my RTF Narrative Strategies training was going into the red zone for a huge chunk of the movie, and I went into "dissect the movie" mode for the first hour, eventually wearing myself out and just giving up.
The movie is the sort of morality play that's possibly worth seeing for folks ages 18-24, but once you've actually gotten that first job and realized "my boss is an autocrat, and what I think is largely irrelevant", a lot of the movie just doesn't have much of a lesson to share (and it most certainly exists to share exactly that lesson). I had a laundry list of issues with the film, but I won't go into that here.
I will say I never thought the movie did a good job of ever explaining why anybody should care about fashion, and I think that was a major failure of the film. Yes, they explain how fashion eventually trickles down to stores like "Fashion Bug", but it mostly told me what I already know about why the stuff on the rack is there. They never made it sound any less silly than I always suspected the process to be. The rest is largely like most 80's "it's not all about professional success" movies where Michael J. Fox realized financial wealth isn't worth it when you hurt the ones who care about you.
That said, both Streep and Anne Hathaway were okay, although I think Anne Hathaway was getting away with just being pretty an awful lot, but, hey... that's what the movie celebrates even when it's decrying all that.
Anyway, enough.
Ya'll keep Jeff in your thoughts and prayers. And Jason, too.
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