---

Dear jolly, old St. Nick,

Where do I even begin?! Not with the presents or anything, but about life in general, I s'pose. 2007's been an exhausting year. A good one, mind you, but an exhausting one nonetheless what with the band, the job, Erin's grad school goings-on, some cool trips, the Nintendo Wii and the plethora of other time-eaters. I've been feeling, erm... mentally short of breath, perpetually trying to catch up with something just out of my range of vision. Thing is, I'm not really sure if it's that I have been busier this year or if it's that my age is beginning to catch up on me. It's a ridiculous fear, that of getting older, I know - especially considering to whom I'm writing, right? I feel it nonetheless... I'd thought myself beyond such concerns, but I guess I'm not. Well...

I must admit, it's been nice having you around all there years. And it's nice to think that you'll be around well before I was born and well after my remains have been burned and simultaneously sprinkled over the shores of Los Angeles and Manila. Myths and legends are fine and all, but interactive ones are the best (if you don't mind me saying so).

Anyway, getting down to brass tacks!

I think I've been a pretty good boy this year, though I've been a ridiculously piss-poor blogger, so hopefully blogging habits aren't taken into account when tallying up for your naughty/nice list.  While Erin and I are running out of room for earthly possessions, there are a few things that'll keep me well amused through 2008:

MY WISH LIST (in no particular order)

GADGETS & TOYS:
A Nintendo DS
Contributions to the Help Jay Give A Guitar A Good And Loving Home fund.

CDs:
The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs 3 CD Set
The soundtrack to Cirque du Soleil's Love
The collector's edition soundtrack to the motion picture Baraka (this has absolutely nothing to do with the Mortal Kombat character)

DVDs:
Hayao Miyazaki's Porco Rosso, Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away
Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira (remastered special edition)
The 20th anniversary release of Tron
The first seasons of Heroes and Lost

Wii GAMES:
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Geometry Wars: Galaxies
Super Paper Mario
Lego Star Wars: the Complete Saga

GAMECUBE GAMES: (yes, still)
Pokémon Colosseum
Capcom Vs. SNK 2 EO

GIFT CARDS:
Sam Ash
Amoeba Music
Nintendo Wii Points (I do love me that virtual console...)

That's about what comes to mind. Erm, clothing is at about the bottom of my list this season as my closet seems to have exploded over the course of the past year. If you can find it in your heart, I'd still love an extra four or five hours in the day. You wouldn't believe how much I'd get done. Anyway, there's a bit too much blood in my coffee stream and Erin is brewing a fresh pot, so I've got to sign off for now. Thanks for listening!

Sincerely,
Jay

P.S. Instead of the usual milk and cookies, this year, I'm leaving you snacks that'll really pick you up as you make your world-wide deliveries: Beej's grandpa's venison sausage (don't smell it) and a six pack of Cave Creek Chili Beer. Enjoy!

---

Whilst checking my sister's profile, I happened upon a video that one of her friends posted in her comments section. The video is that of a British Black Metal band called Hecate Enthroned. The band hails all the way back from the mid-90's and, despite numerous lineup changes, still enjoy artistic success today.

I'll admit this now: I'm not the biggest proponent of Black Metal. I find the music listenable and enjoyable on occasion. I definitely respect Black Metal artists' abundance of vision when it comes to their aesthetic. I even admire their expression of their nihilistic beliefs through their music. However, while the aesthetic of Black Metal can be very effective when done right, there are times when it is not quite accomplished, leading to, erm... captionable results...


So, I'm going to start a few seconds into the video. Here's the image that accompanies the video's title block: menacing eyes in corpsepaint - very Black Metal. Note that the song is entitled "An Ode From A Haunted Wood," an obvious nod to the dark and paganistic themes that pervade Black Metal. Moving on. Let's meet some of the band. Since I don't really know the band, I'm afraid going to have to make this part up. ROLL CALL!



"Abbadon!"



"Zeernebooch!"



"Gollum!"



"Darth Raoul"
By the way, if you haven't noticed yet, take a look at the time index at the bottom right corner of each picture. Note, from the first image above, that this video is seven and a half minutes long. Technically, though, it's only about three minutes long because every other second is taken up by the cameraman taking wild, panning and spinning shots of the titular Haunted Wood...


Which brings me to the most glaring conceptual error I'd noticed in the video: is it just me, or do these look like the sunniest, greenest, least threatening haunted woods? The first time I saw the lush trees and rich undergrowth surrounding the band, I couldn't help but think of fresh woodland smells, pearls of dew hanging delicately on leaves and the harmonius chirping of the green's denizens. This, of course, led me to wondering just what types of troubled spirits would haunt these woods. This really seems more like a place spirits would go to have ectoplasmic picnics during their days off from haunting the usual castle dungeon or rickety victorian home or derelict antebellum mansion or abandoned prison or whatever. Anyway, the video continues with the gang hanging about in the Haunted Woods, presumably partaking in some form of demonic worship or other.


The presence of sinister events is made clear by the ominous waft of what must surely be foul, putrid smelling smoke emanating from...


... a piddly, shot-sized, brass wine cup. I should be calling it a goblet, but that just seems belittling to legitimate goblets the world over. Personally, I find it hard to believe that amongst all the members of Hecate Enthroned, this dinky, little drink tumbler was all they could scrounge up. One would think that one of the guys could've, oh, held off buying a spike bracelet or a pat of makeup in order to invest in a more imposing drinking vessel.

The video cuts to random shots of the band mugging at the camera at this point. Frankly, I didn't find the shots of the band turning dramatically towards and ambiguously glaring at the camera all too engaging... except for this one:



Boy... or girl?
So, opening frivolities aside, it's time to get down to some good ol' fashioned menacing. Menacing, apparently, involves the band taking turns displaying their horrific talents in some sort of Black Metal talent show.


Here's Abbadon showing off his ability to admire a flower despite his constant state of brooding. Observe the intensity of his gaze... the passion wrought on his pasty face... hey, wait a gosh darn minute...


It seems his rapt concentration was actually an attempt to focus his mental prowess in order to set the flower on fire with his mind. I can hear the forces of darkness applauding.


Gollum here has decided to milk the goblet for all its worth and is using it while showing of his mad seething skills. The fire is kind of a cool touch. Gollum thinks so, at least. The look on his face just screams, "My devil horn fingers look like they're on fire. That's sooooo cool!"


Unfortunately, Zeernebooch missed the memo about the talent show and didn't get to prepare any Black Metal pageantry, so he's/she's showcasing his/her impromptu ability to make Harbinger of Destruction faces. C'mon, Boochy, you can do better than that...


... There we go! Good job.


Darth Raoul didn't have too much luck on his part. Bad procrastination habits left him resorting to grabbing a random plank on-site and falling back on the good ol', reliable act of setting it on fire. Oh, the humanity! Add the imposing Halloween store robe to the mix and you've got the very image of a professional-grade lurker. Which brings us to...


... the highly anticipated lurk-off between Gollum and Darth Raoul! The day's lurk-off fell under the category of "Shambling down weather-beaten steps in a back alley by Abbadon's house." The event was originally going to be "Horrifically barreling down a staircase in order to descend upon unwitting prey," but a carelessly placed steel-toed boot punched through the dry-rotten steps during Abbadon's initial attempt. Gollum and Darth Raoul decided to go the more cautious, gingerly route. That's why they're still with us today.


Much to everyone's anarchistic displeasure, the competition ended in a tie - Gollum living up to his namesake through sheer lurking skill; Darth Raoul earning bonus points for the stylin' cloak. Still, a good time was had by all despite the broad daylight and the gang decided to celebrate with some Kool-aid laced with dry ice, served in the ever-popular ritual mouthwash tumbler.

Unfortunately, from here on in, the video degenerates to shots of the band aimlessly tromping through the ambrosial and still very brightly sun-lit Haunted Wood.



A curve get's thrown towards the video's tail end though...


... when a couple of the guys show off their expertise in firebreathing. Oddly enough, while this is the most imposing and truly awe-inspiring moment to occur in the video, it lasts all of a few seconds. Then it's back to panning greenery, spinning greenery, guys with painted faces in black outfits walking through greenery and... more greenery. In their defense, this was Hecate Enthroned's first single, released ca. 1996. The implication is that the video was shot around '96 or '97, long before the advent of cameras that could take adequate night shots or something.


And so, we bid a fond adieu to the boys of Hecate Enthroned. Their field-trip to the Haunted Wood seems to have been fruitful as the band picked up a couple of members along the way. Hopefully, the years of hard living and evil spreading have been kind to these guys. I'd like to think they eventually grew to the point that they could actually shoot videos that were more terrifying rather than terrifyingly goofy. If you'd like to learn more about Hecate Enthroned, check the CD rack at your local library or Montessori school. Until next time, "lived eht ot luos ruoy lles ot uoy tnaw smed eht"...

---

In the spirit of the awards season, I thought I'd reprise my encapsulation of the previous year's notables.  2006 was a roller-coaster year for me.  I say this because I've caught myself using this term quite a bit when reflecting upon my thoughts and feelings about last year.  If you missed or would like to revisit my "Best of 2005" blog, you can check it out here.

I do have a couple of disclaimers for this year's list as well...

One: As with last year, don't be surprised to see things on list that were created or published before 2006. If last year was when I first heard, saw or otherwise encountered it, it makes the list.

Two: Unlike last year, I am including Belle & Sebastian in the runnings.  They've had a stellar year and deserve recognition.

Three: I'd hoped to make last year's list more interesting by setting down a little blurb about each entry.  However, I did't quite have the time to do so. That said, I'm setting my sights more realistically, and will stick to a line by line itemization as oppossed to fooling myself into thinking I'd actually return to the list to add to it later.

Four: I'm doing this at the wee hours of the morning after a pretty long day and I must confes that my faculties are not entirely with me.  Synapses aren't really flaring wild in my brain, and so things will most likely slip through my neural cracks.  Glaring things.  Should these things come a-knocking on my mental door at a later date (say... this morning, when I awake a few short hours later), I might just make an addendum to this blog.

I've not quite scoured my mind this time 'round, rather I'm typing extempore.  I shall attribute that to my unpredictable Cancer personality which flows like water, the nature and disposition of which cannot be predicted by less than occult means.  That and the fact that this is an impulse blog.  Again, if you have a difference in opinion or think I may have forgotten something crucial: reply, reply, reply!!!

THE BEST _____'S OF 2006 (according to the world of Jay Africa)

New Musical Artist
Oppenheimer
Spinto Band
The Clyde
The Modlins
The Gay
Best of the batch: Oppenheimer

Song
Breakfast in New York by Oppenheimer
Opulent Canine by The Gay
O, Valencia by The Decemberists
Sukie in the Graveyard by Belle & Sebastian
World Wide Suicide by Pearl Jam
Best of the Batch: Sukie in the Graveyard by Belle & Sebastian

Album
The Crane Wife by The Decemberists
The Life Pursuit by Belle & Sebastian
Oppenheimer by Oppenheimer
Pearl Jam by Pearl Jam
You Know the Rules by The Gay
Best of the Batch: The Life Pursuit by Belle & Sebastian

Live Performance
The Decemberists at the Wiltern (Los Angeles, CA)
Better Than Ezra at The Galaxy (Santa Ana, CA)
Belle & Sebastian at the Hollywood Bowl (Hollywood, CA)
Oppenheimer at Hotel Cafe (Hollywood, CA)
Pearl Jam at the [Great Western] Forum (Los Angeles, CA)
Best of the Batch: Belle & Sebastian at the Hollywood Bowl (Hollywood, CA)

Movie
A Very Long Engagement
City of God
Transamerica
Little Miss Sunshine
Lady in the Water
Best of the Batch: Transamerica

Book
'Twas a slow year for me on this front , so only four titles make the cut...
Illium by Dan Simmons
The End by Lemony Snickett
Yellowface by David Henry Hwang
Persepolis 2 by Marjane Satrapi
Best of the Batch: Illium by Dan Simmons

Video Game
Rygar the Legendary Adventure
Second Sight
Resident Evil 4
Bully
God of War
Best of the Batch: Bully

Event
Anything and everything related to The MOODS
Living in lovely Burbank, CA
Anything and everything related to East West Players, especially Next Big Bang (www.nextbigbang.org)
Oktoberfest at Alpine Village
A rockin' birthday at the beach
Best of the Batch: Anything and everything related to The MOODS, hands down

And now... a ton of bricks of the sleepy variety seem to have dropped from some unknown height and onto my little frame.  I succumb...

---

Ryan posted this one as a bulletin and it caught my fancy for some reason. I haven't done one of these in a while so, off the top of m' head...

1. I've come to realize that my last kiss... was not near long enough.

2. I am listening to... my computer's fan, just like Ryan. WINGNUT makes about as much noise as a DC-10. Oh, and Simple Kid is playing in the background (see Playing: Music entry below). The current song is Love's An Enigma, but what with Mr. Kid's odd pronunciation of the word enigma and WINGNUT's fan near overpowering the music, it sounds more like he's saying Love's an enema. I suppose there's some truth in both interpretations.

3. I talk... too much. I eat too much. I drink too much. Too much.

4. I love... my wife, my family, my friends, my life, the world in general.

5. My best friend... (s) are some of the reasons I love life so dang much.

6. My first real kiss... was actually quite spectacular, according to and much to the surprise of the recipient.

8. I hate it when people ask... "Africa? Like the country?" Yes. Exactly like the country of Africa. Jeez.

9. Love is... an enema. Seriously though, my own humble opinion of love is that it comes when it comes and if people would just not be so preoccupied in hunting for it, they'd live much more enjoyable lives.

10. Marriage is... definitely not for everyone. I, m'self, am liking it just fine.

11. Somewhere, someone is thinking... about voting for Hillary in '08, hopefully.

12. I'll always... say more than I planned and less than I'd like.

13. I have a secret crush... on every girl that doesn't have cooties.

14. The last time I cried was because... gosh. I can't even remember.

15. My cell phone is... heretofore unnamed. I think I'll call it FlipTop.

16. When I wake up in the morning... I wonder if one of those damn temp companies will call. I've got musician's gear and video games to buy, dammit.

17. Before I go to bed... I play a little Game Boy Advance or read a book.

18. Right now I am thinking about... hmmm. Lunch. Definitely lunch.

19. Babies are... thus far, still a twinkle in my eye.

20. I get on myspace... mostly to promote The MOODS (recently, at least).

21. Today I... got up, went right to WINGNUT and have been there ever since.

22. Tonight I will... spending an evening in with a hobby related to some form of video monitor or other.

23. Tomorrow I will be... doing a bunch of stuff, as usual, some of which include having dinner with the Parents for their anniversary and catching a friend's birthday bash - which, by the way, features the Jennifer Project, whom you should all check out!

24. I really want to be... in a position where I can comfortably pursue my artistic aspirations while supporting my wife's own artistic pursuits.

25. Someone that will most likely repost this is... whosoever feels like it. No pressure. Really.

---

WHOA! According to MySpace, I posted my last blog at 3:11 AM Pacific Standard. That's actually when I started composing it. By the time I was done, it was closer to 3:30 AM.

It's now 4:00 AM PST and my counter says I have 13 views.

I know that two of those are from earlier in the week, so that leaves 11. Granted, on the East Coast, it's 7:00 AM. That still seems pretty early for anyone I know over there to be checking out my blog. Not to mention I don't have that many subscribers over yonder.

If I'm correct, the counter shouldn't count any of the times I looked at my own blog for proofing purposes. Am I wrong about that or did 11 different people just read my latest post within a half hour of its publishing at 3:30 in the morning? If you're still up and/or if you're one of the ones who checked out my blog in the wee hours of the morn', could you leave a comment on this entry? I'm just really curious who out there is, like me, sparring with insomnia or is an early riser.

---

Alrighteethen. Some of you may have noticed a change or two in my MySpace profile. Seeing as the last time I posted a journal-type blog was way back in the June of the aught-six, and that my location, as of the end of January 2007, still said Burbank CA, I figured I was long over due for a blog and profile update. In l'arrangement grand des choses, six months is not a long time. However, in true fashion, quite a lot seems to have happened since I last posted. It won't seem like it since I'll be covering The MOODS in the band's own blog, so hopefully I won't be taking too much space with this one.


The band aside, the most significant things to have happened in the past months are:

• Erin's and my move to Irvine, CA and
• My roller-coaster ride employment at East West Players

Shortly after posting my Burbank photo blog, Erin was accepted into the MFA Directing program at the University California Irvine in the heart of Orange County, California. Orange County - known throughout most of the country as the OC thanks to its night-time television drama namesake - is reputed to be the most conservative county in this Blue state. Lucky us. Personally, I prefer saying that Erin and I live "behind the Orange Curtain" to those who would know what I'm talking about. Socio-political gripes aside, Irvine is actually a rather pleasant little burg. We live about 15 minutes away from some of the most gorgeous beach-side communities to grace Southern California's Pacific coast; the weather is, by and large, more pleasant than that of my long time SoCal home (the San Fernando Valley); and - due to lady luck helping some bureaucratic dice fall fortuitously our way - our on-campus housing is comfortably close to all the areas of commerce in the University. Not to mention we're paying less now to occupy a two bedroom townhouse style apartment than we were for our one bedroom in Burbank – plus all utilities (water, gas, electricity, trash) are included and we get free high-speed internet! If it weren't for that fact that neither Erin nor I have any desire whatsoever to settle down behind the Orange Curtain, it would be kind of tough giving this place up in three years when Erin graduates.

At about the same time that Erin was accepted at UCI, the Marketing Director under whom I was working at East West Players decided to resign and I was offered her position. The job meant full-time employment, benefits and a stable job at a well-respected, nationally renowned and artistically excellent Asian-American theatre company. Unfortunately, along with this opportunity came a 90 mile per day commute (totaling 450 miles per work week, 540 or more for an opening night week) which my wallet nor personal constitution could not abide. I left the company last December, shortly after fulfilling my one-year contract, having worked as Marketing Assistant for about seven months and as Marketing Manager for about five.


It was quite the tough job at times with a deluge of deadlines looming and high expectations to be reached – or, in some case, of which to fall short. The stress was so thick sometimes that one could clutch it in ones's fist like a bag of sand. Still, I miss working there greatly and am extremely appreciative that they gave me the opportunity to experience working with them. I got to do some neat-o stuff like compose professional playbills, facilitate radio and t.v. interviews, get quoted in Reuters, have a picture I took published in a textbook, get to be on a first-name basis with Babylon 5's Tamlyn Tomita...


(oh… my… god…)
... and end up being the person fielding press after the passing of the company's founding artistic director, Mako.


I also managed to beef up my graphic design portfolio while I was there and, as I had mentioned in a previous blog, designed my first professional website - nextbigbang.org. The site will most likely soon be updated to reflect 2007's upcoming events, so click through soon if you want to see the work I did.

Let's see… what else has gone on? Well, for the second time in our fortunate lives, Erin and I picked up annual passes to Disneyland. We live all of fifteen minutes away so we figured "why not?" It was a worthwhile investment, to say the least, and we've gone four times now, finding a new Mickey each time!


Erin and I also took our customary Holiday trip to Massachusetts to visit the in-laws, during which I got to spend time with my brother-in-law's fiancée, Jen. We had a long, lovely conversation on Christmas night and I must say that it's very easy to see why Sean is enamored of her. She's a darling young woman and the perfect candidate for the McBride In-Laws Club.

Back West, I took to the task of decorating our current home and making it overall a more comfortable place in which to reside. I'll get into the photographs and the nuances of our current home in a future blog. I do have to show off one addition to the gadget family: Wiifrica.


Oh, how I do love the Nintendo Wii. For those of you who have yet to get a chance to try it out, I'll mention now that my current MySpace profile pic is of my Mii, little customized avatars that you create and interact with in certain gaming environments. I wasn't able to snag a console during the Holiday shipments so I had to wait until the last weeks of January. I got to Best Buy at about 8:30 in the morning and was already the 24th person in line! The store had about 40 consoles and ended up with a line of 60 or so, so some unlucky folks walked away empty-handed that day. I was not one of them. Of course, Erin and I picked up our little wireless wonder for one game: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.


Gorgeous, isn't it?
Unfortunately, Erin hasn't had time to play, what with her grad studies and all, so neither of us have touched it. I've consoled myself by dowloading Super Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64 into my virtual console.

I've also been preoccupied of late with the phenomenal Final Fantasy XII which has dethroned Final Fantasy VI as my favorite of the franchise. I've noticed that as far as the FF series go, I seem to have the greatest appreciation for the installments that are multiples of three: VI (III in the US), IX and now XII. If the pattern holds, my gut tells me I should pick up a Nintendo DS for FF III and pre-buy FF XV, like, now.

I think that catches things up for now. Thanks for visiting. If you get a chance, check out my band's profile at myspace.com/themoodslosangeles. We played a fantastic gig last week and have a couple more lined up in the next couple of months. Catch us if you can one o' these days!

---

Yes, I actually did post a blog -after about six months of being incommunicado - and no, it won't be the last one for a while. To say the least, the past year has been jam-packed, the latter half in particular. That being said, the year isn't yet over and these last few weeks are shaping up to be just as active as the weeks prior if not more so .

To everyone and anyone I've neglected in the past few months, I give you my sincerest apologies and pleas for forgiveness. I miss you greatly no matter how much of the country or how much of a stretch of water - or how little for that matter - separates us. I'm hoping to take a bit of time off to rekindle fires of communication before 2007 hits. I'm also hoping to post a few blogs recapping my life over the months of 2006 that I missed.

The same goes for The MOODS, too. I really should've been blogging about our gigs, so I'll be posting some retrospective ones on the band profile in the upcoming week or so.

Stay well and take care! I look forward to hearing from you all soon.

---

Dear North Pole Representative,

After working various desk jobs for the past several years, it occurred to me that your workshop may very well be subject to the hierarchic structural paradigm on which corporate America is based. How else could it be a model of efficiency respected and recognized the world over? So, while I'm sure that this letter is not being read by Santa but by some lower level North Pole Letters division employee, I'm totally okay with that. I'd just like to acknowledge the hard work and effort you middle-management and junior elves are putting in for all the children of the world. Peace be with you, my munchkin brothers.

I've been a very good thirty something this year (again) and this year has been very good to this thirty something. Taking up frontmannery has been an absolutely great time, as was working for "The Nation's Premiere Asian American Theatre Company" (visit them online at www.eastwestplayers.org - sorry, old habits die hard). Overall, I'm nothing but stars and rainbows when all is said and done, sitting on my hands in anticipation of what may very well be my favorite time of year.

Anyway, on to brass tacks... here's my wish list for this year. It's not as long as last year's (like I said, the past year has been good), so peruse it at your leisure.

MY WISH LIST (in no particular order)

GADGETS & TOYS:
The Nintendo Wii
Contributions to the Jay Africa guitar amp fund
A high capacity SD Memory Card (1Gb+) or two
An external hard drive with which I can back up Erin's and my laptops/iPods
     (250Gb+ would be nice)

CDs:
Belle & Sebastian - This Is Not A Modern Rock Song EP
The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs 3 CD Set
The Gothic Archies - The Tragic Treasury

DVDs:
Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Delicatessen
Hayao Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle
The Wings Of Honneamisae

BOOKS:
Dan Simmons - Illium
Lemony Snickett - The Unauthorized Autobiography (Hardcover), The End
Jeanne DuPrau - The City of Ember, The People of Sparks, The Prophet of Yonwood

GAMECUBE GAMES:
Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Baten Kaitos Origins

PLAYSTATION 2 GAMES:
Final Fantasy XII
Rygar: The Legendary Journeys
Street Fighter Anniversary Collection

GIFT CERTIFICATES:
Sam Ash
Amoeba Music
Best Buy
H & M
Old Navy

ESOTERICA ET AL:
The job of my dreams
Runaway success for The MOODS
An extra four or five hours a day

IN ADDITION, I SPECIFICALLY DO NOT WANT:
My GameStop membership renewed (I have my reasons)

And there you have it. Thanks for fielding my letter to The Big Guy, whoever you are. Best of luck in the upcoming North Pole softball games or snowball fights or reindeer pie-tosses or whatever you elves do for inter-departmental bonding over there. If you get a chance, send me your Workshop rep ID number so that I can put in a good word for you with upper management.

Until next year,
Jay Africa

---

It recently... erm, very recently... erm, very, very recently occurred to me (as in a few minutes ago) that there is a vast majority of people out there who have not had the opportunity of experiencing my current neighborhood: lovely Burbank, CA. For those unfamiliar with this stretch of Californian land, Burbank is situated just north of Los Angeles, about 12 miles north of Downtown. It lies on the easternmost edge of the San Fernando Valley (one of Los Angeles' major suburbs). Burbank is sort of a suburb itself, but not quite wholly so - at least, it really doesn't feel like one. Unlike the rest of the San Fernando Valley, Burbank is actually an incorporated city of its own, not a part of the city of Los Angeles.

I've grown quite fond of the neighborhood. Thus, while I'm excited about moving to Irvine, I'll also be just a touch heart-broken at leaving our current apartment, which I have heretofore dubbed The Flat on Olive. So, I thought it might interest some of you to get a glimpse of this little slice of Wonderland I - for the time being - call home...



Here's a shot of our central courtyard and pool. The place isn't at all huge, unlike some complexes around here. The number of units total to about 24, in my estimation (I've never taken the time to count). Erin and I will, more likely than not, frequently take advantage of the pool once summer kicks into full swing. Burbank is one of the older neighborhoods in the Valley and this building, like a good amount of the other apartment complexes in the area, hails from... oh, the 1960's I'd say. It's actually one of the more pleasant complexes in which Erin and I have lived. The pool is nice enough, but what this picture doesn't show are the palm trees and Birds of Paradise accentuating the area in which it sits.



This is our cozy-but-perpetually-cluttered living room. I'm actually sitting in the rust-colored loveseat with Wingnut on the coffee table in front of me as I type this. We bit the bullet and picked out some new furniture from Ikea (a mere five minutes away), so now all of our video game systems and assorted media players are finally in one comfortable place under Hamm Sammich (our T.V., the black blob on the right). I managed to land a free CD shelf (not the big one pictured here, but a smaller one added post photoshoot) so Erin and I now have enough shelf space to hold out digital media - another first in our living situation. That over-saturated, white blur on the lower right-hand corner is our beloved calico, Spot, by the way.



Here's Erin standing in our bedroom. Pardon the mess. It's not quite as decorated as either of us would like it to be, but it's still a good place to rest one's head. The leis haning from the footboard are from our honeymoon at the Disneyworld Polynesian Hotel. Surprisingly, Spot hasn't clawed them to shreds (she likes going after dangling things), unlike the pair of Erin's red slippers seen under the bed (which Spot victimizes quite frequently). Speaking of Spot...



Here she is reclining at the foot of our bed one morning. She seems to be enjoying her time here well enough. The way we set our funiture up, there just ended up being a copious number of cat-sized nooks and crannies in which she could curl up and nap. Erin and I will, on occassion, find her in the most surprising of places, sort of like Jonesy from the first Alien film (except without the feeling of terror).  Here's a bit of trivia for you: the red objects hanging on the wall (just above Spot in the photo) are pages of Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer, cut into leaf shapes and washed red.  They were leaves for the tree in Samuel Beckett's Waiting For Godot, the S.O.B. Theatre Co.'s inaugural production.



Here's one of the first things you see coming out of our driveway: an old house from the earliest days of Burbank's establishment. It's actually part of the Burbank Historical Society Museum. Yup, there's a museum just across the street from the Flat. It's a pretty cool one, too, full of historical this-and-thats related to the foundation of Burbank and the film/T.V. industry that eventually called the neighborhood home. Warner Bros., NBC, Disney Animation and Nickelodeon Animation studios are all within a couple of miles from our place (we drive by them at least a few times a week for one reason or other)!



Here's the next thing you see pulling out of our driveway (or walking out the front gate at the far end of the pool pictured above): a Lockheed Starfighter. This is what REALLY sold me on the apartment (besides the decent cost, freeway proximity, appropinquity to Burbank's hip shopping areas, overall charm and layout, etc.) We have a f**king jet plane mounted in the park across the street. It's a hell of a landmark, let me tell you. When giving directions to our place, the schpiel goes a little something like: "Okay... Take this freeway to that exit, hang a left at this street, then look out for the jet plane rising to the heavens. Our apartment is right across the street from that." Believe it or not, some people have actually missed the jet when trying to find our place. Go figure... I took this pic during the Burbank Civic Parade earlier this spring. For those wondering, yes, that is Herbie the Love Bug in the bottom left corner (probably courtesy of Disney Studios).



Last but not least, here's a pic of some of the vintage automobiles on display in the museum across the street. The museum has very limited hours (Sundays, between 11 am to 5 pm, I think) and it only takes about a couple of hours to get through, but it's definitely a couple of hours well spent. After which, one can stroll to the recreation center next door to catch a basketball or baseball game; then, to the senior center next to that for a game of horse-shoes or shuffle-board; or to the 50-seat black box theatre right behind it for a show (if something is playing, that is).

Yep, to top it off, there's a quaint little theatre just behind the museum across the street. In a blazing example of uncanny coincidence, The last two productions that were in there were presented by Asian American theatre companies closely tied to East West Players: 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors (a sketch comedy troup from San Francisco) and Los Angeles' own Lodestone Theatre Ensemble. The Lodestone show was actually directed by East West Players' literary manager! Unfortunately, due to the tech schedule of the show for which I was doing props, I was unable to catch a performance. Hopefully, I'll get an opportunity to catch something else in the space before Erin and I move away...

So, that's Burbank - or, rather, Erin's and my piece of it. It's a far cry from the fast-paced streets of Downtown, but it's home for now; and what a lovely home it is.

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A clump of spit hits the pavement, or maybe a wad of over-chewed gum, or maybe something best not identified here. The clump sits on the sidewalk neglected. It's avoided by the heel of the street-savvy pedestrian, snubbed by the discriminating tastes of the local pigeon population...


 ...and missed by the watery mists of the zamboni-like street cleaner. In time, the dust, smog and exhaust in the air form a layer of grime on this clump. The layer builds, eventually turning the once clear or colorful clump into a hard, blackened spot on the pavement. It's unsightly and incredibly difficult and unpleasant to remove. It's also easy to avoid, tune out, and then eventually ignore.

It's one of the less pleasant aspects of city life, but one that inspired an epiphany in me not too long ago. Anyone who's followed my blog since its inception will no doubt be familiar with my constant bitching about how the past year of my life has gone. Shortly after my grandmothers passing, however, as I was walking through Downtown on my way to work one morning, my eyes happened upon one such blemish on the sidewalk. Upon sight, it occurred to me that little things in our lives can behave just like those clumps of whatsit that develop into unsightly blotches. An unpleasant experience, be it small or large, hits the pavement of your life. You latch onto it (or maybe it latches onto you) and in time other niggling events begin to clump around it, building a layer of malaise that turns into a hard, blackened clump on your soul. Eventually, another thing comes along and starts the process over. Next thing you know, you've got these blotches and blemishes all over the place.


I've got a few of my own, that I wont deny. But seeing that one gob on the pavement that one day reminded me just how important it is to not ignore the personal ones that might accumulate and go unnoticed. Unchecked, such stains can be detrimental not only to yourself, but to the people you love and care for as well. Thinking about things that way, it's even clearer to me now how much I've got to clean house; how much of an effort I not only need to make, but want to make. In the recent past, I've made affirmations to change my outlook in life. I suppose this is yet another. What makes this affirmation different is that each spot on the pavement is a constant reminder.

The faint of heart may want to stop reading at this point.

There's an old, discarded mattress situated in the corner of the parking lot in which I dock my car about three days out of seven. It appeared there... oh, about two weeks ago, I'd say. On it, there's a human-sized shape huddled and completely concealed under a blanket. I'm not sure whether it's a homeless person who calls the parking lot home or an inanimate something'rother under the blanket, but I've never seen it move in the entirety of the time the mattress has been there. There's also a baby-sized bundle in the bushes just outside the parking lot. It, too, has been there for about two weeks and it, too, hasn't moved or been cleaned off. I'll be blunt about this: they don't smell like human bodies or anything, but I'm incredibly freaked out by them. Just the idea that someone might have given up the ghost sleeping out in the middle of the parking lot is REALLY unsettling to me. The concept that an infant may have been abandoned out in the street so nearby is even more disturbing. The fact that the bundles have been there for as long as they have provides me some comfort that maybe nothing is wrong, but I can't bring myself to go find out if something is. Please forgive me, dearly treasured reader, for bringing this up but I've been aching to get this off my chest.

Also, over the course of the past couple of months, I've had the morbid pleasure of watching biology in action. Around the corner from the aforementioned parking lot, a street rat had met its gristly demise on the sidewalk. Apparently, the city's civic cleansing efforts don't quite reach the spot where the rat laid itself to rest. So, over the course of the past couple of months, each time I've walked by it, it's been in a progressive state of decay. I imagine the crows picked out most of the edible stuff first. The remaining husk was then reduced to an empty pelt which flattened itself onto the sidewalk. The pelt then further deteriorated into a featureless mass of kinked fur resembling more a coal-colored fur-ball than the living rodent it once was. I had hope to take photos, but my mind kept working against me. Oh, well.

Thankfully, that's about it for the latest installment.  I just uploaded some new photos into my PhotoBucket account (which you can check out here).  I'll try to post some of the nicer ones in a future blog.  Take care until then, dear reader!