Leftovers Are Part Of The Season

      Rainy day in otherwise sunny southern California. It’s nice, we can use it. I especially like it because it should have been a watering day for me anyway, and now, since it’s rained, I don’t have to waste the water. It is weird though, to need the light sitting here at 3 pm. My eyes are not what they once were, and it’s becoming overly apparent that low light contributes to the lack of vision. For some reason, I still always try extra light first, when I’m having trouble seeing. More light usually helps, but I find myself often wondering why I don’t just get my glasses. Sometimes I’ll grab something, to look at the directions, or ingredients, and I laugh to myself out loud: “Yeah right, like I can read it.” The struggle is real my friends. Old age seems like such a distant dream, until you’re wrapped up in it. I’m starting to feel old, I can’t imagine what people my parent’s age feel like. I got to spend some time with them over the holiday weekend. It was nice. The first 10 years of my relationship with my wife, they lived on the East Coast, so we didn’t really see them very much. Then, when they moved back to California, they were up in Ridgecrest, which is about a 4-hour drive from here. We were always glad to get to go see them. They had a cool house, and it was a nice little road trip vacation for us. So, for years, that’s what we did on the holidays, drive up and spend a few days with them. Now, even though they only live 7 miles from us, we still have kind of kept the tradition of spending days together. It’s fun to stay up late playing games, and wake up and start grilling, not having to worry about driving anywhere. Plus, it’s suspended reality for my wife and I, as if we are on vacation. And I’m sure it helps them too, because they finally have some company.

     Also, I think the staycation gets more intimate in a way. When you meet people for dinner, a lot of times I find it can be kind of superficial. You only have a limited amount of time. Usually, different people have a lot to say. You spend so much time catching up, then eating, then it’s kind of over, and you’re back on to your busy life. When you spend extended time with people, it gives a chance for the underlying things to float to the surface. After you’ve already talked about all the small talk, and catching up, then real things can be discussed. They don’t always, of course, but I think it makes it more plausible when you have what can seem like a lot of time with each other. We usually make a menu for the weekend, and it gives me time to play with all of their gadgets. I don’t even know how much they actually cook, but they love to buy kitchen gadgets. Going over gives me a chance to play, and them a chance to see how their wares actually work. It’s mostly fun. It’s usually delicious. This year we got the turkey carcass from Thanksgiving, and I made a stock out of it. While that was brewing, we had bought some turkey breasts to put in the smoker. One of those breasts made it into the stock, and I made Smoked Turkey Pozole. It was delicious. I just finished up the last of it about an hour ago, I already wish I had more. One of the other breasts became turkey sandwiches. Delicious! Something about juicy smoked turkey, that just sets a sandwich apart. I had also made guacamole. I seriously think I could have won a competition with this batch. I used it to make an Avocado Turkey and Cheese sandwich. My mind was blown. I almost cried. Over a sandwich! It made me wonder why we don’t do that more often. I literally love it.

     The soup was a hit. I picked it because my sister said she had never had pozole before. There are certain things, soups mostly, that she will only try if I make them. So, when I have a chance to try something new, and open a mind or two, I’m all in. It was a success. The next day we got to watch football, and eat up the leftovers. That night we used another smoked turkey breast for a dish we call “pinwheels.” They are kind of like a cinnamon roll, but with turkey. Although, my mom wasn’t feeling up to it, so we really just put this smoked ground turkey gravy over biscuits. It turned out delicious! It felt a little weird, because we invited my mother-in-law over for pinwheels. But that’s not really what she got. I think she liked it. But I think she appreciated the company most of all. It was just a little awkward because we didn’t even find out that my mom wasn’t going to be able to do the cooking until my mother-in-law got there. All of a sudden, my wife and I were thrown into the situation where dinner was on us! It wasn’t that big of a deal, I just wish we had known sooner than 20 minutes before dinner. I like cooking, I’m willing to do all the work, I just need to know ahead of time. It was a little awkward, but it came out fine, and I’m not sure we’ll be doing the actual pinwheels again. Sometimes they can be a bit dry, since it’s basically biscuit dough wrapped around a bunch of ground turkey filling. Then smothered in gravy, which I also smoked by the way. Dinner was a success. Then we packed up our stuff and were on our way. It seemed like we were leaving with more than we came with, but that’s okay, it all fit in our fridge. I barely had to buy any groceries this week, and we’re eating like kings. Leftovers are part of the season!

Thankful Friday

      Black Friday! I won’t be doing any shopping today. Well, maybe at the liquor store, but I doubt they’ll be having a sale. I don’t really get the whole Black Friday thing. Thankful one day and greedy the next? It seems like such a bunch of corporate hogwash. Plus, I can’t believe people would want to wake up early and deal with all of that. It seems like such a sham, and people seem to just eat it up. Also, now that we’re having Black Friday Weekend, and Black Friday Month, it seems to have lost a little of it’s umph. I wonder if people ever even stop and think why they call it “Black” Friday? It feels like such a slap in the face for them to lower their prices just to help them get into the “Black.” They artificially raise their prices all year long, that’s what I see. I don’t understand why more people aren’t bothered by the fact that prices could be lower all the time. You’d probably sell a lot more, a lot more often, if your prices were reasonable regularly. Now I have suspicion that some people are probably putting off large purchases until “Black Friday.” It makes me wonder if the stores know ahead of time what they’ll place on sale, or if they wait every year to see what didn’t fly off the shelves, and put their overstock on sale. I don’t know, it doesn’t really affect me, I wouldn’t be shopping today anyway. I only really know anything about it because of all the commercials. And, I don’t really like being negative, but it makes me wonder about my fellow humans. It concerns me that they would want to spend their time doing that. It concerns me that people seem to be these pawns in this corporate game, and they don’t even see it. It concerns me that corporate greed is so prevalent that they put these games together to help themselves, all the while convincing these pawnish consumers that they are the ones who are in fact being “helped.”

     Sorry, I really don’t like being “Daughn the Downer,” but I do dislike things, and sometimes, maybe more often than not, it’s things that other people do like. Especially because I really like Thanksgiving. I think Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I like the food. I wait for it all year. I like that there’s no religious connotation. I like that there aren’t gifts involved. Hanging out, having food, and being thankful. That’s my jam! But when they start adding consumerism into everything, it kind of bums me out. The world is not going to stop if we take one weekend off from the constant barrage of “buy, buy, buy,” and just be thankful. Plus, I take thankfulness very seriously. I think way too many of us are not thankful enough. I feel it’s important to remind ourselves of that. I wish it happened more often, although then it might not be such a big deal. It needs to be made a big deal. We have so much more than so many people, and it just feels like Thanksgiving, the actual giving of thanks, is being overshadowed by binge shopping and crowded airports. Now a lot of people are getting a 4-day weekend. So, people trying to get ahead of the game are now leaving early, practically giving themselves a 5-day weekend. Are we heading towards Thanksgiving Week? If so, are we going to actually spend that time with our friends and family being thankful, or are we going to spend most of that time traveling and shopping, and still only have 1 good meal? Some people seem to treat the holiday with some kind of obligation. Families fight. Not mine. Things you can’t talk about. Why go? I’m so glad that the people who attend our Thanksgiving are genuinely glad to see each other. We are actually happy to be there with each other. And yeah, there are a few things I probably wouldn’t say to my mother-in-law, but it’s out of respect.

     We had a good time. The food was excellent. I was glad to get to spend time with our daughter. She works so much we don’t really get to see her that much. It was a little awkward again because it was basically my family and my mother-in-law. At her house! No football. She doesn’t have cable. That’s okay. We focused more on conversation. It just left me curious. My mother-in-law has a live-in boyfriend, it still feels a little weird to say that about people in their 60’s. He didn’t stay. I’m not bothered by that. There were actually a couple of incidents recently that made me think that I’d have to watch my tone around him. I had this imagination of me letting him know how I felt during the prayer. But I instantly knew that would not be cool, so by the time we got there, I had already reserved myself to letting it go for this holiday. But, it did get me wondering, would my mother-in-law have gone with him if we weren’t coming over? The whole time we were eating, well maybe not the whole time, but often, I found myself wondering: if we weren’t there, would she be alone? There’s some weirdness about their relationship, especially as it relates to his family. I don’t know, I don’t ask, I’m not sure answers would be given. I’m not sure answers are known. She would definitely be invited to my parent’s for Thanksgiving, so I know she wouldn’t be “alone.” But still, that seemed like a lot of work to do for other people. I know she likes to cook. I know she likes a full house. However, I found myself wondering: did she do all of this, just for us? I wasn’t sure if she turned down her boyfriend’s invitation. I don’t know if she got an invitation. The only person I can talk to about it is my wife, but she doesn’t have that much information either.

Finally Getting To Be On TV

      Well, it finally happened, my episode of Justice with Judge Mablean aired yesterday. I had been waiting a while. I’m sure I must have told you, but in case not, here’s a little recap: Back in the beginning of June, I went up to LA and was cast in an episode of Justice with Judge Mablean. It was pretty fun. I had no idea who she was. While we were waiting for our turn to perform, another actor looked her up on his phone, so we were able to get a feel for what we were in for. I had tried to look her up before I left, but I was having trouble. It worked perfectly for my scene partner, and we both seemed glad to get a little research done. My scene partner had never done any acting before, not even improv. Which is basically what the whole show is about, you have to improvise, there are no “lines,” you just get a basic story line, and then use your imagination. My scene partner, not having much experience, was not getting the gist. They told us if he didn’t get on board, we’d get bumped. We got it together. While filming, I thought I messed up. The judge seemed to get mad at me, there was a lot of back and forth, which is what they told us they wanted. The judge stormed out, then came back in to yell at me some more. I thought I fucked up. My scene partner didn’t really interact that much, so I didn’t think it was his “fault.” Then our producers came out, and they were excited. They said it was one of the best scenes they ever had. They said getting her to come back out was like striking gold. They did a very good job at making us feel like we nailed it. I relaxed. As we were leaving, they gave us some paperwork, and told us that it should be airing in 6-8 weeks. Well, that was back in the beginning of June, 20 weeks ago!

     I know the process takes time, and any time I hear 6-8 weeks, I automatically assume it’ll be 8. So, I thought I’d see something close to the beginning of August. They told us not to contact them, and they gave us some websites that we could look on to find our episode. I’ve been checking 3 times a week since July! At first, like I said, I thought they were just dragging. I don’t know if the writer strike affected them. All I knew was that they weren’t putting out any new episodes. Then, around the middle of September, they put out some new episodes. And one of the episodes coming out just happened to be the case that was filmed just before mine. I was excited! I figured if an episode shot the same day as mine was airing, mine had to be soon. But I kept waiting, and kept checking the site. I started to get discouraged. I thought maybe I had screwed up. Maybe we didn’t do that good. Maybe my scene partner hadn’t interacted enough. Maybe it didn’t make sense. I don’t know, all kinds of things were running through my head. I kept checking the site, but I started to get bummed, and started to really feel like it wasn’t going to see the light of day. Then, all of a sudden, last week, I saw it! My episode was on the list! I was going to get to see it! I was finally going to be on TV! I even checked my TV guide to verify, and it was on that list too! I let my friends and family know. It came on yesterday at 6 am, 11 am, and 6 pm. I watched all of them. I wasn’t going to watch the one at 6 am, but my wife wanted to see it before work, so we got up early to watch. It’s weird seeing yourself on TV, most people are never filmed with those cameras.

     People are often surprised at how they sound when recorded: “Do I really sound like that?” I think the same kind of thing happens when your filmed for TV. You couldn’t tell I was wearing make-up, but I knew. I know I don’t look like that on the reg. It’s funny because on the day we shot, I did forget I was wearing make-up. Then, when I got home, and went into the restroom, and saw myself in the mirror, I was reminded. I did look different. But watching the show yesterday, you would not have known, and anyone who watched it would not know that I generally have a red hue. Shocker: I thought I did great! I spoke well, it seemed like I knew what I was talking about. I gave a lot of emotion. I thought it went great. Although, there are a couple of things worth mentioning: 1) I think the show itself is kind of stupid. When I did my little research, and then watching the show 3 times yesterday, it’s a dumb show. I found myself sitting there wondering who would want to watch this? Especially since it’s on a channel with all shows like that! There is enough draw for this type of entertainment that they have a whole channel!? I don’t get it. I had fun doing it, but I do not see the purpose of those types of shows. Even when I got the story synopsis, I thought the case was stupid. 2) They cut out a lot! I suppose they know their audience better than I do. We filmed straight through for 12 minutes. On the day of the shoot, they made it seem like that was amazing. In real life, on the TV, with the commercials, they probably only used 6 minutes. You couldn’t tell watching it. It seemed well done. I was just surprised at how tame they kept it. They didn’t use any of the parts that I thought made the episode special. Oh well, I’m not their audience.

No One Ever Overwonders

      It’s hard to believe that there are less than 8 weeks left of the year. 7 more of these and I’ll have made it the whole year! I am excited. Last night we were talking to some of the people from ASAP about when I took my comedy class. I couldn’t remember how long ago it was. After some brainstorming, and a quick look through some phones, we figured out it was May of 22. Just last year! It was hard for me to get my mind around. I started trying to do the math in my head, and it all worked out, it was just hard for me to believe. A lot has happened in this past year and a half. I’m not going to go on some tangent about everything that has gone on, I’m sure there’s one of those coming up anyway. It was just a strange moment for me to realize how long ago 18 months can feel. I think I usually feel the opposite. I come to realize that something happened a while ago, and I feel it was just like yesterday. This was not the case. Even as I sit here now, it feels like a long time ago. Oh well, our brains do some pretty crazy stuff. Perception is a trip. And usually people say things like: “Time flies when your having fun.” But I don’t hear the opposite of that mentioned very much. Not to say in anyway that I haven’t been having fun, but it does make me wonder. Wondering is practically a hobby of mine. I know a lot of times people tell you to try not to “overthink” things, but I think wondering is a bit different. Wonder is a lot more exciting. I think a lot too, which is how I feel I am able to provide a distinction. “I wonder what will happen if I do this,” whatever “this” is, is a lot more exciting than overanalyzing a hypothesis before beginning.

     The Calvin’s show last week was pretty fun. But, at the same time, it was kind of lame. The venue we played at is a thrift store by day, and a venue at night. We got there early, and got to look at some of the stuff. They have a lot of music gear. Apparently they give lessons there, so it’s kind of a thrift store, music school, venue. It’s also an all-ages venue, so, from what we heard, a lot of kids hang out there. It’s kind of like a hub for them. If it is, it was not that night. Which seemed odd, because it was a Friday night! That’s usually one of the “go out and do things” days. There weren’t any kids. Even the guy who put on the show didn’t bring his kids. I was stunned. Our guitar player brought a couple of his nephews, but that was it. My thinking was that kids must only show up there to see their friend’s bands, and not a bunch of people their father’s age. It felt weird. We thought the whole point of playing there was to expose ourselves to a bunch of young people. Wait, that didn’t come out right, but I’m leaving it in, because I think it’s funny. We wanted to get exposure to a new audience, but we ended up playing to the usual 15 or 20 people that we know. At one point I asked the crowd if anyone in there had just walked in randomly. 2 people raised their hand. They seemed to be having fun. But yeah, 2 people. Oh well, maybe that’s 2 new fans! There was also a $10 cover. My wife was hanging out in front for a little bit, and she said a lot of people were curious about what was going on inside, but they didn’t want to spend the $10. Which I get, I guess. I don’t know that I’d want to spend $10 on some mystery event.

     We played well, and the pictures look cool, but I don’t see us playing there again. Last night was kind of interesting. I went and did a stand-up performance for what was supposed to be a storytelling class graduation. The ASAP program, that I mention from time to time, teaches a lot of classes. I knew I got the invitation to perform because they needed extra people, but it was ridiculous. Apparently, the storytelling class only had 1 student. 1! There was practically nobody there. Well, maybe 15 or so, but most of them were affiliated with ASAP. I brought 3, the graduate brought 3, and there may have been about 3 others. The graduate, and his 2 teachers, performed their stories. It was interesting, in a way. The crowd was receptive, that was the best part. Then they had a woman read a story she had written in one of ASAP’s creative writing classes. Then they had a guy get up and do some very angry spoken word. It was pretty intense. Supposedly he’s listed as one of the top 25 best spoken word artists in America. I couldn’t really tell what he was saying, but he seemed like he meant it. There were a lot of syllables in his performance. I don’t even know if they offer a spoken word class, but he went for it. They were having trouble with the microphone. The storytellers didn’t seem to care. They were all very soft spoken, but I guess it kind of went with the big warehouse feel of the “theater.” The “comedians” seemed to be a little off put by the lack of a microphone, but they pushed on anyway. When we first got there, I was stoked to see a cordless mic. I like to move around on stage, and the cord can be a nuisance. But not having a mic at all? I liked it. I thought it was freeing in a way. I was unhindered. People responded very well. It was cool to perform with all of the different art forms.

Mid-Week Mix-up

      Wow, I swear before I sat down, I had all kinds of things to say. Then something happens when I see the blank screen, it all goes away. I usually try to think of something clever to start with, and I think that’s where it falls apart: trying to be clever. As I’m sure you can tell, it hasn’t really happened yet. I usually decide to just go for it anyway. Start, and something will happen. Perhaps next week, I’ll just jump right in, if I can remember that I thought that. So, there are a couple of things worth mentioning. I know I was telling you last week about my dilemma with Halloween. I decided not to say anything to my singer. It’s their business. I mentioned it to the Eruption guitarist, and he agreed, I should not get involved. The Calvins had practice last night, and Halloween didn’t even get brought up, so I imagine everything worked out fine, everyone seemed in a good mood. As for the party we attended, it was fun. The house was a little difficult to find, but we made it. I actually thought we were running late, but it turned out we were some of the first to arrive. Ironically, we just happen to be dressed like some of our friends! My wife and I dressed up like skeletons, and when we got there, another couple we know were dressed like skeletons too. There were jokes about the “memo.” It was fun, everyone was very welcoming. My guitar player, whom I met all of them through, did show up, so that was nice. Although we didn’t really seem to need the comfort, it was like we were with our friends. I guess we were. I don’t know why I still get hung up on them being “his” friends. Anyway, the party was fun. As for Halloween, we usually go somewhere to avoid trick-or-treaters, but this year we didn’t really feel like it, so I bought a bag of candy to pass out. We didn’t get a single trick-or treater! We’ve been dodging for no reason!

     The Calvins have a show tomorrow. I’m kind of stoked, but at the same time, we have a much bigger show on the 17^th, and I’m much more excited about that. That is the one that we need people to show up for. The show tomorrow is at an all-ages venue. Which can be cool, I’d love to get a young following, but screaming cuss words in front of children always seems a little weird. I suppose their parents must know what they may be exposed to. We’re playing with some friends of ours, who have teenagers, so it should be cool. Supposedly this place is a place that kids just love to hang out at. I guess it’s a thrift store by day, and a music school/venue at night. It should be fun. Supposedly they have a cool bass rig I can use. I love that. Traveling light is my favorite. I like my cabinet, don’t get me wrong. But, not having to carry anything is better. Although now I have to kind of re-think my tomorrow. I feel like I have to re-think a lot. My whole week is out of sorts. It’s weird how that can happen. The Calvins usually practice on Tuesday, but this week it was yesterday. So, all morning I’ve been confused as to what day it is. It feels “off.” Then, they changed our trash day. We didn’t even get notice! Last week we didn’t even get our trash out on time because we had no idea. How do you not tell anyone!? So, last night, I noticed other people putting their trash out. I guess they got the “memo.” I thought I’d get to it later today, but then I heard the trash truck, so I rushed to get it all out. Turns out it was only recycling, we’ll see what happens later. Trash day used to be Friday, so again, I’m like: “What day is it?” Now, Eruption practice has been cancelled, and I have to think of something for dinner, on a Thursday! What the…

     I’m sure I’ll come up with something. I often buy little things just in case such a situation arises. And now it has! But I have to think about it, jeez. At least I have time. Kind of! Another interesting thing occurred recently. I had notice that the Armed Services Art Partnership, which I thought I was a part of, was having another comedy class graduation, and again I was not invited. I was a little butt hurt, I won’t lie. They did send me a personal invite to perform tonight, which I was kind of happy about. But it’s in North County, and I was supposed to have band practice. When I got that invite, I was stoked. However, right after that, I noticed the graduation gig. I was like: “What the…” I had this whole discussion in my head about how left out I feel, and that we’re not really a “community.” Which is what they keep trying to sell it as. Maybe I’d be more in their thoughts if I went to more of their shows. But North County is kind of far. And then, within a day or two of this imagining of mine, I got an email. It came from the Director of ASAP, asking me if I would help out with one of their other graduations. They teach all kinds of classes, and they are finishing up a storytelling class. Apparently, it’s a pretty small class, and they need other people to try to help fill up the night. In a way, I kind of felt that my thoughts were heard. It seemed such strange timing that I was just wondering why I don’t get asked to perform at a major function, and then “boom,” I get asked. It’s not at a comedy club, but that’s okay. I’ve always felt more like a storyteller comic anyway, so I may fit right in. I just hope I don’t have to go before, or after, someone with a sad story, awkward! But now I have to write some new material! It’s next Wednesday!