We have all been Flight of the Conchords fans for almost three years now (even before their HBO show) and last night finally saw them live. Our seats weren’t the worst, but only by one row. I should have been on the ball about getting tickets but waited a couple hours too long. They sold out fast.

The Seattle Times Review was spot on. I found it hard to understand at times because of the acoustics at the Paramount, but not enough that I’m going to write them (the Paramount, not the Conchords) nasty emails about it. Bret and Jemaine were off the charts hilarious.

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Aubree (my 17 year old daughter) and I are nearly 90 days away from our trip to Europe. Like Curtis last year, this is her trip. Mikayla still isn’t sure where she wants to go (I promised them each a trip one-on-one with dad). It hasn’t been easy to follow through, financially, but it’s working out. And based on my experiences last year with Curtis, it is one of the best investments of time and money I have ever made.

It has been stressful to plan this one. I knew South Africa: what to do, where to go, how to get around…last year took a lot of planning, but at least it was easy in the sense of deciding what to do. All I know about the Italy trip is that we’ll land in Rome and fly out of Barcelona 12 days later. Buying the tickets is the only concrete planning I’ve done so far. We picked up some library books, researched online, and have ideas…but I’m not prepared.

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Last year I searched for this book. I didn’t know it’s name, the story, or the author but I scoured Amazon and my library database for an adventure about the African bush that Curtis and I could read as we prepared for our trip. I never found it, but better late than never…right? A friend of mine suggested I check out the author Laurens van der Post, a South African author fascinated with the Bushmen.

I started reading “A Story Like the Wind” and was hooked me with the tale of a fourteen year old boy growing up in the early 1900’s on his family farm in the heart of wild South Africa. The savage unsettled land is filled with wildlife, African folklore, and an earthy spirituality that carried me far away from traffic, work, and paved streets. But I sensed more than just a story and felt that there was something to this author. The spirituality of the African veld, the intimate details of people and animals, and the compassion of his characters suggested to me that Laurens was more than just a South African who, himself, had grown up in the early 1900’s in rural South Africa.

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It’s not easy for me to convince three teenagers, simultaneously, to sit down and watch a movie as a family. I have to use every ounce of my parental influence to get them to “just try 10 minutes.” If after 10 minutes they lose interest, they bail and I don’t protest. Based on the trailer, I had a hunch we’d all really like this show. I was so right.

Catinca Untaru, a six year-old girl from Romania, steals the show. Children are, generally, inherently cute but poor directing, filming, or lame attempts to exploit our tender emotions for kids can make me hate a movie. I read that in many scenes of The Fall cameras were hidden to help Cantinca feel spontaneous. Many of the scenes diverted from the script but the filming continued. The result is dialogue that reveals innocent misunderstandings, child-like questions, and some of the sweetest humor I have ever seen. The story is wonderfully creative, bizarre at times, and full of color and dreamlike scenes.

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I wrote this back in 2000. It is so comforting to look at how much life life has changed in the past nine years. I still struggle with depression but nothing like it used to be.

The marriage stayed in tact four more years after writing this entry. The aftermath and confusion of my divorce twisted my body, mind, and soul in ways that changed me forever. My life now, with a woman that is truly an ideal match for me, is like a calm peaceful morning following a night of thunder and lightning so close you can smell the burnt air. That storm ripped my house apart and I thought my life was destroyed. Now five years later, a new home stands testament to the healing power of Father Time.

My Crucible (November of 2000)

I look for a reason. Unsuccessful, I fall back asleep, wake up an hour later, and try again. Getting out of bed is the toughest part of my day. My job starts in the afternoon, kids are at school, and I only work three hours a day. I could sleep almost all day if I wanted.

I’m not tired, I’m empty. Crack open my chest you’ll find an empty hole. My belly button to my throat is an empty cavity where my spine dangles like the root of a tree searching for nourishment. There is nothing to feed it.

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I might have missed this one but the limited blu-ray choice at Blockbuster forced me to give it a chance. When I saw all the independent film festival awards it won, I decided to give it a try. I wasn’t disappointed.

The style of animation is really cool, artistic and different. It’s worth watching for that reason alone, but not why I recommend it. Watch this show for the insight it offers into the difficulties people have faced in Iran over the past 30 years. Before I lose most of you, let me add that the story is wrapped around a girl whose teenage adolescence/coming of age experiences are touching and heart wrenching. Not only does she struggle with issues faced by any typical teenage girl, she must also deal with the fact that her country is fighting a war and a radically changing government regime. I was fascinated by the peek into the Iranian world.

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Grades in High School took several years off my life. I stressed constantly about them. If I would have done my homework on time things wouldn’t have been so bad but I always put things off until the last minute or blew them off completely which turned me into a B+/A- student. This wasn’t good enough…yet I didn’t change my study habbits. As a result, I walked around with way too much stomach acid eating away at my insides.

It’s a shame too, because I love to learn and took classes that challenged me and that I would have enjoyed had I let go and freed myself to suck in knowledge. This behavior followed me through my first two years of College. Professor Allen Payne finally destroyed it.

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I get down on life sometimes. My brother just told me about his former co-worker and I feel lame for even thinking I’ve had it rough.

Two years ago his friend was making 90K a year as an civil engineer and life was good. Then his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. Then the business folded and he found himself unemployed. To keep treatment for his wife, they have to come up with $1100 per month for COBRA insurance. They can’t switch insurance companies because nobody wants to pick up a client with terminal cancer. Things are not looking good for his wife, the Doctors are close to giving her X amount of days. He is still looking for work despite dropping his target salary to less than half of what he previously earned. They have five kids ranging from 9-19, the oldest of which is on a two year mission for his church.

I’ve heard a lot of hardship stories, but it that one hits pretty deep.

I’m finished with “Mandala’s Catalyst.” My last edit is complete and I’ll start querying publishers again. For those of you that are interested, you can read chapter 1 rigth now.

Wow, looks at those smiles!