The evil empire calls ... maybe

After I left the asylum known as Advertising Agencies about 10 years ago, I thought there was little chance I'd ever return. While no job offers lasting security, agencies offered little. And the most psychotic, abusive people were usually the same people who were running the place.

But yesterday I had a call from a headhunter, a local I'd never heard of before. And she wanted to talk to me about a job for which, at first glance, was an amazingly good fit--writing for one of the biggest banks in the nation. I wouldn't be working for the bank, but I'd be working for a local ad agency that supplied their business to business collateral.

I suppose this reflects my lack of ambition, but one of the most appealing things about the job is that it's only about four miles from my house. Too damn near Northpark, but I think I could cope.

Lust is in the air

Okay...I just came back from getting a haircut and now a thunderstorm is brewing. Plus I am planning to go to shaolin class tonight.

Considering how storms and shaolin classes tend to affect my libido, the combination holds the potential for a serious bout of mischief.

Plus, the forecast is suggesting the occasional storm for most of the upcoming week.

The only question is ... what will I do about it?  What can I do?

Love at first sight

I finally decided to drive to Austin for the weekend, but only for an overnight visit. Ryan wanted me to see the new house he'd bought, and his motorcycle club was having a 4th of July cookout. 

Before accepting the invite, I confess I checked to make sure the cookout did not entail actually being outdoors during the entire time -- the rural venue near New Braunfels promised much heat, humidity and mosquitoes. And if I'm not marinated in mosquito repellent, the little bastards see me as a large and pasty buffet.

An additional factor was what could be described as an ulterior motive. There is a motorcycle shop in Waco that specializes in older bikes -- all impeccably restored -- and I always like to drop by and see what the owner has on the floor. He's always happy to take me into the repair shop next door so I can check out his latest restoration projects. And the owner is rather attractive, albeit too short for me to actually hit on. And I am out of practice when it comes to flirting.

During Saturday's visit, I spotted a Norton for sale -- one that was a similar model to the rusty old Norton I rode in the UK over 20 years ago. But that was the only similarity. The restoration was so well-done that it practically gave me a woody. It looked like a new bike.

I had to take a photo (no, I am not going to keep it in my bedside dresser. That's a bit too perverse, even for me):

A young and witty Stephen Fry

This is one of a series of Heineken commercials that appeared in the early 90s. Not my favorite, but the only one I could find with reasonable audio.

Spaced out

Although I was looking forward to the removal of about 60% of the furniture in Chez Melina, the immediate effect is one of utter, walking-in-circles confusion. 

Since I was using several dressers that belonged to E.H.*, I had to empty them out so he could move them out and take them with him. This means that I have a lot of underwear and shirts and socks in cardboard boxes, some with cats sleeping inside or on top of their contents.  And I'm also trying to decide where to put the remaining furniture, but I first need to decide which room to finish painting first. There's also the question of deciding which room is spacious enough for me to practice my shaolin "change stance" drills, so I can clear out all furniture.

Also, I spent a fair part of the day attending to car repairs, roof repairs, and lengthy conversations with the people who manage unemployment claims here in Texas (aka the Texas Workforce Commission, or TWC for short). Seems that severance pay may or may not detract from your unemployment payments, depending on what sort of potential legal action you had to forfeit to actually get the severance. So I have no idea when or if I'll receive any unemployment checks.

Although I'd enjoy a drive down to Ryan's, who is keen to show me the house he just bought, I may opt to spend the weekend getting Chez Melina into some kind of order. It's difficult for me to just drive away from the mess, even for a couple of days. Like the protagonist in The Pirates of Penzance, I'm the slave to duty. Sigh.

* See Key to Characters link at right.