Day 56: Old Friends

I haven't always lived over in Santa Monica. I used to live in a truly kick ass apartment in Hollywood. The building I lived in was built in 1929 and has some serious history. I was extremely lucky to have met some of my dearest friends there. At one point there was a group of about 15 neighbors that all congregated on the rooftop patio for BBQ's and drinks.

I hardly get back over there, but tonight Liz and I are going out for drinks with our two favorite people from the building, Tyler and Paul. Tyler and I have some Film and TV projects we are working that we needed to discuss. Tyler is launching a new horror community on the net and he wants me to help him produce to original programing. I, of course, am stoked.

I am really looking forward to hearing about what he has to say, but I am actually mainly excited to be around some good friends. I have been a little down this week and getting around these people is almost guaranteed laughter. I need that right now...

I will keep you posted on what comes of the meeting!

Day 47: 5 People

Okay, now that  The Alchemist has left my life for a while ( I am still deciding who to give my copy too so if you want it... let me know) there is definitely a vacancy on my bookshelf. I have been looking for another book to read whilst trying to put off reading Allan Carr's The Easy Way To Quit Smoking. I am by no means the type of person who reads a lot of self-help or inspirational books, however, I feel that now more than ever may be a time to indulge.

A co-worker of mine was telling me about a book by the author Mitch Albom, you may remember Tuesday's With Morrie. I loved this book a lot! I also highly recommend this, but I have already read it, and unlike The Alchemist once may be enough. He did recently write another book that seems like it may have some bearing on what is going on in my life right now.

The Five People You Meet In Heaven is officially next on the list! It apparently starts 50 minutes before the main character, Eddie, dies in a horrible accident. The end is the begining because the book takes place in Heaven and details... well... the five people you meet there. It is more a retrospective on life and judging ones self worth, which for the most part, is what I am doing to myself right now. I figure it may give a bit of insight to what this whole thing is about.

Oddly, I am excited to read another inspirational book. As I said before they are not on the top of my charts and I usually have to stagger them out a few months. For some reason this one just... fits.

I still need to go get it, but I feel that it will fill the void left very well. I will update you as I go along as to the intriguing points. Until then, I will be waiting to see who wants a copy of  The Alchemist..

Day 43: Boys Night Out

So I am pretty excited about tonight. I am getting a chance to go out with some of my guys that I haven't spent much time with lately. Were heading into Hollywood to hit up a fancy club for my very good friend's birthday party. The cool part about it is that the guys I am heading out there with have never met each-other. Normally I am a bit apprehensive to sticking a bunch of strange people together, however, tonight I feel completely okay with the whole thing. These guys individually are some of the most intelligent and reverent people I know so I am guessing that putting everyone together should be quite an event.

I guess this is relevant to this blog because all of these friends have come into my life within the past three years, some as recent as the past six months! I am thankful for them though... I feel that I have been through a lot when it comes to friends and at this point in my life I have developed a good enough bull-shit sensor to pick out the people that are going to be beneficial to my life in some way. The good lord knows that there is a constant onslaught of those who would be detrimental. I would be lying if I said that I never met anyone like that... but I do have to say that there aren't any left in my life at this point and that if I choose to bring friends in it is because I truly think that they are looking out for my best interests as I am theirs.

It is a long journey to understand why this is important. Some may never actually understand it. I thank god on the reg that I have come to understand it... and I thank him for bringing me the people that do truly care about me. I hope this entry gets you thinking about who is in your life and how they factor into your mix. Life is short... I hope that you are the type of friend you want to have in your life!  Most of the time your friends are mirror images of your own behaviors. Take a moment and ponder that...

Day 39: Super Monday

I read an article today in which someone proposed the idea that the Monday following the Super Bowl be deemed a national holiday. I completely agree! While I didn't even drink yesterday, I know a lot of people that did! I think that driving on the 405 this morning was exponentially more dangerous than any other day of the year due to the fact that I am pretty sure the majority of the drivers were still probably drunk! To make matters worse I have a stomach bug and would have loved to not even come into to work at all, but I have a big presentation to prepare for. Just my luck.

The game itself was fantastic! I couldnn't have predicted that one and overall I would say that it was a truly deserved win by the Saints! The commercials wer mediocre at best though. I wonder what has happened over the past three years in the ad world. It seems that the recession has forced all the major companies to lay off any of their talent. Ultimately I would have to say the evening was entertaining. Moreso for my sister, who actually happened to be there! Too bad she was rooting for the Colts...

Day 38: Golf Lessons

I know that the wrong sport is represented in the tagline today... being that it is the superbowl and all. The reason it is up there is because I finally got Liz out to a real  golf course and went to a real  golf range! Verdict??? She LOVED it! We started out slow... with an extra large bucket of balls. I think the important thing about fostering an interest in someone for the game of golf is patience. On both ends for that matter! As a teacher it is very difficult to not see automatice results in your students. What you have to understand is the golf is not an "automatic" process. It take years of practice to develop the muscle memory required to consistently and accurately hit the ball. That being said I was just shooting for her to actually make contact with the ball! Which she did! She nailed a couple nine irons about 70 yards... down the pipe! I was ecstatic with her performance and so was she. She was enjoying so much actually that we went back and got another bucket.

This gives me hope for her journey into the world of lunacy that is the game of golf. To be honest, her swing looked pretty damn good! I am excited to actually find her a club that fits her. I have total faith that her skills will only skyrocket! Now we are off to cook fajitas and watch the big game in the comfort of our living room!

Day 37: Married Life

While I would be willing to admit that my outlook on life is changing to think more and more toward the big "M" word... I think we all know that I am not quite to there yet.

The reason I bring it up is to segue into my friends house warming party. We just got back and it was a whole lot of fun. They just got married and moved into their first place in Irvine. They had rented out the clubhouse at their complex and we spent the night playing different bar games. All in it was a blast!

All night I had a feeling that there was something different about the party... I couldn't put my finger on it. It wasn't anything bad just... strange. Then I figured it out. EVERYONE there was married save about three people!

Now, I have a lot of married friends, but this was the first time that I personally felt that I had transcended the realm of post college to being an adult. I have been in numerous situations like that numerous times before, but the difference is I saw myself in a different light. This time... there wasn't a difference.

Without realizing it, I guess life has caught up with me, and... I'm okay with it!

Day 36: Activities

So my wonderful GF Liz came to me earlier this week with a desire to branch out. She stated that she was bored on the weekends and felt that we were letting our youth slip away. It is funny how this conversation coincided with what I had been thinking about as well. With much deliberation and clarification on what she actually meant by the whole thing ( I was kind worried she was dumping me) we set out to create a list of things to do. We wanted to create a hobby that we can both enjoy together! After brainstorming a pretty good amount of ideas we settled on starting out with some cooking classes as well as cultivating her interest in golf.

I know a lot of guys reading this will have just made a sour face, an audible chuckle, or a combination thereof, but I think that it is a great idea to teach her to golf. I really think it is a great sport for couples to learn simply because once the female understands why it is so important she is more likely to be agreeable to you playing with the guys and, moreover, designing trips around playing! That is good for everyone! As far as the cooking classes go... if you made a sour face or a chuckle... you are probably single! If you are, get in a cooking class! Women love guys that know their way around the kitchen and it is a great way to spend some quality time with a lady you may be interested in (cheaper than going out most of the time too).

I look forward to the challenges that are in front of us. I know that deciphering what we can do together isn't always going to be easy, but in the end it will be worth it!

Day 34: 11 Years

In following yesterday's post I have yet another remembrance. Eleven years ago today I lost the most influential man I have ever known, my father, Walter Lee Weaver Jr. He battled with a form of cancer called Multiple Myeloma for three years. Ultimately I got a call at about 6PM from my mother that I should get a plane ticket home because Daddy just died... I had spoken to him ten minutes earlier. He was 55.  My dad loved life and spent every moment he could outside doing something with his hands. He taught me many things about the outdoors such as fishing, hunting, and how to correctly landscape a house. Most important though he taught me what it meant to be a good person, a good husband, and a good Dad.

Half the reason I am doing the project is because I feel that I have watched the last decade go by inactively. I sat in a bar til 2AM on a friday night and completely screwed up the next day. I have only recently had the epiphany that there is much more to life than this. I realized that I am not half the man my father was at my age and it has given me the strength to change that. I wonder what he would say to me if he were still alive. I wonder if I have turned out as he expected, and if I would be in the situation I am in right now if he were there as I was making my mistakes. I know that I will never know the true answers to these questions, but I like to think that he would be proud of me for some of my accomplishments. I also like to think that some of my shames would never have happened.

My father was an amazing guy... the type of man you are proud to call "Daddy." He left Mom with a lot on her plate. I have to say that she is the best Mom, and Dad, a guy could ever ask for. She seems to think that what I am doing now gives him reason to shine a smile down upon me from heaven. I know that I was very lucky to have a great dad for 18 years. Some people never know their father, or worse they know them, but wish they didn't. For that I am thankful, and to all the people out there who's father is still around... take the time to tell them you love them. You never know how long you are going to have them for. One thing is for certain, not a day goes by that I don't miss my father, and I wish that I could tell him I love him right now.

I miss you Dad...