Archive for February, 2007

Unleashing the Inner Bitch

Tuesday, February 27th, 2007

OscarsA couple nights ago one of the guys from here at the office invited me to an Oscar party he was throwing at his place in the Castro. It was a small gathering, but the homo level was pretty high. Throw in a couple of French guys, and it got downright catty before the second bad gown had strolled down the red carpet.

I’d almost forgotten what it was like to hang out with queers — these days if I get out at all, it’s usually with the team I work with here at the office. They’re really great guys, but they’re straight as hell. I doubt you’d ever find one at an Oscar party, and you definitely wouldn’t hear any of them talking about how good George Clooney looks in a tux. They don’t really have any opinions on costume design, and tend to look confused if I quote a classic like Sunset Blvd. or What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? If it’s not reality TV or an Asian drama, they probably haven’t seen it.

I’d almost forgotten how much fun it can be to make fun of how celebrities dress, or their stints in rehab, or who they’re fucking this week. Sure, it’s fun to talk shit about the people from work, but the vitriol that comes from a bunch of fags watching this Oscars is in a whole other league entirely.

Don’t get me wrong — I still enjoy talking about cars, power tools and video games, but I think I may need to give a slightly longer leash to my inner queen. It’s been a long time since I allowed myself to be a bitch, and I miss it.

Posted in friends, movies, work | 1 Comment »

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court

Tuesday, February 20th, 2007

OK, I’m not from Connecticut: I was born and raised in Los Angeles, and I live in or around San Francisco these days. Further, George W. Bush is no King Arthur. However, it’s pushing midnight here in Houston, Texas, and if you don’t like my titles you can blow me.

Houstin

I started my day with a trip to SFO so I could fly out here to Bush Country for a business meeting. As far as airport runs go, it wasn’t bad — a car picked me up and drove me to the airport on the company’s dime, and the check-in time wasn’t that long. The only major hassle was that my tube of hair gel was bigger than the allowed size (a size which, I might add, wouldn’t allow enough hair gel for an infant to keep a respectable coif), but I solved that little problem with a run to the CVS down the street from my hotel.

I’d give you my opinion of the city, but so far all I’ve seen of it is an airport that looks like almost every other airport I’ve ever been in, and a stretch of stripmalls several miles long. They seem to be everywhere out here, and most of them appear to be half-empty. I was expecting, considering how much money the oil companies are raking in these days, that this place would look like Dubai with a southern accent. I’m finding, though, that of all the cities I’ve been in, I think this one most resembles a larger version of Paramus, New Jersey.

The rumors I’d heard are true, though, and I’m typing this as I digest a really fine plate of enchiladas from Chuy’s which were washed down with the requisite margaritas. I was rather disappointed to find out they don’t make them any bigger here than I get from the Chevy’s near my house — I’d heard everything was bigger out here, but maybe that doesn’t apply to drinks. If not, though, I’m going to have to do a little research into what exactly is bigger in Texas. The cars and hotels seem about the same, and my room here is downright cramped. The airport was average-sized, and I flew in on a 737 — not exactly the biggest plane in the sky.

Given that all those things were decidedly average-sized, that really only leaves a few things that might be bigger out here. I’m going to do some poking around and I’ll let you know if I find anything.

Posted in travel, work | No Comments »

The Queers – Munki Brain

Saturday, February 10th, 2007

The Queers - Munki BrainEven the quickest glance at my charts at Last.fm will tell you that I’m a big fan of the Queers. They’ve been cranking out their unique brand of pop-punk for over two and a half decades now, and their latest release, Munki Brain, proves that they’re still just as good as ever.

Most of Munki Brain’s 13 tracks are short, clocking it at an average of around 2 1/2 minutes each. The short song durations are one sign of the Queers’ heavy Ramones influence, which really stands out in tracks like the break-up song “I Don’t Get It” and the smirking “Houston, We Have a Problem.”

A heavy surf influence really comes through on this release as well. With backing vocals that bring to mind Jan and Dean, and guitar work reminiscent of the Ventures, “Duke Kahanamoku” extolls the virtues of a Hawaiian surfer, and “Brian Wilson” is a tribute to the Beach Boys songwriter in more than just name.

While the Queers have never been a band to make much in the way of political statements, they’ve never been afraid to say (in many cases, repeatedly) “fuck you.” So, while the anti-George W. Bush tirade “Monkey in a Suit” may be surprising for its subject matter, its sarcastic, sample-laden sentiment is pure Queers.

Among the rest of the tracks, there isn’t a dud in the bunch, making Munki Brain a must-have album if you’re already a Queers fan. It’s possibly some of their strongest work ever, which also makes it a great starting point for new listeners.

Posted in music | 2 Comments »

Team Building, or Mass Murder?

Monday, February 5th, 2007

Recently the guys on my team and I decided we should go out and do something non-work-related, as a group, to build morale. We’ve all been beaten down a bit lately with things like post-holiday workloads, corporate politics, and power shortages.

In an effort to reach out to the other teams with whom we work closely, it was suggested that we invite the customer service, database, and site monitoring guys along, too. It all seemed like a good idea in theory, but when we got down to trying to come up with something that many people might actually want to do together, it started to get tougher.

Several ideas were tossed around, from bowling, to go-kart racing, to a paint-ball outing. I really liked the paint-ball idea. I’d love to shoot our DBA in the back.

At one point someone tossed out the idea of a ropes course; something in a wilderness setting where you learn to trust and cooperate with your co-workers. It’s another idea I think I like. When it was mentioned that they have you do things like climb a cliff while someone else holds your rope, as a trust-building exercise, I immediately had fantasies of “accidentally” letting go of the DBA’s rope.

After tossing all those ideas around, the last I heard was that the Customer Service guys wanted to go to a shooting range. I’m just a little concerned about that one. As much as I love the idea of having live ammo and a line of sight to the DBA, the manager of the Customer Service department has seemed a little on edge ever since a few thousand of their e-mails bounced a couple weekends ago.

Posted in work | 2 Comments »