Early Start Damn, it's only Monday and I've already had my "idiot moment of the week." I'm in a meeting and I started writing on what I thought was a white board. All the walls in our conference rooms our white boards...except the one I was writing on. Come on people! One wall in one conference room isn't a white board and I'm writing on it?!? So there's some lovely green lettering on the wall and it won't come off.

Picture Time! Here's a smattering of pictures from the last week. Adventures in San Diego. Kaisler's Birthday Party. Steve's Going Away Party. It was nice not getting smashed over the weekend. See people, I only drink on the road...most of the time...never mind. Idiot Moment of the Weekend: Tinanana called on Friday and I tried to go to the terrace to get some privacy. Unfortunately I walked right into the screen door. I felt...not so smart. Coolness: San Francisco summer has started! Hmmm, I guess this point should be considered hotness.

The Critics Agree! Wow. This interview is getting a lot more attention than I thought it would (watch it now!). I've been getting lots of calls, comments, emails, etc. Almost all of them fit into one of three categories. 1) It was damn funny. 2) Cliff and I have man crushes on each other. 3) I'm trying to get myself fired. The third one is pretty interesting. There are a couple of people that are genuinely concerned about me losing my job. They think I'm acting out and am having one of my problem-with-authority-figures things. It's almost to the point where they want to have an intervention...which brings back the funny memory of Kate wanting to have an intervention for me for my drinking. The kids in the Forums seem to dig the interview. Here are some quotes. "Cliffy B. mentions Goatse-Man, Tubgirl, and bukkake thanks to GameSpy!" "This certainly would be a great late-night show idea for G4. Cliff could do his thing, with Padilla as the straight-man, and they could have a mandatory shaithis insult on each show (a la Conan O'Brien and Christina Aguilera/Michael Jackson/Martha Stewart) and Turner could stand in the corner, being surly. For a half-hour to an hour a day G4 might not suck ass." "This is seriously the single best thing ever. Psylancer, everytime you and Cliffy B cross paths, I demand a new episode." "I have to say, that is simultaneously the most unprofessional yet utterly awesome interview I've ever fucking seen. GG guys, if you two hosted a talk show I'd get a Tivo just to record it."

Caught Up in Circles... ...confusion is nothing new. I'm getting into that floopy place where I'm confused after too much travel. I haven't gone on any long trips, but being in three cities over the last four days has me feeling funny. I'm fine when I'm on the road, but once I get home it's funkytown. Thankfully I fly away on Tuesday. So my interview with Cliff is up. He thinks it turned out gay, but I think it's a fun package. It's unique and you won't see anything like it on competing sites (mainly because they don't have anyone as stupid as I am). Cliff was his usual charismatic self and I think I did okay in my support role. I was thinking Ocean's Eleven for what I wanted to do. "Be specific, but don't be memorable. Be funny, but don't make him laugh. He's got to like you and forget you the moment you've left his side." After the second shot of tequila it went in an entirely different direction. Anyway, check it out!

Ouch! My arch enemy found me yesterday. I now have a most spectacular headache. Ow.

Shields Up! So I'm supposed to make myself emotionally impervious. I'm pretty sure I can't. My powers over feelings aren't nearly as potent as my powers over tequila. As my buddy ordered (or perhaps suggested), I am to activate my shields and not let it get to me. Of course this means that I'm totally going to get ridiculous with it. Sorry, that's just how I'm built. Here are some pics from last Friday's fun. It's somewhat disturbing how many karaoke pics I've snapped in the last year. It's interesting how the crowd has changed in such a short time too(I'm pretty sure Shane will always be at karaoke though). Here are some pics of my trip to The OC. Bryn and Rachel have a most darling son. Parenting is totally boss (for those guys anyway). It's funny...almost exactly a year ago, Bryn, Rach, Steve, and I were silly drunk in Laguna playing in the ocean. Now, Bryn and Rach have a son, Steve is growing up again (mostly because I'm not around to regress him), and I'm...uh, still getting silly drunk in the ocean.

Idiot Tax Every now and then I do something really stupid and it ends up being a minor inconvenience. This usually results in me having to spend money that I wasn't planning on spending. I've dubbed these occurrences "idiot tax." Thrice this year I've paid idiot tax for waking up late, taking a later BART than I wanted to, and missing the last shuttle to the office. To punish myself, I pay $20 for a taxi to get to work. The most common idiot tax is tied to my mobile phone. Four times this year I've forgotten my phone charger at home. Being on the road with a dead phone is not acceptable. So I've had to plunk down $30-$40 on a new phone charger. Frags just brought me to the Sprint store to pay my latest idiot tax. I now have four phone chargers. I'll leave one at home and put one in each piece of luggage I have. Hopefully this will prevent any further idiot taxes.

Fun and Sun Well that was interesting.... Friday was quite fun in a very diverse way. I had lots of fun with my new buddy and capped off the evening with drunken karaoke (no blackouts or embarrassing tirades this time). Things started off at Farley's, where I could be seen yelling into my phone and hiding behind a tree. We went to Buddha Lounge for a quick pre-dinner shot of Ng Ka Py. After dinner we tried unsuccessfully to give our leftovers to a homeless person, which transitioned into an unsuccessful food delivery. Then it was back to Buddha for more drinks. We then caught up with the people being wined and dined by Konami at The Commodore. A whole bunch of us went to Japan Town for karaoke. We went to Do-Re-Mi, which was a nice change from USA. It was mostly cool, but like many karaoke sessions there was a portion that was spoiled by white people we didn't know. Oh well, at least they didn't pick lame ass songs like the last group of white strangers. So now I'm waiting for my flight to The OC. It was delayed. Bleh. My brother wants to go surfing tomorrow, but the people in Huntington Beach can be mean so I think I'll just hang out and catch some sun. Hopefully I'll get to meet Bryn's new son, catch up with Leah, have lunch with Frags, go to Shin Sen Gumi, go to Curr House, go to Taco Mesa, and spend a bunch of time with Steve. Wait a minute...I just realized I'm coming back to San Francisco on Tuesday and leaving to San Diego on Wednesday. Ech...I should have just changed my original itinerary. United can keep the paltry 1,000 miles.

Girls Here's a minor update on two ladies. Super-cute coffee girl -- Jandy was really sleepy today. She's also getting an eensy bit of a tummy, which is totally hot. I refused to think she was cute when she first started working and all the boys were making a fuss about her. Her micro-tummy changes everything. Leah -- I had a lovely conversation with Leah today. It's been forever since I spoke with her and I haven't seen her since March I think. I truly enjoyed listening to her voice and hearing her laugh. She has a soothing effect on me and makes everything feel...floopy I guess. I miss her a lot. It was fun throwing her flowers every few weeks when we worked together. Hopefully I'll get to see her this weekend when I'm in The OC. What a wonderful girl she is. The SF gamer crew would love her; she's hot and has a World of WarCraft addiction.

You're Once...Twice.... Lionel Richie totally ruled. I think he lost his powers when he got rid of the afro...that or when his wife beat him up. Anyway, she cancelled on me once because she was busy with work. Okay, that's fine. I can appreciate that. She cancelled on me a second time because she had to take care of a personal thing. That's fine too. I can understand. If I were a betting man (like I was in 2001 when I went to Vegas 14 times), I'd say that it's a certainty that she'll cancel on me tomorrow. That will leave her free to do as she wishes and leave me looking like Tom from Tom & Jerry. You know when Jerry tricks Tom into a trap and Tom's head is transformed into a lollipop? That will be me. Still, the whole thing is rather interesting because there's a chance we'll actually hang out. Even though the probability is small, it'll be fun to find out...and I pretty much have to do it. It's kind of like hitting on 16 against a queen.

Speedy An odd thing has been happening at the gym this week -- my proficiency with the speed bag has improved out of nowhere. I've always been able to hit it well with either hand, but this week I can get it going with both hands (please get your minds out of the gutter). It's not quite so fast that it makes that wickedly cool sound, but it's better than it has ever been...which is just weird. Naturally, I have a theory about this. Perhaps all the tequila I had last week has magically improved my hand-eye coordination and the effect is permanent. Okay, it's not the best theory I've ever come up with, but I can't really think of a good explanation for my newfound handspeed. Ryan posted a pair of my interviews from Cabo. In my interview with Feargus you can hear the beginnings of my Danny Bonaduce voice. It's a little embarrassing. Thankfully I only had one minor flub in the interview. My voice sounds somewhat normal in my interview with Ed Stark, but that one wasn't as interesting and I had one major flub and two minor ones. Now go watch them so that my employers think that it's worth their money sending me around the world to talk to people, be my fabulous self, tool around with a microphone and occasionally write things.

Flip-Flop I can't decide if I want to go to London or Tokyo in September. I haven't been to Europe in almost two years and I'd love to play in London for a bit. Tokyo is always fun, but it's also more work. The exchange rate in England will suck, so shopping will be kept to a minimum (really). There are too many stupid things I'd buy in Japan and I'd surely come home with a new camera. I'd miss The Pixies if I went to Japan, plus the annual Steve/Ray birthday bash would probably not happen. Ah screw it, I'll just flip a coin in the morning and let it decide where I'll go. It's more fun that way.

Chilled What a wonderful weekend of nothing! I caught up on a ton of sleep; it was probably the most sleep I've had in three weeks. I went for many long walks, did a little shopping, and did a tri-form Swiffer attack on my room (duster, sweep, and wetjet). I met this interesting person the other night and actually bumped into her at the gym today. It's probably best that I don't see her again because despite being sweet, she is major t-r-o-u-b-l-e. It's cool that she's bubbly and a little clumsy, but she has multiple drug problems and a nine-year old, so it looks like she's daddy shopping. I picked up Rachel Yamagata's album. I enjoyed her EP, which I've had since June, but this really takes it. This is what my album would sound like if I were a pop star. I'd really like to meet her just so I can ask, "Geez, woman, what the hell's wrong with you?" That or I'd let her know, "Everything's going to be okay hon." She sings about her crap relationships and whines incessantly about many different things. It's like my blog in musical form.

Cabo Wabo: Binary Edition Good: The trip was amazing. The drinks were abundant. The weather was phenomenal. The food was delicious. The people were fantastic. And the the behaviour was ridiculous. Put it all together and what have you got? Best. Cabo. Trip. Ever. Bad: My voice sucks. I sound like frickin' Bonaduce. I have two theories on how this came to be. 1) There was too much screaming Guns 'N Roses and Def Leppard at Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo Cantina. 2) I purchased a toy frog from one of those five-year olds that tries to sell you Chicklettes when you're drunk at 2:30AM. After purchasing said frog I must have tried to eat it, only to get it stuck in my throat. Good: Cliff and I filmed a really fun interview. It's 50 minutes of us -- mostly in the pool -- free associating...and sometimes singing. I assure you, it's much more hetero than it sounds. Bad: For some reason I decided it would be visually interesting to have tequila shots during the interview. After a couple of those we said career-damaging things. I'm sure a DVD of the unedited version will accidentally make its way out there...so I better look for a new line of work. Good: August has been a really fun, really ludicrous month. Bad: Between Cabo, Los Angeles, that unfortunate D.I.C.E. coupling, and a few other assorted incidents in 2004, people in the business must think I'm a drunken idiot. This is rather distressing since I spend most of my free time reading at the library, attending bible study, and volunteering to help build / maintain parks for the local children. Good: I really enjoyed having easy access to pools and beaches. The warm weather was delicious too. Bad: Sadly, it made me miss the climate in Irvine and living at Villa Siena. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to move to Hawaii next year. Good: This weekend will be quiet, tame, and restful. Bad: I should have started resting last night, but this cute girl was in town. Good: There's something liberating about being in another country and being ignorant of the local laws. Bad: I didn't get to spend as much time with Justin as I would have liked. Bad: Security (I'll blame TSA since I'm pro-Mexico right now) forgot to put my electric shaver back in my bag. Good: At any given point in the evening, there was always someone that was worse or better than I was. It's good to have targets. I could either follow my hedonistic hero into more trouble or emulate the people who were behaving.

Face Down in Cabo Despite what other people have been saying, I'm still impervious. I pretty much passed out in my room after yesterday's pool time. I didn't hear any of the phone calls (eight voicemails...lamers) from people trying to wake me up for dinner. I did wake up feeling refreshed and ready to rally. So after playing in the cantina for a bit, we went poolside. I had not intention of going in so I didn't change. Unfortunately for my khakis, I accidentally went in the pool. I wonder if they're dry yet? Let me check...nope. This morning was a little rough, but I still maintain that my super powers are kickin'. I mean, even Superman let Lex Luthor get away once or twice. Still, I'm proud that I woke up early and was on time for the work stuff. Too bad my imperviousness isn't transferable. Ryan looks like he took all the hangovers I should have had over the last three days and kept them for himself.

Impervious Two days. 28 shots of tequila. I scoff at whatever that substance can do. I am above it. Tequila can't harm me. Tonight was perhaps more ridiculous than last night. This is such a wonderfully excessive trip. Bye!

Last Son of Cabo My powers have returned. I shall black out from alcohol no longer! Charged by this planets yellow sun (which was blocked by the LA smog, ergo my lack of power there), my recuperative abilities know few limits. I got into Cabo, changed, and went straight to the pool (the one with the bar in it). I got pretty drunk before dinner, made a drunk dial, and sobered up with the help of steak. Then we went to Cabo San Lucas. I had at least 16 shots of tequila. I totally rocked out at Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo Cantina. And I didn't black out! The boys were getting into naughty stuff and was getting in the frame of my mind that led to my previous...uhm...joining. Thankfully one of the ladies was going home, so I split with her. Okay, back to the pool!

Displacement Ray July was as stable as my life gets. I didn't go anywhere until the very end of the month. Being in one place for more than two weeks is extremely rare for me. If you told me that I'd be in the same place for four weeks, I'd call you a liar. For better and for worse, my life is shifting back to its normal (abnormal?) state. My LA trip kicked it off. Five nights and six days of silliness. Tomorrow I leave for Cabo for four nights and five days of mischief. There's a good chance that I'll have to go to Florida for the weekend right when I get back. Then I get a week of home before going to San Diego for a couple of days. Last, but not least I'll be going to London for a week. Somewhere in there I have to fit in a vital trip to The OC. All of the sudden I'm reminded of when I first moved to Irvine. It took a year before it felt like home to me. I've been back in San Francisco for five months, and even though I see lots of old friends and go to lots of my favorite haunts, it doesn't feel like home yet. Part of it is that I've yet to fully unpack and fully decorate my room. Part of it is that I haven't been spending enough time in my happy place (Farley's, duh). Part of it is that I haven't really made any efforts to spend time with anyone except for Rannie. This new person wants to spend time with me and I've been really resistant to the idea. Initially it was because I was really drunk when I asked her to hang out and I have no idea how I would entertain her sober. Then I decided that I have way too many female friends...but after some thought I realized that I really don't. Kate's in LA, Raina is pretty much gone from my life again, Tammy's a grown up now, and Jennie's starting a new adventure. I was actually hoping to have Anna around so I could do things that require a female (i.e. seeing sappy movies and going shopping), but I don't think she'll be spending time with me anymore. So hanging out with this new person seems like a really good idea all of the sudden. I'm still a bit apprehensive about it since I honestly don't know why she wants to hang out with me. Maybe she'll become my new companion to do girly things with. And maybe she'll help me find my new home. Now I just have to figure out when I can see her. She's busy and I have my ridiculous travel schedule. Maybe she'll forget. Oh well.

There's No WiFi in Baseball!!! This is so weird. I'm in a luxury suite at The Giants' game and there's WiFi here. Although I'm enjoying all the lovely amenities here, it just doesn't feel like baseball. I walked in, passed a latte cart, passed a tomato & fresh mozzarella stand, and passed a carving station before hitting the suite. It's definitely different from sitting in the bleechers at Yankee Stadium with a beer and a bag of peanuts.

Tri-Form Attack! That's one of Tien's moves in case you were wondering (I'm guessing you weren't). I'm in the middle of a three-part neurotic attack of legendary proportions. It's so incredibly spastic that I fear it might take a life of its own and attack me in my sleep. On another strange note, it felt really nice to get back to San Francisco...almost as if I was Superman and was returning to a planet with a yellow sun that recharges my powers. For some reason it felt comforting to return to my life of being a part of community while totally being apart from it.

LA Guns Well that was a close call. I was hanging out in Hollywood and noticed a large gathering in front of a club as we were leaving. Shortly after we passed the scene there were five gunshots. From what I heard, there were two murders and a bunch of assorted injuries. It left me in an instrospective state and I appreciate how truly precious the gift of life is. Okay, I added that line for dramatic purposes, but you get the idea. I now have my LA gun story. Oh, Semel said that drinking on an empty stomach is almost definitely the cause of my blackouts. This information will be filed for future use (i.e. next week).

Blackout II (and III and IV) The last five days have been really fantastic (as in the way Arnold pronounces it)--lots of great people, lots of fun in the sun, lots of mischief, and lots of alcohol. My tolerance really sucks now (which is probably the only downside of having Sandra out of my life *rimshot*) and my latest theory is that me being a puff (miss you Rach!) is why I'm prone to blackouts. Let's review: Friday - Ended up in a pub in Santa Monica. I think I only had seven or eight pints. I don't remember how I got home, but the next day Ted told me that I was sleeping on his arm as he carted me to the hotel. I still feel very sheepish about falling asleep on him. I'm purposely leaving out a lot of silly details. Drunk dials: three. Saturday - We didn't start drinking until 9-ish, but we wanted to step it up so that we were a little sauced for our 10:45 shoot. It worked. I only had six or seven vodkas. I remember being one of many that got a smooch from Anna Nicole Smith, but there's lots more I don't remember. The list includes leaving Shrine, getting into a limo, going to Santa Monica, possibly having another drink or two, and possibly attempting to kiss Cliff (I don't believe that part). I don't remember how I got home or at what time. I'm purposely leaving out a lot of silly details. Drunk dials: four. Sunday - Thankfully I had a break. I'm purposely leaving out a lot of silly details just to be consistent. Monday - I blame Tina(nana) for this one. I only had four vodkas, but she made me do some tequila shots (to prepare for Cabo?). There was lots of singing '80s songs with Russo and even more name/company butchering (Alex Garden, Tim Price, Ted Schaefer, and Jimmy Rubin from Antique, Insomnidog, Doubledog, and Naughtyfine). We ended up at some bar in one of Raina's favorite neighborhoods (nice to return my calls, btw). I'm purposely leaving out a lot of silly details. Drunk dials: three, including one to a person that gave me their number on Friday. I'm pretty sure I'm blocked on her phone now. In conclusion, it's clear that even though I'm not drinking nearly as much as before (seriously), it's getting more ridiculous when I do drink. Since I'm pretty sure I don't want to drink as much as I did last winter, I should probably cut it out all together. The chances of that happening are...well, there's no chance really. Perhaps I should eat before I get sloshed. Wait a minute...perhaps that's why I'm getting blackouts. Okay, time for a new theory. I'll write about the really fun stuff later, though I'll probably forget to since I'm going to Mexico soon. Score!

Quickie Garden State was uplifting, heart wrenching, and incredibly stirring. Along with Saved!, it's the best thing I've seen this year.