I'm such a sucker

So, I admit, I'm easily led. I love attention whoring social networking as a way to get my name out and grow my brand, as it were. To that end, I'm trying something called Formspring, something new I was turned on to by comic guy and Twitterati David Gallaher. Formspring is apparently where you sign up so that strangers on the internet can badger you with a constant stream of inappropriate questions. You can find the link over there at the left, Gentle Readers. Feel free to ask me a question and I might even get around to answering you!

Mr. Mom

This isn't fiction, it's a goddamned documentary

So, last September when I got laid the hell off from Palladium, I'll admit I felt a little bleak. I hadn't lost a job since before The Wife and I were married way back in '02, when I got fired from selling Harleys because I liked motorcycles too much. Anyway, as I stood there in my hallway staring at my phone trying to process what had just happened, my brain shifted on down into survival gear. Well, to be honest, first it shifted into "crawl into a bottle of Wild Turkey and listen to a lot of Hank Williams" mode. Then, as I struggled through the five stages of grief and helped an Austin Nichols exec make a boat payment, and after I dealt with, "Fuck, I'm a freelancer again!", I had a little epiphany. I had a baby on the way, I was a writer, I work from home, I'm good at multi-tasking and staying work focused, I keep long hours, I'm not necessarily opposed to bodily functions...I was going to be Mr. Mom!

Tuesday Filler: The Brew Abides, My New Remote Office

 I've told you a thousand times, I don't roast on Shabbos!

So, as a freelancer who works from a home office, and who is soon to be now also a stay-at-home dad, I spend a lot of time cooped up in the house. Yes, yes, I know, writing is a lonely business, the most solitary art, etc, etc. There are times though, when it gets to be too much. So, when I've been in the house too many days in a row, my focus starts to slip and I'm ready to turn into Jack Torrance (all work, no play, fire axes, etc.), I throw all my stuff in the car or on the bike, and head to one of my remote offices. I know I've talked about them before. There's the awesome little Eurotrash Polish place in Hamtramck full of comfy chairs and a mix of Hipsters, Hamtown homeless and loud and glittery Polish ladies from the bank up the street. There was the sadly gone and lamented place downtown, with their anemic, eight dollar paninis and their Miami Vice backlot interior and where the clientele was so hip they couldn't see over their collective pelvis. Now, though, I've found a new place. A great new place close to my house with delicious, home roasted coffee, a friendly staff and a great atmosphere. A new place that is, without a doubt gentle readers, Jewish as f@#$ing Tevya...