Are We Having Fun Yet?

Most of the people who really know me are my buds back in Houston who remember me from college and high school – and who I worked with in the late 80’s or early 90’s. There is a whole mythology of our collective times together that has morphed together as “very good times”. They all have a collective opinion of what I should do, what I like and where I should be. Almost of all of them to a person thought I would move out to LA and turn around and come back within a year. But here I am still here 8 years later. The downside of LA is you don’t really make friends, you have aquaintances (who usually live too far away to really do anything about). But that’s the tradeoff. To me the weather is just unbeatable and if I can see the water from my house, well I’m not going anywhere real soon. However, I do plan to retire somewhere back in Texas someday – if I live that long.

And I go back to H-town several times of the year – so we still get together - in fact I’ll be there twice in the next two months – 1) for my 30-year high school reunion (Yikes!) and 2) for our 17th year of Fantasy Football. And we do Christmas there every year. So in a lot of ways I don’t I ever really think I left – I just work and live somewhere else.

Because of this I still maintain a healthy dose of e-mail traffic going back and forth which can be of a fairly substantial nature, like “where are you going to be first at the reunion” “Are you bringing Deborah?” “And is she happy about it?” “No, really.” "And how do you feel about that?"And/or the more frivolous ones you would get from anybody sitting in a cubicle next to you.

“You gotta watch Rock Star – Supernova tonight, Rock. I just saw it . They’re looking for a lead singer for Tommy Lee’s new band – and Brooke Burke is hosting”. Of course the band will probably be disbanded by next year’s show but hey its good TV I guess.

I missed it all last year except for the last episode. And none of my friends could believe I wasn’t hooked on the show. “C’mon Rock – it’s Rock Star”. Obviously I got my nickname, or maybe not so obvious, from a passion for rock ‘n roll but I had not caught on to this show last year. I sort of had a big problem that they were actually going to go through a whole production with the thought of finding somebody who could replace the deceased Michael Hutchence as a frontman for Austrailian band INXS. I think INXS is probably the most under-rated act of the ‘80s (and just a fabulous bunch of musicians) – and I just didn’t think it was possible. Well “Dirty Vegas” pretty much rocks for me so I guess I was wrong.

So I took advice from the e-mail I recieved from Houston at 7:05 PM PDT at my laptop while perched next to my kitchen island - which is where I spend most every night - and we watched the show. Thanks Mike. I’ll have to admit there is some talent in this bunch and they are entertaining – especially the chicks. And watching Tommy Lee lear (that’s almost lyrical) at every girl contestant – man I feel like I’m on the tour bus already. And who was that first chick – “Storm Large” – I mean she said that was her real name!

I think I’ll have an easier time explaining Rock.

Next time.