AquaDad Struggles to Surface (and ponders TV)

Burbling up frantically to the surface...

AquaDad has not yet found a new job. He is disappointed with how things are going on his job search. He awoke this morning to feel the heavy weight of a blanket of despair upon him -- though warming and comforting as blankets tend to be in these cooler times of the year, it was a weight that must be thrust off and the cold air must be embraced, or else one will never get out of bed and live again.

Change of subject:

AquaDad has been watching a lot of TV lately (see telltale signs of depression above) and he absolutely loves the following new shows:

• Life -- A fresh take (if that's possible) on the cop show. It keeps getting better. Damian Lewis is great as usual (see Band of Brothers if you've never seen him before). His character, a cop sent to prison for a murder he did not commit is freed and returns to his original station as a detective, is quirky and drive his new partner a little crazy. More serious than Monk, but well-written and includes a long term story where he's trying to figure out who set him up.
• Reaper -- Funny slacker show that features a twenty-something who's soul was given to Satan by his parents and now he is the devil's bounty hunter. It's Ghostbusters for the new century. The devil is played by the guy who was Laura Palmer's dad on Twin Peaks -- he's plays Satan with a lot of enthusiasm. Our hero's buddy, Sock, often steals the show with the best lines. Fun entertainment.
• Last One Standing -- Kind of a Survivor type show for "tough" guys competing in fighting, endurance and unusual sports-type competitions in different countries. The cultures visited so far are amazing -- we're talking National Geographic-type cultures. There are a lot of commercials and the show is stretched out a lot by recapping what's gone on so far in the show (that same episode!) but it's pretty good because they travel to such interesting places.

AquaDad is still watching:

• Heroes -- Not as good so far, but still very enjoyable. Can't wait to see what they come up with next.
• Survivor -- They're in China. Great location. Interesting contestants. Tribal council has really been suspenseful.
• Other Great Shows -- Dirty Jobs, Mythbusters, Man VS Wild, Survivorman (hmm...there seems to be a theme here).

AquaDad wonders about the following TV-related issues:

• When is Lost going to start?
• Why do we have to wait until summer for Burn Notice to start up again?
• Is the writers' strike really going to screw everything up? Hey Producers, AquaDad is not pleased that you let this strike happen. Pay the writers for their online residuals and make with the new shows and movies already!
• Why does Entertainment Weekly have a new section featuring photographs of celebrities now -- Isn't that what People magazine and all the other tabloids are for? (still, EW is AquaDad's favorite magazine)
• Is Peter Jackson going to make The Hobbit? AquaDad mutters "Precious" and rubs his hands together in anticipation of the possibility that the film will be made by Jackson.
• Is the new forthcoming film, the Golden Compass, anti-God, anti-religion, or riding the wave of a great PR strategy?
• In the fight between The Illusionist and The Prestige, AquaDad is giving The Illusionist the edge thanks to its romantic storyline along with great acting, especially from Paul Giamatti. AquaDad enjoyed watching the Prestige with its duelling actors Bale and Jackman, but found the movie lacking a character one could sympathize with. (AquaDad realizes the movies are not current, but he is only now catching up on movies he had missed but really wanted to see).

AquaDad has enjoyed this little bout of writing and hopes to continue to do more in the near future.

AquaDad Checks In

AquaDad summons up a sea change...

New template. New colors. Nice.

AquaDad's Poetry Corner

Somewhere beneath the briny deep, AquaDad ponders...

Late Night, Time to Write
My bones dropped onto the couch like a tired puddle of flesh and my nearly 39 year old cells
Tried to replace each other so that I would be a new man next morn…
Oh. Only 3 hours from now I can chase my kids out of their dreams
Prop them up in the car with cornflakes
And tell them I love them as they go to school
But right now it’s time to write now
Weary as I am
My brain is mush
But is it ever really anything else but mush anymore?
2 in the AM and 2 in the PM, I’m tired of being so tired in either part of the day
What if a little sparkle of something different dropped into my day
And invaded my boredom?
What would I do then? I better not wait for it to happen.
I think it must be my move then…

In the troubled seas of corporate America, Sub-Prime Mortgage Land, AquaDad sits in a graywalled box, pondering the unknowable -- will his place of employment survive the current storm? It seems highly unlikely.

The century is no longer new anymore. (Yeah, that's a very weak bit of secret code)

Anyway, AquaDad sits in his cubicle, surrounded by bits of cookie and lots of coffee-stained papers. Stacks of papers. A paper strewn desk. Flotsam and jetsam. AquaDad's morale is a whale and the sharks are circling...taking large junks of blubber away. Hope is dipping it's head underwater and struggling to come up for air.

Ah! But perhaps a new job is right around the other side of the reef! A job that AquaDad can get thrilled about...sink his teeth into...anything will be better than floating around in this Sargasso Sea, going nowhere. AquaDad dipped a fin into the waters of the job search recently. Yahoo Hotjobs, Monster.com, etc. Beneath the depths, the promise of Atlantean wonder? AquaDad shall soon find out.

But first, the ancient map of AquaDad's skills must be produced, Ye Olde Resume must be unfurled, prettied up and set sail towards new lands of opportunity...blah, blah. AquaDad doesn't really want to lose the Health insurance for his family. Oh, yes, and a paycheck.

It all depends upon a paycheck, doesn't it.

AquaDad Tunes In

Somewhere under the sea with his ear in a conch shell...

AquaDad loves music. Here's the stuff he's been listening to lately (and quoted to us):

• Silversun Pickups - Carnavas -- I really like the song Lazy Eye. It reminds me of something Sonic Youth might have done. I like how it builds up. The whole CD is a great listen. (AquaDad is not that articulate when describing listening experiences...oh well)
• Lily Allen - All Right, Still -- Nice Ska-type/pop happy music, however, when you hear the lyrics, ouch!, they're very sharp and often completely opposite what's going on in the music. Great voice. She was on Saturday Night Live last month.
• The Good, The Bad, and The Queen - (same name) -- This has Damon Albarn from Blur, the Clash's bassist, Paul Simonon, a guitarist from the Verve, and produced by Danger Mouse (Gorillaz 2nd album). Great stuff. If you like Blur and the Gorillaz, you ought to like this (You ought to, but don't have to).
• Kasabian - Empire -- Good songs.
• Radiohead - OK Computer -- I finally got this. It's certainly not new, but I just love Radiohead. When I listen to it, I hear some of my other favorite bands: Coldplay, Travis, People in Planes. Great stuff.

AquaDad indicated that the station that plays these bands is Southern California's Indy 103.1 fm.

AquaDad Returns

Beneath the sea, sitting on the sea floor, AquaDad thinks...

Hmmm...AquaDad wishes he would pursue meditation a little more. The effects of meditation are supposed to have a positive effect on the body. AquaDad usually falls asleep in the early stages of meditation. AquaDad noticed that when he attempts to focus on the simple inhalations/exhalations of his breath, a sudden anxiety about the breathing increases and AquaDad begins to panic and his breath becomes erratic. AquaDad feels it's probably best not to focus on the breathing and just let the subconscious take over and handle the important details of basic needs.

AquaDad finds that doodling can be quite meditative and relaxing. At the office, during a telephone conference, AquaDad reached a nice meditative level while doodling while the others talked. This may not have a positive effect on his production at work, but AquaDad feels really relaxed now.

In other waters...
AquaDad watched the movie Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang last night. He felt that it was a nice take on the L.A. Gumshoe story. The scenes where the main character talks to the audience as the narrator seemed fresh and funny. AquaDad particularily like the settings and use of lighting in the film. AquaDad recognized the hip L.A. hotel, The Standard, in the movie and reminisced about the time that he and the AquaWife stayed there. A dark blue night hovered above the surrounding walls of skyscrapers as AquaDad and wife walked around the aquamarine swimming pool that capped the roof of The Standard. Bright colored immense couches surrounded the pool and various bunches of L.A. hipsters talked about themselves as they drank themselves into the next night. AquaDad and AquaWife sipped there drinks and AquaDad wondered why he couldn't slip into the scene comfortably. Oh yeah, AquaDad wondered why he would want to slip into the scene at all. What was he doing there anyways? He sipped his drink some more. Oh how he wished he could slide right into the pool that beckoned to him. The pool called to him in vain. AquaDad let his drink nestle into a comfortable spot in his brain. He wouldn't jump in the pool. No. But he would daydream about a time in his youth when he could stay at the bottom of a pool and look up through the water to the sky above...he would daydream about his youth when there were exciting things to look forward to. But now, with the alcohol taking up residence in his skull, AquaDad forgot that many of those exciting things never materialized. The AquaWife summoned AquaDad from his dreamy meanderings. "Let's go." And AquaDad followed.

AquaDad sits at a cubicle and writes and dreams, has he ever awakened from his stupor? On his desk there are many doodlings, and he smiles, recovering some of his satisfaction...

Stealing Christmas Tree

PUBLISHED

Somewhere in the Sargasso Sea, forward movement bubbles along...

AquaDad gets one of his short stories published in the OC Register. Well, very nearly. As runner up his story isn't published in the newspaper, but it is available online. It's another exciting moment for AquaDad's writing career. The exciting moments seem to pop up every few years like a string of Christmas lights where many of the lights are burnt out but here and there are a a few shining brightly. AquaDad needs to apply himself more to his writing career.

Here's a link to the story: http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/life/article_1373371.php

The OC Register every so often has a painter come up with a painting and then they invite people to submit stories based on the painting. So make sure you look at the painting before you read the story. The painting they show is slightly different, the winner of the contest's picture has been added to the painting.

AquaDad is happy with his story. He hopes you will read it and enjoy it too.