Gus

This used to be at a run down garage on the corner of McDowell and 15th. The place was dirty and maybe a little sketchy, with a sign proclaiming:

LUBRICATION GUS
OIL CHAINGE

The place had been there for years. It looked to do steady business, nothing terribly busy but enough to keep it open. There were always stacks of tires out front, and usually a little weekend yard sale going on in the parking lot.

They demolished it last summer to make way for an overpriced, tuscan style condo complex that likely will never happen due to the downturn in the housing market and the opposition from the neighbors in the bordering Palmcroft neighborhood.

Instead of a dirty service station where Gus can make a few bucks to feed his family, we have an empty dirt lot that some schmuck from Santa Barbara just had to clear.

All in the name of progress.

Knock her out, Barack!

The next Democratic debate airs tonight. Can't wait to watch the fur fly!

Clinton's losing her grip big time. It's only a matter of time before she pulls a Howard Dean- and we all know how that ended.

Take her down, dude.

2-19

My grandfather got lost at the airport yesterday. He was supposed to be picking up a high school friend who came in to visit for a few days. Three hours after his flight came in, and after he had taken a shuttle to his hotel, he phoned my grandmother to let her know that grandpa had finally shown up at the hotel.

Older people really shouldn't be allowed such unrestricted access to driving privileges, but that's another topic for another day.

My grandfather is 80 years old, 81 in May. He takes his dog for a walk every morning, he's thin as a rail, and has the temper of a paint can set ablaze. But the thing I find most remarkable about him is that he has friends from high school.

I don't even have friends from high school anymore, and I graduated 9 years ago. I can't even imagine keeping in touch with someone for 62 years. The stories they must have. Wow.

2-13

One of the sweetest songs i've heard in a long time can be heard here.
Give it a listen. I promise it doesn't suck, and it has nothing to do with ticks*.

*If you watched the Grammys, you know what i'm talking about.

Ruh-roh.

Apple has introduced games for the ipod, available through iTunes.
Shit! They have Tetris!! I may not get anything done ever again.

2-8

Yikes. Another busy week. Suns game Monday, Roadrunners Tuesday, visit from the sis Wednesday, cupcakes with mom on Thursday, and playing chauffeur today.

Relationships are complicated, sibling relationships are especially complicated. As kids, my sister and I fought constantly. We have very different personalities, and very different ideas about how the world works. I don't know why I thought that the dynamic of our relationship would change when we got older, it hasn't really. I had this idea in my head for the longest time that one day, as adults, we'd be able to put our differences aside and have a functional friendship. The older I get and the more I try, the more I realize that some people just aren't that compatible, regardless of family ties.

You can choose your friends, but you're stuck with the people related to you.

I love my sister, really. It sucks because I feel like we should be closer- like we should have a better bond- but it just isn't like that. Talking with her gives me a headache, and I don't call her very often for this reason. She tells me things she plans to do, and I try to give her advice (in a non-preachy way) on the things that i've been through. It's not that I want her to do things my way, or that I want to control her somehow. It's like wanting to give someone in shorts a jacket when it's cold outside, but they just refuse to take it because they would rather find out themselves how cold it is. It's frustrating to watch.

Some people just have to learn for themselves. I get that. But it just makes so much more sense to try to avoid the break rather than sit around and wait to pick up the pieces.

2-5

Boo hoo. It's Super Tuesday and I can't vote.

Cast your ballots wisely, people.

2-4

Like every other obedient American, I watched the Super Bowl. I don't care for football, as it all seems rather pointless. I watch for the commercials.

In years past, the commercials were awesome- really something worth watching. I don't know when the decline started, but they really sucked this year. Sure, there were a few good ones, but overall I have to wonder who the hell does the advertising for these companies, and why can't they come up with anything better? What happened to witty, creative ideas? Have we really run out of good ideas?

If this year's crop was any indication of things to come, I may just skip it altogether next year.