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Ok, guys and gals.
Peeair IS really missing. No joke!
That little pink bundle of turmoil has fled the dawghouse.
I have turned the house upside down. Where could I have put him?!?!
It's not like I sit down and have tea time with them and could have misplaced him during playtime.. I hate to admit it, but they're just fun props. Been sitting up on my shelf in the studio.
Chester McNutts and Peeir were sitting on a shelf behind my paper screen that I shoot the models with. They weren't even in full view. I would SWEAR that he was sitting right next to Chester, but alas, there is just a blank space where he was.
I can't imagine that anyone would take him, but I fear if I don't accuse SOMEONE, then he will never be found. Because as we all know, you never actually stumble on a lost item until you accuse someone else of taking it. The other sure fire way to find something is to buy another one just like it. It will for sure turn up within 15 minutes after the replacement has been purchased.
I may have to adopt another Peeair clone. I hope it doesn't come to this. Thankfully they still sell 'em online. I got one on reserve, just in case.
Bill was gonna ride with him, and Chester with me. Maybe he's mad cuz he doesn't get to hump me for a 150 miles.
WHERE IS HE!?!?!?! Grrrrrrrrrrrr.
Ok so I gotta few things to cover.
As you know, cuz I won't let you forget until each and everyone of you has made a donation, it's Hill Country Ride for AIDS time! This is my big big big fundraiser. This week the organizers had their Rider Recruitment party which once again was held at the Design Center. David Smith, proudly announced at the event that the location, food, EVERYTHING was donated.
There's one thing about this ride that stands out from the rest. It's run by only a couple people who are hyper-aware that other bike rides have gotten a bad rap for very little return on the dollar. Not HCRA! Practically every dollar goes to AIDS related care. Heck, even the volunteers have to pay to volunteer so their expenses are covered!
The party this year was a little off, but well attended. The video needed to be updated, and the fashion show stumbled as they tried valiantly to do an American Idol rip off. Lots of people headed back for the bar or drifted towards the door. But they tried!
Still, the speakers who came up to give an impassioned plea to volunteer, donate or ride were very convincing. David and Jen Garrison were both most excelletn emcees.
Team Chaos is shaping up well. We scored another rider named Dorothy, and another good friend named Mark will also be riding. Just need a couple more people. Be cool to have 10 people who raise a $1,000.
I wanted to share some stories about some of the people that have donated already.
Mary in my office (Barbie Gurl)- Mary had her colon removed 3 months ago, and has had several surgeries due to complications. She has been out of work for all that time. Just last week she returned to work. Needless to say, money is tight for her. I never even asked her for a donation. She just saw it on my site, and made a $25 donation. I was floored, and felt guilty. She came into my office later, and told me why it was important for her to donate. Made me get the sniffles.
Elaine- Made a donation to AIDS Service Austin as a Christmas present for me. I matched her donation to the Hill Country Ride. Elaine's gift giving this year revolved around gifts to charity, and I am surprised at how satisfying it is to get this type of gift.
Alex Gildzen- Poet in New Mexico. He gave last year, and he stepped up to the plate again this year. Despite being retired, he dipped deep in his pockets. Last week I had spent a good couple hours helping him setup and transfer all his stuff to a new computer. So the donation was also an extremely pleasant “Thank-You” for the help I gave. Alex- Thank you.
Ken in Singapore- Gave a $150 despite having to pay for rate exchanges. That's the great thing about credit card donations, they can handle the exchange of funds. ~hint~
I have had about 15 other donations, and I of course don't want to leave anyone out. But these couple stories stood out, and was hoping they might inspire you all as well.
I ran into Tony at the gym. He asked me if I wanted to go to some tattoo exhibition/conference. Not sure if you remember, but Tony has an amazing water dragon tattoo. He's quite fascinated by large coverage tattoos, and I think he has plans on doing his entire back.
I tend to like tattoos that accentuate, but I certainly can see the artistic appeal.
Funny..both Tony and Faith have funny different or even odd things to go do. So I asked Faith if she wanted to join us.
The three of us went over last Sunday. As it turned out, the entrance fee was $15. Neither of us really wanted to pay that much, so we settled for only going to a wee little art gallery.
There was also a judging contest for Best Of (Best sleeve, best back, best chest etc) We stayed and watched for a half hour or so, but Faith and I drifted out when the place got too smokey.
Tattoo aficionados apparently like to smoke a lot!
It was fun and interesting.
I have mentioned my garage door gets dirty easily. Well, it started flaking off. It looks like only part of the door was primed. Layers are peeling off in some places. Tacky!
So one of my projects is to get the paint off and repaint it properly. This little project is turning out to last way too long.
Some of the garage DOES have primer underneath it. It won't easily come off with the toxic chemicals I bought.
I only got a couple columns done before the weather completely turned nasty. Now my garage looks like this.
It's really embarrassing! I need a weekend or two to really tackle this project.
On a completely different note:
Uh..what's up with this McDonald's advertising campaign? This photo is at their drive throughs.
The slogan “I will roll with it.” With two guys that look like they are from the hood. One guy is driving with a cell phone…what kind of example is that? And I might not be up on my lingo, but when you roll someone, you steal/or kill someone. Suuuuuuure..it means just roll with the punches, but not in gang lingo. Roll also means to cruise around in your car. But hey..when ur talking fast food, I think rolls of fat from eating nuggets and fries!
I must be out of touch. This just seems like a strange ad campaign. A vain attempt to capture the African American market. It bewilders me every time I go get my pancakes and ice tea. (I love the ice tea from McDonald's-strange.)
Speaking of rolling with it. I am now rolling around in my new F150 FX4.
I “thought” I had two more payments, but it turns out that last payment is the balloon payment. I had to act fast!
So I turned my silver one in. I can't believe I had it three years. That's the longest I have had a car.
This one I purchased, not leased. My “payments” went up 40 bucks a month, and no money down, so it didn't hurt at all. Very strange to just drop off one car, and pick up another one, no muss no fuss.
And FINALLY, it's like the most perfect truck. It has everything I want on and in it. Not sure about the dark blue color, but I can live with that.
I love this dashboard. It's like a space ship! Love the center console, and tons of storage space. And the truck is tall! 18inch wheels and all jacked up. I can just rest my chin on the back bed and peer inside it.
This truck has been totally redesigned, and every little teeny annoyance from my other one has been thoughtfully re-thunk and changed. They really must have listened to the feedback they were getting.
Ok, one more sparkley to brag about. And again, this one didn't cost me anything. I built a new computer for someone and they wanted a 19 inch monitor. He does landscape photography. We found a great monitor for him, and it turns out it rotates to portrait mode. He didn't think he would ever use it, but I was all over it, since most of my pictures have people standing in.....well..portrait orientation.
So I swapped him my 19in monitor for the new one. The color isn't as good, but now I can see my high res images at a much better zoom factor.
I may not ever go back to landscape mode again!
I did two photoshoots this week.
One guy named Tony, who has flaming red hair. I jumped at the chance to work with him. Get requests all the time for red heads.
I also shot with Matt again. His pictures from the first shoot won't even be online until March, and I already have a second shoot with him!
My buddy Fred has just put the finishing touches on his new pool house, and invited us to go down and shoot there. The pool house is awesome. He's got a fancy shower with glass bricks and overhead shower head. The "Changing area" is bascially a bar (complete with ice maker and fridge), there will be a sitting area and total multimedia home theatre thang with a plasma screen. The floors are cement and have been profesisonally stained. I think Fred plans his construction so I can take amazing photos with them.
Unzipped Magazine REALLY liked Matt's photos. They have asked for 25 of them, and may open the spread up to accommodate more than the standard three photos. Plus I took all these photos at Freds and they haven't even seen em yet. hehe..they're gonna be all confused!
Unzipped in total bought 6 photoshoots for their Guy Next Door spreads. So it looks like I will have some free publicity again this year, and continue to be in print.
With Matt today, I took all kinds of pics for various articles that Unzipped might need over the coming months....Guy with computer, guy listening to headphones, guy with condom on.
But I also took this photo for you all!
Team Chaos:
Ok, so here is the deal. You go over and donate 19 dollars (OR any unit with 9 at the end - $29 $39, $59, $109 - you get the idea!) to the Bike Ride, and I will sign and mail to you (at my own expense) this photo of Matt. Make sure you get your address in there when you donate, and make it for with a the 9 dollars amount - that way I know those donations are meant for prints. (I'd send you any print if you ask!)
Come one! I can tell you this right now. Matt is going to be famous. It's a good investment.
Ok..gotta run. Have a good week!
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Hill Country Ride Site
Where are you guys and gals? I need you!
The team needs you!
Peeair NEEDS YOU!
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