Lifestyle Maintenance

Monday is the beginning to this work week. That means I have been sending e-mails to voice over casting calls, administrative assistant job openings, and agonizing over the difference between the definition of "unpaid internship" and "free labor for companies that can't afford to pay their employees." It's all a question of verbatim.

Last week I trekked back up to Dallas to see what there was to see. My cousins from Florida visited for Thanksgiving, allowing us just enough time to see this season's hit blockbusters, and explain my way out of having to sit and watch Sandra Bullock comedically excuse herself out of every meaningful interaction on screen. Narrowly escaping The Blind Side, I spent the better part of my after dinner coma reading a bit of Tom Robbins and awaiting my cosmic intervention with my answer with what I am supposed to do with my life.

The next day I decided to get out of the house and out of my mind for a bit, so I followed my uncles and cousins out to get rambunctious. If you have ever done any research into the particulars of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator test and the personality types Jung laid out through this, you'll notice that my personality type, INFJ, is known for living life internally. In other words, I am a thinker in most situations, and not necessarily a doer. In even more words, I spend most of my time and energy focusing on figuring out why we are put on this earth, and where we are going wrong.

But after being around my light-hearted cousins all week, I began to realize that it has been far too long since I have done something that wasn't productive, or at least done purely for the satisfaction of having fun. So on Friday after our stomachs settled, we set out to ride dune buggies, four wheelers and dirt bikes. Uncle Gene even went so far as to let us play with his extensive collection of guns, reminding myself what it feels like to be a true Texan.



I learned how to drive a stick shift on a dune buggy that went 60 mph, I ate fried chicken just before shooting handguns and showed my cousins a homemade tattoo. All in all, it was a successful day. And I never even cracked a book.



The past few days in Austin have been cold, muggy, and rainy, leaving Jake and I the creative fuel we need to stay in and record, save for the occasional break in attention to watch random youtubes and kook shit. If you want to stay in the know, The Fall of the Republic by Alex Jones has been an interesting take on the economic crisis. I don't normally like or particularly trust the likes of Jones' exposes, but he put down the megaphone in this one, and instead substituting for real interviews and not just those of confidential servants of the "illuminati." Check, check, check it out for what it's all about.

Last night Jake and I stepped out of the house long enough to see The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Wes Anderson's latest endeavor into stop-motion. The cast (well, their voices) were perfect, the script was a mixture between Bottle Rocket and The Royal Tenenbaums, and the execution was nothing short of stunning. For as big of a perfectionist as Anderson seems to be with each subsequent film, it is hard to imagine what he can't do.

Now time for a day dedicated to upkeep, Modest Mable and the Free Rides recording sessions, and finishing up the live-action movie we just made with Moses. A few hints of what is to come- dogs in glasses and hats, dog and cat interbreed dating and a sweet soundtrack. Stay tuned!