It feels like Fall is coming! It’s only about 90º here. Perfect weather for Pumpkin Ale. My birthday is about 2 weeks away. WHAT THE?!?!?! How does it seem to sneak up on me every year? This year it is a “big one” as people are fond of saying. I guess it is: 40. WHAT THE?!?!?! Anyway, I’m lucky to make it to 40. Here is a brief list of people who didn’t: John F. Kennedy, Jr., Marilyn Monroe, Heath Ledger, Lindsay Lohan, Mercutio and the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. I think we can all agree that I’m pretty similar to all those folks. In any case, it’s happening. My birthday, that is.

A couple of weeks ago was the Out of Bounds Festival here in Austin. About 25 friends (no exaggeration) from Los Angeles came in to perform. I got to do two shows. Both of which were very good. It was 4 of the most fun days I have had in a long time. One of the things I really liked about it was all the different permutations of people that I got to spend time with. Sometimes it was just me and Karen. Sometimes it was Karen, Levin and Annie and me. And then Eric. And then Dave, Josh, Jon, Rachel, Shelley. And then the Nicks and Jessica and Allen and Graham and BBQ. And then back to Karen. And then just Eric. It was just a really good time for me. My heart hurt a bit when they left but it didn’t make me want to move back to Los Angeles. I recognize that I’m still looking for soul-like connections like those here, but it made me hopeful in a way. Everyone is doing so well and I’m happy for them. But I’m also happy that I’m not in that environment any more. (I believe that I might’ve had some sort of breakdown had I stayed in California. That’s not hyperbole. The amount of anxiety I was feeling on a daily basis combined with the (possibly, perceived) weight of being single and 40 would have driven me to a depression.) I think it also helped that I booked a day of work on Spy Kids 4 the day after they all left. YES, I DID. It was one of the loveliest jobs I’ve ever had. Robert Rodriguez was kind, smart and distractingly manly. I had lots of lines. The crew was great and I only had to deal with an annoying Stage Dad giving me notes for a few hours. He WAS from “Los Angeles” (sherman oaks) after all. I had a new viewpoint when he was telling me how I might handle my props in the scene, “Oh my god, he thinks I’m some small-time local actor!” My ego was starting to boil but then I thought, “Who the hell cares? I’m in a movie. I’m gonna go stand near Robert and smell his fertility.” Ahhhhhhhhh.

Wait, Lindsay Lohan is still alive?! WHAT THE?!?!?!

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