he who can not be named cleans house

ok...
he who can not be named on the blog is cleaning out his place...
he has a nice love seat he's giving away....but you have to take the 36" tv if you take the loveseat.
he has other stuff too. lots of he who can not be named on the blog's stuff...

let me know if you need stuff....

g.

that's mr. art broker to you....

so a while back i helped someone, a friend in LA, buy some KAWS paintings - helped as in brought the two parties together. i made a few phone calls, some e.mails, etc...and in the end, ronnie got his paintings and the seller got some cash...then came my commission...which in the end came down to some cash or a couple of toys...i choose the toys, even though i have the set already, because a: i love the kaws accomplices and b: their stock is rising so...very soon two kaws accomplices will find their way to my place...

pretty good....

thanks ronnie.

g. xo

look ma! no stitches...!

yup...
for the first time since i almost took my head off with a rather large piece of aluminum, i am back working on the lathe...a little leery but i'm in there giving it a go - and have been fine thus far...i had to turn down a bunch of legs for the platform thing i'm making for the b.c. sports hall of fame....48 legs to be exact...takes some time it does....and i had to turn the legs for the headquarter cash desk a week or so ago...and i still have my head and all my fingers...
with the help of the garbs we've gotten this thing together in record time - especially since there was world series baseball to be watched and a job i've had to go to every day....and ...well, tomorrow i will set this job free and look for the next one...

i need a shower.

i love you.

g. xo

the platforms i'm making. each one is 2' x 8', joins the other to make a full 4' x 8' sheet, with welded pockets for the aluminum legs to go into and held with set screws...fancy. they want to be able to store it flat so everything had to be able to come apart...lots of nuts and bolts and lathe and welding action.

a bucket full of legs.

worth it...

funny...this seems to have made some think....out loud in e.mail.

i got this through my box from a loyal blog reader who shall go nameless..i've omitted one remark as it makes a direct reference to something i think they'd rather not have me repeat here...but it's along the same lines...
.......

I know so many people who feel this way, myself included. The sooner you accept that
your life changes and so do those around you, the better. As usual
you've made the point perfectly. It's like the roots on a tree sometimes intertwining then going in different
directions.

love the blog. keep up the good work.

..........

thanks man.

g. xo

clarification

someone was asking me if the last post was about anyone in particular...the answer is no. a good friend of mine came to my 40th birthday party and i haven't seen him since. i have been bothered by this for a long time and have wondered, out loud to mutual friends, if maybe i did something, or fell out of favor with him. nope, even his wife says so. i do know he's gone through a tough time the last few years so i try not to take it personally. but i sure would love to have dinner with him. someday. my pal marty who i have known since 1977, i never see. i love that guy..but maybe it's all part of getting older, having kids, etc...priorities change. i don't see fawn as much as i would like. don bull and i are still close friends but our lives are no longer intertwined. we exchange e.mails, eat the odd meal together and otherwise only see each other in the flesh a few times here and there over a year. and i'm as much to blame as anyone. i don't go out like i used to, i prefer small events and such...but still. love all those who i never or hardly ever see. marc lives in smithers fer christ's sake. brent and mina have a family now - god bless 'em. and there are others, and they all know who they are, who have their own lives going on and need to stay the course and will, in time, call, set-up dinner dates and/or movie dates. it seems it takes megan and i weeks sometimes to get a plan firmed up for dinner sometimes.
so, no...no one person. lots i miss and know i'll see eventually.

good times...

g. xo

oh..and in reference to my post last week about being able to go home again - me working in this shop filling in for caila...but how it was only for a week...well, i'm still here....damn!

1,2,3...gonzo.

funny, but not funny -ha ha - funny as in, hhmmm. and really, it's too be expected. this is gonna be cryptic, sorry, no way around it. sometimes the best intentions are just that, the best intentions. we, collectively, say things that we want to happen, or we at least think we want it to happen. like, when you run into someone you haven't seen in a while and you plan a lunch date or dinner or drinks with no fixed date, just a "we should get together", but you really know you won't. and not because you don't want to, it just never happens. and we, again, all of us, deal with our shit our own way, we are human afterall and no one is the same....like snowflakes or fingerprints. we all just do what we do and really that's all we can do. do the best we can to keep up with others and keep in touch and stay in tune with our families, friends and even some enemies. i have a very good friend who i have known since grade eight or seven who i never see yet he lives only ten minutes from me. why? because in many ways we're very different but i know, if i saw him, we'd pick-up right where we left off. i have a few pals like that. some friendships, however, seem like they'll never come back and maybe that's how they were meant to be, their lifespan shorter than the rest, but no less valuable.
we can try and keep it all together, have dinners, send cards and letters, call, lunches, etc...but in the end, the ones that have been meant to stick, will, and those that were meant to be shorter in term or ones that are revisited from time to time will be as they are.
a change is as good as a rest sometimes...just sometimes the rest becomes a permanent change. and that can be okay too.

i love you all....i really do.

g. xo

trying to be nice and help out...

...never felt so shitty.
the readers digest version.

a friend of mine needed to move some furniture from olympia to vancouver. i said i could help out. and then, i kinda got sidetracked and didn't phone her, as i should have, to set it up. i did leave message and tried to get in touch but, some shit got in the way - life, etc..and i failed to keep her in the loop. i then ran into her and said my 'i'm sorry's' and told her i was ready to rock. we made a plan right then and there to do the move on the thanksgiving weekend. then, she decided that that may be a bad weekend and maybe we should do it the next weekend. shit, i was ready to go. i told her i would look into getting the van i was going to use the next weekend...then, i got called to work on a film, did some other work, lawns, headquarter, etc...and i forgot to call her. i admit it. my fault. and that weekend passed. shit.
so...she had mentioned she needed to get it all moved by the end of the month so called her on her home phone and on her cell phone and left messages asking if we were still gonna go get the furniture...no calls back. not a word.
so tonight i was getting into the elevator at mishi and garb's building - where she lives as well - and she was getting off the elevator and i said hello and made mention that she hadn't called me back and her response was, "yup. just giving it back to you."
huh? so i fucked up, which i admit, so that makes it okay to, on purpose, ignore my call about something i was helping her with? fuck that. and you know the phone works both ways...you don't hear from me, call me.
maybe i'm over thinking this but i say this, fuck you, fuck that, don't ask me to ever help you again. fuck it.
hhmmm...i feel better now. i'm not perfect and was just trying to get through a tough month and still help you out.

fuck you.

g. xo

there's a new sign in town....

yup...when you're walking down fourth ave. it's just that little bit harder to miss the great topanga cafe...it's up, the new don bull designed topanga cafe sign. go have a look one day, it's worth the drive.



g. xo

carefree and faithless

i'm not really...faithless, i just have a different take on it i think. i have faith in certain things, and none in others - and i don't think that's really so much different from anyone...i'm trying to have faith in new things as well, like the energy healer i went and saw today, marjorie haynes...who is a licenced RMT, but does a whole lot more. hands on my hips as i faced away from her and then she started talking to my back. not me. my back. and i just went with it. 8:30 am on a saturday morning and i was in the passenger seat and going where she was driving. my body, apparently, was doing things as she spoke to it, i, of course, couldn't feel these things, but, somehow i was into it. i kinda liked it. and i'm gonna go back. there was also some massage and working of the muscles. she did things and then would ask me if it hurt, when i said no, she said that what she was doing, other people would be in great pain. she figures i have been so used to having pain, now and in the past, that i have built up a very high pain threshold, and that i need to get it down to a normal level so i know when i'm in pain, because now i have no real idea of just regular pain, just really bad pain. like in my neck and back. she also thinks my GP is a jerk. her words. so i'm gonna go back. like the acupuncture, i'll give it a go and maybe between marjorie and my new chiro dude, i'll get somewhere. i am already noticing improvements in my neck movement since going to the new chiro guy, so, onward.
on the pilates front...well, there's no news on the pilates front. i signed-up for a one on one session with a woman at diane miller pilates but have heard nothing as of yet...they're very busy and i can appreciate that but...i may have to go to another studio if i actually want to try pilates....
today, after the energy healing/massage, i picked-up the garbs and we went to the dress sew to get some fabric for a smallish job i'm doing for the b.c. sports hall of fame - making some platform thingys...my main man cam shot this job my way and i just hope i don't fuck it up...i have faith i won't...it'll be wicked. then we went for a sandwich, and not just any sandwich, a grotto del formaggio sandwich on commercial drive - shit, look at me on the drive two days in a row...the garbs had a full two person number while i opted for a smaller one person, but still huge, number...theses good sandwiches...i mean, fuck tony's on the drive, go grotto.
we then went and delivered some lawn order gear and saw Nice Smile as we dropped off lousie's gear. he's a great guy he is...mr. stewart. his name may be stewart, but we call him Nice Smile...he's really working hard to keep that smile on his face...his wife had a stroke a while back and rarely leaves the house, she's also on kidney dialysis three times a week and can't really speak and he's there given'r in his front yard trying to keep his wits about him, keep his place nice and take care of her and, i think, likes having a few laughs with us...he loves his wife and it's hard to not feel for him...he's got faith...in what i don't know, but he must, he just keeps moving along. and smiling. he wants me to cut his lawn because he's just too busy and tired...so tomorrow i'm gonna go up there and take care of it...on the house. he deserves that.
i dropped off the garbs and then went to the shop and made some platforms andrew needs for the topanga and got the last bits of the new topanga sign together and went and hung it up...nice. it looks pretty good...you can thank don bull for that...

ok..i need some dinner....

g. xo


nice smile and the garbs.

katherine in her new lawn order hoodie...nice gear.

sandwich time...

energy healing and chicken wings

last night was fawn's birthday celebration at stella's on commercial drive...it was fuckin' packed in there - friday night after work action as well as fawn's table of birthday pals. wow...even 'he who can not be named on the blog' showed-up to wish fawn a happy 25th.
nice....
this morning i'm off to see a woman lisa from storm goes to for her aches and pains...she's an energy healer. one more thing to try to fix this back...i'll let ya know...

g. xo

this guy was sitting next to our table. he was with, although he seemed to be ignoring them, a bunch of guys who were all, somehow, connected to the conservative party - guys who either supported the conservatives or worked for the party...he was cool though. he retired in 1987 after selling wire rope for many years. he told me there's only three things you need in life. women, land and gold. ok then. now i know.

stevie doing what stevie does.

stevie sent me these video caps of him jumping off a tower on annasis island last week...

good lord.

g. xo

the gear is here, the new gear is here!

i went at lunch and picked-up the new lawn order hoodies and t-shirts...so those of you who ordered your gear...get your fucking money out!

i love you...

g. xo

happy birthday to the fawnz!

tonight after work i will be heading down to commercial drive - yes me on commercial drive - to meet-up with fawn and some of her/our pals, to help her celebrate her birthday....25 never looked so good...
happy birthday kid!

i love you!

g. xo

a salute in pictures...

you can go home again...but maybe just for a week...

yup, i'm back in the land of tony and pacificwest spfx, but just for the week. i'm here minding the store while caila, the usual 'buyer' has a week off to rest and relax. for those who don't know, i worked here for many years both as an on-set guy and buyer guy but moved over to the BOC a few, or more than a few, years ago. funny how some things never change and one of them is the key system here, which drives people crazy...tony loves to have a different lock and key for everything, and i know why, it's security and you can never be too safe with all the break-ins and such...but man, there's a lot of keys and locks here...

so here i am working on a sequel that will rock the film world and win a few awards i'm sure...um, maybe not...that's cool though, good to be doing a little work and the guys here are good, i like them, except one kid who's a royal pain in the ass mainly because he thinks he's pretty special and doesn't have to be polite...i have made it quite clear though that certain things will not be tolerated this week and he can go back to being a fuckhead next week when caila's back.
ok..back to it...

i love you.

g. xo

headquarter store pics up.

if you go here and scroll down a little ways, you'll see some pretty good shots of the new headquarter store in richmond.

thanks again to all that helped me get it all done for ricardo. the boys at momentum, the propellor kids - nick, tobe, pam, garbs, mishi, stevie janz, shauna (for having to listen to me worry out loud about it...)....i couldn't have done it without guys.

g. xo

some good stuff...

beans for beantown....

while a late entry i felt i should include this if for no other reason than my pal brian needs to know i was on his side. brian's a big boston red sox fan and, i'm sure, is more than a little bummed by the results of the game the other night.
during game five of the ALCS, boston/tampa bay, when the sox were losing 7-0, i was hungry and ate a cold can of baked beans while i watched the game. and by the end of it all the sox had come back from near death and won the game in the ninth 8-7. remarkable. during game six the sox had a good start but then were tied 1-1 in second inning, i then pulled out the beans, cold of course, and ate them, the final result? 4-2 boston. so there we were during game seven and the sox had the lead but then, the rays went ahead and i was forced to bring out the beans once again...the difference this time was that i had already had two bowls of fantastic pasta made by mishi and wasn't really looking to eat anything else, for a while. but at the urging of mishi, garbs and he who can not be named on the blog, i opened the can and went at it.

it was hard but i did manage to finish the beans by the middle of the ninth but it was too little too late...i did what i could to help, but it wasn't enough. sorry brian.
and so it is now the rays will meet the phillies tomorrow and start the world series that not many are interested in...
we'll be thinking of you brian.

g. xo

say hey! do it for charlie's mom....

the world series that everyone wanted has been replaced by the world series no one wanted...that's a garbs quote....and he's right. dodgers/red sox would have been wicked. phillies/rays - not so much. sure, i like the phillies as teams go. lenny used to play for them, philly cheese steaks are great, ryan howard, etc. and now there's another reason to cheer for the phillies. charlie's mom. win it for charlie's mom. phillies manager charlie manuel's mom died earlier this month just as he was about to lead his team into game two of the NLCS.
more details here.
so...i'm voting phillies my friends. you do what you do. and really, can you cheer for a team, the rays, that plays indoors? come on. don't be a retard.

the light at the end of the tunnel....

photo by mishi.

somehow it al got finished on time and tonight we - me, mishi and garbs - drove out to richmond and had a look as the grand opening party was going on. it was a nice turnout being that it is richmond and some folks don't like crossing the bridge...it was cool to see all the shelves with toys and clothes on them, and the lights in the platform working and the stevie janz welded clothes hangers and chromed and loking good with t-shirts hanging off of them. pretty cool.
below are some pics i took and mishi's much better pics...hers look great...mine, not so much. i have to say, i'm glad that job is over. now i await ricardo's reaction to my, slightly, over budget bill....

have fun.

g. xo

mishi got some great shots....







mine....




afterwards i got to se mishi's new toy. a touma skuttle garbs bought her for her birthday. super cool.

these....

grapes i just bought are awesome! super firm and crunchy.

g. xo

i can fix it...oh fuck it....

more wicked action today...and i have to say i have held my cool pretty well the last 24 hours despite the setbacks. today i was cutting and after i cut a lawn at 16th and victoria - a lawn that i wrote a letter to the owner explaining i'm not really into the dog shit but it never seems to go away....or get better - anyhow, after cutting there i used her hose to wash the dog crap off the wheels and some must have gotten into the carb - water not shit - and when i got to the next lawn it wouldn't start. ok, no biggie, but as i gave it one last pull to get it going, the cord snapped and that was that. well, usually that's not that and i can repair it by taking the recoil off and rethreading the cord and away i go. done it, can do it. well, with the new fangled craftsman/briggs and straton, you can't. you have to remove the gas tank, the top metal housing, etc...before you even get near the recoil. wicked. so there i was with a lawn 3/4's cut and not able to start the mower again. so off to champion on fraser street to get it fixed...well, what are ya gonna do?....go get a burger while he fixes it is one thing...so i did. and after an hour i was back in business and cutting like a guy who likes to cut grass..or something.
then after a run at the dog lawn it was back to headquarter to put the finishing touches on the wood platform and get the hell outta there...which i did, but i will be abck there a little later tonight as it's the grand opening tonight and somehow, despite a few bad odds, i was able to get everything done in time and well, not really on budget but not bad...we'll see how ricardo reacts when i give him the bill...
a few more lawns were cut and then it was time to buy some groceries so that i can actually eat something that's good for me...and now, i will...and watch the rays/red sox game. go sox.

more as it develops.

g. xo

i had the strangest dream....

there was some crazy shit going on in my head last night...out in the desert with the garbs, crazy animals with cartoon like heads and a strange texas/desert town...weird people and some other crap i'm still making heads and tails of...
ok...so pretty neat being up at 6:30 am on a saturday.

i'm off to get shit done.

have a great saturday.

g. xo

a little more, a little more...shit...

the best part of today was the driving back and forth to richmond to headquarter...no, no, it was driving around town getting shit - like the big glass cash desk for headquarter and stuff at home depot - or maybe the sandwich at bosa - actually that was good...me and the garbs, like old tiles, hossing down some grub at the old bosa...nice...no, the best part was when i was tightenng the bolts for the legs on the headquarter cash desk and then, just one turn too many and...crack! yup, there it was, a nice four inch crack on the back corner..just a little too tight. shitty it was all going pretty well today.. until then.
the garbs and i had gotten the cash deck there ok...hanging out the end of the element, got the lights working in the platform, mishi pulled a fast one and got a pal of hers to cut me some plexiglass discs that were suppose to be made by someone else but that didn't happen...we cancelled the wood top and platform and replaced it with glass and had delivered today and me cutting some aluminum and drilling and tapping and polishing them at the BOC for the new legs for the cash desk...it went pretty well....
well, in the end it- the cash desk - stands fine and probably will for a long time...but it has a little custom bit now...if it does fall down or fail somehow, i'll be buying a new desk for headquarter...that would be excellent. i'd love that.
i need to get back on track in the eating dept. i have been eating like a freak the last week or so. i'll eat anything and any time...the other night i ate two bowls of cereal - cheerios - some toast and a can of beans - cold from the can - a little later on...and that was dinner. what the fuck? i had a big mac and a fillet-o-fish today....huh? on set i had some great veggies and such, but then ate a bunch of cheese...am i fucked? the garbs and i had a pretty good bbq meal the other night that included leeks, onions and mashed potatoes and nice chicken, etc...so why do i the nexy day eat like an idiot? i like the annie's organic pasta stuff, but not twice in one week...ok...i'm getting back on the good food train - sure a little crap is ok...but i have to get back to a little, not a steady diet of it...
ok..
i need to have a little relax and get ready for bed...lawns tomorrow, rain or shine....

g. xo

better and better all the time...

i don't have much of a report but thought i should check-in anyways...the last couple of days i have been working on set and on the prep crew on the big show...exciting stuff....i've also been seeing a new fancy chiropractor who hasn't given me any false hope but has told me he's gonna do the best he can and we're on a seven week plan right now...and then we'll see where we're at. that's kinda exciting...more bone cracking tomorrow.
there's been some bummer action in the last few days but i'm not going to dwell on it or really mention it here....no sense to. things go up and down and that's that..check the gate - moving on.
the lawns, while basically done, still need a little action but the rain ain't helping. i think saturday'll be a big lawn day...and it may be just where i'm at today but, the desire to cut grass has kinda left me...i'm hoping it comes back soon...or by late april at least.
there's also headquarter work to be done and another some job my pal cam sent my way. next week sees me return to the pacificwest world of spfx working for tony and company. that should be interesting. could be a good change or...

ok...i need to get out of here.

somedays i tell ya, some days.

g. xo

this has tornack written all over it.

this is wicked.


nice.

g. xo