Caught in a John Waters movie

In a John Waters film like Hairspray or Cry-Baby, we see an odd and fantastic version of Baltimore. I always thought that John Waters' image of Baltimore was just that: his own.

Jump to last week and my (Matt) weekly visits to Timonium Maryland to work with Internet Software Developers. Someone suggested for lunch that we visit "Village Sub."

It's totally Old School, I was told. I said "Sure, let's do it."

Well, I walk in and see a Sub Place that appears that it has not changed since the 50's.

See for yourself:

What I found more remarkable were the employees:

1st Employee: Odd looking gentleman in his 50's will a bowl haircut. When we walked in, we could have just landed from Mars. That was how he stared at us. I still feel his stare and I'm miles away.

2nd Employee: 30's lady with a giant bouffant hair do. She had unusual clothing and many crosses hanging from her neck.

3rd Employee: The proverbial "Tough Ole Lady." In her 60's with a growl and snort to communicate. She was rought but endearing.

The thing is, these people weren't trying to be kitchy or ironic or smarmy. They are the real deal.

I immediately felt I was in a John Waters film. If it weren't for the people I was with, I might have jumped up on the counter and started crooning a la "Cry-Baby" Walker, with the employees above joining in with fanciful dance moves. Maybe I'll go there alone sometime and try it. Maybe not.

I felt as if perhaps Mr. Waters vision of the world had less to do with his creativity (which he of course has a lot) with SOME elements of reality. I believe I confirmed that he didn't make ALL of it up on his own. This place is strange, but great. It's got flavor. I like flavor. And it has great subs.

So, tonight, I search for John Waters in Wikipedia and learned the following:

Waters grew up in Lutherville, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore.

And the location of Village Sub? Lutherville, Maryland. Damn I'm good....sometimes...

New England Pride

The title betrays what I (Matt) believe myself to be. Though I grew up in New England until the age of 14, I refer to myself as a Marylander. New England culture, like New York or Texas, is much better known than Maryland. But Maryland has flavah, indeed it does. More on that later.

Anyway, the video below makes me proud of the fact I am a former New Englander and current Red Sox fan.

Scene: Autistic Man singing the National Anthem at a Red Sox game. During the song, he gets a case of the giggles. My first thought was “oh no, they’re going to ridicule him.”

I was happily incorrect.

Our Kitchen's grownz up.

On all the home improvement television shows, a dramatic transformation occurs within the course of a half hour. I appreciate this in relation to watching a show, but when it comes to our own house, I wouldn't enjoy it too much. In our (Aimee and me) case, the show would last a long time and be quite boring. Why? Because we've made improvements slowly. Why? Because we only pay for improvements for which we can afford. We've taken the five year plan as opposed to the TV show plan. I would rather pay for this stuff in cash than take out loans.

The latest improvement is for our kitchen. So, what did we do? Back Splash. Yah, not too exciting.

I don't have true before and after of pictures of our kitchen from when we moved in vs. its present state. The reason is that the original state of our kitchen did not even reach the level of a kitchen in a crack house. Inhabitants of crack houses would snub their noses at our kitchen, circa 2005.

What I do have is a before and after from a year ago vs now. First, here is a picture from a year ago.

Here is the "Today" with the new backsplash:

We're gettin there...

Aimee's Birthday

Happy Birthday Spouse!!

Funny Foo Fighters Music Video

Music Videos aren't as prevalent as they once were. I, Matt, don't exactly have my finger on the pulse of the Music Video World, but I do know they still exist.

Case in point: a new Foo Fighters video. I am not their number one fan, though I think their videos are hilarious. Their new one centers around the cast of a 70's Soap Opera. There's romance, jealousy, a side career as a teen idol, heart break, and a lot of shots of a guy crying in a very funny way.

I like the fake names for the characters in the video. I think my favorite is "Ty Hawkstone." I've been known to come up with a few myself.

If you don't like music videos, no need to watch. If you like ridiculousness. then definitely watch.

Ginny The Chinese Food Thief

Location: Kitchen

Subject: Plate of Chinese food left for 13 seconds

Perpetrator: Ginny-Lou Weedawalker, born in West Virginia USA

Crime: Chinese Food Theivery

Sworn Statement: I left the room for a moment, only to turn around and see Ginny start to eat my food. The portion of the plate where she ate was cleaner than the day it came out of the Plate Factory (China?).

Punishment: None. I commend her for her effort and the ability to smile right after she's caught.

Fall in Maryland photos

Since it hardly rained this past summer, the fall colors are not quite as dramatic as they tend to be during the Fall season. They are still pleasant though, as seen below.

I (Matt) took the dogs for their morning walk and brought along the camera. Here is Darla, checking out the scene.

Here is the view from our back yard. It's hard to make out, but in the middle of the picture, you can see a paved path.

Happy Ginny enjoying the woods.


The Woods.

Another back yard shot.

The Path.

That's all for now!

Thoughts on Spanish

If you spend any amount of time on the Internets, you've seen the following video. It is a 'love song' in Spanish. The lyrics are a mishmash of the amount of knowledge one feller retained from one semester of college Spanish. It certainly is funny...at least I think so. If you've ever taken a Spanish class, you will certainly appreciate it.

I (Matt) speak Spanish. I am certainly rusty though when I try after not having spoken it for awhile. Then, within about a half hour, it flows back fairly quickly. I enjoy speaking with native Spanish speakers who appreciate someone who speaks their language. I get the feeling though, that many folks from Latin America who have been in the US for some time think Gringos are pandering/humoring them. So, I tend not to speak it unless I feel comfortable.

Outside the country is a different story. When Aimee and I are in a Spanish speaking country (four times so far), I speak to anyone and everyone. Native Spanish speakers in their own countries don't have too many preconceived notions about foreigners speaking their language, so the experience is enjoyable.

My favorite Spanish, by far, is Chilean Spanish. Why? Because that's how I learned it. It also sounds beautiful to me. At the end of this post, I added a video of a song by Violeta Parra, a famous Chilean folk singer. Aimee and I have one of her CD's and it's great. The song in the video is sung by some dudes and not Violeta, but you can get a sense of the power of her music, even if you don't understand. I actually have lot of trouble with some of the words, so I just listen to it with my English-speaking brain. If you don't know who she is, you can google her and learn about her influence on the music of the 1960's in the US.

First though, check out the goofiness.



Then, here is a REAL song in Spanish.

Drive into the Danger Zone

Today was momentous. The spirit of Maverick from Top Gun possessed me.

I am not the speedy car type fella. All my (Matt) adult life I drove second hand or basic cars...by choice. When Aimee and I moved to Maryland, my mother offered her 1990 Volvo Station Wagon with busted air conditioning and heating to my youngest sister. Sister declined. Since I didn't have a car at the time, I jumped at the chance. Before that, there was the first new car I ever purchased: a 1998 Hyundai Elantra. I purchased the Elantra after I read a newspaper article how these cars were the best economic choice. Before that I drove a 1986 VW with duct tape on it.

When I was in high school and driving with friends, some times we'd be at a RED light, next to a Ferrari or Lotus or some fast car. Whoever was driving almost instinctually did the following:

1.) Rev engine on ridiculously slow station wagon.
2.) Look over to driver of fast car
3.) Point to Red light.
4.) Dramatically turn thumbs down to other driver.

It would never fail that we'd laugh when the light would turn green and the parental vehicle would cough out to a top speed of 37 miles per hour while the fast car was already nearing the Pennsylvania State line.

What I am saying is that I never drove fast and still do not. When it comes to cars, I am more like Jerry Lewis than Carl Lewis...except for today. I drove a car over 100 miles per hour.

I don't recommend or advocate speeding. Part of this can be attributed to the kind of car that Aimee has: a G35. This car is a bullet. One hundred miles an hour for this car is like a lion yawning. For me, it's fast.

So anyway, the situation presented itself:

1.) An open highway with no cars ahead.

2.) Maverick from Top Gun giving me the thumbs up.

3.) This song blaring on the stereo.

I think I felt the presence of Maverick, Goose, and Ice Man. And ever so faintly, I heard them say: I like your moves. I am not sure, but I think I responded with the requisite coded answer: I like your style.

So I pushed down on the gas. Any cars behind me became tiny little dots in the matter of seconds. And it felt kinda good.

Leaving on a High Note

(By Matt)

Scene from Seinfeld:

Office meeting at Kruger Industrial Smoothing.

Kruger: ...And it gets worse. The team working on the statue in Lafayette Square kind of over-smoothed it. They grounded the head down to about the size of a softball, and that spells trouble.

George: Alright, well why don't we smooth the head down to nothing, stick apumpkin under its arm and change the nameplate to Ichabod Crane?

(Everyone at the meeting breaks out in laughter.)

George (getting up and leaving): Alright! That's it for me. Goodnighteverybody.

later...

Elaine: What was that?

Jerry: Showmanship, George is trying to get out on a high note.

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It seems that when we wish for chance and opportunity, it's a moment in which we foresee better circumstances. With the job for which my last day was yesterday, I hadn't been looking.

Work life was set: I loved what I did. I had the best work environment I've ever experienced (and I've experienced the worst). The commute was 15 minutes, door to door. My clients and coworkers enjoyed working with me. I knew my stuff.

So, why did you leave? An opportunity.

Will you love it? I don't know.

What's the work environment like? There is none, yet.

What about the commute? I don't know where I'll end up working.

Are you an expert at it? No and No.

Are you crazy? Eeeeasy. I'm telling you something.

The reason I left my job relates to one certainty: nothing ever stays the same. The job I left was a slice in linear time and happened to be a high note.

If George Costanza had stayed in the meeting, maybe everyone would get bored. Maybe they would have become hungry for lunch and would not have been primed for the Ichabod Crane joke.

If I had stayed at my job, I could have seen my great coworkers leave, one-by-one. Maybe the office would transfer far from our house. Maybe I would get laid off. In any case, the possibility existed where I'd reach a point where the 'slice in time' would not be as high as it is now. I would always think back to the opportunity that I didn't consider. So, even if this opportunity turns out to be a bust (which I doubt), I will never experience any regret.

I think the most difficult change is the type where you force events rather than letting them lead you. Events that force change allow you to reason that you didn't have a choice and needed to make do. People are comfortable when everything makes sense. I have neither certainty nor comfort when I think about future linear time. It is certain though, that we (me and Aimee) will surely find out.