Wow. Been a while, no? Let’s get right into it then, shall we?

I’m a happier person again. Don’t know that it was any one thing that helped flip my switch from Grumplestiltskin to Groovolicious, but more likely it’s a convergence of the following developments, in a very particular order:

1) The Wyf: still awesome. Getting awesomer. We figure sh*t out together, we lean on & support each other, and damned if we don’t even occasionally have a great time together. Sure, there are things we’ll work on to make them more of what we want, but that’s part of the deal – we aren’t buying a dozen roses; we’re planting a frikkin’ garden. Unapologetically, marriage is yardwork. Sometimes it’s fun, sometimes it’s hard, sometimes it smells great, sometimes it smells like sh*t, but it’s always rewarding to get out there and work on it. It will yield roses, and on occasion, it will yield parsnips. No matter what comes up, though, as long as you don’t get overrun by boll weevils, you should feel fulfilled. Small piece of advice, though: try not to forget to stop working every once in a while & look up & enjoy what you’ve planted. No point in doing the work if you can’t enjoy the results of what you’ve done together.

2) Job: feeling pretty good about it. I’m good at it. They pay me well enough to afford the things we need, and a lot of the things we want. They like me. They let me be funny & creative, even if they don’t pay me specifically for those skills. And they recognize that there is such a thing as a work-life balance, and they actually support the latter half of it quite well. Honestly, couldn’t find much to complain about, other than the fact that it isn’t acting, and that’s mostly my fault – I’m CHOOSING to stay there right now, instead of diving into acting/comedy/poverty. I own that decision.

3) Acting: my new favorite activity. Not that it wasn’t a major nexus of pleasure already (yes, that sounds dirty… so what?), but I think I hesitated to admit how much I love doing it because it’s such a hard thing to do with any regularity. I mean, I either have to give up a healthy paycheck at a job I’m good at & risk making next to nothing at acting; OR I have to commit to acting only after 7pm and weekends, which takes me away from the wyf. The middle-ground between regularity of acting (what I want) & maintaining the current level of income & slight dissatisfaction that I’m not regularly acting (where I am today) is to continue taking classes. Eventually, after enough classes, I’ll actually be pretty damn good at it, and the risk of making next to nothing goes away. Or so the theory goes. Then, maybe, just maybe, regular acting becomes a possibility.

4) Family: when there’s something positive to report here, I will let you know. In the meantime, let’s pretend we never said anything about this, mmkay? Greeeaaat.

5) Future: working on all of the above is unexpectedly but welcomely rewarding. My next mission is to support the wyf in finding whatever it is she needs to keep motivated. So far the front-runner on that short list of possibilities is a house in Morris or Somerset Counties of New Jersey. Yes, that’s right. We’re converting to Jerseyism. Eventually. Workin’ with Boss Man Joe to figure out the professional angle; from there, workin’ with House Man Jim to figure out the shelter angle; from there, workin’ with the meat thermometer to figure out the dangle’s angle. (… Okay, that was a stretch even for me. Edit-Undo that in your brain for me. The shortcut is Ctrl-Z, which basically means you put your pinky in your ear and do a mental math problem.)

6) Potpourri: managing to stay in shape, finally got back on a pair of skis last weekend (and never fell!), got to see Robin Williams do stand-up LIVE at Bimbo’s a few weeks ago, Cermak was out & visited for the first time, and I’m too busy doing other things to have a lot of spare time/energy/wit to devote to Wyltie. My apologies for that last bit. Hopefully I’ll be able to do better, if I can make this a bigger priority. Stay tuned…

Congrats to Josh Snyder for getting into a sketch comedy troupe in L.A. The Loan-Out Love Box. Look for it soon.

Congrats to Emmy Weise for getting married. Best of luck to you and… the lucky guy.

Congrats to my sister for kicking a$$ with her new business. She & Gail are extremely intrepid event planners & PR people – look for them to get big.

Best wishes to Erin McDonald as she plans her June wedding; all the love & support we can muster for Dani & Alan Neff as they get ready to welcome a new Nefflette into their world.

Best of luck to Brian Brummitt as he continues living the dream in Hollywood.

Special thanks to Andy Alabran for taking extra time to help an aspiring actor who had no idea where to start.

And finally, warm regards to Shorty & Seth – we need to catch up soon.

If I didn’t mention you, maybe you should come see me & Wyltie more often. Y’know, make the connections, get your face out there… got to be seen if you want to be remembered.