Nyquil is my Narcotic

I feel sick again, for the third time this year. I think it may be allergies since it started after I swept the entire downstairs floor including the kitchen. What began with an onslaught of violent sneezes turned into a runny nose then only recently, a full on body ache. Today I feel like I've spent the night in a hospital hooked up to a slow drip of anti-histamine. Last night I downed a cocktail of vitamins, mucinex & nyquil that promptly sent me off into a comatose state at around 10:05pm. I don't even remember sleeping this morning. I remember posting what you see below, scribbling a brief note, closing the laptop then dropping my head to the pillow and immediately going REM. Still my heads spins a bit and I must really concentrate to speak full sentences instead of uttering grumbles like I did this morning with Lily. Now that I think about it, it may very well be allergies. Months ago when I caught an awesome upper respiratory infection it was right after I spent all day Saturday trying to mow Lilies parents acre of grass. Meadow would be a more accurate description of their property. It was so hot that day, I toiled in cutting that grass, millions maybe billions of microscopic allergins must have made mincemeat of my sinuses.

So it's allergies. Something that never bothered me while growing up suddenly makes me sick at least twice a year. Funny, growing up I thought I had the most robust immune system possible since we as kids spent our time digging holes in dirt, dumpster diving for treasures & going on weekend bicycle adventures. Now as an adult I feel as vulnurable as someone whose spent a lifetime shut in afraid of viruses.

The Minority Report Desktop Lives!

10/GUI from C. Miller on Vimeo.

This would be huge in my line of work. I would work so fast companies from all over would farm work to me instead of to Asia. I think I may put off buying our next computer station until something like this becomes available.

At least this technology is somewhat available on our new toy-the Palm Pre.

I miss the boat on everything these days. If the topics boat was loading and the deck hands were on deck letting loose the twine ropes from the bulkheads I wouldn't be there to see it. I would be stuck in traffic still trying to get there. Or even worse I would still be asleep in bed missing the entire ordeal. Several very worthy scenerios have come and gone during the present and past month. The list is as follows:

The first is our first ever visit to a local beer brewery-Saint Arnolds. Who knew public intoxication on a Saturday afternoon was legal?

The second is our first ever visit to see The Lighter Side of the Recession at the Radio Music Theater here in Houston. Tucked tight on the corner of Richmond & Kirby the RMT is a Houston laugh factory spread only by word of mouth.

And finally our month long Anime Film Festival held right in the comforts of our bedroom watching Last Exile. Twenty six episodes of steam punk top shelf anime.

--o{}o--

Guten Tag! Ich bin besoffen.

It was a bit warm in the brewery house that day. Everyone had pizza, sausages, sandwiches, cheese & crackers but Lily & I had next to nothing besides a few pieces of chocolate. Looking around we were a raging hungry for lunch since it was lunch time. We cursed ourselves for not bringing our own food. After everyone crowds into place a speaker stands up and starts giving us the history of the brewery. Great story. Then about two hundred people line up at six bars spread throughout the brewery and fill up their mugs with the best of the brewery's beer.

A mass transformation occurs during this point. Slowly, but noticable to the human eye, everyone is relaxing into a euphoric state of peace. Manners are heightened. Smiles are abundant. Laughter is roaring. Eyes are squinting from a constant sense of joy. If an alien were to pier down from space onto this tiny scene on planet earth they would've seen activity similar to an ant colony. In utter harmony the workers move about through lines, procure the nector, proceed to den, ingest the nector & repeat the process all over again. But in peace, harmony I say! Yes, despite the volume of mood altering beverages consumed in which sometimes bring out the beast in people, everyone there was totally California Cool. There were no obnoxious drunkards, there were no social inhibitions. If you wanted to strike up a conversation with someone in your vicinity it was happily granted. The guys seated next to us didn't hestitate one moment when the ladies we were with started talking to them. A bit surprised they were but gamely they were still chill about it. I think I may have even made a few friends along the way. In my gift of gab I spoke to the girl serving my Lawnmower. I learned she volunteered to be there and wasn't getting paid a dime. However, she did say a party just for the workers is held after the place is cleared out and cleaned up. Lovely, I thought. Peace on earth at last. One word of advice though, either call a cab to/from or have an anti-alchohol friend be the designated driver. You will be seriously near drunk by the time the party's over.

--o{}o--

The Radio Music Theater. So small & obscure in the Houston Arts scene it's only advertised by word of mouth. In fact, when the show was over Steve Ferrell told everyone there to tell our friends about the show. I imagine they're partly were they are now because of that little curtain plug. It's a really small place. Perfect for improv. I also imagine The Ferrells & Rich Mills know this and intend to keep it that way.

The show was amazing. For brevity's sake I'll say this is a group dedicated to the art of humor. Everything about the experience was funny. Really, really funny. When the audience is packing in to be seated drinks are served. Parodic music recorded by the RMT group is played in the background. Just before the show starts a short comedic film produced by the RMT group is played. At this point everyone has been primed for an intense two hours of literally in-your-face SNL type skits. Did I mention the trio doing the show are the ones greeting the patrons, ushering everyone in then hustling backstage to dress and perform. They do it all. When the show was over I saw them cleaning up. A la waitors and waitress style they were scooping up wine glasses & beer bottles to the kitchen in a fury, had a smoke in the back parking lot and prepped for the next show that same night. I think the prep of the show was just as amazing as the show itself.

--o{}o--

This is a scene typical of the past month or so.

From the Archivist

From the Archives.

Street Art of San Antonio

A New Domain

Pezrealian has gained new ground this week. We're pioneering way west in the age of internet expansion and in so doing Pezrealian has driven a stake on it's very own domain-www.Pezrealian.com.

Let us bask in the glorious sunshine, discover new worlds & break bread together. Whether your in Houston, Brooklyn, LA, Nola or where ever, the season of joy is here so lets soak it all in.

"Leave the Gun; Take the Cannoli"

Ms. Anonymous

This is an exciting evening for me: Tomorrow, I am off on a little adventure to New York. Brooklyn, more specifically. I have to wake up in exactly 3 hours and 40 minutes, so I am trying to figure out why I am wanting to stay up writing this instead of sleeping right now. I think perhaps it is because I want to write before I leave, and then again as soon as I come back, to compare the two posts. So, here's what is going on in my world as I prepare for my fall holiday.

I am most definitely looking forward to the cold. I love cold weather clothes. The boots, scarves, hats, coats, I love it all. I find it very classy and sophisticated. I have even decided to sport a new look in preparation for the trip: Riding boots and skinny jeans. When I go for a new look, I tend to get a bit overly excited about it, and that I am. I even decided to wear them today (you can only imagine the looks I got, wearing my new Riding Boots in the Houston 92'F humidity). I don't care though, my calendar tells me it is Fall, so in my closet, Fall it will be.

One thing that sometimes crosses my mind when I think about New York is the Mafia, or "Cosa Nostra," which is a term used to distinguish the Sicilian Mafia from the others. Something about the Mafia has always intrigued me; I find it oddly fascinating. I know I am naive about it and I know that it is not something to be taken lightly. I think what fascinates me, is that it is glamorized in films and productions and I sometimes forget that it really does exist. Then I remember that it is real, and does exist and I want to know as much about it as possible. I was at Barnes and Noble one evening last year, sipping my coffee and strolling around when I saw a book on the bargain table. As soon as I saw it, I knew I would be buying it. It was a book about the history of the Sicilian Mafia. Sad to say, I have not read it cover to cover yet, but it is in my stack of books on my night stand, and whenever I get a little bite from the curiosity bug, I pick it up and read about the infamous Mafioso.

I am worried that my contact solution will not be TSA approved tomorrow morning at the airport and they will make me throw it away. I am only taking carry-on bags so I had to be very precise and specific in what I packed, especially liquids. Everything is well under the limit, except the solution. The box said that it was TSA approved, but when I looked at the ounce size, it was just the slightest bit larger. I hope it will not be a problem. If that is the biggest of my worries right now, then I think I have it pretty good...

What I like about this trip is that it came about spontaneously. About a month ago, I was having coffee with a friend and we decided to go. A week later, we made the reservations and that was that. At the time, it seemed a bit far away, but now here we are. It is not overly-planned or too detail-oriented to where we must stick to a strict itinerary every moment of the trip which is what I like about this. We are just getting away. That is really what I wanted to do when we were having coffee that day; just get away. Just go. I'm sure you have felt that way, right? You just want to pick up and leave your regular routine for a while; take a break from the daily grind. I think I will love New York and one of two things will happen. (1) I will love it, but only as a place to visit and be perfectly content coming back home and going to visit occasionally, or (2) I will picture myself living there as I walk around the streets of Brooklyn, feel it is a perfect fit for me, and be very unsatisfied as I depart to come back home on Monday evening. Either way, I am looking forward to my little adventure; I wonder what tricks life has up its sleeve and what is in store next for me.

Everyone will eventually get it?

Really? Everyone will eventually get the Swine Flu Virus?

A writer for the New Yorker describes her own woes from the virus after having fell victim to it's relentless pursuit of human immune systems. In her essay she quoted a New York Doctor saying, "Everyone will eventually get the Swine Flu." That's so realistic I thought. Personally, I fully expect to contract some form of Swine Flu in the future since I get sick just from sticking my head in the freezer. I like how Lindsay Robertson is not afraid to call this virus out as Swine Flu along with H1N1. After all not everybody works in laboratory and as far as we know this virus' orgin is swine.

What To Expect When Your Expecting Swine Flu.

Unless you already have Tamiflu lying around, don't even bother. Once I'd gotten some Advil down and the fever had (slightly) lessened, I called my mom, a pediatric ICU nurse in Tallahassee. Having had H1N1 herself already, she gave the usual tips (fluids, alternating Advil and Tylenol to keep the fever down) and some surprising advice: "Unless you get a rash, are having breathing problems, or start vomiting to the point where you can't keep anything down, don't go to the emergency room." But I wanted Tamiflu! Tamiflu was my right as an American! "Tamiflu will only take about half a day off of your sickness and you'll spend as much time or more waiting in the ER, giving what you have to everyone else there," she said, reasonably. "Besides, Tamiflu has its own side effects that will just make you feel worse." So I decided to abandon the Tamiflu quest. -

Say hello to the new seasonal flu virus-a mutated, animal born, species hopping microscopic worm making it's way up the food chain bent on eventually becoming the new world power of planet Earth.

---o-{}-o---

The following text is a story I thought of while reading this post from The New Yorker.

"Whose in control around here!" a woman cries as she stands in the ER room amist a raging virus filled waiting room. She has a family sitting, waiting, boiling in fever as they wait for a doctor to examine the family of four children all sick with the furthest stages of the Swine Flu. The staff themselves are sick. The staff's families are sick. The friends of the staff's families are sick. Everyone is sick with the swine flu virus that just re-emerged from it's slumber during the summer of 2009. By mid-winter of 2009 children have especially become prey to the virus. The eldery and the chronically sick are also vulnerable. Like young calfs left unprotected in the open prairie they fall sick as the silent predator invades their weakened immune systems. In less than a year a new but familiar virus has emerged from it's generation long hybernation with a seemingly vindictive plot on mankind and all it's anti-viral protectors to wipe the slate clean, to reconfigure the human DNA strain back to it's original perfect condition. To but it bluntly, the United States Defense Department couldn't have made a better weapon themselves. This "thing" was a killer with the mind of a perfectionist.

As a means of preservation governments around the continental U.S. have suspended schools, public transportation and prohibit large gatherings. Church services falter. Ironic is this phenomenon in that such a swift moving pestilence could only be a sign of Last Days foretold in the Bible taught at church services, susposedly. Families in their own means of preservation stay locked inside their own homes. The streets become deserted. A scene so typical of Hollywood entertainment becomes the chilling reality of modern day America and eventually the entire inhabited world.

This story merits the conclusion to be continued at a later date.

For now, be careful out there.