A-Man = OLD Man!

And the Los Chicos birthday season officially ends with the 40th birthday of the A-Man himself, Aaron.

Sadly, Aaron wasn't able to make it to the Vegas birthday celebration, and stayed home in Seattle, instead, to celebrate the milestone with his bride, Jeni. Forty years old. Man. I can remember when Aaron and I first met, through our friend K.C., when he came to town from San Diego to visit. Who could have known, then, that we'd become the best of friends for the next couple of decades, that we'd end up roommates for years in two different cities, and that I'd be best man in his wedding? Audrey Hepburn was right - time IS funny stuff.

Holy crap, did I just quote Audrey Hepburn? Forget I just did that. Prank caller! Prank caller!

A San Diego native, Aaron graduated from SDSU (somehow. I think for several semesters he didn't even buy books, but used that money for beer instead, as the story goes) in the early '90s and made his way to New York city to try out the Big Apple. Fate stuck him in Sacramento after that, where he soon ended up moving in with me, Rich and Tim (and soon after, A.T.), and became one of the infamous Los Chicos Blancos at La Casa. After the other guys all broke the man code and got themselves married off, he and I became roomies and carried on the single dude tradition, eventually picking up and moving down to San Diego where we spend about seven years rarely cleaning, smoking too many cigars, and watching countless NBA games in our little La Mesa apartment. It wasn't until the long arm of love finally reached out through that dad-blasted interweb that he finally gave up his keys to mantown and fell for his eventual bride-to-be, Jeni, and moved to Seattle. I was tempted to sing Gloria Gayner's "I Will Survive" at their wedding, but spared everyone the ordeal, realizing doing so would be even gayer than an Audrey Hepburn quote.

Aaron's a man who enjoys life in all its fullness, from Basketball to beer to stogies to sour kraut (don't ask) to 80s jams and Sandler movies. And he's the kind of friend that everyone should have, someone who's been with me through it all for all these years. His laugh can shake furniture, his people skills have made him lifelong friends whereever he's traveled, and he's one of the best people you'll ever have the pleasure to know. After twenty years of this, it's great to know, without a doubt, that we'll still be hanging out for our 50th and 60th birthdays, still debating the best episodes of Firefly and griping about the Kings/Lakers game seven heartbreak. Some people come in and out of your life. Some are destined to always be there. I've been blessed to have many such friends in my years, and am proud to count Aaron as one of them.

So raise a crappy MGD with me, if you will, and join me in a birthday toast to the Storckman. A very happy fortieth you, my man, from all of us who call you our boy. The best of everything is what we wish you, and know you're already way ahead of the game in getting it.

(Please note: no bell peppers were harmed in the making of this blog entry)

Vegas, baby, VE-GAS!!!!

And here's where the blog goes silent (okay, silent-ER) for a few days, as I'm on a plane tomorrow a.m. to turn 40 in beautiful and surreal Las Vegas. And four of my five old roommate will be there celebrating birthdays with me. Sadly, our boy Aaron (also turning 40 in a couple of weeks) won't be able to make it, but the freshly-40 Rich and Tim will be there, as will freshly-39 (young punk!) A.T. Los Chicos Blancos...mostly reunited...and OLD!

Going with quite a few of our other Sacramento friends, and all plan to have a fantastic time. I'll get bloggy about that later. Right now I'm getting home way too late, still need to pack and finish some other pre-trip stuff.

Wow. 40. There's a blog on that subject coming, for sure. But at least for right now? It's a good feeling. A really good one.

So you all on the flipside, and tales of the Slack Pack (circa 2008) to follow!

Chico Numero Tres! AIIIIEEE! El Birthtado del A.T.!

Yes, there was made-up Spanish in there. I think it's more fun than real Spanish. Easier to learn, too.

And the third Chico of La Casa Birthday Season has his day! Happy birthday, A.T.!! Our "underage" roommate, A.T. turns a spry young 30 today (okay, so, yesterday, technically, but I was having massive upload issues with this), so's now he's...as young as me! Woo hoo! But unlike me, he gets a whole damn year to laugh at the rest of us. These youngsters today. No respect!

I've known A.T. since 1986. We met through our mutual friend, Kevin, that summer and became founding members of the famed Mission Park Crew (I love how that makes it sound like this is a documentary on street gangs...). And as that group soon started spending nearly all our free time together, he and I went through a lot of post-teen stuff together, and had lots of good times. Drive-in movies (with no cars...), late nights at Lyons, wacky park adventures, lots of bad films on cable (and VHS), and way too much drinky! But we made it through it all, mostly intact. Man, we've been friends so long that I'm sitting here remembering the night of his 18th birthday party. Which, is course, a night he probably wants to forget. "...From the lizards in the forests and the clams in the sea..."...

We were buddies for years, and then ended up roommates. And years after that, we even ended up co-workers for a while. We've been in each other's lives for over twenty years. I was in his wedding. We met Jane Wiedlin together. We have more inside jokes than Martin and Lewis...uh, PROBABLY had, before they stopped talking... We've inspired each other creatively, been there in times of needs, rode out the bad stuff and ROCKED all the good stuff. It's a journey that we're still on, and we both seem to believe (God knows why) that's it's only going to get better. People say that we're dreamers, sure. But we're not the only ones.

So this is a birthday shout out to my big orange brother - artist, writer, computer jock, walking music encyclopedia, dancin' fool, Dad-O #1, rat-lovin' N.E.T.W.O.R.K. man. Thanks for all the tech support, the heavy lifting, the music, all the right questions and many of the right answers, the loyalty, the understanding, the laughs, the tears, the hopes, the dreams. For being there, even when you're not there. My birthday wish for you is to keep looking ahead, knowing that it's all still coming. For both of us. And when that wave hits, let's both catch it, and ride that sucker all the way in. And since you seem to know every last person IN Sacramento, let me, on behalf of Sacramento, wish you all the best in the year to come. I can, without a doubt, guarantee you that this will be your best 39th birthday EVER.

Go Tampa.

Hey, did you hear the one about the man with five blogs?

See you in Vegas.

Mike O.

The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time (!)

Wow. I've seen my share of top 100 movie lists in my day, but the top 500 "Greatest Movies of All Time"? Okay, THAT's ambitious... But the folks over at Empire Online did it, so if you've got way too much time on your hands and want to see what they came up with (and if your favorite movie made it...because, let's face it, if it's not on HERE, you probably ought to rethink that favorite movie...), dive in and see the spectacle for yourself.

Empire's Top 500 Greatest Movies of All Time

Another Chico goes DOWN! Tim hits 40 today!

Oh, the humanity! Is no Chico safe from this dreaded mid-life curse? First Rich, and now Tim meets the same Jag-driving fate! Okay, he doesn’t have a Jag. Yet. He did used to have a Stealth, though…

Yes, famed Nice Guy artist Tim Watts is the second of the old roommates of La Casa de los Chicos Blancos to hit the big 4-0. And that means 1) he’s older than me (write that down…it’s important) and 2) he and I have officially known each other for thirty years. Seriously…how many people have YOU known for thirty years that aren’t related to you?

We first met in the 5th grade (going to the same school as Rich, who was a year behind us, grade-wise), but didn’t really end up becoming friends until the following year. And have been best friends ever since. We’ve been through it all. Falling in love with the same girls. Starting our own newspaper (one that ended us up in the principal’s office…). Obsessing over Atari games. Seeing Star Wars movies in the theater (the REAL Star Wars movies…). Traveling to exotic places like Canada…Washington DC…and, unfortunately, Tijuana. We went through grade school together, junior high together, high school together, and even part of college together (go Beavers!). We’ve been roommates. We’ve been co-workers. We’ve been business partners. We’ve been on TV together. We’ve been to NBA playoff games together. We’ve been to concerts together (and one of us has been backstage. Ahem…). We’ve snuck into rated “R” movies together (just recently, I mean…). We’ve outgrown things together, but have never outgrown so many more. We’ve read the same books, worn the same jacket (my Tijuana leather got passed around a lot…), and many times shared the same Family Pack from Der Wienershnitzel (say it with me, those in the know… “Diaper fill….”). And after all the things we’ve done together, we managed to grow old together, too. He’s ended up the one with more hair, but at least mine isn’t as gray. For the record, I’d trade up for more gray….

A supremely talented artist, a chess jock, a poker pro, an avid history buff (meaning, Roman history nerd), a fan of fine cinema (ranging from Gilda to Holiday Inn to Biodome), an appreciator of fine music (ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Dave Matthews to Bloodhound Gang and Warp 11), and a man more obsessed with Iron Man than any other would-be fanboy out there (in case you didn’t know? They made that movie for him), Tim is steadfastly dedicated to NOT growing up the way THEY want him growing up. He follows his own path, one usually lined with good times, lots of laughs, and plenty of non-beer alcoholic beverages. A great friend to all who know him and (still) the life of the party, he’s managed to hit the halfway point in his life with few regrets (well, there WAS the mustache period…and the girl that time when the lights were out…) and a refusal to ever say “this is it”. He’s still following his dreams, and still has big plans for the future. For Tim, 40 is the new 30. Well, sometimes it’s the new 10, but that’s mainly when you’re dumb enough to leave him an opening for a mom joke…

So happy 40th, Mr. Watts. You were 16 first and could drive. You were 18 first and could vote. You were 21 first and could drink. This one? You can have. From this point on it’s alllllll payback, bitch. So thank you for the opportunity to laugh at your old ass for the next 17 days while I enjoy being in my thirties. Seriously…go to your MySpace page. Look there beneath your quote. And beneath the word “Male”. What’s the number? See it? AHHHH ha ha ha! Have a great birthday for NOW, but have an even greater one in just over two weeks when we will celebrate this thing RIGHT in Vegas. Thanks for the years. Thanks for the constant wingman. Thanks for the good times and for being there through the bad. Thanks for being the only person who will ever truly “get” me. Thanks for Gauntlet. For Cynthia Rhodes. For Micronauts. For Simon Hawke. For (almost) always-safe trips down stairwells. For rides in the Fairmont, the Mustang, the Vega. For always understanding the mystic nerd/cool balance. For shared dreams and high hopes, both of which, on occasion, have come to pass. Thanks for it all. And thanks, in advance, for being there for the next 40.

A toast, friends and strangers, to the very 40-year old Mr. Watts.

Go ahead. Ask him what he wants for his birthday. Then wait for the mom joke.

More old Chicos to come as birthday season continues! Viva La Casa!