howdy mister hollywood!

well, it happened! i'm sure most of my readership knows and has been informed but incase i've dropped the ball in the last couple weeks of craziness, let me say it again: I'm engaged.

on tuesday, february 26th, 2008 at about 4:05am I asked the beautiful Jessica Ann Conklin to be my bride. she graciously said yes. there's lots of stories i could tell but they seem better saved for in person. like how just before i asked her parents for their permission, i poured gasoline all over myself. or how i saw the jeweler make the ring right before my very eyes. or how i surprised her with my proposal in a japanese garden while we were rushing around town.

we're incredibly excited and incredibly busy right now trying to make arrangements for our summer wedding. we both leave town for a month (she goes on tour, i go to austin) this weekend so it's quite a scramble. i honestly didn't think i'd get this blog post out. but i did. and life is exciting.

and lastly,

i have another announcement. i've had a wonderful time over the past 5½ years keeping up this blog and telling stories and hopefully brightening your day with my stories of hilarity, misfortune, and adventure. writing and retelling these things has been just as exciting as living them. you, dear readers, have put up with my bitching & whining(read: blogging), mispunctuations, misspellings, and overall emo-ness without much contempt. and for that i'm forever greatfull. however, after much thought and internal deliberation, i've decided to shut down Howdy Mister! for good. shocking, i know. but i'm done. i think i'm really done. i hope this move won't kill wimpkiller, there's always the bbs.

so... that's that. i've never ended a blog before. this is my first one. so, i think i'll just end it here. on a happy note. the blog started off with a breakup and will end with a marriage. that to me is wonderful and biblical.

i know this will leave a horrendous void in everyone's life and the outcry will reach the ends of the earth. but i think i'm committed to this decision. to those who mourn, i advise you to print off your favorite posts, bind them, and put them in your bathroom and read a little bit each day. i'll probably leave Howdy! up for a month, just for a last hurrah... but it's over.

again, thank you to everyone. i've loved your feedback all these years and i hope we can keep in touch. you can probably always reach me at dave [at] wimpkiller.com.

sayonara.

this was my lunch today. all of you California ex-patriates - you know who you are - will read this and know exactly what this image portrays... and you will weep for sadness' sake! all i can say is that it was delicious and I ATE THE SHIT OUT OF IT! be jealous. i can never win the food war, but at least i have this.

this post will make more sense later.

a little bit about my day while i have a few moments to blog.

my holidays were merry and bright. i reprised my role as "Buncle Baevfs" for the holidays. lots of driving here and there leaves me a bit tuckered out. for those who are curious what i got, i got some video games, some books and some money. all things i enjoy. maybe most importantly, i learned that my favorite Apples To Apples combination is "Bright" and "Hiroshima 1945".

i only slept 5 hours last night because i stayed up doing a super secret web project that will no doubt make me a goolgillionaire. but i've been under a lot of year end stress. i have 2 big sites to deploy this week (and a 3rd and 4th one on the backburner). i worked a bit on my secret project over the holidays and then started back at work on Wednesday (the day after Xmas) last week. i've hardly rested and feel a exhaustion crash coming on possibly this weekend.

i spent today working hard while my girlfriend, she-who-must-not-be-named, sat in my living room playing Super Mario Bros. 3 on my Wii. those of you with half a brain can see immediately how perfect she-who-must-not-be-named (Jessie) is for me. we drank coffee from my new coffee maker, she did my laundry, i paced around and played a little shamisen while i worked.

we're going out tonight to some parties but i think the both of us could call it a night at 10pm. i wish New Year's was a bit more like Christmas where you rush to go to sleep and then get excited to wake up and it's the new year!!!... but it's not.

i realize as i post this people on other coasts (like the 3rd coast) are much closer to going to bed than i am, and for that i am jealous.

but i leave thee with my new years resolutions:

1. Kick Soft Drinks - i made the switch from Mountain Dew to Diet Coke last year and this year I hope to make the switch off sodas (substituting with coffee and tea and water). hopefully it will work. i'm feeling optimistic about it.


2. Lose Weight - This one i'm not so optimistic about, but I think it's possible. Basically, i think i've figured out that I need to increase my activity. "Developer" is an antonym for "Athlete"


3. Earn Passive Income - there's a lot of talk about this in the freelance world, but yeah, earn money without working. i know, it sounds like a lot of hoopla, but we'll see. google ads, here i come!


4. Do at least 1 Ruby on Rails Site - i'd like to grow as a developer and what better way than to do something in Ruby 2.0. kick butt.
   
5. Play at least one concert - original-ish content. White Otis may have to wait until i can get up the chutzpah to do it.


6. Be a better boyfriend.


7. Blog more. - that's right. you heard me. i'm gonna try even though it kills me to look at the computer any more than i have to.


8. Buy Mario Kart for the Wii. -- i'm not sure this is a resolution so much as something i'm going to be doing this year.


9. Play my shamisen more! - my mom just sent this out to me and i love it. i'm really excited to play through the old jams. i think i might even busk a little down in Little Tokyo with a guy i found on the myspaces.

so that's me! happy new year's y'all! i'm off to be social. have a good one and i pray that this year will be better than the last. i mean that more for some people than for others.

Akemashite Omedeto! Kotoshi mo yoroshiku!

this month i've decided to start a new tradition in my life "Christmas Movie Monday" a chance to get together and watch a holiday classic. Last week we (my roommates, girlfriend, and i) watched White Christmas which was solid. though we're only one week into the whole thing, i think it's a smashing success and hope to continue this even for if not one more week, a few years.

so this monday, your invited to christmas movie monday at my house. i think the only people who read this are my roommates and they'll be at the shindig. but regardless. invitation extended.

post this on your myspace or whatever:

merry christmas, clark.