Goodbye Gata

My friend Daryl, a.k.a. Dr. Rainbow, the Gata and a plethora of other nicknames for which I take no responsibility, is leaving town. This is not good news, as this dude, whom you see on the right of this photo, is one serious partier. Brilliant and creative, Daryl is one of the most fun people I have ever known. He's a musician, DJ and organizer of not-to-be-missed happenings like the Turkey Fry, Chili Off, 24-Hour Babagoo and Pie Off. When I first met him six years ago, I had the honor of being a Pie Off judge. I literally was recognized on the street from my participation in that event for a year afterward. That's right. I actually entered the Pie Off in 2002, but that year was marred by scandal when Daryl won the grand prize himself. An investigation was promised, but I'm not sure if the findings were conclusive.

If you have never met Daryl, you should hope he is moving to your town. Oh, and by the way, the other prince of fabulousness in the picture is my friend Victor. They are flanking me at my last birthday party.

In other news, I have settled back into city life after my trek to the wilds of the Southern California suburbs.

On Saturday I had an intern shadow me at work. It was a little odd just because about two and a half years ago, my career took a bit of a turn. So while I work in the same industry, my current job is somewhat different from the first 15 years of my professional life. But one of my managers told our intern I am fun, and honestly, I think I lived up to the hype. Plus, we got to spend most of our time in the sunshine of Crissy Field. Not bad for a workday.

That night I went with Katie, Steve, Bill and Kim to see Craig Ferguson at Cobb's Comedy Club. Because it's my life, I not only ran into four people I know in the audience, but I also knew one of the warm-up comedians. He is a friend of my friend Wendy. Unfortunately, Craig was not as funny as I wanted him to be. He was good for a few chuckles, but not much more than that. I rarely go to comedy clubs, though, so it was fun to do something a little different.

And now I am resting up before a week of big fun. Oh, and I suppose I should crack that sample ballot and decide whom and what to vote for tomorrow.