The Songs of Johnny Go

On Tuesday night, fiveseconddelay and tommx were awesome enough to treat me to a Boys Night Out* which, somehow, had the unspoken feeling for all involved of being a "last hurrah."

Thing is, I only have a few days left of having no life before... well, before life gets to have me, following by me quite literally getting a life.

Soon, we'll have to prepare for the journey to and from the Rogue Festival in Fresno, CA, to perform The Road to Nowhere, which we'll also be taking to Orlando Fringe in May. Along with the baby's due date as June 30th, and there's talk about us moving to Delaware permanently. There's going to be so much more preparation, and there's going to be so many things for which I simply don't know how to be prepared at all. My days feel distinctly numbered.

But it's not a bad thing. Speaking purely for myself, I'm ready for my life to change. At least, as ready as I can be. I just don't know what to expect. From ANY of it. I just feel adrift, knowing that land is finally in sight and ready to set foot there, but uncertain of what I'm going to find waiting for me.

Five years ago, I'd have been scared shitless. Now, I'm just waiting to see what comes next. No matter what, I think it's going to be great. I'm certain that the best years are still ahead. I just don't know, and it's the uncertainty that I'm feeling most right now.

Soon, I'm going to do two posts. The first will be to announce I'm accepting 2011 reservations for rentals of my beach house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. As I'm doing less Fringes than usual this year, my income will be largely reliant on rentals, so I have to get the word out.

The second will be a list of baby-related stuff we'll be needing, if any of you family folks have extra stuff left over that you're willing to pass on. Henchgirl and I are compiling a list of what we have, what we'll need, and what we can get ourselves. Economy, naturally, is key here.

Will post other stuff too, hopefully featuring the glorious return of my sense of humor. :)





*I can't believe I'd never heard of Sidebar in Silver Spring, but dear lord, it's my new favorite bar ever. Although I probably won't feel the same way when 1.) I'm paying, 2.) I'm driving, and 3.) it's crowded like it's supposed to always be. So seriously, thank you again, tommx and fiveseconddelay, for a great time out and letting me get spectacularly drunk on amazing gourmet cocktails I may never get a chance to drink again.

Except for the bacon whiskey maple drink. I don't care if it's ten bucks, I AM getting that again.

Questions, o my learned friends:

1.) How do I go about copyrighting a character? Rather is there an easier or calmer method than trying to navigate through the seeming-quagmire of bureaucracy that is the US Copyright Office web site? I just want to make sure I'm doing all the right things. No worries, I think kmousie is kindly helping walk me through the process.

2.) I need a website. Which is to say, I need both a domain name and a designer. www.johnhefner.com is currently a redirecting site for a John Heffner Jr, whose own site is under construction (and who may be a cult member of some sort). So... where should I go or what should I do to undergo the process of getting a tasteful and snazzy web page for a non-rip-off amount?



And now, some answers to questions asked of me at New Year's Eve:

For pondering_duck: First, chill a cocktail glass with ice and water, and put it to the side while you mix 2 parts blended whiskey (Crown Royal is the best I've discovered so far), 1 part sweet vermouth (I've experimented with equal parts sweet and dry vermouth, half a part each, which has worked to lovely effect), plus a splash of grenadine (go for the authentic Stirrings brand if you can, available at Whole Foods, but the corn-syrup-and-red-40 version can work in a pinch too), and don't forget a dash of Angostura bitters (available at some supermarkets and most liquor stores)! If you'd like, a dash or splash of maraschino cherry juice can be added as well.

Whatever you choose to mix together, pour it all in a shaker over ice and shake well. Shake a teeny wee bit longer than you think is necessary. Dump the water out of your now-chilled glass, give it a quick dry, and strain the drink into it, then garnish with a maraschino cherry.

The trick is to find the perfect balance of dry and sweet. Only one out of every six or so Manhattans I make actually turn out perfectly. The rest are "eh, okay" at best, and some are so disappointing that I just dump them down the drain. Breaks my heart to waste good liquor, but a bad Manhattan is like drinking liquid failure.

Good luck, and feel free to experiment. I still do.

For swimpenguin: Here are three good starting points.



Finally, from that selfsame New Year's Eve party, here's a picture of crazy Heffie lording over the small folk.

I shall name them Breakfast, Lunch, and George.