YOU GUYS!!!! Claire and I are going to do the dang old, dang thing! Ha! No we’re not getting married or having kids….We are moving out of Colorado at the end of January! I have been here for 20 years, and while I feel like Colorado is my home and I will one day die here; Claire has lived in Colorado all her life and wants a taste of something different! So we are going to go off and have an adventure. We have no clue where we will land, or awaits us, and it doesn’t matter as long as we have each other and our Dick… the tabby cat. Claire has a passion for fine wine and has always wanted to live near the water. After talking her out of moving to Florida, we are currently looking towards Northern California. But we’re also looking at Burlington, Vermont after she had a dream about it a few weeks ago. So it feels like anywhere is on the table right now. I don’t really care where we go. I’ll go anywhere with her, as long as it is not Florida. I have no doubt that one day we will be back in Colorado one day, but for now, we’re going to go see where the roads take us. Life is too short. I’m already 40 and maybe we’ll get 40 years together… So why not get out there and see what is happening in the world? Plus, for the last two years I have sat here on the couch and “worked on myself,” and worked on my growth, while she has been sitting here feeling stagnant. It’s time for me to be the supportive partner and it’s Claire’s time to grow now! You know, but with a nice ocean breeze in her hair. We might land on our asses. It might be a disaster, but as long as we are doing it together… We’re going to have one hell of an adventure to tell you all about. I could end it there, but before I go I want to thank the Graf brothers for taking a chance on me at Music City Hot Chicken – Denver. I was ready to do something stupid. I was ready to stay here, while Claire went off to California without me. We would try the long distance thing and see where our roads lead us. But the brothers and owners of Music City, Sam and Jordan heard of my predicament and my own special version of “Should I stay or should I go now,” rambling through my head. I had been telling them that I wanted to stay here and build something with them here in Denver. I just wanted to be a part of something special. We sat down and they each told me it would be okay for me to leave and things would work out just fine. A few weeks ago, I was cleaning the fryers for the umpteenth time, “Here’s Your Future” by The Thermals, played unprompted in my head. That week, Claire had been in California exploring and looking for her future home. There was no one home waiting for me and I was probably going to fall asleep on the couch again that night, after drinking too many beers. I was sad and lonely and in mourning for the life I thought I was going to have to lose. “Here’s Your Future.” And I know it’s obvious to many of you, but remember I’m not that fast and on more than one occasion someone has asked me if I was on the spectrum…. I’m scraping the flour out of the bottom of the fryers, and then it dawns on me… It took me long enough to get there, but I figured it out. I was already building something special. I was building a life with this wonderful woman. I would be a fool to let her go on alone without me. I want to go on this journey with her. I decided to commit to her and us. Had the brothers not sat me down and told me everything would be alright if I left, I probably would have stayed and kept pushing through. I would have made a bonehead decision to stay here and potentially miss out on a great adventure with these women I love, oh so much. Also, if I’m being completely honest, I always felt in over my head in my job at MCHC. I wasn’t cutting it, and didn’t know how to communicate what I needed to make things work. Cleaning those fryers, I thought a lot about Eric Stoltz and his time on Back To The Future. Stoltz was originally cast in Back To The Future as Marty McFly, when Michael J Fox was not originally available. Fast forward seven weeks of filming and it just wasn’t working out. On paper Stoltz seemed like a great idea. It could have worked and it could have been great, but the chemistry just wasn’t there and during those seven weeks, Michael J Fox became available and the film would of course go on to become a classic. I’m excited for the young man who is taking my spot. He’s got way more knowledge, experience and the back of house skills needed to take the restaurant to where it needs to go. He’s younger, hungrier and incredibly positive. He’s what that place needs and I can’t wait to watch it become a runaway success… much like Michael J Fox and Back to The Future. So “Here’s You Future:” We’re going to go off and have some adventures. We are going to hunt for that simple, happy, healthy life. We’re going to do it together. We’re not leaving until the end of January. I’m going to be with MCHC till mid-January and we will be leaving heading somewhere the first week of February. We’re going to be looking for recommendations on where to go. She wants

Conan O’Brien is one of my biggest comedy influences. He inspires me to keep it weird and goofy. His podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend is my favorite podcast, and was a huge influence on me bringing my dead horse back from the grave. Whether it be his Late Night shows, his classic episodes of The Simpsons or his podcast, I’ve listened or watched thousands of hours of entertainment Conan has provided. In the last few years, his trusty assistant Sona Movsesian has become one of my favorite parts of any of his shows or projects. Sona is one of the co-hosts of Conan’s podcast. Listening to her feels like listening to an old friend. She’s fast on her feet with the smart ass comments. She doesn’t take any shit from her infamous boss, but also takes it all. It’s a fine line and they’ve become one of the best comedy duo’s, ever. Sorry Andy! Sona did a signing tonight for her new memoir/humor book, WORLD’S WORST ASSISTANT, all about her life and times with Conan O’Brien. I twisted the chain on the old ball enough to agree to venture down to the city tonight to go see Sona do a reading/signing in an old grocery store turned Sporting Goods store/Event Space.  The reading was great and at one point she asked the audience if any of us had seen the Showtime Original TV program, GIGOLOS. I enthusiastically raised my hand, because of course I have. An instant friendship with Conan’s assistant was born.  I had been wracking my brain trying to figure out what to chat with Sona about in our few short minutes. I didn’t need to worry thanks to the venue/event assistant who remembered my hand jumping out of its socket during the reading.  I could have asked about smoking weed (She’s a pothead), or ask her what it’s like to have the spotlight that’s been so near her, now on herself? Or who knows!  Instead, Here I am standing in front of Sona, thinking about all these damned things to ask her about and we stand there and chat about GIGOLOS. God damned GIGOLOS, a terrible softcore porn disguised as a reality tv show!  While I don’t recommend the show, I’m forever grateful for that night when I was scrolling through a Showtime free trial and asked, “what the hell is this?”  Conan O’Brien might be on the hunt for a friend, but tonight I think I made a new best one. And the great thing? I bet there’s not a single person who didn’t encounter Sona on her tour this week that doesn’t feel the same way.  I wish her great success with this book and beyond. I really hope I get to interview her one day.