kevin barnett

Archive for February, 2008

Jackie Moon for Old Spice

The finest street-legal antiperspirant you can get outside of Mexico that’s not poisonous.

February 27th, 2008 | 5:21 PM

I guess turning 30 means something profound for some, and for others it’s very similar to 29 and not too unlike 28. For me, it’s only an opportunity to reflect on my blessings and good fortune. And to skim books like 30 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do Before Turning 30. I think I am in pretty good shape.

wrap a present
(thanks Mom and Dad, for showing me how to wrap gifts and the quick-fix usefulness of a gift bag.)
start a successful fire in a fireplace, at a campsite, and in a barbecue
(I think those who know me can attest I have never had a problem starting a fire.)
finish a piece of furniture
(Mike showed me the ways of furniture rehab in the summer of ‘97 or maybe it was ‘98…Damn, I’m getting old.)
get a raise (check.)
order wine at a restaurant without getting stiffed
(check.)
parallel park in three breathtakingly beautiful movements
(this has happened on occasions.)
dance a “slow dance” without looking like an idiot
(well, I usually feel like an idiot in this scenaro but I think I’ve managed to pull this off.)
use a full place setting properly, including chopsticks and Asian soup spoons
(love those soup dumplings at New Green Bao. check.)
clean your place in under 45 minutes, when friends, relatives, or prospective lovers are coming by unexpectedly, and soon
(I am not sure that I have ever cleaned my place in any other circumstance.)
hold your liquor
(like a champ. check.)
cure a hangover
(yeah, it’s called sleep. check.)
do the Heimlich Maneuver
(will doing it to someone who isn’t choking count? X)
use a compass
(I carry one on my keychain. it’s my lifeline in the outer boroughs.)
change a flat
(check. this is not fun to do on a land rover, fyi.)
jump start a car
(too many times. check.)
open a champagne bottle
(with little to no “pop”? check.)
send a drink to someone’s table
(I know how to do this, just never have. X)
cook one “signature meal”
(I have several but the crowd pleaser seems to be enchiladas.)
whistle with your fingers
(this list is stupid. X)
take good pictures
(I have a couple I am proud of.)
fold a fitted sheet
(I was lucky enough to receive a personal lesson on this from a wonderful teacher…)
remove common stains
(I guess the old method is soda water and salt but those marker-style stain removers are awesome.)
sew a button
(but that’s what the dry cleaners do. X)
carve turkey, lasagna, and birthday cake
(check, check and check.)
hold a baby
(and without getting any bodily fluids on me, i might add.)
change a diaper
(somebody has to do it. check.)
keep a plant alive for more than a year
(succulents are great survivors.)
make dogs and cats love you
(dogs, not a problem. cats? it took a few years, but it eventually happened.)
help someone (an older or ill person, a woman you’re trying to impress, your mother) out of a car
(of course, any chance I get. my mother raised me proper!)
write superior thank you notes
(not as often as I should, but it has been done before.)

26 out of 30. Does that means I’m really 26 years old? A friend once told me that to determine your age in “guy years”, you subtract 4 years from your real age. So I guess this test is pretty accurate.

Or it’s all for fun, which is what birthdays are all about. Here’s to 30 truly blessed years of life. Can’t wait to see what’s next.

I was just listening to MGMT - Time to Pretend

Posted in Personal

February 27th, 2008 | 9:20 AM

Austin, I Hardly Knew Thee

I spent a long weekend in Austin visiting old friends in their new homes and celebrating birthdays. Yeah, I’m not the only one turning 30 this week… The hospitality was solid and I was glad to be in some warm(er) weather especially when the first real winter storm hit NYC last Friday. I was also fascinated by the rapid development consuming the metro area. It maybe more dramatic to someone who only visits once, maybe twice a year but Austin is a whole new city from when I left it in 2002.

Naturally, the new buildings downtown have altered the skyline but there were just as many - if not more large building construction sites close to and around downtown. New apartment and condo buildings have sprouted up everywhere along the I-35 corridor. I heard even Lance Armstrong has a residential tower on Town Lake under construction. I wonder if there are plans to paint the whole thing yellow?

I spent some time in North Austin as well, where I felt slightly disoriented the entire time. From my memory of the area circa 2000, it is unrecognizable. Unless I was looking at Texas highway signs, the consistent patterns of commercial and residential developments were confusing me to really get a sense of my point on a map. Then again, I am very directionally challenged and I am looking for excuses to get an iPhone before it goes 3G. The compass on my key chain may not be enough.

One thing hasn’t changed and that is the quality (and quantity) of food. Freebird’s still serves my favorite burrito. Polvo’s is still the best Tex-Mex I’ve ever had. And there is nothing quite like BBQ in Austin, even a place like Rudy’s that doesn’t have the clout of a Louie Mueller’s, Kruez or Salt Lick. But maybe my favorite thing to do is visit grocery stores like Central Market or just HEB where the produce sections seem larger than most of grocery stores in Manhattan. And everything is abundant, fresh and cheap (brings tears to my eyes).

I love Austin and I always will. But I felt the distance that has come between us. Perhaps both the city and I have grown up and become less…weird.

I was just listening to Ghostland Observatory - Dancin On My Grave

Posted in Texas