I Wasn't Gonna Call You Anyway

Yesterday was spent moving. Oh thrill oh joy. This is the first time I've ever hired movers and man, that is THE way to go! Those guys were finished in under 3 hours. Woohoo! I've gotten a few things unpacked, but for the most part the place is still in shambles. Still have some boxes at the old place since the moving company won't move alcohol. Umm...hello...that's the heavy stuff I need help with. Geez! :-)

Anyway, all of a sudden I look at my watch and it's 18:30. Crap! I'm late! A friend was having her bday dinner celebration that night and it started at 17:00. Oops. So I quickly changed and went down through pissing rain and gale-force winds to the meeting spot. Got there just in time as they were heading off to a restaurant for dinner. My old roomie was there and apparently she had mentioned to this guy I didn't know (and whose name I still don't know - oops!) that I liked ska music.



A little history here. My sophomore year at Marquette, I lived with Peanut. She's the one who introduced me to ska music and got me into the scene. We used to know several of the sound guys in Milwaukee so could get into a lot of shows "on the list." We also somehow (I think Peanut's cuteness brought this about) became friends with some of the bands - The Invaders, MU330, Johnny Socko, etc. We even had the Scofflaws play at Marquette one year. Anyway, it was a great time and since I've moved to San Francisco I've really been out of the scene.

Well, this random guy last night tells me that The Toasters were in town at DNA Lounge that night and did I want to go the show!!!! Holy crap! THE TOASTERS?!?!?!
So even though I was exhausted from moving and should have gone home to bed, I totally went to the show. I texted poor Peanut at some ungodly hour her time. She probably still hasn't forgiven me. We missed the first band and caught half of the second. As I was at the bar getting drinks I met the lead singer of The Toasters and we chatted a bit. He was just hanging out having a beer so I introduced myself. Woohoo! It was really great to be back in that scene. It had been so long! Walking in there last night was like having deja vu. All the little emo boys, all the checkerboard Vans, etc. Just brought a smile to my face w/ all the memories.

The show kicked ass. Unfortunately, they didn't play my favorite song, but life goes on. These guys have been around for over 20 years and even though they have a couple new horn players, sounded awesome! It was fabulous! I danced my ass off which was good since I missed my gym workout that day. Didn't get home until 1am and just fell into bed, but it was sweet exhaustion. Even made it to the gym today.

Anyway, I fell in love with The Toasters when I first heard the song - I Wasn't Gonna Call You Anyway. It makes me giggle everytime. I'm sure you can find a link somewhere to listen to it online. Lyrics are below:

I lost my gig bag in a cab,
It was in Heidelberg, West Germany
At first I got real mad,
I'd lost some things that meant so very much to me
I'd lost your number, your address, I was really quite distressed
I couldn't write, I couldn't call, I couldn't do anything at all

I read your bullshit in the press,
It didn't hurt me like you wanted to
Just like my good friend JJ says
Just cause they print it, doesn't mean it's true
You shouldn't have started up this mess,
Far more serious than you guessed
All that bullshit in your head,
Is making you see red...

I wasn't going to call you anyway
I wasn't going to drop that dime
I wasn't going to call you anyway
I wasn't going to waste my time

You've had your eyes closed to the truth
You never realized that things had changed
And now you're going through the roof
Yes your behavior is becoming strange

I wasn't going to call you anyway
I wasn't going to drop that dime
I wasn't going to call you anyway
I wasn't going to waste my time

I wasn't going to call you anyway
I wasn't going to call you anyway...

Wasn't going to call you anyway
I wasn't going to call you anyway
Wasn't going to call you anyway

My Stripper Song or Damn you Fishy! (Part 2)

This one is priceless.

Your Stripper Song Is

I Touch Myself by The Divinyls "I don't want anybody else When I think about you I touch myself" A total exhibitionist, you probably already are a stripper!

What Song Should You Strip To?

Damn you Fishy!

Because Fish apparently has more time to waste than anyone, I chose to not making him feel so alone and also waste my time on the same activities. Below is the first of those:

You Are The Hermit

You posses a great deal of wisdom and the ability to see people for who they are. You are always looking ahead at the future, developing visions. A loner, you tend to travel by yourself through life, seeking your own truth. You don't crave material things or fancy titles. You have no baggage. Your fortune: It's possible that there is a unknown guiding figure in your life, ready to help you. All you have to do is find this person and seek their advice. It's also possible that you need to start seeking the meaning of your own life. Either way, there's some deep thinking you need to undertake, and it needs to be done soon.

What Tarot Card Are You?

This Day Was Not Meant To Be

Stayed up until midnight last night watching the Olympics. That was great, except it meant I couldn't pull my sorry ass out of bed today. That meant I missed my workout as I had to get into work. No biggie, I packed my gym bag to go tonight. Well, managed to leave the gym bag at home so now I have to go home first to get it, then go to the gym. Do you know how hard it is to find motivation once you are already home?

Around 10:30am I was having a protein shake. Managed to forget the little strainer thing that helps break up the clumps, but decided to try mixing it anyway. About the time I start shaking, the lid pops off. Now there is chocolate protein shake all over my laptop, my desk, my hair, my shirt and my jeans. I clean up the laptop as best I can and then turn to myself. Of course I had emptied my car the night before so didn't have the sweatshirt in there anymore. Did manage to find a sweater in the trunk so have been wearing that instead.

Got back to my office to find my keyboard is now a mess. I type 'r' and it shows up as 'tr', the right arrow key takes you to the next line, 'o' brings up spell check in Outlook, etc. What the f*** am I going to do now? Run to a meeting and afterward I pop off a couple keys to try and clean up the mess. I didn't just pop off the key, I also popped off the gizmo (that's right, I'm a chick and I don't know what it's called) underneath that works on a lever and depresses the sensor to type the letter. Getting that thing back on was ridiculous. A client manager stops by and is trying to help me. He says we can't get it w/o tweezers. Of course no one has any. I keep playing and eventually get it sorted and all the keys back on. Life is now rosey again.

I was supposed to run out to pick up some things at lunch, but that hasn't happened. Just one of those days where there is tons to do and you make things longer and harder on yourself than necessary. Packing for the move on Monday is going to consume most of this weekend. Moving should be banned. It is evil!

Ok, enough bitching. Just wanted to vent.

This venting moment was brought to you by the letter P and the number 3.

Holy Crap It's Thursday Again!

Happy HNT.

This was my last fishing trip at my uncle's lake house in Texas. I was going to leave in the part where you could see my Marquette shirt for Brownie since he's so bitter we beat Pitt, but decided against it.

Yes, the photo is lame. This week snuck up on me. I'll do better next time.

You Know You Missed a Good Hash Weekend When...

You get drunk dialed at 4:30 in the afternoon. Then again at 7:30. Then again at 10:30. FOUR THIRTY! Damn y'all work fast!

Hmmmmmmm....

Thanks to Fishy, I found this. I'm still not quite sure how to take it.

You Are Fozzie Bear

"Wocka! Wocka!" You're the life of the party, and you love making people crack up. If only your routine didn't always bomb! You may find more groans than laughs, but always keep the jokes coming.

The Muppet Personality Test

Uh oh, two posts in one day. I'm back Ladies and Gents!

Bright, Sunshiny Day

Everyone, sing it with me - "I can see clearly now, the retina is gone." Ok, not the retina, just the bad parts of it.

I can see! I can see!!

I'm like a kid in a candy shop.

Ok, so here's the scoop. You start the antibiotic drops the day before your surgery, every 4 hours. Friday, Scrummy picked me up and drove me to my appointment. You of course sit and wait for a bit. It's a surgery day so everyone in there is in for the same reason. This one woman came out after her surgery and I said, "So, is this the point where we get to ask you how it went?" However, I don't think she spoke any english so we didn't get a response. Either that or she was just ignoring me. Bitch. Then I started chatting with this woman next to me. She had it done in January and her husband was having it done that day. I said, "Did you just love it?" She said, "Actually, it was pretty traumatic for me. I was really anxious and should have taken the valium. blah blah blah" My first thought was - chick, not what I want to hear right now! My second thought - Ummm...they offer valium? Personally, I'd be more concerned about how I would react to valium since I've never had it, but that's just me.

About that time my name is called. It starts out doing the same stuff you did at the eval - they have one machine that gives a rough estimate of your prescription, then you do the whole "Is 1 better or 2 better?" lens thing. Then they use the wavefront machine which maps your entire eye. Then you sit and wait for a bit longer. Eventually you get called again and you head into the surgery room. You lay in this chair which actually has your head a bit below your feet. They cover one eye with a patch (Arrrrrrrrrr!) and then put numbing drops in your right eye. The assistant swings you under the laser to get you in position, molds the little pillow thing so your head doesn't move and then swings you back out to wait for the doc.

The doc comes in and you are swung back under the laser. The cool thing is he tells you every step of the way what he's doing and what's going on. They tape your upper eyelid and lower eyelid, then put in a separator which keeps you from blinking. A few more numbing drops and then they put this stabalizer on your eye. Things go black at that point. This is the only time you feel anything which is more sinus pressure than pain. You hear this sound which is them cutting the flap in your cornea and then you can fuzzily see the red light above you again. You keep focusing on that red light while the laser does its thing. Because I had wavefront lasik as opposed to regular lasik, the red light moves around a bit and you have to constantly focus on it. As things are blurry, you feel like you aren't really tracking, but you totally are. Plus the doc is there reminding you every step of the way to do so. The laser was about 25 seconds on my right eye. Then he puts some saline in which clears your vision, some more which blurs it, he closes the flap and you're done with that eye. The same process happens on the left eye, only the laser was 20 seconds on that one.

You pop back into another room, he checks your retinas, you're given your pack with sunglasses, anti-inflammatory drops, goggles for sleeping, wetting solution and your old glasses. Then you're on your merry way. I walked back into the waiting room and everyone looked up at me expectantly. I said, "It's a piece of cake." One of the guys said, "Thank you so much. I needed that." It really was. Scrummy picked me up and took me home. The first 4 hours after surgery they want you to keep your eyes closed as much as possible. I had them closed on the drive home. After I got home, I used the antibiotic drops and the anti-inflammatory drops, put the goggles on and took a nap. Woke up around 7:30pm ravenous. Of course had no food in the house so did some delivery. That night I "listened" to movies on the couch while keeping my eyes closed. Had to use the wetting drops twice. Went to bed that night and was totally paranoid about rubbing my eyes even with the goggles on, so I had my swimming mask on over. Yes, I'm a tool. Kept waking up because of it so didn't sleep that well.

The next morning it was like a whole new world. To be honest, it still hasn't sunk in yet. Everything is in focus. I could have driven myself to the follow-up visit, but my friends K and P picked me up and took me. Every 10 minutes I was like, "I can read that sign." or "I can see those leaves!". It's so amazing. I'm 20-15 in my left eye and 20-~18 in my right eye. Follow-up visit was great. Have to go back in a month. I keep using antibiotic and anti-inflammatory drops until they are gone (~7 days). Have to sleep with goggles for 10 days.

After they took me to my appt we headed to Redwood City to pick up the new Porsche that P is leasing. It's a 911 Carrera. Let me tell you the lines on the car bring a tear to anyone's eye. It is so beautiful. Then we headed back into the City for a late lunch. Sunday I played volleyball with my new eyes. The only annoyance was having to wear sport goggles for the next 3 months. Those things suck. Yesterday my client had the day off so I did too. K and I met at the spa and had a massage. We (K, P & I) then took their 4 month old Australian Shepherd puppy to Baker Beach and played at sunset. What a great way to finish off the weekend!

A lot of people complain about dry eyes or night halos or things like that. I haven't had to use my wetting drops since that first night. No halos. Sometimes a bit of pressure in the eyes, but I just close them for a bit and things are good.

This has been so worth it for me. I've worn glasses since I was in the 4th grade. Finally, after 20 years I can see clearly and don't need glasses or contacts. It's just incredible.

This moment of gushing was brought to you by the letter E and the number 20.

Going Under the Knife

The big day has arrived. At 2pm today, yours truly will be at Dr. Scott Hyver's office to undergo Wavefront LASIK. The actual procedure will probably take place sometime in the 3:00 hour and only takes 20 minutes. Luckily this is a 3 day weekend for my client so I have plenty of recovery time. Scrummy is driving me today and another friend is taking me to my follow-up appointment tomorrow.

Keep your fingers, toes and anything else you can crossed. (Hopefully) I'll see y'all later!

This moment of nervousness was brought to you by the letter L and the number 2.

Almost Forgot!!

Happy Half-Nekkid Thursday everyone!

We Are Marquette!

Today is "National Marquette Day." Don't ask me what that actually means. I think we are supposed to gather round, watch the men's basketball game tonight and reminisce about our glory days at Marquette. Nearly brings a tear to my eye just thinking about it. Not really, but it sounded good.

I thought it fitting that someone posted this article regarding 'Riots in the Midwest'. I thought it was absolutely hilarious. Of course, that coule be because I spent 4 years in Wisconsin at Marquette. If you've got some time to kill, check it out. The Onion would be proud.

The Singles Awareness Day Recap

So besides being a sad bastard yesterday, other events did actually occur. Some friends decided to get all the single ladies together and have a night of hanging out and hitting some local pubs. I was stoked because I needed to go out and let loose. Ended up not leaving work until around 7:30pm last night basically because some people can't pull their heads out of their asses and do their job, so I have to do it for them.

Anyway, finally make it out of work and brave the gale force winds to get to my car. Head to GNC where I pick up some CLA and some Fish Body Oils 1000. Yeah, you wanted to know. Then I had to go to the police station. Why the police station you ask? Allow me to explain.

Yesterday morning I left the gym and was driving to work. I was sitting at a stop sign, unable to go forward because the cars on the other side of the intersection were all backed up. There's no blocking intersections for this kid! The guy behind me is turning left so decides to go around me to do so. No biggie. No biggie, that is, until the rat bastard HITS my car and keeps on going. Wtf? I did get his license plate number so had to go make a report.

The damage on my vehicle is minor - some nice scratches on my bumper. I haven't talked to my insurance guy yet to see how it will affect me if I do anything. Guess I'll finally find out if I'm in good hands with AllState. I knew if I decided to I would have to get a police report, so in I went. Doesn't everyone want to spend Valentine's Day in a police station? Ok, maybe you do if you had gotten caught having sex in public. That would be cool. But I digress.

I go in to make my report and the cop basically makes me feel like an asshole for having gone in over something so minor. You know, if the guy had stopped I probably would have let it go. But the asshole hit me and kept going. That's the part that irked me. Even though I had the license plate number he said they wouldn't do anything about it since the damage was minor and if anything were going to happen the insurance companies would have to battle it out. I didn't have any witnesses (was late for a mtg at the time and didn't think about getting anyone's info) and it basically will come down to my word against this guy's. So basically I'm screwed. ARGH!

Finally get out of the police station and since I have no food at home stopped by the store to grab something for dinner. I get home and it's 10pm. Not such a good time to eat, but I was starving so I did. There was no way in hell I was going tou with the girls at that point. I needed some down time. Didn't want to go to bed right after eating so stayed up far too late watching the Olympics. Made it rather tough to get up and make the gym this morning, but I did. Yea me.

Oh well, today has to be better. I'm spinning fire again tonight so that will be fabulous! Yea to being a Monty Python fan and always looking on the bright side of life. (That's going to be stuck in your heads now! Muahahahahahahah!)

This recap was brought to you by the letter R and the number 14.

Thanks

Thanks to everyone for all your kind comments and emails. It really does mean a lot. I'm not sure why this one was so tough. Last year wasn't as difficult. Christmas wasn't all that hard this year. (My dad died Christmas night of '94) Maybe it has something to do with his death being 11 years ago.

Anyway, a big thank you to all. You rock!

This moment of gratitude was brought to you by the letters BH and the number 1.

What To Do?

Warning - this post is not the usual light-hearted writings of BH. It deals with a painful (for her) subject matter. If you're looking for a lift today, you'd best keep looking elsewhere. End disclaimer.

I'm at a bit of a loss here folks. First, happy Singles Awareness Day. La-dee-fucking-da. Darn Hallmark holidays. However, I have valid reasons to hate this day beyond the typical bitter, jaded woman reasons. Today is the 5 year anniversary of my mom's death. Why am I writing about this morbid topic? Well, because of some recent events.

Yesterday I had a nice phone call with my brother. My uncle (on my mom's side) had called me about a week ago with a message of, "Hey, I'm going to move forward on this. Need you to call me because my lawyer needs some things from you." I thought he was referring to some wild hair he had up his ass about buying my brother and me each a car. I thought I had talked him out of that ridiculous idea, but when I got the phone call I assumed not. I hadn't bothered to call him back because I'm not going to accept a car from him anyway.

My brother filled me in that I was wrong in my assumption. Yeah yeah, insert your "ass out of u and me" comment here. Apparently my uncle wants to sue over my mom's death. A little bit of background:

Everything with my mom started when she had a bloodclot around Thanksgiving/Christmas in 1999. All of a sudden her ankle was swollen and black and blue, but she hadn't done anything to it. She was the CIO at a local teaching hospital associated with a university. She saw the doc there and they did an ultrasound. That's when they found out she had a bloodclot. They instantly admitted her and wouldn't let her out of bed for a few days until they had everything under control. Started her on blood thinners and all the usual stuff. They eventually released her, but she had to stay on the meds. She had some more problems and was under the care of Dr. T - the head of vascular surgery at this institution.

Dr. T is the type of guy who gets off on making his residents cry. He is an A1 asshole. Really just a miserable human being. Eventually, as she continued to have problems, they did another ultrasound and found out she had a cist on one ovary and a tumor on the other. Dr. T was 99.9% sure the tumor was benign, because there would be other symptoms if it was malignant. For a period of about 6 months he wouldn't refer her to anyone else and wouldn't let anyone else work on her because he knew what was best and he knows all.

Now, what any oncologist will tell you is the reason Ovarian Cancer is so deadly is because there *aren't* other symptoms so you generally find it in the later stages. So for 6 months her tumor was growing because Dr. T's ego wouldn't let him consider any other possibility. Somehow they eventually discovered he was wrong and she saw an oncologist. We've got no beef with this guy. By the time her oncologist got her, there wasn't anything more he could have done. She underwent treatment, but lost the battle on Valentine's Day 2001.

My family doesn't believe in frivalous lawsuits. It pisses us off at all the stupid cases that make it into court these days. Is this a frivalous case? No, it's not. I haven't talked to my uncle yet so I don't know all the details. I don't know if he wants to just sue the doc or what. I don't hold anything against the institution or her oncologist. Just the arrogant prick. When my brother asked him why he wanted to do it he said something about millions of dollars for us. I think my brother put it best when he said, "It still doesn't give my little girl her grandmother." It makes me angry everytime I have to fill out a form for some distribution of money my parents left us. I don't want it! I don't want the stupid money. I want my parents back. It brings me to tears every time and I was crying on the phone with my brother. Hell, I'm crying as I type this. (bad thing to do at work!)

I have all these questions - Why now? Why wait 5 years and then do it? Is anything to be gained by doing it? It's painful enough as it is. Do I really want to relive all that? Having the money isn't going to make it any better. Would it do some good so this guy's ego doesn't cause someone else to die? Would it make him see the light and change his attitude?

I don't know what to do. All I know is this - I want my mommy.

This was brought to you by the letter D and the number 2.

It Begins

I'm finally feeling better. Now only hacking up half a lung during the day instead of a full one. Terribly exciting.

Time to get back in the gym and get my sorry ass in shape. Had my last little splurge last night of burger and frieds at a dinner gathering with some Burning Man folks.

I've decided to get back on the Body-For-Life track. I did this a couple years ago. Basically, it's 12 weeks, 6 days a week. You eat 6 small meals a day. Serving size is the size of your fist. You eat 1 serving of carbs and 1 of protein at each meal, plus any vegetables you throw in. You alternate weight and cardio days. Then you get one free day a week where you can eat what you want and not workout. When I did it last time I made it through about 6 weeks and then got sick as a dog ( couldn't move off the couch for a week ) and never went back to it. In that time though I could definitely tell a difference.

Got up early this morning and hit the gym. Today was a leg weights day. Tried to keep it light since it's been a while since I've lifted. Still think I'm going to hurt though. Felt good to get back on the wagon. Keep your fingers crossed. It's a long road ahead!

This was brought to you by the letter F and the number 75.

Apartment Hunting

Apartment hunting sucks. It sucks even more in the crazy rental market known as San Francisco. You pay an arm and a leg for something that is no bigger than your college dorm room, but also has a kitchen and a bathroom squeezed into that space.

Spent most of this past weekend looking at various places. It really came down to 3.

Option 1: 2 bedroom in-law for $1400. The family who lives above is really cool with two really cute kids. Since it'd only be me I can just use their washer and dryer in the garage. Great backyard, great closet space. Easy street parking. All utilities for $60/month so total of $1460. Month-to-month lease. Only issue - only a shower stall, no tub.

Option 2: 2 bedroom for $1450 - includes water and garbage only. Parking spot in the garage. No backyard space. Decent closet space. Coin washer and dryer in garage. Only issue - electric stove, not gas. Year lease.

Option 3: Share a great flat in an old victorian house with 2 gay guys. Guys are sweethearts. Room is decent sized. Closet space is lacking. No parking in a tough neighborhood for street parking. Nothing in the apartment would be mine except the stuff in my room. $950/month plus around $150/month for utilities/made/etc. Month-to-month as well.

So I've pretty much ruled out Option 3 just because I know myself, and I like things done my way. Plus I don't like really having nothing in the apartment. And coming home late from work and circling forever to find parking isn't ideal.

So now it's between 1 or 2. Really, the question comes down to this: What do I value more? A bathtub or a gas stove?

I hate this housing market. Thank goodness this will be the last time I do the hunt in this town!

This was brough to you by the letters A and H and the number 50.

The Dynamic Duo

How prom really went.



What did I learn from this exercise? I have NO future in photoshop.

Private Eyes

Are watching you. They see your every move. (That's for you Spotty and Fish!)

Here are the eyes that no man ever sees because they are too busy looking at the subject of my last HNT.



Happy HNT!

(Two posts in one day. What is the world coming to?)

Fire Goddess

Big news ladies and gents: I lit up for the first time!! No, not drugs you silly rabbits. Fire poi! I spun fire last night!!! OMG it is so freaking cool!




We congregated in the alley behind where the Temple of Poi school is. As we were walking out there, there was a cop who was walking his beat. He stopped and was far too interested in watching us. You mean 12 people carrying kerosene, buckets and poi is something to be concerned about? The first thing we did was practice extinguishing our lit poi. We had two duvetyne blankets for this. Two people would light their poi while two safeties each held one of the blankets. Everyone had to go through extinguishing someone else's poi.

About half-way through this exercise, a cop car pulls up and the cop asks what we were doing. Our instructor handled it really well and told the guy we have the permission of the Fire Marshall. We were on hold while the cop wanted to call the Fire Marshall and were getting ready to pack up and go to a beach. About this time a fire truck shows up. Hellllllllllo firemen! Sparky (our instructor) chatted with them as well. One of them was HOT! I wondered whether offering to bear the hot fireman's children would help the cause, but that damn Sparky had already talked them into letting us continue.

It was time to perform! After soaking my poi in kerosene for a few minutes, I did the spinoff (removes excess fuel) and waited my turn. We had two people performing at a time. Next thing I know someone is lighting my poi and the music starts. The first spin you do you hear this incredible "WHOOSH" as the fire goes around. Let me tell you, the feeling that sounds gives you is indescribable - fear, excitement, the feeling of *this* is the moment you've been waiting for....just amazing. Absolutely brilliant! Here you have these burning balls at the end of a chain that you are manipulating and turning into a dance. Makes you feel like a goddess!

Unfortunately, due to the hot fireman episode, we only had a chance to do one burn each. They even came back at the end to watch! Next week we will get to do a couple burns each. I may even try and hit the beach this weekend to burn a couple times.

Anyway, it was an amazing moment for me. Such a rush! I was on cloud 9 for most of the evening. Does it ever make you wonder - if Cloud 9 is so great, what's Cloud 10 like? I digress. Someone was videoing so I will see if I can get a copy and maybe upload it somewhere. I'll keep you posted.

This moment of fire gushing was brought to you by the letter F and the number 1.

Femme(s) Fatale

As I mentioned in my previous post, the Violent Femmes were in town on Friday. They played Thursday night at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz and Friday at the Fillmore. My old friend from Milwaukee Brian is their sound guy. Typically when the boys come in town Brian puts me on the list plus one.

I talked to him on Friday and he said the show had been sold out for months and most of the band had friends in SF so he wasn't sure he could even get me on the list. No biggie. I'm not friends with him so he can get me into shows. So I told him to just call me after the show and we'd get together for drinks. He called me later that afternoon and managed to get me on the list plus two.

After Belly Dance class Scrummy and I grabbed some dinner and then my friend Jodi met up with us and we went to the show. He not only got us tickets, he got us after party passes. Cool! We had already missed the opening band and about the first 10 minutes of their show when we got there. Found Brian and ended up watching the whole show from the sound "booth". Really the sound area I suppose, but you get the idea. As always, the Femmes put on a great show. Plus we were right by the bar so we could get drinks whenever we wanted and, as Jodi pointed out, had a great place to scope out guys as they came to the bar. It was great!

After, we went upstairs for the after party. Now, when you think band after party, you picture some crazy party with sex, drugs and rock and roll right? Well, not at the Fillmore, which really is even more surprising considering the history of that place. It was a rather tame affaire with no alcohol and people just hanging out chatting. It did turn into a great people watching opportunity. Eventually Brian came to get us and we headed off to the Miyako where they were staying. We ended up hopping on the tour bus and just partying there as they had recently stocked the liquor cabinet. I think it was my other buddy Jeff who helps out the Femmes as well who made the comment of us being "Bus Babes". We must officially be the only 'bus babes' who didn't sleep with the band...as far as any of you know.

It was great to see Bri and Jeff again. We hung out with the other guys drinking and for some reason watching the Led Zeplin Anthology. I never thought it was possible to overdose on LZ, but trust me, it is possible! About 2am Jodi was the smart one and headed home. Scrummy and I stayed. Around 4am I decided since I was sick I really needed to go home. Jeff and the sax player whose name I can't remember walked us to my car. I gave them a ride back and somehow we ended up at the Japan Town Denny's. Trust me, NEVER eat there. The place is just scary. It was a pretty funny meal though. After, I dropped off Scrummy and headed home.

I got to bed about 5:45am. At 9am my neighbor started his circular saw for the construction project of the day. Kill me now! Could explain the fever I had on Sunday and why I've stayed home to work the past two days. As much as I love those guys, hanging out with them sometimes kills me. Note that won't stop me from doing it again in the future. :-)

Long live the Femmes!

Sorry, this should be a much funnier story, but I've been sick for days and have lost most of my sense of humor.

This moment of being a groupie was brought to you by the letter G and the number 5.

Turning a Century

I thought I should have something momentous for my 100th post. You know, some work of genius, something awe inspiring, something worthy of being number 100.

I thought and thought and then thought some more. What did I realize? I've got nothin'. Well, nothin' except feeling the need to move my HNT photo on down the blog so it doesn't stare anyone in the face as they open my blog. Instead, I decided to make this a tribute to my non-lurking readers. Here's to all of you. Apologies if I have leave anyone off - it is not intentional.

To my readers, in no particular order:

First, to all of you - many thanks for your kind words on my 'When Do You Give Up?' posting. You all were so kind I feel badly for teasing you that y'all didn't get my sarcasm. That's the problem with blogs - no intonation. I'm really not the sad bastard I portrayed in that post (well, most of the time anyway). It was more tongue-in-cheek than anything. However, I will definitely be trying the Knob Creek!

To Scrummy - my friend, my hero, my prop. Front Row Union forever baby! Thanks to Scrum being the goddess she is and burning a CD of fire spinning music for me, I was able to perform in my dance class last night. I saw her Tuesday night and mentioned that since I'd been sick I hadn't even picked a song, let alone practice with my poi. She shows up Wednesday night before my fire class and hands me a CD she had burned for me. Thanks darlin for being you and always knowing the right thing to say.

To Glib - my source of world news. How else would I have discovered the joys of China News Daily? A smart girl with a hilarious outlook on life.

To Monkey O - no longer an unidentified person behind a computer. Your wit continually makes me laugh, your photography continually leaves me in awe and your writing continually impresses. I can't wait to read the completed novel!

To MB - what can I say about this guy? My buddy, my drinking partner, my drunk dialer. The only guy I've loaned my Catholic School Girl outfit. A unique perspective on life. Thanks for the drunken silly conversations and the sober/sometimes drunk serious philosophical conversations.

To Trojan - new on the scene and I've never even met her in real life. So willing to help someone she doesn't even know, someone who has worked hard for what she wants and obtained it, someone whose confidence seems to radiate to others. Thanks for joining the crew.

To Peanut - you rock like pop rocks girl and you know it! There's so much I could say about this girl. To make the Reader's Digest version - I love ya!

To S - Where the hell have you been? No comments from you for ages! You're like a chick man - you get a significant other and fall off the radar screen. What gives? Seriously (or more seriously), a guy whose heart is in the right place and is working hard on something we all should be - figuring himself out. Hope to see you again soon.

To Spotty - This chick rocks! Funny, kind, smart and beautiful. Thanks for always bringing a smile to my face.

To @ssG - A woman who travels with dice. What more could you ask for? You never know when those 3man games are going to pop-up. Always someone to invite to a party!

To DayOld - My fellow 80s music lover, an unknowing utilizer of the POK (Pass Out Kit) and he wears the Bay Area 2007 InterAm bid t-shirt. How could I not like this guy?

And finally To Buzz - a cool cat I can only hope to meet and share a beer with one day. Someone who forces me to look at myself as others see me instead of how I do. Always quick to bring a smile or offer a kind word. A man's man who just happens to be a label whore. ;-) This could be the start of a beautiful friendship.

This tribute was brought to you by the letter F and the number 100.

Damn you Trojan

Wow, two blogs dedicated to you in one day by California hashers! You go on with your bad self.

In the spirit of HNT, here's to tainting all my friends.

When Do You Give Up?

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a theater performance in SF. Monkey O had a play he had written selected as the winner for the month of April. They were doing a "year in review" type thing so there were 12 ten-minute plays. The actors were reading off scripts, but had rehearsed. It was a really entertaining evening. I was impressed by the writing and thought the actors did a good job.

At intermission I finally met the man, the myth, the legend...Monkey O. My first meeting from blogland. Actually, he got two for the price of one since he also met Scrummy. Lucky bastard.

We were chatting about acting I think and the conversation went something like this:

MO: Yeah, I acted in college.
BH: Ah, I did that in grade school and high school, but never past that.
MO: So you learned faster than the rest of us.
BH: Or was just lazier.
MO: No, people should stop doing things they are bad at.
BH: Well hell, then I should stop dating men.

Upon later reflection, it made me wonder - When do you throw in the towel and give up something at which you are bad?

Sadly, I've come to the conclusion if I were to follow that advice, I'd be left with only the following things in my life:

Eating
Drinking
Being a smart-ass
Masturbation

On second thought, maybe Monkey is onto something here!

This was brought to you by the letter P and the number 3.

Birthday Understandings

Someone sent this to me and I thought it was pretty interesting. My birthday is in May. In zodiac signs (who follows that crap anyway?) I'm technically a Gemini, but on the cusp of Taurus. From what little I've read, I have qualities of both. Therefore, I like to think of myself on the cusp of May and June qualities listed below - some of each.

JANUARY

Stubborn. Ambitious and serious. Loves to teach and be taught. Never
looks at people's flaws or weaknesses. Hardworking and productive.
Smart, neat and organized. Sensitive and has deep thoughts. Knows how to make others happy. Quiet unless excited or tense. Rather reserved. Highly attentive. Resistant to illnesses but prone to colds. Loving and loyal. Loves children. Has great social abilities. Money cautious, can budget successfully.

FEBRUARY

Abstract thoughts. Loves reality and abstract. Intelligent and clever.
Changing personality. Attractive. Sexy. Temperamental. Quiet, shy and humble. Honest and loyal. Determined to reach goals. Loves freedom. Rebellious when restricted. Loves aggressiveness. Too sensitive and easily hurt. Gets angry really easily but does not show it. Dislike unnecessary things. Loves making friends but rarely shows it. Daring and stubborn. Ambitious. Realizing dreams and hopes. Sharp. Loves entertainment and leisure. Romantic on the inside not outside. Superstitious and ludicrous. Spendthrift. Tries to learn to show emotions.

MARCH

Attractive personality. Sexy. Affectionate. Shy and reserved. Secretive. Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic. Loves peace and serenity. Sensitive to others. Loves to serve others. Easily angered. Trustworthy. Appreciative and returns kindness. Observant and assesses others. Revengeful. Loves to dream and fantasize. Loves traveling. Loves attention. Hasty decisions in choosing partners. Loves home decor. Musically talented. Loves special things. Moody.

APRIL

Active and dynamic. Decisive and hastey but tends to regret. Attractive and affectionate to oneself. Strong mentality. Loves attention. Diplomatic. Consoling, friendly and solves people's problems. Brave and fearless. Adventurous. Loving and caring. Suave and generous. Emotional. Aggressive. Hasty. Good memory. Moving.
Motivates oneself and others. Sickness usually of the head and chest. Sexy in a way that only their lover can see.

MAY

Stubborn and hard-hearted. Strong-willed and highly motivated. Sharp thoughts. Easily angered. Attracts others and loves attention. Deep feelings. Beautiful physically and mentally. Firm Standpoint. Needs no motivation. Easily consoled. Systematic (left brain). Loves to dream. Strong clairvoyance. Understanding. Sickness usually in the ear and neck. Good imagination. Good physical. Weak breathing. Loves literature and the arts. Loves traveling. Dislike being at home.
Restless. Not having many children. Hardworking. High spirited. Spendthrift.

JUNE
Thinks far with vision. Easily influenced by kindness. Polite. Has lots of ideas. Sensitive. Active mind. Hesitates, tends to put things off. Choosy and always wants the best. Temperamental. Funny and humorous. Loves to joke. Good debating skills. Talkative. Daydreamer. Friendly. Makes friends easily. Shows character. Easily hurt. Prone to getting colds. Easily bored. Fussy and stubborn. Seldom shows emotions. Takes time to recover when hurt. Brand conscious.

JULY

Fun to be with. Secretive. Sometimes difficult to understand. Quiet unless excited or tense. Takes pride in oneself. Has reputation for hard work. Honest. Concerned about people's feelings. Tactful. Friendly, but not always approachable. Emotionally temperamental. Moody and easily hurt. Witty. Not mean or revengeful. Forgiving but
never forgets. Dislikes nonsensical and illogical things. Sensitive and forms friendships carefully. Caring and loving. Treats others equally. Strong sense of sympathy. Wary and sharp. Judges people through observations. No difficulties in studying. Loves to be alone. Broods about the past and misses old friends. Quiet, homey person. Has difficulty making new friends. Prone to having dieting problems. Loves to be loved. Easily hurt but takes long to recover.

AUGUST

Loves to joke. Attractive. Suave and caring. Brave and fearless. Firm and has leadership qualities. Knows how to console others. Too generous and egotistic. Takes high pride of oneself. Thirsty for praises. Extraordinary spirit. Easily angered. Angry when provoked. Easily jealous. Observant. Careful and cautious. Thinks quickly.
Independent thoughts. Loves to lead and to be led. Loves to dream. Talented in the arts, music and defense. Sensitive but not petty. Poor resistance against illnesses. Learns to relax. Hasty and trusty. Romantic. Loving and caring. Loves to make friends.

SEPTEMBER

Suave and compromising. Careful, cautious and organized. Stubborn. Quiet. comfortable if have to talk to a group. Calm. Sympathetic. Concerned and detailed. Loyal. Does work well. Very confident. Sensitive. Thinking generous. Good memory. Clever and knowledgeable. Loves to look for information. Must control oneself when criticizing. Able to motivate oneself. Understanding. Secretive. Loves sports and leisure Hardly shows emotions. Tends to bottle up feelings. Very choosy, especially in relationships.

OCTOBER

Loves children. Loves to chat. Loves those who loves them. Loves to takes things at the center. Inner and physical beauty. Sexy. Gets angry often. Treats friends importantly. Always making new friends. Easily hurt ! but recovers easily. Day dreamer. Loyal. Opinionated. Does not care of what others think. Emotional. Decisive. Strong clairvoyance. Loves to travel, the arts and literature. Touchy and
easily jealous. Honest, does not pretend. Concerned. Loves outdoors. Just and fair. Spendthrift. Easily influenced. Easily loses confidence.

NOVEMBER

Has a lot of ideas. Difficult to fathom! Thinks forward. Unique and brilliant. Extraordinary ideas. Sharp thinking. Fine and strong clairvoyance. Can become good doctors. Dynamic in personality. Secretive. Inquisitive. Knows how to dig secrets. Always thinking. Less talkative but amiable. Brave and generous. Patient. Stubborn and hard-hearted. If there is a will, there is a way. Determined. Never
give up. Hardly becomes angry unless provoked. Loves to be alone. Thinks differently from others. Sharp-minded. Motivates oneself. Does not appreciates praises. High-spirited. Well-built and tough. Deep love and emotions. Romantic. Uncertain in relationships. Homely. Hardworking. High abilities. Trust worthy. Honest and keeps secrets. Not able to control emotions.

DECEMBER

Loyal and generous. Sexy. Patriotic. Active in games and interactions. Impatient and hasty. Ambitious. Influential in organizations. Fun to be with. Loves to socialize. Loves praises. Loves attention. Loves to be loved. Honest and trustworthy.. Not pretending. Short tempered. Changing personality. Not egotistic. Takes high pride in oneself. Hates restrictions.