wiki:
block party: n. a block party is a large informal public celebration in which many members of a single neighborhood congregate to observe a positive event of usually local importance. many times, there will be celebration in the form of playing music and dance. Block parties gained popularity in the United States during the 1970s.
yeah, well this one was sponsored by camel, monster and e-surance** and cost 20$ at the door. then you get to stand in a really crowded beer garden (at $5 a beer) and listen to , at most, 20 bands which, to be honest, should sometimes be playing for free.
and compare that to a $40 bumbershoot where the lineups are abundant and ripe with talent and dont disguise themselves as COMMUNITY block parties.
im completely over it. 3 years ago it was free, more like a farmers market meets garage band. i respected it then.
**all important footnote: i learned friday afternoon that e-surance is sponsoring events like this to relate more to a younger, hipper audience. i also learned that the owners of e-surance are a über right wing conservative couple set on pushing their agenda.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Thursday, July 26, 2007
beng beng beng
if you know me at all you know that while i enjoy a nice show every now and then, the thought of going to a crowded venue to stand and look at the stage and nod my head is not my idea of a good time. at least not that often- there are exceptions to this rule...
you should also know im musically illiterate. im not one of those people who can talk intelligently about good or bad music. i have paris hilton's version of "stars are blind" on my ZUNE! right next to the mountain goats. and i am not ashamed to say i like them both.
so you can imagine how i felt when jason told me about this guy i hadnt heard of and his band playing at the showbox. >>>insert eye roll and yawn<<<
for starters no one in seattle dances. i hate this fact. apparently the hipster movement grabbed an entire city by the balls and told it that its just not cool to move anything more than neck muscles. maybe its because the skinny jeans are restrictive. chucks dont offer arch support? i dont know.
secondly i knew i was going to be sober thanks to a weeks worth of antibiotics. both my pharmacist (i say it like we have one of those close relationships you see on tv- the one where they will come to my house and cut my pills for me) and my doctor took the time to seriously warn me that ANY drinking would make me feel awful and could lead to heart problems (and again, if you know me, you know my anxiety is acutely focused on the well-being of my heart).
thirdly i am fighting a head cold, or a really obnoxious sinus problem. either way, it leaves me feeling pretty cruddy and tired. (im also not sure if im tired bc my friend, the pharmacist told me the medicine might do that to me, or if im tired bc im run down. im easily swayed by professional opinions).
well, add all those things up and a night out at the showbox was not sounding great.
but i could not have been more wrong!
we went to see femi kuti.
i dont know if people know about him or not, as i, as previously mentioned, am slow on the musical uptake. if you dont know either, hes an african singer by way of london (or is it london singer by way of africa?). he is following in the footsteps of his late dad, fela kuti, with whom he also performed growing up. political, sexy music.
the show was amazing. i cant explain it in any other terms. the entire crowd cheered and danced... almost like we were in another city. my tired, sober, sore feet didnt care. the entire band played an exceptionally passionate show. a friend said "they come out like a firehose in the mouth," and while im not sure i understand the phrase completely, it seems an appropriate description. the backup singers danced through the entire show... and i dont mean that synced sway from side to side. i mean D-A-N-C-E-D. the whole time. it was incredible.
so for one night, the seattle music scene redeemed itself. and while its sure to disappoint in the near future- probably the capital hill block party- for last night it was totally worth it. i highly recommend if you havent seen him. i would gladly go again.
you should also know im musically illiterate. im not one of those people who can talk intelligently about good or bad music. i have paris hilton's version of "stars are blind" on my ZUNE! right next to the mountain goats. and i am not ashamed to say i like them both.
so you can imagine how i felt when jason told me about this guy i hadnt heard of and his band playing at the showbox. >>>insert eye roll and yawn<<<
for starters no one in seattle dances. i hate this fact. apparently the hipster movement grabbed an entire city by the balls and told it that its just not cool to move anything more than neck muscles. maybe its because the skinny jeans are restrictive. chucks dont offer arch support? i dont know.
secondly i knew i was going to be sober thanks to a weeks worth of antibiotics. both my pharmacist (i say it like we have one of those close relationships you see on tv- the one where they will come to my house and cut my pills for me) and my doctor took the time to seriously warn me that ANY drinking would make me feel awful and could lead to heart problems (and again, if you know me, you know my anxiety is acutely focused on the well-being of my heart).
thirdly i am fighting a head cold, or a really obnoxious sinus problem. either way, it leaves me feeling pretty cruddy and tired. (im also not sure if im tired bc my friend, the pharmacist told me the medicine might do that to me, or if im tired bc im run down. im easily swayed by professional opinions).
well, add all those things up and a night out at the showbox was not sounding great.
but i could not have been more wrong!
we went to see femi kuti.
i dont know if people know about him or not, as i, as previously mentioned, am slow on the musical uptake. if you dont know either, hes an african singer by way of london (or is it london singer by way of africa?). he is following in the footsteps of his late dad, fela kuti, with whom he also performed growing up. political, sexy music.
the show was amazing. i cant explain it in any other terms. the entire crowd cheered and danced... almost like we were in another city. my tired, sober, sore feet didnt care. the entire band played an exceptionally passionate show. a friend said "they come out like a firehose in the mouth," and while im not sure i understand the phrase completely, it seems an appropriate description. the backup singers danced through the entire show... and i dont mean that synced sway from side to side. i mean D-A-N-C-E-D. the whole time. it was incredible.
so for one night, the seattle music scene redeemed itself. and while its sure to disappoint in the near future- probably the capital hill block party- for last night it was totally worth it. i highly recommend if you havent seen him. i would gladly go again.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
mmmmm. spaghetti
i like thursdays.
thursdays always mean good primetime programming (except in the off seasons)
thursday is the day before friday and friday is the start of the weekend. while tomorrow isnt saturday, there is something calm and easy going about friday... and thursday is the second best "leaving the office" feeling at the end of the day.
thursday is spaghetti day downstairs. oh.my.god. its good spaghetti.
__________________________________________
they are doing construction across the street and its fascinating to watch. we thought we would be annoyed by the sound but its actually kind of soothing. not as much jackhammering as you would anticipate. there is a guy in a back ho (heh heh) right now moving dirt from one pile to another, and then from the latter pile to a truck bed. i think he can see in my window... 5 floors up. maybe he just has those eyes that follow you- like the busts in the haunted mansion. but every time i look out i think hes looking at me. and while part of me is annoyed, the other part stares back flattered.
i think im getting a zit on my chin. its one of the painful ones beneath the surface but hasnt reared its ugly face for me to pick and claw at. i am TOTALLY a picker.
riley was the cutest little mofo last night. im completely enamored.
i need to figure out what to get my nieces for their birthdays. they were months ago. but i called them and said i had their presents but i hadnt mailed them yet. now i have to hold true to that promise. otherwise im a sucky aunt. im a sucky aunt anyway. but im just following the family tradition of not making an effort.
i think jason has RLS. i need to talk to bill about it. i also need to go swimming with him- bill not jason. though jason can come too. (hott)
somehow i need to motivate myself to go to the gym. or do some sort of physical activity. i think i dont like my gym because its filled with young in-shape people. jasons gym was better. it was all older people (because its practically a mortgage payment to go there)
mmm, even though im sickeningly full, ethiopian food sounds good.
i guess i should work.
thursdays always mean good primetime programming (except in the off seasons)
thursday is the day before friday and friday is the start of the weekend. while tomorrow isnt saturday, there is something calm and easy going about friday... and thursday is the second best "leaving the office" feeling at the end of the day.
thursday is spaghetti day downstairs. oh.my.god. its good spaghetti.
__________________________________________
they are doing construction across the street and its fascinating to watch. we thought we would be annoyed by the sound but its actually kind of soothing. not as much jackhammering as you would anticipate. there is a guy in a back ho (heh heh) right now moving dirt from one pile to another, and then from the latter pile to a truck bed. i think he can see in my window... 5 floors up. maybe he just has those eyes that follow you- like the busts in the haunted mansion. but every time i look out i think hes looking at me. and while part of me is annoyed, the other part stares back flattered.
i think im getting a zit on my chin. its one of the painful ones beneath the surface but hasnt reared its ugly face for me to pick and claw at. i am TOTALLY a picker.
riley was the cutest little mofo last night. im completely enamored.
i need to figure out what to get my nieces for their birthdays. they were months ago. but i called them and said i had their presents but i hadnt mailed them yet. now i have to hold true to that promise. otherwise im a sucky aunt. im a sucky aunt anyway. but im just following the family tradition of not making an effort.
i think jason has RLS. i need to talk to bill about it. i also need to go swimming with him- bill not jason. though jason can come too. (hott)
somehow i need to motivate myself to go to the gym. or do some sort of physical activity. i think i dont like my gym because its filled with young in-shape people. jasons gym was better. it was all older people (because its practically a mortgage payment to go there)
mmm, even though im sickeningly full, ethiopian food sounds good.
i guess i should work.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
well, since you asked...
i had a fantabulous birthday week!
there are those years where you just dont feel as special or loved on your birthday as you had hoped. it has nothing to do with gifts, or cake. its just the general feeling. that particular person didnt call, or the day is going as all other days normally go- nothing really magical about it.
this was not one of those years.
i got flowers, presents, balloons, flowers, drinks, flowers, presents, dinner, breakfast ( a PHENOMENAL breakfast btw), a kayak trip, birthday cards, dinner, a karaoke night, lots of beer, more presents, cake, a harry potter date and some popcorn. there were lots of people who sent me emails, or myspace messages or called. people babysat so other people could come out to celebrate... i just felt very loved.
sigh...
it was also one of the worst birthdays ive ever had.
kayaking for nearly 5 hours had left my arms very very tired and i figured i would hate life the next day. little did i know i would be hating life that night. there were sharp aches in my arms while singing my heart out- i busted out some tricky by run dmc though, lemme tell you. they got worse as the night progressed until it was time to leave. by the time i got home i was weeping. ive never in my life experienced a pain like that. and i know you moms out there can contest that you have felt a pain far greater. i dont deny you that. i havent been there yet, so achy arms is what i get to bitch about... it wasnt muscles. it wasnt even joints. if bone marrow could be sore, thats what it felt like. no. if bone marrow could be kicked in the balls... yeah, a little like that. i laid awake on my couch until 5am that morning in agonizing pain. (jason tried to take care of me, but to karaoke he had to get a little (read a lot) sauced, and eventually passed out). i finally fell asleep for a few hours and when i woke up- completely better. no soreness at all. its like i laid around all day the day before.
go figure.
my coworker chalks the quick recovery up to my being young. at which i enjoy the irony of it happening on my birthday- the day i turn a year older. im still very much a young'un of course... just with an old soul. and apparently old marrow.
there are those years where you just dont feel as special or loved on your birthday as you had hoped. it has nothing to do with gifts, or cake. its just the general feeling. that particular person didnt call, or the day is going as all other days normally go- nothing really magical about it.
this was not one of those years.
i got flowers, presents, balloons, flowers, drinks, flowers, presents, dinner, breakfast ( a PHENOMENAL breakfast btw), a kayak trip, birthday cards, dinner, a karaoke night, lots of beer, more presents, cake, a harry potter date and some popcorn. there were lots of people who sent me emails, or myspace messages or called. people babysat so other people could come out to celebrate... i just felt very loved.
sigh...
it was also one of the worst birthdays ive ever had.
kayaking for nearly 5 hours had left my arms very very tired and i figured i would hate life the next day. little did i know i would be hating life that night. there were sharp aches in my arms while singing my heart out- i busted out some tricky by run dmc though, lemme tell you. they got worse as the night progressed until it was time to leave. by the time i got home i was weeping. ive never in my life experienced a pain like that. and i know you moms out there can contest that you have felt a pain far greater. i dont deny you that. i havent been there yet, so achy arms is what i get to bitch about... it wasnt muscles. it wasnt even joints. if bone marrow could be sore, thats what it felt like. no. if bone marrow could be kicked in the balls... yeah, a little like that. i laid awake on my couch until 5am that morning in agonizing pain. (jason tried to take care of me, but to karaoke he had to get a little (read a lot) sauced, and eventually passed out). i finally fell asleep for a few hours and when i woke up- completely better. no soreness at all. its like i laid around all day the day before.
go figure.
my coworker chalks the quick recovery up to my being young. at which i enjoy the irony of it happening on my birthday- the day i turn a year older. im still very much a young'un of course... just with an old soul. and apparently old marrow.
Friday, July 13, 2007
tomorrow! tomorrow! i love ya tomorrow!
in the narcissistic spirit of continuously talking about my birthday and how much i love it, i give you this:
i have some really vague memories of this movie, but loved it because the year i saw it, my birthday was slated to fall on a saturday. (i think i have also convinced myself that the year i was born the 14th as also a saturday, but im wrong there. after further investigation, it was a monday).
i know the movie was a comedy spoof, but i was young enough that it was still scary to me (what isnt, really?) and had believed that friday the 13th is bad luck, but saturday the 14th, whoa buddy! you better watch out! in fact, until finding this poster, i thought the tag line for the movie was "you thought friday the 13th was bad. but saturday the 14th is waaaay worse."
wow.
(i am realizing as i write it that its almost like going back and reading a paper you wrote in grade school. one you were really proud of and still kind of hold on to some of that pride... only to reread and realize you sounded like a complete douche)
anyway. i should see it again. i bet its an amazing piece of cinematography that i did not fully appreciate in my youth...
btw, this is what those illustrated representations of benjamin and paula look like now:
have a happy weekend y'all. ill see you on the flip side another year older :D!
i have some really vague memories of this movie, but loved it because the year i saw it, my birthday was slated to fall on a saturday. (i think i have also convinced myself that the year i was born the 14th as also a saturday, but im wrong there. after further investigation, it was a monday).
i know the movie was a comedy spoof, but i was young enough that it was still scary to me (what isnt, really?) and had believed that friday the 13th is bad luck, but saturday the 14th, whoa buddy! you better watch out! in fact, until finding this poster, i thought the tag line for the movie was "you thought friday the 13th was bad. but saturday the 14th is waaaay worse."
wow.
(i am realizing as i write it that its almost like going back and reading a paper you wrote in grade school. one you were really proud of and still kind of hold on to some of that pride... only to reread and realize you sounded like a complete douche)
anyway. i should see it again. i bet its an amazing piece of cinematography that i did not fully appreciate in my youth...
btw, this is what those illustrated representations of benjamin and paula look like now:
have a happy weekend y'all. ill see you on the flip side another year older :D!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
birthday week
in case you didnt know, this week, and more than likely, next, is my birthday week.to celebrate, i got a bouquet of balloons at work!
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
the axe
is ax usually spelled with an "e?" also this is one of those instances where it just doesnt seem right to put the punctuation INSIDE the quote.
i digress.
a coworker of mine was fired yesterday. i cant say it was a surprise. he wasnt doing his job and was making work harder for everyone involved. but you gotta feel bad for the guy. he is a nice person.
ive never been in an office, or anywhere for that matter, where someone was fired- save the hole in the wall bar i waitressed at, but that seemed different. a few people knew what was happening yesterday and when it was going to happen... which made things worse. i liken it to being at the top of one of those drop rides- lets go with the tower of terror. you know its inevitably going to happen, you just dont know WHEN.
tangent: did you hear, btw, about the little girl who lost her feet on one of those rides?! it sounds like there should be a punchline after that, but theres not. poor little girl. i wont ever ride one of those again, i can assure you. the last time i rode one we got all strapped in and up to the top and i panicked. i was grabbing for the belt to release (panic is not good for clarity). i just wanted out. then it was over. never ever agin.
and back: so he packed up his stuff and left last night. i had already left to catch the bus, but got a play by play via text as i was riding home:
"i can hear him putting things in a paper bag."
"someone just went over to talk to him."
"they are changing the codes tonight."
"he seems pissed."
"i think he left. he didnt say anything."
"oh, no, hes still here. what's he still doing here?"
and from the person that had to do the firing who was told to make herself scarce afterwards, "im hiding in the lunchroom until he leaves and need many many drinks."
and that is my experience of being in the office when someone was fired.
i digress.
a coworker of mine was fired yesterday. i cant say it was a surprise. he wasnt doing his job and was making work harder for everyone involved. but you gotta feel bad for the guy. he is a nice person.
ive never been in an office, or anywhere for that matter, where someone was fired- save the hole in the wall bar i waitressed at, but that seemed different. a few people knew what was happening yesterday and when it was going to happen... which made things worse. i liken it to being at the top of one of those drop rides- lets go with the tower of terror. you know its inevitably going to happen, you just dont know WHEN.
tangent: did you hear, btw, about the little girl who lost her feet on one of those rides?! it sounds like there should be a punchline after that, but theres not. poor little girl. i wont ever ride one of those again, i can assure you. the last time i rode one we got all strapped in and up to the top and i panicked. i was grabbing for the belt to release (panic is not good for clarity). i just wanted out. then it was over. never ever agin.
and back: so he packed up his stuff and left last night. i had already left to catch the bus, but got a play by play via text as i was riding home:
"i can hear him putting things in a paper bag."
"someone just went over to talk to him."
"they are changing the codes tonight."
"he seems pissed."
"i think he left. he didnt say anything."
"oh, no, hes still here. what's he still doing here?"
and from the person that had to do the firing who was told to make herself scarce afterwards, "im hiding in the lunchroom until he leaves and need many many drinks."
and that is my experience of being in the office when someone was fired.
Saturday, July 07, 2007
catch up.
in the last month and a half:
jason went to china for work. we are pretty conviced he has sars. he also brought me back some elephant candle-ettes (they are so cute and tiny), a chinese book on calligraphy (written IN chinese) and a calligraphy set ("i dont know how to use it," i say. "read the book," he responds). he was the most excited about the knock off louis vuitton purse and wallet he got me. im on the fence on this. its a cute purse and a cute wallet- if it didnt have a logo all over it. but hes so excited and proud of it. i guess he was in a store and they knocked on the wall. all of a sudden they were in a secret back room. ive carried it a few times. im curious what kind of person people think i am with that bag...
jasons parents came to visit. we had a good time with them. his mom cleaned our entire house. apparently the surface cleaning we did before they came did not suffice. we went to a nice dinner. i pulled a move my dad LOVES to use- get up to go to the bathroom and pay the bill in secret. all in all is it was a good visit though i am still convinced parents come to visit to remind us why we moved out in the first place.
i went to san francisco to see my friend lisa (sorry kc!). i havent been down there since i moved almost 3 years ago. it was like i never left- after i got over saying "I cant believe im back in san francisco" i mean. there was a lot of drinking and shopping involved. we went to the north beach festival on saturday. i drank too much and i had to wake up for the super shuttle at 4 am. turbulence and a hangover are NOT friends. fyi.
we went to a beer festival last weekend. i learned i like barley wine. jason learned he cant hang out at a beer festival all day and then come home to tall glasses of whiskey and coke. who knew?
wednesday was the 4th. it was filled with kebabs (not shish, because as i learned that day shish refers to lamb) pasta salad, sangria and cornhole. we built our own set. we are currently "discussing" how to design it. so far we have some vertical stripes. i even sewed the bean bags until my sewing machine broke. it was exciting to introduce our friends to the game. the fireworks were perfect from our deck, but a little awkwardly long.
in the meantime work has been crazy. ive been getting in at 645 am each morning and going all day long and well into the night. i see a light at the end of the tunnel. but its a really really long tunnel.
and that brings us t up to speed.
next weekend is my birthday. i LOVE my birthday. really, i love anyone's birthday. if it werent for that day, that person wouldnt be in your life. its exciting. and its nice that everyone has at least one day during the year that people celebrate them. i know it sounds a little fluffy, but its true. and next weekend is MY day :D well, mine and a few friends who share it, along with matthew fox from lost and france's independence day (aka bastille day).
the end.
jason went to china for work. we are pretty conviced he has sars. he also brought me back some elephant candle-ettes (they are so cute and tiny), a chinese book on calligraphy (written IN chinese) and a calligraphy set ("i dont know how to use it," i say. "read the book," he responds). he was the most excited about the knock off louis vuitton purse and wallet he got me. im on the fence on this. its a cute purse and a cute wallet- if it didnt have a logo all over it. but hes so excited and proud of it. i guess he was in a store and they knocked on the wall. all of a sudden they were in a secret back room. ive carried it a few times. im curious what kind of person people think i am with that bag...
jasons parents came to visit. we had a good time with them. his mom cleaned our entire house. apparently the surface cleaning we did before they came did not suffice. we went to a nice dinner. i pulled a move my dad LOVES to use- get up to go to the bathroom and pay the bill in secret. all in all is it was a good visit though i am still convinced parents come to visit to remind us why we moved out in the first place.
i went to san francisco to see my friend lisa (sorry kc!). i havent been down there since i moved almost 3 years ago. it was like i never left- after i got over saying "I cant believe im back in san francisco" i mean. there was a lot of drinking and shopping involved. we went to the north beach festival on saturday. i drank too much and i had to wake up for the super shuttle at 4 am. turbulence and a hangover are NOT friends. fyi.
we went to a beer festival last weekend. i learned i like barley wine. jason learned he cant hang out at a beer festival all day and then come home to tall glasses of whiskey and coke. who knew?
wednesday was the 4th. it was filled with kebabs (not shish, because as i learned that day shish refers to lamb) pasta salad, sangria and cornhole. we built our own set. we are currently "discussing" how to design it. so far we have some vertical stripes. i even sewed the bean bags until my sewing machine broke. it was exciting to introduce our friends to the game. the fireworks were perfect from our deck, but a little awkwardly long.
in the meantime work has been crazy. ive been getting in at 645 am each morning and going all day long and well into the night. i see a light at the end of the tunnel. but its a really really long tunnel.
and that brings us t up to speed.
next weekend is my birthday. i LOVE my birthday. really, i love anyone's birthday. if it werent for that day, that person wouldnt be in your life. its exciting. and its nice that everyone has at least one day during the year that people celebrate them. i know it sounds a little fluffy, but its true. and next weekend is MY day :D well, mine and a few friends who share it, along with matthew fox from lost and france's independence day (aka bastille day).
the end.
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