Happy new year!

Happy new year!

You better watch out. Video

You better watch out. Video poker will wipe you out! Spending too much on my vacation at home. Holy crap.

Got the new phone. V

Got the new phone. V cast not working well. Gotta call cust svc tomorrow. Also contacts didn't transfer at the store. Bummer.

Day after the big day.

Day after the big day. BORING. No money so no casino with everyone else. Stayed home. Boo.

Merry Christmas! I'm stuffed. Hope

Merry Christmas! I'm stuffed. Hope if you read this you had a good day. I'll write later.

Ennui

Don't know how to say it, but it's a good crossword word for:

bored: "Fatigued with dullness or tedium."

Me. Today.

Oh, Oh, Big News!

I bought a new phone! I called Verizon to renew my contract yesterday. The rep said first of all that a lot of their programs had changed and that I was currently paying more than I should be because I had piecemeal added stuff to my account as it came out - so she was able to cut my bill by about $15 - although that may be negated because I'm getting V-Cast free for a month and then it's $15/mo if I keep it, so I might end up being right back where I started - but with a bunch of new stuff. And a cool new phone.

Current phone: LG VX6000 - one of the first generation camera phones - no flash and meh quality photos.

New phone: LG VX 8100. Besides V-Cast and MP3 and easier access to the web, it has a 1.3 megapixel camera with a flash. So I'm counting on the pics being much better - you'll see for yourself because I'll be sending them to this blog and we can compare them together with the ones already here.

A flash. Yay! It was a wonderful day when someone invented cameras to put on phones. All-in-One works out great for people like me who are technology-challenged.

Yay, can't wait. She thought it might be here by Christmas - we'll see. Anyway, it'll give me something to play with next week while I'm home, right?

Up to the Minute News

I'll probably blog a bit today because it's SO quiet here - it's 9:00 am, we start at 8:00 am, we have about 175 people on our floor and here's who I've seen today: Josh, Jen, Taryn, Anita, Jim, Margaret and me. I can hear someone talking down the hall so I assume there are at least two more around (unless he's talking to himself, which is entirely possible).

I'll be on vacation next week, return on the 3rd, and then have to attack the 06/07 budget. There's no point in doing much before then. Most of the folks who need to send me financial information won't be back until the 3rd either. So, I'm not sweating it.

Anyway, my plan for next week is to sleep in, stay up late, clean my house, and get ready for the New Year. I have so much crap in my house that I know I can get rid of - it's just hard to actually get around to doing it. And, if I get rid of 5 or 6 bags of stuff, I always seem to end up bringing that much more back in so I never really get ahead. If I get really ambitious next week I'd like to put together a bunch of stuff, take it to Goodwill and make a final donation for taxes. We'll see how ambitious I really get.

Hello $, Goodbye

Well, yesterday was payday, and I am broke again.

Mostly because I paid $1,100 in property taxes so they would be credited for 2005 (and THAT was on top of the $$2,500 or so I paid just last month!) . Property taxes are out of control. There are idiots in this state who want to have a sales tax - on top of state income tax, county tax, property tax, all the local taxes, federal taxes, and what all, they want to have a SALES tax too..........idiots. Last time it was on the ballot the sponsors did not write it to exclude any current taxes, just to add the sales tax. What, do they think we're nuts?
Some people said they were willing to vote for the sales tax, but only if the state income tax was abolished, or property taxes were removed, or some kind of exchange. And I guess I could live with that but not IN ADDITION TO. Jeez. With few exceptions, people in this state do not have bottomless pockets.

Anyway, I'm broke again.

Pin Drop?

It is so quiet around here - the closer we get to the holidays the more vacant it gets around the office. Aimee's gone now until next week - so I'll have to figure out what to do with myself for breaks/lunch. Probably just read the paper and do the crosswords.

I made another scarf last night for Jen because I'm just not happy with the one I made her for Christmas. And, I think she'll appreciate that the new one matches her new coat she just got last week - it's the "Venus" color by Bernat Galaxy - very soft and tactile.

Hoping Julie got out of NYC before the transit strike - I hear through the grapevine she came into town this past weekend but I haven't heard from her - I have a gift for her just the same so I hope she comes in. Maybe on Thursday when we're planning to do a gift exchange.

God, this blog is boring...............Boring. BORING.

You know what I hate? I hate sending emails and text messages or whatever, and getting no response back so you're never ever sure the person read it, then hearing from them days/weeks/months later - "why don't you ever write(call)?" "Long time no hear?" "You never keep in touch", "why didn't you tell me about the party/deadline/whatever".

I'm like, WHAT?, you never called back! or emailed back! or whatever back. Then they say, "h, yeah, I got that. Sorry." or they say they never got it. That's the downfall of email or texting over calling on the phone - unless they respond back that they got the info, you never absolutely know that they're getting the message and you may be counting on them having that information.

So I guess there may be millions of email and text messages floating out there in limbo-land that no-one ever receives.......................and we have no way of knowing it. " la-la-la...here I am floating in the ether, no one wants me...."

Check this out! Aimee made it.

Aimee surprised me with this VERY COOL hat this afternoon - my Christmas present! Love it!

Stuff and Stuff

Well, so much for that. I'm so glad that the storm only lasted a couple of days, and that it warmed up fast and melted it all away in most of the city. Jeez, I said it in the last post, we ALWAYS get ice. It drives me crazy.

I took a day of vacation yesterday - my personal test to see if it's OK to go to work is if I can get off of my porch. I went out yesterday morning and it was iced in and the steps were impassable. So, day at home. Watched "Murder She Wrote" for two hours in the afternoon. Cool.

Today, I get here and remember I have a two hour boring meeting on EEO stuff. They keep mixing EEO items up with affirmative action and diversity items and it drives me nuts because they have separate committees for them...why can't they keep it all straight? grrr....two hours. The actual EEO portion was over in less than an hour.

This weekend I finally got all the packages sent off to CA. Turns out that nephew Andy is engaged, which I didn't find out until the package was sent, but luckily I had included something for her......I met her in San Diego this summer and liked her very much. They seem to suit each other well, so I wasn't surprised to hear about the engagement. But it's pretty exciting.

I also got all the other presents wrapped (rolled up in tissue paper and stuffed in a bag - I only actually "wrapped" three) and it feels good to have them all done. I am now only waiting for the rest of mom's present to get here and I'll be done, done, done. It's supposed to arrive on Thursday.

Ice, Snow, Ice

Why, oh, why, can't we ever have snow without ice like everybody else? WHY?

Edited on Tuesday to say that it's gone now - overnight rain and warm temperatures did a great job of clearing off all the streets of ice and snow.

Expecting an ice storm. Time

Expecting an ice storm. Time to hunker down. 'hunker', hee. Need cigs right away.

TGIF

Yay, it's Friday!

The scary thing is that Christmas is only 9 days away and I still have presents to buy and presents to MAIL. Oops.

I'll get busy on that this weekend.

I just opened a box of Mon Cheri hazalnut/chocolate candies. I'll probably eat them all while sitting here at my desk.

Aimee's Boooyfriend

"Aimee's boooyfriend"............said in a sing-song voice, that's me teasing Aimee whenever we see gross street/homeless men in the building area. But, for you PC-minded folks, this is only after we see them lots and learn stuff about them. Sometimes gross stuff. Like about Aimee's latest booyfriend. Honest to God, he shits on the loggia (that's the porch area around the building) on nights and weekends. And he doesn't use toilet paper. During the day he uses the public restrooms in the building, but sometimes he can't flush it all down so he piles used toilet paper in the corner of the stall.

We have it straight from the mouth of our poor friend, Fran the Day Porter, who has to CLEAN IT UP!

So, every time we see him, here's me to her::
"There's Aimee's booyfriend...you want to kiss him." Sing-song along with me "....................you want to kiiiiisss him......."

One of these days Aimee is going to kill me. She's coming after me if she sees this post.

You live where?

Continuation of rant, see below:

Oh, and, by the way, I live in Portland, Oregon. My city is smack in the middle of 3 or 4 fault lines and is very prone to earthquakes. We have them all the time, and every once in a while we have one that we can feel and we get shaken around and stuff falls off the walls. So far, we've been lucky and THE BIG ONE hasn't hit. But it will. We know that. All the evidence points to a Big One happening every few hundred years or so and we're overdue. And, we're so stupid we continue to live here. How can anyone live here?

We have several volcanos on 2 sides of our city - to the north and to the east of us. Active volcanos. One volcano to the north of us erupted very recently and is still spewing ash and steam on a daily basis and is building lava domes as I write this. LAVA DOMES! STEAM AND ASH! PEOPLE DIED! I can look out my window some days and SEE STEAM AND ASH ERUPTING FROM THE VOLCANO! From my WINDOW! And, yet I continue to live here. One volcano to the east of us has recently started bulging - it's active and is growing full with magma and could erupt! We have an old volcano right in the middle of town. Not two miles from my house. It's called Mt. Tabor (get it? "Mount" Tabor - it's a volcano!) And we have concerts and picnics and parties in the crater. OF A VOLCANO. Don't Portlanders know that even dormant volcanos can become active and YOU CAN DIE?

We live at the confluence of TWO MAJOR RIVERS. Don't we know they can flood? AND PEOPLE CAN DIE? It's happened in the past! Haven't we learned anything? Not even 60 years ago the Columbia River broke through the levees that had been constructed to separate north Portland's area from the river - it BROKE THROUGH. And an entire community called Vanport was DECIMATED and disappeared forever. Doesn't anyone remember? Why don't we all move away? Why do we live in such a "dangerous" place?

These and other opinions will be shared by the collective media and ignorant non-Oregonians IF the big one hits, IF another major volcanic eruption occurs or IF the rivers get enough rainfall to flood. We're just like New Orleans! Natural disasters can happen here too!

We're not stupid. We're not ignorant. We know the limitations and the frailities of the place we live. And we continue to live here because it's home. Just like the people of New Orleans and the whole Gulf Coast. Somebody needs to clue me in to the special area in the world that is safe from volcanos, earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, flooding, tornados, broken dams and levees, killer heat, snowstorms and blizzards and all other natural activities that can kill. Personally, I don't know where that place is. The media must know, because they like to say stuff like "they should have known that would happen. Why were they living there? tsk tsk."

I Wish

I just talked with my friend, Deena, who is coming back to work in my building. She's leaving a horrible position she's had for about three years, and she took a lateral transfer to come back to work in a different office. Her old position did not start out horrible - three years ago when she took it, it was a two-step increase for her, but the people in that office are impossible. They are isolated from the rest of the organization by their location and they want to do everything outside of the established policies and procedures. Anyway, they and their stupidity and pettiness and bickering will soon be left behind. My wish is that they have to come to the main building and see what working for this organization should really be like. That would shock some of them numb. They didn't deserve someone as wonderful as Deena and they treated her like shit. She certainly did not deserve them.

I wish I had loads of money. I want to travel. I want to be able to give my friends and family what they need and ease their burdens. I want to help the local food and toy charities that are running so close to the bone this year. And, I am still devastated by the catastrophe in New Orleans. I wish I could go to NO with full pockets and help. Even if only to hire a shitload of trucks to go in and start hauling debris, cutting trees and cleaning yards and streets. I think that if the garbage and debris was gone and the streets cleaned it would go a long way toward helping people be encouraged to make the move back in and re-settle. If I had evacuated and wanted to go back but first had to deal with the enormous MESS I don't think I'd have the energy to do it - it would make me too tired and sad to see the chaos. My friend Poppy and her husband have moved back in - they are unable to stay in their house and are fighting with the insurance company, barely see the Red Cross or FEMA, and are doing what they can to make it home again. She has posted pictures in her blog of trips she's taken around town and it is so disheartening to see areas where people have barely even entered yet. It is a horrendous mess that everyone has to deal with. Horrendous.

And, I don't know who started this whole fracas about Mardi Gras "yay or nay" but it is the stupidest thing I've every heard. OF COURSE, Mardi Gras must go on. Are these non-New Orleaneans who are promoting and spreading this stupid idea? Do they really think Mardi Gras is just about drinking and throwing up? Have they ever BEEN TO New Orleans? If I had lots of money (again, I think I need to win the lottery!) I would recruit Poppy and friends to plan and throw the biggest, goddamned party and parade NO has ever seen! Invite the whole city, barbecue and eat for days, dance till you fall down, give all the scattered musicians free tickets home, and drink till you puke if you want! Mardi Gras has never been just about drinking and if you think it is then you know nothing. It embodies the spirit of New Orleans, its history, its resiliance, and its pride, and in my opinion, this Mardi Gras festival, with all its potential problems and quirks, MUST GO ON - it's the most important thing they can do to start healing both the people and the City. The traditions must be maintained and re-built in order to salvage any city or culture that's been decimated. Always. Read your history books.

Or, if Mardi Gras really IS just about drinking and puking, then somebody better tell me and I'll shut up.

Sorry for the lecture - I sure took a crazy turnabout to get from my happy little news about Deena coming back to my building to giving my highly un-educated opinion about New Orleans, since I don't live there and never have, but I feel strongly that the people who live or lived there deserve respect, not derision; they need our help not our sympathy, and they need us to understand that they are not stupid because they live there and "we" think they should now abandon it. Their crime is not in living in a hurricane-prone region, their crime is not in living below sea level. If there was a crime committed it was by the Federal Government who told them they had made it safe for them to live there and raise their families. The Federal Government told them the levees were made safe by the US Army Corps of Engineers; they TOLD them they would not fail except under the most horrendous wind conditions, WHICH WERE NOT EVEN CLOSELY MET BY KATRINA. They were told the pilings were stuck deep into the earth, which THEY WERE NOT. Some of the levees were held up by pilings that were not even deep enough to get past the mud and goo, let alone drilled into the solid earth and bedrock which USACOE told them had been done. NO WONDER THEY FAILED. And some of them weren't even made solid - just a bunch of crap and garbage piled up over and over again and covered with grass so nobody would see. Holy crap, it's a wonder they hadn't failed before Katrina - it was a disaster just waiting to happen. And the people who lived there, who depended on the levees FOR THEIR LIVES, were LIED TO by the Feds over and over again because they did not want to spend the money to really fix the problem, even though the solutions were presented to them over and over again. The decimation of New Orleans was not Katrina's fault - it was the Federal Government's fault and they know it whether they'll admit it or not. Katrina was just a catalyst that unleased hell on earth for everyone who lived within New Orlean's failing walls.

And, once again, I've gone on a rant. Sorry. And, if anyone from New Orleans ever reads this, which I doubt (I presume I'm basically talking to myself here) I apologize profusely if my outsider views are presumptuous or wrong in any way. Just ignore me. And, if anyone from the Federal Government is perusing these blogs for "terrorist" (keyword: terrorist) information or other un-American activities, feel free to admit your guilt in the destruction of New Orleans and get off your collective butts and FIX IT!!!!!!

It's Monday

Today, my knees hurt and I just spilled coffee on myself. My friend is on vacation and I miss her here at work when she's gone because it's very boring. I actually have to go to break and lunch by myself or see if someone wants to go with me, instead of just knowing someone's there. I hope she's having a great time.

It's 29 degrees out - it's so cold my hands were numb when I went out and had a cig. I have gloves in my pocket but I'm too stupid to put them on, plus I hate to wear them when I smoke because then they stink.

OK, what else? I missed the final "Survivor" last night because I'm a dork and I forgot it was on. I was watching Extreme Makeover which was very good, but I would have at least turned over during commercials if I had thought of it. I did watch the reunion show, though. I'm happy Dani won - she had everything against her but pulled it out. Sometimes it pays to stay non-allianced and watch the alliances crumble around you (and if you can help crumble them all the better). AND, if Aimee had been in town last night we would have talked about Survivor so I wouldn't have missed it!

Can I sell this autograph?

Close-up of the note that came with the wreath. (see below) It says "Buy Me" but the foliage is in the way so it's hard to see.......any takers? Oh, come on! It's Aaandy.

Andy Carson's Wreath

This won't mean anything to you if you're not in the Portland area, but this is the/one of the wreaths Andy Carson made on Good Day Oregon. I bought it from the Parks Bureau today. As soon as I find my wreath hanger in the nightmare room I'll stick it up on my door.

Pretty.

Concerts #5

PBS had a wonderful show on last night. They've run it before - always at fund raising time. The show was "Roy Orbison and Friends, a Black and White Night." Roy sang all of his hit songs; Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Brown, Bonnie Raitt, Elvis Costello, Jennifer Warren, k.d. Lang, and numerous other folks performed with him. It was fabulous.

Roy Orbison
AND, it reminded me that I saw Roy Orbison live back in the 70's at either the Auditorium or the Paramount........that was a LONG time ago and the mind was fuzzy then, let alone now. Anyway, I remember this much - it was WONDERFUL! I love his voice and when it soars on the high notes, it's like listening to angels (and I guess that's even more true now, huh?).

Here's another I forgot, and I CAN'T BELIEVE IT:

U2
I went to see U2 in Seattle way back when. I was with a guy from college - if there was a Portland concert it must have been sold out so we got tickets up north. They had a rougher edge at this time (it was only their 2nd or so tour). I can't remember if this was the tour before or the one after they refused to come to Portland again because someone here stole their equipment - and they didn't come back here for years and years......anyway, it was awesome. Bono was real cute during this time.

Isn't it weird that I'd "forget" I saw U2? Especially when I left town to do it! But these years tend to be pretty hazy so there's probably a lot I don't remember.

I have some more I'll get to: I went through a "country music" period and there are a few country artists that I haven't gotten to yet.

The Fart Wave

My friend, Camille, has this certain wave she does - it's the fart wave. We both think farts are the funniest thing and when she lets one go she has a little wave she does moving the air from the area of her butt toward whoever is closest to her. She'll just keep talking to you but her hand will be doing the wave.

Those of us who know her know to move away fast when the hand starts waving by her butt. And, if you don't know her, she usually gives it away anyway by cracking up. No sneakers for her.

It Wasn't Me

Boss S was just standing at my desk talking with me when I couldn't help it - I had to fart. And it was a STINKY one. I just kept talking like I didn't do anything, I didn't smell anything, and I dared him to say something....which he did not. Luckily for me, someone else had walked into the area just then and maybe he thought they did it.

IT WASN'T ME!

I'm five - I still think farts are funny.

ow! ow! ow!

For some reason my right leg has been ACHING the last couple of days. It's usually my knee - this started in my knee but now it's below the knee.

Hey, you, stop sticking knives in my leg!

It's very uncomfortable. And, of course, my pessimistic side thinks it's a blood clot or something that's going to go straight to my heart or brain and kill me dead. It feels like it's already started killing my leg - if it starts working its way up I'll let you know.

ow

Scarves

More scarves. The pink and blue ones are skinny scarves made out of Mambo fur yarn. They are very soft and cool. The red one is Light & Lofty and is a little brighter in real life, and has flower decorations in a pinkish base, with a purple inner flower and Jewel FX centers.

GOTTA GO!

The weekend was OK, I made some progress on stuff for the craft sale this Thursday. Yvonne, Jazmyn, and Aimee came over on Saturday and we played with yarn and knitting and crocheting - Jazmyn brought oodles of Bobber Heads cats (I think these are part of "Little Pet Shop" or something) . Anyway she has lots of fun with them.

Went to the Dollar Tree on Friday and spent $85 - how is that possible? I just kept shoving things in the cart thinking "it's only a buck" and pretty soon I've spent real money. Lots of Christmas bags and Secret Santa stuff and some toiletry items for the charity we're doing and it all adds up.

Yesterday? Had a birthday party at the house for Skip and Jeff. Confession: I got cranky at about 3:30 because Ken, Steve and Dad all were making noises at me that they "had to go", "gotta go", "it's getting dark", "Dad wants to go","hurry up, Dad wants to go" and I finally said "if you need to go then just GO!" I don't think I said "just fucking go" but I was mad so I might have. Hope not. The room got silent - then Camille and Skip started laughing at me because I don't usually have temper tantrums, but Jeez! Enough already - I knew they wanted to go before it got dark but I just wanted to sit down and finish my cig first. I enjoy having the bday parties, I like having everybody over, but I DO NOT like that everything goes along fun and fine and then all of a sudden "WE GOTTA GO!" Hurry Up! Serve that cake and ice cream and we'll scarf it down and go home. Bah! I understand it because Dad doesn't like to drive after dark anymore, but really they don't need to all take it out on me if the cake isn't served by the time Dad decides they GOTTA GO! And they don't have to all come at me at once!!!!!!! And also? Am I the only person who can cut cake? They don't have to wait for me to get started - they can scoop ice cream and cut cake, can't they?

So, my solution for next time is to serve the cake and ice cream early with the other food, open presents right after, and THEN sit around and talk. Then people can GO whenever they effing GOTTA GO.

What a crazy day

This has been a looooong day. I'm taking a few minutes to send this instead of going on a break and having a smoke because otherwise I won't get anything sent out again until Monday (unless I send a message by phone but that's a pain in my butt).

Anyway, I thought of another vignette - another story starring Camille - so I'll think on that one this weekend and maybe get it written and sent next week. I had it written up once, but I can't find it............it features me, Camille and !FREE CHILI from Wendy's!

Birthday party at my house this Sunday. For Skip and Jeff - what do you get two guys? All Jeff will say is he wants tequila, so I bet he gets about half a dozen bottles. That WILL make him a happy camper.

Here's one of the scarves I recently made - the pic is terrible but the scarf is pretty cool.

This is one I'm keeping for myself. I'll be selling a bunch of the others - I've sold about thirty of them so far; I shoukld have taken pictures before I got rid of them. I'll try to take pics of some of the cooler looking ones I still have. Most will go on sale at a craft sale next Thursday.

Concerts #4

Just remembered a couple more - these go WAY back.

Rick Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band
I went to this show in 1980, and it was at the Airport Sheraton, which was a shame because Rick and the guys were really good. But this was still in the time when people weren't ready to give up on "little Ricky's music". I think this concert must have been in support of "Garden Party". Anyway, they were an excellent band and, as it turns out, I was lucky to have seen them.

Jan & Dean
I saw Jan & Dean twice - once at the State Fair (probably in the late '60's) and this time at the Auditorium in 1980. This second one was very sad. At the first concert they were so good (I've always loved their music, but that's because I'm old and all of their best stuff came out in the late 60's when I was a teenager). Anyway, the Auditorium concert was after Jan's horrific accident - he wasn't the same, the concert wasn't the same and it was all kind of sad.

The Beach Boys
Ah-ha! Thinking about Jan & Dean made me remember that I saw the Beach Boys - it must have been the mid-80's. It was at the Civic Auditorium, and the unfortunate thing is that I can't remember if Brian Wilson was at this one or not, but I think it was during his "spell". Anyway, don't remember much.....

These are all early concerts, and all now "oldie" music. It wasn't oldie music for me at the time.

Concerts #3 - Neil Diamond

Boy, I think I've already covered all the big ones - except for one. Who is it, you ask?

dum
de
de
de
dum...

NEIL DIAMOND!

When I was younger, I had such a crush on Neil. We're talking the 70's or so when he was a big gun in the music biz and had hit after hit on the radio. I know, he's not been writing new songs for the past couple of decades, but he's been touring like crazy, and if you don't know, his tours are among the highest grossing and highest attended every single year - and it's REALLY hard to get tickets. Now, of course, he has a new album out, produced with Rich Rubins (is that right?) that is getting rave reviews and contains all new music. I'm very happy for him but it's going to make it that much harder to get tickets to a concert.....

Anyway, I saw Neil at the Coliseum in 1986 and it was SO GOOD! Sue, Judy and I all "loved" him, and we tried to get tickets every time he came but it just worked this once. He was high energy, in fabulous voice, and those eyes...those sexy eyes... The man is 64 years old and still has the sexiest eyes, but back then...swoon....

We were so weird - two or three years when he was in town and we didn't have tickets, we met over at my house, got all his pictures out, lit lots of candles like an altar around his pics, and played all his albums for hours. Our own little shrine to Neil Diamond.

It's Been Awhile

Well, it's been awhile since I even thought about this blog.
Thanksgiving was fine, at least it was a a beautiful day. I cooked everything but the turkey - Mom and Dad brought the turkey, and Steve and Ken were both there. Rosie and Jeff stopped by late afternoon on their way back from Whistler - Jeff was too keyed up from driving to eat, Rosie had Thanksgiving leftovers.

Anyway, all is good. Brother Steve planted the crocus and tulip bulbs this weekend. I was getting worried they wouldn't get in the ground this year. 55 tulips and 12 crocus. Then we ordered $65 in Chinese food for 3 people - we were HUNGRY!

Concerts, #2

I'll put them in here as I remember them...here are two more.

Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton
This concert was their "Islands in the Stream" tour and was pretty good. I've always been a sucker for Dolly's music and Kenny was pretty hot at the time. Who did I go with?...good question. I think it was with Mom, maybe Ken and Steve? Family, anyway. They alternated this concert with solo sections by both Dolly and Kenny and then a duo section. In the round, at the Coliseum.
Kenny & Dolly: B, pretty good, this was the best time for both of them.

Ted Nugent
Oh, what can I say? This one brings back a lot of things..... Camille and I wanted to go see Ted, but her boss had asked if she could stay with his daughter for the night. He and his wife were leaving town for a couple of days. His daughter was 14 so it was really more like, "just so someone's there." We were like, "Dude, that's the same night as Nugent!" (except the "dude" part was just in my head) He agreed that we could just go to the house after the concert and both spend the night. His daughter also had a friend staying over so she wasn't alone which was good. The concert was loud, brash, and high energy - we were buzzing when we left the Coliseum. We got to the boss' house - the two kids were asleep (or at least pretending to be) so we thought "we're too buzzed to go right to sleep, let's go in the hot tub!" "Great idea!" And, while we're at it, "look, I have some weed in my purse, let's take that out with us." "Great idea!" "And, look! There's the liquor cabinet. Let's have a drink while we're out there!" "Great idea!" Neither of us had bathing suits, so we went skinny dipping in the hot tub in the middle of the night, smoking weed and drinking Black Velvet. I remember saying, "Camille, don't let me drown!" because I was so high I could barely function. She'd say, "I'll watch out for you, you watch out for me, OK?" "OK." Jeez, were we stupid....we hot-tubbed, drank and smoked for at least two hours, before we crawled our pruny selves out of the tub and found the beds.
Ted Nugent: A, very high energy, made us do stupid stuff. But it was fun! Hello, glad to be alive.

Seems Early for a Fire But....

Baby, it's cold outside!

Had to build a fire last night - it was either that or turn up the furnace.

Sickroom Essentials

Sickroom essentials - cigs, tp-for-kleenex, and cough drops.

Terrible picture, huh? I guess I should have turned on a light.

Alert: just one roll of

Alert: just one roll of TP left! Send supplies! All sick here. fucking colds.

Crawling out of the past

What's up with all the old forgotten singers putting out oldie music? Rod Stewart and old 40's music. Carole King? ugh. And worse of all-Cat Stevens. I thought he gave up music as being too sinful or something.

I thought I'd just send

I thought I'd just send send a short update. Still have a cold. Out of Kleenex-gone thru 6 rolls of tp so far on my runny nose.

Ghostly NOLA

Everyone says that nola is one of the most haunted places in America - along with Savannah and Gettysberg, I guess. When I was in nola I was kind of hoping to see something strange, in fact, I wanted to go on the Haunted History tour but we decided against it. I think that on the nola Haunted History tour they focus on the events that have been described on the Travel Channel's Haunted History series - that's probably only a small part of what's been reported, though.

I remember that there were several incidents reported in the French Quarter, including a house very near our hotel. It was a really creepy one, with a woman who abused, tortured and killed her slaves back in the 1700's. She was a real piece of work, and as I recall the slaves finally rose up and killed her. The creepiest thing was that I think a lot of her neighbors and townsmen knew something horrific was going on but didn't know enough to take action against her.

Oak Alley Plantation is also only an hour or so out of nola and is supposed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Apparently there's a lady there who was beautiful and vibrant but had an accident of some kind. The doctors had to amputate one of her legs and she spent the rest of her life shut in the house as a recluse. She's called "the grey lady" and still can be seen around her home, but when they showed her she was walking normally so I think in her death she got her leg back. Apparently, she's seen quite often and the house is open for tourists. (I wanna go!)

There's another plantation around nola somewhere, I think, that is called The Myrtles. Apparently, a slave named Chloe had been taken from the fields and allowed to work in the house with the family and the other house slaves. The family was a wealthy one, with two little kids. The master caught Chloe eavesdropping on a conversation with some of his cronies one time, and he had her ear cut off to punish her. After that, Chloe always wore a kerchief over her head that covered her ear. The master then told her that she would be going back to work in the fields and was no longer welcome in the house. She thought, "hell, no" as house life was so much easier than field work, so she hatched a plan that would show her as a hero. One of the kids had a birthday and as Chloe cooked the cake she had the not-so-brilliant idea of putting belladonna or something in it, with the idea that when the kids ate the cake they would get sick and she would give them whatever the antidote was and save them, and the master and mistress would be so happy that she would be welcome to stay in the house. Unfortunately, she didn't measure out the right amount of poison and the kids sickened and died. She was so distraught that it was easy to get the story out of her, and she was hanged. She is a benevolent spirit that is seen around the house still, and is especially fond of children. Some people have taken photos at the house that apparently show a ghost wearing a kerchief....

There's also a ghost at Napoleon House restaurant, but we never got there to eat. Maybe next time. Also, Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, which we saw but didn't go into, is filled with ghosts.

Maybe next time I'm there I'll take the Ghost Tour - as long as it's not cold. Or rainy. And I don't have to walk.

HOWEVER, for us, the absolute creepiest place in nola turned out to be the Reverend Zombie's Voodoo Shop, which is across from Pat O'Briens (hurricanes...yummmm). The first time I was there I had a unmistakable feeling of heaviness on my chest as I walked through it and did not want to hang around. I left very soon after getting there and did not buy anything. Then, a couple of years later, I went in again and the feeling was worse. The heaviness started as soon as I crossed the threshold and got worse the further into the store I walked - in fact, I was just in for a few seconds and had to back up to stand by the door. Aimee walked around some, then came back to stand by me. She said something along the lines of how fake the store was and right then something cold jabbed her in the back. And then a few seconds later a woman came in the door - I glanced at her and thought "that looks like Elly" and then the clerk said "Hi, Elly". Whoa! Freaked me out, because my Elly has been dead for several years - the even creepier thing is that she was the most woo-woo person I have ever met and it would not have surprised to me to see her walk through the door, even though she was several years dead. And, the even creepier thing is that the night before, Poppy, Aimee and I had been to Louie's house - his wife was out but she is a voodoo priestess named Elly....how's that for coincidence? I wonder if the negative presence at Rev. Zombie's was reacting to something good that we picked up at Louie and Elly's. It really did not like us!! And the fact that it poked Aimee??? Creepy!

A Doozy of a Cold

Man. I hate colds. I've been leaking nasty fluids since last Friday and just now feel human again.

Slugs? Gross!

A True Story. The grossest things happen to me sometimes.

I hate bugs. I hate crawly, slithery things.

When I was about 14, I went to the store and bought hyacinth bulbs. I love hyacinths - they smell heavenly, they grow fast and all they need is some dirt and occasional water. So I bought bulbs. I didn't buy pots, I had pots. I didn't buy potting soil, I had lots of dirt right in the backyard. So far so good.

After returning from the store with my precious bulbs, I got the pots, dug some dirt, planted the bulbs and got ready for some lovely hyacinths. I wanted the flowers in my bedroom, so I placed the pots in my windowsill which received nice indirect western sunlight. My mother knew I bought bulbs but I neglected to tell her about my planting technique. The problem came that night after I went to bed.

I'd been asleep for a couple of hours when something woke me. I don't know what made me come awake so soon after falling asleep, it was certainly not my usual pattern. I normally slept through the night and, in a small house with five other people (three of them boys), you get used to noises and adjust to sleeping through them. Anyway, I halfway opened an eye, not sure why I was awake, and found myself facing the wall. In the small room, my twin bed was smack up against the wall and I usually slept facing the wall so nothing unusual had happened yet.

Coming out of deep sleep, it took a few minutes to adjust to the fact that I actually WAS awake and then to wonder WHY was I awake. I opened both eyes. In the dark, I could barely see three faint elongated shapes on the wall inches from my eyes. After a few seconds of staring at these strange shapes, two things happened at once. One, I realized that elongated shapes on my wall were an unusual occurrence. And, two, THEY MOVED.

Have you ever seen someone in the movies whip a tablecloth off a table without disturbing the dinnerware? That was me whipping out of bed. I moved so fast the covers kept my sleeping shape for seconds afterwards before realizing I was no longer there. I slammed on the light switch across the room and, scared as shit, looked at the wall by my recently-sleeping head.

There, on the wall, crawling down from the windowsill, leaving a long trail of slime behind, and just scant inches from reaching the bed itself, were three slugs. Stretched out to about three inches each... Big. Fat. Nasty. Slugs.

I thought "this is it!", I'm going to have a heart attack and die right here in my bedroom. Then I thought of the slugs crawling over my inert dead body and squelched that idea. I thought about yelling for dad. Then I realized (being the responsible kid that I was, and, by the way, WHAT WAS I THINKING?) I couldn't wake him up because I knew he had to get up early for work. I didn't know what to do so I stood there in freeze-frame until the slugs slithered again and that got me moving. I grabbed some notebook paper from my desk, half a dozen sheets for each hand, and scooped the slugs off the wall onto the paper. They kind of plopped onto the paper which freaked me out but it was worse thinking about them plopping onto my bed so I held steady. I carefully ran out of my room with the slug-filled papers, ran through the house, unlocked the back door, and threw paper and all into the flower bed. I then went back to my room and got the hyacinth pots. They, too, went outside but with a bit more care.

Then I thought: But wait, what if there are more? Yikes! I carefully checked the windowsill, all of the four walls in my room, under the bed, inside the covers, on top of the covers, in my pillow, in my shoes, in Barbie's playhouse, in the closet (which was closed), every inch of floor space, everywhere they could possibly have gone and then some. And thankfully I did not find any more; the great slug parade was only three strong and they were now outside.

In the morning, I told mom about the creepy thing that had happened to me during the night. She looked at me like I was nuts, obviously not believing me. She probably thought it was all a dream, even with the evidence right outside the back door. Then I realized that it wasn't the event itself that she questioned. It was the fact that I hadn't screamed the house down. Which should have been my first reaction to having slugs in my bedroom. And she knew it. And I knew it. Today, looking back, I think I was just so freaked out that I couldn't think of anything past just getting them out of there.

End of story. Moral: Always buy potting soil for indoor plants. And, if you're not sure how to do something, ask your mother.

But, guess what? Last year I went outside to take the garbage out, didn't put my shoes on, and stepped on a slug in the driveway WITH MY BARE FOOT! I freaked! Duh.

And then, just this past spring, I was in the garage to get some of the patio stuff that had been stored for the winter. Not the furniture, but the lamps, tables, windchimes and stuff. I grabbed the tarp I had covered everything with to help keep it clean, and I grabbed a slug. Of course. With my bare hand.

The old patio stuff is still in the garage covered with a blue tarp. I bought new.

Get a Belt, Dude!

My brother Ken is a pretty big guy. Like a lot of big men, he's heavier in the chest and belly than in the legs. So his pants usually have to be anchored with a belt or suspenders to fit over his belly, but they usually end up riding under it.

He and I own and live in a house together in the Laurelhurst neighborhood in Portland. Anyway, every year I start asking him in mid-November to put up the Christmas lights around the front porch. He used to put it off as long as he could because, at that time, he had to manually string them along the top of the porch, lights in one hand, heavy duty stapler in the other, and he stapled them to the underside of the porch. We now have little plastic clips that work much better, but we were then in the dark ages of Christmas light technology.

About five years ago, around the middle of December, he had finally decided it was time to put up the lights. It was a beautifully clear and sunny early winter day, perfect weather for native Oregonians like Ken to wear cutoff jeans.

He gathered up light strings and stapler, got a fresh batch of staples, and proceeded to do his annual duty. He'd already covered the side of the porch facing the driveway and had worked his way around to the very front, facing the street. Unfortunately, I chose that moment to make a run into the house to get something, and missed what happened next. But I didn't miss the final result, which was seeing a dishevled and big-eyed big man's version of a mad dash into the house. In his underwear.

I asked, "What's wrong?" No answer, heavy breathing only. "What happened?", I said in a louder voice.

After several aborted efforts, he finally was able to tell me what had precipitated his vacating the porch in such a hurry. Apparently, he was stringing lights, and merrily stapling along, his arms lifted above his head. He was lost in the seamless rhythm of manly home-improvement contentment. He'd abandoned the idea of using a stepladder because he wanted to stay on the move without interruption. I should add here that the street along the front of the house is a main thoroughfare for people on bikes, people walking dogs, people taking their kids to the nearby park, and a moderate amount of cars. So there was the potential of having plenty of folks around to see what happened next.

He said he was stapling away, arms loaded and swinging over his head, when all of a sudden he felt his cut-offs start sliding down. They fell to the ground and puddled around his ankles before he could empty his hands and grab them. He admitted there were a few people walking along the sidewalk right about then, which seemed to necessitate the mad dash to the house in his underwear. Holy crap, I was very sorry to have missed it!

When he put up the lights the next year, he wore a belt.

About three years after the Christmas lights incident, Ken's shorts again decided to head south. We had gone to our parents house for a barbecue and, while he was wheeling the grill out of the shed, he noticed there were a few bees buzzing around.

He asked Mom if she had noticed an increase in bees in the backyard. She said, "Yes, we seem to have lots of them." Ken said he thought there might be a hive nearby. He searched one of the sheds and couldn't find any sign. He then opened another shed, and saw several bees. Looking farther along the side of shed, he could see there actually was a hive toward the back of the wall. About this time, Dad and I, both also in the backyard, and, until then, mildly interested in the proceedings, went our separate ways. I dashed into the house behind the screen door (after all, it was bees!), and Dad took off for the far side of the yard for a birds eye view.

Here's where it all starts going wrong. Instead of using any number of accepted methods of destroying an active hive, he decided to poke a stick at it and pull it out of the shed. Only when he started poking, the bees got upset (as bees will) and started streaming out of the small shed opening. Unfortunately for Ken, that's exactly where he was standing. As soon as he realized the precarious situation he'd gotten himself into, it was way too late. The bees were on him by then. He ran from the shed, yelling and hollering, slapping his head, swatting his arms, hitting his body everywhere he could reach. His legs were like pistons, pumping up and down, in a weird parody of dance-like movements. Right in the middle of the slapping, swatting and jumping, I think was when he realized he was losing his shorts. He made one final jump, with a graceful 360 degree turn on his heel, and his shorts were down. On the ground. He'd danced right out of them. And he kept dancing.

I'm sorry to say that between Dad and I, we offered him absolutely no help at all. I was safely ensconced behind the screen door and that was where I was staying. Dad was in the yard, but as far from the action as he could possibly get. And, even more unfortunately for Ken, we were both doubled over with hysterical laughter. Dad was especially bad. He was laughing so hard it was with an effort that he even stayed on his feet. At one point in his dance routine, Ken must have thought Dad could offer him a measure of comfort (or at least another set of swatting hands), but Dad was having none of it. He only backed further away, tears beginning to stream down his face, his arms outstretched as if to say, "don't bring those bees over here!"

We did finally came to our senses and go to Ken's aid. I grabbed a can of Raid and went out armed and wildly spraying. Between us all, we got the bees off his skin, Dad grabbed his shorts, and we all ran inside the house to the bathroom where he could douse himself with medicine. He actually was stung about thirty times, but luckily he suffered no ill effects from the ordeal. But, man oh man, to this day, I would have given anything to have that on tape - Ken yelling and stomping around the backyard in his underwear, and Dad laughing so hard the tears were running, backing away from Ken like he had the plague.

HAHAHAHA!!! Oh, Boo Hoo.

Hee!

This is a great send-up on those stupid tug-at-your-heart emails we all get:

Late last week, I was rushing around trying to get some last minute shopping done. I was stressed out and not thinking very fondly of the Christmas season right then. It was dark, cold, and wet in the parking lot as I was loading my car up with gifts that I felt obligated to buy. I noticed that I was missing a receipt that I might need later. So mumbling under my breath, I retraced my steps to the mall entrance.

As I was searching the wet pavement for the lost receipt, I heard a quiet sobbing. The crying was coming from a poorly dressed boy of about 12 years old. He was short and thin. He had no coat. He was just wearing a ragged flannel shirt to protect him from the cold night's chill. Oddly enough, he was holding a hundred dollar bill in his hand.

Thinking that he had gotten lost from his parents, I asked him what was wrong. He told me his sad story. He said that he came from a large family. He was the eldest of three brothers and four sisters. His father had died when he was nine years old. His mother was poorly educated and worked two full time jobs. She very little money to support her large family. Nevertheless, she had managed to skimp and save two hundred dollars to buy her children Christmas presents.

The young boy had been dropped off by his mother, on her way to her second job. He was to use the money to buy presents for all his siblings and save just enough to take the bus home. He had not even entered the mall, when an older boy grabbed one of the hundred dollar bills and disappeared into the night.

"Why didn't you scream for help?" I asked.
The boy said, "I did."
"And nobody came to help you?" I inquired.

The boy stared at the sidewalk and sadly shook his head.

"How loud did you scream?" I asked. The soft-spoken boy looked up and meekly whispered,

"Help me!"

I realized that absolutely no one could have heard that poor boy’s cry for help.

So I grabbed his other hundred and ran to my car.

Music at My Desk

Right now, November 8th, here's a list of the cd's I have at my desk. I didn't realize I had so many at work till I started listing them - I guess I should haul some home, huh?

Where it seemed appropriate, I added a little personal note. Damn, I hate Word - indenting and tabbing drives me nuts. Word Perfect definitely had Word beat in these areas, hands down!

The Killers
Love 'em. I'm interested to see what the next cd will be like, because this first one is so impossibly good.

The Strokes, Is This It
Wow, this album just rocks. Julian has a very sexy new voice, and the songs are very melodic and fast, kind of rock/pop tunes - very cool. I love it.

Pavarotti and Friends, for the Children of Bosnia
The best song here is Bono, the Edge, and Brian Eno doing "One". God, I love that song! This is about the best version of it that they've done. Interesting tidbit here is that Michael Bolton, whom I don't normally like, has a nice operatic voice. Who would have guessed?

World Leader Pretend
A band I found on an Amazon list; they're OK, they may get better. Cool name though - it's got to be from REM.

Guns & Roses, Use Your Illusion II
I LOVE "Estranged" - the best track from this album. Also, Civil War isn't bad. "We got the wall of D.C. to remind us all that you can't trust freedom when it's not in your hands". Powerful stuff.
Rod Stewart, Sing It Again Rod
Some of the Rod-man's best hits. My faves are "Reason to Believe" (I've always liked that song), "Maggie May", and "I'm Losing You" They're all good songs though.

Guns & Roses, Spaghetti Incident
Not as good as "Appetite" or Illusion" but some good songs here.

The Kings of Leon
Two albums - the first and Aha Shake Heartbreak. These guys are young, they're kind of unhip and they are GOOD. I particularly like the first album - it's raw and so full of energy it bites your head off. The second has better production values and is good, but if you like the rawness of the first you'll not like it as well.

Scissor Sisters
These guys are GREAT - I hope they continue putting out music as good as this self-titled album.

Gorillaz, Demon Days
Some of this I like a lot, some I don't. Overall, I do recommend it.

The Caesars, 39 Minutes of Bliss
I bought this on the strength of the iPod commercial featuring "Jerk It out" - still like the song, most of the others are OK, but that was definitely the best song.

Ultimate Trance, 6 cd's
Excellent, excellent dance/house/forget yourself/block out annoying cube neighbors music.

The Frames
I have, like, three of their albums here - the best is the live album. These guys are pretty good.

Social Distortion
Two albums at my desk - Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell, and Social Distortion. These guys are about the hardest rocking band in the world - love them.

The Dandy Warhols, 13 Tales from Urban Bohemia
Still love it - sort of their break through album, particularly on the strength of "Bohemian Like You" which I LOVE.

The Bravery
These guys are OK, but not riveting.

Guns & Roses, Appetite for Destruction
This is good. "Sweet Child of Mine" , "Paradise City" and several others that were eye-opening when they first broke through. Axl was a sexy, lithe, snake-dancer back then. He's gotten older now like the rest of us. Too bad.

The Start, Shakedown
I like the Start - I don't generally like female singers though this is OK.

The Stone Roses, self-titled album
OMG, these guys were the BEST! I wish they had received more attention in the US so I can talk about them with people - they were HUGE in the UK and this album is still consistently in the top ten of all time when they do UK music lists.

Primal Scream, Screamadelica
Primal Scream is one of my favorites…and this is my favorite Primal Scream album. It's also the most pop-oriented, which may be why I like it best…who knows. Again, always makes the Top 10 of all time lists.

Supergrass, Supergrass
Supergrass is so good…This is the best of them. They have the most fascinating song hooks and melodies, which always attract me.

Poe, Haunted
Aimee turned me on to Poe - there are a few songs of hers I like but for the most part I find her a bit self-involved and a teeny bit angsty.

Bruce Springsteen, Greatest Hits
What can I say? It's Bruuuuce!

Metallica, Garage Inc
"Whiskey In A Jar" is my favorite here, but this is pretty good.

Supergrass, In It For the Money
Another Supergrass, not as good as Supergrass, but pretty good.

The Verve, Urban Hymns
Of course, the big hit here is "Bittersweet Symphony" which is excellent. But it certainly lived up to its name when the Rolling Stones got through with them - bittersweet hit, broke up the band.

Placebo, Placebo
Fast, fast

Pulp, Different Class
Love "I Spy" and "Common People" - these guys were much bigger in the UK then they ever got here.

U2, Best of 1980-1990
Bono and The Edge, that's enough.

Blur, Parklife
Blur's OK - this is probably one of their most accessible albums

Curtis Salgado, Soul Activated
Home town boy does good….Curtis is one of the best blues and soul singers around.

U2, Achtung Baby
Sometimes I like to put this one in.

The Chemical Brothers, Come With Us
When I feel the need for some techno dance music - usually around budget development time.

Joey Ramone, Don't Worry About Me
Joey has written some really good tunes here - I hope he lived long enough to see this come out, I don't remember. I really like most of this.

Train, Drops of Jupiter
Train came on really big over the last 3 years or so - I like them, but they don't have the melody/hooks that I especially like (like the Strokes and Supergrass)

Oasis, What's the Story, Morning Glory?
Another one everybody has - this is still good and has held up over the years.

Richard Ashcroft, Alone with Everybody
Richard post-Verve, most of this is pretty good. I don't know if he can carry a solo career, though.

Poe, Hey Pretty (single)
The best song from the Haunted CD. And this one has Mark doing voice-over - this is the "fast, slow, fast, fast, slow" version that became a pretty big hit.

I'm taking some of these home, and I'll bring new ones in to work. I'll have to see what strikes my interest. Some of these I barely listen to, others I listen to everyday. I tend to buy new ones and listen to those till I'm sick of them, then I put them away for a while.

Concerts, #1

The other day Aimee and I were talking about concerts - who had we seen, who did we like, who didn't we like? Since there's a generational gap between us it's always interesting to talk music and see how similar we are and/or how far apart we are in our musical tastes. Anyway, it got me to thinking. What concerts do I remember the most? Why? So I'm listing a few here - some I liked, some I didn't, and I'll try to add to the list as I remember other ones.

Bread
The first major concert I ever went to was (cringe) Bread. My friend,Susan, was a big fan and convinced me that we should go. The concert was in the Memorial Coliseum and it was my first trip to the Coliseum for a strictly musical event. I wasn't impressed - the acoustics were horrific. But I think it was the band -I never liked Bread's music so this was not a concert by which to judge the Coliseum's acoustics, however, they never did improve much, even for bands I actually liked.
Bread: D, but only because I don't like them; Susan had a great time.

Bruce Springsteen
I saw the Boss twice, once in Portland and once in Tacoma. The Portland concert was a shade better only because we didn't have to travel so far. The Boss is the Boss for a reason: He had, and probably still has, the best touring band in the world with the E Street Band. And he puts his heart and soul into his concerts, and a lot of sweat. The best thing about the Boss is that he doesn't want to quit singing and playing any more than the audience wants him to stop - he takes the energy from the audience and sends it back two-fold and as long as it keeps coming to him he won't quit. Both of these concerts were between 4 and 5 hours long, which ought to put most other bands to shame when they deign to give 90 minutes of their time for their concerts. Bruce is like the Everready bunny, he just goes and goes and goes...and never fails to give his audience the thrill of seeing a master at work.
The Boss: A+, Both concerts, exhausting and exhilerating for both the audience and the performers

George Thorogood
George at the Euphoria, how much better could it get? He and the band were absolutely fabulous in the small-ish setting, very high energy and infectious and BADASS. The Euphoria was cool because when you were moved by the music you could just shove all the tables and chairs out of the way (keeping the beer pitchers handy though) and make a big dance floor. George was born to play in bars. I saw George again at the Intermediate Theater after the opening of the Schnitz complex. In the more formal setting of a regular auditorium he lost a lot of his immediacy to the audience - how do you compare dancing at your seat to half-drunken flying and wildness with 300 of your newest, closest friends at the club?
George: A, pure energy, and good and nasty at the Euphoria, B-, lost a lot of energy in the auditorium

ZZ Top
Unfortunatley, the ZZ Top concert will always be remembered as the one where some asshole drunk kid threw up in Camille's hair. The band was great, I always have loved their bluesy, driving music and their cool band persona. So, the concert was great but the vomit was distracting. Damn kid.
ZZ Top: A, for music, C-, for overall experience (of course, this would be an F if the kid had thrown up in MY hair!)

Heart
I saw Heart at their heyday, just before they started playing arenas and lost the magic in the too-big space. My friend Forrest and I went to the Paramount (back when it was a really cool theater and music arena, and before the suits renamed and revamped it). Ann's voice was electrifying and the band was on fire. We were in the first row, first balcony so we had what I've always thoought were the best seats in the house.
Heart: A-, Ann's voice gave us goosebumps it was so on that night

Icehouse
Again, at the pre-remodeled Paramount. Icehouse was great - their "fame"was pretty short-lived but they were a pretty good band. Worth the trip downtown.
Icehouse: B, they were never more than a B band but definitely worth the $2.92 I paid for my ticket.

The Motels
The Motels at the Starry Night - very cool and seedy venue, very cool band. This band was better than their short run near the top would indicate. And in the intimate setting of the Starry Night Club they were outstanding.
The Motels: B

Triumph
Camille and I wanted to see Angel City and they were opening for Triumph. So we thought, hell, two for one let's do it. Wrong. Triumph stunk up the house (or more accurately, the Coliseum). Angel City, however (see below), rocked the house. We stayed for just a couple of Triumph songs and then left - the only time I ever left a concert before the last note had been played.
Triumph: D-, they were off-key, and terrible. Peeeyyyooouuu!

Angel City (aka Angels or something because of some dispute)
Angel City has always been one of very favorite bands. They opened forTriumph at the Coliseum and Camille and I just had to go. Fortunately, Angel City was in great form, sang all the best songs, and totally rocked the house. Unfortunately, Triumph was either having a very bad night or else they just stank in general. Yay, Angel City!
Angel City: A, fantastic! Would have been an A+ with any other band in the world (except Bread...)

David Bowie/Peter Frampton/Duran Duran
Glass Spider tour, played at the Civic Auditorium downtown, outside. I went with Bruce, Judy, Delyn, Nick and JudyJ. We sat in great seats - in one of the boxes right on the edge of the field. Peter Frampton was on this tour also, as part of the band. Duran Duran was there, this was when they were on top of the world. Frampton soloed a couple of times and was great. Overall, a wonderful experience, there's something about listening to music outside under the stars that just brings everything closer.
David Bowie: B, pretty good musical period for Bowie, plus the added benefit of Frampton and Duran Duran

The Who
Laura, Jill and I went to Vancouver BC for this one, because it was as close as they were coming to Portland where we could still get seats. The concert was great, it was the Tommy concert (saw Quadraphenia later in Portland), and Laura and I were totally rocked by Roger Daltry and Pete Townsend. The only downer to the trip, and it was a big one, were 3 friends of Jill's that crashed with us - the room was WAY too small for 6 and the car was packed whenever we went anywhere, because, of course, they had NO MONEY!!! They couldn't afford to buy gas. Why the hell didn't they just stay home? Sorry to say that her friends were just plain too weird for me, and not weird in a good way. More like freeloaders and hanger-ons. That part was not good - I felt like screaming most of the time. They didn't have tickets to the concert, though, which was GOOD. Why the hell had they even come? And I got in a bad mood on the last day and kind of moped most of the way home - I remember crying when we left because I was so pissed at how rotten the weekend had turned out after I had looked forward to it so much. Bummer.
The Who: B+, for the concert, because it was all recycled material after all D, for my one and only trip to Vancouver because of all the other crap that went on.

Van Halen
I saw Van Halen at the Jantzen Beach Arena, which before that had been a skating rink, and years before that was the site of the Jantzen Beach Amusement Park, which was kind of like Coney Island in Portland (they tore it all down when I wasn't much more than a kid, but I remember it was SO MUCH FUN, but that's another story). The concert was great - it was in support of their first album, some say their best album, and they were just fresh kids trying to make it big in the music biz. Went with Camille, Mike and what-was-that-guy's-name? We had fun - the arena was set up kind of like a school assembly, with bleachers on the sides and standing room in the middle. We were on the bleachers, up front.
Van Halen: B+, they were young, they were fresh and so were we.

Eddie Money
Along with Van Halen, Eddie Money was at the start of his career when I saw him. He never rose very high on the public's awareness meter, but he had a few cool songs.
Eddie Money: B, he was never more than a B, I'm afraid

Dire Straits
OMG, Mark Knopfler rocked my world! He was so good, the band he'd put together was top-notch, and these guys couldn't hit a bad note if they wanted to. They were smooth and professional, and at the same time, they were just raucaus enough and loud enough to give the audience everything we wanted. Musically, these guys were the best. This was shortly after"Sultans of Swing" hit it big so they were riding a big wave of positive reviews and magic.
Dire Straits: B+, a missed note or two once in a while is refreshing

The Moody Blues
Ooohh, what can I say? Justin Hayward.......Justin Hayward....... OK, I wiped the drool. I saw The Moody Blues at least a dozen times over the years. Some combination of Judy, Sue and I and whoever else wanted to go went each year they toured. Love 'em.
The Moody Blues: There is no grade high enough.

I'll have to think about this some more and you'll probably see Concerts, part 2, soon.

NOLA is my friend

I hate Hurricane Katrina. It not only ruined the physical NOLA but it also crapped on the cultural NOLA. One of my favorite cities. I've been there twice, January 2002 and June/July 2004.
Just for the heck of it I thought I'd blog just a bit about it. Here's a synopsis of the trip that I took to NOLA in January 02 with Luke and Aimee: Eat, Drink, Eat, Drink, Eat, Drink, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Shop for trinkets, Eat Drink, Eat Drink, Shop some more, and Sleep. That's about it. And we met Poppy and ate a fabulous dinner at Marisol, and stayed up drinking practically all night. And, oh, the seduction of Bourbon Street. On that trip, we stayed one block from Bourbon. We really wanted to stay in the French Quarter because we knew we'd love it there, and we did, but next time? No way. In fact, next trip Aimee and I stayed on St. Charles - not nearly as distracting.

One advantage I thought I would have when I went the second time was that I wouldn't have to buy beads or souveniers. WRONG. I am a huge sucker for the sparklies. I even bought extra luggage in the French Market in order to get all my crap home - both times.

And what about the hotel? Let me tell you about the hotel we stayed at on our first trip. It's called the Rue Royal Inn, right on Royal Street. It's the most crazy-assed building you ever saw, I found out later that it was actually two old buildings connected into one. In order to get to our room we had to go up or down 7 staircases. Sounds wrong. doesn't it? But we had to go through the courtyard, up one staircase, up another, along a landing, down a short staircase, up another staircase, down another, and up two more. We'd get up and out by 10 or 11 in the morning, shop, eat and drink all day, and come in at 10 or 11. Luke and Aimee sometimes went out late but not me - NO WAY was I going back down and then back up those crazy staircases to get back to the room. Once I was in for the night they were on their own. (Although we did find a shortcut later. THANK GOD.)

The most memorable thing about nola is the music. There is music everywhere; I'd never heard or seen anything like it. Especially in Jackson Square and anywhere along Bourbon. It was the coolest thing in the world to have music everywhere you went. The city is alive with music and people, and the smell of the city itself just exacerbates that aliveness. The smell hits you as soon as you leave the plane, and at first I wasn't sure I'd be able to stay there it smelled so bad. In fact, Aimee and I looked at each other and peewed our noses at the sametime. The smell is a living thing. It's also a dead thing. It's a mixture of decay, mud, industry, mold, and more decay. I guess it's just the smell of the old city kind of rotting from within and mixed with the living essence of the Mississippi River. All I know is that after the first hour or so I got used to it, in fact, when we got to our room, we opened the windows and never closed them again for five days. Which is a joke in itself, because one of the windows in the living room was broken out and open to the city. Never did figure out why they hadn't fixed it, but when we told the hotel clerk, he acted like he had never heard it was broken, so who knows? After a short time, the smell just blended in with the experience, and we seldom noticed it again, just at times when it wafted in extra strong for some reason. This was also the first time I'd ever seen slate roofs. The house across the way, visible from the bathroom, was getting a new roof during our stay. The guys were just over on the roof scraping the slates off with some kind of tool and letting them hit the ground. I was like, hey, I want one of those! They're pretty cool. I did end up picking a painted one up from an artist in Jackson Square. Still have it, it's pretty cool.

Bagdad Memories

One thing I want to do with this blog is just write about crap - like little vignettes. So you'll see these here and there.

"Come on, let's go see a movie."
My friend, Camille, and I used to go to a lot of movies. We liked all the movie houses, the multi-plexes, the drive-ins - didn't matter. We liked movies and went a lot. Somehow, though, most of my best memories, our funniest times (she's argue with this because most of these are at her
expense) were at the Bagdad Theater. The Bagdad was an older movie theater in the Hawthorne neighborhood of Portland. It's now been re-furbished by a theater/bar/restaurant local conglomerate so it's not the same as it was years ago when it was privately owned and a bit dowdy and tired. But it always had at least second-run moves, and sometimes first-run, so the fare was current, even if the theater itself was not.

Here's what I mean: In its heyday the theater's chairs were probably the latest thing in seating, with lovely, brown, leather-clad seats and backs. I presume the seats were padded originally; by the time my butt got to sit in them decades later, they were pretty thin and flat, the leather was worn, and some of the seats were broken. You had to arrive early for your movie so you had time to try out the seats to find good ones that either wouldn't pinch your bottom, or propel you backwards into the knees of the poor person sitting behind you if it turned out your seat back was broken.

The floor was usually sticky, and it had lost its carpet eons ago. This provided good traction, which'll come in handy later. You'll see.

The bathrooms were downstairs which was awkward if you waited too long to pee. Who wants to get up in the middle of a good movie to pee until you absolutely have to wet your pants? So I'd always wait, and then run downstairs and down the hallway as fast as I could. But that's not even the worse. Half of the stalls didn't work. So, you a) had to allow enough time to get downstairs and to the toilet, and b) desperately pray all the way down there that nobody else was in the bathroom ("please be empty, please be empty, please be empty"), and c) find a working empty stall. Another person making the same dash could throw this schedule off completely.

That was the Bagdad. It was beautiful in his prime, but by the time we arrived it was just past middle age and was starting to show gray hair, sagging chins, and faded velvet.

Now back to Camille. Camille is one of those people that funny things happen to. You know them - the people who are always involved in a dramatic or comedic moment. The person you call on the phone and ask "what's up?" and there are actually several interesting things happening,
usually all at once. As opposed to people like me, who respond "oh, nothing."

The Seat That Farted
Camille, our friend Bob, and I went to the Bagdad one Saturday afternoon to see a movie.
Remember that the seats are leather? It seems that one of the properties of leather seats is that they trap air in them if there's any space available, like worn down and flattened foam. Camille, Bob and I stopped at the snackbar on our way in to get the absolutely essential soda and popcorn (large-size, of course, in the case of each). We trooped into the half full theater, with our hands full, went to our favorite spot (towards the front, middle of the row), and sat down. Or, at least Bob and I sat down. Camille, on the other hand, fell into her seat with a great big "PHHOOFF!!" The sound reverberated throughout the theater. And, unfortunately, it sounded exactly like a huge explosive fart. The theater went silent. Then, out of the stunned silence, I could hear faint giggles coming from my side where Camille was sitting. Well, that was too much for Bob and me. We both started giggling - giggles which soon grew to muffled laughter. The three of us were shaking in our seats and laughing like loons. I don't know if the other people ever figured out what the noise was, but I know without a doubt what they all THOUGHT it was. It still makes us laugh whenever we think about the farting seat.

Sticky Floor
The carpet had obviously been removed years before because there was a sticky buildup of spilled soda and popcorn grease in the aisles that Mr. Clean couldn't have budged. Camillee and I had made our snack bar stop, and were headed down the aisle to the seats we'd scoped out from the top of the room. I confidently walked in front, no problem. Camille was right behind me. Then I heard the unmistakable sound of someone hitting the ground, accompanied by the sounds of spilling pop and dropped popcorn. I looked back and she was sprawled all over the aisle behind me. She had popcorn all over her but luckily the Coke had run off to the side so she wasn't sitting in it. I ran back to her and helped her up - fortunately she wasn't hurt. I asked her what happened and she said her tennis shoe had stuck in the aisle muck and she was thrown off her feet. Then she started giggling, thenI did, and we struggled to our seats. When she pulled herself together she, of course, went back to the snack bar to replenish her supplies.

Butt Sticker

Camille liked to sit in her seat with her legs over or against the seat in front of her. This worked well if the seat was empty, not so well if it was occupied because you'd end up accidently kicking someone in the head.

On this occasion, Camille, Bob and I were watching a movie as usual. Camille was in the middle, Bob was sitting on the aisle. She put her feet up and happily munched away on her popcorn. Towards the end of the movie she needed to change position and started to draw her legs back to extricate them from the seat in front. She must not have been paying enough attention because the next thing I knew she had slid forward, but her legs were still up. I looked over at her and here's what I saw - she had slid too far forward on her seat and her butt had slipped down into the aisle. Her feet were sticking straight up in the air…and she was wearing waffle-stompers, which I hadn't even noticed until they were waving at me at face-level. She was completely stuck in that little aisle space. Between the three of us we were laughing so hard and she was just getting wedged in tighter with every movement. All you could see of Camille were two legs sticking straight up in the air, feet topped with waffle-stompers, and the very top of her head. As the movie ended, and the credits started to roll she came to her senses enough to realize that two things were going to happen: 1) the lights were coming on, and 2) other people in our aisle would need to get out. So, she did the only thing she could possibly do in that situation - she threw her coat over her head.

Which made Bob and me just laugh all the harder. It was obviously apparent to the others in our aisle that, whether they could see her or not through her coat of invisibility, they were not going to be able to get past Bob and me, so they all went the other way. Camille wouldn't come out of her shelter to let us help her extricate herself, and wouldn't even acknowledge us until the theater was completely empty. I don't know how much help we'd of been anyway right then because every time we looked at her we'd burst into laughter. Eventually the manager came down to see what the hell was going on in his theater, and between the three of us, we got poor Camille unwedged from between the seats. She kept her coat flung over her head as we left the theater, just in case someone from the movie was still in the lobby.

Watching "Alien"

I've probably ratted on Camille enough by now, but here's one last short one. She hates scary movies. They always give her nightmares and she's learned to just avoid scary, horror-filled, or gory movies altogether. I think she must have not had a clue what the movie "Alien" was all about, because she wanted to go. This was one of the Bagdad's first run movies - the theater was packed and we were wedged in the middle of a row with people on all sides of us. In other words, we were stuck for the duration.

I loved the movie. For Camille, it was a total waste of money because she missed almost the entire thing. And she wanted to leave but we were trapped and she didn't want to make a scene. So, what did she do instead? At the onset of the first scary scene she flung her coat over her head. The coat stayed securely perched on head for the rest of the movie, except for a very few times when, listening to the dialogue, she felt she could watch the scene. Sometimes that worked, sometimes it didn't. She still tells people that she "watched" Alien in the theater, but I would have to beg to differ.

Ding! Dong! The Witch is Dead!

Well, not dead really, but FUCKIN' GONE!!!!!
The "Artist" in residence has left the building. Hallelujah! The lobby is mine again!

And she's dead to me.

It is with a much lighter heart that I go about my business. YAHOO!

Oooohhh, That's Gross!

In the area of too much information, I'm just logging on to say that I'm having the stinkiest, juiciest farts in the western hemisphere today. I think it was last night's spaghetti - I have to check with my brother to see what he put in it.

Good god, fuckin' a.

Don't. Get. Near. Me. Today.

On a lighter note, I don't think anyone has tracked them back to me.

Clickety-clack clack

Here's an annoying thing: Listening to someone across the cube wall wailing on their keyboard. clack clack clack, some keyboards are really annoying and have a distinctly clacky sound. This one is particularly bad and annoys everyone within reach - I know it's not her fault she has an annoying keyboard but it makes several of us really tense when she's clacking away for awhile. Her boss came up to me the other day and rolled her eyes - "what is she DOING?" I said she probably doesn't even know it sounds like that to other people and is oblivious. I guess we just have to put up with it - personally I have music on. Today? So far, The Killers and The Kings of Leon. I'll switch to some trance later because it helps keep me awake in the afternoons.

When is Art a Pain in the Ass?

I haven't said anything here about a month-long art project that's been going on in the lobby of my office building. It's winding down now (Thank God!) but here's the premise: There's a woman (oh, excuse me, an "artist") who has been crocheting a giant plastic blanket in the lobby for the past four weeks. Interesting, huh? It's actually turned out pretty, in a old-fashioned granny-square, lacy kind of way. It's now about 30 feet long and about 15 feet wide, and is visually kind of cool. But, is it Art? Who the hell knows? I guess so, as it's an act of creating something from something else, in this case taking a giant roll of 4" wide plastic and making a giant crochet hook, and using them together to make a giantic, virtually useless blanket. I was indifferent to this project for the first couple of weeks, and glanced at her as I walked by on my way to break or lunch or the ATM but, except for smiling and saying "hi", I did not stop and chat like many folks did. Then, a couple of weeks ago, I discovered she was blogging the progress of this project so I went to check it out. What a bunch of rot! She made some lame coorelation between the false sense of security given to us by our jobs with the false security of a cold plastic blanket. Then she went on to blog about the people she's talked with, basically asking them what they do, what they want to do, what they would do if they had a year/24 hours left. THEN, she summed it up, saying most people here are not happy, they do not like their jobs, they work only for security, are not doing what they want to do, don't know how to live, are living sham lives, are fat (she watches people walk about the lobby) (how ruuude!), infers we are generally stupid for working here if we don't really want to, calls the people who don't stop and talk with her (like, WHO HAS TIME?) "Frequent Travelers", makes fun of a man with a combover (one of the Travelers) and calls him Freeway Man because of his white scalp that shows under the combover, and other smarmy stuff, while she's inferring how wonderful and fulfilled SHE is and is smiling her smile - she even has a name for her "Fake" Smile (I'll look back and see if I can find out what she calls the face she puts on for us). The more I read the more pissed off I became - and I am SO HAPPY that this her last fucking day in our lobby. The last few days it's been difficult to walk past her to get to the ATM or to go out for a smoke at breaktime, because I have to pass her TWICE each time, since after 9/11 we have only one entrance to the building and I'm sure that since I don't talk to her and now, barely look at her, and she sees me twice each time I go downstairs, I'm one of her Frequent Travelers, and she can just BITE MY HUGE ASS. I'll be so happy to no longer have to see her. And so many people are like "oh, I'll miss you so much!" which is exactly what she wants to hear because she's equating her project with an Office Assistant - someone in the office who knows a lot and offers comfort and security to the office because they know the ins and outs of procedures, then when they leave people miss that "cold" comfort and false security. Or something. The premise being that she has made herself a part of our lives in the building - always smiling, always available to talk to, and we'll miss her when she's gone, blah blah. I'll throw a party when she finally gets her skanky ass out of here.

Mom, I'm booorrrred.

I am so bored - 1/2 hr left of work and it's so quiet around here I feel I'm alone. I just made a general comment in the air, "can this day possibly get any longer?" and did anyone answer? No. I can see two people from my desk and can hear another one typing, but they're all in their own worlds. So I'm blogging. There's really nothing I can start this late in the day and everything else is done.

pause

OK, I just put on Aimee's scarf cause it's a little cold in here. The thermometer says 72, and that's way cooler than the 78 or so it's been all week. This scarf is so pretty - she recently took up knitting and took to it like the old proverbial fish to water. I crocheted a couple I thought she might like this weekend but so far she's not interested - maybe she has too many already? Not sure...doesn't matter, I'll use them for Christmas presents.

NaNoWriMo what?

Well, it's two days into November now, and I haven't started writing my great American NaNoWriMo masterpiece yet. I'm still thinking about it - I heard some people are going to blog and then count that toward their word count. That might work - that means I'm at, what, 40 words now?

As bad as I am about keeping this blog going that idea's a lost cause for me. I know of lots of folks who have started NaNoWriMo every year for the past four or five years and haven't finished it yet. I am proud to say that, in the year 2003, I actually put together over 50,000 words and submitted it - AND received a lovely certificate of accomplshment for my efforts. It was hell, though, because, I couldn't keep a plot in my head for 30 whole days and I kept skittering around to different ideas and subjects. And, every year, including this one, I tell myself to outline a plot ahead of time and see what happens. And, every year, I don't do it.

Oh hell. I may have to count my blog after all.

Happy Boo Day

Happy Halloween! My favorite holiday. I found out this morning that the girl who works in the deli downstairs has a Halloween Birthday - I always wished my birthday was on Halloween. Lucky girl.

Gotta go - the little kiddies are coming from the daycare to trick-or-treat6 the office. I can hear them coming...

The Most Beeaaauuutiful Picture

This is the coolest picture of Mt. St. Helens. It shows Spirit Lake and Mt. Rainier in the background. It was taken by Bruce Ely, The Oregonian (credit should be given!)

Lincoln City again - Plus Rosie!

View from the hotel deck. Gorgeous! That's cousin Rosie, too. Lincoln City,Westshore Motel, south city. The motel is 3 stories high, but only the first floor has decks. This place was just under $100 per night, had two bedrooms, a full kitchen, and a wood burning fireplace, and was pretty cool. I plan to go back when I can.

Hot Dang! Things are fine.

Not much going on - I wish I could think of a cool theme for this blog but I can't and I probably wouldn't keep it up anyway. I'm jealous of people who have really interesting, popular blogs, but that'll never be me. I'm too boring.

I didn't win the $340 Mil Powerball jackpot - but, boy oh boy, when I heard it was won by someone in the Beaver State I sure grabbed my tickets and checked. Damn, that would have been something....the winner hasn't shown up yet and I can't say I blame them, I'd be camped out with a financial advisor and lawyer for awhile before I'd come forward to face the stupid media frenzy.

Anyway, all is well. Swell.

Yakkity-Yak

Don't talk back.

Oh, wait, that's not what I was going to say. "Yakkity-yak" goes my cube neighbor. Yakkity yakkity yakkity yak till it drives me insane. Sometimes I think she's just over there talking to herself - droning on and on. and on. At least this time I can hear another voice answering her back once in a while but GOD she is so annoyingly loud and - on and on it goes. (where it stops nobody knows.)

That is precisely why I just bought a 6-cd set of Ultimate Trance music. Ha! I can drown you out big talker!

OK, it's been awhile

I just realized that I kind of forgot about this blog and haven't added anything for awhile. Mostly that's because I'm boring and lead a pretty uneventful life. Also? Who has time? Although, I'm considering doing NaNoWriMo again this year and that will take a LOT of time in November. I just wish I could get my head around a good idea or two.

Where are The caps when

Where are The caps when i want them? i'll have to break down and read the destructions.*

Edited to say that this frustration is brought to you by my mobile phone. I have since found the shift key - holy crap, it was right there.

Edited again to say that "destructions" for "instructions" was something my close friend, Sue, said, and I just picked up the habit. Sue passed away in 1999 from breast cancer - little things like these always bring her close to me so I've never given them up.

MSN-TV does not Rawk.

I'm mighty pissed that msn-tv can't access this blog. I'll have to shoot them an email.

Ha! 'Dual' is not 'Fuck'

Ha! 'dual' is not 'fuck', stupid T9!

GPS, Annoying much?

Cube neighbor has found out how to make each key of her new GPS make a different sound. Oh, joy. They all sound like sick songbirds.

When I get rich I won't have to sit next to annoying people anymore (I sit by lots of semi-annoying people...). In fact, I'll sit only by hand-picked friends on my private island in the tropics somewhere. Drinking. Friends can be annoying too, but booze increases my tolerance of things like GPS songbird keys.

going to try t9 Now.

going to try t9 Now. Pain in my butt. Although it seems faster. In fact i may learn to like it ok.

Marty "Rawker"

Marty Casey. yum. There's just something about him that makes me feel tingly.

Suzie's a Girl. So she lost.

Suzie O'Neil, my fave Rock Star INXS rawker. She's a girl, so she lost. The stupid fan boys trashed her in the forums so she didn't have a chance. She had the best voice of the bunch, she never screwed up (OK, she forgot some words on the FIRST SONG SHE EVER SANG) but guess what? she criiieed...yep, she made the ultimate mistake and showed actual EMOTIONS on TV and got trashed, stomped on and crushed by the "fans" on TWOP. Snark is one thing - but some of them were downright cruel. INXS had no choice I guess but to dump her but they did keep her on as long as they could. One thing that became clear was that INXS and/or the producers were keeping an eye on the forums and adjusted accordingly (don't believe me? Just go look for yourself, although on TWOP I think they dumped the first 700 pages or so and started over mid-show).

Anyway, Go into the World, Little Suzie, and have a good life...

BOOM!

Lincoln City in Sept is so beautiful. This was taken right into the sunset - I thought it came out cool - kind of like a nuke blast.

ok. maime says i can

ok. maime says i can do thls.i'm not sure. i can't even figure out how to make effing capital letters. seriously. i'm such a dork. here goes

Aimee Is the best friend

Aimee Is the best friend ever because she set up this blog for me

Ok

Ok