Thanks, Karen

And how. See more at Keep Calm Gallery.

That shirt is stupid... and other things I think about at shows.

I like to pretend I'm not judgmental, but let's be real, I am. Especially when it comes to going out to see a show at a place where I know my alerts will be on high. On Tuesday I trekked over to Black Cat to see Frightened Rabbit, expecting a great show and a decent, but hopefully not young crowd. That is often the case for popular indie bands such as these guys. Though, luckily, because I'm a sucker for cute boys in bands, no matter what's going on in the crowd, I can usually  ignore the flames of my misanthropy. Though not a one of the Scots in this band is especially attractive, I couldn't help but feel a smug flare up. Well, not for all of them, just the Bass player. I don't know how I didn't notice for more than over half the length of the show, but suddenly I looked up, and thought, "wow, that shirt is stupid". I laughed out loud into my beer and sent a text to myself to remember to write this down.

It's probably something he purchased at Urban Outfitters or some European equivalent, and maybe I'm just getting old, but this shirt was literally just stupid. It was a long, white number with the collar cut off just-so. The graphic was some loud collection of what I think were lips - and I'm not talking Rolling Stones lips, or Rocky Horror, for that matter - and some kind of busy scene of stripes and streaks in various shades of red and purple. I wouldn't call his look punk, because I've known some punks in my day... but more like trapped somewhere between punk and well, like I said, just stupid. Poor guy. At least they played really well, and seemed to be having a great time.

Not unlike the guy in front of me who just couldn't help but throw his arm high over our heads and fist-pump like a mad dog. Thank the gods he didn't initiate a clap-a-long at any point, I can't fucking stand those and I probably would have fist-pumped him right in the face. He was just drunk and having a good time, which made me smile, and take a step back from my group-hatred.

That coupled with the fact that a row or two up from him was this insanely tall man trying to fit slyly into the crowd. He wasn't standing in front of me, so I didn't really mind his presence, but in the glowing warmth of my sudden crowd-happiness (I'm pretty sure the band and the cold beer had more to do with it that anything, and I don't think I had noticed the stupid shirt yet), I found myself feeling sorry for the guy. I thought almost aloud, "Man, it must be really hard to go to a show and try to get up close when you're that tall ". I might have even made a momentary sad face. I can't imagine wanting to be close to the band and feeling like a dick for trying to get up there just because I was born like a tree. I'm not exactly small myself, but I sure can make my way in a crowd and get up close if necessary.

And as much as I claim to dislike people (or expect to at any rate), part of what I enjoy the most at a show like this is eying the mob. I've had a great time just surveying the scene, even picked up a date at a show (well, I think he picked me up, but whatever), and I actually like going stag. It's far less pressure to make sure everyone is having a good time, and when you do just want to spend a little time in a sanctimonious state of mind, there's no one to sit back and judge you too.  

Please Don't Really Start Calling Me Miss Lohan...

Though you have threatened to, and this week, it's fitting. I have been running my ass ragged this week with something to do every night since last Saturday. So, as expected, I am COMPLETELY exhausted today, and actually fell asleep at the dentist office this morning... in the chair. It was the perfect little nap I needed- plus I'm cavity free! I won't mention that I'm wearing the same outfit I wore last night... we'll get to that.

Anyway, today is most definitely living proof that I need to put on the breaks and just chillax at my house... DEAD SOBER. Truly. I just realized too that I have tickets to a show tonight and other tickets to a show tomorrow night, but I know I can't do both. I know, I must be completely exhausted to skip a show... but I just don't think my body can handle it. Ok, let me back up.

The one thing about starting to see someone, especially someone whose schedule is the near-opposite of yours, is that when you do see each other, it's usually late, involves a lot of social obligations, and tends to be a little hectic and emotionally over-stimulating. I mean, I already have a pretty healthy social life to begin with... proof is in the pudding, starting last Saturday, and plowing right into the end of this week, my calendar was and is full of things to do.

So, starting with last Saturday. For the past few month's my Gay Husband Michael and I have been spending the day together getting boozed up and running around town. Last Saturday was no exception as we made our way to the Nats game. We got all kinds of twisted, had a hot dog and some peanuts.. you know, the works... and it was fabulous. I ended up taking a nap then riding my bike across town to pick up some goodies, and found my way to a certain some one's bar, where I was invited to stay till close, then stay the night. I, of course, didn't say no..  nor did I say no to a Sunday invitation... It's my favorite day, and this one I spent with said certain someone (who happens to think I'm cute). We did not stay sober, and I did not stay in my own room... again... so it's usually inevitable that the sleep isn't the best under those circumstances.

Monday was my last day of school for the Spring semester, so of course we had to go out and celebrate... I mean hello! We survived Copyright Law (snooooore!), and I seriously still had not gotten that Reuben I'd been craving since before St. Patrick's Day. So that was of course a good time... and again, not "quality" sleep.

Tuesday was Earth Day and a birthday, so of course my Gay Husband and I had to get together and do it up right! I'll just say that we may or may not be a bad influence on each other, and tend to not only go overboard, but to practically drown in our ridiculousness. Tuesday was no exception. Hence, Wednesday was a blur... I know it involved recovering from a black out and some how mustering the strength to work out enough to sweat out the toxins before some managing to have more. Why? Lord knows... but luckily I was mostly good on Wednesday and didn't feel like too much of an Alchy.

Too much...

Thursday I went against my better judgement and ended up skipping the gym, heading to the grocery store, drinking wine at my house until I was too bored to stay home, and showing up at Playbill for some good ole Karaoke. Despite the fact that Friday was already a planned night out- Happy Hour Party and whatever may follow. I stopped in to say hi to my pals at Black Cat, and while definitely had a buzz going, was not a complete mess... I saved that for Saturday. Boy how. Hot. Mess. I went to a drag show with my friend Brooke to see her Gay Husband dance, and we got TORE UP. Not sure about some of that evening, but the pictures look like I had a good time... yikes.

And last night... oh, last night... I finally made it out for my date! I got all dressed up real cute (as noted earlier, I am still wearing the outfit, so it must be cute) and we took off for the night. Dinner at Grillfish, where we consumed an insane amount of seafood (and cake, mmmm) topped off with a few glasses of wine. After an early meal, we made our way to the neighborhood to have a cocktail or two, while the poor thing got accosted by my Gay Husband and his honey... though it appears they were only trying to prove a point, that I am loved and they will fuck you up. :) After leaving that scene we watched Men Who Stare at Goats. What a bizarre flick, but a great addition to a date night.  All and all, if I hadn't been so tired last night, and for some dumb reason unable to sleep, I might not feel as crummy as I do today. I am so looking forward to a nice quiet evening at home over a home-cooked meal and some quality TV watching. Doesn't that sound amazing? Yeah, I thought so too.

This week I've got some activities on deck, so I am going to try my damnedest not to over do it again. I guess I'm just leaving April bruised and battered and looking forward to a fresh new May. I already know it's bringing good things my way, and I hope the same for you.

P.S. This blog is s day late, but NOT a dollar short. I was such a good girl yesterday, I even got to sleep at a decent hour, didn't have a single cocktail and came to work early! How's that for conquering Monday...  bitches.

Flirting

I just came across some old written words and was pleased to find them to be pretty decent. Sad though, made sadder still by their incompletion. If only I had the balls to really just write something until it's complete instead of this damned flirting with finality crap. 


Flirting. A talent I never hope to lose, but it would be really nice to rope it in somehow. I have a knack for it... could put it to some kind of good use... I guess I am for now. Flirting with possibility, with disaster, with a move into my own place, with not listening to this song again on repeat.... I do like having things swimming, and thankfully I am not nearly as sad as the girl in this story I wrote back then (whenever that was). I'll just pop one section from it so you can an idea of what I'm talking about. I'm hoping to pull it back into something, I kind of like how weird it sounds.

Snow drops like hail on a sunroof that I can’t stop staring up and out of. I am scared a little that the glass will break, but not enough to close the cover and stop looking up.I want to pop the roof open and let the snow fall into my mouth but the driver won’t let me. The driver is someone I know, but I don’t care who because these flakes are so amazing. I am enamored with them, more than I have ever been with anything in my life. Something green flashes through the white noise and I get dizzy. I close my eyes and am overwhelmed by the sound of the giant flakes hitting the glass. I look out the window to gain my sense of self and see that I am not in a car, but on a bicycle built for two. I am peddling and laughing, wearing a bikini and Chuck Taylors in the snow, which is still the size of hail, but not nearly as hostile. 

I stick out my tongue to catch a flake; it tastes like pistachio ice cream, my favorite! I am the one steering the bike so I try to turn around and see whose riding with me and see that I am alone. I stick my tongue out again and this time there are pistachios on it. No ice cream needed. Pulling the bicycle over, I decide to walk. There is no need to drive a bicycle built for two all alone. Just as I park the bike in the woods and 

start to walk away, the snow stops falling. Well, and I wake up.  

Friday Music Madness - Telekinesis

So for this Friday's Shout Out (blog idea courtesy of Erin Cox Adams), I'm sending you to one of my favorite NPR pages.

The one, the only... Carrie Brownstone. As a former guitarist/vocalist for Sleater Kinney, the woman knows her tunes. Her blog, Monitor Mix, is pretty awesome, and today, she posted one of the great NC bands, Telekinesis new single. They also happen to be a Merge Records hero of mine. Or is that just Merge? Anyway...

 It's totally catchy... and out tomorrow on CD. Does anyone even still buy those things? Check it out. "Dirty Thing" - Telekinesis

Also, if you want to hear one of my all time favorite songs and check out Sleater Kinney all in one fatal swoop... here it is.

Happy Friday everyone!

Bring it on.

In my almost 3 years here in The District, I have seldom been surprised by this city. It's crowded during tourist season. It rains a lot, duh, we're in a swamp. Rent is entirely too high. All the cute ones are either married or gay. Everyone works ALL the time. Nobody gives a damn about anything except complaining. And most irritatingly, no one, and I mean no one, has the common decency to ask a girl out... well, or so I thought...

It's not like Asheville here - in that the 'Ville is a fucking one horse town, and that horse is DEAD, but ain't exactly the Kentucky Derby either. Hence my surprise... I'll go ahead and warn you that I'm filing this under too early to tell... but none the less, I'm putting it out there. I actually got asked out. On a date. Whoa, I know. Wanna know the funniest part? I got asked out by a straight man in a gay bar. Typical.

Apparently good things do happen when you least expect it. As far as how I'll feel about the whole experience when combined with an actual date... we shall see... but at the very least, it's out there in the greater world that I am looking to go out on a date. Hear that universe?! Take me out on the town!

God I've been watching too much Sex & the City. I feel like Miranda. Coming out of a relationship that ended poorly, rolling straight into a (mostly expected) dry spell. I mean really... I took it on with full knowledge of what I was getting into... but damn. There wasn't even an obliging gentleman to give me the much-deserved get-over-your-ex-by-getting-back-on-the-band-wagon-one-night-stand. Hello? Isn't that like, mandatory? Oh well, I kinda gave those up some time ago anyhoo. Never really a good time, at least not for me. That's probably the best thing I ever gave up. No one night stand is ever willing to spoon, and this just doesn't cut it in my book. I don't demand much, but I demand a good spoon. Forks need not apply. This I'm sure you recall from previous posts, but let's just say, I'm looking forward to my next scoop of ice cream!

Don't Disdain, Sustain!

This is for all my friends who make me proud, but especially Karen, Alice and Nicole.

Many, many, many of my friends are dedicated to Sustainability. Some do it on a macro level, some on a micro level, and some, it is how they build their life. I like to claim to fall somewhere in between. I built this little 5 part photo gallery for my pal Karen to help her finish her Thesis. But, I thought it might be a nice thing to share with you few readers as well. Earth Day is coming up you know...

Queen said it best, “I want to Ride My Bicycle!”

Just like cheery Pee Wee Herman here, I have a lovely red bike that I ride to work, to the market, sometimes out for a date (if I ever get asked out on one) and generally just around town! Love. It. Well, I don’t own a car, so I’m always bipedal, but sometimes, you just wanna ride your bike!

To Market, To Market!

To buy a fat pig? No, not usually. I like to buy veggies grown in the area (considering that I live in the District of Columbia, this means VA and MD mostly), fresh farm eggs and anything in season. Not to mention, there are also lots of vendors who sell home made goods, mostly out of recycled items. And of course, my pickle man! They also have a killer crap cake sammie.

Bowl Me Over

Well, that is neither me or my bowl, but its close enough. I brought a bowl from my kitchen  to my office that I use when I eat things like soup or yogurt for lunch. It keeps me from using paper products that eventually end up in the trash, not recycled. Plus, it makes me happy, I bought it for a dollar at Goodwill, love some recycled goods… which brings me to my next point.

Recycle, Reduse, Reuse… and Close the Loop!

I recycle at home, work and whenever I can while out. I use paper bags from the grocery store as containers to take out the recycling. I’ve even been known to take an item out of the trash and put it in a recycling container...call me a bum. Whatever!  In an effort not to just throw all my plastic out, I try to also reuse plastic food containers like the ones you get with sour cream, cottage cheese, or any variety of soup containers from a store like Whole Foods. They make great Tupperware.

Jarhead

I also like to reuse jars for various reasons. Mostly around the house instead of Tupperware or plastic - it keeps things fresher than anything else, doesn’t taste weird or leak things into your food when reheated, and are easier to clean. I also use them to drink tea; eat soup; hold snacks at work; and my personal favorite – as a vase when I bring flowers to a friend.

Just a Shout Out to the Freelance Whales

Starring

Shut me up with your long tubesocks
They don't scream, "Hey, let's just be friends"
Look at both my inkwells brimming
I was much less understanding then

How many stars you think you possess
How many in your butterfly net
Build me a star in your forehead
You were so misunderstood back then

But I think I get you now
I think I get you now

This is me starring
In a stranger's nightmare

Don't let the bathwater get too high
You will be a flood of porcelain
The lines clawed on the inside
It's digging hard into your tiles

And we're going to flood this house
We're going to flood this house

This is me starring
In a stranger's nightmare

April's Mantra

I will not say disparaging words about my body, instead I will be thankful that I am healthy and happy (well, mostly...)
I will remember that sometimes it's okay to over-indulge.
I will find balance in what I do today that will make up for the mistakes I may have made yesterday.
I will not drink a glass of wine tonight.
I will remember that I am loved.
I will be thankful for my gifts.
I will think of the good things, not the bad.
I will remember that I was once there too.
I will not feel defeated.
I will continue to sing favorite lyrics and listen to songs on repeat.
I will work out after class tonight.
I will not stay up that extra 30 minutes because I tell myself I am not tired, when in fact, I am.
I will not be hateful in the morning.
I will not be discouraged by things that are beyond my control.
I will smile because it's nice.
I will spend my energy thinking good thoughts for those who need them instead of wasting that energy on negativity.
I will remember that most things have a purpose, even if it is not clear.
And I will not have a glass of wine tonight.

Rumbly in My Tumbly

It's official. My body is in denial. It must think that my caloric count is too low, because I am diligently counting calories (well, mostly), and balancing activities such as bike riding, circuit training, light yoga and my everyday bipedal lifestyle. Okay, it's fair to say I drink to much wine and eat far too much cheese. Ironically, I didn't really have much or any of those two favorite items today, but I still know it to be true. I'm not even French, for crying out loud, I'm a Southerner! That must be the root of it. We do love our fatty goodness in Tennessee, among other things. Like bar-b-que. Cold beer. Fried stuff. In my younger, wilder days, I probably consumed enough fried chicken to populate a coop.

These days, in addition to what I consider to be a healthier lifestyle (mostly), I have abandoned chicken and plunged into the deep underbelly of Cheddar. Mmm... yeah. Other more delicate creamy styles are never far from my plate, mind you, Swiss, Gouda, Goat... but my newest love is Farmer Cheese. Made of nothing but low fat milk and salt, it is THE answer to a wicked cheese addiction and the desire to keep a girlish figure intact (well, at least, in check). And, it goes in everything! In salad instead of feta, on a bagel with honey, with the old college favorite - tomatoes, dried herbs and olive oil pasta, a dab on black bean soup... in a spinach and cheese omelet... okay, you get the idea.

With that last one, I guess that answers a possible inquiry- yes, still eat eggs... god, I could never live without them. But there's just something about the feathered descendant of said egg that I just can't seem to tar. I don't know that I'll ever go back. Sigh. I'll miss you Bojangles Cajun Filet Biscuit. You too Chic-Fil-La 8-pack nugget with a side of waffle fries and Polynesian sauce. Really, that's the only fast food poultry I even consider eating. My Mom and I still make Chicken n' Dumplings in the winter for various holidays, and her chicken salad is the best I've ever eaten. Truthfully, I'd probably still eat that. Not that it even really resembles the taste of anything like a chicken once its been cooled in the fridge overnight, spread on a piece of toast, peppered, salted and covered in ripe tomatoes with a side of cottage cheese... damn it's good.

I don't know why I feel like purging my distaste of chicken, but I am compelled. Perhaps it is because I tried something called Hake fish last night, and while at the time pretty damn good, if I do say so myself, when I later went to look up what kind of fish it is before it meets its monger, I was utterly and completely revolted! It is literally one of the ugliest fish I've ever seen. I don't even think I can eat the leftovers for lunch like I planned, though I probably will because it's cheaper and healthier than eating out... despite it's ugly mug.. Not that next-day fish is spectacular at any rate, but hey. Sorry, no pictures embedded, I can't stand to come across it every time I log in my blog. It's hard to be claim to be a foodie and hate certain staples while being willing to try something as frightening as what appears to be a salt water snake. Eww.

I've been thinking of taking a cooking class. That might be really inspiring. Not something outrageous or anything, but like a Saturday afternoon Bread Baking class. I'm about as scared of learning how to make my own bread than I am of that damn fugly fish. Making my own bread sounds like a good time to me. I just reintroduced myself to its simple, carby pleasure recently, as I had gone all "no bread" for a while, and didn't realize how much I missed it! All it took was a really good slice of French loaf with some Brie and I was back. Just like that.

I have a feeling that chicken ain't like bread... and I won't just snap back like that little neck, and maybe I'll stick to sushi rolls with tuna and salmon instead. There's just something about that fish head that is kind of haunting me. I'll have to tell the guys at the fish counter that I just can't stomach it. Add it to the list of things I won't eat. Repugnant reptiles, putrid Pisces, fetid fowl, malodorous mushrooms, and most importantly, beastly bananas. That should about do it for now... and back to my cheese.