Monthly Archives: June 2007

Let’s Just Say…

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Hanson
Originally uploaded by magnolia83912.

Let’s just say you were hanging out with your significant other and decided to see a favorite boy band from your youth*.  Let’s just say that since it’s a late night show, you and your guy get a good head start drinking.  So when said boy band from your youth* basically starts rocking the joint doing cover songs from many, many years** before said youth, do you start dancing along?  Dancing along to the Doobie Brothers?  The Doobie Brothers as sung by Hanson?!?!

Wow, what a night.  Those fans were crazy.  There was enough screaming and flash going of that you’d think the paps were there. I’m sure they’ll be plenty of pictures on Flickr once folks sober up enough to post them(found one). 

And um…they lied to me!  There wasn’t any Rob Thomas to be seen or heard!  I was gyped! 

I was gyped and forced to stand in a hot, sweaty room full of 21ers that had been drinking for hours and gay men!  Those very same drunk young ‘uns that just wouldn’t shut the hell up and made so much racket you couldn’t even really hear the music.  Let’s face it, I’m getting too old to appreciate shit like this.  Me, I want to enjoy my live music from a well-ventilated venue with comfy seats, good acoustics, a great view and wait service.

So while the young Hanson boys were rocking out those cover songs, it still was *just* three brothers from the mid-west playing 60’s & 70’s cover songs.  While I sweat admiring the loud, drunk, morons dancing like fools.***

* this is purely hypothetical…they were a hit by the time I was into adulthood folks!
** we’re talking stuff that I grew up on as a wee one with a pothead for a dad
*** remember what I said about he night starting out in Dennys?

Off to a Good Start

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Alison Krauss & Union Station @ the Greek
Originally uploaded by katysabrat.

You know it’s going to be one helluva night when it starts out at Denny’s! Yeah well, they hubby figured it was closer to the ATM and wouldn’t have a huge crowd like anything in Silver Lake would have.

We got to the show a little late, but that meant for easy breezy parking. Luckily, since he’d won the company box seats through a work raffle, it also came with premium parking. So we were able to slide right into a parking space and cruise right on in to our seats. Let me just say, box seats at the Greek are nice! And you’re not nearly as cramped and crowded as you can get at the Bowl.

The show was fun. Alison Krauss has an incredible voice. And I had no idea that her bandmates (Union Station) were those Foggy Bottom folks from that weird George Clooney movie. They put on a very entertaining, and very blue grassy show.

Their last song of the evening before heading off stage was Oh, Atlanta. I’ve loved that song since the first time I heard it. Sadly, the band decided to mess with her and played it so slow it just sounded awful. She kept trying to do it, and wound up laughing. Eventually, she just told them to stop. It’s a shame because that’s such an awesome and fun song.

And their first encore was When You Say Nothing At All. That has to be one of the prettiest songs out there. I get goosebumps or tear up whenever I hear it. Again, it was a tad slower than usual, but not nearly as noticeable.

So now we’re home briefly before heading out to the Hotel Cafe for that super secret Hanson/Rob Thomas show. It doesn’t even start until midnight, so we have plenty of time. I’m interested in who their target audience will be. I mean, they’re all married with kids now (I think) and they’re not quite those Mmmmbop boys anymore.

So now back to my chilled glass of Pinot Gris (Valley of the Moon – bought while on vacation) YUM!

Thursday Thirteen – 13 Joys of Summer

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A Pedicure & New FlipFlops - What More Could You Ask For?

While I might not appreciate the heat of summer (and man, it gets HOT in the Valley here – nearly as not as Albuquerque, yet with humidity…gross!), but I do look forward to summer none the less.

1. fresh fruits and veggies straight from the Farmer’s Markets
2. better yet, watermelon – I could eat fresh, summer watermelon all day long
3. swimming outside or visits to the beach
4. concert season – better still, outdoor concerts
5. summer TV – for me, it means tons of reading since there’s nothing on TV and I just love that
6. comfortable evening walks with the hubby & the boy
7. gelato – for some reason, we only make time for gelato during the summer
8. grilling veggies and meats – tastes so good
9. family get-togethers – we seem to find more time to get-together once all the kids get out of school
10. summer clothes – I love not having to wear jackets or sweaters
11. summer sandals and no more socks!
12. flip flops – speaking of, where is that last order I placed for new flip flops?
13. pedicures, pedicures, pedicures!!

Can They Still be Called Mean Girls if They’re Now Adults?

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I know it may look like I was being, like, a bitch, but that’s only because I was acting like a bitch – Mean Girls

A week or so ago I made some changes on our website. For some reason that I’ve yet to understand, folks freaked out – guess it’s that whole fear of change thing. But more interestingly, it gave the Mean Girls of our community just the sort of space they needed to stir up some trouble and look down on others. It’s recently come to my attention that these Mean Girls (no really, that’s how they refer to themselves!) needed to create their own space where they can privately laugh about others and well, just be mean.

Yesterday, I finished reading a book appropriately called Frenemies by Megan Crane. And of course, this book was about adult women and how there will always be That Girl – you know, the bitchy, perfectly coiffed, perfect boyfriend, perfect job, kind of gal that always feels she’s better than everyone else. Between the book and the recent activities on my site, I have to say that I just don’t get it.

I mean, can any happy, well-adjusted adult really be all that happy or well-adjusted if they can only find joy in being mean and looking down on others? Can acting like a middle schooler in their day to day interactions really help them find happiness and feel better about themselves? How can they not see that the way they treat others makes them look like horrible people? How can their husbands, friends, family and co-workers enjoy spending time with them? Does it really help them to feel better about themselves?

I’d think this is really just a small portion of the world, you know, an isolated incident. But really, many books have been written on the subject. There are books on how mean young girls are being towards each other and even books on how women sabotage other women in their lives. When does it stop? Is it really just about being the Queen Bee?

As cliche as it sounds, why can’t we all just get along? Why can’t we celebrate the successes of our fellow women? Why can’t we be happy with what we have and not define ourselves through the pain of others. Forget about that glass ceiling, we’re our own worst enemies (or so it would seem).

Me, I say the more the merrier and to each their own. ‘Cause baby, I’ve just got to be me!

Thou Shall Not Covet Thy Neighbor’s Home Remodel

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Yes, the southern California housing market is still insane. So yes, we’re still renting. I don’t mind renting. Really. But I do mind that for the past two weeks, either our upstairs neighbor (landlord) or our next door neighbor have woken us up at the crack of dawn nearly every day to have something on their house done.

In the past year, our landlords have tiled the kitchen, remodeled the kitchen cabinets, sink and appliances, repainted the entire apartment, tore down and rebuilt their stairs (now that was some scary shit to wake up to considering the wall was where our heads were!), and are now putting in hardwood flooring. I get it, it’s their property and they can do whatever they want.

But it sucks to know that they’ve got some new awesome stove and we’ve got some used piece-o-crap that doesn’t even heat up correctly. Or that they’ve got new flooring while we’ve got this ancient tile that can’t even get clean any more. Then to have him basically say that once we move out, he’ll upgrade this and remodel that. Well, that just kind of sucks because let’s be honest, we don’t plan to move anytime soon. We love our neighborhood and we actually love our landlords and our apartment. We’re very grateful that we found such great place. I’m sure our time will come. In fact, I’m certain.

Now if we could only get our neighbors to realize the sound ordinance says nothing can start until after 8:00AM. Not that the extra hour would do all that much for us since we tend to not even go to bed before 2:00AM (and why we don’t complain considering we choose to live this schedule). But man, a little silence in the morning sure would be appreciated.

Thursday Thirteen – 13+ Songs from the Police Show at Staples

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Okay, it’s more than thirteen songs, but how else could I justify posting about their first LA show in 24 years!!! That’s a loooong time, no matter how you slice it. I’ve been dying for this show for those same 24 years (*ah* Veteran’s Stadium in Philly – a mere teen – what an awesome day!). So here goes…

I just got back from the Police show about an hour ago. I have to say, while I had an awesome time, it really wasn’t the best show ever. In fact, about mid-show (Invisible Sun-ish) I actually thought to myself that for a greatest hits show, it wasn’t half as good as the Petty show I saw last summer. And that says a lot considering I’m a HUGE Police fan and not much of a Petty fan at all. They just didn’t seem to be having as much fun or playing like they enjoyed the crowd. Maybe it’s still too early in the tour, but I don’t think so.

I will say though, they looked awesome! I’m thinking they’ve been doing some clean living ’cause they’re aging much better than your average rock-n-roller, rock star. Stu looked awesome as usual. Sting looked good (though something about him in a baggy shirt and skinny-legged pants just doesn’t sit too well with me). Andy was rockin’ it (though Richard said he was obvious playing easy compared to how they sounded 20+ years ago.

So yeah, I enjoyed myself beyond belief. And the fans, well pretty much everyone there was a total fan (except for the weirdo row of hot chicks in front of us that just randomly disappeared after the third song never to be seen again until right before the encore – a couple of said hottie girls didn’t even know the words to Every Breath – how lame!) But really, stuff was just missing. There wasn’t much audience participation – very little Roxanne-o and even less So lo-lo-lo-ing going on – and if you know anything about Police shows from back in the day, they were jam-packed with sing-a-longs. Kind of makes me want to track down a bootleg from their Zenyatta tour (Synchronicity never really did much for me – I tended to like them harder and edgier).

I don’t know if they just didn’t trust the LA crowd (Springsteen is rumored to HATE playing to the “industry” crowd in LA) or what. It was strange though considering they had audience mics everywhere, so they were recording. You might think that would be reason enough to put some effort into the performance. They also kept going dark between the songs and that kind of bugged me since I had to watch the show on the monitors (so no monitors on the after-the-song antics that are usually fun to witness).

So yeah, it was a fun show and I loved singing and dancing along. I had so much fun, I left unable to hear (first show without earplugs in I don’t know how long) and without a voice I from screaming and singing along so much. But for $250 tickets, it just wasn’t that great and I just didn’t leave there wowed. Maybe I’m just too jaded with all the concerts we go to. But dammit, I was really wanting to be blown away by an incredible show. Did I mention I waited 24 years for this show?!?!

And I have to say, I’m quite bummed that we got gyped out of Murder By Numbers since 1) it was on earlier set lists and 2) it happens to be one of my favorite songs. According to previous show set lists, they also gyped us out of Spirits in the Material World. We wound up getting 19 out of the 21 songs on the other set lists. They wound up ending the show with at least 10 more minutes (and upwards of 20 more minutes) left before curfew. That’s enough for 3 more songs – or at least 2 more and a bit of a sing-a-long!

I will say, it was definitely fun to see them together again and if I had the ability, I’d head on over to see them again this same tour in a couple of months hoping they sound a little better. For those of you left to see them still, maybe try lowering your expectations a bit (yes they’re a super group, but unlike all of the current super groups, they’ve spent the past 24 years apart!) and I’m sure you’ll have a fun time jamming to some great songs!

Playlist (8:47 out of seats for some Bob Marley – 8:50 on stage)
* Message in a Bottle
* Synchronicity II
* Walking on the Moon
* Voices in My Head & Don’t Stand So Close
* Driven to Tears
* Bed too Big
* Every Little Thing
* Truth Hits Everybody
* Wrapped Around Your Finger
* De Do Do Do
* Invisible Sun
* Walking in Your Footsteps
* Can’t Stand Losing You
* Roxanne

* Kind of Pain (10:15)
* So Lonely

* Every Breath

* Next to You (off stage by 10:40)

What She Got? Not a Lot

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hello?!?! SuperTramp! Really? Who sings SuperTramp songs in their head?!?!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhK5AbftSA4]

And who knew it would be so difficult to find a video of Girlfriend on youtube. But boy howdy, they’ve got every other kick ass SuperTramp song out there!!!

Off to get ready for the Police show now – woohoo!!

Oh the Glorious Universe!

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“The Universe is bringing all good things to me, for the good of all involved.”

While I’ll admit I haven’t been focusing a lot on my Challenge (I may have even gone over my 100 Days, to be honest), but I have been spending some time reading. I’ve been double-fisting it, as it were, with The Secret and with The Law of Attraction. And both are giving me quite a lot to think about.

My main mantra lately has been a myriad of variations on the above affirmation. I repeat it to myself over and over while falling asleep. I repeat it to myself while stuck in traffic. I repeat it to myself while washing my hair. I like it. It’s quick, easy to remember and to the point. I’ve found that for affirmations to mean something to me, I have to be able to remember them and repeat them quickly and easily. That makes this one a keeper.

I’m loving how simple it is to co-create with Spirit and the Universe. Let’s face it, it should be easy. And fun. If it’s a chore, it’s going to feel like work and won’t come easily. There are so many things to be grateful for (even my seemingly non-stop, barking dog – he just won’t hush as I’m writing this – guess he’s got a lot to say on this topic as well) to get bogged down in the details.

Diamonds are this Girl’s Best Friend

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Back when we got engaged, I suggested that we not go out and spend a small fortune on an engagement ring. Instead, we’d use my great grandmother’s, vintage ring. Turns out it was approximately 100 years old, with a flawless, light yellow, miner’s cut diamond, in a yellow gold setting (the cut is what told us the age of the ring).

Well, thing is, I really don’t like yellow gold and only wear it from time to time – and I never got around to sizing it since I first gained possession when I was about 13 or so. So I wound up having them remove the diamond and putting it in a plain, solitaire setting. I wore it every day until we got married. Then I wore my wedding ring. I thought I’d wear the two together, but since my great grandmother’s ring was so yellow, you couldn’t wear them together. So basically, I wore one or the other (or nothing) depending on my mood.

Talk about regrets, though. I’ve thought about this ring nearly every day. I felt HORRIBLE knowing that I ruined not only a family heirloom, but an antique just because I don’t wear yellow gold. So I decided a few weeks ago to drop the two rings off at our favorite jeweler’s and see what they could do. I was terrified that the Robbins Brothers’ gang ruined the setting since it looked like the stone was just ripped out. Well, we finally got around to picking it up today. Let me just say…it looks awesome! You can’t even tell the the stone was ever removed.

I am just so happy and grateful to have this ring back (and sized perfectly). Really, I’m thrilled. It looks good as new and so pretty. I’ve always loved the vintage, deco-look in wedding/engagement rings. Now I know I’ll be wearing it a lot more. Peace of mind for $20! What more could you ask for?

Of course, I can’t find my favorite yellow gold necklace, so I think I’ll just have to buy a new one. But hello, it’s not like we purchased an engagement ring to begin with, right? Just think of all the money we saved back then. And our favorite jeweler is having a sale next week!

Now what do I do with my old solitaire setting? Can you say emerald?!? *wink*