I. LOVE. PLAYING. THE. DRUMS.
If only a digital set wasn't so expensive!! If only I could buy a REAL set!!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
part II and III
I guess I never got around to updating, but that Saturday I went to see Role Models with my roommate (pretty funny), and found a $20 on the ground.
Sunday was Dan and Kelly's baby shower. Food and drinks were had, games played. I won the diaper raffle (prizes were a $5 Starbucks gift card and an egg spatula).
Also saw Changeling. Whoa....
Sunday was Dan and Kelly's baby shower. Food and drinks were had, games played. I won the diaper raffle (prizes were a $5 Starbucks gift card and an egg spatula).
Also saw Changeling. Whoa....
Monday, November 17, 2008
Weekend Update Part I: Motley Crue Concert
I don't blog about "what I did" that often anymore (not that I shouldn't; don't you know the life I lead is amazing and adventurous?) but this weekend calls for it because boy was it packed with fun.
Friday
It was a sad day at work, and I hate talking about work, so let's skip on to the Motley concert. I drove to Hollywood straight from work and when I discovered I'd be way early, I stopped off at In-N-Out (shoulda gotten in line...). I found FREE PARKING a couple of blocks from the Palladium and still had time to kill so went into a Rite-Aid across the street. In the Rite-Aid entryway, in plain view of everyone, was a kid pouring out Coke from a 20 oz. bottle and pouring in some cheap rum. Brilliant idea, says I. I mean, I have to drive home so I can't drink later in the evening, and who wants to lose their place in the crowd AND pay $12 for well drinks in the theater anyway. And of course you CAN'T be sober at a Motley Concert. (Although by the time the concert was on their last songs I was) So I go inside the store and head to the liquor. Well. Apparently everyone else had the same idea, so all the smaller bottles of rum were gone. I had to get a bigger one--luckily it was on sale for $11.99.
Then I had to stand in a long line of people so dressed up you'd think it was Halloween, while I contemplated what to do with my big bottle of cheap rum and 20oz bottle of diet Coke.
I didn't have the guts to do the mixin' right there in front of the store like the dude I'd seen, so I thought I'd walk around the block to a residential area, find a semi-secluded spot and take care of business there (yes...joke). Then my plan was to walk back to my car and drop off the bottle of rum. Well...long story short the block was HUGE, it took forever to find someplace where people weren't walking their dogs, so by the time I did I was too tired and very impatient to get in line. So once I mixed my very classy plastic bottle of diet Coke with Bacardi, I just LEFT the mostly-full rum bottle there near some trees. I figured someone would appreciate the gift, this being Hollywood.
That's probably the shadiest thing I've ever done.
I get in line about 6:45, right in front of some people I'd seen over in Rite-Aid. We chill for a while and then are informed we're in the Will Call line--oops. We already had our tickets. So we have to schlep ourselves all the way to the end of a looooong line (around the block), passing all sorts of Nikki Sixx and Vince Neil lookalikes. We waited in line for over an hour. I got to know the two couples who had been shopping next to me in Rite-Aid and were now next to me in line. They were pretty cool and we were getting a little tipsy, trading Motley facts, reminiscing about past concerts, people watching. Two of the people, a brother (Robert) and sister (Diana), said I could kick it with then for the eve (their words...I don't say "kick it"). That sounded like fun, plus the brother was a big guy and would be able to help get us a good spot near the front.
We got inside and immediately got drinks so that we could be free to get a good spot for the show--my rum and Coke had long been consumed. We basically just stood around and waited for an hour. People spotted Nikki, Tommy and Pamela Anderson in one of the balconies, much screaming and cheering ensued. The Palladium is a small theater so the balconies were low and not deep--everyone could see the VIPs. I always had heard Motley were "of the people" and they certainly were that night.
But oh....nobody told us about the two bands that played a few songs before Motley came on. I felt bad for them because the crowd all but booed--and they were really good bands! But they'd had no publicity and everyone just wanted Motley to come out. There were a few belligerents during this time, including an older guy who accused my of sucker punching him (I didn't--I did elbow him really hard though and Robert complimented me) and a lady who was there with her mother who decided to yell something at everyone who tried to invade her "space". There is no such this as personal space at a rock concert.
FINALLY, at 10:50pm (doors were at 8) and a trip to the bathroom later, Motley came onstage. They opened with Kickstart My Heart of course, which revved everyone up immediately. They played through all the hits and the two singles from their new album (Saints of Los Angeles and Motherfucker of the Year). Vince sounded OK, crowd did a lot of the work for him. Which was alright, really. And it wasn't too loud so I didn't need the earplugs I'd spent $5 on the day before.
Only criticism: for most of the time I saw NOTHING except the top of the sets and the ceiling of the theater. And I was close to the stage! The problem is that the house floor of the Palladium DOESN'T SLOPE. What the hell is up with that?? And they just finished a huge renovation. So I only really saw Vince's head, and the other bandmates' heads when they came all the way downstage. Never saw Tommy play drums--only when he came up front to talk, and then on the screen playing keyboard on Home Sweet Home.
But it was great anyway. By the end I'd gotten within 10 feet of the stage so my view was a little better. The band played through all the favorites, Same Old Situation, Primal Scream (which Nikki introduced), Live Wire, Don't Go Away Mad, Girls Girls Girls, etc. Mick had a sick solo at one point. They ended with Dr. Feelgood--my favorite I think--but of course that wasn't the real end. After a few minutes of dark, Tommy lit up on the screen and the opening chords of Home Sweet Home began. Vince was handing the mike to people in the audience....it was great. And for the last "ooooos" he just stood still center stage, and raised up his hands for everyone to join in, like it was a prayer or something.
Great concert.
Over 6 hours of standing.
They played Frank Sinatra's "My Way" as exit music (piped in).
I had lost Robert and Diana somewhere during Girls Girls Girls, and I was too tired and in pain to care so I just made my escape. I think that's part of the whole concert experience and very "Motley."
So there was my first and hopefully not last "big name" rock concert experience. I had such a blast. Go Motley, 27 years strong.
P.S. I walked back to see if my bottle of rum was still where I'd left it. It wasn't.
Friday
It was a sad day at work, and I hate talking about work, so let's skip on to the Motley concert. I drove to Hollywood straight from work and when I discovered I'd be way early, I stopped off at In-N-Out (shoulda gotten in line...). I found FREE PARKING a couple of blocks from the Palladium and still had time to kill so went into a Rite-Aid across the street. In the Rite-Aid entryway, in plain view of everyone, was a kid pouring out Coke from a 20 oz. bottle and pouring in some cheap rum. Brilliant idea, says I. I mean, I have to drive home so I can't drink later in the evening, and who wants to lose their place in the crowd AND pay $12 for well drinks in the theater anyway. And of course you CAN'T be sober at a Motley Concert. (Although by the time the concert was on their last songs I was) So I go inside the store and head to the liquor. Well. Apparently everyone else had the same idea, so all the smaller bottles of rum were gone. I had to get a bigger one--luckily it was on sale for $11.99.
Then I had to stand in a long line of people so dressed up you'd think it was Halloween, while I contemplated what to do with my big bottle of cheap rum and 20oz bottle of diet Coke.
I didn't have the guts to do the mixin' right there in front of the store like the dude I'd seen, so I thought I'd walk around the block to a residential area, find a semi-secluded spot and take care of business there (yes...joke). Then my plan was to walk back to my car and drop off the bottle of rum. Well...long story short the block was HUGE, it took forever to find someplace where people weren't walking their dogs, so by the time I did I was too tired and very impatient to get in line. So once I mixed my very classy plastic bottle of diet Coke with Bacardi, I just LEFT the mostly-full rum bottle there near some trees. I figured someone would appreciate the gift, this being Hollywood.
That's probably the shadiest thing I've ever done.
I get in line about 6:45, right in front of some people I'd seen over in Rite-Aid. We chill for a while and then are informed we're in the Will Call line--oops. We already had our tickets. So we have to schlep ourselves all the way to the end of a looooong line (around the block), passing all sorts of Nikki Sixx and Vince Neil lookalikes. We waited in line for over an hour. I got to know the two couples who had been shopping next to me in Rite-Aid and were now next to me in line. They were pretty cool and we were getting a little tipsy, trading Motley facts, reminiscing about past concerts, people watching. Two of the people, a brother (Robert) and sister (Diana), said I could kick it with then for the eve (their words...I don't say "kick it"). That sounded like fun, plus the brother was a big guy and would be able to help get us a good spot near the front.
We got inside and immediately got drinks so that we could be free to get a good spot for the show--my rum and Coke had long been consumed. We basically just stood around and waited for an hour. People spotted Nikki, Tommy and Pamela Anderson in one of the balconies, much screaming and cheering ensued. The Palladium is a small theater so the balconies were low and not deep--everyone could see the VIPs. I always had heard Motley were "of the people" and they certainly were that night.
But oh....nobody told us about the two bands that played a few songs before Motley came on. I felt bad for them because the crowd all but booed--and they were really good bands! But they'd had no publicity and everyone just wanted Motley to come out. There were a few belligerents during this time, including an older guy who accused my of sucker punching him (I didn't--I did elbow him really hard though and Robert complimented me) and a lady who was there with her mother who decided to yell something at everyone who tried to invade her "space". There is no such this as personal space at a rock concert.
FINALLY, at 10:50pm (doors were at 8) and a trip to the bathroom later, Motley came onstage. They opened with Kickstart My Heart of course, which revved everyone up immediately. They played through all the hits and the two singles from their new album (Saints of Los Angeles and Motherfucker of the Year). Vince sounded OK, crowd did a lot of the work for him. Which was alright, really. And it wasn't too loud so I didn't need the earplugs I'd spent $5 on the day before.
Only criticism: for most of the time I saw NOTHING except the top of the sets and the ceiling of the theater. And I was close to the stage! The problem is that the house floor of the Palladium DOESN'T SLOPE. What the hell is up with that?? And they just finished a huge renovation. So I only really saw Vince's head, and the other bandmates' heads when they came all the way downstage. Never saw Tommy play drums--only when he came up front to talk, and then on the screen playing keyboard on Home Sweet Home.
But it was great anyway. By the end I'd gotten within 10 feet of the stage so my view was a little better. The band played through all the favorites, Same Old Situation, Primal Scream (which Nikki introduced), Live Wire, Don't Go Away Mad, Girls Girls Girls, etc. Mick had a sick solo at one point. They ended with Dr. Feelgood--my favorite I think--but of course that wasn't the real end. After a few minutes of dark, Tommy lit up on the screen and the opening chords of Home Sweet Home began. Vince was handing the mike to people in the audience....it was great. And for the last "ooooos" he just stood still center stage, and raised up his hands for everyone to join in, like it was a prayer or something.
Great concert.
Over 6 hours of standing.
They played Frank Sinatra's "My Way" as exit music (piped in).
I had lost Robert and Diana somewhere during Girls Girls Girls, and I was too tired and in pain to care so I just made my escape. I think that's part of the whole concert experience and very "Motley."
So there was my first and hopefully not last "big name" rock concert experience. I had such a blast. Go Motley, 27 years strong.
P.S. I walked back to see if my bottle of rum was still where I'd left it. It wasn't.
Monday, November 10, 2008
monday blues
i guess the monday blues is at it again.
this week the company bigwigs are in town (I'm at work right now) and they are handing out the pink slips like they are going out of business (no pun intended). i've been old that I'm "OK", however accurate that is, but that apparently our department still "might be affected." I'm afraid to think about what that means especially with the holidays coming up etc.
I should not even care. I should be happy to take the severance should I get fired.
I'm in such an awkward position because our dept can't afford to lose any more people. And I want to quit. Great. Though I don't know how smart quitting is these days.
I am trying to stop reading certain blogs today. Most of the time these blogs really cheer me up,; I love reading the insights that some of these people have, and about their lives, and seeing the pictures etc. But today I just feel beaten down, worthless, the whole shebang.
These people have houses, nice cars, spouses who make shitloads of money. And they are only a couple of years older than me!
I know comparisons suck. And I'm not saying I need a husband or I need money or Hawaii vacations to be happy. I'm just saying I feel a little defeated right now. Deflated. Directionless. Confused. Sad. Angry. Anxious.
...you know. All of those things.
this week the company bigwigs are in town (I'm at work right now) and they are handing out the pink slips like they are going out of business (no pun intended). i've been old that I'm "OK", however accurate that is, but that apparently our department still "might be affected." I'm afraid to think about what that means especially with the holidays coming up etc.
I should not even care. I should be happy to take the severance should I get fired.
I'm in such an awkward position because our dept can't afford to lose any more people. And I want to quit. Great. Though I don't know how smart quitting is these days.
I am trying to stop reading certain blogs today. Most of the time these blogs really cheer me up,; I love reading the insights that some of these people have, and about their lives, and seeing the pictures etc. But today I just feel beaten down, worthless, the whole shebang.
These people have houses, nice cars, spouses who make shitloads of money. And they are only a couple of years older than me!
I know comparisons suck. And I'm not saying I need a husband or I need money or Hawaii vacations to be happy. I'm just saying I feel a little defeated right now. Deflated. Directionless. Confused. Sad. Angry. Anxious.
...you know. All of those things.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
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