Goodbyes round two

All the beer from last night was a bad idea, but I had no choice! It was my last night with my coworkers, and illness was not allowed. However, today I'm feeling pretty disgusting. Colds suck. Anyway, last night was very nice and very sad. I'm glad I'm done with most of my goodbyes now. The only one left is on Sunday. I hate goodbyes, they are so awkward.

Today I plan on sitting around and nursing my cold. Theres nothing on television, and I've been reduced to watching cheerleading competitions on ESPN2.

my ailing health

dammit, I am sick, on the last week I'm living here. I have a cold, and it now in full rage mode as of this morning. How am I supposed to bike to the beach, or do all the other things I want to do? This is a disaster. Plus tonight is major drinking with coworkers, and I'm going to be feeling awful. Airborne, save me!

last day at work

Today was my last day at work. Many tears were shed. My job transformed me in ways I never thought a job could. I cried after hugging each of my students goodbye, and a few staff members goodbyes really made me lose it. It was very emotional. I'm looking forward to moving, I just wish I could take my job with me. I hope the people keep in contact with me.

Its an amazing experience to know you have transformed peoples lives just by being their boss. I've had some horrible bosses, and they can really ruin your life. Its great knowing that my students, most of whom have never had a job before, can say they loved their first job, and that I'm largely responsible for it. Sounds egotistical I know, but after reading all their going away letters to me, and seeing their gifts, I began to realize just how much I meant to them. I hope their next boss can be just as great, if not better. Everyone should have an enjoyable boss.

So I head home, pretty sappy and definitely "moved". I'm excited to be alone for the weekend, despite my impending cold. And what do I do? Decide to read some tardass's blog about how librarians are worthless. Great idea! Ugh.

Herzog at the Castro

Last night I saw Werner Herzog at the Castro theater. He is being awarded something at the SF International Film Festival, so they did a (boring) clip retrospective of some of his works first. No Stroszek or Dwarves, so I was a bit disappointed. Also no White Diamond. Then Herzog was interviewed for about an hour. He was poignant, realistic, articulate, and in general amazing. I love his outlook on the human condition and earth, and he was able to detail it a bit more in relation to his art during the interview. He made fun of New Age music about a half a dozen times, and discussed the need to watch Wrestlemania to truly understand human nature. I learned that he isn't as anti-DVD as I thought he was, but that he still believes you have to see his movies in the theater. Only if you live in Montana, should you be viewing the DVDs. He is right, I wouldn't be able to watch the White Diamond on DVD after seeing it at the Castro. That was a religious experience. The man is a genius, and my admiration for him only expanded during his interview.

The worst part was the question and answer period, which is never good in this type of circumstance. A bunch of idiot questions: "Did you really got shot at that BBC interview" "Will you produce my screenplay about a man with a freak metabolism?" "Your movies have kept me alive for 34 years, but why in the hell did you do Incident at Loch Ness?" Man that shit is annoying. He answered the questions really well despite their nature.

Then his film, The Wild Blue Yonder, was shown. I was very tired by this point, and felt a cold coming on, so it was a bit difficult to sit through a very slow, minimally narrated film. However, the clips of underwater artic diving and of astronauts were incredible. They were set to some good, but not great, music that Herzog had made for the film. My favorite part of a Herzog film is when the movie goes into a long scene of nature or some sort of action, and no words are spoken, just music. Maybe even silence. I get lost in the film, unable to concentrate on anything else, and find absolute peace. However at the same time I become highly disturbed in many ways, which is exactly what Herzog strives for in many of these shots, a sort of tranquility with humanity that acknowledges all its awfulness.

The film wasn't my favorite of his, and isn't even near the top, but it was good. He can do little wrong in my opinion. Seeing him at the Castro was a great way to wrap up my life in San Francisco.

on repeat

I can't stop listening to Echo and the Bunnymen's "Ocean Rain."

Tomorrow is my at-work going away party. The drunken fun one is Friday night.

Two days left of employment!

Places to visit

There are many things/places I haven't been to in SF in my 3 years here. In the next week I'm going to try to get to them, in addition to my hasty packing.

Pleace I haven't been yet/Things I may want to do if I can stand the tourists:
Coit Tower murals
Maritime Museum
maybe a Cable Car
Tire Beach
Wave Organ
indoors Mission Dolores (how did I live two blocks away from there for a year and never once go inside? oh yeah I'd burn up upon entering)
maybe the Metreon
DeYoung Museum
Museum of the African Diaspora
Ferry to anywhere

Stuff I want to do again:
Take Audrey to Fort Funston
Watch the fog roll in over Golden Gate Bridge, weather permitting
Eat tons of food
Take lots of pictures

umms and uhhhs

I just flubbed my way through my rehearsal of my sample instruction session I have to do tomorrow for a job interview at 8 a.m. I can't motivate myself to keep working on it. Why must people have jobs? Why can't we all just sit around all day? Life, why do you mock me?

Herzog

Awesome. I'll be attending this:

An Evening with Werner Herzog (Directing Award w/ The Wild Blue Yonder)

At the Castro on Wednesday. Last year, when we saw Herzog's White Diamond at the film fest, he was supposed to make it and didn't. Lets hope he does this year, as a gift to me. The tickets were crazy expensive for a film, so he better be there.

last day on the desk

Today was my last ref desk shift, and it was certainly full of interesting encounters. One of the best was a student asking us if he could use a microwave. A-why would a library have a microwave? B-we don't allow food in the building. Doofus. Others include a graduate student not knowing what a citation is. As in, "my teacher says to include citations, what are those?" Yeah it was a rough day.

Four days left of work. I feel I'm going to get sappier as the end nears. I'm already all goopy over leaving some of the people. I'll have to visit I guess.

mish mash

After struggling with a raging sinus headache for half the day, I pulled myself off the couch and went down to the Ferry Building. The farmers market was cleaning up, and it was quiet. I like going there when it isn't bustling with tourists. You get to see the bay bridge, treasure island, water, and don't have to deal with sand. Its warmer than the ocean too. And there are benches. So I sat on a bench alone and listened to music. The last time I did that was when I left my previous job that I despised with every ounce of my existence. Today I sat because I'll probably never do it again. My favorite part is to stare at the water for a few minutes, then look at the concrete below you. The concrete looks as if its moving, and you really have to think hard to realize it isn't. Eventually the wind picked up, so I headed towards downtown to waste more money that I don't have. I got a skirt in my effort to summerize my wardrobe for Chicago. I don't even know if I like it, but whatever.

I returned home and we went to Puerto Alegre, our favorite mexican restaurant here. It'll be hard to leave that place, as I doubt Chicago has food that will live up to my acquired SF food snob tastes. Not like PA is high class, but its definitely good. And the margaritas will knock you to the floor.

Today I also went through my closet to see what I could donate or try to sell. Unfortunately, I came up with almost nothing. I guess that is a testament to my awesome ability to not keep anything more than what I absolutely need.

Tomorrow is my last Sunday of work, meaning my last reference desk shift, and last virtual ref shift. I'm sort of looking forward to getting it over with. Despite applying for reference jobs left and right, it isn't my favorite area. I hate having to suck up to people all day long. Sometimes I feel like my career path is getting all messed up, and that I need to start low on the pole again and work my way up through preservation/archives instead of sticking to my mid-level experience in reference. I don't want to turn 40 and regret the last 15 years of my life. This is where I remind myself that my job isn't my life. It just exists.

Two weeks from today I'll be sleeping in my new place, most likely on the floor. It seems so far away, but will be here before I know it.

the best news comes from drunk dials

Kevin and Paul just called me, and informed me they are most likely visiting me in Chicago in May! I may not have a bed or furniture, but I can't wait for them (and kristin and matt) to see me! I just laughed so hard I almost died. I love them.

I didn't do enough today. Mostly slept, which only depresses me. Tomorrow I'll be sure to wander the city while I still can. Of course, its supposed to rain. It seems to only rain on my weekends. Maybe I'll take Audrey on a long walk.

dogs and memory

Today was Audrey's last day at doggy daycare. She's been going there three days a week since December, in an effort to teach her how to play nice with other dogs and get her some exercise. Today her daycare lady said that she went from "being a street girl to a princess," which I found humorous. She'll be my little thug forever.

I wonder if dogs feel a sense of loss or miss humans that have been in and out of their lives. Will she remember her time at daycare, and miss it? Does she remember her old owner (if she had one)? Will she remember Jake and miss him? Is she going to be like a child from a broken home and act out when we move? How will she react to living in a new apartment? I have so many concerns and questions for her. Maybe I should call a pet psychic.

I'm glad this weekend is going to be quiet, so I can prepare for a phone interview for a job on Tuesday morning. I haven't had to interview in two years, so this could be rough. Although I want a job, this one isn't exactly what I want so no loss if I bomb. Plus if I don't get a job right away, I can play with Audrey more during the summertime.

remember that one time I said I hated the arcade fire? That was funny.

I'm not sure I can handle another 24 hours like these past 24. An emotional rollercoaster of ups and downs, twists and turns. NOT! Life is great.

I got a job interview offer today for an academic(ish) library in Chicago, which makes me the happiest person on the planet right now. Everything is falling perfectly into place, making me question my non-belief in fate/destiny/lack of control over your life. But have no fear, I'm still a heathen atheist. I'm sure once I get turned down for the job, I'll return to my cynical self.

Two weeks left in SF, one week left of my job. I'm not sure if I want to go all out tourist-mode for the last two weeks or just forget it. Its not like I'll never return. However, being out and busy at least keeps my brain from wandering to Chicago prematurely. Its half there already.

I feel like running a marathon, I have so much excess energy.

only 2 more top model nights left

Went to Q for dinner with Juan and Patricia tonight, then watched top model. I ate more salmon tonight. I think I'm terrified the fish in Chicago will be awful, so I need to eat as much fish here as I can. Patricia and I were freakishly jinx-ing eachother all during top model, saying the exact same thing at the exact same time forever. I'm really going to miss her! We always have the same taste in who we think should be...americas...next..top.model.

My students have begun bringing in cameras and wanting to take pictures with me. I better start looking decent from now on. One week left.

I got audrey a dog car seat/booster seat, so she can look out the window on our big drive. Everyone except fellow dog owners have mercilessly ridiculed me for this. Screw them! Audrey demands the best, and I'm going to give it to her! She isn't named after Miss Audrey Horne for no reason, dammit.

And in the irony department, got an interview offer from a library in SF...too bad I'm moving. Whoops!

Hey mophead!

I should be watching Scrubs more often, I haven't laughed this hard at a television show in a long time. My neighbors must be hearing me, and thinking I've lost it. I also need to get my cable fix for as long as I can, since I won't be having cable (or even a tv right away perhaps) in Chicago. This could make me either very depressed or very intelligent. I feel like a choose your own adventure novel with so many options in a non-tv world.

My job is throwing me a party next Wednesday. They haven't had a going away party for anyone that has left since I arrived two years ago, so I should feel special. I think my students made the decision to do it, those heartwarming little ladies. I'm already starting to do some goodbyes due to vacations. I hate hugging coworkers, but the hugs are nonstop lately.

I've been super bored all week, but should be enjoying it. I'm pretty much done with tasks at work, so I end up sitting on the internet all day. I've surfed the hell out of it, and have returned a travel-weary being. If you know of anything that's a great time waster online, please send it my way.

hot/not lists

Stuff that has been annoying me lately (or perpetually):
1. Wet paper products. Will I ever overcome my gag-yness over these things? Especially fast food napkins doused in rain on the street, holy shit I want to barf just thinking about it.
2. Geisha fetishism. Seriously. Stop.
3. Incessant talking. But only from people that I would rather not hear from.
4. A filthy apartment.
5. Having to be patient. I'm ready to move NOW dammit, not 3 weeks from now.
6. The non-stop crapass rain. 39 days of rain in the last 50 is ridiculous. We've had more rain than Seattle.

Stuff that is a-ok lately:
1. My rap revival, specifically a minor obsession with Project Pat's "googly moogly"
2. Dreaming of a hot sweaty summer in Chicago. BBQs here I come.
3. Less than two weeks of work left.
4. Feeling the ultimate in liberation.
5. Obsessing over picking out junk for the new place keeping my mind occupied.
6. Having something to look forward to in the first time in a very long time.

My thoughts are far away, I'm working on that day

I went to my aunt and uncles tonight for one last dinner at their house in Menlo Park. It was hard to leave by the end of the meal. Those two have done so much for me (us) since I (we) got here, that I feel like I will forever owe them. I'm going to write them a cheesey letter later. My aunt prepared salmon with this sort of odd spiced rub, asparagus with asiago cheese, rice pilaf, and her usual fancy salad. Lots of wine, and then a chocolate mousse cake with raspberry sauce for dessert. It was excellent. I listened to funny stories of my step-grandpa's funeral, and talked about my moving plans. We also talked about driving across the country, and how awful Wyoming is.

I held my shit together enough to not cry when I left, but cried a little on the drive home. I had to remind myself that there aren't enough positives here to stay, and seeing my aunt every other month is not enough to keep me here. I can always visit. Regardless, it was a very strange feeling to leave. I hate the "I'll never do this again" feeling that is so pervasive before you move away from a place.

Apparently I'll be living very close to where my step-grandfather's first furniture factory was in Chicago, so I'll need to get the address and check it out. Of course its just a bunch of condos now.

hooray credit cards

I purchased this duvet cover and pillow sham set:


And these plates:


Not necessarily the most crucial items considering I don't even have a bed yet, but I'll get by!

Thanks to JP for housing them for me until I get there.

Also I went to H&M for cheap summer clothes with patricia today. After 3 years of only a week or two above 60 degrees, I have zero warm weather clothes. I got some skirts and shirts for extreme heat. I'm ready.

Is it May yet?

Another incredible Friday night

It's another amazingly boring Friday night here in San Francisco. I realized that tomorrow is April 15th, and whoops! Haven't filed my taxes yet! I spent an hour doing that, which sucks because I owed 200 dollars. What is worse is that I have no money, so I had to use my credit card to pay my taxes. Humiliating. I may be the poorest person moving across the country. But I'm happy!

I then spent the next few hours looking for jobs in Chicago. I even put my resume on monster.com (so not cool and probably totally worthless), and found some records manager positions available in Chicago. Those jobs would be completely soul-sucking but would pay well. When you are unemployed, you really can't be picky about where you are working. Plus records management lets me unleash my extreme anal-retentive side in an outlet that isn't my personal life. Anal-retentiveness has no place in a personal life.

At this point, I'm sick of revising cover letters, searching boring jobs, and filing taxes. I hope tomorrow will be a better day, in that I'll go do touristy stuff because I may not be back here for years. I'm thinking if its not raining I'll hit up the Ferry Building's farmers market, and sit by the water listening to music.

P.S. I FINALLY made a mix cd. If you want one, holler in the comments. I even bought fancy paper to make covers! I just need to order my printer ink before I can send them off to you.

Audrey has taste in music

Some bands really get Audrey's attention. She will sit up and sniff the screen of my laptop, perk her ears, and look very attentive. I've determined she likes bands that are a bit out there. She LOVES minimal man, gang gang dance, and an albatross. She has no interest in the Talking Heads or any hip hop or rap. Maybe her previous owner was some metal head and the grating sounds she hears reminds her of days gone by.

I'm so bored. In three weeks I'll be in Chicago, and not bored. I wish it were sooner. Hopefully these three weeks will go really fast as I get busy with packing.

Holy Days

Three day weekend and its actually sunny out today. It is supposed to return to the hellish rain tomorrow, so I better take advantage of it. I'll miss working at a Jesuit place, where you get all sorts of religious holidays off even when you are an atheist.

Next week is Audrey's last week of dog daycare. I hope she doesn't become insane without 8 hours of play time a day.

I need to find furniture for my new place, and I'm broke. I'd rather not turn it into an IKEA dominated apartment, but fear that may be my only option. Are there other cheap furniture places in Chicago? The problem is I'll have to charge everything because I have no cash, so I can't just find stuff off craigslist/friends. Maybe IKEA will pay me to do my whole apartment with them in exchange for me using it as a show-room. I'm not above selling out at this point.

view from a hill

Tonight I went to a house of someone I don't know, who wasn't even there. My coworker was house sitting for his friends who own a home up on Potrero Hill, which means their views were INCREDIBLE. We used to live up there, and I got really nostalgic as I was trudging up the horrific hills to the house. I took my time, realizing it would be the last time I suffered that walk. I went past the All States convenient store, the Potrero branch of the public library, Klein's, Goat Hill, all the things that I first discovered when I moved here almost three years ago.

Then I spent the evening with co-workers drinking wine and beer and eating food that totally did not need to be consummed. It was gorgeous outside - sunny, a little wind, and warm for the first time in almost two months. And the best part: NO RAIN! The house had a very well landscaped back yard, with a pond and fish. I wanted to stay forever, but Audrey needed to be fed. I feel the dog may be a hinderance at times in my "new" life in Chicago. I left and realized that my favorite coworker and I only had six days left of work together, due to him taking a vacation next week. I was near tears. I love that man.

I walked down the hill to the 22 and absorbed and memorized the insane view of downtown and of the East Bay. For the first time this week I started to wonder if maybe I made the wrong decision. However, as much as I love San Francisco, I don't love my life here. This city is incredible, and my life here is totally sub-par. I have to remember that distinction these next few weeks as I do all these things one last time before heading out.

New apartment!

Wow, I'm so excited, I got the apartment I've been wanting! In Bucktown. I know nothing about it, other than the street is nice, the apartment is totally refinished, it has a dishwasher, is a one bedroom...umm...has carpet. I saw photos. I'm not even nervous about the whole thing, since I know the person who lives there (sort of). Now I can just move without having serious worries about not finding a place right away. It was sort of embarassing though because the landlord wouldn't let me sign the lease without my mom as co-signer despite my good rental history and excellent credit. Oh well, she did it and it won't be an issue.

I'm so excited. Only one last problem, to find a job. Now that I have a local address, I think it'll only get easier.

Standard blog update

Audrey must be aware that something is going on because she's sick in the grossest way. I have to make a ton of rice now and put her back on the rice train she was on a few months ago. At least she doesn't shit all over the house - she waits until we get outside to embarass me. I hope it goes away soon, I can't afford another vet bill.

Tonight I'm going to patricia and juan's for top model. This will be one of the last times I can, so I'm getting sad. Those guys are two of the best people on this planet. I'm going to miss them like crazy when I move. They are leaving SF in a few months for LA, so it won't be so bad. I'd lose them at some point anyway.

Tomorrow is some holy day, Maundy Thursday, meaning we have to close the library at 4. As a result, I'm stuck working at 8 a.m. After work I'll be headed to a coworkers house for beer and food, since none of us have to work Friday (or Saturday or Sunday! hooray Jesuits!). It'll probably be highly sentimental and sappy for me.

I'm waiting for a call from a landlord on a place I want. He said my credit check was fine, and is calling my current landlord, but was concerned that I don't have a job lined up there. I left him a message explaining that I have a masters degree and "lots of connections" or something ridiculous. Mentioned mom would be paying my way, which is only partially true. Then he never called back, so now I have to wait until tomorrow. I hope he buys my story, and that my landlord (who told me he'd tell them I'm awesome) prompts him to stick with me.

More information

My great pal JP is flying out here to do the cross-country drive with me on May 4th. I should be in Chicago on May 7th or 8th. We will be in a minivan, so if you see two people who clearly don't belong in a minivan driving 2000 miles across I-80, honk and wave.

I have so many different emotions right now, but mostly I'm just a bit frazzled. I'm trying to get in with an apartment that looks good, and signing a lease from 2000 miles away is very difficult. The place looks really good too, so I don't want to lose it.

I told everyone at work today that I'm leaving and almost cried several times. They are all mad at me for going because now nobody will make them laugh all day. Yes I'm bragging. Its going to be really tough to leave this job.

Flying is so annoying

There were some really annoying people on the plane ride home.

1. A group of hippies who had somehow all just met and were seated right next to each other. They talked jam bands and nature hikes. Really loudly. I couldn't get my headphones to tune them out enough, and my music was interjected with "I'm in the banana slug string band" or "man rafting in costa rica is the shit." God I hate the outdoors. And jam bands. And hippies. And people who talk too loudly on a plane.

2. A woman with a shirt on that said "You can never have too many cats." After experiencing six cats this week, I declare her shirt to be false. My nose is still reeling from the cat experience.

If I could roll back the clock

April 5-8 may go down as the best (and worst) days of 2006.

Super Shuttle was supposed to pick me up between 4:55 a.m. and 5:10 a.m. on Wednesday morning. My plane left at 7:00 a.m. The van arrived at....5:55 a.m.! Amazing! I was super pissed, and barely made final boarding call for the flight. Everything worked out ok though, and I was able to sleep the whole way to Chicago. When I arrived, I visited a friend from high school and his roommate. We had the Great Idea to go to a bar at 3:30 p.m. I could tell this was going to be the start of a long four days. After catching up and drinking up, Steve picked me and JP up and we headed to his apartment. Did I just use the word "up" three times back there? Oh yes I did.

Wednesday night featured: Best falafel ever, smoke infested bars (I forgot how much I hate smokey bars), and lots of text messages. I also met Steve's new cats, emma and carl, who are way ridiculous. They would be the first of SIX cats that I would meet this weekend. Have no fear, dogs still rule my world.

Thursday was the BIG DAY. Tha 446 show! I slept in so I could be prepared, and then wandered around Chicago all afternoon alone. It was freezing cold, so I ended up just sitting in some horrific hipster coffee place and read my crappy book. Maybe I'll get lucky and end up on a craigslist missed connection, since apparently the place I was is where it all happens.

At night, I had my first encounter with the magical mystical Sparks. And about 20 vodka tonics. And some [*]. And a Sparks PLUS. I would advise anyone reading this to not attempt to recreate that mixture because you are guaranteed to make a total ass out of yourself. Second time ever I've blacked out in my life was this night. Excellent! Shout out to some extraordinarily tolerant human on Thursday.

Seeing tha 446 got me freakishly sentimental. Moving to SF was definitely what I needed to do at the time, and now moving to Chicago is what I need to do. But more on that at the end of this post.

Friday I was so brain dead all I could do was sit on Steve's computer and watch the Cubs game. I learned what a sparks hangover feels like, which I decided is what polio must be like. I also rediscovered the awesomeness of Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins. In the afternoon, I got to meet baby Bradley for the first time. That kid is all smiles and awesome. Later, we went to the Double Door to see their friends band, Sleep Out, whom I had never seen before. The band after them (pas/cal) was the most pompous boring bummer of a band for a Friday night. Everyone quickly left. The rest of the night was pretty low key, and ended at some super lame house party with what I assume was all 18 year olds. Some girls were dancing around in their underwear like it was the most innovative and expressive thing of all time. Yawn and barf. We got out of there fast, headed home and listened to rap all night instead.

Finally, Saturday we got breakfast. I could barely function by this point. The afternoon was spent at Ed's with JP and Jacob, where we watched rap videos all afternoon. My shining achievement of this afternoon was nearly getting locked inside Ed's bathroom (fix your door dude).

I flew back to San Francisco in the evening, exhausted. Made it through about half a day of work. Not going in tomorrow, but not because I'm still recovering. If you've made it this far you get the bonus of learning that I'm moving to Chicago as soon as possible. If you need further information email me. Or better yet, help me get my shit together and find me a place (and a job!) in Chicago.

Pictures will be thrown on flickr, click the ole badge on the right to see the show and two fatass cats.

Back in SF

I'm alive, but my body is a disaster zone. I'm wrecked from my four day bender. Detox begins immediately.

I cannot thank you Chicago people enough for being so wonderful to me the past four days, taking time to hang out, housing me on your couch, not crucifying me for being a complete jackass on Thursday, and in general being some of the most important people on this earth. Seriously, thanks more than most of you will ever realize.

Vacation

I'll be in Chicago until Sunday, and I can't wait. I've been looking forward to this trip for quite some time, so it feels sort of odd that it is actually happening. I have a feeling the trip will be exhausting, but in the best way. The 446 are playing a CD release show on Thursday, and this will be the first time I have ever seen my friends play. I'm a horrible friend, I know. I'll be sure to take pictures.

book for dog lovers

What the Dog Did: Tales from a Formerly Reluctant Dog Owner by Emily Yoffe

I just started reading this today while at the reference desk, and can't put it down. The book is a series of short stories of urban dog ownership, and all the humiliation, love, stress, joy, and annoyance that comes with it. Yoffe's description of dog owners who have to take their dog out at midnight in the rain as "standing like demented courtiers holding umbrellas over their dogs" waiting for their dogs to relieve themselves was what got me hooked. And that was seriously the first paragraph of the introduction. Well written, a light read, fast, and humorous, if you love dogs you will enjoy reading this. Bonus points to if you live in an apartment and have to take your dog outside five times a day.

I feel like Levar Burton on Reading Rainbow. But don't take my word for it.

you don't need a doctor, you will need a priest

Last night we went to Puerto Alegre for a pitcher of margaritas and too much food. While everyone else had up to an hour and a half wait, we got in right away. Gotta love the host who recognizes us. From there, we got on the 14 to go to Hotel Utah and see Bulbs, Clip'd Beaks, Le Flange du Mal, and No Doctors. There was a totally funky skinny george clinton look alike on the 14. I should have asked him to hang out with us, as the show itself was pretty boring. I've never been to Hotel Utah before, and its really odd. A two tiered audience space, with one stage makes for some odd viewing. I had no idea if people were upstairs or not, and the ceiling for the lower level was really low.

I'm amazed I sat through Clip'd Beaks twice in one week. Worst. Band. Ever. Bunch of posers. Bulbs were boring as hell, all props and no music. I was expecting Le Flange du Mal to be annoying as well, based on the ridiculous amount of keyboards, but actually liked them. Finally, No Doctors sounded like a pretty standard rock band. Maybe a heavier Karate? Some of it was ok, but it was mostly boring as well. And my 7 drinks that night didn't help at all. The spacing was all wrong, so I ended up just wanting to fall asleep.

Yesterday I also got my first professional massage. It was pretty interesting. Some of it felt really good, but I'm not sure I'll make a habit of getting one. I only went because I got a deal from a friend at work.

Today its finally sunny out, for now at least. It has rained here almost every day in March, breaking a one hundred year old record for most rainy days in March. Miserable. Therefore, the sun is forcing me outside for some much needed jean shopping. None of my jeans fit me anymore-they are all too big, which rules. Unfortunately, I bet that the rest of the city has the same thought - "shit its sunny, time to go be a consumer!" and the stores will be mobbed.