There's No Place Like Home

"The Badger simply beamed at him. 'That's exactly what I say,' he replied. 'There's no security or peace or tranquility, except underground. … No, up and out of doors is good enough to roam about and get one's living in; but underground to come back to at last - that's my idea of home.'"
- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

It is one of those perfect lazy, rainy Saturdays when you don't have to be anywhere but home and you can loaf around in your PJs all day long. Days like this keep me ticking and bring me back to center. I am away from home so much during the week that I need to have some down time with no people, distractions or activities to clutter my brain. Rainy days give you a good excuse to hole up inside and recharge your battery. I get to pretend I am the Badger from Wind in the Willows and the outside world no longer matters or even exists to me.

Enjoyed a lovely chat with the family during a late breakfast of berry pancakes (heavy on the berries - blueberries, raspberries, mango chunks and strawberries - yeah, we love City Market's frozen berry selection!), chicken apple sausages (yummy) and steaming hot, creamy tea (Russian Caravan - thanks Uncommon Grounds!). Weekend family brunches are just about my favorite time of the week and they remind me how glad I am that I moved back to VT to be with my family. We can't brunch every weekend as we rarely converge at the same time but when we do, ooh the fun topics we cover.

"[The swallows] fell a-twittering among themselves once more, and this time their intoxicating babble was of violet seas, tawny sands, and lizard-haunted halls." - Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

The rain has finally come and despite the fact that I should be sad to have a rainy weekend, there something cozy about being forced to spend the day inside, recovering from a night of heavy drinking, chatting with the fam, rubbing the kitty's tummies, eating sweet syrupy things and surfing around youtube where I found this fun video by some girls lip syncing Britney Spears in their living room.

This is what makes me love youtube, despite all the haters and the flamers and the assfaces - youtube is essentially a way for kids to tell the stories they want to tell or lip sync the songs they want to sing and open up their lives to the world. If youtube had existed when I was a girl, I can’t imagine the fun I would have had. In fact, The New Yorker has an article called "Me Media" about the youtube and face book phenomenon (including an illustration by comic artist Adrian Tomine) which looks like perfect reading material for today. Hurray, I get to catch up on New Yorkers, 7 Days and maybe even indulge in a Sunday Times tomorrow! Joy!

The rest of this perfect homebody day will be spent underneath many thick blankets watching Asian horror movies, SITC, The Office, Peep Show and perhaps my ultimate favorite Saturday afternoon flick, Evil Under the Sun. I used to watch this British mystery movie over and over again on weekends when I was kid thanks to our pirated HBO which came in free through our VCR. This movie is like a heavenly vacation to the Mediterranean and it always makes me calm and happy although I am not sure why a murder mystery would affect me thus…?

"'Once well underground," he said, 'you know exactly where you are. Nothing can happen to you and nothing can get at you. You're entirely your own master, and you don’t have to consult anybody or mind what they say. Things go on all the same overhead, and you let 'em, and don't bother about 'em. When you want to, up you go, and there the things are, waiting for you.'" - Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

Another childhood favorite weekend treat was lying around in bed all day reading books like Wind in the Willows, Watership Down, The Little Princess and Peter Pan. I have been rereading these books recently and they are just as good as I remembered. I wouldn’t mind taking a year off to read books. I never seem to have enough time for reading these days, especially with all my various computer addictions.

I am also in the midst of finishing one of my many video projects. This one is for work and I am burning 50-60 dvds which will take most of the day. It means I have to run downstairs every 5 minutes to switch the dvd-r. This will be good exercise, provided I do not fall down the stairs and twist my neck, but it gets a little tiresome after the 20th dvd. I wish I had one of those multi-disc DVD burner creatures that burns 10 DVD-Rs in a single sitting. Dreamy.

Last night with the gals was fun times for all. Again, I was out on a Friday night which is unusual for such a homebody as I. The ladies came over to consume many mojitos (avec fresh mint a plenty mind you) and various crackers and cheeses before we headed out to Higher Ground to see Speilpalast. The show was amazing from what I can remember through my fuzzy memories. The deadly combo of mojitos and beer that Lesh kept providing us were enough to plow me over. I might have eaten all of those sweet potato fries by myself? Does that explain the sticky mess everywhere?

We must have been ranting like lunatics as some lady politely asked us to shut up. Ooops, but I thought you were allowed to talk during a cabaret? The show was really amazing and not to be missed. Glamour puss Lois danced up a storm with her pregnant belly overflowing. What a lady! What a lucky kid to have her for a Mommy! Sultry Sarah Dawn sang some beautiful songs and a bunch of girls from my dance class wowed a packed crowd. If I look like a raving lunatic in the pics, it is because I was/am. And I have a close to empty bottle of rum to prove it (yes, sigh, the big size).

'Well, well,' [Toad] said; 'perhaps I am a bit of a talker. A popular fellow such as I am - my friends get round me - we chaff, we sparkle, we tell witty stories - and somehow my tongue gets wagging. I have this gift of conversation. I've been told I ought to have a salon, whatever that may be.'
- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

Then we were off to the Monkey Bar to catch Nest Material who had a special guest appearance from Mr Tanner Moore (the crowd goes wild) McCuin. They sounded swell but again, by that point we were flagging and had trouble keeping our heads upright. Tanner was kind enough to drive our tired butts home and many greasy foods were consumed in a post-drunken haze. All in all, a swell Friday night on the town and an even better relaxing Saturday to recover. Wish the weekend would never, ever end…

"The weary Mole was also glad to turn in without delay, and soon had his head on the pillow, in great joy and contentment. But ere he closed his eyes he let them wander around his room, mellow in the glow of the firelight that played or rested on familiar and friendly things which had long been unconsciously a part of him, and now smilingly received him back, without rancour. He saw clearly how plain and simple - how narrow even - it all was; but clearly, too, how much it all meant to him, and the special value of some such anchorage in one's existence. He did not at all want to abandon the new life and its splendid spaces, to turn his back on sun and air and all they offered him and creep home and stay there; the upper world was all too strong, it called to him still, even down there, and he knew he must return to the larger stage. But it was good to think he had this to come back to, this place which was all his own, these things which were so glad to see him again and could always be counted on for the same simple welcome."
- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

The Day Before Friday

Well, there is too much work to do at work and at home these days so suffice to say, it did not rain today even though I didn't ride my bike just in case it might. The storm clouds threatened over the water but came to naught. Mom says we need rain so here is hoping for the sake of her plants and flowers. Last night was lovely with mojitos a plenty, sun soaking, chit chat, lake views and lots of T4 (Totally Tubular Tanner Time, like DUH!).

Tonight there will be more mojitos, yoga and perhaps more Japanese horror as well as some T4. Tomorrow will be still MORE mojitos (the best drink of the summer!), dress up with the gals and the opening of the Speilpalast cabaret! Go see 'em if you do not have tickets already. These ladies can dance up a storm and serve up some political satire as well. It is like a walk back in time to the very odd and creepy Weimar Period as seen in the musical "Cabaret." My wonderful and talented dance teacher Lois Trombley choreographs these lovelies so it is sure to be full of tasty treats.

Nest Material is playing somewhere tomorrow night as well but we are not sure if they will be at Nectar's or the Monkey Bar. Who can say?

But I can't wait 'till it is the weekend, even if I do have a bunch of DVDs to burn for work and a bunch of other not so fun stuff to do. Oh well, here is hoping for rain. Oooh, and doesn't the air smell marvelous??

OMG I HATE YOU

I love humanity but I hate people. - Edna St. Vincent Millay

Too much work to do and not enough time to walk down to the waterfront with the gals and get creamees with sprinkles. Oh, and to top it all off, a new person hates me on youtube:

New Comment Posted to Skinny Babble
The comment is:
...Not...funny? HOW ABOUT THAT YOU FUCKING BITCH CAN YOU PLEASE STOP WITH THESE STUPID FUCKING VIDEOS THAT MAKE NO FUCKING SENSE?! OMG I HATE YOU.

Joy. I just adore being hated by a 19 yr old stranger who lives in New Jersey and calls herself:
"Snoochie Boochies. What the fuck do you think it means, it means I'm fucking kidding."

Indifference is the strongest force in the universe. It makes everything it touches meaningless. Love and hate don't stand a chance against it. - Joan Vinge, The Snow Queen

Perhaps the youtube audience are looking for videos such as this one which is a sad montage wishing MK and Ashley Olsen god speed through their anorexia haze. It is sweet and sad but does not bother to examine anorexia, negative body image and why it is that we are all so obsesssed with disappearing. Why is it so hard to actually say anything these days without being hated by the 19 yr olds from Jersey? Man, I sound like some old jaded Berkeley hippy stuck in the 60s, "Dude, nobody ever, like, bothers to say anything, like, real these days. You know what I mean man? What are you all so afraid of? Man...what is this world coming to?...Hey, pass the peace pipe dude..." Or am I just a bitter, dried up, irony-laced old lady with nothing nice to say about anyone?

Without something to hate, we should lose the very spring of thought and action. - William Hazlitt

Westerfeld Goes Boing!

Ok, this is how web retarded I am (dare I even admit this?)...I don't even know what this Boing Boing site is but after reading up at wikipedia, I now know that it is the #1 most visited blog (actually, Blog Guru Tanner told me that) and it used to be a zine. As a lover of all things low fi, self-published and zine-like, perhaps I will have to check this Boing Boing out more frequently as I begin to explore this world wide overwhelming web.

All this is to say that, hurrah, Boing Boing is featuring a review of Scott Westerfeld's final book of the Uglies series which recently came out in hard cover and is entitled Specials. My sister and I have been anxiously awaiting this book as we thoroughly enjoyed its predecessors, Uglies and Pretties. We enjoyed them so much that we did a little Uglies trilogy book review for the DBC which can be seen here in all its pixelated youtube glory:
The Prettification of America, Part 1, Part 2

Again, we were blown away when Scott Westerfeld plugged this meager fledgling blog on his uber blog which was thanks to some random youtube viewing of our reviews. Hellah cool, thanks Scott! Anywho, if you have not read these books, give 'em a try. Not only are they fun adventure books with hover board chases (imagine a flying skateboard - ooh yeah baby!) but they also make you think. And how many books, of the young adult variety or other, can actually claim that distinction these days?

Beauty in the flesh will continue to rule the world. ~Florenz Ziegfeld

This popular culture of ours is convoluted and out of control: both girls and boys are obsessed with their body images and their exterior shells which leads to obesity and anorexia; the cult of worship for vapid nobodies such as Paris Hilton; the mad obsession with money and all its tacky brand name bits and pieces; and this crazy race to be the most perfect physical specimen of them all with the most perfect J-lo butt, Angie's lips, Pamela Lee's boobies, Nicole's skin and Giselle's slender thighs.

I am a girly girl and I enjoy the act of playing dress up and becoming someone else for a day (like an engine room worker for instance!) but this culture scares me sometimes with its drive to transform, change and reinvent oneself into a more "perfect" creature. And one begins to wonder, what if all of our wildest desires were answered and we could be sculpted to be perfect in every way? If war, conflict and jealousy were eradicated because we made everyone equal, pretty and happy, then who would write bittersweet love songs, who would compose the dark, twisted verse, and paint the evil insides of our souls? Kiss goodbye to the Lou Reeds, Tom Waits, Schieles, Byrons and Kafkas of this world. Say hello to the wasteland of washed out pastels, empty libraries and meaningless bubbly catch phrases like, "Wow, that's hot."

A woman who cannot be ugly is not beautiful. ~Karl Kraus

A world without ugly is not the sort of world I want to inhabit. So perhaps one day this mad pop culture of ours will swing violently in some new, uglier direction and those of us with bad teeth, hair and skin will become the new titans and the formerly "perfect" people such as Paris, Angie and Gyweneth can find work in Bavaria digging for gold. Hot. Until that glorious day, check out the Uglies series, it will be right up your alley.

PS By the way, our albino wondercat Max is a Special. Just thought you should know in case you ever visit, as his claws are sharp and his look is deadly. Meow.

Shipwrecked, Sun Drenched and Sassy

Zowie, what a weekend. Oh, is it over? And was today Monday? It's all a blur to me, it rushes by so fast. This weekend was an explosion of colorful rain slickers, stripes, neon colored galoshes, sailor caps, overalls, warm Bud light and dance dance revolution (!!) at the ever fabulous annual Nautical party hosted by Holly and her fellah at a super fly pad in Winooski. The DJs were killing us with mad hits from the 80s that kept us on the dance floor shaking our booties most of the night. Special guest appearances were made by Champ and other assorted sea monsters, the ever popular roommate duo of Tanner and Todd, Matty of cable access fame on the Matty and Stech Variety Show, my wild-ass shaking dance partner in Grease, Jordan of the City Market, the amazing one woman show stopper Leda and the dancing queen bee herself, Miss Holly and I do not mean Golightly. And you should have seen Holly and Leda on the dance floor together, every hot 80s move was reinvented and kicked out of the ballpark - dang, them gals can dance.

Speaking of dancing girls, I was dressed as an engine room grunt in overalls, Abbie was a stow away disguised as a boy (just like Leo in Titanic! Er, I guess he was a boy though), Suzanne was the ship greeter ("Salut! Bonjour! On y va") and Margot was with the French foreign legion. Naturally, this prompted us to speak with French accents zee entire night darlink! C'est magnifique! Nautical, we night not have been, but kick ASS, hell, we were that.


Sunday was blissfully low key and after all this editing madness, it was just what I needed. Late, delicious breakfast at Sneakers which spawned this comic by Tanner and me which included highlights from his gory 14th century historical novel. Eww, thumb screws and goat cheese omelet. Bon appetit! Needless to say, a bloody mary was shared and the CA eggs benedict was tres bon.

Then down to the waterfront with the rest of the greater Burlington area residents to soak up as much sun as we were allowed underneath the busting outta their sockets cherry blossom trees. Suzanne and her dogs, Ella and Sierra joined us for a jaunt along the bike path with a stop at the dog park for frolicking. Sierra made 2 great friends and proceeded to chase them around the park trying to commander their precious Frisbee. Needless to say, the border collie barked a lot, the other dog outran them all and a good time was had by all. Ah, the life of a dog. Making instantaneous friends through the simple act of butt sniffing.

The final touch was a scrummy dish of carbonara cooked by el Chef Tannerific which was accompanied by many glasses of red wine, some blood red nail polish application and included the main course of A Tale of Two Sisters. This is an arty Korean horror movie that sets quite an intense mood without much really actually happening for quite a long time. The scary parts are scary and the entire film reeks of suffering, insanity and claustrophobia so in other words, a nice end to the evening. Even if we were left totally bemused, and confused. Thank goodness for the internet to explain the plot to us. Hilariously, the director didn’t bother to clarify the plot in the DVD special features (he did help to confuse me more though), it was some random stage hand who let us in on some of the secrets (are we dumb or does this really not make any sense we wondered?) and the internet told us the rest. Definitely worth a watch if ever on the look out for a beautiful, thickly moody tale.

All in all, a lovely, relaxing, invigorating, exhausting, fun-packed weekend. Oh, and today we did our dance concert on the Flynn stage and I got to dance two dances: a sexy Tom Waits tune and the very scary and angry "He Had it Coming" from Chicago. I was weirdly nervous tonight but it felt good to be on stage and do these numbers which we have been practicing for months. Better still, I got to pretend I was a lady in prison who had killed some dude! Oooh, I love big dramatic dance numbers that I can sink my teeth into and use my silly putty clown face for its intended purposes. Oddly enough, I still feel the lingering anger of those wronged cell block tango ladies. How to soak that anger out of my head? Ah well, now it is time to work on my next-already-overdue-editing-project for work. Ah life, ain't it grand?

PS I heart you digital camera. You are the best companion a girl with a new blog could ever have!

New DBC Airs Tonight

Well, it only took two weeks of sleep deprivation and locking myself in the house but the new May episode of The Deadbeat Club is finally out of the oven and will air tonight on VCAM. No doubt bits and pieces of it will be hacked up and displayed on youtube whenever I get around to it. This episode includes a new Offasty segment, Jen Aniston trying for an Oscar, the Skel-fab girls dieting tips, Eva's experiences with youtube and mom's garden update. It is mad as usual and at this particular moment, I fear it is the worst thing I ever made but alas, I always feel this way after pulling an all-nighter to finish this beast. So if you feel like soaking your head in a simmering stewpot of surreal cultural mush, give it a whirl.

The Deadbeat Club #25, May, 2006
Premieres tonight, Friday, on Channel 15 at 11:30pm

PS Over at Highgate, Tanner is trying an interesting experiment with communal blogging. If you are a blogger worth your salt, give this a look see!

Sleep is for the Birds

That's right, you heard me, only wimps and charlatans need sleep! After all, how would we get anything done if we widdled away our hours sleeping? No, forget what I just said, I am sleep deprived and talking nonsense. Staying up until 6am to try and finish the new episode of my cable access show is a little bit...hmmm, what is the precise word I am looking for here...CRAZY, MAD, OCD, UTTERLY and completely INSANE...or perhaps it is a wee bit...GENIUS? Moahaw haw...insert evil laughter here. No really, ignore me, I am babbling.

This madness is pretty standard when I am racing toward the finish line as I do at the end of every month when I am trying to get this thing to air on time. Why you might ask? Good question. I know no one is waiting for it. I do it because if I don't get it in on time, I am worried I will NEVER finish it. It will get shelved and I will find a million reasons why it is not good enough. That is the glory of a deadline, it forces you to finish something even if you hate it. And eventually, I am glad for this. The hate fades and I usually end up enjoying my evil spawn. But not tonight, oh no, not yet.

Hopefully the May episode (#25) will be up by Friday night but who knows. What with my sleep deprivation and the fact that I am at that stage where I hate the sight of the damn thing, I may or may not be able to nail this one down by Friday. But never fear, I will die trying. In the meantime, here are some stills from the new installment of Offasty (Dynasty + The Office = The Offasty). Someone will be leaving The Offasty for good, who could it be? And will they die for good or make a reappearance in the future? And what if not one but TWO of your favorite office gals meets with an untimely demise? Will The Offasty survive the devastation? Who knows what blood bath shall ensue...tune in to find out more...also, there will be some more ice skating, fun with no teeth, tales of youtube woes, a garden tour with 72 yr old mom and a birthday montage for Mom, Margot and Pop! Tune in to see the madness!

Budding, Blooming and Bursting

Rainy Days and Wednesdays…do not always get me down. In fact, today is one of those dark, dismal rainy afternoons that buoy me up and give me the strength to keep on crackin’. There are pinkish white spring blossoms on many of the trees in the North End and pale green buds popping out on all the rest of ‘em. Everywhere you turn, there is something/someone blooming, budding, and bursting with colorful spring activity. To celebrate, I’d like to take a walk down the puddle-filled streets in my bright pink rain boots and do a Gene Kelly style “Singin’ in the Rain” dance. I could even use the old fashioned lamp posts in City Hall Park as dancing props/partners!

Last night was one of those perfect evenings when I go to sleep before 1am (a rarity), giggle like a little girl at camp (double rarity), listen to the rain falling, cuddle with my sweetie and be read out loud to (super favorite activity) about the bloody goings on in the 14th century. Yeah, it just don’t get much better, no siree. And maybe that is why today looks so much brighter and the looming To Do List is less daunting. Plus, I actually crossed some things off it yesterday which makes the rest of it less intimidating. Just breath little grasshopper, one step at a time.

And it is lucky I am in a good mood because here are my most recent youtube comments, sure to inspire good feelings and joy within one’s heart:

New Comment Posted to video Weight Schizophrenia in America
wow you're annoying.

New Comment Posted to Bai Ling Rules!
I don't even know who the *BLANK* Bia Ling is, but I can see why America would love this dumba$$. Great video piece. Sadly, I think this piece will just add to her fame. Personally, I prefur to look at the hot chic doing the monologe.

New Comment Posted to Bai Ling Rules!
hot chick? where?... where?you mean that flat face with the big schnozola!

New Comment Posted to Bai Ling Rules!
This make me want to burn every camera ever created.

New Comment Posted to video Britney Update
what a stupid bitch!!!! I'd like to see her pregnant then she'll know how hard it is to loose weight

New Comment Posted to video Fun with Granny
for some reason I find filming your grandmother quite cruel...especially since you're exploiting her memory loss. -_-; find some other method of poking fun at people...old people are innocent and deserve respect.

New Comment Posted to video Jen Aniston Hearts James Frey
This video sucks

OH JOY! On another note, here is some youtube love for this amazing video which redeems youtube in my mind. It is far better than the Black Eyed Peas version, it has heart, sass and HOT dancing BOYS!

And here is my ode to the humps, bumps, lumps and stumps!

Unholy Mess of a Girl

An artist is a creature driven by demons. He doesn't know why they choose him and he's usually too busy to wonder why.
-William Faulkner

Yes, it is sad but true, my life is a mess, completely and totally. This was the thought that struck me last night as I lay in bed trying to drift off to sleep at 5am. My eyes stayed wide open despite the fact that I had to get up for work 3 hours later. These were the terrifying thoughts that swirled around my head:

• It was the most beautiful, sunny, fabulous weekend EVER and you spent most of it inside, in the dark, dismal basement editing on your computer - good move idiot! What if there is never another sunny weekend for you to enjoy, ever again?! Sucker.
  
• Your room is a mess, dirty clothes piled up everywhere like a cyclone hit it, what are you going to wear tomorrow? Will you ever have the time to sort through it all?
  
• Your home office is wrecked too - clothes, papers, notebooks and technical doo dads piles on every surface - how will you ever find anything, more less accomplish anything?
  
• Everywhere I look are half started projects, partially completed To Do Lists and things I need to install, back up, transcribe, figure out, tie up or catch up on - when will I ever have time to do them all?
• Your work office is a mess - piles of paper, half finished projects, plants, nick knacks and kid art all over the place. How will you ever finish all of these things? Have you looked at everyone else's offices? They are clean and orderly with wiped surfaces, one or two personal artifacts and everything where it needs to be. Compare that to your explosion of photos, memorabelia and mad artwork which combine to look like a "nest space" - you are like the crazy bag lady of the office!!!?
• In order to get your new cable access episode ready to air Friday night, you will have to spend every free moment (when you are not at your 40 hr/wk day job) at your home computer editing - you will not have time to sleep and only minimal time to breath, eat and check your email - and who am I kidding, no one cares if you finish on time except for you, you crazy nesting bag lady pyscho! Still, my fear is that if I don't finish it by Friday, I won't have the motivation to ever finish it...and it always takes a deadline to put a fire in my belly and transform me into an editing hermit locked inside the house...damn it!
• You overdo things! For instance, you agree to make a nice good-bye video for a co-worker and what does it morph into? A ONE HOUR montage overload of insanity that NO ONE will want to sit through! You could have saved yourself the trouble and kept it to 10 minutes BUT NO! You had to go and show off like a madwoman and meanwhile, you have not slept in a week! Time well spent!
• Oh, and here is some more about sleep, who needs it? They tell you that you have to sleep 8 hrs every night but do you really? Me thinks this is the man trying to keep you sleepy and under thumb. I am a real sleep rebel and I get no more than 5 hours of sleep every night and you can tell because I am a total mess at work most days but hey, no sleep for the wicked, right? Oh, and I can sleep when I am dead, which will be any day at this frantic pace, yes, lots of very sound, deep sleep under the ground.
• Oh yes, and I must not forget that I have a dance concert in one week and I haven't had time to practise my dances one bit, plus I am out of shape from all the sitting on my ass editing! Public humiliation on a large stage, always a joy! Maybe I can trip over my heels and fly into the audience face first? Yeehaw!
• Oh, and don't I have a TON of things to do at work tomorrow...?
  

Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings. - Jane Austen

So, it took me a while to drift off to sleep with all these mad thoughts swirling around my head. Not to mention my restless leg syndrome (maybe I should take that new pill they got for it!?) but eventually I slipped off to la la land. Waking up was tough and I didn't ride my bike to work this morning because I was so groggy. Now I feel like a sloth, a sloth with bags under her crazy golf ball eyes. And did I mention that I am inside in an air conditioned, flourescently-lit, VERY QUIET office on the most beautiful, sunny day of the year?

He who's not busy being born is busy dying - Bob Dylan

Ah well, despite all of my complaining, I am happy it is spring and happy for the beautiful weather and the little snatches of it I got to enjoy with Tanner this weekend. And also happy because Suzanne's sister had a baby named Paige Elizabeth and she got to witness the birth and then told us all about it! Sunshine, babies, boys and frantic, thought-filled heads, it does not get much better. And I will just have to accept that this unholy mess of a life is mine and keep on aiming toward some sort of zen lifestyle that is more empty, slow and less hurried.

No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.
Confucius

The life I dream of involves leisurely mornings spent sipping tea with the New Yorker, aimless jaunts down empty country backroads, hours spent reading novels on the front porch, cuddling with my sweetheart in the hammock while watching the sunset over the lake and FAR, FAR, FAR less time lying awake at night with my mind in 5th gear. Keep on imagining it unholy-mess-of-a-girl and perhaps you will figure out how to make it real...?

At present, I am mainly observing the physical motion of mountains, water, trees and flowers. One is everywhere reminded of similar movements in the human body, of similar impulses of joy and suffering in plants.
Egon Schiele

Monkeys at the Bar

Friday night and I actually left my house for once!? Took a wee break from editing the new Deadbeat Club (behind, as usual) and headed over to the Monkey Bar to hear Kyle's band play. As I drove the 10 minutes from my house to Winooski, found parking with total ease and walked the 5 minutes it took to get to the bar, I thought to myself, "Hot damn, life sure is easier here than it was in California!"

Here is what a typical night out in Oakland would have entailed:

• drive 30 minutes over a packed Bay Bridge - oh yes, rush hour traffic is not restricted to just "rush hour," a Friday night on the bridge is sheer madness
• pay the $3 bridge toll
• spend 20 minutes looking for parking
• park miles away from the show and have to walk through scary neighborhoods clutching my purse
• pay $12 cover at the show
• have difficulty finding my friends through the people crunch
• pay $5 for a beer, $6 with tip
• narrowly avoid getting in a bar brawl
• barely able to see the band over people's heads
• walk many miles back to car, see some lovely drug deals and ladies making a living along the way
• and to top it all off, it is 3am and they have closed down all of the lanes of traffic on the Bay Bridge but ONE in order to do the retrofitting....traffic moves at a snail's pace...damn, damn, damn, dum dee dum...
• one hour later, I hit the sack

This is not to say I do not love California but evenings like those get a little tiring after a while. Gotta love the Monkey Bar and hanging with Abbie, JB and the Tan Man and getting to meet Tanner's sister for the first time because she randomly happened to show up. Pretty damn cool Winooski. Pretty cool.