Sunday, July 16, 2006
Saturday, July 15, 2006
What B.D.A.N. (as well as my whole life) Needs Now is an Overhaul
A couple months back, I had this seemingly brilliant idea that I'd develop two separate blogs, Bring D.A. Noise (the one you are reading right now) and Isolationist Noise, which was intended to be more sonically-focused, as in being music-oriented. However, I quickly discovered that I can't even regularly write in one blog, much less, two at the same time. I'd like to say that I was an ambitious person, but in reality, I've become lazier as I get older.
With that in mind, I decided to stick to one blog, which covers whatever the fuck I want to write about, which translates to "everything." Ultimately, I like the name Bring D.A. Noise, but would prefer to switch blogging platforms. I prefer WordPress, but need to read up on web design and other blog accessories in order to maximize my blogging capabilities. Therefore, Bring D.A. Noise is getting a makeover. This makeover is going to take time....A LOT of time, especially since I am such a novice as far as web design is concerned.
So, here's the plan. My first line of attack is to take a look back at my previous experiences in blogging (Disciplinarian Actions from Blogger & last WordPress blog, Live Journal, occasional posts on MySpace blog) and incorporate the ones I thought were okay here. After that, I intend on switching the Isolationist Noise domain name over to something else, incorporating WordPress into the equation. The next thing is to import the chosen entries from here to the new WordPress domain (to be determined.) During these aforementioned actions, I intend on researching and developing a better understanding of how everything in WordPress works. When all of this is done, I want to overhaul the design of Bring D.A. Noise to make it uniquely me (sounds totally cheesy, huh? I think so.)
These things (like everything else) take time. So, bear with me during this transitional period, as I work to make my blogging experience more enjoyable (as well as more interesting.) But, have no fear. My blogging will continue during this time, but may be scaled back a bit. (I can just hear Kern scratching his head at that comment.) Lately, I've been finding Bring D.A. Noise a little bit (okay, A LOT) drab for my taste, which may be keeping people away. I just want to make D.A. Noise more exciting, that's all.
So, enough blathering about this blog. I'd like to now briefly switch the focus to my life right now. Truthfully speaking, my mind and my gut strongly believe that my life sucks the big one. My heart feels really crummy right now. I thought that this vacation would make me feel better when I return. However, ever since I've come back from my wonderful experience in New Mexico (despite Jessica's family getting sick), I think that I feel worse. What the fuck is my problem? I have no idea. The thick haze of funkiness just seems to stay put, becoming more indestructible along the way. Is this all in my head? Is my life really sucky like almost every other body part seems to believe? Who knows?
Yesterday, I thought that I would take the No. 1 Metro Bus over to Easy Street in Queen Anne to purchase the new Peaches record, hoping that may make me feel better. Well, the opposite happened. The bus was over 10 minutes late, then, sat through three consecutive green lights on 3rd and Pike waiting for the 13 to move, even though he could have gone around the 13. So, in total, by the time I got to Queen Anne, approximately 25 minutes of my lunch had already elapsed. Fortunately, I caught a bus going back right away. Anyway, I return back to the office to insert the new disc into computer. Yes, I do believe that Impeach My Bush is the ultimate party record of the summer. Did it ultimately make me feel better? Uhhh...no, not really. Again, what the fuck is my problem? Again, I respond, who knows.
Impeach My Bush - Party Record of the Summer
What I do know is this: I'm seriously contemplating some significant changes to how I'm living my life as it exists today. At this point, I refuse to divulge any hints or disclose any ideas as to what may be in store for me right now. I'm not ready to discuss it, since these ideas are currently on the drawing board envisioned in my skull at this present time. But, when I'm ready to come out (again), you'll hear it first, right here at Bring D.A. Noise.
I'm nearly reaching the breaking point where I want to raise my hands in the air (with an imagined movie camera panning away from me and twirling around in circles) and exclaim to the clouds above "ENOUGH." Setting ridiculously melodramatic statements aside, have you ever reached a point where you can't take the drudgery of your dull and seemingly lifeless existence any more, to the point where you finally have to say enough is enough? That's me, right here, right now. In the past, I'd attempt to conjure the necessary steps to making myself feel better, but then, things don't change. Most often, I feel even worse. But, change is much needed for me right now. Also, the drive and desire to improve the situations in my life is also much needed right now.
There is no time like the present to make change happen. Like I always say, stay tuned.
**D.A.'s Note: I changed my mind. I will give one hint and one hint only with respect to change: NO, I am not going to become a born-again Christian, and NOT joining an Ex-Gay Ministry, either. So, you can wipe the sweat off your forehead now and sigh in relief. I PROMISE! That's all. Thanks for reading and drive safely.
With that in mind, I decided to stick to one blog, which covers whatever the fuck I want to write about, which translates to "everything." Ultimately, I like the name Bring D.A. Noise, but would prefer to switch blogging platforms. I prefer WordPress, but need to read up on web design and other blog accessories in order to maximize my blogging capabilities. Therefore, Bring D.A. Noise is getting a makeover. This makeover is going to take time....A LOT of time, especially since I am such a novice as far as web design is concerned.
So, here's the plan. My first line of attack is to take a look back at my previous experiences in blogging (Disciplinarian Actions from Blogger & last WordPress blog, Live Journal, occasional posts on MySpace blog) and incorporate the ones I thought were okay here. After that, I intend on switching the Isolationist Noise domain name over to something else, incorporating WordPress into the equation. The next thing is to import the chosen entries from here to the new WordPress domain (to be determined.) During these aforementioned actions, I intend on researching and developing a better understanding of how everything in WordPress works. When all of this is done, I want to overhaul the design of Bring D.A. Noise to make it uniquely me (sounds totally cheesy, huh? I think so.)
These things (like everything else) take time. So, bear with me during this transitional period, as I work to make my blogging experience more enjoyable (as well as more interesting.) But, have no fear. My blogging will continue during this time, but may be scaled back a bit. (I can just hear Kern scratching his head at that comment.) Lately, I've been finding Bring D.A. Noise a little bit (okay, A LOT) drab for my taste, which may be keeping people away. I just want to make D.A. Noise more exciting, that's all.
So, enough blathering about this blog. I'd like to now briefly switch the focus to my life right now. Truthfully speaking, my mind and my gut strongly believe that my life sucks the big one. My heart feels really crummy right now. I thought that this vacation would make me feel better when I return. However, ever since I've come back from my wonderful experience in New Mexico (despite Jessica's family getting sick), I think that I feel worse. What the fuck is my problem? I have no idea. The thick haze of funkiness just seems to stay put, becoming more indestructible along the way. Is this all in my head? Is my life really sucky like almost every other body part seems to believe? Who knows?
Yesterday, I thought that I would take the No. 1 Metro Bus over to Easy Street in Queen Anne to purchase the new Peaches record, hoping that may make me feel better. Well, the opposite happened. The bus was over 10 minutes late, then, sat through three consecutive green lights on 3rd and Pike waiting for the 13 to move, even though he could have gone around the 13. So, in total, by the time I got to Queen Anne, approximately 25 minutes of my lunch had already elapsed. Fortunately, I caught a bus going back right away. Anyway, I return back to the office to insert the new disc into computer. Yes, I do believe that Impeach My Bush is the ultimate party record of the summer. Did it ultimately make me feel better? Uhhh...no, not really. Again, what the fuck is my problem? Again, I respond, who knows.
Impeach My Bush - Party Record of the Summer
What I do know is this: I'm seriously contemplating some significant changes to how I'm living my life as it exists today. At this point, I refuse to divulge any hints or disclose any ideas as to what may be in store for me right now. I'm not ready to discuss it, since these ideas are currently on the drawing board envisioned in my skull at this present time. But, when I'm ready to come out (again), you'll hear it first, right here at Bring D.A. Noise.
I'm nearly reaching the breaking point where I want to raise my hands in the air (with an imagined movie camera panning away from me and twirling around in circles) and exclaim to the clouds above "ENOUGH." Setting ridiculously melodramatic statements aside, have you ever reached a point where you can't take the drudgery of your dull and seemingly lifeless existence any more, to the point where you finally have to say enough is enough? That's me, right here, right now. In the past, I'd attempt to conjure the necessary steps to making myself feel better, but then, things don't change. Most often, I feel even worse. But, change is much needed for me right now. Also, the drive and desire to improve the situations in my life is also much needed right now.
There is no time like the present to make change happen. Like I always say, stay tuned.
**D.A.'s Note: I changed my mind. I will give one hint and one hint only with respect to change: NO, I am not going to become a born-again Christian, and NOT joining an Ex-Gay Ministry, either. So, you can wipe the sweat off your forehead now and sigh in relief. I PROMISE! That's all. Thanks for reading and drive safely.
Friday, July 14, 2006
B.D.A.N. Will Be Back Soon
Here's a quick note to the TWO readers of B.D.A.N., The Kern and Another Boy from Oz:
Dear Faithful B.D.A.N. Readers (Like the new Acronym?):
Since I returned from New Mexico, I've been completely exhausted. Not only that, but I just can't get myself back into the mode of actually working, as in, my job. That is the reason why I've been silent after my short-lived rash of prolificacy (thanks for the new word, Kern, BTW) last week. Despite this insidious crime I've committed, please find it in your hearts to forgive me. I PROMISE (scout's honor, even) that I will write again very soon, most likely this weekend.
Thank you in advance for your understanding.
With Love,
D.A.
P.S. Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday Dear Listen! Listen! Listen! Listen! Listen! Listen! Happy Birthday to You!
Make a wish and blow out the candle, you crotchety bastard, GODAMMNIT!
Dear Faithful B.D.A.N. Readers (Like the new Acronym?):
Since I returned from New Mexico, I've been completely exhausted. Not only that, but I just can't get myself back into the mode of actually working, as in, my job. That is the reason why I've been silent after my short-lived rash of prolificacy (thanks for the new word, Kern, BTW) last week. Despite this insidious crime I've committed, please find it in your hearts to forgive me. I PROMISE (scout's honor, even) that I will write again very soon, most likely this weekend.
Thank you in advance for your understanding.
With Love,
D.A.
P.S. Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday Dear Listen! Listen! Listen! Listen! Listen! Listen! Happy Birthday to You!
Make a wish and blow out the candle, you crotchety bastard, GODAMMNIT!
Friday, July 07, 2006
Travelogue: Albuquerque, NM - Days 5 & 6
**Note from D.A.: Since this blog lists entries in reverse order, I recommend that you start reading from Day 1 of my ABQ trip in order to see the logical progression of events during the trip.
For the most part, days five and six were pretty uneventful, as I spent a good chunk of them writing in this blog. I spent several, multiple-hour chunks of time at Satellite Coffee, a sister coffeeshop to Flying Star, sipping away at iced mochas and/or delicious cherry lemonades. Jessica needed to go to work to prepare for the next serious of summer camps, starting next week. Unfortunately for her, these days of peace and calm before the storm of next week's activities were less productive than she was hoping. The main reason for this is the fact that she had several meetings over these two days.
Wednesday evening consisted of Jessica driving to REI, standing in line forever, waiting for the only bike guy available to be free to help her, and then picking me up to take recycling out to the bins outside Smiths before heading home.
On Thursday night, while Randy was in Santa Fe river rafting, Jessica and I awaited the arrival of her brother, Andii, coming into town from Golden, Colorado, for their grandmother's 75th birthday party on Saturday afternoon. For dinner, we had fish and garlic fries, which were extremely heavy with garlic, being much more garlic-y than I like. After that, Jessica's parents dropped by with two HUGE storage bins of family photo albums, flagged with pictures that they'd like to scan for the DVD presentation of "This is your Life, Grandmother."
That was pretty much it for the last two evenings.
For the most part, days five and six were pretty uneventful, as I spent a good chunk of them writing in this blog. I spent several, multiple-hour chunks of time at Satellite Coffee, a sister coffeeshop to Flying Star, sipping away at iced mochas and/or delicious cherry lemonades. Jessica needed to go to work to prepare for the next serious of summer camps, starting next week. Unfortunately for her, these days of peace and calm before the storm of next week's activities were less productive than she was hoping. The main reason for this is the fact that she had several meetings over these two days.
Wednesday evening consisted of Jessica driving to REI, standing in line forever, waiting for the only bike guy available to be free to help her, and then picking me up to take recycling out to the bins outside Smiths before heading home.
On Thursday night, while Randy was in Santa Fe river rafting, Jessica and I awaited the arrival of her brother, Andii, coming into town from Golden, Colorado, for their grandmother's 75th birthday party on Saturday afternoon. For dinner, we had fish and garlic fries, which were extremely heavy with garlic, being much more garlic-y than I like. After that, Jessica's parents dropped by with two HUGE storage bins of family photo albums, flagged with pictures that they'd like to scan for the DVD presentation of "This is your Life, Grandmother."
That was pretty much it for the last two evenings.
Travelogue: Albuquerque, NM - Day 2 (Part 2: LPD)
**Note from D.A.: Since this blog lists entries in reverse order, I recommend that you start reading from Day 1 of my ABQ trip in order to see the logical progression of events during the trip.
Sometime after 6:00, we arrived back at the Lobo House, as Jessica affectionately calls it, for a few minutes rest before making some dinner and preparing to go to the Legendary Pink Dots show. Once we finished with dinner and picked out our wardrobe for the show, Randy snapped some photos of us, which has been a ritual before heading out for a fun night on the town. Each time we partook in this ritual, Jessica was dating a different boyfriend, which I find interesting. Thinking about it, the first time I visited Jess in Albuquerque was the only time I actually had a boyfriend. Imagine that?!?!?!? As always, Jess and I had a lot of fun posing for the camera, in this case, the digital camera I borrowed from my roommate, Kent. Produced from this photographic session is a wonderful picture of me looking like I am stoned, unprepared for the flash that greeted my eyesight.
I'm not stoned, I SWEAR!
At long last, the night that was 15 years in the making has finally arrived. We are going to the Legendary Pink Dots show! After making a quick stop at the slowest Wells Fargo ATM I’ve ever seen, we arrived at the Launchpad, apparently the best venue to see a show in Albuquerque (or, so I’ve heard.) As you walk into the Launchpad, you are greeted by the bar, the best place to have the bar, right as you walk in the door. On your left, there are several booths to sit and chat with friends before the show. The venue is fairly narrow with exposed brick walls on each side. As you delve into the venue, you approach a stairway which leads to an upstairs sitting area with a balcony overlooking onto the stage. The layout of the Launchpad reminds me somewhat of the Fine Line Music Café in downtown Minneapolis, where I’ve seen Goldfrapp for the first time as well as Throwing Muses and American Music Club.
Going back downstairs, we pass by the merchandise table, where there was a significant chunk of LPD’s back catalogue for purchase, including both the North American (via Soleilmoon, out of Portland, OR) and German (via SPV) re-issues of their back catalogue. There was also a t-shirt, which I opted against purchasing, Edward Ka-Spel’s collection of writings and lyrics, Love and Loud Colours, and BLRR’s recently released re-issue of Eyes China Doll, the second of Edward’s China Doll series, released during the late 80’s and early 90’s. After some trepidation over the small budget I left myself with (having a small or no budget at all is the story of my life, by the way), I forked over $35 for Love and Loud Colours. I mean, after all, that was on the top of my list of LPD items to purchase. As I was hesitating, I remembered that the book included a CD single, which sealed the deal for me.
Up until we arrived at Launchpad, we had no idea if there was an opening act, or when the show was actually started. As it turned out, there wasn’t an opening act (that was a surprise), and that they were supposed to start at 9:30. Wow, a LPD show that could be done by 11:00! The forthcoming Seattle show on the 11th has 2 opening acts, which means that LPD would not start until 11:00, at least. Interesting! But, I digress.
So, we headed to the bar for a quick drink before the show. Even though I was wearing my Guinness hat, I ordered a Budweiser. Again, small budgets equal Budweiser. Jess ended up with a Guinness. I didn’t realize that she liked Guinness. Well, maybe I knew that. I kept reminding myself that I needed to have enough money left at the end of the trip for a place to crash in Portland on the 10th and an Amtrak or Greyhound ticket back to Seattle. God, budgeting money completely SUCKS ASS!
Grabbing a table underneath the balcony, we sat before the show to people-watch. Alongside those people dressed for the summer weather were also a few of the usual suspects, dressed in head-to-toe goth gear. At this point in time, the venue was not very full, but slowly people started trickling into the standing area. Jessica mentioned to me that since there isn’t a backstage area like most venues, the band would be coming from the balcony to approach the stage. Most likely, the band was hanging out in an undisclosed location behind a door on the upper level, marked “NO ENTRY.”
Sometime after 9:15 or so, we grabbed a place to stand in front of the stage, since a few people were starting to claim space. We originally picked the middle, but as usual, I found myself behind a tall guy, so I suggested that we grabbed an open space in front of stage left. We stood in front of what appeared to be Silverman’s setup, which consisted of synthesizers and effects, along with a cape draped over the front of the stand. The cape had some pink dots on it, how apropos. When we were looking at merchandise, the guy behind the table gave each of us a pink dot sticker and a button. I ended up getting a second button because I waited to get the book, and was given one again when I made my purchase.
**D.A.’s note: With regards to describing their performance, I’ve opted to discuss specifics of the Albuquerque show in a future blog entry. I’d like to discuss highlights and thoughts on the other two LPD shows I will be attending in Portland (Berbati’s Pan) and Seattle (Chop Suey) as this point. Therefore, my description here is abridged, but also contains a couple photos from the show.
The show started at approximately 9:45. The Legendary Pink Dots, consisting of Edward Ka-Spel, Silverman, Niels van Hoornblower, and Martijn de Kleer, descended the balcony stairs to take their places on the stage. Edward approached the stage wearing a black tunic over jeans, walking barefoot, as he has each time I’ve seen him in the past. Niels wore, by far, the flashiest suit and pants I’ve ever seen him in. For the next 90 or so minutes, everyone in the audience was entranced by ethereal vocals of Edward. At one point, in traditional LPD fashion, Niels walked into the audience, making everyone swoon in his path with his excellent “hoornblowing” ability. He even walked upstairs with his saxophone (with a light attached) to serenade fascinated onlookers.
Their set consisted of what I believed to be tracks from the new album, Your Children Placate You from Premature Graves, along with other tracks I’m not familiar with. The one song I did recognize was Belladonna, which started their encore. Their live performance here brought back memories of past LPD shows I’ve seen. Their music is whimsical at times, nearly apocalyptic at times (nowhere near what I felt when listening to the new Current 93 album, for example, Black Ships Ate the Sky.)
At one point, Edward bent over to sing to two gothic-looking girls, one appearing to be more normal, with a pink dot sticker on each of her breasts (how original); and the other one definitely donning the dominatrix look. Personally, I find the gothic look completely silly. But, these two wouldn’t be out of place at all in Seattle’s Vogue nightclub. My only complaint about the show was the few people that were standing behind us, chattering loudly during softer parts of the set. Stupid chattering assholes have been a real thorn in my side lately. I'm seeing more and more of it, which drives me completely insane. But, half the time, the perpetrators appear to be able to kick my ass. In the end, if I turn around to say "SHUT THE FUCK UP," I'd most likely make it worse. But, why the fuck do idiots spend their money on shows if they are just going to talk all the way through it??? That pisses me off.
After the show, the band came around to chat with the crowd. A small line formed alongside the merchandise table to greet Edward. After some coaxing, Jessica got me to get in line so Edward could autograph my book. When we got to him, Jessica did most of the talking. I’ve always been in awe of Edward, which made the moment magically. Jessica thanked Edward for coming to Albuquerque, being that she’s always missed out on seeing past shows.
We left Launchpad a short time later to find a place to get a drink, but a lot of the bars in town were actually closed, most likely because it was Sunday night. Then, we had the idea of driving over to the Pulse Nightclub, the gay nightclub in town, but that, too, was closed. Jess then suggested Albuquerque Mining Company, which she thought was gay-owned, given the giant leather daddy painted on the wall outside. We arrived there to see that AMC, too, was closed. We gave up, and headed home to retire for the evening.
Sometime after 6:00, we arrived back at the Lobo House, as Jessica affectionately calls it, for a few minutes rest before making some dinner and preparing to go to the Legendary Pink Dots show. Once we finished with dinner and picked out our wardrobe for the show, Randy snapped some photos of us, which has been a ritual before heading out for a fun night on the town. Each time we partook in this ritual, Jessica was dating a different boyfriend, which I find interesting. Thinking about it, the first time I visited Jess in Albuquerque was the only time I actually had a boyfriend. Imagine that?!?!?!? As always, Jess and I had a lot of fun posing for the camera, in this case, the digital camera I borrowed from my roommate, Kent. Produced from this photographic session is a wonderful picture of me looking like I am stoned, unprepared for the flash that greeted my eyesight.
I'm not stoned, I SWEAR!
At long last, the night that was 15 years in the making has finally arrived. We are going to the Legendary Pink Dots show! After making a quick stop at the slowest Wells Fargo ATM I’ve ever seen, we arrived at the Launchpad, apparently the best venue to see a show in Albuquerque (or, so I’ve heard.) As you walk into the Launchpad, you are greeted by the bar, the best place to have the bar, right as you walk in the door. On your left, there are several booths to sit and chat with friends before the show. The venue is fairly narrow with exposed brick walls on each side. As you delve into the venue, you approach a stairway which leads to an upstairs sitting area with a balcony overlooking onto the stage. The layout of the Launchpad reminds me somewhat of the Fine Line Music Café in downtown Minneapolis, where I’ve seen Goldfrapp for the first time as well as Throwing Muses and American Music Club.
Going back downstairs, we pass by the merchandise table, where there was a significant chunk of LPD’s back catalogue for purchase, including both the North American (via Soleilmoon, out of Portland, OR) and German (via SPV) re-issues of their back catalogue. There was also a t-shirt, which I opted against purchasing, Edward Ka-Spel’s collection of writings and lyrics, Love and Loud Colours, and BLRR’s recently released re-issue of Eyes China Doll, the second of Edward’s China Doll series, released during the late 80’s and early 90’s. After some trepidation over the small budget I left myself with (having a small or no budget at all is the story of my life, by the way), I forked over $35 for Love and Loud Colours. I mean, after all, that was on the top of my list of LPD items to purchase. As I was hesitating, I remembered that the book included a CD single, which sealed the deal for me.
Up until we arrived at Launchpad, we had no idea if there was an opening act, or when the show was actually started. As it turned out, there wasn’t an opening act (that was a surprise), and that they were supposed to start at 9:30. Wow, a LPD show that could be done by 11:00! The forthcoming Seattle show on the 11th has 2 opening acts, which means that LPD would not start until 11:00, at least. Interesting! But, I digress.
So, we headed to the bar for a quick drink before the show. Even though I was wearing my Guinness hat, I ordered a Budweiser. Again, small budgets equal Budweiser. Jess ended up with a Guinness. I didn’t realize that she liked Guinness. Well, maybe I knew that. I kept reminding myself that I needed to have enough money left at the end of the trip for a place to crash in Portland on the 10th and an Amtrak or Greyhound ticket back to Seattle. God, budgeting money completely SUCKS ASS!
Grabbing a table underneath the balcony, we sat before the show to people-watch. Alongside those people dressed for the summer weather were also a few of the usual suspects, dressed in head-to-toe goth gear. At this point in time, the venue was not very full, but slowly people started trickling into the standing area. Jessica mentioned to me that since there isn’t a backstage area like most venues, the band would be coming from the balcony to approach the stage. Most likely, the band was hanging out in an undisclosed location behind a door on the upper level, marked “NO ENTRY.”
Sometime after 9:15 or so, we grabbed a place to stand in front of the stage, since a few people were starting to claim space. We originally picked the middle, but as usual, I found myself behind a tall guy, so I suggested that we grabbed an open space in front of stage left. We stood in front of what appeared to be Silverman’s setup, which consisted of synthesizers and effects, along with a cape draped over the front of the stand. The cape had some pink dots on it, how apropos. When we were looking at merchandise, the guy behind the table gave each of us a pink dot sticker and a button. I ended up getting a second button because I waited to get the book, and was given one again when I made my purchase.
**D.A.’s note: With regards to describing their performance, I’ve opted to discuss specifics of the Albuquerque show in a future blog entry. I’d like to discuss highlights and thoughts on the other two LPD shows I will be attending in Portland (Berbati’s Pan) and Seattle (Chop Suey) as this point. Therefore, my description here is abridged, but also contains a couple photos from the show.
The show started at approximately 9:45. The Legendary Pink Dots, consisting of Edward Ka-Spel, Silverman, Niels van Hoornblower, and Martijn de Kleer, descended the balcony stairs to take their places on the stage. Edward approached the stage wearing a black tunic over jeans, walking barefoot, as he has each time I’ve seen him in the past. Niels wore, by far, the flashiest suit and pants I’ve ever seen him in. For the next 90 or so minutes, everyone in the audience was entranced by ethereal vocals of Edward. At one point, in traditional LPD fashion, Niels walked into the audience, making everyone swoon in his path with his excellent “hoornblowing” ability. He even walked upstairs with his saxophone (with a light attached) to serenade fascinated onlookers.
Their set consisted of what I believed to be tracks from the new album, Your Children Placate You from Premature Graves, along with other tracks I’m not familiar with. The one song I did recognize was Belladonna, which started their encore. Their live performance here brought back memories of past LPD shows I’ve seen. Their music is whimsical at times, nearly apocalyptic at times (nowhere near what I felt when listening to the new Current 93 album, for example, Black Ships Ate the Sky.)
At one point, Edward bent over to sing to two gothic-looking girls, one appearing to be more normal, with a pink dot sticker on each of her breasts (how original); and the other one definitely donning the dominatrix look. Personally, I find the gothic look completely silly. But, these two wouldn’t be out of place at all in Seattle’s Vogue nightclub. My only complaint about the show was the few people that were standing behind us, chattering loudly during softer parts of the set. Stupid chattering assholes have been a real thorn in my side lately. I'm seeing more and more of it, which drives me completely insane. But, half the time, the perpetrators appear to be able to kick my ass. In the end, if I turn around to say "SHUT THE FUCK UP," I'd most likely make it worse. But, why the fuck do idiots spend their money on shows if they are just going to talk all the way through it??? That pisses me off.
After the show, the band came around to chat with the crowd. A small line formed alongside the merchandise table to greet Edward. After some coaxing, Jessica got me to get in line so Edward could autograph my book. When we got to him, Jessica did most of the talking. I’ve always been in awe of Edward, which made the moment magically. Jessica thanked Edward for coming to Albuquerque, being that she’s always missed out on seeing past shows.
We left Launchpad a short time later to find a place to get a drink, but a lot of the bars in town were actually closed, most likely because it was Sunday night. Then, we had the idea of driving over to the Pulse Nightclub, the gay nightclub in town, but that, too, was closed. Jess then suggested Albuquerque Mining Company, which she thought was gay-owned, given the giant leather daddy painted on the wall outside. We arrived there to see that AMC, too, was closed. We gave up, and headed home to retire for the evening.
Travelogue: Albuquerque, NM - Day 2 (Part 1: Shopping)
**Note from D.A.: Since this blog lists entries in reverse order, I recommend that you start reading from Day 1 of my ABQ trip in order to see the logical progression of events during the trip.
Day two of my Albuquerque trip started on a delicious note with Jessica cooking a nice late-morning breakfast with wheat pancakes, scrambled eggs, sliced strawberries and veggie sausage patties. Again, YUM! After that, the plan was for Jessica and I to do some thrift store shopping, but first, Jess needed to go to the car wash. Jess paid for a car wash, along with vacuuming and polishing. Well, later, we discovered that they failed to clean the pumper, which caused Jess some fits of annoyance and irritation lasting for the next several hours. There's nothing worse than not getting what you paid for.
What's a good way to follow up an evening of shopping? Yes, you've guessed it - another day of shopping. I mean, what else is there for a gay guy and his "not so fag-haggish" fag hag to do on a warm sunny afternoon in Albuquerque (oh, and it also being a holiday weekend)? Apparently, unlike in the mighty city of Seattle, there’s not a whole lot else to do. The agenda was to get a couple pairs of shorts for me and some inexpensive hiking boots for Jessica. So, we set off to one of Albuquerque’s finest strip malls and arrived at an Old Navy sandwiched between a discount shoe store and a Skechers superstore. Woooowee! I wasn’t so sure I could handle the multitude of choices.
So, we walked into the discount shoe store, not Famous Footwear, but a local version of it. I found a pair of black suede Converse All-Stars high-top sneakers, which I totally loved, but wasn’t sure that I could afford them. Ultimately, I made the reluctant decision not to buy them, thinking that I could always go back before the end of the trip to get them. Jessica, on the other hand, wasn’t having such luck. Her quest for women’s hiking boots was more arduous than anticipated. So, we left. Our next stop was Old Navy.
Under normal circumstances, being that I am normally surrounded by Capital Hill’s Bauhaus coffee-guzzling Hipsters from Hell (I love Bauhaus, actually), I’d be embarrassed to admit that I wear Old Navy. However, being that I don’t have Mommy’s money to spend on a regular basis, I am on a budget. So, therefore, if I want to buy my shorts at Old Navy, fuck it, I will buy my shorts there. Since Albuquerque doesn’t have ridiculously overpriced hipster clothing stores such as Zebra Club, Urban Outfitters or Ian, Old Navy is the natural alternative. Besides, for the price of a XL t-shirt only an anorexic 95 pound gay “boi” could fit in, I got TWO pairs of cargo shorts! Count em, TWO PAIRS OF SHORTS! Imagine that. To complete my newly-acquired suburban mini-wardrobe was a nice looking Madras shirt and two worn-in v-neck shirts. Jessica found a cute sleeveless crocheted blouse for $2.97, which I purchased for her. Success!
From there, we skipped Skechers and walked over to another discount shoe store so that Jessica could continue her quest for new hiking boots. Right before I arrived into town the day before, at last minute, Jessica filled in for a sick day camp instructor on an overnight trip to Los Alamos, NM, approximately three hours from Albuquerque, with a group of 2nd and 3rd graders. By the way, Jessica works as an Education Coordinator at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. There, she organizes and coordinates educational programs facilitated through the museum, including annual summer camps for children of all ages. Anyway, when they got there, while setting up their pup tents and gear, the clouds rolled in and suddenly, the frightened children were pelted with hail and soaking wet. Fortunately, Jessica had another person with her to help gather the kids together to seek shelter. Aside from that, the trip went fine, but Jessica accidentally left her soaked hiking boots at the campground where they were staying. Since getting her boots would require a six-hour roundtrip, she decided to leave them there, which spawned her shopping for a new pair. Besides, that would totally suck ass if she traveled three hours to end up not finding them. So, we arrived at this other shoe store, but no luck. Women’s hiking boots must be hard to come by in Albuquerque.
From there, we hit Starbucks for some chilled drinks. But, Jessica, being health-conscious, opted against their choices of frappucinos, so she just got a decaf coffee. She even asked the barista, who apparently was fairly new, what process they use to decaffeinate their coffee beans, to which he responded blankly. Fortunately, the woman who was making the drinks, saved the day, explaining that they used the Swiss process of decaffeinating their beans, which apparently is the better option. The other option apparcks.comently uses formaldehyde, which definitely doesn’t sound very good. YUCK! In the car ride to our next destination, Jessica explained the difference between the two processes, which inspired me to nickname her Debbie Downer, after Rachel Dratch’s character on Saturday Night Live. I’d follow it with the sound effects of the “Charlie Brown’s school teacher.” But, you can’t fault the girl for being health-conscious, but I personally prefer the “oblivious avoidance” technique for dealing with those issues. “La, la, la, la….La, la, la, la…”
After Starfucks (as I like to call it from time to time), we headed on our way to check out some thrift stores. Earlier, when we got the car washed, we passed two small thrift stores, but they were closed (assumedly because of the holiday and that they were owned by local churches.) We hoped we’d have better luck at Thrift Town, a locally-owned thrift store, like Savers or Value Village, which moved to a new location since my last visit in November 2002. Back then, I found a cute short-sleeved shirt for $3.50 or $4, which I still wear to this day, so I figured that I’d find something again. I literally only spent three to five minutes in the men’s section before I decided that there wasn’t anything I liked. I think I found one shirt, but there was a stain on it. Damn! On the other hand, Jessica found a couple sun dresses to try on and a funny looking white fuzzy vest. I told her to try it on with the white frilly Mexican sun dress that she also found just for kicks. Even though, she looked silly in this outfit, nonetheless, the look provided a perfect photo-op. The look screams “Bjork wanna-be from Albuquerque.” Do you like the rhyme? Ha ha!
**Geez, suddenly, he thinks he’s Tupac!**
Jessica raiding Bjork's closet, as
envisioned by Thrift Town in ABQ
Day two of my Albuquerque trip started on a delicious note with Jessica cooking a nice late-morning breakfast with wheat pancakes, scrambled eggs, sliced strawberries and veggie sausage patties. Again, YUM! After that, the plan was for Jessica and I to do some thrift store shopping, but first, Jess needed to go to the car wash. Jess paid for a car wash, along with vacuuming and polishing. Well, later, we discovered that they failed to clean the pumper, which caused Jess some fits of annoyance and irritation lasting for the next several hours. There's nothing worse than not getting what you paid for.
What's a good way to follow up an evening of shopping? Yes, you've guessed it - another day of shopping. I mean, what else is there for a gay guy and his "not so fag-haggish" fag hag to do on a warm sunny afternoon in Albuquerque (oh, and it also being a holiday weekend)? Apparently, unlike in the mighty city of Seattle, there’s not a whole lot else to do. The agenda was to get a couple pairs of shorts for me and some inexpensive hiking boots for Jessica. So, we set off to one of Albuquerque’s finest strip malls and arrived at an Old Navy sandwiched between a discount shoe store and a Skechers superstore. Woooowee! I wasn’t so sure I could handle the multitude of choices.
So, we walked into the discount shoe store, not Famous Footwear, but a local version of it. I found a pair of black suede Converse All-Stars high-top sneakers, which I totally loved, but wasn’t sure that I could afford them. Ultimately, I made the reluctant decision not to buy them, thinking that I could always go back before the end of the trip to get them. Jessica, on the other hand, wasn’t having such luck. Her quest for women’s hiking boots was more arduous than anticipated. So, we left. Our next stop was Old Navy.
Under normal circumstances, being that I am normally surrounded by Capital Hill’s Bauhaus coffee-guzzling Hipsters from Hell (I love Bauhaus, actually), I’d be embarrassed to admit that I wear Old Navy. However, being that I don’t have Mommy’s money to spend on a regular basis, I am on a budget. So, therefore, if I want to buy my shorts at Old Navy, fuck it, I will buy my shorts there. Since Albuquerque doesn’t have ridiculously overpriced hipster clothing stores such as Zebra Club, Urban Outfitters or Ian, Old Navy is the natural alternative. Besides, for the price of a XL t-shirt only an anorexic 95 pound gay “boi” could fit in, I got TWO pairs of cargo shorts! Count em, TWO PAIRS OF SHORTS! Imagine that. To complete my newly-acquired suburban mini-wardrobe was a nice looking Madras shirt and two worn-in v-neck shirts. Jessica found a cute sleeveless crocheted blouse for $2.97, which I purchased for her. Success!
From there, we skipped Skechers and walked over to another discount shoe store so that Jessica could continue her quest for new hiking boots. Right before I arrived into town the day before, at last minute, Jessica filled in for a sick day camp instructor on an overnight trip to Los Alamos, NM, approximately three hours from Albuquerque, with a group of 2nd and 3rd graders. By the way, Jessica works as an Education Coordinator at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. There, she organizes and coordinates educational programs facilitated through the museum, including annual summer camps for children of all ages. Anyway, when they got there, while setting up their pup tents and gear, the clouds rolled in and suddenly, the frightened children were pelted with hail and soaking wet. Fortunately, Jessica had another person with her to help gather the kids together to seek shelter. Aside from that, the trip went fine, but Jessica accidentally left her soaked hiking boots at the campground where they were staying. Since getting her boots would require a six-hour roundtrip, she decided to leave them there, which spawned her shopping for a new pair. Besides, that would totally suck ass if she traveled three hours to end up not finding them. So, we arrived at this other shoe store, but no luck. Women’s hiking boots must be hard to come by in Albuquerque.
From there, we hit Starbucks for some chilled drinks. But, Jessica, being health-conscious, opted against their choices of frappucinos, so she just got a decaf coffee. She even asked the barista, who apparently was fairly new, what process they use to decaffeinate their coffee beans, to which he responded blankly. Fortunately, the woman who was making the drinks, saved the day, explaining that they used the Swiss process of decaffeinating their beans, which apparently is the better option. The other option apparcks.comently uses formaldehyde, which definitely doesn’t sound very good. YUCK! In the car ride to our next destination, Jessica explained the difference between the two processes, which inspired me to nickname her Debbie Downer, after Rachel Dratch’s character on Saturday Night Live. I’d follow it with the sound effects of the “Charlie Brown’s school teacher.” But, you can’t fault the girl for being health-conscious, but I personally prefer the “oblivious avoidance” technique for dealing with those issues. “La, la, la, la….La, la, la, la…”
After Starfucks (as I like to call it from time to time), we headed on our way to check out some thrift stores. Earlier, when we got the car washed, we passed two small thrift stores, but they were closed (assumedly because of the holiday and that they were owned by local churches.) We hoped we’d have better luck at Thrift Town, a locally-owned thrift store, like Savers or Value Village, which moved to a new location since my last visit in November 2002. Back then, I found a cute short-sleeved shirt for $3.50 or $4, which I still wear to this day, so I figured that I’d find something again. I literally only spent three to five minutes in the men’s section before I decided that there wasn’t anything I liked. I think I found one shirt, but there was a stain on it. Damn! On the other hand, Jessica found a couple sun dresses to try on and a funny looking white fuzzy vest. I told her to try it on with the white frilly Mexican sun dress that she also found just for kicks. Even though, she looked silly in this outfit, nonetheless, the look provided a perfect photo-op. The look screams “Bjork wanna-be from Albuquerque.” Do you like the rhyme? Ha ha!
**Geez, suddenly, he thinks he’s Tupac!**
Jessica raiding Bjork's closet, as
envisioned by Thrift Town in ABQ
After Jessica’s fashion show in Thrift Town’s fitting room, we ventured to Savers. Again, we didn’t have any luck. We only spent maybe fifteen minutes. Our thrift store shopping left us slightly hungry for a snack, so we decided upon Taco Bell for a quick bit to eat for a late lunch. Paying for my baja beef chalupa and steak soft taco made me realize how expensive eating fast food at Taco Bell in Capital Hill is. The difference is clearly in the sales tax. I saved at least a $1. $1.25 could get me an extra apple fritter at Bauhaus. To me, that’s a big deal. But, that’s Seattle for you. I just need to get over it.
From there, Jessica needed to drop by her grandparents house so I waited in the hot and stuffy car, thinking that she’d only be a few minutes. Well, over a half-hour later, I figured that I better go inside, otherwise, I’d pass out from heat exhaustion. Besides, we wanted to try and check out Kaufman’s, a local military and uniform gear shop, and figured it’d be closed early on Sunday. Lately, the wannabe disciplinarian in me wants some military-looking clothes for Halloween, or dress-up nights at the Eagle. As it turns out, Jessica was recounting her Los Alamos story to her grandparents, which reminds me that I failed to mention that fearless leader Jessica also has a run-in with a hungry skunk. So, we left, but discovered that Kaufman’s was actually closed Sundays in general. We were foiled again.
Then, we finalized our trip with a stop at Big 5 Sporting Goods to make one last attempt at finding hiking boots for Jessica. We arrived there, and Jessica found some boots that were okay, but ultimately decided to wait to buy them. Jessica and I think alike. We bitch and bitch and bitch in frustration when we can’t find what we’re looking for, but when we do, we think in dollars and cents and the balk at buying the thing that we were just complaining about not finding. Ha ha! But admitting that you have a problem is half the battle right there.
**End of Part One**
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Travelogue: Albuquerque, NM - Day 1
Last Saturday afternoon, I left the warm sunny skies of Seattle for the (much) warmer and humid skies of Albuquerque, NM, to visit my wonderful and incredibly awesome best friend of 15 years, Jessica, for the week. After dealing with some minor irritations checking in at the Southwest Airlines ticket counter, I grabbed a quick lunch at the incredibly busy Wendy's restaurant while waiting for the rare non-stop flight I was boarding to leave.
Coming into this trip, I found myself extremely worn out from the stress of work and frustration of my social (or the lack thereof) life. As can be seen in the picture below this paragraph, you can see the exhausted, glazed-over look in my eyes (well, actually, my eyes are closed.) I've eagerly awaited this trip for the last two months, particularly when I found out that the Legendary Pink Dots announced their first-ever Albuquerque show. That made this trip even more special because after all these years, Jessica and I would finally be attending our first-ever LPD concert together (after 15 years of missed opportunities for Jessica, as I've seen them three times, and the fact that she was responsible for introducing me to LPD in the first place.)
For the most part, Southwest Flight #2576 was smooth, until we got about 150 miles from Albuquerque. That's when the turbulence hit. That last half hour of the flight proved to be excruciating for me, considering I am not quite the frequent flyer, unlike my mother (as a mistreated, disrespected Northwest flight attendant), who deals with turbulence on a regular basis. For a few fleeting minutes, I thought of possible doomsday scenarios, thinking that this might be my last flight. Those scenarios, of course, proved to be silly (obviously, otherwise I'd not be typing this as we speak LOL.) At last, I arrived at about 5:40, ABQ time.
As usual, I was enthusiastically greeted by Jessica and her boyfriend Randy. Thinking about it now, I realized that this is the shortest time apart we've had in the last ten years, being that Jessica just visited me this past October in Seattle. I've made it a point to try and see her more frequently than I have in the past. As a matter of fact, we may meet up in San Francisco in September to see Matthew Barney's Drawing Restraint exhibit at SFMoMA, as a belated 33rd birthday treat to my dear friend. Jessica always knows how to bring a smile to my face whenever I am down. She has the knack for keeping me grounded. Now, I just need to find a boyfriend to do that. Anyway, moving on...
Our first order of business when I arrived was to get groceries for the week. But, before we did that, Jessica and Randy expressed that they wanted to go to Keva Juice to get juice smoothies and then walk to McDonalds for some french fries. Hmmm....an interesting combination. At that thought, I instantly became reminded of the many times Jess and I went to the Uptown McDonalds in Uptown Minneapolis (or as our mutual friend, Audra, affectionately called McD's...Skank Nation) for McDonalds french fries and Hot Mustard McNuggets sauce. So, imagine the scenario, a vegetarian and her faggoty friend eating french fries fried in animal fat. Yummy! What memories!
From there, we went to Trader Joe's for some grocery shopping. Little did I know as we walked through the automatic doors that we would be embarking on what easily became the longest grocery shopping trip of my life. Shopping for organic foods can be so complicated and time-consuming at the same time. But, I'm doing this with Jessica, so that is what made it fun. Even though Jessica's grocery list was short, we still managed to peruse every single aisle of Trader Joe's. I repeatedly reminded myself the whole entire time that I am in Albuquerque and people are more relaxed and don't constantly operate with a stopwatch. I'm not at work so there's no need for me to be constantly rushing through my day. Albuquerque is a place to be laid back in, so I better learn to become accustomed to the relaxed approach to life.
During our extended excursion at Trader Joe's, I discovered that practically ALL of their employees were hotties. Seriously, the hotness factor of Trader Joe's employees overwhelmed me with excitement. Early on in our grocery shopping trip, I apparently became popular amngst the two young Hispanic men that stared at me hard as I walked by the checkout aisle where they stood. Relishing in the unanticipated attention, I calmly hoped that this was a sign of things to come for this trip. Anyway, back to the hotness factor, a cutie with tattooed arms walked by when we were in the frozen food aisle, enticing eager customers with free samples of their cheesecake. Stopping to where I was standing, he invited us to buy one of their cheesecakes since they were on sale.
Finally, about 90 minutes later, we arrived at the checkout aisle. Then, in what seemed like a flash, the grocery shopping trip was completed. From there, we then went to Target for a few things. My intent was to buy some new white t-shirts and some new socks. Well, I got the t-shirts (I decided on v-necks) and the socks, but also, along the way, picked up a cool Guinness baseball cap with a patch that says "Guinness Keeps Its Head," a copy of the remastered Johnny Cash Live at Folsom Prison, Gatorade, and a pack of citrusmint-flavored Orbit gum (BTW, the new Orbit gum commercial with Snopp Dogg is hilarious, but I digress...) Then, at long last, the evening of shopping was completed and we returned to Jess' house for a late dinner.
I arrived at Jess' house and was greeted by the barking of Dito, Jess' dog (a mix of Blue Heeler and Australian Cattle Dog,) whom I met for the first time. After a late dinner of vegetarian cheese pizza and salad, we settled into the living room to watch an episode of the Simpsons and then watched a rerun of Saturday Night Live. That ended my first evening in Albuquerque.
Coming into this trip, I found myself extremely worn out from the stress of work and frustration of my social (or the lack thereof) life. As can be seen in the picture below this paragraph, you can see the exhausted, glazed-over look in my eyes (well, actually, my eyes are closed.) I've eagerly awaited this trip for the last two months, particularly when I found out that the Legendary Pink Dots announced their first-ever Albuquerque show. That made this trip even more special because after all these years, Jessica and I would finally be attending our first-ever LPD concert together (after 15 years of missed opportunities for Jessica, as I've seen them three times, and the fact that she was responsible for introducing me to LPD in the first place.)
For the most part, Southwest Flight #2576 was smooth, until we got about 150 miles from Albuquerque. That's when the turbulence hit. That last half hour of the flight proved to be excruciating for me, considering I am not quite the frequent flyer, unlike my mother (as a mistreated, disrespected Northwest flight attendant), who deals with turbulence on a regular basis. For a few fleeting minutes, I thought of possible doomsday scenarios, thinking that this might be my last flight. Those scenarios, of course, proved to be silly (obviously, otherwise I'd not be typing this as we speak LOL.) At last, I arrived at about 5:40, ABQ time.
As usual, I was enthusiastically greeted by Jessica and her boyfriend Randy. Thinking about it now, I realized that this is the shortest time apart we've had in the last ten years, being that Jessica just visited me this past October in Seattle. I've made it a point to try and see her more frequently than I have in the past. As a matter of fact, we may meet up in San Francisco in September to see Matthew Barney's Drawing Restraint exhibit at SFMoMA, as a belated 33rd birthday treat to my dear friend. Jessica always knows how to bring a smile to my face whenever I am down. She has the knack for keeping me grounded. Now, I just need to find a boyfriend to do that. Anyway, moving on...
Our first order of business when I arrived was to get groceries for the week. But, before we did that, Jessica and Randy expressed that they wanted to go to Keva Juice to get juice smoothies and then walk to McDonalds for some french fries. Hmmm....an interesting combination. At that thought, I instantly became reminded of the many times Jess and I went to the Uptown McDonalds in Uptown Minneapolis (or as our mutual friend, Audra, affectionately called McD's...Skank Nation) for McDonalds french fries and Hot Mustard McNuggets sauce. So, imagine the scenario, a vegetarian and her faggoty friend eating french fries fried in animal fat. Yummy! What memories!
From there, we went to Trader Joe's for some grocery shopping. Little did I know as we walked through the automatic doors that we would be embarking on what easily became the longest grocery shopping trip of my life. Shopping for organic foods can be so complicated and time-consuming at the same time. But, I'm doing this with Jessica, so that is what made it fun. Even though Jessica's grocery list was short, we still managed to peruse every single aisle of Trader Joe's. I repeatedly reminded myself the whole entire time that I am in Albuquerque and people are more relaxed and don't constantly operate with a stopwatch. I'm not at work so there's no need for me to be constantly rushing through my day. Albuquerque is a place to be laid back in, so I better learn to become accustomed to the relaxed approach to life.
During our extended excursion at Trader Joe's, I discovered that practically ALL of their employees were hotties. Seriously, the hotness factor of Trader Joe's employees overwhelmed me with excitement. Early on in our grocery shopping trip, I apparently became popular amngst the two young Hispanic men that stared at me hard as I walked by the checkout aisle where they stood. Relishing in the unanticipated attention, I calmly hoped that this was a sign of things to come for this trip. Anyway, back to the hotness factor, a cutie with tattooed arms walked by when we were in the frozen food aisle, enticing eager customers with free samples of their cheesecake. Stopping to where I was standing, he invited us to buy one of their cheesecakes since they were on sale.
Finally, about 90 minutes later, we arrived at the checkout aisle. Then, in what seemed like a flash, the grocery shopping trip was completed. From there, we then went to Target for a few things. My intent was to buy some new white t-shirts and some new socks. Well, I got the t-shirts (I decided on v-necks) and the socks, but also, along the way, picked up a cool Guinness baseball cap with a patch that says "Guinness Keeps Its Head," a copy of the remastered Johnny Cash Live at Folsom Prison, Gatorade, and a pack of citrusmint-flavored Orbit gum (BTW, the new Orbit gum commercial with Snopp Dogg is hilarious, but I digress...) Then, at long last, the evening of shopping was completed and we returned to Jess' house for a late dinner.
I arrived at Jess' house and was greeted by the barking of Dito, Jess' dog (a mix of Blue Heeler and Australian Cattle Dog,) whom I met for the first time. After a late dinner of vegetarian cheese pizza and salad, we settled into the living room to watch an episode of the Simpsons and then watched a rerun of Saturday Night Live. That ended my first evening in Albuquerque.
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Vacation Time at Last
So, unbelievably, we are already at the mid-year point of 2006. Gosh golly, the end of June came too quickly for me. You know what this means??? Two words - NEW MEXICO. NEW MEXICO? You ask. Well, the answer is simple. I'm going on vacation. Believe it or not, I am going on vacation this Saturday when I fly the friendly skies (no, I'm not flying on Northwest Airlines...sorry Mom!) to New Mexico, Albuquerque, to be exact, to visit my dear friend Jessica.
Jessica & I in front of Gum Wall in Pike Place Market
October 2005
While I am on vacation, I PROMISE (SOLEMNLY SWEAR) that I will write while I am sweating it out like a bareback pig bottom fresh out of Basic Plumbing (seriously, though, NOT REALLY) in beautiful Albuquerque. That's a promise I am determined to keep. Again, as always, stay tuned.
Jessica & I in front of Gum Wall in Pike Place Market
October 2005
While I am on vacation, I PROMISE (SOLEMNLY SWEAR) that I will write while I am sweating it out like a bareback pig bottom fresh out of Basic Plumbing (seriously, though, NOT REALLY) in beautiful Albuquerque. That's a promise I am determined to keep. Again, as always, stay tuned.
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