Now That's What I'm Talkin' About

There are times in life where you just have to say, "Screw it. I'm gonna go out and damn the consequences." Last night was just one of the many times I've said that lately and I seem to be doing ok. I went to the Tonic Lounge to hang out with Amy and Jason and see Sophe Lux again ( I know, I know...but I'm not a groupie, I swear...I actually do other stuff with some of them as you will soon read). They played two new songs, both of which I dig but I especially like "Lonely Girl," and I finally found out what that pager looking thing Guy plays his guitar with sometimes is called (it's an e-bow and it makes the prettiest sounds). Right after their set, Jenni and I were fired up to go sing at the Boiler Room for the last hour of Wednesday night karaoke, but almost all of the regular folks had left just before we showed up and we decided to scrap the karaoke idea and head back to rejoin Guy, his brother Joel and some of their east coasty friends at the Tonic to close the place down. Right close to lights out, it seemed like a good idea to me and Guy to go punch Joel, so we double teamed him. Strangely, he seemed to like it and then it was time to go. And what's the only way to keep the party going when the bar shuts down? Breakfast at the 24 Hour Hotcake House over on Powell, baby, yeah! There's nothing more amusing at almost 4am than some guy named Kevin (friend of Joel and Guy who was in town from New York) just going off for a good 30 minutes about random stuff and seemingly embarrassing the hell out of Guy. On a side note, I found out this morning that Mr. Barker, rather than follow us north back over to the Tonic and head home from there, turned south on 39th and was almost to Oregon City before he realized he'd gone the opposite direction of where home is and had to double back. Now that's funny. Ok, not really....I was a little worried that I'd read him wrong and maybe I shouldn't have let him drive himself home, but he says he was sober and just really tired. Nice one.

So, what's the moral of this story? If you aren't paying attention, you end up in Oregon City or you get punched. If you are paying attention, you get french toast and bacon. Yum.

Membership Has it's Privelages

At Red Ranger International, I can't quite tell what the privelages are besides the spiffy laminated membership card you can proudly carry and flash around schwanky industry parties and a bunch of Red Ranger swag, but join the club anyway and support local filmmakers. I met Rob and Milo at Wednesday night karaoke and they run this outfit, so check 'em out and buy their crap.

For The Love Of Pete, Somebody Stop Me

One of the things I like about being single is the ability to be selfishly spontaneous. You can do whatcha like, when you like and it has no affect on anyone else's plans. Friday night I stayed in and fell dead asleep at 9:30p (guess the outings all week kicked my ass). Saturday I got up and headed out with the intention of shopping a little and only being out for about 2 hours. Five hours later, I rolled in and asked Shauna if she was hungry and felt like going to Dot's for burgers and she was down so we went. On the way home, we stopped at Freddy's to pick up hair dye and when we came out to the car, one of the tires had been knifed (the jackass who did it broke off the knife tip in the side wall) and was flat. We spent about 45 minutes changing it, with no help from anyone else thankyouverymuch, and the spare turned out to be flat as well. D'oh. So, we drove on it down the street to the gas station to fill it and headed home to wash up. After that, we weren't really motivated to do anything and I called Jenni to see if she and Dave wanted to come over and play cards or something. She reminded me that Joshua James (who I know from Eugene back in the day) and the Runaway Trains were playing at Duff's Garage and they were going to that if we wanted to meet them over there. We mustered up enough energy to go and that was a fun time. The bands were kinda old school rock/rockabilly and Duff's is exactly the kind of place you'd expect to see a bunch of guys dressed like 1950's style greasers rocking out. We both slept in and finally left the house on Sunday just before 2pm to head over to Captain Ankeny's for pre-softball drinks at one of the sidewalk tables. One of Shauna's co-workers met us there and we chatted for an hour and a half before we all had to go. Once we'd picked up a cooler and filled it with beer for the game, we headed down to the schoolyard for a 7-on-7 softball game and followed that with a little 4-on-4 basketball action. Tired and hungry, we made a run for the border and then hung out at the guys' house playing Halo until about 11:30. At this point, I am completely wiped out. So what's my plan for tonight? I'm going out to See Odds Against Tomorrow at Nocturnal. If it weren't for the coffee, I'm fairly certain I'd have passed out by now.

Well, That Was Weird.

I went over the The Green Room last night to see Sophe Lux and The Garden Gnomes. Had a good time hanging out with Jenni, but kind of got a weird vibe from Guy...there seemed to be an awkward tension like maybe I shouldn't have gone. Weird. Anyway, they played a new song that ROCKED and those Gnome guys kick ass. I think all the going out is starting to catch up with me, though. I'm wiped out today and while I'm not positive, I have a feeling we'll end up doing something again tonight. Ooo, I also have to practice the bass some more. I'm pretty sure I have the first song on the cd down, so I'm pretty proud of me since I've only had my hands on the thing for two days. It's getting easier to figure out the notes and all that, but I'm still trying to find the most comfortable way to hold my hands and get into a strumming pattern. I tried both using a pick and not using one and besides the fact that I looked like a gimp with the pick, it's just easier without it. Jenni was telling people on Wednesday at karaoke and again last night that I'm learning to play the bass and I dunno why, but it freaks me out to hear someone say, "Oh yeah, she's a bass player too..." Maybe it's because....(insert Wayne or Garth here) I'M NOT WORTHY!! ....but one day I will be....

Just Can't Get Enough

Have I mentioned how much I love karaoke? I have? Oh. Well, we went again last night and, as usual, I had a blast. Ever since last Wednesday I've had a raspy voice and it worked well for stuff like Bette Davis Eyes (seen the movie Duets? Yeah baby yeah!) and Come Together... also, one of the regular Wednesday night guys, Milo, totally rocked Try A Little Tenderness and another regular, whose name escapes me, sang Daddy Wasn't There by Ming Tea (from Goldmember) and that was super cool. This town has a ton of talented people and a crapload of them hit the Boiler Room on Wednesday nights. If you're looking for untapped rockstar potential, come on down and check it out...

Ow.

Went to Karaoke From Hell last night with Shauna and Jenni met us there...none of us had been before and we loved it because you get to sing with a live band instead of regular karaoke music. I sang Should I Stay or Should I Go by The Clash and Come Together by the Beatles and I rocked it. Yeah baby yeah! If you ever go to karaoke with me ask me to sing that Beatles song and I'll rock it for you too. Jenni won the 100$ they give away every week and was nice enough to buy the band a round of drinks with some of her winnings. She was also nice enough not only to bring her old bass and a cute little amp, but she also burned a cd to practice with and wrote up a three page crash course in how to play the bass lines of all 9 songs on the cd, complete with pictures for the really retarded folks like yours truly. Shauna and I have been working on learning the first song and she's making me practice, which is good because I suck. After almost two hours of playing the same song over and over until I was too tired to play anymore and almost have it down, I only have one thing to say: damn my fingers hurt.

Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

It's the peak going out season, I've been riding the party train all weekend and the madness continues tonight. Friday night I went to Produce Row with Owen, Jody, Matt and Ed and we hung out and drank beers and finally went back to Matt's to watch the funniest home video of Ed, drunk as hell and raving about being "beer-savvy", getting knocked on his ass by his own car out in the desert. Maybe you had to be there... On Saturday, Shauna's dad came into town, took us to lunch at Dot's, hung out at our house while I took Shauna to get a deluxe facial at Bellini's Euro Spa (late birthday present) and then we all drove the hour out to Hood River to see Dr. Theopolis and The Cherrie Poppin' Daddies play at Hoodfest, a small food and music festival at the marina. On Sunday, we both slept late and then headed out to find something cute to wear to the invite-only Absolute Vodka party on the rooftop of Billy Reed's. We met up with Shauna's friends, Nicole and Jenny, at a little place called the Bonfire for drinks before the show and then headed over for three hours of booty shakin' and free food eatin' and free vodka drinkin'. Woo! We followed that up with a visit to the guys' house for a Halo playin' and beer drinkin' marathon until 2am... Oi. Next up, Karaoke From Hell at Dante's tonight with Shauna, Jenni, Jake, Jen Jo and anyone else we can round up. It seems Shauna's addiction to the karaoke has taken over and I'm having too much fun to do an intervention. Yeah, it's Monday and I have to get up in the morning for work, and yeah I'm going to go out to the Boiler Room with Shauna and Jenni on Wednesday and sing karaoke again, but I figure I can sleep when I'm dead and I'll make double large vanilla lattes my new best friend.

Getting In The Groove

Shauna got back Friday night and things have finally settled down from all the weekend, out until 5am party going. We went to Dot's for food and drinks after work last night and tonight we're heading out to The Boiler Room for karaoke with Jenni. I think Jenni is bringing her old bass and amp for me to borrow and learn on and I hope I'm not completely inept after hearing from everyone how easy it is. I listened to a couple of the Sugar Free songs on their website and it made me a little more nervous because the sound is sort of riot-girly, which means I'm going to have to rock. I keep telling Shauna she should do it since she already knows how to play a guitar a little and she said we should just start a band together and we could be like the White Stripes...I can learn to bang on a drum kit and she can play the guitar and at least we'd know from the beginning that we suck. No pressure there.

So, You Want To Be A Rock Star...

You know how they say be careful what you ask for because you just might get it? Well, all of my wannabe rock star talk seems to have resulted in a karmic twist of fate that could land me in a band. I'd have to learn to play the bass, then learn 13 songs, then learn the vocal harmonies and do it all in about 6 weeks to play with the band in the NW Music Fest. No pressure or anything. Jenni said she'd lend me one of her bass guitars and an amp, teach me how to play, then teach me all of the songs. I didn't say definitely yes, but I said I'd call her about it. She said it'll be a piece of cake and that the bass is really easy to learn. I said I'd easily have the vocal harmonies down in about a week, but I couldn't promise I'd be any good with the bass in my hands. I'd be jazzed to do it if it weren't such a daunting undertaking because of the time factor. And I can't tell if the feeling in my stomach is excited butterflies or performance anxiety puke. Guh.

And I'm Spent...

I'm running on about 6 hours of sleep, I just came back from the guys' house where pizza and more beer were on the menu after finishing off a keg at the softball field, and my bed is looking soooo good right now. Really quick, interesting points of mention this past weekend include this dude Brad I hardly know being very forward and sticking his tongue in my ear last night at the Goodfoot (eww!) after telling me every time he sees me he melts, Sean deciding later last night in his stoned and drunken stupor that it was a good idea to tell me he wanted to come home with me and date me (he wanted to talk about it today at the softball game and I just wasn't in the mood to deal), and some homeless dude getting yelled at by random people waiting for the MAX for throwing trash out of a trashcan onto the street. Never a dull moment in Portland, that's for sure. Happy Birthday to Ez, Sean and Higgins!

Action Packed Weekend of Fun

Holy crap, there's a lot going on this weekend. Koji is driving up today from Crater Lake, Shauna is coming back tonight from a three week trip to Maryland, the girls from work want to go see Dr. Theopolis at the Goodfoot with me Saturday night and my folks are coming up for the weekend for the two-day antique show out at Janzen Beach. Between the beer drinking, tour guiding, apartment hunting, dinner having, trip rehashing and funkdefying, I'm going to pass out and sleep like a baby.

Also, I left my cell phone at home today and I feel naked. This makes me sad.

Bonjour, Butcher!

I love subtitled movies. Dunno why, but I do. I especially love crazy pseudo-horror B-movies. I'd forgotten how bizarro that movie is but after watching Delicatessen last night, I've decided that everyone in the business world should address each other by their title just like in the movie... Hello, Teacher... Hello, Mailman.... Hi there, Astrophysicist. It would make my job so much more entertaining. Although, the looney off the street who wandered into our pool and went swimming with his pants on today was pretty entertaining. Bonjour, Looney. Didn't we already kick you out of here earlier today? No worries, we'll do it again if need be. Buh-bye now.

Give Me 5 Minutes And I'll Probably Change My Mind

I'm tired of meeting new people. Truly. I meet new people all day long and it's draining. I never though I'd say that, but today, right this minute, I want to be done meeting people. I know I'm not and never will be done but if some psychic could tell me how many more people I have to meet before I die, I could at least have that to look forward to. I hope that the next person I meet will be interesting or funny or....something worth paying attention to but, more often than not, that's not the case. I've decided hopefulness is a burden, a weight that I carry around by choice of course, but a weight nonetheless. And I'm pretty tired of carrying it because it makes the sting of disappointment that much more real. This is not to say that people in and of themselves are disappointing - on the contrary, people are interesting creatures and entertaining to watch. The disappointment is purely subjective and stems from a kind of hope that can at times be blinding. I really need to work on not caring.

What Am I Thinking?

I'll probably be a zombie girl in the morning, but I'm going to Lola's Room tonight to see the Pernice Brothers. Show starts at 10pm. But I've got to do a load of laundry or two, clean the bathroom and vacuum the living room before I go. That way it'll be like a break from doing chores. Look at me, I'm trying to rationalize going out on a Tuesday night.....what the crap? I'll go out whether or not the chores are done and damn the consequences! What the hell kind of rock star party girl am I? Jeez. Ok, wait. If I don't at least do one load of laundry tonight, I won't have any clean socks to wear tomorrow. And that is bad. And I at least have to clean out the cat box and sweep up the bathroom floor. Crap, there are dishes in the sink that need to go in the dishwasher. But that's it! If everything else doesn't get done tonight, I'm going out anyway, dammit......

Things That Are Cool

A salad with tuna, mozzarella, mayo and lemon juice chased with a beer....actually, anything chased with a beer (currently drinking Pete's Wicked Summer Brew).

The cargo skirt and sleeveless shirts I got over the weekend.

A compilation cd called Dreamworld: Essential Late Night Listening which includes tracks by Tricky, Massive Attack, Luna, Morcheeba, Cocteau Twins, Moby, Dead Can Dance and Gavin Friday.

Dahlia's new cd Vases (with special kudos to track 14, "Movin' On" which is my new theme song).

Cirque du Soleil coming to Portland again (and free tickets for me).

The movie Four Rooms, which I watched last night and hadn't seen in a long time...still damn cool.

The fan going 24/7 in my room.

Bellydancing breakbeats by DJ Necmi Oojami.

My new hair color...scarlet red streaks, baby! Yeah!

Koji...he was cool before, but he's extra cool now because he's coming to visit this weekend...however, since he's not a thing, he really shouldn't have made the list, but I'm making an exception, so there.

Cockfight

For my money, there's nothing better than a good old fashioned hipster ho-down. But I'll get to that in a minute. I called Amy and Jason yesterday to see what was what and ended up going over to their place in north Portland, playing Tony Hawk's Pro Skater for a bit with Jason and then we (Amy, Jason, Neal, Marcie and me) went out for Vietnamese at this place over on Mississippi that rocked all of our taste buds. I was already ready to go out for the evening but we had to go back to Amy and Jason's so they could change. We weren't sure if there would be ass shaking later at Lola's so they wanted to be prepared. And now on to the ho-down portion of the program...

We decided to go to Nocturnal's artsy shindig they called the Cockfight and when we got there, the upstairs had bales of hay, rooster-based art around the room and two people, one of whom appeared to be a cross-dresser, getting ready to play acoustic guitars and sing a few countrified ditties about how lonely they were now that you and the dog are gone. There was hardly anyone up there but there were cars aplenty outside, so we headed downstairs to get a drink and see if that's where the action was. To our dismay, we were inappropriately dressed for the occasion...we'd forgotten our cowboy hats, boots, lassos and hipster accessories. Hanging our heads in shame, we shuffled to the table in the back and took in the scene. Marcie had managed to snag enough uncolored rooster sheets for the lot of us and we proceeded to doll them up with the colored pencils and crayons Amy brought. They did a cakewalk upstairs while we colored, but we were having too much fun checking out the hipster cowpokes and eating chocolate dipped apples to participate. The actual cockfight was the rooster coloring contest and I was in the company of two of Portland's finest artistes, so while my oh-so-gay looking boxer of a rooster was a fine display of artistic interpretation of the theme, it was no match for Amy’s anarchy cock and Neal’s Super Cock. Amy’s rooster went on to win a runner-up ribbon and the rest of us left with a tear in our collective eye over the memory of you and the dog and our second rate cocks...

And now on to today… It’s just after 1pm and me and my new red streaked hairdo are going down to the Saturday Market to wander for a few and then it’s grocery shopping and movie time. I bought O Brother, Where Art Thou the other day and now that I have a real hipster ho-down under my belt, I’m in the mood for some Soggy Bottom Boys twang and George Clooney’s greased up ‘do.

That's Some Good Shit

Successfully shopped for the better part of the day, watched fireworks from the balcony of a 23rd floor penthouse two blocks from the waterfront, saw Storm and The Balls for the first time, saw Dahlia for the I don't know how many-th time and got their new cd, and grabbed a slice of pizza from Dante's on my way back to the car to come home. Yes indeedy, that's some damn good shit. I only wish there'd been someone to share it all with.... a day that good deserves to be shared.

Recap

Last night, only two of us went out but we had a great time at Wallbangers. Since the middle section of the bar has a bunch tables pushed together, it's easy to meet people just by socializing with the folks who end up sharing the table with you or are sitting at the tables next to you. I expected it to be crowded since most of the world has the day off today, but the majority of the small groups out were bachelor/bachelorette parties and birthday celebrators who seemed to keep to themselves. A random group of four (a fifth showed up later) sat with us for about two hours and one of the guys could have been Tobey Maguire's stunt double. Another group of three was at the table next to ours and Sally got to talking to them because she caught an accent and couldn't help herself...turns out they're all from New Zealand. Strangely, one of them asked us if we knew where that was. I guess they must think world geography isn't common knowledge here in P-town. Anyhoo, after holding back a dig about Kiwis liking the sheep a little more than they should, I was ready to go and Sally suggested we go see if anything was going on at Stephano's. We did a drive-by but it was so dead, we didn't even go in and decided to head over to Canita for something to eat but it was closed. She's been morally opposed to the 24-hour Hotcake House since that time we got kicked out, so I dropped her off at her car and we both went home.

Today is a blank canvas, so I'm about ready to get up and out and see what happens.

Dueling Piano Madness

Tomorrow night, all the girls from the office are going out to Wallbangers (formerly Boogie Woogies) to fire it up and sing along with the piano dudes. Since we're all off on Friday, it's one of the few times we can all go out without someone having to leave early or not go because they have to get up the next morning. I know I was just out karaokeing and rocking out until 5:30 in the morning last weekend but I feel like, if I don't get out, this funk I've been in will consume me. I can't keep functioning like this so I need to let off some steam and start fresh on Monday with a clear head... wanna come out with us? I need all the partying help I can get, so come on down.

Just Say It

For about the last three weeks, I've been walking around annoyed on some level. And unlike my normal self, I haven't said anything about what's bothering me. I hate feeling like this. If it were just one thing or person, it would be easy enough to just address the issue and be done with it. But for each thing I can isolate and point out what's rubbing me the wrong way there are four or five more that are still waiting to be dealt with and it's making me crazy and teary-eyed. I was telling Jen at work the other day that I figured out what the root of most all tears is: helplessness. When things start to pile up like they have lately, it begins to feel like there's nothing I can do to change any of it and it's overwhelming. I know that my attitude has been shitty lately and the things that I usually let roll off my back have started getting to me so, in effect, I'm making it worse and I need to snap out of it. But it's frickin' hard to be that shiny happy person people expect me to be all the time. It sucks to be the one person to whom everyone vents their shit and not have a face-to-face human outlet for my own. I hate that when someone I know is going through messed up shit, I feel shitty with them. You know why I'm so easy to talk to? I give a damn. And I hate that I can't turn that off.

I need a hug.