Tired

Well, the press conference is over. Once again, I took pictures of everyone else with the senator and had no pictures taken with him myself. Oh well. It’s fun to be behind the lens. I think it was a successful event. Not to mention important. Parents as Teachers is such a vital program. But I am too wiped out to soapbox on that right now.

I had a blast at the Hootenanny Open Mic at Frederick’s Music Lounge last night. Maybe a little too much of a blast considering today’s big events. But it was worth it. Thanks to Tracie, Kristi and my new friend Steve for the awesome time. Not to mention some very good and unique performers.

I’m out. Have a good weekend!

The Surgeon

Let’s talk about the Surgeon.

As of late, I have become a bit of a dancing queen. I’ve always loved dancing, but I have finally found the right music. The kind that opens me up and pulls me out. The kind that sets up a beat that I can crawl into and then let go. Moving inside a beat that thumps and changes and challenges and sets me free.

Sound insane? Maybe. But it feels glorious. It’s a rush I can’t explain. And I don’t really care if I sound stupid explaining it or look stupid while experiencing it. It’s a high I don’t want taken away.

Saturday night at the Upstairs, we heard a good spin – straight from the guy’s laptop. It was a little crowded but I still had my groove on pretty well. However, it was just a warm up for the following night.

As my friend Joe says, someone at Wash U knew what they were doing. Or maybe it was 609. But Sunday night, they brought in the Surgeon. It was 18 and up and free for Wash U IDs. I was more than a little skeptical. Afterall, this is a new thing for me. The place, the crowd, the opening DJ… all bad. But the Surgeon?

Some people say he’s one of the top 10 techno DJs in the world. A guy I talked to that night said he was his favorite. Someone else said he’s definitely the best producer in the world. I don’t know. All I know is that he was relentless. RELENTLESS. It’s the best word for it. I didn’t want to stop. EVER. Even though I was drenched and thirsty, it was painful to pull away for cool air and water.

It was hard to believe that such a world reknown DJ was in a little bar off the loop playing to mostly kids. But, it was one of the best musical and dancing experiences I have ever had.

No Subject

I wanted to blog more yesterday, and I am not going to get to those topics now either. But here’s a few thoughts:

I played an open mic at the Shanti in Soulard last night. Pretty cool bar. The open mic performers were all really good. At least the 4 others that I saw. Koffee and “T” were the best, or at least most memorable. Koffee sang while T played. She did an awesome bluesy rendition of The Doors’ “Light my Fire” and a couple kick ass originals. Sully was another great performer. Tracie and I befriended Sully the Bingo Man and Joe the Lumberjack. We might hit Felix’s in Dogtown on Friday. Sully is opening for a dude who plays two guitars at once. He showed us a picture. Looks wild.

Yesterday at work, I got an invitation to read at one of our elementary schools on Dr. Suess’s “Read Across America” Day. I am really touched and excited about this.

I HAVE to concentrate at work today.

I have a lot of really big things coming up in March at work and personally. I am starting to freak out.

And oh yeah- today is my half birthday. Whoopee!

Acky Baby

There’s a lot I want to blog on today. So I guess I better get started. We’ll begin with movies.

I had been looking at Sin Dejar Huella (Without a Trace) at Blockbuster for quite some time. It finally made its way into my VCR (the DVD was checked out). It wasn’t a grade A movie, but I did enjoy this subtitled (it’s a Mexican film) joy ride. Two very different women end up together on a cross-country trip, each fleeing her own demons. In fact, they aren’t always sure which “demon” is chasing them. Thieves of different classes, the two women slowly learn to trust each other and reveal their secrets. But how tenuous is that trust?

Of course, I own Good Will Hunting, but I hadn’t watched it in years. I am thinking it has been more than two because one scene affected me in a way it might not have before. Anyway, I shouldn’t need to say much here. It’s a great movie and I still think it deserved the Best Screenplay oscar that it received. Can you believe it was released in 1997? How could 8 years have passed since then? Shit like that really makes me feel old. Or just that time goes more quickly then we can imagine.

Now about this Acky Baby business. I had yesterday off and my friend Co-Bin and I went to see Million Dollar Baby. I didn’t like it. Unfortunately, there isn’t much I can say here without giving away major plot points. The movie was moving along fine. Enjoyable. Then something unexpected happened. And that was shocking, but not what ruined the movie for me. That was the ending. And all I can say is that my reaction is based on a personal firm moral belief. Very firm. No matter how good the movie may have been, I wouldn’t like it on principal.

>

But I am skeptical on the goods of the movie outside of my disappointment at the ending. I’m not a huge fan of Clint Eastwood. He’s hard to look at. And that same scratchy, gruff voice seems to permeate his characters so much that I am not sure if he is a good actor or not. He’s still the quintessential cowboy. Which means not much emotion is shown. But maybe his acting strength is showing an internal struggle. Now, I really do like Morgan Freeman. But I didn’t like his character in this. Yeah, in general, he’s a lovable character and I’m not saying he didn’t act well, but when you stop to consider some of his actions, he rubbed me the wrong way. Hilary Swank did a great job though. And there was a great priest in the movie. For once I appreciated the depiction of the Catholic Church, even though it was a bit quirky.

But back to this ending- not only was it morally upsetting to me, but also, I think it was lame.

Not So Bad

This morning I am bopping around with the new song in my head. I got to work and found out Kit Bond is holding a national press conference at our District next Friday. This is both awful and awesome. It’s awful because we got so little notice and have a lot of work to do before then. But it’s a totally awesome thing for our District! He picked us because the conference is on Parents as Teachers and our District birthed the program, which is now global. Betchya didn’t know that! This is my second press conference starring Kit Bond. I feel pretty lucky.

And who says my job is weird and doesn’t make any sense? Oh yeah, everyone. But I’ve met and photographed Nelly. Hung out multiple times with Cedric, shook hands with and developed a crush on a four-star general who was Commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command (he retired last month) and got an autographed picture from an astronaut.

I guess my job isn’t all bad.

Addendum: I also got to take aerial photos of all the District buildings… from a helicopter! That was cool and a half!

Thanks Joe

I want to quickly blog before my mood changes. Before anything can go wrong. Before the piles of work to do and my lack of motivation depress me.

I had a fabulous night last night. It started with a trip to Vintage Vinyl where I picked up the new Ani CD, Knuckle Down. Then in and out of Sunshine Daydream to purchase my favorite Sexy incense. Listening to the CD, which shows promise, I headed to help a friend get his car from the mechanic. It’s always nice to help someone. Then, as planned, I went home and slipped on my headphones to listen to my book on CD while doing some cleaning around my apartment. Dishes done, laundry put away, etc. I pulled out the guitar and worked for a while on the song idea from the night before. ~ Break for Alias, which was pretty good. ~ Then I finished the song!!! My ideas worked! Well, at least they came together. I have yet to play the song for anyone else. But I am excited. Then a bubble bath while listening to more of my book. And to bed before 11.

Awesome! All thanks to my friend Joe for cancelling our plans!