Leeds United

So, I had the opportunity a bit ago to see Amanda Palmer in concert. It was a very small venue benefiting Girl Power or some such? Some local organization that is supposed to serve as a positive encouragement for young girls of the community. It was a very small space, not even really a concert space, and there weren't a whole lot of people there. Unknown to me they also had an open bar (????!!!!!!) I don't know how that's possible, but there you go.

The concert itself was amazing. I've been a fan of her work for awhile but never seen her in concert and she is amazingly, shockingly gorgeous in person (pictures do NOT do her justice at all) and her singing voice is just as lovely. It was just her, no other band mates. She had her ukulele and there was a piano onstage. She did a pretty decently long set, mostly just taking requests and playing what she could. At one point an audience requested Making Whoopie and she came out into the crowd to sing it to him and his lady friend, who were directly in front of me! So that was cool.

It was an absolutely lovely concert, she's incredibly talented and kind and genuine. I think a lot of that sometimes might get lost in her online presence or perhaps come across as calculated or manufactured but she absolutely seems to really feel and believe in all of those things. It gave me a lot of renewed respect for her as both a person and an artist. A++++ would concert again.

Oh Sure Bro

One of the items on my list was to write letters of thanks. Which, yeah. I know. It sounds pretty hokey. BUT it's a way of *barf* putting positive energy out into the universe. People like to know that they're appreciated and this is one way to let them know as such. It doesn't time more than a bit of time and a few pennies to buy a stamp.

I made a list of various people that I would like to express my appreciation to and at the top of the list was a little something you may or may not have heard of. Uhh Yeah Dude. UYD is a podcast I've been listening to since late 2007 or early 2008. The description of the show is "American through the eyes of two American Americans." Or sometimes "Saving America from herself." It features two hosts, Jonathan Laroquette (yes relation!) and Seth Romatelli.

Jonathan is a mid 30s native Angelino with a father almost all of you would know. He is many things, a rastifarian, a dog lover, a musician. He's in an electronic band with his friend Amir and they go by the name Jogger. Seth is newly 40 and has lived in LA for 18 years now. He was born and raised in Haverhill, MA (a suburb of Boston) and has been sober for a decade. He came out here to act and has had a few gigs here and there. His day job (so to speak) is at a medical mj facility.

The podcast started in Feb of 2006 and just recently released episode 389. With very few exceptions they have put out a podcast every single week in the nearly 8 years since they started. It is almost exclusively Jdawg and Sethro. A handful of times while J has been out touring or otherwise occupied Seth brought on his mother, Marcia, to cohost. On at least one occasion, possibly two, they also called up Jonathans dad for a short moment. Mostly though, it's the two of them.

They discuss pop culture, current (popular) news stories, local or more obscure news stories, and share personal events from the present or past life. It's been almost perfectly golden the entire run, but most people agree that in the 60s it really ramps up, and in the 100-120s it is firing on all cylinders. Despite the fact that they do sometimes talk about major news and pop culture, it rarely feels dated and an episode from 4 years ago could just as easily have come from 3 months ago. The chemistry, love, and friendship between Seth and J are second to none and a major part of what makes the show so great.

They also have an impression amount of interaction with their fans. In addition to the usual facebook, twitter, email, instagram, etc they also have an 800 number that Seth listens to personally and often calls back listeners, and Jonathan has his own personal cell number that he uses to text or phone fans. For a good 5 years he gave out his number on every show for fans to contact on, but due to a series of events he had to get a new number. He has given out his new one on a couple of episodes, but it's no longer common knowledge and he doesn't encourage contact that way (though neither does he DIScourage it either.) Seth has also let it be known that he is "in the book" meaning phone book and sure enough, he is! Phone number and address are readily available and if you call he will answer and chat if he's free. I feel a little weird about doing that, even if he is okay with it!

Boy howdy, I'm ramblin'. ANYWAY. Sep 20th was his 40th birthday and last month I decided to write him a letter/send him a card to celebrate this fact. It included a big, multi section, 3D western card, a couple page letter, and some random cowboys swag. I wrote that nearly two months ago now, and the very night I went home and discovered that for the first time in the history of ever, they'd be doing a live show in Dallas! I was thrilled beyond words and immediately bought two tickets. It still took me nearly a month to MAIL the dang thing, but it indeed made it in time for his birthday.

Imagine my shock, when a few days afterwards, I received my OWN mail from Seth. It's glorious and wonderful. A few days before the show was scheduled (11/03) I also called the voicemail to wish him luck and a safe trip. A few hours later he actually CALLED ME BACK but despite the phone literally being inches away from me I missed the call due to it being on silent. UGH. On one hand, I'm super disappointed, but on the other, I'm a little relieved! Who knows what I would have said to him!!! Ugh, so awkward.

The actual show was pretty freaking awesome. They started a little late, and I was in the beginning stages of food poisoning, but it was so very cool. Seth wore a Cowboys hoodie and was clearly pretty thrilled about seeing them the next day. I stood in the merch line only to be heartbroken by the fact that they only took cash. I stupidly had none on me and I was too flustered to properly formulate a game plan to get some. I was able to meet and take pictures with both of them, as well as get my ticket signed. I was so over the moon. You guys! So excited. I really hope I'm able to see them again in the future. I need to also call the VM and ask Seth how he liked the game! He didn't even discuss it. For shaaaaaaaaaame.

Sometimes new is good.

After a long absence (a week, oops!) I return with actual updates. As you can see from my previous post another month as past and with it there are new things to report. Thingero today! Also known as thingero #15 on the list. Do at least one new thing a month. I got that covered and then some! Here are the various new things I did/tried roughly in the order they were done did.

Food
Jasmine’s – This is your basic, run of the mill, Chinese place. I didn’t actually go into the physical location, it was delivered. I had sesame chicken and an egg roll. The chicken was pretty standard, no complaints (or brags) there. The eggroll was mediocre, it was pretty empty inside. Not a lot of substance there! They do deliver to me (and constantly leave menus on my door) so if I desire Chinese food in the future I’d probably go with them.

Norma’s Café – After a late night nothing beats diner breakfast at Noon! I’ve been meaning to try this place for a long time and was pretty pleased. I had a very cheesy omelet and managed to eat the entire thing. I think there was a side (probably potatoes?) but everything was delicious, the price was right, and the interior was fun and retro. IIRC the seats were Texas themed, which is always nice!
Texadelphia – This is in front of my office building but in 1.5 years have never been. I tend to prefer a lighter fare for lunch but it was pretty good. I had a standard philly cheesesteak with a side of fries, probably? Wait, no. Chips and queso. Both good. I probably won’t eat there *often* but I would be fine with going back.

Experiences
I went to the State Fair and Oktoberfest which in and of themselves aren’t new, I go to the fair every year, but I did do some new *things* and ate some new food. Also at the fair I visited the Big Tex flashback type exhibit, which featured a lot of relics from Big Tex throughout the years. We also got to see the brand new actual Big Tex. He burned up in a massive fire last year and so this year he’s all new. Neat stuff!

French Camp Build Day

I am not a burner, by any means. I hate camping with a fiery passion. Or rather I don’t want to do it with a fiery passion. BUT. I do know a lot of people involved in the community. Somehow a friend of mine lured me (aka, invited and I accepted) to a build day. I spent about 4-5 hours painting, moving around heavy pieces of wood, standing around, eating donuts, moving around wood, standing around, painting, standing around… You get the idea. It was actually pretty fun and I enjoy a little (light) manual labor. So, I think that’s probably it? Good times!

Not the same old, same old

Another one of my plans (aside from consuming copious amounts of media/entertainment) was to do at least one new thing a month. I wanted to keep that deliberately open ended because the idea was just to experience new things. It’s fairly common and typical to get stuck in ruts. Eat at the same restaurants, go to the same bars, see movies at the same theaters, etc. Here are some of the new things I did that I can think of off the top of my head.

Bars

This happened, in fact, on my birthday! I went to *The Lion and Crown* near my apartment. It was… okay. They had a good selection of beers and good happy hour prices. The food was about what you would expect from a pub. The service was pretty terrible. There were only a handful of people there on a Tuesday night and most of them were clustered around the bar. We sat over separate from the bar off by ourselves and it took a good 10 minutes to even have a waiter approach us. I will probably go there again if I just want to drink and have a chat, but not for dinner or speedy service.

Restaurants

Went to two new restaurants! Well, new to me. One is actually new though!

*Pho Que Huong* this barely qualifies. I went there after a shopping trip with a friend for a late night bite. It was right before closing and I just got two spring rolls. No complaints here! It was quiet, the food was reasonably priced and tasted fine, and the service was acceptable. I will probably be returning at some point if I find myself craving Vietnamese food!

*Haystack Burgers* This place is actually new in addition to being new to me! It’s a burger joint next to the new Alamo in Richardson. They are what I guess you would consider gourmet burgers so the price is a little higher than other places. You order at the counter and they bring your food out to you. It’s pretty busy but they have outdoor seating in addition to indoor so in the 6 months we have acceptable weather you’d be fine! Since the burgers are hot and fresh it does take awhile to come out, so I wouldn’t go if you were starving or in a big rush. I think it probably took around 15 minutes? I had the namesake burger which IIRC has onion uh, not rings but breaded and fried onion strings? I guess? Anyway, those, plus bacon and bbq sauce and a HUGE patty. It was super delicious. My dining companion had fries and they appear to be super fresh and made there. I really liked this place and will be back for sure.

Experiences

*Alamo Drafthouse* I’m including this because it’s a brand new theater. If you’re into movies you know what this place is and it’s every bit as awesome as you think. I will probably be going here with friends from now on instead of other theaters. Solo I will probably visit the new, also serves food, LOOK Cinemas that’s within walking distance of work and home.

*Lego Exhibit* This was unexpected and pretty cool! I was at the Dallas Galleria doing some shopping with a friend and we happened to walk by this store that appeared to have Lego buildings and stuff inside. The employees lured us in and for $5 a pop we got to go on a scavenger hunt and see about 15 Dallas landmarks done in painstakingly detailed Lego. I took a bunch of pictures that are available to view on G+. It was a lot of fun and afterwards we played with Lego. I didn’t plan this and didn’t even know it existed but I’m glad I got to experience it!
 

So that was August! September… who knows!