How I spent my Winter Vacation

So. New Years. Yay? The party was a blast. Nearly all of my favorite people were there and it was nice to be able to spend time with so many different people. We partied, listened to music, drank, got silly, and took a lot of silly pictures. It was a pretty mellow party, we mostly just stood around drinking and listening to music and having weirdo random discussions, as you do. Before the party actually started we watched a few episodes of Star Trek: TNG, which was fun.

The evening mostly was done by 1:30 and I was in bed by 2. The next morning was blissfully hangover free but I mostly lounged around Liz's house until around 6 because I was very occupied with the book I was reading! (Discussed on 1/02) I was home by 7ish and cuddled up with my cat, who was very happy to see me after over 36 hours away! (He's very needy.) I relaxed by watching a movie and woke up with what I thought was a mild ear problem. I couldn't hear out of my right ear, it felt like I was swimming underwater!  I thought it would go away on its own (it didn't) and I thought I'd try various home remedies, which also didn't help. My sniffles/cough/mucus making factory issues that I had over Christmas came back with a bang as well.

Friday I felt awful but slightly better, so I ended up going to dinner to celebrate a friend's birthday. Big mistake! We ate at a very nice steakhouse (Ruth's Chris) and I had to get a salad/soup because I had virtually no taste buds and therefore steak would be useless. I could barely hear, my nose was experiencing leakage problems, and conversation was difficult at best (due to the ear.) Afterwards, we went to a local bar that is generally fine on weekdays, but intolerable weekend nights as one section is reserved for live music and it's terrible and I'm old and after several hours I wanted to die. It didn't help that loud music + ear problem made conversation impossible and the smoking from everyone around me likely made my ear problem worse.

Saturday I slept until 3. Sunday the Same. Monday I decide to go to the doctor (and sleep until 2ish) and end up getting antibiotics to treat an ear infection and upper respiratory infection. Tuesday (today) I also stayed home under Doctor's orders, sleeping again until 3 and I'm finally starting to feel human again, but still have the ear problem. Is it getting better? Hard to say. It feels like less pressure, maybe? I really hope it clears up soon, regardless!

Happy Holidays

So. Christmas? It was spectacularly uneventful, for the most part. Most of my family (save a mostly estranged Uncle) live either 4 hours North in the wastelands of Oklahoma or four hours south in the terribleness of Houston, so I don't go out of town typically. Add to that the fact that I had to work the day before Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas, and it really didn't logically make sense. So. I stayed home, ordered pizza, and was mostly a lazy layabout. I started getting somewhat sick on Christmas itself, but by the weekend it had mostly cleared up.

That was fortuitous timing because a friend that recently moved (back) to LA was in town visiting and we had our friend group Christmas exchange party the Saturday after Christmas. It was a lot of fun! We did a White Elephant/Yankee Swap exchange instead of buying individual gifts, with the stipulation that we spend around $50 and buy gifts that people would actually use and want. This year was a good haul! I bought about 10 classic 80's movies and some boxes of various types of popcorn and the recipient seemed pleased. I ended up with a beautiful box I'm seriously keeping from Darcy, with a $40 gift card to Steam, a box of chocolates, and a twee little candle.

There was lots of food, alcohol, music, lively discussion, and picture taking. I made gift bags for everyone with candy, chocolate bars, snack bags, and candy canes that were fun to put together and seemed to be well received. Cost about $10 each (eep!) but was worth it.

Now, tonight is New Years Eve! BFF Liz is having a party at her place and is expecting 20-25 people, so it should be a hoot. I'll be arriving early to help set up and to get my ridiculous costume of sequins and glitter put together, so that should be fun!

Dinner with people not named Andre

This is another one of those slice of life posts, so if those annoy you feel free to move on. :) Over the weekend I had the pleasure of attending a dinner party hosted by some friends of mine; Lyn & Brad*.  I've been to their place several times before and it's always fun and informative. We've cooked, hand made pasta, played rock band, and drank the night away. This time I attended kind of last minute as I had previous plans that ended up falling though and therefore had already eaten a light dinner (small cup of soup and a quarter sandwich.)

L made roast beef with a couple different sides, and we had cupcakes and chocolate for dessert. Oh! And Yorkshire pudding. Everything was delicious as always. Both Lyn & Brad are very talented cooks and even better company. Afterwards we played a variety of card type games while listening to records and drinking wine. Yes, records! I also got to play with their adorable kitty who is a total ham and sweetheart.

Dinner parties are something that always make me feel very Grown Up. Probably because my dinner is usually a hot pocket in front of the computer. I don't even have a table! Unless you count tv trays. My dining room has 4 bookshelves and a desk crammed into it. In retrospect I could easily move my desk into my bedroom... but I don't really do much entertaining. Hmm. I don't know. Anyway!

It was a delightful evening and I'm always glad to spend time with them. They are always a hoot and we are usually in a large group when we see each other so being able to actually have conversations is definitely nice!

*Not real names

Sushi, some beer, and ice storm 2013

I know that this is mainly an outlet to share my attempts to become or be or do more/better/best before I'm 30, but it gets really old talking about just that I'm probably going to run out of content sooner rather than later if that's all I talk about! So, from time to time I'll be posting about things of a more personal nature than just books I've read and movies I've watched.

So, that being said last week had a few particularly note worthy events happen! First of all, a little bit of a back-story is required. (Names have been smudged for privacy reasons) I've known Mr. S for over 5 years now. We met through friends of friends, as you do, and since then I've been to countless parties he's hosted, drank countless beers together, and celebrated his marriage to Ms. F.

Unfortunately, (for us here!) The two of them have decided, due to a variety of factors, to move to a state Far Away. This will be a fantastic opportunity for them and they are both thrilled. We will miss them dearly but are equally happy for them. They have been discussing this for a rather long time and all of it has really come to a head this month. The house is on the market, Ms. F is currently safely settled in their new home, and their going away parties were last week.

On Wednesday Mr. S had a combination going away/plate party at a local bar. If you have 200 different beers (at a max of 3 a day) you are awarded a plate and given a party. This was, I believe, his 4th plate and he finished right on time! They ordered a wide variety of beers for us to all sample and we ended up staying until after midnight. It was a very fun farewell with a lot of laughter and tears. The next night we had a smaller, quieter final sushi dinner at our favorite sushi place that has been our go to spot for years for birthday dinners, celebrations, or just random dinners. This finished up much earlier than the previous night and overnight we got hit with a pretty heavy ice storm!

Friday Morning I wake up and the city was covered in a thick sheet of ice. The entire nearly half an hour long walk to work it continued to sleet and when I did finally make it to work I found it nearly deserted. Luckily I had already planned on the following Monday and Tuesday being off! By the time I left (slightly early) there was practically no one on the road and every available surface was covered in nearly an inch of ice. I get home and the electricity was out. Oh joy!

Luckily, I had already planned on being out as a friend was having a party that evening, so thankfully a friend of mine arrived not long after in his trusty 4 wheel drive truck to pick me up. That night we had a small party that surprisingly had more guests than expected considering it was still terrible outside, and we partied hard late into the next morning. Saturday was spent mostly taking it easy until the evening when we went to a nearby friends house for a Christmas bash where good times were had by all.

After we finished there we went for a short (but extremely memorable!) joyride in a nearby field and danced the night away to various Whitney Houston songs and other 90s hits. Sunday I get home and electricity has been restored! Temperatures remain cold so I don't even leave my apartment until I have to on Wednesday (which is technically tomorrow according to this post...), at which point most of the ice had melted. Hoorah!

So there we have it.

Getting paid to judge people

I don’t know if I mentioned my intentions to cut down posting to twice a week (likely Tues/Thurs) but that’s the plan from here on out! And now, for something completely different, my experience with jury duty!

Okay, first of all the process itself was relatively smooth and efficient. I was told by my paperwork to arrive by 8:30am and I did (well, a bit earlier!) and I was sitting in the actual courtroom awaiting whether I'd be chosen or not by about 10:15. I'd estimate at LEAST an hour of that was waiting for lame ass jabroni late people to show up (A WHOLE BUNCH) or for people that didn't either mail in their paperwork OR fill it out online ahead of time to do that. LAME. 

I get my assigned court and wait about 15-20, maybe, to go into the courtroom with the other 23 people. Introductions were made and the Defense had Grumpy SMU Big Cheese, Nervous Noob, and the Defendant. It was announced upfront that Nervous Noob was not yet an Actual Lawyer and this was his very first trial experience!!! Prosecution had ADA and Slightly Flustered Firstimer. We did not find out until later that this was her first trial (after verdict had been reached and we were out of the courtroom) but I guessed as much. She was confident and less flustered than Nervous Noob but she still made quite a few "mistakes" that made it pretty clear that she didn't have a lot of experience. 

Prosecutor 

Defense side I'd say about 60% was handled by Nervous Noob. His mentor spent a lot of time loudly whispering in his ear what to say or do, even when it seemed clear that he already did. From my position I could clearly hear Big Boss loudly whispering, despite the fact that I was closer to the Prosecutor. Which is to say he wasn't given a chance to speak first in a lot of cases. On the Prosecution side it was more like 90% Flustered Firstimer. When the ADA did have input he would quietly give her an aside and despite being as close as possible to both of them, I couldn't hear a word. All 4 participated in closing arguments. 

Now, as for the case itself I won't get too specific more out of respect than for any legal reasons. I will say that nearly two years ago a man (I'll call Dennis) was pulled over for speeding and ultimately arrested and subsequently charged with a DWI and that's what we were there for. After a couple of hours of back and forth, the police officer on the stand, a defense expert called up, and watching the entire 45 minute dash cam we were sent to the jury room where we found him guilty.

Random Thoughts
* I exited the area with him RIGHT BEHIND ME and held the door open for him without noticing at first and then was like OH CRAP but he did not say anything to me or appear angry. 

*We had 6 people. 5 women and 1 man. One of the ladies originally jokingly suggested the guy be the foreman (because foreMAN har har har) and he demurred so I said bitch I'll do it. (Did not say bitch)

To start with we all wrote down our verdict and placed them in the middle. 4 guilty, 2 not guilty. 1 of the not guilty people honestly I don't think, um, well. She agreed with our assessment that he should be found guilty but was quoted as saying "he deserves a second chance" which is totally irrelevant. The other person was Not Guilty but leaning towards undecided. The 4 of us (mostly myself and another lady) laid out our justifications based on evidence presented.

Leaning Lady made some counterpoints, we discussed those, sort of batted the ball back and forth on this and that. Very civil and logical. After maybe half an hour Leaning Lady decided that she agreed with the Guilty verdict and Second Chance lady (apparently) realized that oh wait this is a court of law and we were deciding Innocence vs Guilt not la la la this person deserves a "second chance" for whatever bizarro reasons she was thinking. She did some thinking out loud, basically, and determined that there was sufficient evidence to declare him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. We then all verbally confirmed that our verdict was guilty, multiple times. I signed the paperwork stating as such and pressed a button to summon the bailiff. 

* Turns out, in the county of Dallas (and possibly state of Texas) you do not need to prove a BAC of 0.08 or higher in order to arrest/prosecute someone for a DWI. In fact, at the time of the arrest (nearly two years ago) they were moving away from performing breathalyzers in general in favor of doing actual blood tests. Additionally, at the time of arrest you could refuse a blood sample (the defendant did) and the officer could CHOOSE whether to request a warrant for said blood. Now, it is standard that the officer will request a warrant if you refuse a blood draw, but at the time it wasn’t.

So yes. You can be convicted of a DWI even without having BAC evidence. He was, based on the 45 minute arrest video we watched, incredibly intoxicated and he admitted on tape repeatedly that he had been drinking. Out of a possible “drunk scale” (my words!) of 0-18 (based on the field sobriety tests) (I think it’s 18, I could be off on this) he received a 16. It’s either a 6 or an 8 that is considered intoxicated. Dude was super wasted.

*We did discuss that the Defendant admitted to drinking 80 ounces of beer (He was a shorter man of average build, for the record and that's just what he had admitted to!) in no more than 45 minutes. (Based on the time he was pulled over and the time he says left work.) We also had an extensive discussion on whether or not his incredibly slow and yet very slurred speech in addition to his inability to properly perform any of the 3 field sobriety tests could entirely be due to nerves. It was very interesting and a lot more difficult than I expected!

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 life is Fair

This isn’t really related whatsoever to the list, but whatever! I went to the fair today, which isn’t especially note worthy because I’ve gone every year I’ve been in Texas for it since moving here. It was slightly different than usual, though.

*This year I took a half day and arrived shortly after 1 on opening day. Surprisingly enough, opening day (or night) typically isn’t that busy. This had more people than it perhaps would have otherwise though due to the unveiling of the new Big Tex. Even still, lines were mostly pretty short and we didn’t have to fight the crowds too much.

*New Big Tex! Our previous Fair mascot burned down in a horrific (if slightly hilarious) fire on the last day of the fair last year, while thousands of onlookers stood by in horror. He’s just as creepy as he used to be but he has a new outfit and I imagine a new voice, since the previous dude was let go for vague and mysterious reasons

*They had an exhibit featuring previous incarnations of Big Tex, which is kind of cool to see. What is NOT so cool is the room where they had his charred hands (the only remaining part of him that wasn’t destroyed by the fire) and a disembodied head from the original Big Tex on display together, for some inexplicable reason. What the what state fair?

What the what. Lots of fried foods were eaten and shared amongst ourselves. The standout being the King Ranch Casserole. It’s basically a cheesestick in the shape of texas. With a tiny texas flag stuck in it! So good. Cuban roll was decent, but not great. Thanksgiving dinner was basically a ball of deep fried stuffing, and the golden millionaire pie was super delicious. I will be returning again in a couple weeks, and there are a few more things I look forward to trying!

Grunge, desert storm, and why George H.W. Bush is personally responsible for the decline of the Sax Solo in American music

Hahaha. I found this in my draft folder on my work computer. I wrote it awhile back when I asked people to give me writing prompts. I'm pretty certain a friend of mine submitted the thought, something about the decline in popularity of sax music. The inside of my head is a disturbing place to visit.

The saxophone has long been an instrument rich in sound and culture. With roots that date back to the jazz age it managed to survive even the disco era to reach a newfound popularity in the 70s and 80s. Foreigner, Bruce Springsteen, CCR, and of course Kenny G. ushered in a new trend of having a saxophone on steady rotation as part of your musical repertoire. During the 80s it was King to be a sax player. No longer regulated to play the occasional jazz toot they had finally come into their own! Kenny G's flowing locks were a testament to the respect and adoration that would soon be theirs. Or would it?

The Me generation of the 80s, known for its love of excess, hedonism, and over the top in everything was slowly being pushed aside for the Cynicism to come of the 90s. Reagan gave way to the first Bush. The peace of the end of the Cold War gave way to the first Iraq war, Desert Storm. Upbeat, synthy pop not afraid to be frivolous gave way to the angry, guitar heavy, oh so serious Grunge music. 

The world was angry, disenchanted. People were dying in a war no one thought was justified and those coming of age were raised by beatnik hippies that were NOT going to take it anymore.  That anger and rebellion translated to their music. Loud, shrill, shredding guitar solos and words screamed into the mic or halfway muttered under their breath quickly replaced the bright, soothing, dance ready 80s songs filled with sax and jazz.

Playing a sax in anger is an impossible task. Playing it with a detached air of irony is even more impossible. It's an instrument that reeks of Trying. It screams Making an Effort. With every bleat and blatt it broadcasts to the world that you care enough about something to learn. You can't appear to lazily strum. It requires not only both hands and your mouth but also your whole body. It moves with you and you with it. There's no sulking or angrily hitting the strings. It's fingers furiously moving, your face going red with exertion, cheeks puffing and sweat dripping down your forehead. Can you imagine Kurt Cobain with a sax in his hands?

No, the 90s were no place for the saxophone. Not with grunge, heavy metal, and angry chick rock dominating the air waves. It almost had a second chance with the brief popularity of swing and ska music but even that remained fringe. It briefly appear on the airwaves following the Presidency of Bill Clinton and with his sax and under the desk bjs. It almost seemed as if America was ready for a revival but much like Lewinsky it was there and then it was gone.

Today, with both Sr. and Jr. Bush gone from the White House and our everyday lives we have had a few brief puffs of sax heavy songs topping the charts. Katy Perry did it complete with an appearance from the Sax man himself, Kenny G. Lady Gaga did it without the tongue in cheek wink and a nod we got from Perry.  With the second war in the Middle East officially over and another Dorky Dad Cool Democrat in the White House maybe we are finally ready for the happy go lucky sax rips that we used to be so fond of. There's less anger and more optimism. We aren't afraid to have fun. We aren't afraid to dust off our dancing shoes and do The Carlton.