no angels here

anyone rememeber animaniacs? good idea/bad idea?

good idea: buying last minute tickets to a concert of a band you saw before, and were decent

bad idea: buying last minute tickets to a concert of a band you saw before, and were decent, if that band is angels and airwaves

it sounded like a good idea at the time. hey you and i had seen them at not-so-silent-night. their set was short, but overall not too bad. a rock concert on a monday also scores you extra coolness points.

we expected to feel old, we knew that there would be a lot of teenagers there almost half our age. we also expected to see tom delonge in jeans so tight they looked painted on. what we didn't anticipate were all the other reasons the show sucked:

• we recognized 3 out of first 7 songs as singles from the radio. they were fine. then we waited for them to sing something good. it didn't happen before we bolted after 10 painful songs.
  
• delonge's dancing was a bad mix of smurf-like prancing, white-boy robot, and tai chi. very scary
• no chemisty among the band members. i speculated this is due to the fact they all are just delonge's employees
• when you're approaching 33, are married and have kids, you are too fucking old to be singing about your dad and bad grades. that song was probably one mark and travis vetoed 10 years ago when delonge first wrote it. it still sucks.
  
• lead singer, front-man showmanship is not telling the crowd that florida looks like a penis. its just not funny.
  
• throwing flashlights around on stage is not amusing. its not even a decent substitute to watching a club kid dancing with glow sticks
  
• stroke-inducing strobe lights doesn't make the song that repeats the phrase "i love you" 45 times any less painful
  

delonge "educated" the audience about 3/4 of the way through the show about the people who were in attendence:

1) people who know the band, and really understand what they are all about
2) people who don't really know the band, but wanted to seem them and haven't been disappointed and now like them more
3) people who tagged along, had no idea what they were in for, and but now may be a little but intrigued

hey you and i didn't belong to any of those groups. we belong to the last group -- people who hoped tom delonge would get drunk or stoned, forget what he's "now about", and lapse into all the small things. it didn't happen.

lesson of the night: when you run out of snarky things to say about the band, its time to go home. which we did.

birthday fun

so, for my birthday (per my request) cuz and i (and hey you, b, and mopey boy) all went up to cuz's ski house on sat and sunday. on sunday, i got a 5 hour private snowboarding lesson from cuz with hey you doing backup.

it was hard work, but i had a lot of fun. and while they didn't get to do any runs down big steep stuff, their years of experience was invaluable as i approached the board for the 3rd time in my life. i could link turns by the end. whoo hoo! while i did call them daughters of lucifer at one point during the day, cuz and hey you were great, patient, supportive teachers. and FREE!

the best part of the day, though (besides the 2 jack and cokes i gulped down after the lift had closed) was being able to stay upright coming off the chairlift for my last run. i did 6 runs down the bunny hill that day. once cuz held me up, and i was ok. twice i knocked her down (and felt really bad about it), and twice i just ate shit by myself. the last run of the day, i have no idea how it happened, but i exited and stayed standing. here's a pic of my moment of glory


so im sore today, but i felt great out there! and no one called me sir. AWESOME!

unfair

everyone knows and mocks my standing devotion to 90s music. i love it. i can't help it. whatever. it reminds me of my formative years. in most cases, if a band from days of old is (still together, and not dead) and play nearby, i can usually rook a friend to go with me.

last year, i finally got to see pearljam live. which was amazing. and there's a sort of 90s redux happening, bands getting back together and what not. gc had no problem going to see them at lollapalooza, as they are still amazing in concert. and their new stuff is almost as good as their old.

the gin blossoms, however, are a different story. new miserable experience was one of my first cds, and i learned every word. same with their follow up, congratulations i'm sorry. not groundbreaking stuff, but meaningful and not cheesy. i even liked their sound enough to buy the gas giants (new name, same dudes) album in 2000.

the gin blossoms are back together, with a new album. and touring. i was too young at the time, but maybe this time around, i can hear them sing found out about you live, in person.

or life could choose to be a bitch. i was out of town when them came through last year. next month, they are playing at the san ramon performing arts center. for $45 a pop. um, i like them, but thats a lot of money for a ticket for just them. there is no way i will be able to convince anyone i know out here to pay that money to go see them. gc's question was "is there another band playing the same show, one thats not 10 years old?" mean yes. but a fair question. $45 is a little ridiculous.

to make life more of a bitch, the gin blossoms are playing naper days at naper settlement in june. i've never been, but its probably something like the last fling. the website says its a festival designed to unite our community, celebrate, present and future, and build awareness of the many great things Naperville has to offer. in otherwards, surburban fun. LAME! parents who don't keep their little kids in check and teenage girls in hooker-chic clothes making out with their boyfriends. they may charge $5 for admission, if that.

is the unfairness of this issue coming through? i know this area has a higher cost of living, but shit, 900%? that fucking sucks.

i want a dog!

so i had cassis for 10 full days while larry hagman was skiing and eating cheese in france.

cassis is such a well trained, well behaved dog. i could take her anywhere and not worry. we had a really good time running around the dog park and hiking in san jose this past weekend.



cassis vs bully stick 03
Originally uploaded by sharynkaryn

this is her enjoying a "bully stick" on the rug in front of my bed.

i got used to the multiple walks every day, and the need to be home or take her with. i even got used to the smell of dog crap, which i find very disturbing. i vacuumed up tons of her hair, but it didn't really bother me. im usually annoyed at the cats for shedding on my stuff.

now that she's back home, i feel a void. ive been trying to fill it with cleaning and reorganizing my room. thats starting to cost me, as i hit a stupid concrete pillar at ikea the other day and now have to pay my $500 insurnace deductible to get it fixed. fuck.

but having cassis has made me seriously consider a puppy. i really want one, but refuse to get one cos i hope this is a passing fancy. and i would want to give the dog back as soon as i figured out it wasn't as well trained or obedient as cassis. and could any dog really be as pretty or cute as her? i highly doubt it.

i think i should buy a dog, get larry hagman to train it for me, and then take over afterwards. sounds good to me. how to convince him of this plan is another story....

so wrong

au is sick, so i drove to orinda to have dinner with her. i dont think the sushi will cure her, but is what she wanted so that has to mean something right?

we ate in orinda. orinda. the local old-family-money capital of the east bay.

i couldn't help myself, i had to take a picture with my phone of this kid with the longest mullet i have seen in california. yes, i have been reduced to one of those mean, malacious people who mocks others with cell phone pictures.




the picture doesn't do it justice since its was so dark. au had to sit with her back to the kid so she wouldn't be tempted to cut it off. i spent most of the meal trying not to stare. i was only successful because i was hungry enough to eat people that night. yes, it was my turn to consider cannibalism.

but seriously. when is america going to realize that mullets are in the past, and that we need to evolve past them? ugly, and they just creep me out.