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July 24th, 2008
10:45 pm - Saturday, 7/26 Free show
Music starts at 8:30 pm! Free show! Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys will join us.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/energetic.gif) energetic
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June 22nd, 2008
02:10 pm - getting bloggy with it
I've decided to venture into the brave new world of blogging in a new place. Find me here:
http://wearingthetrousers.blogspot.com/
Current Mood: accomplished
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October 5th, 2007
01:39 pm - 10/6 show!
I haven't updated this in forever. I will get back to it soon. In the mean time, our next show is coming up!
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/smile.gif) hopeful
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June 19th, 2007
May 4th, 2007
03:29 pm - May 17th show!
Current Mood: cheerful
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March 26th, 2007
05:32 pm - coccyx (heh heh heh)
I think Husband broke his tailbone playing hockey. At the very least, it's severely bruised. He's got nasty bruising, and it's been over a week. If only he played in a non-checking league. Oh wait, he does. But apparently some giant guy who doesn't like to play by the rules took him out anyway. I'm so not a sports fan, and stuff like that just reinforces my "sports are stupid" mentality. I guess it's ok if you do it for fun and don't try to kill people, but most people take it way too seriously, hence Husband's current situation. I'm just glad I wasn't there to see it.
So a week later and Husband is still in a large amount of pain. Unfortunately, there's nothing to treat it. Maybe if they wanted to put a person in an a$$ cast. But that doesn't sound pleasant. At least the tail bone is also called the coccyx, which makes me giggle, sort of like Beavis and Butthead.
I've been trying not to think too much about it, since it sucks so much. Poor Husband can't even sit down, he's too uncomfortable. He had to lay on his side on the floor with an ice pack strapped to his back just to watch a movie with me the other night. And I sat by myself on the couch. Sad.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/sad.gif) sympathetic
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March 1st, 2007
February 28th, 2007
03:52 pm - Long time no LJ
I have been busy, I guess. After finally getting rid of my hideous flu that morphed into other hideous ailments, I managed to come down with the worst stomach virus ever. I won't go into details. I managed to pass that one on to Husband as well. So I think I maybe had a week or two of health before that happened. Great. I don't know if my immune system is very weak this year or if the viruses are just very strong. Either way, they seem to be winning.
So after Husband and I got over the stomach virus from hell and sanitized our entire house, things got back to normal. Work on the next Thylacine album/batch of new songs began in earnest. I'm happy with the progress we've made in just over a month. At this point, we have rough mixes for two songs that we had played out for a few months last year. There are 3 more songs waiting for vocals, then we will do a rough mix and see if those songs need anything else added or taken away. One song that we had played previously is waiting for acoustic guitar, then vocals. That one will be ready for a rough mix after we get those tracks down. It's a pretty sparse arrangement, especially by our standards. So, that's 6 new-ish songs that are in the somewhere in the works. Maybe my hopes of having a new record out sometime this year aren't so far-fetched (yeah, right).
The thing I am happiest about with what we've done so far is my singing, if I may be selfish for a second. I was never satisfied with it on the last album. The recordings on that album were usually only the first or second time I had even sung the songs. It seems silly, but I had no idea how to sing my own songs. That's where all that classical training shoots me in the foot sometimes. I was able to give a good technical performance of the songs, but I wasn't able to really translate what the songs meant into my performance. And some of the songs were sort of emotionally charged for me, so I had a hard time getting through the recordings. This time I am able to channel those feelings into the performance. Last time it resulted in frustration and me walking away from many a session in tears, because I wasn't happy with myself. The past 3 years of playing shows and finding my voice have helped me this time around. I am much more confident in my singing and my writing now. I think/hope it's coming through on the new songs.
I've been trying to think what I might want to call this new album. So far I keep coming back to Not as good as I hoped, Not as bad as I feared. But I think that might be too long and pessimistic. I'll work on it.
Current Mood: creative
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January 16th, 2007
10:02 pm - the policy
At work today I kept finding lady bugs in the bathroom. Some people might think this is good luck. Right now I am thinking that it is finally cold enough outside that they were driven indoors. For whatever reason, they always seem to find their way to our second floor bathroom. I saw at least two in there today. My first thought was to try and guide them onto a paper towel and take them outside like I do when I find them in there in the summer. But when I thought about how cold it was outside, it seemed more humane to just let them hang out in the bathroom.
Speaking of work, there's a new policy in place. If you have a personal blog, and the company finds that you are talking about them on your blog, they can terminate your employment. Now I've only ever talked about where I work in very general terms, and never about the company itself (just about my coworker with the paper shredding obsession). I am wondering if some not too bright individual was spilling company secrets on their blog, or if this is more of a preventative measure aimed at discouraging this kind of thing.
I have worked at some places in the past that I have really hated, but I was smart enough to know who signed my paycheck and that I should not be saying anything bad about them, at least not in a place that is deemed to be public! I kept that grousing confined to my own home, and poor Husband had to pretend like he cared about it.
So, that's my interesting tidbit for now. I'm finally getting over my flu that morphed into laryngitis that morphed into a sinus infection, so I think I can start taking the Christmas decorations down and getting back to life as usual. Except no more blogging about company secrets. Damn.
Current Mood: grateful
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January 2nd, 2007
10:52 am - living in a material world...
And I am not a material girl. I really don't like feeling obligated to buy presents for people for things like Christmas. But, there are certain people, mostly family, who would be offended if they didn't get a Christmas gift from me. This year I decided, for financial reasons and to be more in line with my personal beliefs, I was going to do mostly home-made gifts. I would rather give/receive gifts that have some personal element to them than just going to a store and buying a sweater.
I'm not very crafty, nor am I an artist or anything like that. So, my home-made gifts were all baked goods. I made a large batch of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (my new favorite treat), banana and zuchini breads. I was pretty pleased with myself. And who doesn't like to have some extra food around during the holidays? I figured if people didn't want to eat them, they could bring the treats I made to a party or whatever and serve them to other people.
But I think most folks were a bit disapointed with their goodie baskets in lieu of a gift. My in-laws didn't even get it, and since they didn't eat the banana bread I brought, told me to bring it back home. Oh well. At least I tried, and I didn't break the bank buying gifts that people may or may not even like. My sister and one of my good friends even got really into it. We agreed to only exchange home-made stuff this year. My sister made us some gingerbread cookies and a tasty honey mustard sauce. My best friend made us chocolate candies and peppermint bark. So that made me feel pretty good about the whole thing, even if most people didn't get what I was trying to do.
And speaking of material things, why do things break every 5 seconds now? Husband and I just had to get rid of our washing machine, which died after 25 years. My parents gave it to us as a freebie, and we got about a year's use out of it, so that's pretty good. I can't complain about that. But then our vacuum died, and that was only about 4 years old. The thing is hopelessly clogged, and I've tried everything, but I just can't take the thing apart enough to actually fix it. So, we are in the market for a new vacuum. And of course there is the car, which I feel should go to at least 200,000 miles. But I'm not sure that it's going to make it there. I've put so much money into it this past year. Pretty soon we are going to have to decide if paying out a couple thousand dollars a year in repairs is worth not having a monthly car payment. And there is the dependability issue. We only have one car, and if it is unreliable, then that is huge problem.
Anyway, it just seems to me that things are not built to last any more, and everything is so consumer-centric, companies want you buying new stuff all the time. So, no one makes quality products any more, they make products that will last a few years, so then you will have to buy another one sooner rather than later. I hate that. When I shell out a big chunk of money, like for a car, or even a washing machine, it better last more than 5 years. I hate that everything is disposable now.
Current Mood: disappointed
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November 17th, 2006
10:22 am - taking sides
I really don't remember how it came up. But somehow, Husband ended up pointing out to me that I always sleep on a certain side of the bed, even when I am not sleeping at home. He said I have some kind of weird thing about it. I admit that may be true. I have always had a hard time sleeping. So if I find something that works for me, like a side of the bed, I would not be surprised if I subconsciously stick to it.
Husband dared me to sleep on the other side of the bed and see what happened. I waited until the weekend to do it, because all this talk of me "needing" to sleep in a certain spot had me convinced that I would not sleep. Sure enough, I did not sleep at all Saturday night! What a let down. Apparently I really am a freak about where I lay my head. But I was determined to change my ways. I agreed to stay on my new side of the bed and work out my neuroses.
So I slept there this past week, and even though it has gotten better, I had yet to get a good night's sleep. Yesterday I called Husband before he left for work to ask him about something. He then proceeded to tell me that he had not been able to sleep since we switched sides, and that I win. He wanted his side back, because he was miserable.
I guess I am not the only one who has a "thing" about sleeping on a certain side of the bed.
Last night I slept quite peacefully on "my" side of the bed.
Current Mood: awake
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November 8th, 2006
01:10 pm - Politics, schmolitics
I am neither a Democrat or a Republican, I vote for who I think is the best candidate, and I am not restricted by any party. Honestly, I am not conservative by a long shot, but there are certain "liberal" things I disagree with. So I am all over the map. This makes it tough for me to choose any candidate for anything, because they all stand for something I disagree with.
So, I choose whoever aligns with my personal beliefs the most and call it a day. I find it interesting however that the people of Massachusetts seem to be PISSED about things, and that as soon as the polls closed, news stations were declaring Deval Patrick the winner by a long shot. Since I don't follow party politics, I had to really think about it to realize that this state, which is known as Democratic, has had Republicans in power positions for quite a while. I guess that didn't work out so well.
Hey Deval, my property taxes are way out of control, can you take a look at that? Thanks buddy.
I have to wonder, is this also partly a backlash against our Republican President? People say MA is liberal, but I've lived here my whole life and I don't really believe that(see Question 1 rant, below). Still, I wonder if people all over the country are trying to send George Bush II a message by voting in a mostly Democratic House and Senate. We shall see.
Rant: Question 1
Beer and Wine for sale in "Food" stores. WTF? Who voted this down? And Why? Is it because of that scare-tactic ad with that Somerville cop in it? What is the matter with people? This is working just fine in 48 other states! I'm sorry, instead of Democrats and Republicans in this state, do we have an overwhelming majority of Puritans kicking around?
As someone who worked in NH as a kid, in a grocery store that sold beer (and probably wine), I know that until the age of 16 or 17, cashiers aren't even allowed to TOUCH the BOOZE. So, it couldn't even have seeped into my fingers through osmosis!!! So, no worries there. And guess what? They carded everyone, except for people who looked over 50. And no, we underage clerks never had access to the alcohol, or broke open a 6 pack in the break room. So, that isn't even an issue.
But what if people can get beer and wine at White Hen Pantry?! Oh, the scandal! Well, then I can walk my ass from my house to get beer and wine. So, if I want to get drunk, and then go get some more wine and beer, I just have to teeter down the street. No getting in the car and driving drunk. The only person that might get hurt is me, when I trip over a pothole.
Could people actually think that cashiers in liquor stores that make minimum wage are smarter than cashiers at 7-11 or Stop & Shop that also make minimum wage, and are therefore more qualified to check IDs? I have no idea.
Since I live in the land of the Kappy's SuperStore (and multiple Kappy's within a 5 mile radius) and a Stop & Shop with a full liquor license for wine, beer and hard alcohol, this really doesn't affect me at all in any way. I just think it is lame. 'Nuff said.
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November 1st, 2006
04:49 pm - I survived 3 nights of Halloween
Halloween is my favorite holiday by far. Most holidays have pros and cons, but Halloween is all pros as far as I'm concerned. Such as:
No required gift giving/accepting.
If you want to give something, it's usually candy.
If you get something, it's usually candy.
You get to dress up as whatever you want.
No obligation to spend time with family/in-laws.
No turkey or ham dinner.
So, when the opportunity presented itself to celebrate 3 nights of Halloween fun at the Skybar this weekend, I was totally up for it. I only wish I had planned it out more. In the event that I do another Halloween marathon next year, I will be better prepared.
Friday and Saturday nights Husband was working as sound guy for the night, so that meant getting there early (like 7pm) and staying until everyone else was gone and the place was cleaned up.
Friday:
Since both Husband and I worked Friday, we didn't have time to go home between work and the Skybar. So no costume for me on Friday night. And I had to eat dinner from the chinese place next door. Luckily their Szechuan Bean Curd and Broccoli is pretty good.
I was only familiar with our friends What Time it Mr. Fox, who opened the show (along with pre and mid show sets by the String Sluts). They were amazing as usual and threw in some Halloween appropriate songs, including one about a carved jack-o-latern that scared Brian so badly as a kid that he couldn't even look at it! Great stuff. Kieran Ridge Band was good, sort of roots rock. Reverend Bob and the Darkness finished out the night. If you had told me what kind of music they play, sort of blues tinged with alt country and a touch of the macabre, I would have said no thanks. But seeing them perform was great. I was really impressed and enjoyed their set very much. And I'm not just saying that because Reverend Bob handed out bags of treats to the audience. There was also a best costume contest.
Saturday:
I have to confess that I missed a good chunk of Saturday night's show. Friends from NYC were in town playing at the Middle East, and I wanted to go be supportive. I didn't wear a costume, since the Middle East show was not Halloween-themed. I was told the set at the Middle East would be at 9:30. I left Skybar and headed over around that time, only to find my friends downstairs in the restaurant hanging out. They were told when they got here that their set was actually 10:30. Ugh. So, I caught Absynthe at the Skybar, and that's about it. I stayed and chatted with my friends at the Middle East for a bit after their set and saw a great band called Hello Stranger. Their greatness was magnified by the fact that the lead singer was also playing a keytar. Totally awesome!
While I was still at the Middle East, Husband called. The last band, Intricate Unit, never showed at Skybar, so the club was closing early. Of course, I didn't get the call since I couldn't hear the phone in the club. I didn't check my messages when I was leaving either. As I was on my way back to Skybar, Husband called agian. He wanted to make sure I would be there in a few minutes. Of course, everyone cleared out post-haste, so by the time I got there he and our friend Kim were the only people left, and they were stuck outside. So, I missed our friends Seven Sunless Days and Melt on Saturday night. I was pretty bummed about that, but it was great to catch up with my friends from NYC. I haven't seen them in months.
Sunday:
Finally, we could wear costumes. I have a great Bride of Frankenstein costume from a few years ago. I was all ready to wear that, but when I went to get it around 4pm, I couldn't find it. Then I remembered that I loaned it to my friend in NYC last year, and she still had it. That sucked, because if I remembered that beforehand, I could have had them bring it to me on Saturday. Ugh. Husband decided to wear his long tux coat and my fedora and be an old style gangster. I grabbed my little crocheted cap, feather boa and my fringed skirt and went as a flapper. I've never done a couples costume before. We looked complimentary but not too cutesy. I didn't have my camera, but lots of other folks did. I'll post a photo when someone sends me one.
The Army of Broken Toys played a short but sweet set. It was great, I just wish they had played longer. Ultra Plush also ripped through what seemed like a short set. Their new lineup has really come together nicely.
Dreamchild played a spooky set of old and new songs very appropriate for Halloween. I always love seeing them play. Lucretia's Daggers played their first show in many months. After some initial technical problems with mics and stuff, Lucretia and Futurist rocked it. They also played "Horrors of Retail". Perfect for Halloween! In between their set, Aepril Schaile did two amazing belly dance numbers.
Psylab finished out the night. They played instrumental dance/trance music. It was great, but after a long weekend of too much alcohol and candy, and Monday morning looming, I couldn't do much dancing. Husband and I also left before their set ended, mostly because it was the earliest we'd been able to leave the place all weekend.
That's my Halloween weekend recap. If only we had some left over candy (sigh).
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October 24th, 2006
11:05 am - booooring
I have a tendency to get involved in way too many things, and then I have no free time or down time to relax. Then I tend to get stressed out about everything! So, I'm trying to end the vicious cycle.
Last weekend I saw friends and made soup. During the week I did yoga once and had a 2 hour practice with some of the guys from Pure Fiction. And that's it. After work, I was able to come home and eat dinner and relax for a bit almost every night. How bizarre. I was not stressed out at having to be 5 places at once.
This past weekend Husband and I went to the DeCordova museum to check out the exhibits inside the museum (we went a few weeks ago and spent the day in the sculpture park). We also went to a house-warming party for friends. That's it!
I am starting to see how normal people who don't play in bands or go to school at night, etc., live their lives, and it's sort of nice. Sadly, I haven't worked on any new Thylacine lyrics or music. But I'm really enjoying some time off from being a musician. I am still working with Pure Fiction, so I still have an outlet for my musical side. But it's nice to not have to practice or write or anything for a little bit. I am slowly learning that I like to have some time to do absolutely nothing.
I suppose that sounds funny. But I am overly responsible and feel like I can't take time to loaf around unless "everything" else is done. And since "everything" can never be done, I was just running myself ragged and getting burned out on so many things. It is weird that I am actually working at trying to relax and have more time. But I'm sure it will become second nature soon enough!
Current Mood: content
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October 16th, 2006
01:38 pm - Crock Pot Fever!
After a very hectic Friday the 13th show, it will be nice to have some down time. The show ended up going pretty well, after we fixed some technical issues.
Now that it is getting colder out (finally broke down and turned the heat on when the temp inside the house was only 57 degrees on Sunday. That's way too cold for me.), I am in the mood to eat soup. I would eat soups all winter long, because they make me feel warm. Eating soup is the only thing that I like about winter. Being a vegetarian, I have a hard time finding a good variety of soups in stores/restaurants. Most places use chicken broth, even in vegetable soups.
So, I've been looking into making my own soups/stews. Sunday I decided to go to the store and get soup fixin's. Then I also had a revelation. Sometimes Husband and I don't get home until 8pm at night. Then we have to make dinner and we are starving by the time we eat at 8:30 or so. If we had a crock pot (or is it one word, crockpot), we could make soup or chili in there, let it cook all day, and when we get home, it's ready to eat. We just scoop it out of the crock pot and chow down. Brilliant!
So, while running errands and getting the soup fixin's, we decided to look for a crock pot. We happened to find one at Walgreen's, of all places. We were already there anyway, so that was pretty easy. The crock pot makes 3-4 servings. Perfect!
So after we got our crock pot and fixin's, we chopped up all the veggies (the time consuming part of making soup). Husband was going to put them and the veggie broth in the crock pot this morning, so it can simmer all day and be ready to eat when we get home this evening. I am way too excited to go home and eat soup later. Hopefully our cheap crock pot from Walgreens will not burn our house down while we are gone!
Current Mood: cold
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October 11th, 2006
05:43 pm - It's all about shows
I haven't even had time to post since my last show. This is my next one, and the last Thylacine one this year. Time to retreat to the studio for writing and recording new songs. It's been too long!
Current Mood: hungry
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September 29th, 2006
11:41 pm - Free show Oct. 2
Current Mood: busy
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September 27th, 2006
04:50 pm - there's a circle in hell dedicated to this...
Dear CoWorker,
I know that you are responsible for disposing of sensitive company data. I know that it is not your choice to have to use the document shredder so much. I know you have recently been asked to dispose of old records that are no longer relevant.
But when you run the paper shredder for 6 out of the 8 hours that we spend together in the office, it makes me want to gouge my eyes out with a pencil.
I have tried blasting my iPod at top volume. I have not found anything that covers up the constant whine of the shredder chewing up documents.
I'm sure I am the only person who feels this way. It is not your fault that I sit directly outside your office, and therefore cannot escape the noise. If either of us had doors that could be closed, I would close them and spare myself the migraine-inducing sound.
I'm not blaming you for anything, you are just doing your job. But it is making me insane.
Hugs and Kisses,
your fellow CoWorker
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/angry.gif) irate
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September 15th, 2006
10:55 am - 9/16 show!
Check out this great article about the 9/16 Benefit show for the Bread of Life food pantry. It talks about why this is such a great cause worthy of the most support we can give it! I even did a small interview for the piece: http://www2.townonline.com/melrose/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=573631
And come to the benefit, of course. All ages, 3-9pm $6 donation or $5 plus one canned good. Church of the Nazarene, 2 Short St. Melrose.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/wink.gif) giddy
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September 6th, 2006
11:22 am - Don't hate me because I'm beautiful....
Sitting here with one of those Breathe-Right strips on my nose, but it's not even helping. Some time over Labor Day weekend I caught some kind of nasty cold. I'm banned from work due to my germs. That's ok, because no one there would want to see me right now, sitting at my computer with my breathe-right strip, wearing my pajamas, surrounded by empty mugs of tea and cups of juice. They are lucky it was my choice to work from home. This is not pretty!
I hate being sick! My head is pounding with sinus nastiness and my throat is killing me. Ok, back to work (and sniffling).
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/sick.gif) sick
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