Giddy Girlie

So far, so good. I almost missed my flight out of Orange County because no one has clued the TSA that Sundays are a MADHOUSE at that facility, what with the tourists and business peoples jetting out on Sundays. I had a layover in San Francisco (don't question the logic*) which was LONG and while feeding and entertaining myself, I passed the security line there, so I asked the guard what the wait was like and he said "oh, not more than 10 minutes. In the morning it might be 20 or 30, but this time of day you can usually walk right through." SFO has their shit together.

SFO is always a great place for people-watching. Seeing the granola hippies trying to find something vegan on the menu that they can eat (which is nothing). The ladies in their sixties with their very Chico's type of flowy dresses and cable knit cardigans with hot pink streaks in their hair. Everyone with serious city backpacks and gear. OC has some funky tourists (sunburned kids with Mickey mouse ears) but it's more snobby Newport Beach buttholes than anything else. Gawd, I hate those picky people. Like this lady: I waited in the security line for over an hour, barely made it through the first twist in the maze, and my flight was boarding so I was told to join the First Class security line and this beyotch behind me (coiffed blonde hair, dripping in diamonds, designer everything head-to-toe) says "Um, are you supposed to be in this line?" #1 - eff you. #2 - I am like 15 miles from being Elite Status anyway and then HA! I will be in line right next to you FOREVER. Blarg.

NY was colder than I expected and I wore my standard travel outfit: comfy clothes with flip flops** and everyone else in the cab line was in 40 layers of clothes with scarves and beanies and boots. But I was fine, really. I am a warm body anyway and it's not like I was going to be out on the street -- I was in a cab, then in my hotel room.

This morning came fast and I probably slept about 3 hours, so I have a feeling I will be face-down pretty early tonight. One of my co-workers who lives about an hour outside the city came in to town to meet me for breakfast this morning, which was really nice. Since we're so disparate, you don't always get to meet the people you work with, face-to-face.

It started raining right when she left (is that a sign of prosperity or something?) and I (of course) don't have an umbrella or a good rain coat, so I think my goal for tonight is to go buy those things. And take the subway! By myself! Like a grown up! (what?!) I'm only going from Times Square to Herald Square, which is walkable, actually, except for the rain. If the subway there is too scary, I'll take a cab back. (loser!) I'm just hoping that those things are available to be found. I looked for coats near home, but all the stores only had bikinis. I am hoping a winter town will fare better. CROSS YOUR FINGERS!

*Which, there actually IS. See, if I have to take a layover, which I inevitably do, I would rather do a short hop on the first leg and then have the 2nd leg be longer. Which works out thusly from SoCal: go through San Fran (1 hour flight), then direct from SF to NY (5 hours). See? Better!

**I always take off my shoes in flight because I sit on my feet, so flip flops are the best choice. Plus, when it's time to pack up to come home and there's not enough room in my suitcase (happens every time), I can throw them away. See? Better!

Posted by giddygirlie at 9:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Last night as the work day was wrapping up, I was emailing with my friend Pete who just recently moved to New Jersey. Just the usual chit-chat stuff, including me begging him to bequeath his iPhone to me (he's upgrading already) and had just goaded him into saying yes (ha!) and he said that he just had to take it to AT&T to switch the sim card or whatever and then he'd FedEx it to me. Awesome.

So here I am, wasting time, counting down to 6 o'clock and my co-worker asks me "Do you want to go to New York? Next week? Well, Sunday actually?" Hmmm... As it turns out, all of the staff for an event that she is managing just cancelled on her and she needed a warm body at the booth, but she has weekend plans, so she can't go. I thought about it for a microsecond, then said yes. Then I emailed Pete and said "eff FedEx, I'll be in Manhattan on Sunday."

Work travel isn't always a boatload of fun, it's always kind of frantic and more of a hassle than its really worth. But it does have some perks, like I get to stay at the Marriott Marquis Hotel, which is not a place that my personal travel budget would ever allow for. So that's cool. I also get to rack up a buncha airline miles (and hotel points), so that's cool. I get to be in Manhattan, which is always cool. Plus, I get to visit with Pete which is super cool. Plus, I might get an iPhone - what? This whole thing is sizing up to be awesome.

But this is a moon-wobble week, so I am fully prepared for things to go completely shitty. Including the parts leading up to Sunday morning, where I need to do a shit ton of laundry, find a decent raincoat, find my travel accessories, get a mani-pedi, get my hair colored, see my doctor so I can refill my medications, get a massage so my shoulder knots don't kill me, figure out what to pack so I can hopefully condense it all into one small carry-on, rent some movies to watch on the plane, oh - and maybe slip some time into hanging out with my husband.

I am trying to do as much as possible today so that I can have tomorrow to decompress a little. But today's plan (along with doctor, massage, pharmacy, and travel-size shampoo) also includes a quick jaunt up to LA to see Scandal! and dinner with Ryan and Kate. Which is going to be the perfect way to finish off my Day of Busy before I loaf around eating Robin's Eggs all day tomorrow.

Posted by giddygirlie at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I have never owned a toothpaste that looks anything like a liquid handsoap, and yet nearly every morning AND every night I come thisclose to squirting Sweet Pea soap all over my toothbrush.

What's even double-dumb is that I love my toothpaste (sue me!). I bought it once at the pharmacy on a whim and fell in love and never found it for sale again. It's a cinnamon flavored gel, rather than a paste, which I like and it's good and spicy and makes your mouth feel all clean (unlike Sweet Pea). I have seen a children's variation that is a "cinnsational swirl" variety that tastes like cinnamon and vanilla, which is kind of okay, but not what I wanted. BUT I am a dork and I was googling my beloved and found it on Amazon and bought a four-pack. SHUT UP!

And for the first time ever, I have been able to track our toothpaste usage (fascinating!). Because usually (like toilet paper) you find yourself down to the last little bit and you think "I JUST BOUGHT THIS LIKE.... 2 months ago??" and you never really know how often you buy this stuff. Fascinating!

Posted by giddygirlie at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I have somehow managed to catch the EXACT SAME stupid cold again. The same one from 3 weeks ago? Yep, it's back. Wonderful. My throat is on fire and all I can smell is boogers. *sigh*

Best not to dwell on the present, then.

LAST FRIDAY

Ryan was working at the Top Cow studio in LA for the day, and we had plans to see Kate perform with Hair of the Mangy Dog, so instead of driving 2 cars (and me having to brave the Friday night traffic alone) I decided to take the Amtrak to LA and have Ryan meet me at the station.

This was my first train trip ever and so I was trying my best to get to the station early and fully prepared. But, it's me, so none of that happened. Firstly, I didn't eat all day. It just wasn't convenient at work and then when I got home, well... I just never ate. My plan was to swing into Barnes & Noble, grab a book, drive through someplace and grab a bite and still be to the train 30 minutes ahead of schedule. Only, Friday there was a time vortex - did you feel it? I literally ran into Barnes & Noble, grabbed a book off the table, paid, and ran back out to the car: 20 minutes. I kid you not. So I decided to skip the drive-through, because who knows how long that could take? I figured I'd be nice and early for my train, maybe hit up a vending machine at the station... but somehow when I got to the station, I only had 10 minutes before my train would come. So I grabbed my ticket at the self-service kiosk and then saw a train pulling up, so I RAN (literally hauled ass) to get to it. OH! And, of course, the northbound train is on the other side of the station, which means that I had to run UP THREE FLIGHTS OF STAIRS and then DOWN THREE FLIGHTS OF STAIRS and I get to the train, fling myself on board before I hear the staff say that this is NOT the train to LA. So I had a minute to catch my breath before my actual train showed up - 20 minutes behind schedule.

This commuter train acts just like a subway or light rail system anywhere else - they only stop for 2 minutes, then they haul out and you're left to teeter through the compartments looking for a seat. Which were non-existant. Somehow after about 10 minutes (and our first stop) I found a row of 2 open seats. So I took the one near the window and threw all my stuff onto the other. I know this is an asshole thing to do. There were other zombies dragging around the train (traiiiiin, traaaiiiiiinnn) looking for a place to sit, but I kind of wanted to be alone. With my book. And my window. And mostly, I was. Because I didn't have the foresight to bring my MP3 player, I was forced to eavesdrop (forced, I tell you!) on everyone else around me. Which yielded a few gems, including the guy across the aisle who was plying the young girl with gigantic bottles of beer ("You probably think I am some creepy guy just hitting on you, huh?") while she furiously text messaged with someone outside the train, no doubt saying "there's a creepy guy hitting on me". My favorite though was when to prove his un-creepiness, he announced that he wouldn't ask for her phone number, but maybe she could email him sometime. His email is MFDIVER69 -- but wait, I know what you're thinking! The 69 is NOT what you think it is, it's only because 66 was already taken.

The other interesting conversation was the Bops who sat behind me. Girls maybe 15 or 16 who were traveling alone and had that Valley Girl-via-The Nanny nasal whine with everything they said? And everything was, like, a question? Fortunately they went off to seek the "hot guy" that they saw downstairs earlier, but they came back about 20 minutes later and there were people in their seats. They said "Oh, I'm sorry. YOU CAN'T SIT HERE. Yeah, we were just gone, but YOU CAN'T SIT HERE." I personally wanted to back-hand them both (because they were annoying and also because you can't "hold" seats on a public train -- it's like expecting to have a reserved seat on a city bus), but the people got up! And one of them sat next to me. Which was ok, except that now I wasn't alone and she was listening to some techno-pop something or another on her ipod, while reading a romance novel. And I had to listen to the Bops again, which was torture.

It was interesting taking the train to LA, because the train runs in pretty close parallel to the 5 freeway, so there was a lot of familiar scenery - industrial buildings, loading docks, manufacturing plants, etc. - that was just like seeing the backside of everything on the freeway. Whenever we approach "the city" I always have to laugh. LA is a major metropolis like New York, but there is only one tiny patch of tall buildings. They look so funny, like weeds through a sidewalk.

Union Station is quite pretty. Very deco and classy. What was so striking was that public transportation in LA is not like New York. In Manhattan, everyone uses the subways, it's just the more practical option. In LA, only the people who have no other choice use public transportation. People who don't have cars or licenses. So instead of seeing a mixture of people from all social strata, you see mostly working-class people and the very poor. The officers stationed around are less concerned with terrorism as they are with the homeless sleeping on the benches. It was an odd mix.

I was admiring the marble in-lay on the sidewalk, when I noticed the girl in hot pink.

She didn't seem to "fit" with her clothes. She wasn't a young punk kid or someone trying to make a "statement", and I was confused. Until I saw a guy drive up and hire her services. Interesting, indeed. Meanwhile, I waited for Ryan (always late) to come and pick me up and was chatted up by a guy from El Salvador who decided that I was a good person to test his English on. Ask me anything: I can tell you this guy's entire life story, INCLUDING the fact that he's only been here for 2 months and didn't know any English when he got here.

Finally, Ryan showed up and we drove like maniacs (ok, HE drove like a maniac) to the theater. We scored an awesome parking spot and got to the theater just in time. The show was FANTASTIC and Kate did an excellent job, as always. It was also extra fun, because the audience was packed with Kate fans, including Zach and Mimi who were seeing the HotMD for the first time. Miss Bliss and Charlie made it just in time for the show, which was great because they have the two laughs that you WANT to have at your show. The lighting, courtesy of Mr. Adam Jackman, was impeccable (and no small feat, since the lighting board was changed around by someone else at the last minute - comedy sabotage!).

After the show, we retired to Doughboys for dinner. Which was awesome. Zach was brave enough to try the Rice Krispy Treat Pancakes (malted pancake batter, with lots of Rice Krispies inside, covered in toasted marshmallow), which I forgot to take a taste of, but everyone who DID said that they were phenomenal.

The rest of us were still agog from the CHEESY POTATOES. Which are... oh my god... home fries smothered in cheese. And taste like Heaven. Wrapped in cheese.

After we overate and sat around talking about everything for an hour (or two), we headed over to the Upright Citizens Brigade theater for the free midnight show. Zach takes classes at UCB and had heard about the Friday show called "Not Too Shabby" which is basically a live workshop for sketch and improv comedians to try out their new material. It was a LOT of fun, and all of the performances were really good. PLUS: you might get recruited by the Scientology Celebrity Center across the street!

After all the laughing (and cheesy 'tatos) we were all exhausted. So we bid everyone a fond farewell (after saying goodbye on the corner for 45 minutes) and made our tired drive home. It was awesome, though. In fact, Ryan is sort of planning on this being the standing Friday night plan. You've been warned.

Celebrities sighted: Jerry O'Connell, Nick Kroll*, and one other guy who I am TOTALLY BLANKING ON RIGHT NOW (Kate, who was it? The guy from MadTV?), Tom Cruise beckoning to us from inside the Scientology Fortress.

*I know him from Best Week Ever, but apparently he was on that Caveman show!

Posted by giddygirlie at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Maybe you've already seen this going around but I just came across it and changed it from another photosite to my beloved Flickr (I am a dork). Feel free to play along!

A MEME IN PICTURES

Here’s how it works:
1. Go to www.flickr.com
2. Type in your answer to the question in the “search” box
3. Use only the first page
4. Insert the picture into your Blog

1. What is your relationship status? married

2. What is your current mood? tired

3. Who is your favorite band/artist? (hard to choose) Mighty Mighty Bosstones

ha ha! one of my own pictures came up on page one!

4. What is your favorite movie? Say Anything

5. What kind of pet do you have? fat cat

6. Where do you live? Orange County, CA

7. Where do you work? Costa Mesa, CA

I don't work in this office, but my company does have an office there... 2 miles away from the office that I work in.

8. What do you look like? frumpy

9. What do you drive? Civic

10. What did you do last night? sketch comedy

11. What is your favorite TV show? Arrested Development

12. Describe yourself. giddy

13. What are you doing today? nothing

14. What is your name? Mia

15. What is your favorite candy? toffee

Posted by giddygirlie at 10:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

• Fri., March 21 @ 8pm - Hair of the Mangy Dog @ McCadden Place Theater [meet up with me and Ryan and Bliss and Adam and some of our other nerd friends!]
• I think I might be a gay man. I actually squee'd when I saw that there was a Morrissey/Smiths CONVENTION coming to LA. And I'm not that avid of a fan. (dork)
• Boston in April is a GO. I'll be out there for a few days for a work thing, and am going to get a chance to visit with Emily (who Ryan calls "emmellem" because her Flickr id is EmilyM) and maybe even Erika. Hooray!
• I'm going to get in trouble for saying it, but I am so excited: Ryan's work peoples think that he is good enough to nominate for a Harvey Award! (So if you see him, don't mention it!) I agree, but it is so touching and just plain NICE to know that people are 'watching' and noticing his hard work.
• Ryan hasn't had time to write out his Vegas story, but some highlights include: fake moustaches, VIP tables, luxury suites, strippers who are into comic books, and alien jerky. Needless to say, the boys had a good time.
• Lifesavers Orange mints are awesome. They're basically Tic Tacs without the shell. mmmmm!
• Giving a cat 2 pills a day is a surefire way to make an enemy. And also eff up all your clothes with claw-holes and tufts of fur.
• Ever since Adam's sister mentioned bacon as an entree at her wedding, I have been obssessed with bacon-related findings. And now: candied bacon ice cream [via not martha]
• I really can't say enough good things about Wondermark - go read this and this!

Posted by giddygirlie at 8:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sunday was kind of a bust. Well, for other people any way. Ryan and I woke up on time and even made time to stop at Einstein's and grab a bagel sandwich and eat it on the patio in the sunshine. Traffic was easy, parking a breeze. We ran right into John and Rosey who had just bought their passes, so we walked in together. Immediately inside I found a blank 3-day pass on the ground, so I called Adam and told him not to buy a pass for his friend T, who was joining him for a day of nerdishness. Yay!

I went back out front to meet Adam and his friends (he brought one extra) and found out that they were sort of exhausted (mentally, emotionally) because T's friend who was visiting from out of town had missed her flight (by just minutes!) and so was stuck at the airport, waiting for a stand-by opportunity. So he was kind of stressed because he felt responsible for making her late and also because the stand-by flights were filling up fast. Whoopsie!

So we hit the convention floor, to pick up the Quest from the day before, and everyone kind of disbanded in hot pursuit of treasure. Just a few minutes later, T got a call that his friend officially was stuck in LA for another day, so he left. Shortly after, John and Rosey decided that they were over it and bailed (probably a good idea. I'd never seen either of them so quiet/grouchy). Adam and I toodled a bit more, running into Ryan in the hall and heading over to buy out everything else in Angus Oblong's collection (there was very little left!).

[for everyone who asked, Ryan is wearing this shirt, which is a Mitch Hedberg memorial.]

It was a pretty slow day and not much left of interest to see, so Adam went to join some peoples at Olvera Street for some lunch and I stayed behind at the convention to wait for Ryan to finish his autograph session. We had to leave immediately when he was done because I was meeting my family to celebrate baby Daniel's birthday (15! holy fuckin' shit!) and Ryan was getting directly into another car and heading to Lost Wages! Jake here is getting hitched in the near future, so all the man cubs gathered in seedy Vegas before sending him on his way to a Man Made Prison. That adventure is a whole OTHER story.

**Stuff that I left out of the post about Saturday:

• I met Mark, the creator/genius behind Wondermark and bought some revolutionary stickers and shirts and his book Treachery! which is FANTASTIC. His site features a daily strip, and they are all equally genius. Sign up for the RSS feed here.
• We also talked to the fine folks at Sheldon Comics (another daily! RSS here) about whether their lizard is the Official Lizard of Mormonism or just a latter day saint.
• Ryan chatted with the fine people at Moomooch Clothing after they spotted him in one of their shirts during his autograph signing, and they invited him to participate in a convention that THEY are hosting as well as provided him with some additional apparel (thanks Moomooch!).
• We had a little chat with Nico Photos, who illustrated "Tale of an Ozark Howler" and also was so sweet to give us some sassafrass candies! I was compelled to stop, just to look at the beautiful quilt that was made by writer Kelly Reno (scroll to the bottom of this page). Nico was cute and we think he might have been smiling a bit too friendly at somebody in our group. *ahem*

Posted by giddygirlie at 3:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As is the precedent set for all Saturdays at the convention, we were dead tired and there was a weird smell.

A couple years back, Ryan was in the midst of an autograph signing at the Spawn booth when we noticed a funk that at first we thought belonged to one of the other comic nerds, but was in fact Ryan. The shirt that he was wearing apparently sat in the washing machine too long but didn't give up its sour stench until we were in the middle of the convention floor where it was easily 90 degrees and everyone was sweating. Once we realized it was him, I ran and bought him a new t-shirt. This time, however, the stink wasn't him - or me - but was instead the sour sponge smell that was coming from the windshield of the car. Apparently the water at the gas station was gross, and after cleaning the windows the water dripped into the air intake and was blasting us from every direction. It was disgusting. A quick hop off the freeway to another gas station to re-clean the window did little to help, so we rode most of the way to LA with the windows down and tried not to breathe through our noses. Fantastic.

Luckily, the stink didn't carry with us (or not that anyone noticed) because both Kate and Adam were happy to see us and still smiling after hugs all around. Thus began our day of fun. We immediately ditched Ryan to play with his friends Marco and John (who were selling their wares in Artist Alley) and after a quick run through the convention hall, we went to see the Robot Chicken panel discussion. It was really entertaining, because the RC dudes opened the floor to questions immediately and people asking questions is always entertaining. Sample: "Seth, can I have your baby?" "Sure, it's in the backseat of my car in the garage - don't worry, the windows are cracked a bit." Mostly the people called upon to ask a question inquired about when they would see their favorite toy in a show. I understand why a fan might ask, but... c'mon. These guys aren't making a show to vet your toy fetish. Or, not explicitly anyway.

The best person in the audience was "Superman" ('noted' in the Flickr picture above). A middle aged guy with a glaring bald spot (effing up my pictures, thank you very much) in a blue t-shirt with a red cape safety pinned to the back, who was flailing his arm around like the kid in class who had the answer if the teacher would just CALL on him already. He started off with hand waving. Then two hands. Then sign language. Then hand gestures. It escalated to a series of spastic movements [a surefire way to get ignored] and thundering disappointment when he was overlooked. He'd slam himself into his chair, huffing and puffing. Quite entertaining. THEN he took out the Robot Chicken DVD and started using it to reflect light into Seth Green's eyes. And since he still wasn't being called on, he took out both DVDs, wash rinse repeat. Seeing that the eye-burning tactic wasn't working, he moved onto the boxes for the DVDs. One in each hand, waving frantically, like he was landing a jumbo jet. I finally decided that this dork had made such an ape of himself that it was ok to start photographing him, I reached for my purse and suddenly he was gone! I assumed that his super powers flew him away and kept looking in the rafters for him. I guess I missed a hell of a storm-out but Kate and Adam saw it (along with most of the audience) and we erupted into a fit of giggles. Right after Supe took off to fight other crimes against Dorkocity, there was a video reel of some classic RC episodes as well as some sneak peeks at the season ahead which were HILARIOUS. A full run-down at Comic Book Resources can be found here.

After this, we headed back to the convention floor, where Ryan was corralled in the Top Cow booth for his autograph session. We waved, stuck our tongues out, then carried on.

We dug through boxes on a Quest for some elusive books and in the meantime networked the HELL out of Kate. Talk about connected! I kid you not, we went by a booth that belonged to a friend and former director of hers (she was apparently in a vampire movie!) and he was tickled to see her. And we were nerding out on her popularity. Then we walked s'more until we came across the booth for Angus Oblong, who is... [deep breath] fantastic. I loved the show The Oblongs, and even though it was the much purified version of his quirky vision, it still holds up (read the reviews at the bottom of the page for a kick in the pants).

In 'real life' the man-clown who is Angus Oblong is even more surreal than I could have expected. Of course, I was infatuated. I wanted to gobble up every single piece of art in his booth, WHICH I have to say, was incredibly fairly priced for original art. There was one piece (besides the hypnotist-eyed dude in the booth) that I couldn't take my eyes off of, which was a single red plate that had been painted with an Oblong original. It was shiny. Shiny and also reasonably priced AND the only one that he had or had ever done. I made it mine immediately. Then Angus said he had to poop. Kismet!

We had just started away from the booth, when Kate realized that her life would be incomplete without a little Angus in her own home, so she went back to buy a fantastic (and framed!) Wicked Woman piece and as she was paying recognized one of the booth gals as another acting friend. So she's chatting and hearing about the AWESOMENESS that was Angus's play, puppetry class who is now doing puppet work and loving it. Again, business cards, schmoozing, party invitations, wash rinse repeat.

We toddled around the convention floor a bit more, looking at old comics and perusing long boxes in a Quest for the holy grail.

Then, we went to pick up Ryan from his signing session which was running long. The Freshmen autograph session was scheduled to start right after his, so he got a chance to meet that whole crew, including Seth Green, and chat a bit about the lithograph that he busted his ass on to get done in time for the convention (it was made specifically for this signing appearance and apparently they all LOVED it and want him to do more work for them). Before the fans were let loose to crowd around poor Seth Green, Ryan was able to get the whole Freshmen crew to sign a litho for Kate (even though Sheldon Mitchell thought it was for Ryan and wrote "great inks" and Seth signed it "thanks").

After that, we were all pretty tired and starving to death, so we headed over to Clifton's Cafeteria, which is this kitschy little cafeteria that has been preserved the way that it opened in 1888. The entire restaurant is a love poem to redwood trees and has foliage and scenery everywhere. It's like a piece of Disneyland fell into the middle of Downtown LA. The rest of downtown is kind of sketchy these days. All the old movie houses and marble-floored theaters are now indoor swapmeets and 5 for $10 t-shirt places. And in the middle of it all is this little oasis of Classic LA.

And it's a true cafeteria - you grab a tray, slide along the cases, take what you want and pay at the end. We ended up with a motley assortment of food - cottage cheese, cream pies, fried chicken, nachos - and we ate nearly every damn bite of it.

On the second story, tucked into the corner, is a 'chapel' that encourages you to take a moment of silence inside the woods and reflect upon the beauty of the Sequoia trees (via diorama), under the glaring neon cross. Of course, I walk into the tiny chapel (only room for about 2 people and there is Adam, pleased as punch about being able to charge his cell phone while listening to the "Parable of the Redwoods". I was a wee bit punch drunk by then, but this cracked my shit UP.

On the third floor, were these elaborate ballrooms with this gorgeous red flocked wall paper and historic photos. Even the treasure chest where kids used to get to choose a toy after they finished their THIRTY NINE CENT meal.

After all the fun and adventures of the day, we were pretty beat up (look how CRAZY we look!) so we headed home. Smart people went to bed early. Others went on to party. And others held their eyes open with toothpicks until it was "late enough" to go to bed -- and then stayed up 'til 2am. Guess which one was which!

Posted by giddygirlie at 9:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Somehow we were ON TIME for the first time ever (mainly, I think, because no one was waiting for us) and the traffic to LA was smooth sailing. Registration was a breeze and we had plenty of time to chat (at length) with 'Madman' Marco and John, do a swoop around the convention floor, and grab lunch before Ryan's autograph session. Perfect!

So we went to the little food court inside the convention center (which, I must say, was very nice and a surprising change of pace from other convention centers which only have pretzel carts), got some food and found a table. We ended up next to two of the most flamboyant gay men that I have seen in a very long while. One had the preppy uniform on of collared pink shirt, white cable knit sweater around his shoulders, and the whole time I was just trying to place them... I knew them from somewhere... So anyway, they finished their lunch and left and then this big burly guy came and took the table and Ryan commented on how it was funny how you always see the same people at conventions no matter what city you go to, and I agreed. What he didn't realize was that the burly guy now sitting behind him was wrestler Mick Foley, who is a regular on the comic con circuit. So that was pretty funny. "Oh no, I wasn't talking about YOU. I meant the other guy. With the pink shirt?" ha ha ha

Anyway, Ryan left to go to the bathroom and while he was gone, I got to eavesdrop on the CUTEST conversation between Mick Foley and his kids. He was talking to a little boy, who I assume was fairly young. Maybe it's rude to write about other people's conversations, but the jist of it was that the boy was a huge fan of Rocky (Balboa) and had asked his dad to get an autograph for him. Stallone doesn't do conventions (at least that I have ever seen) so Dad wasn't able to get it but he was able to get the autograph of one of the other people from Rocky (another boxer). And the boy was excited, but sincerely confused about how his dad was meeting boxers from Philadelphia in Los Angeles and asked several pointed questions along the lines of "but he lives in Philadelphia, so WHY would he be in Los Angeles?" It was really cute.

Ryan's autograph session for The Darkness was a hit. The Darkness team was in the Top Cow booth for nearly 3 hours and still had a line. Marc Silvestri (the man of the hour) was a big part of the draw, and since he was doing fan sketches and not just autographs, he was swamped. It's funny (to me) how there are these huge ROCK STARS in industries that you're not at all aware of. If you don't read comics, you probably wouldn't know Marc Silvestri and so it would be a total surprise that people would stand in line for 3 hours for his autograph. But, like a lot of other "celebs" he's actually a very nice guy. I've met him a bunch of times over the years, but since I'm usually "my friend Mia" or "my friend's wife, Mia" I'm not much of an impression. BUT this year... this year not only did he remember me, BUT I got to have a nice small-world chat with him about my friend V who works with his wife. He was like "oh, you know V?!" and was all excited. Remember me now, Marc Silvestri! Bwah ha ha haha! ;-)

The plan was to waste some time in LA after the show, to avoid traffic, and in the morning we were so tired that we had been planning to stall with dinner, then get home. But after the momentum of the autograph session and everything, we were re-energized and so we called Adam for a dinner suggestion, which was this: come over. Perfect! So we drove over to Adam's house (which, BTW, if you can wrangle a tour is fantastic). We hung out for a bit and Ryan broke some CDs and his telescope - you know, like people do - and then we headed out for dinner with Adam's friends T* and Ann. There is a whole long story behind, but the essence is that T and Ann used to date, but don't anymore, and Ann was visiting from out of state and staying with T. So, tension. It had all the elements of a classic sitcom drama moment with wild explosions. Unfortunately, everyone was cool. Dinner was lovely. We got to eat some recipes created by an Iron Chef, Adam got all red in the face from sake, T gave us some Hollywood insider info on a new movie that rhymes with Schmat-schman (for which he has seen the director's cut), Ann was lovely and funny and we share an allergy to sulfides. So it was all nice and good, but NO DRAMA, which was disappointing.

Following dinner, T and Ann wanted to go to a different place for dessert, but we didn't have time, because we had decided to drop in unannounced for Kate's show, Scandal! On the way to the theater, we stopped into Susina Bakery for something sweet. They have whole display cases full of delicate little cookies -- the ones that always LOOK like they'll be good, but aren't. Adam convinced us to try the little cookies ("You know how they always LOOK like they''ll be good, but aren't? Well these ones ARE") which are sold by the pound - we just told the guy to fill us up a plate load. OMG. They sincerely, truly ARE delicious. Flaky without being dry. Not oversweet or too plain. And there are these ones that are something between a nougat and a pecan pie slice with the end dipped in chocolate that are FANTASTIC.

Fortunately, the cookies are small, so we were able to cram them into our mouths before running to the theater (no joke, it was 5 minutes 'til showtime and there were like 8 cookies on the plate and Adam suggested we shove them into our mouth as fast as we could, like Cookie Monster. So we did.). We got to the show right on time and got great seats up in the back (so I could pirate pictures). And holy eff if the show wasn't GREAT. Kate had warned us earlier in the week that much of the cast wasn't going to be in the show that night, for various reasons, so if there was any single show to skip, it would be this one. Scandal! is a weekly soap opera that is improved in front of a live audience. It's amazing, because they legitimately have NO script, NO direction for the story, NO lines, NO plot -- it just goes as it goes. It's hard to wrap your brain around!

Kate, as Jessica Goldwater, is fantastic. God, she plays big dramatic roles so well. I want them to bring back Dynasty or something, just so she can be one of those glamourous, tempestuous women full time. Really, she is great. And not just because she's my friend either. I tried to get video, so you could see her in action, but I didn't have space on my memory card (damn Mia! always bring more memory!!) so I just took 154 pictures.

After the show, we chatted with Kate for a bit, before she had to go back in for the announcements about the new improv companies - who would be in each of the companies, etc. [FYI, Kate is in x-ray company at Acme, so look out for their performances] - and the accompanying cake party. It was fun to surprise her with us being there.

The whole drive home, we were buzzing about the MILLION different great moments of the day. We were home by maybe 1am but couldn't calm down enough to sleep until after 3am because it was such an awesome day.

*he has a unique name and I don't want to post it to the interwebs without asking

Posted by giddygirlie at 1:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I still haven't had a chance to formulate my thoughts about the weekend yet, but I want to MAKE SURE that everyone in the world loves Angus Oblong as much as I do. (You watch the Olblongs, right?)

Via YouTube, a clip from his pilot for Deliriously Jen and also a Weird Al mash-up set to Olblong cartoon clips

Posted by giddygirlie at 1:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It's 3am, so my brain doesn't have much power left (the low-battery light keeps flickering), but I wanted to remind myself to come back to some of the following items:

* lunch with Mick Foley
* huge success of Ryan's first signing for The Darkness
* making friends at Moomooch
* disappointing lack of drama at dinner
* a POUND of cookies for dessert
* sneak attack on Kate at Scandal!
* high falutin' new business cards for me & also for Ryan (mine are cooler*)

*disclaimer: I designed my own business cards, so I am just loudly tooting my own horn.

Posted by giddygirlie at 1:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Heard at the office:

"Usually, I am in bed by 9:30pm, but I have been so tired lately that I went to bed at 8 two nights in a row!"

To which I say:

Holy crap. I am LUCKY if I have managed to decide on what's for dinner by 9:30pm. In bed by 1am and I am a happy gal. How? How? HOW do these people go to sleep at 9:30pm? I really wish I had the secret because I would love to be a Happy Sunshine in the Morning person. But I'm not. At all.

Speaking of which - I am working 1/2 day tomorrow, then off to see the wonderful Wizard of Con. Convention season starts tomorrow and Ryan has an autograph session with the Big Dog, Marc Silvestri tomorrow afternoon. For the non-comic nerds who peruse this place, know that MS is the owner of Top Cow comics, a division of Image Comics, a division of MegaloNerd Corp. So, yeah. He's kind of a big deal. Plus, he's 6'8". No joke. The dude is taaaaaaaalllll.

If anyone is coming out to the convention this weekend, holla! We'll be in and out of booth #201 - Top Cow Comics. Ryan's schedule is posted and the rest of the time we'll be toodling around the convention for THREE DAYS. Kate and Adam are coming to spell me a bit from the boredom awesome on Saturday, which I am looking forward to. And you can too! Come! Join us! We'll all chip in on a picture with Lou Ferrigno!

Posted by giddygirlie at 11:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I don't tell everyone about this blog. And not because I am ashamed or secretive or that it doesn't reflect who I really am, but mostly because EVERYONE thinks they know about "internet people". About the kinds of wackos that you meet in chat rooms and the freakouts who troll message boards and the scammers who befriend you to steal your bank account number. Sure, they've seen 60 Minutes and now they know it all. And rather than argue and defend the crazies that are on TV, I just keep mum.

But the internet, like EVERYWHERE ELSE, is full of good people. GREAT people, in fact. And blogging here has allowed me this teeny tiny window into the vast Awesomeness of the Internet. I have made dear friends who are fun to chat with and special friends who I will be connected to forever.

In no small turn of events (thanks to the internet), I made friends with Miss Bliss who asked "Do you know who you'd really like? Kate!" And so I met Kate and didn't just like her, I LOVED her. Kate and I started hanging out regularly because we're both Disneyland annual pass holders and, like me, she loves to look in the art galleries and such. I, being me, take a billion pictures and so I started photographing the art pieces that I liked and posting them on Flickr, as kind of a fantasy scrap book. While googling one of the artists, Kevin Kidney, I found that he posted his art to Flickr! So, I started browsing his Portfolio of Sorts and commenting on how much I loved it all (covet, covet, covet) and I made him my Flickr Friend to track the Latest and Greatest and one of the pieces that he posted was one that I had seen in the Gallery! Hey, it IS a small world after all! And via that comment thread, I learned that Disneyland would be selling these same prints, which made me very giddy to lay my mitts on a copy.

But alas, the Disneyland Gallery folks hadn't seen the print and weren't sure if it was sold out or not-yet-available, so I have been checking back at the parks on a weekly basis.

And then today*.

I am SO grateful and humble and appreciative and awed and amazed and adjective adjective adjective. See? See?! There are WONDERFUL people out there on the internet. Truly thoughtful and kind and selfless people.

So, in short. THANK YOU Kevin Kidney. I don't know how to thank you enough.

*the one small caveat is that I did converse with him via email about my mailing address, but I really couldn't have expected this. If anything, I thought maybe an invite to a gallery show. This just BLEW MY MIND.

Posted by giddygirlie at 3:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Once upon a time, a fair young maiden was lovesick over a prince sweatshirt that could never be hers. The retro design made her covet love grow stronger and stronger and yet the evil queen $58 price tag cast a spell on her heart wallet and she knew that true love sweatshirt ownership was not meant to be.

Being a resourceful lady cheap bastard, the maiden set out to create her own version of this sweatshirt with all the fine details Disney nerdishness of the original. She surveyed all the fair princesses of the land to find out which were the best moments and places within their Magic Kingdom and was thus given a list by which she could expand her creativity.

So it came to pass that the maiden took her list and set about staying home Friday nights for 3 weeks in a row crafting the royal sweatshirts. By her own hand, she created princesses and tiki gods, flying ships and twirling cups, fanciful fairies and dancing bears, electrified bugs and ghostly travelers, hungry whales and adventurer's hats.

So it came to pass that the three bloggers princesses visited the Magic Kingdom, donning their finery and were able to revel in all that the Disneyland had to offer them...

A sideshow circus, full of interesting people.

Priceless works of art.

Hungry sea creatures.

A resting room for Queens.

And electric dragons who sing and play music, just for them.

Posted by giddygirlie at 10:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Last night, we went to see Divine Miss Danley at Pinata! (@ the Bang Studio), who did a reading of "The Night I Met Kitty Carlisle" and it was to die for.

But before all that, there was the trip up to LA. Which was the usual, except for some reason we hit this big pocket of freeway with no traffic and so it only took us maybe an hour (leaving at 5pm!) to get to the LA area. We were glad that we got there ahead of schedule, so that we'd have time to grab a snack before the show, because we were starving. I also needed to get gas in my car, so we jumped off the 101 two exits early and decided to take side-streets over to the theater and I (of course) turned the wrong way and we ended up in Chinatown Koreatown*. Which is very interesting. I had never driven through that part of town before, so I was enamored with the Ethical Drug Store, YouMe Tailor, and the Optometrist signs.

Eventually, I got us back to the area where we wanted to be, and so we called up Adam to get the cross streets for Lala's and tell him to meet us there because damn if we didn't need some of that chimmichurri sauce RIGHT NOW! Being amicable, he agreed to meet us and we decided to only have some appetizers and save the dinner appetite for post-show noshing at Canter's. We were sitting on the patio, so it was too dim for pictures, so you will just have to believe me that it was a BOATLOAD of food and it was all so incredibly good. The Provaleta is a small cast iron skillet of MELTED PROVOLONE CHEESE with a little chunky salsa on top. Just think about that for a minute... melty, gooey, provolone... We also order the combo appetizer with empenadas that were scrumptious, the potato quiche was potatolicious AND we managed to eat 47 loaves of bread and 3 bowls of chimmichurri. Call Guinness. It's a record.

Then we rushed to the theater and I only had $19 instead of $20 which caused us to be a minute late into the theater and, of course, Kate got bumped to open the show. NOOOOOOO!! My plan was to film it all for her (and all of us) but since we got in late, I thought it would be missing too much, so I started snapping pictures. Only to realize that we were, literally, less than 1 minute late and so the video would have totally worked. Oh well. This way I got to just enjoy the story in rapt attention. Sorry to anyone who couldn't make it because FUCK you missed a good show. [/rubbing it in]

Lucky for photo enthusiasts everywhere, we were in the front row because Adam has a wicked sense of humor and figured that if we couldn't get ourselves to the show on ON TIME that we would have to sit in the front. Ha ha ha ha cough*you're totally dead after the show*cough Ha ha ha ha

All the readers (performers?) were great. Most were comical stories and were hilarious. One was this wonderful piece called "Fumbling on Ecstasy" by Kevin Maynard that was a brilliant little piece (I don't want to give away the end!) about his uneasy experience with ecstacy and the whole time he seemed a little nervous. Whether it was a bit of Big Night Jitters or method acting, I don't know, but it really gave the story a whole new dimension. All of the performers were wonderful, and I want to tell you everything, but I don't know if anyone repeats their readings or whatever, in which case I would never want to ruin the surprise for you. Really, THAT good.

And two good things came out of us sitting in the front row. #1 is that Ryan laughs easily and laughs loudly. I am more of a smile-and-nod person myself, so my feedback is useless to people on stage being blinded by spotlights. It was interesting to see each reader come up and hit a punchline and I swear that they were listening for his reaction. Which is great, because he was laughing at everything (probably louder than the rest of the crowd, even) so they knew that they were doing well. So that made me feel good that if nothing else, these people could hear my loud-ass husband guffawing his buns off. #2 is that Ryan got pulled on stage! During Alex Alexander's piece about avoiding Jury Duty, he was asked to play the Judge. He had a good time with it and luckily is good in front of a crowd, so he was happy to jump up there and read along. And he was glad that the type face was gigantic, since the heat of the stage lamps made his glasses fog right up.

So all of it is well and good, but the Main Event for us was Kate. And... whoa. It was a super well written, beautifully read piece. It was funny and sad and poignant and hit all the highs and lows. It was just really, really well done. She shared her experiences from Blake da Musical, which was based on the Robert Blake/Bonnie Lee Bakely story, which were so fantastic - and even more fantastical. Like the people involved in the case who were bummed not to see themselves represented in the musical and the attorneys who decided not to sue because the show was too funny. And, of course, it culminates with the night she meets Kitty Carlisle, which is not my story to tell. But I can say that it was fantastic. And I sincerely hope she does it again soon!

*thanks to Dan for noticing that I was mis-attributing the awesomeness of these signs to the Chinese, when in fact they were the Koreans who have the awesome sense of humor. Go Ethical Drugs!

Posted by giddygirlie at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

So this is how it goes... money in, money out. My mom always said that cars and animals can smell money and as soon as you have money in the bank, something will go wrong and cost $40 more than what you actually have.

True to form, Ryan got his paycheck deposited yesterday and on the way home from lunch with a friend had a tire BLOW OUT on the freeway. Ok great.

Also Monkey's cough started getting slightly worse. For the past few days, he's had this little choking-sound cough. He only does it maybe 3 times a day, and only for 30 seconds when he does, but still. And last night I realized what he was doing. He's actually snorting to clear his sinuses and then choking a bit on phlegm. Poor baby. Since he's not going to eat a Halls cough drop, the only thing I could do was take him to the vet. One $250 chest x-ray later, he might have an allergy (or he might just have dust in his nose) but the only way to know for sure is a $200 blood test. In which case, he will be given the same medicine that he was given today (Claritin for cats!). If it turns out to be something else, it most likely would be asthma, but the vet thinks that the asthma would be caused by allergies, so we really just need the antihistimines. So I struggled with caring for my favorite guy and spending the money on a test that probably isn't going to help us understand anything better and opted to try the antihistimines for a week and if he's not better, come back for the blood test. So yay that he's ok but boo that it costs $300* for a vet to throw some antihistimines at you.

Ryan is also planning a Vegas trip for Jake's bachelor party, which means that since we have money earmarked for Fun, the roof is going to cave in. No, not the roof, because we rent and so that would be someone else's expense... but maybe I'll break my leg. Or turn all of my clothes pink in the washing machine.

*also, why is an office visit $50? I mean, I understand that vets gotsta get paid, but cripes!

Posted by giddygirlie at 1:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Before we start talking about how irresponsible I am, let's complain about everyone else. Right.

So after my chiropractic appointment tonight, I thought hey! You know what goes good with an hour long massage and back-crackin' session? AN ICE COLD COCA-COLA! and just like I knew it would be, there was an AM/PM* across the street. Perfect! I could get my frosty beverage of choice direct from the soda fountain (as god intended) AND with the tiny crunchy ice (they have 2 separate ice thingies at the AM/PM, one for cubes and one for crunchies). Hooray! Although I don't know why it matters to me, since I am not an ice cube chewer, but whatever! Crunchy!

So I get my small soda (smallest available is like 24oz or something gluttonous) and pass by a rack of chips and nuts and damn if I'm not starving to death. I realize that all that I have had to eat today was a 2 inch square of quiche. And that's it. And that was 7 hours ago. So heck yes, I need some chips. And also some honey roasted peanuts, why not? So I make my way to pay and as I slide my card through the machine, the girl at the counter informs me that they don't take credit cards, only ATM/debit. Which is... strange. At the very least. I mean where DOESN'T accept credit cards? And therein lies the problem. The Great Financial Oracle in the Sky has donned every establishment in North America with credit card access. Even in places where your totals routinely add up to under $2. Which felt awkward for a while, I'll admit (ever used your credit/debit card for 69 cents? I have.), but I eventually got used to it. I also played right into the Banks' hands and stopped carrying cash altogether. Visa - it's everywhere I want to be!! SO. No credit cards. Ok, no biggie except - and this is the part where it becomes MY problem - I don't know the PIN number for my credit/debit card. I bank at a local credit union who solved the Y2K problem with their ATM cards by setting the expiration date as 12/31/2049. I am not kidding. And up until sometime last month, that ATM card worked dandy, until it didn't. Which leaves me with no way to access cash (or make a deposit, if you go in for that kind of thing). Which hasn't been a problem, until now.

So, I apologize and tell her I'll try the ATM to withdraw cash so that the line formed behind me can get their Skoal and Flaming Hot Cheetos and get out. I go up to the cash machine and play PIN number lotto for a while. I seem to recall that this PIN code has a 3 in it and maybe a 5, that's a good start. So I fiddle around with 5 digit combos with 3 and 5 and none work, and I decide it's best to abandon the project before the machine eats my card. Aha! Wait, I remembered that I have $4 loose in the bottom of my purse (why not?) so I start looking through the various receipts (past credit purchases) and gum wrappers and trash and can't find one damn dollar. I feel that at the very least, I have to pay the 99 cents for the soda with the crunchy ice, since I DID take a sip off the straw, but I have no cash. Luckily, Ryan likes to hide dollars in my car, so I found $2 and went back inside. I had to put back the nuts because I didn't have enough money, and the cashier (sweet thing that she was) offered to let me take it and come back tomorrow with the money. It kind of broke my heart that she was so nice. I mean, here I was, this oily girl fresh outta the massage bed, smelling like lemongrass and assorted aroma therapies and she was so nice. If I was her, I would have thought 'overprivileged bitch' and laughed at the loser who couldn't scrounge up $3 to feed her fat face. Instead, she must have mistaken me for someone who was oily from hard work and just needed a little honey roasted pick-me-up to make it through before schlepping home to my houseful of ungrateful kids.

Tomorrow, after going IN to the bank to change my PIN number, I am going right back over there with flowers for that sweet girl. Or at least the $4 cash that I found in my purse 30 seconds after I drove away (reaching for a mint, came out with $4).

*AM/PMs are everywhere, right? It's like a 7-11 attached to a gas station?

Posted by giddygirlie at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I am REALLY trying to keep up a normal blog posting schedule and also get some real CONTENT to share with you. I have a whole boatload of stories floating around, lost at sea, and someday my ship will come (did I just say that?).

Anyway, there's a lot coming up this week and next week and in the near future and I am just trying to keep up with it all!

Thursday, March 6th is Kate's show at Pinata (Bang Comedy Theater). Which, I am crazy stupid excited to see. It's like her own personal moritification, cringe-inducing night of reading her essay "The Night I Met Kitty Carlisle" with FREE CANDY. Plus, we're meeting up at Canter's post-show, if any of y'all want to have some matzo ball soup with us. (delish!)

Saturday is Pete's going away party. He decided that taking a giant promotion and a fat raise and moving back to his hometown would be acceptable. WRONG! I care not that you were able to upgrade from renting a small apartment to buying a giant house. Or that you're excited to go home. Or that you're new job is basically a path to the top of the company. FORGET THAT NOISE. He's going to be like 3,000 miles away -- in New Jersey! What? It snows there, you idiot. *sigh* So anyway, we're having a party and pretending that we're not going to miss him so badly.

Sunday, I am taking a Disney Day with Bliss and Kate and maybe even Ryan. I know it seems like we're always there, but we aren't! Er, not all together anyway. PLUS I made this 'thing' for Bliss like... um.... 100 months ago? And haven't seen her recently to give it to her and I am secretly bursting inside to give it? So... yeah, no pressure to like it though. HA!

LA Comic Con is next weekend : see Ryan's blog for more details (as soon as I write them! ha!), but mainly I have been rushing around getting everyone registered and making sure that people who need free passes get them, and those who bought their tickets (KATE!!) get teased.

I'm also trying to help a good lady get her business off the ground, via comic nerds and SoCal representation, so there's that too.

I am designing business cards for us for our multiple personalities because convention season is in full swing and dang if I want to be stuck printing off those Avery do-it-yourself business cards which my printer insists on feeding out crooked. Which, then makes me yell at things. So I need to get these finished a.s.a.p. and off to a real printer, so that they will look all nice-y.

Additionally, I am making plans for Ryan and some of his comrades to be in attendance for autographs and sketches for Free Comic Book Day, which isn't until May, but May is a LOT closer than you think. I'll cross-post the details when I get them confirmed. (AND it's the day before the wedding for which I need to find a dress)

We're also standing by for the 24 Hour Comic Day, which is SUPER fun. If you've got the guts to stay awake all night (or at least survive on several small naps) then you have to check this out. The date is TBD, but I'm trying to pre-plan, because Ryan has a busy work schedule.

Comic Con (the big one) in San Diego isn't until July, but hotels are already overbooked, so I am digging through the mire of finding us some place to sleep and wash our butts. The other night, we drew out a fairly solid plan to sail John's boat down to the marina and stay there -- which actually could be kind of awesome. But I am still personally hoping for a hotel-type situation. I did, however, get us registered and confirmed, so check THAT off the list.

And since idle hands are not suffering from carpal tunnel or whatever, I am ALSO trying to work with my friend to create an itinerary to travel to Europe (first time ever!) this fall. Maybe. Or next February, I'm not quite sure.

Oh, and I need to squeeze in an hour to do my taxes at some point. Maybe around the end of April? ;-)

Posted by giddygirlie at 4:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Last night we went to the Mighty Mighty Bosstones show at the Avalon. The first happy surprise of the night is that the Avalon is the Palace! I didn't know that it had a name (and, apparently attitude) change. The Palace was the first place we saw the Bosstones (a million years ago, when we were young. Back in the times of the dinosaurs), so it was like a full-circle show. It's either the ultimate close OR the ultimate beginning to a new era of Bosstones concerts. John dubbed it an "eralennium" (era + millenium).

We were really disappointed that the Pietasters didn't play. Why the no-show, Pietasters?! Street Dogs were okay. I wasn't that into it. It sounded like a Dropkick Murphy's tribute band* rather than anything new. But the uptick was that the Bosstones played an extra-long set. And man. It was so awesome.

Firstly, I've been listening to Bosstones since I was a teenager, so a lot of their music has the nostalgic power to whip me back to the magical days of yore. Except that, dang. I am not 16 anymore.

I got carded. Really? REALLY? Yeah, I'm short but I am old. And it's not flattering when it's a hipster doofus in a Hollywood nightclub doing the asking.

I snuck a picture of the set list, so that we'd have it. But as it turns out, John scored a copy from my sound board friend****.

The show ended promptly at 11pm, because the Avalon promptly turns into a club after 11pm (WTF?). Which left us with a little too much energy. For two tipsy chicks who just jumped around for 2 hours and screamed themselves horse, we were surprisingly spry. The only way to vent some of the energy was to yell out the car window at the people heading to the nightclubs and also leaving the theater. We yelled from both sides of the car "you look really nice! No, seriously!", "that's a good color on you!", or "your hair smells fantastic!" The theater crowd coming out of Wicked didn't appreciate us at all. What's up with that? We were being nice. We are mature adult women. Not rude teenagers yelling profanities or creepy guys making catcalls. Sheesh.

For those who might be interested, the set list:

• Dr. D*****


• 1-2-8


• He's Back


• Simmer Down


• Rascal King


• Sugarfree


• Where'd You Go


• Let Me Be


• Someday I Suppose


• Everybody's Better


• Kinder Words


• Devil's Night Out


• Royal Oil


• How I Was


• Old School


• Pictures To Prove It


• Hope I Never Lose My Wallet


• Impression That I Get


• Tin Soldiers

encore
• Skinhead


• Rudie (Clash cover)


• Desmond Dekker


• Holy Smoke

*yes, I DO know that's the original Dropkick Murphy's singer. Joe Sirois (Bosstones) is also the drummer. I can respect the individuals without liking the band.
**yes, I am shrimpy.
***it's generally recognized that ska mosh pits are "friendly" - if someone falls, everyone helps him up. It's more like... ridiculously rough, sweaty dancing. In a circular motion. Only one guy was bleeding and that was from a failed crowd-surfing incident.
****flash photography in the car is always a bad idea. Ask everyone about the decibel level in the car after I took this. "Goddammit!" "I'm blind!" and "Mia! I am trying to drive up here!" and "ha ha ha ha ha!!!!" could be heard for miles around us.
*****about the father of the original drummer, Josh Dalsimer, and how he'd let them have band practice in the basement. This song brings the house down every time.

Posted by giddygirlie at 9:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)