Friday Five - Random

Whether it's new friends or new loves or new employers, what are five things people should know about you?

1. I am fairly easygoing, but I have a stubborn streak.
2. I am terrified of E.T.
3. I LOVE music - performing it, listening to it, dancing to it, etc.
4. HOWEVER, I *strongly* dislike being in a social situation and having folks say "Oooh, you sing? Sing something for us! Right now!"
5. I get frustrated when professional Christian artists settle for mediocrity.

for your reading pleasure

I'm reveling in the fact that I have a working laptop again! yay!
Because my brain and body are fried from performances this weekend, I'm keeping this short.

For your reading pleasure, please go check out LT Nixon's short story about a returning Iraq Vet over at America Goes On! Good stuff.

off the grid

First off, thanks for all the kind words, everyone. I've been very
busy with rehearsal and all and then got slammed with a killer sinus
infection...haven't been to work all week. I'm just thankful that my
throat is ok. Congestion I can deal with if need be. Opening night is
this Friday...here's praying that I can breathe!

too close to home

The effects of our economic meltdown are far-reaching, but - to be honest - I have not really noticed *that* much of a difference in my day-to-day life. Yes, my 401(k) has gone down - but I've only been contributing to one for a few years, and I have time to build it back up. Yes, prices have gone up...but I'm single, I don't have a family to feed and I can keep my costs low, etc.

However, for a lot of people, this economic crisis is an all-consuming monster. People are desperate, and sunk into the depths of depression. I get it . . . and I am grateful that my self-worth and hope is not wrapped up in our economy. Nor in my singing. Nor in my relationships.

But, I know folks for whom hope seems to not be an option; it's not even a faint knock at the door. Today at work, we found out the effects of being caught in that despair. One of our external colleagues - a woman I have known for 4 years and who is in a large part responsible for my staying in SF by helping me out when I needed a job - was killed because her boyfriend felt that a lack of money meant life should not continue. A completely needless death and it makes me angry and sad...but at the moment I just feel dull and shocked.

uh....really?

Really, Tim? You forgot to pay your back taxes?

I know . . . it's hard having to do your own taxes, especially if you have to file self-employment taxes - all that code is tricky! And, sure, we all make mistakes now and then. However . . . if you're the nominee to run the Treasury Department, can I ask why you don't have a CPA helping ya out with those? Surely you can afford one - and assuming you don't have anything to hide, that *might* be a good idea. I mean, we wouldn't want you to resign as well.

PS: And Bill, BILL. REALLY? Way to step up and drop out, I guess.

What about catfish?

Oh man. PETA cracks me up...again.

I'm all for advocating fish at pets - I have one myself, a betta called Pancho. And for all his benefits (allergen-free, for one), I have yet to be able to achieve the nice feeling one gets when having a dog or cat curl up beside you - hugging the fish bowl doesn't quite cut it.

But the real question is - would Catfish now be called Cat-sea-kittens?

Here we go again...?

OH goody. That's near my house, hope it won't turn into what happened in Oakland last week . . .

potential

Things left unsaid, undone and unfinished come to mind.
I wonder if things have changed. Or not.
I wonder if I've changed. Or not.
I wonder if you've changed. How much?
I wonder what it would be like either way. Yes/no. Plus/minus. Smiles/tears.
And I can't choose which path, because I'm not the only one choosing.
A three-legged race is not won on only two legs.

Things left unsaid. Unheard. Unrealized. Un-realized?

What if it was all a figment of my imagination?
What if I make a fool of myself? But then again - what if I don't?
Would you dare to play the fool?
Does the possibility of public humiliation in front of a private audience outweigh the constant drum of 'what-if's' inside of my skull?

Where *is* the so-called line, and shall it be breached?
Or shall it merely be danced around and upon?

Too many questions and an outcome which remains to be seen. Heard. Sensed.
Felt. Craved. Answered.
Given. Received.
Accepted.

Today's my half-birthday

Who knew that Whole Foods was the place to be on a Saturday evening? I stopped there on my way home tonight to pick up some basil (making pesto for a potluck tomorrow) and the place was PACKED - at 8pm on a Saturday night. Wild, man.

But I digress.

It's somewhat strange, being at the age I am (thisclose to 30) and having so many married friends now having kids! Not strange: bad. Just strange: unknown. It's like I'm the uninitiated brownie to their girl scout. I have all the parts, pieces and knowledge of how two people can get married and have kids - but I haven't yet sold enough cookies or earned enough merit badges to have my crossing over ceremony. The gap created by friends getting married just widens that much further when said friends have their kiddos. BUT these kids I absolutely love and adore and plan on spoiling rotten (much to their parents' combined joy and chagrin, I can only imagine..heh heh!).

I had lunch today with a grad school friend whose first child is due in March. It was so fun to catch up with her - she has literally popped out (tummy-wise) since I saw her last November. I got to ask all about her pregnancy hopes, expectations and fears. I learned - also - that her national guard unit (she and her husband are both in the Air National Guard Band - that's how they met!) has been activated and her husband will deploy for a short summer stint a few months after Baby arrives. She will not be deploying with them (unlike the Army, I guess the USAF won't let spouses deploy together), but will stay behind to work her summer commitment at the base back home. That's going to be hard, but we're already praying for a smooth summer! Anyway - she's my first *close* friend actually geographically close enough for me to get to experience some of the pregnancy with her in person. And it's fun. And strange...in a good way. I just - I don't know if I will join the mommy-ranks. At least - not in the immediate future, and honestly, I don't feel the pangs of my biological clock ticking away, either. Perhaps that all magically changes when one turns 30? I don't know. Ask me in six months.

Until then, I shall enjoy my morning coffee, a nice glass of wine and the luxury of being able to sleep through the night.

Friday Five - Pancakes

1. Scratch or mix? Buttermilk or plain? Scratch, if possible, though there are some decent mixes out there. And I use buttermilk if I have any in the fridge!

2. Pure and simple, or with additions cooked in? Pure and simple, but *occasionally* with chocolate chips..

3. For breakfast or for dinner? Either. Though during the holidays with houseguests, we've had them a couple times in the morning.

4. Preferred syrup or other topping? How about the best side dish? Real maple syrup if they are plain pancakes. No butter. (If they are chocolate chip - no topping needed!) I love bacon or sausage patties with pancakes - and I like to dip them in maple syrup, too! It's the tasty salty/sweet combo thing.

5. Favorite pancake restaurant? In SF, probably Kate's Kitchen. Back home in CO, I like the Original Pancake House - especially in the fall, when they have their awesome pumpkin pancakes!

At least Code Pink hasn't resorted to smashing and torching. (Yet).

....I could NOT believe tonight's SFGATE article on the protests happening in Oakland today.

[Backstory: A BART cop shot and killed a man - WHO WAS ALREADY HANDCUFFED AND ON THE FLOOR - on New Year's Day in a BART station in Oakland. If you really must, there are tons of videos floating around on the 'net with the actual shooting. They are even playing it on our local news. But I'm not going to link to one here. ANYWAY. As such, people are protesting - as well they should - this whole thing.]

During this evening's protest, things started getting out of hand and protestors started torching cars and smashing random storefronts. REAL productive. However, this one section of the article stood out to me as a huge WTF:

Protesters smashed the storefronts of McDonald's as well as stores called Creative African Braids and Oakland Yoon's Pharmacy. Cars along 14th Street were smashed, and some were set ablaze.

A woman walked out of Creative African Braids holding a baby in her arms.

"This is our business," she shouted. "This is our shop. This is what you call a protest?"

Nia Sykes, 24, of San Francisco, a protester who was with the group, said, "I feel like the night is going great. I feel like Oakland should make some noise. This is how we need to fight back.

"It's for the murder of a black male," said Sykes, who is black. The demonstration "is totally appropriate."

Sykes had little sympathy for the owner of Creative African Braids.

"She should be glad she just lost her business and not her life," Sykes said. She added that she did have one worry for the night: "I just hope nobody gets shot or killed."

Wait...WHAT? A protestor from San Francisco thinks it's TOTALLY APPROPRIATE to smash in an unaffiliated local business?? How the hell does that make any sense???? PEOPLE. It is horrible and awful and beyond belief how that boy was killed by the BART cop, and the cop should face the consequences for that. HOWEVER.....I am pissed off for the folks who own the braids place - I mean, really...especially right now when local small businesses are suffering anyway, let's just add a huge-ass repair bill on top of that?? UGH. That is horrible and I just don't get it.

It's probably a good thing . . .

...that at whenever point this coming year Sibling moves, he takes all of his gaming systems with him. We currently have a wii and a PS2 . . . and lego games for both. Tonight? We played lego Batman for like...3.5 hours. Seriously addicting - and the best part? You can play both hero AND villain...awesome!

Some might think that an evening spent as such would be a total waste. However, any time I get to spend with my bro before he moves away is time well spent, says I. And, the rest of the evening wasn't wasted! I was not called for rehearsal, so I had the chance to speak at length with P and hear how he's adjusting back to life in the states (he's doing really well), AND I filled out my passport renewal forms. Whohooo!

Hitting it on the head

Sibling let me borrow his laptop since mine is still broken (waiting on that new power cord . . . ), and in those blessed few moments of random surfing, I reconfirmed my Meyers-Briggs Personality Type (ISFJ - The "nurturer") and the description pretty much fits me to a tee. My percentage breakdowns:
10% Introverted
40% Sensing
64% Feeling
24% Judging

Fascinating, really...

Three weeks

Three weeks from yesterday will be opening night for my next show. Whew, man...January is going to FLY on past. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. 2009 is shaping up to be pretty good thus far.

Hooah!

I just talked to P on the phone! After who-knows-how-many hours flying and 5 countries later, he is back in the US with his parents for the weekend on leave before having to report for deployment debriefings this Monday. His 30-day block leave starts in a few weeks. YAY!!
We're all so happy that this tour is over and finished! I'll hopefully get a chance to celebrate with him in person next month in CO.

Thanks, all, for your prayers for P and his fellow soldiers during this stay in the desert. There are still thousands of soldiers, marines, airmen and sailors out there to pray for - so keep up the good work!

Hooah!

ps-good way to start the year

P is on his way home from the desert!! Sometime soon I'll be taking
off this deployment bracelet...yay!

2009...

One of my college friends drove up from LA for a short New Year's
get-away, and we have been having fun and chilling out up here. I
totally owe her a return visit now! Anyway, she asked me if I would
contine to blog 365 like last year (technically...I guess 2008 was 356
with leap day, right?) or not. I haven't decided yet what to do. Part
of me feels compelled to write *something* up here everyday...so,
we'll see. For now, yes. But I won't get too paniky about always
having something up by day's end.
Hope everyone rang in 2009 with celebrations aplenty...we sure had fun
around here!

happy last minutes of 2008

time to bust out the champagne!!