To be a witness to people playing music in a room. All that crazy energy aimed right at you. To move my body and get sweaty. No way I can stand still.
Last weekend I saw three bands in a room with about 100 people and it was HOT and close and loud and OHMYGOODNESS.
My favorites right now are Campfire OK and I would have been happy had the evening held nothing else.
I’ve been super lucky lately to see so many small shows, and really, there’s nothing I’d rather do. On Friday I could reach out my arm in front of me and take a picture of the setlist.
You need to know two things for this story to make sense. Firstly, you remember we live across the street from an elementary school? We have big front windows, and observing the goings-on over there is one of Clark’s favorite things. Second, my boy is OBSESSED with emergency response vehicles. Mainly fire engines, but pretty much any siren in the vicinity of our house goes down like this:
faintest wail
abrupt silence, as crazy monkey screeching and clanging about comes to a halt
siren confirmed
DROP EVERYTHING AND RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN TO THE FRONT WINDOWS
intent observation
thorough report on type, color, and possible destination of said flashy vehicle
SO. I was putting Clark down for his nap. I was laying there with him, as I do, and JUST when I thought he might be asleep, at least TWENTY sirens went by from all directions, one happening like every 10 seconds.
And he stayed asleep. I could NOT believe it. I was also wondering WTF was going on. I was finally able to slip out about 10 minutes later and the first thing I realized was that I could SMELL SMOKE. I headed towards the front windows, thinking, Wow, that fire must be close. And then I got there and dudes, THE SCHOOL WAS ON FIRE.
And there were seriously:
6 fire engines
4 police cars
3 school security cars
4 miscellaneous fire/EMT type vehicles
And FIREMEN ON THE ROOF. And big water squirting. And news helicopters.
Clark slept through it all.
THE END.
******************* There doesn’t seem to be much damage to the school, and no one was there because the teachers are on strike. Just in case you were wondering.
DERBY UPDATE:
Um…I…reallykinda love it. I love the speed and the danger and the hardcore freaking work out of it. I think I AM going to try out, and I know this sounds like BS, but really, “just for the experience”. I know I can’t actually do yet all the things you HAVE to be able to do in the tryouts. So really, it’s about how close I can get. And considering I got on skates for the first time in forever only 4 weeks ago, I’m gonna be proud of myself no matter what. Plus, you know, blog fodder.
SAD THING:
I found out this week that a friend of mine died suddenly. I am also friends with his mom. I called her as soon as I heard, and we sobbed together on the phone. It was Awful. I had been nothing more than facebook friends with him for about 5 years, but when he came back to Tacoma to visit his mom we would definitely hang out and stay up too late and laugh. And oh my god, his mom. Even imagining the tiniest part of it makes my eyes fill. All this to say, hug your babies, hug your friends.
When I got that call I was in a STORMY, light stompy kind of mood because Clark had gotten up super early, and I still should have been sleeping. And then I got that news. And jeez, you know? Life is so precious WTF am I doing wasting one minute of it stomping?
PRETTY:
We went to another beachmagic concert. It was LOVELY. So lovely, the loveliness out-weighs the vomit and poo and sand and 3 outfit changes that were unfortunately involved. This is saying a lot, but again with the PNW epicness:
MEXICO:
As you know, my parents watch my child for free and they are excited about it always and never want to give him back once they have him. I REALIZE HOW LUCKY I AM. Anywho, back when we were both working for that brief period earlier this year, we bought my parents (and us) a few days in Mexico at a cushy, wristband resort on the beach to thank them for those thousands and thousands of dollars they save us. There will be entire days spent with Clark in the pool, WARM sand and sea (he’s gonna flip out), and maybe since there are 4 adults to share him, a relaxing beach read here and there. We are off!* See you when I get back with my Something About Mary tan.
*all the usual stuff about armed house-sitters, ferocious dogs, spy cameras, etc.
Oh, you guys. There are no words. I know, I know, I can be overly enthusiastic about such things, but for serious, there is nothing in the world like the Doe Bay Fest.
I took a million pictures, but I didn’t really take any of the best part, uh, THE MUSIC. I decided to dancedancedance with my two loves, soak up the sun, get all sweaty, and really LIVE in the juicy. Here are a few of the times I had a camera handy.
SB threw together this little video of bits he captured here and there. The song is “Primp and Prune” by Campfire OK, who were my favorites if I had to say.
No. Words. Or, I guess, a few super inadequate ones.
Over the weekend, after not really running so much lately, I did the Narrows Half again. It wasn’t as grey and wet as last year, but I did have three Incidents That Shall Not Be Described. It was still a good morning and I’m glad I did it.
Then on monday…
So, a couple of weeks ago down at the Twilight Criterium I was dancing to some music with Clark, when this badass looking chick came up to me and said something like, “We’ve been watching you. (gestures to table of onlooking badasses in the beer garden) You look tough. Have you ever thought about Roller Derby?”
Well. Apparently, flattery will get you everywhere, because last night I started bootcamp with the Dockyard Derby Dames.
After signing a BUNCH of waivers, I toted my bag of borrowed superhero stuff over to the wall and started gearing up. I hadn’t been on skates since I was 12. I consider myself athletic, I suppose, so that and stupidity had led me to believe that I could do this.
I took this right before I stood up for the first time:
I was feeling like this:
I was sent to get a name tag and crashed into the table, because um… I didn’t really know how to stop. Think about it. At the 6th grade rollerskating birthday party, you know, my previous skating experience, didn’t you just crash into a wall when you wanted to stop? Well, there are no walls in roller derby.
So, yeah. I fell down A LOT. But I wasn’t terrible! Some things I picked up right away, and I felt crazy proud of myself. Others, not so much. But the time flew by, and DUDES, I am So Sore. WAY WAY more than from running a half. Also banged up. But it kinda rules. Makes me feel hard core.
I can’t wait to go back again. I don’t even know if I will try out at the end. I might not be any good and maybe I don’t have the time. But this is going to be a fun 4 weeks no matter what. Stay tuned for photos of my epic bruises as they develop.
My most lovely friend threw herself a fabulous fete for her 40th birthday. A couple of weeks prior, another friend of hers emailed me with the best idea anyone has ever had:
We should have a flash mob.
Of course. Of course we should. It is a testament to how tremendously well liked is my friend that so many people were game. From three different factions of her life! There was a college group, a work contingent, and her Seattle crowd as well.
After a not-even-that-extensive youtube search, I was able to find the perfect video of a group of educators doing a flash mob at a conference. It was ideal because it had dance moves performed by Actual People, there was a TUTORIAL video as well, and the song was fun and had a good message. We emailed links and instructions and whatnot far and wide and hoped for the best. I think we were all imagining the disaster this could be.
I have to admit that even though I was one of planners of the whole deal, as the event drew closer, I kept feeling all, gah! I have to go learn that dance. I had my own party to prepare for, fun houseguests, and there was always something better to do. BUT THEN. We all put the babies to bed, cracked some beers, hooked the laptop up to the TV, and got our groove on. You guys, it was SO FUN to learn a dance routine. As soon as we started, all I wanted to DO was practice.
This was the most fun I have had in a long long time. There are a couple of videos, which I’ll link, but none of them really get the Birthday Girl’s face. It was truly one of life’s greatest moments to watch her realize what was going on, how utterly delighted and surprised she was.
Maybe watch a few seconds of each of these, if you feel like it. I’m in the front in a blue dress.
This one has the best sound I think, but you have to forward it to about 1:40.
This one has the most reaction shots in it:
Late night drunken dance floor version:
People, if you get a chance to be in a flash mob, DO IT.
Oh, how I love the Summer! Blogs are neglected and stories stack up in the mental To Write folder.
There have been many adventures I hope to get to soon. Most are related to the Busiest Weekend Ever, aka last weekend. There were THREE FUN PARTIES (one of which I hosted), friends in town from afar, and even a flash mob.
But first, let’s admire My Twinkly Passageway. I’ve been dreaming about hanging up these lights for a long time and the party made us finally execute. I LOVE IT. (Yes, my tall skinny Victorian is this close to it’s twin next door.) When my friend Brian saw it he said, “Oooh! It looks like Paris!” and instantly became my favorite person in the world. We put a sign on the front door directing people to come around the side of the house to the back yard. As each guest arrived, I’d demand compliments. It’s just so twinkly! I hope it makes you go, “Oooh, this party is gonna be fun!”
So! The party! The Kiss em Goodbye Kegger.
Our dear, dear, dearests are moving away for two years and we threw them a Bon Voyage. We called it a kegger and started it late, so there were no kids. There was a keg, a ping pong table, long forgotten drinking games, a polaroid camera, and a bag of dicks. (someone *may* have worked for a sex toy party company and needed to get rid of her extensive demo collection of gently used toys.) People, we were up until FOUR. AY. EM. It was a really good party. So many lovely* friends were gathered who don’t often get the chance to be in each others presence. It was such a special occasion to be silly without the split focus that happens when your kids are around.
So fun! I love love love throwing parties. I even had a team of minions the day of, with all the fun friends arriving from out of town. People would ask, “What can I do?” and I would say, “Um, can you mow my lawn?” AND THEY WOULD TOTALLY DO IT. It ruled.
Anyway, it was good fun. I refuse to get mooshy and sad here in this post about such a sparkly good time, as our Beloveds settle themselves into their new home on the other side of the world. But GODDAMN I wish the freaking International Schools would stop stealing my friends.
* It was so wonderful to see you ladies who read here. Each of your friendships means so much to me. xoxoxoxoxo
A few little bits that are making me happy on this fine Friday morning:
lots and lots of beautiful coffee
Clark loves baths. He will take three a day if we let him. One of my favorite things is to toss him in there, and then do some sort of lengthy grooming activity I couldn’t do if he weren’t confined. I can go to town on my brows while he happily invents storylines for his boats, and we’re both happy.
Easy and convenient access to laundry facilities. Oh, how I love laundry.
Funny emails from my sweetie
Holding my boy’s little hand. I swear that alone is reason enough to have kids.
