by Michael S. Kaplan, published on 2007/10/13 10:01 -04:00, original URI: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/michkap/archive/2007/10/13/5438772.aspx
So, phase 1 of the work/life balance idea in the blog, taking back the weekend, has been mostly successful, I think.
Well, from the perspective of the blog, at least. In real life, I went a bit further than that....
Because a few of us did go on Tuesday to see Metric at the Showbox, but it's not like the booking agents and managers of musicians are really going to change their schedules to adjust to my own personal schedule here. I should just thank my lucky stars for the comp. tickets!
I asked Erich along since he just got to town, and since he was the only one of us who really understood the metric system, being more of a Eurpoean type person.
Plus we needed a third for the carpool lane, and everyone else was either busy, sick, or had been up all night next to sick people. :-)
All things considered an excellent choice though....
The most blog-worthy things that happened (using the arbitrary criteria of stuff I find funny, which is amusing since I have no sense of humor) was technically before the show, though.
We were running a little late but everyone wanted to eat.
I did not mind getting food since I had a seat at the show -- the scooter chair. I pointed out that if they wanted chairs it might be tough, but they decided they could stand.
Food was more important.
We ended up squeezing into Dahlia Lounge ("We might need a reservation, Julie!" "It's Tuesday night after 7:30pm, Michael").
They didn't laugh at us, but there were no tables and an hour wait or more. We sat in one of those tables next to the bar.
We were about to squeeze into the one in the corner (though this would be more challenging with the scooter) since it was the only table free, but the young lady sitting at the table on the end asked me "Would you like to sit here and we'll slide over?"
"I'd name my firstborn after you if you could do that" I said, quite enthused at the prospect of not having to squeeze by, perhaps too much so....
She smiled, winked, and parried with "That might not work out if it's a boy."
I smiled too, "I'd find a way to make it work somehow." No wink though....
I specifically decided to not continue this unscheduled/unintentional flirt and do the expected next step of the name introductions, not sure why. Maybe because I was there with people, maybe the fact that the scooter tends to make me more self conscious, though probably just to avoid there being witnesses!
I decided to buy our benefactors a round (as thanks for the table assistance) but their table became ready and they left before we even saw a server. So I said thanks again as they left and they both smiled. I found myself feeling relieved.
I think I really must be getting old. :-)
Anyway, after looking at the menu Erich and I both found appetizers we liked but Julie was most interested in the pizza place around the corner which they own too (thus the advertisement in the Dahlia Lounge menu). Julie was disappointed to find out we cannot order pizza (though Cathy mentioned later that it might be a good thing, she probably wouldn't have appreciated the pizza there anyway).
She ordered the Oodles of noodles from the kid's menu. Even though I think they had butter on them, maybe she was offsetting the running she did (which is why we were running late anyway!).
I wondered allowed about the measurement issues in the name. Clearly there were multiple instances, thus the plural. But how many noodles were in a single oodle, and how many oodles are there on the plate? It looked like one big lump of noodles!
Of course the word oodle is actually a back formation, which is why it isn't inm the dictionary even though oodles is. So maybe it was just meant to be this way
Erich and Julie both looked at me funny, I guess they didn't find the issue as interesting as I did. Ah well, they thought I was strange anyway....
Of course Erich ends up ordering a second Oodles of noodles they liked it so much. So they are are orering off the kid's menu at Dahlia Lounge and I am the strange one? Yeah, right. :-)
When we headed out, I started to head back toward The Showbox and Julie said that she thought it was the other way.
We were a little turned around but I had thought I was heading the right way. But maybe she was right, the way she was pointing to was downhill.
"Maybe you're right," I admit, and we start going from 4th and Virginia toward the Showbox on 1st.
Of course, I stop when I see the sign for the 6th Ave. Motel, point this out, and we turn around.
I am incredibly embarrassed, realizing that Julie managed to use that old Jedi mind trick on me, and I rolled over and said "I will take you to Jabba now" or maybe "These aren't the droids we're looking for."
Everyone did think that was amusing. :-)
Doesn't that only work on the weak-minded? Ah well, you heard it first -- Julie Bennett is a Jedi master and I am weak minded.
We made it to The Showbox.
They let us in, and the woman in front of us is getting her purse inspected -- looking for cameras and other contraband.
They do not even look in the scooter basket, which has both a camera and a recorder, almost in plain sight.
They never search it. Shit, they never even look in it. I think people are afraid of catching scooter disease or something....
In case you are wondering how best to smuggle stuff into shows?
Anyway, we make it in, the opening band (Crystal Castles?) is playing some very unusual music but people seem to be enjoying it. Julie looks worried, but I tell her not to -- it was only 9:25pm. The doors opened at 8pm and the singer;s voice was way too low to be Emily Haines so it can't be Metric. This is the opener.
Julie is sitting in the photo booth, which is amusing since she has to keep getting up as people get pictures taken.
One of the people getting her picture taken with a friend had tattoos all up and down her arms, which intrigued me. After they came out of the booth I asked her about them, curious.
"Did those hurt?" gesturing to the tattoos.
Another smile. "Not nearly as much as the other ones did."
Boy, the responses that gets the mind running.
Her friend (who did not seem to have any tattoos) noticed the look on my face and pointed out "that will keep your imagination busy for a while, huh?" and she smiled too.
Hell yes, it would!
Soon after, Julie and Erich (after getting pictures taken themselves) are sitting on the table facing the stage -- I knew they wouldn't be standing up the whole time.
They missed the girl with the world's shortest skirt, but I probably would have been just as happy to miss her too. Better to watch the show, instead. Believe me....
It was interesting seeing an all ages show on a school nught then went until after midnight, but since we were on the upper part we had no youngsters to worry about.
I enjoyed the show and Erich told me the next day that he did too. I don't know if Julie did (she fell asleep at Madeleine Peyroux once so I know our tastes in music don't completely mesh, but she loved Vienna Teng; so maybe she had fun seeing Metric?).
Erich wanted to know what he owed for the tickets, but I told him they were comp. No worries. We were just happy to have use of the carpool lane (which required there being three of us!) and someone who knew what the metric system was.
I didn't get to ask Emily about Luke Doucet, but I only had tickets, no all-access pass and no meet-and-greet, so I didn't expect to really get the chance this time. O certasin;y didn't want to wait around and try (bad enough I ma the kind of person who likes to stay for movie credits, doing something like that at shows is just plain weird when you aren't an invited guest!).
We were back over the bridge a bit after midnight, and I was able to get work done the rest of the week.
Cathy pointed out she would never have gone the distance. Probably so but then we all have hidden reserves, even the sleep wimps among us.
I went out last night too, over the actual weekend, but nothing memorable happened there other than the fact that Dan met someone and we encouraged him to pursue it. He didn't come home with us so I think it worked out (either that or he is probably very mad right now?).
So anyway, the work/life balance thing seems to be much more properly segmented in the blog at the moment (notice I resisted mentioning Metric until the weekend!), though a few people have asked me why I have been doing three posts a day instead of two this month.
Just trying to clear out the backlog. I have way too big of a list of "things I need to blog about" that I was not forgetting. In the long run I should probably do what Raymond does and just schedule posts further out. I think I have a secret fear of no one noticing if I am hit by a bus since the blog posts would keep coming!
I should be back to normal (well, as normal as I get) within the next few weeks....
This post brought to you by ⏙ (U+23d9, a.k.a. METRICAL PENTASEME)