Sunday, January 25, 2009

An evening with Marc Broussard



Last night I went to see Marc Broussard play at the Show Box with some friends. We started the evening by having dinner across the street at The Pike. (They have the best food!) We finally made our way over to the concert at about 7:30pm. We quickly found our place on the floor and eagerly waited for the first act to come on. The last time I was here was probably three years ago, seeing the same performer. At that time I had never even heard of Marc Broussard. By the end of that evening I became a fan and was looking forward to seeing him again.

The first performer J. Hoge went on at 8pm and wasn't....bad. He was constantly plugging his cd (that we could purchase in the back) and promoting his upcoming tour. He also repeated his name several times and unfortunatly I can't remember it. He struggled to hit the higher notes and was a little flat at times but he had a really fun personality which made his set more enjoyable.

The next performer was Jessie Bayler. I really liked her voice however, most of her music is mellow and as a girl who is not used to being out much past 11pm I needed all the help I could get just to stay awake.

As the evening progressed we encountered some of the strangest people who all seemed to gravitate towards us. One guy we nicknamed elbows because he kept elbowing everyone around him including a VERY patient Lucy. He was killing me. He would close his eyes and just start dancing like he was the only one in the room. Oh, and he had no rhythm which made it even funnier. The other guy who decided that we would be a fun group to hang with we nicknamed Bollywood. He would yell out yeah at the most inappropriate times and sang louder than the performers and was flaaaat! At one point I had to ask him to be quiet so that we could hear Marc sing. I thought that Rachelle (sorry if I am spelling that wrong) was going to throttle him. At one point she was yelling at him to get off of Lucy because he kept dancing really close to her. Lucy, by the way was totally oblivious to him. There were a few other interesting "folk" there but they were quickly forgotten when Marc Broussard entered the room.

After waiting patiently for the roadies to break down the set and prepare for the next set Marc Broussard came on with energy, excitement and that amazing voice. I can honestly say that he brought the house down. He played for over an hour and could have gone on for more. We all remarked afterwards that he thoroughly enjoys what he is doing. He was smiling almost the whole time, he interacted with the crowd and performed with so much energy that it would have been difficult not to be affected by it. When he came out for his encore he sang the two songs that he wrote for his son and daughter which were really sweet. The final song was a new one all about funk. It had that "We want the funk" vibe which was a great song to end a great show with.

We all walked away entertained and maybe a little tired but it was well worth it.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Liquid Satan



In an effort to live a more healthy lifestyle I have decided to give up my favorite drink, Diet Pepsi. This is not going to be easy for me because I really like my liquid satan. (as Jeff so affectionately calls it) My rationalization for drinking it has always been, "I have no other vices, so why not"?
In an attempt to talk my self into following through with this I have listed a few valid reasons of why I need to stop drinking DP. 1. Believe it or not, I tend to lose weight when I am not drinking soda. The last time I stopped drinking it I lost 10lbs. 2. The cost alone would be worth it, a 20oz bottle of soda costs about $1.65,(I wont say how much I drink in a week but I have done the math, and I will be saving quite a bit of money) 3.The most important reason to quit, I drink A LOT more water when soda is omitted which is much healthier.

So there you have it, I am announcing it to the world, no more liquid satan for me! Bring on the headaches!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

"Twas the week before Christmas..."

"Twas the week before Christmas, and next to the Sound,
Not a creature was stirring, for all were snowbound.
Greyhound busses quit running, no matter the the fare,
And the mail men and garbage said they just couldn't get there!

The children were sliding Queen Anne Hill on their sleds.
While roofs were collapsing on old people's heads.
And mamma in her boots and I in my cap,
Were stuck in the snow and ice and such crap.

When at the Home Depot there arose such a clatter,
I trudged from my car to see what was the matter.
A group of sad souls were waving their cash,
They couldn't buy shovels, they'd sold in a flash.
Tires were spinning and just wouldn't go,
And chains lay broken in the dirty old snow.
Then, what to my surprise did my eyes look over and see?

Eight representatives of SDOT,
With a fat politician so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it was Mayor "Salt Nick".
More rapid than gun bans, his excuses they came,
"To save our environment the roads stay the same!
On Broadway! On Boren! On Yesler and Denny!,
To clear off these roads would cost such a penny!
Sliding down Thomas and onto a wall!
The busses hung over I-5, ready to fall!

Still, he insisted it wasn't his fault,
As the world's greenest mayor he wouldn't use SALT!
That stuff's corrosive, could hurt the fish.
(But the Puget Sound's SALT WATER you ignorant kish!)
So snowy Seattle continued to stew,
But Mayor "Salt Nick" just hadn't a clue.
While I stood there astonished, on nearby TV sets,
I saw the airport was packed, no de-icer for jets.
Since others couldn't get down the roads to the ferry,
The city decided to close Denny and Cherry.
Police cars and firetrucks were highly impaired,
Citizens got no impression that Mayor Salt Nick cared.
A house that caught fire, or a rape in progress,
Was less important than "going green" in Seattle - I guess!

An accident closed the I-90 bridge,
And people couldn't drive down Phinney Ridge.
Shovels, and salt had just flown off the shelf,
And I laughed when I heard him in spite of myself.
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
He tried to convey we had nothing to dread;

He spoke many words, but did little work,
Yet Seattle knew they should never have elected this jerk.
Then thumbing his nose at his citizens' plight,
He turned to the crowd and exclaimed "We've done right!",
And then to his limo refusing to yield,
He left to get solar panels installed on Qwest Field.
But I heard him exclaim, as he ski dded past me
"Happy Christmas to all, heck, I give myself a 'B' ".

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Aaaah, life, isn't it sweet

You may remember me blogging a while ago about a problem I have with TMJ. Well it was better for a while but has recently been acting up. Some of it is brought on through stress (the holidays were brutal at work) and some just because of how my jaw is formed. Unfortunately my jaw has slipped out of the disk and after many Orthodontist appointments, it still has not gone back in. The upside is that I can't chew very well so I have been averaging about 800 calories a day. I've lost about 5pounds so far. Though not a diet of my choosing, I will take it. The downside is that the whole left side of my face is in pain. My ears, head and neck all hurt and the pain meds that I am supposed to take make me sleepy and light headed.

So I am hungry, in pain and incredibly frustrated with my body's ability to heal itself. (Not the best combination) :) If we cannot get it to go back into place and stay there, I will have to have my jaw wired shut. THIS is not an option! I love to talk,and eat, so that would be no fun at all!

Okay, now that I have gotten that all out of my system, I feel much better.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Movie Stars and economics.

I am watching the Oscars this evening and am laughing at the mention of "these difficult economic times". My first thought is really? I mean seriously, what difficult times are they facing? Are they in danger of getting fired or laid off from their job because the company they work for is going under? Are their insurance deductibles going up in an effort for their company to cut costs? Are they shopping at non-designer stores to cut back?

It kills me that they have the audacity to talk about these troubling times when they are making millions of dollars and buying purses that cost upwards of $3,000. Forgive me if I fail to feel sorry for them.

I have been lucky not to have been hit by the economic crisis as of yet. Working in a doctors office kind of ensures that you will always have a job. Though my job is safe, there are so many others who are feeling less secure. I listened to a co-worker's spouse talk about his experience of having to say goodbye to colleagues whom he counted as friends. On the one hand you are grateful to still have a job, but feel bad for a friend who has to go home and tell his/her family that they may have to sell their house. What a devastating day that would be.

So when I hear celebrities talking about how they are feeling the pain of the economic crisis I get cranky.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Blogging to Blog

So, I was talking to Jeff about the fact that I hace 1,500 visitors so far on my blog. I was feeling pretty good about myself until he mentioned that he has had over 5,000 visitors to his blog. Needless to say I am feeling like my 1,500 is looking pretty pathetic next to his. Then I went to Jeanna's blog who has, I don't know, something like 20,000 visitors. She is my hero in the blogging world. She has tons of visitors who make a lot of comments on what she has to say.

I am not sure if I should feel bad about my stats or not. Does it make me narcisistic to hope that people out there in cyberspace care to read about what is going on in my life, however trivial it may be? Probably. :) I started to think about how I can increase the volume to my blog. Do I really want that kind of responsiblity? It is a lot of pressure to try to come up with new and interesting things to blog about. Hmm...I think that I will have to put my pride to the side and just be satisfied with the fact that I have faithful friends out there who come back to visit often. For those people, I say thank you.

For now I will be content to blog for no other reason then as a way to get the things out of my head and onto "paper". Having friends come to visit is just an added bonus.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

A New Year

Here it is, another year to look forward to. A time to reflect on the past, and set new goals. I know, I know, the same old thing we revist as each new year aproaches. I am not big on making resolutions as I try to set goals throughout the year to work on. My friends have all been busy trying to come up with ideas of how to enrich their lives. Some friends have even enlisted the help of others to aid in their search for ideas. That said, I have decided that my goal this year is just to do some of the things that I have been puting off for years now. I am really good at making excuses for why I can't or shouldn't do things and I have resolved to stop that behavior.

I want to do the Wonderland Trail, I want to go back to school and get my masters, I want to be more active. (I like Matthew McConaughey's way of thinking, in that he strives to work up a sweat on a daily basis)I even started this morning with a jog around Greenlake. There are so many other things I want to do; take an acting class, audition for a play at the local theater (volunteer of course), maybe sing again. So many things, but all very fun.

I will try to keep you all aprised of how I am doing. Here's to a Happy New Year!