the blog

((TimeBandit WEIRDNESS)) Jen from TBTL was in Spokane Thursday. Which means… interestingly, we passed on I-90. Weird, and interesting, and small worldly.

How to start, is it like a school report, ‘What I did on my summer vacation’ or perhaps just jump on it. I am sometimes a jumper. Especially when I am writing it out. As I am doing now.

I decided that I needed a journey, movement. Generally this is born with me driving somewhere. Because I could walk somewhere but that means
                      1. I would actually be walking ergo exercising which is meh.
                      2. I am all sorts ‘americana’ and as such I love my car and love driving.
                      3. Length of distance versus time. I don’t think I will be spending a week to walk 263 miles one way. Until such time as there is a catastrophic event in which case the world becomes Mad Max -ian and we have to walk. (and battle zombies).

So I pondered my journey, over the course of 30 seconds. It was easy. North – nope. Parental guilt issues. South – naw, I was just in Portland at the beginning of the summer. West – I didn’t feel like running across mad packs of tweens in their quest for Twilight characters. East – huh… interesting. Been a while since I’ve been over there, and BONUS! A special nummy treat at the mid point of the journey. So. Decision made, I headed east, destination Spokane. Though, this was really all about the journey.    

“Home is beautiful, and Spokane is where things go to die”  Which sounds SO much meaner than I mean it to. It’s just that once you drive over the Cascade Mountains and you see all the trees suddenly gone, and the road gets flat and dry and… well, dead. It really feels like you are in a totally different state, possibly even country. It just feels different. Not bad, just different.  I, being me, and having been grown up in Western Washington and the greater Silicon Valley area in California. So I know the different realities of trees and green in contrast with flat and brown. And I know what feels right inside my guts. That would be Western Washington. God’s country. *smirk*

After working half day on Wednesday, and getting the NEW HD Comcast Cable installed (sweet jesus it is awesome!!!) I headed out, jumping on I-90 East and just going. If you are someone who also feels the need to take a journey every once and awhile, like me, then you understand ‘just going’. The drive was… long… and cathartic. And then I was BAM in the middle of Spokane.

Spokane is interesting. It was once a massive city, then it deteriorated, and now it seems to be coming back. A urban revival if you will. Still cleaning off the past, but working forward. And I noticed that it is pretty snazzy feeling, and I love the old buildings. I also noticed a HUGE amount of college aged young people. Expanding slightly to add a lot of WHTE college aged young people. (aka posers, ponces, douchers, etal) Interesting. I always get nervous when there are a large group of any one peoples. It’s a me thing. OMG. Funny little snippet. At my fun little hotel I was staying at, they had a sign “Welcome Ministries of the Light.” LMAO.I was staying there with a massive group of very religious people (I so thought about finding some loud girl to bring back to my room to have loud inappropriate lesbian sex with… but then I thought more about it, and me being me, that’s just not what I do… any more. lol) who always walked around in groups of three. Which, weird. And also weird, I could only think about that religious wacko group from TruBlood. So hilarious. To me.

I did have a good night in Spokanistan, got to see Bee Simonds playing at Zola, with Canadian Radio. Now. I am sorry but I have to say this. The service at Zola SUCKS if you aren’t a big tittie college girl, UNTIL after you tip them well. Then they are great! As in they are very attentive. Though by the time they were attentive, I as drunk as a skunk and didn’t need more than a soda. Also there was a deep learning curve, that bars in college towns get INSAENLY packed with people, as in 4 deep to the bar, for… an HOUR. Then it clears out, as they all get back to their dorm before lights out. Something like that. Sounds bitchy. It happens. The show was a good one, and nice and long. I got my thrill and fill of seeing Bee performing, along with her new set of ‘boys’. We all know I adore Bee, and her voice puts me in this emotional place that I like being every once and awhile. Plus I’ve had a bear sized crush on her for years (she knows it and so do I) it’s harmless. Move on. I have.

Waking up on Thursday morning in my hotel room, and looking out the window, and seeing the older buildings looking dusty and the homeless guy walking down the alley… Spokane sort of felt like… like a strange twisted rabbit hole from which some people have never returned.
…But that could have been my hangover.
 
I got back home Thursday afternoon. And over the journey, the just going, I learned a lot about myself. And learned that road trips that go longer than 3 hours I get a little antsy. (the drive was 4 hours each way) This is either a sign of the coming Apocalypse or I am just getting old(er).  *apocalypse because I used to be the driving girl. I drove from CA to Seattle for a coffee once. Okay Okay, it was to have coffee with a girl. ;p… there has been a whole lot of me driving long distances for girls…. and I did see a girl in Spokane… oh dear. But but! oh well. I am consistent.

What did I learn? That life is good, and I am good, and a whole slew of other really deep things that I don’t feel like sharing right now. What I can share with you, is that my Zune is awesome! It is like smart, or is connected to the greater universe. Let me explain. I set up a playlist, a play list that is 16hr 16 min; which did not happen on purpose!! So I started the play list on a specific song, and then I had it on random, but it began to connect song after song in some amazing, touched by the hand of god, sort of way. It really made it an emotional and cathartic journey. Which is what the whole point of the trip was. A journey.

here’s a sampling of some of the 234 songs:

200.8 – bee simonds
1693 – new order
drifting – recoil
4 minutes – madonna
40 miles from the sun – bush
adrenaline – rosetta stone
age of consent – new order
alive and kicking – simple minds
all you need is me – morrissey
american made – jack off jill
the antagonizer – sister machine gun
apocalypse please – muse
are you the one? – miranda sex garden
ask – the smiths
ashes to ashes – david bowie
assimilate – skinny puppy
author unknown – jack off jill
away from here – uh huh her
baby get lost – queen latifah
be near me – abc
beat goes on – madonna
beauty fiend – my ruin
beloved – vnv nation
black hole – she & him
the mercy seat – nick cave
more – the sisters of mercy
most of me – mandy moore
murderous – nitzer ebb
my eyes – dr. horrible
no ordinary love – deftones
no one knows i’m gone – scarlett johansson
one hundred years – the cure
passionate regret – bee simonds
passive – tool
pop goes the world – gossip
road to nowhere – talking heads
run like hell – kittie
roads – portishead
run/hurt – canadian radio
scars – my ruin
shadows – au revoir simone
she sells sanctuary – the cult
sick muse – metric
these boots are made for walking – kmfdm
traffic – dj tiesto
truth no.2 – dixie chicks
video killed the radio star – buggles
wish – nick cave
you remain – imperative reaction
you’re my thrill – billie holiday
zombie – trucks

…and that is just a random sampling. You wish you were in the car with me for the drive. Admit it.

My End of Summer trip was needed, and it was good, and I am glad I went. I saw the world through clearer eyes, and while I am tired as hell today, it was worth it. And the world is a good place.

and just so there is no confusion, I am listening to My Ruin’s Let it Rain

with lyrics like this that I love:

as beautiful as a scar
there’s nothing quite like you
i cut myself on your lips
let you lick my wounds
so southern is my saviour
so sick inside my head
but if i let you rescue me
will i be left for dead?
rain
rain
rain
let it rain
let it rain down on me
let it rain down on us
….the sky’s illumination comes from the city below
and i can taste every inch of your kiss
every inch of your soul
from over here
do you feel faith or do you feel fear?

Love it. WooT! and RAWR. And I am so looking forward to the rain. Constant days of 90+ degree temps are getting to my mind. Busy as hell at current with work, and deciding on paints for the house, AND! (and she says) coding for the website. I did load up the new summer skin for the main site. And if it offends then you don’t get my jokes, clearly. I think it is rock and roll – effic, and I likes it.

So random, btw, was that after I went to the grocery store, and was on my way home, a mini van with TWO NUNS in it drove in front of me. And they looked at me and I looked at them, all our faces with the ‘wtf’ look on them. It was awesome!

Nuns, there is just something so badass about them. Don’t know why or what it is.

“Every ounce of energy, you try and give away,
As the sweat pours out your body like the music that you play”

Welcome to Wednesday! While there is a little blinking weather alert on my computer, I find it a little interesting that it is cooler at the moment then it was this time yesterday (by a couple degrees at any rate) Interesting…

Hank just finished getting his new windscreen, and this makes me (and him, and any passengers in my truck) happy. It only took 1.6 years to do. LOL. Sometimes I am the QUEEN of procrastination. Word.

Spent the morning listening to trading voices with Bee Simonds. If you know me you know I am a bee-ophile. This endeavor, like Yoke is a kick ass off shoot of her ‘regular’ work. (You should check out C-Lebas well). Have to say though ‘She’s Had Enough’ is eerily/ scary / reminiscent of my old life. Makes my bear fur stand up.  the only problem I have with all these great indie bands and the amazing music they are putting out; I CANT BUY IT OR DOWNLOAD IT. Come on peeps. there has to be a way we can fix that. I would pay the going rate to download 98% of the music out there. I know I have some super smart homies out there in the music biz – we need to find a way to make this happen. Independent of iTunes. There has to be a way! *jingles my change*

There are at least 7 songs I want to download at this very moment. UGH! I am totally serious. Someone hit me up with a solution or an idea. I don’t want to be all sniveling to musicians asking for free downloads. This biotch will pay. So come on now. Keep making the music, and let me take it with me when I go out on life’s journey.

Mad love, and looking for joy amid the sun rays.

Well, to say that I am adjusting to the current heat wave, well it would be a big fat lie of lie-ness. I am not. Dude, 91 degrees currently, is a little too hot on the heat o meter scale for me. And yes I know this is like me bitching about the fact that the sun rises daily. I get that. Summer means hotness. This is logic. I am well aware of logic. In fact I am friend to logic. This does not at all mean that I like what logic spews forth from time to time. I am within my rights to grr at the big orb of death in the sky.

needless to say, I think there will be more fan buying later.

Did I mention it’s 91 fraking degrees. doh!

I ran off to the store today, and was seriously mad dog like ignored at World Market. What gives? I needed help and they were ignoring me! Ah well. I said poo poo on them and went across the street to Pier 1 (not my fav, but after today!) and they were SO helpful. Even with being short staffed they were helpful. So I spent my money there! (take that World Market!) They were so nice they even let me buy their floor models of the bookshelves I wanted, and took them apart for me. Now that was nice service. If only I wasn’t such a social misfit I would have made better and more intelligent small talk. Sometimes I don’t know why I bother to leave the house. lol.

Listening to the hub-bub on the radio before and after said purchase, I find something illogical and sort of dumb. And this goes out to all you people who say you have gay friends but don’t support gay marriage. You really DON’T HAVE GAY FRIENDS. You have gay people you hang with so you can be ‘cool’ and appear open minded. Which is a lie. There is no way you could be bestest buds with Rick & Steve but not support their ability to join in a partnership. Here in Washington we have the ‘everything but marriage’bill, which allows for hospital visitation, ability to co-own property, in the event of death the ability to be named in the will, you know, the basic shit we gays have been fighting for since the dawn of time. And now there are people who want to put it on the ballot and have it voted on, to protect marriage. HELLO. It is the EVERYTHING BUT MARRIAGE bill; see there, not marriage, so WTF do you want to change? Mmhm. Thought so. So, to be clear, if you don’t agree with / support the rights of gays and lesbians to join in committed unions and have those rights afforded to them, then those are ‘token’ gays you know, they are not your friends. Be honest!

Argh. Enough of that, it’s too hot for this queen to get wordy.

While I don’t think my blogging is going to save anything, let alone the world, still that is the song playing (in my head)

Welcome to week two of all summer sunshine all the time! while it is pretty, the temps are starting to get up there. Don’t judge me, over 75 degrees and I get cranky as hell. This is Washington, land of the rain and the no A/C in our homes. You try it and see how you like it. So there. Yeah. little cranky. I went and bought another fan today, so we have one for each room, yay! (and WTF?! No one seems to work during the day in my new town. Target – packed. Safeway – packed. All at 10am. WTF?????!!!!!) That should help some. Though soon I will be forced to close up windows and keep curtains closed… I will miss thee, oh new view of trees!

Lots planned for the integration of the new casa. I have paint samples coming out of my ass at the moment. I still can’t decide. Bah! I had the most imazing thought last night to build my own ‘built in’ bookshelf under the window here in my room. Until I realised this morning that there is a heater smack in the middle of said space. Shoot. So, I could relocated the heater… but this is me, I would oops it some how. An electrician I am not. So, now I must come up with plan B. (C, D, whatever)

I DVR the ‘deadliest warroir’ show last night. IRA vs Taliban. I think this means I am now officially on the NSA watch list. (chill my governmental brotha’s. I am just a TV junkie, and Irish. it’s all good in the hood!) Looking forward to watching that and eating strawberry shortcakes later!