'tis the season for scrooge

Watching the Beibs sing that obnoxious "All I Want For Christmas Is You" with Mariah Carey in that ridiculous sexy santa suit sent me into a murderous rage. But the tree-lighting at Rockefeller was pretty awesome. For a salty old scrooge, I really do like Christmas trees. I also like that Wild Turkey American Honey bourbon. Undecided if its a good or bad thing that I am in a murderous rage and craving whisky!

Thanksgiving weekend

Thanksgiving was pretty low key. I went to the store to get wild rice for the stuffing I was to make from scratch, then I pedaled 26 miles, made stuffing, chive biscuits, and red velvet cake all from scratch. How am I still single?! HAHAHAHA!

Went to Aunt Nancy and Uncle Fred's house. It was an alright time. Sarah and Kevin were there with their two kids, which is fine, although I didn't really feel like socializing with anyone.

Got home and I packed my bags to head to Chicago. Ended up driving because Amtrak had black out dates that weekend and I couldn't use my points. It was cheaper to just buy two tanks of gas. I encountered NO traffic whatsoever and cruised up there is a swift 3:45. Arrived at around 12:30 and went directly to Roy's house. We stayed up watching some movies.

He had hurt his knee, to the next afternoon I went to a medical supply store and purchased some crutches and an ace bandage, then went to Sultan's to get falafal, soup, and salad.

Friday was Beth's birthday, and she wanted to see the new The Muppets movie, so Ed picked up Beth, me, Roy, and we went to the ghetto theater. Ed also had a handicap placard so we could park right out front for Roy's comfort. The movie was freaking sweet. So many awesome cameos and a tender story. I especially like the Dave Grohl cameo as well as the Chris Cooper rap, which came out of freakin' nowhere. Hilarious that Kermit was calling for celebrities and asked if President Carter was available.

After the movie, we picked up Rootbeer and the five of us went to Revolution. We sat upstairs. Everyone got burgers; I got a Chicago-style tofu dog on a poppy-seed bun and a pint of the Eugene. The beer was excellent, and at 8.5 points, I only had one. The food was...okay. The salad was kinda weird.

After food, we all went to the Full Shilling for karaoke. I def did not sing, but Roy, Ed, and Beth all did. I was so freaking exhausted, but still closed the night out at Delilah's.

On Saturday, Booker and I met up for dinner. We decided on a vegan thai place on Montrose and Ashland called Urban Vegan. It was delicious! And BYOB! I have to laugh, because Booker had texted me earlier in the afternoon that he had just stuffed himself with 75lbs on Thanksgiving leftovers and was going to pass out on the couch with his hand down his pants, all Al Bundy style. So of course I had to give him an obnoxious, "Oh Al...." when I was heading to pick him up. Then when we were at the restaurant, we were discussing what booze we should get, and he said, "Quiet, Peg. You'll drink what I bring you." It was so funny! So Booker came back with a sixer of Old Style 16oz cans.

The food was delicious, Booker was looking dashing, the beers were cold and smooth. Conversaion was great and we were laughing a lot the whole time. Booker was leaning in again just like last time and I was feeling good.

I drove him back to his house, and he jumped out of the car right away and was like, "see ya later!" so strange! So I just went back to Roy's house and finished off the last beer. After about an hour, Booker started texting me again! He sent me pics of him eating cookies and brushing his teeth, which I might as well consider porno! hahahaha!

I watched Layer Cake and then fell asleep watching American History X. I turned my ringer on because I had Roy's house keys, and he did end up calling me at 3:45am. He was hoping that I was at Booker's house, and I will admit that I hoped I was, too, but I was not. Anyway, Roy tells me that he's at a bar with some girl and she wants to come back to his place, and that I need to go sleep upstairs in Mogan's room.

So i packed up my clothes, tidied the room, and went upstairs to Mogan's room. They came home about 20 minutes later, and shortly after that, I heard the girl moaning through the air vents.

Sunday I met up with Booker and Cecelia at Handlebar. I told them that Roy got lucky last night, and we all laughed about how somewhere in a Logan Square basement, there was a 21 year old snow bunny getting fucking railed! HAHAHAHA!

All three of us got biscuits and gravy. The chickpea pie with winter squash puree looked awesome, too, but I can't get biscuits n gravy in STL. Cecelia is awesome. We hit it off well, and the three of us all seemed to really have a great time.

I drank like two carafes of water then drove home. Almost had a crisis when I was stuck in construction traffic outside of Pontiac, but I made it to the gas station and peed for 73 seconds! Was pretty exhausted when I got home, but feeling good about the whole weekend.

Booker does not seem to be interested in me more than friends, and actually, I am okay with that. I have enjoyed the times that we had hung out and joked around and laughed. Plus, I live here, and he lives there. I also don't even know if he is interested in dating....anyone. I will continue to contact him when I am up visiting Chi because I truly enjoy his company.

I am still on the fence about if I am heading up in December for DL and Dopamines at Beat Kitchen. Roy is going to be in Belize, but he said that I can stay at his house. It will just be a lot of driving, because I am also going to Cincy for NYE.

Tick Check v2.0

I am posting right now because I am not at a bar/show. I should be at the bar/show, but I'm exhausted and actually just woke up from a six hour nap, which is dang near a whole night's sleep.

Anyway, bro and I went to Mastodon today. It was alright. The air temp was a comfortable low 60s, wind was gusty, overcast sky. The trail was alright. We liked the second half more because we were on the edge of the bluffs and there was a narrow ledge of a trail, a lot of rocks, and interesting trees, including some that were growing horizontal!

There was a warning sign at the trail head that we might have to jump over some water, but it has been so dry that we didn't have to do that, although both us up were kind of looking forward to it. We saw a lot of winterberry, but no birds! There was an awesome meadow, too. It was actually an area that had been cleared by the electric company for their power lines, but it looked sweet because of the tall grasses and dried out flowers.

Would def go back. Would be cool in springtime with more foliage and perhaps some water hazards!

Press it!

Last night I took Andrew out to the Silver Ballroom for his birthday. Its so dang smokey in there! We had a great time, though, and "just one drink" turned into a $40 bar tab and us being there until last call. Then we headed to South Grand.

We had a great time, though, and he called me this morning to say thank you for taking him out.

I daresay I had a connection with one of the boys I met there. His name is also Andrew. I swear I had seen him at the casino previously. I asked him about it, and he said that yeah, I probably had.

I casually invited him to go to Mastodon State Park with me today, but he had plans to go to the Mizzou game, which is fine. I'm going to hit him up later this week. He's interested in going hiking/biking, and I want a partner for those types of activities.

Upon leaving, he overheard me say I needed to go to the gas station because I had some winning lotto tickets to redeem.

Can I get a TICK CHECK?!

My second outing to Salt Lick today, first time there with minimal foliage, I'm sure its even more gorgeous in winter after a snow! There has not been a lot of rain, and the Johnson Trail, which was closed due to flooding last time, was open today. So I took the Johnson Trail north along the bottom of the bluff, then circled around to the scenic overlook, and came down the Salt Lick Trail on the south.

Very windy today; I did not stand at the edge of the scenic overlook, but there was still lots of great photos that resulted from the hike today! I saw four different species of berry, some wildflowers, a busy bee, and the visibility today was remarkable and I could see downtown STL ~20 miles to the north!

Fest 10 Recap

I have been REALLY sick and haven't had the time/energy to recap the weekend. My brain also needed some time to process all the awesomeness that unfolded. Looking back, on the flight there, before take off and before I fell asleep, the dude sitting behind me telling the women next to him about his office job. He looks over contracts and "makes sure all the I's are dotted and T's crossed." All I could think was, "this guy is a fucking chump and he doesn't even know. I'm about to have more fun in the next four days that most people will probably have in their entire life."

Worked a half day on Thursday, then my bro drove me to Lambert. No prob getting to Tampa; slept the whole way. Sis came and picked me up. I was pretty low on blood sugar, and after a quick stop at her house to change clothes, we went on a wild goose chase to find dinner.

Ended up meeting up with Renauld for Lebanese food, which was delicious. Sally and I split a veg plate, with hummus, baba, garlic potatoes, grape leaves, tabouleh, lentil soup. I was totally stuffed by the time she dropped me off the skate park from the pre-show.

The pre show is so exciting because its the first time/place you see all your friends from all over, everyone meeting up in one place. The first person I saw was J Pool. Also of course ran into Nate and Chris, Paul and some other Tampa crew, Sam, Matt, Johnny C and MPLS crew. Was finally reunited by my sweet precious after five years! We made plans to meet up again once in Gainesville.

I drank six beers at the pre show, but didn't get drunk because I was so full of food. The show got out relatively early compared to years past. Nate and Chris and I went to Taco Bus; got there just before the rush. I was sooo excited for the burrito and it was just as delicious as I remembered. Was back to my sis's condo and in bed by 230am.

On Friday, after a couple of delays and one false start, we were Gainesville bound! The drive there took no time at all, and when we got to the hotel where Nate and friends were staying, I hitched a ride to town/registration/my own hotel with some dudes from Orlando! Bruiser! Waffles! Can I get a missed connection!? HAHAHAHA!

The line for registration was straight ridic, and I went to check in at my hotel and chill. I was also incredibly hungry. Nighthawk and DJ rolled into town and we settled into our room and then walked to registration. People were telling us that the line was three hours long! People were totally pissed, and rightfully so, in my opinion. We were stressed, too, because bands that we wanted to see were starting soon, and it seemed like we would be in line until 9pm waiting to get our wristbands.

Nighthawk, who is in publishing, had a press pass and therefore had a different (read: no wait) line for registration. I did have the foresight to print out my receipt, so I gave him the receipt and my driver's license and when he picked up his press pass, he was able to get me my wrist band as well. Thank You!

After we got our wrist bands, we went up to the flea market and stopped by some friends' tables and said hello and met up with more people, got some beers.

The main draw for me for this year's fest was Lifetime reunion. I know I am not alone on this. Lifetime canceled about two weeks prior, but Kid Dynamite was going to play instead. As far as I'm concerned, Kid Dynamite is a more than acceptable substitute, although "Boy's No Good" is my jam and I would not be hearing that song performed.

The lineup at the Venue that night was solid: Kid Dynamite, Souls, Hot Water, but I just could not get myself into the dark, dank theater. I decided to start the night off at Durty Nelly's for Slow Death, even though I see them perform numerous times throughout the year. I really like Jesse's songs and I have a lot of friends from MPLS and wanted to hang out.

After the Slow Death was Worthwhile Way, who are a total delight to see perform! I saw them last year and their set was easily the most fun, energetic, sincere performance of the weekend! I should have stayed for them, but I went to 8 Seconds to see Copyrights, who I also see perform numerous times throughout the year, but I like them, I like singing along and dancing, I wanted to hang.

I met a dude named Nicolas, who was from Bern. I found out he is returning to the States in December; going to St. Louis for a Blues hockey game and then to Ohio for that sweet NYE show at Southgate House. I thought it was weird he would be traveling from Bern to STL in December just to go to hockey game, but whatevs. We traded info.

I think I left and tried to find food after the Copyrights. Maybe 5 star? I hadn't eaten all day, so the beers were kicking my ass. I caught the last half of Boner Pilot and then No Trigger played. I freakin' love No Trigger; they are a guilty pleasure. The last time I saw them perform was at Fest 7, and I was pretty disapointed with their set, so I had low expectations coming in to this set. But they have been writing new material and I expected that they would at least be more rehearsed than last time. They totally kicked my ass! I was so excited! They played most of Canyoneer, but not 'More To Offer'. Closed with 'Tundra Kids', which is one of my favorite tracks off that record. I was at the back edge of the pit, arms up, singing along to every word!

I have no idea what I did after No Trigger. I might have gone back to Durty Nelly's, I might have gotten food, I might have gone back to the hotel. I know I didn't stay up too late, and I was surprised that Nighthawk came back as early as he did and called it a night.

On Saturday morning, I walked to the Reggae Shack because I have been craving that crack-laced tempeh since this time last year, but it was a total clusterfuck in there, so I went to Harvest Thyme instead and got a delicious sandwich and some veg chili.

I passed Decker in the hotel lobby, and he told me to come across the street to Lunchbox because he was performing. I headed over there and met up with a lot of people. It was so nice outside! I sat at a picnic table with Danny, who was dressed like El Nino. Sold my extra pass to some douche from Nashville, spoke with Davey, Paul, Sam, Nato, some more people. I was over at the lunchbox for a good 90 minutes just hanging out and enjoying the company and nice weather.

OWTH was the first band I wanted to see perform that day. They had a 4pm time slot at The Florida Theater, and I headed over early to make sure I could get in. I watched Make Do and Mend, who I did not particularly enjoy, but I was so psyched to get a good spot on the floor down in front for OWTH. Their setlist was perfect! I was glad that Zack was on guitar for this set, b/c I like the sound of his voice on the back ups. I was really riled up and sang along to all the songs. They had "Until the Day I Die" on this setlist, which was sweet b/c they haven't played that one the past five or so times I have seen them, but "Hard to Admit" wasn't on the setlist, which that is one of my favorites. A fair trade-off.

I was kinda hungry at this point, and when I left the The Florida Theater, I was going to head to 8 seconds b/c I wanted to see Iron Chic and Bridge and Tunnel. As I rounded the corner to get in line, I saw JT on the sidewalk talking with some people. Without a word, he put his hand in mine, and lead me back to the hotel. I was initially not psyched to relive a previous hook-up that I put in the bottom three and left me feeling frustrated and used. But this time turned out to be completely different.

We banged out for a good hour, then showered and parted ways. I missed out on a few bands I wanted to see, but I'm glad for this encounter. Because it redeemed a person I had written off, who did seem to deserve to be written off, but who also deserved another chance. Plus, a lot of the frustration and hurt feelings from the previous encounter was a result of miscommunication and a misunderstading of an unrelated situation that was both of ours fault. So I'm glad we reached an amicable resolution. Plus, who doesn't thoroughly enjoy getting FUCKING RAILED!?

On my way out of the hotel, I was in the elevator with the two girls from Worthwhile Way. I started speaking to them in Japanese, which surprised them. I asked them if they had any stickers, but they did not. I got a koozie, which is pretty sweet. The told me that they had seen me earlier that day at Lunchbox, and told me that I had a big....laugh! Which of course made me laugh...big! HAHAHAHA!

Anyway, these stickers they have are totally awesome. The text is: "Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it." How freaking awesome is that? I daresay I want that tattooed on me.

I headed back to 8 Seconds for Tim Barry, Toys That Kill (I love Todd C!), then went across the street to The Top for a delicious Hawaiian tempeh sandwich and local beer before heading to Durty Nelly's for The Blue Diamond Band. I can't remember with what song they closed, but Matt was dressed up in a sexy cop Halloween uniform and chased Nato around the bar, then the both of them ran on tip toes down the length of the bar and out the back door. The rest of the band brought the volume down low and we were all waiting...waiting...waiting...and then Nato burst through the front door, the band started back up, and they finished out of the set! Marvelous showmanship!!

I stuck around for Billy Reese Peters. Nighthawk and I seriously thought that they were going to just tease us the whole time and keep on sound checking for the whole 40 minutes! That set was a lot of fun. I didn't know any of the songs, but there was a lot of people at the bar who did, and a lot of people were singing along and dancing.

I ended out the night at 8 Seconds for Screaming Females. I really like watching that band perform. Girl fucking shreds, and the bass player is sweet to watch play, too, but he is so chill and just is really feelin' it every time.

Sunday...Sunday...I went to the No Idea BBQ and got some delicious homemade match chorizo tacos, black beans, and kale. I got a Fest 10 koozie with the birthday cake logo on it (totally awesome!) I went to Karma Kream and got some Black Cherry veg ice cream. I also saw my bathroom buddy from AFV in the elevator. Her name is Jessi, and I am so happy that we saw each other! I am very much looking forward to seeing her again. We are both travelin' girls, and I know we will both end up at the same show in far away cities sooner than either of would ever guess.

I went to The Laboratory early to get in line b/c I knew that place didn't have a large cap and I wanted to make sure I got in for Hold Tight! Timeshares was up first; they are always a pleasure, too. I saw a boy in the crown with his right arm up in a sling. I approached him and asked him how long ago he fell off his bike. He laughed and asked how I knew. I told him that I fell off my bike back in August and I looked just like him with the bionic arm and sling until just a few weeks ago. We talked for bit, and he left the conversation with a positive attitude and hope that he will get better and get the range of motion and strength back, just like I did.

So, HOLD TIGHT! WOW! The laboratory was a perfect space for them. Their setlist was perfect. Sam was pretty hungover and he didn't get in, and he was the first person outside the door until the last two or three songs, but he came running in and found me right up near the front and we sang along together for the rest of the set. They closed with 'Tell Your Crush How You Feel'. So perfect.

I went to the merch booth, said "GOOD JOB!" and bought a koozie, saw the dudes from Orlando and joked with them a bit (seriouly! Bruiser! Waffles! Can I get a missed connection?! HAHAHAHAHA!) before Sam and I headed to The Theater for Dopamines. Their set was ridic, too. At least no one was so hungover or drunk this time that they couldn't play the songs properly. There was a dude in a Boba Fett costume, but his backpack had PBR 16oz cans, not jets. It was a pretty sweet costume. Dopamines set was totally solid. Piss, bump, beer. Piss, bump, beer. Sam and I were pretty blitzed. We stuck around for Flatlines, who are great performers. They came out in Terrance and Phillip masks, which was really funny to see because the jaws were not moving when they were singing. Dear Landlord was next. They sounded terrific. Similiar set to when they performed at Beat Kitchen last May; complete with two Rivethead covers, which no one else seemed to know, which is a shame.

I couldn't wait to get out of The Theater; its so dark in there! Sam and I went back to the hotel and just chilled. He was grateful for some quiet and a soft bed, even if for just an hour. We went out to the pool and smoked and soaked our feet in the warm water and just talked and chilled.

We ended the night at 8 Seconds with The Arrivals and URTC! URTC is a favorite! It was too bad they were the last band, b/c its just such a fun time and straight up dance party, and I was so riled up that I wasn't ready for it to be over. Reunited with my baby sugar, who was now dressed up in a penguin suit.

After the show was over, Sam and I attempted to get food, but everywhere was closing up, 5 Star was only selling whole pies. But there was a dude with hot dogs, including veg dogs. He was also slinging sauce on the sly. There was an after hours party at the Holiday Inn, party penguin wanted to accompany me to it, but I ended up passing the eff out!

I woke up on Monday with the dreadful scratchy scratch in my throaty throat. Finally got Reggae Shack; took 45 minutes to get my order to go. Rode back to Tampa with Nate, Chris, Kelly, and Brittany. We were all exhausted, and no one spoke in the car. I just looked out the window and tried to process all the awesomeness that had unfolded.

Nate and Chris drive me to my sis's condo, and she and I went to get Cuban Breeze before she dropped me off at the airport. I slept the whole way home. The flight attendant even commented to me about it when I de-boarded.

FestAIDS. Full. Blown. When I woke up on Tuesday. We had a seven hour surgery, and I was first assistant. I drank some TheraFlu daytime and shoved some cotton balls up my nose like tampons. Regardless, 150 minutes in, snot was running down my chin and neck. Second assistant and I had to switch-a-roo. Took a good ten days to get better. I actually doubt it was FestAIDS b/c the onset was so soon. I think I was exposed earlier in the week; maybe even on the plane ride on Thursday. Because I ate well, was well-rested, and actually didn't really drink a lot in Gainesville.

Going in, I thought maybe this would be my last Fest, but every year, its just such a magical time. Easily the best weekend of the year, every year, and I can't wait to go back. As the Flatliners said, as much as we all wish we could live like it was fest all the time, if that was the case, we'd all be dead.

I am closing with Hold Tight! performing "Tell Your Crush..."

I'm not depressed, per say. The isolation feels right.

The only thing I have eaten all day today is a pint of strawberry rice dream. I wish I was lying. It's just where I'm at right now.

City Museum for RB's Bday

On Saturday, Scottbot and I went to City Museum to meet up with Rootbeer and his friends in celebration of his 30th birthday. His "ladyfriend" who accompanied him to stl that weekend was not very friendly to me, and I didn't know anyone else in the group. Surprise surprise, I felt totally awkward and kind of just hung out with my bro the whole time. Whatevs. Here's some photos. City Museum is sweet.
















































Also, I made a hilarious picture for Rootbeer for his birthday. Its a three panels of him and Salma Hayek having a "marvelous afternoon." They are pedaling a tandem, snorkeling, and basking in the sun on the grass drinking some rootbeer. Its hilarious to me b/c i drew them as stick figures, and the Salma figure just has really huge boobs.

The festAIDS

FestAIDS. I has it. Full. Blown.

Will post my recap when I'm felling better.