Resolution Time, Again

Here is a recap of last year's resolutions:
I guess if I have to make a resolution, it is to finally finish recording my CD, so I can get my singer-arse out in the clubs...Okay, so I thought of another resolution. I am going to watch less television. The only shows I plan on watching on a regular basis are "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" ('cause Vincent D'Onofrio is a fine actor and quite handsome) and "Monk." I love neurotic detectives, and these characters are indeed neurotic...There's another resolution- To get off of my arse in general! I will stick to doing my pilates at least three times a week.

As Meatloaf sang, "Two out of three ain't bad."

I did not finish my CD, but I have started making scratch demos and have written more material.
I did watch less television, but it was mostly due to all of the homework I have. I was forced to read more, though, which is a wonderful thing.
I got off my arse more, too, also not by choice. The band has been playing so much, that I feel like I do aerobics four times a week. I do make it a point to do pilates, too, every chance I get.

Now, for 2006:

Resolution 1- finish a CD with my material on it
Resolution 2- be more environmentally conscious-- I just started recycling and I don't know why I did not recycle years ago. The city of St. Peters makes it all too easy. I have my eye on a Civic hybrid, if my car ever gives out on me. I also plan on creating less waste by becoming more practical.
Resolution 3- cut all critters out of my diet, except fish-- This is something I have been doing for the past month and my digestive system loves me for it. Hey, speaking of vegetarians, Meatloaf is a vegetarian.

I also plan on getting more involved with my two favorite charities/organizations, NAAR (National Alliance for Autism Research) and pandemic AIDS research. I think I will stick with charities that begin with the letter "A."

Anyhoo, bye, bye 2005 and welcome 2006!
Happy New Year!

Sick, Again

I am going to live in a bubble from now on. This is the second time in two weeks that I am sick, but at least I can get out of bed this time.

There is a strange virus going around the workplace. It started hitting people three days before Christmas. It hit me on Tuesday.
It started with an innocent runny nose and sneezing, so I thought it was nothing but a silly cold. I planned on doing some mixing Tuesday night, but all of a sudden, I felt terrible a few hours after I got home from work. I took a hot bath, watched "House, M.D," drank a hot toddy and passed out around 9:30pm. I woke up around 1am and my throat was on fire. I went to work anyway on Wednesday and the band had to gig Wednesday night. It was hard to get through the gig and be energetic when I felt so bad, but at least my voice held out. It just has to hold out for three hours tonight, three hours Friday, and six hours Saturday. C'mon, sympathy!
I can't even call in sick to work if I wanted to. My manager is out until Tuesday and so is her manager, which leaves me. Do year hear the violins playing in the distance? I think they are playing "Tapps." I pray that God will give me a voice to sing when I need it. He has never let me down, I am happy to say.
At least I can get out of bed.

Merry Christmas!

I had a wonderful Christmas. I cannot believe it went by so fast.

I worked on Christmas Eve until noon, then went home and cleaned up a bit. My mom cooked a wonderful feast for five and I made oyster stuffing, which turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. It seems to be an acquired taste. My great-grandma used to make it and my mom said it took her back. I managed to forget to put foil around the edge of the apple pie, thanks to the two glasses of wine I had, and the pie crust was black and crispy. Should drinking and baking be illegal?

Doug came over for dinner and brought me a Christmas cactus, which is what I asked for. I named her Isabelle. Yes, I talk to my plants. Then, we went out and stopped by a few friends' houses. I tried to get Doug to go to a church service with me, but had no luck, so I did not attend a church service this year.

For Christmas, I got some cash and gift cards from my folks and sister along with a digital camera that records video, MP3, and acts as a voice recorder. Merlin and I played with it last night.

I got a necklace from Doug and Queen's "A Night at the Opera" 30th Anniversary CD and DVD as well as the book and soundtrack for "Wicked."

I had a wonderful Christmas and feel so blessed and spoiled. I went home after having Christmas dinner with Doug's folks and felt so fat, but I thought, "At least I can say I feel full when there are millions going to bed hungry all of the time."

Doug and I went back to his place and watched season one of "The Muppet Show." That show was so funny! I watched all the time when I was little, but I never realized how geared towards adults that show was. I laughed my ass off during every episode. "Mahna Mahna" is even funnier, now.

I Know Two Days to Christmas, But...

I found a Tim Curry album on eBay, and I had to buy it. The album is "Fearless," which was Tim's most popular. My boyfriend actually had a copy of it at one time, but sold it at Vintage Vinyl or set it out in his alley, or something.

I am obsessive-compulsive, in addition to being a collector, and my new quest is for Tim Curry albums. My boyfriend found a copy of Tim's first album, "Read My Lips." Now, I have to find "Simplicity."

I bought some more album frames from Urban Outfitters, as I have some Beatles albums to frame, as well.

I cannot wait to go to Amoeba Music when I come to Los Angeles, this spring. I am going to almost bet that I can finish my record collection there.

(What's up with this stream of consciousness-type writing?)

Check out this dream I had last night:

My sister Lauren was an astronaut getting ready to launch her first shuttle mission. In the meantime at Cape Canaveral, I was harboring a murder suspect, because I was in love with him. My job was to stop the shuttle from launching for some reason. It was bizarre. My criminal-suspect love interest escaped from the military base we were being detained at, so my goal was to escape from the base, too. I remember trying to hide from people, because my love interest and I did not want to be recognized. I am not quite sure, but I think actor Hugh Laurie (House, M.D.) was my love interest in my dream. "House" has not been on for a week, or so and I must be having Hugh Laurie withdrawals.

I swear, if things don't work out with Doug, I am only dating British men from now on.

It must have been a combination of the wine and fudge I had last night, before I went to bed that brought the dream on.

Christmas Drivers

Okay, folks--The rules of the road do not change, just because it is the Christmas season.

The arrows that you see in a majority of parking lots, be it mall or grocery store showing you whether or not it is an "in" or an "out" are not just a suggestion. If the arrow points towards you, do not, I repeat, do NOT turn down that lane. If the arrow points away from you, you may follow it. If you happen to make a mistake and turn in on an "out" lane, please do not cut across nine lanes, going sixty-miles-per-hour, to get in the correct lane. Please do not do this, especially if you drive a Hummer. I understand that Christmas shopping is a covert operation, and though you may feel safer in your tank, the rest of us get a wee bit frightened when we see a fifty-ton, military-type vehicle, heading the wrong way in our direction, going sixty-miles-an-hour, when we are not in a war-zone.

Pedestrians still have the right-of-way, no matter how long it takes them to cross from the parking lot to the mall. Even if you think you can beat them, it is not a good idea to try it.

Here's a recurring issue year after year: If the sign says "Incoming traffic does not stop," please, do not stop if you are part of the incoming traffic. I understand that you sometimes want to be nice, since it is the holidays, but all your generosity does is screw up traffic patterns and cause confusion. Show your kindness in another way, and make a donation in that driver's name to the Humane Society or something.

A red light still means stop and green still means go. Other street signs have not changed, since you took your driver's exam.

Just by following all or some of the above driving tips, can make everyone's Christmas shopping season a little more pleasant and possibly keep more people alive.

Thank you.

Queen Tickets

The concert gods are smiling on me.

Today I went to Queen's official website, www.queenonline.com, on a whim, I temporarily enabled pop-ups to appear, and low and behold...

Queen with Paul Rodgers is doing a Spring 2006 US tour!

They are not coming to St. Louis, but they are coming to Chicago in March. The band just happens to be off on the Thursday of the concert, so I checked ticket availability. There was nothing left on the floor, so I bought the next best thing. My seats are on the Brian May side of the stage and are still pretty close. I figured Queen tickets would be a good birthday present for Doug.

I am so excited. Queen has become one of my favorite bands. Brian May has become one of my favorite guitar players. Rodger Taylor is golden. He plays the drums and he always managed to cover Freddie on the vocal parts. John Deacon, although a bass player, is a phenomenal musician with an impeccable sense of rhythm. He and Freddie were always so in sync with each other in the studio, which is rare.

I don't know much about Paul Rodgers, who is stepping in for Freddie. I can't say that I've listened to a lot of Bad Company, but I do know that Paul has a similar vocal range to Freddie's. I know that Freddie admired Paul, so who better to front the band? (Except for me, of course!) Freddie and I have a lot in common...I will miss the energy Freddie brings to the stage.
Regardless, I feel like this is the opportunity of a lifetime.

My Polar Bear and Me

I am on my lunch break and am playing around with Yahoo!'s avatar feature.
I think I need a really long guitar cable, though. Maybe I'll run into some Eskimos with a power generator. Do you think they would have an amp I can borrow?

I was always told that if you go where polar bears like to hang out, bring a gun and a buddy. That way, if the polar bear spots you, shoot your buddy and run.

My friend Angie gave me a copy of the "Rent" Original Broadway cast cd. She had two copies. I listened to it this morning and it brought back memories of when Scott and I saw it back in 1997 on Broadway, in the front row. (I never get tired of that story.) I still have not seen the movie, but I have the night off all this week, which is rare, so maybe I will go see it. There are some movies I do not mind paying full price to go see. I am a big fan of foreign films and other "artsy-fartsy" films. The Iranians seem to put out some good flicks. I see it as an insight into a different culture. I even forget that I am reading subtitles. "A Time for Drunken Horses" is a great Iranian film. I hear that India does good work as well. Speaking of India, I am a big fan of India Arie's music. She has a wonderful voice and her songs are soul with an acoustic guitar.

I am rambling. I'm a ramblin' girl. R-A-M-B-L-I-N...

Apostrophe!

Wicked

"Wicked" the musical was AWESOME!
St. Louis native Kendra Kassebaum played the part of Glenda. I don't have my Playbill in front of me, but I have to say the entire touring cast is wonderful. Anyone who has the chance to see it needs to see it. I want to see it again, but the last show was yesterday. I cannot wait to read the book. I will never watch the Wizard of Oz the same way again.

St. Louis theater goers can be fun to be around. My friend Angie and I were walking to our seats, and a fight broke out in front of us between to grown men. I guess one guy butted in front of the other. The words were flying between the two men. Angie was like, "Chill out. You have assigned seats!" I was like, "Yeah, it's not like Southwest Airlines."

We had a great sushi dinner before the show. We each had a sampling of sushi and sashimi. Our favorite was the eel with bull sauce. The restaurant was called Seiki Sui and is on Grand and Arsenal. The service was great, the prices were perfect and the atmosphere was good. Seiki Sui is much better than the Drunken Fish, as far as the food goes.

Saturday was a fun night, all in all. It was nice to be able to go out for a change.