wandering mutts make good music 25 April 2008

i had a fantastic time at Club Crawl last weekend. met some really fantastic people, heard some really great music – Nick Luca, Greyhound Soul, Salvador Duran – but i also found an absolutely amazing band from Chicago, Poi Dog Pondering. upbeat and exuberant soulful tunes. i liked them so much i hopped onto iTunes and downloaded their lastest cd, “7″, which is fabulous.

started DJ training at KXCI this week. i don’t know that i’ll ever be an on-air kinda person, but i did really like learning about the digital recording process. starting monday, the lovely Angel will be guiding the youth staff through recording their radio modules that will begin airing the same day we publish 110º Youth Magazine….May 28th. stay tuned…

a beautiful, old and rusty white chevy truck was parked out front of KXCI…

i spent wednesday night up in phoenix to attend the 27th Annual Governor’s Art’s Awards – congrats to Tucson-based Arts for All for winning the Community award! – with my lovely friend Jen. i had hoped it would be a good networking event, but alas, it wasn’t. i did meet a lot of wonderful people that are doing great things in the arts, but Jen and I were on missions to find and connect with specific people. nonetheless, it was fun to get dressed up in a new vintage black cocktail dress and sport my saucy red franco sartos. the trip also gave me a chance to re-connect with Jen, whom i haven’t seen in a while.

yesterday my inner geek found a home! through a capacity building grant from the United Way, my organization has been partnered with a great lady named Jan who is helping us recreate the assessment process we have in place to collect statistics on the youth that Voices serves. i love data. i adore statistics. i dig data entry and the process of crunching the data to prove or disprove something. Jan’s team created an excel template that i can’t wait to play with…i think i’ll head into the office early on monday to start plugging numbers into our new database. yipee!

this week has been more than full, fun and i feel very fortunate to be where i am.

here’s a question to ponder….cheer-io!

super fantastic news today! my friend Jill finally sold her house in L-town! she’ll be making the move the phoenix mid-may! congratulations to the lovely Jill and her beau Micheal on their impending reunion and settlement into their new home in phoenix.

first times… 18 April 2008

sadly, i awake this morning NOT having a chippendale’s adventure last night as my horoscope said might (phew! sticking my hard-earned dollars into the speedo of heavily oiled overly muscular men really isn’t my thing). instead, Angel, Lisa and I went for a pint at District Tavern after work. the conversation drifted to “first times”….uh hmm, not that kind of first time…we were talking about the first time each of us got onto the internet.

Angel immediately knew when her first internet experience…at her friend Amber’s house. Lisa also could recall her first time…age 15, at her dad’s office.

me…i’ve been pondering this all night and i cannot remember my first time on the internet. sad. such an important event and my mind isn’t finding that specific memory. i suppose it had to have been at my first newspaper job while i was a senior in high school.

the internet is such a integrated part of my life that i have a difficult time remembering what life was life before it. heck, a few minutes ago i was feeling homesick for san francisco so i went for a tour via Google Earth. who would have ever thunk that would be a possibility?

when was your first internet experience? where were you? can you remember the kind of computer you were on? i bet you used AOL as your ISP…were there really any other choices? brownie points to those of you who can you remember the first site you visited.

random quote overhead on the way to the bar: “let’s kick their ass after we do a tap dance.” (three dudes in hoodies on the corner of 6th ave. & congress)

Horoscopes, small worlds and political parties 17 April 2008

two very funny horoscopes for me today…

“You might be more willing to take chances today. If you’ve an idea for a new investment, you may want to strongly consider it. Grab some girl friends and try to come up with a very different way to spend your leisure time. If you have never been to a Chippendales type show, tonight could be the night to indulge yourself. “

this next one William sent me, and i really love the message.

“Abundance is yours, through your own efforts. Nobody gave you a thing you didn’t earn, including a lot of respect. You’ve got it, take care of it.”

so….apparently my life is so abundant that i can indulge in a Chippendales show, and i can blame the whole affair on my horoscope.

in all seriousness, i am feeling very content and happy with my life. i fully adore my job and the people that i work with. i love watching the changes in the youth i work with as they finalize their stories and gain a huge sense of accomplishment and pride in the end result.

yesterday, i had another “the world is a small place” moment yesterday. Troy, the gentleman who opened a new bank account for me at US Bank moved to Tucson a few years ago with his lady friend, used to play hockey for the team in Omaha. we talked about how icky the Ice Box is in Lincoln…and i lamented how icky the lights there are for photography. as i walked back to the office i felt very thankful and lucky to have moved around as much as i have because it seems that no matter where i go and whomever i meet i find some common experience, which is a wonderful conversation starter.

i want to send some healing vibes out to Donnamarie and Katie’s BF Matt as they both recover from surgeries.

this weekend is Club Crawl here in Tucson. lots of music. lots of bands. lots of locations. fun times. also this weekend i have a “first” to look forward to. on saturday morning i am volunteering for the Arizona Democratic Party’s Pima County group. i’ll be tableing at an event. after years of being bound by journalism codes of ethics, i’m super excited to have the chance to participate in my community in support of my personal political beliefs. freedom.

what do you think? 10 April 2008

i had an interesting conversation with my good friend William the other night, that i’ve been thinking about ever since. William (who knows me very, very well) was shocked to read on my blog that i don’t like asking men out on dates. it is actually nice to know that my friends can still learn something new about me after years of friendship…and it is especially nice to know that i still have the capacity to be “shocking”.

after William shared this revelation to me, it sparked a fun conversation about how – due to being raised that “ladies” do not ask men out on dates – i automatically assign a level of a man’s “interesting-ness” if he has the courage to come talk to me and possibly ask me out on a date…which spurred a whole other conversation about the different definitions of the word “date”.

my very traditional interpretation of “date” made William laugh a bit. for years, i have felt that a proper date is one in which the man asks the lady out. he makes plans to pick her up at her home and then takes her to dinner at a restaurant where they can have a leisurely meal and spend time talking. (and because he is a chivalrous gentleman, he opens doors for her and guides her by the elbow of the small of the back). yes. i am old-fashioned, and i love it.

“but what about meeting someone for coffee? someone that you want to get to know better?” asked William. “is that a date?”

i offer this question up to ya’ll…what do you think? how do you define “date”? what is a good date? a bad one? anyone out there who thinks dating is fun? please share!

am i the only one who finds irony in a glowing heart made of red rope lights? (hint:  the metaphor of rope)

silliness and Bark in the Park 7 April 2008

very fun weekend. i went on three photo shoots with youth staff members, all of which were fun and successful. i’ve got a minor “freak-out” feeling starting to bubble up to the surface. our first batch of stories are heading this week to the Arizona Daily Star for the first round of editing and layout. Katie and i met last week to plan the general design of the magazine (where each story will go and how many pages each youth needs for their story). i think we did a splendid job.

Mamta recruited me to join the Pima County Occasional Daters, a fledgling grass roots singles support group that believes in not using modern technology to find people to date. it’s very fun, and all very tongue-in-cheek. Mamta swears she told me of the regulation that we have to go on at least one date per month, a detail i must have chosen not to hear because i’m not good at “dating”. despite all my non-traditional ways, i am old-fashioned when it comes to ladies not asking men out on a dates. the PCOD (we even have our own acronym!) had their inaugural party on saturday night. we missed the water fight, but met some neat people.

we then headed over to Plush to see The Lemon Drop Gang. it was great to see Steph, who took this photo of Mamta and i.

becki…i took this next photo for you. keep the beat lady!

i took the Gertie Girl to Bark in the Park on sunday. the baseball game was actually boring, but it was splendid to sit outside, drink lemonade and eat pretzels and talk nonsense. here’s missy, (mamta), gertie and i.

the beer guy dropped a huge chunk of ice into Talullah’s dish. she’s a Bull Mastiff (Masteeefff!) Mamta gets credit for the image of ‘Lula.

oh…and i actually got a little bit of a tan.

new music i love… 5 April 2008

i’ve got to share two bands that i’ve been playing a lot of.

The Lemon Drop Gang, in which my friend Steph Dickson is the lead vocalist. they are performing tonight (sat. april 5th) at Plush at 9pm. go! support local bands! steph is an amazing performer, and a super amazing person.

The Helio Sequence, from portland, oregon. i heard these guys play at Plush on st. patrick’s day and instantly fell in love. i especially adore their song “lately” which they opened their set with. they have a crazy, deep, rich sound which is astounding because the band is only two guys

and i send a special thanks out to my dear friend william, who sent me a great present that made me laugh. i giggled as i opened a package to find “John Denver, Remembered: A Song’s Best Friend“. you see…william started a collection of compilation cd’s entitled “Drunk Downloads” (available in volumes 1 through 5). at least one john denver song is included on each cd, and i cringe when each song starts but i always sing along. always.

and my sister thoughtfully bought herself Neil Diamond greatest hits album on vinyl that she can play on  my vintage hi-fi when she comes to visit.  everyone sing with me…”Sweet Caroline….” bum, bum bum….

flirty Gertie got dirty 5 April 2008

i’d like to introduce everyone to my newest friend. Gertie is her name…although i call her Flirty Gertie (she has a huge crush on mark), and until today i’ve called her Dirty Gertie…

…because she got a bath today, during which i realized that she is a total prima donna. she loved all the attention and was prancing about. very funny stuff. wish i had video.

i’d love to promote the place i took her to….Spike & Chester’s Scrub Tub. it’s a self-service dog wash. they have everything you need to get your four-legged friends all scrubbed, for very reasonable rates (i paid $15 for the basic wash). great customer service too.

here’s Gertie’s hollywood-style…

Gertie joined the household a few weeks ago. Oscar was much too sick for me to care for him adequately, so i did a foster exchange and Gertie was the winner. she was also a rescue dog from the shelter. i’m in process to adopt her permanently. from what i can tell, she is a chow and german shepherd mix. she’s a big girl! tomorrow we’re going to Bark in the Park (minor league baseball game which we can bring dogs to) with Mamta, Missy and Talullah, a new 4-legged friend for Gertie. it’s gonna be fun.

update on Oscar: Oscar is doing very well. he’s recovering quickly and is showing his playful side. he’s a real lover and still needs a loving home – one where he would be best as the only dog who received lots of love. if you are in the tucson area, let me know if you would like to meet Oscar.

babies in LA-LA land 1 April 2008

life has been spilling over lately…which feels wonderful. my days have been full of work, family and lots and lots of sneezing due to the fact the spring has hit the desert and i am apparently allergic to everything. when i am not so congested and can actually smell, i must tell everyone how beautiful the desert smells when the evening hour hits. please come and experience it for yourself….and the stars are so bright at night.

over the Easter weekend, i traveled to Los Angeles for a family vacation. it had been a-year-and-a-half since the last time all my family was together and we were long overdue for a reunion, especially due to the addition of two precious little boys to our family.

Kaeden…

Christian…

our first stop was hollywood, which is a funny and weird place. you have your pick of character to pose for a photograph with. i personally thought the two Marilyn’s were a fun contrast. i was kinda hoping for a little turf war to happen, but no luck. Heidi and her husband Jake…

the irony of this sign and it’s location (in hollywood) made me laugh.

Mark came along to l.a. with me and got to meet the crazy Niles Girls and their beaus. we did get to spend sunset on Seal Beach where we had a photo war. i won, naturally (hee hee!)

we were going to tour the Queen Mary in Long Beach, but they charge $30 (!!!!!!) per adult and $25 (!!!!!!) for kids under 12 years. what?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? we said forget it, and walked the public level where the restaurants and shops were and it was perfectly lovely. julie got into the hollywood spirit in a english telephone booth…

pretty shapes and colors…

this is so totally my favorite…words to live by!

and explore we did. we went to a fabulous asian supermarket where there were every kind of fresh meat you could have ever imagined. my mom was really into the fresh uteruses (or is it uteri?) for sale. fascinating. there was so much fresh fish that i was envious and made me want to move back to l.a.

or the chicken feet demanding release…

a nike advertisement in long beach…

my sister holly (hughes) wasn’t able to join us. we missed her and her family, so i took this for her.

the drive home took us through one of my favorite spots in california, the wind farm near Palm Desert. it’s so fascinating and it always fills me with hope that we can harness the earth’s natural energy to power our energy needs.

emmy was tired of being in the car…and i sat between my nieces in an effort to keep the peace in the back seat. it worked.