Happy Christmahanukwanzika

It's that time of year again. Time to shop for that "perfect gift" for that "special someone" at the MALL! No thank you! That's why I did all my shopping on line this year. Hurray for the internet & FedEx! It was a great sense of accomplishment for me to be done shopping by the first of December. I feel like I've been able to enjoy the season a little bit more than before.

We've had some freakish storms roll thru the Northwest within the last month... ice storms shut down the city for a couple days at the end of November. And a freak wind storm knocked out power to over 1 million homes this past weekend... us included! Then the temperature dipped to below freezing making our home a giant icebox. Luckily we were only without power for 3 days. It's going on night #5 for some. Those are the people I feel bad for. But hopefully they have gas stoves/fireplaces & hot water to keep them warm (we're an electric house w/a fireplace.)

And with that, I can't wait to get on the plane Wednesday night & head down to the land where palm trees sway... that's right, we're doing Xmas Hawaiian style this year. 12 days in the sun & warmth. If only there were a way to harness that warmth & bring it back with me. Like capture it in a bottle. Or a lockbox.

Christmas in Hawaii is something everyone should experience. It's not a bad thing, just different for those of us who grew up with Christmas being cold & snowy. Down there, Santa's sleigh is pulled by eight tiny dolphins. He wears an aloha shirt, surfer shorts & flip-flops. Mrs. Claus wears a mumu, a flower in her hair & drinks mai-tais (virgin, of course.) They decorate palm trees, surf on Christmas day & are laid back about everything! I know I could get used to that lifestyle real quick! I've never been there for a New Year's Eve celebration, but from what I understand, Hawaiians like firecrackers... or maybe it's just Christian's family. Whatever the custom, I'm sure I'm going to love it because it's going to be warm, I'll be with family & it'll be warm.

So Mele Kalikimaka, Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year to you all!

Dance Party USA

Does anyone remember this show besides me? I remember it used to be on at 3:30p & I'd rush home after school to watch it. I always wanted to be on the show & meet the "stars". Well one summer, when I was 15, my wish came true. My family & I were going back east for the Deal family reunion. I contacted the studio to ask if we could get tickets for a taping during the week that we were going to be there. And they granted my wish! Chrissy & I were taped on three shows that afternoon. We even opened up the show by saying our names & where we were from! We were superstars!


I found this picture while going thru some old boxes. Kelly Ripa is on the left.. black dress w/the nice rhinestone necklace. I look at this picture & think WTF!? What's with the hair & poofy dresses? I know, I know. That was just the style. It's good for a laugh now!

And here's a great website to walk down memory lane too (IF you remember this show)

Girl's Night Out

Back in June, I got to catch up with a good friend of mine in Denver. We visited the Cruise Room for ol' times sake. That place is so awesome. I love the ambiance & the company was great too!

Flashbacks

You ever hear a song that just stops you dead in your tracks because it takes you back to moment in time that you totally forgot about until just then? With all these radio stations playing songs "you grew up with that make you feel good", that's been happening to me a lot lately. I get transported back to the 90s club scene in Denver - Fishdance/Aqua Lounge, The Dead Beat Club, Rock Island, The Church, 23 Parrish, Modeans, I-Beam, Polly Esters, 1082 Broadway, Club LA & Neo... just to name a few.

Remember Technotronic "Pump up the Jam"? I remember going w/Melissa to Neo wearing this skin tight black dress w/yellow daisies & glo-green petals on it. In the daisies were little smiley faces. And under a blacklight, the daisies & petals glowed!! It was a smokin dress! There was a couple of guys who were regulars at this club too. Jamie & his hip-shakin' friend Eddie. They were so pretty & all the girls LOVED to watch them dance. And they knew it too, that's why they'd dance on the speakers or the stage. Anyway, that song was always played there & they always danced to it. I got the balls to talk to Jamie one night, only to find out that he had joined the army & was shipping out soon. Got to be penpals w/him for a month or so. Whoopee! Eddie kept on grindin' those hips at other clubs, but it was never the same watching him without his sidekick.

The Dead Beat Club had 3 rooms... the current hits room, the disco/retro room & the dark alternative room. So when I hear a song by the Spin Doctors, Van Morrison's "Brown-Eyed Girl" or Sisters of Mercy I think of the DBC. I don't know what song was playing, but after drinking my beer (which I found out a year later was spiked w/a little bit of "X" - thanks Melissa), I do know that I was really enjoying dancing to it.

When I hear the Morissey's "How Soon is Now", I think of Modeans. It was the only time I ever danced w/Aaron. That was a milestone because he NEVER danced! I even remember what I was wearing... a bright multi-colored striped shirt & black hot pants (No, I wasn't a hoochie, but I had the body to dress like one!)

I also think of Modeans when I hear Taco's "Puttin' on the Ritz" because one night when me & my sis & some friends were out, we went there. When we started to leave, that song was playing. We hung out in front to listen to it since we hadn't heard it in a while. During the tap-dancing part, Chrissy decided to break into an impromptu tap dance herself (mr. bojangles reincarnated.) It was the funniest thing EVER!

23 Parrish was located in an old warehouse. Melissa was dating a guy who worked there, so we went there a lot. There was this bartender who used to light his crotch on fire and dance on the bar to Snap! "I got the power". That was entertaining. I also remember a couple Halloweens there... once as Carmen Miranda (w/Melissa as Aeon Flux & Phil as the Unabomber, which is BTW, still my favorite costumer ever!) Another year as a Drowning Victim (w/Kellie as a drowning victim as well & Samantha as a cow.) That was a memorable night because my car got towed and we had to go to the tow company in costume. Zombie make-up, life-vests and all! 

Any disco song, I think of I-Beam. Doing the shopping cart & the sprinkler on stage. Having some friends of ours get into a bar-brawl like I've never seen before (Robbie had "roid rage" & started it. Chairs were flying, glasses were being hurled, crazy shit like that! The club even turned on the lights so the bouncers/cops could get a handle on these guys!) Then one of our friends got stabbed while walking to his car. 12 times. In the back. He survived. Sad thing was he was one of the guys trying to keep the peace. I didn't go back there for a while.

9th Ave West was Denver's premiere swing club. It was swanky. It was new. It was fun! Chrissy, Yun, Anitra & I would go every weekend, all dolled up in our dresses. Since there weren't many guys who knew how to swing dance very well, we would pair up with each other. Me & Anitra (I was the lead) and Chrissy & Yun (Yun was the lead.) Then one night, Charlie appeared and asked me to dance. This cat could DANCE! We became dancing partners, as in we would practice during the week to get better for the club on the weekend. He would spin, dip, flip and twirl me on the dance floor. I was convinced he was gay because no straight guy could be that sensitive and that good of a dancer. To everyone's surprise, he wasn't. We saw lots of great acts there... Mighty Blue Kings, The New Morty Show, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy to name a few. I really miss that kind of dancing.

Hearing Rage Against the Machine, Nine Inch Nails "Closer" or The Offspring, I think of 1082 Broadway. Sometimes that was a fun place to go & dance a little crazier (think early mosh-pit days.)

At Club LA (in Westminster,) I once spit gum in a girl's hair because she kept whipping her head around & smacking me in the face with it. She realized what I did & started the "pushing" fight. We both got kicked out of the club. When I hear Soul II Soul's "Back to Life (Back to Reality)" or Color Me Badd, I'm reminded of that place.

As for Fishdance/Aqua Lounge, I haven't associated any songs to that club yet. However, it was a club where many memories were created. I saw my 5th grade teacher there w/his "friend", confirming what I had always suspected! And, this is weird one... I had met this guy, Tim. We talked & danced & talked some more. We soon realized that we had grown up in the same neighborhood, gone to same elementary school, etc. Holy Shit! It was Timmy Kirkland... my first boyfriend from like 3rd grade!! We ended up going out a few times, but he just wasn't the same sweet 3rd grader I used to know & love. I met Depeche Mode there (that's a story for a different blog.) I stole a videotape from the DJ booth (Duran Duran's greatest hits.) And I had my car "tagged" by a local gang member there.

Ahhhh, good times....

Get away

You ever get in a situation where you have to get away, but you don't have anywhere to go? It's 1am & I don't want to be in my house. It'd be a waste of money to go to a hotel for 8 hrs. I can't lock myself in a room in my house because the kitties would scratch & meow to be let in. I feel like a prisoner.

Calgon, take me away....

Summertime

It's summertime (finally) here in the northwest. We've had a couple 90+ days. That's not a big deal to most of you, but here, if the high is over 80, people get heat stroke & buy air conditioners. It's been said that summer doesn't actually start until after July 4th & it's true. The past couple years, I've watched the fireworks bundled up in blankets, wearing jeans & a sweater holding an umbrella. Ridiculous! However, this year it's gonna be dry, sunny & warm - perfect!

My kids don't like this hot weather. Poor things. Oscar spent most of the day under the bed where it was dark & cool. Gracie just sprawls out, laying flat on her back, spread eagle. I left the fans on for them. Yes, they are spoiled.

And on that note, I'm going to go outside for my break & soak up the sun, while I still can.

A new look

I got a perm tooday. Talk about going back in time! I think I was in high school, maybe a freshman in college, the last time those rods & chemicals touched my hair. I'm not really sure what made me do it. Change is good & my stylist says it'll relax at least 30%. It's not THAT curly, but it's a big difference from the stringy straight hair I've been living with the past few years. I can't wash it for 3 days. Gross! I can wet it, but with a spary bottle. Not supposed to douse it in the shower... WHAT?! When I go one day without washing my hair, it looks like I've combed it with a porkchop. Greeeezy! And the smell... man, everyone's going to know what I did. That & the fact that my hair is frizzy.

post-script: This was taken in San Diego on our vacation about 2 weeks after the big event. See! It's not THAT frizzy!

Bedtime

I often can't get to sleep before 1am. Even tho I'm really tired, it's like my body just won't do it. Christian is convinced it has something to do with the fact that my parents never let me stay up late... like I'm rebelling or something. I've always been a night-owl. It's midnight now & I'm very sleepy, but I know as soon as I lay down, my brain will start to swirl & I'll start thinking of all kids of stuff. Stuff I haven't thought of in years along with recent stuff:

• seeing my 5th grade teacher at Fishdance when I was in my mid-20s w/his boyfriend. I KNEW he was gay!
• dancing at a different club each night of the week & still being able to go to work & function the next day (again, back in my mid-20s)
• the day we put my dog, Muffin, to sleep
• tailgating at CSU games on warm fall days & then going to C&B Potts afterwards for chicken wings, quesadillas & fishbowl margaritas. Then later in the evening, we'd go to Gators to dance
• ex-boyfriends
• all my old apartments in Denver & the corresponding roommates
• the Cruise Room
• work
• my marriage
• vacations
• going to the Paramount on 16th St. Mall for happy hour because it was the only place with outdoor seating & then getting really hammered
• the night of debauchery
• the time I let this girl use me as her "model" to get her beauty license. She butchered my hair & I cried as she did it. Somehow she still managed to walk away w/a license. I got paid $100 & used it to go to a good salon & have them fix it
• the time Chrissy & I knocked on the inside window at a Starbucks as the Mayor & Governor walked by & waved (they waved back... lame!)
• the Almost Paradise prom at Sherman Tower
• walks around Wash Park
• spending hours at Twist & Shout listening to music & then not buying anything
• forking Morris, Darren, Jerry, Roger & whoever else we thought deserved it

All kinds of random shit goes thru my head. I notice that a lot of it is stuff that happened in Denver. I don't have those kinds of memories here. My life has been kind of boring since moving here. Probably because I don't have any real close friends. I know people, but I don't hang out with any of them. Most are work people. I've lost touch with the Nokia folks, since most have moved away or are raising families. Never really bonded w/anyone at TCS. And at my current place, I'm still testing the waters. I could see us hanging out w/my old boss & his wife. They're about 10 yrs older, but love going out. I think they'd be fun. I don't know if Christian would think so, but it might be worth a try. Other than that, there's no one. I think I need to join a club to meet people w/similar interests. Photography. TV. Movies. Cats. Something to introduce me to more people. I've been here almost 6 years & I don't have a single best/great friend. Lots of acquaintences, but nobody I could call on to talk or bond with. That makes me sad.

It's nearing 1am & my eyes are starting to get heavy. I hope I'm already relaxed enough to just go right to sleep. Oscar will jump up on the bed & try to find a comfy spot on the bed. Christian will toss & turn to get comfy & kick the covers off his right leg. Gracie will wander aimlessly around the house. And then we'll all fall asleep.

Movies

I really enjoy going to the movies. It's my escape from reality. I love big, blow 'em up movies, comedies & suspense. Not a big fan of the horror/gory movies, but once in a blue moon my man will talk me into watching one with him. I usually regret it when it's over & time to go to bed.

We just saw MI: 3 tonight. Not too bad. I'm not a Tom Cruise fan, but there was enough action in this movie to entertain me, make my palms sweaty & make me jump a few times. Now I'm home watching King Kong. I LOVED seeing the movie in the theater. The CGI effects were amazing on the gorilla. The movie itself was a bit too long, but it was still great. And yes, I cried... a lot. That's how realistic they made Kong look.

I also enjoy the popcorn w/that fake butter they put on it.

Nerves

People want me take pictures for them & that's so cool. They're co-workers. That makes me nervous. Giving them the bill, not meeting their expectations, not doing a good job since I don't really know how to take posed pictures. I've been asked to document event set-ups for work. Again, hoping they don't have real high expectations because I've never done that before. But it'll probably be better than what they had, which was nothing.

I worry too much.

Kitty Cat Birthdays

Today is Gracie & Oscar's 4th birthday. I can't imagine my life without them.

Miss Gracie curls up on the computer desk every night with me while I work. Sometimes she lays on the desk & goes to sleep. Sometimes she lays in my lap & kneads the air, my face or my body. I cradle her like a human baby & adore her like one too. She's amazing to watch when she's drifting off to the place cats drift off to when they nap. She purrs & drools, a lot. Right now she's sitting up on the desk, dozing. I'm waiting for her to fall over as she falls asleep. But she won't. She'll catch herself right before it happens. She's very entertaining to watch.

Then there's my big man, Oscar. He's a lot more skittish than Miss Gracie & not as cuddly, during the day, that is. At night, it's a totally different story. The minute I get into bed, he hops up on the bed from out of nowhere, makes his way up to my armpit, falls on his side w/a big "thwump" & begins his nightly ritual of kneading my arm & chest & purring himself to sleep. Eventually, he moves to the foot of the bed & will usually stay there until I get up. He sleeps like a brick! I sometimes kick him in the middle of the night & he still doesn't budge.

I can't shower with the bathroom door closed anymore. They don't like being locked out. By the end of my shower, they're both sitting in the bathroom on the toilet seat waiting for me to come out. They start meowing as soon as I turn the water off. Gracie usually will try opening the shower door to get in. It's hilarious to go thru this routine every morning.

When I leave for work in the morning, Gracie bids me farewell by sitting in the dining room window to watch me as I pull out of the garage. I wave goodbye (I know, I know) & I actually believe she knows what that means. Oscar usually retreats to his spot under the bed where he probably stays for a good portion of the day. I don't know. I wish I had a critter cam.

When I come home in the evening, Gracie is right there sitting in the bedroom window, waiting for me. I sometimes wonder if she can sense when that happens. I'm sure she sometimes sits in the window to enjoy the view, but I've heard of instances where animals KNOW when they're owners are on their way home & start behaving differently. I'd be curious to find out exactly when she sits in the window. Again, that critter cam would come in handy right about now. They both then greet me at the door when I walk in. Gracie jumps up on the counter so that she can be somewhat eye-level with me for scritches. Oscar usually falls over w/a "thwump" so that I can give his big belly a big rub.

These lil guys are what make coming home so exciting sometimes & I never tire of it. The unconditional love, security, joy & peace animals provide is what I love about them. You're their world. What a great feeling that is... to know that you mean that much to something in this life.

Happy Birthday kids & thank you for all the joy you've given me these past 4 years.