Have you missed me?

Thursday 5/15/07
2:50 p.m.

Hello my dear readers. It's been about a month since I've last posted and oh what a month it has been. The rains of April have fallen and washed away the past. Emerging from the showers are the beautiful May flowers as well as a new outlook on life. It's funny how much things can change in the course of a few weeks. I will spare you from all of the minute details and give you a brief synopsis of what's been happening in my world.

- I got to see my boys in Cincinnati a few weeks ago. The show was OK, nothing to write home about though. I did run into the boycotter there, which turned out to be quite a lovely experience. Rock Steady and I took a wrong turn leaving the city and got a little lost. We decided we hate Cincinnati and will probably not return for a while. Or at least we won't drive around at night without a map.

- Waterfront Wednesday - Free show at Waterfront Park that the town puts on the last Wednesday every month of the summer. This week - Griffin House, Wild Sweet Orange and the Whigs. I missed the first two acts, but the Whigs were pretty rocking. Also in attendence - the boycotter. He was slightly displeased that I came with a male friend and proceded to reprimand me for doing so. I received an apology the next day.

- Cherokee Art Fair - I went with the boycotter. It was a nice day. The sun shone brightly overhead in the clear, blue sky. Vendors pedaled their goods, children screamed in delight while having their faces painted and drunken middle-agers shook their hips to and fro to the washboard grooves of the zydeco band. I bought nothing other than some extremely dry and overcooked cous-cous. I did, however, get a nice tan and some quality time with the B. It was a good day.

- Oaks/Derby - Oaks day was a grrrrrrreat day. I went over to El Nino's house around 10:30 and started the day with a bloody Mary. After our nutritious breakfast we cruised down to Churchill Downs and got ready for a day at the track. Since El Nino is friends with the owner of a couple of horses that were racing that day, we got the fatty boom batty hookup on our tickets. While the little people were stuck in the downpour in the muddy infield, we were high in dry in the jockey suites. Free food, free drinks, big screen tv, hanging with the big wigs - no complaints. We made some great bets and for the first time in my life I walked away from the track a winner.

We got home around 7:00 to find Sidey soaked and crying. We left her outside when we left because she got in a fight with El Nino's dog and made here bleed. It was a beautiful day when we left the house, but it had probably been raining for a good 5 hours. Poor Sid. She shouldn't be such a bitch. Lesson learned. Anyway, I dried her off and was standing on the deck. She was walking towards me and I started stepping backwards so she wouldn't get her wet stinky hair all over my really cute black and white strapless dress that accentuated my shoulders and made me look a little thinner and made my butt look great and, oh wait, where was I...So, not looking where I was going, I stepped backwards...right off the deck. It was only about a 4 foot drop, but it definitely hurt like it was at least a 5 foot fall. I still have a cut on my foot and my ankle hurts a little when it rains.

After a quick recovery and a shower, we headed to Uptown Cafe for dinner. This is my favorite restaurant in town and I was not disappointed. We finished dinner and are sitting at the bar when this Aussie starts talking to me. We're chatting and he sees El Nino and realizes that he recognizes him. Turns out they met 2 years ago when the Aussies were in town for the Derby. What a small world! We hung out with theses guys until around midnight. Oh my gosh. I don't know if I've ever laughed as much with a group of people as I did this night. These guys were hilarious! I got offered a job to be one of their personal assistants. The more I think about it, the more I think I need to update my passport.

We left the guys shortly after midnight and headed over to the classiest bar in town, Air Devil's Inn, to see my friend HGG's band, Dallas Alice, play. Air Devil's isn't the first bar on your list of "Places Where I Should Spend my Night", but it's a pretty fun place to go to get away from the typical douchebag haven known as Baxter Ave. We stayed there until the band finished around 3:30 (the bars stay open until 6 on Derby weekend)and until El Nino was ready to go home. As I wasn't quite ready to leave, I stuck around with HGG for awhile. Finally got a ride home around 4:00 and then went home to watch the Jay-Z/ Linkin Park dvd and pass out. I love Oaks Day,

I left my house once the entire day of Derby. I slept the rest of the time. I never even made it to Derby. Oh well.

- Hung out with the Boycotter's sister. We had a great time catching up - lunch, beer with the Aussie's, shopping, sushi, sleepover, picnic at the park, drive in a convertible.

- Cinco de Mayo. Woo hoo. Meet HGG for drinks at Shenanigan's to celebrate. Ole!

- Went hiking with Gudio Puberty at Clifty Falls in IN. Sidney smelled like fish the entire ride home. Saw an awesome femullet walking the streets of Madison. Can't get beer until after six as it is election day. Vote Obama!

- A good friend knew I was stressed out and gave me a gift certificate for an hour long massage at the spa. Ahhhhh... Relaxed and refreshed I headed home to meet Benny and the Jets, who was passing through town for the night. We get a quick bite to eat and headed down to the Palace to see Elvis Costello. We had pretty good seats, but we decided to head down to the front. The first two rows were reserved for family, but since no one showed we asked the usher if we could sit there. So, front row at Elvis Costello at the Palace isn't a bad thing. The show was INCREDIBLE and he came out for 4 or 5 encores. Towards the end of the show I went to the loo and ran into HGG. What a coincidence! After the show was over we met up with him and his friends and headed down the street to the BBC.

While siting at the bar, I look across from me and see a guy who looked just like the actor, Jason Patrick. Well, he looks like Jason Patrick if Jason Patrick hadn't had work in the past 15 years and put on a few lbs. Anyway, I was trying to explain to my friends who he looked like and I said, "Lost Boys." Apparently JP's friend heard me and busted out laughing, "LOST BOYS. Ahahahah..." I must talk to loud after a few drinks.

We left BBC and headed closer to home to the Back Door to shoot a little pool. After an hour long game we decided it was time to head home. Benny and the Jets broke out his banjo and HGG grabbed my guitar and had a little Jam Session. By 2:30 I decided I couldn't take any more music and went to bed. I love Elvis Costello night!

- Next up: Mom and Aunt E. come to town...

Mother nature, how I love thee...

Tuesday 4/15/08

It's funny how some days you wake up feeling like the world hates you and anything and everything that can step in to throw you off track will and does. And then the next day you wake up and the sun is shining, birds are singing, people are out walking their dogs...



...and you are blinded by the sun because you can't find your sunglasses...



...the stupid birds have built a nest right outside of your window, so you are awakened to the annoying sounds of "chirp, chirp, chirp" and you want to rip apart their little bird nest...



...and the dogs are pooping on the sidewalk and the irresponsible dog owners forgot to bring their poop bags so they just leave it on the sidewalk for you to step in.



How's your day going? Do you have a case of the Tuesdays? I had really crazy/ scary dreams all night and didn't get much sleep, so needless to say I am a bit groggy. I fully intended on going to Starbucks for a venti Americano with an extra shot of espresso (I think that would be like 4), but as I was running late as usual I decided I better just go to work. When I got here I remembered I still had half of one I brought to Kristen on Friday. Sure it's a few days old, but it may still be good, right? Oh, I was very wrong. It tasted what I would imagine foot sweat mixed with coffee would taste like. So now I'm debating if I can make it another hour and a half without coffee or will I just suck it up and drink the god-awful packaged crap they have in the snack room and risk the chance of having severe stomach issues (and by issues I mean having to poop).

I apologize for all of my bitching. I should really think about everything I have and be grateful that I can even get out of bed to experience all the world had to offer. I have nothing to complain about. I should be looking at the glass as half full instead of half empty.



So, back to the coffee talk. I went home for lunch and on my way back to work, I swung through the Heine Bros. drive-thru and got iced coffees for Kristen and myself. Talk about a life changing event. Really, I think espresso is a miracle drug. I feel maybe a million times better than I did earlier. I'm still in pain, but I'm alert, able to have more than one thought at a time, and I will go out on a limb here and go as far as to say that I am jovial. I gave up coffee for my New Year's resolution. By January 2 I was dying. I really don't drink that much. I have maybe a half a cup while I'm getting ready in the morning, my iced coffee on the way to work and then an afternoon cup, which I never finish. Starbucks and Heine Bros can get somewhat expensive. I spend $2.40 a day on my iced coffee. However, I drive around on empty for weeks at a time, so I think it evens it out.

Sweetest moves

Wednesday 4/16/08

Dancing With the Dentists - starring Rock Steady and Dr. Macaroni
(Fyi - these are my friends)



Warning: These are trained professionals. The moves they are performing could be hazardous to your health. Do not try this at home.

Weekend update

The weekend was good/bad/good.

On the first Friday of every month, which means it was the First Friday Trolley Hop! What's the First Friday Trolley Hop? "It's an art show. It's a tourist attraction. It's a street party. It's a celebration of downtown Louisville that is bringing new visitors and new life to the Main and Market corridor." Basically, you go downtown, hop on the trolley, check out the art galleries and drink free wine.

My friend Super D, came over to pick me up for the hop. First mistake – drinking a bottle of wine before leaving the house. Pretty much every gallery has free wine and snacks, so needless to say, I had a few more glasses along the way. While hopping, I ran into my extremely happy friend and one of his extremely happy friends. Extremely happy men + art + wine = look out.

So, the rainbow brothers and my friends and I all headed down to Proof on Main (a restaurant/ art gallery) to have a few martinis and some appetizers. I’m pretty sure I didn’t need any martinis by this point, but as I was with my friends, I really didn’t have a choice (I guess I could have called a cab or someone to pick me up, but that really didn’t cross my mind at the time). Before I continue, I must tell you that the following events were made known to me yesterday. In my head, I only had two dirty martinis, but apparently it was more like 4. I guess I was saying that since I was Russian (1/4) it was okay. My extremely happy friend said that we went to the bathroom and when came out, I started pretending like I was, how shall I put this, making friends with these inflatable pieces of art. I don’t really have any recollection of this, but apparently everyone was laughing at me. Or laughing with me. I'm really not sure. Good times. Good times.

Before we left Proof, I got a call from the Dentist. He had just returned from a trip to Florida and wanted to meet us out for a little bit. So, when we left the restaurant I sent him a text saying we were on our way. About 30 minutes later I sent him another text saying the same thing (we made a quick detour at Super D's house). Shortly after, the Dentist called me to see where we were (he had now been waiting aprox. 45 minutes) and I then proceeded to ask "Oh, are you back in town yet." Yeah, it was like that.

Because I hadn't had my fill of nighttime activity at this point, or maybe because I didn’t have a choice, my friends and I headed back to the Highlands and went to Wick's Pizza to watch Super D's friend DJ or maybe he drummed. I'm not really sure.

All I recall was this white guy throwing it down (throwing it down = rapping). So we finally get to the bar. The Dentist is tired from his 10 hour car ride with his Braced Brother (his 25 year old friend who wears braces) and sees that we may have had a little too much hopping and decides it's best if he leaves us be. We watched the white Chuck D. spit his lyrics for a little while longer and then go across the street to O'shea's.

Even though we had been out and about for a while, it was probably only midnight at this point. I don't have a clear recollection of being at the bar, but I'm guessing I didn't spend any money, as I still had the crisp $20 I had got from the ATM on my bedside table the next morning. By this point Wigs and I were like, we have GOT to go. So then we went home. From the time of the last text I sent, I’m guessing I was in bed by 2.

One of the greatest women in the world came to town on Saturday. I fully intended on spending my morning preparing for Ginnie’s arrival – cleaning, grocery shopping, etc. I was also going to get in some exercise too - bike riding, gym, maybe a trail run. Yeah, things didn't really go as I planned. I was semi dying when my friend, Uno texted me around 10. After a brief chat, I managed to go back to sleep until around 11. I knew Ginnie would be arriving shoon, so I decided maybe a shower would help me feel a little better. Not so much. As soon as I got out of bed, I felt like my eyeballs were moving in and out of my head. As I stood beneath the steamy hot water, praying that I wouldn't fall or pass out, I began to see tiny little neon dots floating all around in front of me.

Now this is great. I get out of the shower and decide that the only option I have to make it through the day is to make myself throw up. Ahhh… much better. I got dressed, grabbed a triple espresso and was miraculously brought back from the dead. Amazing how a little caffeine can change your outlook on life.

Ginnie arrived around 1 and we headed to Just Fresh for some lunch. After devouring my Veggie Wrap without green peppers, we wandered in and out of the most of the shops on Bardstown Rd. Luckily I didn’t see anything I was too tempted to spend money on and I escaped the shopping excursion with only a new green purse and some incense. After shopping, I grabbed yet another espresso drink and we headed home.

Just to make sure I was fully back to normal, I took another shower before heading to my favorite neighborhood bar, The Dundee Tavern, to watch some basketball. Luckily there weren’t too many people up there, so I wasn’t too tempted to indulge in another night of debauchery. The Dentist, Ginnie and I had a couple of drinks and ate and then we headed back to my house before the second game was over. I don’t know if it was the remains of the night before or the fish sandwich, but after we got home, I started to feel the little catfish swimming to the top of my throat.

I told the Dentist it was imperative that he leave, and once again I was hovered over the toilet. Blackened catfish tastes much better going down than coming back up (aren’t you so glad I’m sharing this with you?). To my delight, we were in bed by midnight.

We both slept like the little angels we are and finally rolled out of bed around 10:30. We got dressed and headed up to the Heine Brothers to meet the Dentist and Super D. for coffee. We sat outside underneath the sunshine filled blue sky and collaborated on the crossword puzzle. After our daily dose of java, we then went to Kroger to get snacks for lunch and headed up to Cherokee Park for a little Dungeons and Dragons reenactment and a picnic.

Every Sunday a group of very avid Dungeons and Dragons fans gets decked out in their battle gear, grabs their foam weapons and meets at the park. I don't know if they are the coolest people I have ever seen or the dorkiest, but they are entertaining either way. To our dismay, the Dungeoners had not yet arrived. NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! We set up camp at the top of Dog Hill instead and spent the next couple of hours reading magazines, listening to music and watching the dogs frolic merrily and unleashed around the field.

Sadly, Ginnie left around 3 and I took Sidney on a walk for about an hour. I had fully intended on spending the rest of my day riding my bike and running trails at Seneca Park, my extremely happy friend called and suggested we go to Waterfront Park so he could check out guys instead. We went down there for awhile and tossed around the football. When he realized that there probably weren’t any prospects for him, we left and met some of his friends at El Napolito’s for some margaritas. I had finally had all I could take of drinking and eating, so after that I made it home with just enough time to shower, eat a peanut butter and banana sandwich and watch Rock of Love with the Marine.

For once I was actually glad the weekend was over!

Daily Rudd

Jam of the day

For Doerr

Jam of the day

Friday 4/4/08