An Apology and Confession

Apology ~ So, I commit to NaBloPoMo and I'm out by Round 6. BOO! My internet/wifi died. For a while, I was able to connect for 2-3 minutes then wait for 45 minutes to get the connection back. *sigh* My apologies for lack of posts.

Confession ~ I'm going to back-date. BOO! I know. I know! There will be a month full of blog posts. 

 ~ reese

11.6 ~ Election Day

I did! Hope you did, too.

11.5 ~ You're the Landlord

"This [the Capitol] is *your* building. *You* own it. *You* decide who can have an office in there and you can decide to kick 'em out. Same with the white one down the block. *Yours*. You're the landlord. You rent to who you want to rent. YOU own it." ~ Unknown via Richard Schiff

11.4 ~ Disconnected

No wifi in the house. No knowledge of hacking into someone else's connection. Sorry - this is all you get today.

I'll make it up to you.

11.3 ~ Retreat

My home wifi connection keeps getting interrupted (thanks AT&T) so I better type this out quickly.

I caught a tweet late last night - "I think I need to look into a retreat for myself..." I replied that I'd been passively looking at a get-away/retreat.

Work has been very stressful. I really need to get away and reset myself. I looked at spa weekends and mountain cabins and weekend beach houses. Although gorgeous and seemingly perfect, nothing about one of those options compelled me to do anything more than look. Then I remembered I'd bookmarked  Deer Park monastery in Southern California. Something about it really connected with me ~ the serenity, the silence, something very beautiful about it.

The gal I was tweeting with sent a link to a beautiful retreat in Sedona AZ. Sedona is absolutely stunning and known for its spa and golf resorts. What I read about this place connected with me as well as the monastery. I was actually more intrigued and interested in this SpiritQuest retreat. The focus is on healing and wellness, helping people get back to right. As I clicked around the site, this place grew on me and I decided this is exactly what I need! Then, I saw pricing. Whoa! It'll cost a pretty penny. A LOT of pretty pennies. I quickly discarded the retreat thoughts.

Then, I thought ~ WTH?! WHY am I discarding the retreat idea - money? I'm going to London in five weeks, spending just as much, if not more, as a week at SpiritQuest. Why am I balking at that idea? Why do I think it's not okay to spend that much money on myself? I guess vacations=good, healing=not so good. Lame. I KNOW it'll be worth it. I know *I* am worth it. Perhaps I will treat myself to a retreat in the spring.

How much would you spend on a week-long healing and wellness retreat?

11.2 ~ The Suite Life

Today's writing prompt, courtesy of BlogHer: If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

Psh. That's easy.

I would live in a hotel. Seriously. I could say I'd live in Hawaii or on a vineyard Napa Valley or in one of those cute huts with a glass floor that sits on the end of a long pier over clear blue water in Fiji - all of which would be incredibly lovely. I would still choose a hotel.

I love hotels! C'mon ~ welcomed warmly upon my arrival, a cute boy holds the door and helps me with my bags/luggage/stuff, there's a bar, there's a restaurant, there's a king-size bed. I like all of these things! I'd live in a modern and beautiful hotel, of course ~ overstuffed chairs in the lobby, flat-screen TVs, gorgeous fresh flowers in huge vases, black and white photos and abstract art work on the walls, free wifi, private cabanas with bar service around the rooftop pool. Ahh, ain't this the life?

If I'm being honest, what I love most about hotel living is no responsibility. Need something? Make a phone call - BOOM! - it comes to you. Dirty dishes? Leave 'em outside the room - BOOM! - gone. Someone to clean up after me. Make my bed, leaving extra pillows. Tidy up where I've left a messy trail.

Whoa! Wait a minute. This almost sounds like I want to live at home with my parents. Uh, no thanks. Don't get me wrong - I love my parents! It's funny how when I show up my mom all of a sudden needs something/anything/everything off the top shelves or out of the highest cupboards. At 6'2", I am my 5'5" mom's living step-stool :)

So, I'll take the suite life, thankyouverymuch!

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

11.1 ~ OK, Call It a Comeback

Oh, hi! Come on in. So nice to see you again. How've you been? I'm so glad you stopped by.

Pardon the dust and spiderwebs - remnants of yesterday's Halloween celebration.

Liar, liar! Pants on fire.

Okay, fine. So, I haven't been here in a while. I know, I know! But, Life happened. And work. And summer. And concerts. And then fall showed up. And then I had to see Argo. And then I started a writing project. And I had to plan a trip to London. And then NaBloPoMo came 'round. And now it's November!

After such a long time, it's weird and awkward to just pop in here with an "Oh hi!" as if I'd been here all along.

I guess it's a comeback.

::drop the mic::

Enter Sandman

I've taken to sleeping with lights on again. I wouldn't be so bothered if I wasn't already sleeping with the television on. The TV is a pacifier, a companion. The lights? Well, I just don't know.

I've become very close with Insomnia. We were inseparable for quite a while. I'd have fleeting dalliances with Sleep. But, Sleep is so elusive. Just like cookies for Santa, leaving the television on brought Sleep back to me. Aww yeah. Reunited and it feels so good! It was the 3 of us every night.

Leaving a light on started a couple of weeks ago. I don't recall anything of great significance happening, any sort of 'trigger' or what have you. THAT is as puzzling as why I get such comfort from sleeping with a light on.

First, I sought comfort in the lamp on my nightstand. The lowest setting of the 3-way bulb didn't cut it. The brightest setting was too much - it was hot and quite bright and I slept horribly. The middle setting was almost perfect. I tossed and turned that night, waking every hour or so to check the light, check myself.

The second night of the second setting of the 3-way bulb and I felt this was going to be okay. It was going to have to be okay. I woke up, restless and sweating. Oh, those summer nights! A cold washcloth outta do the trick. So, it's back to bed with coolness on my neck. I slept, unmoved, until my alarm went off at 6:30a. That's it! A cold compress on my neck solved my sleep problem. Huzzah!

Until I noticed the dressing room light was on.

That night, I slept with the two lights on and no cold compress. Again, I slept, unmoved, until my alarm went off the next morning. And I've been sleeping like that ever since.

I might try sleeping without my glasses on next.

But, one step at a time, folks. One step at a time.

Some days...Every day

Some days I don't feel like being tall. Every day I feel like being fashionable.

Summer Concert Dance Card

In terms of music, my summer is packed with concerts. And if the first 3 shows are any indication, my summer is going to pretty epic.

Thanks to a Goldstar email offer, I got a last-minute ticket to The Dukes of September ~ Michael McDonald (the Doobie Bros.), Donald Fagen (Steely Dan) and Boz Scaggs. On the Jimmy Fallon show, they covered one of my favorite songs "I'll Be Good To You" by the Brothers Johnson. That was enough to sell me. Their set was a mix of covers - rock, blues, R&B - and several of their individual hits. My thoughts:

• Michael McDonald should sing background vocals on every song to be recorded. He is THAT awesome.
• Donald Fagen is incredibly electric to watch onstage. During Kid Charlemagne, he really came alive and his presence was so commanding. He's absolutely brilliant.
• I expected Boz Scaggs to sing Lowdown and Lido Shuffle. He did Lowdown. He did not do Lido Shuffle. How does Boz Scaggs NOT DO LIDO SHUFFLE?! Pfft. He DID sing my favorite Boz song - Miss Sun - so I cut him some slack. Later, he did this insane cover of a Teddy Pendergrass song Love TKO. All was forgiven.
• I would love love LOVE to be a back-up singer for this group.

Friday night had me driving out to the middle of nowhere to catch an amazing double-bill ~ Squeeze and the B52s. As much as I love San Diego, the surrounding areas scare the crap outta me. This Harrah's Rincon Casino is an oasis in the midst of a stark, depressing town. After winding roads, no stop lights and a thisclose to three hour drive, I arrived. 

The B52s were awesome! Start to finish, it was a dance party ~ 52 Girls, Mesopotamia, PLANET EFFING CLAIRE, Whammy Kiss (which I've NEVER seen performed live). The crowd was loving it! Sadly, the casino told people the B52s were up after Squeeze, so loads of people missed the set. We were singing and dancing. It was a great time.

Saturday night, I saw the same double-bill, but closer to home. The Greek is one of my favorite venues - outdoors, great seats, good vibe but the stacked, ripoff parking is horrible. This time, Squeeze opened the show. I LOVE these guys ~ Glenn was jovial and chatty, Chris was happy and dance-y, Stephen, Simon and JB were their usual exuberant, fun selves. They played 3 new songs - Tommy, Top of the Form and Honey Trap. Just like R. Kelly says, after the show, it was the after-party. It was crowded, chock full o'people who were somebody. Or, not. I loved watching these people push their way through for face-time with the bands. Knowing everyone in the room wants face-time, too, some people just did not move on, choosing to hold tight to the moment. A girl with a beach ball asked Cindy Wilson to sign it, but the pen didn't work. The girl asked this guy with a stack of CDs and LPs if she could borrow his pen for Cindy to sign. Dude said no. Really, dude? Whoa. Girl was stunned. Cindy grabbed a pen, signed the beach ball and the girl left happy. SO interesting watching the interrupted conversations, the calculating movements, the eyes darting, stopping, dismissing. A guy leaned over to me "So, who do you know?" I stuck out my hand, introduced myself. "I know you." Luckily, he walked away as Glenn came over to say hello. I said my hellos to all, collected hugs, had lovely chats then decided I'd had enough. I collected one more hug, said my goodbyes and limped up the hill to my car with a smile on my face, lovely words in my ears and a heart full of love.

I doubt any other concert this summer will be as up-close and personal. And, I don't care.

NEXT!

"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music."