Oregon Coast 5/25

So when I hear surfing, I think tanned bodies in board shorts and the occasional shorty wet suit . I knew there were die hard lovers of surf that would don some thick 5/3mm heavy duty wet suits with booties and gloves to hit the waves on the NW coast; read: fucking COLD enough to make your nuts creep up inside ya or your nipples shoot off and take an eye out. But apparently the surf up here is so fantastic that people will drive hours to the coast to catch a great wave.

Memorial weekend I found myself in Portland, and subsequently on the coast, just south of Cannon Beach, to hang out while a friend surfed. Beaches in So Cal are beautiful due to the lovely eye candy and warmth, but other than that, they're polluted and in some spots lined with big ass homes; read: not much nature left(at least in the majority of the southern region). Due to the sadness of pollution and my own frustrations of not being able to get in the water some days cause of the danger level, or walking away with tar on my feet other days; I am a member of Surfrider Foundation. However, the scenery up here is beautiful, and I can deal with the cold by layering up, building a camp fire or drinking.

The waters were crowded and the waves were on the small side; a few of the better riders had a challenging time getting any good riding out.

I enjoyed my peaceful surroundings with some music and my camera. It was nice; it reminded me of being younger back home and ditching school after morning swim practice to go to the beach, watching the local rippers and reading a book, before having to dash back for afternoon practice.

I listened to CKY, which brings back strong memories of my friends in the OC, and being in that environment. They put on a fun show with drunken debauchery, and every once and awhile we'd see one of the douches from Jackass at a show getting hounded for autographs.



(road trip music iPod radio adapter MUCH needed)

Upcoming Concerts...

holy fuck balls deep fried in your Granny's kitchen, there are so many shows coming up!!!

some I'm definitely going to and some are a maybe but these are all the ones I'm interested in seeing:

5/31 Los Campesinos - Neumos
6/7 Crystal Castles - Chop Suey (if I pull off tickets before they sell out lest I have to buy them at an inflated cost from Shane-evil evil boy)
6/13 Grand Hallway - High Dive
6/17 Detroit Cobras - Neumos
6/19 The Fratellis - Neumos
6/24 The Blakes - Neumos
6/27 Reverend Horton Heat - Showbox Sodo (never miss a chance to see him)
7/9 We Are Scientists - Neumos
7/12-7/13 - Sub Pop 20th - Marymoor Park
7/25-7/26- The Cap Hill Block Party
9/24 Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Showbox Sodo (already sold out, but I'll be trying to weasel my way onto the guest list)

Holy shit, Neumos has got a lotta bands going on. That's a lot of shows and a lot of money to spend. Thank goodness I have priorities with my money...like booze and music tickets

Arcade Fire-a love story

Arcade fire was my theme music, when I hit that moment in my life where I decided to throw caution to the wind, pack up my house and get the fuck out of Riverside.

I get a lot of people who ask ‘why Seattle?’…My answer ‘why not? Have you seen this place?!’ Growing up my grandparents had a vacation house on the Hood Canal, around the Sea beck area, and we would vacation in Washington during the summers and escape the brown Hell’s inferno of So Cal. I always loved it here and there were a few times we almost moved up here. So needless to say, I always wanted to be here. New Years 06, I had made the resolution that I would move out of state, my choices were London or Seattle (both similar climates). As I started the immigration process, I realized it was going to be too costly and I would have to sell my house, my possessions and quarantine my cats for 6months. In March of 06, my friend Bernie and I decided to take a weekend trip to Seattle for some snowboarding. I can tell you that I felt like I was home. Before the weekend was even done I had made the decision that Seattle was where I was going and post haste.

(Alpental ebow drop) (en route to Baker) (I worked that SUV)

That decision came while I was sitting in Pioneer Saloon, Arcade Fire’s Funeral was playing, I was sitting with my future boyfriend and my future roommate Bernie (she decided to move with me) and it just clicked; and this album became my strength and soundtrack for what would be a HUGE fucking change in my life.

All I can say is, when I get an idea in my head to do something, I go full bore (case in point: Wanted to do make-up, picked a school in Burbank for night classes. Worked full time at my Marketing job in south Corona and commuted to Burbank after work-EVERY-MUTHA-FUCKING-DAY for a month. 2hours there, 1 hour home, in the summer with no AC, over 5800miles on my Mustang; but I did it and now I’m a pro artist as a hobby). So I was saying, wild hair+full bore=me moving 3 months later to Seattle; and ‘Wake Up’ was playing as I pulled the moving van out of my driveway

You should’ve seen me when I finally saw them in September 07 at the Bank of America theater; I was dancing up a storm and lost my voice singing along…they put on one amazing high energy show and the visuals kinda put you on sensory overload. Their music is so full and powerful; building up and mellowing out before coming on strong again and knocking you on your ass.

Two years later and every time I hear the Funeral, I get all sentimental and sometimes a bit misty eyed.

Even though I have moments of missing So Cal...I don’t regret the move

Circus Contraption-Fremont 5/23/08

Where to begin…where to begin... After taking a quick cat nap that wasn’t so quick, resulting in me rushing to get ready, not being able to find my: mini top hat, satin gloves, garter belt for my Cuban heels, thus switching to thigh-high fishnet stockings but not finding the set-“why the FUCK can I not find my stockings?!”…I managed to don my pencil skirt, best corset, leopard heels and stripy top, all in an effort to fit into the ‘Circus’ scene without dressing like a wretched clown-I HATE clowns. After some excellent Mexican from El Camino and some spirits; we b-lined it to the show, managing to make an asshole late entrance just as they were underway.

(sea lion)

We were greeted to a big top setting, but not the cheesy Ringling Bros of happiness we knew as a child. I’m talking borderline creepy, with a carnival feel and an underlying touch of evil. A big ring in the center for the performers, a smaller/higher ring to one side for the ‘Master’, a medium ring to the other for the live band and various ropes hanging from the ceiling…wicked, I love aerialists.

The approximate 2 hour show starts off with a musical precession and song. Within that time range you’ll see the following: a woman performing on a ‘horse’, a mermaid, a sea lion and it’s trainer, a monkey humping a doll, some women flinging about from the ceiling, a karate bunny, sword swallowing, pink poodles, an amazing song done by bottles/jugs, giant cockroaches and unfortunately a brief appearance by a clown. I honestly don’t want to go to specific into details; frankly my words would do no justice and rob this show of its splendor.

(why yes, my bed of nails IS comfortable)

I will mention this, its like an LSD trip; of which I can only assume since I only sort of did it once in high school, which really doesn’t count because someone told me to put this piece of paper on my tongue and once I found out what it was, I spit it on the wall; but I could’ve felt something, I SWEAR my stuffed animal’s shadows were dancing around my head!…it probably wasn’t real anyway, teenagers are so gullible…at any rate, the show was a feast for the eyes and I’m sure if someone were so inclined to do LSD beforehand, they’d probably be in for a great ride.

(monkey see, monkey do)

They do however sell booze at this show, which I did not partake in; nope, I was a goody-two-shoes-godly-angel-of-sobriety! (Only because I was still hung-over from guy’s night the previous night). There were several drunken fuck wads being a bit, well…fucking stupid, but the performers handle them well and in all honesty, the show feeds off the audience and their rowdy, rude behavior and tom foolery. What fun would a show be if it was a wholesome Walton experience? Vive La Raunchy!!

(multi talented band)

This troupe stays true to form with every detail. From the well tailored 20’s era styled costumes, to a band best described by them as “an off-kilter carousel accompanied by Halloween music gone slightly wrong”, to the actual performances. It was all very campy and vaudeville in style and humor. My cheeks hurt from laughing so much and before you knew it, the show was over and the time flew. It’s well worth the money to see the amazing raw talent of all the performers.

(Pink Poodles)

FYI…I think I might take some aerial lessons from one of the ladies and try to get her bod. I mean, achieve her body, not literally GET her body-perverts

Amy Whinehouse

I never paid Winehouse much attention due to the fact that she was over played. Not that I didn't think her stuff or her voice for that matter, weren't fabulous...but she was EVERYWHERE and I got sick of hearing her before I ever got to hear her.

While consuming some ESB's with a buddy last night, he decided to grace me with a train wreck of a performance by said lassie. I'm not sure where; some theater in England, sometime this year; I can't find any info on the performance; which is surprising considering she delayed the show a couple of hours with her fuck-uppery

Talk about hot mess...eyes rolling, swaying, not engaging the crowd, drinking between lyrics, spilling booze; and "while I'm at it-bring me another!"; a serious look of a "oh fuck, can I just get this shite over with so I can go pass out"; wondering if she was going to tug too hard at her hair and pull it out...and me zeroing in on a hicky on her neck; make up artist: you fail! The band looked bored, like they were performing a horrible chore; example: picking up horse shit on a farm... Half way through the performance she asked them to speed up tempo; they obliged, I'm guessing not only because the label pays them, but also because they just wanted to get out of there as badly as she did.

Some Brits are hard enough to understand sober, add the fact that she was clearly lit...I was left scratching my head a few times "what the FUCK did she just say?!" All the same, much kudos to the lass for actually being able to remain vertical in 4" heels when she was clearly stumbling. Poor girl...I really wanted to wrap her up in a blanket and force feed her some Big Macs; those poor legs looked like they would snap under the pressure.

I will say this about her...I've seen wasted performers barely make it through shows (Courtney Love comes to mind) but even in her state, she still managed to sing somewhat good...even if she did look like a glassy eyed zombie who occasionally waved to her friends in the upper balcony (which, thanks to her friends, was the only time she actually looked coherent). The show was enough, even with my permanent "WTF" stink face throughout, for me to see she's got some talent and I'll probably FINALLY check out her last album

Man UTD wins!!!!

Ohhh the joys of Direct TV and a big ol flatscreen at work...

OK, so granted, I'm not a huge footballl fan, but man, Manchester United just sucks you in. The championship game against Chelsea was AMAZING; with a shoot off at the end to determine the game.

After two legendary players fuck their team's chances... Ronaldo missed for UNT...Chelsy's Terry could've won the game...fucked up and slipped in the rain... it was down to one more shot, on ManUTD's goalie, Van der Sar...he blocks it-THEY WIN!

FYI sooo glad Drogba was ejected...such a douche

If he doesn't get laid 13ways from Sunday; boy's got issues

OK, back to work

Random Spewing...

My fucking knee still hurts and it doesn’t help that I’m still swimming on it. Fucking mountain; just further solidifies that I am NOT going up there again this weekend. Instead, thanks to some possible impending sun, I WILL be on the beach, in a bikini, freaking the squares with my white chicken legs and tattoos.



Holiday weekend, plans fell through to fly home for a So Cal beach visitation; no worries, relaxing at home will be fine; it’s too fucking hot down there right now anyway. Not to mention I’ll possibly be flying home next month for my Grand da’s wake.



(love and a chopped 49' Merc)

I am however looking forward to the following this week:
Guy’s Night in Cap Hill (Minus the mounds, I am a guy to them; as I am not a high maintenance drama filled philly, I cuss and drink like a fish)
Circus Contraption in Fremont on 5/23 and dressing up in one of my finer corsets, high heels and pencil skirt, complete with mini velvet top hat.
Maybe a little Noc Noc on Sunday for .25cent Highlife’s and freaks
But mostly sun and beers with friends…


(ok boys...bring on the Linda's, I can take it)

So another random note:
I know I’m a member, but I’m a bit burnt out on KEXP, not that they're not great and wonderful for doing what they do and lord knows I'm grateful NOT to be listening to public radio top 40 bullshit...I'm just listening more to my Pandora.com radio stations…




(Tommy Guerrero just reminds me of laid back, beach, surf, skate and home)