Notes for My Next Trip

I've decided to put together a list of 'rules' for my next trip to Utah, or just in general. Here goes:

1. DO schedule time with friends. Time runs out faster than you think.
2. Restaurants in Salt Lake is better than home. EAT AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. (I succeeded very nicely on this one, may I add!)
3. Talk to Grandma more often. Give her a call once in a while. She's always got great advice.
4. Movies with friends you haven't seen in months are awesome. Because you talk the whole time and annoy everyone around you.
5. Mojitos made with tonic water are not as good as the real thing...but almost. As long as you add a lot of sugar.
6. Giving advice to your nephew about being a rock star, when you're drunk, has thus far been a really good idea.
7. Listening to weird 80's music (aka: Kate Bush) puts me in a lyric-writing mood.
8. Eating popcorn and watching the Disney channel all afternoon is a wonderful activity. Nieces must be included.
9. Trips to Home Depot are fun when you're with your sister. Even if it's for a sprinkler that you had just run over.
10. Sushi is amazing. I miss it.
11. Kill with kindness. Especially if it's an ex-boyfriend you're killing. Plus you will get a free meal out of it.
12. If you choose to have a Chile Verde burrito at the Red Iguana the day before you leave, remember: bathroom visits on an airplane and in the airport will be aplenty. :(
13. Choose row 13 seats on a plane. People are still really superstitious, so that means you'll have 3 seats all to yourself. Hello, naptime!
14. If you've got stuff on your mind, it doesn't go away just because you're on vacation.

That's pretty good for now, I'll make sure to add more if I think of them!

Again, it rains...

We have had some of the most incredible weather this weekend. It literally rained all night Friday, then all day Saturday. Not just some sprinkles here and there, steady, hard, rainfall until the wee hours on Sunday morning. Then, the clouds took a break for a few hours, and started again...it's still going pretty strong. Luckily my house didn't have any flooding issues, but there have been a lot around here that have. Yikes!

The weather reminds me of my sister...rainstorms would happen like this once a summer, and we would be stuck inside bored out of our minds. Our entertainment would always start like this:

Sis: "I'll race you from the front door to the corner and back."
Me: "Give me a head start. You're bigger." ;)
Sis: "Fine, fine, I'll open the door for you and let you go first. Go!"

She would always win. BUT, once we got back into the house, we'd look at each other and say, "Well, we're already wet, so...let's play in the rain!" Those were great days. We would practice the dance of joy, perfected by Balky and Larry from 'Perfect Strangers'. Anyone remember that TV show? It was one of my favorites growing up:



So, I have very fond memories of rainy days. Even though the rain made our gigs a lot harder to load and unload, the rain made me think of my sis that I love dearly. I can't wait to see her this week! I'll be out west very soon, friends!

Sweat!

Well, the gig this weekend was incredible. There was a good amount of people that were there, and they all loved us! Our energy on stage could have been a little more dramatic, but we played really well and that's what matters most. I was particularly proud of the fact I barely made any mistakes...

I forgot how much I love performing. Our new drummer was really fun to perform with, and interacted with me more than anyone else in the band. That's what you get when you've got a veteran to play with I guess. There's one song that I sing lead on, and the lead singer plays bass. A lot of people told me that was their favorite song...which is cool I guess...but I don't want to be a lead singer! It was really fun to be out there though...I tried to be like Steven Tyler and it seemed to work. Good thing I'm such a spaz. :D

The worst part about the whole thing was seeing our old drummer and trying to be friendly. She tries to act like nothing is wrong, nothing happened, and we're still good friends. It really annoys me, and I want to say something to her, but on the other hand, I don't want to be a drama queen. Can't we just be cordial, say 'hi' to each other when we pass, and that be it? I have already told her I am not interested in being friends with her; she's a liar and a cheat and I don't care to associate with those types of people. When will she learn?

The other downer was how damn hot it was on that stage. It felt like it was 200 degrees...I was dripping and gross...here I go again re-visiting my sweat post. Goodness. I didn't feel so bad about it in this situation, though...it was really that hot. All my makeup was promptly melted off after the first two songs. Yuck.

The rest of the weekend was great. I ate a lot of junk food, sang by the campfire, and had some great conversations with friends. I can't wait for next Saturday...two shows in one day! Rock on!

Schedule...

It seems as though August is going to be a very busy month. I am excited things are picking up a little, although I'm sure I will talk about my dog days of summer when I did whatever I wanted...and had time to do it! I went on campus yesterday for some supplies and it will be good to be back.

I'm starting to substitute teach for a lot more classes and am really enjoying it. I taught my first full Hatha Yoga class yesterday and in the middle, I started to panic. At that point, I wasn't sure if I had enough poses planned to fill the class time! Luckily, I was able to push through and the class went well...without a hitch even! One of the participants let me know she enjoyed the class and new poses. It's great to be validated! When I teach Power Yoga next week, I'll have to be sure to be prepared for that one...time to consult with my Dad's Rodney Yee tapes. Ha! Next Wednesday will be the litmus test: I will be teaching 5 classes in one day. 2 spin, 2 pilates, and one pilates/yoga fusion. Wish me luck!

I also have a Zumba demo today and I'm super pumped about it. I worked with my boss on Zumba on Wednesday and I think I blew her away. She's really nervous and unsure, but to me it feels just like the dancing at the clubs I used to go to, so it's natural. I never thought those days would reap any more than a buch of good stories to tell about wild times. Who knew!

After band practice last night, my roommate and I decided it would be a good idea to go out. A local bar was having ladies night...$.50 drinks. ALL DRINKS. The place was packed, but it was definitely good people watching. When we got home, we sat on the kitchen floor and ate leftover pizza and worked on song lyrics. It was awesome. One song was about cats licking their butts. In this way in particular...I call it 'playing the cello'.

I don't think that one will ever make it to a record. What do you think? The one thing I know is there's nothing like drunken songwriting...nothing!

Other than that, our big gig is tomorrow and I'm excited...but I have no idea what I'm going to wear. I have a feeling I will be bringing several outfits tomorrow just in case. Sometimes I feel like a vain monster, but hey...I'm performing in front of lots of people. What I'm wearing is of great importance!

Melting

It's hot as balls out here. I work up a sweat playing guitar hero if my hair is down. I did the dishes this morning and after, you would have thought I had just come back from a 5-mile run. I can't stop sweating, and I'm going crazy! I feel like this guy:



Yes, my roommate and I could turn on the air conditioning, but we're college students. I'd rather have beer and ice cream, than have the money to pay for AC. If I really need some reprieve, then I can hoof it over to my parent's house where they've had the AC on since April. There was a 70-degree day sometime in April, so naturally my mother forced my father to turn on the air conditioning. My parents must have good circulation because man, they're skinny. You would think they might enjoy some heat once in a while, but hey...I can't complain since I'll be there soon enjoying their cool breezed home.

I really hope that it cools down before the weekend...I don't know how I'll make it through our show in this heat! And who wants to watch a woman play in her own pool of sweat? I'm sure those people are out there, but I really don't want them to watch...that would be pretty creepy. :p

But is sweating that bad? Maybe not. I'd like to think it's sexy. That's what I'll tell myself, anyway. Even though I may feel gross, I will pretend I look fabulous. Because:

Rock Star Action!

I'm so excited. The band is finally back into the gig scene...first gig since April 20th is this Saturday!

Initially, I was downright pissed with the old drummer for creating the situation that she did (stealing the lead singer's husband, even!) but I'm finally glad. Our new drummer kicks her ass in every way. Now the strongest part of the band is the rhythm section...the drums and ME.

Vain? Yes. Going to go practice some more? Absolutely.

It's raining, it's pouring...

One of the last days with the familia in town, and naturally it's raining. I decided to take a hiatus for a while and go home...you know to make love to the Internet like I usually do for hours every day. No matter what I'm doing, I have to have my Internet time. I'd die without it.

Plus, I really don't want to be cooped up all day in my parents' very small house occupied with way too many people. I almost went ballistic yesterday, so let me explain.

"The next food network star", I mean my 6-year old niece, continues to berate me with her picnics. This includes explanation of how she makes everything. EVERY STEP COUNTS. Good for her, she's got a great imagination, but I really don't need to know her version of key lime pie. Especially six times a day.

Then, the little one, so cute, but man. She cried through the entire dinner last night. For no good reason. It was such a good dinner too, so very delicious and nutritious since my mom made it, but I couldn't enjoy it. I even contemplating doing very drastic things to get whatever was bothering the baby to go away. Puke on her head, perhaps? Maybe that would be a good enough distraction. I don't know. I'm obviously no mother.

Now that I've vented I guess I feel a little bad about being so negative about my family on here. It's just that I don't really know how my sister does it. With all the screaming and whining, there come a lot of hugs and kisses too. Those are nice. And maybe my little chef of a niece will actually be a chef someday somewhere fancy and I can eat there for free. That would be nice too.

On a more figurative note, a downpour of attention is coming from an extremely unexpected source. My old ex, the one that I thought I could marry for a while, is suddenly back in touch. He wants to play the "what if" game. I think he's setting himself up for disaster. So what do I do? I've been told by some to ignore. But I think that would be rude. The thing is, I'm so damn happy we're not together it will probably hurt his feelings. Is there any other recourse, though?

Family 101

Well, my big sis is in town for her annual trek to visit the midwest. It's so good to see her and her kids, although I still just don't know how parents do it. I was with the children for about three hours yesterday and I thought I just might pull my hair out.

The oldest is getting pretty cool. He's not like a normal thirteen year old, and that's pretty refreshing. It's not all embarrassment when he has to be out with adults, and he enjoys spending time with his insane grandparents. What a good kid.

Then, there's the six year old, who begged me all afternoon to "go to a restaurant" because she was so hungry. Damn girl, you weren't hungry when we left, where does this hunger come from? Even though she eats like a bird, her current ambition is to be the 'Next Food Network Star'. I think she likes pretending to cook, because she does so with a bad British accent. Yes, very cute for five minutes. Not for two hours.

Then, there's the eighteen month old, who's cute as a button. She knows words and speaks quite well, but usually opts for a whiny grunt instead. Charming.

All in all though, they're great kids and it's good to spend time with them. I guess I'm turning into a cranky old hag! Ha!