Poetry & Prozac

* I did not go to Bamboozle Left or FOB in Vegas for a number of reasons (including money, not having anyone to go with*, etc) but MOSTLY because I will be going to FOB in PA and REAL Bamboozle in NJ. It'll end up that I'm on the East Coast for something like 2 1/2 - 3 days, but, I'm excited.

I still need to confirm actual whose couch/when stuff, and buy a PA ticket and book a flight home, but, this is happening \o/ If you'll be at either of those shows, I'd love to see you!

* In somewhat related news, even though I was going to wait until after my birthday to talk about it, I'm having that problem where I'm pretty sure no one online likes me. This is at least 50% irrational insecurity, but, ugh. I've been kind of fucked up on the idea and solidity of internet friendships since last October and my world feels very small right now.

There are a few of you I am stone-cold, one hundred percent certain of, the rest, I'm not so sure.

I get a citibyrd tomorrow! I am really extra super excited about this! And then we go to Disneyland*!


*For the record, this plan was in place BEFORE the Disney!Frank pics popped up. That's just a hilarious hilarious ironic twist.

Have failed utterly at vacation recaping. Also pronouns.

Most of my vacation has been hanging out at wordsaremyfaith's house and flailing over band boys and being silly and other things that are also silly.

Tuesday was the first day we actually made it into the city. I wandered around Manhattan in 20-degree weather during rush hour. As I do. Went to the Public Library for a bit. It is exceedingly pretty and smells of old books. Win. I was also shamelessly touristy and took a bunch of pictures. Then I read in a Starbucks in Times Square until Zoey was free and we went to have very good sort-of-Asian vegan food. (Mmm peanut-basil spring roll...) Then we walked back to Grand Central, I ogled the Chrysler Building, and we came home.

Wednesday we went back into the city and went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art because I had never been and Zoey likes their armor. Even though no one's afraid of a knight in a bunny hat. We fell in love with a table and I was amused at snow and Egyptian artifacts. After the museum I made Zoey walk through Central Park, because this is my fourth visit to New York and I have never really spent any time there. Also it was snowy and pretty. We explored for a bit and then headed for Times Square. I wanted to walk and almost killed Zoey. (I walked all the way, she made the wise call of getting on the subway eventually.) We had faily diner dinner and came home.

Yesterday we met up with eleanor_lavish for Thai and AK times. AK continues to be ridiculous, Jesse (who I think I'd seen before but never officially met) is awesome and fed EL and I random fancy-flavored drinks. It was a good night. Although, Zoey had to deal with navigating a fairly drunk me through the city. I was less than helpful. And strangely fixated on cake.

Today we are either going into the city and trying to get cheap tickets to a show or hanging out here and resting for tomorrow.

Tomorrow is The Cab in Connecticut and possibly lunch in New Jersey so I can have been to more states.

Sunday is probably more city/meet-up times, and Monday I fly home. Or possibly hang out in a Long Island airport all day waiting to fly home, depending on what the weather's actually doing.

And that's that.

Dear online weather forecasting services,

I realize this is my problem, and possibly mine alone, but I DO NOT KNOW WHAT 30-degree WEATHER FEELS LIKE! Does that mean I need a coat? 'Cause I totally have a big fluffy green coat thing. It is probably overkill but I would rather be warm and look stupid than be the awesomest looking cold dead person. Should I be packing sweaters and turtlenecks with said coat? Or is 30 like a hoodie and a sweater and a long sleeved shirt? Or just a hoodie and a shirt? I don't own boots. I lost my hat at hockey game. WHY DON'T YOU HAVE ANSWERS FOR ME WEATHER-SERVICE?!?!?!?!?!

I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA! I THINK 60-degrees IS COLD! It is almost 70 outside and I kind of want to turn the heater on. (On the other hand, hit me up with a little 93, maybe 105, THAT I CAN WORK WITH!)

Basically, my question is: But what does 30-degrees MEAN?

Sincerely,
Kelsey

PS - In case it is not obvious, I am starting to pack for my trip to New York City (and surrounding) on Thursday. And I don't know what 30 degrees means.

* FOB isn't playing So Cal at all? Ooookay. The closest date to me is Vegas which I think I'll probably pass on. I'm tentatively planning to be in New York for Bamboozle and post-birthday party times and now I'm considering coming out a couple of days early and going to a few other shows.

So my being in New York plans as of now are Mar. 12-23ish and April 26-6ish (though I haven't actually discussed this shiny new plan with wordsaremyfaith who is my New York crash space AND I'm not sure how my finances shall be looking). People should be around to have hangouts with please.

* In other news I kind of got ridiculously sick of my job and the preschool needed me to fill in for a couple of days and then they canned the person I trained to take over in October, sooo I'm back there for the month. If things go well I could be made permanent but there's no guarantee. How so stupid and needlessly complicated, work situation? Ugh. But I'm actually really happy to be back (for now. I hope it lasts.)

* Has anyone seen this article where Travis McCoy and Paul F. Tompkins (from Best Week Ever) rate hit songs from 2008? It's more than a little bit awesome.

Dear 2009,

So far, things seem good between us. I didn't kick you off in entirely the same manner I kicked off '08, '07, '06, '05, etc., which I feel can only be a positive sign. Instead there was a bit more liquor, a spontaneous roadtrip, and a grand new adventure. I hope things continue in this fashion.

Don't get me wrong, 2008 and I had some ups and downs, but ultimately I feel we parted as friends. The ups were by and large amazing.

Just to make sure we're both on the same page here, I have a few requests: health and happiness for me and mine (and everyone else while you're at it), a better (more awesome and money-giving) job, time with my girls (and bonus awesome concerts). I also wouldn't say no to a significant other this year, or a dramatic and exciting (but positive!) change in my life (say, moving to a new place).

In exchange, I will try to: be more fiscally responsible and take better care of myself and surroundings.

Friends?
~Kelsey

...In other news, last night after our casual family party some friends and I randomly decided to go to the Rose Parade. They hadn't done it in years and years and I'd never gone because I fail at being a Californian. It's something you kind of have to camp out overnight to do, so we loaded up chairs and sleeping bags and blankies and scarves and gloves and hats and hit the road at around 2 a.m. Got there and were set up by four, slept fitfully and briefly, greeted the first sunrise of the new year shivering and cranky, didn't kill anyone, watched a parade, ate some food, came home and slept like an unconscious dead thing, and then I enjoyed a bit of my family's traditional New Years festivities (College football and homemade Eggs Benedict, mmm).

However, I had the beginnings of a mild cold on Tues and Wed, after a night with little sleep in 40 degree air? Less minor.

I know a lot of you don't live/vote in California, and those that do are already planning to vote No on Proposition 8. If you know anyone who ISN'T planning on voting no, though, I'd appreciate if you pass my story on.

(If none of this applies to you, I'd still appreciate you reading and maybe hitting me up with a hug.)

( cut to protect those with violence triggers )

So, how was your Saturday night?

I haven't posted in longer than I'd realized. Whoops.

So Monday afternoon I passed out at work and landed myself in the E.R. It was fun. No, actually. Except for the feeling shitty, it was. I find hospitals and medical procedure fascinating. In retrospect, I kind of wish I'd gone to nursing school or something. Only I'm far too lazy.
Anyway, we think it was just a blip with a new medication, or possibly a combination of that and other things, and I'm fine and yeah. We are not worried or scared or anything.

Of course, it was my first day of this new/old job and I got an off work order for Tues, so today was the first day I actually worked my scheduled hours. Go me. Working tomorrow too and then leaving for Washington for a week and a half. I get to have a citibyrd for some of that time! And the rest of it looks to be full of berry picking and whale watching and hanging out with my family (read: playing Scrabble) and joy and delight shall be had.

This means that after Thurs. I will only be available by cell (you have the number, feel free to use it) until 7/23.

...I am boring. Sorry!

Am back. More or less alive, rocking a nifty cough but probably not The Plague.

Have some bullet pointed recaps of the HCT shows I've been to in the last week, because if I don't post them now, they will not get posted. Bamboozle Left will probably follow at some point.

( HCT08, San Francisco, 4/10 - if you don't read this part you will miss an awesome story and most of it is before tour spoilers )

( HCT08, San Diego, 4/12 )

Oh my god. Yesterday was the most difficult travel experience of my life.

We got re-routed from Chicago to Nashville, of all places and then it looked like I might have to chill there for the night. I ended up being able to go to Maryland and then New York from there, but, wow it was a long dramatic day.

And, of course, while *I* am safe and sound with wordsaremyfaith, my *luggage* is not. I'm told it was either in Nashville, Norfolk, VA, Baltimore, or Chicago. Possibly it's currently on Long Island, but no one quite knows. I miss my stuff!

But, I'm here! And not dead! So, yay!

* I should really learn to just keep to myself in my own little corner of LJ. *nods*

* Last night, or I guess eaaaaaaaaaarly this morning I went to my first local show since... '01? Maybe '02? Just because I haven't really known anyone in the scene since then. Not that it's a scene-scene necessarily. Ever since my brother stopped drumming for a terrible punk band, I haven't had any reason to go to shows. But, my, I guess he's my friend, he gave me hugs and I've known him his entire life, does that count as friends? headlined a show last night. Music For Airports, they're pretty good. So I went, paid $7 and hung out from 10.30 - 1.30 am and mostly heard some pretty terrible emo. Music For Airports was good, and one of the other bands, but overall not so much. Going to a show with all of 50 other people, max, was pretty novel though. I approve.
That's not really relevant to anything, but it happened and was kind of cool, so, there.

* I will totally do fic/concert/year in review memes in the next few days, but I don't think I'm quite ready to say goodbye to '07 yet. It's been kind of a stupidly amazing year. I'm psyched for '08 though, concerts and trips and new friends and just, it's going to be a good one, I can feel it.

Best. Weekend. EVER.

...Holy shit, you guys. Did that really happen? I THINK it did, I'm pretty sure, but it so totally could have been a hilarious elaborate dream. It feels like one, in that it's so fucking surreal.

Real update once I've slept in the last 48 hours. But in the mean time, this is a place holder.

... !!! !!! *pinches self*

No, seriously. Really?

ETA: God damnit, this is why I cannot have band encounters. Because then I cannot read fic because they are Real Boys. *smooshes ridiculous tiny boy* I love you a lot, you little freak.

Road-trip with girthygrizelda. This is kinda why I have a "reasons I am not allowed in cars" tag. Although I really feel THIS trip was not my fault. Except for how Laguna was my idea. But anyway, it was a bagels-and-smoothies trip, which apparently is code for "planned, but with impending disaster". Good times, though I'm ready for a diet coke-and-fries "lets just drive" trip. Those kick ass and I'm not gonna get one 'til September I suspect.

Anyway, sometimes my life does not suck at all. Even when I'm sitting in a car in soaking wet jeans and we cannot find a drive-through that sells Diet Coke.

It must suck to take things so seriously that you cannot laugh and laugh (and laugh) at yourself.

I kinda really don't want to go back to school tomorrow. I wanna stay and play with girthygrizelda. But 2 more weeks until camp and then 2 more weeks until break (and then another quarter of school, fucking quarter-system) but by then sparly will be home and she will take the train to visit me and let me lead her on misguided adventures to Long Beach and Redondo Beach and Hollywood and whatever other random ideas get into my dwarfed little brain. And concerts. There shall be concerts and beaches and sunburns. Yay.

I have been wanting to post all week, but haven't. I've actually opened the "update journal" window and typed before closing the window almost every day. Mostly because there is nothing interesting to say. I've been pretty good about commenting to people though.

Things I would have talked about, had I posted:

*flist issues. Which are frustrating but I feel stupid about caring about. For the record: It is never de-friending amnesty day here. I will notice you have left and it will hurt my feelings, however I am not about to track anyone down and demand explainations. Lord knows I seemingly randomly de-friend.

*An AIM conversation with blkqueenphoenix because we're funny and she brings out the geek in me. I don't think you all really realize quite what a geek I am. Well, maybe a FEW of you...

*A thing about a proofreading workshop and a girl I know named Kim and how I want to get into editing and move to New York and do that and how awesome it is that there's nothing holding me back from doing that.
(Incidentally, remember the Peace Corps entry from a few months back? Yeah, this utter lack of consistency is why it's fun being me).

* The Veronica Mars finale. ( Quick minor spoiler )

*How being indulged by my flist rocks and so does kate_moster.

*This weekend which I am home for theoretically because it is Mother's Day but which in reality I am cramming full of girthygrizelda time. So far we have gone to lunch, hung out here, and we have plans for a movie tonight, possibly a VM marathon, and then an adventure tomorrow *crosses fingers for Laguna*.
Sooper sekrit message for girthygrizelda: We should totally go to Sonic too.

*I have been collecting new friends lately. This does not suck. Anyway new friends, here is an entry from a few months back full of helpful info. But you'll figure it out on your own and there won't be a pop-quiz. Have at it.

*Today I went for, essentially, a 5 hour bus ride. I just needed to get out of the house and last weekend was so awesome that I wanted to duplicate it. So I wandered around L.A. via Public Transportation. I may do this again tomorrow and re-explore, like, Hollywood, I'm undecided.

*girthygrizelda called me while I was adventuring and we talked for like half an hour. It was awesome. She keeps me updated on my family, which is odd (both the family and the updating thereof. Someday I should talk about the weird...).

*I haven't talked to my mom since Tuesday. For a normal week this isn't unusual, but for the last two weeks, pre-New York, we were talking and emailing like every day. I miss her. And New York. And Matt Caplan (oh shut up. I know).

*Wow I really dislike myspace.

*Lucky, lucky, sexycereal has gotten whined at by me 3 times in 2 days. Lucky you all are spared my bitching. *love for S* So much so that I started her birthday fic. Anyone want to beta a massive VM fic for me (and her)?

*And then I wrote a fic for speed_rent. Why can I write 1200 words of fictional characters I don't own talking but not 1200 words of academics that will get me out of college and into a good job? What the hell is wrong with me?!

*ETA: Holy shit. So I'm updating my iTunes and this song comes on and after the lead-in the tune is REALLY familiar. And like, I know some of the words. I *KNOW* them. And there's no way in hell that I know the words to "Happiness" from You're A Good Man Charlie Brown. No. I know this song because years ago, like, when we were 8, my cousin made me learn 3 lines of this song and we went around and sang. Which was not really an unusual occurance. She also taught me part of some random Phantom of the Opera song. I loved this song though. And now 14 years later I find it out of NOWHERE? This is so awesomely fucking hilarious!

I... have a lot of shit to talk about.

* the_rocklobster adventure was awesome. We saw Slither and Stay Alive (for obvious reasons) which were also both wonderful. The last 3 movies I've seen in theaters have been horror movies, this is bizarre as I NEVER get to see horror flicks in theater because neither sparly or girthygrizelda will go with me.. And drank martini-like things. And giggled. And had fun.

* Adam Pascal on Cold Case! Tracie Thoms singing and musical-loving! Glee. Also, sometimes Pascal is very very hot (see: my header), but a lot he looks like Kevin Bacon which is... upsetting to say the least. Kevin Bacon or Jon Bon Jovi. Neither of these things are so much good.

* Segue between asterisks two and four. Does anyone know of an LJ Broadway bootleg comm? And if not, if I made one would anyone join?

* I am going to New York for my birthday. Take a minute to squee really REALLY loudly with me....... The weekend of April 29-30th. I have tickets to Rent for Sunday night. Squee again. Come on. You know you want to..... Plus, Matt Caplan's slated to be playing Mark. Squee bitches, SQUEE DAMMIT! I'm excited. And cheap suggestions for fun things to do over a weekend in New York would totally be welcome.

* I... miss when little_details didn't have eighty thousand million members. It used to be a really quirky random little community that was fun to read and now it's mostly just boring. Oh well. Ditto audiography too I suppose. And THIS ladies and... ladies is why I suck at sharing.

* I will try to maybe post my VM thoughts later because I even WROTE THEM DOWN. But it is entirely possible I will still be too lazy to do that.

* Expect a music post in the next week or so.

*( In which S. makes me giggle )

So today mostly I sat around. I did most of a paper and cleaned a little and wrote a bit and painted my toenails and S.S. and I were going to go shopping and maybe to dinner.

But five o'clock came, so I had some leftover Chinese 'cause I hadn't eaten since 10, and six came, and seven and then at like ten-to-eight she calls. The paraphrased conversation went something like this:

Her: Do you want to come with me to pick up pizza?
Me: What?
Her: Do you feel like pizza for dinner?
Me: *eyes leftover Chinese food on bed* Uh.
Her: Because we ordered you some.
Me: Um, okay.
Her: Do you want to come with me to pick it up.
Me: Yeah, sure. Where are you?
Her: Coming down. I'll be there in a minute.
Me: Okay. *runs around frantically trying to be dressed in not-pajamas*

So then we go, but we have no idea where the pizza place is, and we got lost, like a lot, and there are all these one-way streets and when we finally get there it is the Sketchiest. Pizza place. Ever. OMG. Berdoo doesn't even have places this ghetto. We had to stand outside freezing and they handed us the pizza through this big plastic slit so there was no human interaction at all and just *shudder*. Oh, plus it had a "B" rating.

Stay away from the Pizza Hut on South Huntington in East L.A.!!!

Okay, then we have food and we're trying to get home but we're all turned around and so we get all relieved when we find Eastern and then Valley so we turn onto it but aren't really sure we've turned the right direction... and then we end up at USC. Driving up the wrong side of the street. And crossing railroad tracks. And S.S. being S.S. doesn't turn around but procedes to give us a nighttime tour of USC. And then after I say "Oh look, we're at USC. Doesn't USC have nice buildings? Hey look, USC" like seventy-billion times she goes "We're at USC? Really?" And I was like didn't you hear me the eighty times I said it? And she's all "I didn't think we were really like on-campus" and I was all "Didn't you see the giant Trojan statue when we were driving down the wrong side of the road?" And then we laughed and choked on pizza. Good times.

( That was when I liked her )

Anyway, so that's been my Saturday, whoo. Also I've downloaded a ton of music. Musicals and Christmas songs mostly. And one song about Christmas FROM a musical. Nice.

So, I feel like I haven't been the cheeriest of flisters lately, and I think that's kind of human nature, you talk about when you're sad/upset/annoyed whatever and when you're LIKE OHMYGOD SO STOKED!!!, which obviously happens less often than the less happy stuff, but really not so much posting when you're content or on the happy side of content.

Which I am. I had a really good day with girthygrizelda. It was very nice and thinking about it makes me smile. We frequently do dumb things.

And I realized as much as making new friends and forging new relationships is really important, having people you will always and forever have, people with bonds deeper than friendship? That's awesome. That's... if I never ever make another friend and all the recent casual aquaintances fall away, I will never be alone. I've done really good in 21 years. I've got a core of people, some of whom have never met, who are MINE and who I love and I know love me.

Go me.

Also I had a fun day, and those of you who are considering the Marsathon? I really hope you enjoy "adventures"...