Didn't make it to the CH show friday. Was in lab trying to get as much info as possible about the final. Heard it was the best concert ever. Sad. But recognize that the grades I get now are going to follow me around a while. Got to have ice cream with necrocannibal and msteleute later that night so that was good.

I woke up and ran errands saturday morning. I had a bunch of random checks to deposit (way more of a pain in the butt now that I truly work nowhere near a bank branch) and after trying oontzgrrl's indoor workout trampoline, I simply had to have one. I didn't like the look of the ones online, and they were out of the exact model I had tried, so I just went to Dick's. They had one model, which was cheesy, but dirt cheap. I'll have to see if I can get ridiculous action photographs and post a review. I also went to Target despite having forgotten why I was going - but knowing that I would remember when I saw it. And lo, I did remember; I was looking for a non-overpriced memory foam pillow that approximates the functionality of those ones you get at the healthy back store but for 1/4 the price. After looking past it 7 times I finally saw it, purchased it, but I'd have to wait to last night to try it out. It didn't seem to work any miracles and I felt like I still ground my teeth, but, I think it was better for my sleeping posture, so I'll keep it. Even if it smells kind of... weird right now. While at Target I also purchased about 1,000 other things, among them a bucket to catch the water that runs while I'm warming up my shower in the morning so I can use it for other things like watering plants or what-not. I have now collected the water, but haven't figured out how I'm going to deliver it to the plants. I think I need one of those rainwater reservoirs to keep outdoors and dump it in that.

Does anyone know where I can buy one locally?

Anyways, having done all that practical stuff it was time to toss stuff in the car and run off to Atlantic City! ( cut for babbling about AC and the show )

We woke up of our own accord Sunday morning due to the fact that you could hear every single person clomp by our room as if they were wearing combat boots. We pretty much rolled out of bed and hit the road, enjoying a really pleasant drive back from the shore. I had to get home early so I could dress up to go to a fancy reading for Jolie's MFA class! We got there in plenty of time and even got to spend extra time with the visiting rackletang as part of the bargain. I had forgotten that I'd be on AU campus and this gave me a tiny twinge of regret. (It was my first choice school. We couldn't afford it at the time.) But as I often say, I wouldn't change a thing, so I walked around with my community college pride (clearly I need a PGCC hoodie!) and refocused because you know, it's not always all about me, is it. It swells the heart to see a friend succeed and I was glad to bear witness. We celebrated with J's mom and the Usual Suspects and greasy diner food. (Grilled cheese on rye, whoah, why didn't I try it that way before??) After which I noticed a distinct sleepiness coming over me.

Went home, read the peril_book_club book (meeting tonight at 8!) in the bungee chair surrounded by kittycats, went to bed. I need to spend more time in that bungee chair, man.

1. My username is ______ because ______.

Snidegrrl was something that jwiv came up with when I was signing up along with him and CC for some online flight sim whose name is escaping me. the logic at the time was that I wanted to let other people know I was female (to up the visibility of women in gaming) but discourage flirting. I just kept it. Although I have been thinking about changing it lately. I kind of really want to but it's everywhere, like twitter and so on now.

2. My name is _____ because ______.

Kimberly; I think my parents just liked it. I don't have a story, they just picked it. If there is a story, parents, feel free to comment with it. If this meme is about the "Name" assignment on my LJ userinfo, then it's "Keep It Dark" which is one of my favorite Genesis songs.

3. My journal is titled ____ because ____.

"all the things that happened to me" is a lyric from that song.

4. My friends page is called ____ because ____.

"and all that I have seen" is also a lyric from that song.

5. My default userpic is ____ because ____.

A picture of me at tzel's bridal shower all greyed and fuzzed in PS; I chose this because I thought it was pretty. And I greyed it because the new journal style I chose is all grey.

6) My LJ subtitle is: _____ because:

"a world full of people, their hearts full of joy" is also a lyric from the aforementioned song (it's a theme, see). The song speaks to my optimistic side.

I think I may have survived the plague of March, but I don't want to count those chickens before they hatch... I am scared it will come back.



(Click through to see all the egg-dyeing action.)
Last Saturday I hosted this year's egg dyeing event, which would have gone better had I not been Typhoid Kim. We got some really great looking eggs out of it though!! And thanks to my friends for putting up with my sick ass.

After that day everything was kind of a blur until I had the lecture exam Wednesday, which was still kind of a blur, and then went back to work... no that was all a blur as well. I really haven't felt OK until today. Which is why all of my blogging urges went to Twitter. Which I like more and more all the time! Friday I went to lab and found out a) just how many muscles there are and b) that I did in fact ace the practical. My classmates embarrassed me a bunch and I still don't know how to handle it.

Saturday I went to my drum lesson (I'd barely practiced due to the fact that a) I am in the middle of reorganizing the house and the new drum kit and its new home and that is a whole other post and b) the aforementioned plague. So I bullshitted a bunch with the brushes and swelled with self-loathing. The pride to self-loathing rollercoaster has been in full operation 24-7 in my house, let me tell you. I then packed up all my tissues and cough drops and hit the road to Glenside, PA to meet up with 20-something crazy Genesis fans.

I loves me my Genesis fans. This experience was no exception as everyone geeked out and loved on my tattoo (except when they were demanding that I include this thing or not include that thing, which recieved polite nodding and smiling from me). We ate at Plush and frankly I don't know why because last time they treated us like crap and give us the hairy eyeball and this time was no different. The food was good but not good enough to warrant them being weird at us. I think they just have an inflated view of their importance as a fancy-ass bar. Nevertheless, we had a great time and Wilson and his wife brought more weird gifts (it involved a towel and ... pictures of sperms with little Phil Collins heads. yeah.) and I met even more awesome nice people and yeah.

Then there was the SHOW. There was in initial surprise in the form of an opening act - Ronnie Caryl - and that was nice. Then the main event... Oh my god - it was bliss! I was kind of ambivalent about the later material and the fact that Martin would not be behind the drum kit the whole time but I was totally blown away in the end. I hope someone on the forums posts the setlist because I want to try to piece back together my fantastic memories of things. Several things came together to make the show really stunning. Martin Levac, of course, is a showman and artist, and terrific singer and drummer, and to our great favor happens to sound and look like PC. But while obviously that is the point of this show, I'd go see him drum & sing the phone book. And I don't say this to slight in any way his fantastic band, because wow. Wow. I was sitting front row on the guitar/bass side and those guys were flat oodles of fun to watch. They were obviously having a good time and it was catching. The "Chester Thompson" of the crew was excellent too. The whole band were consummate professionals - at one point the keyboard player had a failure in the ARP Pro-Soloist, in the middle of "In The Cage"... everyone covered and communicated well and the show went on. And the final ingredient (apart from the music itself, of course, props to the composers ;)) was the audience. Really good form, really good energy, polite, and hella enthusiastic. The band kept looking out into the audience with obvious stark disbelief on their faces that we were so happy and so expressive. Jean-Pierre looked right at me at the end and gave me a thumbs up. Well, I do my part.

I was toast after all the smoke machines and stuff so I didn't try very hard to hang out with the band, and Tara and Chris had to go early, so we headed right back to their place and crashed, I got a terrific night's sleep and immediately ran back home to get to my week-neglected to-do list. Ha. I will say that I had yet another bad Guitar Center experience and I will be buying a bass pedal online thankyouverymuch and blah blah self-loathing due to crazy-good drummers all over the joint.

And now another week! I have plenty more words in me, ya'll, but I will save them for another day. Hometime!

Discovery: The first recordings of something-like Split Enz (heard on the Enzology podcast part 1, Tim Finn & Mike & Jeff Chunn) recorded in 1969 sound just like the first Genesis album (From Genesis to Revelation) sans strings (added by the producer) recorded in 1969. Maybe a hundred or a thousand other bands made albums that sounded like this, specifically described as being influenced by the BeeGees, but still I am all wow this morning.

I did not tell you about my weekend. Why don't I do that now.

1. I got drunk and went shopping (Thursday). In that order. YES, it makes the decisions alot easier. Also: FUNNER.

2. I got drunk and went duckpin bowling with some femjays. Not quite in that order. It makes the bowling less easy. I also made an ass of myself. But: FUNNER.

3. I drove to Pottstown, PA to my Genesis friends' house and we listened to the 5.1 stuff. Because they have 5.1 and think nothing of sitting around and listening to music. AWESOMESAUCE.

4. They drove me from there over to the Keswick theater, a nice old place from back when people were less wide (TINY SEATS) and saw The Musical Box, new drummer and all. We kibbutzed with other forumites beforehand (ahh, music geeks) and the show was PHENOMENAL. During the Firth guitar solo, I felt bolts of musical energy nail me to the back of my seat.

5. I came home, fought a raging headache all day, but managed to file a ton of stuff, shred a ton of stuff, and do laundry.

6. I made Jack wrap presents while I made (burned) presents. (Monday) We realized that basically all TV is over until the writers come back. It was liberating. We had our first Pizza Hut pizza in a long while. It is better if you wait a long time in between.

I made it to Pottstown, PA last Thursday in time to catch up with my friends Tara and Chris and head up to Giants Stadium!!! Where we had a huge Genesis Tailgate Party!!! And then, of course, you know, as a small footnote, saw Genesis play. ( more details & pics )

Only like the best weekend ever. Seeing my best friend deliriously happy and seeing Genesis from the front row. The former actually eclipses the latter, but that just tells you how completely incredible my weekend has been. I mean, there are no words, which is why I am using pictures.

( ...ok there are a few words )

Hey now - Andrew Sullivan is a Genesis fan! Who knew. Now I'll have to read his column - at least until my leftie pinkoness gets in the way.

It's been a long week with many minor figurative scrapes and bruises. Due to lack of time, I twittered most of it from my cell phone. I'm thinking that twitter might end up being a filter and idea pool for actual LJ posts... it's just that it's so easy to use, and sort of forces the short form, which makes me get to the real substance.

Now after my week of icky bits, the topping on my cupcake is that I got a permanent crown affixed today with temporary glue to try it out. Naturally, it came out. So I have a sensitive gap. AND instead of pleasantly sleeping in tomorrow on my wonderful day off, I have to get up and march down there and make them put it back. Hrmf.

Today was supposed to be the Genesis Fan Club ticket presale. HA! It's a total catastrophe, from the site being hosed by a scalper script to presale codes showing up on ebay to you name it. Despair reigns across several message boards and email lists I frequent. Wailing and gnashing of teeth. My one regret is not doing my best to get an American Express card and getting in on those presales.

This is the same company that did the Police fan club presales, and I haven't been able to find a hue and cry about that.

Anyways, in honor of MY current level of cynicism and despair, here is an article:
The Top 10 Corporate Moments In Rock

Free Genesis concert in Rome

"There will be no tickets, and people are being told to turn up on the day on a first come first served basis."

*huge sigh*

ok, this is very exciting to see:



i had a truly fantastic weekend.

friday: we went to "Piratz Tavern" in silver spring for our friend josh h's birthday. the ambience was actually fun and despite being seated in front of the kitchen i left with a really good impression of the place. you pay a bit much for the food, but the food was really good. i have particularly excited things to say about the shrimp appetizer. hey tzel, i think we should try to recreate that recipe. :) i met new friends, among them lj-ers ravrhi and freakscout (ok i met freakscout before but was feeling shy). good fun.

ravrhi ensured that i will be enamored of her forever with this opening line: "I'm not good at small talk. So what are your passions in life?"

saturday: had my drum lesson (heard an excellent car talk segment on the ford festiva!), went home, took a huge and much needed nap, and then headed back to VA to visit oontzgrrl for dinner. she made us & others a tasty and healthy meal and we all shot the shit and petted the dog. she is still aces and is looking amazingly hot and i am jealous of her bangs.

sunday: i packed up my drums and picked up olya and her bass and we "auditioned" for a new band. the band has no name yet but we got along with them really well. i found that drum teardown and setup is a pain, but not dauntingly so. i would like cases for christmas if i am going to move them alot though. anyways, it's exciting and scary and i guess i am in a band now. when i got home we went and had kebabs with necrocannibal and msteleute because apparently no sushi can be had on a sunday evening in laurel.

then this morning nicolas woke us up at 3am for no apparent reason. ugh. my ability to think is suffering for it. tonight: Heroes at cheetahmaster and maroonmd's joint.

Musical Box show 1 of 5: fan-freaking-tastic. Firth of Fifth was really incredible. Supper's Ready felt like it only lasted five minutes... for those of you not in the know, it's a 20+ minute song. I just wanted more. I think tomorrow (I have the rest of the week off!!!!!) I'm just going to put my headphones on and bash the drum kit along with SEBTP. I met some more co-fans, Scott and Aaron. Watched from the balcony which was good for my feet and my ability to see wtf was going on behind the drum kit... tomorrow night I'll try the floor.

I LOVE THESE GUYS.

This is not a weekend update - it's just the music news I can post real quick. The weekend was entirely postworthy but that will take some time.

Music industry reporting a Genesis 3-man Reuinion for next year. Comments: Ah, well. I will begin saving for this now. And continue to hope they will add two other ex-members later. Some disappointment that one SH is not on the rumored bill, as the 4-man era was nothing to sneeze at.

Via Bic Runga's MySpace blog: Neil Finn at Real World studios working with Johnny Marr. Well that's pretty exciting and quite an intersection of my musical tastes.

Jimmy Buffett's new album Take the Weather With You features a cover of a Finn tune. And steals the lyric for the album title. I might just give it a listen.

this is definitely the best thing i have seen all week.



this is the second best thing i have seen all week.

I had a great weekend, no thanks to traffic and what not. But it was great nonetheless.

( Fri night... )

( Sat morn... )

( Exhaustive Trespass concert review... )

( Sunday: ESP )

My favorite G song played by a school band. God bless their music teacher, whoever they are.

Actually, I've been home for over 24 hours now, but it already feels like twice that. And I've been scared to post without composing The Great Rock Camp Post of Aught Six. But that will have to come later. For now I just wanted to say, hey! I got back safe. I worked a half day today (despite the cold I got on some plane or other) so that I could feel like I wasn't going to be bowled over by work craziness. I am desperate for some face time with some real life people (that are not coworkers because, yeah) because I'm so freaking overflowing with love still I just want to share it. I have gone nuts adding everyone I could find on myspace and I've started arranging the photos... and I unpacked before I even went to bed last night because I just wanted to stare at everything.

The short version of what happened is that my band and I wrote, perfected, and ultimately performed a song live over the weekend but the whole story is much more.

I'm going to miss The Waiting Room in Sellersville PA this friday night (I'd have to drive 2.5 hrs there AND back in order to do everything I need to on Saturday) which sucks but in case you want a taste of just what a balls-out Genesis tribute band is like check this shit out. There's even a little compare and contrast going on in the clip.