Banned For Life

This weekend I got kicked out of a restaurant and asked not to come back. Ha! Me! Goody-two-shoes, angelic, first-born me! Although, I can't really take full-credit for this accomplishment.

Here's What Happened:
I went out to dinner with my dad, stepmom, grandma, and Chris on Saturday night. The parentals made reservations for us at a local restaurant that is apparently rated the Number One restaurant in town (according to Trip Advisor). So, we get there, and it's really nice inside, and we sit down at a circular table. The chef came out to welcome us, and he let us know that if we didn't like anything, they'd be happy to find something else.

SO, we got our drinks (I got a wonderful glass of Pinot Noir), we chatted, and then ordered our appetizers. I got the Beef Baguettini, which was crusty, toasty bread with beef in it and Jus and creamy stuff and oh man, it was good. And I continued to sip my pinot. So, a few of our main courses came out (not mine). My grandma's, dad's, and Chris's (even though he did not admit it) food was cold. Not even really warm. My stepmom's food then came, and it too was cold. So, they sent their food back. The waitress brought my grandmother another plate of the veal, and she told her to taste it while she hovered there. And, it wasn't hot. So, my grandmother said so. In the meantime, my scallop dish came out. It was hot. And yummy. And good. BUT, all of a sudden, Mr. Chef-Man bursts into the dining room, ranting about how two meals were sent back, and how it had been heated to 210 degrees, and how he couldn't do anything else. He was pretty much right up in my grandmother's face. So, she asked for her food back (mainly to try to get the guy to calm down), and said he had "thrown it against the wall." At this point, my dad was starting to get pissed at the very large chef who was yelling at his 82-year-old mother, and said, "so what is my mom supposed to eat?" and the chef said "I don't care." Which was really quite nice. Then, he just kept ranting and ranting, and Chris (bravely!) got up, tried to corral the man away from my grandma, and tried to talk reason with him. But he wouldn't have it, and he told us to get out. And never come back. Ha! So, we all stood up, looks of shock pasted on our faces, and left.

The man was completely insane. A waitress said "I'm sorry" as we filed out, and Mr. Chef Man told her "No you're not!" So he kicked us out, drinks half-drunk, bill not paid, cold food getting colder, and we exited into the night, laughing at how completely surreal the experience was.

There are a few things I wished I had thought of in the moment.

What Should Have Happened:
1. I should have chugged the last of my glass of wine. Should have been idea # 1 when the hilarity started.
2. I should have hamster-cheeked the rest of my scallops.
3. I should have left a tip for the waitress (not her fault!), but I had no cash and, in the moment, all we could do was get the hell out.
4. I should have defended my grandmother. But I was so shocked at was going on, that I literally couldn't move. Thank goodness for people like Chris. I was so proud of him.
5. I should have asked the chef for a doggie bag as a joke.

YIKES! Seriously! When you're paying $30-40 per person for a meal, you expect that shit to be HOT!

So, we drove to another restaurant, and had a lovely meal and a very nice waiter. And we all lived happliy ever after.

THE END!

Spring Cleaning

Guys! It's officially Spring! Yippee!

I always feel motivated to work on myself when the weather starts to cooperate with me... I'm not sure why exactly. I think it might have something to do with the fact that I feel better pretty much all-around when the weather is nice. I'm not weighed down by big, puffy coats, I get a little sunlight, my hands don't freeze, the days are longer, I feel less tired, I can roll the windows down in my car, and everything is just a little better than it was.

SO, it's that time again. Time to clean out the cobwebs!

I'm planning on getting back into a regular exercise routine; I've been exercising some, but pretty sporadically. I'm aiming for four days per week: I joined a soccer team and will be playing games on Sundays, so that takes care of one day. That means I need to exercise on three of the five weekdays (since I'm hoping to have Saturday off). I think that's doable!

I started taking a multivitamin again. I tried taking them for awhile, but everytime I took one, I would get incredibly nauseus. I even threw up once because of vitamins. Apparently, some people's systems can't handle too much iron all at once, so I found a vitamin that has less iron, and so far so good. I'm hoping this will help me feel a little more energetic.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I am really energized about my job right now, and I want to keep that momentum going for as long as possible. I want to be a better employee, I want to come up with useful ideas, and I want to grow. This part of my life is helping me feel much more confident, and I'd like to feel confident for at least a little bit everyday.

I haven't written a song in a really long time, so my goal is to have one written in the next few weeks or so. It'd be great to write a song a month, really.

I want to spend a little more time with Coltrane, who is still adjusting to having a working mommy.

I want to take more pictures, work on jewelry, organize my CDs and books, read more, research places I want to travel, and, especially, get outside and enjoy the beautiful SPRING!

What are your happy warm-weather plans?

Happy Spring!

Lately

You may have noticed that, lately (hey, that's the title!), most of my posts have revolved around two categories: One being my band's CD being released, the other being my pet rabbit Coltrane. And that is because those have been the two main things in my life of late (hey, that's part of the title!). But, the album is released and the bunny's doing fine, so it's time to move on (ok, first, I want to direct you to our new band website, where I will be writing a band-themed blog: http://www.rockrivergypsies.com/. That way, I can get all that info/energy out before I come back over here to bitch about stuff. You can also click on the "music" tab to listen to and/or download the CD!).

So, the thing on my mind right now is that my life is so perfect that I'm terrified. I have a new, great, well-paying job that is interesting and challenging. I have a wonderful man in my life whom I love very much and who makes me smile even when I'm feeling my down-est. We have grand plans for the future. I'm part of a local-level band that is tasting hard-earned success. Hell, I have an ALBUM, people. I have friends and family who care about me and who support me. I have a pet rabbit who makes me smile every single day. Chris and I have a house we're happy enough renting that we're renewing the lease. I have a couple freelance writing gigs, both of which I'm happy with. I feel pretty good about the way I look right now (new hair= lots of compliments!). I'm getting two weeks of vacation this year; one with friends, one with family. My car is in great shape. I love my guitars. The weather is going to start cooperating with me very soon. The days are getting noticeably longer. I'm reading a wonderful book. I get to see my sister soon.

I should be "Sittin' On Top of the World" as the old song says. But, I feel fearful. So far, my life experience has taught me that these, rare, perfect periods are short-lived and often followed by some kind of horrible blow. Is anyone else like this? Am I the only freak in the world who can't let herself relish her own accomplishments? Why can't I just let myself sit back and enjoy all the things I have (especially because, though some of these are due to luck, others are due to my own hard work and perseverance)? I feel so afraid to let my guard down and relax and simply enjoy. Maybe I should try doing yoga more often or something? Thoughts?

As Promised...

So, I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone (what a freakin' HORRIBLE expression, by the way) and show you all pictures of my new haircut while simultaneously showing you pictures from my band's CD Release Party. These were taken by some wonderful people who came to the show.



Photo by Alex Haines



Photo by Bob Travis



Photo by Justin Pax

I got more compliments on my hair than my singing or guitar playing (though I was also told we sounded good...)! More info to follow on the CD itself! Thanks to all our friends and family who came out to support us, and thanks to all those involved in the making of the CD.

The Church of the Modern-Day Songwriter

So, I'm not huge on things like, oh, religion. But I do worship songwriters... and, if you think it's blasphemous to worship something so "worldly," tell me, did Jesus ever have a hit? Don't dance around the question... the answer is NO people...

Here are some songwriters I worship:

Joni Mitchell: Numero Uno Worship-able Songwriter. The entire album Blue is like my Book of Genesis. It's where my obsession began. The lines are simple but poignant: "I wish a I had a river I could skate away on," "I wanna talk to you, I wanna shampoo you, I wanna renew you again and again," "But when he's gone, me and them lonesome blue collide; the bed's too big, the frying pan's too wide..." ah, it's all beautiful genius. And then there's the chord changes, about which I will not bore you. But just know they fit into the same Beautiful Genius category as the lyrics.

The Bealtes: I hate to lump all of the songwriters in this band together, but I didn't think you'd want to read a paragraph on each of them. So, here's the short version of what I think of each of the band members' songwriting styles: John= Raw, emotional. George= Elegant, true. Paul= Optimistic, fun. Ringo= Um? "Octopus's Garden," really? John's my favorite. So yeah, I guess because of their names, they'd be like the apostles right? Ringo being the 13th and forgotten one?

Bob Dylan: I realize liking Bob Dylan's songwriting is a huge cliche, but I don't really care. I enjoy the early, acoustic Dylan and the later, rocking Dylan. The sheer volume of great songs is just dizzying. I'm a fan of when songwriters and poets focus on the way words sound (not just what they mean), which is something Dylan most certainly did. And I don't think he's "Judas!" for going electric! (For those of you who don't get the reference: In 1966 in Manchester, England, Dylan came out for the second half of his concert there with an electric band (The Band!), and a person in the crowd yelled "Judas!" at Dylan, meaning that he was a traitor for going electric. Dylan replied, "You're a liar," and then proceeded to instruct his band to "play it fucking loud!" which is freakin' awesome.)

Van Morrison: Van will always be "Van the Man" to me. Like Dylan, the sheer volume of fantastic songs to come out of this one person is just amazing. "Tupelo Honey," "Into the Mystic," "Queen of the Slipstream," "Caravan," "Moondance," "Someone Like You," "Have I Told You Lately," I mean seriously, how can one person write so many epically wonderful songs? And he was so anal about instrumentation, but, in my opinion, that's a big part of what make his songs great. And I think, if there was a god, his voice would probably sound a lot like Van's.

Robbie Robertson: The main songwriter of the band The Band. I think a few of the other members (Levon Helm especially) also did some of their songwriting, but Robbie wrote or cowrote most of their songs. Robbie (ok, we're not really on a first-name basis, but we should be) is one of those Non-Singer/Songwriters. He's not much for the singing thing, but can play the Hell out of the guitar and write the Hell out of a song. I'd say he is reponsible for getting a lot of the Hell out of a lot of things.

Ray LaMontagne: Much more recently in the spotlight, this guy is freakin' amazing. There are hints of Van Morrison and Joni Mitchell throughout his songwriting and recording, but he's also got his own thing going on. He writes songs that have a lot of soul, and many of them move me to tears. His new album is my favorite, and it's called God Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise. His voice is incredibly sexy also; I think this guy could sing a woman pregnant... Immaculate Conception.. Ha, anyone? Anyone at all...? Nobody?

Josh Ritter: Chris and I saw him with his full band live the other night, and he is simply incredible. His songs may be the most intelligent I've ever heard. Plus, the man knows how to put on a show. He had the entire nearly sold-out crowd slow-dancing together during one of his songs; it was great! He is another songwriter that evokes complex emotions in his writing; somehow I can feel hopeful and sad all at once when I listen to him. He is able to allude to literature, folklore, and pop culture all in the same song. It's amazing. He is also always smiling on stage. Chris and I both really like his songwriting, but Chris considers him, well, how do I say this? Maybe a little too gentle? (not in a bad way, just compared to his favorites like Tom Waits and Steve Earle), so we'll say that Josh Ritter is the Angel of Songwriting. Plus lots of his songs have religious imagery ("If evil exists, it's a pair of train tracks and the devil is a railroad car...").

Obviously there are nearly countless numbers of incredible songwriters, and I happen to personally know quite a few. But the ones I worship are the giants, the ones who are on a whole other level, the ones who rub elbows with perfection on a daily basis, the ones who don't quite seem earthly...

Peace be with you, and AMEN!

Recent Accomplishments

1. I got my hair fixed! It's quite short (a bob!), but I like it. We'll see if it can survive the Virginia humidity this spring and summer though...Pics to follow. You will not get pics of the horrible bob-mullet I was given before though. Sorry... NOT!

2. I played an electric guitar solo at band practice yesterday that I thought didn't suck.

3. I finished a very large stack of contracts here at work. Finally!

4. My band was on the radio! You can listen to the interview and performance here: http://www.wnrn.org/2011/03/rock-river-gypsies-at-wnrn/

5. I finished both articles I needed to get written this week. One is about music, and one is about beer.

6. I changed the strings on both of my guitars.

7. I started Hawaii by James Michener.

8. I vacuumed the bottom floor of the house.

9. I drank 10 cups of coffee this week.

10. I've gone to bed past midnight almost every night this week.

11. My band now has an album that you can hold in your hand and put in your CD player. It exists, finally! More info about obtaining a copy of one (if you're interested) later.


I think that's enough for now!