haunted #7-11

# 7

Ghost in this House
written by: Hugh Prestwood
performed by Alison Krauss: video here

I don’t pick up the mail
I don’t pick up the phone
I don’t answer the door
I’d just as soon be alone
I don’t keep this place up
I just keep the lights down
I don’t live in these rooms
I just rattle around

I’m just a ghost in this house
I’m just a shadow upon these walls
As quietly as a mouse I haunt these halls
I’m just a whisper of smoke
I’m all that’s left of two hearts on fire
That once burned out of control
You took my body and soul
I’m just a ghost in this house

I don’t care if it rains
I don’t care if it’s clear
I don’t mind staying in
There’s another ghost here
He sits down in your chair
And he shines with your light
And he lays down his head
On your pillow at night

I’m just a ghost in this house
I’m just a shadow upon these walls
I’m living proof of the damage
Heartbreak does
I’m just a whisper of smoke
I’m all that’s left of two hearts on fire
That once burned out of control
And took my body and soul
I’m just a ghost in this house
Oh, I’m just a ghost in this house

~~~~

# 8

Saturday Night Live’s Celebrity Ghost Stories

~~~~

# 9

Baseball playoffs

Baseball is full of superstition, and sometimes it’s hard not to imagine that the ghosts of baseball past are influencing things just a bit. The other night I was watching game 2 of the Yankees/Twins games and A-Rod hit the 2-run shot in the bottom of the ninth to tie it, followed by Teixeira’s walk-off homerun in the bottom of the 11th. I don’t know if it was that game or the Dodgers/Cardinals game when the Dodgers made an amazing comeback to win, but one of the TV commentators made a reference to the ghosts having their way.

~~~~

#10

Ghost
written by: Emily Saliers
performed by: The Indigo Girls

Theres a letter on the desktop
That I dug out of a drawer
The last truce we ever came to
In our adolescent war
And I start to feel the fever
From the warm air through the screen
You come regular like seasons
Shadowing my dreams

And the mississippis mighty
But it starts in minnesota
At a place that you could walk across
With five steps down
And I guess thats how you started
Like a pinprick to my heart
But at this point you rush right through me
And I start to drown

And theres not enough room
In this world for my pain
Signals cross and love gets lost
And time passed makes it plain
Of all my demon spirits
I need you the most
Im in love with your ghost
Im in love with your ghost

Dark and dangerous like a secret
That gets whispered in a hush
(dont tell a soul)
When I wake the things I dreamt about you
Last night make me blush
(dont tell a soul)
And you kiss me like a lover
Then you sting me like a viper
I go follow to the river
Play your memory like a piper

And I feel it like a sickness
How this love is killing me
Id walk into the fingers
Of your fire willingly
And dance the edge of sanity
Ive never been this close
Im in love with your ghost

Unknowing captor
You never know how much you
Pierce my spirit
But I cant touch you
Can you hear it
A cry to be free
Oh Im forever under lock and key
As you pass through me

Now I see your face before me
I would launch a thousand ships
To bring your heart back to my island
As the sand beneath me slips
As I burn up in your presence
And I know now how it feels
To be weakened like achilles
With you always at my heels

This bitter pill I swallow
Is the silence that I keep
It poisons me I cant swim free
The river is too deep
Though Im baptized by your touch
I am no worse than most
In love with your ghost

You are shadowing my dreams
(in love with your ghost)
(in love with your ghost)
(in love with your ghost)

~~~~

#11

Found this excellent re-cap of all of the Brady Bunch episodes that featured hauntings and other trickery.

 

an extended break (with some pain)

It’s been entirely too long between posts for any self-respecting blogger. Sorry for that. What can I say? Life gets in the way much more than I ever imagined it might. Or I’m tired, or I tell myself there’s something else I should be doing. It’s a recurring story. What can I do to break the pattern?

That said, this won’t be a long post, as I need to get to bed. But a glimmer of me for you. For anyone reading (hi Mom & Sandy & Mia & Dad).

Han is on the road ’til Monday so I have some time to reflect and relax in different ways than when he is here. It’s not better or worse, just a different situation. I’m letting myself do some things I can’t (won’t) do while he’s here: have candles lit (he’s allergic to the scented ones) and watch guilty pleasure TV (ANTM re-runs anyone?).

Last week, I was home, inflicted by a good 5 hours in urgent care that resulted in some extra-strength ibuprofen and some vicodin to relieve some harsh pain from what they could only presume was some kind of muscle tear in my rib cage. I took Tuesday & Wednesday off, and had already requested Thursday & Friday off to go to Las Vegas with the Acoustic Duo. Instead, I stayed here and Han went to his gigs. It was for the best, but it was a bummer. But the rest was good for me, though I didn’t do much else other than watch movies, sleep, and try to book some shows.

The week before that, I was in Iowa for work. I enjoy going out there. I did pretty well with the travel too, thankfully. My co-workers were cool and we got along well. Our meetings were good, and what’s better than a summer night watching minor league baseball in Iowa? It wasn’t heaven, it was Iowa.

This afternoon I got a wild hair to “friend” a lot of folks from my high school graduating class. Next year will be the 20 year reunion and I had a major moment of nostalgia, just wanting to know what everyone is doing now, and more surprisingly wanting them to know what I’m doing. So I filled out some more info on my profile and posted some photos. Many have already accepted and written a note on my wall, and it’s nice. I can’t quite explain my shift in attitude, but there’s an interesting fondness I’m feeling for these folks, a true wish for their happiness and success. Maybe my jaded heart is softening.

In other news, our dear Barbara has taken off for Austin. At her farewell party that we hosted, I drunkenly sang “Miss Celie’s Blues” for her, a song that she & I bonded over very early in our friendship. It probably sounded terrible, and it ended in tears, but it was still a truly beautiful moment between us, and one that I’ll think of often. Many of our friends already have plans to visit her, and she’ll be back periodically to do some shows with Flan during his music season so I know we’ll stay in touch. I hope Austin knows what it’s in for.

I’ve made some small steps toward getting my health/weight on track. I’ve started the process of receiving phone consultations with a health coach. Our next talk is on Monday when we’ll discuss more of my weight loss goals and start figuring out how I can achieve them.

My dad is recovering from some surgery and I’m glad to say that he’s doing well. My mom’s getting ready to head back to school. They’re also remodeling the kitchen.  I can’t wait to see it! My sister’s doing awesome (best.sister.ever) in SLC with MT, T, and the new puppy Osi.

DK turned 12 and has spent the last month visiting Han’s folks. She’s up in Washington now and loving it. Han’s sister took some photos of her after doing her make-up and she looks 16. It’s pretty crazy. But she was really able to capture her personality. She’ll start 7th grade at a performing arts school in September. I hope she excels.

Do check out the flicks link and the flickr stuff. Both have been recently updated!

So much for a short post! I’ll wrap it up for now. Until next time!!

 

catching up

Meanwhile, a week later…

This weekend, my internet has been acting quite temperamental.  Perhaps it’s the heat, because there’s a lot of it.

So, a quick rundown of the past week and the bits of joy I picked up along the way:

Monday: Drove up to Fallbrook for an appointment with a potential house concert host for the Acoustic Duo.  While it was hot, the drive was lovely and a nice variance to the routine.

Tuesday: the best part of the day was watching the All-Star game.  Now, I’m not keeping track or anything, but someone from the Padres has had a hand in each of the last 3 years of National League losses!  Oy!  That’s not good, but you can’t beat watching the game’s very best in a baseball-centric town like St Louis or even get a little choked up at the reception Pujols got from the hometown crowd, or marvel at how cool Obama was to throw out the first pitch.  Nice.

Wednesday: On Wednesdays, I take DK to church.  It lasts from 7-8:30 pm so I use that 90 minutes to just hang out on my own rather than driving back & forth to home.  I found this little random garden cafe, kind of just in this little courtyard between 2 office buildings.  They serve coffee & soda.  Last week, I went there and drank a Coke and read for a while.

Thursday: Han had a gig, but I chose to stay home because I had some work I needed to finish so the joy of that day was getting my work done.

Friday: Friday’s joy was an at-home date night with Han.  We grilled steaks and had some cocktails, lounged in the air-conditioned room and were just mellow.  Very nice.

Saturday: I was kind of worthless yesterday because of the multiple cocktails from the previous evening.  I didn’t do much but watch movies, some new (Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Tropic Thunder), some well-known and quite familiar (Enchanted, 27 Dresses).  Our friend, Barbara, was over recording during the day and it’s always good to see her.  She’ll be off to Austin in a few short weeks.

Sunday: Today’s joy so far is just getting stuff done.  I went to the grocery store, planned the menu for the week, and I’m about to start some laundry and do dishes. Another friend of ours, Kristen, is also leaving town and her farewell party is this evening so we’ll stop by to give her our best and then plan to go see the new Harry Potter movie

And now here we are!  Hope you’re having a fine Sunday!

 

(late) poem for Sunday

Yesterday (Sunday), we went to EarthDay at Balboa Park. They’re saying that there were 100,000 people who attended.  I am not one for huge crowds like that especially when we need to get somewhere.  You see, Han’s Rock Band was playing at one of the stages so to try to maneuver the car through the throngs, unload the gear, and then face the nightmare of finding a place to park was making me anxious just to think about it.  Thankfully, a friend who had gotten there earlier in the day offered me his spot when he was leaving, but then, even better, there were spots near the stage.  Bonus.  So then we hung out and listened to music (all our friends), which was cool, except that it was so bloody hot!!  Significantly hot.  Plus we were still tired from the night before when we’d stayed out silly late (but fun!) to celebrate Joey’s birthday (the same hostess as the NYE party – mucho fun).  After Balboa Park, it was time to head to El Cajon (about 15 degrees hotter than the park) for Han’s Acoustic Duo to play at a fundraiser.  When we finally got home around 8:30pm, it was cold showers, lots of water, sitting in the dark, and watching baseball.  It felt great.

But now to the poem for Sunday, another one for Han, really, because as we were making our way to Balboa Park for the festivities he remarked how it was really the first hot day where the ladies could show some skin and he was appreciative of it.  It made me think of this poem by my former professor, Quincy Troupe, who I admire so very much.  He was one of the first people, one of the first poets who made me realize how it was possible to bring poetry to life off the page and perform it.  It was a revelation.  And as it turns out, he & Han have a similar admiration for women who enjoy warm weather.   warning: this one’s kind of ‘racy’ so if you’re easily offended, you might want to skip it

Male Springtime Ritual
by Quincy Troupe

for Hugh Masekela

it’s hard on male eyeballs walking new york streets
in springtime, all the fine flamingo ladies
peeling off everything the hard winter forced them to put on
now breasts shook loose from straitjacketed clothes, tease
invitations of nipples peek-
a-boo through clinging see-through blouses
reveal sweet things the imagination needs to know to fire up mystery
in our heads, these cantaloupes jelly-roll, seduce through silk
short-circuit connections of dirty old men, mind in their you-know-what-
eye-mean young men, too, fog up eyeglasses, contact lenses, shades -
& most of these sho-nuff-hope-to-die lovers
always get caught without
their portable windex shades-cleaner bottles
& so have to go blind throughout the rest of the day
contemplating what they thought they saw

eye mean, it can drive you crazy walking behind one of those sweet
memorable derrieres in springtime, when the wind gets cocky
& licks up one of those breeze-tongued, slit-on-the-side wraparounds
revealing that grade A, sweet-poontanged rump of flesh, brick-
house, & it’s moving-sweet jesus, yes-like them old deep ladies
taught
it to do & do-have mercy-eye mean, it’s maybe too much
for a staid good-old-boy christian chauvinist
uptight, with a bad heart & a pacer
eye mean what can you expect him to do–
carrying all that kind of heavy baggage around–
but vote for bras to be worn everyday-no bouncing breasts jiggling
the imagination here, peek-a-booing through silk–& abolish any
cocky wind
whose breezy licking tongue gets completely out of hand
lifting up the wraparound on slit skirts of fine young thangs
eye mean “there oughta be a law against some things,” eye’m sure
he would say, “reckless eyeballin’”

eye’m sure he would say

anyway, it’s hard on male streetwalkers in springtime
liable to find your eyeballs roaming around dazed
& crazed in some filthy new york city gutter
knocked there by some dazzling sweet beauty–mama–who hap-
pened along
crossed your scoping field of vision–who knows, next thing you
know
they’ll be making portable pacers for eyeballs
there are so many who have lost their way & fallen into gutters–
& who cares if your eyeballs go down for the whole ten count
& never pull themselves back together again
running around & around trying to find
some fine flamingo ladies they thought they saw–
a teasing invitation, perhaps, that shook them
everwhichway & never turned them loose–
it’s springtime, in the old big apple
& all the fine flamingo ladies are peeling off everything–sweet
jesus, have mercy–the hard winter forced them to put on
now, breasts shook loose from straitjacketed overcoats
tease invitations for eyeballing nipples

it’s all a part of the springtime ritual

& only the strongest eyeballs survive

- from Avalanche

 

play ball!

Okay, so technically, the Major League Baseball season started last night, but really, today’s the day. You know…THE DAY! And although I don’ t have great hopes for the Padres, I will keep my eye on them this season. This afternoon, they go up against the rival Dodgers with Peavy on the hill for the Friars. Don’t ya just love baseball talk…

Opening Day
by Lizzie Wann

this is about baseball
it’s about cold beer & green grass
new bats & tailgate parties
it’s about common ground
between fathers & songs
who forge a relationship
with batting averages, RBI,
& Cy Young award winners

it’s an American obsession
it’s summertime
it’s Padres pride
it’s opening day

an epidemic sweeps through
corporate America
suits & ties in big office chairs
trade them in for choice seats
off the third base line
for peanuts…and hot dogs…
in the hot sun

this is about the church of baseball
where the proper prayers and
incantations can swell and
make us all believers
in a perfect bunt
the double play to end the inning
a shot out of the park
(“somethin’ goin’ that fast oughta have a stewardess on it, don’cha think?”)

“it’s a simple game” yet one
that evokes a poetic beauty
it’s the dirt, the clean white chalk,
every blade of grass,
soft leather of your favorite glove,
riding your bike to the diamond
where dreams can be true
in summer days & nights
where you pray not to suffer the fate
of the mighty mighty Casey
or the sad reality of a rainout

it’s an infectious joy from my sister to me
it’s opening day and
I believe in the church of baseball

 

getting together with an old friend, a dream, and random bits

Today after work, I am heading over to an old friend’s house to help her bake cookies for one of her son’s school activities. This kind of activity is not normally on my agenda. But I’m sincerely trying to make an effort to go outside my comfort zone a bit in order to change my perspective.

I’m really excited to see Michelle and her family. She & I were best friends in 8th grade, then in 9th grade we added Diane to our best friendom making us a trio of friends. As so many women may know, trios don’t always work out and though we had some difficulties in high school, we endured and in fact, all three of us, independent of anyone else’s decision, ended up choosing to go to the same university. For us, it was just confirmation that we were destined to be friends forever.

In college, the ties of friendship were still there but we each pursued our own paths. Diane & I became much closer while Michelle made new friends, joined a sorority, created a new orbit. We drifted apart.

After college, Diane moved to the Bay Area but Michelle and I stayed in San Diego. In a strange coincidence, Michelle took a job teaching at the same school where my friend, Heather, was teaching, and so we were brought together again. I went to her wedding (with Diane). She has two sons now and isn’t a teacher (in fact, that lasted only a year, maybe two).

I sent her an email in April to wish her a happy birthday. She & Diane’s birthdays were a day apart so it was always a fun few days, especially since they sometimes fell during spring break. I was the oldest of the three, born in ‘71, then Michelle in ‘72 and Diane in ‘73 (she was advanced for her age). I didn’t get a response from Michelle and I didn’t think too much about it. [The previous year, I found out, in a Christmas card from her dad and step-mom, that Diane had gotten married. I found it such a strange way to learn such news. Especially since I didn't get a Christmas card from Diane at all. I felt a great sadness because I wasn't sure where things went awry with us. Although we had another mutual friend where things were not working out between me & her, I had always thought that Diane & I were still okay. But somewhere in there, we stopped communicating, and she is lost to me. I do truly miss her friendship. And though this post is about getting together with Michelle, I feel there is no way to mention her without bringing up Diane.]

Anyway, a few weeks ago, I got an email from Michelle, in response to the birthday message I had sent. She had thought she’d sent it sooner, but she found it in her “drafts” folder. After going back & forth, we were able to find a time in our schedules to get together. Michelle has seen me in good times and bad, and it’s with a kind of awe that I realize we’ve known each other for 23 years. I’m really looking forward to seeing her.

So much so that I had a dream last night where she figured prominently in it. We were with a big group of other people, I think we were the age we are now. We were in an old urban area, kind of rundown and we happened upon some basketball courts. She threw me a ball and I went in for a lay-up, something I haven’t done in years. In the dream, it felt natural and awesome.

In the next part of the dream, she was going to drop me off at my car which had my bags in it. I was going to a school but she was the only one who could get me to my car. We were on a bus and the driver knew her but not me and he didn’t like that. She reassured him that it was okay and then the bus dropped us off and she took me to my car.

Here’s where it changes some. Next thing I recall was that in the dream, I was sleeping, but I woke up and was in some kind of ride, like at Disneyland. There was a screen in front of me that kept showing cityscapes and it felt like I was moving, like my bed was on the top deck of a double decker bus. It was completely dark except for the screen which kept scrolling through different city skylines. I remember that in my dream consciousness, I saw the skyline for Chicago and registered that that’s where I was going.

The next thing I knew, I was explaining to Han where I was going to school. It was called the University of Chicago, Depalmier Place. [Before my dream, I don't know that I knew there was such a thing as University of Chicago. But from my googling, there is, though there's nothing about Depalmier Place being associated with UChicago or anything else for that matter]. I recall that I was looking at a brochure which had a layout of what my dorm room would look like. I was getting ready to go into a writing program of some kind. Han looked at the brochure with me for a few minutes, and then finished eating his purple mashed potatoes (WTF?).

~~

In completely unrelated news, my dad has started a blog. Now all of my immediate family have blogs, plus my aunt in Sweden. What a trip, but how cool is that?

~~

NaBloPoMo is coming! Actually, I guess it’s always going, but my sister & I have talked about taking up the post every day in November challenge (which we did last year, too). I’m ready for it!

~~

How about that World Series? I’m rootin’ for the Phillies because of my National League bend but that doesn’t mean I’m rooting against the Rays if you know what I mean. When BJ Upton stole 2nd and then came in to score, I thought it was awesome, especially because of the terrible conditions they were playing in. I guess it’s still raining in Philly so the game won’t be resumed today but it should be a good one when it does!

Until next time!

 

hello, October, why are you 90 degrees?

What is up with the weather? Hot, windy and uncomfortable.  Where’s the crisp autumn air?  Where’s the urge to drink hot cider and eat too many tootsie rolls?  Maybe this weekend.  There’s supposed to be a 30 degree shift in the next 3 days.  Yikes.

I dropped off Han at the airport this afternoon, then dropped off DK at her friend’s house, so I have a rare solo afternoon at home.  I have the Dodgers/Cubs playoff game on (go Cubbies!) and a cold beer at my side.  I’m okay with this.

To Red, this is Fresh & Easy.  Can’t wait to get back there, probably this weekend.

I heart October and I’m so glad it’s here.  Aside from this wicked weather, it is the transitional month for me of summer into winter, into all the madness and joy of the holidays, when I start to think of how to celebrate my birthday, how I might change up my routines, and always somewhere, the ghost of Janis hovers ever near. 

On Monday, I leave for Iowa for work.  I’m kind of excited about this.  Not Iowa so much (though I’m glad to be going to a different part of the country), but this idea of a business trip seems so adult and yet, I still don’t feel very adult.  I had hoped to go to Texas with Han but couldn’t afford the trip this time.  There is Arizona later this month and possibly Northern California in November.  So Iowa, without going into too much work detail, my co-workers & I will be meeting with many folks who work there.  We are trying to destroy any obstacles that might exist between “corporate headquarters” (us) and “local business” (them).  A worthy trip and it always helps to establish a personal relationship with people you have to work with nearly every day.  Sometimes the phone & email conversations just don’t do the trick.

The beer is finished (it went down pretty fast) and the Cubs lead is 2-0 in the 4th inning. Perhaps I’ll read a bit and chill on the couch for a while.  I don’t have to pick up DK until 8 pm so I will take this time to relax (hear that, Mom?)

 

a post of many thoughts

Actually, I don’t think my ass is giant. I think my stomach is but you get the idea. It’s time to get in shape and really try to hit that goal of reducing my (physical weight) impact on the earth. I’ve made an appointment to check out the gym called Curves. Anyone know anything about this? There is also Exercise TV, great weather for walking, biking. It’s all there for me, I just have to take advantage of it. The other part of the equation, of course, is eating. My problem is portion control. I can get a little crazy with the snacking.  But I’m doing better with taking lunches in to work and thus avoiding the dreaded fast food.  My sister is in a similar frame of mind, so we’ve briefly emailed about being there for each other. My mom and I also talked about this and she wants to get in on it, too. It would help to know that these important women in my life are pulling for me and that they’re also on the same track as I am. Let’s do it ladies!

Some of you have asked how the recent house-cooling party went. So glad you want to know! It went very well. With the mix of people, I wasn’t sure how much ‘entertaining’ I’d have to do. But it turned out that I didn’t have to worry about it all. People very naturally migrated to different areas of the house throughout the evening so that there were always people in the kitchen, in the living, in the studio and in the backyard. They all had their own conversations and then easily would drift to different parts of the house or strike up new conversations with people coming to where they already were. They all also brought just the right amount of food and drink. We hardly had any leftovers which was awesome. The whole thing began at 6pm (though some folks showed up at 5:30 pm before I’d had a chance to brush my teeth!) and went ’til about midnight or so. Clean-up in the morning was quite a task and I still haven’t gotten around to the backyard, but I need to do that today since we’re hosting another get-together tonight, a pre-party / bachelor / bachelorette party for our friends, Jonny & Cathryn, who are getting married this weekend in Julian. Han volunteered us to host since no one could think of a better idea to do anything for a bachelor party. Han is completely against boy-only or girl-only events so this is a co-ed fiesta.

What else have I been up to? Last weekend, we went to Las Vegas where Han’s acoustic duo sang the National Anthem at the minor league baseball game. It was awesome! They did such a great job and they got so many compliments on their performance. The following night, they played a house concert there. Yes, real people live there! It was also a great success. In between that, we hung in our room at the lovely Golden Nugget, I tried and failed twice to find a place to take in the sun at their busy busy pool complete with a shark tank, drove up and down the Strip and talked about getting back there with DK and one of her friends for a vacation. On the way out of town on Sunday, we had the buffet at Mandalay Bay which we both really enjoyed. My favorite things I got from it were piles of fruit and cheese. Yum!

Even though it’s already the 12th of June, there are still several things I want to accomplish this month, from the mundane to the visionary. Weather-proof the gate my dad built for us, write emails or letters to long-lost friends or relatives, plan the next Meeting Grace show(s), plan a get-together for Han’s family here in San Diego to come see the new house, exercise routinely.  We’ve started planning the trip to Washington in August by purchasing the plane tickets, so we need to build on that.  As for business stuff for Han, there’s also a ton to do: promotion for July shows, plan for James Taylor tribute show in August, plan gigs and trips for September (midwest again), October (Arizona) and November (Northern CA), open a new bank account under the new studio name, schedule recording time for the rock band plus all the routine, everyday stuff of scheduling studio time with his various clients and coordinating other stuff like DK’s school (she’s done on Monday), her vacation and JT.  Oy!

And then there’s writing.  Both here and for new poems.  I actually have an idea for a new poem but I’m not sure how to get going on it.

And then I’ll ponder the most random things like are pamie & stee still together?  They don’t mention each other on their blogs anymore but there also wasn’t anything posted about them splitting.

Here’s a quick list of the other activities that have taken place in the gaps of my May to June blog posts:

Memorial Day weekend: We took it literally and attended a memorial get-together for one of Han’s friends from high school.  It was sweet and had its weird moments, but it was good to see Jeff with these friends of his from almost what may seem like a different life for him.  I also went to Sea World with DK, her friend and her friend’s mom.  It was pleasant enough, I loved the dolphin show.

Went to the doctor on 5/28.  I never look forward to these annual visits, but it does remind me now of another goal: set an appointment to get my bloodwork done.

Han has had day and evening sessions or gigs for nearly three weeks with only ocassional time off.  In that time, I’m on my laptop doing all the business stuff you saw listed above.  On Wednesdays, I take DK to church and instead of coming all the way home, the last couple weeks I’ve chosen to hang out in the neighborhood where her church is or do some errands.   This is good for at least two reasons, I get some alone time and it saves a little gas (which is $4.49 here at Arco, the cheapest place). Last night I went to the Urban Grind in Hillcrest.  I had a Sanpellegrino Aranciata and a shortbread cookie and attempted to get caught up in my Franklin/Covey organizer.  It was awesome to have that time to myself.  It’s only about an hour but it beats driving home to be there for 25 minutes until it’s time to go pick her up again.  But there was something else that struck me as I sat there.

I used to go to the Urban Grind nearly every Sunday to co-host the San Diego Poetry Slam that my good friend, Robt, used to host.  The UG has certainly gone through some upgrades since it played host to the city’s poets some years ago.  They serve wine and beer now along with a pretty extensive menu.  The decor is updated, too.  More laptop-user friendly with curtains that separate the higher tables against the wall.  There are pillows and cushions for the hard chairs and back where our “stage” used to be…there is actually a raised floor with a couch and table on it, perfect for the college student to find a home to plug in and get shit done.  I used to know the baristas and they would score me a mocha or two.  I can’t for the life of me remember any of their names but it meant something to go in to this hip place and have the person working there be happy to see you and to know what your drink was going to be.  It was strange to sit there in a place with which I was once so familiar to now be just another patron, anonymous, no ties to the place.  It made me recall one of my other old haunts where I would most likely not be known at all anymore: the pub at UCSD.  I spent a lot of time there and knew the owner and bartenders while I was in school.  Then there’s the Ould Sod, though it’s safe to say there’s bound to be someone in there who still knows me.  Of course, Java Joe’s, though it doesn’t exist anymore so it’s a slightly different take on the theme.  It’s good to have these kinds of places.  I don’t know if I have one in my life right now.

That’s all for this post.  Probably won’t post again ’til next week, but I’ll give you the low-down on the wedding.  Cheers!

 

game # 16

I went to my first baseball game of the season last night, and what a game to go to! In case you haven’t heard, it went 22 innings and ended at 1:21 am. Sadly, the Padres could not pull it out.

We lasted ’til the 13th inning, which is pretty good. We tried to watch the rest of it when we got home, but fell asleep during the 20th inning.

There’s nothing like an evening at the ballpark. We chose to go to the “Park at the Park”, the best deal in baseball. For $5, you get into the park, then you can either set up a blanket on the hill (which we did), or wander around and take up space in any of the designated standing areas. Plus you can bring in your own food. That’s a bonus. So we found the friends we were meeting, set out our blanket and enjoyed Submarina sandwiches as the game got underway. A couple other friends joined us a bit later, too.

It’s been pretty warm here lately, but usually down at Petco, when the sun goes down and the breeze kicks up, it can get rather chilly. Not last night. It was downright pleasant all evening, I didn’t even put on my jacket! It probably helped that we spiked our sodas with vodka that we’d snuck in via small flasks in order to avoid paying $9 for a Miller Lite. Yay!

Peavy was on fire. 11 strikeouts, 4 hits, no runs in eight innings. He’s 3-0 with an ERA under 2.00! But even when he sat down in the 8th inning, little did we know that they had almost two games’ worth of innings still to play. He ended up with a no-decision. I fear for their skills when they play the hottest team in baseball tonight, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Yikes.

The Padres are not outstanding. They’re pretty inconsistent with a measly 8-8 record, which still places them at 2nd in the NL West. But so far, there doesn’t seem to be a real stand-out team yet, save for maybe the D’backs.

But even with all that, I’ll take a night out at the ballpark, or an evening at home watching the game, over pretty much anything at this time of year. It’s fun, it’s exciting, it’s baseball!

I’ll leave this baseball post (which my mom will not understand at all) with a photo of the new statue that graces the Park at the Park. Go Padres!

 

April showers

This morning on the way into work, it sprinkled a little. When I looked to my left, I saw a full rainbow arcing over the Miramar air field. I had to smile.

Hello again. I’m sorry I’ve been away so long. It’s been so long that WordPress went and changed their interface so I’m trying to figure out where everything is again.

I’ve missed writing here, but sometimes life just gets in the way! So much has transpired and instead of a long potentially boring post, I’d rather just touch on a few significant things that happened. Another redux if you will. The other day, I even jotted down some notes so I would have a guideline, as opposed to random rambling. So, in no particular order, the things that have taken my attention, distracted me from writing here:

- the wild splashes of color on the hillsides and along the freeways
I love spring in San Diego, if I were any kind of photographer, I would share photos of these bursts of color with you here

- moving
Although the official move was March 30th, the whole month was centered around that event. Packing, purging, figuring out finances (moving is always more expensive than you think it will be), exhaustion, grief, the promise of a new start.
In our new place the other night, we contemplated how we felt. I was surprised when Han said he missed the old house and its funkiness. Me? I straddle the dichotomy. I certainly miss the charm and old style of that old Craftsman, but there is a part of me that relishes this new space. Its bright & open spaces, making it ours from the ground up. And the one thing I LOVE is all the light it gets. Plus we are closer to the ocean now and all seems right.

- Baseball is back
I love that baseball is back in action. I can look forward nearly every night to catching the game on our HD television or listening to it on the AM dial. It’s a true pleasure. Go Padres!

- Steve Earle & Allison Moorer at the Belly-Up
I bought tickets to this show for Han for his birthday. The show was on Easter Sunday. I am a huge fan of Steve Earle and have followed his career since I was in college. I’ve seen him numerous times in a variety of venues. His sister has played at my house concert series. His songs are amazing. His politics are right on for me and I just think he’s great. This show, his wife, Allison Moorer, joined him. She opened the show and then came out and sang with him on a few songs. It was just him, no band (though they rock!). The only other accompaniment he had was a DJ who put down some beats. It was okay, but I didn’t love it. He’s much better on his own. He opened with some of his classic tunes (“Goodbye”, “Someday”, “The Devil’s Right Hand”, “Billy Austin”). Then he did several from his new album. It was a great show. At the end of the evening, he came back for an encore and told an incredibly poignant story about the men of his family. How he missed out on most of both of his sons’ lives and how his own father would drive 1000 miles just to see him perform. He went on to say that he’d lost his father around Christmas and that he and his sons had just gone out for steak dinners to celebrate their birthdays. It was such a moving story. I couldn’t help but weep. For his loss, for his life, for my own father and his support of everything I’ve ever done. Then he played “Little Rock ‘n’ Roller”, a song he’d written for one of his sons, who he rarely saw because he was on the road. It was a really incredible moment.

- return of Java Joe’s at the Handlery
Java Joe’s, first in Poway, then in Ocean Beach, was an acoustic music mecca. Its existence helped facilitate my meeting almost every person I love the most in this world, especially Han. When he closed his last place, a bar in the college area, it was a sad time. But then, this little hotel lounge got the idea to have live music. And Han got the idea to hook them up with Java Joe and so it goes. Java Joe hosted an evening of music at the Handlery Lounge with about 25 artists doing 2 songs each. It was the return of Java Joe’s and it was great. It works perfectly for Joe because he doesn’t have to worry about the business side of things, just the music side which is what he always loved in the first place.

- Han’s birthday
Birthdays are always tricky. He wants the attention, but wants it to come unbidden. He doesn’t want to be involved in the planning but he wants to know that something is being planned. Are you picking up what I’m putting down? On top of it all, he wasn’t feeling very well, so I had to make sure we didn’t do anything to crazy. So I planned a gathering of our good friends at a great sushi place in PB. I got the tickets to the concert as I mentioned and then the other gift was a group effort. I asked a bunch of friends to send their thoughts, stories, photos, well wishes to Han. I compiled them and put them all in a binder. It went over very well. Who wouldn’t love a whole book full of stories saying how great you are?

- Laurel’s baby shower
One of the people I adore who I met at the aforementioned Java Joe’s many years ago. She’s expecting her first baby next month and her mom hosted a baby shower for her. We don’t see each other too often anymore, but it doesn’t matter. We’ve shared a lot over the years, been there for each other’s ups and downs, she was even my roommate for a while. As a rule, I hate baby showers, but this one was fine and I wouldn’t have missed it.

- T’s birthday
My nephew turned 10 years old in March. He lives in SLC so I don’t get to see him very often. He’s coming to visit with his mom in a couple weeks and I can’t wait to see them both. He’s a good boy, avid reader with a vivid imagination. He likes sports and music. Although we’re not super close, I’ve enjoyed seeing how his personality has developed and am proud to be his aunt.

- last house concert
With moving came the last house concert for my series, Meeting Grace. I invited a bunch of San Diego singer-songwriters (most of whom I met at Java Joe’s!) and those who could make it showed up to play a few songs. The main act was Berkley Hart and the night was dubbed Berkley Hart & Friends. That whole day was pretty hectic and I barely had a minute to let myself ponder what was really happening until I got up to speak at the beginning of the evening. I lost it, started crying in front of all the lovely people. They understood. Toward the end of the evening, I was sitting outside by myself, on the side porch so I could still hear the music. Berkley Hart ended the whole thing with “This Land is Your Land” and I cried again, this time more robustly, for the house, for the house concert, for the music that has filled my life for the last 8 years, for all the people who had called that house home over the years, for all the people who had joined me for the house concerts and who helped make it such a success. I needed to do that and it felt great.

- my reading at Rebecca’s
On March 18th, I was the featured reader at Poetic Brew which takes place at Rebecca’s in South Park. I can’t quite explain the absolute rush and simultaneous comfort I felt by being on stage and performing again. I was really in the zone that night. It was wonderful to have some good friends in the audience as well as Han & DK. There were other poets there from back when I first started, the people who initially encouraged me to keep at it. They still are and it’s immeasurable to have their support.
When I was unpacking, I was working on a box of books. I keep separate the books I have been published in and I was filled with the desire to really go for it again, be it publishing or reading out. I think in this new space, I can forge a new habit that will build on this rekindled fire.

- the Garbette wedding
“Garbette” is the combination of our two friends’ names, a la “Brangelina”. Their wedding was last Saturday and although we didn’t get a chance to stay for the whole reception, the ceremony was lovely, all of our friends in attendance, to celebrate the union of a fine couple. These two have been together a while and she is expecting their first baby later this year. The wedding made it all “official” but everyone already knew they were a match. Still, it was a lovely way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

- Eric Lowen Trust Benefit concert
In all of my in-between time, I’ve been planning this benefit show that’s happening this Saturday night. It’s for a musician named Eric Lowen who was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) 4 years ago. It’s been heartbreaking to see his deterioration over time, but his spirit & character have only gotten stronger. My house concert series and another one here in town are co-presenting Berkley Hart & Joel Rafael. All proceeds are going to Eric’s trust that is helping to pay his medical bills and support his family. I’m sad to say that I have not had many pre-sale tickets and absolutely no press coverage. I’m hoping that people choose to come to the show and pay at the door. We’ll see how it goes.

That’s a good re-cap of what’s been happening since we last met. Still on the horizon:

- taxes: doing them this weekend, ick
- a visit from my aunt Mia from Sweden, plus my sister & T and my parents
- book club coming up on Sunday. We’ll discuss “The Thirteenth Tale” which I finished last week. At that, I’ll get to see Heather who’s birthday was last Sunday.
- label showcases for both the bands I work with
- DK starts up with crewing again for the next JT production
- a reading to celebrate the publication of this year’s San Diego Poetry Annual
- a road trip out to Joshua Tree for a show
- Han setting up shop in the new place
- finalizing the house and getting rid of the remaining boxes
- maybe attend a baseball game or two?

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I promise not to take so long until the next post