Last weekend involved a trip down to Boston for the Jamie Lidell show at the Paradise. Beforehand, my companions and I dined at the most un-Newbury restaurant on Newbury, Shino. Truth told, I was grossed out by the heat blast greeting us as we walked toward the unappealing facade, but the food was up in quality. They make all their sushi with brown rice, which also grossed me out initially, but turned out to be a rather pleasant companion to the fish. Lidell took the stage on time and powered through a killer set dressed in what seemed to be the same outfit I saw him wearing two years ago, and with much of the same indefatigable energy and bravado. Most of the content was, predictably, from his recently released sophomore album, Jim, but he threw in a few gems from Multiply to round out the set, including a freakout rendition of the title track as the encore, visions of James Brown dancing in my head. I was glad to see that while he brought a band with him (God bless his horn player), he kept some of the knob-twiddling/beatboxing/synth-freaking solo elements of his shows past.
Sunday and Monday were spent in Providence with Rosie as a sort of early send-off. Tuesday morning she departs for Ulsan, South Korea, to spend a year teaching English to youths, and I couldn’t be happier for her. She’s been trying to get out of the country for some time now, and it’s finally come to pass. Sunday night we held a party in her honor involving many of her friends and fine food in a Mexican fiesta setting, replete with piñata. Monday was spent mostly being lazy, as it was hotter than balls and we didn’t get out of the house until later in the day, although we managed to perform a good-sized clothing cull.
Tuesday through Friday, work has been work. What’s to say? The Tea Ladies, a clique of some of the Dover’s most lunatic and incendiary women, were found to be smiling yesterday by my hand, a rare feat indeed. Our new manager is great. My composure meter is rising slowly but steadily, but I’m still neglecting my community sidework, as it were. My schedule could sadly not be altered for today and I’ll be (yet again) missing the Pride March in Boston. One of these years, before I get too old to walk maybe.
Fat, old Playstation 2 has been sitting unplugged since I returned from North Conway. My fingers have atrophied from a lack of IIDX, but I might be okay with it. ![[WS]](/blog/media/end.gif)
Posted on June 14th, 2008 in Bemani, Friends, Media, Work | No Comments
What an absolute hell of a week and a half it’s been. I’ve been on the proverbial emotional rollercoaster, and you know how I hate rollercoasters. Part of me thinks, as I have thought many times before, that I’m simply a masochist, and that I thrive on the pain of loss. Who knows. I plan on starting up counseling again as soon as my new employer provides the benefits.
Chris has left the greater New Hampshire seacoast area, taking with him a hastily completed hat among other things. When I received word on Monday morning that he was leaving later that afternoon instead of the previously planned Wednesday, I rushed through weaving in the ends and making and sewing on the tag so that I could get it to him before he left. In retrospect, I’m not sure he wanted to be seen by me before making his quick getaway, but I felt it was important that he have it for the plane ride. I’m feeling better today than I have in a minute, but I fear that I’m still only halfway to believing he’s gone. Truthfully, I know it’s unwise and a little silly to feel like I do, but so it goes. He gave me a lot in a very short time; it was potent and I’m still reeling from it. My aim now is to not forget the lessons learned.
How veiled.
Speaking on the larger portrait of these last few, I’ve done a little consulting with my mother, who brought to light an excellent point and correlation I might not ever have made myself. She suggested that my falling in with the Court House crowd is merely my desire for the old familiar ways expressing itself. A group of college-aged kids just starting out on their own, having fun, drama, cohabitation, was so comfortable to me. This time, though, I fell into a group that was disintegrating. It was almost as though I arrived just in time to watch a star go nova. The timing of it all, combined with the (relatively) minor changes I’m undertaking right now, is far too perfect to be regarded as an accident. I left Troy in part because I could no longer support myself financially, yes, but also because I could not sustain my emotional health on that social diet. But following the months of relative seclusion here in the woods, I so strongly craved a taste of that old food that when I found a tasty-looking morsel, I shoved it in my face with nary a thought. To my surprise, it was bittersweet! Ah, now I see: “You really shouldn’t eat that anymore. You don’t much care for it.”
Now, I don’t want this to be misconstrued. I love dearly every one of the souls I’ve picked up on this little adventure, and would not trade their friendship or this set of experiences for anything. One night Christopher said to me, “You are where you’re supposed to be,” which is a bit of rhetoric I’d heard many times before. I told him “I am where I am, and I learn from every situation I’m given,” my standard phrase on the matter for a while now. It’s more than a semantic difference, of course, and I’m finally starting to think he and the others have been right all along. Might be time to change my line.
Posted on January 30th, 2007 in Friends, Life | 3 Comments
Just letting you know it’s snot-freezingly cold out there for the first time this winter.
I had a decent day in: after sleeping until 11 this morning, I knit for a time and watched Aeon Flux (the animated series, not the live-action movie). Errands and a shepherd’s pie, which was delicious, came later. Now, after a little technology assisted socializing, I’m going back to the hat. Pictures are coming soon, as it needs to be finished soon in order to make its flight to San Francisco with its new owner. I do and also do not look forward to finishing it, but, unlike Penelope, I am all too aware that my delaying the completion of this “shroud” will not put off the inevitable.
Posted on January 26th, 2007 in Friends, Knitting, Life | No Comments
I hate that it is such a big deal adjusting your top friends on MySpace. Today I added four new slots to accommodate some very important people in my life. I am happy to see them there.
Posted on January 26th, 2007 in Friends, Web | No Comments
I’m in my new tights, snugged up under the blankets and finally feeling almost comfortable for the first time in the last 14 hours. I’ve been feeling shit for a lack of sleep and of hydration, but the pain of today was well-earned. It was an excellent debauch, the stuff of legends. Literally of legends. But you know what they say: loose lips sink ships.
Posted on January 25th, 2007 in Friends, Life | No Comments
