Sunday, June 11, 2006

The good, the bad and the sunburnt

Good morning everyone. I'm firmly ensconced here at the Retreat for a week. Sadly, it's a bit cool and cloudy this a.m., so there will be no sitting in the back yard enjoying tea for now. Maybe later this afternoon.

This weekend has been a mixed bag for me. I went out on Friday with SlowTalker to a re-creation of an 18th century Italian circus. The performance was beautifully done and really funny (even though it was in Italian). Lot's of incredibly talented tumblers. But I was feeling anxious around SlowTalker all evening. I'm pretty sure it had to do with the fact that I talked about my relationship with my father in therapy that day (which brings up all sorts of anxieties about men for me), but it had me on edge nonetheless.

Yesterday was BFD, a day long concert with about 24 different acts playing. Our new dietician at work, PerkyBlonde, took the other ticket I had and we went out there around noon. It was a beautiful day in Mountain View. We both had the same idea that we didn't want to stay for the whole day, even though it meant not staying for the big acts in the evening (Franz Ferdinand, the Strokes, etc....yeah, I know!). Anyway, we had about 3 bands that we were really interested in seeing...Hard-Fi, Wolfmother, and She Wants Revenge.

We got there just as Hard-Fi took the stage. Just so you know, this was all outdoors. Not an easy venue to play. But they performed well. The only criticism I had was that their sound wasn't "full" enough. I think that this had to do with the amps not being adjusted correctly though. We took a break to wander about and get rehydrated, then went back for Wolfmother. They rocked. I wish that I could have been closer, but I don't love the clausterphobia of being in the front, so we just hung back a bit. Then, again, we had a break for some more hydration and a sit in the shade. Then it was back for She Wants Revenge. I don't like their music quite as much as the other two, but I was very impressed with the lead singer who's just sexy, sexy in a young, dark, David Bowie way.

By this time the place was getting very packed and people were rudely barging through the crowds, and I was getting pretty hot (and, it turns out my face was getting pretty burnt). So we called it a day. Except for the burn on my face, the sunscreen had done a good job. So I was tired, happy and a bit sore from the dancing.

Took a shower when I got home, then went over to HippyChick and BeeDragon's as I was feeding their cats on Friday and Saturday. They had let me know before they left that Shiki, BeeDragon's older kitty, was having some additional problems and to watch her in particular. When I got there on Saturday night, she was crouched in their office not able to walk or able to sustain sitting up for longer than a few seconds. I tried to coax her to eat, but she turned her face away. I called HippyChick and BeeDragon. They were just a little way north, so decided to cut their weekend short and come home. They gave Shiki some medication last night that hopefully helped her legs and made her feel better. Anyway, please keep them all in your thoughts.

So I headed to the Retreat feeling a mix of happy and sad. I watched the movie Walmart: the high cost of low price last night while petting ShortKitty. Then I collapsed into bed.

Today, beyond checking in with HC & BD, I'll be doing a bit of cleaning, laundry and general resting.
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Update: I was driving I-880 from home to the Retreat when I got to witness one of the most frightening expressions of road-rage, I've ever personally seen. There was a gold Honda that crossed, annoyingly, over several lanes really quickly to get to the fast lane. In the fast lane already was a Toyota pickup (a normal sized one - not one of those monsters with huge tires). The pick-up must have been going really fast because when the Honda pulled in in front of it, it had to slow down really fast to not hit it. (I will note that the Honda was actually driving the speed limit, just cutting across traffic without much awareness, it seems.)

The pick-up driver was pissed, I could actually see his face. He sped up and moved into the other lane to pass the Honda. But instead of moving fully into the other lane he edged in very close to the Honda, then cut into the lane before clearing the car. The tail of the pick-up grazed the Honda forcing a bit of a swerve (keep in mind this was all just to my left).

They both sped away. I tried to get see the license plate of the pick-up but couldn't (and I wasn't about to chase after them to find out). I'm just hoping that neither occupants of those vehicles have guns.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gosh I'm so sorry I forgot to ask about BFD so I'm glad u blogged about it. Spin, you are such a wonderful friend and we are so grateful that you were there for Shiki. We are so lucky to have you in our lives, as are our kitties! We love you :)

Aravis said...

Shiki is in my thoughts.

Other than the sunburn the concert sounds like it was fun. Enjoy your time at the Retreat, and watch out for Hondas and pickups!

Fred said...

Sounds like a full weekend. The road rage thing sounds pretty scary - it could've been pretty dangerous.