November 2005 - Posts
Never doubt a dog’s determination.
Take my dog, Goose. She had surgery last Friday to remove some kind of growth from between her toes. The vet gave us a cone — just in case she tried to chew off the bandage — because it was really important she didn’t take out the stitches.
Goose didn’t touch her foot for an entire day… then Sunday morning, we woke up and the bandage had disappeared. Okaaaaay…
So we bought bandages and wrapped her foot… but this time, we put the cone around her head.
The next morning, I woke up, and I can tell you I was shocked as hell to find no bandage on her foot.
Goose and I continued our song and dance through this morning, when I dragged her to the vet to have her foot checked and re-bandaged. When I told the tech that she had pulled off her bandage WITH the cone around her head, she looked at me like I was lying. “But I swear, she did!” I said. “Sure she did…” I could imagine her thinking.
This evening, Andy picked her up from the vet… fresh bandage and the cone secured around her neck. She had gotten better about bumping into doors, but seemed to enjoy ramming us in the legs with her new weapon.
We breathed a sigh of relief, hoping she would leave the bandage alone. It bundled up her foot like a precious package. She had not touched it all evening. We left for dinner.
When we returned, we found her as you see in the photo above… cone around her neck and a foot with the bandage nearly chewed off.
“But wha? How? Wha?” we muttered in shocked tones… then we burst into laughter. This determined little dog had managed to foil us once again, and I made a mental note to buy more bandages. Can we survive another week of this?
Part of my reacclimation to Austin has been the music scene. And while and and we don’t go out as often as we’d like… usually because of me and my issues, stomach or otherwise… we have been able to head downtown for a show more often than we ever did in Nashville.
This Friday we’re headed back to the Parish to see the Rosebuds again. This time they won’t be headlining the event. They’re playing with The Sun and Shout Out Loud — neither band I have heard of before. The show is recommended by the Austin Chronicle.
A couple weeks ago I ran across the Rosebuds’ latest CD at Waterloo Records, and I love it. Birds Make Good Neighbors sounds a little more sophisticated than their previous LP: The Rosebuds Makeout. WE heard them perform the very first song on the album the last time we saw them… but they came down in the crowd and did it accapella… the whole crowd was singing… it was really cool. I love listening to the lead singer, who has this natural vibrato that could irritate some people, but I like it. Besides, he’s cute. How could you not love his voice?
In my last entry, I said I had bought a new CD… this one from the Shins, who were featured in the movie Garden State. Oh, Inverted World is one of those CDs that you don’t necessarily sit and bounce your head to… not like Franz Ferdinand. It’s a little more mellow… a little more acoustic and thoughtful. I can totally imagine hearing these songs in my own personal soundtrack, if someone were going to shoot a movie about me… it just has that vibe. That’s not a bad thing! It’s just different than what I’ve been listening to lately, and I’m digging it. I needed a new soundtrack…
I saw two incredible movies this weekend that I wish I hadn’t waited so long to see. Garden State and Lost in Translation have both been sitting on our table for weeks. We rented them through Netflix, but every time we talked about watching them, we got caught up in something else.
They were well worth the time spent.
Saturday, we watched Garden State. It was a nice in between for me… not quite as stylized as a typical Hollywood blockbuster…. but it definitely didn’t try to be weird like some indy movies I’ve seen. It had a realistic flow, and when the turning point of the movie came, I knew it. It’s basically about this guy in his late 20’s who goes home to face his past. He’s numb to the world, but meets this girl and realizes he needs to wake up and live… feel life. It really spoke to me.
It’s not like I feel like I’ve been asleep my whole life, but I know what it’s like to realize that life isn’t going the way you want it to go, and that something has to change.
Oh, and the music was good too. I went to Waterloo today to buy a CD from the Shins, who were featured in the soundtrack.
We watched Lost in Translation tonight while the DVR recorded Desperate Housewives and Law & Order CI. It was really moving. The movie is basically about this washed up older actor who finds himself in Tokyo doing a commercial shoot. He’s staying at this hotel where a young couple is staying. The woman in the couple seems unhappy to be there, and she’s trying to figure out her way in life. They end up meeting and becoming sort-of unlikely friends. There’s this sexual tension between them, even though they’re married to other people, but nothing happens. They hang out and become really close.. and when they have to part it’s really sad. I hope I didn’t give away too much. The movie is a must-see in my book.
Okay, so, you know how I love to rail on local news when I get the chance… you’ve got to check out this. It links to to a video clip I found through another blog.
I don’t know why Triumph the Comic Dog was on this local news station… I just know that this has got to be one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.
Seriously… I busted a gut, laughing. Watch it.
Don’t ever let yourself get kicked in the knee, if you can help it. It hurts like hell.
I got knocked on the side of my knee yesterday — twice — on top of the bruise where someone else hit me on Wednesday.
It was my fault. I was using that leg to block an attack.
I spent the rest of the day with an ice pack on my knee and limping around the house.
There was no going out on Saturday night.
Just thought I’d pass on that little bit of advice.
Our house had this barbecue grill in the back corner when we moved in. The mortar had pulled away from a lot of the bricks, and Bennie and Goose used to dig in and around it, finding ribs and things like that.
Andy and I tried using it once to grill vegetables, but the fire was too far away from the grate to do any good.
Since I have no intention of grilling any kind of meat on the thing, that damn grill became my number one target this fall. A couple of weeks ago, I went out and bought a sledgehammer and began taking that thing apart, brick by brick.
Andy, who felt guilty for not helping much in the yard that day, got guilted into helping, and pretty soon, the grill was slowly disappearing.
I ended up having a disagreement with a chunk of bricks, and hurt my ankle pretty bad in the process, but the final result was worth it. No more grill. Now I can see the shrubs I planted in that corner, which are designed to screen us from the neighbors.
Those bricks won’t go to waste. I plan on using them to pave a little patio back there… with a stone mosaic in the middle. It should look pretty funky and have just enough room for a bench. We’ll plant some herbs and stuff like that… it will be cool.
I can’t stop listening to the latest Franz Ferdinand album.
You Could Have It So Much Better is their sophomore album, and I think it’s even better than their first, which was self-titled. And I LOVED that album.
My first encounter with Franz Ferdinand was ACL 2004. They returned in 2005, and Andy and I were lucky enough to be in the photo pit for a couple of songs.
Apparently their stuff is really popular. Normally I shun bands that are all over the radio, but these guys don’t smack of the popular radio crap. They have tons of energy, but if some record producer is pulling their strings and putting their music through Pro-Tools, I can’t tell. They sound awesome live and on their CD’s.
I actually shunned a ride on the streets this morning just so I could get on the trainer and listen to them on my IPOD… that’s how great these guys are. And because I’ve listened to the album so much, it’s in my head. My brain replays the songs over and over when I’m at work… and my poor coworkers look at me weird when the songs seep out of my mouth, or when I start bobbing to the music that no one else can hear. One of my favorite songs is “The Fallen.” I only had to hear one line to know it’s religious, and I identified with it completely : “I’m sorry if I ever resisted, I never had a doubt that you ever existed. I only have a problem when people insist on taking their hate, placing it on your name.” I think you can interpret that a number of ways.
I’m trying to work other CD’s in from time to time… especially when the music in my head keeps me awake at night. I’ve been listening to old favorites. Frank Black always rocks my world… especially his album Black Letter Days. And of course I’ve been listening to the Pixies a bit. And I have all these mix CD’s. The last one Andy made has my favorite Cramps song: “Let’s Get Fucked Up.” I love that song. Andy always laughs at me when I start singing it because he says I’m nothing like that. Who cares!? I can’t help but love that bass in the song. I’m a sucker for bass… that’s why I love the North Mississippi Allstars!
I’m thinking about going to see the Blind Boys from Alabama do their Christmas show at Hogg Auditorium in December. The album of theirs that I have smokes. Even I… Miss Avoids Religion… like their gospel music. Sometimes, on Sunday mornings, I put their CD in and sing. It’s not church, but somehow it feels right.
Andy wants to go to a show Saturday night. I’m not sure who’s playing… but I heard the Rosebuds are coming back to town at some point. Our back up plan is dancing at Elysium. I’m not sure why I feel such an urge to go out on the town… maybe it’s that little bit of evil I have… sneaking out.
My arms are jelly tonight.
Sifu Corey had us do 225 push-ups and some 150 sit-ups (or some version there of) in conditioning class tonight. While there, I always wonder what the hell I’m doing. Then I remember… some 5 months ago I couldn’t do 2 push-ups or 5 sit-ups. Now look at me.
Okay, so my push-ups are pathetic… but at least I’m not doing girlie ones on my knees. I may not be able to lower my self down all the way, but at least I’m trying. It’s the little victories.
The Thursday night classes are also all about sparring. I’m getting better at it all the time. I sparred against Sifu Corey, a 3rd degree black belt, twice. He didn’t really do much except give me tips and make me punch him. The other people… well… it's usually one of two things: I either kick someone’s ass, or they kick mine. Usually it’s the latter, but like I said, I’m getting better. And I’m trying new things all the time, like sweeping and grabs. My punches feel pretty powerful, and I’m getting better at finding weaknesses. Sometimes I’m tempted to pretend the person I’m sparring is someone who’s pissed me off… but I don’t because I don’t want to hurt my sparring partner.
Andy told me the other night that he couldn’t believe we spend our off time punching and kicking each other. I just looked at him, smiled, and told him I thought it was very healthy. Don’t you think so?
I still keep in touch with my skating friends back in Nashville, and today I got a series of emails that one of the original RoadRashers (that’s the speed team) has officially been named an Ironman. Pez (his name is Marc, but everyone calls him Pez) has been working for several years to compete in Ironman competitions. He was already a speed demon on skates… Now he’s also amazing on foot, bike, and in the water. I hope he doesn’t get mad, but the following is an excerpt from his email, describing the race, which I found really enlightening, since I’ve never been to an Ironman competition:
The swim is a 2.4 mile mosh pit. When the cannon fired, just under 2100 of my closest friends were let loose from the beach in a single wave start. If you think the start of A2A is fun, this really gets interesting because everyone is spread out along the beach for the start but heading for the same buoy for the first turn. Swimming becomes a contact sport! Lots of limbs flying everywhere, lots of incidental contact at that first turn. I got kicked in the chest and chin and took a forearm to the face/goggles. None of it hurt, it's just too many bodies trying to occupy the same space. Once things thinned out it was much more pleasant. Water, salt, rays, jellyfish... Ew, jellyfish!
The ride is a lot like A2A. Long miles, usually with others, sometimes in no mans land. Drafting is not allowed in Ironman. Sometimes you feel great, sometimes you want to yell. You have to keep your head together and ride your race. If you start chasing someone who's faster on the bike, you're setting yourself up to bonk during the run. It's a big head game. I had a mostly good day with the bike, no flat tires. I got so many flats in training rides. I guess luck favors the prepared. There were interesting moments--on a 112 mile course there would have to be, especially with a bike seat crammed up your ass for over 6 hours. But for now I'll leave it that the last 15 miles were into a head wind. That's just not right.
Beating the cutoff times for the first two events earns you the right to run the marathon. Pretty stupid right? For the majority of us who are mere mortals with jobs (and families) vying for our time, the marathon is basically 26.2 miles of survival. Try to keep moving, try not to get injured, try not to throw up, you have until midnight to finish--DNF is NOT AN OPTION. Anyone who as done A2A knows that you have to eat or your gonna bonk. Taking in fuel on the bike is pretty easy, taking in fuel while running can be tough. Taking in fuel while running when your body is nearing exhaustion and you're basically sick to death of GU, PowerBar and Gatorade/water is a whole different story. And if you have a sympathetic gag reflex you are in deep trouble when you run/hobble past someone who just popped. Happily, I don't. I was, however, fighting bad pain by mile 14. Everything went very slowly after that and the final 13 miles took a few hours. But I had LOTS of company in the slow lane...
To finish is amazing. There are crowds of spectators, incredibly supportive. They announce your name at the line and call you an Ironman. Volunteers wrap you up in a blanket and check to see if you need to visit the med tent. I did not. A few minutes after you stop every muscle goes tight. You may BE an Ironman but you feel more like tin man. And really, really happy.
Way to go Pez!
The A2A, which he mentioned, is Athens-to-Atlanta, a grueling skating event that I never had the pleasure of competing in, but many of my friends have. Steve, the man, has done all 87 miles, but several others did the 32 mile event. Yikes!
This is just a reminder of how much of a wimp I am…
Better work on that.
This is a long-delayed entry. Things have been so crazy, I haven’t had time to sit down and write about the 4 shows we went to last week. Here they are:
Casting Couch
Andy and I know a guy from Kung Fu who plays guitar for this band. They played at the Spider House last Saturday. The music was good. They sounded kind of songwriter/folksy… Not a jam band, definitely, but cool to sit back and relax to over a beer.
Calexico
I was first introduced to Calexico at ACL 2004, and I fell in love. I can barely describe what they sound lie… it’s so much. I hear southwestern, jazz, rock… I don’t know… but the music seems to be a perfect musical description of the southwestern states from where they hail. They toured with Iron and Wine, but we left after the first set. I wish we hadn’t, because from what we heard, the rest of the show was even better.
Social Distortion
Andy made sure we went back to Stubb’s Tuesday to see Social D. He loves these guys, and they’ve definitely grown on me over the years. It was a real rock and roll show. The first part I was able to stand on a stone bench with a bunch of other girls for a great view, but some of the other girls conspired to push me off… they kept inching back… so I gave up and got down. But it was good nonetheless. I just wish the set could have been longer.
Modest Mouse
Thursday night, Andy and I headed to the Austin Music Hall for the Sin City Tour of Modest Mouse. Love the band… hate the venue. And I mean HATE. It better be a damn good show to get us back there. The doors opened at 8, so naturally, Andy and I arrived well after that time, only to find a line 4 blocks long. The people checking security were so slow, it took us 90 minutes to get in the door. I’ve never appreciated Stubb’s more.
Once inside, the “pre-show” Sin City acts were going strong… complete with a comedian and titty girls who were about the ugliest, least talented people they could find. The show was 18 and up because the whole thing was sponsored by Camel, which had plastered its logo everywhere. There was a huge corral outside for the smokers, but people ignored it and smoked inside, which pissed me off because there’s an inside smoking ban and the club owners didn’t do anything to stop the smoking.
The Walkmen performed before Modest Mouse and they sounded great! Unfortunately the crowd sucked. They were dead, and the Walkmen didn’t get the reception they deserved. Finally, Modest Mouse came on, and they sounded great. They jammed on and on… old and newer stuff.
In the middle of the set, some angry fat and pulled two large women up through the crowd, which was already tight, and decided to stand right in front of me. Considering that there was barely any room for a skinny person in front of me, I was not happy, and gave him the glaring of a lifetime. He got pissed and started cursing me and everyone else that he had paid his money and deserved to stand wherever he wanted, but I didn’t back down and he was forced to move over. That made me smile.
We finally left around 1 before the encore, because it had been a very long night. Thank goodness Modest Mouse was so good… it made the rest of the night worthwhile.
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