After the storms

The weather's been gorgeous all week*. Tourists are back in the relatively sewage-free waters of Waiklki, potholes are being filled, cars are being dug out of landslides, yards and homes are drying out. Mazes of yellow tape are a little less labyrinthian.

Huh?

A little background info: the mall near my house was flooded last Friday as water overflowed the street, crashed through walls in the theaters, and swept through the different wings of the mall. It was closed for several days, and while most of the stores have since re-opened, some still are boarded up or shrouded in plastic. GNC had reopened earlier in the week, but just as I was about to make my purchase, there was a power outage so had to return today to buy my bars. Yellow tape mazes still wind throughout the mall, but as the floors are repaired, they're being removed, so there's a little less zigging and zagging to get from point A to point B.



* Would've been a great night for a U2 concert :(

Flooded!

March 31, 2006 was finally our turn

It had been raining for weeks, so when another thunderstorm began, I pretty much ignored it, figuring it wouldn't cause much damage. I only looked outside when I heard my dad, who lives next door, banging things around. Turns out he was wrestling with trash bins that kept floating away. That's him in the picture below, taken from behind my screen door, just before water started to come into my house.

I live upstairs in an old, two-story house. Thank goodness downstairs is mostly used for storage..and shoes. Unfortunately, my car, that was vandalized last month and was just brought back from the body shop the day before, also lives downstairs and got flooded.

After 4.5 hours of sweeping, scooping, and mopping water up, I finally ventured out in my soggy car to get a Shop-Vac. Shoulda done that earlier. Yesterday my father ripped out the living room carpet and threw out the two couches. They were old and only Rocky would miss them. Most of the things in storage are OK, with the exception of some older printers and monitors. My stuff is all upstairs, safe and dry.

Click the image below for a slideshow of my view of the flood. I couldn't go outside to take better pictures because I was trying my damnedest to block the water from coming in the doors! Once it started seeping in, it gained power, pushing away towels, rags, and rugs I used to try to stop the flow.



I'm very lucky. Nothing of real value was damaged. The first thing I did was scoop up my shoes that were on the floor, and make sure the rest were out of harm's way :) It's mostly the days of clean-up that are a pain. Others weren't as fortunate. It's been raining off-and-on, but mostly on, for about five weeks. Hawaii hasn't been hit like this in decades.

GENIUS

I wouldn't have been able to type that word days ago, since the "g" on my keyboard stopped working. The forward delete and return key wouldn't work, either. Might have had to do with the fact that I rinsed out the keyboard a few days ago...

Anyway, my underscore key got lots of action. I typed emails saying "_ood luck" and "_et back to me later". That got old, so I just came up with other words and phrases to get around using "g". (For blogging I used a keyboard utility and eventually a different keyboard.)

The novelty had worn off by yesterday so I decided to make a trip to my local Apple Store. The particularly spastic little geeky Apple "Genius" (he really was, I'm not making that up and would never make fun of a fellow Mac enthusiast) just plugged it in to his laptop, and the darn thing worked. He never even flipped it over where he might've spotted the water puddles through the clear iMac keyboard casing.

Guess it just needed extra time to dry out, LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE ON THESE SOPPING WET ISLANDS! It's thundering and lightning-ing as I type. As of today, it's been 40 days and 40 nights of sogginess.

30 Years of Apple

1976 - 2006

Founded in a garage by two college dropouts to become the cultural icon it is now, Apple Computer will celebrate its 30th birthday on April 1st. "One long April Fool's joke."

As I was cleaning out my closet and drawers the other day I discovered I own at least 15 Apple or Mac-related t-shirts and one sweatshirt. That I kinda figured, but my next round-up surprised me.

I have nine Macs in this house! Not all are mine, and not all are in tip-top shape, but they're definitely too precious to abandon. Actually, that's why I have so many, a few are downstairs, having been rescued from a computer donation site. A couple will be used in schools. One classic may not even be working, but it was adopted to keep another we had from years ago company. Kinda like bookends.



Aww, aren't they cute?

Public transportation ain't so bad

in spite of the rain



I took my poor, keyed Scion to the body shop this morning. The street was ponding as I got out of the car. Stepped in a submerged pothole, so by the time I got to the office, I looked pretty pathetic. They took pity on me, gave me a bunch of paper towels and a ride to the mall where I was to catch the bus. Who knows, I might've drowned, otherwise.

Nothing was really open at the time except Starbucks (of course), a couple of eateries, and the supermarket. I was bummed that the new Borders, with their yummy Cinnamon Dolce Latte, wouldn't open until 9:00 am, so I just wandered around..and took pictures. Kind of wanted to, but didn't, take pics of the homeless hanging around the market. Actually, I tried to avoid them, especially the ones talking loudly and gesturing to who knows what.

Tried to clean up and dry out in the bathroom. Several others came in looking pretty soggy, but no one but me took pictures of herself looking like that :)

The last time I took TheBus was probably decades ago. The actual ride was pleasant, but I almost wasn't on it. It appeared on time, but passed right on by! If it weren't for a stop sign a little ways down that gave us a chance to run after it, we would've had to wait another hour for the next one. The driver claimed that wasn't his stop, even tho it was clearly marked and I had spoken to a supervisor earlier to confirm the time and location. (Yeah, I submitted a complaint online a few minutes ago. So there.)

The bus was pretty empty because most people going in that direction hopped on the more-frequent Waikiki buses. Ahh, Waikiki. Instead of the usual sunburned tourists, there were umbrellas, sandbags, puddles and more rain. At least Diamond Head was greener than usual, but no one would want to hike it today.

Won't get my car back until Friday, but will borrow one of my dad's cars 'til then so I won't be doing any more bus-riding for a while.

Between the rainstorms

an excuse to take pictures

The end of April will mark a year since I started blogging. It feels longer than that, and I've yet to find my groove. I can yammer on only so much about Rocky Raccoon, Apple computers, the bands I like, and the occasional personal/topical/news-related comment, before I run dry for weeks at a time. I wouldn't think about dissing work, and always keep in mind that my parents, some colleagues, and even my brother if I ask often enough, actually check in (tho rarely comment!!) once in a while.

I don't have a killer sense of humor, a controversial slant on politics, or even kids to write about. I don't live an exciting life filled with crazy highs and despairing lows..hmm, maybe there's the problem. I don't really have much of a life.

Yet I will muddle on, but, as someone commented recently, I've been in an unusual posting frenzy. (But he also called me a sporadic blogger, which is closer to the truth.) Digital cameras are so nifty. Photoshop is even cooler. And when you have nothing to say, hopefully a half-decent picture or two will fill the bill.

Here's the latest from today, in between rainstorms:

RIP, crazy tree

:(




It put up with a lot, but the recent downpours were too much for it.

Weird Hawaii Weather

Hail and tornadoes

Hailstone drift in geraniums
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, March 25, 2006

Horizontally-flying hailstones the size of quarters on the Big Island of Hawaii, tornadoes on the island of Lanai, lots of flooding, landslides, and power outages state-wide. Roads and homes were taken out, and seven lives were lost on Kauai.

Not your typical Hawaii weather.

This is Hawaii??

Five weeks is enough

EDIT: Both QuickTime and Windows Media Player versions of the 29-second video are now included as links, for those who couldn't view the original QT version and whose browsers were having hissyfitz. Thanks, Joey, for letting me know.

I wasn't feeling well, so stayed home from work today. I never use video cameras, but we ordered a couple for school and I wanted to try it out. It actually started to let up as I filmed, but later at night the island was rocked by thunder and lightning.



OR
[Select QuickTime (.mov) or Windows Media Player (.avi)

The QuickTime version is nicer. Install QT!

It's alive

But what is it?




I thought I had killed it, or at least, put it in a state of suspended animation. It hadn't bloomed in probably a year, then one day I noticed its spines turning pinkish, and soon long, dark purple flower-like protrusions emerged!

About a week later the flowers wilted and the spines returned to green, but soon the same amazing thing happened on the other side of the plant.

I'm not fat, I'm fluffy

Rocky Raccoon could probably could stand to lose a pound or two. Maine Coons are one of the largest domestic cats and males can reach 20+ pounds. Rocky is nowhere near that, probably closer to 14 lbs.

But this big guy is the considered to be the largest Maine Coon -- 45 inches tall and 35 pounds!!

Where are the magazines?

That's what I wondered when I went to my nearest Barnes and Noble for a Cinnamon Dolce Latte* today. And this is what I found out:




Their magazine display fixtures were wiped out when the car crashed through their plate glass window.

* Our Starbucks coffee shops don't carry the new Cinnamon Dolces. B&N does, but they're sure no Starbucks. I've been there twice, and twice they messed up my order. What's so difficult about no fat, no whip??

21 shots

of Grand Marnier



Do you recognize these? They're little sidekicks from Chili's, you know, the little chili-shaped plastic shot "glasses" that dangle precariously from the rims of Chili's margarita mugs. My shot of choice is always Grand Marnier. I savor its sweet, velvety goodness by sticking the end of the straw in it, pressing my finger on the top, and sucking the mmmyummy (40% alcohol!) nectar, which is barely enough to coat my tongue. This way I usually manage to make it last longer than the margarita itself (on the rocks, never blended), which, to me, is incidental. No way would I unceremoniously toss the shot in as suggested. Unfortunately, because I take so damn long to finish them, at least a few sidekicks have been knocked off by people wielding menus or carelessly reaching for something. So sad.

I've also forgotten to take a few home with me when I was done, but, as you can tell, I've frequented Chili's enough to round up a pretty good collection. Brought home the 21st tonight. I don't go there often, and don't go there for the food.

Never got around to doing what I said I'd do: take 'em out of my kitchen drawer where they've lived for probably a couple of years, fill them with red and green water, and hang 'em up at Christmas.

I'd like to put them to some fun, tacky use. Any suggestions?

When times get tough

The tough go.. you know


Recent cute purchases.

Too lazy to retrieve the shoes downstairs for a photo session.

Postponed

It's official


[image doctored..for effect]

Vertigo '06: Final Dates Postponed

It is with great regret that tour promoter The Next Adventure announces the postponement of the final ten dates of U2's Vertigo '06 tour. This action is unavoidable due to the illness of an immediate family member of one of the band. The effected dates are listed below.

'Any fan of U2 will realise that this decision has not been taken lightly', said TNA President Arthur Fogel. 'We will announce further details as soon as we have them.'

The effected shows, which are all sold out, are: March 17th & 18th, Ericcson Stadium AUCKLAND; 21st, Queensland Sports & Athletics Centre BRISBANE; 24TH & 25TH, Telstra Dome, MELBOURNE; 28th, AAMI Stadium ADELAIDE; 31st & 1st April, Telstra Stadium, SYDNEY; 4th, Nissan Stadium YOKOHAMA; 8th Aloha Stadium, HONOLULU.

We'll bring you more news on U2.Com as we get it.

It took something like this

..to get me blogging again



It's been about a month and a half since I last posted here. Didn't really have much to say.

Until today.

MY POOR LITTLE CAR!

Someone keyed it maliciously, deliberately, even neatly. From the front to the back. Very carefully.

Who hates me and my car so much to do that??

I don't think I p*ssed anyone off; didn't cut anyone off in traffic, didn't park too close to anyone, didn't ding any doors. I don't think I did ANYTHING to deserve this painful, deep gouge to the side of my injured Scion Tc coupe. Damn fr*cken little middle-schoolers whose parking lot it was in this afternoon!!

U2-phoria

Don't know if I coined that, probably not, but that's how I feel at this moment.

I've rattled on here about music and bands and concerts I've gone to, but my all-time favorite (living) band is U2. While I've flown off this rock to attend other bands' and musicians' concerts on the mainland, I thought I'd never get the chance to see U2 live, much less get good seats right in my backyard.

35,000 tickets were available at the Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. The 15,000 general admission tickets were snapped up in 10-15 minutes this morning (and during earlier pre-sales). Most of the rest were gone a couple of hours later. This is par for U2. But some crappy seats still remain, so the show isn't considered 'sold out' yet. Those nose-bleed tickets should just be given away so the second concert can be announced already.

I guess I can wait a few more days for my chance to see U2 twice..in the meantime the 100 or so U2 songs/videos/DVDs I've got will have to tide me over!

What to do with all these pictures?

For the past few days I've been taking lots of pictures at family gatherings, get-togethers with friends, and, of course, of Rocky Raccoon. I've posted 'em online and forced friends and family to view them, but recently discovered Comic Life which adds a new spin to the process.


click the picture to go to my Comics! page

People have been too nice to tell me that they're sick of cat pictures, but I work with what I've got, and I've a TON of cat pictures! I'll need to broaden my horizons or risk losing friends.

Happy New Year

A look back at 2005 from Rocky's point of view

Have a Warm & Fuzzy Christmas

Best wishes for the holidays from Rocky and me

U2 in Hawaii?!

No longer just wishful thinking

The radio announced it, rumor websites are all abuzz, so it MUST be true!


(slightly doctored image)

It's that time of year

.. to paint the toenails and fingernails red-green-red-green (with white Christmas trees on the big toes!) ..


.. to buy stuff and have others pay for it (like this too-orange, but oh-so-cute sushicat t-shirt) ..



.. to receive goodies in time for the holidays (new Butch Walker DVD, free camera phone) ..



.. for good times and good friends!

Scaled-down Carnival of Sins

Motley Crue concert

I'm vertically challenged, as you can see from the pretty crappy pictures taken from the 17th row at last night's concert. I have lots of shots of people's hands and backs of heads, because THAT'S ABOUT ALL I COULD SEE!! Since there was an aisle in front of our row, much-larger guys kept getting in front of me (and kept getting kicked back by security). In fact, when I first got to my seat (after missing the first song, Shout at the Devil, dammit), there were a bunch of huge guys standing there because our group hadn't arrived yet.

They didn't bring all their tour props and special effects, but there was enough smoke and fire to satisfy everyone. I couldn't see some of the "extras" (strippers, midget, etc.) because some of their antics were done low on the stage and I couldn't see with all those tall people in my way! Not that I really needed to see the midget being walked on a leash by a stripper, but hey, I paid over $70 and wouldn't have minded the full effect. You can see some of what I saw in the pics below.


click to view slide show

Tried to join someone I knew who was in the 5th row but couldn't because security was checking tickets at the 16th row. During one of the encores I decided to go for it, climbed over a chair, only to be blocked by a guard. I'm short and harmless, and wouldn't have taken up much room. They shoulda let me go. Other guys were pushing their way to the front, but most were being "escorted" back.

Vince Neil's voice is pretty shot, but the hyped-up crowd sang better than he did and helped him along. Even after his recent facelift and makeover I still thought he looked pretty pudgy.

Mick Mars's degenerative disease didn't prevent him from blowing the crowd away.

Nikki SIxx was..Nikki Sixx. I can see why Butch Walker digs him.

Tommy Lee sounded great, but I couldn't really tell you much more becauseI COULDN'T SEE HIM until he stood up at his drum kit and later came out to the front as they all said their "Alohas". He held up a bottle of Jagermeister and thanked everyone repeatedly.

Someone at work who sat up in the nosebleed section told me today that the sound was muffled and people up there pretty much sat in their seats the whole time. I can tell you the floor was a huge party, with all the seats folded and everyone singing and screaming and whistling and dancing and holding up their arms and..BLOCKING MY WAY, unfortunately. But I had a great time and wished the two hour show would go on longer.

Stuffed

'Tis the season



Rocky snuck up there the other day when I was decorating our tree. He didn't pose well with the tree itself, though did try to "mark" it as his!!

Eagles concert slideshows

OK, it seems that some people missed the two links to the photos of the Eagles concert at the bottom of the previous entry. Hmmph, they probably didn't want to read my ramblings all the way through ;)

I like Flickr's little slideshows. Clicking on each picture below will lead you to the slideshow pages for the pictures, but not the actual photos themselves.

     

Aloha, Eagles

It was a great week

The Eagles landed in Honolulu for four incredible concerts that I was fortunate to see from great floor seats. (Not that I sat in them for long.) While I'd been to quite a few Eagles concerts years ago, it was obvious that many around me hadn't, and the crowd LOVED them! It's such a huge (and rare) deal when bands as incredible as the Eagles come our way, and to put on four Honolulu concerts and one Maui show is simply amazing.

One review call the crowd "sedate" and "somnambulant". I'll tell ya why: the security MADE people sit. I spoke to a security guy on the second night who said that they got "yelled at" the night before by the Eagles' security guys who insist that anyone in Rows 5 and beyond do NOT stand until "The Long Run" (song just before intermission). LIke that's easy to enforce.

I was solo the first three nights but was able to bring a friend down from her nosebleed section the second night to join me at intermission on what she now refers to as the "dance floor". The whole experience is so much better when you're with friends!

I kind of made a few new ones, too. Two ladies who partied with me the second night, and two others from the last night who I shared my pictures with. On the third night a guy directly behind me kept grabbing me by the shoulders to tell me that I sure knew how to party, and that of all the people there, I was probably having the best time. Gee, do you think it showed?

I snuck in a camera and managed to not get it confiscated, though on the last night I came very close. Most of the pictures didn't turn out too well, but here are the best of the bunch: nine from the first night and four more from the last.

Generations Apart

Butch Walker fans / Eagles fans

A message posted on the Butch Walker message board today:

how can all of you afford to travel so much to these shows? do your parents pay for it? im just curious since it seems like a lot of you travel to a bunch of the shows on a tour.

An earlier post from the Eagles board:

I took my daughter, 13 years old at the time, along to Earls Court to complete her musical education. Having grown up with me as her dad she had little option but to listen to the Eagles (I believe in bringing up chidren properly) and was going through a phase of listening to the "Eagles Live" album, enthusing particularly about "Seven Bridges Road".

I shall never, ever forget the look in her eyes when the concert opened with that very song.

After the Eagles concerts next week, I probably won't be seeing them for a while, if ever. I've actually outgrown them, but felt obligated to go to all four Honolulu concerts since they'll probably not come this way again. While I wouldn't fit in the crowd that follows Butch on tour, I'd love to be able to catch him a couple of times a year. It sucks to be thousands of miles away, in the middle of an ocean. But at least I don't have to have my parents subsidize my habits. (To their credit, most of the younguns who do follow Butch earn their own money or save up their allowances...)

Of course, when I hear The Eagles' perfect five-part harmony perform Seven Bridges Road a cappella next week, I won't be thinking about Butch a bit.

I've lost that blogging feeling

Wow, it's been two weeks since I last posted an entry. Haven't even felt like stopping in on other people's blogs. If I make it through next weekend, I'll probably check in here more consistently. Next weekend will be the real test.

Don't really wanna bitch about things that haven't been going right, so scraps of silver linings are:

• The long-awaited 30 lab computers arrived at school and were set up
  
• My fundraiser from hell will hit its do-or-die climax (uh, probably not the right word) next weekend
  
• A club I used to frequent , The Wave Waikiki, celebrated its 25th anniversary the other night and I got to go
  
• Macy's had some pretty decent stuff on sale today for 70% off
  

With the exception of the last item, the others should be appended with "but..." since there's way more crap behind them than meets the eye.

And I guess last month's splurges were bad timing. Four $250 Eagles tickets (plus crappy Ticketmaster fees), $80 Motley Crue ticket (plus crappy Ticketmaster fees), computer, projector, printer, digital camera, and my usual clothes, shoes, whatever actually added up to more than my recently-reduced account can handle. Darn, and I thought transferring the "extra" money out of it wouldn't make a difference. Hah. Forgot I live on a teacher's salary.

Ooh, Rocky Raccoon reminded me he's got a secret and he's not.. you know.. letting the cat out of the bag =^.^=

Happy Halloween

From me and Rocky

Rocky and I don't usually dress up anymore for Halloween, but we do our part.

Four...and definitely no more

But this time I'll have company

Just when I had made up my mind that I wouldn't go to the fourth Eagles concert, just when I had convinced myself that three $250 concerts would be enough, my friend called out of the blue. Haven't heard from him for a couple of months, figured I'd never hear from him again.

When I mentioned that I'll be going to the first three concerts alone, he offered to fly over and join me for the fourth.

Tickets for that fourth Eagles concert in Honolulu went on sale this morning and I scored great seats again..but I PROMISE this is the last one I'll go to. I won't be flying to see them on Maui a couple of days later, and I won't even THINK about getting tickets to another one if it should be announced.

It's mind-boggling that our population can even support this many concerts. Who the heck are all those other Eagles fanatics, anyway, especially those crazy enough to splurge (repeatedly) on the high-end seats?? I wanna meet you!

Hawaii IS part of the United States

But not according to Ticketmaster

Dumb*sses.

Naughty little dinosaurs

They really don't care who's watching - or taking pictures.


 

 

 

Last two pics are of Mr. Big showing off and waiting for his next date.

Good Sunday

I'm ready for the week now

At 4:30 a.m. we cancelled our plans to participate in the Race for the Cure (due to inclement weather) and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at a restaurant instead.

The weather cleared up so I took Rocky Raccoon on a walk in the yard on a leash -- and we both survived.




While hanging my clothes outside I snapped R-rated pictures of yard dinosaurs (second couple I saw that morning who didn't care I was right there). See above post for more pics.



Later went to the mall and took advantage of Macy's underwear sale -- sorry, no pictures

And finally: Used a See's Candy gift card to buy over-priced Halloween candy, and got more free samples than usual because the salesgirl recognized me!

They did it again, darnit!

Two more Eagles concerts in Hawaii

My Eagles will now put on a total of FIVE concerts in Hawaii (the fifth will be on on Maui). I already have tickets for the first three, and was hoping they wouldn't announce any more, even though it was rumored that a fourth was in the works.

At least this time I've got 'til Saturday to decide, unlike when tickets for the third concert were suddenly made available without any advance notice.

I already have great floor seats for the first three concerts, but will be sitting by myself and really would rather not for a fourth. Some of my friends will be going to the second concert but sitting elsewhere. A few others said they might go if a fourth concert was announced, but they weren't intending on getting the $250 tickets that crazies like I have done. But I'll ask around again...

Or, is three enough?

Looks like I'll live

Blood work came back normal

So why do I feel so crappy?! Tonight my back is worse than ever before, so I'm self-medicating. *clink*. You don't suppose my recent talk about needing to celebrate a mid-life crisis got my body figuring I was overdue for mid-life ache & pain session as well??

No clue yet what's wrong with me, but there's plenty of time before my concerts for me to be fixed. Three Eagles concerts, and, as of today, a Motley Crue concert (also terrific floor seats) a couple of weeks after them. I definitely have to be in tip-top shape for that one.

Good thing I like needles

Most poking I've had in a while

OK, so on Monday I had a free flu shot that was offered to teachers. Stood in a loooong line with a friend at our Teachers Institute (not quite what you might think) to take advantage of the freebie. I've had flu shots before without any ill effect, and actually like getting stuck by needles.

[Wanted to stand in the blood donation line, but until they instate a new half-pint policy, I'll never meet the required weight minimum. No matter how much I'd love to donate blood (I think that'd be the coolest), I refuse to get that fat for them. Hope I can say that a decade from now as I get heavier and heavier...]

Tuesday morning rolls around, I take a shower and realize as I'm getting ready for work that I'm surprisingly uncomfortable. This was after the shower and a few sips of coffee; I should be feeling pretty decent by now. But no..my lower back aches really bad and my stomach..is f*cken messed up.

Wednesday goes by. Same, uh, sh*t. Thursday beckons and I tell myself that enough's enough. I called in sick today (Thursday) and made an appointment with my doctor to see what the heck is wrong with me.

At my insistence the test for kidney infection was taken (I swore was the culprit), and results given while I waited. I was so bummed when they came in negative because that meant I'd have to go home without antibiotics which I *knew* would make me feel better. If I had a kidney infection like two years ago when I went kayaking for the first time and had to wade around in less-than-clean water, I'd be cured!

Had a couple of vials of blood taken (ohyeah, for some reason I've always liked that part) to see of other parts of me are malfunctioning. My doctor will be on leave in a couple of days, so if I remember to call tomorrow, I'll find out my results earlier than normal.

So here I sit, uncomfortable and bummed, and a little bit scared to find out what the bloodwork will show. I have my own suspicions what might be the problem, and if it turns out to be that, then I've been my own worse enemy.

Or it could be, as ladies my age are telling me (from experience), that it's hormonal. Hah. I refuse to believe that crap..for now. In my mind, "hormonal" is a catch-all phrase for normal sh*t that's hard to diagnose. Or something. As I've said before, I intend to flit through that stage without noticing it much.

No, I don't think the flu shot on Monday was the cause of all this. But wouldn't it be nice to blame it on something??

Tommy Lee on fire

Literally

Tommy Lee suffered minor burns on his arms and face during a pyrotechnics explosion while performing in concert in Wyoming yesterday. Apparently, the accident occurred while he was being transported from one drum set to another 30 feet above the stage. It was toward the end of the set, and he played one more song before the band decided to cut the show short.

Motley Crue has performances Friday - Sunday, and reportedly none will be cancelled.

I was thinking tonight that I might pass on their concert here (ticket ordering got a little more complicated than I expected), but this might've sealed the deal.

EDIT 7:46 pm: What a coincidink. While channel surfing I came across MSNBC with a teaser about the Tommy incident. So I watched it. Tommy was OK at the time to make jokes, and did go to the hospital after the show was cut short, but couldn't be found there, so might've already been released (or registered under some other name). Wow..wonder if they'll bring their whole shebang, elevated sets, pyrotechnics and all to Hawaii. Doubt it.

Apple's "One More Thing" Event

Speculation ended today!

Apple's highly-anticipated "One More Thing" event did not disappoint. The goodies are way better than the lackluster ROKR iTunes phone, and yes, much of it had to do with iTunes and the iPod.

[I can't believe it's been a year since the last "One More Thing" event, when the black and red U2 Special Edition iPod was debuted. As of today it's no longer is available at Apple's website, so I guess I have a real collector's item!]

Best of the best of today's announcement (IMO):

• new G5 iMacs are better, faster, thinner than before, come with the iSight camera built in, and are bundled with the niftiest mouse on the planet, Mighty Mouse
  
• new, slimmer iPods are video-capable, and come in black or white (ala the nano iPod)
  
• iTunes 6 now has more than 2000 videos and TV shows for $1.99
  

The new iPod commercial features a video clip of U2's performance in Chicago earlier this year. I love how U2 and Apple are still happy together. Rumor is it that Madonna might be the inspiration for the next Special Edition iPod because she's so prominently featured on iTunes and in the ROKR commercial. I won't be buying that one.

But the most surprising thing was Steve Jobs' outfit! He was wearing brown slacks instead of his usual uniform of blue jeans and sneakers!! Gasp!

Butch's new EP

on iTunes today!

After a 10-day countdown that whipped Butch fans into a frenzy trying to figure out what his hints meant, he came out today with an EP of five mostly live songs he's covered.

He's already been trying some new songs during his present Hotel Cafe Tour, and they're being shared online. Nice how he uses his fans as beta testers :) He'll be working on two CDs soon.

Made out like a bandit today!

Then used my savings to buy more shoes :)

A friend just bought a new Sony Vaio, so I told her that now would be a great time to buy a Sony digital camera to go with it. Decided to look through today's ads to see if any good deals were available. Lucked out: Office Depot had a Sony Cyber-shot for $129 after rebate, an Epson projector for $799 + an instant $100 gift card to be used on the next purchase, and an HP all-in-one printer/copier/scanner/fax for $149 before its 15% discount.

I bought the camera and projector for school use (left one camera for my friend if she decides to get it), and used the $100 gift card toward the printer, which ended up costing me only $32.79 after tax!! I've never liked the idea of those all-in-one models, since if one part flakes out, you're still stuck with the whole machine. But my two printers and two old scanners don't work well with my latest operating system, and the price was more than right. My test scan was a page from a magazine that I had Butch autograph :)

Office Depot is conveniently located right next to Nordstrom Rack. After loading the goodies into my car, I decided to take a look around at the Rack. Found a beautiful blouse..and two pairs of shoes. Yikes, I know I shouldn't keep buying shoes, but it's so easy to do. I threw out a bunch over the summer, but have replaced them with even more pairs since then.

The blouse is gorgeous and definitely not something I'd wear to school. It'd be great to wear to a special night out, like to an Eagles concert..or a Motley Crue concert! Yeah, it looks as if I *will* be going to that one, after all!

This one I'm not too sure I'll attend

Motley Crue to perform in Hawaii on December 14, 2005

Whoa. Maybe I'll go if Tommy Lee gives Butch Walker proper credit for co-wriiting and performing on his theme song to his reality show and video "Good Times"!

Maybe I'll go just 'cuz.

Not a big Crue fan, but it should be a trip. I do know two people who are really into them, so maybe they'll let me tag along. I haven't been all that successful getting my own friends go to to concerts with me ;)


Live 8 (Canada) July, 2005


Below is a recent silly pic of Nikki Sixx, Butch Walker, and Tommy Lee. Butch, who is 6' 2", must be slouching because he looks like their wasted little brother!

Maybe they won't suck this time

Everclear at Pipeline on Saturday



I liked most of Everclear's stuff, but hated them in concert a few years ago. They were wasted, profane (it was an all-ages/parents + kiddies show at the BayFest) and were horribly off-key. Only good thing was the t-shirt I bought, although the Hawaii venue was misspelled.

They'll be here again on Saturday. I had vowed not to go because they were so embarrassingly awful last time, but tonight wondered if I should reconsider. I actually have plans for that night, but after listening to random songs on iTunes and hearing their songs again, I might want to check them out. Don't want to park my car anywhere near the place, but the $22 ticket price (plus crappy Ticketmaster fees) is nothing compared to what my Eagles are charging, and they're over a month away. Need a fix before then.

Did I mention before how much I love live rock concerts?

X-rays don't lie

I'm a little crooked. Crooked-er in my lower back than a year ago. Neck improved some, which was the actual reason I originally started going to a chiropractor a couple of years ago. Lower back wasn't really too much of a concern.

But I guess my bad habits of driving with my left leg up on the seat, and poor posture while at the computer (many times with that left leg, if not both, on the chair or desk) have compounded my crookedness. Bummer, but I'm glad I saw what was happening so I can counteract it.

My chiropractor had asked earlier if I wanted to take pictures of my x-rays to post on my blog. Kinda wished I had a camera with me today :)

WTF!?

I might be a little riled up today..

.. but things just seem to keep on HAPPENING!

Someone (inadvertently??) deleted files on the Public partition of one of our school's servers this afternoon. It must've taken a while, and at some point that person must've known something wasn't right.

This whole school year is just not proceeding well. School-wide renovations definitely add to the mix, but other rather important things are falling through. Man, we've only been in session for about a month and a half and already we're squinting for the light at the end of the tunnel.

Old hardware is driving me batty. Printers might be the death of me. Poor teachers. They're the ones having to put up with inconveniences; we're just trying to ease them. Thank goodness I have "real" techie guy that works part-time. But the straw that broke the camel's back might've landed on him last week.

Yeah

Still got it, sorta

Been feeling old and fat and fat and old lately. Haven't been to the gym in over a year. Emailed my former trainer a couple of weeks ago, but he never got back to me.

But I still can crank out 33 pushups!

Overdue for a mid-life crisis

I really don't intend to live twice my present age, so I figured I'd better hurry and have a mid-life crisis soon, skip the self-reflection part, and spend way too much money on something that would fool myself into believing I was youthful again.

A couple of years ago when I almost bought a Mazda RX-8, I thought that would be it, but since I couldn't see out of sides of the darn thing, it didn't count. Buying my purty little Scion TC coupe last year (no, not the ugly Kleenex box model) doesn't quite qualify, because even though it's from Toyota's "youth-marketed division", it didn't cost an arm and a leg as mid-life crisis objects are supposed to cost. In fact, that's why I bought it. I've never had to put up w/car payments and wanted to find a car I could pay in full. Couldn't do that w/the Mazda MX-8, even if I was able to see out of it.

Darnit. Maybe spending almost $800 on three upcoming Eagles concerts counts? Nah, those guys are even older than I am, and I've spent much more to see them before, so that doesn't qualify.

A sudden, major change would do it. I did get my hair colored professionally for the first time today (woohoo!) -- but that was because I had tried to use a medium brown on my dark brown hair two weeks ago and ended up with an interesting mix of medium brown/dark brown/red highlights and I wanted her to even it out. In this day and age when everyone seems to be going blondish, the most daring I can be is going a teensy bit less dark brown.

Here's a picture taken earlier this week at a friend's birthday dinner, in all my waiting-for-mid-life-crisis glory. Can't even tell I tried to lighten my hair on my own. And, yeah, I realize I'm putting my pic up here for something like the fourth time, but I don't worry about it, even though my parents might. (See two posts below.)



There was no significant difference after getting it professionally colored/balanced today. Should I have gotten a mohawk while I was there?

Going light brown and getting blond highlights is so common, too many Asians are doing that nowadays (yeah, like that looks natural), and I don't want to be one of the crowd. Same reason I bought my car; it was different at the time. Hardly anyone had one back then because it was too new. Everyone was telling me to get a Camry, but that is so a teacher car and is over-represented here. I wanted to be unique, if just for a little while.

So what can I do to celebrate my overdue mid-year crisis? Get a 20-something boy toy? (No thanks.) Go sky diving? (Don't want to be strapped to a stranger.) Buy shoes? (Do that all the time. In fact, bought a pair of cute, pointed-toe boots today that I may never wear.)

Suggestions?