I'd just like to take a minute to reiterate that Ted Leo is the man, even when he's just tying his shoe.

I wear my hair fizzy.

I saw/hung out with Shook Ones and Easel last night in Anaheim, and thank goodness. I can't begin to tell you how much fun I had. Typically when I've been out lately, somewhere around midnight I start wanting to just go to bed, but this time after parting ways at 1am I found myself in a textplosion kind of wishing I was still out, changing names in my phone to things like "Bird Nest Hair" instead. Clearly I need to spend more time at hardcore shows and maybe join Team Samba.

So, the rest of '07 is shaping up to be amazing, I think. I'm filling it with good times, good people and just doing good in general. I'm excited again!

It’s too late now, so don’t break the rhythm

Did everyone already see the brilliant new TL/RX video? Holy gracious, it's wonderful. And the temporary bassist/former tour manager with the wine bottle whom I loved is in it! Bonus!

I've taken up kickboxing (okay, not really kickboxing, just the moves. I don't intend to fight). My gosh if you ever wanted to feel desperately out of shape, starting with this is definitely a good way to do it. It should feel pretty amazing in a few weeks or months, though, and I'm looking forward to that. But for now, it hurts! ("What do we love?"..."PAIN!")

Last night I was introduced to Blackadder via YouTube. Now I'm kinda hooked.

No one's keeping you captive in the town that let you down...

The best things in life are free. The best things in Los Angeles are 99 cents... like this hat:


I was talking to Jett about holidays and wondering why new year's eve is such a big deal to me. I may have finally sorted out that all it is is a night. It's just a night like any other night. You can "start over" and dream of the great unknown whenever you want. And it seems scarier or tougher or something to do it when it isn't the 1st of something and you aren't in a different geographical place, but it's certainly possible. Last week's crappy locked-out debacle which ended in finding a "3 DAY NOTICE TO PAY RENT OR QUIT" taped to my door (management didn't receive my check somehow) was the turn for me. I'm switching back to the voice program (sorry, Jack), I'm reading and writing more, spending more time with my camera, joining a gym, actually unpacking my boxes and organizing my apartment, getting out and playing shows again...

So I guess all I mean is that my foray into the non-posi is coming to a close. No, I'm certain of it 'cause the MySpace cosmos sent the first words I've heard from Sir Olmstead of the Knights of Posi, and that's obvious reinforcement. I guess he's been out on tour with Shook Ones, so I guess I'll be out seeing them next week in Anaheim. Yeah!

You've got to be kidding me.

This day just keeps getting better and better.

[/sarcasm]

[there's a Paxil Rose joke to be made here]

Now on my list of dumbest things I've ever done: Locking my keys in my apartment while carrying only a cell phone with one bar left of battery. Not just any apartment, no - I've done that before and been able to do the credit card trick. But this apartment? Where I currently live? Impossible. That and my locks seem to be made of Satan. On the upside, at least so long as I lock my doors, I'll never need to worry about people breaking in. On the downside, I locked myself out approximately 14 hours ago. I already had my bitchfest of details once to Jett and will likely do a repeat performance when I talk to my mom later, so I'll spare you. I will tell you, though, that parting with $242.71 has never been so. infuriatingly. stupid. ...And as soon as the locksmith leaves, I get to sweep the pieces and dust of door and doorknob. And my broom is still in storage.

I consider this all a sign.

...But thank goodness for friends who let me sleep on their couch and color in their coloring books.

But if you hold on to what you've got...

I'm certain instant coffee isn't the right thing for me to be drinking right now. Rebel, rebel.

Oh, Ted Leo. If I could watch him be amazing every day, I would not hesitate to do so. Since the El Rey won't let in cameras with removable lenses, I took it upon myself to make a couple of videos. Which, sadly, meant not dancing and screaming along for three songs. But still. You can view them here and here. I can't quite explain it and it sounds so cheesy, but it's so liberating to be at his shows. All the dancing and words my body couldn't string together on its own and it's the most hope I've ever had. And for goodness sake, if it doesn't make you feel whole-heartedly happy to watch the man bounce around with his springy cable and 335 and little boots, you may have a physical condition that they can prescribe something for.

Also extraordinarily liberating? I'm learning this Noisettes song, "Sister Rosetta." If you put all of yourself into singing it, it feels incredible. Seriously, just go find it somewhere, even just on youtube and google the lyrics. Listen once. Sing along the second time. It's major super fun. Especially if you also dance with it and don't scream so hard you hurt yourself.

This week, the truth that was stressing me out regarding school (that truth being that my heart is in singing/writing and not really engineering or production) turned into strength. I'm sure this is very telling of where I am in my youth, but it's amazing how accepting what few facts I can find (or, more often, are pointed out to me by the best people in my life) in myself just makes me feel so much more sturdy and steady.