Why... WHY does precipitation in Lexington refuse to turn into snow at 32 degrees? Is this not the standard? Does Kentucky have retarded precipitation?

(If anyone dares to attempt to explain the meteorological explanation for freezing rain as opposed to snow, I will drive to wherever you are and personally kick your ass.)

(I feel bad that I used a bad word in my blog.)

On the way up to Cincinnati on Saturday we listened to a Mitch Hedberg cd. I'd read about his Cinnamon Roll Incense on Sarah's blog, but I'd never heard his stuff. He's hilarious. It was a great cd. I thought Jay was going to have an asthma attack, he was laughing so hard (I love to see him laugh, even if it does decrease his ability to breathe.) Look around his site. hehe. Embrace the koala.

There were two opening bands for Toad the Wet Sprocket Saturday night: Wheat, and Bleu. I liked Wheat alot. Bleu was ok, but nothing I'd seek on my own. I will have to remember to buy a Wheat cd someday. hehe.

This whole thing with the club deaths lately is frightening. (Last week in Rhode Island, a few weeks ago in Chicago) Half of the shows I saw last year were in clubs, and of those I'd say about four or five were small/medium sized. And I can see the same thing happening at a number of venues I've been in: fire/emergency, a panicked crowd tries to leave, and tragedy ensues. There are often few exits, and the ones that do exist can be blocked or poorly marked. Over 100 hundred people in the past month have died. It makes me wonder if there will be any impact on the club scene overall. At Bogart's on Saturday they announced the exits twice. I've never seen them do that at any other show. So many of my friends, both online and off, frequent clubs. Small clubs can be one of the most intimate ways to experience and artist you really like; "in your face" doesn't begin to describe it. It's a break from the mass-marketed merchandised music that plays over the speakers, an alternative to a stadium full of screaming fans that think if it's not on the radio, it's not real music. It's hard enough for most of these clubs to stay alive; increased insurance premiums will drive up ticket prices even more than Ticketmaster already has. I don't want to see another black mark for the few small bands that somehow manage to eke out a living while maintaining some sense of artistic integrity.

Let's hope for the best. I know that everytime I go into a club from now on I'm going to be casing the joint for easy exits. Paranoid? Yep. Will I let a little thing like the fear of death keep me from going to small venues? No.

I don't think I've spoken a single word today. Maybe to my cat. Not to any humans.

1) I had forgotten just how much Toad the Wet Sprocket rocked. They're currently on a reunion tour. Aimee, Craig, and I saw them on Saturday night at Bogart's in Cincinnati. We did the old people thing, and stood up on the balcony. We had a clear (if not a bit far away) view, and no crowd hassles. We were among the youngest people on the balcony. If they tour again, I'd like to be near the front. It's just such a solid show. Aimee and I saw them (Liz, did you go?) at Bogart's in 1997, I think. (I just spent WAY too much time researching when that concert was.) Anyhow, we really enjoyed them then, and I'm glad they decided to reunite for a tour. If they come around again, we'll definitely be there.

2) As for my wish for snow on Saturday: I got it. Now I feel guilty. I missed my sister's wedding (the second in three years.) She had just planned it the week before (no, it wasn't shotgun, but she has less patience than even I do.) I would have had to drive to the three hour drive to WV in the morning, and returned that night. Last week just about killed me, sleep-wise, and I just wasn't looking forward to it. However, I had bought a new outfit for it, and I was planning on going. It was rather weird; Saturday it was in the 50's in Lexington. All I wore up to Bogart's (about 90 miles) was a t-shirt and a hoodie. We noticed it was a good deal colder when we dropped Jay off at his mom's about 10 miles from Cincinnati. We go to BW3's before the concert (this is an unrelated point, but I just wanted to mention that their double-Jerk chicken sandwich was inedible. It was WAAAAAY too hot, and I really like hot stuff.) When we came out of the concert about midnight, it was snowing pretty hard. Craig's wearing only a t shirt, Aimee's wearing a light corduroy jacket/shirt, and we're all freezing our butts off. After a few near non-stops before the interstate, we started towards home. We stop at the rest-stop right outside of Florence (where Jay's mom lives), and called my dad who was at my apartment. He said the weather in Lexington didn't look good, so we turn around and go stay with Jay and his mom. Aimee and I took his sister's bed (she was on a ski trip) and Craig took the futon matress in the computer room (which he said was very comfortable. Jay and I will research that for future consideration. hehe.) Jesus, I'm way too parenthetical. Anyhow, neither Aimee or I slept very well. I don't know what my problem was; I was perfectly comfortable, Aimee wasn't hacking up a lung, and I've slept in Lizzy's room a million times before. However, the few hours I slept I was evidently snoring. I don't know when I started snoring. It's embarassing. Aimee was too nice to say that's why she couldn't sleep until I asked her. hehe. Oh, well. So anyhow, after minimal sleep we leave at about 9 in the morning. The roads weren't too bad, but I was leery about trying to make the trip there and back in a day in inclement weather. Luckily, my sister was very understanding. I told her I'd take her out to dinner so we can wear our fancy clothes (she didn't wear a traditional wedding dress, but more along the lines of something a bridesmaid would wear.) Dad said the wedding was much better than her last one. I like my brother-in-law, and my sister is way more stable with him (I think this is partly because he makes sure she takes her meds.) You know, if I were to tell a normal stranger about my life, I think they'd think I was crazy. Jay and I actually had a discussion over who's family was more crazy; I think it was a draw.

3) Yesterday afternoon Jay and I saw Shanghai Nights. It was stupid, but watchable. I'm glad Jay only paid matinee prices for our tickets. The out-takes were funnier than the movie itself.

4) Beth, update!

5) Great Big Sea on Friday! I'm hyped. Whoo hoo! I still wonder who their touring bassist will be. Murray Foster of Moxy Früvous fame? That'd be nice. He's toured with them before, so it's not an idea I'm pulling out of left field.

6) I just realized Dar Williams put out a new album. I need this. I also want the About a Boy soundtrack by Badly Drawn Boy. I've tried listening to other BDB stuff, but I have to say that I like the About a Boy soundtrack better. I also need to make a copy/buy a new one of Counting Crows This Desert Life. Mine broke a few months ago. Since I legally owned the album in the first place, it wouldn't bother me to make a copy. I'm weird about stuff like that.

7) Because of inclement weather, I have spent 3/7 of the days last week sleeping in places that weren't My Bed. It's about springtime, right? I usually love winter, but last week's power outage has made me wish for nicer weather.

I think that's all for now. I will post more later if I feel the need.

Things I am craving:

• Eggrolls
• Lack of boredom.
• Snow on Sunday (my sister's wedding... don't ask.)
• Thai food. I think that goes with the eggroll.
• More sleep.
• Working speakers for my work computer (Mine mysteriously died this week. So did my co-worker Josh's. They were the exact same brand as mine, and about the same age. It's weird.)
• My "Service Engine Soon" light to go off. This might be related to a recall (that I had fixed) last year
  

Various sundry items:
1) I'm tired. I mean, really tired. Two nights on the floor rather than my soft comfy bed has not helped my state of mind.

2) My cds are in my car. My speakers at work are screwy. I have a cd player here, but I'm too lazy to go to my car. OK, I went. Now I have music. TMBG's Mink Car

3) Three people can comfortably sleep in my office. I think we fit up to five without a problem. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

4) Click here to see pictures of the ice storm. Ben Cichanowicz is my friend/co-worker. Take note of this one. It looks alien-like.

5) Jay still has no power. However, the restaurant directly across the street from him has power. This is Not Fair. His cats were very affectionate when we visited earlier. Humans = warmth.

6) There are melted popsicles all over the floor of my freezer. And we have no cable. How barbaric. I might as well go buy a helmet with horns and get a big club.

7) I got tickets from Jay to see Great Big Sea for Valentine's. YAY!

8) I bruised my right hand in an owie-place trying to use my fists to break ice on Aimee's car.

Last night was Night Two at the MaxWeb Hilton. Yes, I slept on the floor of my office again, along with Aimee and Jay. I kept waking up on my back, and evidently when I sleep on my back (pretty rare when I'm at home), I snore. So I ran Aimee out, and Jay couldn't sleep (although he said he wouldn't have been able to sleep anyhow.) During one of Jay's periods of insomnia, he called my apartment, and our machine picked up. ELECTRICITY! We'd been checking a few times a hour via phone. I really hope Jay's electricity comes on soon, I know he's worried about his cats. There were about nine people without power that stayed at the 'Web last night.

I've been reading other accounts of horrid weather (such as Tara's), and usually I'd have sympathy. hehe. But you all still have power! Now that mine's back on, I can begin my sympathy: My, that's a hell of a lot of snow. I just hope and pray our power stays on. As the ice begins to melt off the trees, they're going to spring back up, and hit more power lines. So everyone cross your fingers for us.

I wonder if Kevin (my boss) will pay me overtime for all the extra time I've spent at work? hehe. I asked him yesterday if we were going to get fresh towels and linens. They never did materialize.

This really sucks.

Saturday night we had an ice storm. Not just a little wee "oh, don't the trees look pretty" ice storm, but more like a "no electricity for two days" ice storm. About an inch of a half of hard solid ice. Last night Aimee and I slept in my office at work. We might do that again tonight, if we don't get our power back. And now it's snowing. GREAT! At least our phone is back up. That way we can call home and check on our electricity status: if the machine picks up, we have power (guess what? I'm calling now. No machine. Dammit.)

Aimee and I ate at Chili's yesterday at about 4 pm. Since then, I've had nothing but Lay's Applewood BBQ and Smoked Cheddar potato chips. We need to figure out how to get Jay here.

Did I mention how much this sucks?

Ha! Tori fans must watch this!!!

Jay got me flowers for Valentine's Day. Pretty spray roses. Click here to see more pictures.

Happy Valentine's Day!

From Jay I've gotten some really pretty roses. I will take pictures of them today.

For the past month, Jay and I have been going to weekly homebuying classes through REACH, a local organization that provides up to $15,000 in downpayments and closing costs to those who qualify (not Jay and I, unfortunately.) But anyhow, this program is pretty neat. Some of the material was a little too basic (making a budget, saving money), but in general I think just the chance to ask questions and hear others ask them make me feel a little more confident about buying a home.

I've really been craving S'mores made with Golden Grahams lately. Mom used to make them when we were younger. They were the precursor to the Rice Krispies treats in my houeshold. They're really yummy. Maybe I'll make some Sunday.

Anyhow. That's all I have for today. It's been a boring week.

I have this... problem.

I can't stop eating oranges.

It happens every winter when the good navel oranges hit the stands. I eat a LOT of them. I think I had four on Wednesday. I've had two since lunch today, and I'll have more later. I think I had three yesterday. There are worse things I could overindulge in; an orange only has about 60 calories. There are times when I've eaten so many one after another that they made my stomach hurt.

Random items: My cousin Emily will be in town this evening. It snowed about three inches last night, but the roads are ok. Aimee and I were planning to see the band Llama last night, but we called it off on account of the snow. Really, I think I was just too lazy to stay out that late, but the snow excuse works as well. Jay and I only have two more homebuying classes to attend. They gave us a free membership to Sam's Club, which rocks. I've been working on a church website most of this week. I'm glad it's Friday. Later this evening I plan to go home, put on soft warm pjs, and watch Good Eats, Friends, and Will and Grace I've taped over the past few days. And I have to finish reading Tricky Business, by Dave Barry. It's pretty good. I recommend that, as well as Big Trouble (also by Dave Barry), in both movie and book form. I really should buy that DVD. I hope Barry continues to write novels (as well as columns). His fiction is really well-written and very funny.

Oh, I'd also really like to recommend Sarah Vowell's The Partly Cloudy Patriot. She rocks so much. Of all the authors I enjoy and like (Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Orson Scott Card..er..Jesus, when did I turn into such a geek?) she's the only one I've ever really felt that I identify with. She's a liberal former marching band geek who likes obscure music, and who revels in her geekdom. And she's written a song with TMBG. To use Anne of Green Gables language, I find her to be a kindred spirit. (Yes, I read all of them in my 20's. I've also read all the Little House books, and a few Laura Ingalls Wilder biographies. See? I'm a geek. And it's ok.) So.. everyone go out and read The Partly Cloudy Patriot, as well as her second book Take the Cannoli.

I have found the ultimate ice cream flavor:
cake batter. MmmmMMMMmmmmMmmm.

There's an ice cream chain called Cold Stone Creamery. They have a choice of 12+ flavors of ice cream, and then you pick mix-ins, which they then smash up and mix into your ice cream. Usually I get amaretto or chocolate, with oreos or peanut butter or both. However, then they introduced Cake Batter flavor. I got it mixed with cookie dough (they use actual cookie dough, just cut off a piece and mix it in), and I have the ultimate in raw batters and doughs. Find one near you!