Can't take a picture. It's already gone.

Clouds roll by.

Update: I no longer enjoy skateboarding neighbor. He came within inches of skateboarding INTO the passenger of my MOVING car today. Put your foot down, bro.

Throughly prescreening matches.

Rainy 'Rey.

I haven't really wanted to have some sort of grand send off before I move. Nor am I really making it a point to say goodbye to people. Because dudes, I'll be back in 9 days. Just seems a little foolish to get all sappy and emotional. I've already cried enough for the whole city. And there's only more to come. No point inducing EVEN MORE. I told both Kyle and Mattlahoma that they both will probably be dealing with a whole mess of crazy. I felt no need to warn Chelsey or any of my lady friends, because we've all been there, that's for sure.

The major bummer today is that the bar in my closet collapsed last night. So I spent most of my afternoon picking up clothes, re-hanging them, then plastic-bagging them. By the way, the best way to move clothes is to treat a trash bag like a garment bag; pick up about 10 hangers, shove them in a bag and tie the bag around the top before the hook of the hangers. Genius!



So, life's a little messy and a little blank. I'm just not a fan of having my life in boxes and bags. Suffocating! Luckily today I discovered the Oklahoma Humane Society website. DID I MENTION Chelsey wants to get a dog?!? Heart is melting as I type. I'm going to try to talk Chelsey into going dog hunting next weekend.

Little step-sister Rachel qualified for State in the 100m hurdles today! On a time trial, even. And she's only a freshman. Git it, gurl!

Hanging out down the street.

I'm delicate these days. It's like PMS times about 5 billion. Anything sets me off. Sappy television, bad drivers, things not fitting properly in boxes, etc. Kathy called me this morning and ripped into me about a mistake I made on Friday and it left me in shambles. I'm normally pretty good about brushing off work drama, since it's resolved in about 5 minutes, but that was the first time she's actually made me cry.

I told Kyle tonight I'm glad I'm like this though. It's good that I deal with it and get it out, rather than crashing when I get out to Oklahoma. I think it'll be shock enough just living in a new state (and timezone...). My last official day of residence in New Mexico will be the 28th, one week away. But I'll be back the weekend after for FLOOD THE SUN'S TOUR KICKOFF at Burt's on the 8th. Unless I get a super awesome job that makes me work that weekend. Same goes for Memorial Day.

I found Amy Upah's XBox when I was packing up my room today. WHOA. So, if anyone knows how to get ahold of her... I think she might have relocated to another planet.

Anyway, thank God for the scene in Zoolander where they're trying to turn on the computer.

Without the sun.

+



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Do I look different? BECAUSE MY LIFE IS FOREVER CHANGED.


But, for the serious, Springsteen was super awesome. My only regret is that I could barely talk the entire time I was in Denver, thanks to this super nasty viral infection (it's STILL hanging out and ruining my days). Towards the end of the show, I started feeling really, really woozy. But then he played Born to Run with the house lights on.

Other highlights include mother effing THUNDER ROAD during the encore (Cat and every other person in that venue about DIED), the religious experience of The Rising and the Recession Anthem of Youngstown. Performance wise, that song owned it. And hey, remember when he played Glory Days? All in all, great show. The thing about Bruce Springsteen is that it's blindingly obvious how much he loves music, how much he loves his job, and yet, how lucky he is to have it. The man doesn't appear to take anything of it for granted. And it's nice to have a reminder of that, sometimes.

It was a quick trip. We got into Denver on Thursday night, late. We spent Friday during the day huddling around the Pepsi Center, eating at Illegal Pete's, then face-rockage. Saturday, we got up, ate at Smash Burger, and drove home. But, I couldn't have asked for a better time or better people to experience it with.

Since then, I took a load of stuff (including my tornado shelter of a metal desk) to OKC and spent a few days with my grandma in Pampa. Yum, Pampa. My time as a full-time resident in New Mexico is quickly coming to a close and trust me dudes, I'm really sad about it. The tears started tonight; just thinking about all the people I'm gonna miss. I know that I need myself that I won't be far and everyone I know and love is merely a phone call away. Or an 8 hour drive.

Well, I knew this wasn't gonna be easy. But, I'm glad I'm doing it.

And now, the awesome story about some dude at the El Rey asking when my baby was due. I'm tending bar and this middle-aged man walks up and wants 3 bottles of water. While we're waiting for his credit card to go through, he says, "When are you due?" I almost don't hear him, but I think I'm more shocked than anything else. "Excuse me?" I say. "When are you due?" he asks again. This time I hear him clearly, and I'm sure it reads on my face the amount of distain I'm having over the conversation. "I don't think I heard you right," I tell him, completely giving the guy an out to an awkward situation. He points to my stomach and says, "When is your BABY due?" I try really, really hard to be polite, as this man is a costumer and Kathy's about 15 feet away (and laughing hysterically, by the way) and I say, "Oh, I'm not pregnant, actually." The dudes response? "Well, you're wearing a maternity top." NO WAY, dude. I'm wearing a dress with a high waist. Kathy jumps in then and says something about it being the style and I make myself look busy. The guy makes another comment about how the TOP made me look like I was pregnant and walked off, without APOLOGIZING or TIPPING ME. Seriously. Worst man in Albuquerque.

We can be happy.

There's a kid, he can't be older than 13, who skateboards in front of my house. He's pretty new to it; he just sort of scoots around and tries to ollie off the curb. He never stays longer than half an hour. But dudes, it takes every ounce of my being to not go out there and be all, "Hey. Want some water? A cookie? How long you been skating? Have you seen Yeah, Right? Wanna be my friend?"

Lots more to talk about, but that's about all that matters right now.

Tramps Like Us.

I remember winding through the canyon with my mom when I was a little girl, listening to Born to Run. Mom is, of course, from New Jersey which makes her a huge Springsteen fan, just by default. But, she also had the experience of leaving New Jersey, something Bruce sings about. Just a little bit.

Anyway, Mom couldn't be prouder that I'll be spending Good Friday with 20,000 Springsteen fans in Denver. Every time I tell her I'm going out of town for some sort of concert, she just sort of smiles and says, "That sounds like fun. Make sure you're safe". But when I told her about this trip, she got a little bit silly-happy on me.

I'm a bit silly-happy about it too.

So, I leave for Denver tomorrow, see Bruce on Friday, come back home on Saturday, drive to Oklahoma City with my desk on Monday, drive back through Pampa on Wednesday and hang out with Grandma til Friday. This is what you do when you're unemployed.

While I'm gone, please to enjoy a Japanese TV host grabbing Wolverine's package.

Wall and Piece.

Gross, head cold. brb, poping my ears for the 5billionth time.

It's interesting the things you collect. I keep finding little trinkets in my room and knowing I saved it at some point for a purpose and now I cannot remember why. I get scared about throwing things away. Who knows, maybe in two years I'll remember why I saved that piece of paper. But, I really am trying to make an honest effort to get rid of things. It's acceptable to hang onto college notebooks and textbooks, right? Especially if you're planning on going back to school?

So far, the bookshelf and desk are packed and ready for their new home. And I still have 23 days to vacate. 3 WEEKS? Scary! Thinking about moving makes my heart beat fast, like a new crush. I'm really nervous about it, really scared about it, but excited at the same time.

Speaking of leaving, my boyfriend's totally one-uping me and going to Argentina for a year. He leaves in August. When he got his official acceptance letter from the University he's going to, Palermo, I got a little weepy, but mostly I'm just super excited (and jealous) for him.

I took a mini-drive last night; up Paseo all the way to Taylor Ranch, down Montano to Coors, Coors to I-40 and back home. It was one of those drives where everything looked really clear. If that makes any sense.