Days turning into nights.

Selections from the Cat Vanderpool American Gothic series on outdoor furniture:


Chelsey and myself celebrating the splendors of moving: the Pier One discount section, new coffee makers and tea pots.


Me and Momma celebrating her 24th Mothers day as my Momma (25 if you count the one in utero. In case, you have not formally met the giant orangutan, her name is Suzanne. YES, obvious Kevin Smith reference, but this is taken from Mallrats, not Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. She dates back to the Hallmark year and is the largest, single purchase I made the entire time I worked there. Her and Russell Stover jelly beans (be still, my beating heart!).

I've lost my voice again. My Dad's convinced the El Rey has given me some sort of mold, which I don't entirely rule out, seeing as I don't seem to get sick until I work there for a night. I'm presuming it's allergies; it has to be by this point. I've been sick for the better part of two months. Definitely some unique symptoms, though. I'm considering going to a free clinic in the next few days just to make sure, you know, Swine Flu hasn't mutated with Haunta Virus and created Haunta Swine. (NAME YOUR BAND RIGHT NOW.)

MOLD:

Yeah, the Rey's got some of that.

You know what else had some of that? The house on Princeton after the roof collapsed. Man, I really loved that house. But post-roof collapse, I got in the habit of sleeping with a blanket over my nose and mouth (something I still do) just because I was so scared about what I might have been breathing in. And now that I look back on it, it really is a miracle me and Kenneth didn' get some kind of bizarre disease. OR MAYBE WE DID and it's just been dormant all this time. In my lungs, hanging out, waiting for the perfect time to strike.

Point is, contemplating lung-mold is much better than job hunting.

I left Oklahoma and the sun was out. I went back to Albuquerque, watched Flood the Sun release a CD and kick off a tour, did some minor car repairs to my stupid-crap battery, worked a shift at the Rey (O'Niell's staff came in and they were awesomely generous tippers. Thanks for remembering me, ladiez!) and bought my mom a McFlurry. 48 hours later, I come back and we're back to low clouds and thunderstorms forecasted for the next week. Unbelievable. It does keep things cool, though. It's not that I mind the weather, I always loved rainy Raton summers. It's just that I'm completely not used to it. Humidity is a beast this desert gal is not yet prepared for. I'm glad I have a temperate May to transition me into the muggy summer.


Lake Hefner is a 2580 acre impoundment completed in 1947 and operated by Oklahoma City. Water is bought into the lake from the North Canadian River and from the Canton Reservoir in Blaine County.

It is also a mile and a half from condo. Hello hello, summer.

In my world, they do.

Classic Big Head Bedard!

Interweb, welcome Landon Leclerc into this bold world. My cousin Mike and his wife Kristen who live in North Carolina became parents on Sunday, making this great-grandchild number 2 for Grandpa Emile. Us Bedard's don't have babies too often (at least babies in America) so it's pretty exciting. And cheers to the new parents, new grandma Colette, Grandpa John and new Auntie Gina (who will spoil that child rotten. ROTTEN!) Only the best for our expanding family.

I went to Raton yesterday, hoping that talking with former bosses and former teachers would give me some kind of career insight. I didn't get too much, but I sure had fun. I learned at APD had an unofficial rule in the 70's where if you went on a domestic violence call and if after 10 minutes, you wanted to slap the lady too, the guy got away with it. Visits to Raton are nothing if not educational.

But it was great to sit down and drive/listen to music for 6 hours yesterday, especially after standing up all weekend. Last week drained my soul, I'm hoping this week will be better. But, I'm working the exact same amount, so I sort of doubt it. YAWN.

However, after today, I only have 20 days of work left at the job I can't blog about. Scary, right? Well, not that scary. I'll get paid til January. No, really.

The way it looks outside today is exactly how it looked when I left Niagara Falls for Quebec. This blows my mind.

Gas at the Chevron on Candelaria and Edith is $2.77 a gallon.

Tenderness on the Block.

Super excited when I discovered this at work today. I'm not the biggest gamer, in fact most video games intimidate the hell out of me. But, that one, I like. But the way it's set up where the "x" key is jump and the "z" key is fastness, I can barely function. It's like playing guitar left handed. I'm sure if I played more video games, it wouldn't be such a deal. Punishment in full force.

You what, Balloon Fiesta? You're pretty. Don't worry, no one disputes this. It's you're kind of magical in that cute, little way you're unique to New Mexico. But seriously, you impare drivers to no end. The ten days of the year you're around are the absolute worst. It shouldn't take me an hour to get to work in the morning. But, it does because of out-of-state drivers who gawk at you on the interstate, instead of paying attention to their driving, and cause wrecks. So, yeah, I'm really hoping you get rained out again this weekend. Because, guess what Texas? New Mexico loves nothing more than to take your money and produce zero in return.

Staying up late is not beneficial when working a 67 hour week. I sometimes wonder just how bad a Red Bull would be for me.

Chicas and a surprisingly good time!

As per tradition of any over 21er in the greater Albuquerque area, me and some friends took in the Wine Festival this Labor Day weekend. Maria terrified me with talk of lines being ridiculous, but I think we picked the day to go. Monday wasn't too hot, nor was it too, too crowded. I think the max I had to wait in line was 15 to 20 minutes. And considering free alcohol was being poured, that's amazing. I'm not even mad!


We took the Railrunner there and even though you'll be upset, that was the first time I'd taken it. But, it worked out well. We got there right when the train did so we ended up with seats together. For most of us.

But, really, it ended up being a fine time. A surprisingly good time! Le Chat Lunatique played at about 3:00 and it's no secret they're one of my favorites. We spent most of the day pleasantly buzzed and dodging Kyle Anaya's former lady. Covert operations are much better after wine. There was also really good jerky, really good corn, and really good wine. At a wine festival? Good wine?!? No!

I don't know much about wine. In fact, I don't know a thing. But, I learned a bit. I discovered I'm not the biggest fan of wines that taste like Sprite, but I don't like wines that taste super dry. I guess I like tart wines? I probably got the most excited about this one if only for its name. Unfortunately half my glass of it was spilled on me when drunk bro (Daaaaaaaaaave) crashed into me. I was sticky for most of the day. So it goes.

This is Marky wishing he had wine:

This is Maria having wine:

This is Kyle (Willis) and Maria wishing there was a wine cannon somewhere:

This is Kyle (Willis) and Marky pretending to hold up an extremely large mammory (I don't remember why, I just remember it being extremely funny... It was on the train ride home):

This is Kyle (Willis) helping Maria exfoliate:


And this is my favorite:


Moral of the story: Wine festivals are fun. But I think I'll stick to beer.

Oh, here it goes again.

About this whole Club 7 nonsense... Trust me, I hate that place more than anyone else in the world. I work downtown and trying to leave downtown while there's a naked rave happening down the block is really annoying. Pre-raid, the El Rey staff liked to call out the "ho-trains" of underage girls as they walked to Club 7. In fact, when I read that police found that people had been stripping off their clothes in the club the night it was raided, I said, "What clothes? No one who went there even wore clothes." Seriously, matching bra and panty sets covering the Ho-Trains. Nuisance they may be, I knew as soon as the raid happened, it meant trouble.

From the Journal on Saturday: "City officials filed a request Friday that, if granted, would shutter Downtown's Club 7 permanently and put its owner out of business. But the request, which calls for an end to all mixed-ages clubs where alcohol is served, could also mean trouble for clubs like the Launchpad and El Rey."

OH GOOD. Remember this rodeo?

The city's complaint comes in response to a raid last week of Club 7, where investigators say they found a laundry list of drugs, including Ecstasy and heroin. Police say they found the club crowded to nearly double its legal capacity, and that 90 percent of the patrons were between 13 and 18. Police have described the club as a "predatory environment" where older men consumed alcohol and then mingled freely with underage girls who were often scantily clad.

In the three-part complaint, the city described all underage events as a nuisance if minors socialize with adults who have been served liquor.

Joe Anderson, owner of the Launchpad, said the mayor's stance unfairly paints all mixed-ages clubs with the same brush. "In going after that venue, they've decided to blanket everyone who does the same type of thing, which, of course, is unfair," he said.

The Launchpad is a Downtown club that mainly features live music, allows underage patrons and has a separate beer garden for legal drinkers. Anderson said his club has never been cited, adding that he shouldn't be punished for someone else's actions. "We have an exemplary record and probably run a much safer business than a lot of regular bars," Anderson said.

Mayor Martin Chavez acknowledged at Friday's news conference that there is a distinction between a place like the Launchpad and Club 7, but said that would not deter him from pressing for an ordinance banning such venues. Chavez said the ordinance would be written to exclude venues like Isotopes Park.

The state's Licensing and Regulation Department doesn't keep a list of mixed-ages venues, but spokeswoman Teala Kail said that, in addition to Club 7 and Launchpad, the mayor's proposal would likely affect El Rey Theater, Sunshine Theater and Fantasia Night Club.

Club 7 is closed because of code violations and could reopen as soon as the building is back up to code. The mayor's Friday request, if granted, would keep it closed for good and would prevent owner Aleksandr Mkhitarian from opening a similar club anywhere in Albuquerque.

Now, normally defeatist Cat would want to climb under a rock, cry and sob. But, here's a shot at being optimistic. Here's how the city of Albuquerque can fix its problems downtown.

Instead of focusing on shutting Club 7 down, focus on how to create safe, all ages-friendly environments that teens actually want to go to. Let's dive into WHY places like Club 7 exist, WHY there's a market for them. That's the root of the people, my dear Mayor.

So, like, how does that happen? How do you make all ages spaces safe, friendly and successful? Let's examine a little place I like to call Warehouse 21.

Now, I hate Santa Fe. I may blog about that later, but believe me, I hate Santa Fe. But, Warehouse 21 is by far, the best part of that place. "Since 1997, Warehouse 21 has served thousands of our city’s youth (aged 12-21) and young adults (aged 20-30) in the performing, media and visual arts. W21 has consistently supported youth employment throughout its existence and has partnered and developed community service programs with schools and court systems. The unique approach of Warehouse 21 fosters a particular type of creative energy that is exemplified through project-based learning models, youth access to artistic resources and instruction, and a practical “do-it-yourself” ethic that fosters artistic independence and entrepreneurialism." Every city in the world needs at least one Warehouse 21. And Albuquerque don't got it. While the city's cover of a funded-all ages venue is really cute and all, clearly, it's not opening any time soon. (But they do have enough block parties to last a lifetime.) Get serious about it, already.

The only reason Warehouse 21 has been even moderately successful is because of its a) non profit status, thus b) acquisition of state/city/federal funding. And why is that? Why is it so expensive to run a venue?

So, let's talk about artist guarantees. And let's talk about how ungodly high they are. Really. You have no idea. Let's take a pretty basic all ages show, like the Mad Caddies. Homeboys have a $8,000 guarantee for each performance they do. Not to mention, they've got a contract that pretty much guarantees anything he could ever want, also known as $200 in groceries and $100 in booze. If they play a two hour set, they get paid $4,000 an hour. UMM.

And why is that so high? Oh, probably because live music is the only way an artist can make any money nowadays, thanks to the internet and corporate record labels. But, oh, don't you worry, soon, that'll be a thing of the past, too. In fact, the independent venue will soon be a thing of the past, thanks to how ridiculous it is to pay an artist. And not that I blame them, they got bookies to pay, baby mamas to keep quiet. But really, there's nothing wrong with wanting to get paid for hard work.

But, how do venues pay for this? Let's say I charge $20 a ticket, which is actually really high for a Caddies show, and 300 people show up. That's also pretty high. That's $6,000. I'm still two grand short. And, OH WAIT. I have to pay my staff, my sound, my property taxes, my utilities, advertising, the list goes on and on. A supposed $8,000 event will end up costing you $15,000. Easy. And unfortunately, money does not fall like rain from the El Rey's roof. How does one pay for this?

If you said alcohol, gee you're a smart one. (Or you've been subject to one of Cat's at least 45 minute rants on the subject, which are normally sponsored by, you guessed it, alcohol!) Oh, sweet, sweet drunky nectar, you and Quinceañeras are the only reason my precious El Rey stays afloat.

So, dear city, if you're really interested in having events that kids want to go to, I'd suggest you get ready to fork out about $40,000 a week or let the private sector take care of it. (But something tells me you actually have no interest in this city's underage population, minus a skatepark or two. And why would they? Who votes?)

Now, as for places like Club 7, which specialize in Ho-Trains and cheap narcotics, I'd suggest revoking that magical piece of paper called a LIQUOR LICENSE. But, you see, it's actually in the city's best interest to keep that liquor license in the hands of irresponsible tards like Mkhitarian (which is, quite possibly, the best last name I have ever heard. It stirs up visions of Viggo in bathhouses...). KOAT said that Mkhivegetarian's liquor license has 51 violations on it. FIFTY ONE. Are you kidding me? Want to know how many times the El Rey's been cited for alcohol violation since I've worked there? Once. Some drunk dude stumbled out the back door with a beer and security didn't catch him in time. And there just happened to be a SID officer in the alley. The Launchpad? I think they've been cited twice in the last 5 years. And I think both of them were fake ID issues.

So, what happens when you get cited for something like that? It depends on the offense, be it over serving, serving a minor, unsupervised premise, etc. But, you can normally count on at least a $3,000 fine. Correct. The state takes alcohol law very seriously. So, how much money does the state make off a place like Club 7 where flavored vodka seems to stream into the mouths of underagers? 51 citations at $3,000 a piece, that's $153,000. Hey! That's the operating budget of a great all ages club for a month! SWEET!

Now, I would never, EVER suggest that the city or the state would keep open a crappy venue for the sake of profit. Nope, wouldn't do that. I mean, clearly. The city was on top of this Club 7 thing. 51 citations, multiple deaths, 11 calls to APD, they were doing their job, obviously. Keeping places like that open is SUCH a great idea. There's no way the city let that one ride for as long as they possibly could. Not a chance!

Places like Club 7 need a major overhaul. For one, they need a freaking dress code. There's a simple solution. "ohai, underage gymnast, can you keep your top on? tnx." That might cut down on the sleezeballs attempting to catch a free glimpse. Also, maybe try enforcing serving limits. That might work. Or maybe hire security to do their freaking job searching people. And, why you're at it APD, why dontcha wander down a block or two, away from the LEGAL Ho-Trains to our neck of the woods? APD has no problem having a cop at Denny's for the post-bar crowd, or at Frontier when it was open. Drunkies mix with underagers there. Just some ideas.

But, here's the most ridiculous, unbelievable, unreachable idea in the whole world. IT'S CALLED PARENTING.

Don't want your daughter in an Ecstasy-driven Ho-Train? Sweet! Don't let her dress for the Ho-Train or do Ecstasy. I know teens are tricky. It's better that my parents didn't know how many things I set on fire in high school. But, they were pretty involved in my life, they took an active interest in what I did. Therefore, no Ho-Train for me.

Just take care of your kids. I've talked to dozens of parents who have called the El Rey before Ska Prom or other all ages shows who are worried about their kids having access to illegal goodies. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't take much more than a phone call to Club 7 to find out what kind of a establishment they were. Because I'm sure Mickeyhitarian isn't the most friendly dude.

But, like I said, as soon as I saw 300 underagers with their hands on their heads in the street last weekend, I knew this was all going to end badly. So, here us decent businesses are, being threatened by the city with no just cause. Not to mention, this is TOTALLY the best year EVER for businesses on the 600th block of Central. It's just a possibility that the El Rey and the Launchpad's respective legal teams are just a tad busy right now (I HAVE NO IDEA WITH WHAT.). So, this great completely law-breaking sanction couldn't come at the better time.

Oh yeah, that's right. It breaks the law. Let me tell you a story about pain-in-the-ass alcohol laws that haven't been changed since Prohibition. An alcohol license is exactly the same for any business that wants one. The El Rey's liquor license is exactly the same as the license Isotopes Park has, or that Chili's has. (Actually, the El Rey's is a little different because we have a package license like what 7-11 or Smiths has. It's like Super-License!) So, by the city singling out specific businesses where minors are in the same space as alcohol, it's illegal. If they want to pass this ruling, and be legal about it, that has to mean that no, in fact you cannot have a $9 margarita while your children eat their chicken strips at Applebees. No, you cannot have a good ol' beer with your baseball. Nope, nope, nope.

And you know, the city and state are great at being legal. Because, it's not like if they stopped serving beer at Journal Pavilion, which has 200 citations on their record, they wouldn't loose $600,000. No. I wouldn't even dream of that.

SO. Long story short, hear's what needs to happen:

1. Got a bad track record? Don't wait till it's too late. Monitor places with high citation rates.
2. Fund a good, a really good, all ages space. And get ready to pay through the teeth for it. If you're not, let the good guys do a good job.
3. Parent. I know, I know, it's hard. Just try to work it out. It's amazing the way music venues actually aren't baby sitting services.
4. Please. Overhaul alcohol laws. They desperately need them. And hey, if you did, you'd be able shut down dens of sex and horror like the Launchpad, without compromising your profits, I mean endeavours, at the Pavilion.

Any questions? I'd call or write to your mayor and your governor:

Mayor Martin Chavez (I'M THE MAYOR.)
PO Box 1293
Albuquerque, NM 87103
(505) 768-3000
mayor@cabq.gov

Gov. Bill Richardson
490 Old Santa Fe Trail
Room 400
Santa Fe, NM 87501
(505) 476-2200

Attorney General Gary King
111 Lomas NW, Ste 300
Albuquerque, NM 87102
(505) 222-9000

16 pounds of boost.

Summerfest is a giant quince. But with crackheads. Who dance suggestively. When one of those crackheads tried to hip-thrust at me, my boyfriend put his El Rey security experience into good use and puffed up like a blow fish. Kyle puffing up is about the cutest thing ever.

In other boyfriend-related news, he played his first show with Flood the Sun on Friday. And while he sort of throws off the height average of the band (he does that with everything, though), I think he's sort of in love with that band. They're sort of in love with him too.

The department of Cinematic Arts at UNM sent out a letter asking for information on what their graduates are doing with their degree. While I think most of my fellow graduates get to talk about movie productions and taking Harrison Ford coffee, I get to be all, "I drove to Canada. And I hate my job." No, it'll be much more than that. I think I've conquered a lot post-UNM. I'm still shocked and awed by how much I do use (or don't use) that confounded degree. But, I do love that I graduated from such a small department. It's nice to feel like all those professors do actually care about my brain.

Which, speaking of, I think my brain is frozen. Blogging is pulling teeth. I might take a break. I have been writing a lot of other things, though. Dare I say it, I might, just MIGHT, complete a dang novel. More typing than anything I'm too proud of, but that's what rough drafts are for.

Operation Desert Storm.

ohai, Dolly!

Hai!


Plan for the day: Enjoy a tasty bowl of soup then storm-romp. And romp, I shall. FEMA recently redrafted a bunch of flood-planes in NM, especially in Rio Rancho. So, it'll be a lot of interesting to see what happens today. Seek higher ground, desert. For pretty much the first time ever.

I applied for a job that would require me to talk about storms a lot. I think I'm one of about 5 people in the world who would actually be excited to do that.

I can only imagine.

Nader Watch OH EIGHT!

It's dumb how excited I was yesterday over this. I've always been fascinated to death by tornadoes, storm cellars, disaster and devastation. Really, how could not be awesome if a giant twister took out downtown Albuquerque? REALLY.

No, but it was pretty awesome. Did anyone see how big and puffy the clouds were? I told Mattlahoma I was going to go straight home and sit in the center part of my house with a flashlight and jug of water. I didn't do that. I went to Chili's instead. But seeing as Albuquerque was spared in this horrific, devastating storm, my decision was just fine.

Memorial Day weekend was great. I completely monopolized Chas's visit to the southwest, stealing him Friday night, Saturday morning AND Sunday night. You're all jealous!


Emily threw a barbecue shindig on Friday night, which almost didn't have barbecue because it took about an hour to get the grill working. We ended up putting charcoal in a gas grill and using hairspray as a sub for lighter fluid. How does that work out? Well, I'm typing, aren't I?

The image above is from one of the finest Sarebear/Booters dance party performances I've witnessed in a while. They'd do anything for love.

I grossly underestimated Albuquerque's love for Iron Maiden. Chas and I showed up to the Pavilion at about 8 on Sunday, only to discover lawn seating was sold out.


So we watched the show from here.


Wasn't nearly as bad as it looks. It was like we were on the suburbs of the Iron Maiden show, a small microcosm of a larger event. We even had some drunk guy pass out in front of us.

But, by far the highlight of the event was our sneaky alcohol consumption, which involved putting Miller High Life tall boy cans inside large drink cups and drinking them through a straw. GENIUS. BY THE WAY, I do endorse or support drinking on public lands. It is ILLEGAL. But, $8 for a Bud Light inside the Pavilion makes risking a felony so worth it.


Monday, Jennifah and I headed out to the Petrogylphs, some place I haven't been since I was tiny. But I had a great time. A windy, great time. Visiting the petrogylphs is only a dollar per car on weekdays, $2 on weekends, so it's a bargain. It's fun to have such awesome pockets of solitude in the middle of urban sprawl, even though the sprawl is coming closer and closer everyday. Go enjoy it while you can.

3 day weekends make 4 day workweeks even harder, for some reason. I'm battling through it, but geez, am I tired. It helped that we won Geeks Who Drink last night.

I'm in search of a new series to fall in love with post-Six Feet Under. Canivale anyone? I'm at a loss.

Tacos.

I spent the last few days house sitting in the south north valley (if that makes any sense) caring for a gaggle of canines. Such a good thing for me, I miss my dog so much that any kind of dog interaction turns me cheerful.


This is Cedric. I re-named him Captain Bighead.

I love that part of town so, so much. Something about the dirt, maybe. It's much finer than in the rest of the city. And all those old houses with their miss-matched rooms. People hang out on their porches. I heard a quince happening a few blocks away. Truthfully, it's pretty much the hardest place in ABQ to find a house because no one sells them there. They stay in the families for as long as possible.

I think I just love Albuquerque so much in general. But town, you're hurting my feelings. You know that, don't you? If I ever work up the courage to leave and get to Oklahoma, I guarantee I'll find the one Mexican neighborhood in the state and live there.


Probably my new, favorite part of working downtown is that they've started turning on the fountain in Civic Plaza. So, I can sit, enjoy my lunch, and watch water run down cement. My boyfriend comes to visit me for lunch a lot, since I don't see him much any other time. His school schedule is pretty much the opposite of my work schedule.

I've decided I want this:

And am now saving for it feverishly.

It's been a while since I've done this. But here's one of those flyer things.

I'll cut my legs off!

My current favorite quotes have been, "Someday you'll be in a bath house" and "one of these days, Daniel Day Lewis is gonna have a bowling pin." I got the fine privilege of watching the Oscars using bunny ears last night, so everyone looked a little jumpy. But, I still have to give props to Helen Mirren and Steve Carell's potty mouths, Bourne freakin nailin it, and of course, the movie directed by the Jews about the true ethical battle of good vs. evil that just happened to be mostly be filmed in New Mexico. Between that and There Will Be Blood's cinematography win, it's official. New Mexico's the place you come when you want to make films about deranged men. It's purdy, que no?

Sadly, I didn't enjoy too much of it, nor am I enjoying this morning at all. You know that fantastic feeling of your brain being completely coated in mucus? Welcome to my head. If this is the demon head cold Kathy contracted, I'll be under for about a week. Please no. I gots the rents to pay. It really only started kicking up into full steam last night, right around the time Kyle back from Arizona. And sadly, here I sit at work, waiting for the Ameripride guy to leave and Kathy to get here, so I can retreat back to bed. Whimper.

Finding a job is lame, by the way. I guess it's my own lame fault for trying to stay in entertainment. I'm good at what I do, someone please hire me.

Toby Keith loves his bar & grill.

Back talk!

The scene is afternoon, somewhere near Wyoming and Menual in the great city of Albuquerque. 2 friends, Cat and Jennifer, are sitting on a porch couch, enjoying a nice day, while 2 other friends, Kyle and Kenneth are doing some basic car repairs on Cat's 2001 Toyota Tacoma. The truck is in desperate need of body work. Jennifer's husband Ben is inside, watching a football game.

Cat: "I'm worried that headlight's going to be too low, no matter what we do."
Jennifer: "You should stick a potato under it. That would help."
Cat: "And smell really good after a while."
Pause.
Cat: "I wonder what we could stick under there that would hold it up."
Pause.
Cat: "Kenneth! Could we stick something under the headlight to hold it up?"
Kenneth: "Umm, I guess. Maybe. Like what?"
Jennifer: "Maybe a tennis ball?"
Cat: "Umm, that might work."
Jennifer: "Benji! Didn't we steal a tennis ball from the tennis courts the other day? Where is it?"


Body Work 101: Be Creative.

Current Talk!


Biggie

I went to Bricktown last night, which is OKC's downtown. I went to see the purdy lights in the botanical gardens, but it ended up being the Christmas Tree lighting fiesta. Me and Tyler got free Starbucks out of the deal. I had a good night of exploring OKC's version of downtown revitalization. Now, if people would only go there. It might have been the night, but it was deader than Albuquerque's downtown on a weeknight. I didn't mind too much. What sober person wants to be run over by drunkies?

Speaking of drunkies...



Tyler took me to a bar called Tapwerks, at which I will be immediately applying if I ever move to Oklahoma. Over 100 bears on tap, 150 in bottles. Also in a nice, historic building. Hellllo. But, they also had "trays" of beer, which had 4 5oz glasses of different bear. Pictured above is the mystery tray! G-Dub, are you taking notes?

Weather depending, I'm truckin to St. Louis tomorrow. I'm a little nervous, as this is the real, official kick off into the unknown. But, I'm more excited about all the state lines I'll be crossing the next few days. 5, count em!

Drunkington.

Okay. I leave Sunday. Probably. Don't ask. Just expect blog posts from different cities. Sometime.

The point is...





It's getting colder.

All my life, I've had no manifest destiny, no desire to go west. Everyone wants to go to California, not this lady. And when I do finally go to California, bad things seem to happen. I've always felt the pull of the east. Tall cities, every museum I could ever want, the best public transportation in the worls, dozens of languages, constant beanie weather, steam rising from sewer caps, people who can't say their "r's", that's my place.

My mom was born in Harlem. She lived in New Jersey until 1978, when she came to Albuquerque with the lot of New Yorkers who bought land in Rio Rancho. Her dad had the same job as a super at the famed El Dorado condos across the street from Central Park. He's never had a drivers license or owned a car. He still lives in the same house in Little Ferry New Jersey, which he bought for $20,000 in 1953. It's now valued at $400,000. There's a bus stop 2 blocks from his house that will take me to Port Authority in half an hour. And from there, New York City. Don't even get me started.

And Quebec is family. It'll be like being in Northern New Mexico again, except I'll actually be related to people this time. I guess I'll be in Quebec City for it's 400th aniversary as a city, which means it'll be one big, giant party. But I'll spend most of my time in the smaller towns, getting to know my gene pool, something I've never done and something I'm fantastically excited about.

Can you read my excitement?

Anyway, here's a few photos.


This costume resulted in a major national protest against OUR Spirit store from catholics. We got calls from as far away as Missouri. Funny stuff.


Jennifer got married. I took pictures at her wedding. Sadly, most of them were of sneaking shots before the ceremony. And those don't live on my camera. But it was an awesome day. And I hate weddings.


The people at Putt Putt are really nice about you climbing on the animals if you ask first.


Alcohol consumption at Golden West after hours resulted in this photo, as well as my bruised tail bone from a spill I took off the ultility cart at about 15 mpa. That's fast for a utility cart. It hurts to sit.

Child porn.

Hello blog. Hello fancy internet machine. Once upon a time, there lived a girl who could not survive with an electronic community. That girl seems to have perished.

I really wanted this here page to serve as a fantastic record of Cat’s post-academia life so I get upset at myself when I don’t keep up.


Sparing all loyal readers from MEGABLOG, here’s a list of 11 things I’ve done since I last posted.

1. Received a fantastic new sweater as a reward for my participation in OPERATION GRANDMA WATCH 2007. She got it for me from Le Gap. My current financial situation still has me terrified of officially removing the tags. Juuuust in case.
2. Hung out with gentleman and dog in Buick. Fantastic way to travel, even if it’s only a few blocks.
3. Went to the State Fair.
4. Twice.
5. Saw Eastern Promises. Oh, Cronenberg. As Yahoo said, "We’re starting to get a bit worried about how easily Viggo Mortensen can be such a scary fu*ker."
6. Celebrated 2 years of a happy relationship.
7. New hair. Thank you, Miss Stone.
8. Spent $413 on new shoes for my truck. They’re Pirellis, so I have dubbed them my Italian Racing Tires. Vroomvroom.
9. Bartended. Thank you, smoking ban. I no longer come home smelling like cigarettes and beer. It’s just beer now. Oddly enough, I think I’ve completely lost my taste for drinking.
10. Worked, intensely, on my photography portfolio.
11. Was able to check off The Weakerthans from my ever expanding list of bands I want to see live.

All items are worthy of their own separate blog. However, I think that only the Fair will get one. Photo uploading was prohibited because of slow bandwith. Someday.

Mi vida loca.

It was pretty much the most eventful night of my night last night.

1. I ended up working security at the bar because one of our security guards showed up to work 2 hours late and completely hammered. Thank you.

2. We had a wedding at the El Rey, at which one of the groomsmen got so smashed that it took two security guards, all the other groomsman, and the groom to drag him outside, kicking and punching the whole way.

3. A very short and extremely androgynous girl got wasted at the bar. It took two equally short and androgynous friends of hers to carry her outside.

4. Some poor kid, who I'm assuming was at the 12 Step Rebels show at the L-Pad, got all four of his tires slashed outside on 7th street.

5. I get a text from Scott as we're closing up the bar saying, "You might appreciate this one, Cat. I just got into a fight at the Village Inn parking lot, and now my face is bleeding. Isn't this the best night ever?" Apparently, 3 dudes just decided that Scott was "in their way" and that his face needed to be planted in a car window. All of us at the bar were so frustrated and dilerious that we were ready to head down to the Village Inn and destory, but I guess the cops were inside and handled things.

To recover, today I ate Indian food for lunch, took a 3 hour nap, then ate Cracker Barrel for dinner. Right now, I'm watching Kenneth's gnome ride a mechinal chicken. Tomorrow, I'm adventuring to the Social Security office for the new card (what disaster!) and Tuesday I'm going to Tucumcari/Pampa to help my dad finish moving. Getting out of town, even if it's just to Tucumcari, sounds lovely.

Ivana's got some expenive knickers.

Today is the first time in 6 days I've checked my email. I'm proud of myself! Fighting internet addiction is a hard, hard battle, as there are just SO MANY excuses to give yourself for using the net. Really, there's this fantastic wealth of information and knowledge, just waiting for me! But, it's no secret, I spend most of the time I could be bettering myself on myspace.

I'm probably about to join the ranks of the mall employee. I've been quite the hermit lately, I'm almost excited about some intense human contact (even though, yes, I know, that'll wear off in about 3 minutes after I start working). Also, let's all hope that the Vans store DOESN'T hire me. Because if it does, I'll spend about 5 million dollars there. Shoes.

Still no set date for departure. At this point, Labor Day-ish? The good news I started my application for the Peace Corps. I'm setting aside Tuesday to finish it. Tomorrow is all about applying for other jobs and cleanign out my truck. Baby steps. Today, I spent recovering from the show, sleeping in til 2:30 (impressive!). Then, I took Kyle to Lucky Paws and tried to make him buy a puppy. He distracted me by buying me dinner at Buca di Beppos.

Dolphin calling.

First off, I LOVE VICTORIA BECKHAM.



She's probably the most fabulous person in the world, married to the prettiest man in the world, and manages to not really really take herself seriously at all. After watching the Coming to America special, yes, I would love to be her personal assistant. And her best friend, really.



MAJOR!

In other news, I decided that the reason I wrecked my truck was so I could go to Jimmy Eat World. That experience was, by far, one of the best concerts of my life, something I did not see coming.

I’ve seen Jimmy Eat World a few times, and I’ve never really been too impressed. However, both times were in arena settings and perhaps they’re better enjoyed in a more intimate environment. And for the first time EVER, I was okay with how it sounded in the Sunshine. That’s a hard room to sound and I understand that, but geez, it normally blows. I guess JEW’s sound crew spent a while sound checking.

When they first came out, one of the things Jim Adkins said was that they’d been a “rock band” on tour for some time now and they wanted to do something different. So, they placed such precious jewels like “A Sunday”, an acoustic version of “Claire” that had me near tears, “My Sundown”, my personal favorite “Disintegration” and they closed with “Hear You Me”. Honestly, a lot of people were pissed about it, because they played nothing really fast or poppy. People were literally yelling at them. But, they didn’t care. And good for them! I think it was the kind of experience you really had to work to appreciate, if you’ve only followed the band via the radio, as pretentious as that makes me sound.

During “23”, all these people started clearing room for this couple to slow dance. It was kinda ridiculous and it really kinda made me upset. It was hot enough on the floor and no one needed to be anymore cramped. In fact, I remember making the comment “This is not freaking prom” to one of the people holding the barrier (which I feel really bad about now…). Then, the guy dancing gets down on one knee and asks the girl to marry him. I kinda hated it, but moreso just because of how precious it was.

I left the concert with a singing heart. LaLaLa!

And I could not have asked for a better concert buddy than Casey. We had ourselves a grand ol’ time, despite “that guy”, the one drunk asshole at the show that Casey almost punched in the face. He deserved it.

I guess the real important news is that I have a functioning car again! ZOMG! The bodywork’s not perfect and it kinda looks like my truck’s a little retawded, but more importantly, it runs and it runs well. However, I am stuck here for a little while longer working back the money I spent on a new radiator. PLEASE. Someone employ me.

I spent most of my weekend preparing for the big ol Burlesque show that’s happening on July 28th and visiting my mom, since she hasn’t gotten to see me in a while.

They put Yen in a handbag.

Still stuck. Dear old truck is sitting at Casa Chervolet, waiting for the car whisperer to install a new radiator. It won't be long.

I'm debating the option of getting a second job before I leave, as random hours at the Golden West just won't cut it. However, most of the work I could get would involve mall retail, and might not even be worth it for just a few weeks. Sooo, I don't knooow.

Right now, I'm feeling pretty stagnant. But, I will be in town for a few very good things, including a BN show and a Jimmy Eat World concert. I've been giving pretty serious thought to joining the Peace Corps, just to feel like I have some kind of purpose til I'm 24 and can get to graduate school. It seems all pretty appealing right now.

I spent a rather interesting night with Paul and Sara, watching him create the most intense balloon designs I have ever seen.

I got an alien hat.


Then, we took to the lawn for playing around with light sticks and such.




But, the best part of my week was Kenneth making a helmet for my bear.

Just in case I decide to wreck again.

I got my diploma in the mail today, which means everything cleared and I'm officially a graduate of UNM. Well, that's exciting! Kyle bought me seafood to celebrate.

Man, freaking red lights.

In grand tradition of the land of Entrapment, I got stuck here. I'm sure, partially, because I said I was allowing for any kind of unexpectedness, the very unexpected happened yesterday, as I rear ended some lady from Oklahoma.

For the most part, it appears the organs of my car are okay. It is driveable. I seem to be leaking a decent amount of coolent, so it might be a radiator issue, or just a coolent tank issue (PLEASE be the later). This is the second most important thing. As my parents say (everytime I eff up my car) "You're okay, that's the most important thing". And I'm fine. A little bit shocked, but physically, everything's a-okay. I'm not even sore. So, that tells you about how fast I was going. Comestically, oh, my truck's hurtin. But, that's really not THAT important. I mean, my like my truck and she's a classy dame, but she's getting older and I think she understands that it's okay to have a few little dings.

Kyle's dad just happens to be one of the best mechanics in the city. So, that's pretty convienent. Last week, my mom started hearing rattling when her car was in drive or reverse, so automatically, we assumed the transmission. I took for Kyle's dad to look at it, he drove it down the road and said, "That's wierd. It sounds like something's sitting on top of the exhaust system." WHO WOULD KNOW THAT!?! Especially after just driving it down the road. Turns out it was a dirt claud, thanks to my mom's AWESOME roads. But, the real point here is that he's been nicknamed the "car whisperer" and he'll be surveying the damage later today.

I kinda like the idea of just banging out the damage as good as I can and calling it good, since I really don't want to sell her anytime soon and Kenneth brought up the VERY good point of what happens if this happens again, as I'll be driving A LOT in places I don't know. I don't need to spend all this insurance deductable-money and time and hassle to just have to go through it again in a few months.

I guess I'll weigh all the options and see what makes sense. Either way, it's dollars that I was saving for Quebec. DID I MENTION I WAS LEAVING IN 9 FREAKING DAYS?!?! So, I'll be here for a while. I guess the good news is I'll be stepping into the BN show in July, doing a solo and filling in a spot for the finale. Nice, relaxing, performance time.

I'm trying to not get frustrated, trying to stay positive, look at all the options I have available to me. And I guess I should feel pretty lucky that I wasn't hurt and that it happened here, where I've got a fantastic network of people willing to help out. Kathy already offered me a car. I think she likes me.

But, still, this blows.

Female in LTR in search of California travel partner.

I'm currently sitting outside the UNM Sub, on this delightful Friday night, appreciating that my UNM account still lets me have internet time. I don't know if this makes me supremely dorky of supremely awesome.

But first off, have some slices of New Mexico life.


I gave my boyfriend a hat during the mass exodus from the Princeton house, it was one of those hidden items from high school I had completely forgotten about. I think it was one of my dad’s old Rotary hats, or I bought it from a gas station for a quarter. Either way, I hated it the first time Kyle put it on, I thought it made his already giant head (not to be compared to Kenneth’s cereal bowl of a cranium) look even bigger. After a few days, he said, “I think it makes me look I’m in the Lawrence Arms.” Ever since he said that, I kinda love it. (Between the hat and the hair, I’d say it’s an accurate description).


Please forgive the caliber of the image (and the awesome pun), but I stayed the night at Ashley’s and in celebration, she broke out the tent for some indoor camping. We migrated out of the tent to play The Sims 2, where I created me and Kenneth to live in a house together. MySim fell in love with KennethSim (OF COURSE! We, and our signicant others, are the only people that doesn’t make sense to), but we had a huge falling out when MySim tried to bang KennethSim and he wanted nothing to do with it. IN FACT, KennethSim flirted with a pregnant AshleySim (you whore) right in front of me! It was grand.


There’s neon green ice cream at Coldstone now. Apparently, it’s “Green Apple Gummi Bear” or something like that. Angie was the only one bold enough to order it (she did eat a pickle stewed in Kool Aid, after all).

Hey, you know what I love? My bar.




I went to BN rehearsal on Saturday, where I got to see Danielle’s adorable new solo and the tape of Angela’s latest and greatest. During the downtime, me and Kate, for some reason, decided it would be omg so awesome to draw on Cari’s dog. Really, I just held down Buzz, Kate is responsible for artwork.




One of the perks of hanging out in Edgehillbillywood is hanging out with my cat, my precious, precious kitty. Meet Mohammed the Profit. The best story about Mohammed is when my dad bought him, almost 11 years ago, he thought, little cat, little tail, yeah that’s right. Not quite. Mohammed has a little nub for a tail, almost like it was ducted. He wags it when he’s happy.


I officially bought my truck from my mom. For a dollar, which I signed and dated. We went to Moriaty to get the title signed over, which was the biggest waste of my damn time. When we finally get to the window (keep in mind it’s 100+ degrees outside), she asks to see the title and my license.

“It says you live in Albuquerque, ma’am,” the clerk says (in the worst Moriaty accent you can imagine)

“Yeah, I was going to UNM. I live with my mom now.”

“Well, I can’t process this unless you have proof that you’re living in Edgewood.”

(Okay, where am I gonna get proof? I don’t have any bills, that’s kinda the point of this whole personal freedom thing.)

Then the lady says, “Or you can get an emissions certification and I can process it through Bernalillo country.”

“Wait a second. So, even though I just told you that I don’t live in Albuquerque, you’ll register my car there? Is that legal?”

This prompts the evilest glare ever, which wasn’t entirely uncalled for. “Well, that’s what would make the paper work match.” SWEET. You know what lady, there’s a reason everyone dreads coming to the DMV. I don’t think I’ve ever been like, “Weee! A trip to the DMV today! I hope they have lollipops!”(I guess I was when I got my license, but I don’t really remember.). You would think that when so many people are so upset about a significant branch of local government, something might be done to fix it. Nope. That would be logical.

But, as far as I’m concerned, I paid my dollar and I’m now the official owner of property! Gawd, what a ridiculous feeling. I’m actually really excited about it, which was a big part of why the DMV trip was so terrible.

North 14. Safety!


TACO BUENO, emmer effers.


So, I pretty much thought I was halcunating the other night while driving down San Mateo. What do I see on the west side of the street, but a Taco Bueno. Taco Bueno is a Mexican fast food chain that’s been around since the 60’s. They’re most popular in Texas and Oklahoma, hence why I was convinced that I had fallen asleep at the wheel and I was having a dream about being in Oklahoma again. It triggered a semi-massive freakout.

Bueno is like the tasty child of Bell and Cabana. The really good news you can be completely full on under $4! The bad news is the reason that happens is because it’s probably the most fattening food on the planet.

Last, but certainly not least, there’s a new member of my own personal dashboard confessional, courtesy of this very nice redheaded snowboarder in Washington.


MEGA-BLOG! And why not? I did have fun in Texas, remember?

New Mexico is treating me well. I’m looking to save up some more money before heading out again. I really wanted to do a California trip, but finances and time might cancel that. I might just be heading east, destination Quebec, which was kind of the ultimate goal in all of this. California’s not going anywhere, at least not in the next 20 years.

HOWEVER, California would be a lot cheaper if I have someone else to go with. SO, if you’re interested in dropping your whole life (and about $300 in gas) for about 6 weeks, let me know. My planned route would take me up Highway 1/101 (San Diego, LA, San Francisco) to Oregon (Portland) and finally to Washington (Seattle and Bellingham). On the way back, there’d be a whole lotta desert and Las Vegas. I’m excepting any and all applicants who think they could be in a car with me for about 4,000 miles. AND WHO COULDN’T? I’m looking to leave ASAP.

I am getting ridiculously stir-crazy. I might head up to Raton for a weekend, just for some fresh air. I am completely in love with having no responsibilities. I’ve been telling people that this is the first time in five years I haven’t been completely and totally stressed out. I’ve waken up by going swimming (and by swimming, I really mean water-playing, because I can’t really swim. I know, I’m not really proud of myself either) almost every day this week.

Sweetness.

Dirty little Saloons and Drag Queens.

Home is home. I've been spending about 90% of my time in Edgewood with my mom. I'm kind of feeling the pressure of constant hangout-ness. While the people I've seen over the past few days bring me nothing but comfort, I'm still missing a little bit of solitude. I miss just hanging out in my room, on the internet, and listening to music. OH. Those were the days.

I get a bit of that with my mom, as I do have "a room" there. But this room is piled high with boxes and bags, all my earthy possesions are split between that room and my boyfriend's closet. So, it's wierd, to sit on my actual bed, which is stacked on top of another bed, and just look at all your "stuff". Your life. In a box.

I'm currently perched atop the Golden West Saloon, watching a band load out. I've been doing some work here, playing catch-up on some office stuff. It's been okay, even the slightest hint of work sends anxiety up my spine. Oh, how I am enjoying my time off.

A big part of me feels like I never left. Well, I guess it wasn't that long. But, minus the whole carting my life around in a few bags thing, everything's about the same, I'm in my little Burque groove. Not bad, not good, just there and repetative. It's a little mudane, but in that, also comforting.

Tonight, I went to see Revolting Drag Queens at the Vortex. Burque peeps, if you find yourself with nothing to do on a weekend night, please, please, PLEASE go. It was the funnest theater experience I've had in a while. Safe to say, the ladies of The Dolls, have won my vote for the second best performance troupe in Albuquerque. :)

Sadly, all this climate change and lack of money has left my face pretty broken out. To the point of being painful. You know, acne's not supossed to last forever.

Hopefully, I head out for California after the 4th, if money allows. I'm excited to spend time by the ocean.