Crime Doesn't Pay

There are mornings that go smoothly. You hit little traffic, no one in the drive thru at Starbucks, your 9AM that you aren't ready for is cancelled, GREAT mornings!

That was yesterday! This is today. A morning that was f'd up from the start. It started with the timer on the coffee pot not going off at 6! When I finally stumbled downstairs to hit it manually, the filter plugged up and I ended up with coffee overflowing all over the kitchen. That's when I should have just gone back to bed. But no, I continue on to the Chatsworth Courthouse where I have to show proof of registration on my car! Yes, I got a fix it ticket about 5 months ago and today is the last day I have to take care of it. So the website says Courthouse opens at 8:30. I leave my house at 8:30 since I live across the street. I figure i'll get there when it opens so I won't have to wait in some ridiculously long line. HAHAHA! I get there and there is a sign on the door that says Courthouse opens at 8! Damn! Of course, at 8:35 the line is insane! I didn't have time to wait as I have a meeting at 10! But I wait....and wait....Blackberry with NO signal....45 freakin minutes. I finally get up to the window at 9:20 and i'm told I have a court appearance scheduled for 1:30!! WTF??? All I did was go online to extend the date of my ticket! Well, in doing that I scheduled a court appearance by mistake! Shit! Can't they just delete it, look at my registration and send me on my merry way? Of course not! If I don't keep the 1:30p appointment, there will be a bench warrant for my arrest! OMG!! I am now so upset I am ready to cry. The clerk calls a supervisor to tell me basically what she told me and while I wait another FIFTEEN minutes, I call my roommate to talk me off the ledge! If I would have had a gun ....well, lets just say I understand the term "going postal"! Tempers, frustration and weapons don't mix, that's why I won't come near anything that can do bodily harm to another! I also know the Superior Court isn't the place to go ballistic especially when no one I know can afford to bail me out of jail!

Finally the supervisor comes over and calmly explains what the clerk told me, I ask him if kicking and screaming would get me anywhere, and he said "only somewhere that requires handcuffs". I resisted the urge to make the comment that was at the forefront of my mind, the product of years of hanging out with musicians and chuckled. I knew when I was beat and thanked him! While outside calling my boss to tell her not only would I miss the meeting but had little hope of making it into the office at all, the supervisor came out and asked me to come with him! I was hoping he wasn't going to show me where handcuffs were required .....it is Chatsworth after all! Nope, nothing lewd! He was taking me down to the courtroom and in 10 minutes, had my ticket dismissed! I went upstairs, waited another 30 minutes to pay $10 and I was done!
Lessons learned during one of the most frustrating mornings in my recent memory: 1) Temper gets you NO where and 2) PAY REGISTRATION ON TIME!!!

It's noon! So far, I've been at work and there is no drama. I am going straight home from here, hug my dogs, watch Lost and wake up tomorrow, Friday, looking forward to a weekend at home! Yippee! Like this post? Please share it, bookmark it or leave a comment.

Damn You, Jon Bon Jovi!

The news spread like wildfire among my friends. Jon Bon Jovi states he isn't taking the band on the road this summer due to the economy! Crap! That means no trip to NY for me and the girls. No hours spent lost on the turnpike, no swearing at non english speaking front desk clerks who can't give us directions. No expensive air fare bought, no running up the credit card bill so high it takes me the two years between tours to pay it off!

It isn't the shows i'll miss. Those will be primarily the same shows I see here in my backyard (FOUR times this tour). Nope, it isn't drooling over Richie and laughing at Jon i'll miss nor is it seeing my favorite band in their hometown!

What I am going to miss is the chance we take every 3 years to get together: friends that met over Bon Jovi and stayed friends for years, some of us friends for decades! We are from Northern Cali, Southern Cali, Chicago, Georgia, NJ, NY! We travel together or just meet up when we are there! We all met online while discussing our fave band on Captain Crash and stayed friends despite the sites demise! Jovi brought us together but we have stayed friends despite distance and the craziness of life! We may not see each other or talk much between tours but once that band announces those NJ shows, it's business as usual! We all know that despite protests to the contrary ("I hate this trip...this is my last time, I swear"), we all will meet up every 2-3 years in NJ!

Now I hear there isn't going to be Giant's Stadium shows this summer! I'm not upset about not going into debt or taking vacation time I haven't accrued yet. I am upset about missing the chance to catch up with my friends! Wonder if Jon thinks of the true impact to the fans while going down the elevator from his multi-million dollar Manhattan penthouse apartment that's bigger than my house! I doubt it! Like this post? Please share it, bookmark it or leave a comment.

250 Million Reasons To Spend 5 Bucks!

It has become a part of corporate culture and is a part of what binds employees together! It carries with it the promise of retirement, travel, kids education, whatever the recipients desire. It is the department lotto pool and I have definite ideas of how I would spend my cut.

This is the exciting time, when there is actually a possibility of being a multi-millionare! It is the time where you actually start thinking of what you would do, who's life you would help change. The fun part of playing the lottery is the dreaming, the scheaming.

I would do the usual: pay off debt, buy a new car, maybe finally get an IPod. I would then travel to experience what I have always wanted to experience: learn to surf on Kanapali Beach in Hawaii, learn to ski in Aspen, climb the harbor bridge in Sydney, go to the Hockey Hall Of Fame in Toronto and the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in Cleveland, stay in Manhattan and see a play on Broadway.

What excites me though is not material stuff. What's exciting to me is helping people out. I would help my musician friends follow their dreams. I would pay the bills for a year so they could take a year off devote time to music, to songwriting and not to working the nine to five. I would donate not only money but time to my two favorite organizations: Special Olympics and Pet Orphans! I would give friends and family what they need: bills paid, homes and cars bought, whatever! That to me is as exciting as the propect of following Bon Jovi to every city they play....ok, almost as exciting!

Yep, tonight I have part of 50 chances to win part of 270 million dollars. All it takes is one. One chance to make my dreams and some of the dreams of my friends and family come true. That is exciting! Like this post? Please share it, bookmark it or leave a comment.

I Can't Believe I Am Watching Idol!!

I am convinced this show is sent straight from Hell.....and yet tonight I find myself watching. Of course I am talking about the show that is helping dumb down America...American Idol! I am watching this and feel like a trader to all my talented musician friends who can't catch a break while this damn show is manufacturing pop stars! I have hours of far more superiour Television on the DVR...shows that talented people actually wrote....shit, I still have the last episode of "Heroes" and two hours of "Chuck" to watch! And here I am watching the show that I swear will eventually kill music as we know it! Why? Because my roommate and I almost fell over when on "Access Hollywood" they showed some gourgous dude who's a contestant! Crap! I can be bought, it's sad! Money, a pretty face...I have all kinds of prices!

1 hour in and it isn't that bad. They did show some guy auditioning with a Jovi song and these guys are actually quite good. And there is a rocker or two. After all, this crap show did produce "Daughtry" although America prefered that Taylor Hicks. Who? Exactly! I should probably tune in to see the cutie while I can because chances are he won't stick around, regardless of if he wins this thing or not! Like this post? Please share it, bookmark it or leave a comment.

Thoughts On Love And Valentine's Day

I woke up today to start the day with an outpouring of love like many of my friends did. I was greeted by a "knock" at my door (actually a scratch) which was followed by an outpouring of "kisses" (actually licks). There is no doubt in my mind that this love is unconditional and given freely without any expectation in return. Its not given because Hallmark says it should be. In fact, it is given every time I walk through the door and every time I ask for it. It is often given when I don't ask for but need it more than anything. I give him all the love I have in the world and would give more if humanly possible. Should this love be viewed as any different because it comes from my amazing Rottweiler, Thor and not from a spouse or boyfriend?

It is so easy for a single person to view Valentine's Day with bitterness, scorn, unhappiness. It is common for us singles to look down on the day as a overly commercial "Hallmark" holiday. I have been there many ...most....years and started down that road to cynicisim this year. However, in keeping with my new found positive outlook, I decided this year to not dwell on what I don't have, but what I do. Yes, I don't have a boyfriend but that doesn't mean I am not surrounded by love!

I have two dogs that love me more that anything except empty water bottles and trash digging! I have amazing friends that love me in spite of all they know about me! So I don't have a boyfriend....right now! I am choosing today to celebrate the possiblity of love and the fact that it is all around even us single people. We just need to get out of the rut of being jaded and bitter and open our eyes to it in all it's forms. That way, when the right guy comes along, we will know it. I am sure in my case he will be walking a dog while listening to Bon Jovi on his Ipod and drinking a latte. A girl can dream, can't she? Like this post? Please share it, bookmark it or leave a comment.

An Invite To THE Mansion!

My friends and their band have an opportunity that doesn't come around that often. In fact, for most of us it doesn't come around at all. It's an opportunity that has sparked some interesting discussions between friends of both sexes. My friends have been asked to play the Playboy Mansion. Yep, Hef's place! Half naked women, The Grotto, pajamas. My first reaction when I heard was "How cool? Not a lot of people can say they have been to "the mansion", yet alone perform there". I didn't think, initially, about all the mansion is perceived to represent: the sex, the objectifying of women, the debauchery. It wasn't until some of us started talking that I realized that my reaction was not really in the norm among my female friends. Oh....did I tell you the date of my friends big gig? Valentine's Day.

Women in our circle of friends say "Hell no, not on Valentine's Day, not at all". The guys say "What can I do to go? Carry equiptment? Whatever it takes". This started me to think: Why is the Playboy Mansion threatning to us as women? Is it what happens there or the woman that work there?

I was asked if given the opportunity, which thankfully I wasn't, would I go? As a person who loves new experiences, especially those that are unique, I would! But then after thinking about it I wondered how I would feel once I got there. Me....the born again Christian who is slipping off the virtuous wagon! The overweight woman who wouldn't fit into a bunny costume if she didn't eat for a year, that's me! What would someone like me be doing at the mansion?
That's when it dawned on me: the bunnies at the mansion are like standing in front of one of those mirrors at the fair. You know the ones, the mirrors that distort how we look, make us look humongous when we aren't. That to me is what I think of when I compare myself to a Playboy Bunny! They are young, fit, gourgous....all the things I am not! But should that be a reflection of me? I could be things that they aren't: smart and funny. That's not to say that the bunnies are dumb, that would be falling into the stereotype! But women, bunnies or not, need to be so much more than boobs and a tight outfit. Sure, you might have a great view but what happens when the view gets old, literally and figuratively?

In my opinion, women need to get over being about what they look like, myself included! We need to feel comfortable with who we are, what we are and to stop comparing ourselves to an unobtainable ideal, be it supermodel, actress, playboy bunny! If I had a boyfriend that wanted to go to the mansion, I would say GO! Have that experience that not many have, look and drool all you want as long as that is all you are doing! As long as he comes home and appreciates me and all I am, I am ok with that! Just as long as this experience isn't taking place on Valentines Day! Like this post? Please share it, bookmark it or leave a comment.

Lights Make The Party Happen At Paladinos!

Shan and I go to Paladinos quite often. We have both always have friends in bands and it's a right of passage of sorts for a rock/tribute band to play there. In the Valley it's legendary. If you are in a band or know someone who is, there is a 99% chance you have been to Paladinos. It is a place with character but it is not the lounge at the Four Seasons or even the Canyon Club. It's a dive. Bar, pool tables, stage. Not much else. You walk into the door and you know marriages have been made and broken at that place, most likely in the bathrooms or parking lot! Shan and I get ready for a night there, find ourselves in nothing more than what we would wear to a hockey game and say "it's just Paladinos", Rockers and those that love them, though, can't stay away from the place.

Saturday night when walking out of Paladinos I felt different than any other night I had been there. I felt that I had just heard, just witnessed something special. Sure a few bands played, sure I have friends in one of them but this night the closing band blew the doors off the place and the dive rocker bar felt more like an electrified arena. The band? Lights: The Premier Tribute To Journey.

Lights consists of Berto Zepeda (drums), Casey McNerney (bass), Jeff Vincent (keyboards, vocals), Jonny Papa (lead guitar, vocals),and Juan Del Castillo (Lead Vocals). Five very talented musicians who love the music of Journey. No costumes or wigs. No tux jacket for Juan a la Steve Perry and Jonny doesn't wear an afro to look like Neal Schon. By definition, Lights are a tribute band, But this is one band who's talent exceeds that definition.

On Saturday night at Paladino's that talent combined with energy off the charts created a show that had the band and crowd rockin! With Jonny's blazing guitar and Juan's soaring vocals, the band opened with "Escape" and that got the crowd going in a hurry! One of my favorite drum riffs is at the end of the bridge of that song and Berto nailed it! He and Casey are the backbeat of the band and they do it well!

The energy level stayed high as the band played songs from all Journey eras. The classic Journey is represented with hits like "Lights", "Lovin Touchin Squeezin" and the crowd pleasing "Any Way You Want It" "Just The Same Way" is a personal favorite, highlighting the vocal talent of Jeff and Juan! Journey's mega-popular "Escape" is not forgotten with songs like "Stone In Love" and "Who's Cryin Now", and of course, "Don't Stop Believin", which as the closer had the crowd to a man singing at the top of their lungs! The "Raised On Radio" era gave us "Be Good To Yourself" and "Ask The Lonely" and its these songs that highlight what to me is the strength of "Lights". They all sing and do it well! One of the drawing points of Journey is their harmonies and the guys in "Lights" nail that time and time again! You can have a band of good musicans, and a band of good singers. To have five guys that can play and sing, that's amazing! That is Journey and it is Lights!

I know that those of you that know me (and know me well) are waiting for the verdict on the guitarist. You know there is one! :) Here is the thing: what's scary about Jonny is that he is 24 years old and can only get better! He is a very good guitarist now and sounds better with every show! I am not throwing that praise around lightly since this guitar girl's love of the instrument and player started with Neil Schon back in '79!(Sure I was only 1, but still....LOL) Honestly, from the rockin "Separate Ways" to the melodic "Only The Young", Jonny gets it! He rocks!

You can have great music and a bummer show if the crowd isn't into it. Not the case Saturday. What made this particular show was the crowd. The band views Paladino's as their "home turf" and the fans never disappoint them there! When Lights play, the crowd gets bigger by the end of the night, not smaller. Newbies, longtimers, friends, family! The crowd was mixed with fans that saw Journey on the Escape tour, fans that have parents that are Journey fans and those that became familar after watching "The Sopranos". Everyone was on their feet and singing along with every song from the opening note of "Escape" to the final note of "Party's Over"!

It is a rare night when the band and audience connect as one. For this band and their fans, this was the night! I walked out of the club Sunday morning feeling like I witnessed something special, something more than "just Paladinos". This could be the start of something big for these guys and the skys the limit! I envision looking back at this show and saying " remember THAT night at Paladinos...." :) If you want to get in on the ground floor of something special go to http://www.lightsband.com/ to see where/when they are playing next or keep an eye on my page. You won't be disappointed!
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