October 2009: Month of Awesome

It's been a few months now, and I realize I never got around to writing about the events of October 2009, which by any standard was an amazing month. I saw not one, but two bands I have wanted to see for more than 15 years; I ran (but mostly limped) through my second half marathon; I spent time with my college roommate and good friend, whose name I can't say here; and I made a fool of myself in front of Tall Lanky Guy, which really is just me reminding him of the good old days.

First with the concerts: I saw Pearl Jam, people. PEARL JAM! I realize I know nothing about music, but I know what I love. I fell in love with Pearl Jam when I came back to the States and have (im)patiently waited to see them for the better part of the last fifteen years. There was always an excuse to miss their concerts: schedule, finances, not having anyone to go with...but my day finally came. I went, I saw, may have made a fool of myself and I didn't care. I loved every note and word. The whole thing was surprisingly tame (we've all aged) and simple. The set wasn't fancy, there weren't flashing lights and video screens--just the band, the music and a mostly adoring audience (and perhaps a few slightly confused newbies like my husband who came along). Strangely, immediately after the event I couldn't remember the order of songs that were performed or the details--just the joy of having seen them perform live at last. And despite my very high expectations, they still managed to exceed it. Sheer bliss.

The second concert was completely unplanned and unexpected. When I met my former roommate at the San Francisco airport on my way home from the Nike Women's Marathon (woohoo!), she mentioned that she may end up with an extra ticket to the U2 concert that would be the following Saturday in Pasadena--did I want to go? Sure, why not? Because what kind of a crazy person would say no to a U2 concert with one of the funnest (and funniest) women around? And behold, the ticket became available. We went, we saw and picked up exactly where we left off from our college days. My least favorite part of the show? The Black-Eyed Peas opened for U2. Why? Everyone, including the opening band seemed a little confused. The best part? Sitting on the sidewalk, laughing hysterically as people walked by and wondered if we had both completely lost our minds (we hadn't).

In between these two concerts, I went to San Francisco and ran my second Nike Women's Marathon. Technically, I only ran the first five miles of a half marathon and limped the other eight in ridiculous pain. Technically, for the second time I did it for someone else. And technically, I felt happier then than I have doing just about any other thing in my life. Despite the joy, there was a sadness and tears. But despite the pain, tears and absence of people I cared for I wanted to bottle that day and take it out when I need a boost.

I'll write more about the details later, but for now, I needed a reminder that October was a wonderful island of time in a stormy and hectic time.

Meeting the Kings

I got back from the Kings of Leon concert. Apparently good music played really loudly coursing through every fiber of your body can be theraputic. I screamed till I lost my voice, danced till my legs were sore and generally surrendered my body and mind to the music. I was so quiet after the concert, M asked me why we went if I was going to hate it so much. Amazingly, he missed most of the action mentioned above so he mistook the joyous trance for apathy.

The thing that caught me off guard? My reaction to one of their songs which I don't actually like much. This one made me cry.

I don't know the first thing about music, but I like this band and they were amazing live. If you have the chance to see them, go for it. If you need a spaztic partner to go with you, call me.

Last Night, I Met the Girl From My Dreams

Last night, we went to the long awaited Foo Fighters concert. God Bless M for humoring me and going to a concert he had no interest in and getting there a full two hours early (we feared bad traffic). For me, he sat through two different bands he had no interest whatsoever in and was gradually won over by the FF--possibly because he was too amused by my antics to be indifferent.

And his presence by my side is why I didn't run toward a tall, leggy young woman in cut-off denim shorts and strike up a random conversation--despite the fact that I had (sort of) dreamed of her less than two weeks ago.

A little while ago, I dreamed I had met two very colorful young ladies as I sat in a tattoo parlor. So distracted was I by the fact that I was meeting them that I ended up with a tattoo up the length of my left leg. It was a beautifully elaborate design with birds intertwined throughout. My first panicked thought in my dream was that it would be impossible to hide a tattoo that started on the top of my foot and ran up to my thigh. My second and third thoughts were that it was stunning and that Boo and Alex were nodding in approval. So vivid was my dream that I woke up inspecting my leg in the early morning light for the faintest sign of ink. I have to admit that I was slightly disappointed at the plain, white skin covering my limbs, despite the fact that I know I'm not the kind of person to get tattoos.

A few nights later, I had a similarly related dream--where I had apparently embraced the tattoo and was trying to 'frame' it in the perfect outfit. The whole thought process seemed so logical and real, perhaps because I settled on a long, black skirt with a long slit on the left side(I actually own one of these)--because according to Dream Me, a mini-skirt would be obvious...

Which brings me back to the young lady I saw outside Cox Arena last night. Her left leg had a gorgeous, elaborate tattoo that started on the top of her foot and expanded all the way to where her shorts were cut off. The tattoo was a colorful and intricate floral pattern that must have taken painful hours to complete, with birds perched and flying from various branches and blossoms. Had I been by myself, I may very well have walked up to her and stared at our shared tattoo and maybe even tried to make my stare less embarrassing by explaining what I was doing (because that wouldn't be weird at all, right?). But I didn't. I curled up by M, trying to contain my excitement before the concert by telling M about Serj Tankian, System of a Down, Nirvana, the Foo Fighters and Dave Grohl.

Thank goodness for patient husbands and the drop of self-restraint that saves me from doing crazy, crazy things.