The truth is, I'm busy. Extremely busy. School plus thesis work plus social life equals very little free time for things that aren't 100% necessary, like updating this weblog. And honestly, I haven't been all that excited about Amplified to Rock. A couple of days ago, I told Tim that I was going to quit the weblog and go offline indefinitely. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how stupid it would look when, three days after posting a long "I'm leaving, and I'll miss you all, and it's been so wonderful" message, I'd be online again. So I'm not quitting, but I will advise you that updates will be infrequent for the foreseeable future. Therefore, here's the new Smacktalk mailing list, where I will send notification of updates AND the occasional bonus-extra-"I can't say that in public, people will get pissy" tidbit.

I have been to a bunch of shows in the last few weeks. There was Tenacious D, where I sat behind "that guy who screams every time a reference to getting high is made." He was there with another male friend, and they had left an empty seat in between, lest people assume that they were "together" or something. About halfway through Tenacious D's set, a woman asked them if the seat on the end of their row was empty. They said "yeah," and they proceeded to lick their chops in anticipation of the action that they would receive after hitting on her successfully. About two minutes later, her boyfriend showed up with the beer, and she asked the guys if the seat in between them was empty. So not only were their macking plans thwarted, they also had to sit next to each other. Heh.

Tenacious D rocked. They played "Kyle Took a Bullet for Me" and "Karate" so I was pleased.

Then there was Modest Mouse. Tim and I showed up late because I wanted to get some dinner beforehand, so the stupid House of Blues was packed. I couldn't find Quinn, which was a shame, because I had a few complaints for him, and I wanted to meet the famous funny Cat, who is my favorite Hesterperson I've never met. Anyhow, Tim and I ended up on that balcony thing, and I managed to worm my way into a spot where I could actually see most of the stage.

THE MODEST MOUSE SHOW: A PLAY

Cast: Nanette, Tim, Annoying Guy.

Annoying Guy: (to Nanette) I want my spot back.

Nanette: Huh?

AG: I want my spot back.

N: What the fuck are you talking about?

AG: I was standing there, and I left to get a beer, and you took my spot. I want it back.

N: Uh...no.

AG: Now, I don't want to argue with you about this...

N: Then why are you arguing with me about this? You left. I moved up. There's plenty of room for you.

AG: But I can't see where I am!

N: Yes you can. You're in the exact same spot I was in about fifteen minutes ago. Only I couldn't see through your head.

AG: Whatever.
(Ten minutes passes.)

AG: Really, I just want my spot back.

N: Well, there's nothing I can do about that.

AG: Where do you live?

N: Why? Are you going to come toilet paper my house?

AG: (in a snit) This has nothing to do with your house.

N: Then why do you want to know where I live?

AG: Because I came further to see this show. What time did you get here, anyway?

Tim: (sounding way more irritated than I have ever heard him sound) We've been here a while.

AG: Yeah? Well, I bet I got here earlier than you did. And you're a thief! You stole my spot!

N: A thief? Such hyperbole.

AG: Hyperbole? Ooh, jazz... (Makes dorky finger gesture, supposely meaning "jazz")

N: My god, you're a raging idiot. Hyperbole has nothing to do with jazz.

AG: Yeah? Well, you're just a thief.

N: People have called me worse.

T: Excuse me, but have you ever been to a general admission show? Because when you leave your spot, you can't just expect it to be waiting there for you. If you were so dead set on standing in the exact same place for the whole show, you should have told your friends to hold the spot for you. You didn't. It's your loss.

AG: She's a thief.

T: Oh well.

(Modest Mouse comes out on stage. Annoying Guy shuts the fuck up and leaves me alone for the rest of the show. At one point, he leaves his spot to go for a beer and a large, burly man takes his spot. He doesn't argue with the large, burly man, presumably because the large, burly man would grab his little pencil neck and toss him off the damn balcony. Tim and I left before the encore because he was tired from running in the marathon earlier that day. The show was decent enough.)

I went to see Bjork on Sunday evening. The place was populated with fashion design students from the Art Institute. I felt underdressed, as I had forgotten to put on my artfully tattered vintage ballgown. I traded my TV to see Bjork (and the aforementioned shows as well. I said "here, Tim, here's the TV, which is now yours in exchange for these concert tickets." That was cool with him because he wanted a bigger TV. And it was cool with me because I had an extra TV but no money. And it's much nicer watching movies at his apartment on a bigger TV.). It was worth the TV. I cannot say enough good things about the performance. Matmos was good too, and that's not really my type of stuff, so that's saying a lot. The show made me go home and dig up all my Bjork CDs and listen to them, so that's also a testament to how much I enjoyed it. (Also, if any of you are going to see Bjork in the near future, e-mail me--I need a favor. Thanks.)

Otherwise, it's just been school stuff and "training" for Jeopardy (which consists of watching Jeopardy and keeping track of my score, watching the occasional educational video, and reading). I'm excited about going out to LA, but I'll be glad when it's all over and everything will be sort-of normal again.

One more quickie-thing before I go: Chelsey needs help with her sociology project. Take a look and send her some feedback. It'll only take a minute or two.

I'm off to the grocery store and the library...but hey, at least I updated. Heh. Remember: join the list for update notifications and such, because I don't know when this is going to happen again.