When life hands you Cleveland...

This past Tuesday, I got up at 2:30 am (ow.) to catch a 6 am flight to Buffalo (via O’Hare), where I met my friend Barbara and her friend (who is now my friend) Jenn, at which point we collected a rental car (not without hilarity ensuing) and drove to Niagara Falls, Canadian side.

The trip wasn’t exactly how I’d originally planned it. Gowan (aka Lawrence Gowan, keyboardist of Styx) was playing three solo shows, and I had tickets to all three. But then my original travel partner backed out, leaving me with (a) no one to share a rental car with (and the attendant problem of appalling night vision) and (b) no one to share a hotel room with. In other words, twice the cost right there. Barbara and I had talked about sharing a room, but she had to leave Friday because she had somewhere to be on Saturday. I have to give her credit for suggesting I come out for just the two shows, because I honestly never thought of it. After initial internal resistance, I reminded myself that two shows were better than none, and booked that godawfully early flight so I’d arrive at about the same time as Barbara and Jenn. (Minor perk: I was able to use miles to go first class in that direction.) It still all wasn’t going to be cheap (B&J also wanted to stay at a hotel that was twice as much as what I’d budgeted), but it was going to be worth it.

Leaving on Friday gutted me. I’d had such a blast, and the second concert was better than the first, and I knew the third would be even better than that. Band members had expressed their sadness that we were leaving. I found out Jenn might have stayed…but I’d already sold my Friday ticket (plus my original travel buddy’s ticket).

We said our sad farewells at the airport and parted ways. It was a short hop to Cleveland, where I’d catch my flight to LAX.

But that was not to be.

I got to Cleveland only to learn my flight had been cancelled, and they couldn’t book me on another flight until the following afternoon. It was all I could do not to sit down wearing my Moonlight Desires T-shirt, put on my Gowan concert playlist, and cry.

After standing in line for an hour and a half to get booked on a direct flight leaving at 5 pm Saturday (rather than the original 2:30 pm flight that would go to Dulles first and get me in later than the 5 pm flight, WTF?), I pulled my shit together, booked a hotel (they gave me a voucher for a discount on a hotel*, but I was put on hold and my phone was dying so I said fuck that), and off I went.

And you know, the more I thought about it, the more grateful I was. The delay sucked mightily, there’s no two ways about that. But there are far worse things, and I found myself reflecting on how lucky I really am.

• The two shows were fabulous. I never thought I’d see Gowan solo live, and now I’ve done it four times (eight shows total) in three years (he squeezes them in between 100+ Styx shows a year).
• I got to hang out with some of the band members and a couple of the crew, all of whom are genuinely nice people who are fun to get to know.
• I made a new friend (Jennifer) and got to spend time with old friends I don’t see nearly enough (Barbara, Jo, Andrea, Marci) (I know I’m forgetting people. I’m sorry. I really do love you all; I just killed those brain cells with alcohol.)
• Although I tried to keep the cost of the trip down, I have a credit card, and the hotel and extra meals, etc., aren’t going to break the bank.
• The hotel had a spa. I sat in it. The bed was excellent. I slept hard and long, and lo, it was good.
• The airport had free wifi so I was able to get a solid couple hours of copyediting work in.
• I got an exit row on the flight, plus there’s nobody in the middle seat, so I don’t feel cramped and can stretch out and work.
• For that matter, I have a fantastically wonderful laptop that has great battery life and is light so lugging it around airports isn’t awful.
• I didn’t have anything major scheduled today. I lost a workout with my trainer, which was pre-paid, but another couple was trying to get home for her mother’s 90^th birthday….
• Ken will pick me up at the airport, and there will be smooching; and then we’ll have dinner at our go-to Thai place on the way home; and then there will probably be more smooching.

When life hands you Cleveland, make lemonade. Or something like that.

I’m writing this one the plane, so you’ll read this after I’ve returned home. Right now, though, I just realized I have a short story due tomorrow that I forgot about until right now. I’ve started it, and I had to turn in a proposal for it, so I mostly know how it’s going to go. But I’ve got to write it now. Right fucking now.

Which, I suppose, means I’m also grateful for all those Oregon Writers Network workshops that taught me I can write a kickass story overnight…!

---

*Because it was weather related, they don’t have to do anything. So yeah, I had to pay for a hotel and meals, as well as eat the cost of a booked training session at home. Thanks, United. Never again.

There's a moonchild for everyone

In honor of tomorrow’s moon of rare size and beauty (which I may not be able to see due to the clouds), I give you my Moon Playlist:

• Desert Moon, Dennis DeYoung
• Drawing Down the Moon, Gaia Consort
• Falling From the Moon, Marillion
• Full Moonlight Dance, Libana
• The Light of the Moon, Emily Mitchell
• Moon Cradle, Loreena McKennitt
• Moon Dance, Enaid and Einalem
• Moon Over Bourbon Street, Sting
• Moonchild, Shakespear's Sister
• Moonchild's Psychedelic Holiday, Gowan
• Moonlight Desires, Gowan
• Moonlight in Samosa, Robert Plant
• Morgana Moon, Woodland
• New Moon on Monday, Duran Duran
• Poet's Moon, Fish
• Rocket to the Moon, Runrig
• Shadow of the Moon, Blackmore's Night
• Shepherd Moons, Enya
• Sister Moon, Sting
• Sisters of the Moon, Fleetwood Mac
• Tea-House Moon, Enya
• Under a Violent Moon, Blackmore's Night

(And I confess I’m astonished to discover we don’t have Ozzy’s Bark at the Moon album in our collection.)

What's on your list?

Keeping breathing...

So, as I said to a few friends privately, I feel as though I can breathe again. The family member who is ill has made great strides…it will be a long road, but much of the fear is gone. Yes, it’s a cliché, but it does feel like a weight has lifted.

When you’re worried about someone in the hospital, it consumes you. It’s hard to let go, to think about other things; normal routines seem pointless and difficult. Feeling happiness feels like a betrayal. When you work in a creative field, it’s even harder: You struggle with whether what you’re doing is important or necessary or worthwhile, and gods, it’s so hard to be creative when you’re worried or scared or consumed.

I don’t think I was even aware of the fog ‘til it lifted. I’m sort of stunned by how bright the world is again. And I can really look forward to the things I’m looking forward to:

• Ken’s coming home! I’ll have another session of getting crazy amounts of work done at the airport while waiting for him (so I don’t have to drive there in the dark) on Tuesday, and then he’ll be home!
• Five—count ‘em, five!—Styx shows in a row, starting next week! And for four of them, we’re road-tripping with my friend Sara from Arizona. She’s flying in for show to, and the adventure will culminate in Arizona with the last show.
• A trip to LACMA to see their Fashioning Fashion exhibit.
• Anwyn’s coming to visit!  ::squeebouncity!::
• Nanci & Lenny’s annual awesome Superbowl party. I go for the friends, not for the game (as every year, I have no clue who’s even playing).
• Flying back to GA to visit family—this time, a much more positive and hopeful trip!
• Seeing Dennis De Young perform—it’s been way too long.
• Road-tripping to Oregon with Ken: We’re hauling the two old bikes up there for him and his buddy Ernie to get into selling condition, and I’m going to an Oregon Coast Writers workshop. Four of us ladies are sharing a room, and there will be a major gab-fest the night before the workshop starts!
• Then in March, two more Gowan shows! And this time, Ken’s coming, too! And Nanci and Helen again, and we will meet up with lots of other Gowan fans, and lo, Niagara Falls will never be the same.

Meanwhile, I have a slew of things to do before that Styxgian road trip… Back to work!

Hang on to your hats

Edited to add: Well, some minor things changed today's plans. Ken's headed up to Portland tomorrow. Yay, money! but Boo! missing the event, and no rally for us on Sunday. So there was some rearranging of today to accommodate everything that had to be done for that.

I think it’s gonna be one of those days… Not a bad day, just a full one. Which I like!

On my list: 

• at least 1.5K on the CES story – thankfully I have lots of notes so it should go fast – okay, 500 words. I can live with that.
• tweak and submit editing proposal
• update website
• apply for freelance editing jobs
• other writing business things
• pay bill/deposit check – DONE
• make Grimoire’s vet appt – pending because I’m waiting on some travel info
• make gyn appt – DONE
• make eye appt – DONE
• update blog about last weekend
• finish write-up for Sarah about last weekend – I worked on it, anyway
• type up the draft meeting minutes from last night’s Shire meeting – DONE
• maybe get the final issue of The Oak Leaf started – a little bit done
• make brownies for Darach Anniversary presentations – no longer nec, plus I discovered I had only one bag of chocolate chips!
• get out partially finished/beaded cotehardie for Darach Anniversary People’s Prize A&S Display and write up a few words about it – no longer nec
• put out everything Ken needs to take to Darach Anniversary – no longer nec
• get to bed early because I have to get up insanely early to get to my workshop in LA – define "early." It will be soon, and earlier than my normal, but not really early enough…
• which reminds me, call Tanya re: possible carpooling – DONE
• answer a bunch of e-mail – um…a little
• try not to listen to too much Gowan! but probably listen to the new Styx song a lot so I have it memorized for next week – hah! Did you really think I could stop listening? Foolish mortals.

So right now I’m bouncing between the meeting minutes and e-mail, with Facebook open for occasional swings through to answer mail there (FB is not a good place to e-mail me, BTW—this is way overdue stuff that I’m finally getting around to), and of course talking to Ken about this weekend and beyond.

Whee!

---

Currently Reading: The Fair Folk, Marvin Kaye

Lately Listened To: LOL! See above!

Recently Watched: Doctor Who, Lost

A good life

Oh, so much goodness over the past few days!

Monday night was my birthday dinner. Not only were there wonderful people there (including Lareej, who was working a show that night and couldn’t stay, but drove all the way from Ventura to give me a hug and sit for a few minutes before dashing back), but there was suuuushi and, as I posted earlier, a dessert made out of Stitch’s head.

And there were prezzies, like an acorn teapot (thank you, Tomi!) and a Wendy Froud book and chocolate/rose love potion scrub (thank you, Morgana and Brian!) and booze (thank you, Mattea and Robey and Albra!), and handmade cards (thank you, Egan!) and a writing book (thank you, Erica!).

The next day, Ken and I went to the LA Zoo, which I’d never been to before. People, it is huge. Enormous. I had no idea. My back was killing me by the end of the afternoon! (It was uphill both ways, don’t’cha know.) But oh, there were otters and birds of prey (Russian eagles!) and tigers and lions and ocelots and jaguars and…! Although, despite what the map said, there were no slow lorises. They’re doing a lot of construction there right now and some of the displays have been moved around, so it’s possible the slow lorises are on hiatus….

I pondered and pondered what kind of food I wanted for dinner, since traffic was going to be horrible and we figured it would be best to top somewhere on our way home. Finally I decided Greek, and my handy dandy iPhone map program found me a great little Mediterranean place, and lo, it was good.

The only minor thing that marred my birthday is that Styx’s website has been revamped and even though I’m still a Lounge member, I didn’t get my annual birthday e-mail from the boys. It always made me squee quietly. Oh, I knew full well it was automated and the band had no knowledge of it, but a girl can always fantasize. I have a very rich fantasy life (for which they pay me, I might point out).

Wednesday and Thursday were mostly work days. I’ve been steadily productive, getting a work e-mail account set up, getting the rest of my books into my Amazon store (if you buy my work directly from there, I get a teeny tiny amount of money), that sort of thing.

On Friday Ken dropped me off at Borders in Thousand Oaks so I could meet up with Christine! whom I hadn’t seen in six months! for a writing day. Well, it was mostly a catching-up day for us, but that’s okay, too. We talked life and writing and more writing and plans (we want to jointly apply to Soapstone) and all manner of things. And she, bless her, brought me Yule and birthday presents (I had for her only a birthday present): a plaque, a pair of earrings of hers that I’d coveted and she says she never wears (copper crescent moons with silver spirals) and a tea infuser and a mug with a tea infuser insert.

The latter made me decide that my afternoon tea each day should be something interesting and different. I’ll do PG Tips for breakfast, but I’m going to really enjoy and savor my afternoon tea. I have loose leaf teas and white teas and who knows what else, and I want to be drinking them! Today I had Glengettie.

Anyway, after lunch Christine had to leave, and I hung out at Borders for another couple hours, working. I pitched some editing ideas (phone confab on Wednesday! fingers crossed!), submitted some reprints to audio and/or online markets, read the first three chapters of Heat Wave (the Castle book. Okay, that wasn’t exactly “working”…!), and started re-reading Out of the Frying Pan because Teresa and I have to get that back out, and the delay is entirely on my lap right now. Time to pull my weight.

Eventually I pinged Ken and he came to get me. He’d dropped me off because he needed the car to help Morgana’s mother move stuff from her house to her new apartment, because he is The Awesome. Upon realizing that we hadn’t, in fact, remembered to shop for food and had, in fact, eaten all our leftovers, we made salad and ordered a pizza. Damn Pizza Hut’s $10 Any Pizza deal! But I ate only two slices while we curled up and watched TV.

Oh, and waiting for me at home were two exciting things! The brand-new Return of the Strange Animal remastered CD/DVD package arrived in the mail! Mmmm, vintage Gowan goodness! And my birthday present from Ken (which had been delayed in the mail): the Castle book! I howled when I saw it.

So, this morning I checked e-mail and discovered our friend Lev from Portland was going to be performing with his Morris side (team) at Heritage Square, just a few blocks away. (I knew he was going to be in town for a Morris Ale, but hadn’t gotten the local performance detail until just then!) So we took a jaunt over there, enjoyed the performances, and on the way back wandered through the park, where they were having an Earth Day celebration. Picked up a map of bike trails in the area, yay!

I’d thrown in the fixings for potato leek soup into the slow cooker this morning, and the house smelled so good today. Over a week ago at the farmer’s market, I’d bought leeks on a whim, with the idea that we’d learn how to cook something new. After perusing various recipe sites online, it became clear to us that leeks are mostly good for potato leek soup. Live and learn! So we had sandwiches and soup for supper, and the soup was as good as it smelled. Definitely a keeper.

Meanwhile, Ken crawled around under the house looking at wiring, because he’s figured out how to make our fabby office-sized laser printer (aka The Behemouth) work here. It runs on 240 (British) power (wattage? I have no idea) as opposed to American 120 power, and I just typed up a long explanation that nobody would be interested in, so suffice to say he can run a cord under the house and the printer will work in my study downstairs, meaning we’ll be able to print double-sided and 11x17 and all that groovy stuff that makes geeks like us salivate. It’s especially good because I have a bunch of novel partials to get in the mail. Soon…! I didn’t marry Ken for his engineering degree, but damned if he doesn’t impress me on a regular basis. :-)

Tonight we went out to see Alice in Wonderland with Morgana and Brian, and then the two of us dashed off to the cheap theatre to see the only—and very late—showing of Sherlock Holmes, both of which I really wanted to see on the big screen, and both of which I adored, although for different reasons. (Alice for the visuals and the actors; SH for the plotting, the setting/costuming, and Robert Downey Jr.; and both for the humor.)

And now it is well past time for sleep…

Boggled

Long-time readers will remember that I grew up in a relatively small town in upstate New York where we didn’t get MTV for the first few years of the channel’s existence. I even remember asking Sarah (in one of our exchange 40-page-leters-every-two-weeks) what the hell this MTV she was babbling about was?!

In very great hindsight, I find myself wondering whether this ended up being blessing or a curse. If we’d had MTV, would I have tuned in to MuchMusic on one of the Canadian stations we were able to receive? Because if I hadn’t, I never would have seen the glory that was the “A Criminal Mind” video (complete with shots of Gowan, as he was then known, in a cage—my 17-year-old hormones didn’t have a clue what to do with that, but now we understand, oh, do we understand!). And goodness knows that was instrumental in leading me down the road that leads right smack dab to here. (When Styx announced Lawrence as their new keyboardist, I believe my response was “My Lawrence Gowan?!”)

But I digress. I’m not really here to talk about Styx (at least, not tonight). I’m here to talk about seeing Yes, with Special Guest, Asia, at the Anaheim House of Blues Sunday night.

I admit it, what I really wanted to see was Asia. I was listening to them while I was writing, I believe it was Thursday night, and some part of my brain blipped to the forefront and said, “Didn’t we hear something about them touring?” Honestly, I hadn’t followed the band’s career, didn’t know much more than the first couple of albums. But I had the power of the Internet at my fingertips, and lo! they were opening for Yes, and as the House of Blues is GA, that was the show to hit this week in the area.

I don’t have time to review the whole show here; I just want to say this: The highlight of the night—the highlight of a good chunk of my life—was when John Wetton said that these were the first hands ever seen on MTV, and Geoff Downes started playing a song from another band he’d been in.

The Buggles.

That’s right, Asia played “Video Killed the Radio Star.”

I didn’t get to see it launch MTV, but I got to see and hear it live.

(FWIW, because I’m also a band geek, my runner-up highlight was “Fanfare for a Common Man.” I am a total sucker for rock bands who do a stellar job of reinterpreting/reimaging classical music.)

Filk, to the tune of "Guerilla Soldier" (Gowan)

In another thousand words
Will it all be over
And another thousand words
Is the story done?
In another thousand words
Will it all make history
And another thousand words
Will the book be done...?

(It's kind of a curse, really...)