All Mason Jennings, All The Time

So... we went to see one of my favorite folksingers - Mason Jennings - last Thursday in Grand Rapids... and can I just *squeee* here for a minute? This was especially exciting for me because I have only been to a pitifully small number of shows in my life, and this one was just so GOOD. He played for about an hour and a half, and to my delight it was a great mix of songs from all 7 of his albums. We sat at a table for a while, but then the need to get closer to the stage came over me, so I joined the mass (not really that many) of people bouncing and swaying on the floor. Didn't get to meet him, but he seems like a genuinely nice, talented-yet-humble-about-it kind of person. It was nice to just feel the music and be happy and not let my usual nervous self take over. I just... can't even properly explain how much his music means to me. So, so glad we were able to see him live. Weeeeooooo!

I would definitely recommend seeing Mason Jennings if you have the chance, right now he's touring with Jack Johnson (not at the show we went to) and Money Mark (who we saw, gets funky on the keyboards).

Um, I wish I had my own video to post. Instead, this is one from youtube that looks most like the performance I saw.



Mason Jennings' Official Website

Mason Jennings Interview on Yahoo!

Be Here Now video on YouTube

Blah blah shopping, blah blah girly stuff

Oh, the mall - she's a cruel mistress. But the semi-annual sales! They beckoned! It now makes sense that Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works are owned by the same company, and seem to do their sales at the same time. Go to both stores and you get lost in this time warp slash customer service loop and before you know it, it's been 2 hours and you're sweaty and tired and you kind of hate people and don't even care what you purchased. One of the things I purchased, it turns out, is a bra that still has the clunky fuckin security sensor still attached to it. Great. I kindly listened to this girl's spiel about the stupid VS credit card so her manager would stop glaring at her and insisting she give me a mesh shopping bag. (Really, I think the mngr was standing behind me mouthing "Bag? Did you give her a bag?" and the girl had to stop and say "no, she's about to check out, she didn't want one" and then apologize to me, because apparently giving out the boogered up shopping bags is a HUGE DEAL, because it's so goddamn CONVENIENT for the consumer. Sure, I might not want to expose my lingerie selections to everyone, but they need to back off a bit. You so much as lay a finger on a bra in there, immediately a salesgirl is thrusting a bag toward you "How about a bag? Taaake eet! Shopping more convenient with bag! Take thee bag pleeeease!" You can already have a bag, and they try to give you a bag, it's seriously redonk.) So I'm gonna have to dodge her again and take back the bra (which probably doesn't fit anyway) and prove that I didn't try to steal it, they just didn't take the stupid security tag off... because trying to give/sell you crap that you don't want is more important than your actual purchase! Bah. And they charged me twice for something B&BW, which I realized while in the parking lot, so I had to go through the cluster-fuck of salespeople again... (no bag thanks! Just trying to make it to the register!) and was seriously needing to mainline some of their Tranquil Mint Aromatherapy by the time I got out of there. (But hey, the aromatherapy line of stuff really is good! And 5 bucks each instead of 13!) Oh and how come both stores have to always be about 90 degrees inside? Seriously, I wonder if that's on purpose to make people delusional and spend-happy, or if it's to get people in and out quickly because they are SWEATY and THIRSTY and CAN'T BREATHE in there.

Oh I am just a crotchety ol' thing, aren't I?

But hopefully a good smelling one.

Also, the required asking for phone number, email address, etc. kind of crap whenever you try to complete a transaction is really annoying. Why don't I just shop online? Because shipping from either place takes FOREVAH!

And I go on like this.

/shopping rant>

Nobody, that's who

Whew doggy, is this blog stale or what? You might say I've been keeping busy elsewhere. Or, you might say I'm just a lazy sack of shit. Let's move on!

In work-related news, we moved into the new office pretty smoothly. For the most part, it's a step up from the old place and a lot more officey and professional looking. We're downtown now, and thankfully downtown has improved somewhat in the last few years. And maybe it's just that my extra layer of fat is working as a protective shield, but so far there's been much less random yelling of things or being accosted by shady strangers than there used to be. So that's a plus!

My car, however, is not enjoying the downtown driving. Or probably any kind of driving, but stop-and-go, stop-and-go type of traffic is especially unappreciated by it's not-so-good transmission these days. We'll see what the shop says, but hopefully I can afford to get it fixed and get some more life out of it. Ugh.

So, the shows on Bravo are horribly addictive. Did anyone else watch Step It Up & Dance? Niiick! Coooody! Mmm, a Nick and Cody sandwich! But yeah, good show - just ended last week. I'm also an avid watcher of Top Chef, which is almost over... but then, new seasons of Shear Genius and Flippin Out are on the way - it just never ends! I... I can stop any time!

Well, Father's Day is coming up and as usual, I'm still at a loss for finding just the right thing. Even with cards, I get so frustrated year after year of looking at the stereotypical sentiments. Beer, golf, fishing, farting and always having been there to shell out cash to your unappreciative kids is apparently the gold standard of Father's Day cards. Where are all the cards for the "dysfunctional but working on it" families with recovered alcoholics, foggy memories and estranged relationships? Wait, no - I've seen some of those new age type of cards (Dad, you were always there/ except for when Mom kicked you out/ but you were there in spirit/ and that's what truly counts!) and uh, they are sometimes more painful than just searching for that short and sweet, somewhat generic but not completely unthoughtful sentiment.

Catch up with you later. I'm off to find lunch.

Updated to add: Speaking of cards, for dads with a (dark) sense of humor, there's a Father's Day selection at the highly-recommended someecards.