I'd love avoid nerdily talking about how I survived this weekend's snow-in, but I was snowed in so I HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO TALK ABOUT.

Technically, I've been stuck in this house since I got home from work on Thursday. My driveway is buried under an amount of snow I don't even want to get close enough to assess, and that's after me pointlessly shoveling 8 inches of it on Friday evening. Point. Less. Ly.

The good
- we never lost power or heat, and for that I'm very, very grateful
- Joe did not have to go in to work like he thought he would
- Dru braved the hill and surprised us with some groceries this afternoon
- we watched Role Models, Pineapple Express, and a Law & Order: SVU marathon. Should this be under "the bad" instead?

The bad
- no trip to NYC, blah
- very little food in the house
- Joe tried going to work Saturday, but buses weren't running (thankfully they called to tell him he could turn around and go home)
- I wasted my salt, my time, and my energy shoveling/salting on Friday night.

The ugly
- I have not showered since Friday
- Joe and I were stuck together all weekend in this small house. It doesn't bother me, but I'm certain he is experiencing an overdose!

Well. Anne Marie and I did NOT make it to NYC this weekend, obviously because of the asshole snow. As if that weren't enough, a bush in my front yard got so weighed down that it blocked my front steps.

I swear, this weather is determined to keep me not just stuck in Pittsburgh, but cooped up in my house going stir crazy.

... are mine!

If you're friends with me and/or my brother Andrew on fb, you probably know that there was an "incident" yesterday where an old church acquaintance of ours called him a "faggot." My brother had joined the Gay & Lesbian Community of Pittsburgh group, and this guy, Wolfe, left a comment on his page that said something like "NOW I know what I wanted to know about you. I don't deal with faggots. What the hell is wrong with you? Time for you to take a dive off my friends list. Tell mom and dad I said hello."

It's since disappeared, but I memorized it after reading it over and over and over again, trying to figure out how a person in the year 2010 could possibly think and speak that way to another person.

There's always been something a little strange about this guy. We knew him because his father was a pastor in the same district as our parents when we were in middle & high school. At any rate, my anger got the best of me and I sent him a direct message that started what is probably the most bizarre conclusion to an email thread I've ever seen. Like, by the end, he sort of... agreed with me.

I'm still confused.


( You can read the weird emails if you wish. )

In an even more bizarre twist, another friend of ours (who happens to be Christian) saw what happened and messaged Wolfe to ask him to apologize. Wolfe claimed to have apologized to my brother, but he only apologized in a message to me (and frankly, I don't care if he says he's sorry a thousand times). However, instead of saying he was sorry to my brother, he had sent the following message, sans apology.

Subject: READ!

Andy,

I'm not running from you, and I hope you don't take what I posted down. I DO NOT agree with your lifestyle, and seriously can't believe you'd hide behind a trap such as homosexuality. Nobody is born that way, and you know that! I pity you, I really do. You and everybody like you. I'm glad I found this out, now I can weed out the others' like this, that might invade my friends' list.

Wolfe

PS: Post this if it makes you feel better.


Useless.

And what's even sadder is that in addition to being a misled, brainwashed religious nutbar, he doesn't know how to use an apostrophe properly! How tragic!

Well. We celebrated Christmas today with my fam, since we were with Joe's fam on Dec 25 (yay!) this year. Santa brought me a nice new monitor to hook my MacBook up to for when I have my own lil' recording studio set up in the basement. That's pretty schnazzy -- but what's even better is that my mom gave me more of her poetry from the 70's! It's really beautiful, and I'm sorry that it took her almost 30 years of my life to find it in the attic!

But enough about me. Once again, Jojo got the cool gifts this year! I asked mom & dad to find our old melodicas so that he could have one of them for Christmas, and they delivered. Here's what the "alto" one looks like (they also gave us a gray one that is more like a soprano):



As you can see, they're pretty sweetass. And vintage! In addition, I got him this adorable toy accordion from Amazon:




But that's nothing, because my folks pulled a punch I never saw coming. They found this old, obscure instrument from our childhood that I had completely forgotten about. It's called a Playett.

I would link you to a webpage about how awesome they are, but the internet hasn't heard of them. That's right, the ol' world wide web has almost nothing to offer regarding this bizarre, fantastical instrument. I have taken the liberty of photographing it for your pleasure.

It uses a reed, and from afar it resembles an oboe:


When you look more closely, you can see that it's one crazy long coil:


And it allows you to do this:


And as if that's not wild enough, those little hairband looking things next to it in the photos are in fact NOT hairbands. They are a part of the instrument. You're supposed to place the bands on the Playett in certain places, and then in order to make particular notes, you bend the Playett just above the band.

It's ridiculous and delightful, really. I can't wait until Joe learns to really play it. And some glorious day, we will build one single, brilliant instrument for him to hoist upon his back and play joyfully while meandering the streets of Pittsburgh.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Ok, yeah, I know about "The Sing-Off." I've been avoiding because I know how obnoxious a cappella can be. Totally. But I finally gave in and started watching tonight. Ben Folds is a judge, how could I not?


Here's my two cents...

The judges are... cute. Ben Folds is great and I love everything about him. Shawn (from BoyzIIMen) is also pretty good, but doesn't seem to understand the technical stuff all the time. That's ok, but he shouldn't try to talk like that if he doesn't get it. Pussycatface is sweet, but she makes too many jokes that miss the mark.

Maxx Factor? More like Mom Factor. They don't belong in this competition. Get rid of them.

I'd be super pissed if I were part of the live audience because every. single. number. gets a standing ovation. What's the point then? Might as well not bother clapping for anyone if they all get the same warm reception no matter how well or how poorly they did (is that mean?)...

Geez-o-pete, how hard would it be to have to SING after you just LOST the competition and have a peach pit sized lump in your throat? Foof!


I guess that's all for now.

Oh hai. Just me, talking about myself some more.

Carrie from my a cappella group has been in a band for the last several months or so. They haven't performed yet - they're still building up their setlist and haven't yet picked a name. A few weeks ago, she asked if I'd want to come to a practice, give a listen, and be a test audience for them. She also invited me to sing some harmonies and pick a song to learn for a solo! This got me really excited.

So, you know how when you sing in front of other people, it's never quite as good as when you're alone in the shower or the car? If you're any sort of singer, you probably know what I mean. I guess it's just that our inhibitions get the best of us when others are listening.

Well, I can proudly say that I finally did it. I knocked down that wall. I completely let loose and let 'er rip at my very first rehearsal with these guys!

The moment occurred when Mark, one of the guitarists, got out the lyrics to an original song he wrote. He did not let me hear the melody first - he simply challenged me to listen to the music and just sing whatever came to me. I did so, and it resulted in some pretty incredible chemistry.

We all had a collective boner when we were done. They said I had "breathed life into" a song Mark's been struggling with for 10 years! My honest response to that was that I just felt it. The style, the vibe, most of the lyrics - it just fit me. It was truly like he had written the song just for me.

I think the secret to my getting over the hump was that I didn't know most of these guys. I guess I figured "what the hell" and just pushed it. It felt amazing to prove to myself (and them!) that I could really go balls to the wall and improvise.

Between this and all the music I've been working on for Christmas, I've really been loving the creative process. I'm really excited to embrace the fruits of my efforts! Don't worry, I'll let you all know when the band is performing. ;)

In the spring of 2008, when my parents were moving to the new place, my mom found an old box of her high school and college stuff. This included a collection of poems she had written. One in particular really stuck with me. She "scrap-booked" and framed a copy for me, which now hangs in my guest room.

She wrote this about a young man she had feelings for who went off to Vietnam... and came back with both legs amputated. Needless to say, things weren't the same.

It really touched me, so I'm putting it to music. I might ask Joe to play guitar and I will sing it for her on Christmas. Otherwise, I'd like to record it as a birthday gift (though that's not until May).


Ugly Spring

Oh, ugly spring
What lies, these green-grown promises you bring
How dare you show your verdant face
where lovers, forced to part, have last embraced.

Green feet upon our last
Your footprints cover fast
Our hurried farewell steps
Where love last met

Oh ugly spring, you lie
In all the greenfull love you prophesy
For love has gone to war
Unable to remain as before

And I am forced to see another spring
In leafy arms love’s promises rebring.

The movie 8 Mile is the ONLY thing on th TV right now. This got me wondering how much of the movie is actually anything like Eminem's life. My guess was that the only thing his life and this film have in common is his presence in them. Oh, and rapping.

Aaaaaanyway, I started reading his wiki page, and came across the "incident" that started the feud between him and the Insane Clown Posse. Seriously, this is some Micky Mouse bullshit on Eminem's part. He was like that girl in high school who falsely claimed that the popular kids were coming to her birthday party, then wondered why they all hated her:

"With the release of The Slim Shady EP, Mathers was accused of imitating the style and subject matter of underground rapper Cage.[17][18] While promoting the EP, Mathers approached Insane Clown Posse member Joseph Bruce and handed him a flyer which implied that the group would make an appearance at the EP's release party. Bruce refused to appear because Mathers had not previously approached him for permission to use the group's name in this way. Taking Bruce's response as a personal offense, Mathers subsequently attacked the group in radio interviews."


Really, Eminem? Cuz you just kinda made yourself look like petty school girl.

'Tis the season to be recording this year's Christmas album. If you recall, it's all original tunes this year for us. We got the guitar recorded for my "Meowy Christmas" song and my country song yesterday, and I got the vocals down for the kitty song, too. Feelin' pretty good about it. I can't wait to get back into the studio again!

In other news, the Steelers are kinda struggling to kick the Bengal's asses. WTF? Straighten up, boys. No more 96 yard runs for them, k?

1. I'm fed up with religion. Super, super fed up. And really, really angry. Is what it is.

2. I'm tired of careless and/or selfish people who either don't see how their behavior affects others, or don't care.¹

3. My new meds make me pee... a lot. I can live with that if they do their job.

4. The sun is shining but it's only 47 degrees! This excites me.

5. Tonight we're celebrating Joe & Ams joint birthdays. YES.

6. Tomorrow we're attending our 5th and final Halloween party of the year. It's a housewarming. I will be glad to finally put Ursula to rest. It's a great costume, but not easy to wear. I hate wigs, and the clip-on earrings have not been kind to my lobes.² I also can't wait to stop wearing this red nail polish.



¹ I'm not addressing anyone in particular. If your immediate reaction is to worry that I'm talking about you, maybe you should reflect.
² I have never had my ears pierced. The clip-ons pinching my ears all night is less than comfortable.

Is it wrong that I'm already thinking about next Halloween? Who am I kidding, I never stop thinking about costumes!

Here's what I'm possibly going for next year:
- black pants
- black bustier
- white button down, open
- black bob wig
- bloody nose & chin
- syringe sticking out of my bloody chest...

If you still don't have it, maybe this will help:



This would be easier for someone like Robin to pull off because Uma is so tall & thin, but I feel like even a fat version would be recognizable with the syringe in the chest. And it would be a gory costume for once!

$20 to get in for all you can drink (2o kegs!)
Rollercoaster.
3 live bands.

Well. Last weekend was pretty close to perfect.

A pal from NYC visited for a long weekend. She got here Thursday & we gathered on the South Side to see her and Eric D. do standup. They were the best two there. And no, not just because we know them. For realsies, most of the comics were a) men, b) really, really angry c) sometimes angry toward women! So it was nice to get a female in there, and people who didn't just whine about shit the whole time.

Friday, just the two of us went to FallingWater. It was abso gorgeous. It was a somewhat rainy day, but that didn't put a damper on the day at all. In fact, I like that it brought out the smell of the woods. Know what I mean? The house was unbelievable. So smart and beautiful at the same time.

Saturday was the big party, of course. We had a much better turnout than expected (50+!), and the costumes were fabulous! Our Little Mermaid theme came together really nicely! It was a great mix of old & new friends. You guys really are the best.

Here are some of my favorite shots from the party.

1. Me fighting with Triton over the trident.


2. The whole Little Mermaid group. Josh became a make-shift Sebastian when he showed up in red long underwear and LZ happened to have red fingerless gloves in her bag. Hilarious.


3. Me with my minions, Flotsam & Jetsam. I love this photo because Triton is coming in for the kill from the upper right corner.


4. The villains & Triton. Scary, no?



This weekend we conquer The Evaline!

Today was crazy busy. Like, I feel like I didn't have a Sunday.

Morning
10:30 Rise & sorta shine
11:00 In Acchord rehearsal (with audition callback for a new guy)

Afternoon
1:30 Drive back home for costume stuff I already bought, stop for gas
2:00 Pick up Eric, head to Robinson for costume shopping¹
4:00 Go to his parents' to use sewing machine, make tentacles²

Evening
6:30 Stop at Sheetz³ for dinner, drop Eric home
7:30 Go home to drop off purchases, pick up Joe
8:00 Meet up at Sean's to help with moving to new place⁴

Night
10:00 Pick up Halloween decorations we're borrowing for the party
10:30 Get home, put up Psycho themed shower curtain⁵
10:45 Die from fumes being emitted from Psycho themed shower curtain⁶


Now it's 11:45 and I'm shipoopied. Goodnight!



¹ Dollar Tree, Michael's, & JoAnn. Wish I had more time in each of them!
²They look AMAZING. Eric is a fucking wizard.
³ MTO!
⁴ We missed the worst of it (loading) but were there to help with unloading (which was a snap!)
⁵ The plastic stinks!
⁶ Like, REALLY STINKS!

Dear lord this is amazing:

I saw an endocrinologist today.

While my PCP has been great about a) diagnosing, b) explaining, and c) starting treatment for my PCOS, I just felt like I needed a specialist's opinion. When I talked to my PCP on my last visit about some symptoms that concerned me, she seemed to think they weren't abnormal.

No offense, doc, but I know my body.
I can tell something's not right.

So, I met with Dr. Lubowsky today. Yep, it's pronounced just how you think. He was smart, good at listening, even better at explaining, and he sprung into action. He made it clear what my hormone levels mean and what we can do about them. First we do bloodwork, then we act according to the results.

When talking to him about PCOS and various treatments, it became apparent to me why he's a specialist. While my PCP certainly knew enough to diagnose me and initiate treatment, she didn't mention anything about how different types of birth control can have drastically differing affects on hormone levels, and that we may need to adjust my BC accordingly. She also didn't mention that if my hormone levels appear normal, there are still some add-on medications that can help to reduce symptoms.

Dr. Lubowsky has given me hope for the first time in a while. It's a nice feeling, and I look forward to my follow-up with him in a few months.

I'm having a moody night, so instead of bitch & moan about it (like usual), I'm gonna talk about something else.


I have been doing lots of Little Mermaid research because of my costume. Here are some things I've learned:

The pretty girl Ursula becomes is named Vanessa. Didn't remember that.

You can watch the movie in its entirety on YouTube in 10 ten minute segments.

You can watch various clips in a slew of other languages, including Finnish, German, Greek, and apparently "Canadian" (Wouldn't that just be French?). I discovered this when specifically looking up "little mermaid vanessa."

The villain in the sequel is Ursula's sister, Morgana. She's basically a skinny version of Ursula, but Pat Carroll returns for the voice. Behold, Morgana:




Now behold my bed time.

Something made me think of the McDonald's coffee case today, so I read up on Wikipedia. Apparently, the woman ended up in the hospital for 8 days because of the burns from the coffee. She received treatment for two years following the incident, and the original intent of the lawsuit was for McD's to pay her $20,000 since her medical bills totaled $11,000 (um, why do you need an extra $9,000?). When they offered her only $800 (which is ridiculous considering that they could afford $11,000), she pursued the case further.

The woman was 79 when the incident occurred. She died in 2004 at the age of 91.

Nang will be visiting in a couple weeks. When she's here, we're taking a trip to Falling Water. I'm pretty excited because I've never been there.

Joe's mom is visiting this weekend, so we had lunch with my family today. I mentioned the trip, and mom and dad said they had visited there in 1978, when my brother was one and I was just a sparkle in my daddy's eye (which I still am).

Apparently, they were not allowed to take my brother in. No babies were permitted inside. If that's still the case, this will be an even better trip than I thought.

; )


We went to Sharp Edge last night with Joe's ma, then came home and just chilled out. We were planning karaoke after dinner, but were all way too tired to do anything else. This evening we're watching football while Kate knits.

Mom and dad sent us home with leftovers (as usual), but that's not all we brought home from this trip. Mom's church had a flea market and came into a load of old sheet music that they were selling for $1 a pop, so she bought a bunch of it and told us to look through and pick out what we wanted.

Some of the music we found:

MacArthur Park

This Guy's In Love With You

Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head

The Stripper

Star Wars Theme

A Billy Joel songbook (Eric, you can have this if interested)

Some oldies compilations

A Disney songbook (from 1985, so sadly nothing from the 90's)

Joe has already been playing some of them tonight. I like having the keyboard in the living room!