TORI!!!!!!

Last Sunday, December 16, 2007 was a day I had been anticipating for months... the final concert of Tori Amos's worldwide tour was right here in Los Angeles, and Denise, Phil, and I had tickets! When Tori's latest album, "American Doll Posse," was released, Denise ordered it for me through itunes, paying a bit extra for the pre-sale ticket option. So, when the tickets were finally announced, we had a pre-sale code to get tickets early, which we also provided to Phil so he could get early tickets as well. The irony is that despite the fact that we gave Phil the code and ordered our tickets before Phil, he got better seats than us! I'm assuming this is because he ordered just one ticket for himself, therefore he could be squeezed closer to the front in between multiple parties, but I was still slightly jealous and considered taking him out. ;)

The concert was at the Nokia Center (yes, the phone company, an unfortunate trend of arenas these days), a new venue downtown next to the Staples Center (yes, the office supply company, don't ask me). It is a very nice theater, the lobby is fully equipped with bathrooms, several bars, and of course, display cases full of Nokia phones (gag). Upon our entrance, I went straight to the memorabilia stand. I was on a mission to finally purchase a Tori Amos t-shirt. This was my third Tori concert, but the prior two occurred at times in my life when I was flat broke.... college. I'm finally at a point in my life where I can afford a concert tee! Sad, but true. However, mission accomplished! I have one and I love it.

After my success we headed for the bar line to get a beer for Denise and some wine for myself. We said our goodbyes to Phil and headed to our seats. Even though we did not have the fantastic view Phil did (he said she was pretty much right in front of him), we still had excellent seats. This was by FAR the closest I had ever been to Tori (remember Kate when we were like in the last seat in the last row? haha!). We were seated next to some lovely, but chatty, gay boys who just wanted Tori to sing "Cruel," and she did.

I will not go into every detail of the performance because honestly that would be boring AND it is really sort of a blur. She was two of her characters that night, as well as herself at the end. In case any of you are wondering if Tori has multiple personality disorder, I will say maybe. Haha! Seriously though, she is an ARTIST and we cannot question her artistic decision to perform on this album as 4 other characters at times and at others as Tori! Artists just think differently than we do and we are not meant to understand! :) In all honesty, I love that she did that, it makes her album more poignant and it allows her to explore aspects of her personality, and the collective consciousness, that she might not be able to tap into otherwise just as herself. Maybe I do understand..... but I digress. Back to the task at hand.

She first appeared as Isabel (which meant a blond wig). I remember she sang "Yo George," and "Waitress." I can't recap song for song, but I can say that throughout the whole concert there was a lot of stuff from "Under the Pink," which was a nice surprise. Second, she came out as Pip (which meant a black wig), one of the angriest characters on the album. This performance was pretty powerful. She did "Fat Slut," and and AMAZING rendition of "Cruel," as well as other high-energy songs that I can't quite think of. Finally, she was good ol Tori again. Other songs that come to mind are "Amber Waves," "Bouncing Off Clouds," "Crucify," "Talula," and on, and on, and on. The lighting was fantastic, her costumes were eclectic, and the audience went ballistic. :) After hours of performing, two encores, and a bow, the night was over. I L.O.V.E.D. IT! Someone told me of a rumor that this might be her last big world tour, if this is true, color me depressed right now. :(

One final story... after the concert, I had to pee. We went around back to the parking garage where some bathrooms were still open. After I came out I was talking to Denise and laughing much too loud as always. This night however, my loudness was to my advantage because I caught the ear of a man walking by that worked on the tour. He said, "Hey! Are you a die hard fan?" I hesitantly said yes, wondering what he was going to try to sell me. He replied, "Here you go. It's not signed, but it was used in the show." He flicked something at me, and it landed on the ground in glorious "clink." It was a guitar pick used in the show!! I will not go into all the random events that fell into place to get me that pick, but it was destiny. :)

After my brush with destiny, we waited around out back with a few other fans who had heard whispers that Tori might be exiting out the back door. After an hour had passed and still no Tori, we decided to leave because it was freezing and I could stand the pain no longer.

Another night with Tori was over, but I went to sleep that night smiling, holding the pick in my hand, dreaming of rainbows and kitty paws. (Not really, but what a great ending to the story huh?)

I will survive

My fan club

I don't need no damn rope

At the TOP!
This last weekend Denise and I went to REI to browse and see just what Denise could buy with the gift cards she received for her Birthday. I think all in all, it totaled about $350.00, which can go very quickly at that store. At the store they have a climbing wall in the corner. I am curious about rock climbing, and a part of me thinks I would really love it, but another part is scared of plummeting off a cliff. Anyway, I was sort of meandering around the wall and checking it out, when a salesperson asked me if I wanted to climb. I was a bit nervous (and also thought I had to pay), so I said "No, that's alright." Denise said, "Yes, she does." Then I said, "No, that's ok." Then she said, "Come on, you know you want to." Then I said, "Ummm...let's do it!" I put on the harness, some official climbing shoes, and stepped onto the wall. The moment I grabbed onto the pegs, I realized that this was going to be much harder than it seemed.

As I have heard in the past, rock climbing is much more about your legs than arms. Your legs are what propel you up, while your arms are more for balance and grip. I made it so far up the wall, but due to my short stature and tight denim jeans, I could not get my left leg up high enough to boost myself up to the next level. I tried and tried to no avail, and my arms were shaking so bad that I was about to let go and find a cute jacket instead. However, I looked down to see that I had amassed a little fan club (the pics above are ones Denise took with my cell phone) that had surrounded Denise. One kid yelled out, "You can do it!" How could I stop after that? I could not be the one to show small impressionable children that when life gets tough, you give up.

Finally, my arms just gave out, and I swung a bit around to the side of the wall. I latched on to another peg, and notice that this portion had steps much more my size. I was determined to make it up. I let my arms rest for a minute, and then I started my ascent. I pushed myself up with each crevice until I reached the top. I rang the bell triumphantly and the children cheered. I felt like I had been the protagonist in a children's story about never giving up and the power of perseverance. I felt accomplished. :)

When I got off that rock, I could tell immediately that my arms were not once what they used to be. I could barely unbuckle the clasp that kept my harness on. Lifting my arms above my waste was an effort. The next few days were pretty painful, and all from a 10 minute climb to the stop of this wall. I can't imagine how much climbing an actual rock face would kick my ass, but a part of me wants to find out.

That night we went to Cathleen and Rhonda's cheap wine tasting party. The rule was that you had to bring a bottle of wine that you paid $8.00 or less for (so on sale items counted). It was placed in a paper bag, lettered, and sorted into one of three categories: light, medium, or bold. Each person was then given a lettered score sheet, and you went to each table tasting the various anonymous wines. In the end, I think there were about 30 bottles to taste. It was SO much fun as always. As has been discussed several times by our group of friends, this party is so great because everyone is drinking the same amount of alcohol as everyone else, so you all get tipsy right around the same time. After the wine tasting is done, the votes are tallied, and the top three wines are revealed. Denise was determined to win this year, but alas, it did not happen. Maybe next year my love.

After the ceremonies, two lovely ladies did fire dancing in the back alley which was amazing. I did find myself wondering though what the neighbors were thinking, and what I would do if I looked out the window to see fire flying around behind my house. Then I realized we were in Venice, and I'm sure they have seen many strange things going on behind their houses, so fire dancing is just another occurrence to add to their list.

After the party we met up with a friend at a local bar, lets just say more drunken debauchery, Denise peeing in a doorway, and off key singing all the way home ended the evening.

The next day was TORI AMOS, but I think that definitely warrents its' own post.

One final note, the finale of Tila Tequilla was last night, and surprise, surprise, she picked Bobby instead of Dani. Denise and I predicted this almost from the beginning of the episode based on body language and the affection she showed Bobby, but it was still disappointing none the less. On the one hand, I realize that it was just a dumb realiy show, and did break some barriers since the final girl was a type of lesbian that is not represented on mainstream television that often (and a type Tila herself didn't even know she could care for), but it was still the same ol disappointment of the lesbian never winning. I can't help but think that despite the few strides this show made for the lesbians, the final message was still the sterotypical idea that when bisexual women are faced with the choice of a man and a woman, the man will win because she truly wants "the penis." Ugh... I'm sick of that. Again, I'm not by any means saying this is true and I know many bisexual woman end up with women, but the mainstream media does not represent those women, and this reality show could have been a way to prove that a woman can capture another woman's heart just as well as a man can. But alas, twas not to be. Maybe the next show will redeem us because, that's right folks, "A shot at love 2" is in the works. It will not be with Tila, but with some other fiesty bi-sexual model. Still, I really think that lesbians can't look to television to validate our relationships, we just have to continue to do it the way we always have, by just living our life in open, loving relationships. Carry on my people. :)

I will never take my mouth for granted again...

I'm back, and feeling SO much better than I did about this time a week ago. As you can see above, I swelled up and resembled a chipmunk which Denise helped me to document with this lovely juxtaposition of myself and an actual chubby cheeked chipmunk.

Not only did my wisdom teeth need to come out, but they were impacted under my gums, which in dental terms is an extraction. This translates into them slicing my gums and cutting at my wisdom teeth until they could get them all out. All four...ugh. Anyway, I was given what is known as "twilight sleep," which means that I can still breath on my own, but I'm basically unaware of the disgusting process that is happening in my mouth. I have slight impressions of talking around me and my mouth moving, but no memory of what really happened.

After the surgery, and a stop at Target, I stumbled home onto the couch with wads of bloody gauze (I feel you all can handle the uncensored version :) in my mouth, that needed to be changed every half hour or so. Vince stopped by to pick up some stuff, and he accurately said they looked like "alien pod babies." I stayed doped up on Ibuprofen, Tylenol/codeine, with a hint of antibiotics for about a week. I'm still a bit sore, and have to take some pain relievers every once in awhile, but all in all I'm doing much better.

After a week, I had a check up with the oral surgeon, who gave me a water syringe to rinse out the nasty, rotting food that gets stuck in the sockets which remain. It is definitely gross, but also slightly fascinating, and a relief for my sensitive gums.

I think after this, it will be smooth sailing, but I have much more appreciation of the pain that can be associated with oral procedures (don't be dirty;).

Wisdom Teeth

I had my wisdom teeth out Monday, I will return when the swelling goes down. :)