not a gum-approved blog.

whenever someone asks me "so what have you been doing this summer?"

i want to say "jacking off" with a deadpan stare.

but that's not very appropriate now, is it?

a blog about blogging.

right. so. a blog.

this is going to be a pretty long one, gathering what i can from what my brain wants me to write. so unless you feel a personal interest in my livelihood or want some back story on me because i'm going to be a character in your book, you shouldn't feel like this is a mandatory blog (oh wait, liz IS making me a character in her book, this one's for you liz).

see, the problem with me is that when i get passionate about something or get the inspiration to write about something, i get it in the most inconvenient places. over the course of a few weeks i've compiled a short list in my brain of things i want to write or talk about. i'm sure i've forgotten some of them, my brain isn't the best over the course of a few weeks. i tend to get inspiration in restaurants, the shower, or while listening to amanda palmer in a car. these are all things where i'm not in the position to drop whatever i'm doing and run to the computer or a piece of paper. even as i finally sit down to write this blog, i wrote out most of it in my brain in the shower. however, the trek between the shower and the computer becomes a race of brain and body to get to the computer and write this all down before i forget. before i forget the perfectly formed sentences in my head that convey everything i'm feeling. in between the shower and writing this, i stood half-naked in my room searching for a shirt. frantically, i searched. the more frantic i am, the less likely something will happen quickly. i wanted to get here. i wanted to write this. then i get to my computer. and it decides to shut off. twice. it also decides to run a disk check and turn my stomach into knots. then about five sentences ago, my grandpa pounds furiously on the door, breaking my rhythm only to say good night. but i'm not mad at him, i love that he says good night. but it becomes maddening. it becomes maddening to know that every second someone or something is stealing my thoughts and my words while i try to fill in the rest of my life. while i do mundane things like putting on a shirt. i'm sure i wrote more in my head while i was in the shower, but in this mad dash i'm sure i've lost a good 30% in the rush to get here. and while all i wanted to do was write about harry potter, amanda fucking palmer, the internet, or my friends, this quickly became a blog about writing a blog.

determinedly yours,
nicole

things i need to blog about:

don't mind me, this is just a reminder.

1. what the internet means to me.
2. afp vs. lady gaga
3. the song "good day"
4. harry potter and my anger management

this is a burgeoning list.

a concert in a blog.

it's 6 a.m. i haven't slept. so i'm blogging.

every once in a while i feel compelled to write about the experience that was the jenny owen youngs/amanda palmer show at the troubadour. but then i realize i could never put into words what an amazing experience it was. i get discouraged from trying, because this event is one of those things that i let myself fully enjoy. i made the conscious decision to not take any pictures, video, or anything like that. i was there, physically and mentally. i wasn't living the concert through another medium. i was there, in every sense of the world. it felt nice. it was like one of those times you decide you're gonna live life instead of talking about it or capturing it through film (which is what most of my life is dedicated to).

just some highlights, not a play by play:

jenny's new song "clean break", which is inspired by one of my favourite dresden dolls songs "sex changes".

jenny and amanda sang my favourite jenny song "fuck was i" together.

the two amazing people also covered a true american classic entitled "complicated" complete with "your mom" jokes.

i love shores of california, but "missed me" has been stuck in my head ever since the concert.

and lastly, a billie jean cover that brought me to tears and sent chills down my spine.

trust me, it would be wise to watch the entire concert since this person taped it. it was brilliant. you can hear amanda read one of the stories from her book "who killed amanda palmer?" that her boyfriend neil gaiman wrote.

other mentionable moments:
-talking to a very drunk jenny owen youngs about how intense ucsb is and how we took back the night.
-meeting weird al. (OH YEAH!)
-giving beth much deserved sugar cookies and hugs and receiving a kiss.
-learning that very hungry neil gaiman, amanda palmer, and beth loved my cookies.

life is good.