Oh hey! Hi! Got to the end of sxswi and I kind of just left it there. I did get back safely 2 hours later than expected, but otherwise the return trip was every uneventful. I posted all the photos over at flickr, of course. Only 62 photos this year, much less than the usual 200+ I take every other year. I guess that's what happens when you're only there Fri-Mon. Only 2 days less than usual, but significant, it would seem.

For the first time in the 15 years I have lived in the Bay area, I did not go Home for St. Patrick's day this year. A combination of factors: too much traveling, parents living in a smaller house, dad out of town, etc., all conspired to keep me home this year. I didn't miss corned beef and cabbage though, thank goodness. A friend with an underage sister who couldn't go out to drink at a bar opted to host a boiled food dinner at her place on the 17th, so we were able to satisfy our Irish holiday cravings. It was way fun.

The rest of March was birthday parties, pub night outings and Teddy Thompson at the GAMH, my first time seeing him and going to that venue. Both were pretty neat. I'd go again. Tip: get tickets early, though! Wait too long, and you have to go through another service and the "convenience" fees increase significantly. Bastards.

April has been more than interesting. It started off with Bon Jovi in SJ on the 2nd. I managed to get us some pretty good seats (upper deck, front row) (photos soon), and I would have acted much more the typical fan girl, but the row o' women behind us kept up such a cacaphony of shrieking and squealing during the whole show that I just couldn't muster up the energy. Also, were you aware that Bon Jovi has gone crossover-country? They have. Disappointing. Still, they played a bunch of the oldies/goodies and we had a good time anyway. Knowing they were pushing the new (country) record, though, we left at the encore and got out of the parking lot in a fraction of the time it usually takes to escape downtown SJ. Yee. Haw.

Friday last week dawned warm and sunny, a marked change from the week previous, and everyone was in a party mood this weekend. We went to dinner with friends where we could sit out on their back porch and drink margaritas, and then hung out at what is quite possibly one of the best dive bars around. If you can find my business card, I'll buy you a drink :)

Anyway, after a few hours, we decided to head out, and walked towards home. I can't seem to write down a coherent blow-by-blow of what happened next, but suffice it to say that after we dropped Deirdre off at her car and I was in my apartment, my honey was almost-mugged for his laptop case as he got it out of his car to "keep it safe" inside. As the kids young adults ran off, they giggled and dropped their gun and cell phone. It turned out to be an air pistol, but those look like real guns, donchaknow. Interesting way to get to know your neighbors, while you wait for Oakland PD to show up.

The rest of the weekend was much less exciting and much more pleasant, with a bbq, hair coloring and finally finally finally getting my tv stand from IKEA. I spent last night putting the damn thing together while watching Eddie Izzard and My So-Called Life. I just need to nail in the back paneling and put the doors on and then find someone to help me haul my new-to-me 30-something inch flatscreen tv up onto it. Then find something to do with my perfectly good 27" tv and tv stand.

Also, finally finished Alias sometime last month. Ohmygod. If you ever start watching a series that has lasted more than 2 seasons already, pace yourself. I watched 5 seasons of this show in a row and by the end, I was Aliased out. So so very ready for it to be over.

I also watched Lost, season 3 in record time. Considering catching up on season 4 with my friends' Tivo'd episodes, but I think I'll just wait for DVD again. BSG3 is also out now ... just added those to my Netflix queue, which will help with the pacing, as I won't be able to just skip from disc to disc with abandon.

Wedding season is also beginning. At 36, I have never yet had that summer where all my friends got married. I think this one will come close, though, with my ex-roommie getting married in Kauai next month, Erica getting married in early June in Dallas and more friends getting married in mid-June here in Berkeley. Lots of traveling coming up!

What else ... I put all my DVDs in cd sleeves, and now I'm not sure that was a good idea. I mean, it's good in terms of saving space, but browsing titles won't be nearly as easy. Still working on the scarf I started on the trip to Mexico in January. Managed to finally clean off my dining table, which I haven't been able to see for at least a year now. Determined to keep it that way. Did my taxes at the end of last month, and the money has been deposited to pay for A's season tickets, opera season tickets, highlighting my hair, getting a tv stand and hopefully a real nightstand too. What's left over will go towards the Hawaii trip next month and then I'm tapped out. Couch will happen next year, I think.

I think that pretty much brings us up to date here. Hope y'all are doing well!