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Well, the plan today was to go have a picnic in the mountains, maybe go for a climb, then head out for karaoke at night.
We coordinated over IM (which, given the cell phone signals around here, works much better), and RetroRose came to pick me up. Cool to meet her. Haven't seen her in ages (and never before in person). She's just fun to hang around with.
Went back to Anna's, started hanging out.
We watched some L&C vids, which was (mostly) cool. None of mine, though. And I wasn't quite sure how I felt about that. Might have been embarassing, but... I'd love to see people's honest in person reactions. Good or bad. I'd just like to know what they're thinking. No one replied to my "vidding truth" thing a few posts down. (Not sure what that means, either.)
Went out for a quick errand and saw the oddest thing. Crossed two bridges in a row, and both of them (in both directions!) had signs on them:
"Fish crossing."
What the frak? I thought it was a joke at first, but... Two bridges. Both sides.
Come on, people. It's not like sturgeon jump out of the river, flop over the road, and then jump back in. At least, not so far as I know. I mean, sure, I've heard of salmon ladders. But I don't think there was even that here. Besides, the sign specifically mentioned sturgeon (I'm pretty sure), and I've never heard of a sturgeon ladder.
(Salmon ladders are something they have in Alaska -- and possibly down in Seattle, too -- for the benefit of returning salmon. Both for enviornmental/natural protection and for the fishing industry. Basically, in order to help salmon deal with the potential barricades of highway bridges and inordinately steep hills, they build artificial waterfalls. Almost like staircases with water flowing over them. The salmon jump from step to step, but the steps make the barriers passable.)
So... Fish crossing? Really?
Maybe I'll have to get a picture of one of those to add to my collection of odd signs.
(Got one last week of one in MA. It was supposed to direct you to a local historical landmark, but there was something a little odd about it:
<==ONE WAY===
--Oldest House-->
)
Anyway, enough about that.
We watched vids. Then we watched some other stuff. Fraggle Rock, the Muppett Show... Really fun. Haven't seen that in ages, and it's a real shame.
Had a good dinner. Hung out some more.
Yes, that's right. The plan was, if you recall, for a picnic lunch on the mountain. We ended up sitting, chatting, watching vids, etc until 8:30pm. *G*
At that point, RetroRose took me out to pick up some helium balloons before the store closed. When we came back, we found that the others had changed for karaoke. Nice to see them dressed up. Almost makes me wish I'd had something better. I don't want to say too much more. Actually, I'll mention one thing and leave it at that.
I don't usually like make-up. If I notice that it's there, it's almost always a bad thing. I took one look at Anna's face, though, and did a mental double take. You know... that's the way it's supposed to be.
Moving on...
Karaoke.
I actually got to do it. It didn't go anything like I'd planned, but I got to do it. Stayin' Alive. With a chest full of helium.
Only the helium didn't last nearly as long as I'd hoped. (Sara was there as my pit crew and I had to break early for a second balloon, but it still wasn't enough.) And I couldn't hear my own voice at all. The music just drowned it out. I have no idea what I sounded like or if I was even close to being in tune, but I do know that the pitch was nowhere near as high as it was supposed to be.
But you know what? I had a blast with it anyway. There was a table full of people up front who were just so encouraging.
They made me dance. I don't believe it. I don't dance. But I did. Or did something that by some definition could be called dancing. Moving to the music. Oh, and, of course, the disco pointing thing. Only I think I forgot to move my hips. I'm not sure. It's all kind of blurry. Only in part due to the helium.
Thing is... I knew it wasn't working, but I knew it was fun. So I just threw myself into it. Got a bunch of high fives from the table up front, walked away grinning. Came back to a table of laughing friends who wouldn't tell me anything except that it was "really entertaining." Which, when you get down to it, was the whole point of the thing.
Plan was, though, to "redeem" myself with another song. One I love. One well suited to my vocal range. One I can't help but sing. Sometimes weeks or more after I've heard it.
Ordinary World, by Duran Duran
The DJ came up to me when the person ahead of me was finishing up, just to give me due warning, in case I wanted to breathe another balloon. I was a little touched by the gesture, but... no. Not with this song.
I told him when I went up that I hadn't been able to hear myself before. Asked him to turn down the volume, which he did. And he kept it down for the rest of the night, which helped. You could hear the others better, too.
But... I almost wish I hadn't. My voice sounds totally different outside my head. And the music sounds so much different in that format, too. If it's on the radio or just in my head, I can sing along to it and I know it's good.
Like this... it sounded awful to me. And I couldn't get into the music at all. I heard some people nearby (new people at that same table in the front) say, "this is terrible." And I knew it was. But I couldn't give up. I thought maybe I'd find a way to get the feeling back. To get it to sound right. But... I couldn't.
Nice to have friends, though. They assured me that it had been good. Maybe not great, but not bad and certainly better than some of the others we'd heard. It didn't feel like it, and I was really disappointed in myself for it... but it was good to hear. :)
And it was really cool to hear the others sing, too. Sara's really good, and her singing voice sounds different than I'd expected. I'm not sure how. It's just that her speaking voice has this husky quality to it. Which works in speech but isn't always good for song. Somehow, though, it goes away when she sings. Her singing voice is smooth and polished. Experience helps, I'm sure, but it's got a good natural base to work from.
Kaylle was hard to hear. She sung softly, and was largely drowned out (to my ears, at least) by the music and the people in the bar. What I heard was good, and it was fun to see her up there.
Anna pretty much laughed her way through her song, and that was fun, too. :)
RetroRose refused to sing, but was still good company.
Oh, and we had the most hilarious waitress. I can't even describe her. Besides the bright red (practically day-glo) hair... She just had this way about her. She calls 'em like she sees 'em, and she's not afraid to tell it to (apparantly likable) strangers.
Sara at some point mentioned that she wanted an umbrella in her drink (didn't hear the exact quote myself), so RetroRose went out and told our waitress about it. So the next drink took mysteriously long to make. Seems they don't have paper umbrellas at the bar (which is a chinese restaurant by day), so she took some kind of thick paper with a chinese pattern printed on it, wrapped it around a straw, and taped it in place. On the one hand, it was the strangest and most pathetic attempt at an umbrella I've ever seen. OTOH, it was an amazing gesture and... I don't know. What's the word for when it's so stupid and silly that it becomes irresistably fun? There should be a word for that. I should know what it is. It's something I strive for more than I should probably admit. In any case, it was a labor of love, and something to be proud of. And to laugh over and take many pictures of.
And that's just part of it. Hopefully, someone else can do her justice. All I can say is that she made the whole place work. Forget the karaoke. Go to the restaurant just to get her.
Oh yeah. And (perhaps because I'd brought the balloons), she decided it was someone's birthday. And that she liked us. And that we had to try the house doughnuts (I think she said they were chinese doughnuts). Because they're so good and we'd never had them (she asked, then decided for us that it was something we needed to experience). So she disappeared for ages and then brought out a heaping plate of them. With a little hand-made paper "candle" (cut out and colored in crayon) sticking out of the top. For free. Because... because she wanted to.
RetroRose put out the candle for us (by declaring that she was going to put it out, pretending to wet her fingers, then pinching the top so that the "flame" was folded down). And you know what? Those were some dang good doughnuts.
She was the most fun waitress I've ever had.
And that was the day.
Be interesting to see what the others have to say about it. I'm curious about their perspectives. We'll see if they feel like posting, I guess.
We coordinated over IM (which, given the cell phone signals around here, works much better), and RetroRose came to pick me up. Cool to meet her. Haven't seen her in ages (and never before in person). She's just fun to hang around with.
Went back to Anna's, started hanging out.
We watched some L&C vids, which was (mostly) cool. None of mine, though. And I wasn't quite sure how I felt about that. Might have been embarassing, but... I'd love to see people's honest in person reactions. Good or bad. I'd just like to know what they're thinking. No one replied to my "vidding truth" thing a few posts down. (Not sure what that means, either.)
Went out for a quick errand and saw the oddest thing. Crossed two bridges in a row, and both of them (in both directions!) had signs on them:
"Fish crossing."
What the frak? I thought it was a joke at first, but... Two bridges. Both sides.
Come on, people. It's not like sturgeon jump out of the river, flop over the road, and then jump back in. At least, not so far as I know. I mean, sure, I've heard of salmon ladders. But I don't think there was even that here. Besides, the sign specifically mentioned sturgeon (I'm pretty sure), and I've never heard of a sturgeon ladder.
(Salmon ladders are something they have in Alaska -- and possibly down in Seattle, too -- for the benefit of returning salmon. Both for enviornmental/natural protection and for the fishing industry. Basically, in order to help salmon deal with the potential barricades of highway bridges and inordinately steep hills, they build artificial waterfalls. Almost like staircases with water flowing over them. The salmon jump from step to step, but the steps make the barriers passable.)
So... Fish crossing? Really?
Maybe I'll have to get a picture of one of those to add to my collection of odd signs.
(Got one last week of one in MA. It was supposed to direct you to a local historical landmark, but there was something a little odd about it:
<==ONE WAY===
--Oldest House-->
)
Anyway, enough about that.
We watched vids. Then we watched some other stuff. Fraggle Rock, the Muppett Show... Really fun. Haven't seen that in ages, and it's a real shame.
Had a good dinner. Hung out some more.
Yes, that's right. The plan was, if you recall, for a picnic lunch on the mountain. We ended up sitting, chatting, watching vids, etc until 8:30pm. *G*
At that point, RetroRose took me out to pick up some helium balloons before the store closed. When we came back, we found that the others had changed for karaoke. Nice to see them dressed up. Almost makes me wish I'd had something better. I don't want to say too much more. Actually, I'll mention one thing and leave it at that.
I don't usually like make-up. If I notice that it's there, it's almost always a bad thing. I took one look at Anna's face, though, and did a mental double take. You know... that's the way it's supposed to be.
Moving on...
Karaoke.
I actually got to do it. It didn't go anything like I'd planned, but I got to do it. Stayin' Alive. With a chest full of helium.
Only the helium didn't last nearly as long as I'd hoped. (Sara was there as my pit crew and I had to break early for a second balloon, but it still wasn't enough.) And I couldn't hear my own voice at all. The music just drowned it out. I have no idea what I sounded like or if I was even close to being in tune, but I do know that the pitch was nowhere near as high as it was supposed to be.
But you know what? I had a blast with it anyway. There was a table full of people up front who were just so encouraging.
They made me dance. I don't believe it. I don't dance. But I did. Or did something that by some definition could be called dancing. Moving to the music. Oh, and, of course, the disco pointing thing. Only I think I forgot to move my hips. I'm not sure. It's all kind of blurry. Only in part due to the helium.
Thing is... I knew it wasn't working, but I knew it was fun. So I just threw myself into it. Got a bunch of high fives from the table up front, walked away grinning. Came back to a table of laughing friends who wouldn't tell me anything except that it was "really entertaining." Which, when you get down to it, was the whole point of the thing.
Plan was, though, to "redeem" myself with another song. One I love. One well suited to my vocal range. One I can't help but sing. Sometimes weeks or more after I've heard it.
Ordinary World, by Duran Duran
The DJ came up to me when the person ahead of me was finishing up, just to give me due warning, in case I wanted to breathe another balloon. I was a little touched by the gesture, but... no. Not with this song.
I told him when I went up that I hadn't been able to hear myself before. Asked him to turn down the volume, which he did. And he kept it down for the rest of the night, which helped. You could hear the others better, too.
But... I almost wish I hadn't. My voice sounds totally different outside my head. And the music sounds so much different in that format, too. If it's on the radio or just in my head, I can sing along to it and I know it's good.
Like this... it sounded awful to me. And I couldn't get into the music at all. I heard some people nearby (new people at that same table in the front) say, "this is terrible." And I knew it was. But I couldn't give up. I thought maybe I'd find a way to get the feeling back. To get it to sound right. But... I couldn't.
Nice to have friends, though. They assured me that it had been good. Maybe not great, but not bad and certainly better than some of the others we'd heard. It didn't feel like it, and I was really disappointed in myself for it... but it was good to hear. :)
And it was really cool to hear the others sing, too. Sara's really good, and her singing voice sounds different than I'd expected. I'm not sure how. It's just that her speaking voice has this husky quality to it. Which works in speech but isn't always good for song. Somehow, though, it goes away when she sings. Her singing voice is smooth and polished. Experience helps, I'm sure, but it's got a good natural base to work from.
Kaylle was hard to hear. She sung softly, and was largely drowned out (to my ears, at least) by the music and the people in the bar. What I heard was good, and it was fun to see her up there.
Anna pretty much laughed her way through her song, and that was fun, too. :)
RetroRose refused to sing, but was still good company.
Oh, and we had the most hilarious waitress. I can't even describe her. Besides the bright red (practically day-glo) hair... She just had this way about her. She calls 'em like she sees 'em, and she's not afraid to tell it to (apparantly likable) strangers.
Sara at some point mentioned that she wanted an umbrella in her drink (didn't hear the exact quote myself), so RetroRose went out and told our waitress about it. So the next drink took mysteriously long to make. Seems they don't have paper umbrellas at the bar (which is a chinese restaurant by day), so she took some kind of thick paper with a chinese pattern printed on it, wrapped it around a straw, and taped it in place. On the one hand, it was the strangest and most pathetic attempt at an umbrella I've ever seen. OTOH, it was an amazing gesture and... I don't know. What's the word for when it's so stupid and silly that it becomes irresistably fun? There should be a word for that. I should know what it is. It's something I strive for more than I should probably admit. In any case, it was a labor of love, and something to be proud of. And to laugh over and take many pictures of.
And that's just part of it. Hopefully, someone else can do her justice. All I can say is that she made the whole place work. Forget the karaoke. Go to the restaurant just to get her.
Oh yeah. And (perhaps because I'd brought the balloons), she decided it was someone's birthday. And that she liked us. And that we had to try the house doughnuts (I think she said they were chinese doughnuts). Because they're so good and we'd never had them (she asked, then decided for us that it was something we needed to experience). So she disappeared for ages and then brought out a heaping plate of them. With a little hand-made paper "candle" (cut out and colored in crayon) sticking out of the top. For free. Because... because she wanted to.
RetroRose put out the candle for us (by declaring that she was going to put it out, pretending to wet her fingers, then pinching the top so that the "flame" was folded down). And you know what? Those were some dang good doughnuts.
She was the most fun waitress I've ever had.
And that was the day.
Be interesting to see what the others have to say about it. I'm curious about their perspectives. We'll see if they feel like posting, I guess.
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I don't drink, though, and some of the singers were just painful to listen to. Mostly, it was about being out with friends and having fun, so that was good. :)
Wish you'd been there, too. There aren't many ways it could have been better, but that's definitely one of them. :)