beautiful, funny, sad and true

So I’m sitting here at the computer just now, with my apartment door open, like I do when it’s a beautiful evening such as this, and a guy comes to the door.

“Hey,” he says.

“What’s up?” I ask.

“Is this Twenty-One Fourteen?”

“Yeah,” I reply. “What’s going on?” I’ve never seen this person before, but he looks harmless enough. He walks into my living room and slowly shuts the door behind him.

He asks, “Aren’t you Seattle Guy?”

“No.” I look at him, trying to figure out what in the world he’s referring to. “I’m confused.”

“Oh,” he says, turning toward the door, opening it, and walking back out to the street, where his car is parked.

Sunday, after my gig down in Gleneden Beach with Susie Blue, I drove the hundred-mile trip up curvy Highway 101 to Cannon Beach, where my mom, stepdad, brother, sister-in-law, niece and baby nephew were. As soon as I arrived, I made dinner for everybody. Mom made a delicious salad, and my stepdad made an amazing dessert.

After all that, we walked down to the beach. The house they rented was directly in line with Haystack Rock, so it couldn’t have been easier to get there. After driving two and a half hours to the gig, playing the gig, driving a little bit and then stopping at the factory outlet stores in Lincoln City (where–among other things–I got a new blue hoodie to replace the one I left in Salem a couple weeks ago), then driving four more hours up the coast (stopping to take a few pictures along the way), it was an exhausting day, but completely worth it. It was great to see everybody, and here are some pictures:

Even I am amazed at the amount of stuff I crammed into one day. Here’s what today consisted of:

1) got up at 8:00 and sold my oak bookcase (you know, the one that was in my living room), then helped the buyer load it into his truck

2) did three loads of laundry

3) washed the dishes

4) took out the trash and recycling

5) transferred the files I needed from my old computer onto my new computer

6) went to Fred Meyer and bought a dining table and chairs for the kitchen, and food for the trip to Cannon Beach tomorrow

7) assembled the table and almost finished one of the chairs

8) vacuumed the living room floor and did SpiderWebRemoval along the ceiling and corners with the vacuum throughout the entire apartment

9) swept the kitchen floor

10) disassembled the old table that was in my kitchen, and took it to the basement

11) disassembled the new table because it wouldn’t fit through the hallway to get to the kitchen (Grrrr!)

12) reassembled the new table in the kitchen

13) took a shower

14) loaded my instruments in the car and made the hour-long drive down to Salem for a two-hour gig with Breanna Paletta. It was a blast, by the way. I played cello mostly, but also accordion and a little bit of acoustic guitar. My favorite songs were the ones with Breanna singing and playing guitar, her friend Karli playing violin, and me playing cello. Seriously amazing combination.

15) drove the hour-long drive home and unpacked all the instruments from the car

16) wrote this blog entry

17) probably see who’s on Austin City Limits and have a glass of wine. Words cannot express how tired and sore I am right now.

18) go to bed and sleep like an effin’ baby

Okay, it’s now Friday. I haven’t written anything since Tuesday. This is unacceptable, I know, but it’s been another busy week.

Kelly and I hung out the last couple of nights, which was great. We watched Da Ali G Show on DVD and played Tribond one night (she won), and the next night we went to the Mission Theater, where every week they play episodes of Arrested Development. For free. Then we came back and played Uno (I won).

My apartment is a total shambles. The other day I bought some new bookshelves, to match the computer desk and stuff that I got from Alyssa. I put them together, and they look great, but everything’s still kinda strewn around and disorganized until I can get rid of the old bookshelf, which I just now put on Craigslist.

Tonight I’m playing cello with Sarah Castro, tomorrow I’m driving down to Salem to play accordion and guitar with Breanna Paletta, and Sunday morning I’m driving to Gleneden Beach to play accordion with Susie Blue. From there I’m driving to Cannon Beach to meet my mom and stepdad, and my brother and his family. I may not have a chance to write until I get back, which is why I’m writing now.

So this may not be a particularly earth-shattering entry, but at least you’re all caught up now. Don’t you feel lucky and/or special?

My eyelids kept getting heavy while I was at work today, so on my afternoon break, I went out into the upstairs lobby, set the alarm on my phone, laid down on the bench by the window, and took a little nap.

During said nap, I had a short dream, which involved me eating a lot of sushi and then getting sick into the bushes, like I did in Seattle, except that the bushes were the bushes that are along the driveway at my mom and stepdad’s house in Yakima.

Weird.