the pride cup overfloweth
i’m going to tell you about shivlet’s open mic performance at the boudoir bar in carroll gardens last night. these are the standard fare, par for the course with her talent:
1. she rocked the face off that microphone, and then brought it back for seconds, singing the powerful battle anthem “reclamation” and then the sexiest cover of “hit me baby one more time” anyone’s ever sung.
2. the entire bar, crowded with about forty people, who had been chattering through everyone else’s two-song sets, fell completely jaw-droppingly silent when they heard that powerful voice of hers.
3. although it was her first open mic and they didn’t even hear the full effect of her songs, range, and staying power, the bartender, the MC, and all the other musicians were clamoring to compliment her after the show. blown. away.
4. and of course, she sounded beautiful, looked beautiful, and broke my heart with pride.
but like i said. these things are the usual fodder of truth when it comes to our little songstress. what really mattered to me, last night, was the story all those adoring insta-fans didn’t know. that yesterday was the first time shiv successfully picked up her guitar since a painful breakup. that i watched her cry over the past few weeks, and i’ve watched her grow strong, even if she doesn’t realize it. they wouldn’t have known that, these listeners, but i did. i knew what it took to pick up that guitar again and open up her heart to play.
perhaps those wonderful strangers at the bar don’t know that her music is everything to her – it’s her sanity, the star her dreams are hitched to, her therapy. an extension of herself. i remember the first time i saw shiv perform, i thought, goddamn but she just glows up there. i mean it. glows. her sparkly eyes light up and her whole body vibrates the sheer joy she takes in her music. and while my shivlet has been a brave little soldier these past few hard weeks, and while i always knew it’d come back, last night was the first time i’d seen that glow again, that distinctive glitter and shine in her smile, that sign that her happiness and her delight in the world around her is infectious and breath-taking.
to me, i saw one of my dearest friends come back into her own last night. not faking it, not trying too hard, perhaps not even back holding back tears. whether she felt it or not, she glowed. and, judging by the crowd, it showed.
snaps for shivlet – one of the strongest women i know.
the places we’ve been
someone i once loved very dearly, who has rubber banded in and out of my good graces over the past few months, is finally doing something that makes him happy. it may not be the way we planned it, the way i hoped it, the way we wrote it, but when it comes to your friends’ happiness, you take it as they make it.
i’m not the bitter, resentful type and after months of wrestling with our past, our present and our future, i’ve come to a place of peace where i’m not angry. i may never be in the place that i was but i’m in a place i’m comfortable with. and knowing that a simple job, a simple place of employment, is bringing him joy – makes me happy, end of story. which is a good place to end the day.
S D R U #3 – OR, bringing it on the playground.
and by playground, i mean bar. and by bringing it, i mean breaking hearts. tonight is shivlet‘s open mic night at a bar in brooklyn. kate and i will be in enthusiastic attendance. but more importantly than that, we will both be wearing short short jean skirts, long long legs, and tall tall boots. take that, world.
S D R U #2
i love my new phone to bits, don’t get me wrong… but the very best thing about it is:
the linus and lucy/peanuts theme song ring tone
and the TEXAS LONGHORNS wallpaper.
Sleep Deprived Random Update #1
i confess, i am very too disjointed today to make a cohesive post. i’m wired and tired at the same time. so i will be making a series of random, nearly meaningless updates over the course of the day. if this is rabidly uninteresting to you, i suggest you go read someone else.
you know you’ve found your soulmate when she makes plans to spend a beautiful autumn day wandering around the city with your lovely boyfriend, and you’re painfully, gut-wrenchingly jealous … OF HIM.
yes, folks, the kate has arrived.
excitement, followed by some disappointment, tailed by even more excitement
okay, i’ve had a pretty shitty week altogether. cell phone got stolen this weekend, money’s tight, dad was driving me crazy on sunday-visit, LSAT scores came in and disappointed, money situation reaching critical mass, haven’t seen my boy in days. pretty crappy altogether.
BUT THE THING IS, KATE’S GOING TO BE HERE IN FIVE HOURS SO NONE OF THIS MATTERS. kate is going to be here and for four days, all of our problems will vaporate as we halloween, paint the town red, drink until dawn, paint each other’s nails, eat cupcakes with shiv and sarah b., and GENERALLY SPEND THE ENTIRE WEEKEND BEING FABULOUS GIRLS.
in other news, however, i can’t believe i’m being forced to choose between the west wing and the OC. i mean, how could they program those two pivotal shows at the same time? can’t i have my political cake and eat my silly teenaged cupcake too? bastards.
but none of this disjointed nonsense matters. because KATE’S COMING TO TOWN TONIGHT. and as sarah b. once famously said, “you’ll pay for the whole seat but you’ll ONLY NEED THE EDGE.”
we’ll keep you posted as the mayhem unfurls.
law and order and art
this needs no explanation. it’s just brilliant.
i wasn’t lying when i said …
ever since i moved back to the US for good, in 1997, people have always asked me, “man, do you remember ________ [insert 1980's reference here]?” and my answer is almost always the same: “dude, i was in AFRICA. so, no.” in fact, here is a complete list of the only things i remember about the eighties:
tetris.
cindy lauper [2 songs].
rubix cube.
new kids on the block.
cabbage patch dolls.
and
jams.
that’s it, people. chances are, anything else you ask me about, in referring to the eighties, i will give my tired, worn, yet completely true answer: “dude, i was in -”, at which point, if you’ve known me long enough, you’ll sigh exaggeratedly and say, “you ALWAYS say that.”
well, i just found irrevocable proof that i truly am clueless when it comes to pop culture and technology of the eighties childhood: jp’s memories. none, seriously people, NONE of these games, gadgets, or knickknacks strike any recognition in my heart at all. except the garbage pail kids. i was down with those. even IN AFRICA.
support my troops!
go to llama cafe. buy a tee shirt. do it for me.
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