Champion!: Helio and Julianne were crowned champions of Dancing with the Stars season 5. I’m so happy for him, and it’s great that America has now gotten to know why Helio is the jewel in the Indy Car series crown. There are lots of dances I need to post here in the next few days. Stay tuned!
Fun Friday: Had to go into the office, but it was a really slow day. I decorated my desk for the holidays (a totally garish silver and hot pink motif - completely 80s!) and enjoyed chatting with my direct reports and podmates. The company did a huge breakfast buffet for us, so we spent most of the very lovely morning out in a clear tent enjoying the tasty foodstuffs. We left shortly after 4 pm and I stopped to pick up my three pairs of glasses and hustled home. I’m on call the whole weekend so I can’t really do anything elaborate, but I’m enjoying the peace and quiet.
Awwww: Woke this morning to text messages from some of my boys in Vegas - “Wish you were here.” That’s so sweet. I’m actually glad I’m not there to witness some of the acts of desperation that could be on display. There are lots of tensions in attendance: people obsessed with band members; former lovers who no longer speak; band volunteers who power trip on other fans, etc. It’s so lovely and peaceful when all that isn’t around and it’s just a small group of folks who want to share a few drinks and some laughs. And just got a call from Rupe again - he’s nursing a terrible headache from too much whiskey in the desert. Poor dear. *grin*
Contented: Ate my turkey and dressing, plus a little pumpkin custard. Managed not to overdo it, so I’m pleasantly contented here with my similarly-contented felines. A nice afternoon with a pile of books awaits. Having a quiet holiday at home is a lovely balance to the insanity of working for an online retailer this time of year. Hope you are all spending your Thanksgiving in your favorite way.
Ruped: Talked to family and a few friends so far today, including Rupert, who’s currently traveling with his band mates. He said the radio show they were supposed to do yesterday in Phoenix resembled the Keystone Cops - a totally amateur production that may never see the light of day, despite the fact that it was a nice performance by them. He said their gig last night was fun and that my friend Gary managed to make it - Rupe is a big Gary fan! He commented that their webmaster has been busy eating since he’s not working and has gotten a bit round. (Always ready to comment, that Rupe!) Rupe himself sounded great. He’s really missed touring - they haven’t been on the road nearly as much as they used to - so he’s completely happy to be performing for a few days.
They’re In!: Helio and Julianne have made the finals on Dancing with the Stars. Woo Hoo!
10! x 6: Helio and Julianne performed a foxtrot and cha cha cha last night and wowed the audience and judges for a perfect score on the night. And so did Mel B. and Maks - so the race is on! I’ll post the videos in the next day or so.
Poke: It’s been a bad day to be Bash’s left eye. On the way to the train this morning, a gust of wind blew debris in my face and something sharp is now stuck under my left upper eyelid. I came home and dug into my earthquake prep area for the first aid kit, which I think has eye wash in it. My cardboard recycling sits next to the EQ storage area and as I leaned in to find the kit, I lost my balance and got a face full of sharp cardboard corners. The sharpest one went right into my left eye. I’m squinty and saving my screen time for work issues, so the Helio videos will have to wait… *grin*
Eye. C. U.: Went for an eye exam today - ugh. (Hey, I hate that almost as much as the dentist!) The glaucoma “puff,” the lights that go shining here and there, the pupil dilation drops that sting, and the completely wigged-out vision that follows for most of the day all get on my nerves. But, my regular glasses broke, I lost my sunglasses, and my back-up glasses are good in an extreme pinch, but way too old an Rx for regular use. I’m getting two pairs of glasses and a pair of sunglasses made - they should arrive next week.
Sh*t St*r: So this guy who is tour manager for a band I know got in touch last night, suggesting that I might get involved with a certain aspect of the band’s business. This guy has had differences of opinion with the person who is currently doing that work, and there was talk last year that I might help out but it was never fully discussed and there was a lot of doodoo hurled around by the two in disagreement. I ended up squarely in the middle of that. I asked to be left out of their power struggle and greatly reduced my amount of contact with the parties involved. So today I dropped a line to a band member asking if it had been approved by them for sure this time, and I got “huh - news to me. Lemme think this through” as an answer. Yup, Mr. Tour Manager is up to poop stirring again. If anyone is wondering why I won’t break my neck too much to show up on that scene anymore, crap like this is a big part of the reason.
Safe!: Again, Helio and Julianne advance to the next round of Dancing with the Stars. *exhale*
Sick: Again. Really sore throat and dizzy headache. Been napping on and off all day. Hope I can sleep tonight.
Nailed it: The Paso Doble was better than I expected from Helio and Julianne tonight and it got great scores - three 9s. And my Brazilian Banana Boy got all his steps down for the quickstep and knocked it out of the park for a perfect score of 30. They had the total top score for the night and I’m really hoping they’ll move to the next round.
Pampered: Facial, haircut (it’s awesome!) mani/pedi, great food and a great gig by Arcade Fire on Austin City Limits. Just the thing for my birthday. *grin*
Swampered: MySpace is esplodin’! I got a few greetings last year, but I can’t keep up this year. Slammed with comments! Nice thread on the Fixx board, too. Haven’t read that board in a few weeks - just not a thing I have time for at the moment, but I heard there was a thread for me and went for a look. Sweet.
Almost Bash Day: Woke up this morning with a ton of comments and private messages on MySpace from my favorite Miss Pippi, Cy Curnin, Bud Moehler, Pressdog (I’m ALMOST sidepod-worthy!) and tons of bands on my friends list. Nice early start to the celebration. *grin* Tomorrow, I’m spending four hours in the salon for a serious pampering. Ahhhhhh!
On to Next Week: Helio and Julianne are through to next week’s round of Dancing with the Stars. Jane Seymour was eliminated tonight after turning in quite a few elegant dances. Next week for Helio and Julianne are the Paso Doble (a challenge for our smiling Brazilian) and the Quickstep (so long as he gets all the steps memorized, a good fit for him).
Good, and Great!: Helio and Julianne had two dances on Dancing with the stars tonight. First, the tango. The “serious” dances just aren’t Helio’s thing, but it really wasn’t too bad. Heck, who’d ever supply them with Jean Genie for music? Seriously, that’s hardly tango music. But, oh, the sassy samba - Helio was shaking his groove thing for real, right there in front of teammate Sam Hornish, Jr., and his wife Crystal. It was really fun. Something tells me this may be Helio’s week to visit the bottom 2, however. I really hope I’m wrong…
Write: In addition to the writing I do at work, I’m now involved in a personal writing project (no, not the next great Americans novel) and I’m about to get into the next phase of helping the Florida Wild Mammal Association update their web site. I can’t seem to get away from my computer. *grin*
Right: Helio and Julianne danced at an Indiana Pacers game to help drum up votes for his dances in the Dancing with the Stars competition. Monday night, they’ll perform the tango and the samba - Helio cracked that his tango “looks like a marching band” and his samba was “Aye Carumba!” so he really needs votes. Please vote for Helio!
Rite: It’s time to turn back clocks. Which means it’s time for fall cleaning to be wrapped up (ha! like I have time!) and it’s almost birthday time. These are my annual rites of autumn…along with tuning in to figure skating as the season starts. Last year, I didn’t see a single salchow and ended up dumping all the broadcasts onto videotape without watching them. This season, I’ve seen three performances - one by 14-year-old Caroline Zhang, who is adorable - and one each from Jeffrey Buttle and Brian Joubert. It’s early in the season, but the level of skating is awfully strong…hope I have time to watch more this year.
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