Thursday.  Be there....I will be, and so will my art.



xoxo

Hello, my name is Kate.

Alan Alda and his wife Arlene greeted me this morning at the Art Shop as my first customers.  (M.A.S.H)

FYI:  He likes Obama better than Hilary! But he and Arlene would love to see her run for governer before running for president!

I love my new laptop.  Soooooo worth the wait.  THANKS DAD!!!!!!!!

I'm at home and I'm online.  This hasn't happened in years.

Untag. This is a game, but I am a Steppenwolf and a realist observer. I realize that not all reply to 'chain-mail' such as this. So I tag no one, and end this line here. Quirks, oddities, and idiosyncrasies beheld.


1. I suffer an internal dilemma during the christmas season. I am hypocrite because I accept gifts while denouncing the holiday. I have feigned enthusiasm for the season my entire life.



2. I have Daddy issues, and I'm proud of that.



3. I refuse to consume gingerbread (despite my acceptance of its tastiness) due to an incident involving the cookie in question that landed me in the hospital for the majority of my fifth Christmas Eve.



4. I yell at cars when they use the bicycle lane as a turning lane while I'm in it.



5. I desperately want to reconnect with my Native American heritage, because I miss dancing.



6. I reread the Chronicles of Narnia when I get bored and need a pick-me-up (and am entranced by the Christian symbolism that I never noticed as a child).

The previous "rules" for those interested. You Fool!

The first player of this game starts with the "6 weird things/habits about yourself." people who get tagged need to write a blog of their 6 weird habits/things, as well as state this rule clearly. At the end you need to choose the 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says "you are tagged" in their comments section and tell them to read yours. And also you can't tag the person who tagged you!

"No prospect was more hateful or distasteful to him than that he should have to go to an office and conform to daily and yearly routine and obey others. He hated all kinds of offices, government or commercial, as he hated death, and his worst nightmare was confinement in barracks. He contrived, often at great sacrifice, to avoid all such predicaments. It was here that his strength and his virtue rested." P. 52, Steppenwolf.

"He who is developed far beyond the level possible to the bourgeois, he who knows the bliss of meditation no less than the gloomy joys of hatred and self-hatred, he who despises law, virtue and common sense, is nevertheless captive to the bourgeoisie and cannot escape it." P. 61, Steppenwolf.

Pearl Jam beat out Nirvana on the radio countdown I've been obsessing over the last few weeks.  I love Pearl Jam.....Nirvana is soooo over.

so I am developing a cold.  after all the windy and/or wet bike riding...I shall get sick. Fuck the wind.

Someone give me hot soup and earmuffs.

Just kidding.
But wouldn't that have been awesome??
I was projecting the success of my mother in the Neil-Greeting arena onto myself.  But it's not the eighties anymore and he really can't be found in the parking lot behind the arena anymore.  Poo.

So yesterday I went to Farm Aid. Alone. Which was enlightening.  Now that I have gone to a huge festival by myself I think I can  handle...the movies...or dinner...on my own. 

I almost didn't go though.  As soon as I got on the ferry to go over the Delaware, it started raining.  Cold, stinging rain that happens when you're right along a river.  Yesterday was supposed to be 70 degrees and sunny.  Definitely didn't hit 70.  Walking from where the ferry dropped me off to the concert entrance, I was ready to sell my ticket to someone, if someone was actively asking for tickets.  There were, of course, only scalpers looking to sell.  I didn't want to join them.  So I said 'Screw that,' and went in.

The rain didn't let up for about two hours, with various degrees of intensity.  This led me to call my mom and whine about being wet, cold, and alone.  She, in turn, told me to tell Neil 'Hi' for her.  Because, like I said above, she's done it herself.  SO JEALOUS.

I finally decided that it was worth the 5 bucks they were charging for drafts to get a beer.  It took until I found a booth with Yuengling to get one (because no where will I succumb to drinking Bud light). Sitting near a tree, sipping my beer, an alcohol compliance supervisor carded me.  After I was already carded when I bought the drink.  Did it look like I had some older gentleman around me to buy me beer?  I don't think so.  And this guy, he looked barely older than me. 
Later in the day, he saw me again, and told me to smile, because I looked grumpy.  In reality, I was cranky, not grumpy.  He also said he would keep bothering me throughout the evening to smile.  Have hoping that he would, I was slightly dissapointed when he disappeared into oblivion and did not see him for the rest of the evening.

Realizing that I brought no chair and no blanket (because it was supposed to be sunny!), I wouldn't be sitting on any soggy lawn...I found a nice little space along the far side of the lawn where a thin ledge of concrete provided about 6 feet of dry sitting space.  I returned to this space throughout the night.  It will be where I sit if i got to any Tweeter Center concerts in the future.  I got some good people-watching in here.

Things didn't really perk up a whole lot until I finally found the one place that was selling coffee.  Hot coffee. Fresh coffee. Expensive coffee.  After I was warmed thoroughly, things got better.  The rain had stopped by now, but it remained cold with a looming threat of more rain.

Los Lonely Boys played mid-afternoon.  They played well, and I think their album is to be had.
Jerry Lee Lewis was after them.  That was also very good.  Willie Nelson came out and sang a little with him. 
Dave Matthews seemed like he was stoned.  But he still played some good songs.  It was nice to see him playing acoustic without his band. He admitted to liking the smell of cow shit when you're driving through the countryside.
Arlo Guthrie was supposed to play, but he was sick or something, so he wasn't there.  I was looking forward to him. Another time perhaps.

According to the lineup on all the tee shirts, Neil would have been playing next (then Mellancamp and then Willie Nelson).
For some reason, John Mellancamp played instead.  I don't really like his music, but his set seemed to go quickly, so that was okay.  As I described to a fellow who had been leaning against the wall as I had all day, He doesn't get the knees knocking. (Maybe that comment was inappropriate?)
During the intermission, a man asked came around and asked if I would like his ticket (I guess he was leaving) to section 104.  I declined, being that I was so attached to my space.  About 35 seconds later, I kicked myself, but he was long gone.  I didn't even think to ask what fucking row the seat was.  Too modest, I just couldn't accept a well-intentioned gift.

When Neil finally played, I was hyper and giddy.  I had gotten a second cup of coffee, and didn't care that it was starting to rain again.  As a veteran of Neil's recent concerts, I wasn't expecting "Cinammon Girl" or Heart of Gold," so I thoroughly enjoyed when he played songs from his new recent albums.  He also played "Harvest Moon" which was soooo lovely because his wife sang with him, and "Homegrown" (from American Stars n Bars).  Willie Nelson came and jammed with him for this song, which seemed incredibly appropriate. 
I called a friend of mine during Neil's set.  Last week, he had wanted to come down to Philly for the concert, but couldn't end up making it.  That doesn't mean he didn't deserve to hear what he would have come for!
He said I did a sweet thing to call him...and then said thank you, beautiful.  (Tee hee)
All in all, the conert ended very well.  Neil seemed happy to be there..played heartily and energetically.  He's not going anywhere, and I'll be seeing him again sometime.
I left after Neil's set was over....I'm not a big Willie Nelson fan.  Took the ferry back to Philadelphia.  My bicycle was waiting for me right where I left it and I rode home. 

I'm glad I stuck it out and stayed. It was worth the cold I'll probably develop this week from being damp and cold all day.  As I've come to realize, Neil plays what songs he wants to play, he plays what is appropriate, and doesn't listen to the good balls in the crowd screaming 'rockin in the free world!!'.....unless of course, he was already planning on playing that.  I love this about Neil's shows, because I know all the songs, and enjoy every one of them, whether it's what I expect or not.