Why My Life, Both Literally and Figuratively, Rocks

This blog has been heavy on the concert news lately, and this entry will be no different. One of the many reasons my life rocks is because, well, lately anyway, it has rocked. See, last weekend was awesome.

Friday night was our department party, which was both delicious and fun. I get my tri-annual baked brie fix and I shook things up a little by bringing something other than taco pie. I made those appetizers my mom makes--the little breads with mushrooms, cheese, and crispy onions. They were a hit. :)

Two people in our department are leaving, one retiring and another moving to another school. It's sad to see them go--they're both wonderful people and teachers, and ILS will seem... strange without them. But it already seemed strange without this year's seniors so I suppose I'll have to deal. Schools are like that, I suppose--they have to change and I have to deal with it. But, our two dearly departed members will be missed, and I'll hold memories of our retiree smashing an alarm clock with a ball peen hammer close in my heart...mostly because it was hilarious and brilliant.

Now for the best part--the department party was moved from Saturday to Friday because of me. You see, I campaigned hard to change it so I could go to the James Taylor/Carol King concert on Saturday. I made GOOD choices, as I always encourage my students to do.

I went with my concert buddy Drew, and our seats were the cheap ones, so they were pretty far away. But, the way the stage was set up, they weren't bad. The stage was a circle in the middle that rotated, so everyone in the arena had a good seat at one point. It was pretty awesome.

We got there right as it was starting, and I had to pee during the first song, which was James singing "Something in the Way She Moves." Then Carol sang, "So Far Away" which was in my head for two days after. She sounds and looks better than she ever has, and "So Far Away" basically made me transcend to another plane of existence. It was so beautiful.

The pair sang all the big ones ("Up on a Roof," "Smackwater Jack," "Natural Woman," "Sweet Baby James," ) but had this really weird dynamic of a sad song ("Fire and Rain") followed by an earth shaker ("Steamroller" or "I Feel the Earth Move"). It was an emotional roller coaster! I'm crying about "Fire and Rain" and before my tears are even dry, Carols feelin' the earth move... And homegirl was FULL of energy. It was amazing.

They ended with "You've Got a Friend" like I knew they would. They came back for an encore as well, then outstayed everyone else in the band to do one last song, "You Can Close Your Eyes" which is one of my favorites. It's my lullaby.

It was an amazing night and I'm so happy I went. Drew and I both had an excellent experience just basking in the glory that was JT/CK. *sigh*

Here's the stage, with Carol at the piano and James rockin' some sweet guitar.

And here's the entire set up. I loved the photos in the middle just rotating... it was awesome.

The next day was Sunday, and my church held a service at The Fillmore, (where I saw The Swell Season and New Kids recently), and Jon Secada came for a free little concert. Even though it started 45 minutes late (UNacceptable!), it was a cool evening. The service was good and seeing Jon Secada was pretty cool. He didn't sound quite as good as I remember, but for a free show, it was cool. I can't believe I remembered those songs!

I couldn't manage to get a very good photo, but here it is.

The following "week" at school was fairly uneventful--it was finals week. My schedule worked out perfectly this year--I had the last two exam blocks off, so all my grades were in and done by Wednesday, and I had time to pack up my room and get everything squared away. The faculty lunch on Tuesday came out nice--my last event as part of Student Council. It'll be nice to not have to do it next year, and I won't have time anyway with school, but it'll be so weird to not be a part of some major events at LaSalle. I guess I'll still have to go, though, to get my fix. lol

Our gift this year was a laptop case, since we're all getting lap tops instead of desktops for next year. I kind of wish the school'd just given me $600 to pay for the laptop I already have, but whatever. The case fits mine so all is well.

This weekend was also pretty awesome. Friday night I had a little "going away" party, even though I'm coming back. A group of us went to Hollywood (up north a bit) to a restaurant called Taverna Opa. I've heard quite a bit about the place, including the words "belly dancers" and "dancing on tables." These statements turned out to be the truth.

The place is a Greek restaurant and the hook is that there are women--belly dancers--who dance on the tables, and encourage patrons to do the same. I rarely need encouragement to dance on a table--an invitation's really all it takes--but a little Uzo didn't hurt...

And with that, I climbed up on a table!

The restaurant is right on the water, so our view was beautiful, and the food was absolutely superb. I had roasted lamb that was so good, I asked our waiter if he could legally marry us (the lamb and I, not the waiter). I wanted to eat so much more of it than I did... not to mention the hummus (sooooo good!) and "Flaming cheese" we got as appetizers. My mouth is watering right now just thinking about it!

After dinner we headed to the boardwalk to have a stroll and see the beach. I went down to the water for a minute and stuck my feet in, and we sat outside a country bar and watched semi-trashy tourists line dance. Priceless entertainment, my friends.

On our stroll, I found the other love of my life, my new boyfriend...

You can be jealous, I would be too. :)

Saturday my Russian Ballerina friend and I went to the ArtWalk in the Wynwood Art district. It's a pretty cool event, and it's free! You see, on this particular street or area are several art galleries. Every second Saturday of the month, they all open their doors and you just go and walk around them. There are all types of art in the galleries--paintings, sculptures, photographs, and each gallery is different. Some have free food and drinks, others have music or entertainment, and it's really cool and artsy. I even ran into some co-workers!

After the ArtWalk, we headed to a bar called The Electric Pickle to see a band play. The band was pretty good and did a rockin' cover of "Steal My Kisses" which I tried to explain, in Spanish, to a dude sitting near us who was commenting, in Spanish, about how good the band was. It was pretty funny, but I think I got my point across. :)

Well my friends, I'm about to embark on another adventure as I pack for Michigan and then head to Boston on Saturday. I'm looking forward to a summer of new experiences, people, and places. Stay tuned here to see what I get up to!

Much love.