Blue October Even In November

I've been teasing my nephew Matt that he needs to give Blue October a second chance.  Just as I refuse to eat anything that is artificially flavored or colored to look, taste, or smell like an orange because my mom gave us orange Triamanic as kids when we were sick, Matt has associated Blue October with an unpleasant time in his life.   Blue October is one of my favorite bands.  I love their lead singer.  You can tell he has a bit of a dark twisted side which makes his lyrics more realistic.  He has suffered from bouts of mental illness, but has pulled through.  I've mentioned before on my blog that I don't get in to music that uses cuss words for every part of speech, but a well placed curse word is magical.  Blue October has mastered the art of well placed random f-bombs, utilizing it when truly, no other word would suffice.  Kind of like when you are walking through the bedroom in the middle of the night and stub your toe on the bed. It just fits.

A few years back, when I still felt the need to have the real cd in my hands, I would go browse Target or Best Buy for new cd's.  I would usually go for a particular cd, but would also pick an additional random one based on the title or the album cover (not knowing one bit about what they actually sounded like).  That was my way of  keeping my ears open to new music.  I started with their "Foiled" album because I loved the name of the group and was immediately addicted to "Into the Ocean", "You Make Me Smile", "Hate Me", and "18th Floor Balcony".  After playing it a few times front to back, I jumped on itunes and downloaded "History For Sale" which featured "A Quiet Mind", "Chameleon Boy", and "Calling You".  I have a really hard time narrowing down which ones are my favorite, especially since there are a couple more albums I haven't even mentioned, so I've decided to feature the ones with the most play counts on my itunes library.

Left behind, but not forgotten. Well... at least not for too long anyway.

When I was about 9 or 10 years old my family moved from our big house at 1540 Lenox Drive (can't believe I still remember the address!) to a pink house over by Doctor's Hospital (both in Modesto, CA.) To make the move easier, my parents decided to send my older sisters and I to YMCA camp for a week. Because our camp weeks were back to back, my older sister Kim got to take the brand new sleeping bag that I got for my birthday to camp with her. I still haven't figured out how that really worked out, but I was younger than her, so it didn't matter at the time. Anyway... the week we were scheduled to move just happened to be my week away at camp, which meant, I was going to be coming home to our new house. Before I left for camp, my parents drove us to our new neighborhood and pointed out the pink house located right across the street from a big hospital.  


My week at camp went well, but when I came back from camp, my parents were so busy with the big move, they completely forgot to pick me up!  I remember the director of the YMCA coming out and asking if I wanted him to call my dad, who was a friend of his.  I said a desperate "Yes!" and in one quick instant was disheartened when he said, "do you have your new number yet?".   Now why on earth would anyone make sure I had a working phone number to call just in case?  One more spark of hope came when he asked if I knew where I lived.  I was so excited because I did know where I lived.  It was in a pink house next to a big hospital!  His reply to me was, "let me go get a couple chairs, this may be a while".  About 4-5 hours later, my mom pulled up in our station wagon with my sister's Kim and Kathy in tow.  My mom was a balling fool, crying, "I'm so sorry" in between her deep sobs.  I was so darn happy to be remembered at that point, that I don't really think I saw it as having been forgotten.


I'll never forget the grin on my sister Kim's face as she relished the scene playing out before her.  To add her own bit of drama, she turned to me and said, "you know your new sleeping bag?  Guess what??? It rolled of the top of the bus and down the side of a mountain"  I'm pretty sure just sat there dumbfounded for a bit.  My younger sister, Kathy, was sitting in the back seat with me looked at me with a smile that was bursting from ear to ear and said, "We got a dog why you were gone too!"  Seriously??? a dog too?  When we got to our new house, the dog ran up and introduced himself to my leg.  I wasn't very happy at that point, but my mom, ever the optimist, came in with a gift sure to bring a smile to my face.  It was my very own Fonzie (from Happy Days) latch hook rug.  Oh boy!!! How could I not perk up knowing I would have the luxury of pulling thousands of threads through a a vinyl net fabric until it forms a picture of my Happy Days hero.


Come on... admit it.  It's pretty funny now looking back.   Friends tell me all the time that I should write a book about growing up in my family, that it would be a number one seller on the comedy/drama list.   As crazy as it all sounds, and trust me there were plenty of crazy times, it helped me become the person I am today.  My parents may have been a little flaky because of the fumes which seemed to permeate from our bathroom wallpaper whenever their friends came over, but they instilled in each of us kids an admirable trait.  Laughter.  


This post is dedicated to my mom, because even though we hardly speak, I know she has not forgotten me, and to my dad, the music man.  There are so many songs that make me think of you. (I'll always be your S.A.K.) 


 I thank you both for enriching my life with music and words.  "House at Pooh Corner" or "Turn Around", I always think of you.

Don't Stop Believing

Nothing makes you feel more like a big shot than hanging out with your older sister's friends. Even cooler is when they take you to one of their upper class parties. I can't remember if it was KJ or Tammy, but one my sister Kellie's friends had a jeep, a CJ7 to be exact. One Friday night, she decided that I was somehow cool enough and old enough to go with her to a party. It was a crisp spring night and we had the top off the jeep. I was freezing, but too excited to say anything about it. Journey came on the radio singing about a small town girl living in a lonely world. That was the first time I think I listened to those words (at least at that volumn anyway :) Everytime I hear this song, I think about that night and the cool air on my face, eyes burning from the chill wind.


Don't Stop Believing is great song made even better with Spongebob singing it. Journey and Spongebob. CLASSIC.




Now... I'm going to be completely honest and say that I don't know anyone, including myself, who didn't make out to Journey's "Open Arms" and "Faithfully".  Man I love the 80's.

Money

When I was 14 or so, my best friend Lara and I spent pretty much our entire summer hanging out with her boyfriend Mark and his brothers, Mike and Scott. Every morning, we would get up early and ride our ten speeds 7 miles out to Mark's house where we would spend most of the day watching MTV or, believe it or not, helping Mark and his brother's chop wood (because they sold firewood of course). Every Saturday, if we had all of the wood chopped and the other chores around the house done, Mark's dad would take us all out to the delta to go watersking. Needless to say, I actually had a smoking hot little bod back then :-) That summer, Mark's brother Mike introduced me to Eddie Money's "No Control" album which became the music I used to test out and connect with any new car I would buy. In fact, it still is. Sound crazy? Well... maybe a little bit, but everyone has some secret good luck thing they do right? After I purchase and whenever I trade in a car, I spend the first and last 10 minutes with my car with Eddie singing as we fade to black.

I used to tell my husband that I didn't want to ever die before I seeing an Eddie Money concert, then he took me to see Eddie in an amazing concert(for an older guy) and I realized I needed to have something else I couldn't "die before doing" - something a little harder to obtain.

The 80's were an amazing time. Sametimes "I wish I could go back, but I can't go back I know."

We Close Our Eyes - Oingo Boingo

Picture four 19 year old girls taking a road trip from Northern California to San Diego for an Oingo Boingo concert and then busting up the courage to stay and extra night to cross the border in to Tijuana to go clubbing and dancing all night. That was me, my friend Sandra Robles, and a couple other crazy girls I can't remember. First of all, I can't believe we were gutsy enough to make the trip over without any protection. Second, we had the most kick ass time. Funny part was I looked like a dork out their dancing with my punker moves and a neck brace on from a car accident the week before. I loved Oingo Boingo. No Halloween party was complete without playing "Dead Man's Party".



The Oingo Boingo song that still brings a huge smile to my face and makes me sing along is "we close our eyes". Give it a listen - see if you can stop yourself from smiling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgjUF-qivsw&feature=related

Oingo Boingo - We Close our Eyes Lyrics:
We close our eyes
We close our eyes and dream
and the world has turned
around again

When everybody is running in the big race
And having a good time
Who am I to cast a shadow
Who am I?
I looked Death in the face last night
I saw him in a mirror
And he simply smiled
He told me not to worry
He told me just to take my time

Chorus:
We close our eyes and the world
has turned around again
We close our eyes and dream
and another year has come
and gone
We close our eyes and the world
has turned around again
We close our eyes and dream ...

And if you come to me
And if you touch my hand
I might just slip away
I might just disappear
Who am I?
And if you think I'm worth it
And if you think it's not too late
We might start falling
If we don't try to hard
We might start falling in love

(Chorus)

We're on the healing path
We're on a roller coaster ride
That could never turn back
And if you love me
And if you really try
To make the seconds count
Then we can close our eyes

(chorus)

We close our eyes and the world
has turned around again