born in the u.k.

venue: gamh
artist: badly drawn boy
who: cousins lam & nina
when: 23 march 2007 (friday)
doors open at 9p

i actually tried to see bdb back in 2003. i even went to the fillmore to get the tickets. when the day came, i found out it was the night before. i'd missed it. i put it down incorrectly in my planner. i was totally bummed. i'd been waiting for him to come back ever since.

if you've never heard of him but you saw the movie "about a boy" starring hugh grant, you probably won't remember the music. but he did the entire soundtrack. just him. which was the main reason for my seeing that movie. i ended up buying the dvd (if anyone wants to borrow it) because it turned out to be a pretty good film.

back to 2007, when i finally saw damon gough (aka bdb). it was quite thrilling and fulfilling. i went with lam and nina. before the show, we went to this cool irish pub across the street from where we parked. it was pretty good. i had the salmon special which was quite good. prices were great too. the only thing was, they only take cash and we were scrambling for $$. but we had enough for two beers and two dinners with a side of mac & cheese.

the music was great. he's got a really nice voice. only, it was a bit sleepy-folky towards the end. either that or i was just tired. for a few of his songs, he would tell the story behind it. it's nice when musicians divulge personal stories of their songs/lives. knowing how down-to-earth they are in real life makes them even cooler. he played his early hits such as around the block and the shining. i'm not too familiar with the new stuff.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥

girl talk

yesterday, i had sunday brunch with my girlfriends who are elementary school teachers. well, one of them is a school administrator. i think they do this every weekend. we had this very interesting discussion about men & sex.

apparently, the roles have reversed where men in their 30's no longer brag about sex (or do they?). but women in our 30's do! well, to each other. because that's almost all we talk about. that and shopping. it is really interesting because it's mostly true. i never talked about sex in my 20's because i didn't want to be labeled as a slut. i was much more prudish back then.

single women in their 30's these days embrace their singlehood. well, most of the single ladies i know. to us, men are like fancy underwear, you have to be in the right mood to use them. they are not something we want to use everyday. only when we feel like. and when we are bored with them, we throw them away and get new ones! hahah

new music - memphis

my long-time great friend romano makes these mixed cds. and they are probably the best mixed cds i've received, ever. they are consistently awesome. i rarely ever find myself skipping any songs. even mixed cds from previous boyfriends can't compare to his. he is the best mix master.

before the beauty and ease of mixing cds from files already on your computer, his mixed tapes were also fantastic. ugh, it was over 10 years ago and we used to make each other mixed tapes. there was this unofficial competition on who had the best transitions. i never paid much attention to my transitions so we were always surprised when it wasn't as abrupt as usual. but i think i won in the category of labels though.

recently, on a "get well" cd mix he sent me, i heard a song with a very familiar voice. but i didn't recognize the band. memphis. the vocals sounded much like torquil campbell from stars who i've seen live at least 4 times. i've even met mr. campbell at the great american music hall. that was the first stars show i saw. finally, i looked at the song list and looked up the band. much to my surprise, i found that memphis is torq's side project with chris dumont. and that they are quite good. tonight, i found the following description on their myspace page:

Although Campbell describes his songwriting influences as two parts New Order, one part Beautiful South, one teaspoon of Lou Reed, stirred with some sexual perversity and a few good jokes, lyrically Campell is more interested in shades of darkness and the sublime rather than raunchy sex and post-punk nihilism.

despite the early hour of 3am, this brought such the smile to my sleepy face and body. as most of my friends know, i worship new order. and although most new bands are influenced by them, it's rare that they are mixed with the beautiful south. if you've read my blog, you'll know that i also worship the beautiful south. i loooove that he describes himself as two parts new order and one part beautiful south. that's just so clever!

and since i know ro reads my blog, i wanted to thank you again! you're the best ro! xoxo ♥

a few things

i'm finally starting to breathe through my nose again. it's not bleeding so much but i'm still spitting up some blood. and there's something wrong with my upper lip. the skin is so dry and doesn't seem to move comfortably. when i move anything between my upper lip and my nose, it hurts as well. i think my nose has to be completely healed before i can start feeling normal there. i hope my upper lip goes back to normal soon. the skin is so dry, tight and peeling. i've resorted to using carmex on it because nothing else works and there doesn't seem to be a jar of vasoline handy in this house.

i'm still sleeping late. i'm on a 10th wind or so. i woke up quite early this morning. 6:30a to be exact to go to nordstrom by 7:30a with my best friend kelly. who surprised me yesterday morning by telling me her mother was showing up with a something, and that something was kelly and emily! and armed with a lovely arrangement of home grown orchids (will post a pic of them soon). speaking of flowers, i've received a total 4 bouquets this past week. not that i need flowers to make me feel loved but it was just so unexpected. it made me think of all the special deliveries & visits i got in the hospital when i had my thyroidectomy in 2003. that really made me feel special and helped me, mentally, with my recovery.

back to now. today, i accomplished very much. i hemmed a couple of slacks that i've had for months. i also did some ironing. and earlier, i got my hair cut, quite short. it's shoulder length when it's wet so when it's dry, it's a bit shorter. i'll try to post a pic as soon as my face starts behaving as it should. and after i've gotten back to the gym. ugh, hopefully next week i can get back to my classes. we'll see. ok, sleep now. i need to cut out these late nights by tomorrow (ugh, i mean today)! i'm going back to work on monday.

update on my recovery

yesterday, i left the house for the first time since my surgery on friday. it was because i had my follow-up at 1:30p. so, i set my alarm for 10a and it goes off but i'm not used to waking up before noon yet so i reset it for noon. i figure, that'll give me plenty of time. it goes off at noon. and i think, okay, get up. but i don't get up, do i? i just stay in bed. next thing i know, it's 1p. that's when i'd planned on leaving! first, i'm sitting in there in denial for a bit, then i haul ass and get myself ready. it's 5 after and i can't find my insurance card anywhere! did lisa give it back to me after my surgery?? i don't know! forget it, it's time to go NOW!

i get into my car and it's 15 after. ugh. 15 minutes to get to los gatos? its a bit of a ways, there's no way i'm getting there on time. then i look at my gas gage and um, i need to get gas! after getting gas, it's about 25 after, there's no way i'm getting to los gatos in 5 minutes. as long as i'm not more than 15 minutes late, i'm ok. i finally get into the parking garage and i score with this couple leaving and parked on the first floor... but what the hell is he doing? he's backing out to the left, all i need to do is go straight into his space and he turns right into me. there's not much space i can back into. but rather than let me just park, the jerk makes me back up. all the way. i was so annoyed.

i get up to the 3rd floor and into the doctor's office and the receptionist is so nice. i told her, my appointment was at 1:30p. she said it was okay. and i get my splints out. the good dr showed it to me and ugh, they are these plastic things that hold everything in place. kinda like the plastic stuff they put in collars to hold them. it seemed pretty big too. at least an inch across. with some anesthesia that didn't quite help, he cut some stitches and pulled those suckers out of my very sensitive nose. he says, there was quite a bit of obstruction in your nose. ugh. then he brings this suction thing and it gets stuck or something in my left side. that's the side that was the most obstructed and most sensitive. it was so painful, i teared a little bit. i know, i'm a cry baby. so what?

now, i can breathe a little through my nose. i keep forgetting to though. alas, monday is coming up too soon. *deep breath through my nose*

checking in...

just checking in... let's see, i'm severely congested, often times coughing up blood. and with a mustache of sterile dressing which needless to say, disables me from speaking clearly. i have splints in my nose that will be removed this coming week. if anything, those are the only things that hurt me, well, all the time. and breathing through my mouth while sleeping or doing anything (eating, drinking, talking) is never fun.

i'm not in a whole lot of pain, anymore. i've only had to take one vicodin tablet since i got home. as my sister says, it's good to save the "good stuff." she's funny, isn't she? when i take vicodin, it completely knocks me out. the bleeding has slowed down but hasn't stopped yet. my upper teeth hurt a bit. and to top things off, i look like ms. piggy. ugh.

i'll check back in later...

impending surgery

to my dear faithful readers (all 3 of you out there):

i'm sorry i've been out of touch lately. as you probably know, much has happened but has yet to be posted. for the past two weeks or more, i have not been sleeping well. as in getting less than 5 hours of sleep every night opposed to my usual 6-7 hours. i imagine i am subconsciously and thoroughly anxious about my septoturbinoplasty scheduled for tomorrow. well, now less than 12 hours away. and since i usually post at the office, i've been quite busy getting ready for my leave and trying to take care of everything to do with the current admissions cycle.

i don't think i am particularly stressed out about the surgery itself but the recovery part. the potential risks for infection (which comes with all surgeries) is making me quite worrisome, not to mention the pain i will experience. despite having gone through my thyroidectomy and having had much worse levels of pain (getting my neck cut open and having an organ removed), that was nearly 4 years ago and memories of the pain have been successfully suppressed.

i know the surgery is fairly routine but it's not everyday that one has surgery, right? i have great confidence in my ent doctor so i'm not as worried about the actual procedure. and, for those who participated in my pop (pre-op potluck) party and/or sent me well wishes, i just wanted to thank you. it's tremendously reassuring to know that people care. i feel very lucky to have such great friends & family. you all rock. i love you all, seriously. ♥

ugh, okay, time to sleep now. good nite.

march pumps

on its way is my march pair.

pre-op appointment with dr. wong

on monday, i had some pre-op stuff to take care of, including an ekg. i don't recall getting this done for my thyroidectomy but it was on my check list. i'd made an appointment with my pcp for the ekg but she was out of town and her office rescheduled me with dr. wong.

i went in a bit early to get some bloodwork done, which left my arms with what looked like track marks. that's what the ups guy said. shooting up again? after getting blood drawn, i went to the radiology department for my chest x-ray. and it was done just in time to go upstairs for my ekg appointment.

i'd never seen dr. wong before so i didn't know whether the doctor was male or female. surprisingly, i was seen on time. the nurse took my blood pressure. normal, she said. then dr. wong comes in. he's this attractive tall asian man. i could feel my heart rate going up. so, he's asking me why i'm there and what i need the ekg for. i told him i was having surgery next friday. he asked if i exercised, if so, what kind do i do, etc. then he took my blood pressure. he said, it's a bit high, are you stressed? uh, just a little nervous about the surgery (riight). he said he didn't think i needed the ekg but we'll do it anyway.

the nurse comes back and sets it up for me. the set up is longer than the actual ekg. she sticks these wires all over my body. after it's set up, something starts printing out. that was it! she takes the report to dr. wong and says he'll be back to let me know if i'm ok. he comes back in and says that it was perfect as he'd suspected. yay!