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Sorry for the ads the last few days. It was an easy way to make a few bucks, but I thought I did okay tying it into my life, even if it wasn’t tied into my life at present.

So I shall make a list type thing of stuff that is going on in my life. Feel free to not care. ;)

• 

  Look at this fuzzy shoe

  I broke a nail and tried the bond-it-with-a-coffee-filter technique I’ve heard about. It’s been a weak and 3 applications later, but it seems to work. I just have to hope that I don’t get it caught or stuck on something before it has a bit of time to grow out.

• Phantom is being a crazy whiny baby who is pawing at doors and walls and furniture for no good reason. It doesn’t help me sleep.
• Last night I had games and drinks with friends at my place after enjoying a really good burger at a nice bar with a cute bartender.  I woke up needing pain killers, hydration and a shower, but it was really good times.
• The last two points have contributed to me not getting nearly enough sleep lately. My eyes hurt ,but my schedule is so dumb that I cannot allow myself to sleep as long as I’d like to feel fully rested. Right now, I’m getting up nearly at sunset. I need to reset this thing. Ugh.
• Some good friends are in the area for a while. The reason for their visit/stay isn’t good, but getting to see them is.
• One of my best friends in the world signed a lease in my building, and I am so freaking excited about this!
• I got my electric bill for last month, and it’s so cheap! It went down $10 despite me using my window AC. I think this is because my old refrigerator died, and I got a newer one. I cannot complain either way.
• Although I didn’t have my laptop for over a week because the DC jack broke off inside it, I have it back now. I missed my baby immensely. It’s such a good machine — really.
• I’ve got two really exciting events I’m going to attend coming up: a Pat Benatar concert and the Blues Brothers Revue.
• I’m planning on buying an SSHD to replace the HDD in my laptop. I are excited!
• I recently rooted my phone. I haven’t done as much with it as I plan, but I did it myself and it’s already performing a little better in terms of memory usage.
• I was a little bummed that the shoes I only had for a month and a half wore out, but I found a new pair that’s super cute and cheap. Said shoes are in the picture to the right, but Goliath is definitely more important!
• I will still need to move to a new host eventually, but I’ve got a bit more time to do it now.
• Store are full of Halloween stuff! I cannot wait to get shopping and decorating!!
• I’ve actually been writing poetry again.
• I have some really cool giveaways and reviews going on/coming up on Reviews by Cole.
• I got my hair cut and dyed. The cut is similar to what I had last time, but it’s mostly black with some red. Quite different. I like it more every day, though.

I keep thinking of more things to add. This short blog is longer than I expected. I shall cut it off here!

Although these last few weeks have been stressful and hectic, they’ve also been incredibly rewarding. I am eternally grateful for the time I’ve had to spend with family and friends and would like to think that I spent it well. I’ve done a bunch of new things that I’d never done before, things I didn’t really have a chance to do while I was married. It all serves to remind me to be grateful for where I’m at.

Two really significant things happened to me in the past week or so, however. The first is that I had a chance to meet James O’Barr at Comic-Con. For those who don’t know, he is the creator/writer/artist of The Crow, the graphic novel behind the cult classic. I originally saw the movie but it didn’t take long for me to acquire the graphic novel, even though it was already out of print.

I believe my copy is from 1994 and it was already pre-loved when I bought it. Since then, it’s followed me across the world and country so it’s definitely well-loved. I packed it up, anyway, when I accidentally discovered that the man himself would be at Chicago Comic-Con. When we set out for the convention center, I slipped it into Wendy’s satchel, even though it barely fit.

I present it to James O’Barr almost sheepishly. He’d just sold his last copy of The Crow: Special Edition which was all shiny and new and mine.. was not. I apologetically asked if he’d sign my well-loved copy and he said that well-loved it just how it should have been. I could not imagine a more redeeming, relieving comment. I felt completely validated as a fan.

I took a picture of his signature that’s on Facebook. Exciting stuff.

But it really gets better or, at the very least, remains just as awesome. On Friday, I finally was able to see Pat Benatar live in concert. We drove a couple hours to the Wisconsin Dells and piled into one of those formal-ish, assigned-seating theaters. We arrived when some cover band was doing a bunch of classic rock. Not bad but not nearly as awesome as or appropriate for Pat Benatar. We were among the younger people there which made me sad. I don’t know why other people don’t love her more!

Everyone stood when she came on stage and she started in one a popular song. I can’t remember which one, except that she played most of the songs from “Best Shots” minus “Outlaw Blues” and “Painted Cowboy” for sure. She also added “Sex as a Weapon” and “You Better Run,” both of which I knew but I wasn’t super familiar with. Guess who is now?

Even though I was sick, I sang my freaking heart out all night. I’m sure it bugged other people and I only got more into the music as the night went on. One thing I noticed was how much harder, rockier her music sounds in person. Perhaps some of the dynamic-ness of the guitar and drums are lost during recording but while she may sound poppy on the radio or CD, there is no mistaking that she is a rock goddess in person.

We snuck down to the front of the aisle to take some pictures. Unfortunately, we were off center so I didn’t get so many amazing pictures of her but I did get some great shots of Spyder. I appreciate him even more as a guitarist now. He would definitely rock in a blues band, I think. Pat also loves it: she was air guitaring most of the time. Her attitude indicated that she was having fun, she was informal and silly. All in all, she seemed super personable, even flirting with her husband a bit.

I sang along until the very last song which was an awesome version of “Heartbreaker” with some “Ring of Fire” mixed it. I don’t know if she usually does it but it sounded great. The concert flew by and, before I knew it, I was covered in sweat, hungry and walking out the door. We finished up the night with some fast food and finally hit up a Dunkin Donuts because Captain America runs on it, don’t cha know.

I thought I’d see her once and feel satisfied but, now, I just want to do it all over again.

I’ve jokingly said that my life is now complete and I could die happy but it’s sort of true.