My birthday weekend. I was quite saddened for most of the week, thinking that today would be lonely and depressing since I am all alone. Chad is headed off to Texas, Max is busy, and Will is in Oregon with Andrew. It could very well have sucked as much as I imagined, but in the end I made some good decisions and had a lot of fun on my own!
Friday night:
Took the bus home to Ballard, got off in the “happening” part of the neighborhood (Market St.) All week, I’d been listening to the KEXP DJs talk about this new show called PDXplore, which is a live musical event showcasing bands from Portland. This was the very first show in the series, which is being held at the Sunset Tavern on Ballard Ave. All day Friday I hemmed and hawed about whether or not I should go, because my fear was the place would be crowded, hot, and uncomfortable. So I walked past the place, peeked inside, kept walking, then came back and went in. There were about 8 people in there, in addition to the band playing, which was Point Juncture, WA. o.o I sat down at the bar, ordered a Manny’s Pale Ale and listened. After them, the High Violets played. WOW. They were fantastic. I was so impressed I bought their CD on my way out the door. After 4 beers I headed home and promptly ripped the CD so I could listen on my computer. In a slightly drunken display of courage, I ordered a ticket for another live musical event on Saturday night.
Saturday:
Woke up and talked to Jules for awhile. Did my laundry, then hung it out on my balcony to dry. Showered, then drove to Fred Meyer to return the crappy, cheap fan I’d bought the previous week. The only ones left in stock were more of that same model so I said forget it. Picked up a few more things, then headed home. Dyed my hair a hideous shade of coppery brown. It wasn’t supposed to be that red. o.o I don’t like it one bit but I suppose I can wash it a few times and see how it looks before I dye it again.
I realized the bus wasn’t going to take me all the way to Fremont (the next neighborhood over from Ballard) so I rode about a mile, then walked the remaining 2 miles to the High Dive, where KEXP was sponsoring a live broadcast of “Audioasis,” their live Northwest showcase show which they do monthly. My fear was the same with this place, that it would be so crowded I wouldn’t be comfortable, but it turned out the same way. I was one of the first there, and I had a chance to have a few Stella Artois (which don’t smell like skunk when they are on tap, unlike the bottled variety.) The band “Awesome” played first, during which Cheryl Waters, the KEXP midday host, appeared right next to me. I got my courage up, then approached her and told her what a great job she does. She seemed happy for the compliment and asked me my name, then shook my hand. Very nice woman. :D
After that, I moved closer to the stage and watched Love Battery play, but it was so loud up there that I could barely hear anything, it was all pretty noisy and mushed together. Oh well, there was still a lot of energy and I get a lot of excitement from watching musicians playing their instruments when it’s clear they love what they do. The next band up took quite awhile to set up, so I decided to head home. There were no buses in sight so I walked the 3 miles back. It was a nice walk, and after all the noise of the concert it was nice to enjoy a bit of quiet. Frelard (the area where Fremont and Ballard overlap) is extremely quiet at night. I stopped in at Safeway and bought myself some more hair dye (cocoa brown) in case I decide to go forth with dyejob #2 and a birthday cake since I knew no one else was going to get me one (or bake one, for that matter.) I dropped those things off, then hopped over next door to 7-11 and got some ice cream. I had cake and ice cream while I watched an episode of Lost, then I played Phoenix Wright for a bit before bed.
Sunday:
Talked to Jules for a bit. Poor guy had to work all weekend so he was feeling very ill and tired. We played a game of Worms Armageddon and by then he was pretty sleepy. Dad called me and we had a bit of a chat. Joe called after that and we talked a bit as well. Then I showered and got my things together, and went down Market St. again. I stopped at Sonic Boom Records and got Voxtrot’s Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives EP as well as The Raconteurs’ Broken Boy Soldiers. I rode the bus to the Northgate shopping center and headed over to Best Buy where I got some SWEET deals.
- Futurama Season 1: $12.79
- Lost Season 1: $42.64
- Family Guy: Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story: $5.96
- Lost Magic (DS): $25.57
Yow. After making those lovely purchases, I walked over to the USBank ATM to take out some lunch money for next week, then went to Jai Thai to treat myself to a birthday lunch. I had this combination seafood in chili paste dish and 2 margaritas, playing Phoenix Wright the whole time. The waitress was giving me some funny looks. The margaritas were *strong* (the drinks menu even said “Jai Thai proudly pours strong drinks. If you prefer yours weaker, please inform your server.) so I was a bit loopy by the end of the meal. It was really nice, and soooo tasty.
Because it’s Sunday some of the buses only run once an hour, so I had to wait about 45 min for the bus back to Ballard to arrive. It was pretty hot out in the sun, but it was nice being outside. I fell asleep many times on the way back (heat + alcohol + motion = unconsciousness) but it was nice. X3 When I got back to Ballard I went to Ben & Jerry’s and had an ice cream (choco fudge brownie, of course.) The girl who served me was a perky, freckled redhead who was almost frighteningly cute. The floor is black and white tiles, and as she headed towards the rear of the store, she did this little hopping/skipping step so she only hit black tiles. o.o Either she was happy and loved her job, she was about to leave, or she was on something. XD I enjoyed the yummy ice cream then walked home, where I sit now, in front of my small desk fan, crunching on ice cubes to keep cool.
It was very lovely birthday, and I had a good time on my own, despite all my concerns. :3
I don’t feel 25, that’s for sure…but at least I’m past feeling 19.
Btw, the title of this post comes from the incredibly brilliant Nintendo DS game Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.
