SHOWERING WITH KARMA
It didn't take long for the weirdness to happen. Oh how I love when the weirdness happens and the stories begin. It makes me want to greedily rub my hands together and cry out, "AT LAST! I have a good one." And now I love that at the end of the night I get to lay in bed with Pete and laugh about the night that was just had.
The first weekend of each month different neighborhoods here have an art walk. In my prior existence in North Carolina, Eylin and I used to attend the one in NoDa, when I'd come visit her neck of the woods. Well this is now my neck of the woods too and so the others must be explored. I'd heard that the neighborhood, Plaza Midwood, which we frequent, was having one called "Holiday in the Hood". Pete and I decided to go to it last Saturday. We went to two of the restaurants there for a drink and then ran into some friends and so the four of us went off to explore it. Our roommate met up with us at the first gallery we went to, then we ran into some more friends there. I like this about the neighborhood...you always run into somebody you know, or in my case, somebody that Pete knows and whom I am getting to know. Two of the friends go off to another place and the five of us check out the gallery. Once we're done we realize it appears that this is the only true gallery. The rest of the participants of "Holiday in the Hood" are restaurants, shops, and even a hair salon. We decide to just to the bar nearby and the boys could shoot pool.
I'm not much of a pool player, and while I'd like to try, I didn't want to impose upon a serious game with the boys so I plunked down at the bar. The boys hung out with me until a table opened. While we waited, this guy in a cowboy hat sits by us at the bar and Pete has met him many a time so we all start talking. A table opens up and the boys go play and I continue talking with this guy whom is apparently a musician that performs often and tours a lot. Please note that I do not learn this until later. Something that constantly amuses me when I live other places than where I grew up, is that when people learn you are from the Seattle area they want to talk about music with you. This is fine, as I love, love, love music and am totally down to discuss it. However, the damned grunge scene always comes up. I don't mind reminiscing about the fun had in those days and the great shows I got to see, but man, people like to analyze the crap out of it or ask you if you've ever met (fill in the blank). It's kind of ridiculous, but slightly amusing.
So there I am talking with this guy and having a nice time, but he keeps finding just the right moments to sing. Why do people have to sing when they're talking about music? I mean, can't you just talk about the damned song or musician and leave it at that? Why do you have to tell me how much you hate Creed and then sing a piece of one of their songs? I hate Creed too, but if I really hate something that much, I sure as hell am not going to ruin someone else's night with a blip of the song. I knew what we wanted, he wanted me to say, "Gee, you have a really great voice. Are you a musician?" And then they can say, "I sure am" and begin to brag about themselves. I have spent a good chunk of my life in the bars of Seattle where every Tom, Dick and Harry is a musician. I know the drill. It's the ones who are more humble about it and don't try to throw it in your face, that I appreciate and respect. Back to the story. So he tells me he's a musician (gee...really?) and starts telling me stories from the road and talking about how hard it is to find other musicians who take it seriously and don't misrepresent him with their drunken behavior at bars. The man actually said to me, "When my drummer goes and pinches the ass of some woman who turns out to own the bar, what he doesn't realize is that eventually the story will change to, 'I pinched the owner's ass.' When you play with me, you're representing me."
Despite all this, I am enjoying the company while the guys shoot pool and am at least entertained by the conversation. And then he says it.
Guy: You know, you have a good man there in that Pete.
Me: Oh, I KNOW that. He's amazing.
Guy: I say that because any man who leaves his woman with Hick'ry Hawkins is a trusting man. They usually know better. I mean, I have a woman and I wouldn't do anything because of that, but when I was single...
Guy: (What I want to say) Are you fucking kidding me?
Me: (What I really said) Oh.
So now I'm just flat out blown away. Thank god at that moment, an older biker guy walk in, stands between us at the bar and starts talking to him. His name is Chico. I am introduced to him and Chico starts talking about how much the art walk sucks. "But I got mine! It may have sucked, but I got mine!" Then he pull out a bottle from his jacket and slams it on the counter. It's a bottle of conditioner.
Me: Where did you get that?
Chico: Stole it from that salon on the art walk.
Me: That looks like good conditioner. You gonna use it?
Chico: (Take off his hat. He is totally bald.) Doubt it.
Me: Can I have it?
And Chico gives me the conditioner and mutters something and laughs. I ask him what he said. He repeats himself, "Make sure to think of Chico when you take a shower now!" And we all laugh.
Chico leaves and Pete returns. The musician asks how we met and we tell him our story, which is just such an awesome story and he claims to love it too. So we leave and head over to another bar for a drink with our friends, then to another after that to a show. We leave the car behind and ride with our roommate and I tell them about my time at the bar when they were playing pool and we all laugh. We get home and Pete and I laugh more about the evening and talk about how much fun we had, and we go to bed.
The next morning I am hungover and we stay in bed for a while. Finally we get up and I take a shower and am all excited to use my new, stolen, high-end conditioner. I put it on and it's quite tingly. This does not alarm me, as I've used other great stuff that tingles when you put it on. Well the tingling turns to burning and I rinse it out. I get out of the shower and rush to the mirror because now my skin is burning.
"OH MY GOD!"
Pete runs in and repeats my statement when he sees me. My reflection is scary. Everywhere on my skin that my conditioned hair has touched is burned...and it's spreading fast. Soon my entire face, back of my neck, part of my throat, and my upper back and shoulders are bright red and on fire. The stupid conditioner has burned me. I wrap my hair up in a towel so it will stop touching my skin. I am fearful that my hair is going to fall out next. Pete rubs burn gel that I find, on my afflicted spots and I whine...a lot. "You realize this is Karma for using stolen conditioner," I tell him. He nods and keeps applying the burn cream. Our roommate checked out the ingredients when he was in the shower and it turns out the first one is Alpha Hydroxy Acid. Who the hell puts this in hair products? I set it aside so I can take it to the hospital if the burning doesn't stop.
Hours later I am back to normal, so it didn't do as much damage as we'd initially thought, but my god it was ridiculous. And I learned my lesson. Do not take stolen goods as gifts and never, ever, ever use anything on your hair that a bald man gives you.
The first weekend of each month different neighborhoods here have an art walk. In my prior existence in North Carolina, Eylin and I used to attend the one in NoDa, when I'd come visit her neck of the woods. Well this is now my neck of the woods too and so the others must be explored. I'd heard that the neighborhood, Plaza Midwood, which we frequent, was having one called "Holiday in the Hood". Pete and I decided to go to it last Saturday. We went to two of the restaurants there for a drink and then ran into some friends and so the four of us went off to explore it. Our roommate met up with us at the first gallery we went to, then we ran into some more friends there. I like this about the neighborhood...you always run into somebody you know, or in my case, somebody that Pete knows and whom I am getting to know. Two of the friends go off to another place and the five of us check out the gallery. Once we're done we realize it appears that this is the only true gallery. The rest of the participants of "Holiday in the Hood" are restaurants, shops, and even a hair salon. We decide to just to the bar nearby and the boys could shoot pool.
I'm not much of a pool player, and while I'd like to try, I didn't want to impose upon a serious game with the boys so I plunked down at the bar. The boys hung out with me until a table opened. While we waited, this guy in a cowboy hat sits by us at the bar and Pete has met him many a time so we all start talking. A table opens up and the boys go play and I continue talking with this guy whom is apparently a musician that performs often and tours a lot. Please note that I do not learn this until later. Something that constantly amuses me when I live other places than where I grew up, is that when people learn you are from the Seattle area they want to talk about music with you. This is fine, as I love, love, love music and am totally down to discuss it. However, the damned grunge scene always comes up. I don't mind reminiscing about the fun had in those days and the great shows I got to see, but man, people like to analyze the crap out of it or ask you if you've ever met (fill in the blank). It's kind of ridiculous, but slightly amusing.
So there I am talking with this guy and having a nice time, but he keeps finding just the right moments to sing. Why do people have to sing when they're talking about music? I mean, can't you just talk about the damned song or musician and leave it at that? Why do you have to tell me how much you hate Creed and then sing a piece of one of their songs? I hate Creed too, but if I really hate something that much, I sure as hell am not going to ruin someone else's night with a blip of the song. I knew what we wanted, he wanted me to say, "Gee, you have a really great voice. Are you a musician?" And then they can say, "I sure am" and begin to brag about themselves. I have spent a good chunk of my life in the bars of Seattle where every Tom, Dick and Harry is a musician. I know the drill. It's the ones who are more humble about it and don't try to throw it in your face, that I appreciate and respect. Back to the story. So he tells me he's a musician (gee...really?) and starts telling me stories from the road and talking about how hard it is to find other musicians who take it seriously and don't misrepresent him with their drunken behavior at bars. The man actually said to me, "When my drummer goes and pinches the ass of some woman who turns out to own the bar, what he doesn't realize is that eventually the story will change to, 'I pinched the owner's ass.' When you play with me, you're representing me."
Despite all this, I am enjoying the company while the guys shoot pool and am at least entertained by the conversation. And then he says it.
Guy: You know, you have a good man there in that Pete.
Me: Oh, I KNOW that. He's amazing.
Guy: I say that because any man who leaves his woman with Hick'ry Hawkins is a trusting man. They usually know better. I mean, I have a woman and I wouldn't do anything because of that, but when I was single...
Guy: (What I want to say) Are you fucking kidding me?
Me: (What I really said) Oh.
So now I'm just flat out blown away. Thank god at that moment, an older biker guy walk in, stands between us at the bar and starts talking to him. His name is Chico. I am introduced to him and Chico starts talking about how much the art walk sucks. "But I got mine! It may have sucked, but I got mine!" Then he pull out a bottle from his jacket and slams it on the counter. It's a bottle of conditioner.
Me: Where did you get that?
Chico: Stole it from that salon on the art walk.
Me: That looks like good conditioner. You gonna use it?
Chico: (Take off his hat. He is totally bald.) Doubt it.
Me: Can I have it?
And Chico gives me the conditioner and mutters something and laughs. I ask him what he said. He repeats himself, "Make sure to think of Chico when you take a shower now!" And we all laugh.
Chico leaves and Pete returns. The musician asks how we met and we tell him our story, which is just such an awesome story and he claims to love it too. So we leave and head over to another bar for a drink with our friends, then to another after that to a show. We leave the car behind and ride with our roommate and I tell them about my time at the bar when they were playing pool and we all laugh. We get home and Pete and I laugh more about the evening and talk about how much fun we had, and we go to bed.
The next morning I am hungover and we stay in bed for a while. Finally we get up and I take a shower and am all excited to use my new, stolen, high-end conditioner. I put it on and it's quite tingly. This does not alarm me, as I've used other great stuff that tingles when you put it on. Well the tingling turns to burning and I rinse it out. I get out of the shower and rush to the mirror because now my skin is burning.
"OH MY GOD!"
Pete runs in and repeats my statement when he sees me. My reflection is scary. Everywhere on my skin that my conditioned hair has touched is burned...and it's spreading fast. Soon my entire face, back of my neck, part of my throat, and my upper back and shoulders are bright red and on fire. The stupid conditioner has burned me. I wrap my hair up in a towel so it will stop touching my skin. I am fearful that my hair is going to fall out next. Pete rubs burn gel that I find, on my afflicted spots and I whine...a lot. "You realize this is Karma for using stolen conditioner," I tell him. He nods and keeps applying the burn cream. Our roommate checked out the ingredients when he was in the shower and it turns out the first one is Alpha Hydroxy Acid. Who the hell puts this in hair products? I set it aside so I can take it to the hospital if the burning doesn't stop.
Hours later I am back to normal, so it didn't do as much damage as we'd initially thought, but my god it was ridiculous. And I learned my lesson. Do not take stolen goods as gifts and never, ever, ever use anything on your hair that a bald man gives you.
MY LIFE IN NORTH CAROLINA: PART II
My god it's been forever since I last wrote. Here I am having just recently returned from a morning of just about the best coffee I've ever had, with Eylin. Pete is out skateboarding on this lovely, but cold day, and I am now hanging with the dog and thinking about how much I miss writing. So here I am.
Everyone's been asking how life in NC has been, so I guess I'll start with that.
Pete's visit to Seattle was wonderful and he absolutely loved it. My friends were awesome and welcoming...some a little TOO welcoming (Chad, biting people's ass is not always seen as a good thing). He loved my friends and raved about what a great time he had and how cool everyone was. We look forward to many visits back there. We left for our road trip to bring me to my new home on Monday, November 10th and spent the next five days driving cross country. We made to Ogden, Utah the first night and then headed to Flagstaff the next day. We had planned to go the North rim of the Grand Canyon that evening, but due to timing, it would be dark by the time we got there so we decided to skip it and head straight to Flagstaff since we had a reservation and wouldn't be getting into town until around 8 PM. Luckily, the route we decided to take landed us driving through Zion National Park, which was absolutely stunning! We took lots of pictures and had a great time on our unexpected adventure through there. The drive to Flagstaff was very dark and we would go for over an hour sometimes before we'd see another car. It was very strange and quiet, but we loved every minute of it.
We got in later than expected and pretty much had a drink, got some dinner, then crashed and slept in a bit. I got to show him Flagstaff for a few hours the next day and he loved it. It was nice to be able to show him where I've been and tell him stories as we walked through town. We spent a few hours wandering about and hanging at my favorite coffee shop there, then headed back on the road not knowing where we'd stop next. Pete ended up driving until 4:30 AM that night and finally stopped outside of Oklahoma City where we decided it was a good idea to sleep in the car outside a Sonic at a truck stop. Wrong. We tried to cuddle in one seat, but then limbs were going numb and we were contorted in positions that should only be reserved for dead bodies having been thrown from a sky scraper. So we each took our own seat and only got two hours of sleep before we hit the road again. Strange things were had in Arkansas, which can really only be shared in person where you can see our faces as we impersonate the employees at the gas station/Baskin Robbins we stopped at. We then made it all the way to Hermitage, Tennessee. We got a hotel and tried to find food, which is near impossible at 11 PM unless you want fast food, which we did not. We found some rinky dink bar near a bowling alley that served food. When we walked in, it was like the record scratched. We had entered into what we can only construe as being hillbilly karaoke. Alas, we got a drink, ate fried food (that's all they served) and went back to our room and passed out. We got home the next night and were so excited to finally be home. The road trip was amazing and thank god we travel really well together and had a great time. It was a very good sign and a very good time.
I've been in Charlotte for almost a month now and am loving my new home and new life with the most wonderful boyfriend. I have absolutely found the man I want to spend my life with, and know that I did the right thing in moving out here to share my life with him. He is my best friend and we have so much fun together! It is the healthiest thing I've ever experienced, and even when the speed bumps hit, we keep calm and get through them and always respect each other. We live with our roommate, Jay and his dog/my stepdog, Maxine. Maxine and I have grown close since we are together ALL the time. She lays on my feet while I sit on the computer looking for work. She and I go for walks, play in the yard, and watch TV together. The most amazing man and his lovely dog sidekick have given me a very rich life, even when I'm so damned poor. We have formed a nice, little, happy family complete with lots of good times, and a new addiction to Wii bowling. I honestly couldn't ask for more...except a job.
The job search has been terrible. I've been scared about money and frustrated with the lack of even an interview, but alas I have my first one on Monday and it gives me a sense of renewed hope. In the meantime I spend my days job hunting and playing homemaker. This has started to throw me into a tailspin and I've been getting depressed about it, not the homemaker part, but just being home all the time and missing working. There is only so many dishes to wash and house to vacuum before you start going batty with no one to talk to. So I have started to talk to the dog like she's going to actually respond, have become overly concerned when something is out of place after I've cleaned the house, and am confusing the line between gossip blogs for entertainment and truly being concerned with the lives of these stupid celebrities. It's ridiculous and I need a job so I can stop being freaked out about how I'm going to pay my bills, and be able to start contributing to the household as well. Pete has been so patient and understanding with me, which I cannot thank him enough for. He is truly amazing and I love him to death. And through the frustrations of money and no work, I just keep reminding myself that it's all worth it to have the greatness of him in my life.
Eylin has also been a lifesaver for me, in being my usual life cheerleader and also knowing me well enough to know when I'm getting depressed and making sure I leave the house. Her and her husband and son have started having us over for game nights, which has been so much fun. I love that our friends are only five minutes from our house and such great people. They make our life just that much better. My family has also been amazing, and I've been able to make some money both babysitting and working for my sister on projects in the house they bought and are renovating. It's been wonderful to get a lot of time with my sister and my niece. And the times I've been able to see my mom are of course always great, as she is just that cool. Pete's family has welcomed me with open arms and are just such sweet, kind people. I love the times we get to hang out with them, and feel lucky to have such a wonderful second family as well. So I think that's about it. That is the summary of what is and has been. The adventures and oddities have already started up in My New Life of North Carolina Part II. Those stories will come next.
Hope life is well for everyone as the holidays approach. I miss and love you all!
Love,
H McD
Everyone's been asking how life in NC has been, so I guess I'll start with that.
Pete's visit to Seattle was wonderful and he absolutely loved it. My friends were awesome and welcoming...some a little TOO welcoming (Chad, biting people's ass is not always seen as a good thing). He loved my friends and raved about what a great time he had and how cool everyone was. We look forward to many visits back there. We left for our road trip to bring me to my new home on Monday, November 10th and spent the next five days driving cross country. We made to Ogden, Utah the first night and then headed to Flagstaff the next day. We had planned to go the North rim of the Grand Canyon that evening, but due to timing, it would be dark by the time we got there so we decided to skip it and head straight to Flagstaff since we had a reservation and wouldn't be getting into town until around 8 PM. Luckily, the route we decided to take landed us driving through Zion National Park, which was absolutely stunning! We took lots of pictures and had a great time on our unexpected adventure through there. The drive to Flagstaff was very dark and we would go for over an hour sometimes before we'd see another car. It was very strange and quiet, but we loved every minute of it.
We got in later than expected and pretty much had a drink, got some dinner, then crashed and slept in a bit. I got to show him Flagstaff for a few hours the next day and he loved it. It was nice to be able to show him where I've been and tell him stories as we walked through town. We spent a few hours wandering about and hanging at my favorite coffee shop there, then headed back on the road not knowing where we'd stop next. Pete ended up driving until 4:30 AM that night and finally stopped outside of Oklahoma City where we decided it was a good idea to sleep in the car outside a Sonic at a truck stop. Wrong. We tried to cuddle in one seat, but then limbs were going numb and we were contorted in positions that should only be reserved for dead bodies having been thrown from a sky scraper. So we each took our own seat and only got two hours of sleep before we hit the road again. Strange things were had in Arkansas, which can really only be shared in person where you can see our faces as we impersonate the employees at the gas station/Baskin Robbins we stopped at. We then made it all the way to Hermitage, Tennessee. We got a hotel and tried to find food, which is near impossible at 11 PM unless you want fast food, which we did not. We found some rinky dink bar near a bowling alley that served food. When we walked in, it was like the record scratched. We had entered into what we can only construe as being hillbilly karaoke. Alas, we got a drink, ate fried food (that's all they served) and went back to our room and passed out. We got home the next night and were so excited to finally be home. The road trip was amazing and thank god we travel really well together and had a great time. It was a very good sign and a very good time.
I've been in Charlotte for almost a month now and am loving my new home and new life with the most wonderful boyfriend. I have absolutely found the man I want to spend my life with, and know that I did the right thing in moving out here to share my life with him. He is my best friend and we have so much fun together! It is the healthiest thing I've ever experienced, and even when the speed bumps hit, we keep calm and get through them and always respect each other. We live with our roommate, Jay and his dog/my stepdog, Maxine. Maxine and I have grown close since we are together ALL the time. She lays on my feet while I sit on the computer looking for work. She and I go for walks, play in the yard, and watch TV together. The most amazing man and his lovely dog sidekick have given me a very rich life, even when I'm so damned poor. We have formed a nice, little, happy family complete with lots of good times, and a new addiction to Wii bowling. I honestly couldn't ask for more...except a job.
The job search has been terrible. I've been scared about money and frustrated with the lack of even an interview, but alas I have my first one on Monday and it gives me a sense of renewed hope. In the meantime I spend my days job hunting and playing homemaker. This has started to throw me into a tailspin and I've been getting depressed about it, not the homemaker part, but just being home all the time and missing working. There is only so many dishes to wash and house to vacuum before you start going batty with no one to talk to. So I have started to talk to the dog like she's going to actually respond, have become overly concerned when something is out of place after I've cleaned the house, and am confusing the line between gossip blogs for entertainment and truly being concerned with the lives of these stupid celebrities. It's ridiculous and I need a job so I can stop being freaked out about how I'm going to pay my bills, and be able to start contributing to the household as well. Pete has been so patient and understanding with me, which I cannot thank him enough for. He is truly amazing and I love him to death. And through the frustrations of money and no work, I just keep reminding myself that it's all worth it to have the greatness of him in my life.
Eylin has also been a lifesaver for me, in being my usual life cheerleader and also knowing me well enough to know when I'm getting depressed and making sure I leave the house. Her and her husband and son have started having us over for game nights, which has been so much fun. I love that our friends are only five minutes from our house and such great people. They make our life just that much better. My family has also been amazing, and I've been able to make some money both babysitting and working for my sister on projects in the house they bought and are renovating. It's been wonderful to get a lot of time with my sister and my niece. And the times I've been able to see my mom are of course always great, as she is just that cool. Pete's family has welcomed me with open arms and are just such sweet, kind people. I love the times we get to hang out with them, and feel lucky to have such a wonderful second family as well. So I think that's about it. That is the summary of what is and has been. The adventures and oddities have already started up in My New Life of North Carolina Part II. Those stories will come next.
Hope life is well for everyone as the holidays approach. I miss and love you all!
Love,
H McD
