Saturday, June 30, 2007

Weekend!

Apartment is going to happen.

Bought a vintage sewing box today in Geronimo, Texas.

Show's done, but I doubt I'll play there again.

New show coming up on July 13th.

Work to be done on the album.

Packing. Moving. Getting things like vacuum cleaners and tables.

Life; it's a-changing.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Busiest Thursday in ages.

5:30am--got up to snipe a lamp on eBay that I wanted

9:00am--sold my Valiant

9:30am-12pm--conducted a 2-hour training and teleconference for some new hires.

4:00pm--talked to the apartment folks

7:00--Patsy's Cowgirl Cafe, here I come!

Sigh.

i so tired. Even with 8.5-9 hours of sleep each night this week.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Apartment Update and more

Well, they let me apply for the place even after reviewing my pathetic excuse for a credit report. Here's to hoping. If I get it I will turn real cartwheels, shortly followed by profuse amounts of margarita.

On a personal note, my heart aches so much that my entire chest physically hurts and I can't breathe right.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Apartment update

What a loooong practice I had tonight. Building 30 songs from nothing with two new players! It turned out well--just extremely tiring after so many hours. Between that and apartment snagging and the new CAs to train at work, I haven't had a chance to even think about my personal life. I just want a few moments to breathe and be really happy. Seems like I haven't had a chance to do that lately. I'm slowly working towards it, though.

Today's horoscope says:

Quickie: There are new opportunities brewing just beneath surface -- dig deep and have fun!

Overview: True connection can be a little bit frightening; it means that all the defenses and masks you carry around get stripped away. When you see the right opportunity, though, you'll realize the risk is worth it.


I got a call from the tenant of the apartment telling me that out of all the people that looked at the apartment, she liked me the best and that I seemed like a good fit and that she really hopes that I get the apartment. She sent an email to the property manager with whom i spoke earlier today, telling her the same thing. I'm praying, really praying, that this recommendation combined with Monica's offer to co-sign will offset any bad credit reports I have.

Speaking of which, I was appalled at how much of my negative credit consists of small and totally payable amounts. If I just spent $300.00 one month...sending $40.00 here, $88.00 there, I would clean it up SO much. Food for thought--I guess I should print it out and look it over more often, and then perhaps I'd start paying so I don't look so petty. Silly me.


My show on Thursday is going to be solid...long, but solid. And now the Rhinestone Cowgirls are all going to be there doing some sort of promotion! Crazy. Maybe I can get them to dance/wrestle/whatever it is that they do.

Stop the train!!!

I've bitten off more than I can chew at work with training the new CAs, but I think it's high time I did that at work. Quickest way I know of to get a raise/promotion, or at least a good reputation and paving the way for future positions. The management really seems to think I'm saving the day.

I found the perfect apartment today! Of course, about a gazillion other people though it was perfect too. Great area of town; only one building, lots of space, totally cheap considering all of the above, and get this...the building even has an old slave cemetary in the back yard. No, seriously...a slave cemetary! It's realistically affordable too, especially since gas and water are paid. There's a GAS stove, and old tiles in the bathroom. Sigh....

I am DYING to get in there (pardon that pun following the slave cemetary comment). Since the gal who lives there told me she got such a huge response and that 6 girls were scheduled to see it tonight so I'd better get there early, I knew the rare moment had come where I had to fight through a pack of wild dogs and rush pell-mell towards what I want. Even though I hadn't even seen it yet, my gut told me this was the one.

I called the property management company and spoke to them directly about the property. I called my PM and told her the situation and she let me leave early, which is AMAZING because I actually got there first. Two girls came to look at it right after I did, but they didn't have enough time for me NOT to meet the very nice tenant, strike up a bond with her and her doggie, and tell her I wanted the place and I loved the color that she had already painted the walls. Every word true. And as I sat in my car afterward trying to call the property management, both of them left--gave up, it would seem. HAH!

I'm biting my nails and trying not to stress about this perfect place being denied me. The problem is that I just pulled up my Experian credit report and I have to say, even with the good accounts, it doesn't look good. I mean, I don't have any broken leases; I have a decent job, and I'm making credit card and car payments on time, but it still might not be enough to sway them due to the number of idiotic small (under $100.00) debts I have on there. We shall see. One possible saving grace is that Monica said she would co-sign for me on a lease. If she did, then that would be pefect and I could have the solitudinal place I dream of having at less of a price than what I pay now. Hopefully, I can get it all by myself like I got the car.

New work duties...apartment cockfighting...oh, and band practice tonight.

That's it! I'm stopping by the store to get some Calgon before the night's over.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

June 10: Ripoll day trip to the Pyrenees

First, here's a little background:

From Wikipedia:

Ripoll has a famous Benedictine monastery built in the Romanesque style, Santa Maria de Ripoll, founded by the count Wilfred the Hairy (called Guifré el Pilós in Catalan) in 879, who used it as a centre to repopulate the region after conquering it.

From other sites:

Ripoll

Count Wilfrid II of Barcelona founded c. 880 a Benedictine monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary in Ripoll (or Rivapolli), Catalonia. He gave the monks books and the raw materials (precious metals and jewels) to make liturgical vessels. In the X Century, Ripoll expanded, adding a scriptorium and a mill to its structures, and the monks began to translate Arabic works into Latin. Monks from Ripoll founded a daughterhouse at Montserrat.

In 951, Agapetus II removed the monastery from the rule of bishops and gave it papal protection. The monastery reached the height of its fame under Abbot Oliva (1008- 1046) , who encouraged scholarship, built a new church, and persuaded Sergius IV to place the monastery under papal jurisdiction. The XII-Century Visitatio sepulchri, a complex mystery play about the resurrection, may have been written at Ripoll, which began to decline in the latter half of that century because of quarrels between the monks and the monastery's patron, Bernard II of Besalù.

Bernard made the monastery a dependency of St-Victor in Paris. Having suffered from bad abbots and the effects of wars, Ripoll joined in the XVI Century a congregation of 30 Benedictine monasteries. During the Carlist wars of the XIX Century, the monastery was destroyed, and any manuscript not sent to Paris or Barcelona was burned.

Ripoll Monastery Exterior


The mindblowingly detailed carved stone entrance to Santa Maria de Ripoll


The frescoes of Santa Maria de Ripoll




The mosaic floor of Santa Maria de Ripoll


The baptistry at Santa Maria de Ripoll


Various interior shots









Feeding the birds on the stone steps of the monastery



And walking in the Pyrenees is simply lovely.


June 8 and 9: She's in Parties (and in bed with her knee up)

Barb Rachel and I had tons of sangria, complete with mascot Barb found in the street: Patrick.


Sigh. Some girls just get ALL the attention.


Beach Party fun:





June 7: the Big Show

My lunch at the hotel was quite delicious, for a change.




Rachel and I before I played. Woowoo!




Backstage picture I took for mah mama.


My audience:


The show (after which I went back to my hotel room and cried, because it was finally over).





June 4, 5 and 6: this was pretty much all I saw.


Day 4: Girona day trip

View from the Girona Cathedral:


Girona Cathedral Interior/Exterior









Standing on the ancient bridge


15 Euros: free wine, water, hot and cold courses, and dessert


The Amazing Museu del Cinema


Spain: May 31 to June 2

LUNCH on the first day: baguette, brie, Spanish chorizo, fresh tomatoes, prosciutto.


First beach picture


Second day beach picture



Pictures of the Calella church in the town centre (interior, exterior, and picture of the candles my mom asked me to light for us.






Day 3: Even in Spain?


The Ugly Beats are famous everywhere!


The crowd gathered, the child danced, and the accordian played on (in Badalona)


Also in Badalona (in case anyone needs a hook up)


My lovely dinner after a very tiring day: