Sometimes Catazon Pretends She's a Cougar

This year's birthday wasn't as exciting as last year's, but I'm not complaining. I still got a bunch of good stuff...my family pretty much cleared out my wish list; I'll have to replenish it before Christmas, or I'll get the usual gift certificates for Victoria's Secret and black raspberry vanilla toiletries from Bath & Body Works and nothing else...and I still got my favorite home-cooked meal and strawberry cake. Nope, I wouldn't call that exciting.

What was fun was I got to go out and act like a woman of my advanced age does. I even brought my husband along. One of my favorite country & western singers who I have seen a couple times at small venues when I was living in Austin was playing at the Firehouse Saloon on Friday night. So I got gussied up in my tightest jeans, halter top, and bling-bling belt and mosied on down early to get a front row seat for Ty Herndon. Didn't really need to do that since there were only about 50 people at the show, but what the hey, the vodka sodas went down easy. Ty forgot to sing his world famous rendition of You Can Leave Your Hat On, and I went over after the show to tell him how disappointed I was.

Ty: Get over here, you big sexy girl!
Me: Ooooh ok, I just wanted to tell you how disappointed I was that you didn't do You Can Leave Your Hat On.
Ty: YOU CAN LEEEAAAVVVE YOUR HAT ON!
Me: Meoooowwww.

But really, I always look like I'm ready to pounce when I take pictures with hot celebrities. Remember, my husband was watching the whole thing. Escandalo!

I didn't even notice until yesterday I paid for the whole night...tickets, drinks, everything!  Happy birthday to me!

My #1 Freebie

From the moment I first saw Billy Idol, I've had the biggest crush on him.  I don't even remember the first glimpse, but I know it was on MTV and I must have been about 12 (that's when White Wedding was released).  I bought all his music; I even have every Generation X release I could get in the states in the 80's on vinyl.  His VH1 Behind the Music episode is on a VHS tape somewhere in this house.  The picture below is my 6-inch stack of article clippings that I used to keep in a binder in my school locker but now fills up a magazine box.

I actually don't think crush is the right word.

Last night, I was front row at his Houston House of Blues show; the first time I've seen him in almost 20 years. (I'll never forgive my husband for not letting me go to his Houston show in July 2001 when we got off our return flight from Norway about an hour before it started and we still had to drive home to Austin...never.)  I was "the one wearing the shirt of the band I'm going to see"; the shirt I bought in 1984 at an Astroworld concert, put away for safekeeping, and now have only worn once. 

The only disappointing thing about last night's show was that he never came to the side of the stage where I was standing.  This is the best pic I could get.  Would it have killed him to just come sweat on me?  Like my #2 freebie did in 2008?

Oh, and he kept his shirt on way too much.

But the show rocked! And I'm glad somebody in line had an extra ticket for my sister, since I bought the last one from the box office three weeks before the show.  Except maybe I shouldn't have tried so hard to get her in because she took home a drum stick and a guitar pick.  Hooker.

I hope I don't have to wait till I'm 50 to see him again.  I don't think he will look this good at 64.

April Madness Continues...

Last weekend, I skated with Crude City. This bout held some significance in the fact that it was only the second time my parents have seen me skate in the five years that I've been derbying. My mom's favorite hobby nowadays is photography, which is a good thing because her pics are the only ones I have of the bout. (That's a little different from when I was skating with HRD, and captures of my crazed expressions were a dime a dozen.)



BTW, we won by like 150 points or something like that. I promised myself not to get caught up in that this time; I'm just doing it because I can, not because I'm trying to prove anything. Although it was nice to have two 18-point jams in one night. ;)

Tonight, I'm starting on my first celebratory weekend. It won't be as good as last year's first weekend, but I get to see one of my favorite bands with my favorite sister (okay, my one and only sister, but she's bad-ass like me). Then, tomorrow night, I get to scout out the team I'll be skating against next month.

Good friends, good music, good hits for bad bitches....awww yeah!

Hitting a Car was the Highlight of My Week

Last Monday, I floated the Comal River like a rookie. Maybe it was because it was The Kitten's first time to float the river, and I was a little nervous, hoping she would love tubing as much as I do. Maybe it was a bit of showing off in front of my cousins on my dad's side who all are younger than me. Maybe it was way too much cider. But anyway, I fried my legs for the first time in twenty years. And not just fried all over...burned in a candy-cane pattern. Yes, I have red and white diagonal stripes up and down the fronts of my legs. Lovely!

Still, my candy-cane legs can't top the marks I received from skating the Pride Parade Saturday night. Before the parade even started, I hit a car. Poor car! It was just minding its own business, and I came along and tripped into it. It was too dark to see how bad my Catazonianess damaged it, but the bruise on my upper arm says there might have been a dent in the passenger door. The bruise is even bigger than the one when I fell in the clothes hamper, which you can actually see in the picture on my Blogger profile. Nice!

By the way, I'm waiting to see pictures from that night, so if you have any of the roller derby girls rolling down Westheimer, either on wheels or on the ground wrastling, put 'em out there! And thanks, Rushin' Cleavage, for such an enjoyable evening. ;)

I didn't think the week could get any better than once again getting the crap beat out of me by stationary objects, but then I went to a Roger Creager concert yesterday evening, right smack-dab in the middle of what I like to think of as my old 'hood (Oak Forest), and I know it's hard to believe that only about 75-100 people would brave the heat wave from hell to see him at such a great venue (a little league ballfield), but the few, the brave, the crazy were rewarded with a free beer from Roger himself. Awesome.

Day of the Dead Can't Come Soon Enough

October has been a CRAZY BUSY month for me.

I began the month by skating in my last derby bout. In the first of three bouts in two days, I was tripped and took it directly on my right knee (the one that already had problems). At least I pushed their jammer all the way to the middle of the infield with three of their blockers on me right before this happened. You can watch the whole bout if you want. Such a shame opponents must resort to cheating to stop me. Still, I can't believe I could get a pad over my knee to skate the other two bouts. Isn't it symbolic, don't you think?



A week or so later, I saw a legend from the front row, thanks to a derby girl who I'm proud to call a friend also. You couldn't ask for a better front (or back, or only two) of your pack. We've been through it all!



Then, I went to the Corral Club Halloween Party, two days before the derby awards party, and wore the same thing to each. Hmm, maybe that's why I went to both alone...it couldn't be because I'm a nasty dancer...no way. (Image is blurred to protect the innocent, or because I had to steal it from Facebook on my BlackBerry...whatever you prefer.)



Last weekend, I acted like a giddy schoolgirl on the front row of another concert, this time with my sister who took some great pictures. I think I'm going to have to fight her for his sweat towel that I practically jumped up on the stage to steal. You can't ignore me, Rick!



And all these things don't even begin to list all the fun I had in October! Tonight, The Kitten will get to show off her costume to the grandparents she invited over for Halloween almost two months ago. Tomorrow, I can start a much more relaxed month. Unless somebody wants to go to the Ren Faire with me?

Good Times Never Seemed So Good

I have front row tickets to the Neil Diamond show tonight, I am splurging on dinner at the Strip House, and I get to share these things with a very good friend to celebrate her birthday and three crazy Brawler seasons together. Just thought I would share with the world how good times really are.

I Love the 80's!

So I surf over to the new Houston House of Blues because I hear Ghostland Observatory is playing in October. I've only seen them once and that was quite a while ago, so I would love to check them out again soon. Then...what tha...?!?!?! Rick Springfield is going to be at the House of Blues?!?!?! GLO will be around for a while longer, but Rick Springfield...I so need to jump on that. He has got to be second on my freebie list of 80's rock stars. You know, the freebie list? Not to mention, that concert will be so much more appropriate for a retirement celebration.

They Sneak Up on Me...

everytime!!! Vallejo is at the Continental Club on Friday night, and I might have to miss them AGAIN. For one thing, everyone I want to go with me can't afford it (or won't). For another, I'm planning on going out Thursday for Sutton Impact's birthday. Going out two nights in a row is reserved for things like rodeo or celebrating the fact that I can walk again, not just an ordinary weekend. WHY DO THEY DO THIS TO ME?!?!?!

Back to dreaming about a purple Christmas...

The Weekend

How did the Sexy Paramedic turn out? Other than a noticable limp, I think it was comparable to the model.

Oh, Julia...strategically-placed socks helped the look. LOL

Ziegfest was a mud fest, but we had fun until it got dark and you couldn't see where to step in the mud. Very unsafe for the very unsteady.

Ready to do it all again!