End o' week musings

It's been a long, but industrious week for me.. at least according to some of my friends. Hey, wait a minute! Does that imply that I don't normally work hard? Hmmmm....

OK maybe Saturday wasn't that hard. My friend Carin, my mom and I went to Knott's Berry Farm (http://www.knotts.com/ ) for the day. My back is still a little weird so for me it was Knott's-light, but I still had a great time. We rode the train, stagecoach, log ride, mine ride and more. My favorite, though, was the Perilous Plunge.

For the unfamiliar, the Perilous Plunge is very, very simple. Riders get into a large boat which proceeds slowly up a water-filled ramp, makes one turn and then shoots down a steep slide into a big pool of water. Yeah, you got it~ you get soaked.

We ended up in the front row of seats, so we were guaranteed to be wet all the way through. That was funny enough, but the best part was as we made the turn at the top one of the men behind us said "I don't want to get wet." Hey dude, did you not get the concept of this ride? Did you not once look over while standing in line and realize that getting wet is basically the whole point?

We took a break from our fun (after we dried out) and ate at the Chicken Dinner restaurant. I just can't get over how good the food is there! I don't know what they do to the chicken, but it's the best I've ever had and the meal is always consistently good no matter how busy it is, day of the week or whatever. FYI- you can go to the restaurant without having to enter the amusement park, it's like any other eatery, so if you're hankering for a great meal, make the journey. There's other offerings on the menu as well and they're all tasty! Did I mention the bosenberry pie? Mmmm bosenberry....

When we had finally had enough fun for the day, we went back to Carin's for Kessler & Vernor's, cigars and the hot tub.

Sunday I returned to Carin's, where I spent the day working on a bunch of sewing projects. She grilled steaks to perfection for lunch and we tubbed again later.

Monday I left work early to run errands before seeing my masseuse, Sidney Overson(http://www.sobodywork.com/ ) in Upland. He worked on me for over an hour, trying to get everything right with my back. I was a little stiff when he finished, so he reminded me to soak in an Epson salts bath, adding I should also treat myself to a glass of wine. Home, I opened a bottle of Spanish wine and soaked. I was so deliciously tired that I crawled into bed and was quickly in dreamland.

I awoke on Tuesday and had no pain for the first time since Memorial Day! It was wonderful. And last night I went to my Polynesian dance class and shook my groove thing. I'm a tad sore today, but all over, not just my back. I figured I would be because I haven't done quite that much since my re-injury, but now I know I can- yay!

Oh, and I missed Wednesday! That was the day that Richard Hall, keyboardist for Orange Sky (http://www.theorangesky.com/ ), sent me a couple of rough cuts of music they are working on. I love being a music writer and having artists share their creations for my input. And my word is the songs are terrific! I can't wait to get a copy of their new album, "Dawn of the Living Dread"!

I had a lot of nice interviews this week. I spoke with 2Cents, Pierce the Veil, Jack Tempchin (Eagles songwriter) and Ancient-Future. Look for my stories as they come out.

Tomorrow I am going to the Goldline groundbreaking in Arcadia. My friend Bob Davis is speaking. He's a huge train buff and also shares a love for good music with me. There's going to be a festival in the park too, so it will be a fun day.

My only other big excitement next week might be catching Susie Garcia and Chicoa (http://www.esaguerita.com/ ) at Crazy Horse in West Covina. They're an up-and-coming Chicano fusion band that you should check out.

In rotation this week: Herman Ze German, Orange Sky, Susie Garcia, Pierce the Veil, 2Cents, Ancient-Future and Joe Walla.

Photos we got 'em: You know me now~ just some cute pet pix from the Web.

Thought o' the week: Pick up the phone. When's the last time you called that friend or relative far away or across town for that matter? It's important to stay in touch with the people who are important to you and it really doesn't take much.

My mom constantly gripes that since my brother married he never calls her. I've tried to explain that he's settling in with his new family and he's being "a guy" and any other reason that may be the cause, but she won't have it. It probably doesn't help that since I left home, I've always called her regularly. Sometimes only a couple of times a month (could barely afford the phone bill), but when my dad was dying I called her every week and even more often.

I've also told mom that she should reach out and call him. This makes her mad because she feels he should do it. I told her to call my brother the same day every week and if she gets his voicemail (which is usually the case), to leave a nice message about how she is thinking about him and misses hearing from him. He will eventually get the guilties and call back and perhaps this will spark him to call her more often.

Are you getting the message? Don't be like my brother. And I admit, even I get busy and don't call my friends as often as I should. Sometimes I have to mark my calendar with a day and time to ring them up. It only takes a few minutes of your life... Now get dialing!

Keep on rockin',

Mickie