End o' Week Musings

It's been a weird week, but with $40 in my gas tank, I'm ready for a weekend of adventure! Still, I digress...

Last Friday found me chatting with Peter from Runner Runner. They're on tour with Yellowcard and Good Charlotte and will be at the Fox Theater in Pomona next week.

Saturday I went to Jo-Ann Fabric for its Simplicity pattern sale. I was allowed to purchase up to 10 patterns for $1 each, so of course I found 10 patterns. I have some fabric that I found on sale during various excursions that will now have a "home" as something to wear- yay!

Tuesday I joined Carin and Megan for a trip to Universal Studios. We had those tickets where you can return for free, so it made sense to spend our afternoon there. It was strange- we took the train to get there and along the way, as well as at Universal, it wasn't as crowded as we expected. We had very short wait times for most of the rides and the tour.

If you haven't gone to Universal Studios, it's fun. Be sure to take the tram tour, as the King Kong 3-D part is fantastic and you'll enjoy the Psycho house, as well as some of the other newer stops. Megan and I also loved the Mummy Coaster- it's very cool, as you go both forward and backward. We all enjoyed the Simpsons' ride. It's funny that you know you're "in" a cartoon, but you forget and react as if things are real.

And I'm a huge dinosaur fan, so our trip would have been incomplete without the Jurassic Park ride. This time, we got to sit in the front, which was really great to see everything, but perhaps a bit more wet.

Our big joke is that everything you do at Universal eventually involves you being sprayed with water, either water splashes you, a creature is spitting at you or there's some reason or another, but you're guaranteed to get wet throughout the day.

It appears that Maggie's Pub in Santa Fe Springs has a new owner now, but mostly everything is the same. I met up with Carin, Tom, Megan and Byron for "cheap bastard night" Wednesday. The buffet was OK, the wine was nice, but the company was the best.

Megan told me about her little business that she's started, creating crochet octopus plushes. I believe it's called Spectacular Tentacular. You can choose one of her standard designs or contact her for with your custom order. They're quite cute. Check out the octo-pets at:

www.etsy.com/shop/korofel

Yesterday I chatted with Paul Thomas of Good Charlotte and wrote away like mad to meet all my looming deadlines. I still have lots to do, but nothing stressful today- yay!

Tonight, I am planning on going to the VIP opening of "The Vast Wasteland Project," John Rabe of KPCC fame's photo exhibit, at the Bermudez Projects in Los Angeles. The show runs through June 22. For more info, visit http://www.julian-bermudez.com/

This weekend, I'm hoping the weather holds, as my mom and I plan to meet friends at the Crossroads Renaissance Faire in Corona. It's smaller than the event in Irwindale and has a European bent rather than a focus on England. But it's a lot of fun.

Years ago, I took my dog Tramp, a shepard/pit mix, with me to Crossroads. He was very well- behaved and enjoyed getting out. He had a great day there. We watched a play and, when it was done, the actors came out and talked to us. They said that Tramp was the best audience member because he paid attention throughout the show... he did. He even wagged his tail during the funny parts. I'm not sure he understood everything, but Tramp understood that the actors were having fun and liked being a part of it.

Tramp was a bit confused about the horses at the joust. I wonder if he knew they were a different kind of animal or thought they were really big dogs?? He also got to finish a turkey leg that a girl offered him and slept on the way home in the car. It was a good day for Tramp that I'll never forget.

Next week, I have lots of interviews- Ryan Key of Yellowcard, Green Children, Ben Zhu, who is curating a Harry Potter Tribute Art Exhibition at Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra, and a Pasadena couple, who have a bathroom decorated with Batchelder tile. I'm also hoping to catch Rick Shea & the Losin' End at Cafe 322 in Sierra Madre Tuesday.

In rotation this week: The Randies, The Offspring and Amberlin.

Photos we got 'em: Just a couple of cute cat pics from the Internet.

Thought o' the week: Have faith. This week, one of my friends stood me up on a planned get-together. No phone call, no text and no knock on my door. I was disappointed and a little mad, but I knew there had to be a good reason because it was out of character.

We didn't get to chat until yesterday and, yes, my friend had a very good reason for the lapse. All is forgiven. But the things about this that matters is you know your friends' characters and know when something they do is out of character. You shouldn't be ready to toss a good relationship over a slight without finding the truth behind it. It doesn't pay either to confront the person in anger, as you'll only compound the problem.

This doesn't mean that you should be a doormat, stand up for yourself and remind them that you deserve respect and that the issue should not come up again, especially when one phone call would have made all the difference.

Listen to your head, yes, but also trust your heart. Have faith in character- character counts.

Keep on rockin'

Mickie