End o' week musings

Wow! Hectic day. I had tons to do this morning and even more left before I go home tonight, so I'm going to keep this short... yeah, right... we'll see...

Last Sunday Carin and Tom took me to see Weird Al Yankovic in concert at the Orange County Fair. He is sooo talented and his band is amazing. The show was great because he went through most of his repertoire, some in a medley, but enough of each tune to please t

he crowd. And the number of costume changes Al did was beyond belief. He really gives his all to his fans and we loved it. I would definitely see Weird Al again anytime anywhere.

Monday, Ric and

and I to begin choreographing our pieces for our show at the Los Angeles County Fair. We finally have settled on our music - we think - and it's new stuff, so the audience will be in for a treat. We met again Thursday and have one number almost completely done, just some finessing here and there and it should be good to go! Yay!

I've had an interesting week of interviews- I spoke with artist Simon Lok, musicians Ross Altman (folk singer/songwriter) and Dave Gamble (vocals/guitar for Gambler's Mark rockabilly group) and Peter Salk M.D. - the son of Jonas Salk, who created the vaccine for polio. Then today, the tables turned and I was interviewed by Jerry Gorin of Off Ramp on KPCC radio in Pasadena about the Doo Dah Parade. He was very nice and even made sure I had a parking place, as free parking in the area there is a premium.

Speaking of Doo Dah, the exhibit "What a Long Strange Trip it's Been: 35 Years of the Pasadena Doo Dah Parade" is now open (through Jan. 6) at the Pasadena Museum of History. I hope you'll go visit my crown, dresses and other goodies, as well as all the wonderful memorabilia shared by my fellow Doo Dah denizens. For info, visit www.pasadenahistory.org

All right now, just a tad more and I've got to make my editor happy...

In rotation this week: Owl City, Jewel, Alanis Morissette, Judas Priest and Prodigy.

Photos we got 'em: My drummer Ric being goofy (just like I love him), the traffic cone and note showing that I was a special guest at KPCC (too funny and actually very nice!) and a red trolley car I saw parked in front of a local business this morning.

Thought o' the week: Grace under pressure. I've been on the go and then some this past week and am looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow morning, but no matter how ruffled I feel inside, I have been making a point to be nice.

This week has been extra tough because we have been getting a new computer system at work. It's not really complicated, just really different. I've been trying to adj

ust and figure stuff out as much as possible as I go along. Plus I've had dance steps on the brain all week, so I'm sorta on overload!

Now on top of this, I've had to speak with lots of people on the phone, plus deal with emails and meetings and then there's my podmate who wants to share this and that or has a question. I've been taking a deep breath before I respond and reminding myself that people are first, the work will get done and everything is really OK. How do you respond when things get crazy? Breathe in before you react and try to have a little grace under pressure.

Keep on rockin'

Mickie