End o' week musings

I am sooo looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow!

New Year's Eve I cooked a Chinese dinner for my mother. We had egg drop soup, veggie egg rolls and a stir fry with lots of veggies, noodles, cashews, shrimp and turkey, plus jasmine tea and plum wine. I wore my pjs the whole time and later curled up in front of the TV to watch the ball drop.

I headed out to former Pasadena Doo Dah Queen Sabrina's house at the crack of dawn for a pancake breakfast. A small gaggle of us gathered in her living room to watch the Rose Parade on the television, which was kind of funny because it ends about a block from her house! A couple of people went up to the parade route and returned shortly saying that they couldn't find a spot to see it better than what was on the TV- ha ha ha! I was happy where I was- sitting comfortably on her couch taking turns sipping good coffee and an even better mimosa.

Saturday the Inland Empire papers had challenged the San Gabriel Valley papers to a football game. I couldn't resist showing up at a pretty park on a warm morning to watch out of shape journalists try to prove their gridiron prowess. We had a potluck too, so it was quite nice. But the best part was being able to drive with the top down on my car all weekend!

I met my friend Byron for breakfast Sunday at his favorite spot- John's in Cypress. I enjoyed biscuits and gravy, while he went for a big plate of all the usual stuff. We chatted for a long time.

Wednesday I met Carin and Tom at Maggie's Pub in Santa Fe Springs. It was the first Wednesday of the month free buffet, which Carin aptly calls "cheap bastard night." Their friend Terry was there too and she was very interesting. She's a nurse and works hard, but seems to be very happy with her career-- so refreshing!

I ordered a short black and tan, but received the big one. Oh, too bad, all that beer! It actually went well with everything. I had "Brownie spoonfuls" of sauerkraut with sausage and beans, as well as nibbles of various cheeses, fruits, veggies and other goodies. But the denouement was red velvet cake-- mmmmmmm!

Yesterday John Rabe of KPCC's "Off-Ramp" e-mailed me. He wanted to get some of my thoughts about being a Doo Dah Queen and advice for the next one. He posted our story on his blog:

http://www.scpr.org/blogs/johnrabe/2010/01/07/jrblog-doodahqueena/

John also made an appointment to interview me for his radio show! Details on that to follow soon!!

This week was interview central for me. I spoke with Shannon Stoeke, who is starring as King Arthur in "Camelot" at the Pasadena Playhouse, and Lance Davis, who will be the lead in "The Imaginary Imvalid" at the Pacific Asia Museum. On the music side, I chatted with Paul Dorn, upright bass player (maybe not so upright after a few drinks lol!) for Murphy's Flaw. Dorn also plays in a few other groups and is quite talented, not to mention funny and smart.

I also spoke with Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio about the band and his art. He paints and you can find his stuff online at www.myspace.com/mikeskibaartwerk . And my biggest thrill was chatting with John Jorgenson who is one of the pioneers of gypsy jazz. He played with a who's who list of artists that is unbelievable, including six years in Elton John's band. Jorgenson is bringing his quintet to SoCal for a series of shows, for more, visit http://www.johnjorgenson.com/

My story on Greg Sestero and "The Room" came out today. The film is the latest midnight cult movie to hit the theaters. Greg is charming and an all-around good guy. You can read my story online at http://www.sgvn.com/

Tomorrow I will be heading to the Gallery at the End of the World in Altadena to see a special exhibit, "Circa Something." There's a reception from 4-10 p.m. and the show will continue through Jan. 31st. Go see it and learn more at http://www.galleryattheendoftheworld.com/

Next week should be a little quieter until the end when the International Music Merchants (NAMM) convention rolls into the Anaheim Convention center. I'll be there getting the latest info on everything music and looking for stories.

Photos we got 'em: Bruno, an orangutan at the Los Angeles Zoo, picked Texas to win the BCS game last night. He was wrong (Alabama won), but his cheesecake photo just made me grin. Also a nice snap of my drummer/actor friend Ric Sarabia and one of hunky Greg Sestero, plus a couple of cute pets.

Thought o' the week: Let it go. You might be angry or hurt by someone's actions, but it's not really worth it to lash back. You lower yourself by giving forth to bad emotions and also keep the ball of pain rolling.

I recently experienced this. I was very upset by someone's treatment of me. Instead of saying what may have felt good at the time, I decided to let a few days pass so I could calm down and then talk to them. You should consider that the person may have some other problem in their life that is making them act this way or perhaps they don't realize how they came across.

Now I'm not saying that the "evil-doer" should be excused completely for their actions. In fact, if they continue their course, you may want to cut ties with them if possible. But before you do, you have two paths to try: 1) nicely point out what upset you and what you expect (respect, an apology, etc.) or 2) drop it and go on as if nothing happened. I chose the latter and to step back a little bit from the relationship to see what happens. It may be salvageable or it may be time to move on, but either way I am giving it a chance.

Give others a chance and hope that when you misstep they will do the same for you.

Keep on rockin'

Mickie