OC Fair

I went twice this year!
I took my camera with me the 2nd time not the 1st, so just a few from trip one from my phone.  Enjoy!

Trip one with Dad, Lori, Shane and D:

Every year we go with dad we stop and visit Brenda and dad always buys us ladies a piece of her beautiful hand made jewelry.  This is Brenda and the piece I got.  Thanks Daddy!!!

Then I kicked everyone's ass, especially Shane and Dads on the water races.  Boom!

Trip #2 was with Jill and T.  We had purchased tickets for Metalachi which is explained in the prior blog.  Enjoy!

The trio of trixsters:

DIY Building

Love these ladies:

Dude carving amazing fruit:

Zombie Cake!!

I hope I do:

Stilt Walkers:

Jill and I got some cupcake yummies...cake pop for me and frosting shot for her:

Jill got a bucket of donuts - 30 to be exact.  They apparently left some film on your teeth.  I only had one because I was enjoying my frozen banana:

Look who we ran into!

Old roomies:

Later T got the biggest corn dog I have ever seen, and she finished it!  Well done T!

Fun Night Shots:

Creepy dude crawling up and down...well done haunted house:

Yup:

We walked by the "Giant Steer" tent and the poor guy was peeking out, I wanted to break him free

These are the animals I like to see at the Fair....fake ones:

Fun times as always!!

A musically interesting weekend…

From a Broadway musical to one of my favorite reggae bands to a fascinating phenomenon called Metalachi.  It was a weekend to remember.

Saturday after getting destroyed in my boxing boot camp class, I hurried home to shower and pretty myself up to meet up with my boss down in Costa Mesa for lunch and a show.  She has a subscription series to the OCPAC Broadway Series.

Now I always say I’m not much of a musical theatre fan, and I’m still not saying I will barrel out the door to see one, but I’m certainly opening up and enjoying them a lot more than I used to.  I’ve seen some really good ones over the past couple of years and Saturday’s performance of Sister Act was no disappointment.

We started out with lunch at Scott’s Seafood.  Now I have visited this place only to drop off or pick up items for auctions when I was working for the Opera or Symphony, I have never actually eaten there because I know it falls on the higher end of prices.  I would sit in the bar area waiting for the manager to bring me whatever item they decided to donate and watch the 1% come and go and wonder what it was like.  The intoxicating aromas would drift out of the kitchen, up my nostrils and make my mouth water.  So needless to say – I was excited!  I packed my VISA card ready to just charge whatever extravagant fee my lunch would be.  (I know, I’m trying to budget and be good but I’m also trying to not short change myself on experiences and freak out about money so damn much.  Sometimes your ahead, sometimes your behind…I’m getting pretty used to behind.  Ahhhhh acceptance).   I arrive super early and valet.  My boss had told me we valet our car and then can walk to the show – cool perk!  The front walkway was gorgeous.  Waterfall, pretty plumerias and a darling valet kid to watch.  Boss arrived and we were seated promptly by a very attentive staff. 

The menu of course intimidated me but boss lady said it was her treat.  Then she promptly ordered a vodka gimlet.  Now this woman doesn’t usually drink.  “You’re drinking?!” I said.  She said she treats herself sometimes and told me to order something as well.  Um you don’t have to tell me twice.  I had a glass of an awesome Pinot Noir from Oregon.  Since she said she would treat, I strayed away from the sides I was going to try to make a meal out of an ordered one of the lower price entrees.  I couldn’t bring myself to pick one of the really expensive ones.  Salmon BLT and had a bowl of chowder to start. 

SO – BEST F-ING CHOWDER I HAVE EVER HAD. 

Salmon BLT – bomb.  Seriously, the food melted in my mouth. 

So after stuffing ourselves we walked over to the Center and watched a fantastic production of Sister Act. 

My expectations were low and I was pleasantly surprised.  The gal who played Delores - Ta'rea Campbell was superb.  Adorable, likeable and very powerful voice.  I also enjoyed Kingsley Leggs who played Curtis, he had a low blues mo-town quality to him and E. Clayton Cornelious who played a loveable cop.  He was also adorable.  There was a grandma like nun who about killed me when she came out and did a hip hop number in a bright gold shining habit and the rest of the “nuns” were great.  And as my boss lady said “Anytime you can make fun of the church, I’m game.” 

All in all it was a delightful show full of laughter and talent.

Thank you to her for taking me for a fabulous fun daytime date!  She is a spectacular woman.

After that I rushed home to change and get ready for outing #2.  T and I were planning on checking out one of our favorite bands at the OC Parks Concerts

I had heard they had free concerts a while back and of course have just never actually got my ass over there.  Well when I found out the Aggrolites were playing I got the kick I needed.  We threw in our beach chairs, blankets and off we went. 

I was a little sketchy to go back here since the ROC race gave me my 1^st taste of this OC Great Park and I was less than impressed.  We found the “green” side and I felt a little better.  Aside from having to pay $10 to park.  (So much for free concert) it was actually quite pretty.  The only weird thing is it kind of feels like a forced park if that makes sense.  Like it’s not supposed to be there but it’s trying really hard to.  I guess typical for Irvine.

Anywhoo, we popped our squat and headed over to the two Food Trucks.  We were hoping for more, but I guess just two is what you get.  Sadly I wasn’t paying attention to the name of the truck but I did get myself two pork sliders that were yummy and some fries with chimichurri.  While waiting for our food I noticed that everyone around us had a sour face.  People weren’t friendly.  No one was smiling.  Just a general note of grump.  I didn’t say anything at 1^st, just thinking maybe I’m too perky today for my own good, but when I got my food and asked the man for ketchup and he snapped back “NO!” and huffed like the question was stupid.  I turned back to T and as we started back to our chairs I said “Is everyone here pissy to you?” 

She laughed and said she was thinking the same thing.  What’s with you Irvine folk?  Are you all this cranky?  Maybe it’s not Irvine, but whomever you people are – smile once in a while.  Whatever, just an observation. 

So we promptly inhaled our food and half listened to the kid from Simple Green who played reggae with just a guitar.  I’m an ass and can’t remember his name, but he was lovely.  My favorite was a man who had to be a buddy of his, dancing and recording his whole performance.  During this time the place was filling up more and more and the big orange balloon was taking people up and down.  It was a trip to watch that actually, but it was defiantly a little more family friendly than I was expecting for a band that deems themselves dirty reggae.  There was an annoying bunch of children in particular that kept chasing the giant bubbles that some dude was creating into the crowd and some unlucky peeps got to be under the thing when it popped, dripping bubble juice all over them.  It came close to T and me a couple of times, us squealing to get away from it and trying to make it obvious that we were indeed not a kid friendly blanket.

I would also like to mention around this time T and I both got differently flavored homemade popsicles from this darling gal that were AH-MAZE-ING.  Did I get her name?!  No dammit!

But aside from all of that, the Aggrolites took the stage as the sun was setting and proceeded to play a fantastic set.  The crowd had now filled up with actual Aggrolite fans, and the families.  A large crowd gathered at the front of the stage and jumped and danced and cheered throughout.  T and I found ourselves dancing in our chairs and loving all the people watching.  When the sun set, we did have about a 20 minute situation of more bugs than I ever care to see again swarming the area but then they were promptly gone.  Very odd.  There was a couple with no rhythm living it up in front of us, a lady with awful white washed jeans that could shake her ass like no one’s business, two little girls that made up dance moves throughout the entire concert, and a couple of little’s that chased each other none stop for what I think was about 3 hours.

The Aggrolites were cheerful, on key, on point and perfectly enjoyable.  I just love watching these guys play.  The keyboard player looked as if he was spinning a board.  The singer would bounce all over the stage and sing with a sexy raspy sound and the rest of the band was awesome.  The drummer also stood out a bit for me, pulling off some awesome beats.  I don’t listen to enough reggae and forget how much I love it.  They even played a kid friendly song called Banana that was hilarious.  If you ever get a chance, check these guys out - they are fantastic and fun!

I have to admit, aside from the $10 fee, bugs, the cold and the families – the event was lovely.  I’ll come again, with some OFF spray and warmer clothes.  Watching the balloon go up and down during the show, the lights, the night, the music, all of it.  A lovely summer evening!

Sunday was the day that T, Jill and I had purchased tickets to see Metalachi playing The Hanger at the OC Fair. I decided to post a separate photo blog of the fair but will mention the musical part here...and so:

I had never heard of these guys nor had Jill, but T had. 
 Metalachi

I don’t even know how to begin to describe these guys, but I’ll try.

So we go to the Fair a bit early to wander around checking out the exhibits and eat and play.  We ran into Mark and Noel and palled around with them awhile.  But when 8pm arrived, we excitedly got to the Hanger, got our seats and waited.  What I witnessed was brilliant.

These guys are obviously Mariachi musicians because they are fantastic, but they play heavy metal covers.  Brilliantly.  I mean really!  The fiddle player was fucking awesome (and gorgeous by the way) the trumpet player was amazing.  He was dressed in an outfit you would see in GWAR and had his face painted up like Gene Simmons in Kiss.  Fiddle guy looked like a hard rocking hard core Mexican.  The singer had the Ozzy look going, with purple spectacles a purple cropped shirt – belly hanging out and skeleton skin tight pants and also the oddest sombrero with little balls hanging off of it.  The bassist - who was playing a GIANT FUCKING BASS mind you, had a sombrero that was decked out rocker style.  There was a fellow who wore a cowboy hat that popped out every now and again to pump up the crowd then the other two guitar players were dressed more “Metal” than Mariachi or a combo. 

I died.

In between the songs they would make jokes in heavy accented “cholo” voices with quips like “You know you’re a Mexican when your nieces quincinera and baby shower are on the same day.”  Then they would go on to RIP a cover of Metallica or AC/DC or some other metal/rock band.

These guys were brilliant musicians and hilarious and goofy!  I was in total awe and had an absolute blast.  We didn’t even stay for the band they opened for (Dread Zeppelin), we were perfectly satisfied with what we just saw.  The crowd loved them, cheered, and the band ate it up. 

They put on an absolutely hilariously fantastic show and I will defiantly be seeing these guys again!!!!!

\m/

Time...

Time is an interesting thing.

I swear that this year has gone by faster than any year yet.  I am told that the older you get the faster time flies. 
No joke.

It’s August.

ALREADY.

August.

I’ve been going back and reading lots of old blogs I posted years back and they seem like lifetimes ago.

Is this normal?

It’s so bizarre to think that I’m 37 years old.  I mention my age at 32 in one of my older blogs and I thought “32!?  That’s so long ago!” 

I just finished reading The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom.  Great book by the way if any of you want a really cool quick read.  It’s a great book for people who currently take time for granted.  It talks about how Father Time came to be, and how some people are greedy for time and others don’t care and cut it short.  I want to say I’ve never taken time for granted but I feel I actually have.

I look back and think about my life before today and how I spent my moments.  Where my thoughts would wander off to.  How priorities have changed and shifted. 

My stint last year has left that nagging “I’m on borrowed time” feeling lingering in the back of my subconscious.  I feel being given a second chance I don’t want to fuck it up.

Practicing meditation and mindfulness is making a difference I believe.  If anything it stops me for those moments to just breathe.  Just be. 

I think a lot.  My mind wanders a lot.  

I drove out to Indio/Palm Springs on Saturday by myself.  

I must say I love the desert.  Even in the large community my friends live in, when you walk outside it's so quiet.  It's as if the sound is sucked up into the abyss.  I have a feeling if I make it to retirement I'll end up out here.

When I came home as the sun was beginning it's descent into the earth, I found myself at total ease.  (Yes my truck had made it out there with no issues, so I felt much more confident it would be fine coming home).  The desert is beautiful.  It's so very quiet.  The time of day I was heading home was perfection.  It's as if the world had slowed down for my drive home.  I tried to gaze at the landscape without swerving and actually almost pulled over to just look but decided not to.  But it was so pretty.  So serene.  I tried to snap a shot but it's a bit difficult while driving :)

I know I’m happy.  I know I appreciate every second I am granted on this earth. 

It’s so fast though.  Sometimes I want to just grab time and hold it still for just a minute.  There’s a moment in the book where time stops and the characters keep going. 

What moments would you halt?

All the people in my life that are gone now, I would defiantly want to see them again.  Halt time once more to just look at them, hear their voice, see their smile.

I wish I could grasp feelings and hang on to them.   The butterflies from the first kisses.  The laughter that causes you to turn into a silent, wheezing freak.  That inhale when your nose is filled with the salt air and the sounds of the ocean is crashing around you. 
I would stop yesterday as I held onto my Papa’s hand when for those brief few minutes I was left alone with him and he looked at me and was there with me.  “Remember the desert house Papa?”  “He tried to smile.  “I do.”  “Remember when you found me and Susan after being gone too long and you scolded us?”  He nodded.  “Susan still remembers that” I said laughing.  “I love you honey” he said.  He always says he loves me.  His mind may be gone most of the time, but it’s those moments he’s there that I want to just hold.  Just for a moment longer.

The book teaches you that time is precious because it’s limited. 

I would never want to live forever, but I really do wish this lifetime would slow down a bit.

Drenched 5K...

 And another random fun run 5K under the belt. 

This one was called Drenched Run. 

Julie had rounded up a bunch of us and formed the team Blame it on the Rain.

As the race got closer and I was starting to distinguish the difference between 5Ks, obstacle races and fun runs, I started dreading it.

I thought about it for a long time and decided I wasn’t going to do it.  After what has been going on with some of my fellow peeps and the whole leaving me alone crap, I just figured this wouldn’t be all that much fun for me so I opted out.  Well – that didn’t happen either.   As soon as I explained my frustrations to Julie on these fun runs and why they weren’t fun for me anymore she immediately said she would power walk with me.   Julie.  Julie who is the competitive, outstanding runner.  She stated the race wasn’t timed, she really wanted me there, and she was a great power walker and looking forward doing it with me.  So rad.

So – I did in fact end up doing Drenched Run.  As much as the race itself kind of blew, we all had a great time.  Here’s my recap:

I carpooled with Shane/D and we arrived nice and early after a bit of side tracking turn arounds from a typical man not paying attention to directions. (*snicker*).  We pulled in, parked right in front, and headed over to check in.  It was literally right there.  The race took place at Exposition Park in LA.  For those of you who don’t know (like I didn’t) it’s right by the Coliseum.  It’s also where the museum that holds The Endeavor lives.  DAMMIT!  I so would have planned to see that afterwards, but alas, another time.  So we get our T-shirts, sunglasses and bibs and head back to the car where we proceed to do our normal pre-race routine.  This is becoming second nature now.  Sunblock, apply bibs, drink water, snack, take pre-race photos and find everyone else.

I took a few shots before it got crazy

Once we all gathered, we meandered over to the start line where everyone was headed.  This was one of those races where you all get released in mini waves but the same start time.  Holly decided to also power walk with Julie and I which was rad and we all got the coolest photos because guess who brought the waterproof throw away camera.  That’s right!  Folks with water guns were already shooting each other and laughter was erupting and off we went.

There was a fire hose at the beginning as you see here

Then along the way random spectators could nail you as well

So we fell into our power walk and headed on.  Now, what we realized as we went through this race were a number of odd things.  First of all the streets weren’t closed, so cars are whizzing by you and homeless people are watching wondering what the hell all these wet people are doing running around The Coliseum.  We actually had to stop at a streetlight and wait.  This is also where a cop yelled at someone to get off their cellphone and drive.  After we crossed the street we hit a bubble bog.  OK fun!  Just like the Bubble Run.  Took some fun shots here:

At one point we got into a discussion about the fact that the Olympics have an actual power walking event.  Julie went on to explain how serious it was and gave us an amazing demonstration...

 Hilarious.  Adore that girl.

Then on and on through an odd course then around the Coliseum.  I shot this for Fatima

Then another Bubble Bog.  Then we round the corner and start the same run again.  We’re literally running the course twice.  So again, same homeless folks, now more annoyed.  Same cop but this time we beat the streetlight and same Bubble Bogs again.  So – more photos – and this is where I spotted the professional photographer.

Then one random guy who was less than enthused to be spraying us with a hose.  This I believe was the only “water obstacle” on the course.  Really?!

After passing that dude we rounded the corner towards where we started and the apparent finish.  At the finish line is another Bubble Bog (Did I sign up for Bubble Run again??!) and when you went through the bog, there was a tarp that had oil or something on it and water to make it slip and slide –esk.  Well – Holly, Julie and I took full advantage since there were no other obstacles and threw ourselves across the slide.  I must say – I slid the farthest and off the slide.  I don’t know what it is about me and random slides where I take out everyone around me.  Maybe I’m just really enthusiastic!  When we stood up, soaked and laughing, there was our crew gathering around us. 

“That’s it?” we said. 

Apparently.

So, Julie and I went around and fell back into the race and slip and slid again.  This time Art attempted to snap a shot of us doing so.  You can see Julie on the ground and me about to.  Which I of course promptly slid over enthusiastically again.  I also may or may not have shoved innocent children out of my way. HA!

By the way...the photographer actually caught Shane smiling....Miracles happen!

Post Race Team Shot...nice and wet

So we all chatted and laughed and wrung ourselves out as we wandered around to check out what was around.  Not much.  We ended up snagging a beach ball and a game ensued as we waited for the water balloon fight to start.  A few of our crew went off to smoke but the rest of us played ball.  It ended up being super fun. There was a little dance dance party and Holly continually shooting her boyfriend with water which was amazing.

The announcer then called us all around the area where the water balloon fight was going to start.  I wasn’t planning on getting too involved.  The thought of flying objects coming at my head didn’t really appeal to me, but I did want to catch some shots.  As soon as the dude said “GO!” it was a mob.  Everyone ran to the middle, grabbed balloons and started warring.  It was hilarious and surprisingly not that dangerous.  Shane and I stood back a bit and were chatting when Julie spotted this opportunity and promptly slammed him right in the chest.  I ended up staying behind him after this since he’s taller and started getting really good at catching some of the balloons thrown at him and throwing them back.  It was quite a sight and fun to watch everyone. 

Afterwards they had a couple of water hoses spraying the crowd and everyone was playing, and getting wet, and playing some games, and laughing.  It was quite hot out so it was a perfect day.  We headed back to the cars, dried off and said our goodbyes.  Shane, D and I hit an early lunch with pre-race drinks on our way home and sat outside as to not get the seats too wet. 

So in conclusion, I won’t sign up for this race again most likely since the race didn’t offer all that much.  But I must say – the crew was in high spirits, it was a beautiful day, and we all had an absolute blast!