Gwyneth B. McGlinn

I’m listening to Modest Mouse We were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. It’s  keeping me company as I browse for vintage/thrift shops to visit. A long time ago I ended up in Buffalo Exchange on The Ave. At the time I just thought it was a neat place. Now I keep reading blogs where people have actually bought cool stuff there. It inspired my wish to go back.

I also must make it to Crossroads Trading Co. I need to get shoes for Halloween. I’m going as my favorite Vampire from Buffy. I’ll leave you guessing until the 31st.

On and exciting note Tagtober is coming back for 2009. Once again I’m toying with the idea of shooting instant film. Maybe the best idea is to throw in one or two instant pics and do the rest digital.

Last night we had a lot of fun getting sushi and hanging out with friends. We even met two friends in person for the first time. Then we went to the falls and back to Michael’s packed apt. There isn’t much room inside for the 5 occupants + 1 cat.

After we dropped Tom off in Capital Hill I managed to get about 4 hours of sleep. It was worth it though!

Friday was my bachelorette party. Marina was trying to keep it a secret but on Thursday she couldn’t want to tell me.

We went to the Can Can in Seattle. It’s in a basement space at Pike Place Market. I had so much fun!

Marina, Fran, Sam, and Kris were there. We ordered calimari and a spinach salad for appetizers. Then it was macaroni and another pasta for dinner. They all had brought me gifts. I hadn’t expected that so it was a great surprise.

The best part was the show. It was a group called Cabagazm. I’d describe it as trip-hop and dance music. The style was burlesque and cabaret meets Michael Alig done in interpretive/modern dance.

The music was a little too loud but that is typical. There wasn’t any nudity but there was plenty of nearly naked men and women with pasties. I can’t even really describe it other than to say there was dancing, lip syncing and a contortionist. I ended up missing that bit because I went to the bathroom but Sam got a couple pictures of it.

I would totally recommend the place. Coming sometime soon they’re doing Cabagazm II. It was too bad a couple people couldn’t make it but I’d go again if anyone is interested.

Sam was kind enough to post some pictures. You can check them out Here.

After the show Marina and I went to pick up her roommate. So we spent a little time in a club with a salsa floor and a hip hop floor. Once we managed to leave we ended up getting tacos at the stand next to Wenchels doughnuts. I ended up getting home around 3am. J.P. was still up so I showed him the gifts I got.

Important things:
The Can Can
Cabagazm info
Cabagazm II

So Alex thinks I don’t like dogs.   I want to set the record straight.  I like dogs but not dogs that live indoors.  My parents have one.  They really enjoy having him which is great for them.  I think he’s a good dog but I prefer outdoor ones.

The things I don’t like are:

Finding hair in my things months after moving out
The faint hint of dog (maybe it’s all in my head)
Finding messes in front of the TV
Not having privacy when I’m home alone (that was a big one)
Cleaning their paws every time they come back inside (Bruno got tired of that fast)

All this may make it sound like I don’t like dogs but I do.  I love going out with them on walks.  The crotch sniffing was a lot like a good handshake or hug (in the recognition sense).

Dogs are usually pretty and have soft fur.  I think Samantha, our shorter haired dog, may have shed more than Bruno the longer haired one they have now.  It was less obvious with her living outside though.

If I could I’d get another Samantha in a heart beat.  She was fun.  You couldn’t turn  your back on her or she’d sneak off to eat cat food.  So you had to have her on a leash.  She was pretty active but she knew exactly when I wanted to be totally still.  We’d lay in the grass together for a long time.  She never seemed bored but would jump up and want to go run afterwards.

She loved walks in the woods, country music, and eating compost.  Rotting banana peels and corn cobs were her favorites.  She liked hanging out when we had the BBQ going.  She hated water so if you wanted her to stop doing something you just had to gently splash her.

She also hated being inside.  We would take her on a long walk and let her run around a bit before brining her in.  She’d go pee multiple times and poo.  Once inside she would wait a couple minutes and then pee on the carpet.  That got her back outside quickly.

Samantha adopted us.  My Mother thinks the neighbors brought her home from the grocery store but the neighbor girl denied that.  We found her in our yard.  She was this cute little thing with her heart held out for us.  Our first thought was that someone would post lost dog signs.  So we posed a dog found sign at the road.

No one claimed her.  We had her in our fenced in backyard.  She very quickly tried her first escape.  I don’t recall if she got out but obviously she came back.  We had another dog back then Argos.  (No, not Arugs like the cameras I own two of.)

She and Argos got along pretty well.  He was the old tough guy who put her in her place.  He wouldn’t put up with her puppy antics.  He was a sweet dog.  I was small when we got him so I just remember his last few years.

I named Samantha after a girl I met once.  The girl was a friend of a friend and liked to go by the name Rambo.  I wanted a name that could be changed if she turned out to be a he.  So if she was a boy she would have been Sam.

She was so full of life.  On a bad day all I had to do was hang out with her and I’d quickly feel better.  She was the first noun (person or thing) I remember saying “I love you” to.  She was the best thing in my life.

Like all of our dogs she got old.  She had bad joints and was probably in a lot of pain when she walked.  She also had other issues due to her age.  When it got really bad we had to put her down.

I remember that day clearly.  I was at my internship when I got the call.  My Mother told me what they were going to do.  I was hoping they would wait till I got home for the funeral but they did it before I got there.  In some ways I think that was best.  It’s been nearly three years and I’m bawling as I write this.

When we got Bruno one of the first things I did was tell him all about her.  We’d make a detour to her grave when out for walks.  I was so upset about it that soon after she died I was driving to J.P.’s work and crashed my Camry.

A couple months ago I was sitting at work.  I got the urge to go home and play with her.  Then I realized she was dead.

Now you’re thinking that I don’t want a dog because none of them will be just like her.  And maybe that is partly true.  In some ways I also think I’ve grown out of the dog ownership phase.

And there’s the watching them age while you’re still young.  It’s hard to go through.  The hardest part is believing their gone.  You put so much time and love into them and then they’re gone.  I’d much rather have kids that will grow old slowly and outlive me.

This saturday is the big cookoff thing.  I’m really looking forward to it.  It will be great to get together with our friends and do something I enjoy.  And the best part is there is no eating at a restaurant involved.

I can’t wait to see what people come up with.  And the local is good.  It’s in the area I grew up in.  I think J.P. and I will drive up there in his car.  Aaron wanted us to take the Vanagon but I don’t think we’ll do that.  He can bring power on his own.  I hear Alex is letting J.P. borrow his grill so I must say thank you to him.  If they’re busy going off and doing the radio and dog thing I don’t think I’ll be spending much time them for a while.  But who knows.

That is another reason this weekend will be fun.  My interests and the interests of our friends are going in two radically different directions at the moment.  So I’m glad there is something we can all enjoy.  It’s just reminding me why we have so many friends with a wide range of interests.  That is not a bad thing.

So good luck to all competing.  I’m sure it will be hard to pick a winner.  J.P. has a few great ideas.  I don’t know what he’ll finally end up making but get ready for him to win.  I assume I’ll end up as a judge but we’ll see how many people want to do that.  An odd number might be better.  Plus I am a little biased towards my man.

I haven’t decided what to bring to drink.  I thought about getting some beer but a good old rum and coke might be even better to wash down the delicious food.  Last night I got an apple martini at Union Square Grill lounge.  Next time I would get a different flavor.  I picked it at the last minute not knowing it wasn’t listed on the menu.  So there was no apple slice in it and it tasted too much like apple syrup or something.

Last weekend J.P. and I made a trip up to Bellingham. We saw a speaker at Linuxfest NW and picked up a little cool schwag. That was J.P.’s fun. We got some neat pictures of the Bellingham Technical College campus. The were various sculptures and flowers.

Since we went up there for him I wanted to do something that I would enjoy. My idea of fun was to go music shopping. I was in need of some new vinyl. I’d looked up the address for Everyday Music and had it handy. We dropped in and browsed. The store was in a pretty good location. It was on a corner with street parking. We parked about two blocks away.

When you walk in the whole right wall is filled with bins of Vinyl. The first little section is new vinyl. That’s where I started. They had a pretty good selection. My mistake was not taking a list of artists I was looking for. I ran across a lot of names I knew but I didn’t remember if they’d made it through the selection process. I was going to buy The Decemberists but they didn’t have the new one.

I’ve been listening to Modest Mouse a lot on Betty this past couple weeks so I did buy their new one. I’ll post a review soon. I’ve only listened to it once so far. It is pretty cool though..80 gram vinyl.

I picked up a record with Mono and someone else, but decided not to buy it. I should see if I can listen to it online. I also considered buying Camera Obscura but again they didn’t have the album I wanted.

From there I moved onto the CD section. I’ve been trying to find Cibo Matto. So I hit the C section and there they were. I got Viva La Woman!. There was also a greatest hits with b sides and bonus tracks. I decided against it. Not only was the one I got used (aka cheaper) but I wanted to experience the music in the way the artist or someone wanted me to hear it.

I looked around for some vintage Nerf Herder but they didn’t even have their newer stuff. That was a bit of a letdown. I spaced and didn’t look for any Sprung Monkey. It would have been sweet to get them used too.

The significance of those three bands is that they’re all on Buffy. Nerf Herder did the theme song, Sprung Monkey is the band who’s songs are used for Oz’s band Dingos Ate my Baby, and Cibo Matto is in an early episode.

Important things:
Everyday Music

I have to give a shout out to the Chuck’s Propane Chevron on 99 for meeting my expectations on Sunday.
Our trip was billed as a quick drive to the Silverlake Chevron for and Henry’s doughnuts for maple bars.
We arrived at Silverlake to find out that they were missing their air hose. The station down the street wanted 75 cents for air. So we went on a journey to find free air. Henry’s became simply a pit stop. They were out of maple bars. At least they had some doughnuts unlike Saturday when all they had were 8-12 muffins.
Various other gas stations and the emissions place let us down on the way home. Why are people willing to pay for air?
Finally we pulled into “Chuck’s Propane.” That’s just an old faded sign out by the Chevron. I have no idea if it’s just a leftover or if the Chevron and garage is/was Chuck’s.
To paint you a picture the Chevron looks like it hasn’t been updated since the early to mid 90’s. It has 4 old style pumps (I think) under a simple cover. The pumps do take credit cards though. Off to the side is an even older kerosene pump.
There is a building where a cashier can be with snacks or something. Attached to that is a garage with maybe 4 bays.
At night the pump area is lit and there may have been a light on or in the building. We pull up and are driving out when I spy an unlit water/air machine. We stop and J.P. fills up the tires. As expected the pump leaked some air but did manage to work.
I must go back and get pictures so I can share. We’ve bought gas there once. It’s just a good place that seems to have what we need. It looks like the sort of place that just has things. Don’t expect too much though…things just seem to “work.”

So I was going to post a playlist on Friday but I left the list at work. So I just posted it. Enjoy.