Friday night recap

These Saturday mornings here at work sure crawl at a snail's pace. The first 90 minutes seem like an eternity.

Last night's Ulrich Schnauss/Airiel show at the Beat Kitchen was great, and the fact that I got in for free (Thanks, J) and was out of there by 9:30PM made it even better. There's something about seeing some ambient/electronic music live with some killer screen projections that enables me to get lost in an almost trance-like state. I actually danced, too, believe it or not. Airiel, a band going on 10 years, seemed to have really made their presence felt with their new record so I expect big things for them in the future. Fans of the early 90's shoegazer movement would be wise to check them out. I also plan on seeing them next month at the Empty Bottle with Adam Franklin.

Walking out to my car post-show, I got a call from Liam telling me all about his first school dance. He was bumming earlier that day that he didn't have a ride to school later than night but a friend came through for him. I was instantly amazed, impressed, and anxious as I listened to him tell me of the two girls that liked him and that he asked the one he liked better to dance (to some song called "Soulja Boy"?). As he gets older, I realize how important it is for me to instill in him a sense of respect for women, though I suspect living in a house primarily made up of the opposite sex he's already been given some "pointers". Nevertheless, I want him to go about any potential future relationships the right way (as opposed to the way I've gone about things).

I ended my night with coffee with some program friends, with plans to meet up on a more regular basis. Now more than ever, it's important to surround myself with people that don't judge me for mistakes that I've made. I'm slowly beginning to crawl out of that stage where I continue to beat myself up over past mistakes. I am not perfect; nobody is. I can only learn from the mistakes I've made and with a strong program to work from I can regain my confidence. Anger aside (and I am not trying to belittle the anger-I know that I have to really get that under control), I am starting to see that the fallout of my relationship with A was based in part on the realization that I really didn't see a potential future in the relationship anymore, which is sad considering a good portion of the past 7 months were quite enjoyable, and that Lollapalooza weekend will be tough to beat.

As she was fond of saying, it is what it is...