Going postal

I am this () close to just completely losing it right now. Work was rotten today, I had one idiot after another calling. I had surgeons who tell patients one thing but don't bother telling the schedulers. It's asinine how this place is run. There is NO communication, the surgeons all have huge egos and don't seem to realize that without us lowly clerical people this whole freaking place would fall apart. God I hate this place at times and cosmetic surgery patients are the worst. Who the hell cares if the first available appointment for your liposuction isn't till May? It isn't like it's life or death. God. People are SO STUPID at times. Grrr. Grr. Gr.

Ten minutes and I'm outta here. At least I'm going to a show at the Blind Pig tonight-I'm covering SSM for The Crutch, so I get in as press which is pretty damn cool. I think I'll need a beer. Or ten.

Thank god it's the weekend in 10 minutes. I've got to get out of this place before I say something insanely rude to a patient and get myself fired.
Grrr.

On a different note, listen to Nightmare of You--they rock (and they have a song that mentions Ann Arbor which is just fun).

~S

Good Mourning

Man, today was a sad, sad day. So, I have a car. It's a 1996 Subaru Impreza with 132,000 miles on it. I've driven it back and forth from Michigan to Washington, DC (multiple times); from Michigan to Stratford, Ontario (multiple times); now I'm driving from Ann Arbor to Lansing three times a week and used to commute from A2 to Livonia (for 3 1/2 years). So, lotsa miles on it. It has a dent in the passenger door from where my mom backed into my car (oops!), mismatching side-view mirrors from when some asshole whacked one of my mirrors off. The breaks went out on me and had to be totally rehauled to the tune of $2,000 about a year and a half ago and it's just generally a bit ghetto.

Here's the thing. I love my car. I've gotten really attached to it. So, my dad suggests that he bring it in to be checked over since it's been a few months and I'm putting a lot of miles on it now. When my cell rang at work and his number was on caller ID, I knew it wasn't going to be good.

The word "transmission" came up. The words "multiple leaks" were mentioned. The sum of another $1,000 was mentioned.

I wanted to cry.

So, the question is, do we put that money into my 10 year old car or into a new car? It looks like its going to be a new car which is totally exciting but this wasn't how I really wanted it to happen. Of course it'll be another Subaru, which is cool with me. I'm leaning towards the Impreza WRX but I'm going to the dealer with my parents (of course, I'm such a baby and a leech which bothers me, but SOMEDAY I'll have a real job. God, I just better have a real job! I can't take much more of this temp business) and we'll see what they've got etc. I was a little surprised. My mom and I were looking online at cars and I kept going towards the cheaper Subarus. Nice, but still not the WRX and she kept steering me towards the WRX. Not the totally tricked out one that's over $30,000, but still a bit nicer than I was leaning towards. Well, we'll see what happens. Who knows, maybe by this time next week I'll have a new car...but I'm sure gonna miss my little blue subaru in a way--we've been through a lot together:(

Woo hoo!

Aaah! Alkaline Trio is playing in Royal Oak April 23...it's only $15...anyone wanna come see them with me?? They're SO good.
please, please, please??
Lemme know.

Also, I should have two pieces in the March issue of The Crutch. Woo hoo!
Ciao,
~S

Even more stupid people

Ok, so I know my postings have been mostly about people that annoy me, but this has been one hell of a week for those kind of people. They're multiplying or something and I thought evolution was supposed to take care of that.

So, here's another of my favorite types of calls:
A patient calls, they're on their way to the appointment but have gotten lost. Instead of stopping the car to call and ask for directions, they KEEP DRIVING while they're on the phone. Um, HELLO, aren't you just getting more lost? It's pretty damn hard for me to tell you how to get here if you KEEP MOVING. Idiots. I spent ten minutes on the phone with someone who wouldn't stop the fucking car even though they were lost and it got harder and harder for me to tell them how to get here because after a while they couldn't even tell me roughly where they were. STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!

Whew, sorry. The idiots are getting to me and it's harder and harder to keep the tourette's in check. Sometimes I just want to tell them that they're a complete idiot and to quit bugging me with stupid questions about their elective surgery. God, plastic surgery patients...useless lot, let me tell you.

Ok, on a different note, some musical recommendations since I haven't done any in ages.

• OkGo "You're So Damn Hot"--funny song, catchy, good tune in general, OkGo are going to be hot themselves:)
• The Magic Numbers "Love Me Like You Do"-free download on iTunes two weeks ago (I think) but they've been playing the song forever on British radio. Good song, but it might have the potential to get annoying if it's overplayed.
• Placebo "Infra-Red" awesome, awesome song. I'm not sure where the hell I got it, it's off their album "Meds" which hasn't been released yet...
• My Chemical Romance "To the End Remix"-this is off the soundtrack for Underworld: Evolution and it's just a pretty damn cool remix of "To the End." You can download it here.
• Hard-Fi has done a cover of the White Stripes "Seven Nation Army." The original is the best, but I like what they've done with the song. You can get it at iTunes.

That's it for now.

Ciao, ~S

Darwin: weeding stupid people out of the gene pool since 1859

Aargh. Is it a full moon? All the idiots are coming out of the woodwork. Honestly, today answering the phone it's just been one stupid person after another. Here's an example:
A woman has an appointment with a plastic surgeon. She has the appointment during the day during the week (like you do). When I tell her how long the appointment will take she's like "What am I supposed to do with my kids during the appointment?"

Um. I'm not a parent, and I'm definitely not a rocket-scientist, but I think the answer is...

YOU GET SOMEONE TO WATCH THEM.

Geez. Should you be getting elective surgery if you can't figure that one out?

I also love it when clerks/nurses/doctors from other clinics within the hospital call to make appts for patients and then they don't know what the patient needs to be seen for and they don't know what the patient's ID number is. For GOD'S SAKE, I've got six calls in the queue, call me back when you've got all the information! Grr. I hate stupid people (or at least people that don't have any common sense, I guess that's really what it is).

I wish it was the weekend :(
Ok, because I forgot some of them the other day and because I need to think happy thoughts...







Ciao,
~S

Valentine's Day Massacre

Oh yeah, how could I forget, it's Valentine's Day...whoopee (er, yeah, don't mind the excessive sarcasm). Yes, it sorta sucks being VD and not having a valentine, but I've been on the other side. That is, I've had a valentine on VD and it still sucked. So, I'd probably be kinda miserable either way:) (Actually, I'm not that miserable at all, it hasn't been too much of a "wanna slash your wrists" kind of valentine's day, so that's not all bad!)
So, seeing as I have no valentine, I'm going to indulge my fondness for hot musicians. Humor me here.
Ciao,
~S

Michelle Kwan & the Byzantine world of figure skating

Ok, so, I confess to being a figure skater. I've been skating for about 14 years ever since I fell in love with the sport while watching the 1992 Albertville Olympics. Since then, I've spent far too many hours in freezing cold rinks all over the country. I started too late to be really great at freestyle and even though I was good at compulsory figures they got rid of them and replaced them with moves in the field. Synchro was my true love and that's what I really miss being on my DC team. I skated synchro at the U of M for three years, went to the National championships five times and won Nationals once. Needless to say, I've spent a lot of years just following the sport--watching the men try to land quads, watching the US pairs teams struggle against the Russians, seeing the rise of American ice dancing and most of all, watching Michelle Kwan grow from a gangly little girl to one of the most beautiful skaters in history.

I was so sorry to hear that Kwan withdrew from the Olympics. Certainly, with an injury, it was the right thing to do, but I wanted to see her win that gold medal as much as the next person. Ok, so maybe she was a tiny bit of a long-shot going into her third Olympics, but look at her resume! So Tara Lipinski won an Olympic gold medal. What is she doing now? Did anyone even like her? Her jumps were low and very tight, Lipinski barely got around three times for her triples, yet somehow she won. Sarah Hughes, don't even get me started. She has no personality, insists on wearing over the boot tights (can we say, elephant feet??) and is boring to watch. Kwan has displayed more poise, grace and class than any athlete I can think of. She is always elegant, breathtaking to watch and a real credit to the sport of figure skating. If she chooses to retire from skating, we will lose an icon. She may not have an Olympic gold, but at least she wasn't a blip like Lipinski or Hughes. Kwan has proved her staying power and won time and time again at the National and World Championships. I think that Hughes and Lipinski winning Olympic gold was nothing more than a fluke.

The skating world is definitely a byzantine one, rife with biased judging, scandal (two words, Tonya Harding), and skaters that are considered old once they hit the age of 22. Michelle Kwan has not only always represented the sport with grace but she has also always represented the USA with that same grace. I will be disappointed that I won't get to see her skate on that Olympic ice in Turin, but I am proud to be part of a sport that can boast Michelle Kwan as it's star. If she does choose to retire, we will be losing a great athlete.

Michelle Kwan, I salute you.

Grammys...

I was pretty psyched for the Grammys, but oddly disappointed after the show. I was happy that U2 won a bunch of stuff but I wasn't terribly impressed with John Legend and I can't stand Kanye West.

I felt oddly happy for Kelly Clarkston, mostly because she seemed genuinely overwhelmed when she won her first award of the night. I'm not crazy about her music, but she's kinda cute and has a certain naivite that most of the people she was competing against didn't have. Her dress was weird though. The bottom looked like a carpet or something.

It was cool that Gwen Stefani and Billie Joe Armstrong presented together, and I was really psyched that Green Day won a Grammy (and that they beat out Mariah Carey and Kanye West). I haven't been too crazy about Madonna's music lately, but, damn, got to give the woman credit. She looks fantastic. Should I be so lucky! I was curious to see how they'd do the opening number between Madonna and the Gorillaz, and it was sort of cool but not as cool as I'd expected. They made such a big deal out of the fact that Madonna was performing with an animated band but really, what it was was the Gorillaz playing part of "Feel Good, Inc." and then Madonna singing "Hung Up." It was advertised as a duet or something but really wasn't. The only thing I didn't get about Madonna's outfit (well, besides the obvious, a purple leotard which would look hideous on anyone else but somehow works for her) was the capri-ish nylons she was wearing. I mean, the woman's got a great body, were the support hose (or whatever they were) really necessary??

Coldplay has gotten kind of annoying and I don't know what's up with Chris Martin's hair...with all the millons he's got, you think he could afford a haircut!

I was pretty disappointed that Fall Out Boy didn't win Best New Artist. I definitely liked them best of all the nominees. I give John Legend credit though, don't get me wrong, he is a good musician. His stuff just doesn't thrill me, but oh well. I was happy that The White Stripes won for Best Alternative Music Album too. Yeah for Detroit! I guess the whole thing was interesting, but I feel there were better Grammy shows in the past. Most of the performances were ok, though some of them got a bit boring to be honest (was the 15 minute tribute to Sly and the Family Stone really necessary??) One performance that stood out was the smash-up by Jay-Z and Linkin Park "Numb/Encore"--that I really liked. Otherwise, it was a pretty typical awards show I guess.

Some good news, I got a writing job which I'm pretty psyched about. I'm going to be doing some reviews for a small music mag out of Chicago and I already have two bands to cover for the March issue. I don't get paid, but I do get free cd's and tix to shows (I'm already on the guest list for a show coming up at the Blind Pig--kinda cool to get to say "I'm on the guest list!") Heck, it'll be something to add to my resume and if it helps me get a good music journalism job down the line, all the better! Happy, happy! Yeah for it almost being the weekend too:)
Ciao,
Sasha

B-day weekend

Well, hard to believe, but another birthday has come and gone (although a friend of mine insists that I actually get a whole birthday week, not just one day). It was definitely a good weekend though. Friday night I was all ambitious, went to the gym after work, practiced guitar and actually went to Starbucks to do homework so I woudldn't have to do any work on my b-day:) I actually kind of like going downtown to do work and drink coffee, nerdy I know.

So, Saturday I got a haircut (woo hoo! first time since October...my hair has gotten so long, for me at least), ran errands and then spent over an hour on the phone with SBC tech support b/c my internet wasn't working. That was the only downpoint of the day, the DSL didn't get fixed and actually didn't get fixed till today. I'm a total email geek and not having any internet access for three days was making me nuts. Then I went to dinner with my parents, Husband & Wife at Kana. It was SO good, man, I can't get over how great the food was. There are so many good restaurants in Ann Arbor, it was hard to pick, but I'm glad I picked what I did. After that Husband, Wife and I went over to the Alley Bar for drinks. Some other friends met up with us, though my friend "E" bailed on me which kinda upset me a little bit. She says she was sick, and I really want to believe her, but I have this sneaking feeling that she really got a booty call. I hope I'm wrong about that one. After drinking a LOT at Alley Bar, we headed over to the Fleetwood, didn't get kicked out (woo hoo!) and drank far too much coffee. I was pretty ragged the next day (mostly tired since I think I got in around 3am). A few random quotes from the night:

"Not all music can be about smacking your bitches"-courtesy of Wife's co-worker (but Wife gets credit for saying it at the bar!!)
"Beauty is only a lightswitch away"-Husband
"You're not fucking emo!"-me yelling drunkenly at Husband
"Phrase, yo"-T, bike friend of Husband's

I really think Wife's comment wins. God, that STILL cracks me up. Husband and Wife got me this sweet Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Music History and an iTunes gift card (prob the only reason I haven't spent it all yet is b/c I had no internet) and my parents got me a really pretty necklace. All in all, a good b-day. The only bummer was that my best friend from DC wasn't there to celebrate too-we have the same b-day, so it would have been doubly fun to celebrate together.

E is trying to make up for not hanging out on my birthday so I guess we're heading out this Saturday for more drinking and such. I won't complain:)

In other news, I got myself tix to go see Fall Out Boy (they're like crack I tell you! CRACK!) in April and I'm pretty damn psyched about it. They're playing with Hawthorne Heights, All-American Rejects and From First to Last, so it should be a pretty sweet show.

Parents head to Italy in about a month and I get the whole house to myself:) I've got plans, let me tell you.
Later,
Sasha

Just to clarify

Ok, I've gone back and forth a bit on whether or not to respond to a comment an anonymous reader left. I've decided I want to make a response. The comment was regarding why I was bummed about the whole Hard-Fi/Spin thing and the poster essentially said that I was dumb to think they'd even consider my review since they sent someone to the NYC show with the sole purpose of reviewing the band.

Clearly. That's what music magazines do. I realize that.

However, in my defense, a few comments. First of all, I didn't know that they had already covered the band in NYC when I pitched the idea to them. I found that out afterwards and as soon as I saw it I knew they wouldn't be at all interested in my pitch.

Secondly, I knew my pitch was a HUGE long-shot. I knew it was a big gamble and that they'd probably say "thanks but no thanks." I was totally terrified to even make the call figuring they'd probably just laugh in my face (er, or in my ear, you know what I mean). Here's the thing though, I've spent a lot of my life not doing things or not saying things because I was scared of what other people might think. I'm trying to change that, and this was one of those things. Sure, it would have been a lot "safer" to not even bother trying, but at least now I know what the deal was. I tried, that's a lot more that most people can say.

I've worked for a newspaper, I know how they assign stories and I know that it isn't a situation where they take the best one that a bunch of random people send in (that would be an idiotic way to run a publication, even I know that). I knew it was a possibility that they'd have someone covering the band since they'd just run an article on them but there's always that possibility that they didn't have someone there. In which case, you never know, maybe they'd have been even slightly interested in my story. I know they aren't the sort of publication to take random stories from freelancers, but I had to at least try. Stranger things have been known to happen.

Oh yeah, and one of the editors from Spin did email me back. Sure, it was a "thanks for the pitch but we aren't interested right now" kind of thing but at least I got a message back--definitely better than nothing.

Sorry for the rant, just wanted to clear a few things up.