Maura's Illuminated Manuscript

But first: a lovely lunch with randomdreams and manintheboat at Coastal Kitchen. I'd never met Mrs. Random in meatspace before, and I have to say it's striking how well matched they are. The cuteness doesn't just burn; it incinerates.

Right after lunch, I got in my Sanctimobile and headed north for Cut Copy.

But second: I stopped for dinner at Sophie's Cosmic Cafe on 4th Ave. W per a former co-worker's notably vocal recommendation. They do diner food, including vegetarian, quite well; I'm sorry I didn't save room for a shake. And I'm pretty sure I have the platform boots that I spotted in their decor.

Wandered through downtown Vancouver (more about that anon) to the lovely Stanley Park. I have to say, though, that Marymoor Park in Redmond is a better outdoor venue: the Malkin Bowl is smaller, hillier where it's inconvenient, and hemmed in with tall conifers. It's also hard to beat sunset at a concert at Marymoor.

The openers? Vancouver's own Bear Mountain. They don't suck; I think I recognized them from KEXP. I may have to pick up their rekkid. Be advised that these guys apparently listen to Erasure, recent Daft Punk, and a whole lot of old disco.

Our heroes from from Australia sounded excellent, barring one technical glitch. They don't have a whole lot of stage presence, but the crowd warmed up to them eventually. It's hard to resist a groove that solid, and I danced through every song when I wasn't using the tilted port-a-potties. I smelled a little weed, but I encountered no jerks because Canada. I was happy they were happy to take my Yankee cash for drinks. On the way out, I remarked to (of course) a young cutie with flame-red hair that I might make it back to Seattle by 0100. She expressed surprise at the hardness of my core. What?

Fashion observation: Even though it was a sunny afternoon and a clear evening, there were lots of women at the concert in gumboots, and at least one man. It was the defining fashion of that crowd.

Civil engineering fail: Canadians, or at least British Columbians, don't seem to have embraced the freeway concept as much as their neighbors to the south. Their freeways end at or well away from the edge of the central city, which gets an A for esthetics but a D for convenience. I also question their signage. I managed to wander off of 99 in the dark on the way back to the US and spent half an hour going through Richmond and the airport. That's much harder even in L.A.'s concrete tangle, and yes, I drove there for the first time exhausted at 0130. A stop sign in one direction with a stoplight crosswise? Bad call. And guys, left turn lanes are your friends on Vancouver's many long, wide, straight arterials. Don't get me started about the reversible lanes with no dividers between them.

In summation, Canada is a land of many contrasts I'd do that kind of trip again, but I'd stay overnight and not go alone.

My shrink and I, and even one or two of you, agree that I need to find a girlfriend. Pity that's a bit more complicated than grocery shopping.

You see, I'm a lesbian, and sadly, I still have my junk. Junk is unpopular with many lesbians, even sane ones. I try not to take that personally, but it makes the prospect of meeting women that much more nerve-wracking. No way in hell am I walking into a group of lesbians unescorted. At least not yet.

And who would I get to escort me? Well, I do have a trans friend or two who seem to have managed. There's the Wet Spot CSPC and MyCo's GLBT employee association, which are more mixed and therefore safer gatherings. Still, I'm not ready to do anything as convenient as just bopping on down to the Wild Rose alone.

Social anxiety? Me? In this situation, you bet.

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I've apparently lost what was left of my mind: I signed up to answer phones at KEXP on Saturday - from 0645 to 0915. That's the only shift they had left. That's during "Mind Over Matters", the Saturday morning news that I'm never awake early enough to listen to.

I answered phones there before at a less brutal hour on a weekday morning. It's so weird to hear & see John Richards's voice produced from something biological instead of a plastic box full of electronics.

I'll be going out Saturday night, and I'm so disco napping on Saturday afternoon.

It's been a while since I did a multi-week nun plan, but pickings are rich this month:

1/16 - Riz @ Re-bar. Yeah, this is a monthly, but I love Riz and most of us are aware of the threat letter that Re-bar, among others, got.

1/18 - The crew of KEXP's Expansions, my favorite radio show online or off, does an annual MLK Day party, this year @ Neumo's with its fine sound system.

(Yeah, I'm getting two nights out that weekend.)

1/24 - many locals I like @ Church of Bass

1/31 - Psychedelic Circus @ Columbia City Theater