sadness on a Sunday night

Well, as always there's a lot to write about but tonight I am got some news that has made me very sad and I'm hoping it will help to write about it.
From 2nd grade on I lived on the 1500 block of Voorhees Avenue in Manhattan Beach.  Back then you knew all your neighbors and we were a close block.  There have been two families that have lived in the same house since before I moved there and I was very close to both.  Phyllis, who lived across the street from me, was like a 2nd Mom and made a big impression on me.  She believed in me, always told me how smart I was, and I got her daughters awesome hand me downs and I bought my first Beach Boys record from her son Brian at one of their famous garage sales.  After high school, she gave me my first "big girl" job as her assistant at the travel agency where she worked.  When I got pregnant (without being married) she did not judge me but instead she threw me a baby shower.  She always wrote me glowing letters of recommendation, and has been my go to job reference for over 20 years.  I know I can always count on her vote of confidence and her husband, Jerry, is pretty awesome too.  In August she told me that the heart defect she has had since she was little is causing her slow death and she's not well, I refused to believe it.  I saw her last week for lunch and she is looking more frail but still the same Phyllis, force of nature but apparently not long for this world.  I haven't come to grips with this until I was given another piece of sad news tonight.  This news is in relation to my other childhood neighbor Fran or MooMoo as we called her.
MooMoo and Poppy lived down the street from me and their daughter Sheri was like the older sister I never had.  Sheri is 6 or 7 years older, had great taste in music (& hot boyfriends) and a baby named Kiana (KiKi) when I met her.  She lived in the back room of her parents house, had cool bamboo furniture, 40's barkcloth material and wore ricrac dresses.  She was the coolest chick I ever knew and I wanted to grow up like her (minus the baby), we would cruise around in her red convertible vw bug listening to 8 tracks, spend our summer days swimming at their pool or hanging out down at Longfellow.  She introduced me to Selector, The Clash, Joan Armatrading, I even went to my first "official" concert with her and her bf Steve Fair- The Talking Heads at the Greek.  Her mom and dad were super cool, very different from Jerry & Phyllis and a huge part of my childhood.  I found out tonight that she has gotten worse, never fully recovering from the stroke she had and I am clinging to the mental picture of her from my childhood.
I love both Phyllis and Fran and I am not ready to let them go, how do we deal with this harsh slap of mortality?  It is with tears in my eyes that I am writing this, I love them both so much and realize that I have been so busy with my own life that I have left too big a gap in time between visits. Please do not make the same mistake... life's too short.  I know, sounds cliche but it's sooo true! Hug the ones you love and tell them how much they mean to you.
goodnight.

Sunday musings

I've been trying to figure out how to write this blog and if I want to focus on one thing or just post random rambling thoughts, so I put off writing.  Here I am but I'm still undecided.  I don't have one particular thing I'm passionate about and, to be completely honest, I have been rather consumed by the NCAA Women's volleyball playoffs and my new adopted home team of Texas Longhorns- Hook 'em!!  Now that they are out (in the Elite 8) I will cheer for UCLA but my life can go on... at least until the 15th when UCLA faces FSU and hopefully Illinois takes down U$C.

A friend recently asked how I could love music so much AND sports.  I thought this was an odd question because I don't think they are mutually exclusive.  I have many interests including great Texas BBQ, baking, films, travel as well as music and sports.  Although these days I go to the occasional gig to see a favorite band that's come to town, I haven't ventured out much to explore the unknown or "new" band like I used to in the days BEJ (before EJ).  That was a necessary change due to finances and lack of babysitters and it seems it's had a lasting affect.

Since moving to Austin last October I have enjoyed exploring the world of film.  Maybe it's because of my friends' Facebook and the film discussions that took place there, the free access at my awesome local library that encouraged and supported my version of a film history course or the wonderfully innovative programmers/owners of the Alamo Drafthouse?  While visiting my old hometown, Los Angeles, for a wedding and completely by accident I discovered a whole different world within the film community- Mondo Mystery Movie (by the Alamo Drafthouse).  Is it coincidence that it began in my new hometown of Austin?  For those of you that aren't familiar with MMM, they pick a movie and keep it a mystery until the movie is about to begin, produce a limited run poster to accompany it by some of the most well known poster artists (Jeff Procter, Kevin Tong, Tyler Stout to name a few) and charge you $75 for the adventure. Thanks to my friend Jules for inviting me to my first MMM at the New Beverly Theater in LA, I got to sit front row for two of the three nights Justin brought to town.  I could write a whole blog dedicated to the MMM IX event Halloween Weekend because it was EPIC!  Instead here is a video that sums it all up nicely:  http://youtu.be/jsTwGTyCrjg   It's genius!!  But what did you expect from the folks at Alamo Drafthouse and if you doubt me, check their website www.drafthouse.com and read about the Elf quote along I will be attending later this evening.  Among their many other amazing events, I regret not going on their canoe ride/pig roast/Deliverance movie overnight trip this summer.

There is so much I want to do that sometimes I'm overwhelmed and don't know where to begin.  Music is always my first love and keeps me sane but I don't have those guys (Steve Fair, Fred Mills) around anymore that used to make me mixed tapes and turn me on to new music so occasionally I check out stuff my daughter listens to and find something I like or go to my local record store for inspiration.  Sometimes I lurk Lisa Bralts-Kelly or Aneta Dubow's blogs/spotify/dj list and find something I like.        I also found some new to me music at the free shows in town at SXSW this year and will be looking for more opportunities at SXSW 2012.  In the meantime, I will spend more time balancing it out with all my other interests and make a concerted effort to expand my horizons daily.

My thoughts now turn to all the things I need to accomplish before Wednesday and our winter adventure to Breckenridge filled with family/Christmas, snow, cold winter weather, snowboarding, cross country skiing and all the other adventures that snow can bring.  My #1 thing to do while there is find a place for a sleigh ride!

OK, now I realize I might be rambling, having lost my focus for the day.  There have been a few things I wanted to talk about that have happened in December and I guess I'll have to write more regularly so I can share and not in one monster blog.  For now, thanks for reading and please come back.

New beginnings

So, I've been blog curious for a while now and after some prodding and encouragement (Lulu!) I have decided today is the day...