Weekend Update

Friday night was spent decompressing and doing a little bit of cleaning. There's still a lot more to do, but I'm past the halfway point on the cleaning front.

Most of Saturday was spent in bed. Over the past few years being able to sleep in has been hit or miss. This particular Saturday, it was a hit. I think I finally rolled out of bed around 1:30 in the afternoon. It was probably a little too much sleep because I couldn't full wake up until about five.

Saturday night was a blast. The evening started out at the Spot Awards at the Cain's Ballroom. Three Penny Upright was nominated for Best None of the Above, and we stayed there just long enough to see them lose out to Citizen Mundi.

So, we were off to the Continental to catch Eye Candy Burlesque (their one year anniversary party) and the Oh Johnny Girls (bought a CD, flirted with the lead singer). The whole night was a reminder how interconnected people are in this town. I've known Mary and Amy of Three Penny Upright for years. They're great friends with the women of Eye Candy. Eye Candy's great friend and frequent vocalist is dating an old college buddy of mine. We all shared a booth front and center for the show.

The Oh Johnny Girls' talent is only outdone by their complete and utter hotness. At one point, I leaned over to my friend Steve and asked, "Is there anything sexier than a woman playing an electric guitar?" True to his nature of one-upsmanship and answering rhetorical questions, he responded, "Yeah, a girl playing the bass." I got to talk to the lead singer a few times over the night, and she kept flirting with me even after I bought a CD, which was a real boost for my ego.

Eye Candy was awesome as usual. These women are enough to keep me from ever wanting to see the inside of a strip club ever again. They are resurrecting an art form that has, for decades, been cheapened by fire poles, bad lighting, and every Bob Seger song ever recorded. They understand, and deliver, exactly what a show like this should be: colorful characters, a great command of the audience, empowerment, and above all else, class.

And the best part is that the audience is respectful in every way. At a strip club, if you try to approach the strippers after their set, it's highly likely at least one of three things will happen to you: a side bar with the bouncer, you will leave with an empty wallet, or you feel like you need a shot of penicillin. With a burlesque show of this caliber, the girls are in total command of the audience on stage and off. They are approachable, gracious and cordial. Not an ounce of pretension about them. However, it was rather intimidating speaking to one of them after the show. I was finding it hard not to blush. After all, here was an immensely beautiful woman who just tightened the pants of every man in the room, and she was spoke so down-to-earth about it all...even sharing her embarrassment at forgetting one small part in the finale.

The part that she had forgotten was to fling playing cards at the audience. I felt compelled to let her know that at their last show, I swiped one of the playing cards, and this time I took another, that I hope they continue to perform so that I can complete the whole deck of cards. Of course, I hope that came off as incredibly charming as I hoped it did based on her reaction: a big beaming smile. I tabbed out at the bar and went home feeling like a million bucks.

Today, I had two pumpkin-carving parties to go to. It's been nearly 19 years since I carved a pumpkin, and I carved four tonight to make up for the lost time. The first was a big smiley face that wound up looking like Ernie from Sesame Street. The second was a little more artsy, with a peeled skin circle and a malcontent look on it's face...I named it Herman. The third was the party animal, Eddie, with sculpted teeth in a wide open-mouth grimace. The fourth was a deconstructive number made from randomly cutting a pumpkin apart and re-assembling it with toothpicks.

So, now I'm back home, smelling of pumpkin, and ready to go to bed.