Hello? Hello? Is This Thing On?

I once again apologetically acknowledge that I have been remiss in blogging. Seriously, work is a ton busier than I thought it would be, and at the end of the day all I want to do is stuff my face with dinner and complete my to-do lists at home.

But anyway. To update a few things, the gigs went great. Special Blend pulled off the two-hour set at the Blackhawk Film Festival without any problems on our part. Now, to the $#*&( lady who was running the SILENT auction and screaming into a microphone every two minutes that such-and-such auction was about to end, I would like to extend a big F.U. You heard me. That screaming was rude and VERY distracting. Do you know how hard it already is to sing 5-part harmony and concentrate on what expression to have glued on your face, what lyrics come next, how far away from your mouth you need to be holding the mic and at what angle, pondering whether you're using stands or stools for the next song, etc., and THEN have to slog through it all while an obnoxious woman screams into the P.A.? She's lucky I have a little bit of tact, or I'd have left there minus a shoe.

The chorus shows were fine too. While I wasn't nervous at the film festival at ALL, I was super nervous at the big show at the regional center in Walnut Creek. I don't know...I guess it's something about a captive audience all staring at you at once. At least at the film fest they were wandering around, talking, eating food, passively listening. At the regional center, you feel hundreds of eyes burning into you. But, I managed to paste on some expression that said "I'm totally having fun and don't feel like barfing or peeing my pants at all!" Huzzah.

Next, we have decided on our summer vacation plans: We'll be hiking a 100-mile portion of the Appalachian Trail, ostensibly from New York to Connecticut (and Massachusetts, if we're not dead by CT). Yes, this is going to be a physically demanding trip. We thought we'd save money on not doing a road trip this year because gas prices are so high. However, after buying plane tickets and gear, we're pretty much breaking even. Ryan and I will each have to carry a 40-pound pack on our backs, with everything (including food) that we'll need to survive for two weeks. As you've probably guessed, that means not a lot of clothes. I will be bringing more socks and underwear than shirts and pants. Hey, it's all about lightweight stuff that dries quickly after you wash it.

Anyway, we did a practice trip this past weekend in Henry Coe State Park in Morgan Hill. It was exhausting. We hiked 20 miles in two days, and did tons of elevation even though our portion of the AT appears to not change elevation much. We also left a day early because a) so sore even my hair hurt and b) day 2 campsite looked like something from The Hills Have Eyes. No thanks. It was only 3.5 miles back to the car at that point, so we decided to come home. We learned that I will need to slather every inch of myself in bug repellent. And sunblock (yeah, my left ear burned, as well as the area around my watch). Either we need a new tent or need to set it up better, because the ceiling sagged and collected condensation from our breathing. Water is heavy. Outhouses in the middle of the wilderness are marked with the little wheelchair symbol because....? Do those really need to be handicap accessible? How are you gonna get a wheelchair down there?! Also, the word "Restroom" was also written in braille. Again, middle of the wilderness. Yeah. If you're blind and you're hiking, you're probably with someone who can see. Which would negate the need for braille, because the seeing person would just tell you "here's the bathroom." If you're alone and you need the braille, how are you gonna know the bathroom's even there in the first place?!

Saw a California King snake, some fuzzy caterpillars, a red-winged blackbird, a giant slug that looked like a cousin of a banana slug, and a deer. Ryan was most frightened by...the slug.

More later. Also, I see Lulu has tagged me, so I'll have to tackle that as well. :)

Back to the grind...