You are NOT the boss of me!

I have been quite silent from my blog and from Facebook, but I am coming out of hiding because I need to jump up on a soapbox today. I know only about 5 people will read this, and *maybe* 1 of those 5 will even give a shit about this. Nevertheless, an issue that apparently started over the weekend is spilling into my world, and I'm pissed.

For those of you who haven't heard the latest bullshit in the book world, Amazon UK started pulling "questionable" books from their site over the weekend and into today. While all indications are that the books that are being pulled involve rape, incest, and bestiality when used in a "favorable" way, a lot more than just those have been pulled. In fact, one of my fave authors had her books pulled today, and the content was just general abuse of a kid by his parents. It's part of the story line and in no way glorifies it.

As today progressed, Amazon US, Barnes & Noble, and the main Kobo distribution site also jumped on board. In fact, Kobo pulled down EVERY SINGLE TITLE that was self-published...regardless of genre or topic. Any self-pub indie author who tried to publish to Kobo today was denied.

Apparently for us Kindle users, if any book was pulled in the past 48 hours THAT WE PAID FOR, it has been wiped from our account. There was no warning, no "we're going to pull this in 24 hours so if you want to back it up to your computer," and no refund (as of yet). The way it sounds, *if* refunds are offered - if that's how Amazon wants to handle this - then that's money taken right out of the author's pockets.

Are you fucking kidding me?

And this whole thing started because some parents in Europe discovered that when their kids searched the internet for "daddy," they downloaded an incestuous book.

Of course, fabulous works of  literature - like 50 Shades of Grey - will never leave us alone because they are now published and have the backing of a bazillion lawyers. Random people like you or I who have this amazing story in their head and hope that 10 people in this world might be interested are screwed. The little fish will never have a chance to be a big fish if someone keeps dumping all the water out of the fish bowl.

Censorship? Keeping pornography out of the hands of kids? This is the debate today. Obviously I view this as censorship in the most basic of forms. I read in one of many rants today that I can still buy blowup dolls and dildos off of Amazon, but I can't read a story about them.

To be fair, here is the main article that started surfacing about this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24491723

And there's an online petition to sign to have all titles returned and the policy clarified: http://www.change.org/petitions/amazon-barnes-and-noble-kobo-drop-the-clause-of-removing-erotica-and-self-published-indie-authors?share_id=jdJEjwyzUi&utm_campaign=signature_receipt&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_petition

Music and books...it's seriously what I live for

O.K. So I am just days away from heading to RockFest in Cadott, WI for 4+ days of music and fun. I put a small teaser on Facebook the other day that I was going to add two more concerts to my "40th celebration of my birth" yearlong celebration. I just purchased those tickets. Woohoo! I am now officially headed to JJO Band Camp 2013 and off to see Black Veil Brides...both in Madison. (I also already have tickets to the Carnival of Madness tour in IA.)

I just recently discovered I had 1 more week of vacation at work than originally planned, so it is game on now. I honestly think by the time October is done, I will have seen every band I could have ever wanted to see in one year...and more. Looks like I'm going to have to wait until 2014 to see Five Finger Death Punch supporting the new album. Yay! Something to look forward to next year.

O.K....since very few people I know share my love for this type of music or have any idea how excited I am about all of this...I'll give a quick recap of what I've been reading lately.

I just finished the Existence trilogy by Abbi Glines. Loved it! It's paranormal, but Dank Walker has been added to my Top 5 Book Boyfriend list. Who cares if his real identity is Death? He plays guitar in a rock band. Sheesh. I also read Rock the Band by Michelle Valentine to complete the story of Lane and Noel. There are more books in the series, but they appear to be about some of the subcharacters in the first two books. I own them; I'll read them eventually. Dank was just way too alluring! :-)

Right after I got back from Book Bash, I read Lick by Kylie Scott and Killing Sarai by J.A. Redmerski. Huge love for both of these authors, and these were both very good. Lick is the first in a series (not sure how many), and it's rock star god goodness. David Ferris has moved up my book boyfriend list as well. Highly recommend. Killing Sarai is good, but it's fairly dark. It's also the first in a series. NEITHER END WITH A CLIFFHANGER. As Ms. Redmerski wrote in her blog a few weeks ago, it ends with a continuation. Totally different than a cliffhanger.

I highly recommend all these books listed. Should be a little something for everyone here! Now the focus goes to packing and prepping for music and camping madness. I'm officially on a reading hiatus until after RockFest.

Peace

A Bookish Weekend

Last week, this quote showed up on my Facebook Newsfeed, attributed to Rob Pattinson. Being Team Jacob, I was quite sure he never said this. And if he did, it was because a movie script told him to. I did eventually find the source, which was not Rob. Regardless, I really liked it.

"If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours, but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are. Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads."

Most of you know by now that I went to Orlando, FL last weekend for Book Bash. It was quite an interesting event. Basically, a whole lot of really cool people who write books all came to one central place, and fans could meet them, get autographs, and have their picture taken with the cool people. I think maybe the coolest part was meeting other fans...some of which you met through Facebook groups or Goodreads groups or from Amazon reviews.



I'll admit that there were some things about the event I didn't like, but overall, I would attend another of these events. In fact, in 2014, there will be two almost in my backyard: Minneapolis and Chicago. If anyone wants to join me, let me know!

Here are a few more pictures of the room, layout, and crowd.

If anyone wants to learn more about the event, the website is still up. Or, you can follow them on Facebook. There were professional photographers there, and we've been told the photos and videos will appear on the Facebook page when they are ready.

The gift of music

Music and books...books and music. These are the things keeping me sane right now. Things at work are beyond ridiculous, but I guess that's nothing new. For the most part, I've been plugged in from the minute I punch in until the minute I punch out. I've been trying to keep up to date on all the new albums coming out this summer (Skillet, 5FDP), as well as trying to listen to bands I get to hear at RockFest next month.

However, I bought a new album yesterday that I am in fucking love with! It's the latest from Black Veil Brides. It's not like it came out yesterday new, but new this year, and new to me. Where the hell have they been all my life? Vocally, they don't really sound like anyone I can compare them to. They sound like another typical rock band. Not that that's bad... Musically, I think they sound like Dream Theater, which is an awesome compliment if you ask me. This album I picked up tells a story, and there aren't really breaks between songs...which reminds of Coheed and Cambria. Did I also mention there are some amazing orchestral pieces (piano, violin, cello)? Apocolyptica anyone?

Anyway...awesome. See if YouTube has their song "In The End" and check it out.

Every now and then I get so annoyed that the only thing that will make me feel better is Metallica's "One" live or anything involving David Draimen. I'll just be sitting at work, stewing in my rage about whatever happened that particular hour, and I hear David singing this to me:

I've spent a lifetime planning out your destruction...

Wow. It always makes me smile. Why? Because I plot destruction multiple times a day. Could mean anything.

I haven't done much of a book blog lately, and I apologize. I am marathoning through my TBR list before I hit Orlando in 2 weeks. (Holy shit...2 weeks? I don't think I'm halfway through my list yet!) I will say that after a few weeks of constant book "duds," I think I turned the corner last week. I read the first two books in the Love Me With Lies series (Tarryn Fisher), and last night I finished the first book in the Existence series (Abbi Glines). I believe only the first two books are out now for that first series, but the Existence series has 2-3 more books released. Once Orlando has come and gone, I'm definitely going to pick those up. I miss me some good teenage paranormal angst. This morning I started The Ivy Lessons by J. Lerman. I am only 4% through it, so no review as of yet.

Well, I have powered down all electronics in preparation for the storm, and all items have been checked off the to-do list. So, I'm going to curl up with my puppy and my Kindle and call it a night.

Post Memorial Day update

What's the worst thing about a long vacation? Coming back to work, of course!
Ugh...I did not want to put on real pants and drag my sorry ass to work today. As I said to my neighbor yesterday, "I sorta like this not working thing." Guess I need a sugar daddy, huh? Actually, I had one of those. They're not all they're cracked up to be. Never mind.

Well, the long weekend was productive but probably not as much as I would have liked. I had a migraine on and off (yes, somehow that is possible) Friday and Saturday. Conveniently, those were the two nicest weather days of the long weekend. So, I would spend like an hour or two on a project and need a nap. It pretty much sucked and zapped a lot of my energy, but that's what a vacation is for, right? I just went with it. It's hard to fight your body.

I managed to get some errands run, patio blocks laid so that I stop driving over my grass when pulling into the driveway, and I did manage to get that darn exhaust fan replaced in the bathroom. (Oh, and I fell out of the attic and did huge damage to my body. This is the only time it will be discussed.) However, as expected, the best part of my weekend was Fast and the Furious 6. Holy amazeballs! I know it's not much of a plot or complex story, but I do like fast cars, hot men, and chick fights. Who doesn't, right? And the spoiler to #7 - which apparently was leaked all over the Google machine for months and I missed it - blew my friggin' mind! I'm so excited there is already a release date for it, and it's not when I'm 50. Hell, these two movies will be out, done, and over before even half of the Hunger Games movies are released!

Otherwise, I laid low and just tried to get some stuff off my never-ending to-do list. I didn't get to everything; who actually gets to everything, though, right? The one thing I really need to get done is my author signing cards for Book Bash in Orlando. It's one month from Saturday, so I must stop procrastinating. Good thing it looks to be another slow week at work as a good portion can be done with a computer, internet access, and time.

I read two books over the weekend, and they were books 1 and 2 in a series. Another bunch of book duds! I am, like, 0-10 lately. I'll post those titles in a separate blog later. My book goals have slightly changed for the next 30 days. As I compile my spreadsheet and start doing my signing cards, I am going to try to get through any unread book on my Kindle from an author I'm going to meet in at Book Bash. I can tell you for sure that next up will be Sweet Thing by Renee Carlino. It got amazing reviews, and it was on sale over the weekend for $.99. Renee will be in Orlando, so this makes my choice much easier.

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend, and have a great rest of your week. If anyone wants to see Fast and the Furious 6, let me know. I might just be willing to go again! ;-)

Thanks for the memories

We all knew months ago that Brian Urlacher would not be returning to the Chicago Bears this year. Today, however, he announced his retirement from football.

Sigh

It was a fun ride, Brian, and we are glad you could be a part of it.
I believe you when you say there is no amount of money that could lure you back.
You are not Brett Favre.
Thank heavens for small favors.

Pre-Memorial Day week

So, it's the week before Memorial Day, and I'm pretty excited. See, since I bought my house, I've been taking the Friday before and Tuesday after Memorial Day and Labor Day off work. Usually I have some intense, multi-day project lined up ready to start and finish over those five days. Luckily (or unluckily?), most of my big house/yard projects have been completed over the years. So the idea of actually having five days with very little to work on is very exciting.

The only real project scheduled that I want to complete is to replace my bathroom exhaust fan and revent it out the soffit. Right now, when it's not making a horrible noise, it blows air down into the bathroom (WRONG), and it's vented into the attic (WRONG). I've tried to rig up plastic ducting to lead it out the roof vents, but that's also WRONG. I have downloaded how-to instructions and purchased my parts and pieces, so we'll see how that goes.

My big fun for the weekend will be Fast and the Furious 6! VERY EXCITED. No idea how or where this came from, but I'm obsessed with Vin Diesel and The Rock. Nummy. Now the question is if I can take a nap after work on Thursday and go to the opening 10pm show. Only time will tell...

As a side note, I finished two books since I last updated my blog, and they were both duds:

• Jaden Baker by Courtney Kirchoff - This one wasn't bad, but it was super long and not near as dark as it was made out to be. The ending was just a huge let-down. 
• Dead But Not For Long by Matthew Kinney and Lesa Anders - Here's my summary of this book...a 12-year old watches the first season of The Walking Dead and then writes a book. Some ideas are completely stolen from the show, and some are the original thoughts of a 12-year old. The End.

So, that's about it for me this week. Have a wonderful week and a wonderful holiday if I don't check back in before then. :-)

Latest book review...LONG overdue!

Here is what I've read since I last posted a book review blog update (about a month ago).

• The Wishes Series by G.J. Walker-Smith: There are 2 books out, and I think the 3rd should be out in a month or two. (There's a rumor of a book 4, but my guess is that this will center around one of the sub-characters.) This is pretty romancey and sweet. The endings aren't really cliffhangers, but you know the tale isn't done yet. It's pretty well written for an indie author, too. It's probably in the YA/New Adult category. Female lead is about 17, and the male lead is in college.
• Damaged by H.M. Ward: Meh. I actually couldn't even remember this and had to look up the summary on Amazon. It's highly rated for the NA genre, but my life has obviously not been changed as a result of reading it.
• Strings by Kendall Grey: OK. I HIGHLY recommend this one. HOWEVER...here is the warning. Heed the warning...for reallzzzzz. (So good I copied/pasted it for you below.) If you aren't entirely sure based on the book warning, read Chapter 1 as part of the Look Inside feature and see what you think (for free). The whole book is similar to that first chapter. This is book 1 of a trilogy, but each book is going to center on a different character, so no cliffhanger. It's also on sale for $.99 thru the end of the week.

 WARNING: STRINGS is not suitable for slut shamers, uptight stone throwers, Holier-Than-Thou prudes, humorless virgins, persons with chronic neck or back pain, pearl-clutching bitties, those who disparage crude humor or vulgarity in their many forms, closed-minded people with sticks up their asses, or anyone under the age of 18. The vile, base language and shocking, unholy sexual acts contained herein are not condoned by anyone with a lick of sense and should certainly not be reproduced without proper training and protection. The potty-mouthed and perpetually horny "heroine" (the term is used loosely) of this book does not resemble a normal, well-adjusted, or remotely believable person in any way, shape, or form. The author acknowledges that the characters in this book are shallow and two-dimensional; the plot is both ridiculous and insipid. She makes no apologies for any of it.

* Readers are strongly advised to wear latex gloves whilst reading to minimize contamination risks.

• The Dark Light Series by S.L. Jennings: I read the first 2 books in this series. There is at least one more book because Book 2 left a cliffhanger. This is paranormal. I liked these. I don't know they'll make my Top 10 of the year, but they were pretty good.

Currently reading...
Jaden Baker by Courtney Kirchoff.
I am at 73%. I have absolutely no idea where this book is going. The reviews I read said this was really, really dark...not an erotic kinda of way, but more in a non-sexual way. I can tell you that what I thought this was going to be about, it's not. There is a supernatural undertone to this one, but it sorta plays in the background for much of the book. TBD...

According to the countdown app on my phone, Book Bash is just 45 days away. Yay! (http://www.bookbash.net/)
For anyone who might be interested, there are two author/reader events scheduled for 2014 that I'm already planning on attending. There is one in Chicago (http://chicagoauthorevent.com/) the first weekend of May 2014 and one in Minneapolis (Pure Textuality Convention) the first weekend of October 2014. If anyone is interested, you can follow both events on Facebook for updates.

Sure signs of Spring

Blizzards in May? Ice tsunamis? Yep, it's been one of those years.
I, however, am determined to believe that we have turned the corner here in my neck of the Wisconsin woods. Here is how I know:

Again this year, my only tulip that bloomed. At least it's pretty!

Such a handsome boy posing for pictures at daycare

A race track and a beautiful sunset. (I'll not mention there were 30 mph winds and a frost warning for later that evening.)

Busy last week

For someone who rarely has any sort of a social life, I had quite a busy week last week.

Monday: The "week o fun" started out with a "passion party" at the neighbor's house. What is a passion party, you ask? Why, it's all about sex...and toys and props and stuff. It was the first time I had ever been invited to one, and it was a hoot! Three hours and a significant credit card charge later, I was walking home. I'm not sure I've laughed that hard in a long time. It was super fun.
Tuesday: While not planned, we had a horrible hail storm in the evening. The hail at my house was quarter to golf ball size. I haven't really been able to tell if I have roof or siding damage, but it knocked tiny little twigs off my trees out front, making a mess of my sidewalk and lawn. Guess it's a good thing I hadn't done my Spring raking yet. Also, it was scary as hell. It sounded like every window in the house was breaking. The tornado from a few years ago was less scary.
Wednesday: Some of you know the struggles I'm having with actually taking real life vacations this year and what that means for Lucky. I've spent a lot of time and energy stressing over finding a kennel that is affordable, close to my house, and decent. I've toured a few the past few weeks, and the last tour on my list was Wednesday. I loved this facility and the couple that runs it SO VERY MUCH. So, he is booked in Bangor for my trip to Florida in June.
Thursday: Certainly not exciting, but quite time consuming was making a batch of dog food so the pooch didn't starve come Saturday. I had the whole evening planned out, and I figured how much time I'd have left when I got done, and then my mother showed up at my house unexpected and unannounced. (sigh) Mom and I aren't really seeing eye to eye these days, and she just stood there and criticized while I prepped food. So I lost a lot of time trying to entertain her.

Weather: Have I mentioned that the weather here sucked last week and is on par to suck again this week? It's making it impossible to get a start on any sort of outdoor project (or the indoor one that will require me to also spend some time on a ladder outside). Although it is supposed to be sunny and in the 50s today, raking seems futile since we have more snow in the forecast at the end of the week. (sigh) My tulips are already halfway up and ready to bloom, so I NEED SPRING!

Books: With as crappy as the weather was last week, and as bored as I was at work last week, I got through a few books.

• Effortless by S.C. Stephens. This is book 2 in this series. It was quite good, and Kellan Kyle is my #2 book boyfriend of all time. For realz. There is a book 3 in this series (Reckless) that just came out in the last 4-8 weeks. The first chapter was included at the end of Effortless, but I'm not sure if I'm going to give Reckless a chance. All the reviews in the first week Reckless came out were that it was long and not necessary. Most readers thought the author would have done better by just writing a short epilogue to the characters' story. Effortless had a really great ending, and I might be OK just thinking that's how Kellan and Kiera's story ends.
• Fight or Flight by Jamie Canosa: This was a fairly short book, as I read it in just a few hours on Friday. It was a good story, but extremely emotional. It had a "happy" ending, but not in a traditional sense. The angst and drama and storyline were real, and that's what I liked about it.
• Saving Wishes by G.J. Walker-Smith: This is the first book in the series (not sure how many there will be total). This story takes place in Tasmania, and the main female character is 17. Again, this genre is sorta what I've been reading lately, but the story seemed very different from the "romance" I have been reading of late. The book is long, but the story is good. (The book could use some editing, though.) I enjoyed this book and opted to spend the $2.99 to get book 2 rather than wait for next month and use my lending library pick on it.
• Second Hearts by G.J. Walker-Smith: This is book 2 in the series to the book I mentioned above. I'm only about 1/3 of the way through it, and it's good so far. If it ended now, the story would have a cheesy happy ending. Since there is still 2/3 left to go, and I don't know if there will be more books, I'm guessing that there is drama and angst and maybe no happy ending. TBD.

Latest weekly book update

Another week has begun, and I am bored at work yet again. This is REALLY starting to get old. I have a busy week ahead of me (including a very exciting passion party at the neighbor's), but I think that maybe next week I have to start thinking about making a career/job change.

Until then...here's an update on what I've been reading lately.

1. Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire: Seriously? I'm not even sure I need to give this a review. Holy hell...Travis Maddox can be my book boyfriend...FOREVER. For those that aren't familiar, this is the Travis POV version of Jamie's Beautiful Disaster. So, the story was basically the same, but there were a lot of little interesting tidbits when told from Travis's POV. I will have to re-read this one eventually because I kept forgetting that "I" meant Travis and not Abby in this book. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: READ THESE BOOKS! I cannot wait for the movie to get cast. They better not F*#@ it up!
2. Light in the Shadows by  A. Meredith Walters: This was book 2 in the Clay and Maggie series. Some may remember my Facebook post a month or two ago after I read the first book about it basically being the life story of my senior year of high school. This book was an amazing ending to the story. I cried numerous times, but it was so good and so real. Unless the author writes an epilogue or a book about a sub-character, there should only be the two books in this series. I highly recommend this series as well.
3. Battlescars by Sophie Monroe: I picked this one up as my April Kindle Lending Library read because it was supposed to be a rock star book. This books was so pukey HEA and had very little rock star drama or angst. If you want to know what I thought of it, read only the 1-star reviews of it on Amazon. It pretty much sums up how I felt about it. Please do not waste your time or money. 

As this week at work looks grim yet again, I see a lot of reading in my near future. I expect to start Effortless by S.C. Stephens (book 2 in the series) later today. After that, I think I'm going to start some darker reads that I've been accumulating. All the HEA books are, again, making me sick.

Have a great week, and happy reading!

Long week...and it's only Thursday

What an insane week!

• The plumbing backed up (Easter) Sunday morning - into the living area of the basement nonetheless - and I couldn't get it fixed until almost 4pm on Monday.
• Had to take a day off on Monday to deal with it. Had a 32-hour panic attack while I went to the neighbor's every time I needed to go to the bathroom. Had an anxious, barking dog for the 6 hours there was a plumber in the house. Ugh.
• As I sit here and type this at work (because I'm bored), I have accumulated 6.15 hours of work in three business days. I am making quite a dent in Walking Disaster, though.
• I am forced to say good-bye to a friend and co-worker tomorrow as her life takes her on a new journey. 
• Did I mention I'm so bored at work???
• I was able to do wheel pose in yoga again yesterday. This is a pretty big accomplishment. However, my arms, legs, back, and knees screamed at me when I attempted to do yoga today.
• The stress from the first part of the week has taken its toll on me, and I'm just exhausted...even after getting close to 8 hours of sleep each night.

The good news is that we are celebrating new journeys and birthdays at work tomorrow, and there will be a never-ending supply of food. Also, it's freaking Friday!

Next week, I get one of my fave friends and co-workers back from maternity leave. I have missed her immensely.

Here's to hoping for a gluttonous day tomorrow and a weekend full of recently added Bond movies on Netflix.

Shinedown, 3DG, P.O.D.

March 29, 2013
La Crosse Center
La Crosse, WI

Can I just say thanks to the La Crosse area for coming out and supporting rock music in this area?

According to 95.7's Facebook page, there were 6000 people at the P.O.D./Three Days Grace/Shinedown show last night. It was reportedly the biggest crowd since Motley Crue in 2006. (I don't know if that's for any concert or any rock concert. Regardless, the turnout was fucking amazing!) I knew we were in for a good turnout when I arrived 5 minutes after the doors opened and couldn't sit anywhere near where we wanted.

So, this is what I saw when I walked in. The background music while waiting for the show was the Beastie Boys. Hell yeah!
P.O.D. started the night out. Personally, I neither love nor hate P.O.D., and I really only know the songs I hear on the radio. I knew probably 75% of the stuff they did. However, I really wasn't impressed. Not sure why. I did find their guitarist hilarious. He was a short, stocky fellow who basically just screamed into the mic throughout various songs. He totally didn't scream "rock god."

Next up was Three Days Grace. Now, quick history lesson for folks who don't follow this kind of music. About 2 days after I bought these tickets, the band announced that the lead singer (Adam) was leaving the band. Then, a few days later, it was announced that the lead singer of My Darkest Days (Matt) would be filling in for this tour. Drama ensued. I like My Darkest Days (MDD), but Matt's voice is nothing like Adam's. The internet lit up for weeks with complaints and suggestions for a better replacement. I was mostly worried that the La Crosse area wouldn't come out to support this show because you really didn't know what you were going to get. However...

Picture "borrowed" from the La Crosse Center's Facebook page.

Three Days Grace (3DG) was awesome! Matt did a really great job. There was a mic set up center stage that had some kind of effect on it that I felt he went too way too often and ruined parts of songs for me. One of my co-workers thought he did a great job but expressed concern for his excessive use of gestures. I can attest this was a bit annoying. Overall, though, they rocked it. I feel better now that I know I'll be seeing them again at RockFest in July.


The best part of the whole night, though, was probably when 3DG performed Limp Bizkit's "Break Stuff." Seriously...there aren't words. Our local radio station has a compiled video of some of the show on YouTube. A part of this performance is on there, and I would encourage you to go watch.

Shinedown was up next. Once of my favorite parts of going to concerts is the "in between" music. Beastie Boys greeted me when I walked into the venue; a little Rage Against the Machine while waiting for 3DG; then...a mixture that included Journey and House of Pain while we waited for Shinedown. It made no sense, but it was funny as hell as the place was singing out loud to all of it.

All of a sudden the lights went down and all eyes turned to the stage. There were spotlights on the bassist and the drummer, but there was a moment of "wait...isn't there something missing?" All of a sudden I turn to look directly in front of me...

Yep, they had completely set up two risers in the sound/light area without me ever realizing it. Oh, and security moved the guys in without me every seeing it, too. (The video I linked to earlier has their "secret"entrance and about 2 minutes of them singing the opening song, "Enemies.")

Sorta like P.O.D., I neither love nor hate Shinedown. Thanks to a co-worker sharing some music with me, I have a fair amount of it in my library, and satellite radio plays a fair amount of it. However, I know nothing about the band. Like, I was shocked they all came out in some sort of suit attire. They stayed in those outfits until they came back out for the encore. Weird, but pretty cool.

The circle thing is where the videos played.

They had a video playing behind them on stage almost the entire time. (It reminded me of Rob Zombie.) I guess I never really paid attention to the meanings of their lyrics. This is a pretty emotional, issues-oriented band.

They were phenomenal live. No joke. The music was spot on, the performance was great, the lights weren't overboard (like 3DG's were), and the videos were pertinent and moving.

So, aside from people standing in front of us, blocking our view, and a random drunk whose ass I thought I might have to kick, it was a great show. I really hope Mr. Fahey paid attention to the attendance last night. Mr. Fahey: La Crosse can support a rock show!

An "aha!" moment

So, no shit, I had the most amazing "aha" moment last night. I was having trouble falling asleep - which NEVER happens - and my mind was wandering.

<digress> For some that were following my book reviews on Facebook, you might remember one I read maybe 4-6 weeks ago that I thought could be my high school life story. The amazing thing I took away from that story was how much of that part of my life I had repressed. I think after reading that book, it unlocked a door in my mind. </digress>

There's a question I ask myself every single day, sometimes multiple times a day. That question is: "When was the last time I was happy?" Well...AHA...it came to me last night!

I don't remember exactly what age/grade I was. I'm guessing it was somewhere in the 16-19 year-old age range. Here's what I do remember. I remember a time when I was part of a large group of friends...mostly guys. (Let's face it...always was and always will be a tomboy.) I remember hanging out at Mark's house with him and Thad and Wobs...and probably tons of other people I'm forgetting. I remember feeling like these guys were my family. They were my brothers, BFFs, and boyfriends all wrapped up into one. I remember telling these guys I loved them every day and not thinking anything of it. Because it was true. Then I remember an entirely different set of friends that I had a similar relationship with. Matt and Bryan were my choir/theater brothers/BFFs/boyfriends. I had the same relationship with these two (and I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting) that I had with the other group.

What's the common denominator in all of this? I MISS MY BOYS!!!

How many times do I hear something like "aren't you lonely?" or "don't you want a man in your life?" or "would you like me to set you up?"? I always have a hard time answering these questions because I am lonely; I do want a guy in my life; and I DON'T want to be set up. I miss having guy friends. The drama is so much less, and I have way more in common with guys.

The last guy friend I remember having was Mike. Here's what I remember about one of our last conversations. "So, [new girlfriend] doesn't understand why I have to be friends with you." WTF? I would like to think that if this situation were reversed that I would NOT be like this. Mike and I "dated" for maybe 4-6 weeks. And I put "dated" in quotes not because it's code for "did the nasty" or "friends with benefits" but because it was obvious early on that we had NO physical attraction for each other. It was kinda like kissing my brother. YUCK. So, that said, I don't know why [new girlfriend] would be concerned or jealous.

So I guess maybe that's why I'm struggling. How many 40-year-old guys are there that are "allowed" to be friends with a girl? I've been in touch with a couple of really good guy friends that I've known for...well...ever, and I always feel better when we talk/text.

So if you know of any guy in my age range that is allowed to have a girl for a friend, please, send him my way.

Latest weekly book update

So, I managed to get through 4 books last week. I'm pretty much all over the place when it comes to subject matter these days. In an attempt to eliminate my HEA (happily ever after) romance book phase - which is driving me insane - I attempted to branch out.

1. Touched by AJ Aalto: This was full on paranormal with vampires, witches, magic, etc. I think this would have been a good story except that all the main characters were introduced in, like, the first chapter without any back story or explanation. I had a hard time keeping up. And while most everyone is still alive (or undead) at the end, it wasn't a super happy ending. I won't read it again, and I probably wouldn't recommend it...unless you can find it for free.
2. Reign of Blood by Alexia Purdy: Undead apocalypse but with vampires and not zombies. I was all for this based on the summary, but it was sorta a weak story line. I felt like it could have gone in so many different, and better, directions. However, I found the basic theme interesting considering I just finished Season 2 of The Walking Dead. In my opinion, the "aha" moment of Season 2 is sorta what this book is about...just swap zombies for vampires.
3. Collide by Gail McHugh: This was a really good book. I finished this one in a day (thank you Kaplan for giving me NO work to do so I could read). This was a romance with a HUGE cliffhanger ending. I didn't realize this was a series when I started; I might not have chosen this to read until after the next book comes out if I had known ahead of time. My biggest issue with this book is that the female lead is weak...and I HATE that! So, we'll see what the next book brings.
4. True Love Story by Willow Aster: As I woke up Saturday morning and scrolled through my Kindle looking for a non-romance to start, I realized the book I borrowed with the Kindle lending library for March was still sitting there unread. So, I had to put my jones for a paranormal book on hold for another romance. This book was really good...and sad and emotional in parts. Some will categorize this as a "rock star romance" because the male lead is a guitarist, but other than him being on tour and that causing the main couple to spend time apart, his music career isn't really a thing. I cried during parts of this, I'll admit it. Maybe it was because for once, the guy screws up and has to BEG to be forgiven. And when she doesn't acknowledge his presence on Earth, he faces reality and backs off and stops trying. Say whatever you want, but a gorgeous rock star who pours out emotions in poems, letters, and songs is HOT! This one I recommend.

So, this week will bring my re-read of Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire in preparation for Walking Disaster to come out next week. I always knew I would re-read this one, and this is the perfect opportunity. :-) 

Almost Spring, my a$$

As I prepare to officially and indefinitely suspend my Facebook activity on Friday, I have decided that I will instead try to blog more often. This, perhaps, will not be a problem as I seem to have ample time available at work these days to at least start a post (as I am doing now)

So, things are pretty stressful. It would seem that winter is going to be around FOREVER here in Wisconsin, and my seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is at a level I’ve never felt before. I’ve added good ole Vitamin D to my diet (in place of real sunshine), but it apparently interacts with my anxiety meds. So now I’ve taken to feeling drunk every morning and needing some 5-Hour Energy just to stay awake. It’s neat.

Between being mentally and physically ill from the SAD and my lackluster career, I’ve started to think again about moving. A quick web search of where people with SAD would benefit living from turned up Albuquerque, NM and Charlotte, NC, just to name a few. I have a friend who used to live in or near both, and he voted for Albuquerque. In 2007, Tempur-Pedic opened a huge mattress factory in Albuquerque, so perhaps I found my new career.

I continue to read quite a bit. I finished a book this morning that was not fantastic, so I’ll refrain from any sort of recommendation/review. I am taking a short break from HEA (happily ever after) romances and trying to focus more on the paranormal. I believe the next book in line for me to read is about a vampire apocalypse. (Don’t fret…there are zombie books waiting right after this one!)