Driving for real this time

I can't say how long this went on, but for quite a while, every day, my friend JP would come home with me after school and we'd play Super Mario Kart in battle mode for hours, with the album Star by Belly playing on repeat. Kind of silly since we had a six-CD changer, but it's such a great album. We played the game so much and were so evenly matched, that it was only fun to play with each other, and nobody else stood a chance.

When I heard they were touring and saw that they had Seattle and Portland dates, Portland sounded like more fun. I don't make it down there nearly often enough, and it's a good chance to see the friends who are down there, try some restaurants I haven't been to, and try once again to wrap my mind around the city's layout. I swear, I get so turned around there, it may as well be a forest.

Garrett wasn't interested in the concert, but decided to come along, and we added a couple of nights in wine country leading up to the day of the show. Good food, good wine, and Garrett? Perfect! The hot weather down there right now is really the only thing I'm worried about.

I'm really excited to finally have a chance to see this band with badrobot68. I'm sad to report that wring was supposed to come up from California and join us, but can't now due to an injury. I was really looking forward to seeing her again. At least I was able to buy her tickets to give to a couple of other friends. Here are a few of their singles off Star if you're not familiar.

And I'm happy to report that the tickets say, "General admission, mostly seated." My lower back can't take standing around for hours, even though I can walk for hours. Makes it hard to enjoy things like concerts and museums, so I'm grateful for seating. Pretty much anyone interested in this show should be.