asimplechord

I know, I know. Everyone's having totally crappy days/weeks/years.

My day didn't start off terribly, but then I spent three hours in the tissue culture hood on an experiment that gave me a dubious result. And I got into an email argument with my father, who insists on sending me articles and links to political asshattery that falls on his side of the conservative spectrum. Which pretty much a complete 180 from mine.

After being at work for 10 hours, I was trying to shut everything down for the day, but my boss came in and wanted to talk. He seems to forget that just because he got to work at 9:30am, I do not, and I have a bus to catch and shit to do that does not involve him or science in any way. >:/

But on the bright side:

1. Flight & hotel for trip to NYC on President's Day weekend: booked. Tickets for Richard III at BAM, confirmed. (Kevin Spacey as Richard, OMGGGGG. I don't care if the play is a ridic piece of political propaganda used to make the Tudors look good. KEVIN SPACEY.)

2. Zack loves us. I know you've seen them. I'm reposting them anyway. ( whatever we did to make him post these? we need to keep doing )

3. Butch Walker tweeted about some tour dates? IDK, I'm not going to get my hopes up too high. But Ludo's going to announce some shows soon too. So the concert drought will be ending soon, hopefully. For sure Matt Nathanson and Brandi Carlile are in town next week.

ANYWAY.

Um. I was going to post about the Australian Open, but then work got busy, and my gathering of links and pics of Rafa, Andy, Nole, & Fed was interrupted by life. By which I mostly mean work. And somehow finding myself reading in the Suits fandom, although I've never seen an episode of the TV show.

Hope your Monday was better than mine. ♥

...or that's what BUrie would have us believe.

ANYWAY.

things

1. Rise Against last week. Clearly I am used to people being in line super early for Discos, because I was surprised that no one (except me) lined up until after 4:30pm. So was the Rise Against tech I chatted with while he was on a smoke-break. Still, worth it.

I was MOST amused by the dude next to me at the barrier, who had spent the morning at a Glenn Beck book signing. When asked if he didn't see any inherent conflict in his love for Rise Against and admiration of Beck, he replied that if he thought about Rise Against's lyrics, he could convince himself that they were libertarian, not liberal left-y activists. (Uh-huh.) He was NOT amused by the Flobots. At all.

2. Super-sekrit Ultimate Ears show at Momo's in Austin, with the ~~~mystery band, Panic! at the Disco: LOL, OUR KARMA. sunn_doyouknow, catchmelike, and I each won two spots each on the guest list, but catchmelike couldn't go, so it ended up being me, shutyourface, eckerlilas, fiddleyoumust (check them for pics, b/c I forgot to take a camera), E, & sunn_doyouknow. The set was short, but it was acoustic, which was awesome, and we were right up front, the best spot to be. :) And there was hanging out at the bar and chatting afterwards. Plus free Ultimate Ears earbuds and t-shirts, and hangtimes w/ ppl I hadn't seen since... the last Discos show, LOL. So, totally worth the drive to Austin. :D

a) They are ridiculous.
b) Did I mention they are ridiculous?
c) I've never been as close during a show, because there was literally no barrier at all. To start the show, Ian & I exchanged high-fives. NGL, I spent a few minutes thinking how pretty Brendon's and Spencer's eyelashes looked on their cheeks, b/c they looked down/closed their eyes during some songs.
d) Dallon (and his stage-banter) is the most hilarious. And best dressed, in a creepy, Dexter-type way, although his sideburns need some work. HE'S TRYING REALLY HARD TO GROW FACIAL HAIR, OK? (And in conversation, he told me that Mormons from Utah are different to Mormons from elsewhere. I was like, ".... uh... anyway..." while thinking that I would not disagree, given my experience living there, but I'm glad that I was not the person to voice that thought.)
e) I cannot decide how to feel when both Brendon and Spencer say they're glad to see us again, and that it's good when they can look out and see people that they recognize, especially at a small show where the crowd is not necessarily their fans. On one hand: \o/ GLAD TO BE THERE AND HELP. OTOH: O.o
f) Zack's judging face: still awesome.
g) Ian: needs to wash his hair and shave his scruff. Perhaps he was too busy playing with his new harmonica to do so yesterday?

( crappy cell-phone pic of my view beneath the cut )

OK. Now to finish editing and write more of my YAGKYAS fic.

I have to write this out or I'll forget it. And half the time everyone involved remembers little bits that others didn't so if we put all the recaps together, we get a fuller picture.

( Panic/Patrick shenanigans, cut for pictures and lengthy babble )

♥ A++++, Brian Fallon. I have had Elsie on repeat all day.

:( Fail, USTA. FAIL. The last two days have been nothing but fail.


Rafa was not amused.


Nor was Daveeed.

Rafa overcame his annoyance to trounce Gilles Muller today, but Daveeed, not so much.

♥ Did I mention I started taking the bus when Houston Metro opened a new park & ride about a mile from my house? I LOVE IT. Someone else can worry about traffic while I sit and read or check my f-list. And the extra bonus: I cannot stay late, working extra hours, because of the limited schedule. Which I would do if/when I drove to work, even though overtime does not exist for my position.

♥ In my possession:
- airfare to BWI for Halloween week
- tickets for the DC show on the Tour Of Glee & Flailing
- possibly tickets for Philadelphia and Sayreville
- notice that I am taking leave for the TX/NOLA/East Coast shenanigans


Internet. If you could pick any single song that Patrick Stump and BUrie would perform together, ANY SONG AT ALL, what would it be?

!!!! goshemily has written the fic of my heart. Bravo Two as a punk band. On Warped. They play Gilman. (ETA: fyi, Tim McIlrath is ALWAYS the correct choice. Always.)

I haven't commented on it yet because I haven't finished reading - dammit, why did I have too much scheduled to take a long lunchbreak today? - and my MacBook is currently at the depot having its logic board replaced, making my phone (with its hatefully awkward touchscreen) the default web access for me. BUT I WILL. OH, I WILL. I commented. But not with all the flailing in my heart.



Also deserving of !!!!: PLEASE LET THIS BE REAL.




Not deserving exclamation marks: the live-cell imaging worked technically, but it will not yield an answer to our question. *sigh* Days of work, and hours of confocal time, all for naught.

+ Worked today. A's traveling on business, and I'd rather save the holiday/vacation day for next week, when we go to Bonnaroo. (\o/ 8 days! And then right after we drive back from that, it's time for a fangirl confab for Panic! At The Palladium & House of Blues.)

- Lab is actually quieter and more pleasant when not so many folks are around. *sigh* After the last week, I believe that we may have a(nother) lab discussion about doing things like signing up for equipment use, turning the microscope lamp off when you're done using it, replacing the bench paper when you've soaked it, making more of common reagents (not just putting empty bottles back on shelves and in the fridge), and not leaving piles of used glassware in common areas.

+ I keep refreshing the tracking info to see if my pre-ordered copy of Ilona Andrews' Magic Slays is going to arrive tomorrow. Probably not, but I can still hope, right?

+ I also want to know when these awesome shoes are going to arrive. Seriously, everyone needs 3-inch red heels, right? :D? (Yes, I know. My shoe addiction is showing. Whatever, they are WORK ATTIRE. Totally justifiable. And I've been packing my lunch and not going to the 'Bucks for coffee, so totally within my budget.)

+ Radio Roland Garros is working fine online, but the app that was updated for 2011, not so much. Each time I try to listen via my phone, it cuts out. Even so, I've been following the tournament. NGL, each time the cameras pan out to the Eiffel Tower, I want to visit Paris again. It is possible that I spent an hour doing paperwork this morning so that I could hear the end of the Ferrer/Monfils match. Oh, Daveeeed. It is also possible that I have been collecting photos from each day's matches. Maybe someday I'll organize a picspam of awesome athletes. Or, you know, maybe just the pretty ones. ;)

- How did BUrie manage to break his ankle on stage the other night? Tripping over his shoelaces? Oh, boys. And still he managed to finish the show?

+ I was considering organizing all the Dallon-containing photos from my horribly disorganized Discos-on-tour folder for a picspam, but then the interwebs informed me that there was a daily_dallon comm, and I got distracted. Thank you, LJ & tumblr. No, really, thank you.




Anyway. As seen elsewhere (thanks, schlicky):

Leave me a fandom or an AU 'verse I've done, a pairing, and ONE LINE from a song or poem and I will write you a three line (minimum) fic.

1. So, that happened last night. I love it when they troll us. And I wonder if Zack encourages it or yells at them for killing fangirls (and parts of the internet) dead with their antics.

2. There is tennis on my TV and coffee in my mug and eckerlilas linked to a finished 70k fic on the TSN kinkmeme, so I am so totally not getting to work on time today. (My desire to go to work is inversely proportional to all the stuff I have to do. Maybe you've noticed this? I'm feeling sort of stressed about all the experiments I have to do for 3 separate projects, and I haven't even told my boss yet that I'm taking the Friday and Monday of Easter weekend off - not for any religious reason, but because we're going to NYC to see The Book of Mormon and the very last show of American Idiot, and because we haven't had a weekend away where A's away from his work Blackberry in a long time.)

3. I created an account at AO3! LJ's lack of reliability the last couple of weeks made me decide to archive fic, and since I don't even know if OWL's affiliate archives are still open (and even if they are they absolutely don't take RPF), I figured I should choose an alternative. Of course, this means actually re-reading some of the fic I wrote YEARS AGO, and I am seriously facepalming at myself. OMGWTF was I thinking?


OK. I have a tab of fic that I promised why_me_why_not I'd beta two days ago, and there's the TSN fic to read, and Rafa is now on screen in all his Un-Cola glory, so I should get going on my morning activities, yes?

♥

Yesterday's free show for the Big Dance: perfect weather and good company, and other than the fact that a huge TV monitor blocked our view of Spencer Smith, Panic! At The Disco's set was ridiculously awesome. Seriously, they seem really delighted to be performing again. I can't wait for their summer tour. (For a more complete review, see shutyourface's entry. And eckerlilas posted pics, but under f-lock. ♥)

Two fandom-y things:

1. Why hasn't someone in GK fandom written fic centered around Brad Colbert's license loss, with him hitching a ride with someone (Mike?) to base every day, and then having someone (Ray, Nate, whoever rocks your world) pick him up each evening?

2. This pic deserves Ivy League grad student fic, y/n?



(via thesameband)




Ugh. Feeling sort of hungover and blah, and still cranky about the "GA" tickets that were the only choice for tickets in the Chris Cornell presale. It wouldn't've been a big deal if the venue set up the floor as they usually do. But the entire floor where the pit usually is was seated reserve, the upper level by the FOH was seated reserve, and the balcony was seated reserve as usual, leaving the area by the door, by the merch booth, and up underneath the overhang behind the seated reserve (where the sound is actually really shitty) as the only GA. Fuck you, Live Nation and House of Blues. Fuck you.

Really not feeling the drive to Austin for the PWTs.

Theoretically there will be a post about SXSW, but I am doing laundry and contemplating the drive up to Cypress to see Stamps perform at some crawfish-related festival or something at Cypress Saloon. Am I fated to only see Stamps perform at restaurants? (Seeing a band gig at TGIFriday's bar will never stop being a source of amusement, although I thought the performance was outstanding.)

So you get two least-blurry phone pics.

( This happened. )

( And so did this. )

1. MOAST IMPORTANT. jmc_bks posted more in her Brad/Ray AU: A Steady Diet of Sodapop & Ritalin. :D :D :D

2. LOL, yes, this, exactly. But I also judge when inappropriate apostrophes are used.

3. Work is closed for non-essential personnel, but research staff are exempt from that rule. I have a bunch of stuff to do, but since all the roads I'd normally take to work are closed or have overpasses onto which police are admitting cars one at a time, I believe I will wait until later. Also? I can't find the ice-scraper that I kept in the Snowflake when I lived in Utah, so I have to defrost Sasha manually. Another reason to wait until it warms up.

4. In the meantime, I am going to watch the videos of the Discos in 104.5's studio over and over again. The sound and video quality are better than the Live Q&A vid from the other day. DAMN, I'M GLAD TO SEE THEIR STUPID FACES, AND TO HEAR BDEN'S VOICE (whatever his GF's doing, she needs to keep doing, b/c he looks and sounds awesome and happy), AND TO LAUGH AT HOW BEING RELEGATED TO TAMBOURINEMAN STILL MAKES SPENCER CRANKY. Now gimme those tour-dates! (Or, you know, be sure to come to SXSW.)