Sister Golden Hair

When we were at karaoke on Thursday, we heard this song and Beth asked me to find the lyrics for her. So what better way to do so then to use it as a post title?

Karaoke, as always, was fun. I got there later than usual because I asked Keem to wake me up at 9 PM (need to take a nap in order to go out. God, I'm so old. In my 20's, I would go out, go to work and go out again, all on about 3-4 hours of sleep a night) which she did and then I told her I wanted another half hour. This was mainly because I was having a completely awesome dream about Gil (of course). I finally left the house about 10 PM and caught a cab. The nice thing about living downtown is that the cabs park right in front of my building and there is usually one or two there when I leave on Thursday. This is how much I love karaoke and seeing Beth. I will gladly spend $10-15 on a cab ride (depending on how I tip).

Had a great conversation with my cabbie about the fact that Minnesota is considering a full state ban on smoking in bars and restaurants. We are both against this because, honestly, non-smokers, aren't there enough places you can go if you don't want to be tainted by our smoke? There are a ton of restaurants in the Twin Cities area that are already non-smoking. Plus, I think it's quite annoying that cigarettes have gone up to over $4 a pack because of tax and yet, it's becoming difficult to find a place where you can sit down and enjoy a smoke after your meal. But enough about that. I've been lucky in my last few cabbies, they have not been psychotic freaks.

The only table open was right by the stage. This is good and bad. It is good because Bryan came over and talked to me for awhile and I'm close to the stage when the really good singers were up there. I got to hoot and holler when the Reverend James, Bryan and Joe Funko sang "Cecelia" and have a brief conversation about how the guy who sang the song on Sunday sucked compared to them. Joe's response was "Well, of course. I bet he wasn't wearing tight striped pants." Hmm, he may be onto the fact that one of the reasons I enjoy Thursday's is because the softball team that the Chalet supports is there and yeah, got to love a man in a uniform, even if it's a softball one.

Bryan asked me if I wanted to sing. I told him of course I did. He said he didn't want to push anyone into singing if they didn't want to. I replied "This is my life, Bryan. This is the closest I get to acting."

It is bad because when Beth and Char did get there, it was hard to have a conversation without shouting when the not so great singers were on stage. James came over and sat with us and I ended up having to move so I could hear what everyone was saying. I usually like to sit so I am facing the stage but I was having such a hard time understanding the conversation that I moved so my back was to the stage. I have noticed that if I am facing someone, I can hear better. Which is odd because I do not read lips at all. I was sitting next to Beth and facing Char and James. I have no problem hearing Beth which fits in with my theory that we communicate telepathically (an example of this can be found here and here).

This was Char's last night at karaoke for a long time. She is moving to Texas and we will miss her muchly. She will be back in a year (10 months? Something like that) and all will be wondrous but until then, it is going to be very sad. It is bad enough that Tom is in Texas but now Char is leaving us. And for such a silly reason - to be reunited with her husband (yes, yes, I am only kidding).

At one point in the night, to give you an idea of how hard it was to hear anything, I looked up and saw a commercial (?) where Ronald McDonald was juggling. When I expressed my dismay at this (clowns freak the crap out of me), Char was confused.

C: Did you just say you wanted to be impregnated by Ronald McDonald?
D: No. I said he was juggling. That's just what I want. To be knocked up by a clown. Maybe my kid could have a big red nose.
B: Impregnated. Juggling. Yes, those sound alike.

There was a contest for two Chalet shirts and a $15 gift certificate. Bryan gave one of the shirts to Char because she was leaving. I won the gift certificate because, when Bryan asked for someone to come forth with foriegn currency, I was the only one who could. I had a euro in my purse, waiting for me to complete my Vegas scrapbook so I can start my Portugal scrapbook. The 2nd shirt went to this guy sitting up at the bar, talking to Liz, because the popular consensus was that he had the worst shirt in the place and needed a new one.

It was a good night and I had a great time with my friends. Liz came over after karaoke was over and we had fun talking. She is going to try to make it to Char's going away party tonight (Saturday), possibly James will be there as well. Bryan does not think he will be able to go.

Friday night, Beth picked me up from work and we went out to play pool with Char and Andy. We had a good time, Andy is very funny and so we laughed a lot. Beth, for some odd and inexplicable reason, decided when she, Char and I went to Perkins later, that she needed to have ice cream. Actually, that's not so much the odd part. The odd part is why she decided that I also needed to have some ice cream. And when I say have ice cream, what I mean is that she decided to paint my arm in vanilla ice cream. There is also a picture of me with the cold, wet substance on my nose, rather like zinc. I bet I look like I am surfing. Then Beth and I went to her place and watched Saved. As she said, the movie is hilarious and we laughed a lot.

It's now Monday morning, I'm exhausted and am too tired to go back and correct the time frames so just to let you know, I've been working on this over the weekend and I am now going to tell you about Saturday night.

I spent the weekend over at Beth's and on Saturday, after she went to work, I spent my time alternating between playing some games on Popcap.com and working on this post. At around 6, Beth called to let me know she was on her way to pick me up and take me to the pool hall to meet Char.

Beth ran in for a little bit to say hi and was there when Char saw a man across the pool hall and thought that he looked familiar. Was that her cousin (Tom's cousin, her's by marriage) Shawn? Instead of walking over or letting Beth walk over to ask if it was Shawn, Char decided to call Tom in Texas and ask him for Shawn's number. She then called the number and, when the man across the pool hall answered his phone, started chewing him out for not coming over to say hi while Beth and I laughed over this. Shawn and his friends moved to the table next to us.

Char and I played a few games of pool and then she played against Shawn. She was worried I would think she was ignoring her but I took that time to finish reading my book. Perhaps it is a bit odd to read in a pool hall but heck, I read at the Chalet on Thursdays before karaoke starts. Her father and Kathy (his wife or girlfriend? Not sure) arrived shortly and then her mother and Jeff (her fiance) arrived. Char played a couple of games of pool with her Dad and then against Jeff after her Dad and Kathy left.

Around 10, Andy arrived and I played pool against him because Char was getting a bit worn out. We had a good time talking and laughing and then it was close to midnight and Beth, Carl and Mary all arrived. More pool was played, I caught up with Carl and Mary, it had been close to nine months since I had seen them last. Liz and James were not able to make it but Char did make a somewhat drunken phone call to Liz's cell phone to say goodbye at about 1 AM.

At about 2 or 3, it was time to go off to Perkins (again). This time there was no ice cream adorning my arm or nose. Andy and Mary joined us and we had so much fun. We, very bravely, tried to avoid talking about Char's upcoming trip to Texas. After dinner, Beth, Char and I went to Wal-Mart (which I'm not talking about because James thinks that Wal-Mart is evil. I will say that they have changed a lot since I worked for them many years ago. But hey, it's 3 in the morning. Nothing else is open and where are you supposed to go when you need a fish tank?).

We found the fish tank that Char needed. Char decided to wear the fish tank. It was quite cute and silly and even more hysterical when she said pathetically "Will someone help me get the fish tank off my head?"

We also found the electronics department where I purchased 4 movies - Top Secret (I'm too tired to link to imdb.com so here is plot info. Top Secret stars Val Kilmer as a kind of Elvis like guy and it is a spoof of spy movies and Elvis movies. It's pretty funny or at least it was when I saw it last), Grosse Pointe Blank (John Cusack plays a hit man who goes to his high school reunion, very funny), Trading Spaces (old 80's movie with Dan Ackroyd and Eddie Murphy, excellent) and finally, Hellboy. This is a movie based off a comic book and I had rented it about a month ago. I love this movie. I was very excited to see that my DVD also came with a miniature version of one of the comic books the movie is based on and enjoyed reading it on Sunday while Beth was online. Hellboy is awesome. If you have not seen it, you should. Well, only if you like Sci-Fi/Fantasy movies. If you can't suspend disbelief, there's probably not much point in seeing it.

After our trip to Wal-Mart, we drove back to the pool hall and said goodbye to Char. There were tears and laughter and more tears. There were promises to keep in touch. Char has been promising me a blog for quite some time so hopefully this will spur her into action. We are going to miss Char a lot and can't wait for her and Tom to return back to Minnesota.

The reason I chose this song is not only to provide Beth with the lyrics but because of this phrase right here "Well, I keep on thinkin’ ’bout you, sister golden hair surprise. And I just can’t live without you; can’t you see it in my eyes?"

I feel so blessed to have such great friends like Beth, Keem and Char. To me, they are my sisters, the family that I got to choose (not that I don't love my actual family dearly (not that they read my blog but hey, disclaimer, just in case)), just as important to me as Mom and Kari and Eric and Josh. I do keep on thinking about them and I can't live without them. If it wasn't for them, I would either be a complete and total recluse or I would have committed suicide a long time ago. Happy pills can only do so much. I also am very thankful for the blogging world and all of the friends I have made through this medium. So I'm going to get a little mushy now. Hope you can all deal with it, dear Internet.

I love you guys. Char, start a blog. Don't make me come to Texas and kick your ass.

Sister Golden Hair by America

Well I tried to make it Sunday, but I got so damn depressed
That I set my sights on Monday and I got myself undressed
I ain’t ready for the altar but I do agree there’s times
When a woman sure can be a friend of mine

Well, I keep on thinkin’ ’bout you, sister golden hair surprise
And I just can’t live without you; can’t you see it in my eyes?
I been one poor correspondent, and I been too, too hard to find
But it doesn’t mean you ain’t been on my mind

Will you meet me in the middle, will you meet me in the air?
Will you love me just a little, just enough to show you care?
Well I tried to fake it, I don’t mind sayin’, I just can’t make it

Well, I keep on thinkin’ ’bout you, sister golden hair surprise
And I just can’t live without you; can’t you see it in my eyes?
Now I been one poor correspondent, and I been too, too hard to find
But it doesn’t mean you ain’t been on my mind

Will you meet me in the middle, will you meet me in the air?
Will you love me just a little, just enough to show you care?
Well I tried to fake it, I don’t mind sayin’, I just can’t make it

Doo wop doo wop ...