Big Country, dreams, engagements, weather & more
The highlight of my week so far was taking part in a chat (actually just a scheduled, real-life posting of Q & A) with Big Country, my fave band, on its official Facebook page. They just came out with a new album, "The Journey" -- their first after 14 years! They're also starting an international tour and some dates include Northern California this summer! Hopefully I can attend (the last & only other time I saw BC was in the 1990s, see next paragraph). Anyhoo, participating in the Facebook Q&A (in which they were very genuine, friendly and gracious) were Mike Peters (replacement lead singer, formerly of The Alarm, another band I love), Bruce Watson (original BC member & guitarist), Jamie Watson (guitarist & son of Bruce), Mark Brzezicki (original member & BC drummer) and Derek Forbes (replacement bassist, formerly of Simple Minds, another band I love). As all BC fans know, lead singer, songwriter & guitarist Stuart Adamson passed away in December 2001, allegedly of suicide due to ongoing problems with alcohol and depression. As some BC fans know, original bassist Tony Butler left the band in 2012 to pursue other interests.
I had the good fortune of meeting all four original members in the mid-1990s during a concert in San Francisco's Union Square. It was part of a free concert series sponsored by Live 105 radio station. I was in college at the time but skipped classes to attend, as it had always been my dream to see Big Country live. It was part of a free concert series sponsored by Live 105, a local radio station. They played a surprising long set for a free concert during the middle of a workday; the crowd was surprisingly large too! It was AWESOME! :D And afterwards, the guys hung out so that everyone who wanted to take pictures, get autographs, or both, could do so. They were all so patient and classy & friendly! I have photos but I'm not sure where they are. :( Anyhoo, the person in front of me was gushing embarrasingly to Stuart & going on & on & on. So when I got up to Stuart, I kept it short & sweet. I said how long I've loved BC, thanked him for the concert & then added, "Scotland forever!" To which Stuart grinned and replied: "Ah, I think a wee bit longer than that!" ;) I could tell he really got a kick out of it, and he also seemed relieved that I was not rambling in a crazed way like the previous person. I FELT like rambling on & on, I must admit! *blush* I was so happy and excited! But I somehow managed to keep my composure. I will never forget the experience of seeing/hearing Big Country live, nor will I forget meeting Stuart. He had a very genuine presense and charisma, and I count myself lucky to have experienced it. "Oh flower of Scotland... when will we see your likes again?" ♥ (Speaking of that song, last week I wrote a poem/song to that tune in honor of Stuart Adamson's birthday, which happens to be tomorrow, April 11th! I'll be sharing it tomorrow on Facebook and hopefully here on LiveJournal as well, if the site is working properly, that is!)
Enough gushing on that topic! Next I wanted to say that I've been having very vivid dreams lately. (And if I wanted to segue from BC, I could use the following song quote: "In a big country, dreams stay with you...") I know, that's a rather weak attempt at segueing! heh. My dreams are typically vivid but I don't always remember them. Well, lately I've been remembering them, although unfortunately I didn't write down any notes about them upon waking, so I don't remember much now. In one dream, I was jumping up and down on something like a pogo stick (if anyone knows what those are anymore). The unusual thing about it was that in using it, you could engage in time travel! I'm not sure how that was, however. I even had a name for the time-traveling pogo stick contraption: "The Puzz-Jump." The "puzz" was short for "puzzle," but I don't know how that connected with time travel! LOL! In another vivid dream, I was in labor with, and gave birth to, a baby boy. I've never had a baby and never plan to -- neither Shawn nor I want kids but I won't bore y'all with the myriad reasons. But in the dream the feeling of being in labor was very physical and vivid! How weird is that?? I remember I spent part of the time in a bathtub (with NO water) but then decided I was uncomfortable. I also remember a doctor or nurse gave me an injection of pitocin, which I've heard helps hasten delivery. Within a few minutes of that, I had the baby. I don't remember naming him, because I knew I wasn't going to keep him. I was planning to give him up for adoption. I don't recall anything after that.
Having babies usually (tho not always) happens when you're married, which brings me to another topic: engagements! There must be something magical about April because just in the last few days, THREE people I know got engaged! <3 :D And I learned of all three on Facebook! First there was my cousin Todd, with whom I'm cousins on my maternal grandma's side. He and his young daughter and his fiancee S. live in Washington. Then I learned that Jen, a gal with whom I was friends in elementary school and with whom I recently reconnected on Facebook, got engaged. I knew my cousin Todd was serious about S. but I didn't know how serious Jen's relationship was. And finally, today I learned that Nikki is engaged! She's a gal with whom I became friends after meeting her at a party hosted by some of Shawn's friends. She's an awesome person and I don't know why I don't get together with her for coffee or lunch or something, because she doesn't even live far away. But I haven't actually seen her in person for more than a year. I know, that's pretty lame. Anyhoo, hearing the news about Todd and Jen and Nikki all getting engaged makes me very happy, and I wish all of them nothing but happiness as well! So, WHO'S NEXT? ;) The month of April isn't even half over yet!
Now a much less interesting topic: my freelance editing/proofreading work. I just wanted to mention that today I finally finished a large CE course that I received two or three days ago from Cathy! It will make for a nice check! :)
And finally a very mundane topic: the weather! I think some hot temperature records were broken today in the Bay Area! For example, today in Redwood City (where Shawn & I live), the hottest it got was 82 Fahrenheit! That's right, in the first half of April it broke 80 degrees! What's even more unusual about that is that it gotten hotter here than in Phoenix, Arizona, which is almost always hotter than most of the Bay Area but today barely broke into the 70s! And then there's Denver, Colorado, where it was only 23 Fahrenheit and where it was snowing yesterday and maybe today! Talk about a stark contrast! (See the nerdy screenshot from my phone below). I have family members in both Phoenix and Denver, which is one of the reasons I have those cities as part of my AccuWeather list. I also like having them because they're typically very different from each other. San Jose is on there because it's where I used to live, where my mom & most of my friends live, and the largest city in Northern California. And Inverness... well... I thought it would be cool to see what the weather is like in Scotland at any given time, not only because it's so different from here but also because it's one of my fave countries. And since Inverness is considered "the capital of the Highlands," I thought it would be a good city to pick. Plus I just really enjoy saying the name. :) And one of these years I will VISIT THERE!!
I had the good fortune of meeting all four original members in the mid-1990s during a concert in San Francisco's Union Square. It was part of a free concert series sponsored by Live 105 radio station. I was in college at the time but skipped classes to attend, as it had always been my dream to see Big Country live. It was part of a free concert series sponsored by Live 105, a local radio station. They played a surprising long set for a free concert during the middle of a workday; the crowd was surprisingly large too! It was AWESOME! :D And afterwards, the guys hung out so that everyone who wanted to take pictures, get autographs, or both, could do so. They were all so patient and classy & friendly! I have photos but I'm not sure where they are. :( Anyhoo, the person in front of me was gushing embarrasingly to Stuart & going on & on & on. So when I got up to Stuart, I kept it short & sweet. I said how long I've loved BC, thanked him for the concert & then added, "Scotland forever!" To which Stuart grinned and replied: "Ah, I think a wee bit longer than that!" ;) I could tell he really got a kick out of it, and he also seemed relieved that I was not rambling in a crazed way like the previous person. I FELT like rambling on & on, I must admit! *blush* I was so happy and excited! But I somehow managed to keep my composure. I will never forget the experience of seeing/hearing Big Country live, nor will I forget meeting Stuart. He had a very genuine presense and charisma, and I count myself lucky to have experienced it. "Oh flower of Scotland... when will we see your likes again?" ♥ (Speaking of that song, last week I wrote a poem/song to that tune in honor of Stuart Adamson's birthday, which happens to be tomorrow, April 11th! I'll be sharing it tomorrow on Facebook and hopefully here on LiveJournal as well, if the site is working properly, that is!)
Enough gushing on that topic! Next I wanted to say that I've been having very vivid dreams lately. (And if I wanted to segue from BC, I could use the following song quote: "In a big country, dreams stay with you...") I know, that's a rather weak attempt at segueing! heh. My dreams are typically vivid but I don't always remember them. Well, lately I've been remembering them, although unfortunately I didn't write down any notes about them upon waking, so I don't remember much now. In one dream, I was jumping up and down on something like a pogo stick (if anyone knows what those are anymore). The unusual thing about it was that in using it, you could engage in time travel! I'm not sure how that was, however. I even had a name for the time-traveling pogo stick contraption: "The Puzz-Jump." The "puzz" was short for "puzzle," but I don't know how that connected with time travel! LOL! In another vivid dream, I was in labor with, and gave birth to, a baby boy. I've never had a baby and never plan to -- neither Shawn nor I want kids but I won't bore y'all with the myriad reasons. But in the dream the feeling of being in labor was very physical and vivid! How weird is that?? I remember I spent part of the time in a bathtub (with NO water) but then decided I was uncomfortable. I also remember a doctor or nurse gave me an injection of pitocin, which I've heard helps hasten delivery. Within a few minutes of that, I had the baby. I don't remember naming him, because I knew I wasn't going to keep him. I was planning to give him up for adoption. I don't recall anything after that.
Having babies usually (tho not always) happens when you're married, which brings me to another topic: engagements! There must be something magical about April because just in the last few days, THREE people I know got engaged! <3 :D And I learned of all three on Facebook! First there was my cousin Todd, with whom I'm cousins on my maternal grandma's side. He and his young daughter and his fiancee S. live in Washington. Then I learned that Jen, a gal with whom I was friends in elementary school and with whom I recently reconnected on Facebook, got engaged. I knew my cousin Todd was serious about S. but I didn't know how serious Jen's relationship was. And finally, today I learned that Nikki is engaged! She's a gal with whom I became friends after meeting her at a party hosted by some of Shawn's friends. She's an awesome person and I don't know why I don't get together with her for coffee or lunch or something, because she doesn't even live far away. But I haven't actually seen her in person for more than a year. I know, that's pretty lame. Anyhoo, hearing the news about Todd and Jen and Nikki all getting engaged makes me very happy, and I wish all of them nothing but happiness as well! So, WHO'S NEXT? ;) The month of April isn't even half over yet!
Now a much less interesting topic: my freelance editing/proofreading work. I just wanted to mention that today I finally finished a large CE course that I received two or three days ago from Cathy! It will make for a nice check! :)
And finally a very mundane topic: the weather! I think some hot temperature records were broken today in the Bay Area! For example, today in Redwood City (where Shawn & I live), the hottest it got was 82 Fahrenheit! That's right, in the first half of April it broke 80 degrees! What's even more unusual about that is that it gotten hotter here than in Phoenix, Arizona, which is almost always hotter than most of the Bay Area but today barely broke into the 70s! And then there's Denver, Colorado, where it was only 23 Fahrenheit and where it was snowing yesterday and maybe today! Talk about a stark contrast! (See the nerdy screenshot from my phone below). I have family members in both Phoenix and Denver, which is one of the reasons I have those cities as part of my AccuWeather list. I also like having them because they're typically very different from each other. San Jose is on there because it's where I used to live, where my mom & most of my friends live, and the largest city in Northern California. And Inverness... well... I thought it would be cool to see what the weather is like in Scotland at any given time, not only because it's so different from here but also because it's one of my fave countries. And since Inverness is considered "the capital of the Highlands," I thought it would be a good city to pick. Plus I just really enjoy saying the name. :) And one of these years I will VISIT THERE!!