...i am getting serious flack from teddy about giving abbey away...i had no idea he would be so sad...i mean, i'm sad too, don't get me wrong...i've had that fuzz butt for over 7 years...he's the closest thing to a kid that i've ever had...i mean, it was getting downright unhealthy for abbey to keep living with me...you have to understand that until march of 2002, i lived in a pretty spacious two-floor condo out in the burbs w/ a private little yard and everything...abbey was an alley cat before i adopted him when he was a wee 5 months old...he NEVER accepted the indoors...i remember when i lived in an apartment in rogers park, he'd be waiting at the door when i came home from work, and as soon as i started opening the door, he'd wiggle past me and shoot down those stairs in a desparate dash for freedom...and when we lived in the burbs, he had plenty of freedom to roam, although he never went as far as his step brother bug, whom i'd found as far away as along lake ave, a busy 4 lane road w/ a speed limit of 45 mph...abbey liked to go for walks, but he really loved to lounge in the yard and just mellow out...since he's lived w/ me in my little attic apartment here in the city, he's had barely a window to look out of...i was starting to think he needed prozac...i remember when i used to take him to the vet, and he was always the smallest of the 3 cats i had back then...he never weighed more than 11 or 12 pounds...well, when teddy took him to the vet on friday, he weighed in at a whopping 18.5 pounds!!! that's just wrong...hopefully, being back in the burbs where he'll have the freedom to come & go as he pleases will make him less lethargic and put him in some sort of shape other than ROUND...



*sigh*...is that not an adorable picture of abbey & teddy? i don't know who loved whom more...abbey sought affection from teddy that he never sought from me...like always lying in the crook of teddy's arm when they would watch tv together...somehow he knew to ask me for food, so i was basically the maid...food, water, clean the catbox...but teddy was the one abbey really adored and was devoted to...



tonight, my friend denison is playing @ subterranean...this dude named sufjan stevens is opening up for him...he sometimes plays w/ the danielson famile i hear...he seems really nuts, in a good way...i hear his music's great though, so i'm looking forward to the show...his new album is all about the state of michigan, which is where he's originally from...i read an article on him in the CMJ new music report, and he said he wants to make an album for each of the 50 states...now that's a big project...



i think i'm gonna call ryan and jess and see how far along they are...i hope they get here tomorrow night...it'll be so good to see them, as short a visit as it'll be...



i did laundry sunday night and i vacuumed half my apartment last night...tonight i'll try to organize my cds some more and try to figure out how to sleep 3 boys in my apartment...my air mattress has been leaking air so maybe i'll try to find the hole tonight...jesse's little, so i'm not worried about him, and i have no idea how big their friend jeremy is, and ryan is just a GIANT...he can sleep in my bed diagonally and take up the entire mattress...or let his feet dangle off the sofabed or air mattress...his choice...



i took thursday off, so i'll be able to cook for them in the morning before they have to take off...i love big breakfasts! hmm...i'll have to think up a menu and go shopping...esp for beer...



been listening to--

recovered--denison witmer

black out--the good life

team boo--mates of state

our constant concern--mates of state

emotions--alaska!

poses--rufus wainwright

my friend from high school steve elliott is gonna write a book about the 2004 elections...can you believe it's less than a year away from picking a president again? here's an editorial steve wrote about the howard dean campaign...howard dean is the former governor of vermont, home of ben & jerry's ice cream, and a democratic presidential candidate...you can read about him here...

...well, it turns out ryan beatty & jesse sprinkle my holiday runner/serene boys just left seattle a few hours ago...and are on their way to my apartment...let's see...they're driving to spokane tonight...that leaves 1800 miles to wicker park...if they're BOTH driving vehicles, i know jesse hates to drive, so maybe they'll get here thursday...actually, i think that's under dispute cuz ryan in his email said they'd get here wednesday, and jesse's email said they'd get here thursday, which is kinda funny...either way, i just hope they stay until friday night when annie (quick) plays w/ the detholz! @ subterranean...too bad they'll miss denison's show tuesday night...maybe we could make the elgin show on wednesday or the madison show on thursday...i'm sure they'd love to see mr. witmer...my first real connection to jesse was over a denison witmer song...



...alright jesse just called me, and i guess they're getting here wednesday night, but they really have to be in dansville, ny by thursday so i'm really disappointed they'll miss BOTH denison AND annie...aw shoot...oh well...but like he said, now they're only one day away as opposed to 3.5 haul-ass days, so they could come back and visit whenever now...



...so i'm supposed to be cleaning the apartment, now that i'm catless and all...teddy & i even borrowed my mom's oreck vacuum today after church...his instructions to me before leaving for work were to sweep first and THEN vacuum...and i proceeded to take a 3 hour nap after he left...but i guess now i HAVE to start cleaning cuz i'm doing my 12 hour work day tomorrow, and i seriously am out of clean underwear and socks...that means i have to carry that mega hamper of mine down to my car all by myself...funny how i used to always do it by myself and since teddy showed up, i've been spoiled and got him to carry that thing every time i happened to be doing laundry...but i must do it alone today cuz lord knows the laundry needs doing or ryan & jesse will have only a face towel to share and shower with...

ok...i got permission from jeremy to do whatever i want w/ the guns 'n' moses photos...i hope that means i can post them cuz that's what i'm doing...please...it's rated R so if yer one of them visually easily shocked folks, don't click on this here link...god help us all...

...so yesterday was me & teddy's 9 month anniversary...we celebrated by going to thai lagoon on north ave across from the handlebar...thai lagoon is apparently the hipster thai place...they've got quite a cd collection and the non-smoking section is merely hypothetical...we saw chrissy the drummer from michael's old band the hex there...after dinner, we went to the double door for the mahjong/watchers/james chance & the fibbs show (fibbs=watchers)...as usual, i tried to sneak in my camera, but the dude at the door went through every nook and cranny in my purse and i got caught and he made me take the camera back to my car, which sparked a cussing tirade out of me (not really) down north ave...i just don't get that policy...i don't take flash photos, so who cares if i use my camera or not? i feel like my freedom of speech is compromised whenever i'm not allowed to take photos for no good reason...ESPECIALLY when it's my friends who are playing in the show and would WANT me to take photos...i wanted to get a photo of ethan playing w/ james chance, that's all...oh well...



...anyways, james chance was the frontman for the 80's no-wave band the contortions and he was a big influence on michael & the bands he's been in...so for watchers to be asked by james chance to play as his backup band for his little midwest tour must have been exciting for those boys...they did a great job too...james chance is not exactly young anymore, but he's still pretty nuts...it was good to see the boys from watchers again...ethan didn't wear his signature beret, but i thought he looked good without it...i just wish i had some pictures...grrrrr...



...so most of the guys from the band lying in states (who share the basement practice space with watchers) were there...if you remember, lying in states have an alter ego called guns 'n' moses, who played w/ the detholz! @ the bottom lounge on halloween...jeremy, the keyboardist, plays moses, who in turn playes axl rose...so jeremy was @ the show last night, and he told me that the guys found my blogger when they were doing a google search on their band...at first they thought some girl had a crush on jeremy until they realized it was ted's girl's blogger...i told jeremy i had a bunch of photos of him in his underwear on stage from that night and that i was gonna save those photos until lying in states hit it really big and then i was gonna blackmail him...now i really don't think jeremy embarrasses quite all that easily, and i did tell him i would put together his own page, but i'm not gonna link to it unless he gives me permission since he is a nice boy and teddy thinks quite well of him and all the boys in LIS...



...we saw a bunch of other folks there like damon & wayne from the eternals/trenchmouth, the dude from reckless who also dj'ed the watcher metro cd release party, ryan from trader joe's who's teddy's skating buddy, isaac green ethan's good friend and former bandmate in the skalars, and various other hipster fixtures from the neighborhood...i told teddy to call teal pheal at the last minute, and he came just in time for the watchers set...it was good to see phil again...i'm so glad he lives in logan square now...even though he's super super busy going to art school @ the 'tute, we see him a lot more than we would were he still in brooklyn or missoula or even the 'burbs where his folks live...and i think teddy really liked having him at the show w/ us cuz then he had someone to share rounds of beer with...i'm such a wussy drinker...i really hate drinking period...i think i got it all out of my system back when olarn and i used to run around town together a couple summers ago...



...so i met connolly & his fiance chris @ katerina's for coffee & to see his photos from josh's wedding, since i happened to forget to take my camera the day of the wedding and ended up w/ absolutely zippo pictures of my own best friend's wedding...so now i can finally post a photo (or actually, a photo of a photo that connolly took) from the wedding...i look funny in a fancy dress, don't i? and my hair all in an updo? but teddy looks good in a suit, that's for sure...that dress...i don't know how many hours of lost sleep can be attributed to that dress...



alrighty...tomorrow, i am taking abbey to my x's and from there, he's off to his new life as a professional mouser...teddy keeps begging me to keep him but i know he'll be much happier in the burbs...this apartment will seem lonely without him...no little nose peeking under the door as i come up the stairs...no more lawn mower purring sounds in the middle of the night...no more fuzzy head butts into my hand demanding to be petted...*sigh*...



been listening to-

the argument--fugazi

mass suicide occult figurines--john vanderslice