revid | Entries tagged with rockmed

I hope everyone survived the holidays in a happy and life-affirming fashion!

I worked most of the holiday week, but was off the 29th through today. For NYE I volunteered with RockMed, first at the Warfield where the Tedeschi Trucks Band was, then The Regency where I helped clean up after a Kreyshawn show, then to "Sea of Dreams" which was one of those humongous Rave/party/new age/arty things which ended at 4:30 AM! It was a fun night; I've made a lot of friends in the organization and I enjoyed hanging out with them.

My New Year's resolution this year is a little different: I've resolved to go paperless. I started last week actually going through boxes and drawers and ENDLESS stacks of papers! I bought an inexpensive scanner (www.getdoxie.com) which comes with a nice little software program that will upload directly to Google Docs and set up my Docs with a bunch of folders that made sense for me. I discovered that at least half the crap I had I could just throw away (insurance policy on a car I don't have, for example) and everything I felt was important I scanned and threw the original away. I am down to half a file drawer of things where the original is important, like Deeds, Certificates, Tax Returns, and Licenses, and everything with my name on it is in a three foot high stack to go to a shredding service.

I receive all my recurring bills on line, so I don't have any paper statements coming into the house at all. I gotta say, it's a liberating feeling. After everything is scanned in, I'm going to put it in a zip file and copy it to a thumb drive, so in case an atom bomb hits Google's servers, I still have a copy of everything that I can print out everywhere.

I've also decided to get hardcore about backing up my computer, so in addition to my HD backups, I signed up for a cloud backup service (www.backblaze.com) too. Because of my crappy uplink, it will take about a MONTH to get my entire system backed up, but once it's fully backed up, updates are automatic. It costs $4/month, which is entirely reasonable in my humble opinion.

The next step is to start going through the closets and being ruthless about getting rid of stuff, but you have to be in the mood, otherwise you stew for an hour and realize you only put one thing in the plastic bag! Hopefully this enthusiasm will last past, oh, February.

Cheers to an awesome 2012 everyone!

Current Mood: drained
Current Music: Adam Lambert --"Crazy"

Damn, I've been busy. I realized that I never even talked about

and_ed's visit and it's been TWO MONTHS! So now you get the short version because my brain is old and my memory is feeble. It was less expensive for Barb to travel to another country to see the Foo Fighters than to go to her "local" show, and she got the added bonus of seeing MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. The show in Oakland was awesome! Dave Grohl would pay us to be his audience, I'm pretty sure...that guy loves what he does. He never phones it in. We had an extra ticket which we gave to the wonderful (but poor-as-dirt!)

indie_wonka, so the three of us had a fantastic time for the 2 1/2 hour show!. The opener was Cage the Elephant, and the only thing I'll say about them is a note to the lead singer: DUDE, if you are opening for the guy who was the drummer for Nirvana, please leave your shitty-ass Kurt Cobain imitation at home in front of the bedroom mirror, K?

Anyway, other highlights of Barb's too short trip were some of the touristy shit that you never do when you live somewhere. We went to Fisherman's Wharf and had lunch at Bubba Gumps at a table with a great view of Alcatraz, we walked along Golden Gate Bridge, we saw the "Painted Ladies" the row of pretty victorian houses, drove around Golden Gate Park and saw the bisons (yes, there are real live bisons in the middle of San Francisco!), but the highlight was when Barb took over my kitchen and made an incredible 4 course meal! YUMYUMYUM. My poor kitchen didn't know what hit it! So it was definitely a wonderful but too short visit...I hope she comes back soon when

thelackey can join us. But both my (musical) boos Green Day and Adam Lambert should be touring next year, and I know they won't skip Vancouver...

So, a funny thing happened last week. Metallica is celebrating their 30th anniversary as a band, and to do so, they rented out the Fillmore here in SF for a series of four shows. Tix were available only to fan club members, and if you won the lottery, you could buy a set of 1 ticket for each show for $19.81 for all four (1981, get it?) (For reference, Metallica regularly sells out 15K+ arenas, the Fillmore holds 1200.) As it turns out, the organization I volunteer for, RockMed, staffs First Aid at the Fillmore. \o/ Now, I'm not a hardcore Met fan by any stretch, but c'mon! IT'S METALLICA! I was scheduled for 3 of the 4 shows, and I really enjoyed them. It was very casual and laid back, and as James said one night "This isn't a concert, it's a party, and we're the house band." The crowd was very hard core and well-behaved, as you might imagine, and one of the nights they called out all the countries that were represented. Turns out that people flew in from over THIRTY countries! Amazing! Some special guests included Kid Rock, Marianne Faithfull, Ozzy Osborne, Iggy Pop, and their old bassist Jason as well as their old guitarist Dave Mustaine. One night I saw Billie Joe and Tré in the audience, but they were just spectators.

To make a long story longer, I wasn't going to work the Friday show, and the RockMed manager asked me if I wanted to work the local alt rock station's "jingle ball" concert with Jane's Addiction, Mumford& Sons, Florence+the Machine, and Bush. I said no because it would have involved driving across the city and the bridge into Oakland on a Friday afternoon, which means about an hour's drive to go 20 miles, so I passed. Then at the last minute, the Fillmore asked me if I would work Friday's Met show because someone cancelled, and the Fillmore is 10 minutes from my house so I agreed. After I got there I got two texts, one from Bren and one from RockMed, telling me that OH BTW, GREEN DAY IS NOW HEADLINING INSTEAD OF JANE'S ADDICTION...NOW DO YOU WANT TO WORK THE SHOW? LOL, so no I couldn't, but I realized that this was the true example of a First World Problem: I can't go see Green Day, because I have to see Metallica. lololol, my life! (Turns out that JA's drummer had a family emergency and cancelled at 8:30 that morning, so they reached out to GD, who agreed to play the show that afternoon! Gotta love those boys!) They played 1.5 hours of all old school stuff (only American Idiot was recent vintage) and as a three piece, no Jason! And I expect that Live 105 will be spinning Green Day's next single twice an hour for three months minimum to show their gratitude for GD saving their asses.

Alright this is long enough, so I leave you with this. Part of the Met show involved a video of various people and bands wishing the band a very happy anniversary, and this was Green Day's contribution.

Make sure you watch until the very end (about 1:50), OK?

Current Mood: cold

No matter how far I roam...I will always come back to LJ, and I will always love Green Day.

Just putting that out there.

We're gearing up for another round...secret shows and new songs on the way. I even shelled out the $25 (or whatever...I've already forgotten!) to rejoin the Idiot Club, because, damn, now that I live here, I don't want to miss the next secret shows. C'mon, guys, have one on my day off this time.

So, I'm REALLY excited for this: Billie Joe is going to be in a 2 episode arc on the cable TV show "Nurse Jackie." I saw it on the IC, but Perez Hilton posted about it today. http://perezhilton.com/2011-10-07-billie-joe-armstrong-cast-on-nurse-jackie#.To-goutmtsY

Someone in the comments has some casting information:
[JOHN] (Male, 45) He is a badass, has a tattoo that says 'No Regrets' on his hand, and is a drug user addicted to Oxycontin who meets Jackie one night. He is chasing after the ultimate high. He has kids and a wife who don't talk to him anymore.

Billie's going to hit the big 4-0 in about 4 months, but I'm sure he'll manage to look the part!

Working full time nights is tough on a body, but I'm taking steps to combat it. I signed up for a fitness boot camp starting Monday. Getting started back on the road to fitness is always the hard part, so this should by the kick in the ass I need. Kill me now. /o\

Volunteering for RockMed keeps me busy, but it has its advantages. These are the bands I have seen or will see shortly in a 30 day period:

Don Henley
Jimmy Eat World
Robert Plant
Fitz and the Tantrums
blink-182
My Chemical Romance (Angie, if you're reading this, they were GREAT. Best I've seen them.)
Stevie Nicks
Foster the People
Foo Fighters (More on this to come...)
Neil Young and the Bridge School Benefit

Oh yeah, about the Foo Fighters. I am almost wetting my pants with excitement because the one and only

and_ed is coming down from the great white north to visit MEEEEE and go see the Foos with MEEEEE on October 19th. And of course, we will hit some tourist spots including Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe! And Barb is gonna cook for me. My poor stainless steel appliances won't know what hit them. And she's probably gonna make me watch Hawaii 5-0 while she's here too.

Also, if you like indie pop-rock, may I suggest you check out Foster the People? They are awesome. Someone uploaded their CD on YT if you want to listen: http://youtu.be/Fvq7VMcifKk

In other fandom news, my obsession with Adam Lambert appears to have the staying power of my obsession with Green Day! o_0 It's going on 3 years now. For those of you who don't follow his every tweet with bated breath, his second album will probably be out in Jan or Feb 2012, but he may have a single out as early as next month. (IT'S ABOUT FUCKING TIME DUDE!) He remains as adorable and presh as usual, especially with his equally adorable ~~hot Finnish twink of a~~ boyfriend. q.v.:

Posting on LJ is just like working out. Getting started is the hardest part, right?

Current Mood: content
Current Location: San Francisco, CA
Current Music: Foster the People -- Torches

Sucking at this everyday posting thing again. :-) But in my defense, I've worked like 18 of the last 20 days, or something ridiculous like that!
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Of course, one way to cheat is to use my f-list's content. :-) One of my flisties,

heros_and_cons saw Green Day in Connecticuit and made an epic post of epic about it in her LJ with pics and vids! Go enjoy!

http://heroes-and-cons.livejournal.com/29433.html

Nice LJ name, huh!?

thelackey's Sexy Island Meme is still going on...check it out! (BTW, When

heros_and_cons did hers, Adam Lambert won. Just so you know!)
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Speaking of Adam (aw, c'mon, you know that was happening...) On his off day at Philly, he hit the bars and made some new "friends," and seemed to have made one "friend" in particular. To which all the fangirls screamed "GET IT BOY!"
Never have so many women been so thrilled about a guy banging someone who isn't them!

(The guy in the pink shirt is the "special friend.")

The funniest part of the whole thing was when Adam showing up pretty bleary eyed for a radio interview the next day...IN THE SAME CLOTHES, BUT MISSING AN EARRING.

Yes, Adam did the Walk of Shame! And even joked with the DJ about going out and getting frisky the night before.
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I'm making a DVD from video shot by

mindchnger at the Erie, PA concert. If any of the Adam fans on my flist would like one (or even if you're not a fan and not on my flist!), let me know. :-)

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Spending tomorrow in Golden Gate Park working medical services at the Outside Lands Music Festival, then at the American Idols concert at night. Last year I had to buy a scalped ticket to the AI show, this year they're practically giving them away. What a difference a year makes.

Sunday night I'll be at the Rob Thomas show in Saratoga. I'll be thinking of you,

linzeestyle!

Current Mood: accomplished

Wall O' Text Post because I'm too lazy to add the pretty.

So, real excited about the concerts coming up for 2 of my favorite 3 musical artists! This month I'm going to see Adam Lambert 3 times on 3 consecutive nights, twice in San Fran and once in Sacramento. I'm going to meet up with some new friends from an Adam message board I post on, go to a pre-party (with real live drag queens!) before the show on the 23rd, hang out and ~~stalk~~ look for the band on the 24th in Sacto, and go with my gf's

feels_like_fire,

_somniac_, and

leighrowena ~~and try to convert them to the awesomeness that is Adam Lambert so I have more people to geek with~~ to the show on the 25th.

AND even more exciting is the upcoming concert from the love of my musical life forever, GREEN DAY. The closing show of the tour is Sept 4th and as I also went to the opening show of the tour in Seattle over a year ago, I'm chuffed to be doing the "bookend." In addition to the awesome peeps above, we will be joined by

indie_wonka, and

sick_of_me03 from the land of LA, and YAYAYYAYAYYAYAY SO EXCITED....

mikeyface is coming all the way from FLORIDA to come to the show with us!!! I haven't seen AngieBaby in forever, so I am flailing with excitement over the awesome time to be had! Also in attendance will be

loser_and_user but she'll be seated while the rest of us are in the low rent (non)seats on the lawn at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, CA.

In RL stuff, in between work just owning my ass hardcore, I've started volunteering for an organization called RockMed, which is a branch of the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic in San Francisco. We provide first aid services at concerts and events in the Bay Area. It's a really cool bunch of people and it's a lot of fun. If it's not busy, it's a neat way to hear some music by artists who you wouldn't mind catching a few songs by, but don't feel like shelling out $50 to see. (If it's busy, you may not catch any of the show, which is why I have tickets to Adam and Green Day!) One cool bene for me is that if they need someone back stage for anything, I get to go because I'm "the doctor," and usually the only one. I got to meet Muse's bass player and Rhianna's guitar player (remember this song by Extreme?) that way. (I told them if they need someone to go backstage at Adam's or Green Day's shows that they'd better text me from the damn audience!)

So damn tired...but looking forward to a visit from the Dad later this week in between getting my hair cut and getting my car tuned and all that usual life scut. Rock on, everybody!

OK, SO I LIED ABOUT THE PRETTY.

You gotta love an RPS fandom where this shit is canon.

Current Mood: sleepy
Current Location: Bed
Current Music: Extreme -- "More Than Words"

Been busy like everyone else! I've got two jobs now, one 6 miles from home, one 35 miles from home...beats my old 140 mile commute. Both jobs are going pretty well I think. I've always liked working in two different places actually. It helps with job security, and it keeps me from getting too burnt out or bored with the same thing over and over again.

I'm also looking at volunteering for Rock Medicine. It's a branch of the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic. Going to concerts for free? I think I can handle that!

Have I mentioned lately how much I FUCKING LOVE San Francisco? 'Cuz I do.

Got my self a brand new shiny computer. The latest 21.5" iMac. She's pretty and sleek and fast, and makes watching HD video a joy. I'm ready to get rid of my TV and just get a receiver for my monitor. (Yes, they make those.)

For all you lovelies who have sent me holiday cards, I haven't forgotten you! Expect Valentine's Day cards in return. :-)

Incredibly fucking excited to see Adam Lambert live in LA on NYE. He had a great appearance on Leno's prime time show last night. They got along like best buds during the interview. Jay is the first TV person to call BULLSHIT on ABC's handwringing "We're shocked, shocked" reaction after the AMAs, saying that they knew what they were getting and they wanted that. Good for you Jay! And A+ to Adam for his clever and understated diss of Bill O'Reilly.

The interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7AnrBKf0mA
The performance of "Whataya Want From Me?": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JX16qZPeR7I

Sorry guys, he's just too cute for words.