This weekend I went away and didn't tell you

because I didn't want you stealing my stuff.

I went here and met the people who are doing the things I used to dream of doing but didn't have the capacity to make happen.

And all I can do now is write about them.

See my trip here.

Gooier than you

Gooier is an awesome word. Look at it sitting there, all vowelly and full of roundness in the middle. Unless you work in, I dunno, tar, it brings to mind so many good things. Or even just a few really good things, which is plenty.

Right now I'm eating a vegan chocolate cake from Greenstar, which I heated up for 45 seconds -- exactly the right amount of time to make it a little gooey. It's like a wee bundt cake, but gooier. See! Right there. Gooey means good things.

Also maybe except for its application to toddlers.

CHECK

I've been e-mailing this guy I met via one of them online services. At first I was pretty psyched about him, but then started to level out. (I have to emphasize that I really, really, really want someone who's funny, too, and he says outright that he spends most of his time serious.) Anyhoo, today I get this from him:

Yeah, it was a good turnout, maybe not as many as in year's[third time he's misused the apostrophe this way, and he's a freelance writer] past, but still good: a couple thousand, maybe. Where are you going away for work this weekend? Going to be anywhere near Myrtle Beach? Probably not, huh. Bummer. ... Hey, I'm looking for good pick up lines to use on the beach. Are you familiar with the Brad Pasley song "Ticks"? In the song, he sings about meeting this girl at a bar and wanting to walk with her in the woods, and he sings, "I want to check you for ticks." What if I approached a cute girl on the beach and said, "I want to check you for sand fleas." Good idea? Don't answer that. I never was very smooth with the pick up lines. Talk to you later.

...mm hmm. Whatever his reasons for saying that, I think we can safely file him away under "no dice/idiot/hey, what's that shiny thing over there?" (I'm thinking of responding with something along the lines of "Yes, definitely say that. Definitely if you want a punch in the face." Except I don't want him to think I'm insinuating that I want to punch him in the face, cos I don't care enough.)

Actually Jenny came up with the perfect reply:

Dear Brian,

You have no idea how much time this e-mail saved me.

Have fun at the beach,
Cree

CAN I WEIGH THAT LEMON FOR YOU MS. MCDONNELL

Two weeks ago, it was The Police.

Last week, a meteor.

Last night, I saw the president of the Twelve Colonies at Wegmans.

Next I'm hoping for a dragon.

The things you learn

I'm an only child, but I have a ton of cousins. When I was growing up, just about the most important thing on earth to me was being with them. So whenever we were together, I would drag the time out as long as I could. Somehow my parents always managed to decide to leave when the most possible fun on earth was happening.

So I started hiding my shoes.

There must have been an occasion when I actually did lose track of my shoes, and we had to stay longer till they were found. I'll even bet that I was able to play more whilst my parents hunted them down (for I was but a child; kids can't find anything).

So, I started hiding my shoes.

Unfortunately , they saw right through it.

*sigh*

I hate being an only child.

10:46 p.m.

I just saw a meteor! I just saw a meteor! Eeeeee! Perseid!!

The latent superpowers of your late 30s

This morning I woke up and looked at the clock, and it said 6:44. I decided to stay awake and get up around 7:30. When an appropriate amount of time had passed (I have a freakishly accurate sense of time sometimes), I looked at the clock again, expecting it to be 7:30 or later.

It said 6:42.

I can TIME TRAVEL now? Without flying around the globe to reverse its direction or getting hold of a Time Turner?

I woulda gone back to sleep had I known.

The POLICE!

I will try to convey how phenomenal the concert was, but I will fall short, for there are no words to equal the experience.

First, the arena (Madison Square Garden; the part where they play hockey and basketball) was smaller than we'd expected, so that was cool. We were directly across from the stage. Couldn't see the faces too well, but there were JumboTrons anticipating that issue for us.

They opened with Message in a Bottle, and from the getgo the whole place was singing along with them, continually invited by Sting. Sting Sting Sting. Always loved that man. Looking DAMNED fine too. Next came Synchronicity II, and after that I don't really remember the order. But suffice to say they played *every single song* like it was an encore, and even mixed a few songs into each other. Can't Stand Losing You had Regatta de Blanc in the middle of it, with Sting doing call-and-response with Regatta's "E-yo, e-yay" parts. That was the absolute pinnacle for me; if you know Regatta de Blanc, think of how it accelerates, imagine 80 000 people singing it along with Sting AND Sting doing the whole bit TWICE, and you'll understand. Forevermore that song will make me inordinately happy.

(It's also possible that it happened inside Driven to Tears instead; my brain last night switched gears to stick Regatta inside that one.)

During King of Pain, if you knew it was there to hear (and everyone did), you could hear about a quarter of the audience filling in "That's my soul up there" between verse lines. They also played the intro to Demolition Man but then switched to some other song. Again, Sting did loads of call-and-response. It was like they were performing with us, not for us. Completely, totally awesome. Everyone in the audience was just completely elated to be there. There's nothing like that feeling, nothing: 80 000 joyous people all with the same purpose, excited to be alive. Many of us had waited almost 25 years for this, thinking even that it was never going to happen. The place was up in arms. Uproarious. Happy beyond belief. Synchronicity.

I think Sting did mess up a time or two with the rhythms. Like his solo style got in the way of the Police style. But if he did mess up, Stuart and Andy adapted immediately, probably well used to it by this time on the tour. Twice Sting introduced Stuart and Andy, but no one introduced him :)

The other best parts for me were Every Little Thing She Does is Magic, one of my favorite songs of all time, and Invisible Sun. They played less than two hours, which is hard to believe when every song seemed 10 minutes long. They did two encores; I think Every Breath You Take was the final song.

Your set list:
Message in a Bottle
Synchronicity II
Roxanne
Don't Stand So Close to Me
Can't Stand Losing You/Regatta de Blanc
Next to You
Walking in Your Footsteps
De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
Every Breath You Take
Walking on the Moon
Wrapped Around Your Finger
King of Pain
So Lonely
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
The Bed's Too Big Without You
Driven to Tears
Truth Hits Everybody
Voices Inside My Head

Hopefully Blake will tell me if I've forgotten anything. I want this to come from my/our memory, not the official review of it in the Times or anything.

The opening band was Fictionplane, fronted by Sting's very own son. Stingson has the exact same voice as his father, though he does different things with it. Quite good, we thought.

They also allow food and water (bought there) inside. Blake got to sit next to a bunch of drunk men out for a guys' weekend. Fortunately, Jim, mr. friendly there beside her, didn't spill his beer or throw up on her. She was ready for it, though.

I panic slightly when I think of not seeing them again. So hopefully I can make it to another show. Anyone who's up for it, let me know.

The Police?

YES PLEASE I'LL HAVE ANOTHER SIR

THANK YOU VERY MUCH

YOU'RE TOO KIND