Sitting, Waiting, Wishing by Jack Johnson

Nick and I were sitting in a movie theater in Walnut Creek, waiting for the previews to start.  I cannot remember which movie we were going to see.  In fact, it was odd that we were in the movie theater because Nick wasn't a huge fan of going to the movies.   When we started dating, he was the quintessential, 20-something, single guy.  He lived in an apartment with his brother.  He decorated rather well for a 20-something guy, but his decor definitely included the expected beer bottle and alcohol themed art, in addition to a lot of framed artwork (a plus in my book as I equate framed art to being a grown-up) and some interesting pieces.  He folded all of his towels precisely and the bathroom was always clean.  He was a catch! 

I hadn't really dated anyone long term in a long time before meeting Nick.  In fact, I hadn't had any long term boyfriends who were not in college or living with their parents so seeing how guys really lived was novel to me.  They eat a lot of fast or frozen food and spend a lot of time on the couch, unshowered, watching sports.  Of course they have all the channels.  In fact, Nick seemed to have oodles of spending cash to spend on anything he wanted.  Unlike me, he wasn't paying off a car or student loans.  Instead of renting movies at Blockbuster, he would just buy them.  We went out to eat or for drinks constantly.  And I will never forget the first time we ordered pizza and ate it in bed, watching a movie.  I could count on one hand the number of times I had ever ordered a pizza!  He was even a regular at a Chinese delivery place.  One time we even went to Macy's to buy him new underwear (I thought that was a big deal for our relationship, for the record). Those early days of dating were so much fun and there was never a bad moment.  I wanted the weekends to stretch out forever and we usually packed an insane amount of stuff in between Friday night and Monday morning.  It was supposed to be a summer romance (that ended up turning into forever) and it was the stuff of stories. 

So back to the movies.  Before the previews started, there was a music video promoting a new song by Jack Johnson.  The whole thing is filmed in reverse and both the video and the song are EXCELLENT.  We both watched it enraptured, not wanting it to end, but when it did, we turned to each other and both gushed over how cool it was!  I bought the CD not long after that and it always reminds me of those early days dating Nick. 

Wild Thing by Tone Loc

I was waiting impatiently for Kevin G. and his mom to arrive to pick me up for swim practice.  The sounds of Wild Thing could surely be heard several houses away.  It was the song of the moment and I had the single - the record single.  My dad had a pretty sweet setup back then with an amplifier, multiple large speakers, record player, dual cassette player.  You could set it up any way you wanted to like rock, classical, ballroom; or adjust the treble and the bass just right.  Most importantly for my dad, it was super loud.  He loves it loud, as I think I have mentioned in a previous post.  I was pretty proud of my super cool taste in music and the sound system and I wanted it to be playing, loudly, when Kevin arrived so that I could impress him.  Did I mention I had an unrequited crush on him? 

So there I was, waiting, starting the record over and over so that it would be playing when he arrived.  This totally backfired of course.  The look on his face when I answered the door was priceless.  It was a combination of annoyance (why wasn't she watching out the window so she could run outside when we got here?!) and embarrassment (why did my mom make me go get her?!).  To make it even more awkward, I had to apologize for having to run back and turn off the stereo when we were probably already borderline late. Meanwhile, Kevin was already halfway back to the car in the middle of me saying anything.  The next time they picked me up, I am sure I was running out the door as soon as I saw the car pull up.   

What's Up? by 4 Non Blondes

Dorthe S. and I were in her room, primping to go to the Old Daddy Disco in Duisburg.  I had been in Germany for about a week, living with the S. family.  My orientation class was comprised of American high school students from all across the U.S., literally from Alaska to Maine. Alongside our daily classes in language and culture were several cultural excursions, but none more exciting to me than the disco.  So there we were, getting dressed up in our silk vests with jeans. Yes, vests!  They were the oh so cool look for 1993, just ask Season 2 of Beverly Hills, 90210!  The Old Daddy was kind of dingy and dark and Dorthe said it was the alternative disco.  Most discos at that time played a lot of techno and europop, but the Old Daddy was more about stuff like Morrissey and grunge music.

This pose totally qualifies for that
Awkward High School moments website!! 
What was I going for exactly??

We Americans immediately showed everyone how foreign and out of place we were by going out on the dance floor WHEN IT WAS EMPTY!  I also remember being shocked.  SHOCKED! To see some of the other Americans buying beer.  Yes, it was legal, but I was so terribly naive back then, not to mention pretty young.  I wouldn't turn 16 for another 2 weeks.  It was a fun evening getting to know my new friends in a social setting, outside of class, and I distinctly remember coming home disgusted by the smell of cigarette smoke in my hair and clothes.

Naturally, after experiencing my first taste of what no one my age back home in the U.S. would be allowed to experience for another 5 years, I decided to take this opportunity to change my image.  No one here knew anything about me!  Back home I was a band geek, but here I was a person who went places where there was drinking and smoking and dancing!  I could be anyone!  I remember writing in my diary that I might even buy a CD that was crazy out of character for me, like 4 Non Blondes!  So crazy!  The song What's Up? was a chart topper at the time and liking it hardly constituted someone doing something different or crazy or cool.  But for me, it symbolized breaking out of my shell, trying something new, being someone different.  In the end, that year in Germany was, in fact, transformational, even though I never did buy that CD. 

Zombie Nation by Kernkraft 400

Even though I was living in the East Bay and San Francisco for a number of years, it wasn't until 2002 that I really took advantage of how easy it was to go to Oakland A's games.  It was a quick BART ride after work and then on weekends there were tailgates!  2002 was a big year for me and Oakland A's baseball and I went to quite a few games.  It also happened to be a big year for the A's with an amazing, unstoppable pitching staff, including Zito, Hudson, Mulder, and Koch.  In spite of this, it was never difficult to get A's tickets and I almost always bought mine at the gate.  I went with friends, family, co-workers, anyone who wanted to go with me.  I always had a blast and I often "watched" the games I couldn't go to online if they weren't on TV and even listened to them on the radio.   Nick might've actually considered me a real fan that year.  I certainly am not much of a fan now.  Still call myself an A's fan, but I don't watch any games or follow them whatsoever. 

2002 was also the year of the 20 game winning streak.  I was very emotional watching the film Moneyball because it documented this entire year of baseball so well.  What a treat to have this great year that already stands out in my memory on film!  I went to 3 out of the 4 last games in the streak.  So typical of A's "fans", that 20th game, a Wednesday $1 hot dogs and tickets game, ended up completely selling out, including opening up some seats on Mt. Davis.  Luckily for me, my mom's friends had coincidentally bought tickets for this particular game ages ago, not knowing it would be such an historical event.  I had been offered a ticket.  It was such an amazing day.  It was an exciting game, coming down to the wire with a walk off home run to win the game and continue the streak, breaking a record.  There was this amazing energy, everyone on their feet cheering throughout the game.  I may have even cried when we won (there is no may have about.  I totally did).  We broke out in the Wave, which is really impressive with a packed house.  And of course, the strains of Oh-Oh-Oh softly coming in as Zombie Nation started playing, which served to energize the crowd even more.  I hear that song and think of a batter stepping up to the plate, the crack of the bat, the crowd cheering.  All the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings in baseball.  That is why I love it!

Children by Robert Miles

It was the summer after my freshman year in college, 1996, and I was back in Germany for a 2 month visit.  I had landed a 3 week summer internship at Hewlett Packard, thanks to Bastian's dad, which would end up paying for my fall semester tuition and also afford me plenty of time to enjoy the summer and my time in Germany.  Did I mention I was living at my boyfriend's house for the summer?  It was heaven.  There are so many memorable events and amazing stories from that summer, but today we are going back to the very beginning of the summer.  A group of friends were all meeting at the Kroko Kellar, a disco in Karlsruhe.  I had been there once before at the beginning of my exchange year in 1993.  Discos and drinking and techno and the whole scene was all very new to me back then and my first experience left me feeling mostly out of place.  Fast forward 2 years.  I was 15-20 lbs lighter, thanks to being finally diagnosed (and treated for) hypothyroidism.  I felt cute, stylish, and I was there with my boyfriend.   I also had an entire year of college behind me and felt completely comfortable with the drinking, dancing, party/club scene.  It was going to be a great night.

Tons of our friends were there and it was a big reunion for me.  I was enjoying myself thoroughly.  But the best part was yet to come.  One of the songs of the summer was by Robert Miles (Roberto Milano in Italian).  His music was very different than the cheesy Euro techno that had been popular up until then.  It was actually more trance than techno.  I learned that he created it because there were an extraordinary amount of car accidents caused by young people in Italy and his theory was that the music they listened to was too aggressive, causing them to drive aggressively.  His music had a driving beat, but it was more soothing, rhythmic, and calming.  It is really good stuff and immediately caught my ear that night in the Kroko Kellar.  But what caught my eye was this German guy doing the absolute, most perfect white man's overbite and air drums as he enjoyed the song.  Most American guys back home wouldn't be caught dead listening to techno, let alone visibily enjoying it.  It made my night. 

Have You Ever Seen the Rain by CCR

In a class of about 550, 6 of us were accepted to UC Berkeley and 3 of us attended.  Maggie C, Mikhaela D, and I were in a lot of the same classes in high school, but weren't close friends.  Mikhaela and I were close early in high school, but by the end we were in 3 different circles.  Maggie was in sports, Mikhaela was in Drama, and I was in the Band.  We weren't in any of the same classes at Cal as we again, went in 3 completely directions.  Mikhaela is now a doctor, Maggie's a lawyer, and I ended up in Marketing/Sales/Consulting.  What we DO have in common is that we all have naturally curly hair.  And one weekend my sophomore year at Cal, Mikhaela offered us a ride home to Turlock for the weekend. 

Mikhaela had a pickup truck and I seem to remember the three of us sitting side by side in the cab, cruising down I-5 (my preferred route and I was pleased that Mikhaela also chose this route).  We talked and talked all the way home.  At one point either on the radio or on a CD, I can't remember, John Fogerty starts singing Have You Ever Seen the Rain and all three of us chime in spontaneously with the chorus, singing happily with the windows down, hair blowing, in the middle of nowhere, California.  It was a great moment.  Maggie decided to drive her car back to Berkeley on Sunday and I rode with her, possibly because we both lived on the north side of campus so it was convenient this way.  We never carpooled back home again, but I am glad we did so at least once.  Maybe I will see both of them at our 20th reunion next year (if any of us go!) and we can reminisce!

Cattleprod by Lo Fidelity Allstars

Remember when I moved from the Mission District in San Francisco to Daly City and I had to buy a car?  My apartment was just far enough from the BART station to necessitate driving, mostly because the walk home was almost entirely uphill.  That was almost the extent of my driving - to and from BART, as well as trips to the grocery store or some other errand.  I took full advantage of my short little drives to play music at top volume in my car.  My rocking Hyundai with the CD player hooked into the cigarette lighter.  It was a little "me" time, alone in my car. 

Cattleprod was one of those songs that I listened to as I drove up, up, up to the top floor of the BART station to find a parking space or after work when I was winding down on my way home.  It has this killer beat and bass line that I couldn't get enough of.  My mornings could be really stressful because I started work at 8am, just like practically everyone else in San Francisco, which meant the parking lot filled up all at once and I could miss getting a space by a minute or two!  Eventually BART started charging for parking, with the option to purchase a reserved spot on the 1st or 2nd level.  I purchased the spot, not because it afforded me the flexibility to arrive at work whenever I wanted, but because I didn't need that kind of stress in the morning.  Yet there was something about the dark, concrete parking structure that I really liked because I felt like I could just blast the music almost in private and really listen to it, as opposed to being focused on driving.  My driving "skills" have been talked about before, so there is no need to point out that a parking lot/structure is probably one of the most distracting, accident prone places to be.  On the other hand, all of the commuters were on autopilot, just like me, so there was rarely a case of someone waiting on a space or driving slowly while looking for a spot.  Everyone knew to just keep going up, up, up to find the last remaining spaces.  Sometimes I really miss commuting and that "me" time.