THE WORLD'S COOLEST ANIMAL...

...is an agile sea creature that has a fricken' sword on its face. The blue marlin gets my vote! Also hands down this fish wins for most ironic scenario in the following article.

Speared!

PETER "EDWARD" CETERA

OK, so that's probably not his real name. After browsing wikipedia I found that his middle name is really Paul. What a shame, because I really had a joke going there for a while. The music, cheesy, the shameless plugs, many, but good old ex-Chicago member Peter Cetera really spiced up a warm sunny afternoon on the Stanford campus. Apparently none of my peers seemed to know that this guy was a superstar! Well...in some circles...

He sang all his great tunes from his Chicago years, such as "25 or 6 to 4" as well as examples of his solo work in the 80s like, "Glory of Love." The latter was quite the crowd pleaser, as the local group around us belted out every last "I am the man who will fight for your honor!" The audience, which included a nearby seated Mike Montgomery, was in awe at our vocal mastery. I think that those who were in my age-group felt a bit out of place among the 50-somethings, who held the majority seating, but nevertheless it was entertaining.

All attention was focused on Mr. Cetera with the exception of a 5-minute moment where the mentally disabled teenaged son of a family attacked what appeared to be his mother. He grapled over a chair and was persistent to the point to where he actually tackled this middle-aged woman and began to bite pieces of her hair out. It was disturbing to watch, but we were all quite sympathetic to the situation in our gawking. Several people including the event staff, police, and what appeared to be a physician came to try and calm the young man down. Eventually he was controlled and escorted out of the ampitheatre area. Such a strange occurence, but I almost feel guilty writing about it since I understand that the boy probably did not have complete control over his actions.

The rest of the evening after the concert was filled with the sweet humming of "You're the Inspiration" as we cruised around Palo Alto and Mountain View searching for coffee. Definitely one of the most memorable moments I've had in a long time. Good music, good people, good memories, bad a-capella karaoke.

Here I am flanked by Audrey and Tram. Pete Cetera is the tiny man in the white blazer, centered on stage. Those are See's Candy Lollipops. I love me some See's. Oh, and the unfortunate incident described above can actually be seen taking place a little bit above and to the left of us! Umm...See's, thanks for being a sponsor!

SHOE FETISHISM

Growing up I've pretty much always hated shoe shopping. My mom used to drag me to Payless and I would get some cheap knock-off of some Reeboks or Nikes. They would fall apart in literal weeks due to my then active lifestyle. This continued for years in elementary school.

Then came 5th/6th grade. Shoes all of a sudden became a status symbol. In fact I think even socks became a part of this. No longer would we wear those hiked-up tri-colored tube socks that were so popular in the early-to-mid 80's. I eventually talked my mom into letting me get 'expensive' Nike shoes. They were of the 'air' varietal. I remember them now and I think I was ridiculous for wanting them. They were mid-top and had this ugly hot pink fabric along the ankle area. They also had that clear gel pocket for cushioning. What was I thinking?

So continuing on with the story...when I got home my father was pissed off at this purchase and demanded they be returned. I think they were $65 at the time, which in retrospect was probably a lot of money. Not sure what that comes out to taking into account inflation. So, I wore the shoes once, and that was in my bedroom when I brought them home. Then my dad saw the receipt.

These experiences taught me to really hate shoe shopping though. I've always had to just go right into the store and find exactly what I'm looking for or I leave. I can't stay in there for too long or I get antsy. I definitely can't try on more than 2 pairs of shoes during one sitting either. Fortunately, I think this aspect of my life is changing.

I'm finding that I'm interested in a larger variety of footwear. I like all the unique color combinations and almost appreciate some of these shoes as high art. I love my new Asics and I feel like I should get 2 more pair in other colors. I'm accessorizing like a teenage girl. I'm even looking online for my next purchase idea. Yesterday while I was in Berkeley getting a haircut, I stopped into the Adidas vintage store and came so close to buying this pair of white and loud green shoes. In some ways I regret not trying them on and eventually buying them, but I've been spending way too much money lately.

Time to save, but I don't know how much longer I can hold on before buying another pair.

MUSICAL TOYS!

It was shop-a-holic day in the South Bay. After pining over not buying an Odyssey White Hot putter, I invested in an electric guitar setup. Got the instrument, amp, stand, cable and a leather strap! Since I generally suck at guitar and this will primarily be used as a "learning instrument", I went with the Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus-Top in this crazy "Cherry Sunburst" flavor. I just spent the past hour crunching the bejeezus out of it and the amp. I am in love. Now I need some inspiration for song writing.

Here is what my baby looks like. I need to name her. "Melody" has been taken by one of my golf clubs.

NOTENT NOTABLES

-My sister is now married. I was part of the wedding party. Wore a tux. Fun times.

-I just got back from Puerto Vallarta where I didn't do much but lay by the pool with a nice coating of sunscreen spray.

-Just bought a pair of Asics Onitsuka Tigers in a brown/orange color scheme

-The right-side mirror of my WRX has lost its tension. It flaps in the wind. I'm pissed, but this gives me a good excuse to take my car in for a tune-up.