saturday was ridiculously exhausting. i was already tired from the night before... then worked straight through a double shift. i ended up doing banquet stuff all day in a room inthe basement for bowling parties. it kind of sucked. i worked 3 parties back to back. one started at 11, ended at 1:30, the next started at 2, ended at 3, and then the next started at 3:30 and ended at 8. so 2 of the 3 parties, i had to magically have set up in a half hour. that was after breaking down the party before and clearing out the clutter. thank goodness i had help.

i went out with rita for ambush, and then we went to old school hip hop night at Hardware. i had fun for a bit but ended up really tired. i guess it was cliff's birthday? i had no idea. John and Mohammed also showed up. April also made a cameo... i stopped at the pink, and then made my drunken walk home...

they have a third bathroom at hardware??? this is new to me. so i took photos lol... they even have some weird extra nook in it.

friday was a whirlwind of school, then work, then rita's house, then going out madness.

work and school were pretty much the same. It was lobster night at work, so i was pretty busy all night long...

I ended up being able to make it to Rita's reading... last time it was at my house, so this time the reading was hosted at her house... next time, who knows! I was so impressed with everyone's reading and poetry. I loved it. I really do know a lot of great writers.

the night wound down, so we went to meet (e:yesthatcasey), (e:terry), and (e:paul) at OHM except they were getting kicked out just as we arrived... *rolls eyes* such delinquents. paul's cousins... melanie? and bob? were there. We went to cathode for drinks and some weird guys came over to chat with us because we were the "beard crew" which i guess is the coolest thing ever or something... or just a cheesy ice breaker. I ended up talking with terry about the reading, and we had come to some sort of conclusion, but i have no idea what it was.

we went back to their house for games but ended up watching comedy instead. everyone fell asleep, and it was really hard to get terry to get up to go to bed with paul upstairs but some how i managed it. their couch is extremely comfortable. i ended up falling asleep on my phone and was late for work saturday morning! >_<

I had an amazing thursday. I woke up to go to the botanical gardens with Jodie. She arrived with fresh made juice for me with all kinds of healthy things in it! it was so good! she's always great to be around. such a rush of energy...

I haven't actually been to the botanical gardens since i was a young child. the only thing i remember was throwing dirt into the fountains with my big brother... we were scolded by an employee.

we went through all of it, it was pretty cool. we even voted on the various series' they had going, on the art and designs. I really had a great time and i'd love to go back again. it was great to be around so much light and life.

we left, and i suggested we go to Pausa, the place i discovered only the day before (e:robert,57460) ... i'm glad i waited to go until i had company. I adored it. by this point, I was sure my photos were not saving (although clearly some did) so i decided not to take any. the inside was totally redone with beautiful wood surfaces, the decor was fantastic, the ambiance was perfect, and the sense of space was lovely. there was portuguese music playing, and wonderful art all over the wall. There was also a space in the back for music to happen. Pausa is classified as an art house - something I don't think i've really seen in Buffalo, before. I have to also add that we ordered food, and it was awesome. the coffee was good, and served in really cute cups with saucers, which sort of encouraged us to get up and walk around with our coffee (idk why, maybe because the saucer would catch our inevitable spills?)

we ordered Xenakis to start, then i had the cage (a sandwich) and jodie ordered the copland, a ham and cheese sandwich. here's their website.

I loved it. I can't wait to go back.

the rest of the day... i'm not really sure what I did? I think i just lounged around. moodiness happened. I got over it.

then friday happened.

there are so many different colors in my beard. black, blond, various browns... and best all, red. i might go chops.

last Wednesday I went to see Purity Ring. It was amazing. a coworker/friend Corina, (e:xandra), (e:yesthatcasey), (e:terry), (e:paul), and Rita all went as well. unfortunately, i left my phone at home and could take NO pics... i don't think any one else but paul posted photos? (e:paul,57461)

the opener, Blue Hawaii, started as kind of a snooze but then picked up pretty quickly. I ended up really liking them... a lot. it was kind of like grimes meets young magic, but with more structure, and better to dance to. here's their bandcamp. Her voice has an intensity live that is lacking a bit her recordings. I prefer the live better.

Purity Ring was even better in Buffalo than they were in NYC at the Hammerstein, back in january. In jan, it sounded more close to the album, but in Buffalo i could see that they had made an effort to mix things up. they performed at least one new song, or cover. i thought someone said it was a cover, but i couldn't recognize it.

the night ended strangely... we tried to go to tranceformation, but we got the date wrong, and ended up at broadway joes for a hardcore show with men punching air. it was surreal. then we went to cathode, where NO music was playing, and everyone lurched to stare at us when we walked in, and everyone just seemed generally annoyed... so we quickly left and went to Q which was also strange, but there was a juke box, so i guess we stayed because of that. the bar tender was a total douche.

Rita drove me home and i stayed up thinking for a couple hours.