do you bleed black?

i spent the last few days hanging out in dallas. the wknd was set up as a half-half situation where half of my time would be spent with my cousins in plano and the other half would be spent hanging out with the fantastic di & stephen (a.k.a. the von spronstons), who were in town to support their buddy peter's band.

it was a wknd of diametric opposites to say the least. family time in plano was spent on activities such as watching my 11-year-old cousin's softball game (she hit a double, stole third and scored a run -- that's just how we kims do), eating pizza, watching episodes of gilligan's island with the 8-year-old dude and the 6-year-old dude (apparently that show is all the rage with the kiddies these days), helping my cousin and his wife pack up their house so they could put it on the market, learning how to change my air filter and FINALLY fixing my broken headlight with the help of my cousin and his numerous tools, helping my cousin practice for her upcoming violin recital, etc.

and then i left to meet up with di and stephen. we went to one of the diviest bars i've ever been to (where i was appropriately clad in a lacy white sundress - a slight departure from the t-shirts and black leather of the other bar patrons) in a sketchy part of downtown dallas. their friend peter's band was the first opener, and they were actually pretty good. not really my preferred style of music, but entertaining nonetheless.

the evening went quickly downhill thereafter (although uphill on the ridiculousness factor). the second band strummed their acoustic guitars, swung their long hair and stroked their long beards as they wailed out their mellow tunes and strangely resembled jesus christ in tight jeans and long shirts. the third band was a bunch of 40-ish looking men with endless tattoos, scrawny chests and stringy long hair. they BLARED hard metal for six or seven songs straight while i tried really hard not to run out the door screaming. they ended their set with "I HOPE EVERYONE BLEEDS MORE BLACK WHEN THEY LEAVE HERE TONIGHT!!!" (hmm, maybe i should start ending my karaoke performances that way -- it has quite a ring to it, a certain je ne sais quoi if you will).

oh well. the main band was interesting, although again, not really my style. they brought several chicks up on the stage to make out with each other. a bunch of wasted white dudes tried to mosh with each other. much to my amusement, i got hit on repeatedly (must have been the white lace dress? or the "one of the few non-caucasians" factor?). we got a kick-ass cab driver on the way back to the hotel who took us through the mcdonald's drive-through and laughed with us at the neon sign for the "condoms to go" store (you know, for all those times that you're really in a rush).

and then i made the scorching 3.5 hour drive back to austin, giggling along the way at the extremes of my wknd. when you somehow combine gilligan's island, violin recitals, bleeding black, and drunk 3 a.m. visits to the mcdonald's drive-through (in a cab), i'd say that qualifies as an interesting wknd.

and now it's time to gear up for another work week. it's going to be a long one -- clients visiting, one boss in germany and the other boss out on maternity leave, and several deliverables due. bring it on!