Metal Meredith

Given to me by Kym long, long, long ago.

1. Went to a parent/teacher conference today for Vivienne. It was a normal 9 week review. It seems that her teacher thinks she is pretty cool. She also says that Vivienne is respectful and has a positive attitude. I didn’t have the heart to ask her if she was sure she was thinking of the right kid.

I was so nervous last year going to talk to her teacher. But last year, her teacher could have been my mother. This year, her teacher is a good 15 years younger than I am. Technically, I suppose I could be her mother. Ouch.

But all in all, Vivienne is a good kid that is no dummy. She isn’t on a fast track to Mensa, either. But there is still time for that.

2. I did that sad shuffle into the voting booth today, knowing that it was for nothing. After 4 elections where I (finally) got to see what winning felt like, I am sad to say that this won’t be one of them. Its ok though, it is their turn. I really do hate having all that hold dear pooped on by the other side, though.

3. We all had lunch today with Phil in the fan. Very worth the lack of school today! Now tonight, I get to have dinner with a couple of friends that I very much enjoy decompressing with. Hooray!

4. Last night, I heard from Vivienne’s room, Phil say “I don’t think you can handle the ‘Dad-Kwan-Do’!

Last time I wrote about my experiences at Bunco with the preschool teachers and staff, I caught a lot of shit the next day from many of them. It appears that females who work at a church do not consider themselves “church women”. Unbeknownst to me, some took offense to this term. Apparently, using a descriptive like “church women” conjures up more of a Dana Carvey character than simply defining two aspects of their lives. I haven’t been invited to Bunco since.

This time, they decided to add a lot of alcohol to their system and things lightened up quite a bit. I won’t go into the conversations and the many things I learned. Mainly, because someone actually asked me if they had to worry about it showing up here now. In truth, the 15 people that read this don’t much care for gossip in the lives of others that I know. This also isn’t the place for me to share about anyone but me and my family. So, I will keep this quick and simple.

I was made a little fun of when I used the term ‘sofa’. I had no idea that this creates visions of Three’s Company in the heads of others when I use it. So when I got home, I had to ask Phil what he calls the large piece of furniture that warms our butts each night for hours while we play on computers and watch television. When he told me ‘couch’, I knew there was something behind my use of the word “sofa”.

So I did a little research. It took me about 15 seconds to figure it out. Tell me what you think:

I was lucky to see Madonna on the Drowned World Tour, August 11, 2001. Since I worked for the label, I was given free tickets, which was even more of a thrill. When she came onstage, I cried. Just a little, very quickly, but I did. I mean, there she was, Madonna! She was a bout 200 feet from me. In the flesh. It was pretty darn sweet.

When Kym called and told me that she was able to get another pair of tickets for free for the Atlanta show on November 24, it wasn’t hard to decide to go. Even if it took a plane and hotel reservations, it was worth it. Adding to the experience, we had seats all the way in the back, dead center in one of those foofy boxes.

In 2001, we danced, cheered, talked the whole way through. It was amazing. In 2008, we sat, watched and were mostly quiet. IT WAS LOUD, my ears still hurt. She rocked, she sang. She also lipsynced, had costume changes, preached, got sassy, pranced, threw tantrums and was calm. It was wonderful. It did lack the things that I loved about the other tour. The thread that should have pulled the whole show together was not there. There was not really a theme, which I suspect was the same thing that happened during the last tour with all that disco and equestrian stuff.

The graphics were sometimes cheesy but the times that they were good, they made me forget about the goofy 80’s video game lights and the NY subway numbers. She played songs that I have not heard her do before (although I am not a die hard fan, so forgive that I say this), like Borderline and Human Nature. Like a Prayer had the whole place testifying and Ray of Light was electric and loud. The whole thing was so much fun and such a good show.

So even though I crammed my ass on a plane, paid and extra $100 to upgrade to Business Class as to not impose on my fellow passengers personal space, and unsuccessfully fought off a cold, I had a wonderful time and would not have changed a thing. Thanks Kym for being a wonderful friend!