2004-08-10 - 3:57 a.m.

Tuesday was Harry and the Potters and three other bands at the Middle East. Friday was Muck and the Mires and the Coffin Lids at the Abbey (where, sadly, the shy girl I met at the Big Company Irish Boss sendoff, her being shy and all, and who the Roommate would have loved, didn't show). Saturday was the Silver Lining, plus three other bands (although I wasn't really watching the last one) at crappy P.A.'s, the bar that raised the bar for intentionally cruel squandered potential in the realm of music venue. Seriously. I have seen so many good bands there, and no bar is less deserving. I�d rather go to Johnny D�s.

Count the last band (of which I have no memory), and all told, that makes ten bands in one week. Pretty good, if you ask me.

On Saturday, after that outstanding Friday night Coffin Lids show (as well as an early morning what to wear meltdown of girlish proportions resulting in an ill-advised but in retrospect plucky shopping spree), the Roommate and I walked all around--she ended up at the Judy Jetson hair salon and I went to Great Cuts in Harvard. Our disappointment was proportionate to price, but at least we both got checked off the list, and I got a pair of Chucks while I was waiting. It was kinda funny, actually--Chucks fit weird and I wanted to try on four sizes �cause I didn�t want the salesperson to have to run around. She was miffed at first but then I explained it better and then she became appreciative. It�s a better story when I�m telling it to you, trust me.

From there to the striped bass festival at the Cambridge Brewing Company in Kendall, where I had possibly the best meal of my life, soured only by my guilt over picking the best entree and sticking the Roommate with the runner-up (but it's always a roll of the dice at a restaurant, and our positions have been reversed many a time as well, and parity is the norm anyway). It was that good of a meal. Seriously.

Coffee. Beer. Coffee. Beer.

I mean, that's a winning combination after a week of working. And that's what I did.

I talked the Roommate into holding off on a winter coat that she thinks is a fall coat from Absolutely Fabulous. She looked great in it, but at the same time she's been looking so hard for a good coat and I didn't want her desire to get it over with to get the better of her. She did the same for me a couple of weeks ago, and I was glad to return the favor.

And walking. Lots of walking.

I was pretty toasty by the time I got to the Silver Lining show, and hopefully I�ll be remembered as endearing as opposed to slobbery.

Sunday was a really bad hangover and cheese blintzes at the S&S (which I learned while waiting for a table was from the Yiddish es and es or eat and eat, and I also learned that many years ago, you could get an extra dry martini for ninety cents. The Roommate had eggs oscar, which was quite the adventure for her, and a strawberry mimosa.

From there we went to the toy store where I got one of those Christmas bell velcro bracelets, and I really enjoyed wearing it as we aimlessly walked to Central, trying to figure out what to do.

It�s okay to waste time on a Sunday in midsummer, but the extra daylight mocks you when you feel like you�re wasting time. We cleaned our living room closet, resulting in an extremely clean closet, a tiny wooden rocking horse that I found on the street that is now brandishing freshly washed yarn hair (Tide, by the way), and in the hallway, a pile of those clothes that you can�t bring yourself to throw away because it�s possible that someday there might be an outside excuse for wearing them again.

So, closet-wise, we won the war, but as far as the battle goes, the Red Cross is late in arriving.

The bright spot of Sunday was that I taught the Roommate how to play the bass. It�s going to happen. I had a good approach to teaching her (if I do say so myself--Smells Like Teen Spirit and the opening bass line to the Kids in the Hall theme song for something else to practice), and she picked up so much in one day--I can tell that if she practices and practices and practices, she can one day match Krist Novoselic and Reid Diamond combined.

And beyond.

Today was sad for me, especially since I didn�t know when it was going to happen for real. Caitlin--my buddy from work, is switching her hours to daytime, so I�m not really going to get to hang out with her anymore. I do get to see her, and I do get a new person that�s cool (her friend Jody, actually) out of the deal, but she�s not Caitlin and I�m just really sad.

Working buddies are rare for me, and things just came so easily for me when she was around. I could talk to her about anything, and she was so compassionate, and we really did have a great understanding about each other. We had great running gags, and were able to make each other laugh effortlessly, and when the jokes were bad, we just made some more jokes like an elderly couple pretending the other one didn�t just fart, �cause one�s on the way anyway.

And when it came to the actual work part--she held it down as well as I ever did and I really enjoyed being able to slack for a night here or there and know I could get away with it. I had it really friggin� good when it came to that department (and I knew it), and it�ll be a long while before I get that back again.

It takes a hell of a lot of character to be able to be my work partner, too. But she was able to deal with me (and I her), and we never got sick of each other too much...and we�re talking more than a year of cop-buddy close, and although she�s still working with me, to use a tired yet applicable expression, it�s never going to be the same, and so I�m pretty darn sad about that.