Keller, how much do we love thee? Let us count the ways!

Ahhh....
A big breath of relief after a great weekend that was much needed by yours truly.
A few weeks ago I got an email from Liz & Dave, some old friends of my Wilmington days. They live in VA now, and are connected with a group of folks who throw a private mini-festival at their farm. They get a few groups to play, have a potluck, everyone camps out, and it's a fun little throw-down. This year, Keller and the Keels were playing. Needless to say, I was excited to get an invite to this exclusive little shin-dig!
It was a big weekend for Orion, too, as it was his first sleepover at Grandma's house! Saturday morning we packed up the Subaru, dropped Orion off with Jo Ann, and headed 4+ hours to north VA. We gave our names at the gate (guest list only - how cool are we??) handed over our $20, and rolled in to park on the grass near the barn. We set up our tent (leaving about 2/3 of what we packed in the car - no need for the camp kitchen or screen tent!) and got ready for a good night of music.
Only down note was the appearance of Patrick, that jerk of an ex boyfriend of mine. I swear, D.C. is not far enough away - I keep running into him at events that should be no-worries, all-fun. His presence adds a terrible awkwardness to everything. And this was too small to avoid him. Oh well.
We went up to the barn and took part of the massive potluck, sitting down to eat just as Keller came up to do a sound check. He sang "More Than a Little" for us while we ate. That was awesome enough - but then Russell had the genius to call out, "Keller, have you eaten?" "No!" "Do you want a plate?" "YES!" and off ran Russell to fix a plate for Keller! He took it backstage and got to shake the man's hand. Good for him!
Following dinner we had four sets of Awesome music to enjoy: Keller with drums and keyboards backing him up first, and man did they jam it out! Serious funk-dance set with a lot of my favorites, including "Golden Years" by David Bowie, "Scarlet Begonias>Stayin' Alive" and "Victory Song". What a set! He was so close to us (we were front-center dancing like fools) and he even asked us to help him remember the second verse to a Dead song mid-set. Man I love that KW! After the set, I asked if I could have the song list and he gave it to me, right off his mic! Another little something to add to our growing "Keller shrine" (as Russell calls it).
Then the Keels with Natural Bridge played, then Keller with the Keels, then an all-out jam with everyone involved. It got very reggae late night and was super fabulous!
During that last set we were once again close to Patrick and his girlfriend Rebecca in the crowd. Tired of the weirdness, I decided to make a peace offer and walked over to say hi. He was obviously not happy to be talking to me, but she certainly was. We ended up hitting it off and talked animatedly for a bit before I left them to their devices.
After the show, we went back to the tent and decided to skip the late-night partying and get some sleep. Despite the neighbor in the nearby tent snoring like a bear, the folk a few yards off blasting dub-step techno music, and the general ambiance of late-night campers, I passed out and slept till 8am. Beautiful!
We hopped up to pack up and get on the road... At which point Rebecca came back over to chat some more. I always find it amusing when the new flame of an ex ends up being an interesting person to me; guess it makes sense that we'd be similar and have plenty to talk about. She seemed really nice, super smart, and talented - a playwright, even! Too bad for her, dating him... I hope he manages to get past some of his personal hang-ups before he wastes her time and energy like he did mine. He certainly didn't seem to have dealt with any of his baggage in relationship to me. And he still looks like hell. Oh well! The best revenge is to live well, and I've certainly done that. Not so sure about him!
In any case, that didn't dull the weekend for us at all. I've always dreamed about seeing KW in a small venue again, where we could actually get some good face time with him. He's still our most favorite musician! I love his vibe - so chill, so humble, so ridiculously talented. He plays set lists right out of my head... Thank goodness for the good vibes!

Orion Report!

He's a moving little man! He's a seriously fast crawling machine! He is also completely unafraid of climbing the stairs, sticking his hands out he cat door, pulling up on anything available, and pushing empty cardboard boxes around the room. Chase the cats? Sure! Follow Mommy around? Absolutely! He keeps me running!
He's also finally starting to show real interest in solid food, and of course he only wants what I eat. So he ate a piece of everything bagel the other day. And he loves orange slices!
Tonight he's asleep in his crib for the first time... We'll see how that goes. Hopefully well. He looked awfully comfy.
This weekend is going to be a big step for him, too, because he's getting to sleep over at grandma's house while Russell and I are away for the night! I hope he does well. I've been telling him how much fun he's going to have.
He's very chatty, making all sorts of funny sounds. He also now waves and claps along with me, so I've started doing some signs with him. We know Mommy, Daddy, Stop, and Home... We'll see if he takes to it. I think he will!
We play in the sun sometimes during the day and it always yields some great pictures. He's been having fun with dandelions!
Enjoy the baby love!

Another Day, Another Decision!

Russell was accepted to Dominican University's "Green" MBA program! It's a Master's in Business Administration in Sustainability Application. That's a mouthful, but what is boils down to is this:
Russell can finish the degree in 2 or 3 years, depending on the course load he takes. The program assumes the students are also working full time, so the classes only meet Friday-Sunday every other week. Russell will be able to work part-time while working on a degree, which is excellent for us. The degree, coupled with his background in contracting and construction, will lead to excellent job opportunities in the green building and retrofitting industry; with some experience, Russell could work as a consultant and kick some eco-butt. Love it! He's very excited - and so are the folks at Dominican. They told him how interested they were in the stuff he wrote about in his application essay. He worked on that for weeks; I helped him edit it, and I think it was excellent by the time he sent it in! He spoke primarily about his intentions towards creating a more sustainable world. We're both excited to be living on the West Coast, where sustainable daily practices are more widely and easily practiced. Street-side composting? Sweet. I'm also aiming for a bike-friendly neighborhood. And ooh ooh baby the farmer's markets!
But I digress...
A few days later, I got a letter from HSU - and I knew it was a rejection letter the second I saw the envelope. I can't say it isn't disappointing, of course, but in a way I was relieved. We always intended to go to the North Bay area if Russell got into school, regardless of whether I did. I'm also really not sure I wanted to do the program. I feel like I can find a position working with someone who knows how to do the higher level construction methods for costuming - an apprenticeship, basically. There are so many groups that use costumes regularly where we're headed, for whatever reason - and people just dress more interestingly in general. Inspiration's coming my way, I do believe - I just need to get there. Something good is going to come of it.
The best part of that letter, however, was that they didn't actually reject me. They decided (late in the game) not to accept any new students this year - and therefore refunded me the application fee ($50, sweet!) and told me to apply again next year, plus send all my materials back as well. No harm, no foul.
And now we have a slightly more focused aim - North Bay area. Not San Francisco proper, though Russell could very well end up working in the city somewhere. Dominican is in San Rafael, so we'd want to live within about 30 minutes of there. And Oakland is a less expensive area, though you have to pick your neighborhood with some consideration. We're also looking north, where it's slightly more rural, for housing.
In a few weeks we're having a yard sale and selling just about everything we can. We're hanging on to a few pieces of furniture and a some of our personal stuff, electronics, etc... I'm excited to be lighten our psychic load a large amount. A small pile of the larger stuff is already gone; and I have another couple of large pieces to post for sale.
Three months... It's mid-April; the other night I was laying in bed, and I suddenly had the sensation of a rollercoaster click-click-clicking away up that slope, heading for that exhilarating fall into a whole new way of being. It's going to be a hell of a ride. We're so excited! It's good to see it start falling into place.
But then I look around, and I realize we've got three weeks to move out of this house, and I think, holy shit - why am I writing this blog? Time to pack a box...