ok...here's the short version:
friday night--watched punch-drunk love @ dave's
saturday--went to the beach & vacuumed (no joke) AND did laundry
saturday night--went to the watchers show w/ boas & 90 day men @ schubas
sunday--went to hyde park vineyard w/ ted & dave
sunday afternoon--went to a welcome home party for a marine, the son of ted's family friends
sunday night--played scrabble @ dave's

and now for the long version:
so friday, when i got off the train after work, it was drizzling in the city...no biggie...the rain was refreshingly cool for an august late afternoon...then as i walked the 6 or so blocks from the train station to my apartment, the sky kept changing anywhere from an oscillating lawn sprinkler to godzilla-sized water balloon guided missiles aimed at my head ...did i mention i chose this day to ignore my little umbrella sitting on my coffee table as i ran out the door in the morning? i was pretty much drenched by the time i got home...surprisingly enough, i didn't mind the rain...i didn't run (i was too tired anyway) or duck into one of the 4 drinking establishments on my route home...i just walked and accepted the dowsing...it was quite soothing, really...

friday night we watched punch-drunk love @ dave's...i've put off seeing that movie for months now, mainly because i plain forgot about it...it was done by the same dude who did one of my favorite movies, magnolia...now i'm not a major film buff by any means, although i do have a facets membership, so i don't know what kind of intelligent commentary i can make about this movie...i have to say though that adam sandler's performance blew me away...the story just makes you wanna cry and fall in love...it reminds me of crime and punishment...and even the brothers karamazov which i'm only 10% done with (dostoevsky is on my top 5 authors list)...adam sandler's character, barry eagan, is an extreme portrayal of the inability to communicate or connect that so many people experience...watching this movie was at times gut-wrenchingly painful...but it was a beautiful experience none the less...

saturday night was the watchers show @ schubas as part of the 5th annual summer on southport music fest...they were opening up for boas and 90 day men...ted & i got there early and hung out w/ ethan the guitarist for watchers...teddy still plans on playing music w/ ethan even though he's not drumming for watchers any more...he loves making music w/ ted and calls him his musical soul brother...it was good seeing ethan again as always...we haven't been seeing him much any more since he stopped spinning @ get me high lounge...it was a crowded show, so i'm glad the show didn't sell out before i got there...we saw all the same people we normally see @ watchers shows...erin, ethan's friend, who works @ the planeterium...she's a lot of fun to be w/ @ shows and not at all a snobby scenester and is all-round sweet...damon & wayne of the eternals were there...andy, the guitarist for okgo and michael's former roommate...he's grown a mustache & i didn't recognize him...he & teddy were talking for a while, and i kept thinking to myself that i knew this guy from somewhere...ran into mike kinsella and his best friend matt...joel, detholz's roomie...libor, michael's roommate, who i haven't seen since the last watchers show...miss mia of the band kim & pandapanda & hostess of chicago's chic-a-go-go, a local cable dance/music show for kids was totally getting down to the watchers's set (she's so cute...and cool...she's my new role model, as she knows how to get her rock on and plays the drums! oh, and she's korean to boot!)...watchers rocked to a full house...i've never seen them play a show in chicago that wasn't crowded...they played a few new songs since the album, including that one i like where ethan does that digadigadiga thing on his guitar...the stage was kinda tiny for michael's crazy moves, but he managed...he plays with the microphone/mic stand like an instrument...

i didn't take any photos at this show cuz ted wanted me to just watch the show with him for once, and i was fine with that...it's a lot of work taking pictures of those guys anyways cuz michael just moves way too damn much for my camera...ted & i were exhausted after the watchers' set, and we sat outside the music room for the boas' set...i have to say though that i really loved what i was hearing...i don't know anything about that band but they really made me want to buy their ep...you may think that's not saying a lot, but i have raised my standards for purchasing cds...i will definitely want to see boas again in the near future...90 day men were awesome too...really psychedelic and nothing like what i was expecting...i thought they were going to be more spastic punk, but it was really melodic and even symphonic...

sunday, ted & dave & i went to church @ hyde park...'than was leading worship w/ the nicholson family band--bethany on vocals, christopher on bass & peter on drums...it was good seeing faces from evanston...although i have to admit i did not even come close to recognizing christopher...there was a time when i was at least twice as tall as him...now, he's got a good head above me i'm sure...we went straight from church to a party out in bolingbrook, where ted was born, to the house of a family friend...their son just returned from iraq and they were throwing him a welcom home party...the place was packed out, in the house and in the yard...i don't think i've ever done anything so suburban in my life...quite a cultural experience...ted's sister lauren was catering w/ her espresso catering service...lauren is a barista extraordinnaire...we love all her coffee concoctions! they're so yummy! she made me this iced thing w/ nuts & whipped cream that was absolutely delish!

anyways, we were totally exhausted by evening when we got back to the city...oh, it rained buckets that afternoon! we hung out @ dave's & made superthincrust pizzas and played scrabble...it was teddy's first time playing and i think dave & i both wanted to throttle him because he kept complaining about not knowing how to spell and he was whupping both our literary asses...he won the game on a double word score on 'TOY.'

now i'm exhausted again and i'm gonna stop now...

been listening to--
my year in review--VoL
taking a chance on chances--troubleman compilation
more motion--trenchmouth