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Future's so bright I gotta wear shades...
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22 June 2002
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I am still reeling over the excitement that is next year: I get to keep my position at school. It was a big load off my back - huge, humongous!
Now I am able to spend my summer without worry of next year's job. This is definitely a good thing. I am not doing summer school for the first time, and I really didn't want my summer tainted with the doom and gloom of not knowing what I'd be doing come Fall. Nope, sending out dozens and dozens of newly-written resumes was not my idea of a great vacation sport! No worries! Yay for me!
Sounds of Hawaii
My teacher-friend, Katy, and I went to Irvine to enjoy an outdoor concert of the Sounds of Hawaii. We rented a hotel suite so that we wouldn't have to make the long drive home late at night. All was set for a glorious weekend.
After checking into the suite, we got ourselves all gussied up (in a casual and comfortable way) and made our way to the area where there might be FOOD. We were hungry! Our hotel was in a very commercial area, and it was dead. Very dead. There was little to no traffice and everything seemed so deserted! However, it is apparently bussling during the week. Little to no people is good. It's very good. Less traffic. Less chaos. Less confusion!
On the flip side, it also means very little choice regarding places to eat. The hotel lady told us (after coming in to replace a t.v. cable - apparently the previous residents believed complimentary VCR meant that they could take it home with them) that the only places to eat in the area were in the mall. So we drove to the mall. Hello! Apparently everyone who normally lives in the area (that doesn't commute on the weekends back to their real homes) goes to this mall. It was as close to surreal as a mall can be. The streets were deserted. The commercial businesses were deserted. But the mall? EVERYone was at the mall!
We drove around and around trying to find a spot. We finally ended up driving back behind the mall to come up on the other side. There seemed to be a few spots over there. Good grief! We'd definitely be working off our meal when walking to and from the restaurant.
We looked around to find a suitable restaurant, and we finally came upon this huge monstrosity (is that redundant? Heh!) that was D&B's--Dave and Buster's. It was a combination bar/arcade/restaurant. It was all housed in a 55,000 sq. foot building. Yeah, it was huge! It was like a little casino for families! Pool tables lined one part of the wall. There was a big bar that had four sides, each measuring 21 feet because one of the owners (David or Buster) is a Blackjack fanatic. It was a neat place, and we were not disappointed in the restaurant at all!
Once you walked past the bar and the pool tables, you get to the restaurant. It was pleasant looking, and once inside, the noises of the game rooms were but a memory. It was relatively quiet in there, with the exception of pleasant bantering heard from one table or the other.
The menu items all looked delicious. Since I am watching my weight, I decided to go with a Jack Daniel's BBQ chicken breast with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans. NUMMMMMMMMMY! It was absolutely delicious. (If you have a D&B's anywhere near you, I highly recommend it!) We had a nice waiter and a nice conversation. The whole experience was well worth the frustration of trying to find a space in the parking lot!
We were running a little behind and needed to hurry to get to the concert in time. We paid the bill and did some speed walking back to the car. No matter how hard I try, I will never ever be a fast walker. It's just not in my genes! Heh!
The concert left little to be desired. Oh, I'm sure it could have been good if there hadn't been so many things going against us. First, we found a parking spot and trudged up to the entrance only to be denied entrance because I had a camera. I said that I would not use the camera, but that wasn't good enough. We were sent packing back to the car. Yes... We actually could NOT bring a camera into the OUTDOOR arena (or whatever it's called). That pretty much had me in a ticked-off kind of mood from the start. I have never heard of being denied access to a concert because of a camera. Yes, I have heard announcements saying no photography or no flash photography, but to be sent trudging back to the car? Hello!
Once we got inside, we looked to see where the stage and seating were and we just couldn't help but laugh. We were basicalling walking back towards our cars then up a very steep hill. Yep, no worries about the four mozarella cheese sticks that I treated myself to! Nope... Those calories were definitely getting worked off. The rampe was really steep!
Once we got up there, we saw that they had a lot of tents/booths of different things. We found one that was selling some wine cuz Katy desperately wanted some! Heh! I bought myself a Jack Daniel's Linchberg Hard Lemonade. (I have no idea how to spell that, and I'm not looking it up!) Then we made our way up another long and steep ramp to get to our seats. It was, in no way, a sold-out function, so there were lots and lots of empty seats where we were sitting. Even below us were empty seats. We considered moving down later, but we were comfy.
Katy, who is familiar with many Hawaiian singers and performers, had not heard of anyone who was performing tonight. That's okay! We just wanted to relax and enjoy a Hawaii priming - getting ready to head to the Big Island.
At the break, Katy went to get another glass of wine, and I went to get myself a big, soft pretzel. (That was a waste of money - yuck! - live and learn.) When we made our way back to our seats, we decided to go sit a bit lower. More performers came on to sing to us and entertain us. Although it wasn't the kind of Hawaiian music that I was expecting, it was still nice and entertaining. However, the people behind us disagreed. For thirty minutes or more, they yelled out, "That's not Hawaiian music!" "Hell, no!" "When are we going to hear some Hawaiian music?" "Since when do Hawaiians use saxophones in their music?" You get the idea. Argh!
Katy and I turned around doing our best "looks", but it apparently was to no avail. They then went to their telephones to complain to their friends. "Yeah, we're in the same f'in place!" "It f's!" Yada yada yada.
Katy and I got fed up and we left. She was tired, and the concert was nearly over. It was a definite learning experience. It was not worth the money for the tickets, however. Katy was a little miffed that there were no programs, so we had no idea who was singing what. It was a big disappointment.
But we got down off the rock this weekend. (Read, "We got out!")
The weekend wasn't a total bust. We were in good company and had a great dinner! ;-)
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