So, I'm back home in LA. The weekend with 730A_Trixel_Fem was wonderful. Friday we went to play her weekly pen and paper game. I'd never played them before, but they were all very nice people and they helped me play a minor character. A demon with a fondness for shiny things, dolls and pockets full of cockroaches for friends. Clearly I was born to play this character. 
Saturday we were up early to go to the Winnipeg Folk Festival. For over 30 years this fest has been going on in a huge park outside the city. Six stages, tons of booths, lots of people. We were only planning on staying a few hours. It was hot and dusty and windy and dry and we were all greased up with SPF 45...which of course didn't stop us from getting burnt. I got it on my left knee, my ears and my neck. Sigh. Anyway, we did manage to see a fantastic workshop featuring Neko Case, Kelly Hogan, Oh Susanna, Travis and Dallas from The Sadies, Jay Farrar, Vik Chestnutt and Righteous Ike. The topic was 'Tear in my Beer' or basically sad songs. They all did 3-4 songs each, playing off one another in a way only great musicians can. It was truly worth the pain.
We tried to find a few more stages to go to, but wound up in front of a stage with an annoying hippie jam band. I mean, how many fucking flute solo's can you have? Between that, the heat, the dust and the spastic writhing of the hippies, I just couldn't take it anymore, so we left. I'm with Cartman with his view on hippies. Give me Slayer. (Which oddly enough, we could have gone to see as they were playing Winnipeg on Sunday.) It would have been worth it if only for the crowd as The 'Peg is like the metal capital of the world.
Speaking of crowds, we took a brief nap and then went and saw WWE Smackdown at the arena downtown. About 6000 people cheered like mad for all the matches. Now, I'm a big goobery dork as you all know, so indeed, I've watched wrestling off and on since high school. Trixel expressed and interest and so there we were. Unlike the TV tapings, this was very old school; no pyro, no jumbotron, no extended storylines. Just the guys in the ring. And Smackdown is like second string too. All the really big stars are on Raw. And yet, the crowd ate it all up. No jaded chants of 'boring' here...which is actually pretty awesome especially since a lot of the matches were actually pretty crap. The final match saw the return of Batista and champion Rey Mysterio against Mark Henry and The Great Khali. Now the Great Khali is like 7 feet tall and 500 pounds...but he couldn't wrestle his way out of a paper bag. And Mark Henry...big guy, but if you're counting on a good match from him...um yeah. And yet, no one cared.
Sunday we were supposed to go out with Trixel's mom, but she wasn't feeling well, so we slept in. We finished watching the 'Wonderfalls' DVD's and it was awesome to share that with Trixel, as I hadn't watched the unaired episodes. We both really liked it and identified with the characters and situations. Then it was off to the Toad in the Hole for pub grub and to watch all the crazy Canadian-Italians drive up and down the main drag and set off fireworks in honor of the World Cup win. Then out for cakes and pies with my soon to be brother in law. We watched a 'Thin Man' movie then went to bed. We laughed a lot on Saturday and Sunday...we're both prone to hysterical fits. I love Trixel very much.
I miss her. It's going to be a bit before I see her again, but we both have a lot to accomplish in that time. 
Saturday we were up early to go to the Winnipeg Folk Festival. For over 30 years this fest has been going on in a huge park outside the city. Six stages, tons of booths, lots of people. We were only planning on staying a few hours. It was hot and dusty and windy and dry and we were all greased up with SPF 45...which of course didn't stop us from getting burnt. I got it on my left knee, my ears and my neck. Sigh. Anyway, we did manage to see a fantastic workshop featuring Neko Case, Kelly Hogan, Oh Susanna, Travis and Dallas from The Sadies, Jay Farrar, Vik Chestnutt and Righteous Ike. The topic was 'Tear in my Beer' or basically sad songs. They all did 3-4 songs each, playing off one another in a way only great musicians can. It was truly worth the pain.
We tried to find a few more stages to go to, but wound up in front of a stage with an annoying hippie jam band. I mean, how many fucking flute solo's can you have? Between that, the heat, the dust and the spastic writhing of the hippies, I just couldn't take it anymore, so we left. I'm with Cartman with his view on hippies. Give me Slayer. (Which oddly enough, we could have gone to see as they were playing Winnipeg on Sunday.) It would have been worth it if only for the crowd as The 'Peg is like the metal capital of the world.
Speaking of crowds, we took a brief nap and then went and saw WWE Smackdown at the arena downtown. About 6000 people cheered like mad for all the matches. Now, I'm a big goobery dork as you all know, so indeed, I've watched wrestling off and on since high school. Trixel expressed and interest and so there we were. Unlike the TV tapings, this was very old school; no pyro, no jumbotron, no extended storylines. Just the guys in the ring. And Smackdown is like second string too. All the really big stars are on Raw. And yet, the crowd ate it all up. No jaded chants of 'boring' here...which is actually pretty awesome especially since a lot of the matches were actually pretty crap. The final match saw the return of Batista and champion Rey Mysterio against Mark Henry and The Great Khali. Now the Great Khali is like 7 feet tall and 500 pounds...but he couldn't wrestle his way out of a paper bag. And Mark Henry...big guy, but if you're counting on a good match from him...um yeah. And yet, no one cared.
Sunday we were supposed to go out with Trixel's mom, but she wasn't feeling well, so we slept in. We finished watching the 'Wonderfalls' DVD's and it was awesome to share that with Trixel, as I hadn't watched the unaired episodes. We both really liked it and identified with the characters and situations. Then it was off to the Toad in the Hole for pub grub and to watch all the crazy Canadian-Italians drive up and down the main drag and set off fireworks in honor of the World Cup win. Then out for cakes and pies with my soon to be brother in law. We watched a 'Thin Man' movie then went to bed. We laughed a lot on Saturday and Sunday...we're both prone to hysterical fits. I love Trixel very much.
I miss her. It's going to be a bit before I see her again, but we both have a lot to accomplish in that time. VIEW 3 of 3 COMMENTS
And thanks for the encouragement and the offer. I'm going to PM my cell number to you.