Hanging Tough

I have so much to share with you guys, it’s really hard to know where to start. First off, we ended our stand off with Comcast by firing them. Getting everything reconnected with other providers has reminded me why I hate moving, and that customer service is truly dead in this country. I don’t understand why people who are incapable of showing even a modicum of civility insist on working at call centers. Surely they can find a better line of work. Like Satan’s helper or something. The result of all this is that we finally have cable (after missing pretty much every premier of the season) and we still have no internet or phone. Hence the no blogging. I will hijack a signal for this lone update, as several developments in my life are worth noting.

I turned 30 yesterday. Yes, 30. I feel no wiser. I do however feel more run down. I’m sure that has everything to do with my whirlwind birthday weekend though, and nothing to do with the fact that I just can’t hang any longer. To kick off the weekend (I use that term loosely, as it was Thursday) I went with 7 other fabulous ladies to re-live a part of our childhood. Well not mine apparently. Out of the 8 of us who were at the New Kids concert, only McD and I had never been before. Most of them had been to several. I was pretty certain I knew what to expect since I had been to other teeny-bopper boy band concerts. Only I was wrong. At this concert, there were no teeny-boppers. Only a bunch of 30-somethings that had seen better days. And could scream. I mean really scream. I later heard a DJ on the radio comment that you could tell that most of those women (almost exclusively btw) had been good looking their first time around with the New Kids. Only this wasn’t the first time around. A lot of miles had been put on that crowd, and they showed every inch of it. Jeez louise. I really enjoyed all the people watching. Including my own group. It was oddly comforting to know that 7 of the smartest, most successful women I know, could still be reduced to a quivering mass of girlish screams when confronted by a shirtless Jordan Knight. McD gets the trooper of the night award for dealing with that crowd, pregnant and in turn, totally sober. I briefly wondered if Jelly Bean’s ear drums would be damaged in utero by all the screaming and madness, but decided in the end the only result would probably be some kick-ass taste in music. I will be reminding him when he’s 14 and looking down his nose at boy-bands (as he inevitably will) that he has been to exactly the same number of NKOTB concerts as me. I also have to give a shout out to Jenny for enabling me to come thisclose to touching a New Kid. Sure I was pissed, at first, that she practically broke my arm when yanking me off the chair (yes I was standing on a chair). But when I realized she astutely figured out the bands escape plan and that it was directly past our seats, I wanted to kiss her. She had more luck on laying hands on Donnie. I was jealous. Really. 30 year old me has a thing for Donnie even though 13 year old me preferred Joey or Jordan. I think its because the Halfstreet has been watching Band of Brothers for the past month (annoying when you only get one disc at a time from Blockbuster online). It was surreal to see this man dodging grenades in World War II on my tv one night and the next to see him gyrating on stage and wearing glittery pants in person. As a special bonus, I also saw Jay-Z that night. No he wasn’t at the concert, but I bet he would have been if he hadn’t been playing at the House of Blues. He was at the 4 Seasons, where some of us had convened after the concert to relive the show, minute by minute. Awesome.

On Saturday (most of Friday was spent recovering and spreading the gospel of the New Kids to anyone who would listen) the Rice Owls won a football game for me! Before the game we tailgated, ate yummy food and cake brought by the HSH, and visited with friends new and old. After the game, we drank, sang songs in bars, and I pulled a 6 inch long nail out of a guys nose (don’t ask). It was really a perfect day. I even got to dance a little! Sunday I spent the entire day in my Pajamas, flipping back and forth between football and old movies (Dirty Dancing!). I consider it a totally successful birthday weekend.

Keep your fingers crossed that we get internet access back at the Halfstreet soon!