. . .Because everything is never as it seems. . .

. . .please take me away from here. . . - Owl City's "Fireflies"

It seems like September and October are always weird months for me. Every few years, it's as if the chapters in my life transition in the way that seasons change. Today is Halloween the day we all dress up and pretend that we're something we're not. Went to a party last night, I was a dinosaur, or in some instances I apparently looked like "Puff the Magic Dragon." Orange Rice Krispie Treats were in order. Also learned the hard way about why some children's costumes are so darn expensive as I embarked on the task of being a Halloween elf to make my friend's autumn fairy skirt by hand. It's super cute and I can't wait to see the whole costume in photos from tonight's party.

In the past couple of weeks, I've enjoyed going to DineLA's restaurant week. Had some excellent meals at Akasha, Beacon, Daily Grill, Maison Akira, and Cafe Was. Caught up with friends and co-workers. And the best one was the combo of Cafe Was which is owned by Ivan Kane (owner of Forty Deuce) and a Curtis People's singer/songwriter night. It just worked out that Curtis was filling in for a friend who normally has the gig. I was happy as a clam since I hadn't been to a small acoustic show in what seemed like forever. Tony Lucca, Dave Yaden and Keaton Simons joined Mr. Peoples on the tiny rotating stage and did a fantastic job and even played quite a few of my favorites and even covered Michael Jackson. I needless to say was so happy that people were making fun of me.

Last weekend I played "Trojan Football Fan" for alumni weekend. Awesomeness with cocktail parties, catered tailgates and good times with college friends. Wanted to be back in school when we went to the "Youth In Revolt" screening for the cinema class. It's the new Miguel Arteta film starring Michael Cera and is produced by the Weinstein Company. I enjoyed it immensely, however I'm not so sure why the heck they chose to show that during the "Parents Weekend."

Tony Lucca's still got one more date for his residency at Hotel Cafe on Wednesday. Last week was all things Jack's Mannequin (well sorta, it was more just Andrew McMahon). Two solo shows and one docu screening and a lot of little sleep. And as usual there were classic moments of awkwardness. Strongly dislike the HOB of Anaheim for messy pre-sale and stupid ideas of putting general admission upstairs where NO ONE can see. The docu, "Dear Jack" was great and very real with all the needles and such that I had to look away from b/c it freaks me out too much. It was directed and produced by two ex-MTV News producers and one of my friends actually shot some of the footage. Yay!

Contemplating what's next and taking the advice of Mr. Simmons pretty seriously on Twitter. Have a Happy Halloween!

Tears

The past two days have been been full of tears. Yesterday they were for all the craziness that I was dealing with because of work and another incident.

Today they're b/c heaven has another angel because of a horrible disease called cancer. We won't forget you Matt.

Just one spark starts a fire. With one little action. . .

Yes, I just quoted a Disney song.

The title lyric comes from the Disney Channel's "Send It On" song that's part of "Disney's Friends for Change" Green Project. It really is amazing what people can do if they come together.

A perfect example of this is the fan based organization 11:11AM. What started out as a group of fans who were scattered across the country, has turned into a turnkey operation that raises money and awareness for pediatric cancer research. Yes I happen to be friends with the treasurer, but that's besides the point. They're out there getting the word out and doing something.

Another non-profit that I learned about recently is a Los Angeles based non-profit called Urban Possibilities. A new co-worker introduced me to. Los Angeles is the homeless capital of America and her organization helps the homeless rehabilitate by giving them the opportunity to learn life-skill tools.

These aren't people who are celebrities who get behind a cause for one reason or another. They're real people just like you and me who make a difference.

Maybe I'm just in one of my "do-good" moods again. But I feel like we're all on this planet for a reason and we've got to do our part to make the best of it.

Too Much Food. . .

Over the last week it's all been about food. Last Saturday was fondue party and all its yummy goodness with good friends. This past week was a bit of a roller coaster. Mid-week baked the first layer cake with help of co-workers kids. Friday was Soup Plantation and "500 Days of Summer." So not what I expected the story line to be but completely wonderful and made me want to get the soundtrack and the new Regina Spektor album.

This morning I rushed out the door to catch the AMC $6 showing of "Julie & Julia." Absolutely loved that and made me want to see if I my mom's cookbook library has any Julia Child books in it. After helping my friend apartment hunt around town we went down to Torrance to Musha to have Asian tapas dinner. Pure awesomeness with pork belly and risotto. And we went to Glacier for out of this world home made ice cream in Manhattan Beach. Seriously this mom and pop ice cream store that originated from Boulder, CO makes specialty flavors like Banana Carmel Crunch and a variety of different flavors that rotate.

Never Say Never

So this week has been all things The Fray and Jack's Mannequin mixed in with a touch of old school funk but I'll get to that later. Last week I was watching the KTLA morning news and caught them talking about the Donate Life Concert Series that they do with the local radio station MyFM (both stations are Clear Channel owned) at downtown's LA Live's Grammy Museum. The KTLA newscasters mentioned going to the website to win passes to upcoming The Fray event. So I entered the online "contest" for a pair of passes.

That same afternoon I got an email telling me to RSVP and that I had won two passes. So the trick was trying to find someone I knew who didn't have to be at work between 8AM and 10AM on a Monday morning. Needless to say trying to fill that guest spot resulted in failure so I attended by myself. I really enjoyed the event but I have only two bones to pick with the people putting on the event.

1. Brief the artist on the schedule and the CHARITY
2. If the audience isn't allowed to shoot photos and will get yelled at quite sternly by security, tell them BEFORE hand that photography will not be allowed while in line and in the email.

The Jack's Mannequin / Fray show down in Irvine's Verizon Wireless Amphitheater was quite excellent. I love that JM sped up the tempo on almost their entire set and opened with "Dark Blue."

Doing Good

As you may or may not be aware, I like supporting a variety of charities. Maybe it was the twelve years of being a Girl Scout, who knows. Anyway the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is celebrating its 60th birthday and one of my favorite bands, Jack's Mannequin has a national team for the annual Light The Night Walk events. It's pretty awesome that Tina Fey is this year's national spokes person.

I've got to get out and do more good things. Not just raise money and donate money. That reminds me that I finally got my letter in the mail from Pantene Pro-V's Beautiful Lengths program that works with the American Cancer Society to provide free real-hair wigs to women with cancer. Pretty awesome.

My friends with Music Saves Lives are back out on the Warped Tour. I hope to see them as Warped celebrates its 15th anniversary. Yay!

sometimes love comes around. . .

It's funny how much love is in the world right now with the passing of music icon Michael Jackson. I watched last part of the BET Awards and it was nice to see how the teams at BET and John Cossette Productions pulled together to turn the show into a tribute to the late entertainer. I have to say that I admire the courage that Janet Jackson had as she stood on the stage to humbly thank everyone on behalf of their family.

The fourth of July is around the corner and change is coming. My friends are getting married. It'll be fun. After that it's change change change and I hope to finally catch a few movies like Transformers, Up and Harry Potter.