Andrea Coller's Blog
so PACE was absolutely PACKED on saturday night! it was good to see the place all jumpin' and full. we and the artists made a nice chunk of money, and isn't that what a nonprofit venue is all about? hoo-ray.
otherwise, things are supremely uneventful in my life. getting through the new england winter is crazy. there's yet another storm planned for today. every, every time we talk i'm at pace and it's snowing, or about to snow. i don't know what to tell you folks.
in honor of the crazy weather and a beautiful person i know, i started writing a song called monday night snow angel, which, if it ever gets written, sounds like a supremely good album title. i have tentative plans to do a little bit of recording in the late spring, and hopefully, there will be a new album available next winter. ish. god willing. please.
i'm now listening to the lemonheads' fantastic cover of "mrs. robinson." i found 'it's a shame about ray' at turn it up! who knew that someone would be so dumb as to ever sell this item... actually, that was one of the many items that went missing after my fortuitous pairing (by the office of residence life at umass) with a cokehead college roomate. i may have bought back my own copy. i do think that my copy of buffalo tom's "big red letter day" is sitting there still. ah, well.
according to turbotax, i qualify for the earned income credit. hoo-ray for 300 extra bucks in my pocket. good shit.
i'm off to work.
every time i talk to you people, it seems, i'm at PACE and it's snowing. what the--?? ah, well, it is new england after all. i should know that it's going to happen and just deal.
speaking of PACE, we're totally back in business. the theater is looking amazing these days, mostly thanks to my good buddy joe, who found us a crapload of tables and comfortable, cushioned chairs to fill the space with. you no longer have to have a sore ass from seeing a show here! wahoo! and in time for my show with the kennedys on march 25th! which, by the way, i'll warn you all now: i am pulling the SICK card on that day.
it is my first gig getting to open for a great band like the kennedys AND it's the first birthday of my new stem cells!! you must all come to the show, no excuses allowed! there will be my opening set, followed by the kennedys, followed by getting my new baby cells nice and trashed at packard's with as many friends and loved ones as possible, followed by crashing/sobering up at my place if folks are unable to drive. crash space is available at my place for you out-of-towners. it would mean the world to me.
so yesterday, i did some manual labor. it was cool. "but andrea," you say, "you are both prissy and weak. how could you do such a thing?" my answer to you, dear reader, is that i just HAD to go to pace and haul 2 by 4s cause why not? it was a great workout and it was great to be able to help for once. we tore down the sound booth and began the bare bones work of putting up a new one. it'll be awesome. the renovations are looking great so far.
what's up with those guys that walk around town in ill-fitting business attire who look like they're on speed and try to sell you crap? i near bitch-slapped one today for getting his smart-mouth on at me. i once saw one follow a poor old woman to her car and stand in the open driver doorway so she couldn't shut it. if i were her, i'd have had the punk arrested. and when i say crap, i mean CRAP. don't ever inquire about the contents of their duffel bags. just shake your head. pretend you're mentally impaired. anything.
hm. not much else to rant about at this point. stay warm and come see me at open mic tonight if you're in the area.
so is it all right if my optimism has gone away completely? i'm in the cafe, and keep staring to my left and watching little pill-y snowflakes fall from the sky outside of the big glass windows that make it super cold in here.
no customers so far today. i'm all kinds of lonely and cold. only about 3 hours until the open mic regulars start to filter in. we'll see what our numbers are like today: i plan on bashing those who aren't here (playfully, of course)and have the audacity to have dates while the rest of us don't.
i guess the majority of the world is doing last-minute shopping or hiding from the cold. that's what i'd be doing if i could.
someone once mentioned to me that i should try to get a grant for my book from the national endowment for the arts. i just went to their website, and guess what? you have to have already published a book, or have published like 5 short stories in the last five years or something. what the hell is that crap? with 2 jobs and the schedule i maintain, i will finish my book about two weeks after never. either that or my granddaughter will find it and finish it herself. which wouldn't be super-bad, but i'd love to be able to live to see people actually reading it. oh, the frustration...
the snow is just melting on the ground so far. the cars are still going up and down union street at a decent pace. i've put my coat on.
i'm reduced to wondering what makes the cherry flavoring in my diet pepsi "wild," besides extra chemicals. hmm. that's a thinker.
back to work.
Yes, it's February 14th. And I refuse to be that blogger who rants about the evils of this awful Hallmark holiday, flying solo, feeling all desperate, etc. I decided that this year, I'm going to get through it by making myself feel better. And what has this meant so far? Retail therapy.
That thousand bucks of "emergency room" that I keep around on my credit card has magically become 800. That's all right. It's a different kind of emergency.
"But Andrea," you ask, concerned, "does blowing a couple hundred bucks on things like pointy shoes and lingerie _really_ help?"
My answer? An emphatic yes. The pointy shoes are for work, see? And I tend to wear lingerie as outerwear, so really, it's cothing. An absolutely essential expense. See?
You know, I am the originator of the corset-over-old-navy-tshirt fashion. Actually, that's a lie: I am the first one to wear it outside of the costume arena. Meredith wore a corset over an old navy tshirt on Halloween as Hester Prynne, and I figured, hey- if it's good enough for Hester, it's certainly good enough for me. (I just wonder where, when I try to wear the one I just bought, I'm gonna get the nice little asian woman to pull the strings at the back. ah, well.)
and the shoes: they weren't just any pointy shoes. they are the holy grail of pointy shoes: bcbg. green. 2 1/2 inch heels. i'm drooling just thinking about them.
and the v-day depression really isn't about love issues for me. my grandfather died on valentine's day 10 years ago. I remember having gone to school, having made total peace with my single-ness, and being really excited about giving my mom an origami flower that i'd made. (sadly, yes, this was in high school.) When I got home from school, I found her crying in the dining room.
in a matter of hours, we were in the car, on our way to pennsylvania for the funeral.
in the following few years, I'd decided that I was going to be good, and honor him by seding tons of valentines to all of my friends and family. but i've been a total slacker since getting sick and recovering and all.
but here's my wish of love for you all: do something that makes you happy. treat yourself. if lingerie and pointy shoes aren't your thing, rent some truly insignificant movies (evil dead? dirty dancing? finding nemo? die hard?) and eat some chocolate. or buy gerber daisies and knit. do something that'll make you smile.
all virtual choclolates and flowers can be sent to andrea@andreacoller.com
well, it has been totally effing GORGEOUS here in happy valley for the past couple of days. unfortunately, yesterday was the only day that i really got to enjoy it: as usual, i worked on saturday, and today, i am working my other job that pays me, at the good 'ole gypsy rose cafe. yes, that's right, PACE is back up and running again, which is awesome.
you see, what ended up happening, is that the local building inspector made a MASSIVE error in shutting PACE down. what it took to get opened back up, is that we had to wait for the state inspector to come down and look at the place herself. when she did that, she said, "you shouldn't have been shut down," ripped the local guy a new one, and made him send a letter of apology and give us permission to reopen.
but the damage has already been done. when we were shut down, there were articles printed in the local papers that said that we had been shut down for building and fire code violations. so the general public, and those who haven't read the articles since then, have the perception that PACE is somewhat seedy and unsafe. we lost thousands of dollars in revenue and even more on our reputation. we're currently raising money to buy tables and chairs to put into the theater space, to promote the restaurant/beer and wine aspect and to get rid of the metal folding chairs. so if you've been thinking about coming to a show to check it out, please do so.
speaking of shows at PACE... this friday is bound to be a GREAT time! i will be playing at torch song tribute night with the wonderful likes of emily shore, chris o'brien, kate klim, and many others that are sure to please. we will be having a bitterly anti-valentine time. come on by! only 7 bucks. www.pioneerarts.org for directions and more info!
so yesterday was relaxing and fun, overall. i haven't had one of those days in a long time. i woke up dazed and wondering where i was at 11 a.m. turns out i was asleep on my futon. i watched tv and ate breakfast at my own pace, then ventured out into the world for coffee and to have a walk and get some beer for the superbowl party. it was amazing outside. by the time i got downtown from my house, i was sweating because it was so warm and sunny. instead of being annoyed at the sweatiness, with all of its armpit dampening and hair-ruining-ness, i was pleased at punch to be out there. it smelled like spring. i walked around with my coffee for a while, then threw it out caise it was TOO HOT to be drinking coffee! people were out in shorts and sandals, as they are wont to do in the warmer spells of winter. it looked like it could have been spring. i began to see the light in the dark tunnel of doom that is winter in new england. i went to starbucks and the kind folks there brewed passion iced tea just for little old me, and i stretched out my legs and found myself smiling randomly, for the first time in a long time.
and then the eagles went and lost the superbowl. not that i didn't expect them to, having grown up in the philly area, and being used to the bad luck that befalls all of our teams sooner or later. after the 1994 world series, nothing in sports can hurt me. so i was quietly cheering the eagles on, for if i should have been loud in my support, i would have been physically removed from ethan's apartment. as usual, we blew the game in the end. ah, well. i ate lots of junk food and hung out with my friends, which really is the point of it, after all.
time to go find some work to do. don't forget to come to the show on friday!!
