You know what I like?

When you're in a really crappy, sad mood and someone you haven't talked to in quite a long time calls you up out of the blue. You make last-minute plans to grab a drink, thinking maybe you'll be able to forget your sad for a bit. But then you get there and it turns out that your long lost friend is also in an angst-ridden way. After the initially pleasantries fade and initial buzz is upon you, you find yourselves woefully eyeing the floor. Big sigh. Then you take turns sharing the "in a nutshell..." and order a couple more drinks.

Eventually (and usually much faster than you'd think), you run through the heavy themes and you're both done with the wallowing you would've continued with for hours and hours had you been left to your own devices. You have new or renewed perspective. You're reminded of the difference between laughing at yourself (convenient, healthy) and hating yourself (pointless, selfish.) Your resolve and confidence return with barely an apology, as though they were just girl-talking in the bathroom and got caught up in the moment. You can't stay mad at them 'cause you're suddenly in a very good place. You feel purged, relieved, refreshed...and ready for one more drink. You and your friend move comfortably into regular conversation--the kind with laughing, remembering, long settled pauses while you sip from your glass. At the end of the night, you vow to hang out more often...knowing full well that it's gonna be months before one of you picks up the phone.

It's good to have a friend whose anxieties run on roughly the same calendar as your own. You need friends like this. One or two people who know your history, your personality, your general situations in life. Somehow, a fresh and rare audience gets you to distill your issues and put them into neat perspective, hours before last call. Making you feel relaxed and ready to return to the real world, where your nearest & dearest get a calmer, happier you without ever knowing why or how.

It's reassuring, this. How it hints at karma and connection in ways that will seem too faux Zen if I try to explain.

I'm in a Book Club. It's more like all-female wine club with Suggested Reading. I really enjoy the club, but have begun to realize that my appetite for reading material far exceeds the frequency of club meetings. So, I decided to start a second book club to pick up the slack. My friend Angie was interested in the concept, and was willing to co-recruit members. So we were off, emailing and calling our pals to get our book club off the ground. We came to a grinding halt immediately. Between the two of us, we could not get more than 4 women total (selves included) who would commit to joining the club. Promises that it would be a loose organization i.e. "You don't even have to read the book!" didn't seem to sway anyone. All of our vibrant, intelligent, witty, fantastical lady friends were all too busy to get locked into a regimented reading schedule. We were just about to give up on a social group, when I had an idea:

Drink Club!
"We may all be too busy to read, but everyone sure seems to like to drink!"

The 3rd Thursday of every month, the Esteemed (if not ever-so-slightly alcoholic) Ladies of Drink Club will meet at a new & different watering hole. Meetings will find their way to various neighborhoods of Los Angeles, to all manner of establishments...so that no one is stuck driving a long, tedious distance month after month. Members can nominate old faves or hot new places to check out. Anything goes location-wise: wine, neighboorhood, karoake, hotel...common denominator "bar."

All that's needed is some upfront research so that we are all 100% prepared to adhere to the following rules:

1) No bars with cover charges.
2) Cash Only bars will be announced ahead of time so that everyone can hit the ATM.
3) Parking situation will be assessed and communicated prior to meeting, so each member knows what to expect and can select her shoes properly, by factoring in the distance from parking to door.

Responsibility Note:

We will remind each other to drink lots of water before, during and after the club. This will encourage fewer motor accidents and DUI's, better looking skin and no hangovers the following morning!

I didn't realize how brilliant this idea was, in fact, until Angie and I began recruitment--and had 15 members within 2 days!

Drink Club is an idea who's time has come.
Franchises available shortly.

Can't stop listening to Lansing-Dreiden "Incomplete Triangle." The packaging is art-school mysterious, with the "I II III IV" as the only visible copy on the exterior. I wanted to find out more, but a precursory Google search indicated that the "band" isn't a band at all, but perhaps an arty "collective" of some sort. Given my distaste for such things, I cut the fact-finding short, and decided to stick to my gut feelings. When a CD by a new artist bullets into Top 10 spins in my car, I can afford a little denial, if that's what it takes to keep it there.

It's a consistantly good album. Sure, you COULD extract all manner of successful radio singles from this, but the joy is really in the journey. Seamlessly travels from 70s Punk/Metal influenced sound through a downtempo synth pop exploration (which reminds me quite a bit of Air.* ) The last third of the record springs to life with the sort of infectious 80s-retro energy that I would normally mock with no mercy. But dammit if their sneaky approach doesn't make this stylistic twist nothing short of a triumphant finale.

Buy it or bug your industry friends to send you a copy.

*Air Disclaimer: I've bought every Air album based on ONE song that I heard on the radio or a TV commerical, only to end up disillusioned and/or bored with the full-length record. In reality, I must admit that I don't like Air, and less so for duping me into buying their records again and again with a seductive radio single.