Willo O'Brien

I had a dream lastnight that we were opening for some huge band! But it was in a high school auditorium of some kind, and a ton of people I went to high school with were there. ha!

So we’re all excited, but I start to realize we’ve TOTALLY forgotten to practice! WOOPS! I know the song we’re going to play, but I sure has hell have no idea what the drums are like in it… ! We get on the stage and start setting up and I realize that the drum set they provided isn’t actually a drum set. It’s like an old wood credenza and some other boxes around it. uuhhh… how is this supposed to sound like the drums!?!?! Let alone if we do get it to sound like the drum parts, how the heck am I going to play them!?!?!?

Jem & Tania were my bandmates, and I can’t really remember what Tania was playing, but I was confident if anyone was going to get us through this it was Jem wielding her hott turquoise strat.

At some point through trying to set up, a guy was up there trying to help me. We were looking for the plug or something to make this puppy sound like something different than hitting wood on wood (which actually wasn’t even producing a high tick sound at ALL, it was more like I was hitting cardboard and I was stressin!!). So this guy looked familiar to me… and I’m talking to him about it all and trying to remember how I know him. He had changed his hair…. was it Sebastian from DFA1979? John Vanderslice? (I know, they look nothing alike) – either way, I liked that somehow I felt like I was on the same playing field as them…. sorta. Uh… except for the fact that I notice they’re setting up their kit behind us, and I think ooh, maybe I could use theirs! And then realize I couldn’t even use it for my set because it was so crazy… it was like a drum kit out of the future…. double decker and shit. I was *in* for it!!!

SO – we basically decided to just go with it and hopefully nobody would notice. (HA!) I think we played one song, and throughout it I did my best to thump, knowing it was only a level *I* could hear over the awesome riffs Jem was playing. I remember feeling sad, like my first big chance on stage and all I had was this dumb ol’ drum set to play that didn’t even work. hmph.

After our first song, apparently we had put together some kind of multimedia movie experience.. and Tania got up on the mic and started reading something off a piece of paper, and I had to whisper to her to talk louder. I still don’t think she talked loud enough – and something was even off on our movie thing, so I had that sinking feeling that our whole opening act sucked.

At the end we all rolled it off, like “eh, we tried!” feeling the odds were against us in more ways the one, and it was just the beginning.

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Jem is *really* playing a show, and considering she is an incredible guitar player, even in my dreams – it’s going to be great! Her & Jas are Jean-Marie and they’re opening a show at the Brain Wash Cafe on Friday April 22nd! woohoooo!! I can’t wait!

from these crazy results, it’s obvious that emusic does NOT carry ‘help she can’t swim‘. right.

this is absolutely disgusting… and HILARIOUS!

If you’re smart, you’ll listen to Misty. See you there!

Last Friday night I had cleared all my plans. I’d rescheduled a date and was all prepared to work the evening away, trying to catch up on all the work that didn’t get done because of being sick, and overall just try to lay low to give myself the weekend to recoup, catch up & de-stress.

However, Friday afternoon I got an email from Eric saying he was headed to Ev‘s bday party, and I just couldn’t resist. I mean, a girl’s gotta eat right? :)

I hadn’t seen Evan and that whole crowd in forever. Minus running into Ev & Noah at coffee shops around the city and just knowing they were plotting something! (Odeo!) And then of course, Jeff and Leslie, who I seem to run into at shows quite a bit here & there. But it was crazy to think how long it had been since I’d seen Courtney & Lane! Lane & I email or IM every once and awhile about parties and shows, but it blew me away to think I hadn’t seen them in possibly a year (!?!?!? is that right!?) crazy! Anyway… it was so great to see everyone and catch up. This crew is awesome because they’re all fellow blogging nerds like me, so I feel at home! hahaa.. nobody is wondering why the hell I’m snappin so many photos, cuz they know! I mean, hello – we’re at Ev’s home, who founded the monster. Speaking of, it’s beautiful! Man, money buys you SPACE in this town. What I wouldn’t give to have space on both sides of my bed. Pretty much every square INCH of my place is carefully negotiated. Plus, they’ve got some sick views! nice!

It was a pizza making party, ala Hillary & Dave’s last year, and Eric & gladly “tasted” all of the pizzas that were coming out of the oven. :) I also absolutely fell in love with Sara’s kitty, Moki. She’s a calico/siamese mix and she’s so beautiful and soft and sooo sweet! So the kitty lover in me snapped lots of photos, and even some videos, too! (vids are linked in a few of the descriptions under the photos – there’s 3 total)

I’m completely feeling normal this week – woohoo! But one step better is that I’m really feeling *great*, inside & out. Last week was so insane and stressful (not to mention snotty!) and this week I feel like a new woman!

I got some news yesterday that was a hard hit… news that is inevitable in any breakup… the ex has a new gf! gulp! It’s always hard to hear that the first time, but it was bound to happen with one of us.

When I first heard the news, I got a lump in my throat the size of Kentucky, and immediately had to IM Misty. She’s awesome… and talking it out a little with her helped *so* much. Truly, all the sadness is just mourning the loss of such a beautiful part of my life with a man that I loved so much. I know we made a decision – both of us made a choice – and it’s been 4 months now, and we’re both moving on.

I also know that it hasn’t been easy for either of us. Especially this whole ‘moving on’ stuff. Comparing each new candidate to the amazing connection he & I had last year, and all of our awesome memories together… it’s a hard spot to fill, that’s for sure. But in the end I want him to be happy.. and if she can honor some of the things I couldn’t, then good for them both. I just want him to be happy, because he deserves it! He’s really an amazing guy… and I miss him. xoxo

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The great news is that I feel so happy that I know who I am. I am so ready for my 30th birthday this year, as life just gets better and better! I know who I am, and what I want in a relationship, and am clear that although I want to be in a relationship, I’m not the type of girl who needs one to make myself feel whole. I feel great about being independent and right now the world is my oyster!! wooohoooo!!!

btw – I don’t usually read horoscopes, but hez (ya, hottie bass player!) linked to this astrology site and I happened to go check out my horoscope for this month, and it is on fire!! aww yaa, bring it ON April!!! :)

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This month is insanely busy with all the fantastic work I have right now! I know it sounds crazy to be so excited about work – but truly I love what I do so much and feel so fortunate to have such a successful business!

Doing my end of year taxes was really awesome, because it officially wrapped my first full fiscal year of doing business for myself, so I got to see from jan 1 to dec 31 what I made and I’m proud to say I am making what I was at my former job! But really even more than that considering I get to write so much off. Not to mention how awesome it is to work for myself, choose my clients (who are all so great and that makes it so rewarding!), all out of the comfort of my sunny little home with my fuzzy cuddly kitty. Life is so good!

And the great part of that, too, is that I pretty much always have an illustration job going of some kind, which has been so incredible. The last couple of which aren’t even on my site – then again _none_ of the work I’ve done in 1.5 years on my own is in my portfolio on my site! Unbelievable! Luckily the work keeps flowin in, almost faster than I can keep up. SUCH a positive problem! :)

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I’m having one of those days where I feel like reaching out to all of my friends everywhere in the world and giving them a big hug, looking into their eyes and letting them know I’m so happy to know them and have them in my life. mmmooooiiii!!!!!

Have a great week everybody!

I am feeling SOOOO MUCH BETTER!!! Yay!!!!!

I actually slept amazing last night (no waking up with a stopped up nose and dry mouth hell) and am finally feeling rid of the intense pressure in my face and everything! God love ya antibiotics! woohooo!!

It’s sooo nice out today! I actually can wear a tank top & shorts in my house!? awesome!

Here’s a few fun site’s to spend some time on:

• Sky Time Lapse – These vids are cool. I found this site from seeing the examples listed on iStopMotion.com – which I found by checking out iVeZeen, which is a program that records movies from your iSight*… which (following the tangent) I found linked in a comment someone had made after Dunstan posted these INCREDIBLY adorable videos of brand new baby puppies!!! (there’s a few more on his site, have your smelling salts ready) And Dustan’s site I found through Eric, *who claims EvoCam is the best iSight cam software.
• Flash Forward Film Festival Finalists (say that fast 10 times!)
• Illustrators, Animators, or fans therein can enjoy daily updates at Drawn!… news that is right up my alley and I am loving it!

I have pretty much cancelled all my plans for the weekend, as priority #1 was getting better (which is totally working – wohooo!) and now the active plan is to catch up on the heap of work that got delayed due to my head feeling like a 10 ton elephant was sitting atop it like a prized easter bonnet.

On my plate besides work, work, work, that I *must* do this weekend: 1.) TAXES! (kinda work related I suppose 2.) re-potting 2 plans in my house that are so desperately in need of new soil they are crying at me. :( poor plants… I need to give them this attention as literally their lives are at stake! 3.) Laundry. 4.) Anything that starts with an M and ends in ovie. (aka CHILL)

Happy Friday everyone!

Those of you who don’t use macs are all, “what? a genius idea for a bar? cooL!” or “what? a bar full of genius’?” But no, the Genius Bar is where you go at your local Apple store to get your gear fixed. Hech hemm… not that Mac stuff *ever* breaks or has any problems, of course. ;)

So on Monday, after my client meeting and then stopping off for a delicious Cafe Venue lunch (my favorite place to eat downtown), I had stopped by there to see if they could fix my Powerbook’s keyboard (some keys had fallen off & it was sorta peeling up on one side.. it looked sad) and had my first genius bar experience!

First of all, I had heard there was a wait whenever you go, so I was prepared. I went in, registered & then hopped out to run a few more errands while I was downtown: #1. Head to Sephora, to research packaging design for the current logo/custom illustration/packaging design project I have going, and #2. To pick up more Origins face lotion while I was down there. (I never get downtown anymore)

So I ran my errands, and came back – all to find they really hadn’t gotten anywhere with the list somehow – and my 4:40 appointment, slowly transformed into a 5:40 appointment. BUT no biggie, because I had my laptop and they have wireless & comfy chairs you can sit & plug into (power).. so I was all set! Once I was called up it took maybe 20 some odd minutes talking with my Genius Bar guy, Ben. When I first showed him what was going on, he initially had said that he was going to have to charge me for the repair, because it wasn’t technically covered under the Apple Care Protection Plan. :( oh no! screamed my budget conscious brain! I told him how I would have never done this to my own little powerbook, as it was my baby – and what’s more my main business tooL! And I told him how I had switched and how I was so pleased with it for the most part, etc… (insert more mac nerd talk here). So next thing I know… Ben thinks a bit & looks to see if they have this part in stock.. and thinks a bit more and says since I have recently switched, and this is my first time there, etc… he will see what he can do to fix it for me. YAY!!!!!!

AND he said usually repairs like that he’d make me drop it off & come get it in a few days, but that since I need it for my business, and he understands I can’t be w/o it… he would see if he himself could go back and take care of it, as soon as so&so got back from break. YAY!!!!

So I had to kill another hour… which I did by going to Old Navy and using the gift card I have had for months (!) and bought a couple skirts for Coachella (which I may end up taking back a couple of them because they’ll never get worn here in SF!).

But I cannot tell you HOW HAPPY Ben made me that day. The fact that I got it fixed for FREE, and in the same DAY! (albeit several hours) and now my Powerbook looks brand new!!! wooohooo!!!

So, in thanks to my rad Genius bar helper… go check out Ben’s band: The Uptones. :)

Also – he gave me a link to MP34U.com, which I hadn’t checked out before… but he said it was pretty cool. So there ya go.

Monday night Jem & I begrudgingly carted our sick bootays (she’s really sick, too – our whole band is – woohoo! and I was still on my Sinex high, thinking I was getting better) to the Independent (for the 4th time in 5 days) to see Death from Above 1979 and it was f*in incredible! And check it out, I’ve even already posted my photos from the show!

We only caught the last song of Controller Controller, but what we saw, we liked… mostly cuz the lead singer was up there shaking her stuff and it was good. :) However, it was hard to get any good photos of her shakin it, due to the low/red light… but there’s a few.

Death From Above 1979 rocked us (and the entire audience) SO HARD and I was sweatin by the time I got out of there! It was a kick ass show!! Misty also has a review up.. and Hez has a blog now, too! yay! So here’s Hez’s review. Jem hasn’t posted a review of this show yet, but she does have some great reviews posted about all the other gazillion shows we hit in the last week. :)

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Speaking of Jem, Tuesday night we all went out for Jem’s Birthday dinner at Emmy’s Spaghetti Shack! I had some tasty ceaser salad and the best spaghetti & meatballs (what I get every time, it’s so damn good!) and all rejoiced in our lovely friend Jem. :) Happy Birthday, Jem!!!! Here’s a few photos from the dinner.

I had a dream that I was at a music festival. I used to have these dreams all the time when I was with Rick. It got to be funny how many times I’d wake up and be like, “ooh, you & I were at this concert, and it was like a music festival…” :) my favorite place to be.

So lastnight’s dream sorta started with me being with Lucia and someone else.. and we had come back to my friends place really late at night to crash there, but my friend had kids, so we had to try to be really quiet. At some point for some reason I put this small black bra on over my clothes, and of course that’s when all the sober parents woke up and came out & “caught me” being so silly. I slinked it off, but then had to help one of the kids back to bed… and our trip back to his bedroom, we went through a bunch of really wild rooms because I didn’t know which one was his. The first one was full of games and all this really cool stuff. But that one wasn’t his… so we kept walking. Every room got cooler and more outrageous. Seriously like the COOLEST bedrooms a kid could ask for – or at minimum he’s stoked if his bedroom is even right next to it. One was so huge it had an arcade, and I think even a soda fountain bar and a mini theatre screen on the wall. But that wasn’t his room either.. so we kept going. His room turned out to be this room where all you could see was this big spiral column going up for what was probably 200ft to the ceiling. And we had to get in this little gondola/elevator thing to get up to the tippy top. But even then it was all enclosed so that when you looked up the spiral you couldn’t see how people got into the bed at the very top.

After I tucked him in, I had to change to go out to one of the shows. And wherever I was changing my Mom was there, and I realized I had forgotten a few things when I packed, but then remembered I had all these new t-shirts, I had just bought, to choose from. It was fun picking through them – and before I finally found one I liked some guy peeked around the corner and said hello. And there I was standing in my bra. Again – black. hahaa. So I thought maybe I should cover up? But then I thought ‘eh, what the hell, who hasn’t seen a girl in her bra these days?’… so I said hello back and chatted with him, mentioning that I guess I hadn’t seen him since SXSW, huh? etc..

When I left I promptly met up with Misty – who was dressed in a bunny costume. We’re talking head to toe fuzzy bunny. And then I ran into another friend (but I don’t know who he is) and we kissed and said hello – and he was in some crazy furry animal costume. I looked down & realized my costume was that i had a jacket on, but no tshirt on underneath. hmm.

We were waiting to get past this big crowd of people, but the officials weren’t letting us down the street into the clubs yet, where the shows were going to start. Misty & I started plotting how we could get around them and get into the club before anyone else… but then they let us all go, so it was fine.

We got in the club & I saw another costume, which was someone dressed up like a chalkboard. Umm… that might be it.

However, there was an earlier part of the dream before all that where I had decided to go to this aerobics class with my friend, but somehow we decided to go naked. And when we got there, everyone else was dressed. But of course, I tried to play it off like it was no big deal. People are naked all the time, right? Whatchoo lookin at?

Then there was another sad part of my dream where Rick & I were holding eachother and kissing eachother passionately, and he was crying. And then I went to talk to my friend about it – and realized that as sad as it was. We couldn’t even go there again.

OK, time for coffee.