This week’s been crazy.

Tuesday was the saddest I’ve been in a long time.

Wednesday, my friend Lauren and I got together to play music. She plays piano, and I took my cello over to her place, and we somehow thought it would be funny to play weird heavy metal songs. We started with “Holy Diver” by Dio, and that naturally led to things like “Crazy Train”, “Smoke On The Water”, and “Spoonman.” Hilarious.

Thursday was the second tango band rehearsal that Susan, Justin and I had. The first time we played together, it felt really good but sounded horrendous. (Well…? It did. :D) This time, it felt good, and we started to figure out how to interact musically, and what types of combinations of instruments work the best. Not only is tango the most difficult type of dancing (or so I’ve heard; I really want to learn), but it’s also quite possibly the most difficult style of music as well. You have to be able to read music as well as a classical player does, but you also have to be loose and be able to improvise as well as a jazz player does. These two skills don’t often co-exist, and they’re completely separate abilities. So it’s very demanding music. But, oh, so worth it when it all comes together. We’re all super excited, and we’re on the lookout for a pianist.

Friday after work, I crashed for a bit, then went to Susie Blue’s for a really nice dinner. It was a smaller group than usual, which I actually prefer, because I tend to get overwhelmed and anxious in large groups, especially when everyone else knows each other really well. I feel like an unnecessary element or something. But anyway. . .that didn’t happen last night. :) It was really a nice evening, and the food was stellar. I actually had two little pieces of steak, which I haven’t had for years. (Some proto-/ovo-/lacto-/pesca-/vegetarian I’ve turned out to be!) After being veggie for years, fish found its way back into my diet, and the occasional chicken. But aside from the twice-a-year craving for crappy pepperoni pizza, I almost never have red meat. The only times I do have it are times like last night, when it’s extremely well-prepared by my friends, and even then I can only handle it in small amounts. But it was really nice.

After that, I went over to meet John Jones (for the first time in months!) at the lounge in the basement of Jarra’s Ethiopian restaurant to see the band the Minders play. It was a pretty good show, but truth be told, I enjoyed talking to John more than I was interested in the show. We were surprised by Alan Kanning, a songwriter friend who, since the birth of his baby, almost never performs or gets out anymore. But he and his friend Hunter were there to watch the show, and it was really great to see them. Last time I bumped into him was October.

I need a change of scenery today, so as soon as Alyssa’s free, we’re heading to the beach. We’ve both had a pretty rough week, so we’re going to do a ‘get away’, then come back and have a French-themed dinner and movie night. She’s moving in July (!), so we’re trying to do all the little things we’ve been talking about before she leaves. I’m going to be a sad little Todd when she’s gone. We’ve really been there for each other, in a tremendous way, for the last two years. Somehow we bypassed the whole romantic ‘thing’, and just became really great friends. Portland’s not gonna be the same without her.

Sunday, Saussha and I are planning to meet and do something; still not sure what or where. We’ll figure it out, though, and much fun will be had.