I have finally seen Screeching Weasel live. It might be time to grow up for real now

Remember that one time I was mad at Ben Weasel for hitting those two girls at SXSW last year?  Well...I kinda let that go in March when I bought my ticket for last night's Screeching Weasel show.
Don't get me wrong - I struggled with my desicion but I ultimately decided to go for three pretty good reasons:
1 - My friend Rory's band, Karbomb, was opening the damn show (kind of a big deal, wouldn't you say?)
2 - The Queers were playing. Obvs deal-maker
3 - When SW played their "farewell" back-to-back shows in Chicago in '99 or 2000, I couldn't go with my friends because of school and I was afraid that I'd never EVER get the chance to see them ever again...
Pretty valid reasons, I think.  And I knew that I'd be running into some old friends that I haven't seen in forever.  After I mulled it over, I decided I'd just go.  I mean, when would I get the chance to see SW again?  AND my friend's band was freaking OPENING for them. 


After running into my awesome friends - including the handsome fella in the background of this photo:


I was ready for the night to really begin. Enter The Queers. I've never been to a bad Queers show. EVER. I think the last time I saw them was at the Echo Lounge when Philip Hill was playing with them. Seems like forever ago...


Then something posessed me to rush up to the front of the stage for Screeching Weasel. Maybe it was nostalgia, maybe it was me trying not to feel so old, maybe I thought it might be the last time I'd be able to see them. Either way, I was front and center like a crazy person and the bruises on my knees and ribs can prove it. The giant bruise on my left hand can also prove it...



So - back to the bruise on my hand. A very outgoing crowd surfer decided to step down on my left hand with full force on the barricade when he was being reeled in by security and I thought my thumb was fractured but after wrapping it with an ace bandage and diverting my attention at The Avengers in IMAX 3D, the swelling has definitely gone down and the pain isn't as terrible as before.


Check out the rest of my photos here. I wish I had more but I was having too much fun singing along and dodging random body parts pushing at me. I also wish I had taken more photos of my friends but hopefully we will se more of each other soon! It was great seeing everyone and I'm feeling really nostalgic now since I'm in a small bidding war (apparently) over some long lost tracks by The Number Ones...

Happy weekend!

Nate's 30th

Saturday would've been Nate's 30th birthday. So how did we celebrate? By going to his old job: the Pink Pony. I haven't been to the Pony since before Nate passed and I could never bring myself to go - until that night.



I met up with Nate's sister Alysia and friends Sarah and Robert. I have to admit that it was a little awkward at first, you know, being at the Pony with my first boyfriend ever but after a few drinks and some celebratory Jaeger shots (Nate's favourite), the night turned into something pretty awesome and quite memorable and I think Nate would have been proud!
And since I didn't get a chance to make it over to Nate's memorial Saturday, I went over on Sunday with something other than my usual flowers.



I wanted one of those larger, more obnoxious "Hey, You're 30!" balloons but nothing was really catching my fancy and there is an operating business on the corner where his memorial is so I didn't want it to be too too much. I think I succeeded though. The other one I was looking at was really girly (which would've been hilarious) but I would've had to accompany that with more girly daisies like I did a few years back.


Ugh - I can't believe it's been a few years already...I really miss you Nate. I hope you and Tim have met up and you guys are making some pretty awesome music together. XOXO

Editor's Note:
As a bonus to keep Pharrell Week going, one of my favourite dancers (that night) hit the main stage with my favourite song: N*E*R*D's "Lapdance" (of course)!  WIN!

Short Update

It's been a busy, busy month! Well, a very busy couple of months.

*Went to NYC for Halloween and had an uh-mazing time! You can view the photos here and here. It was loads of fun with Vee and the girls and I'd love to do it again next year!

*Filming at work was crazy (as usual) but it was still lots of fun (as usual).

*Housewarming with some friends this past weekend - which was great. We were talking about the good old days at our old job together. Fun times...

*Spent some time with Nate's sister and friends this past Sunday - which was great fun. Found out Robert is engaged! Congrats!

*People around me are having babies: my friend/co-worker Jen is about to explode (her due date is 12/9), my friend Erica called me for my b-day and told me she was expecting and my other friend/co-worker Deb just announced she was preggers! Ack! So many babies! Let's just hope it's not in the water...

*I'm participating in NaNoWriMo this year for the first time ever. Double-D convinced me to do it with him, so I did. It's hard work and I know I'm not going to finish but at least I finally did it and I can do it again next year! I'm not giving up, though. I might have a 10,905 word count (the goal is 50,000 by 11/30) but I'm going to keep going, dammit!

*The Body Politik site is up and running and ready for you!!!

So, that's pretty much it for now. I'll be back for detailed updates later.
Until then, lots of love and kisses!!
Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.

A Visit to Nate's Memorial

I had been trying to get to Nate's memorial for a few days now and I just couldn't. I would get halfway there and start crying and shaking and I'd have to turn around. I knew I had to go and do something...see where he took his last breath...see where it happened...see if maybe I could channel something. So I decided that I would visit yesterday.
On the way there I got nauseous, anxious, started crying, was happy all of a sudden, started to shake and felt dizzy. What if I didn't want to see the skid marks on the road? What if I wasn't ready to feel the energy that was there? I distracted myself with the Oldies station and kept going, stopping only to get multi - colour daisies.
Why multi - colour daisies? Because! Nate was a colourful person! I watched him evolve from super hardcore religious to Marylin Manson kid to rockabilly guy and everything else in between - including multiple colourful hairstyles. Also, I knew that if Nate had been watching me pick the flowers, he would have blushed over the colourfulness of them. They're not manly AT ALL. But they are a nice contrast to the black roses that Alysia placed there and I felt that they spoke to his vibrant personality.
I hope you like them, Nate!





I'd like to do something else for his memorial, though. Something...grand maybe? We'll see who else wants to do it with me.

Love,
Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.

Wake Up!

A few months ago, I used to look forward to Monday mornings. I would wake up, check my phone and see at least 2 texts waiting for me. One was usually from around 5:30am and the other from around 6:15am - both saying the same message but it was written differently every time.
I would get "Wake up, sleepyhead!", "Good morning", "What's up?", "Good morning sunshine", "Hey!" or just "WAKE UP!" and that's how I would start my week.
We would text back and forth during my morning routine about random things: What we both did on the weekend, how work was for him the night before, what was on the agenda for the coming week and so on.
These conversations would continue well after I would get to work (at around 8am) and it would really impact my whole week. If I didn't get a morning text, especially during filming (the most stressful time of all for me), it would ruin my whole week!
After a while, the texts started backing off until they just weren't there anymore. I was going to start it back up again but I guess I waited too long. At least the old ones still live on my old phone...
I never got to tell you how much I appreciated that and how much it actually impacted my day. Thank you so much for that. It was a great way to start my week off right.

You can read this and other Nate stories at REMEMBER Nate as well.

Love,
Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.

So Long and Good Night

I didn't know what to expect on Sunday evening at 6pm. I wasn't sure what I wanted to see. I know I wanted to see old friends and seek comfort in them - which I did very much so. I know I wanted to believe it wasn't real but he was right there. I was too scared and in shock to say a proper good bye right then and there but I managed to mumble a prayer before we sat down to pay our respects.
I held it together as best as I could in the presence of friends and loved ones but once I arrived at my Mom's house, I just couldn't hold back any longer. I knew it was my duty to go to the funeral service the next day.
So, on my way to see my Dad before he left I was looking for some music to ease my mind. I put in my favourite mixes but they just weren't good enough. I picked up a random CD I had made months ago and put it in, forgetting what was on it - the face was a sea of red sharpie cursive. It started okay but something compelled me to let track 4 play. I was glad I did. The melody was enough to comfort me but when I started hearing the lyrics, I got tears in my eyes.
With that song playing, I drove through the appropriate stormy weather to the funeral yesterday and got all caught up that I forgot my jacket and almost forgot my umbrella. To take my mid off of the actuality of it all, I pictured the Helena video in all its stylishness and beauty and pictured the choreography and I imagined my friends (who would be the pallbearers) walking through the rain while dancers followed them with the coffin to the hearse - a celebration of the life lived by the deceased.
But that didn't happen. The rain poured. And there we stood in it after the beautiful service.
So long and good night
Nate's sister told us, on Sunday, she wanted to get more of an investigation into his accident and it turns out that Fox 5 came to interview her after his funeral so maybe that's the first step into the on-going investigation. We'll see.
May you rest in peace, my friend.

Love,
Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.

At a loss for words

I can't get myself to write this on his wall: "To me, you were always a big guy with an even bigger heart. I'll miss you".
I refuse to believe that he's gone. I was going to surprise him at his job tomorrow as a post-birthday outing with my friends... I guess some things weren't meant to happen.
The news hasn't released his name as the fatality of the accident so there's some hope it's not him, right?
I can't do this.
He was supposed to take me for a motorcycle ride - my very first one. Ever.
We've been friends since 1995 - I've seen him evolve over time. I was even subjected to his damn Rockabilly phase - which happened right after his damn Marilyn Manson phase...
When a mutual friend sent me the news link, I cried. Hard. I'm at work. I can barely function right now. I'm a total wreck.
And I don't care that it's my birthday. I just don't want to believe it's true.
I can't bring myself to admit it. I just want to make sure. I've been watching the news clips over and over just to make it more real but it won't hit me until they release his name. I refuse to believe he was the 27 year old motorcyclist (even though I know full well that he lives in that area...).
If he really is gone, he can hear me. He can hear the sadness and disbelief we're all going through. I want some sort of sign. Something that just he and I will know - some sort of inside joke from high school or something...Something to let me know

Rest In Peace, Nate
Love,
Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.