show off!

when we were kids this was not a compliment... show off! - it was a phrase used for derisive reasons. Usually we would say it about someone who took pride in outdoing the other kids (like a poor winner versus a sore loser LOL) It was used when someone did everything they could to be the center of attention about their accomplishments.  Back then we didn't know from self esteem and not everyone got a trophy - but we did know that braggadocio was not an attribute.  Over-sharing was not encouraged (our parents called it airing the dirty laundry when it wasn't good things and inappropriate bragging and pride when it was.)

it is a different world now but lessons learned as a child often don't fall by the wayside so we learned that "look at me! look at me! look at me!" was not the way to do it- and that our accomplishments would speak for themselves - not to be conceited and not to get a big head... I still remember learning the word conceited around first grade or so...

the Highlights magazine for kids always had the braggart Goofus pulling stunts like that while Gallant would wait for praise for his accomplishments... and we all read that comic growing up.

so I find myself in a place of mixed emotion when I write the review of the performer we saw last night. On one hand he had enormous talent but on the other hand he made SURE we knew how talented he thought himself to be-

here is a TED talk he gave (about his autistic brother - but - ) just listen to the first three minutes of the segment - it's all about HIM - seriously dude wipe that self satisfied smirk off your face....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Wck2BxGCUU

seriously annoying- such an over the top style - so LOOK AT ME- the oversharing of emotion laden background stories - the overwrought and contrived "we're gonna get down amongst the audience" segment- it all set my teeth on edge -  the "earnestness" which didn't ring true and the sanctimonious do-gooder sale of "if you have to choose between buying a CD and funding a kid through Childfund- then fund the kid and I will GIVE you a CD" - hey dude you are in Sarasota where I read last year that the median net worth of people moving into town was 5 Million... tell them to fund multiple kids AND buy your CDs-

I can't remember the last time I saw someone so talented and so insufferably annoying.  This kid - and he is a kid at 27 - wrote lovely melodies and evocative lyrics and had real keyboard talent and a voice many singer songwriters would love to have, but he just SOOO rubbed both of us the wrong way that the minute the concert ended we looked at each other and said "let's get out of here!"

and to make matters worse - he had a contingent of fans who crowded the club  who were as obnoxious as he was- actually maybe more so...  an example of his "style" - he led up to a break up song with "my ex-girlfriend and I broke up and I was a nice guy so I told her 'take as much time as you need to get over me now that I have gotten over you' " and then acted surprised when she sold all his stuff on craig's list - really???  What part of the way you phrased that exit line do you think might have engendered such a reaction?  Seriously... the nearly two hours was more along these lines from a style and personality standpoint.  and it was such a shame because he has real talent...

so I am going to post a few photos and a video or two and you will hear the kid's native talent - too bad he is of the generation where self esteem has been passed out in overabundance and has become an embodiment of the LOOK AT ME culture that we live in.

so you are right - I really didn't like him despite his clear and multiple talents - maybe he would be more palatable on CD or the radio or whatever- when we didn't have to suffer through the mugging for the audience- just plain ICK... I can't remember a time I had such a visceral dislike for someone I wasn't personally interacting with -

Oh wait LOL yes I do! - thanks to Election 2016- but then again - I haven't paid to see those right wing jerks, they invade my life despite my best efforts to avoid them....

I used to live on airplanes

back when I ruled the world LOL- only kidding I only ruled my own little fiefdom (can you tell I am taking a Middle Ages class this term?)

for many many years - more than I would care to count I flew 125,000 miles or more - that is actual mileage (your results may vary) crow flies airport to airport.  And as a result of that I became quite adept at working the systems of "AirportLand" as we call it in our household.  It is its own separate country- no matter where you are coming from or going to - once you are in AirportLand all bets are off.  They do it the way they want to and there is likely no rhyme and certainly no reason or reasoning behind the decision making processes in AirportLand.  The one driver is MONEY and nothing else. No matter how much blah blah blah they say about customers - the customer always comes last... unless....

yes, there are a few "unless" things to note these days-

1. despite being premier gold for life on United (and Phil getting that status as a gift of my flying 1.5 million miles with United) my number one airline of choice these days is Southwest.  Southwest lets you change your reservations and even cancel for a full refund (and today I learned, so does Alaska Airlines)
2. if you don't have status to leverage your experiences in AirportLand then you need money. And even on Southwest money can buy you a better experience- you can pay for early boarding and even beyond that you can pay even more to get in the 1-15 numbers that are the very first to board - think of it as Global Services (the super secret highest level for United flyers) on an as needed -per diem basis... LOL

and now- I can add to the list of the "problems you can solve if you throw money at them" parking at the airport when you find yourself in a crunch for time unexpectedly (due to the massive 30 minute traffic jam on the I-275 bridge right outside the TPA airport entrance ramp for instance).  While in the jam I googled valet parking TPA and learned we could throw the car at the guy and run into the airport and go upstairs and airside to our plane and still make it with 3-5 minutes to spare!

and back when I lived in airports and was the George Clooney character from that movie where he plays the road warrior (and I still have the hotel rewards cards to prove it LOL) I would have been there in plenty of time but now I am (we are) rusty and we only fly on average once every six weeks - not six times a month... so we found ourselves learning about valet parking at the airport for the "extremely late" LOL... next time we will be prepared- and yes right this minute there will be a next time soon... we are back in the mode of going going going- soon we will be down to one home and that means a fair amount of back and forth to accomplish both the task of selling and the task of buying and the various moving to and from etc...

meanwhile - before we get to the airport shuffle of March and April and May and now early June- we had a chance to visit Angela & Lee in their new home in Durham NC... and to spend time with Brad & Susan while there.-

So here is a rundown of all we have done since I last signed on to post- starting with missing my second 1890s class (despite having my homework done) because it is a 9AM class (what was I thinking?) and I am a 10 AM gal...LOL -

We rushed off to the baseball game to meet up with CBGB but we had horrible seats in the direct sun and it was nearly 90* - by inning five I was overcome by heat and went downstairs to find a place in the shade - no luck everyone else had the same idea and there were NO SEATS anywhere... luckily a nice medic came and gave me an icepack which felt terrific on my head which melted it right away LOL- then we all decided we had enough of the heat and gave up on the game... Cardinals lost BTW.

we decided that night to have sushi keeping in the cool theme-

the next day we headed to the airport via the above mentioned traffic jam... valet parked and headed off to Durham- where we arrived mostly on time and got to Angela and Lee's new home and then out to dinner to a fun place called Nana's - Lee and Phil and I had the tasting menu -

the place had some very interesting art work on the walls - I especially like the shiva style bicyclist escaping the cyclone at the fair -

the next day Lee worked and we slept late and met Angela for a nice lunch at a place she knew- I have no photos of the food - which was nice but regular (tomato bisque, turkey wrap for me , chili and ribs for Phil and tomato bisque and grilled cheese for Angela) but I do have a photo of the two of them from lunch.

later we met Lee at home, spent time with Clarence and then Brad & Susan came over and we all went out for a terrific dinner at Rue Cler-

the new house!

Rue Cler

 
the next morning we had lunch on our own because Angela & Lee had birthday party duty at Chuck E Cheese for Lee's nephew's birthday.  We chose something nearby and found we had good luck-

some messages from the bathroom - LOL

then we met up Angela & Lee and had a coffee and went to the 21C gallery and hotel in downtown and did a little touring before heading back to the airport for our delayed flight (oh yeah I remember now...) and picked up our car at valet and drove to have dinner at our favorite NYC pizza place transplanted to Florida---

all the bathrooms on the mezzanine have see through glass that becomes opaque when you lock the door (if you do it correctly LOL)

there is art work in all kinds of spaces throughout the hotel- which was an old bank building-

the vault can be rented for parties - which Lee and his group did for the holidays - the google office there is small but growing -

a floor full of money -

the laundry room of the doll house of murder LOL

the artist is obviously dealing with issues of mortality- LOL

so now we are back home and planning for the next few crazy weeks in our selling selling mode and moving and storing - meanwhile we have classes until the end of April and I need to go do some of my homework reading to get caught up for my Thursdays at 9 AM! class - acccckkk what was I thinking????

so we're back in the saddle again- along with the upcoming closings and moving trips we are headed to NYC for a get away in mid May, hosting friends from Europe in early May and late June and we are both headed out on vacations (Phil to Ireland and Canada for TB and me) so we will have to become adjusted to AirportLand again after these stress free "retired" years LOL....stay tuned!