That’s Life – When Breaking and Entering Wins You a Make-over
Tips for going out to watch a show:
-Park near as many other cars as possible
-Park under a well lit area (but not a spotlight)
-Move any bags/items that may be tempting either under your seats or in your trunk/back cargo area
-Avoid walking by yourself in dark desolate areas
-Have a good time and talk to people (most people are friendly, I know it’s easier said than done but it’s true — you can always find me and talk to me and I’ll introduce you to whoever I know at a show–oh and to clarify… by talking to me I don’t mean hit on me…I hate being hit on and may just ignore you instead)
-If you like a band that played tell them you liked them – many independent bands don’t hear that enough
-Try sticking around for more than just one band – you might be glad you did
Tips for traveling to see your parents (if they reside within 300 miles of your current location)
-Plan on having to spend more time than you planned with them (they will inevitably make you leave later than you planned no matter how much you try to get out of dinner/lunch/etc.)
-Pack lightly – especially if you are going for less than a day (being as they will probably make you run late for whatever plans you had upon your return and you may not -have time to stop by your house to drop everything off)
-If you had switched keys out for any reason REMEMBER to move your house key over!!!! (your current house not theirs – that won’t help you)
Tips for getting a window replaced in your vehicle:
-Call around and get as many quotes as possible
-Ask your co-workers/friends for recommendations as they’ve probably had to have similar work done at one point or another (did you know downtown LA has a glass district?)
-Check the weather forecast – although you want to get it fixed asap, you may want to get it fixed super-asap if a 90% chance of rain is in the cards.
-Besides letting them know make,model, year of your car let them know the tint of your window if they don’t ask and if it’s a window that rolls up and down, etc.
Why am I telling you all of this, and what does one thing have to do with the other? Let me explain…
Saturday started out according to plan. Early rise to deal with some TRAffIK stuff, then drive out to Bakersfield to my parents house to pick up my car which was having it’s brakes worked on and my dad and brother insisted I take it to our regular mechanic. I was happy to be getting my car back without having to worry about screeching to a halt and even happier I did take it to that mechanic as repairs came in under $300 (I’d let it get to the grinding point due to a hectic schedule and was afraid it was going to be closer to a grand).
Plus I got to hang out with my parents and brother, which I don’t do nearly enough as many of you know. Most of our hanging out occurs when one of us is passing through the town the other(s) reside in or meeting in the middle for dinner (or as I refer to them – the State of Contreras Family Union Meetings)
Anyhow, knowing that they’d probably make me run late and knowing that I had plans with friend “Lady Di” to go watch Pu$$ycow and the Mo-Odds at Blue Star (sorry Ex-Gentlemen, I didn’t know you were playing on that bill until we got there – I’ll catch you soon!!!!) I had packed a few essentials to freshen up pre-drive back, like a change of clothes, flat-iron, make-up (You know the basics – I’m not really as high maintenance as I may initially appear).
I drove back and miraculously pretty much made the 9:30 pm time I’d set to pick up Lady Di and we proceeded to get lost for over an hour even though we have both been to Blue Star a trillion times. We still got there just in time to catch P-Cow, Monogroove, and The Mo-Odds. Fun show, fun times. Kind of a low key night for us but I’d had a loooooooong day and was supposed to get up early next day to meet up with Stylist Neiman Tate (look out for his feature running Thursday here) and Lady Di was getting up early for a hike so we bailed from attending the after-party.
As we got to my car I noticed Lady Di got quieter and was trying to tell me something, but in my head I was already thinking about everything I had to do the next day. Then she either told me or I saw it, someone had broken my rear passenger window to get into my car to take stuff, I’m sure. My first thought’s were “great and I’d just gotten it detailed,” it appeared that all they did was a grab and go only taking what was in my backseat. Normally that stuff would be in my back cargo area except I didn’t have enough room back there due to the microwave and roughly 30 – 50 gift bags (for a future event) that were back there (stuff that you might think would be more enticing to a thief, but remained intact).
So what they ended up being the lucky recipients of was: my workout clothes and sneakers, my back-up black purse,two dresses I’d planned on returning, a bunch of cds (mainly mix cd’s and local bands, a not yet circulated Silver Needle CD, oh and Tom Petty’s Greatest Hits which used to live in my car), my flatiron, and my make-up (this probably bothered me the most as it is expensive make-up that they probably just dumped somewhere), and a bunch of bills (that I’m hoping they’ll take care of – I’m not going to think about them now knowing where I live). I managed to stay calm was more irritated than angry. I hate being inconvenienced and this is a huge one.
Anyhow, I’m now dealing with getting my window replaced since all glass repair places were closed Sunday and rain is in the forecast for tonight. So was a show that was originally free worth $200 in damage? Probably not. Will I see these bands again? Of course and you should too. Will I go to Blue Star again? Yes, Kash (the owner) is great as is his staff despite this incident, plus it’s not the venue’s fault, it may take me a while to want to drive there again but it’s a great place to catch shows in the summer (I myself have put on a show there). I’ve had many adventures and fun times including stealing Elvis and someone else almost getting him ran over (where did Elvis go anyway?).
People shouldn’t stop going to these out of the way places to catch shows, and with the way the economy is these days I am sure there will be even more incidents like this where people act more so out of desperation than malice so just be aware of what could happen and plan/act accordingly.
I hope whomever did this gave themselves a make-over (both physically and musically). In the words of Neil Simon (not the one you’re thinking of) “It’s the least they could do.”
So if you see anyone walking around in a Siria like outfit carrying a Chevignon bag please feel free to kick him in the groin for me, unless they look fabulous then congratulate them on such a great new look and take their photo and send to me and we’ll post here.
xoxo
*”Lady Di” – Name has been changed to protect identity and since she was already christened with this name by Amanda Jones here, I thought I’d keep it.
YOUNG AND RECKLESS IN L.A. – STORIES OF A GIRL WITHOUT HESITATION: Making Friends in L.A.
Sometimes in life I have noticed that the filter of what I should and shouldn’t do blends itself rather easily.
I like that I’m spontaneous and this usually makes for a really good story – but sometimes thinking about what I should do rather than just doing it is called for.
This isn’t one of those times.
On a Saturday recently I decided to crash a neighbors party that I have never met nor ever seen. I heard music coming from my window, opened it slightly, confirmed that yes – that is young people music – and then decided to venture out to explore.I grabbed my girlfriend who was over to watch a movie, kissed the sleeping boyfriend goodbye and went exploring. I said to the boyfriend, “There’s a party up the street and the girl and I are going to check it out” (more…)