mutate

Weekend update, bitchez!



Saturday

Went back to what will soon be the new apartment for a second look. I saw it last weekend and was enthralled enough to come straight home, fill out the application, write a cover letter and fax/email it all in. The rental company approved me and sent me the lease late in the week, and I had classic "buyer's remorse": I really hadn't had a very good look at it, I felt rushed because the tenant was in the apartment at the time, etc. etc.

The second look absolutely sealed the deal for me. I'm not saying it's the bestest apartment E!V!A!H! It most assuredly is not, but it's quite decent, and will suit me just fine. Plus, woodburning fireplace! (This means I need to learn how to USE a woodburning fireplace!)


I spent the rest of Bastille Day .... watching an English soccer team... play a Mexican one. At Stanford. Yeah, totally bizarre. Chelsea v. Club America at the Stanford Stadium was superfantastic. I bought tickets just as soon as I found out the game was on - so we were in the second row off the field! Close enough to see the sweat (and the quads, but I digress!) The cast of characters around us definitely added to the atmosphere. The row in front of us was crowded with Club America fans who, in true soccer-style, were terribly unsporting everytime Chelsea played well. Also hilarious: all kitted out in Club America gear, they still felt it was a-okay to try and sell Chelsea jerseys that they had purchased somewhere during halftime.



Sunday

I have a weird thing for music in Portugese. One of my favorite groups is Os Mutantes, a Brazilian, psych-era group known for their contributions to tropicalia. I can't begin to tell you how excited I was when I saw they were playing the Stern Grove Festival. Reneging slightly on my "month of me", I sent out an email to SF-peeps I know inviting them to join me. But, no matter, I ended up going by myself.

I arrived two hours early, but that was not early enough. I was up in the hills above the concert meadow. I managed to snag a seat with an obstructed view of the stage. It was the equivalent of a nose (or ear)-bleed seat. The main thoroughfare to get up the hill was to my left. As the day progressed, I watched more and more people slipsurf down the hill trying to descend. Eventually, people were straight falling on their asses.

The opening act was Los Amigos Invisibles, a Venezuelan group with a large following in the audience. And then, Os Mutantes took the stage wearing all manner of funked out costumes. Even at my great distance, it was great to see them live, and to sing along (okay - that was only to the one song they do in French.)

At the end of the show, one of the Brazilians near me stood and addressed the audience as a whole, "THIS IS BRAZILIAN MUSIC! YOU LIKE IT?" Yes, yes I do.