Well, AIM is down and LJ is down: the online equivalent of a blackout. Now I'm essentially turning on a flashlight and scribbling away.

I'm sick, so tomorrow I'm going to leave work and then come back after going to the ear, nose and throat doctor. My parents are both sick (my dad is never sick). People at work are sick. Friends are sick. It's cold season, I guess. It being in the 60s inside our office each morning probably doesn't help. My cold has gone from my nose to my throat; I'm now in that scratchy throat stage. My nose isn't affected as much as it used to be, but I'd like to head everything off at the pass if I can. Also, I've got a few minor bill, insurance and monetary issues that I secretly rather enjoy because they make me feel grown-up. Hahaha.

And now, a series of vignettes from the Atlanta show on the 29th of last month. Not a true, traditional recap, however. I keep expecting Atlanta shows to be fun all-around, and they never are, for some reason. Oh well. This is also a little rusty since it's been over a week.

In the car on 85-S on the way to Buckhead, Julie and I: "2, 4, 6, 8...." "We're going to masturbate!" Hey, it rhymes.

After we ate at TGI Applebees or wherever it was (where Vance, Herbie and The Boy In A Rosebud Shirt Who Looks Like Jay Who Later Would Later Be Shown to In Fact Be A Woman Named Samantha were all eating) we showed up late to the instore, and Emily started crying. We met up with some cool folks like Leo, and Chris, and Olivia, and Dave (with Barrett) and Sara Miller's mother, and Laura Holder whom I didn't recognize at first. I bought "Vertigo" for Julie and got us some ugly posters. Julie still has the posters, I think.

Emily pitched a fit while we were waiting in line, and as the line drained out we shot the shit with folks, including a surprise for me when Jonny knew my name; I know this because of Rebecca. I was all nervous in line, because, ridiculous as it is, I was struck by a wave of wussiness and intimidation at the sight of the surprisingly f'in gorgeous Jump, Little Children. I know, I've seen them a zillion times, but people, they're hot, and they were all sitting there in a row and being charming or something close to it, and they made me nervous. I am just a mess when I am nervous. It's real sad.

I'm scared of boys.

Anyway, I had Ward call Manashi at work on my cell phone, just like I told her I would, and they had a cute conversation in which he told her how he thought of her when he watched CNN and how they looked for her in the background of the shots. Psssh. I told him to ask her if she'd thrown up yet. She pretended to not know what I was talking about, so I probably looked like an idiot, but hey, that's nothing new, and it was worth it. ;)

Matt hugged me and asked me about my stalkers.

Megan and I showed Ward the Rasputina CD we wanted him to hear the first track of. To sum up, he never had the time to listen to it. I think I would be fine with him never hearing it.

Julie had to go back to her mother-in-law's. Megan and Allen and I drove to Little Five Points, and we went to Junkman's Daughter (I found a shirt that forced me to buy it, and some other cheap things) and to Savage Pizza to almost-eat. Lots of Jump people in the area.

So we waited outside the VP forever with a lot of cool people. Once inside after having no problems with the list I managed to nab a front-on-the-right side place, and my back already hurt like shit. But I was around a lot of cool people. We sat on the stage while "The Bends" played, until they made us get down. David Mead opened, and Jay hovered in the wings and glowered in a sexy and presumably jealous way, especially when Evan, Jonny and Ward played with David. David seemed taken with Ward. It was funny to hear them play on that postcard song that they've so often walked on stage to.

The stage is made of wood. We were right up against it. From our standpoint, we got, um, the brunt of the kickdrum, and of Ward's guitar. Lesson in physics: loud noise causes wood to vibrate. A bonus. Lots of exaggerated faces from me and laughter from Megan.

My Cha was to my left, and I was on Cha Control, in case she started crying, because she can't play the cello due to an accident that befell her wrist. And hey, we were RIGHT in front of Ward. At one point, she had to take some pain meds, and no one around us had any water. So I passed Ward a note, asking if he could help us out. So he gave her his water bottle and she took her pills. Geez, the deeds I do. ;) Cha didn't cry, not even during "Julie-O."

I know I'm going to sound like an idiot here. Indulge me. But I've never been one to get eye contact from people on stage; it might have happened, rarely, but I tend to avoid it because I'm shy. But Matt looked at me and smiled, for, oh, four seconds, and I was in the front row, so I don't think I'm being all that delusional. It was neat, anyway.

I was so happy that they played "Jump, Little Children" with their solos. I missed that. I almost cling to it.

After the show, there was the traditional ongoing greeting of my peeps, which was especially sweet this time for some reason. Lots of cool people. :) Leo and I got along like a house on fire after the show, as previously stated. Sometimes you just are instant friends with people.

Okay. Good things about after show: meeting J.C. and thanking him for putting me on the list, and him knowing right away who I was. Meeting Samantha the Androgyne (that's not a slag). Giving Matt the review my mother wrote up of "Vertigo." Telling Matt I liked him better than Ward and that he gave better hugs. Jonny remembering the first time he met me, three years ago. And here I didn't think he even knew my name. Matt offering for Leo and I to join them bowling. We ended up driving around and talking 'til 5, Leo and I. It was kind of depressing, because my usual aftershow high was MIA and Leo and I were talking about how J,LC is like heroin and whatnot. But that's how it went.

Well, I finally got all that done with. I've been in a philosophical, mind-expanding (no, not drugs) mood lately, and I've been evaulating things. And sometimes I wish things could stay the same, but they can't.

The 16th will be the third anniversary of my first real Jump show.