Presumed to be awesome.

Saturday night found us at the official opening of what has now been declared the Best Damn Bar in WeHo, The Office West Hollywood, with the hottest, friendliest staff ever. Seriously, these boys are adorable and they love us like Dean Winchester loves pie! As they should. For we are awesome and we were totally the funnest table at the bar that night! And we have the pictures to prove it. *g*

But, that's for another post. This post is all about DARREN FREAKIN' CRISS!!!!! ( So, the Darren portion of the evening started with this: )

Ahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He's so damn adorable and so nice and charming and just RIDICULOUS AMOUNTS OF AWESOME!!!! We did tell him that we'd be having lunch with him soon because we'd just won the charity auction and he's all "awesome, you'll get to see me stuff my face!" *laughs* He did promise me that he'd take us somewhere nice. :)

The M&G was super fast, but it was handled really well, and he was gorgeous and charming and completely precious, and it was SO VERY WEIRD to be one of only 5 or 6 girls in line for the M&G, after having recently stood in M&G lines for Adam Lambert. The gay boys have mad love for Darren, let me tell you! Poor Adam, man. He would have been in heaven! *g*

So, the Darren portion of the night started with a hug from Darren and ended with Darren singing his entire set no more than TWO FEET FROM MY FAAAAACE!!!!!! Holy crap he was so close I could practically see his tonsils when he sang! *laughs* The bar was teeny-tiny. The piano he was playing at was tucked into the corner, and we were at the closest table to the piano. But by the time everyone squooshed up behind me, I was getting close and personal with the cute little twink in front of me and Darren was singing right in front of our faces. And, really, I don't know what I enjoyed more, Darren being OMG right the fuck there, or the cute little twink in front of me completely loosing his shit over Darren the entire time! He was so freakin' adorable!!! His name was Scotty. I know this because after Darren's set he turns to me and is all "I feel as if I've been in a relationship with you," let's meet! *g* Seriously, though, he was SO EXCITED over Darren. It was presh!

Anyway, Darren sounded AH-MAY-ZING! He did about a 40 minute set. He opened with this wonderful, slowed down cover of Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone," and he closed with "Not Alone." I'm sure I'm forgetting some of it, but this is what I remember of his set list, in no particular order, because my brain was pretty tequila soaked at this point:

- "Since U Been Gone"
- "Teenage Dream"
- "Let It Be" -- this was awesome and he had the entire bar singing along!
- "Coolest Girl"
- "Desperado" -- loved this!
- "Hit Me, Baby"
- "That's All" - so beautiful!
- a Disney cover, but I'll be damned if I can remember which one
- "Not Alone"

Also, DARREN STARED INTO MY SOUL!!!!!!!



Seriously, we were so close it was a little freaky. But awesome. Definitely awesome!

( My pictures of DARREN'S FAAAAAACE!!!!! )

There are videos of most of his set HERE. (With thanks to godlizza for the vids!) It cracks my shit up that you can totally hear us scream "THE COOLEST BITCH ON EARTH GOD DAMMIT" during "Coolest Girl"! We rock! :D

Thank the gods one of the brilliant professional photographers at the event had the presence of mind to shoot this picture:



HANDS!!!!!! Sweet jam on crackers, his hands. His gorgeous, talented hands! Excuse me while my mind goes to the dirtywrongHOT place for a moment. *bites lip*

Ahem. Ok, that was fun. *g*

Also, this happened:



*IZ DED*


You guys. The entire night was AMAZING! So much fun. So much pretty. So much tequila!!! :D

And now Darren is probably losing sleep over having to take three crazy chicks out to lunch at some point in the near future. *g* Sorry, Darren! We'll be gentle! I promise! :)

I'm focusing on the positive, so let's talk about awesome, happy-making things! :D

First awesome, happy-making thing: DARREN FREAKIN' CRISS!!!! I got tickets to see him play a show in L.A. on March 26th to benefit the AIDS Project L.A. Awesome music for an awesome cause!!! (There are, by the way, a few tickets still available at that link.)

It's going to be a small show, only 150 tickets being sold. Even better? We ninja-ed tickets a day before they were announced publicly and managed to score MEET AND GREETS WITH DARREN FREAKIN' CRISS!!!! Ahhhhh!!!! Even 24 hours later, I can barely contain my flail!

And betterer still? I get to enjoy all this awesome, happy-makingness with mah girls, _lisalisa_, coolwhipdiva and azewewish!!! So. Much. Happy. Making!!!!

This also means that Darren has given me the perfect excuse for a much needed weekend in L.A. So, heads up to my other L.A. chicas, brunch on Sunday, March 27??? Y/Y? *beams*

Second awesome, happy-making thing: ( Adam Freakin' Lambert! )

( My t.v. shows have also been awesome and happy making lately. )

More awesome, happy making: my friend Sara is in town from Nashville and I'll be seeing her tonight. Sara is one of my oldest friends ever and I love that, no matter how much time passes, we can always pick up as if we had just seen each other the day before.

( And, finally, awesome, happy-making for my peeps in the Houston and Austin areas: )

I think it's patently clear that I love Adam Lambert like I love rainbows and glitter and fabulous make-up and all things sparkly and wonderful in this world. So, it should tell y'all something when I say that even though I absolutely loved Adam's last two Glam Nation shows, Darren's shows at The Roxy were probably the highlight of this trip to L.A. for me.

We had tickets to both his afternoon and evening show. I'm glad we did because even though we timed our arrival at the venue for sometime after the doors were supposed to have opened, there was still a significant line to get in -- a line out in the non-stop rain that drenched the greater L.A. area the entire time I was there. Once we finally made it into The Roxy, we were all nice and damp and Darren was already well into his set. But, on the plus side, The Roxy is a great venue and I was able to find a great spot on the stairs back at the bar to watch the rest of the show. Sweet jam on crackers, that boy is the very definition of ADORABLE!!!

After the first show, azewewish, coolwhipdiva, llandaffaz, and @morgaine99 all decided they would pass on the second show; _lisalisa_ and I, however, went back out to stand in the rain again until they opened the doors for the evening show. I found it both hilarious and indicative of my levels of smitten-ness (totes a word!) that, while I absolutely refused to stand in line in order to get a good spot on the floor for Adam's shows, on Saturday I found myself not only standing in line for Darren's shows, but standing in line IN THE FUCKING RAIN....TWICE!!! *laughs* sabrinagb and editorzon joined me and Lisa for the second show. We managed to grab a table for this show, so not only did we have a place to finally sit and alcohol and food service, but we had an AMAZING view for the show!

The set lists for both shows were the same, so I was able to see what I had missed from the first show. He opened with The Circle of Life!!! Seriously, people, he sings Disney covers! Unironically! I just can't tell you how much I love him for this! <333



( Darren Criss Live at The Roxy )


He was so much fun to watch live. I love his music; he's a freakin' musical genius who can play like a dozen different instruments; and there was just so much talent in his band! And his adorableness factor is just through the roof! He's just too precious for words!!! This is me being ridiculously smitten with Darren Criss! *hearts in my eyes FOREVER*

And it was just SO much fun to watch this show with my girls who were equally as DELIGHTED as I was with Darren!!! Thank you, _lisalisa_, editorzon, and sabrinagb, for sharing the Darren Criss lovefest with me! *mwah*

I finally conquered my humongous To Do list! I'm all packed and ready to head out at too damn early in the morning for L.A. Yay!!!

I am SO looking forward to a long weekend with my best girlfriends, rockin' the last two shows of Adam Lambert's Glam Nation tour, seeing Darren Criss (twice!), Monte Pittman's solo show, showing llandaffaz and Vivian around L.A. and doing all the touristy things that I never do anymore, spending some long overdue quality time with editorzon, azewewish, _lisalisa_, coolwhipdiva and sabrinagb, fitting in some holiday festivities, and all the other assorted shenanigans that are sure to ensue! I'm expecting lots of alcohol to be consumed, plenty of glitter thrown in the air, lots of great music to dance to, great conversations and abundant laughter. Good times shall be had! See y'all on the flip side! :D

(Oh, and thanks for any of those good thoughts sent my way today. The good juju definitely helped and all ended well! Hopefully that will be the last time I'll have to deal with the jackass ex-boss.)

I've been in such a maudlin funk for the past couple of weeks, and it's really becoming rather tiresome. And then the past couple of days I've been so freakin' tired. I think I pretty much slept most of Monday and Tuesday. Which, hello, depression red flag, how are you doin? Ugh.

I am SO looking forward to next week's trip to L.A. A week away and doing things I enjoy with people I enjoy is just what I need to kick my ass out of this pity party I've been wallowing in.

Speaking of this trip, I'm highly amused that I have tickets to 5 different live music events over the course of 4 days! In fact, I have tickets to THREE SHOWS for Saturday alone! Haha! Like I've said, either we rock really damn hard or we are completely crazy! Either way, I love this amazing group of friends who enable these shenanigans! <333

Two of the three Saturday shows are for ( Darren Criss!!! )

Speaking of the adorable Darren Criss, I loved his scene with Chris Colfer in this week's Glee. Sure it was completely lacking in context, and just sort of shoe-horned into that episode, but I DON'T REALLY CARE! That scene was ONE OF THE BEST THINGS I'VE SEEN ON T.V. EVER!!! ( Just look at their wittle faaaaces!!! <333 )

I actually kinda liked this episode beyond just the Kurt/Blaine adorableness. I mean, really, Glee kids and cheesy holiday songs. What's not to love? I loved Brittany and her belief in Santa Claus and all the other Glee kids rallying to make sure she doesn't lose that. And I loved the scene with Coach Bieste. And Sue the Grinch! I'm still pretty MEH on the Rachel/Finn story line, but the rest of it totally worked for squishy, happy, holiday feel-goodness.

Not to be outdone on the ADORABLENESS factor, ( Chris Colfer makes my heart happy with his very existence!!! )

Ok, I have fic recs and some other stuff, but I think I've spammed y'all enough for one afternoon with the ridiculous shit that's brightening up my otherwise gloomy week. I don't know about you, but I certainly feel better about life now! *beams*

Had I mentioned that I'll be in Long Beach this weekend for a family wedding? Well, I will be and I leave tomorrow morning. As per usual, I am packing at the last minute. Go me! :/ *frantic*

I'm traveling with my mom, several aunts, and my grandmother. The likelihood that my sanity does not survive the weekend in tact is very high. But, on the bright side: WEDDING RECEPTION WITH AN OPEN BAR!!! :D I anticipate many tequila shots on Saturday night. \o/

I won't be around until Sunday night. So I leave y'all with ( this: )

I hope y'all have a fantabulous weekend! Be good to yourselves; be good to each other! *mwah*

I wanna talk t.v., but first: I GOT TICKETS TO SEE ADAM IN L.A. IN DECEMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The last Glam Nation show of the tour! In L.A.! With mah girls! So much fabulosity!!! *flails*

Ahem. Ok. So, t.v.

First, Sons of Anarchy got tapped for a fourth season!!! More wickedly hot, totally fucked up dudes on motorcycles!!! More badass, morally ambiguous chicks!!! This makes me exceedingly happy!

Second, is anyone else watching LOGO's The A-List New York? It premiered this week and it's been described as the Gay Housewives of New York. While I don't normally watch those types of reality shows, I love Mike Ruiz's work, so I decided to check it out to see more of him. So glad I did! It was both fabulous and ridiculous! Also, I highly approve of their propensity to run around shirtless! And to have naked!times in the hot tub! Hot New York gay boys! What's not to love about that??? *g*

Third, GLEE. Lately my twitter feed and flist has been full of "OMG I hate this character so much!" and "that character is a douche!" and "this other character is SO annoying!" Or some other such version of the "Glee sucketh" song. And, I'm just wondering, WHY??? Isn't the entire point of the show that all of these characters are flawed and fucked up and plain unlikeable in some way? Um, pretty much the same way we ALL were in high school? And isn't what makes this show great is that there are delightful flashes of humanity despite all the flaws? And aren't those moments made even more brilliant because the characters are so imperfect? I know this is why I love the show. You know, other than the awesomely cheesy and fabulous cover songs. So, um, am I missing something? *confused*

Ok, I think that was all I had to say about t.v. for now. Basically: More SoA, yay! The A-List is ridiculously fab - y'all should watch! And, where's the Glee love??? So, yeah, if you want, you can come and talk to me about these things and I'll probably have more words to say about them! *g*

Also, um, Braves, WTF was that? No, really. WTAF?

So this morning I woke up to the nice little surprise of having no voice whatsoever! Ack! I do not approve! I need to be able to talk!!! Yesterday I had a horrible sore throat, but I chalked it up to allergies, even though the sore throat seemed to laugh at the multiple Benadryls I threw at it. And then this morning, POOF, no voice! Plus, the added fun of a hacking cough! Good times! Or, you know, NOT! So, since I couldn't talk, and, really, TALK is what I do a lot of at work, I decided to work from home. Silently. And grumpily. Because I want my voice back!!!

I refuse to let this ruin my weekend in L.A.! *stubborn*

ION, This isn't funny, Jeremy! You better get be ok, dammit! And, Jason, please to be taking better care of your boy!.

Let's talk about ME! *beams*

First, work has been kickin' my butt, but despite the months of 10-12 hour days, I'm still feeling fairly positive about it. Yeah, I don't even know. But I'm having FUN doing my job again and that's pretty awesome.

Second, in case y'all didn't know this, I ROCK! *g* That's true for a lot of reasons, but at the moment I'm referring to me rockin' the Take Better Care of Me Plan that is still going fantastically, if imperfectly, well. Not only have I been eating mindfully and journaling all my food for over 2 1/2 months, but I've also managed to lose 27 pounds. I could definitely be more consistent with the exercise portion of the Take Better Care of Me Plan, but I'm working on it and, more importantly, I'm not beating myself up over the imperfections. So, um, GO ME!!! \o/

Third, I've been making some summer travel plans and other plans for Fun Things To Do this summer, and I'm super excited for what's ahead!

( Summer Fun )

And, here are some other fabulously sparkly tidbits for our Friday:

>> Russell Crowe and his Merry Men singing Beautiful Girls:



This brightened my whole day yesterday! And, to make it even more fantastic, according to his Twitter, they repeated this performance on the Spanish Steps in Rome later that day! *loves and loves* Can we get those damn TOFOG dates now!

>> Photos from the set of Adam Lambert's music video shoot for If I Had You where he invited all of his magical friends to take part in the all night party a la Burning Man video. Cheeks! Cassidy! Alisan! Rahab! And practically all the Zodiac cast! Eeee!!! So many fabulous people! I cannot wait to see this video!

>> Meet Adam and do good! Charity auction of an Adam Lambert concert and meet & greet to benefit City of Hope. I'm SO tempted!

Mercury went retrograde yesterday, which, technically speaking means: oh shit, hold on tight, it's gonna be a riiiide. So, you know, fun times ahead! *g*

On the plus side, though, there has been a plethora of awesomeness announced in the past couple of days!

For example, Russell Crowe is stranded in L.A. and decided to pass the time by joining Twitter! I find this highly amusing. Even more so imagining azewewish rolling her eyes in general Twitter-related annoyance. *laughs* But the BEST part about Russell's recent dive into the Twitter world was his announcement this weekend that TOFOG is (a) releasing a new album around August!!!! and (b) touring the U.S. this summer!!!! *flails* It looks as if the plan is to do a 10 year anniversary show at Stubb's in Austin in August, and from there hit various cities! Chicago, Portland, San Fransisco, and L.A. were specifically named! I am so all over Austin, and L.A., and maybe even Portland and/or San Fransisco!!! Eeeeee!!! TOFOG!!! Live! Sooooon!!!! I cannot wait!!!

And while I was still amidst my flail over TOFOG, azewewish texted me with the news that MUSE has finally decided to do an L.A. show!!! They have, in fact, 3 So-Cal shows in September. San Diego and Anaheim are mid-week, so I'm not sure I can make those. But I am definitely on board for the L.A. show!!! They were spectacular and I am thrilled to be able to catch them again on this tour! Exciting!!!

There are also plans in the works for catching Roger Waters' The Wall 2010 show in L.A. with without_me in late November!!! *flails more*

And, and, AND!!!! Adam Lambert finally announced some summer tour dates!!!! Unfortunately there is so far only one date on the west coast. It looks as if I'll be at the OC Fair in late July! I'm hoping that there will be more dates/cities posted soon. *crosses fingers* Otherwise, anyone wanna go to Atlantic City with me??? (I so wish I were kidding about that!)

Ahhh!!! So much amazingness!!!