[a small light in the darkness]

First - happy belated birthday to midnightscott, blackradish, cxc, rhainangel, ding_0_, goofy_goff, glass_grenade, and radiantdaffodil! I'm really sorry I missed getting your wishes to you in time, but I haven't been around. I've been thinking about all of you, though.
And today! TODAY is xelucha's birthday! May it be filled with BPAL, great old psychedelic folk, and delicious tea!

So I've waited so long to give a real update that I'm starting to lose details. Most of the part of the trip that concerned B'more was either spent with my Mom or with the ever-delightful djdayglo. Mom replaced her screened porch in the back yard with a glassed-in screenhouse, and she and I spent a LOT of time sitting out there and enjoying it, often with Queenie at our feet. I managed to get some time with Wendy at a strangely depleted Daily Grind, and then with Wendy and scary_kisses for a fabulous dinner at One World [and rampantpuppy even showed up, a super surprise!] and MUCH talking. It was a seriously laid-back visit, which I probably really needed. Sunday I rolled out around half-time [so my Mom wouldn't have her game interrupted, hehee] and drove over to Shirlington to meet up with jukebox_heroine, oletheros, crossbonesdj, and jesusbunny at Aladdin's for fabulous Middle Eastern fare and delightful, silly conversation. [and CAKE. Delicious chocolate cake!] Even managed to make it into Charlottesville in time to catch the entirety of the Synthetic Division/In Tenebris/ The Last Dance show.

Can I just say that the show was SO good... I'm really glad I made it. I had a couple of moments there, standing up front and letting the extremely tight set from In Tenebris wash over me - yeah, it gets hard sometimes to leave the past behind. I do miss Cville, and I feel like I'm already a part of the past there... as well it should be, but still. It was tough.

IHop with fabulous peoples! [I managed to get it twice, after that show AND after Umlaut, how super is that?] Still not enough time to talk to redzshadow, there never is enough time. A lot of coffee, time to catch up with my favourite Squidgewife krasota... a delightful dinner with krues8dr, who I miss quite a bit... having solieri help me make my now-infamous costume in the meter parking lot by the Downtown Mall... endless coffee at Mudhaus.

UMLAUT! What fun! Despite that I had to convince someone that insulting the music that the DJ was currently spinning was NOT the way to get a request played, I had a BLAST and it was definitely the sendoff I could only have dreamed of having. The place was packed, the costumes were funny and/or amazing, people were pleasant and huggy and happy and silly, and the dance floor was packed. DJing with thatritebastard and audiorapture was as pleasant and fun as always - I'll miss trading sets with you. Being there definitely confirmed that I'm making the right decision - not only did I feel like retiring was the right thing to do, I had a serious reaction to the smoke about halfway through the night and it was baaaaad. However, I did have an excellent time while there, and all my thanks go out to wanderyng1, Umlaut and R2/Rapture for having me there... and to everyone for being there. Thank you.

The last IHop had the lovely carnaval_noir and nannar in the party - Brian was an AWESOME werewolf. I feel like I hardly got to talk to Kristy, but that wasn't her fault. [miss you, girlie!] I also didn't get nearly enough time talking to nothingoth and aleiphein. I did get more time with Maya, but I could have used more more more. More time with Patrick would have been cool, too.
HOWEVER. It was a great night. And the next day, lunch at Panera before shipping out was also SUPER. Thank you guys for making time for me.

The drive home was tiring. I came home and was just wiped out. In fact, I've been pooped for a week. Yet another signal that I'm getting too old for this. ._.

And speaking of getting too old for stuff - I need to sleep. I hope I didn't miss anything vital. I love all you guys. Look for an Umlaut setlist tomorrow. Now, sleep.

For those who are somehow living under a rock and haven't heard, I will be SPINNING AT cville_umlaut - That is, CLUB UMLAUT @ R2 IN CHARLOTTESVILLE VA - ON HALLOWEEN. It is my "retirement" gig. That means that if YOU can show up, I would be THRILLED!

This means that I want this night to be as awesome as I can make it, which means I am turning to YOU to ask - what do YOU want to hear ME spin on HALLOWEEN? [I like caps lock wheee!]

If it is SPOOKY and AWESOME and I have it or can manage to get it by Tuesday, I WILL SPIN IT. Make your requests in a reply to this. I'll start packing my DJ box tonight. I leave on Wednesday night for Baltimore [my first stop on the trip] so after that you're SOL.

I'll make a post separate to this with my rough travel-and-appearance schedule :)

( We got a flyer under here! )

From the post that wanderyng1 made:

I want to give you all plenty of warning to clear your calendars. We've got our own local DJ Ritebastard joining the lovely DJ Xiane (MrsTigglebottom if you're nasty) on Halloween night for Umlaut. Come forthe costume party, stay for the dancing. There will indeed be a costume contest; I'll announce the intended prizes on the Umlaut website this Friday (http://clubumlaut.org).

If you need details, let me know - this should be a night to remember! And if you're going to be there, I'm taking requests NOW.