A Busy Thursday

I think I had the busiest, most varied Thursday in a long time yesterday. After working almost a normal length workday, I hustled over the courthouse to be a witness at my friend's wedding. Luckily, courtroom weddings don't last very long, so we were in and out of there in less than an hour. (Would've been less time than that if they actually honored the appointment times they set up in advance. It appeared that the groups with the most children running around the courthouse got in first. Four normal-acting adults were going to be last, I could tell.)

Then Corrie and I were on the road to the Foo Fighters concert at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs. Even Council Bluffs does a better job of handling large events than Lincoln does-the Mid-America Center has plenty of FREE parking right by the building. The security check was light-no heavy groping like at the TOOL and Nine Inch Nails shows we usually go to. (also no lines in the women's restrooms, but I think there were lines in the men's-that's not something you witness everyday.) I was a little afraid this show would be a little fluffy compared to someone like TOOL, but it was very good. I'll make this brief and to the point-I liked the whole show. I was pleased with the opening band, Against Me-they had a little bit of an old school punk rock sound. Then there was Serj Tankian, who is an extraordinary performer, and I admit I was probably looking more forward to seeing him than seeing Foo Fighters. While I'm glad that the Foo Fighters have had the success that they've had, I really wish their songs haven't been overplayed on the radio for the last 10 years. They really do put on a good show, though, including a long acoustic set that was performed from a 2nd stage at the back of the arena, very close to our seats!

Unfortunately, the headache I felt coming on earlier in the day turned into a doozy during the show, even though I drank some water, had no beer, only inhaled second-hand smoke from various sources, and wore my ear plugs. (By the way, I highly recommend ear plugs for concerts-they make it sound so much cleaner, and you can actually still hear after the show.) I was hoping we could visit a casino after the show, since we were in Iowa and all, and they're right there, but my head was almost hurting too much to go. I kept thinking the headache would surely go away, so I convinced Corrie to stop at Ameristar. I think I was hoping I'd hit it big on the quarter slots, and THAT would make my headache go away. Alas, there was no hitting it big for me. So we left the dinging bells and smoky air and headed back to Lincoln around midnight. The headache didn't go away until many advil and a good night's sleep, and even today I feel a little weird.

In the middle of my busy Thursday, I also got my bike tuned up at the Monkey Wrench Cycles downtown. I'm really pleased with their work, check them out if you are ever in need of their services.