I went to Bloomington again last night for more trials in social anxiety. Yay! MPerfect and pLopPop were showing at the Art Hospital. The Impossible Shapes played 2 short sets throughout the evening as well.

Sadly, it’s easy to lose interest in the same room of art after looping it for 30 minutes. I apparently arrived too early, despite the 75-mile drive there. However, two different girls asked me for help throughout the evening because they thought I “looked like a regular.” I think that’s a compliment. I think it was really because my green jacket clashed horribly with my green t-shirt. Only someone who frequented art shows would try to pull that off, right? :)

Anyway, the art was really cool. I loved most all of MPerfect’s pieces. I had a terrible time deciding which to buy. I love his patterns and colors. He was pleased with the piece I chose, All up in your disaster (pictured), since it is one of his favorites. I really love the title. I told him of my struggles to decide, and he said it’s usually his aim to suck, but he’ll try to be better at it next time. :)

pLopPop’s art was interesting, but not so much my style. He basically recycles old paintings by painting a new modern style over them, trying to make them something new. Both the artists stayed at John’s house the previous night and I heard his gigantic barn painting got “converted” throughout the night.

I liked The Impossible Shapes. They’d been recommended to me before so this was a nice/free opportunity to see them. I can’t say I will go buy their music, but I definitely appreciate them live. “Pixie Pride”, “Willow Willow Yew”, & “Let the Mushroom teach you” (sketchy on titles) were some especially strong songs. Their sound reminded me a bunch of The Vegetables, who I really enjoy. It was kind of psychedelic rock. Excellent set but the singer was definitely a bit strange, speaking of “tree alphabets” and “the mushrooms the smurfs lived in.”

The band’s bassist and some guy Nick, another friend of John’s, live in a loft above the gallery, which you have to admit is pretty cool, so long as you don’t mind late nights. We got a tour from Nick, who showed us his bear head. I’m not kidding. He’s a vegan taxidermist and that was his current project. And he was wearing a suit & tie and had plans to go to an indoor slip n slide party afterward. Just never know what you’re gonna find at an art show. I high-fived some guy who goes by “Unicorn.” I had a complete stranger walk in to the gallery, put his face 3” from mine, and stare at me. I was pretty sure I’d never seen him before, so I kept turning over to stare back with a confused look. Then he walked away. He did the same thing to Ryan right before he left.

I was glad to have made the trip, though. It was good times and nice to see John, Ben, & Ryan again. I also got to meet John’s friend, Stephanie, who was visiting from NC I believe. She was super nice. The only bad part was the drive home at midnight. I was so tired. And a word of advice, the ending portion of “Nights in White Satin” is not a safe track for sleepy drivers. I love the song and had to listen but it was completely putting me in a meditative state. Not safe at 70mph. Lyrics for reference:

Breathe deep the gathering gloom
Watch lights fade from every room
Bedsetter people look back and lament
Another day’s useless energy’s spent
Impassioned lovers wrestle as one
Lonely man cries for love and has none
New mother picks up and suckles her son
Senior citizens wish they were young
Cold-hearted orb that rules the night
Removes the colors from our sight
Red is grey and yellow white
And we decide which is right
And which is an illusion

I forgot to mention something earlier in the week. I received a Mini care package, which made my day. It had a mousepad, pen, travel journal, guide to feel good motoring, window poetry stickers, & a dice antenna-topper. Unfortunately, I can’t disclose the contents of the Top Secret envelope that was hidden in the side of the box. So fun!

Lastly, I made cheeseburger soup with Tyler Thursday evening. It was a long 2 hours, but I got to catch up on Rob & Big in HD. Score!

PS I bought my ticket to the non-smoking Margot & Bon Iver show at the Vogue for April 4! I want to be around to be able to go but I also really want to have a job by then. I have faith AKQA will work out, but I probably should apply somewhere else to be safe.