#17 is true. A girl kissed me aproximately 3 years, 2 months, and 2 hours after when i originally asked a girl if she’d kiss me.
Of course, i always remember wanting to kiss girls, from when i was very little. When i was five we went to Disney World, and there was one rather boring ride on a boat and i just remember that the most adorable girl was sitting across from me but i was afraid to look right at her because i felt like she would immediately know i was staring at her and i’d look like some dorky little five year old just smiling dumbly at the cutest six year old ever. So, yeah, i was setting up for romantic disaster very early on in life.
Anyhow, the girl who never kissed me was Juliana, and while i didn’t ask her to kiss me outright i would like to point out that our faces were very near to each other and it had never crossed my mind to kiss anyone ever before then in such an immediate fashion. So, while the actual question posed was whether or not she’d ever consider going on a date with me, it was only asked because the question we’re focusing on had been asked and answered in that are faces were still just near to each other. But, anyhow, we just wound up sharing lip gloss, and the rest is history.
As for my first kiss, it’s a topic i dance around constantly on this log without ever actually talking about it, because i talked about it entirely too much when it first happened. As you can easily see, i have no concept of secrets when it comes to myself so i didn’t think to keep my mouth shut about kissing someone – never thinking about if the someone would prefer me to keep my mouth just slightly less ajar than it was. I suppose it would have been better if i just continued to watch the replay of it in my head and not replay it for everyone else, but decisions are decisions and no one was hurt by any of it and life goes on (without us ever ever kissing again). So… no links to point you towards for this one, but if you’re a regular reader i’ll tie it all together for you; these three events coincide: first kiss, new years 2000, & “under my skin.”
Happy now?
under my skin
It’s a shame that my voice is being stretched to the limit on all of the choruses of Song #1 (below), because otherwise i think the vocal delivery sounds pretty ‘on.’ I haven’t got up the right momentum or distortion to get that down as a punk song, but rest assured that it’s more punk than anything else i’ve ever written. Except “Punk.” That’s definitely punker. I was a little concerned when i first started playing this song because the verses are essentially the same I-V-IV pattern as thousands of other forgettable songs, but i don’t think you really notice the simplicity as much as you do in “Under My Skin” because it isn’t nearly as repetitive. So, anyway, it seems to be growing on Izabelle and she’s the one who gets to choose what the first song on every demo is, so be afraid…
The most shocking thing to me was that Rabi actually knew my songs from Trios, but i evened up the score because i knew the context of her poems from following her log. After a few requests, the set wound up as: Punk, Because, Unstrung, Colorblind, Under My Skin, Lost, All That’s True, Give, Never Say Goodbye. Trio has an interesting effect on how i make up a setlist when i’m playing for someone who actually listens to it … something i’ve never really had to deal with before. But, anyway, it was good excercise for me, and i think she really liked Never Say Goodbye cause she sorta just stared at my guitar while i played it. I could always ask her, but, erm, yeah. Maybe she’ll blog about it ;)
Trying to recognize someone you’ve never met before is just a little tricky, but my guitar and mod-squad jacket were definitely a giveaway. She was a bit more obscure, but somewhere between the bright blue eyes and the bright purple kiddie band-aid on her finger i had it figured out.
I have to say that Rabi was a lot more effervescent than i pictured her (although, how many vegan astrophysicist rugby players do i really know to judge by?), and i can’t even begin to imagine what about me was suprising to her. Swarthmore would definitely turn me into the kind of metaphorical blogger that she’s become known as, because nothing i saw there translated literally the way things do in Philadelphia. We wound up getting right under the sun as if it was just a spotlight and trading poetry for songs (literally: she took home a demo and i took home my favourite of her poems), and finding things we had in common (bitten up fingers, music fetishes, and obviously obscure writing) and some differences (my fingers are just bit by my guitar and i can’t wear band-aids, my music fetish is slighty less rare and much less under control, and how taking the middle step out of word association makes it much more mysterious) . It felt just like talking to anyone, and i’m not sure if that’s because we know too much about each other’s thoughts and things or if it’s because we’re just two too friendly people. Except, this is all about my life and Wockjabby is all about her thoughts on life, so i think we almost swapped my thoughts for her life. Or something.
Three and a half hours later felt like a much longer time, though not long enough. I had more fun playing “Under My Skin” for her than i have for anyone since i recorded it. She read a poem she’d never read out loud before. Maybe i’ll see her again in the fall.
Set from the Dyke Benefit: “Punk,” “Other Plans,” “Gravel,” “Under My Skin.” Break. “Relief,” “I Kissed a Girl.” Break. “Bridge.” (As opposed to the planned “Other Plans,” “Relief,” “Material Girl,” “Lost,” “Under My Skin,” “I Kissed a Girl.”)