MelikaGirl: Smelly, Brassy and a Strip Tease

I went to the dentist's again Friday (yep, that makes 8 visits in 4 weeks between the two dentists). I had just been riding and, since the horse needed a little extra work and the ride took a lot longer than expected, I appeared all dusty and smelling like leather and horse sweat. While this may be one of my personal favorite smells ("the barn"), I know others aren't nearly as fond of it so I apologized. The receptionist, surprised I wasn't just coming off a grueling night shift (as I had been doing for the last 4 visits) asked me what was going on - why do I have a life! I explained that I am now entering a lighter rotation and will have some free time. "Free time! I bet you don't even know what to do with that!" I laughed. I reported that I had actually made a list, and told her some of what I was planning on doing.
I am going to run a 5K in the middle of the month.
I plan to ride as often as possible.
I need to practice my trumpet for a concert at the end of the month.
My list is rather long, it involves little things like "read every day" and by read I mean fiction, fun, good stuffs.
I also have on there "study for boards" since I am taking step three of the USMLE exam this month as well (a fact I like to conveniently forget about every time something fun comes my way.)
So Friday I didn't get a chance to practice, but I did ride, go for a run, and I ended up doing some work even though I was technically "off". I also went to this awesome fundraiser for HonkFest West, Tits and Brass.

For those who may or may not remember, I was lucky to be in Boston for the very first HonkFest where my friend's band played (Stick and Rag Village Orchestra) and I serendipitously ran into my recluse Uncle Albert who lives on an island on the Atlantic. The festival was probably the most amazing musical event I had witnessed. Ever. And I have been fervently seeking similar events and bands in the meantime. I even had posted a wanted ad on Craigslist when I first moved here: "wanted: leftist marching band". I got clued into a cool guy and a cool band neither which, as a new intern, I had time to truly connect with. Both the cool guy and the cool band were at the event last night. Titanium Sporkestra (run by the cool guy) was amazing, as was the Yellow Hat Band (one of my inauguration buddies play in this band). I had never seen the Freemont Philharmonic but they were also fun and musically interesting. The dancers were a riot, ranging from amazing aerialists, twisting and flipping from big red fabric hanging from the rafters, to stoned out hippie-folk writhing around on the floor. There were very post-feminist, post-punk empowering strip teases and larger group numbers that were riotous and reminded me of carnivals and circus acts. The music ranged from sexy 40s ballads to hyped up klezmer and Titanium Sporkestra, a punk drum core, was just a category of its own.