a very nice suprise today: i got a raise! i haven't been here a year yet (not till august), but my boss said that i had been doing such a good job (he obviously neither reads this nor tracks my internet usage) that they wanted to give me a raise that was 1) early and 2) above the standard annual raise at our company. which is really not much, but still. i will take this as a sign that my department really does realize how fubar'd they'd be if i left. yes, humor my ego, i'm feeling good. drinks on me; now i can afford a social life!

anyway, i know what this means: h&m, here i come. i may not be able to afford high-quality european fashion yet, but now the knockoffs are finally within my reach. moo ha ha ha.

went to the show last night, avec naomi, naomi's sister helen, julie, and tommy. i thought it was quite good. wolf trap really has to be one of the loveliest venues on the east coast, and when you compare it to the shithole that is merriweather post pavilion, it is like a fucking paradise. i took a bunch of pictures, and i'll try to put them up soon. crap review of the show:

rufus: well, i hate to say anything against the man known as The Most Beautiful Gay Man Ever, but rufus didn't really bring it last night. he opened first, and lots of obnoxious drunk teenangers were being loud and obnoxious and drunk and there just wasn't any energy to the performance. rufus only had his pretty piano, and i think he would have been much better with some sort of backing band, because he sounded kind of weak. he cutely brought out his mother to do a very nice and very gay rendition of "over the rainbow," but it was followed by what i thought was a terrible rendition of "hallelujah." really, just don't bother. if you can't do it better than jeff buckley, then just don't do it at all. unless you are like jeff buckley's reanimated corpse, in which case, okay. anyway, a fairly solid but not especially interesting performance.

guster: aww, i love guster. sometimes, i feel ashamed about liking guster, because so many terrible, drunk, fratty people who turn the collars of their ralph lauren polo shirts up also like guster. but then i remember it's just because they write really good, really accessible pop music that is smart and catchy and of course it also appeals to idiots, so i shouldn't feel bad about that. and they are really good live, and super at engaging the crowd, with their witty banter and goofy antics. they played a fair mix of all of their four albums, though i do wish they'd played more off their newest one (which i think is quite good but is more subtle and probably not as popular as "lost and gone forever").

ben folds: very good! like rufus, he was sans backing band (except the couple of times when guster came out), but totally rocked it solo on the piano. it made me wish i was familiar with more of his stuff. i had completely forgotten i owned "the autobiography of rheinold aleuwoeiredst" or whatever it is called, which is an excellent album until you get to the halfway mark, when it turns into a mind-numbing self-indulgent piece of crap. but he gets two thumbs up for last night.

overall, it was quite the pleasant experience. it certainly made me wish that more bands i liked played at wolf trap. it's only five minutes from my parents' house in vienna, and i've been there several times to see theatrical performances, but rarely to listen to music. on a summer night, i don't think there's much more enjoyable than lounging on the lawn, listening to some pop music, drinking wine and making fun of every single asshole who walks past you. and god, there were a lot of assholes last night. the worst part about the entire show was, as usual, the crowd. i'd say it was about 1/4 well-coiffed polite gay men, 1/4 people like us who just wanted to sit on our blankets and enjoy some music, and 1/2 complete drunk/slutty/obnoxious high schoolers/college kids who were probably going into the bushes to have sex and were drinking vodka out of juice bottles, etc. the guys, with their aforementioned turned-up collars, drunk swaggers, and retarded aviator sunglasses, offended every sensibility that i have. and the girls - i swear to god, i know i sound like i'm a 90 year-old woman who's just time-traveled from the victorian era - but JESUS h. christ, teenage girls today dress like sluts. i saw so many of those little ruffled skirts that barely cover your butts that i almost went blind. and the tube tops. don't even get me started. the humanity. yes, i know it sounds appealing to you guys, but when you start admiring some girl in a tube top and mini-skirt and then come to the realization that she is AT LEAST ten years younger than you, it's not going to be so fun. perv.

okay. end rant. i feel so much better now. being incredibly petty and judgemental can really lift your spirits, you know?

anyway, will someone please let me know if they want to grab a post-work drink tonight, because as you can see it is only 11am and i am clearly in need of some booze.

oh, god, how i love the onion:

SIMI VALLEY, CA—Slave manpower was doubled this week in an effort to ensure that erection of the gigantic Reagan Pyramid remains on schedule to be completed in time for the 40th president's mummification and ascension into the Afterworld.

Swift completion of the towering structure is "of paramount priority," according to Republican Party insiders.

Caption: Builders expect the Reagan Pyramid to be ready in time for the Great Communicator's mummification and ascension into the Afterworld upon death. Among the items to be entombed with Reagan are 2,500 MX missiles, a golden chalice of jelly beans, and his beloved servant, George Bush Sr.
Swift completion of the towering structure is "of paramount priority," according to Republican Party insiders.