tommy, knowing well my extreme hatred for merriweather post pavilion, sent me a link (via charles) to this review of a sarah mclachlan concert at the MPP. they end the review with this scathing paragraph, which sent shivers of glee up my spine.

Charm was necessary on this night. Since we regularly slam Nissan Pavilion in this space for its odious parking, let's examine the Merriweather Post experience. Ushers sent ticket holders to the wrong side of the arena; the unreasonable $20 ATM limit carries an offensive $4 charge; food was limited to sushi and pretzels at three of four stalls; overflowing toilets sent women to the paperless men's rooms. Contempt for the fans was palpable.

in order to be fair and balanced, let's take a look at how the merriweather proprietors view their shithole of a venue:

Merriweather was designed by the world renowned architect Frank Gehry, who is best known for defying architectural conventions. In the early 1960’s, he accepted the challenge of developing a design that would least disturb the natural topography of the Merriweather site (yes, it would be a real shame to disturb some bushes off I-95 in maryland). He succeeded (this depends on your definition of success - if success is building the most terrible outdoor concert venue ever, then gehry is one successful bastard) and the pavilion opened in 1967. Its acoustics were considered by many in the industry to be the best among outdoor venues. (if you're comparing it to outdoor venues that are like, that spot under that tree over there.)

Conveniently located (this is another example where the description depends on how you would define 'conveniently located' - ie, if 'conveniently located' actually means 'the most inconvenient location ever', then once again, they are spot on) in the Baltimore/Washington corridor off Route 29 in Columbia, Maryland, Merriweather is nestled (or dropped like a big old poo) within the 40 preserved acres known as Symphony Woods. The natural, outdoor concert setting is one that simply can’t be matched.

For more than 35 years, Merriweather has hosted a diverse range of artists and events, offering the area’s absolute best in contemporary entertainment. At Merriweather, we are committed to delivering a concert experience that is the best in every way (i can't even try to make any more lame-ass comments on the merriweather experience because my blood is boiling over with such rage and hatred at these blatant lies and ARGGGH MERRIWEATHER I WILL END YOU).

DID YOU KNOW? Many of the trees on the property are tagged and numbered to preserve the natural beauty of the site.

whatever. someone needs to drop a nuclear bomb on merriweather. it would be more appealing as a radioactive burned-out hole than a concert venue.

buongiorno! it's monday, and i am barely coherent. i had a pretty good weekend. friday night i did nothing, as i have mostly done for the past few months, because i had a long-distance run at 6am saturday morning. even though it was only 10 miles, it was one of the worst runs i have been on so far. first, i kind of got lost (we were running around haine's point and the tidal basin and i went the wrong way around). second, my knee was killing me, which is not a good thing, since i thought i'd banished that particular problem. third, i managed to develop and then pop an enormous blister on my toe, so the last two miles of the run involved me limping from one leg to the other, since my left leg had the bad knee, and my right foot had the popped blister so it felt like a million needles were sticking in my toe. i'm sure my waddle-run-hop-thing was an amusing sight for everybody.

saturday night was the bbq, and even though it rained, we stuck the thirty or so people who showed up inside the house and/or under the carport and managed to get some fun out of it. julie was the kickass grillmaster and made some very tasty burgers, and we got to play some beer pong and whatnot. i found that my beer pong skills are sadly lacking and very rusty, so i propose an immediate solution to bring them back to their peak: beer pong all night, every night. we have a perfect table in the basement of our house, and i'm only living there for two more weeks, so i've got to make use of it.

oh yes, i forgot to mention, the bbq involved a girl throwing up on the floor of our basement, then on herself, then maybe in the toilet, then in our kitchen sink? and some guy who literally stayed by our kitchen sink for at least three hours, laying his head down on the counter and moaning. for three hours.

sunday involved some post-party cleaning and bagels, and then: i started the process of Getting Ready to Move In With a Boyfriend Who is Going to Steal Your Closet Space. these are the facts: i am a girl. i like clothing. i like shoes and purses. i like beauty products. i currently have three closets worth of all the above. i am moving in, with my boyfriend, into one bedroom where there is one closet (ie, i can no longer have one closet solely for purses and shoes). i am also going to be sharing one bathroom with two boys. i'm not really worried about this fact, as both charles and tommy are far cleaner and neater than i or any girl i've ever lived with, but the fact remains: i own 32 different kinds of shampoo and conditioners and about 12 different kinds of lotions and face washes. we've only got one shower and rather limited counter space. some streamlining must be done.

so i went to target and bought all sorts of lovely rubbermaid bins and storage cases and little plastic boxes in which to put my 700 containers of maybelline eyeshadows. (which made me wonder if i'm actually going to create more clutter by getting so into all these cute storage boxes, but i'd rather not think about that.) i put all my sweaters and purses and scarves and a few other things into bins which are very neat and fit perfectly under my bed. i cleaned out my dresser, leaving two and half drawers for me and two and a half for tommy (who has recently become terrified after learning that i don't want to let him have any of his own furniture in our room because it won't match. well, it WON'T. i love tommy dearly, but his furniture is ugly, and mine is beautiful, and that's how it is).

but i suspect in the upcoming two weeks until our move-in date, i am going to have to learn how to share, compromise, and to not buy a dozen new products every time i step into a CVS. it'll be a life lesson, for sure.

our move-in is friday, august 27, and we'll be working all through the weekend, so if anyone wants to give us a hand, let us know. we need some manly men, because we're on the second floor and it'll be a pain the ass. i'll provide cookies and lemonade and beer!