"My Hero"

The black dog (aka Funky Town/depression) came barking last week, but there's nothing like a kick ass concert and some volunteer work to nip the "woe is me"whining and lethargy in the bud before they get out of hand.

Saturday, my sister Janet and I were at K-ROQ's L.A. Invasion. OMG! Totally worth the almost $100 ticket, despite getting seats that were in the hot sun (my sis and I sat on a freebie Scion towel in the shady pavement of the unused mobility impaired section until the sun went down--we would have gotten heat stroke for sure if we hadn't).

The party REALLY started when Perry Farrell's Satellite Party took the stage (I didn't really know too many songs by Paramore, Against! Me, or Hot Hot Heat)--it was basically a best of Jane's Addiction/Porno for Pyros gig. The best part was when Perry did his encore number, "Jane Says"--he started the number by apparently guzzling a lot of red wine out of a bottle before jumping into the audience and pouring some for the adoring fans! But upon closer observation (the angle of the bottle as he poured), he didn't swig as much as he led us to believe and instead let the fans drink most of the bottle. His wife Etty, an ex-ballerina turned backup singer and featured dancer for the band, demonstrated that she's still got flexibility and balance in her super skimpy outfit (she did a standing split in front of the drum kit)!!!!! Other artists that played were: Chris Cornell, Kid Rock, Velvet Revolver, (I SOOOOO wanted to steal Scott Weiland's uber cool peacoat--he really got into the "Invasion" theme with his military dictator look, complete with cap [and possibly boots--I couldn't see that well, and the giant screens don't usually offer a full body view]) Foo Fighters and Smashing Pumpkins. I practically lost my voice screaming my adoration for Dave Grohl and the other Foos. Everlong is normally their encore song, but to open their set, Dave came out on the darkened stage and did most of the song solo, standing in a simple spotlight. Toward the end of the song, the rest of the band took the stage as all sorts of lights went on and rocked it HARD!!!!!!!

There's really nothing like seeing Foo Fighters in a stadium (Dodger Stadium with the Police, and on Saturday they conquered the crowd at Home Depot Center aka home of David Beckham's L.A. Galaxy). And like he did at Dodger Stadium, Dave wandered into the audience during Stacked Actors and climbed up on a speaker near the control booth to do his long guitar solo. Unlike the Dodger Stadium show, a really nice (and STRONG) security guard carried Dave on his shoulders to help him get through the crowd.

However, the song that stayed with me all the next day was "My Hero," as I dragged myself out of bed at 2:45 (after getting home past midnight, despite skipping out after only a couple of Smashing Pumpkins songs, by the time I got settled and got my stuff ready for the next morning, I only slept about 45 minutes!) to drive to Zuma Beach. I volunteered to help with the Nautica* Malibu Triathlon and had to be there by 4:30. I arrived at 3:45, but couldn't sleep in the car for fear of not waking up! *The name of this clothing manufacturer is annoyingly one of the many ways my legal name gets butchered...my Sports Illustrated labels are addressed to "Nautica Tanasugarn."

At 4:50 a.m. I was super grumpy because there seemed to be no volunteer organization. I was standing around forever, and doing things on my own in the registration booth (consolidating boxes of goody bags, etc.) until the volunteer teenagers in the tent drove me nuts with their attitudes. I was relieved when I was recruited to go to the transition area. There was this creepy old lady who insisted on being a body marker ("I don't want to work registration! Why do you think I got up this early? I want to touch those hard bodies!") Yeeeeeeeeeeesh!

While the body marking was a good way to meet some of the athletes (I met a fellow Cornell alumnus for the first time--his sweatshirt was a dead giveaway), I was later asked to play carpet Nazi and keep waiting relay team members from crowding the blue carpet that was laid down for the athletes to run on in the transition area. Unfortunately, all the love I showed to Dave & the Foos, Chris Cornell, Scott Weiland and Perry did a real number on my vocal cords and I was not happy about having to continually shoo people back, especially when some of them were being snippy about me trying to keep a safe gap for everyone. Grrrrrrr. Training was very mimimal, and as a former tour guide and information specialist, it was hard for me to admit, "I don't know" and direct the questioner to one of the organizers. If I ever attend another triathalon, it will be as a photog/spectator!!!!!!!!

In the scheme of things, though, being at the triathlon was inspiring and uplifting. I had no right to mope and think my life was sucky when I was body marking a woman who had two prosthetic legs...I only noticed them when I asked her age (I had to mark everyone's age on their right calves). She was very gracious and her positive energy and attitude didn't let me feel awkward about my gaffe. I quickly marked the "R" for "relay" on her right bicep instead.

I was happiest when my friend and triathlete Taka found me in my punchy, auto-pilot state sometime between 6:30 and 7:00. Perhaps he saw the text message I sent to wish him well & let him know where I was posted. At least I got to give him a good luck hug & was able to hoarsely shout encouragement a couple times. I think he was too focused on the upcoming 1/2 mile ocean swim to hear me the first time as he walked by to get ready to leap into the cold Pacific Ocean waters, but he definitely saw me as he was leaving to start the 18-mile bike ride.

Anyway, getting back to "My Hero," I retroactively sent a dedication request vibe to Dave & the Foos--it was definitely the right song to honor the 3,200 athletes including David Duchovny, Carl Lewis, and Taka, who together raised over $700,000 for children's cancer research at Children's Hospital L.A. Well done, HEROES!!!!!!