It takes a long long time

So anyone who knows me, or who has been reading this blog, knows that I LOVE music. I must have inherited this from my parents, who also love music, albeit totally different stuff.

It started when I was around 7 or 8 and got MTV and started listening to the radio, and that love affair hasn't ended, though my tastes have changed (improved?) along the way.

It's actually pretty hard for me to find new bands that I like because I'm picky, and I have such a wide variety of stuff I like already, that I'm not terribly motivated to seek out new music. It's a bit like shopping at Marshalls. Somewhere in there is that fabulous, high quality cashmere sweater for a steal, but you've got to dig through a whole lot of crap to find it. And most days, I'm just not in the mood to do that.

During a Happy Hour at work, a coworker played this song with this awesome female voice, and it was sort of twangy but rockin' at the same time and kind of sad. The closest comparison I could make was Brandi Carlile, but with a clearer, stronger voice.

And it was *awesome*. It's a (sort of) local band called Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs, and they're from Ellensburg. Check them out:



Turns out this co-worker knows them, so he invited them to come and play at Microsoft for a charity event we were holding. He didn't announce it until a couple of days ago, since they were waiting to see if the weather would be ok. But I was totally excited about this - a company event to actually look forward to! None of the usual Go-Karting/WhirlyBall/BBQ with screaming children.

So I grabbed my laptop and hung out and did a little work while they played today, for a couple of hours. And they are one of those bands who sounds AMAZING live. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon, huh?

But wait, there's more. The charity event had a raffle, and one of the items being raffled off was to have Star Anna play at the location of your choice (like a party at your house, etc.).

And guess who won that?? That's right, ME!! I am such a lucky girl today, it's unreal. Free concert by awesome band *and* awesome band coming to play at my house sometime? That is too freakin' cool. I am already trying to figure out what kind of blowout party I could have.

But wait, there's still more! One of the other raffle items was a cooking demo/dinner party with Chef Jason Wilson of Crush, a swanky restaurant in Seattle. And guess who won that one? That's right, ME AGAIN! I nearly fell over when they called my number that second time.

So I am all done with gambling/lottery/anything else that involves luck, because I think I've used it all up now. I'm so excited, about both of these events, I can hardly stand it.

So what good things have happened to you lately?