We're having the most wonderful weather. Rain, yesterday so hard that I could hear it on the roof at work, with attendant booms of thunder and sudden sharp flashes of lightning. Today, a spatter here and there, but still grey and glowery. The turkey vultures are stark against the clouds as they circle; I imagine the little furry prey are abandoning their soggy burrows, much to the vultures' delight.

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In 1983, I saw my first Styx concert…and then the band “went on hiatus.” In 1991, they toured again, and I saw them three times, and thought that was a lot. Then they didn't tour again until 1996 and 1997, and then, revamped, in 1999 they started this massive tour that's something like 700 shows in 6 years. Being in the UK until 2002 didn't help, although following them around Germany and into Switzerland was fun. In 2004 I saw them 11 times, I think. This year…I have to check the list, but given that I saw them 7 times in the past 2 months, I'm doing okay.

And yet I'm still astonished that I'm already scheduled for 2 Lawrence solo shows and 3 Styx shows in the first 3 months of next year.

Astonished and squealyfangirl about it, of course.

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I should not drive home when (1) I'm exhausted and (2) I'm listening to a recording of Styx on the Mark & Brian Show (the Key Club concert we went to). Because (1) I will get obsessed over the fact that the butt end of the fugly white SUV in front of me looks an awful lot like a stormtrooper helmet, and (2) I will keep phasing out to remember the show instead of, oh, watching the road. Those starship angels were obviously looking out for me, though, and with any luck I'll actually get a little sleep on the plane tonight.