Cleveland Rocks

While friends are jet-setting to various warm places over this holiday season, I hopped on a plane to Cleveland. Not Cleveland, Hawaii or Cleveland, Barbados. Cleveland, Ohio. Because what better time to visit one of America's coldest cities than in late December?

There was an actual purpose to my visit. Ever since the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame opened in 1995, I have wanted to go. Whether it be lack of time, lack of money or lack of good planning, I never made it. A few months ago I saw there was going to be a special exhibit at the Rock Hall commemorating the 30th anniversary of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. That was the extra push I needed to get myself to Cleveland. Not surprisingly, plane fare to Cleveland was pretty reasonable for this time of year. Plus I found a hotel deal that included the room, tickets to the museum and breakfast for one low price. Everything fell together perfectly. I decided to go by myself because a) nobody is stupid enough to go to Cleveland in December and b) this is something I've wanted to do for quite some time, and I didn't want to wait on others or have others wait for me. This turned out to be a good idea because...

...I was at the Rock Hall for nine hours. After moving from Boston, I had forgotten what a damp, winter wind felt like, but was quickly reminded stepping from the warm confines of my hotel through the five minute walk to the Hall. The Rock Hall is beautiful. I stood in awe, and this was just the lobby. This was the beginning of being completely overwhelmed and having tremendous sensory overload. The first thing I saw was the Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers exhibit. It's not so much the quantity, but the quality. The mad hatter hat Tom wore in the "Don't Come Around Here No More" video, the shirt he wore in the "Free Fallin'" video, Mike Campbell's boots, Howie's bass, a Mudcrutch press release, the guitar Tom wrote almost every song on from Damn the Torpedoes to Echo. My favorites were the handwritten lyrics to such songs as "Refugee", "Walls (Circus)", "You Got Lucky" and "The Waiting". And listening to him sing "Refugee" while reading the handwritten lyrics in front of me. They had a great video and live performance retrospective. Some time later, I pried myself away and continued looking through the museum.

I soon came across various stage costumes, props and instruments through the decades. The corset Madonna wore during "Like A Virgin" in the Blond Ambition tour, the electric piano John Paul Jones recorded "Stairway to Heaven", the dress Michelle Phillips wore during the Monterey Pop Festival, Michael Jackson's sequined glove, Mick Jagger's US Flag/Union Jack cape, an Alice Cooper severed head and guillitine and the t-shirt and jeans Bruce Springsteen wore on the Born in the USA cover. They had great mementos from Elvis and the Beatles. Highlights were John Lennon's wire-rimmed glasses and the deed to Graceland. I had to chuckle when I saw Jim Morrison's cub scout uniform and pause a moment at his death certificate.

And then I came across...It. The Steven head. An exact replica of Steven Tyler's head. It is still creepy after all of these years. Now it's in glass casing. Probably to keep people like me from compulsively poking it. It was among the outfit Steven wore promoting "Pink" on Letterman, the iconic scarfed microphone stand and the long black trenchcoat Joe Perry wore in the "(Dude) Looks Like a Lady" video. I admit I did spend some time at a distance watching people look at the AeroArtifacts. It made me happy to know that in some tiny, tiny, microscopic, single atom-sized way, I was part of their history. There were other special exhibits dedicated to Roy Orbison, Rick Nelson (a childhood crush of my Mom), the Clash and Jimi Hendrix. It had been about 2 hours by this point, and I had yet to leave the basement. Sadly, I was not allowed to take pictures of the objects in the museum. It's just more incentive to get to the Rock Hall for yourself.

I was trying so hard to absorb everything, but after awhile, everything seemed to blend together. I watched 5 documentaries. My favorite was a tribute to all those who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. It was on three giant screen and in surround sound. Another was on the songwriting process and the legacy of musicians. Another favorite was a 15-minute review of MTV and the music video. They cite Tom Petty, Peter Gabriel, Michael Jackson and Madonna for revolutionizing the music video, and although I agree, think Aerosmith should have been included in my completely unbiased opinion.

The best part of the Rock Hall is -- to sound cliche -- the music. I felt completely in my element there. All these incredible genres of music equally represented and respected. To hear Jerry Lee Lewis and the next moment hear Billie Holliday, then Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box" and Elvis Costello then Cream to "Dance to the Music" by Sly and the Family Stone. It was fantastic. Since I went on a Wednesday (it's open until 9pm instead of 5pm) and during an off-time of year, it wasn't crowded at all. I could take my time and really take in everything. That definitely enhanced the experience.

I did indulge in one guilty splurge. In the gift shop, there was a glass case of rock memorabilia for sale. I spotted a lapel pin no more than 1.5in across. It was from defunct Washington, DC radio station WAVA promoting a 1984 Billy Joel concert at the Capital Centre. I saw the price and winced, but knew I had to have it. WAVA was the best rock radio station in Washington, DC during the 1980s (yes, even better than DC101), before it changed overnight to Christian Rock in the early 1990s, breaking the hearts of me and of all my middle school peers. The Capital Centre was the storied arena where I saw my first Billy Joel concert in 1993, as well as many other memorable events. The Capital Centre was reduced to rubble in 2002 and now a shopping center. So really, I had no choice.

I cannot praise and recommend the Rock & Roll Hall of fame enough. This is definitely a place I will visit again.

And as an added highlight, I get to see my friend John Chandler, aka the Best Sportscaster in Cleveland. I haven't seen John since commencement and had a great time catching up. Plus, I even saw him on TV during a sportscast. He is definitely worthy of his moniker. Also, a big congrats to him on his engagement.

So all in all, a wonderful trip to Cleveland. I may not have been swaying in a hammock on a tropical isle, but I doubt I could of had any more fun anywhere else. Cleveland Rocks!





Quote of the Day:
"[I]n America and in Europe, you've seen groups of people form themselves into generations. That's a big mistake. That's wrong. ... Look at my generation. How did that work? Jimi Hendrix. Brian Jones. Janis Joplin. Keith Moon. The list is fucking endless. They're dead people. My life is full of dead people. My friends are dead. My friends. They might be your fucking icons. They're my fucking friends." --Pete Townshend

The Worst Christmas Present Ever. Ever.

This is the worst Christmas gift I have ever recieved:



There are so many things wrong with this.

1. It's an elf.
2. I have never collected dolls or anything of the like.
3. Seriously, look at it.
4. Before I opened it, the person preferenced it by saying, "I think everyone should have one of these."
5. It has bells on it. At 6:30am the day after Christmas, my Mom awakes me to go post-Christmas shopping. She does so by shaking the elf so the bells ring and pushes it in my face. I opted for sleep instead of the mall.
6. Somebody actually saw this in a store and thought, "I think Ellen should have this."
7. It's an elf.

Quote of the Day:
"When the game is over, the King and the pawn go back into the same box." --Italian Proverb

eBay

In this time of holiday cheer and giving and others, I only have one concern: cashing in.

This year, I started selling my possessions on eBay. It all started innocently enough. My room was getting cluttered, even by my standards. Instead of just tossing stuff out to the curb, I decided to post them on eBay. I no longer have a need for a Natalie Cole “Unforgettable” tour t-shirt, but maybe someone else does. And so, I began to think of this as a service to others.

At first, I was selling the stuff around my room. Books, CDs, clothes hanging in my closet, hidden from the light of day. I wasn’t bringing in a lot of money, but enough to pay for my weekly Fiore’s sandwich. Plus, many of these items were either gifts, or bought so long ago, void of any monetary value. For example:
• 14 pins from the 1980s with messages like, “Life is not a dress rehearsal”. “I’m Not Deaf, I’m Ignoring You”. Maybe someone at TGI Friday’s needed more flare. In any case, I made $8.50.
• A CBS News issued VHS of Any Rooney commentaries
• A Smothers Brothers instructional VHS on using a yo-yo
• New Kids on the Block giant wall hanging.
• 10 ALF comic books

It was great. Little by little, my room was getting less cluttered. But then I discovered something: buying for the sole purpose of selling. The impetus of this was at the Billy Joel concerts I was going to at Madison Square Garden. Since the 12-show run was a record at the Garden, they printed up posters with all of the MSG dates on them. They were selling them for $10. I bought one and put it on eBay. It sold for almost $40. So at the next show, I bought another. And it sold for $57. I saw a good thing and at the third show bought even more. The selling price of all the posters ended up paying for a couple of the concert tickets.

When I went home to Washington for Labor Day, I began cleaning my bedroom with a vengeance. My Mom was so proud. She was so relieved that I was getting rid of all these childhood things I was hanging onto. Little did she know my cleaning was for pure profit. Boxes of childhood mementos filled my car and my room was now more cluttered than ever. Taking photos of everything, listing them and tracking them like a fiend occupied my entire day. I cramped my finger by refreshing the page so often.

eBay had morphed into a form of gambling. Like a casino, you have to pay to play, which you do on eBay by paying the listing fees. Losing is not selling the item and the goal is to win. Not just win, but win big. I don't just want one bid and be done with it. I want many bids and for the selling price to be stratisphereic. Jackpot!

Once I started working back at Mystery Diagnosis, I thought I this would calm the obsession a bit. I’d be putting all of my energy into working and not listing. However, of all the buildings in all of New York, this was not the one to work in to keep the eBay at bay. I work in a very trendy, fashion-oriented building. It is not uncommon to share the elevator with gorgeous models and sharply dressed executives. As a result, sometimes these companies have sample sales and the whole building is invited to look.

The first was for this label I had never heard of, Ports 1961. After some research, I saw they sold in many of the high-end department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue (probably why I had never heard of them – H&M or bust, baby!). A skirt priced at $395 was selling for $5. Yes, $5! A $235 sweater vest sold for $10. And a tailored pair of pants was $10 as well. I just bought those few items and put them up. If they didn’t sell, I would have been happy enough to keep them. But they sold. A couple of weeks ago, Club Monaco had a sample sale and I went overboard. The prices were so low and irresistable. I was buying, and buying, all for the sole purpose of listing them on eBay. Most of the items are currently selling or sold, and I will make my money back, but not really profit greatly. This is where I have a problem.

Those who know me, know that I don’t do anything halfway. It’s love or hate. All or nothing. I knew I was spending too much for clothing I didn’t know if I could sell. And clothing that wouldn’t fit me if they didn’t sell. And giving stuff away means no money is made. And that defeats the whole purpose of why I started to eBay in the first place.

With this realization and acceptance in place, I knew that after these auctions ended, I would take a break from eBay. That was until I saw the sign in the elevator yesterday for a Karl Lagerfeld sample sale. With my co-workers disappearing through the day and returning with garment bags, the temptation became too great to overcome. I went downstairs and rummaged through the racks. I made one purchase, far less than my past sample sales. A gorgeous full-length men’s wool coat, originally priced at $1,000. I bought it for $110 and hoping it will sell and help pay for my Cleveland trip in a couple weeks.

And if you want to contribute to the cause, you can check out my listings. Seller name: lettermangirl (of course).

And then I’ll stop. Really.

Quote of the Day:
“Sometimes people carry to such perfection the mask they have assumed that in due course they actually become the person they seem.” --W. Somerset Maugham