Papa Loves Mama

well, the jury drags on and I am getting frustrated by the pace of things. we are going through a series of direct, cross examination, then redirect, then recross, and even once so far we had a re-re-direct....still interesting though and I am in it for the long haul.

This weekend Liz and I let down our hair with Tan. On Saturday, we had Tan over for dinner and beer, and after dinner was done we decided to randomly try a new place in Oceanside.

We ended up at a bar that overlooks the Oceanside Harbor called the Jolly Roger. Yes, Tan and I seem to have a thing for piratey places :)

We walked into the Jolly Roger at close to 10 pm, and found a small group of what were clearly bar regulars, all of which were directing their rapt attention to one corner of the bar where a karaoke setup was loudly playing a country song. After ordering a pint at the bar, I got Liz to agree that if I went up and did karaoke, she would too. It took a little bit of coercing, but finally we shook on it, and started poring through the massive books of songs and artists that were floating around the bar.

It was a great time! I can't say that I was any good whatsoever, but my goal was to get Liz on stage. She has a great voice and only lets her own shyness get in the way of letting it shine. She got up on stage first and belted out a beautiful rendition of Alicia Keys' "Fallin'". Remember that song? It's the one that made her famous thanks to the vocal range and acrobatics the song features. Liz did not disappoint and Tan agreed that the performance was quite impressive.

Then it was my turn. I decided to do something that had absolutely nothing to do with my voice range or singing style, instead opting for a song that I've had in my mind for a few weeks and just wanted to hear again. I selected Garth Brooks' "Papa Loves Mama".

What a hoot! I made sure to tell the lady working the karaoke equipment that this was my first time, hoping to ensure a forgiving attitude after my performance.

It was hard! No matter how well you know a song, you have to really keep your wits about you to know when to sing and when to wait. It's just not the same as hearing it on the stereo.

Sure enough, as soon as I was done, the lady encouraged everyone in the bar to give me a hand as this was my first time (Phew! what a relief!), and I made my way back to the bar, high-fiving Tan as I went.

After another beer, we convinced Liz to go up there once more and sing a Frank Sinatra number that someone else (a handsome boy around her age) had just sung and which she had expressed surprise and disappointment - apparently it was the same song as she had originally intended to sing, but she had changed her mind.

After about 20 minutes (yes, there was a waiting list!) she made it back up on stage and sang again. We had the unfortunate timing that the cute boy ended up leaving with his family at the same time, so the impact of singing the same song was a little lost on him, but she did great anyway.

Afterward, we were ready to pack up and move on.

The lady behind the bar said that a bar called "The Beach Club" was a likely happening place in Oceanside, so we decided to find it. It turned out to be the bar right across the street from the Beach Breaker Cafe! Small world.

It was kind of ghetto. I wasn't too impressed, and I think Liz and Tan felt the same.

It wasn't long after that when we headed home, and gobbled the rest of the pad thai that Tan had brought over earlier that night.

It was a fun time and I was glad to be able to relax and take my mind off business for a while!