The annual Got Water? auction benefiting the African Well Fund is currently underway. We have several U2 items, including a poster, T-shirt and ear warmer for "U23D." More items will be added throughout the week.

All proceeds benefit the African Well Fund. The auction runs through next Monday, Nov. 17.

dsmith2904

Next week is SEMA so I will be in Las Vegas from Monday to Friday. It will be a week of a lot of walking, meetings, picture-taking, interviewing, schmoozing, etc.

I don't understand why the event organizers planned for the show to start on election day. I won't be home when the results come in. It will be interesting to see the mood of the crowd on Wednesday, to see if people are happy with the results, if anything makes people a little more optimistic.

So it'll be...

dsmith2904

I'm taking a short break from work right now to do my daily Internet surfing (check e-mail, visit U2.com, Madonna.com, JohnMayer.com, John Mayer's Honeyee blog, Fall Out Boy fan blog IceCreamHeadaches, The Daily Puppy, African Well Fund e-mail and forum, and Interference). I'm stressed and bitter about my current assignment and found temporary relief thanks to a new Pete Wentz posting.

I needed this:

...

dsmith2904

Today is John Lennon's birthday. He would have been 68. It's also his son Sean's 33rd birthday. I wanted to mark it somehow but am finding it hard to put into words exactly how I feel about him, exactly how much of an impact he's had on my life. I figure his words and music can do a better job than I can at the moment so I'm sharing two songs. I chose "Revolution" because I've had that song on my mind lately, especially the chorus. I really believe it, especially in trying times like these....

dsmith2904

A few weeks ago, we got the dreaded "blue screen of death" on the home computer. The computer was restored, most everything reinstalled and all's been well. This weekend, though, Word started freezing.

I know we need a new computer. We've had this laptop for five years (maybe longer). It's getting slow and our investments in it (like having a tune-up in March, getting the restoration work done last month, etc.) are starting to feel a bit like throwing money down a hole....

dsmith2904

My friend got married this weekend. It went so well, everyone enjoyed themselves and there was no drama (yay!). They completely deserved to have an amazing wedding after 15+ years of friendship, about five years of dating and two years of being engaged. They've been through so much in that time together, capped off by my friend's lay off a few weeks ago.

I stayed through the end of the reception, dancing in a nearly empty room with the bride and her sister. "Holiday" came...

dsmith2904

I am going to New York in December! I got my tickets today, using the money I've been saving up from working weekends at the candy store. The plan is to arrive very early on Saturday morning at JFK, get picked up by my friend who lives in New Jersey (and who is letting me sleep on her couch) and spend four full days in the city.

This will be my third trip to New York City. The first time I went was to see U2 and Patti Smith at Madison Square Garden in November 2005. I walked more...

dsmith2904

The equinox is still more than a week away but fall has already made its presence known. The trees in Torrance started turning late last month just as the cool breezes started swooping in. It's overcast in the morning and almost chilly at night.

Being a lifelong Southern Californian, I know the warm weather is never too far from us (I've worn shorts at Christmas) but I realize that summer is really, truly gone.

I am a summer girl. At least, I used to be. Before I became...

dsmith2904

Last night I heard a string of amazing songs on the drive home from work that had me singing at the top of my lungs. I am not a good singer at all (my job in choir was to provide volume only) but I love singing, love the way it makes me feel.

Two of the songs I sang and heard last night put me in the mood for some Southern Rock so I brought along The Allman Brothers Band "A Decade of Hits," The Eagles "Their Greatest Hits" and The Black Crowes "The Southern...

dsmith2904

My niece turned one this weekend. My brother and sister-in-law threw a great party on Saturday filled with family and friends who've become like family. My niece enjoyed being the center of attention, getting passed along from one adoring person to the next and showing off some of her best tricks (she knows that sound the snake makes – SSSSS).

She got her own little cake that she completely destroyed, digging at it and even stepping on it and one point (see picture below). She got...

dsmith2904

I've posted more than 150 entries to my blog. Wow! I used to count them all out, numbering each blog and getting excited as I worked my way up the entry rankings. That's changed with the new blog format and I know I'm not posting as much since the survey craze died down a bit, but 150 entries is still a bit of a milestone.

This entry is dedicated to Tom Petty's beautiful "Free Fallin'." I've loved this song since it first came out, way back when I was in junior high and...

dsmith2904

I've been a little gun shy about my iPod since we got the computer fixed and the iPod went all screwy. The problem was solved and the little music player works fine, but I was still nervous so just avoided it all together.

I pulled the iPod out on Friday and brought it along today as well. The first song I heard this morning was "A Sort of Homecoming," one of U2's most romantic songs and a song I'd love to hear JT tackle sometime.

No Doubt's "Don't Let...

dsmith2904

I saw my fifth John Mayer show last night in Irvine and it was awesome. The kid is so stupid fantastic on the guitar, with the words, when he sings.

He promised less talking, more songs last night, which made me a little sad because I do like it when he goes off on random tangents. The set list was fantastic but because there was less talking, there were some long, awkward pauses between songs (a song would end, the stage would go dark for the swapping of instruments, and everything...

dsmith2904

It's taken me more than 15 years to be able to write this sentence and I'm so excited to share it with the world:

I saw the Stray Cats live!!!

I was an impressionable high school girl hanging out with slightly older boys who liked to work on cars, get homemade tattoos, grease their hair up and listen to the Stray Cats. While it's been ages since I've seen any of those boys, I still listen to the band.

I've seen Brian Setzer six times with his orchestra....

dsmith2904

One of my favorite Alanis Morissette songs has the line, "I'm 13 again/Am I 13 for good?" I'm nearly 31 but know that 13-year-old girl still lurks inside, in good ways and bad. She's there when I feel awkward and self-conscious; she's also there when my cheeks flush and I get goosebumps mooning over some boy.

In less than two weeks I'm going to my fifth John Mayer show and am so completely excited. I adore the kid top to bottom--I love his music and find him exceedingly...

dsmith2904