Friend: Kevin Hendrix
Activity: Apps and Music
Location: Mimi's Cafe and 120 Blondes
Total $ Spent: $0
I met Kevin about a year ago at a non-profit fundraising professionals round table meeting. In the fall, I shamelessly begged him for Inida.Arie/John Legend tickets after my original ticket connection fell through. I barely even knew him, but I sensed that he might be willing to help. Much to my delight, he was able to get me and my sister tickets and I was eternally grateful. We started getting together for lunch and taking the opportunity to share battle wounds of non-profit work. Turns out Kevin is all too familiar with downsizing and restructuring, which he was victim to while working at the Durham Museum.
Kevin was going to take me on a behind-the-scenes tour of the Museum for our $1 date. I had been looking forward to the visit for weeks. I had only been to the Durham for meetings and once in high school during a show choir concert. We were going to meet at 2pm and I was considering cheating on my spending limit for a shake at the old time fountain. And then.....(insert dramatic music).......I got scheduled at Loft. A day shift! Gasp! Aaack! At once I began making frantic phone calls to the other associates. Surely someone would take my shift! How could I cancel on my Durham dollar date with Kevin? I called and called. I left messages all over town, some pathetic, some breezy. No one could take my shift. I was doomed. I had to give Kevin the devastating news. Our Durham date would need to be rescheduled.
Instead, we went to Mimi's Cafe with Kevin's free appetizer coupon. Kevin is one of "those" Omaha people who rarely goes farther west than 90th Street. I felt bad for his 30+ minute drive to my house (in South Dakota....not really.....but basically). We were suprised that Mimi's had a wait since it was 7:30 on a Friday, but then again, what do people in West Omaha do really well? Go out to eat. Once we were seated, we were pleasantly surprised when our waiter brought us a free basket of bread. Cha ching!
We perused the appetizer list and decided on the fried zucchini with cheese. You can't really judge us for ordering something fried since it was a vegetable, right? Right. As we chomped on our fried goodness and free bread, we had a stimulating conversation about religion. As I referenced in Day 26, I don't want to give away too much because of the topic of my next blog project. But I do want to give props to Kevin for being open minded and willing to have controversial discussions.
We left for 120 Blondes to catch Bryan's band, Midtown Method (http://www.midtownmethod.com/). I don't care where you are or who you're with, it still feels cool telling the door guy "I'm with the band," and watching him let you through without paying a cover. I mean come on, who doesn't want to be with the band?
As soon as I walked through the door, I saw my friend Greg (see date #7)! He is also in a band so I thought maybe they were playing after Midtown Method He was actually running sound for the bands which meant I got to make funny faces at him throughout the night. 
Kevin and I grabbed some seats near the Ed Hardy dream team table. Seriously, every person at the table was wearing bedazzled graphic tees that were at least one size too small. I wanted to take espionage pictures, but I actually think they might know some of my family. Speaking of family, my other brother-in-law Ben was at the table next to us, sitting with the lead singer's girl friend, Pam. Ben isn't really my brother-in-law, he's my brother-in-law's brother but who's counting.
The crowd was kind of subdued. They were definitely enjoying the music, but they weren't dancing or overly animated. Except that one guy who screams too loud after every song and shouts "you guys rock!" Even the Ed Hardy table was on their best behavior. It's hard for me to sit still during a Midtown Method show because they are so good! They play a huge variety of covers and normally I would be dancing with my sister or some of the drunk girls who think they are really good dancers but really they just look drunk and sloppy. But between my aching Loft feet and the "too cool" vibe in the room, I was content to sit. 
I have to admit I kept getting distracted by the Olympic figure skating showcase that was playing on the TV right above us. That must be how dudes feel when they are on a date at a restaurant or sports bar and they are supposed to be paying attention to their date but they just can't stop watching TV.Midtown Method played for about an hour and Kevin and I had already decided we weren't going to stay for much longer after their set. We listened to a couple songs by the closing band and then headed out. I'm sure Kevin and I will still get to Durham, and I have no doubt I will enjoy it. That's the good thing about this project - even when things haven't gone exactly according to plan, it forces me to think creatively and cheaply. Thankfully, friends like Kevin are willing to go with the flow.
On deck for day 28: Jenny. I'll be seeing you..... 
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