All my life I’ve been fortunate to have great guy friends who have a true sense of humor and great ideas on how to waste time.



Lately, one of my dudes, Ryan, introduced me to something that I’m now completely addicted to, but it’s way more fun when he’s around.



Ryan calls it YouTube partying.



Here’s how it works:



Grab one or more friends and tuck them around your computer. Those computers with the most decent speakers work best.



The rules of the game are simple. Each player gets one YouTube music video pick, and none of the others can look while the person is typing in their selection.



If you have good friends who appreciate all kinds of music, this will be hilarious, especially because YouTube holds every music video that’s ever been made.



Ryan and I spend hours going back and forth with a mix of songs that are either amazing or so funny that they sometimes have to get vetoed.



Ryan has been feeling a resurge in his affinities for all sorts of ’70s music, so he plays groups like ABBA (those videos crack me up). He’s also down with ELO. But when he gets to the heart of the matter, he usually opts for greats like the Beatles, Elton John and Led Zeppelin.



Although my personal taste in music extends well beyond this genre, I typically find myself playing rap cuts by Notorious B.I.G., 50 Cent, NWA, Ghetto Boys, Public Enemy and A Tribe Called Quest (I LOVE the “I Left My Wallet in El Segundo” video).



There was one weekend night when we got home from the bars at 2 a.m. and went back to his apartment specifically for the YouTube party.



The walls of Ryan’s apartment are like paper mache, so to respect his grumpy neighbors, I made a rule that we could only play ballads, and we’d play them softly.



That was probably the stupidest idea ever because there’s no way you can prevent yourself from screaming the lyrics to Poison’s “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn,” Guns N Rose’s “Patience,” or Tesla’s “Love Song.”



The grumpy neighbors pounded on the walls, but it was so worth it!



Does YouTube partying require drinking? I suppose you could add that in, but Ryan and I don’t. He explained that decision perfectly:



“I’m not going to drink when we YouTube party cuz if I did, I’d be wasted!”



So you should try having your own YouTube parties. I’ve found it to be one of the greatest ways to waste time and laugh and laugh.



What would your first pick be?

Cocktails, Corn and an Art Slam

On Friday, K-Love convinced me to go out for happy hour instead of working out. So we headed to Asado for cocktails and corn (I ordered their incredible roasted corn). Lucky for us, the gentlemen next to us bought our cocktails and corn. Thank you, guys! That was a great start to the weekend.



After, K-Love and I parted ways, and I joined Natasha at the Art at Work Month Art Slam. Images of works of 40-some artists were broadcast on the big screen at the Rialto Theater while soft music played. We cheered loudly for our friend’s work, like that of Ryan Loiselle, Lynn Di Nino, Claudia Riedener, Chip Van Gilder and JP Avila. Natasha said she’s going to submit one of her poems next year, but only if they’ll play AC/DC’s “Back in Black” while it’s rolling. But overall, that was such an excellent showcase of Tacoma’s amazing art community.

Celebration Saturday

All week I’d been looking forward to the Tempest two-year anniversary party. Natasha could not stop glowing about how much fun she had at the one-year, and this second was even better than the first. Kim Archer played a festive acoustic set and DJ Big Chuck was spinning after. Booties were shaking, celebratory glasses were clinking and all in attendance had a marvelous time.



We were kickin’ it with Syd Vicious and Jet Setting Jason. Syd was getting pretty feisty, so we had to feed the monster, and we skipped off to Puget Sound Pizza for the perfect pepperoni pie that hit the f***ing spot.



’Twas another great weekend in the life of your very own social chameleon.

I\'m Carmen, your new chameleon. Drop me your favorite parties at permanentlipstick@hotmail.com