Post Traumatic Holiday Disorder

now that the dust has settled on the christmas holiday...i finally feel as if i'm starting to make sense of the dizzying experience of travel, presents, and family. i almost wish that we could divide the holiday up over the course of the year. maybe january i could celebrate with my mom's family. maybe in february we could celebrate with my dad's family. maybe in march we could celebrate with tim's family. april could be, well, that is my birthday, so we'll reserve it. but may could be reserved for jennie ann...and onward. you get the point. i suppose i always get a bit inundated with the gift exchange and social interaction.

upon return home, i walked in the house (where the cats had been left to fend for themselves for two days) to find chaos. they decided to "roll" the bathroom with toilet paper, like three teenagers left home alone. they tore down the stockings, i suppose looking for more presents than the one i bought them.

the pictures are of my brothers. the top one is of taylor. the bottom one is of john. as a friend of mine once said about her 20 year old daughter, "the aliens that had her captive for the last 10 years have finally brought her home." i feel somewhat the same about my brothers. i felt like this last visit home brought us closer together again...as they are growing up and becoming humans i can communicate with outside of the fact they are my brothers.





regardless, i received many wonderful and thoughtful gifts. i think that with the overwhelming consumption, i have continued to purchase. for example, today i got a new cellphone...and only about 3 years behind the trend, i finally have a camera phone. so i can only warn you that i might be sending cell phone photos for the next few weeks...forgive me in advance. i'm sure for the coming weeks, i'll personalize every person in my new cell phone with a picture, ringtone. aah, yes, the power of organization.

after all the holiday excitement, i've been catching up on my reading, writing, movie watching, and beer drinking. as you can tell, it has been a rough few days, but i'm surviving.

i'm heading to atlanta tomorrow for the band of horses show at the earl. i'm stoked to see the horses, as i haven't seen them perform. i'm also really excited to see my old friends that keep themselves busy in atlanta. not to mention, i get to see my mom again...so i promise to get a picture (cellphone one or otherwise) of her swooning and crooning to the horses.

i'm already starting to compile a list in my head about new years...it is vague, but coming together.

i am person obsessed with making lists. i mostly use lists to help organize my day. though, i also use lists to plan larger projects. say, my holiday lists. there was one for christmas cards. one for the christmas mix. one for gifts.i even make lists on days that i have very little to do. at times, it may simply be comprised of:

-wake up
-check e-email
-exercise
-shower
-watch movies
-internet shopping

of course, my lists are more helpful (as you can see from above) when i have more to do. so during the semester when i'm teaching about 300 students, these lists help me keep everything organized. during the busy part of the semester, i make several lists a day. they become very detailed including exact times, even scheduled meals. throughout the day, i go through and cross off the items i've completed. it gives me a sense of accomplishment.

so here is the dilemma. my life has drastically been altered in the last week. i have gone from having a very busy, full schedule to having absolutely no structure to my day. now i just have vague suggestions for how to fill my day. now, you might be thinking- but what about all the holiday lists? yes, i'm done. i've even already wrapped my presents.

so, now i'll fill my days with watching movies, reading books, and working on my book project. i know, i know- what am i complaining about? i'm not. it is just difficult to go from being extremely busy to being extremely not busy. don't worry- i'm adjusting.

what is on the agenda today?
-watching flight of the conchords (again)
-rent some movies
-read some of Klosterman's IV
-work on writing up my musical history for the book
-go to the book store to buy a couple of Woody Allen books (Mere Anarchy and The Insanity Defense)

now i just have to figure out how to sleep past 7:00am.

oh yes, the new website is up and going....check it out

www.musicismemory.com

Why I Teach...

hi ms. everhart,
yes will you please email me my grades. i just wanted to tell you that
i really enjoyed your class you made issues of the world interesting. i
never thought i'd be interested in politics but now i am, and i will be
voting in the upcoming election for the first time. so thank you for be
such a good teacher and making things that could be boring interesting.
thank you


Sometimes it is nice to be reminded of why it is you do what you do...

An Inverse Correlation

I'll be honest...I haven't thought about whether or not a correlation is direct, positive, indirect, inverse, negative in almost a year. Today as I went for my walk, I discovered...I'm experiencing an inverse correlation.

As the number of exams left for the semester decrease, my life satisfaction, creativity, and happiness all increase.

Is there causality you propose? Perhaps.

december 13th. my holiday break officially begins. i'm at the tail end of the semester and i couldn't be happier. one last week of lecturing and one week of exams and i'll finally be able to spend my time as i see fit.

this last weekend was completely indicative of the end of the semester. completely chaotic and frustrating. it all began with a crazy dream of spiders. it was sort of kathy in wonderland type of dream. the one thing that stayed with me the longest was the image of a white spider. the first morning, i didn't think too much about it, but when i had the dream for a second night- i thought there might be something to it.

there were a couple of very large white spiders. they were noisy. they were trying to wrap their spinning thread around me. it was scary, but i thought i was able to avoid getting completely captured by the spiders. so what does this spider dream mean?

it can mean any variety of things...such is the case with symbols in dreams. perhaps i'm anxious, perhaps i'm worried about being stuck, perhaps it is a sign of creativity, or i could use the Jungian archetypal analysis...which believes that spiders call for greater self-understanding and encourage us to derive meaning and satisfaction from the intricate framework and interplay of life...

certainly.

so, things would have been fine until saturday when i had an interaction with a different type of insect. a gnat. not in a dream, but unfortunately in real life. early in the morning, tim and i discovered quite a few gnats in our house. upon further inspection, we started to notice there were more and more of them. i quickly surveyed the house for a piece of fruit gone bad. nope. starting to use my powers of investigative research...i began to deduce that perhaps that gnats were finding their way into our house from the air conditioning unit...

tim and i quickly dealt with this infestation by removing the air conditioning unit, which as tim adeptly carried this huge monstrosity around the house...i ran through the house to the back door, where we planned to store the unit. i tried to open the back door to help tim, which gave some resistance. so i pulled it again- at which time a huge cast iron pan that we store above the door came cascading down, only stopping to hit my hand and then my shin.

the day did get better. and i haven't had another dream of spiders.

what else is new?

i'm working on a new blog for my book on music, so i'll be sure to update you on the status, as soon as it gets up and running.

i've applied (formally) to graduate school. yes, more school and more debt.

and i'm thinking of quitting one of my many teaching jobs, so i can spend more time working on my book and yes, you know, spend more time enjoying myself.

the vegetarian on display

yes, i've missed all of you too. i haven't had the time to respond the emails, return phone calls, much less write on my blog. regardless, this also means that my life has mostly been filled with teaching, as opposed to what i'd prefer to do with my free time...which involves writing my book and engaging in functional alcoholism.

some fun times have been had in the last month...we went to the bright eyes show in charleston at the beginning of november. as always a good time (from what i remember)...i do know there was a late night party that involved a mechanical bull. also, tim long came to visit, which was good times as usual, with late night beach walks and inexpensive brunches.

i have decided after much deliberation that i am in fact applying to a doctoral program for next fall. this wasn't my first choice, but seems to be a good idea for me now. of course, i change my mind just about every day and one of the lasting dreams is to be a tour manager a la murray from the flight of the conchords.

moving on...this is my first thanksgiving as a vegetarian. i made the fatal flaw of mentioning this to one of my classes...and then spent the next 15 minutes trying to explain to my curious class what a vegetarian eats. "uh, duh, vegetables?" regardless, it reminded me of the scene in everything is illuminated (see below)...as someone actually asked me "do you eat turkey?"




something else you should check out...tim has a new food blog, you can check it out here: www.biscuitblog.com

I heart tomatoes.

now i know it seems silly. but honestly, growing up i was a meat and potatoes girl. like, literally. i would eat a hamburger, steak, chicken, pork, etc....with potatoes. okay, i'm being dramatic, but i remember my friend meredith's mom use to laugh about my meat and 2 sides...only 2 sides, never more.

i didn't eat alot of vegetables when i was younger. i actually hated them. which was funny because i was friends with many vegetarians. but that was me, chain-smoking, coffee drinking, beer guzzling, meat eating kathy.

man, things have changed...well not all of them, i retain my beer guzzling and my coffee drinking for sanity.

i made a conscious effort almost 3 months ago to stop eating meat. i had a difficult time to begin with...faculty meetings with only meat sandwiches, restaurants with only fish options, but starting on august 22nd...i haven't had even the slightest amount of meat. now this isn't a blog about how pretentious i've become with my non-meat eating ethos, but rather my wonderful discovery of food.

when you eat meat as your main and most important centerpiece of your meals...you forget there are wonderful, exciting items out there.

did you know that zucchini is EXCELLENT?

what about tofu? its awesome if cooked up crunchy in a stirfry...and then, its awesome not too.

i discovered a myriad of foods, including: bok choy, avocado, green beans, squash...and it continues.

last night, tim and i had dinner and we ordered bruschetta...and before i knew it, i scarfed down two pieces. this from a gal who has NEVER liked tomatoes. yes, i like ketchup, tomato soup, marinara sauce, but i have never liked tomatoes on sandwiches, tacos. after one bite, i said, "now, wait, this is a tomato right?" i simply couldn't believe it. it was fucking delicious. see, i save it for the right moment.

i even called my mom to tell her my good news.

so, i guess my point is that without eating meat i've been able to explore a whole new world of food. those that had been relegated to merely my side items.

The First Hoodie Of The Fall

last night was the first night it felt like fall to me. and before tim and i went out for dinner, i went sifting through my closet looking for it. looking for the first hoodie of the fall.

yeah, i know. it is completely a cliche...the indie rock hoodie. it is a subcultural must. but see, i just don't care. there is just something to me about slipping it on, zipping it up, and putting my hands in the pockets...something that feels like fall is officially here.

A Mysterious Band of Horses Microchip

i'm absolutely sure of it now. when tim and i spent the night with the horses folks, while we were passed out- they must have implanted a microchip that plays their music in our brains, fucking constantly. it is sort of like a birthday card that plays music when you open it. as soon as i step out of bed in the morning for the last week or so, i've heard any combination of songs from the horses. at first i thought it was just me, but i asked tim...and it was happening to him too. so the only logical conclusion i can make at this point in time is that there was some late night surgery taking place in that house.

that being said, most of what i'm hearing is off the new album, which comes out tomorrow. i urge you to get this album. if for some chance there isn't a microchip in my head, then this is one of the catchiest fucking albums i have ever heard.

apparently they also imprinted on the microchip the need to say the f-word over and over again too. but seriously, buy the album.

other than that....i want to say "WELCOME HANK!"

"at the end of the night, we'd all seen better days"

as promised, i took a trip at the beginning of this week down to the charleston area to interview ben bridwell of band of horses for the book. this was not the original intent of the trip, as we also had tickets to see the watson twins and magnolia electric company.

the show itself was fantastic. i got the opportunity to meet jason molina. as some would say, "it came full circle"...at least the idea for the book, music, memories.

overall, i found it awfully refreshing to spend time in the company of some really fucking cool people. and i'm not sure what i had expected otherwise, but there is something i love about meeting folks from a band you admire...and finding out that they really are as down to earth and nice as you had always hoped.

it was a long evening, but yes, as the lyric reads, "at the end of the night, we'd all seen better days..."

i'll save my abstracted, foggy memories...but there is one line from the evening i'll never forget. stamped on my memory of the trip, of the music, of the adventure.

"1, 2, 3, 4...5 pussies"

The rationalists...

A clip from the latest Bill Maher...


And finally, New Rule: Just because the Constitution doesn't have a religious test for office, doesn't mean I can't. This past Monday was Constitution Day in the U.S. And while I was going over the Constitution with my two adopted kids—[laughter]—Zack Ono and Mogadishu—[laughter]—I'm home schooling them—[laughter]—I was struck again by Article 6, Section 3. It says, "No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office." And I agree. No one should ever be disqualified for their religion. Even the funny ones. [laughter] Like all of them. [applause] [cheers]

But, the problem is that there is a religious test in this country. According to a recent poll, seven in ten say it's important to have a president with strong religious beliefs. The other three couldn't take the poll because it was Friday night and Yahweh wouldn't let them answer the phone. [laughter]

But, fair is fair. So, for myself and the other 15-20% of American who the majority call "non-believers," but who I call "rationalists," [applause] here is our religious test for office: if you believe in Judgment Day, I have to seriously question your judgment. [laughter]

If you believe you're in a long-term relationship with an all-powerful space-daddy—[laughter]—who will, after you die, party with your ghost forever—[laughter]—you can't have my vote, even for Miss Hawaiian Tropic. [laughter] [applause]

I can't trust you at the levers of government because there's an electrical fire going on in your head. [laughter]

Maybe a president who didn't believe our soldiers were going to Heaven might be a little less willing to get them killed. [applause] [cheers]

Candidate Mitt Romney, a Mormon, believes in spiritually-blessed underwear that can protect him. [laughter] He seemed like a nice man, and so do his sons, Wally and the Beav. [laughter] But, I'm sorry, their religion is bat-shit. [laughter] It's like Scientology without the celebrities. [laughter] [applause] And he has every right to run for president while believing in magic underwear, and believing that Jesus survived his own death and will return during an Osmonds' concert in Branson. [laughter] And I have every right to take that into consideration in the voting booth.

And at the end of the day, is magic underwear really that much crazier than giant arks or virgin births or talking bushes? You're either a rationalist or you're not. And the good news is, a recent poll found 20% of adults under 30 say they are rationalists and have figured out that Santa Claus and Jesus are really the same guy. [laughter] [applause]

Now, 20% is hardly a majority, but it's a bigger minority than blacks, Jews, homosexuals, NRA members, teachers or seniors. And it's certainly enough to stop being shy about expressing the opinion that WE'RE NOT THE CRAZY ONES! [applause] [cheers]

Just because the vote is 4-to-1, it doesn't mean the minority is wrong. People who were against this war from the start were a minority. The majority used to believe the world was flat. But if you believe that today, you'd either be packed off to Bellevue or asked to co-host "The View." [laughter] [applause] [cheers]

Hipster Olympics

awwww. thanks to glover for this video. i just had to share it with the rest of the world (those four of you- wait, three, exempt of glover)...

My suggestions for legislation on clothing...

i'm sure you've all heard by now about the latest "baggy pants" ban...where they are passing legislation (i think it has only passed in a small town in Louisiana) to ban pants that are too baggy and sag down. what the fuck? not only do i personally think this is crossing some boundaries in who is being targeted here, but this just doesn't seem to be the most pressing issue in our society, does it?

but i figured i should jump on the band wagon, if we are going to start legislating the clothes that people can wear...then good goddamn, let's make some changes. we all know there are lots of clothing and styles that should be outlawed. and i believe this presents the perfect opportunity to start over in fashion.

1) CROCS...please. let's just do away with this. its awful. and no, i don't care how comfortable they are.

2) TINY MINI-SKIRTS. see...now, if the baggy pants are an issue of indecent exposure, then we need to start making some women cover it up. one of my students came to class last week wearing the shortest skirt i've ever seen. why?

3) OVER-DONE CLEAVAGE. while i'm bagging on women...cover it up. seriously. if you've seen the commercials for the new tim gunn show...he says it best when he says, "no, not sexy. not at all..." (i'm paraphrasing)...but you really don't have to put it out on the table to be sexy...and if you are, you are probably not getting the right type of attention for it either.

4) SANDALS/FLIP FLOPS WITH SOCKS. wrong. always wrong. i think i broke up with a guy for doing this once. that's right. once. and i never got the image out of my head.

5) WHITE, OLD ATHLETIC SHOES. you know the ones. they are crusty. they bow up at the toes. from the passage of time, and the washing machine. please...don't wear these unless you are running, mowing the grass, or otherwise out of the public eye.

6) SHIRTS THAT ARE TOO SMALL FOR YOU or TOO BIG FOR YOU. i know. i'm getting picky here. but i am simply tired of walking outside to check the mail to find a slew of construction workers with tight white t-shirts on (i know, you'd think they were in the band hot hot heat or something)...well, wait, i suppose they are in hot, hot heat weather-wise...oh damn. regardless, i do not need to play peek-a-boo with your belly. so cover it up.

7)OVERSIZED SUNGLASSES. okay, i know...very few of you can get away with this. my mom is one of them...she looks like a movie-star in them. the rest of you look like bugs.

8) GAUCHO PANTS. always wrong. particularly when the attempt is made to dress these up to wear out to the club. bad idea.



hmm. what else...do you have any suggestions? i'm sure i'm missing tons of them.

Guitar Girl?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD_wjAZfC8o

Are you kidding me? I remember dubbing this gal "guitar girl"...I also remember her asking if she could play the open mike at Cafe Bisous that I use to help organize. Oh yeah...and dragging her guitar around with her everywhere. Perhaps that would have made an interesting American Express commercial...or at least Mastercard.

Does anyone find it somewhat odd that these commercials show these people jet-setting around the world? Like Shaun White and such. I understand people have to travel...but its almost as if they are boasting about taking a plane to one continent and then to another in the same day, just to play a show or snowboard or whatever.

Is it just me or isn't there an environmental crisis going on? Maybe American Express should make one showing someone using their card to switch their diesel to running on vegetable oil...just a thought.

i know. i'm a fucking hippie now.

Falling in Love

Indeed, I've fallen back in love with the beach. The tourists have all gone home after Labor Day. I walked out on the beach (twice) on Wednesday to celebrate my impending pensive daily walks...

There is tons more to say. I've started classes. Perhaps the most challenging, but invigorating semester and students so far. More on this later.

Onward to good news about my book project...I'm in the process of securing interviews with folks from Elf Power and Band of Horses. That makes me almost as happy as the empty beach.

Yes, I'm busy as can be right now. I promise to save some time this weekend to share my wit and anecdotes with you.

Dear Senator Obama,

I am writing to tell you how much I enjoyed your latest visit to Horry County. A couple of comments for you...

1) I suppose I must be an idiot to not realize that politics is the world of "putting on a show"...but I think I'm consistently baffled and somewhat sickened to watch how the people surrounding politicans go to great lengths to "create" a visual. I shouldn't have been surprised when your people started circulating the room passing out "handmade" signs. This came as more of a face slap when everyone was informed to leave their handmade signs outside, only to be handed campaign made ones on the inside. Very odd to me. But yes, I must be delusional to think everything about an event like this would be authentic.

2) I would be careful using the substitute of Carolina for either North Carolina or South Carolina. I have found people to be very sensitive to this overstatement. Of course, you could have been confused by the Coastal Carolina signs too.

3) One of my favorite "slogans" you espoused was in regards to building from the ground up. I'm always trying to express to my students the importance of grass roots social action...and I feel like you might be someone who understands this. I think I even got chills when you went through different examples of this building from the ground up...women's right to vote, civil rights movement. good job of building it into something great.

4) I think you may have won over a majority of the crowd when you spoke about having a glass of wine. sometimes, we just want to know that you are human...and I think you did a great job of admitting that with the wine comment. I go to great lengths to do this with my students...as I think the distinction made between roles puts us at great lengths from one another.

5) I'd chill it out with the Warren Buffet story...apparently Edwards is telling the same type of story.

6) The story you finished with was spellbinding. I looked around the crowd and you had everyone captivated...again, human qualities with the tiredness and grumpiness...which was excellent to hear. You are a great storyteller. "Fire it up!" and "Ready to go?" will always be stuck with me...and ending with a question and answer of these two...excellent. I'd give a raise to whoever came up with this idea, whether it was you or one of the suits behind you.

Anyways, thanks for your visit. I was completely star struck getting to see you. Come visit us again, Barackstar.
Katherine

The Storm

i woke up in the middle of the night last night because of a storm. i woke up to the sound of my house shaking with thunder. then i looked out the window and there were lightening storms all over the sky. as i got back into the bed, i had trouble falling asleep. the storm reminded me of another time period in my life. it was one of those dark periods in my life (as others have called it).

i remembered a night many years ago, when i was living in charlotte and there was a similar storm taking place. i think they may have been predicting a hurricane or tropical storm that night. they advised for everyone to stay inside, if possible. i chose to go out. i remember picking up a friend and sitting out on the porch at fat city (an old charlotte bar).

what bothered me and kept me up a bit longer was not this particular story, but more so...who i was at the time. i was in a dark place. see, for three years consecutively, i lost someone close to me. the first year, it was a friend who died of a drug overdose. the second year, it was my father who died with multiple sclerosis. the third year, it was an ex who died of a brain aneuryism. so yes, i had some dark years. but i was thinking about how difficult it is to experience the death of people you care/cared about. more specifically, how i responded to this.

it seemed like with each year and with each passing, i started caring less and less about everything around me. i gave up. i think the image that stuck with me was an image of myself at that time. i was completely out of control. i drank as much as possible. i took pills. and for the sake of sounding completely over dramatic, i was essentially hoping that in some way the universe would take me back. yeah, it was a dark period. i remember not being scared of anything at all.

i remember also feeling terribly alone at that period. there were very few people who could stand being around me. and those that were around me, completely took advantage of the fact that i didn't care about anything. you could always count on me to go out and stay out late. you could always count on me to blow an entire paycheck on drinks, for myself and them.

now, i'm not trying to glamorize it. in no way do i find it glamourous. it wasn't at the time and in retrospect, it certainly isn't now. i find it sad that i was self destructing. i'm awfully thankful that those years passed. i remember thinking i would never move past those moments while they were happening. i'm happy that i made it through those years and grew out of my young adult angst. i slowly learned how to find joy and happiness.

as i sat awake in bed, i thought how different i feel now. how that sad girl didn't feel like me at all. how i couldn't believe i actually was ever that person. i hesitated (as i am now) about writing about this, but at the same time that you outgrow the person you were...it is still part of your history. and since i don't write sad songs to recollect about those moments, this is one of the few places that i have to reflect on these experiences. and hell, this blog can't always be happy go lucky, now can it?

Groundbreaking Study...

today is my last vacation day before school officially starts. so far...i've sat on the beach for a couple of hours reading. isn't it sad that reading is something i have to find time for? and probably equally sad to you non-readers that reading is something i want to do when i have a day off? i also exercised...ha. again, probably not the top of a list for most...but i love when i have the time.

i was breaking my vacation rules and checking my email and i came across this groundbreaking study...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070821/ap_en_ot/youth_poll_race_4

wait....minority youth aren't as happy as white youth? what genius conducted this study? yes, i'm being tongue in cheek, but with everything we know about race...is this a huge surprise? it just stunned me that this is a study that is breaking news on yahoo's homepage. oh well...

i think i'll go delve into a world of cinema for the rest of my afternoon. i've been debating seeing the movie Superbad or staying home and sitting in my underoos on the couch watching hbo. i'll report back later.

Engagement Party

yes, tim and i had an engagement party of sorts this past weekend. i was nervous as all hell about the impending meeting of our families. we had lunch with our families at mert's. everything went brilliant. it was wonderful to see everyone again and spend the time with them in one of my favorite restaurants. my only complaint was that the time was too short.

later we met up with some friends at cuisine malaya for some sushi and drinks. there couldn't have been a better evening. i made the unfortunate mistake of taking part in all the drinking, but none of the eating. at the end of the evening, we ended up at tim long's place...and as usual, things start to fade. i remember going to the store for a second beer run of the night. i remember tim davis and i trying to convince tim long of the sheer genius of darren hanlon and david dondero (no doubt fresh on my mind because of the interviews). i remember some air guitar (not mine of course)...and i don't remember, but have the pictures to prove it...well actually i have about 30 pictures to prove it...but i went on a drunken picture taking spree...that's right, i even took one of my shoes...ha.

so, you've got the pictures to check out. there may be more added to the album, once my mom sends them on...click on the album below and you should be able to view all the photos from the evening.

Engagement Party

thanks to all our friends and family members who made our engagement a memorable day/evening.

A complete upheaval...

so, yes, i've had a complete upheaval...what does that mean? well, last week while walking, it dawned on me that there are moments when i feel a sense of urgency. what is the current sense of urgency? it involved my book project. i was feeling frustrated. i was having trouble getting in touch with one of my potential interviewees. and i received my first rejection. who would reject me? billy bob thornton. thats who. so i was walking out my frustration and it dawned on me...there is for 1) no reason for the urgency, as this project will probably be with me for a year or so...and 2) no reason to try to interview people i could care less about, even if that means having to self publish my book.

in that moment of clarity, i realized that i would rather collect stories from a wide variety of people. people that i'd like to hear about. people that i'd like to talk with...and so that is where i am now. then, once i had this moment of clarity everything started to fall into place. i suppose that is how it happens. now i'm on a rollercoaster of interviewing and planning.

then...last weekend...as my stepdad likes to say, "we had the broken family tour"...as my mom came to visit me (see the picture below) and then most of the rest of my family came to visit (dad, taylor, and jambe). it was so much fun to have mom visiting. we took an evening up at rockefeller's...then the next day spent on the beach trying to wear off a hangover. the next night, the whole "broken family" came together for a lovely, but stressful dinner. afterwards, tim, mom, and i stopped by a swanky bar to hear our friend, sam, play some jazz music. it was a grand time, though that hangover was still suspiciously around. well, and a sunburn too.

on sunday, tim and i drove down to wilmington so i could begin the interview process. i had plans to interview david dondero before his show. if you haven't heard him, well, go here and watch this video:



and then go buy his latest album from team love, called simple love. i swear you'll love it.

my interview went very well. then dave introduced me to the fella he was playing with that night, darren hanlon. darren is one of the coolest mother-uckers i've met in quite a while. and likewise, you should certainly check him out...i'm currently obsessed with his song, hold on...



as if these two interviews weren't enough to make me happy...on wednesday, i drove to DC for my interview with Bob Boilen. i had a wonderful trip, visited with some family members, visited the National Gallery of Art, and spent about 3 hours at the NPR studios being overwhelmed and amazed. my interview went great and again, i was reminded of just how cool this bob boilen is. if you don't about him...or his work with npr...go listen to some of his shows. you'll be happy that i told you about him.

http://www.npr.org/programs/asc/



so at the moment, i'm getting ready to make some tofu stir-fry. tim and i have a big weekend planned in charlotte...so there will be more to follow next week.

Happy Anniversary Myrtle Beach!

That's right, this weekend I'll be celebrating my one year anniversary here at the beach. I can't believe a year has already passed.

I've decided to create a top ten of my last year. The top ten experiences of the last year. I didn't rank them... I just didn't want to put that much energy into it.



1)When I accidentally said orgasm instead of organism my first day of class here.

2)Finding the North Myrtle Beach flea market for postcards and photographs

3)Rockefeller's...every single time. Is putting a bar on here weird?

4)The Flaming Lips show at House of Blues

5)The Sparklehorse show in Charleston (with my mom)

6)The Bright Eyes show in Atlanta

7)Spring Training, of course

8)All the new babies in my life...Emmett, Laila, and Paige

9)New friends (the few) and old friends.

10)Tim and I's engagement

Damn it, I thought I'd be able to fit it into 10, but I've got the runner up...which some may argue is the most important...

11)Discovering that I'm satisfied with life while walking the beach


What should I do to celebrate? Well, my mom is coming to visit this weekend. I'm so very excited. She hasn't been here before, so I'm full of ideas...I know for sure we'll be taking her out to hear some jazz music. I'm pretty damn sure we'll have to show her off at Rockefeller's. And well, there is the OCEAN.

What else is happening in my life? I've started working on a project for a book. I'm keeping it top secret right now, but I am working on some interviews. Just chew on this..I'm going to DC next week to interview Bob Boilen from All Songs Considered on NPR.

Besides the interview, I'm looking forward to some time on the road. I'm thinking of checking out UVA in Charlottesville for a potential school for 2008. I use to travel just about every weekend when I was younger. Listening to music as loud as possible, while smoking and drinking (ha, kidding....just wondering if you are still reading...yes, i do this to my students too).

That's it for now...I'm watching the after shock of the AFL-CIO Presidential Forum...and I'm feeling distracted.

"Suddenly I didn't know if I had dreamt things, or if they existed..." -Bergman

Ingmar Bergman passed today, at the age of 89. The picture is from Scenes from a Marriage, which is one of my favorites.

Tim sent me this Woody Allen quote earlier about Allen seeing a Bergman film when he was a teenager...

"Less than ennobling was the motive for seeing my first Ingmar Bergman movie. The facts were these: I as a teenager living in Brooklyn, and word had got around that there was a Swedish film comign to our local foreign film house in which a young woman swam completely naked. Rarely have I slept overnight on the curb to be the first on line for a movie, but when "Summer With Monika" opened at the Jewel in Flatbush, a young boy with red hair and black-rimmed glasses could be seen clubbing senior citizens to the floor in an effort to insure the choicest, unobstructed seat."

Now, its getting personal...Schuerholz

you've got to be joking...i swear this HAS to be a personal attack.

Dear John Schuerholz,

Please don't trade Jarrod Saltalamacchia. No matter what you do, please don't. It'll break my heart.

Thanks,
Katherine

Dear Senator Edwards

I thoroughly enjoyed your town hall meeting in Georgetown, SC today. Had I not been starving and fighting off a heat stroke, I would have stayed around afterwards to shake your eloquent hand, but I couldn't...and so I wanted to ask you a few questions. I mean, hell, everyone else in the world is posing questions, so why not me, right?

For one, now I understand the fact that we are not always in control of our destiny...or our schedules, but as a teacher, tardiness is simply not something I'm fond of. See, I left my house an hour and fifteen minutes before the time you were scheduled to speak. Unfortunately I drank half a bottle of water before I left the house, which meant I had to make a pit stop midway through my trip. And no, I'll never forget the fella at the Shell station who informed me that his bathroom was not in working order! But...regardless, I found myself battling beach traffic and pit stops...and I was running late. So I tore through Litchfield, Pawley's, downtown Georgetown to make a concerted effort to arrive on time. I arrived at 1:32pm. I ran down the street where I had to park...upon my entrance into the union hall...I discovered that you were in fact running about 15 minutes late from your previous engagement. Cool. 15 minutes. That's fine, I thought.

Well, the union hall was flippin' hot. It was packed. And when we were informed that you would be arriving a full hour late...I started to get a bit irritated. So we all stood there, anxiously looking to the door, fanning ourselves silly. Like I said, I understand that things don't always happen exactly as planned, but your tardiness today was unacceptable. (Yes, I'm being slightly dramatic for blog sake). I only feel worse for the people in Atlanta who were next on your journey. Leaving Georgetown at 3:45 and being scheduled for Atlanta at 4:45, well that's just poor planning on the behalf of your crew.

For two, yes, as I mentioned, it was hot. Its SC in late July...and before you arrived, the crowd was alerted to the fact that it was the preference of your people that we not use the frisbees that people were using for fans. Apparently, the fans would look distracting on camera. I suppose my passing out on the floor would have looked okay. Yes, yes, I know I know...you are running for president...but still.

For three, I really enjoyed most of what you said. I like your ideas about social class. I like the fact that you are self-made man. I like the fact that Elizabeth has different opinions from you (primarily on gay marriage). I do have a question for you...and had I not been too star struck and nervous, I would have asked you...

It's about minimum wage. Yes, we all thank the powers to be that there is a slight increase today, and more increases in the years to come. That's awesome. You mentioned you thought it wasn't good enough. I can't agree with you more. You then said you'd like to raise the minimum wage, as president, to $9.25 or $9.50 (my memory is failing me, I blame the heat). I encourage this increase. You then stated by 2012. I'm not sure many people heard this. At least, I'm not sure that the loud applause would have been as loud. So, yes, increases are good. But that will stay with the same pace that its increasing in the next two years. So, is $9.50 an hour really that great? Particularly for 2012? How much will the standard of living increase by that time?

I have my students complete a budget in class. They assume they are single parents with two children. The assume they are making around $11 to $12 dollars an hour. I even allow them to have health benefits from their job, which we know for this type of job is probably not a likelihood. The reason I like doing this assignment is because my students quickly realize how difficult it is to survive in this family type. Most of them immediately give up any source of entertainment. Next they cut their food. Most of them say that even if they had insurance, they wouldn't be able to afford a co-pay. They usually stick their children in some type of childcare, which I could only imagine might be substandard considering they only budget 20 dollars a week for it.

So I can't help but question that in 2012, this minimum wage will still lack what we call "a living wage".

For four, I wanted to ask...and this was my real question. I know you speak quite a bit about social class. Ending poverty is your thing. Quite commendable. As you mentioned, some of your other plans of action all intersect...education, health care. So, you'd be helping the issue of social class in a myriad of ways...but I wonder how you plan to approach issues of race and gender, as they intersect with social class. Of course, social class exists as its own issue, but what about race issues and gender issues outside of social class?

I was surprised during the youtube debate the other night that you said you wouldn't pay reparations to African Americans for slavery. I understand there are bigger issues and that simply making a pay out wouldn't "solve" the problem. Perhaps we could do both? In that some type of reparations would possibly be merely an apology...and then we could also focus on the other issues that affect this group...like education, health care, discrimination...the list could on, now couldn't it? I don't think it necessarily should be one or the other.

Yes, I agree, there are two different Americas for those of us who live here. BUT, there are also many different Americas. There is certainly a different one for me, than for the individuals in poverty. And yes, my America is quite different from the one for someone like you. But there are still many other issues...there are different worlds for African Americans from whites. There are different worlds for women and men. I do admire you pointing out these systems of domination and stratification, but I also don't want to look at the problem and simply believe that its merely just social class. Cause it isn't.

Lastly, I admire you being the first democratic candidate to grace our area. That really means quite a bit to me. I enjoyed getting to see you in person, standing merely 15 feet away from you. You seemed interested. You made eye contact with all the people in the room. I think it certainly shows an interest in South Carolina. You handled the questions well and with a great eloquence, which is a welcome change from some of the candidates.

Thanks for your time,
Katherine

PS Do you think next time you could ask your crew to bring some John Edwards fans for the heat, just in case?

please please please let me let me let me...

overall, a good week. i spent some time down in charlotte for a few days. the day before, i finally bought an ipod. yes, it pains me that i felt the desire to spend that much money on a piece of entertainment...it also pains me that it was probably made through some form of slave labor...but goddamn, i love it. i have all my music and pictures on it. this made for a much more enjoyable drive down.

let's summarize...i met one of my mentors from graduate school for happy hour. it was nice to talk with someone who understands my ideas about teaching, engagement rings, and research...i also had some drinks with jennie ann and ellen...always a good time. i also met (as you can see above) stephanie and eric for drinks. we had a great time at MADD DOG! Again, its wonderful to sit and discuss issues with people who are brilliant and can give me ideas and suggestions....whether its our farm in canada or our farm baby! i also had a good time hanging with the family. my mom is always so amazing.

I also came to the conclusion there are two things that i would like to accomplish...at which point in time, i would feel that i "arrived" as an "academic" (using that word in a loose way). for one, i want to coin a term...and for two, i would like to be called by npr to comment on something.

on saturday, i taught my last telecourse class in concord. then rapidly drove back to the beach...as morrissey was playing one mile from my house. driving into myrtle beach on a saturday afternoon is an awful idea. i got stuck in traffic about 1 hour outside of the beach, so i turned around to take a back way...i was happily driving along (with my ipod) for an hour or so...and i ran into more traffic. it was unavoidable.

after 5.5 hours of driving, i finally arrived. i was greeted by tim and tim returning from the beach with a wonderful new bocce ball set. the three of us had a fish fry before heading out to the morrissey show (shhh. don't tell morrissey). the show was excellent. he slayed me when he played please please please let me get what i want...and of course, girlfriend in a coma. it was an excellent show.

the rest of the night was fun. it was somewhat of a blur. but surprisingly, i woke up feeling great.

i just finished watching the democratic youtube debate. very interesting. tomorrow, i'm going to see john edwards in georgetown. he'll be at the steelworkers hall...and i'm so very excited. i've heard he is a very inspiring speaker and he'll be talking about minimum wage. i'll give you more details tomorrow or so...

and oh yeah, its sabine's birthday. she had some tuna. she loved it. she's a bit of a messy eater.

what am i so thankfull for?

i don't know how well you can see this, but i wanted to start documenting when things are spelled incorrectly...at least when i'm not the one doing it.

so please don't do anything smart-ass and take a picture of a spelling error i made in a previous blog and post it as a response. i have just always found it entertaining when someone makes an error like this on a huge sign. there is a sign on the drive from MB to charlotte that reads, CRAB LEGES. ha.

its been a real busy week for us. we saw a pelicans game on thursday. thirsty thursday at that. i love this water tower at the park. and chris isn't so bad either.







then what else?

on saturday, shawn came to visit...which was a welcome surprise. its always nice to have some old friends down here. we took him out to new orleans connection where some of our new acquaintances play jazz. then we made our last call by rockefeller's, because how could we not?

on monday, we made our trip to wilmington for the dondero/buckner show. it was fantastic. of course, it could have been more enjoyable had it been a few blocks away...but we still had a great time.

here is something interesting though...it goes along with my issue with audiences. the whole time david dondero was playing, there were these three people standing right up front, carrying on a loud conversation. i understand the need to occasionally make a comment...("hey, did you hear that line about charlie parker?")...but i also generally whisper this...if i felt the need to carry on a loud conversation, i'd probably move to the back of the venue.

i don't know how musicians do it. just in teaching, i get pissed when i hear a whisper. perhaps that is something i can work on...blocking it out.

it was also weird to be around "hipsters" again...as there were more than a handful of them at the show. see, here in myrtle beach, you just don't come in contact with a lot of people like that. in mere moments i was feeling inadequate in my coolness.



but i bet most of them don't have these cool peppers they grew at home. aren't they beautiful? i think i waited too long to eat them.

so, i'm heading to charlotte tomorrow. i get to see some old pals...and have my teeth cleaned. how about that? i'm excited...and then i'm returning to MB to see morrissey. you heard me. at the house of blues. and oh yeah, tim long too.

Temperature

So...remember I mentioned our neighbor. The one that helps me gauge the temperature outside? Well, just so you know...I just saw him check the mail in nothing but khaki shorts. Not even flip-flops. Yes, its that fucking hot here.

Constructive Feedback

Do yourself a favor and watch this video.

Do yourself another favor and start watching Flight of the Conchords on Sundays.

Going Tourist Crazy!

what has happened?

i got drunk with my students and slurred about the greatness of education...i'm sure that was convincing. then...i felt sick for a couple of days.

tim and i decided to look at a farm house today. yes, to buy? i'm not sure why we are trying to buy a house, plan a wedding, and have jobs...but apparently that is our new plan. yes, that or move to rhode island. the farm house was awful. in the few moments we were trying to find the house, we ran across a man sleeping on a park bench behind a church, two young teenagers with what i call puss-tasches and a easter egg blue banged up trailer home. so, now, i will not be living out my dream of living in a farm house with cows and horses and chickens. oh well.

the main point of this whole blog is to tell

TIM LONG....WE MISS YOU! COME VISIT!

fish fry on the fourth

so, i've had a weird few days. a few nights ago, the house right across the street had a wedding. that's right, a wedding. it lasted until 11:30pm. now, when i was young and wild, that hour seemed reasonable for playing music loud and partying. now, it just seems obnoxious. so yes, we heard all the typical wedding songs...well as much as i could hear through flight of the conchords (which was turned up as loud as possible to block out "the electric slide".)

that night...tim and i vowed to move to rhode island. why the island? too much to explain right now...but it seemed like a place where we could avoid the drones of tourists.

independence day at the beach is wild. tons and tons of people load up and drive to the beach. with fireworks in tow. and hell, every child they can find too. its been packed on the beach. packed on the streets. and fireworks going off every moment.

tim and i decided to have a fish fry for the 4th. we invited over our neighbor patrick. we cooked some delicious food. here is a picture of the food. i told you tim is one hell of a fish fryer...





after our fish fry, we walked out to the beach to watch the fireworks. there were tons of "camps" of people shooting off fireworks. i've never quite been that close to fireworks, but it was beautiful. to stand on the beach and watch the fireworks all along the coast from one town to the next.

and so i decided, i think i can handle a little traffic now and again.

hey, its beautiful here too.

so, koch, where the hell are my brownies?

so yes, its been an interesting few weeks...

for one, i'm dealing with all this wedding stuff. its complicated. way complicated. tim and i are putting together our engagement party...and i think our clever, fun idea is going to be misconstrued as "ohhhh and ummmm, cool"...at least that seems to be the response to it.

and i'm pretty sure i don't have to tell you this...but i'm not really the god type. i had already decided that i am not planning to get married by god or anything of the such. tim and i planned to have a ceremony that was devoid of any of the normal religious traditions; however, i wouldn't mind throwing in some random ones that i enjoy (regardless of where they come from)...as i also mentioned, i'm not keen on the idea of being "given" to tim by any member of my family...

this being said, we had planned on paying for most of the wedding and stuff ourselves...but hell, its expensive...so we were hoping that our families could help us out (if only my stepdad read my blog!) that being said, when you allow someone to pay for something= they get a say in your party...and i think that sucks.

when i was down in charlotte this past weekend, my stepdad and i had breakfast. i was telling him about our plans. he mentioned that my step-aunt patsy could marry us, since she is a minister. i sort of stopped and asked him, "wait, so do ministers still believe in god? because if so, i don't really think thats going to work for us." i mean, how could i? why would i have a ceremony as such when i don't follow the religion? wouldn't it cheapen the whole experience? i don't want to say "i do" to tim under a false premise!

anyways, now i'm working the elope route on tim.


but what else....i decided that i need to put into place goals for myself. so here are my goals for fall 2008... (i'm not attempting to do all of these, just one by then)

1) start a phd program
2) have a full time teaching position with benefits
3) have a book deal, while teaching part time


so funny story...tim sent me an email about a show in wilmington...it is david dondero and richard buckner. he asked me if i've ever listened to dondero. i felt like i had heard his name. upon investigation, i figured it was because conor (oberst) gives a shout out to dondero for his musical stylings. so i gave it a listen...and you know what, it sounds fucking awesome. then i thought, i'll buy an album. when i read what was written about the album, it mentioned his previous band, sunbrain.

i got very excited...because when i was in my first couple years of college, there were three bands that i spent lots of time listening to (well besides cat stevens)...silly, sticky, and sunbrain. well okay, i also listened to unfound logic. i even remember staying at this guy's house once. i remember it so vividly because it was july in atlanta...and it was an old house without air conditioning. the show will be something to look forward to.

this weekend, tim and i are attending our first rock show at the beach. i'm hell bent to add names to that short roster of friends we have here. we've also got a fourth of july party to attend.

it was igor's birthday last week. here he is...



.
.
.
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i heard this song today on my walk, it seemed suitable to my life right now...

the bottom the earth i have to fall
but you really caught me
you really caught me, dear
at the bottom where i'd fallen
and slowly dear ask that you dance with me
here with the shades down
lights off

when i didn't know you
and everything i do
done badly
now i'll love you always
even when i say
you distract me

and sit tonight in some strange place
if we have no friends here
well i had a few to begin with
and i'll love you always
when we leave this place
and drive back to carolina
and down to savannah

-part one by band of horses

accidental weekend

i love when you have no solid plans for the weekend...and things just work out perfectly.

so...on friday evening, tim and i had dinner at a restaurant that is new called new orleans connection. its off the beaten path. its in a strip mall (which actually most of the awesome restaurants are in MB...its one of the secrets here). upon entering we were seated at a table right in front of the jazz band that was playing. this was distinctly a different experience from when we had dinner at a german restaurant a couple of weeks ago and our dining experience was mostly just trying not to make eye contact with the accordion player or his dancing wife. the jazz band was actually pretty good. it supplemented the meal, rather than distract.

so, yes, the food was delicious. the music was great. and i even took a slice of sweet potato cheesecake to go.

afterwards, we decided to swing by ol' rockies to check in. one my students happened to also be there...and she sent us drinks over. wait, am i not allowed to accept gifts? it was certainly a great night.

saturday...i slept in. believe it or not. i don't sleep in often, unless i'm intensely hungover...so this was a treat. i don't know why i have this issue...but i feel like i'm wasting time if i sleep in. even on days i don't have to...i wake up at 7am...i know, its pretty fucked up. its probably also something you do when you cross the 30 threshold. regardless...i made a concerted effort to not turn on an alarm clock.

upon waking, we made some breakfast and set out for an afternoon on the beach. i had about 40 papers to grade, so i decided to make it more entertaining with the ocean, sand, sun, and tourists. it was rather fun....and i have the sunburn to prove it. later that evening, we watched one of the latest christopher guest movies...for her consideration? or something like that. it was fair.

yesterday, we woke up early. took a beautiful walk on the beach with all the other old people who wake up that early....made breakfast. have i told you about my love of soy sausage? i know, its weird...but i dream about my fake sausage omelette that i make on the weekends. unfortunately i had to spend the day doing school work, but after such a pleasant weekend...it felt okay.

last night, tim decided to have an impromptu fish fry. he stopped by a local fish market and bought some flounder...and made us homemade slaw...we sat out on the porch for dinner. it was FANTASTIC. when you all come to visit, pressure tim to have a fish fry. you'll enjoy it.


see. what i'm saying is....i approached the weekend thinking that we didn't really have that much planned...and it turned out to be wonderful. man, i love beach weekends like that.

this one is for you, igor's mudcats

that's right. verlander did it for my fantasy team. a no-hitter. perfect. now, i can move out of 11th place. that's right...its out of 12.

more to come in the next few days: philip glass on leonard cohen at spoleto, swan lake, modern day audiences, and my latest plan to become a ballet teacher.

May on the Coast

So first things first....WELCOME LAILA! That's right...There is a new baby to celebrate. Ewing had her baby on the 19th of May! She was very early. (Wait, I am getting old, two of my blogs in the last 2 months have been to celebrate babies!) Regardless, here is a picture of Laila and her dad, LeVar. I'm still waiting for a picture of mom and baby....But I'm very excited to meet Ms. Laila and to teach her to play baseball.

What else?

Bright Eyes and ATL
We had a great time. We stayed at The Highland Inn (you should stay here too). We had lots of good food...Pura Vida and Eclipse di Sol. The show itself was perfect. The Fox is a beautiful venue, expansive. So expansive in fact that twice Conor commented about what a beautiful night it was, this outdoor venue. The funny part is that Fox has a ceiling that is painted to look like the night sky. You'd think they'd tell the musicians that before they make comment on it...

After the show, there was a reunion of sorts backstage. It was Andy Lemaster's birthday, as well as some old Athens pals were around: Clay and Casey. It was fun to catch up with everyone, particularly Mike and Conor...as well as to look over and see Gillian Welch relaxing. We drank some beer, ate some vegan cake, and hugged alot. There are two moments that stick out to me the best (and keep in mind these are vague at that...)

1) When we are all leaving for the night, Conor came over to hug us all. As he hugged Tim, he told him he was a very lucky man...(and this wasn't because Tim is damn sexy or smart or any of that- though he is....but because we had told the crew about our engagement)...and I realized that if I was a book jacket, that'd be one of the things you could put on the back.

2) When we finally made our way outside, we were behind the band. We had no idea where we were going...and suddenly we hit the door to the outside...and there were like 100 kids waiting to see the band...waiting to get an autograph or catch a glimpse of the rockstars as they got onto the tour bus....it was weird to have all those people standing around looking at you, as you exited the building. I thought about stopping to sign some autographs, pretending to be Arienette or something...but thought better of it.

Beyond the show, another highlight was seeing my good friend Greg. We had brunch with him the next morning. He is a treasure, for sure.

We loved ATL...so much in fact, I'm going to look into graduate schools there.

School

Some classes have officially started. Good so far. In one class, I've got two Iraq War veterans. For some reason, that makes me feel weird. I don't feel like getting into that today...I'm still waiting to hear about one other class. If that class doesn't make, come visit me at the Wings, Eagles, or Pacific Beachwear.

Some other things that happened to me: my truck is barely hanging on, the mosquitos are attacking me which has resulted in me looking like i have chicken pox, and i believe i nursed an injured cat back to help with only antibiotic ointment. Oh yeah, we survived both of the Bike Weeks!!!

So, its my day off...I've got a full load of preparing for classes this week. And oh yeah, movies on HBO to watch. I think if I get an opportunity to watch Must Love Dogs once more...I'm not sure what will happen.

bush for your hog

that's right. its bike week 2007...wait, i think they call it like spring bike rally or something or another. no, its not too terrible. if you can get use to the sound of extremely loud grasshoppers. i was even fine with the "good girls gone bad" tour bus parked outside of the crazy horse a mile from my house...i mean, why should i judge. perhaps they wanted to go bad. i also wasn't too upset about the girl dressed in all black leather outside of the bad kitty, waving for customers. but then, i saw something that floored me. i hit my limit.

there is a plant nursery right up the street from us. i went in once to ask for a cypress tree (which they had never heard of)...regardless, yesterday when i drove by they put a sign out front that read, "put a bush on your hog"....can you fucking believe that? yes, i only pull out the f-word for serious situations as such. i wondered, are there many bikers who put a potted plant on their bike? are they hoping to draw in some of their business?

other than that...its been interesting to watch the internal tension of bike week...i saw a fella wearing a shirt that read, "i rode my bike to trailer week"...see, there are the "real" riders who actually ride their bikes to bike week...then apparently there are the "others" who bring them up in trailers and only ride them when it's just sunny enough out. i think its pretty funny.

my all time favorite item so far has been an accessory that the women wear. its for women that have long hair. they put their hair in a braided ponytail and then they put this leather cylindrical piece with studs and shit in it around the ponytail. its hot. seriously. i'm getting one.

so...yes...tim and i saw a ballgame. i'm still trying to ease into my vacation, but it ends next week. i've watched lots of movies. i've exercised more than normal. and tonight, we are going to atlanta. and what i'm most excited about? seeing my mom...and maybe also, greg, john and patrick...and maybe also conor and mike...but seeing my mom will be the best.

How'd he do it?

I suppose enough time has passed that I can honestly blog without feeling like I was holding back. See, Tim and I got engaged on April 26th. Yeah, yeah, I can hear the congratulations through the airwaves. Of course, most of my students sent me emails that said, "CONGRADULATIONS"...goddman, what are they teaching those kids in the public schools?

Anyways...we haven't settled on a date yet. we are thinking may of 2008. how is that for advance warning. so its tough being a feminist who is planning a wedding. hell, it was difficult being a feminist trying to negotiate an engagement. it was even worse trying to plan it with two feminists. and we figured our way...a way that we felt still had the traditions that our family, friends, etc. would be asking for....but added our own way.

we both bought each other engagement gifts. we stuck with an engagement ring for me...and tim's was more difficult. men's rings are UGLY and TACKY....so we opted for an antique wristwatch for him. we proposed to one another out on the beach with some champagne. people seem really resistant to this idea. they don't understand how you can propose to one another. and after "lemme see the ring", the second question is..."how did HE do it?"

its interesting to me the types of traditions that are so difficult for people to let go of. so i'm thinking of writing a book (a wedding book...so i can make some real money!)...but one that demonstrates how hard it may be to negotiate an engagement and wedding, while maintaining your dignity and values. its going to be an interesting year.

the next big issue is about walking me down the aisle. hell, i don't know if there will be an aisle (which most of my students spell ISLE)...but i sure as hell know that i'm 31 years old and i'm sort of resistant to the idea of someone walking me down the aisle or giving me away. i know, it sounds bitchy...but i gotta draw some lines.

so i'll keep you updated.

i'm in vacation mode right now. the semester finally ended. i'm so pleased. i'm moving on to planning for my summer and fall classes. i think that staying home all day is right up my alley...except that i start wanting a beer at 3:00pm. wait, that's right now.

you should check out the new feist album. its awesome.


ps. my neighbor just checked his mail...he is wearing shorts, flip flops, and a shirt that has 3 buttons un-done...yeah, its a bit cooler than usual here.

at least we still have hope...

its been a busy few weeks. i'm trying to get caught up. i turned 31. i saw my first baseball game of the season. the semester is coming to a finish and i'm awfully glad.

i don't want to get into too much "news", but i felt like last week would have been an awkward time to write. i felt depressed about everything that had happened...

we saw the flaming lips last week. and i swear, it was just what everyone needed...with so much around us that makes us sad- the lips know just how to make you see the hope, the joy, the lightness of life. it was a fantastic show. photo credit above go to scott smallin (i hope that is how you spell his name...)

whats coming up next? my vacation. a trip to atlanta for the bright eyes show.

my nephew

so, yes...i'm an aunt. this is my nephew, emmett liam boyd. isn't he beautiful?

other than meeting my nephew this weekend, i had a great time in CLT...

mostly, i was celebrating my birthday. spent some time with jennie ann. mom and i celebrated on saturday. shopping. dinner. movie. it was awesome.

but not to overshadow my fun this weekend, i'm sitting here waiting for the opening night baseball game to begin. glavine is pitching...and he is on my fantasy team. wish me luck.

Spring Training 2007

okay, i'm finally recovered from spring training...so you get the opportunity to hear about it. i'm in full baseball obsession.

i think i'm going to only include highlights, as you can take a trip down my memory lane through the photo album...click on the picture below and you should be able to access the album.

Spring Training

1) dodgertown

dodgertown has to be hands in my top three of grapefruit parks. its small. intimate. vero beach is beautiful, at least the ocean front areas. too bad this was the last year for ol' dodgertown.

Game 1: Dodgers and Nationals
got to see nomar (up close and personal...see pictures), luis gonzalez, betemit, furcal.the dodgers won.


2) Tim's Birthday aka Day 2 of Spring Training

We were seeing two games on tim's bday.

Game 1: Yankees and Astros
astros stadium leaves some to be desired. sat through my first rain delay...yes in a green poncho.got to see cano, damon, a-rod. i just asked tim who won the game, because after the beer we drank at the game...i'm not sure i'd remember...but we are pretty sure the astros won. take that yankees.)

Game 2: Braves and Cardinals
we had to head straight to cracker jack from game 1.i'm not a big fan of the stadium, because its very large, very commercial, very Disney. the line up for our first braves game: johnson, renteria, andruw, mccann, frenchie, and diaz. tied ballgame, called over at the end of the 10th inning. in one day,we saw 2 ballgames, about 6 hours of baseball, spent about 8 to 9 hours in ball parks. man, what a birthday, eh tim?


3) The Black Angus Bar
after the game, we drove the 6 miles to our hotel and decided to check out this bar attached to the hotel. it was called the black angus bar. they had karaoke. it was fucking fantastic...not necessarily the people singing, but it was ripe with fiction stories...so tim and i had some shots.

4) DAY 3
it was our last day...honestly, i was a little tired. it was st patricks day. we were seeing the braves and cardinals again. we had press passes, which wouldn't allow us into the clubhouse. the highlight of this day was watching the minor league team. many people don't know this, but the minor league teams play games during the "main" game...so we watched some of the myrtle beach pelicans play. we saw sammons, ka'aihue, elvis andrus, among others. it was a great experience, reminded me of a high school baseball game (with the dug-outs and player conversation). during the game a sky writing plane wrote, "JESUS LIVES" in the sky.

so those are some of the highlights. there were many great moments...i'm devising a plan so that i an stay at spring training for an entire month. here's hoping.

4 games, 3 days

this is me after the spring training trip. 4 games in 3 days.

its over now. we are back home. the bags have been unpacked. toiletries put back in their proper place. so i'm feeling mournful.

and when i'm done mourning the florida sun and baseball games, i'll give you a trip synopsis. while i write it, i'll drink beer out of a plastic cup...just to recreate the feeling.

i think it can best be summed up by something i heard uttered by a man who was attending the first game of our trip...we passed by him and he said to his companion, "spring training is GREAT!"

yes, indeed. great.

the hour is upon us...

leaving for spring training in two hours....

the latest toughs of spring break

okay, so its not that i'm feeling like i have more to say...i'm just behind on relating my happenings. and since i use this blog as a sort of "dear god, its me margaret" diary....i like to keep up. not to mention, we are heading down to spring training tomorrow afternoon.

yes, i'm on spring break. i decided to have some dental work done to begin the spring break. i mean, what is better than 3 valiums in a 24 hour period? well, perhaps the valium without the dental work...but that's not really appropriate at my age anymore.

yes, i'm doing fine. my dental work went well. and surprisingly, dental work + devil town...you'd think i would have run from the charlotte city limits...but i actually had a really great time.

i spent alot of time with my family. my brothers were both home for break too, so it was an impromptu family reunion. i spent most of my post-op time with my mom. it was fantastic. i'm so happy for her and her unemployment (yes, it was by choice). she is not also addicted to LOST, so we sat around drinking beer and speculating on theories and such.

that evening, i had dinner with my dad, sister, brother in law, and my brothers. my sister is 2 weeks away from her due date...so it was extremely exciting to imagine that in a couple of weeks, i'll be auntie kathy. reminds me of in the movie About a Boy when he refers to himself as cool uncle will, king of the kids.

anyways, later that evening...i spent more time with my family. i drank some beer and it was fantastic. i felt like a young girl of 22 again. it was just what i needed to fully realize my vacation. i think i spent the rest of the evening trying to express my discontent about bam margera to my brothers, but that's a different story.

the next morning, i had brunch plans with eric and stephanie. we were meeting at city tavern, but apparently it didn't open until 11:30...and i had set our brunch time for 11. so we made a trip down to starbucks. i think all three of us were a bit hungover...so this made for a very interesting experience. the greatest thing to me was thinking of the three of us walking down a street in dilworth with our starbucks on our way to brunch. three walking contradictions. the farm will have no starbucks!

after a couple of mimosas at brunch, i decided to head back to the beach. i had a lovely mid-afternoon drive home. i was honestly happy to have had such a positive charlotte experience this time. it felt nice.

so...other than that..tim and i have been eating at irish restaurants for a story he is writing. the one on saturday night was packed. there was apparently a going away party for a fella who was going to iraq within the week. there was something about that....that freaked me out. apparently it freaked him out too....he was almost passed out in the parking lot.

on sunday night, we went to another irish restaurant in little river. they were having karaoke. most of the clients were well in their 50's. it made for an interesting dinner. we heard some johnny cash (performed by a man dressed all in black), as well as springsteen. at first i was irritated by the loud dinner experience, but instead i decided to just enjoy it. and before i knew it...i was having a fantastic time. these old couples danced during the slow songs. everyone cheered. i decided if i was to EVER perform karaoke, it'd be here. and i'd probably do bonnie tyler's total eclipse of the heart....though tim and i did joke about doing paradise by the dashboard light (is that the full title?).

other than that, i've been preparing for spring training.

today, i thought i'd enjoy beach living. i took a notebook and the book i'm most recently reading, the latest kundera the curtain. oh yeah, i took my ipod too. i sat out in the sun for a few hours and just enjoyed the fact i live here. it was wonderful.

the beach was packed...as it is spring break. there were alot of people playing football, volleyball, baseball, throwing the frisbee, etc. now, some of you already know this...but i swear, in school i was always the kid that seemed to get hit in the face with the basketball, volleyball, frisbee...so being on the beach today was sort of like overcoming a fear of being hit in the face with balls (ha....don't you dare!)i was successful...and i even caught a fly away frisbee for a couple of drunk college kids.

so...its happening. tim and i are heading out for our annual spring training trip. this will be our 3rd year. on the agenda this year: astros, yankees, dodgers, nationals, braves, and cardinals. there will be plenty to update upon our return.

but while you are sitting at home wondering when i'm going to update you on my happenings...there is so much good music out right now (or on its way out)...so you should be listening...the new shins album (which has been out for a while) is fantastic...there is a bright eyes ep, the arcade fire is blowing my mind, the modest mouse is growing on me everyday.

i also found out about this band called okkervil river several months ago. i found a song online about the president...i'll forgo actually writing the song title for fear my blog will be on a "list" somewhere...but i looked them up again the other day and apparently they re-released an album with additional songs. its really good. i've been listening to it most of the day. so check it out.

"i don't know what notes you want to hear played, i can't think what lines you'd like me to sing or say, and i'm not sure what subjects you want mentioned. so pause and add your own intentions. just pause and add your own, let's pause and add our own. just pause and add our own intentions. right here." -okkervil river