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.