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.