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.