Believing it could begin and end in one evening, or, my night with Feist

So last night, I saw Feist.

She played at the Wiltern, a gorgeous theater near Koreatown. We got there toward the end of Grizzly Bear's set, and anxiously sat and waited for our beloved Leslie Feist to take the stage.

I'm going to preface the rest of this with the following warning: this was the most enjoyable concert I have been to in about a year, and there is likely to be some weird fangirl babble.

The theater got dark and a large disco ball spun faster and faster illuminating the stage and theater with long threads of light. The band took the stage and started playing the intro "Limit to Your Love." Then we saw her. Our lovely heroine pranced on stage wearing a red dress and red tights. She grabbed her red guitar and started in. Throughout the show she switched between her acoustic and electric guitar (that was almost as big as she was.) A few songs in, as things started really getting going, I was floored by something: Feist can rock. Feist can really rock. Listening to her cutesy-pop songs like "Mushaboom" or "The Park," you may not realize it.

She called us to be "A Choir of Strangers" and we were given notes by our seating areas and we sang along with her. I had a similar reaction to it as I did when Ben Folds had us sing the "ahhh-ahhhhs" in "Not the Same." That reaction was getting choked up. I can be such an emotional concert go-er.

She played one of her tunes Vaudville style, as they had been playing in very old theaters the entire tour, as "an offering to the ghost of Vaudville." Halfway through a tap dancer came out and performed along with Feist. It was really fun.

Leslie Feist has a beautiful voice, both in the studio and live. Her live presence is amazing, she gets the crowd excited, and then feeds off of that excitement. Everyone in that theater last night had a big-time crush on her. She was radiant.

As the show came to a close, she played favorites: "1 2 3 4" and "Mushaboom" (an amazing version) and also a new song that was loud and well crafted and absolutely wonderful. She also played "Sea Lion Woman," which is probably my least favorite song from "The Reminder," but one of the most enjoyable songs to see live. Grizzly Bear came out to sing the "sea lion" part. They presented her a rainstick as a thank-you for touring with them, and they stood upstage and danced and played the rainstick and clapped and were having a great time. And I was too.

As an encore, she stood on the upright piano and sang a lovely song, herself and the pianist, Kevin Drew (Video here). She played "Let it Die" with the help of her fantastic band, and then she left us. I could have sat for hours, mesmerized by her talent, but she had to go.

Recently the thought of "growing up" has started to thrill me. I know that there's a long road ahead of me, but I'm excited to start my hike. There's an entire year until I graduate, and I know that it will go by faster than I would like. This morning I watched a line of children walk through the campus oval. It was cute. (note: I am not baby-crazy.)

I finished my history exam this morning, and I'm done with tests. Today I need to write my German Film paper that I have been dreading/putting off for about a week now. Luckily, I love the film I am writing it on (Goodbye, Lenin!) so it won't be too painful.

Sunday night, Marie, Meg and I set up my tent in the living room. It makes locomotion in the apartment pretty difficult, but we've all come to like watching TV, studying, chatting, eating, and sleeping in the tent. Yeah, setting up a tent in our messy apartment was a really good idea. We are thinking about keeping the tent up year-round in the basement next year. (Well, I am thinking about that.) Basically, I want to live in a camp.

Dad has been mapping out our trip out to California. I'm pretty sure that he's trying to make it into a vacation. Friday night we are stopping in Tulsa, OK, Saturday night we are stopping in Santa Fe, NM, and on Sunday night we are stopping in a city in Nevada on the Colorado River. I'm pretty sure it's a little out of the way, but apparently Alan is really excited about it. I talked to my mother yesterday and she laughed at him for being so excited. I can't wait to drive across the country.

Now I'm going to prolong writing my paper and go to Finders to finally get my copy of The Reminder by Feist! Oh Leslie Feist, I love you. Please be my friend.

Edit: In case anyone was wondering, The Reminder is lovely.

Things are Happening

Sometimes I like to Google Image Search phrases rather than just things like "Brandon Flowers + Mustache." Today it was "Things are happening." My favorite results:

Anyway, things are happening. Or at least I think that they are. (I guess things are always moving, always toward something. Right now, the move feels like it's toward something different.) I got an interview in LA. It's not with a company that I know much about, but after sending in my resume, I got a quick response back. (Good sign? Hopefully.) I chatted with my potential employer for a while about what I liked, and my favorite movies of the year, as well as his favorite movies of the year. When I got off the phone, I felt good. I felt very good. (Then I went into the bathroom and cried because I was so happy.) It's only an interview, but it's a start.

UFO got the first entry for the 2007 BGSU Film and Media Festival. I'm hoping that this year's festival goes better than THE DISASTER OF 2006. (Sorry, but it was!)

Musics: Mike gave me the new Arcade Fire album, and I like it a lot. It's very full, and there's an amazing song that features some organ. I listened to it three times at work yesterday. I've also been obsessing over "The Gleam" by The Avett Brothers. (Particularly the song "If It's the Beaches." You can listen to it here. I recommend that you do.)

Matt and Kyle's recent display of ABBA love has made me want to watch Muriel's Wedding again pretty badly. "When I lived in Porpoise Spit, I used to sit in my room for hours and listen to ABBA songs. But since I've met you and moved to Sydney, I haven't listened to one Abba song. That's because my life is as good as an Abba song. It's as good as Dancing Queen."

Pass the Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind

My resume is officially done. No more laying on the floor crying and standing over a toilet dry-heaving because I get so upset. (I mean, what? That never happened...) I've started to send it out to a few companies. I forgot that today was a national holiday, and I called a few people and got voice mail. Puzzled, I continued down my list. Tomorrow I will call around more. So far I've sent my life summed up on a .pdf to:

• Ambush Entertainment
• The Famous Group
• Muse Productions
• Eternity Pictures
• Phoenix Pictures

Now I've gotten that monkey off my back, I am feeling way more confident about going to LA next month. If I don't end up with any interviews, I will take my time out there to enjoy some warm weather and sightsee. I might even give Liz a call, I haven't seen her since 11th grade. But will I go to the beach? Probably not. I hate all the sand in my bathing suit.

Since my laptop is (still) out of service, I asked Mick to use my downloads from emusic.com and get me a few things and send them my way. I got "The Pink Mountaintops" by The Pink Mountaintops, "Gleam" by The Avett Brothers, a few songs off of Neko Case's "Live from Austin, Texas," and my current favorite album, "I Am Not Afraid Of You, And I Will Beat Your Ass" by Yo La Tengo. Besides the album title being a little long and silly, I adore this album. It comes in at a whooping 01:18:08, but it hardly feels like anything at all. I had just decided that I couldn't sit through albums that clocked in anywhere past fifty minutes, but this album has proved me wrong. Thank you, Yo La Tengo, thank you.

In other news, today was very warm (39°!) and by the weekend the temperature is supposed to be up around 50°. Is my car still under about three feet of snow? It is. Do I plan on digging it out before the weekend? No chance. Hopefully the snow will melt, otherwise I'll wait for Spring to drive.

I am also enjoying this tune:
Snow Creature

throwing responsibility to the wind

Speaking of throwing things to the wind, in the past week, I have heard "Cast Your Fate To The Wind" by Vince Guaraldi twice in two different locations. I had not heard that tune in about two years, and I was very excited both times.

(hottie.)

Back to responsibility... I'm letting go for today and tomorrow. I'm not going to dinosaur lecture today, and this evening I am missing a Tikva executive meeting to go to Cleveland to see Langhorne Slim again. After seeing him this summer, and hearing all of his recent recordings, I think that it's a good investment of my time to see him again. Musicians just don't sound like him anymore, and I don't know when my next chance will be to see him. (He doesn't come to Ohio too often.) In reviews I read of him, people always say that they can hear Brooklyn in his music, although it has never been something that I've picked up on. If it means that I'll get to hear more music like Mr. Slim's, I can move to NYC. I'd be miserable in all other areas, but at least I could hear that apparent Brooklyn sound. Anyway, I'm skipping out on an hour and half of work and going to The Grog Shop to see Langhorne Slim with Corey. I couldn't be more excited about.

In other irresponsibility news, tomorrow I am missing (possibly) all of my classes to do a day of freelancing with E103. We are shooting a video for O-Reg. I am getting paid $75 to be a production assistant. I called to tell my mother about it, and she asked if I was missing classes. I explained that I was, but I also told her that they were both TCOM video classes, and she didn't seem to mind. This is my first professional gig (professional as in, I'm getting paid.) It's an early shoot, but I'll be giddy all morning. Getting paid to do what I love? Yes, please!

hawks, mothman, kittens, wardrobe, musics, kellie, kittens, tikva

At sunset, I saw a red tailed hawk fly out from the stadium, over the VIC, and out over the parking lot. Now it's sitting on top of a tall light in Lot 6.

Today in history class, our teacher mentioned Point Pleasant. My ears perked up, and I got really excited, hoping that we would get to talk about the Mothman, and the possibility of an Indian Curse on the grounds surrounding where the Silver Bridge once stood. Oh, and then I realized that most people aren't obsessed with the Mothman. I just realized how often I write about the Mothman. Maybe I should make a tag? No, that would prove to be embarrassing.

OLD NAVY RELEASED THEIR SPRING CLOTHES! This means all of the winter stuff is starting to be put on sale. Today instead of work on my resume (which I need to have done by the end of the week!) I looked at clothing online and talked to Erica. I have a spending problem. Also, in my mind, if I start buying spring clothing, spring will come faster. It hasn't proved to work yet. I do it every year.

My top artist this week on Last.fm was Neko Case. #2 was Neko Case and Her Boyfriends. I've got a bad CASE (get it?!) of Neko addiction. Langhorne Slim will be at The Grog Shop next Wednesday. I'm thinking of being irresponsible and going... I'm sure Corey would be up for it.

I ran into Kellie TWICE today. Oh how I love seeing her. She told me that my Nebraska sweatshirt doesn't suit me as well as my "Bling Bling" sweatshirt. I don't know what she's talking about--I don't own a "Bling Bling" sweatshirt. I also caught myself looking up pictures of kittens twice today. (so cute..) Today has been filled with my favorite things in pairs: kittens and Kellie.

We are starting shooting for Tikvah this weekend. I am very excited, but equally nervous. Our script is not finished, but Jose wants to start production right away. We are heading up to Detroit to the Holocaust memorial. There we will be getting mostly b-roll, but I'm sure that Jose's genius will ensure that it is perfect. Tikvah means hope, and that's what we need to make sure this production gets off the ground. (And being sponsored by Kodak isn't going to hurt, either.)

"Genius" is a really embarrassing word to misspell.

6:40AM: Ew.

Ohh, I have not woken up this early in a while...I am covering Jess's shift at the VIC, so I have four hours to sit around here, drink coffee, read the paper, read my Amy Sedaris book, listen to music, read blogs, and dance like no one's watching (erm, no one is watching...)

I'm starting to have a real bone to pick with Tim Hortons. Now, I want them to be good. I want them to be as great as the SR725 location. That Tim Hortons always serves me my food piping hot and right on time. I have visited the Bowling Green TH's a total of five times since it first opened in late November. This morning was probably the speediest time, but when asked if I wanted cream in my coffee, I said "Yes please, some half & half." I think she thought that meant I wanted a half cup of coffee, and a half cup of creamer. This morning's cup of coffee was a very creamy light brown. Is it really that hard, Tim Hortons? Really? Tim Hortons, listen, I'm not trying to make fun of you. I just want you to be the best speedy bakery that you can be. I know you can do it. You can!

Righht....

So, I got The Virginian by Neko Case and Her Boyfriends (great band name, by the way.) It's lovely. It's interesting to hear her voice being backed up by male vocals with the thick, twangy country music. It's a nice medium between her work with The New Pornographers and her solo work. I kind of want to be friends with Neko Case, in my mind she would be a really awesome friend. Here's a really great performance on World Cafe. And once again, I think that emusic.com is a pretty great service. I never thought that I would subscribe to a pay service for music, but I get 40 downloads a month for only $10, plus most of the music on the site is released on independent labels.

Tomorrow evening, our group of friends is having another potluck. I really love these potlucks, because 1. I get to hang out with all of my friends, 2. I get a home-cooked (sort of) meal, and most importantly, 3. I get to show off some recipe that has been recently handed down to me. I feel very blessed to come from the family that I have. The women in my family are caring and passionate, they are wonderful cooks, and most importantly, strong women. I am so lucky to have been raised among these hard-headed, intelligent women. My mother, grandmothers, aunts, and older cousins are all well-educated in both areas of the home, and in academics. How many women can say that they are the fourth generation of women to attend college? I am so privileged to come from a family that has taught me the importance of being a strong woman.

Corey and I took a drive yesterday afternoon. We went out to see the windmills, and as always, I am in awe of their size. On the way back, we talked about future stuff--something that I have been notoriously known to try to ignore. The more I thought about it, the more scared I got, until I was literally nauseous. (See why I usually ignore it?) As Seth always tells me, "things will eventually come crashing into place." I can only hope.

whaddado, whaddado

Somehow Mick and I fit about everything that we both own into the Honda on Tuesday. We arrived in Athens and unpacked his share of our cargo. Soon after, I met Amy at WalMart so that she could get a few groceries. There are some new Lean Cuisine meals, so Amy bought a few. And also ice cream bars. Without thinking, we then spent the rest of the day running errands and letting the frozen food thaw (and in the case of the ice cream bars, melt.) Mick joined us for dinner at the Court Street Diner, and halfway through dinner, I realized that we had not put the frozen food in the freezer yet. Went like this:

Me: Can we get some ice cream after this?
Amy: Yeah!
Me: YOU BOUGHT ICE CREAM BARS AT THE STORE!
Amy: (while clapping hands) YAY!! (looks over and sees my face) NOO!!

We went to Lollipops instead.

On Wednesday I started up SR33 to Lancaster to see my good friend Sarah, who I had not seen in ages. We got some lunch and she gave me a short tour of the Lancaster Campground, where her brother and April now live. It's a really neat place.

I'm back in Bowling Green. I'm not exactly situated yet--I have not taken my sheets out of my trunk yet, so I've been sleeping in Candice's bed, and my room is littered with (clean) laundry. I also need to buy milk so that I can enjoy the box of Honey Oh!s I bought at WalMart on Wednesday night.

In grocery store adventures, I have found a new favorite Lean Cuisine meal. I am usually leery of any frozen chicken product that claims to be anything but grilled, but I took my chances with the Cafe Classics's Sesame Chicken. And OH IS IT DELICIOUS! Trying to stick with the resolution to "cook for myself more," I decided that reheating pre-cooked and flash-frozen meals counted as cooking for myself. Costing me $2.62, I spent way less on this meal than when I go to KFC, and it is also much healthier. Anyway, I highly recommend the product.

Wednesday night I felt the power of the Wii for the first time. I played only Wii Sports, and made a Mii, but I can already feel myself wanting to buy one. Grant has the Zelda game, and I want to play it in the worst way. It's bad news.

My shifts at the VIC have started back up, and have so far been pretty slow and enjoyable. The microphone at the window somehow broke today when I was helping a visitor, so I have to yell through the little slidey door. But, I've had a chance to listen to lots of music. On the top of my favorites list right now is Kimya Dawson's "i'm sorry that sometimes i'm mean." She also recorded a split EP with Matty Pop Chart that is also pretty good. Her music is fun and light, and I enjoy listening to it while at works. Kudos to Amy for sending it my way. Today after work I am using some of my downloads from emusic.com (which, is a service that I adore) to get "#3" by Suburban Kids with Biblical Names. Yay music.

Speaking of Amy again, yesterday we made tentative plans to go to Los Angeles in March. I'll have to miss two days of classes, but I think that interviewing for internships is a reasonable excuse. (Especially since the classes I will be missing are mostly for my major and minor, which are both in the field that I plan on interning in.) Also speaking of Amy again, I believe that I am going down to Columbus to see Children of Men with her this evening. Marie and Stevesy might come, too.

I broke dress code at work today, and didn't realize until I had already been here for an hour. I wore my new Nebraska sweatshirt, and we are not allowed to wear "clothing that represents other colleges." Go Huskers?

internet gi-i-i-i-i-i-i-irl

The fundraiser went wonderfully. Everything was on schedule, we had a pretty decent crowd, and we raised a little more than $300 after paying the club for the PA. Apparently we made more than the bar did last night, which I feel kind of bad about. All of the bands were wonderful. (Although I did miss half of Nate's set because I was picking my room mates up.) Joey really blew me out of the water. The band worked together so well, and I noticed a new confidence in his performance that was quite there before. I am so happy for how well he played. Pseudobook played a great set (as expected.) My sure favorite part was when Mike played "Internet Girl," and the UFO crowd laughed and sang and danced, while the rest of the crowd sort of stared in horror. Also, Amy came up. Last night, I could not have been happier. Thank you thank you thank you to all who played and attended last night. My ears are still ringing from all of the rock.

Speaking of the show...Joel and I informally started a thumb war, but I don't think we finished. I challenge him to another.

The rain has started to clear up, but there are still pond-sized puddles in all of the fields surrounding the stadium. Oh, and it feels like it's about four degrees. Working early mornings can be rough, but I can usually handle it. Add cold temperatures and rain, and I just want to sit in the car with the heater on and cry. I'm really fighting sleep right now. The VIC is out of sugar again, and I really cannot bear the coffee without it. I found a packet of hot chocolate and have mixed that into the bad (but free!) coffee, and it's fairly tasty. I also forgot my CD player this morning, so I'm sitting in silence. Luckily my favorites grounds lady came in and chatted for a while. I like her a lot. Now I'm reading about the history of Ohio to keep me busy. Oh, and blogging.

I think the Visitor's Information Center might be falling apart. I came in this morning and there were buckets catching water (and a little dry wall.)

I think we are shooting tonight, and I look forward to that. I am also looking forward to getting some lunch with Amy and Nafe (Yay OU visitors!) I am also looking forward to a get together at Steve's this evening. I am also looking forward to getting up early tomorrow to sit at the Union with Jose at the TCOM table for preview day. I am also looking forward to going to Marie's hometown tomorrow afternoon to help out at her church's Christmas party thing. I am also looking forward to the last week of classes. I am also looking forward to The Projector get together. I am also looking forward to seeing ZOX at Howard's on Wednesday. I am also looking forward to the pizza party we are having at the A-P-T. I am also looking forward to Kyle, Kellie, and Erin's Christmas party. I am also looking forward to Amy, Katy and Nichole coming up for Marie's birthday. I am also looking forward to Marie's birthday. I am not, however, looking forward to working 10-4 next Sunday after Marie's birthday. There will most likely be a big sleepover at our house the night before.

I'm done.

"Emily, they'll follow your lead by the letter"

Thanksgiving break was a very nice vacation from Bowling Green. I got a few things done at home, and saw friends and family. Thanksgiving dinner ended with half of the family sitting around a fire in my cousin's backyard. After most everyone left, Paul, Sarah, my brothers and I went to see Borat: Cultural Leanings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. I enjoyed it.

Friday night the whole family got together again for pizza at Aunt Ann's house. The girl cousins played cards while the boy cousins fought over who got to play the next game of Halo. I'd rather play Uno any day of the week.

Amy and I also got to see Christopher Guest's latest film, For Your Consideration forgiven because 1. Fred Willard, and 2. Fred Willard with a , which I loved. (That's unfair, because anything with that cast I will absolutely adore.) At some points, I wished that they had made it in his usual mockumentary style, and I almost feel like they did originally and changed mid-shooting. A lot of the shots were handheld, and I thought that the sections with Fred Willard were a little awkward. That section of the movie was completely forgiven because 1. Fred Willard, 2. Fred Willard with a fohawk, and 3. Fred Willard dressed as Sherlock Holmes with a giant magnifying glass.

I've also got my paws on two new delectable little musical gems: Ys by Joanna Newsom, and Songs for Christmas by Sufjan Stevens. I have been listening to Songs for Christmas pretty much non-stop for the past few days. I feel like he has given his fans a fun little present (that I only had to pay 16.99 for!) The little box came complete with a sheet of stickers, a song book, a "family portrait" (is that really his wife and kids? anyone know?) oh, and five CDs full of Christmas cheer. Merry Christmas, Sufjan. I haven't really sunk my teeth completely into Ys yet, but the first track is long and beautiful, and it's called "Emily." I need to take another long listen. I love my harp-playing elf!

UFO Benefit show is Thursday night. I'm very excited to hear a night of good music, and know that my $5 is going toward supporting student film making. It's at 9P at Howard's. Who's playing? The Tapes, Pseudobook, Joey Catullo, Nate Cogan, A Friend of Mabels, and One Nation Under.
/shameless advert.

Ben Kweller three times in two days? Yes please!

Things I did in the past two days:

• Crossed the Ohio-Michigan border for the first time
• Saw Ben Kweller for the 4th time
• Chatted with BK
• Fell asleep in Joey's car
• Woke up an hour into my shift at the Visitor's Center (opps...)
• Talked to the guys from Hymns about how being on tour is like summer camp, but colder (I don't think they fancied Ohio much.)
• Saw Ben Kweller preform a small acoustic set in a Starbucks, within arm's length of where I was standing
• Talked to Ben Kweller about Garth Brooks
• Hugged Amy!
• Spent too much money on a bag at Urban Outfitters
• Heard embarrassing stories about my brother
• Shared a very special first with Karen: Chipotle
• Saw Ben Kweller, for the sixth time
• Hugged Amy again
• Listened to old episodes of the Pseudobook Podcast to keep me awake on the long drive back from Columbus
• Had an overall wonderful two days

ocms

Old Crow Medicine Show was amazing. Anyone who enjoy bluegrass/alt-country/folk/etc. should try to see them at least once. Their newest single, "Down Home Girl" is pretty amazing:

am i right?

I did not get to stay and see Wilco. I don't want to talk about it.

Thriller

Michael sent me India's version of Michael Jackson's "Thriller." I love it.

Good music news:
-This weekend I am going to Tall Stacks to see Old Crow Medicine Show and Wilco (!)
-Next week I am seeing Ben Kweller (twice!)
-Nellie McKay's Pretty Little Head is finally being released 10/24
-Matt and Mike's version of "Internet Girl" is coming along, and I am very excited.

I also get to see Amy in 8 days.

Matt's 'stache

To relax after a long weekend of shooting and laughing at ourselves (mostly laughing at ourselves) the room mates and I are sitting around and listening to Elvis. I think this week I am going to work on the Elvis wall.

I ran into Joey M. Schnell tonight. We are going to go down to Cincinnati to see Old Crow Medicine Show with his sister (who I was camp room mates with!) and her boyfriend, Steve. Now I have something to look forward to over Fall Break. I'm excited.

Our 48 Hour Project is pretty entertaining, at least to us.

The best part, in my opinion:


Matt's moustache. It's amazing, and I think he should keep it.

The screening is tomorrow at 9:15pm in BA 1007. Be there to support Matt's new facial hair. And also student film makers. (And it's free.)

BK

After script analysis yesterday afternoon, I got a frantic phone call from Marie, telling me that the new Ben Kweller disc had finally arrived--only two days late. I rushed home, opened it, and Marie, Meg and I danced until pop culture class. The album is amazing. Ben Kweller has not let me down once, between his three albums and three live shows I have attended. As mentioned before, he is playing in Detroit as well as Columbus next month, and I am being irresponsible and taking time off from classes to see those two shows. I had to draw the line at seeing him in Cincinnati (which was rough.)

Joey came over last night. He brought season one of Dinosaurs, and we watched our Ben Kweller on Conan. We also picked up Candice from the news room and listened to "Danger! High Voltage!" in the car and laughed a lot. The girls from Apartment 14 hope that Joey comes over more often, because he is fun.

Work this morning has been fairly busy for a Friday morning before 9AM. There's some sort of conference this morning at the union, so there are lots of people coming in and asking for parking passes. I also need to make sure that I'm getting enough sleep before my 7-10 shifts. This morning I did not let myself have a cup of the free coffee we offer at the VIC until 8:00. I'm trying not to be such a slave to caffeine, and I have figured out that there is a direct connection between the headaches I've been getting and my caffeine consumption.

Weekend plans? My classmate, and fellow UFO member, Erik is wrestling on Ohio News Network tonight, so some people are all getting together to cheer on "Hobo Joe." It should be a good time.

A song that really makes me feel great:
Mushaboom by Feist

"Long Gone" by Clothesline Revival

This morning while going rummaging around the house, I found an unopened CD in the drawer where we keep all of our pencils and things like that. It's called "Long Gone" by a group called Clothesline Revival. From the look of the cover, I thought it would be a folky country band, probably a CD my parents had gotten for free somewhere. I popped it into my laptop to give it a listen, and was shocked at the sounds I found. It's a mix of 1930's-era folk recordings (not unlike songs featured on the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack) mixed with electronic and more modern insturmentations. It's very bizarre, and I think I love it.

Check it out.

BK, again

New Ben Kweller album, September 19th.

I just ordered mine.

And he's coming back to Ohio in October. And to Detriot around the same time.

I need to see him again.








And Langhorne Slim was pretty great last night. I kinda want to follow him across the country now...

Langhorne Slim!

Friday after work, I'm going to run home, get dressed, and drive to Columbus as fast as I possibly can without getting a speeding ticket. Why the excitement?

I am finally seeing Langhorne Slim!

Now I just need to find someone to come with me... I had the entire day off yesterday. With really nothing to do, and no one to hang out with (Matt has moved out, Michael had to work (and so did most everyone else) and Mark likes to just skateboard until it's dark) I drove around and went into stores. At The Salvation Army, I bought Michael a creepy framed picture of Jesus. I think it will make a good decoration in his dorm room.

And now because I am at work, and I am bored, I will fill out this survey, and give long drawn-out answers. And no one will read it.

[A is for age:] 20.4.
[B is for booze of choice:] Whiskey. No particular brand. I like it with cola.
[C is for career choice:] Housewife. Until arrangements for that career come along, I guess I will settle for producer.
[D is for your dog's name(or cat. etc.):] I have a very fun dog named Mollie. We named her after one of my best friends from middle school. My beta fish is named Anna Nicole, after my favorite trashy celebrity. Marie has a cat named Luna, and she might being her to the a-p-t in August. I would like that a lot.
[E is for essential items to bring to a party:] Dancing shoes.
[F is for favorite song at the moment:] "Born to Run" by Bruce Springsteen
[G is for favorite game:] Loser, a card game I learned in Scouts.
[H is for hometown:] Centerville, OH.
[I is for instruments you play:] Ukulele
[J is for jam or jelly you like:] Strawberry
[K is for kids?] Eventually. Hopefully sooner than later, though.
[L is for last kiss?] In March.
[M is for marital status:] Single
[N is for name of your celebrity crush:] Jakey Gyllenhaal
[O is for overnight hospital stays:] As an infant.
[P is for phobias:] Orniphobia. (fear of birds)
[Q is for quotes you like:] "When I run out of red, I use blue." -Pablo Picasso
[R is for relationship that lasted the longest:] Four weeks
[S is for sexual preference:] Straight
[T is for time you wake up:] 8:30ish on workdays, 9:30 otherwise.
[U is for underwear:] Stripped, comfy.
[V is for vegetable you love:] Black olives
[W is for worst habit:] Letting people walk all over me.
[X is for x-rays you've had:] Not too sure...a few the day I fell off my bike. Many at the dentist.
[Y is for yummy food you make:] Pasta salad
[Z is for zodiac sign:] Pisces

Weekend, Attack of the Communist Gorilla from Mars

Weeks have been flying by faster than I can keep track of them. It is almost July 4th (what I always gauge as my halfway point in summer, even if it is not) and my room is still not completely cleaned from the move in the beginning of May. I figure that I'll just keep everything that is still packed in it's boxes and crates. Why unpack things that I haven't needed in two months for just a month? I should, however start doing a good job of cleaning my at home things, and getting rid of things that I haven't needed, or felt a need to keep in a while. I don't really see a point in keeping all of the clutter in my room that I've had since elementary school if there's no real reason for it.

Kyle didn't end up coming on Friday night. He was going to get a really late start, and he would not have been able to stay very long. Matt, Erica, Amy, and I were all very sad. Because we were so sad (and bored) that Kyle was not coming to visit, Matt, Merek and I got some ice cream, then drove to Springfield to visit his family. Their new house is very nice. Matt's mother had also just picked up a new stray cat, however they cannot keep it, because it is a boy-cat, and they only like to keep girl-cats.

On Saturday, my father and I went to a wedding of an old friend of ours. We met Sasha when I was in first grade, and she was in fifth. We were both members of the Blackfoot tribe in the Kettering nation of the YMCA Indian Princesses program. (The name and a lot of the traditions of this program have since been changed to be more politically correct.) My family has always been good friends with the Harrish's, but when they moved to Atlanta, we lost touch, until we were invited to Sasha's wedding. It was good to see the family, as well as the Waterworths, another family we knew from Indian Princesses and Indian Guides (the boys version of this program.)

Saturday night, Amy and Garrett came over, and we all had a few drinks (well Garrett drank a bottle of cheap wine) took a walk, and enjoyed each other's company. It was a very enjoyable time.

Sunday was less eventful, I worked at DSW. This week we are allowed to wear business casual clothing in order to promote sandal sales (???). The store is also being reorganized tonight from 7PM to 7AM, and I know that tonight when I go in, I will be very confused and not be on top of my shoe-selling game. Hopefully I'll just have a register.

A lot of exciting things are happening this week. Tomorrow night, Attack of the Communist Gorilla from Mars is being premiered at The Neon Movies. This is an extremely exciting event for us, we started production on this the summer before I left for college, and since then, there has been re-writes, re-shoots, and just total re-dos of pretty much everything on the project. I doubt that any of the original footage will make it into the final cut. Props to Garrett and Steve for finally getting this monster finished. Who would have ever thought it would be finished, let alone premiere at our hometown movie theatre?

Later in the week I am going to Athens to help Amy start to make her new house more homey. And also to have a get-together with her friends in Athens. Unfortunately, the trip will be cut short, because I have to work at DSW on Saturday afternoon.

Until then, I'll be working a lot, and spending any free time playing in the woods or laying in the sun listening to a number of albums that I've recently been in love with.

Kweller sings Brooks

This sounds familiar:

The Ben Kweller show on Friday night was outstanding. He played all of my favorite songs (well, other than "Cally") and did some fun covers, too ("Friends in Low Places" and "God Only Knows.") Meg, Marie, Candice, Erin and her friends and I were all rocking out, and no one else was. Apparently, standing around with your bangs in your face is cooler than enjoying yourself at a concert. Oh well. In between sets, "Born to Run" was played, and we all danced and sang and were obnoxious like it was our job. And on Friday night, it was our job.

In other news, I sort of have a new job as a camp councilor for a week in July at a Girl Scout program being held in Athens. I'm very very excited about this. It's a social entrepreneurship program aimed at girls in rural communities, and this is the pilot program. I found out that I will get paid, but honestly, getting to leave the 'burbs and spend a week in the foothills of the Appalachians with other Girl Scouts is all the payment I could possibly want. I also found out that the stipend I'll be getting is actually more than I will get if I was working here at home. So that's good.

I only work at the office two days this week, and two days at DSW. My hours are way down, but that gives me more time to explore, even if I am just exploring the area where I was born and raised. Yay summer!