Old Times

Coincidentally, another music post.


Remember this?



















And this?

















Someone unloaded these in the freebie bin at work today, along with a few other assorted popular mid-'90s albums. I snatched these two up. I used to borrow these from my sister and my Dad, so now I have my own.

"Throwing Copper" is really only good for "Selling the Drama" and "I Alone" (I can't stand "Lightning Crashes"!).

But the entire soundtrack of "The Crow" is SO GOOD. I used to listen to the whole thing on repeat when I was in my room in middle school. Ah, old times.

Awesome Show

Last night, Neil and I went to an awesome show. Iggy came with us, but it was a sold-out show, so she ended up having other adventures.

I got tickets last week when I stopped by Black Cat to pick up tickets to Ratatat, the BOMB-est show there will be all year -- mark your calendar, 10/2/08.

When I got the Ratatat tix, I saw The Ruby Suns were playing this weekend. I'd seen them before at Black Cat and thought they were great. They're from New Zealand and are a lot of fun, and it had been awhile since I'd been to any show, so I got us tix.

Exit Clov, a D.C. group, opened for them, and TRS, who put on a great show, opened for Tilly and The Wall. I'd never heard of TTW, but I had looked them up and liked their sound, too.

TTW ended up being AMAZING. I didn't realize it until I read their bio today that they are on Conor Oberst's (Bright Eyes) label. I like Bright Eyes, so I should have known they'd be good. But they were really great! They were just a lot of fun. Any indie group that plays a mix of songs including "Give it to me" by Jay-Z while they're setting up is pretty sweet. They had great outfits, the two female lead vocalists/guitarists were attractive and EXTREMELY talented -- great voices, PLUS their percussion section consisted of a hipster girl on a little stage in the center of the main stage TAP DANCING. Yes, tap dancing!
Her little stage was rigged so her tapping came through the speakers, and it was pretty much the percussion for every song. One song even had a sort of flamenco feel to it, which was enhanced by the fact she was stomping away to it. Sometimes a guy accompanied her on the trap set, but it was mostly her through the whole show. What a workout! If you listen to their music, you don't really realize it's someone tapping, but she sure was and it was really impressive.

I highly recommend going to see any of the above groups if they come to your neighborhood. Contemplating this whole international move ahead of me, this is the sort of thing I'll miss. I know that's why groups go on int'l tours, but I know I'll also miss D.C.

Happy Birthday, Neil!

My very best friend is 32 today! I hope it's a great day for him. He is my world, and I want all the best things for him -- he deserves it. He is definitely the sweetest guy I've ever met -- he is both kind and he is totally sweet.

"CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!"

I got an e-mail yesterday from (edited) that began with that statement. It went on to invite me to join the September orientation and training class for (edited)!!!! I am SO excited!
I wasn't expecting to begin training until January, at the earliest. I definitely was not expecting to begin training so soon. CRAZY!!! The class begins Sept. 15 and is 6 weeks long, after which I get a couple weeks to tie up loose ends, and then it's off to some country I've chosen. They said I get a list during the first week of training of countries where they need people, I rank order my favorites, and then they let me know if I get one of my top picks. Neil has recommended Argentina or Japan. We'll see. Where would you go? I called (edited) today to ask a few more questions, and they told me they need people everywhere, so I will most likely get to go to my top pick! INCREDIBLE. Life is so funny.

Cocoa Tea Time

The best thing to happen to me all day.



Heard this on the reggae radio station. The song is great and the video editing is better.

"Well, this is not about class
nor color, race, nor creed
Make no mistake, it's the changes
all the people them need.
Them a-shout out,
Barack Obama! Barack Obama! Barack Obama! Woy, woy!"
-- Cocoa Tea, "Barack Obama"

Not Coming At You Live From Des Moines

I'm extremely disappointed. I am not in or on my way to Des Moines at this very moment. I couldn't sleep last night, I kept tossing and turning, thinking maybe I should show up at the airport for the 6:30 a.m. flight and see what happens. Tickets never dropped below $930. I hate the airline industry. I am really annoyed with myself for not having bought tickets earlier -- I don't know what I was thinking -- I seriously just forgot to buy them or something, and suddenly here the weekend is. And I'm annoyed at myself for stupidly using my miles for a fun trip! I don't like to not get my way, and I really thought somehow things would work out and I would make it to the reunion today. Instead, here I am, sitting on the couch at 9:26 a.m. Fri. and I am not on an airplane bound for Iowa. Arrrrrgggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh.

Updates

I think I lost a little weight from all the walking around I did on vacation; much more walking than I'm used to with a car at my disposal. It's a wonder I didn't gain a ton of weight from all the ono grinds I enjoyed there. Which reminds me of another pidgin phrase I think is funny: broke da mout'. Like, something tasted so good, it broke (the mouth).

The weird thing about this possible weight loss is that my shoes are loose. What?? Since when are my feet the first things to lose weight? They're already skinny enough. Either I lost weight in my feet or Neil was wearing my shoes while I was gone, which I wouldn't put past him to do.

In related news (Hawaii, eating?), the two geckos we've had for a month seem to be thriving. They no longer come out and crawl the walls and ceilings, which is too bad. I don't know where Nubbins hangs out, but I have seen him scurrying across the wall to hide behind pictures. His tail is also growing back nicely! "The big guy," our unofficial name for the other gecko, has taken up residence in the perfect place: In the kitchen, under the stove and refrigerator. The two appliances face each other, and I have seen him run back and forth from one to the other. This is the perfect place, because that's where the roaches lurk. What a smart gecko! We have supplemented their diet with the occasional mealworm, just in case. But they seem to be fat and happy.

I am still eyeing the faint glimmer of hope that I'll make it to Des Moines on Friday. I never thought I'd be hoping to go back to Iowa!

I feel like I've been picking on Neil a lot lately. I am a horrible person! He is seriously the most patient, kind, understanding person I have ever known, so it is even worse that I am being such a brat. I had the horrifying thought that I am doing the "he squeezes the toothpaste the wrong way" thing that you hear about when going into marriage. I thought we were too old for such nonsense! And too good of friends!! Well, I don't know how many times I have told him to "please don't place flammable things on the stove" and "please don't cover the air conditioning vent with a pillow just because you're cold sitting beside it." Things I think are legitimate now but that don't matter in the long run (like the next week or, you know, the REALLY long (eternal) run). Well, I guess paper towels on the stove could pose an immediate threat, but I'm just being paranoid, because it's not on. Really, I think my problem is ME. He never complains about the fact that I'm totally lazy and I never clean our place and I leave messes everywhere and I do 1/4 of the things he does in 5 times as much time as he has. I mostly sleep in. I'm like a grasshopper to his ant. So I think I am criticizing things in him when I really am just insecure or something and need to turn some harsh criticism back on myself. Phew. I guess I'm the one who has some growing up to do. I like to blame my inadequacies -- well, on anything but myself -- but in these cases, I always tell him it's because he's older than me ;)

BREAKING NEWS: The President does not have a magic wand.
"You know, if there was a magic wand to wave, I'd be waving it, of course."
-- George W. Bush, The Rose Garden, July 15, 2008