All They Got Inside is Vacancy

Hotel Yorba by the White Stripes always puts me in a good mood. I bounce around with it.

Still don't get the appeal of white jeans, or any color of jeans except shades of blue. I've tried and I don't see it.

Much too late/early on New Year's Eve my friend Adam and I had quite a long conversation on creativity and kairos and several hours later I had a very similar conversation with my friend Katie and I'm beginning to think that "the now" is going to be the theme of 2009.

I spent New Years Eve at the Shop with Adam, Jonathan and a gaggle of friends, milling around the woodstove and talking til 5am. I love that place.

After the Shop I stayed at Margarita's house and we spent the day in our PJs, watching "Mythbusters" marathons and moving very little. I stayed in my PJs even when I went home and the only shoes I had with me were my cowboy boots and I looked like an idiot.

I'm really enjoying The Decemberists' "Always a Bridesmaid" series, specifically the song "Valerie Plame". Love that they'd have a song about the spy.

Had a dream about a porcupine that attacked me with its quills. Weird.

One of the most honest and sad and true songs I know is "Lover I Don't Have to Love" by Bright Eyes.

I think I'd like to get into building sets for productions and my volunteer with one of the acting troupes in the area. I understand the appeal of building without the pressure of permanence.

I would make a New Years Resolution but the only one I'd really want to make has to do with being more disciplined and if I'm not disciplined in the first place how could I even begin to keep up with my resolution? And thus the crux.

Things I Think I Think

I love watching the Dallas Cowboys implode. Love it. There is very little in the sporting world that I relish more than the Cowboys failing. It's a sick sick pleasure.

The fall...lets talk about how great it is. The leaves, the crisp air, football, apples, haunted pub crawls, sweaters, oktoberfests, less leg shaving...yesss.

I still haven't posted photos from Paris and I plan to, but the internet at my house is virtually nonexistent so it takes more time than I've had recently.

Tomorrow is my first day off (by "off" I mean "without travel/to-dos") in about a month. This, this is needed. Sleep, laundry, bills, etc. PJs til 2pm, catch up on those Netflix rentals, loaf.

My dear dear friend Caroline got hitched this past weekend and I wasn't able to be there (too many weddings/travel in the past month to be able to afford to go, both monetarily and vacation-time wise) and I sulked most of Saturday thinking about missing it. Thanks to Murphy who kept me posted on the happenings. Her wedding is next...

I don't remember the last time I saw a movie in the theater. I really like movies in the theater too, just haven't heard of one I thought was worth it.

Moxy Fruvous did a song called "The Drinking Song" that somehow gets me every time. No specific reason, it just does.

Sarah Palin as a Spoonerism: Parah Salin. You just think on that.

I read Sarah Vowell's The Wordy Shipmates on my trip to Europe and though it was good it wasn't as catchy as Assassination Vacation, her previous work. Part of this I attribute to assassinations being more interesting than Puritans. I do have to respect their words though; their intentions are inspirational and full of hope. I recommend it if only for how she captures the words of Winthrop, Cotton, Williams and Hutchinson and their personal brands of rightness and crazy.

SNL on Saturday: I haven't considered that show reverent in years and then this fall I've actually been excited to see what they can produce. I credit Amy Poehler, Tina Fey and Seth Meyers for this. That Sarah Palin rap Amy did was astounding, especially since Amy is about 7 months pregnant and Sarah Palin was sitting there watching her pretend to cap a man in a moose outfit. Amazing.

Notes on the Week

I manged to close my own hand in my freezer one morning while getting the coffee out. Actually happened. Have cut on hand to prove it. No more coffee in freezer; too dangerous.

We got a perfect 11 out of 11 on the potpourri round at Quizzo on Monday because the 10 of the 11 answers were taken directly from the lyrics to "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" and when I was 8 or so I decided to learn all the lyrics to said song. And I remember them. So that talent finally paid off. After 20 years.

I finally moved the fridge all by myself on Wednesday to tile under it, then got too excited about putting the fridge back to finish that last little spot that I managed to crack a tile in half. That was the second time in one week I've let out a string of curses that would make a sailor blush. When I was a kid my mom washed my mouth out with soap. It only happened once, I learned my lesson. I may need to have that happen again, or just get a better thesaurus of cursing. (The best string of curses I've ever uttered was when I got shot in the leg with a paint ball gun by a drunk man hiding in the woods. Same night my steering wheel fell apart in my lap and got duct-taped back together while a cop stared at me. True story.)

Matt Sloan has informed me that I pronounce the word "both" weird. I apparently pronounce it "bolth" while the Southern way to say it is "Bowth" or something weird like that. Now it's my "Yankee" word. Whatever I've lived in "bolth" the north and the south; I'm just an east coaster.

Leslie and I got very excited about pulling out her CD book from the days of high school and college and I have this observation: She defended everything she owned. I mean from "The Other Sister" soundtrack to the SINGLE of Cher's "Believe". Seriously. No shame. It was great. But she also has the whole army of old-school REM so that just brought joy. Fun night. She did also have Sugar Ray.

Doug and I are starting a charity for children with toes growing on their asses. We don't know if this is actually a problem, but we feel the best prevention for Ass Toe Syndrome (ATS) is education and understanding. Won't you donate and help children with ATS? Make checks payable to me.

If you catch me listening to a lot of Ani, Tori Amos, old Liz Phair or Fiona Apple, chances are I want to hit someone or yell. If I'm listening to a lot of Patty Griffin or Innocence Mission then I probably need a hug (like my friend Kristen can attest). Lots of Dar Williams then I'm probably up for anything but may need to play a serious amount of guitar. All of them at once: Probably just went to a Lilith Fair reunion. Or just re-read The Red Tent. FYI.