Rock'n'Roll Minor Planets

Obstacle Course

2009-08-19T18:57:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, dating seems like you're navigating some obstacle course. Only some of them are invisible, and others are like mirages. I often see obstacles that later turn out not to be there at all, and I wonder if it's my brain trying to protect me, or just a trick of timing.

A while back, my friends & I conceived of a dating obstacle course, or something like miniature golf as a prerequisite for a relationship. Once the tasks had been completed successfully, you would know how compatible you could be. Some of the ideas we had:

You call your guy when you have plans to go out, preferably somewhere special. Call ahead & tell him you're running late and you need him to pick out an outfit for you to wear & meet you there. How suitable it is for you and the occasion determines how many points he earns.
Give your guy 4 random ingredients and tell him to make a meal for both of you. You should not only be able to eat the result, but he should also adapt moderately well. Maybe he had to make a run to the store or call someone for a recipe, but he could act under the pressure and didn't just cop out & order a pizza.
Leave him alone with your email account logged in. What will he do?
Ask the new guy to go out alone, then "coincidentally" run into a group of your friends with their hunky dates. Does he a) want to leave quickly; b) engage in one-upping them all night; or c) not really seem to notice?

I think I make it harder than it needs to be. Ideally you find someone perfect right off the bat and it goes along smoothly. But doesn't that seem a bit boring? I think a little spice is good, but the last time I met someone I fell for almost just as soon as we met... well, it ended, if not badly. I think it was so easy to knock him off the narrow pedestal, mostly because he didn't have to work at getting up there. Probably didn't even know he was there at all.

I do admit I believe in "love at first sight", as it were, which in my opinion really means at first or second meeting. I don't think it's any less likely to be wrong than the kind that's cultivated over time, since love is largely based on the physical aspects. I don't just mean whether you think someone's hot or not; I mean things like do you sense it when he comes into a room, or want to sit close to her, even when you can hear fine? Do you have a crush on her weird little mole, or like the way his tshirt from yesterday smells? That's not a manufacturable attraction.

Or should it be, now that I read thru this again.

i am

2009-07-01T19:02:00.001-05:00

Things are moving so fast these days, since my life has become a series of fortunate events... when you dread things, it's as if time s l o w s w a a a a a y d o w n.

But then things pick right back up and, before you have a chance to think about it, it's like you slept the last month away -- things move along again as if you were just dreaming them. In the past few weeks, I've traveled around a lot, to Bonnaroo and St Louis and Little Rock/Hot Springs, for one fun thing and another. Now it's almost the 4th of July and I finally find myself looking around to see what else is going on around Memphis. Turns out there's not much, compared to about 4-6 weeks ago.

Don't get me wrong--I've still managed to do some great typical-Memphis stuff, like going to the Flip Side Memphis mini-documentary screening, the Pretty Things Burlesque at the old Antenna Club, and hitting up the Levitt Shell for a couple of shows, not to mention going on a Slow Foods tour of the Ghost River Brewery. But a lot of good opportunities passed me by this spring. C'est la vie, non? At least life in Memphis.

So many Memphians think there ain't nothing going on at all (like Janie did when she was about 5 years old, til she put on that New York station). Or, like a friend I call John Cusack (purely based on his looks a few years back) said of one recent Friday night: There's a lot going on; there's just not a lot going on (emphasis added). We don't want to do the work to make it exciting, we don't want to dig around and find things that might be more off the beaten paths of Beale Street and crawfish festivals and other things that (97% of the time for me) end up being a gigantic disappointment anyway.

So, Memphis, here's what I'm recommending you check out this summer, when there ain't nothing going down at all:

Memphis Farmer's Market (every Saturday a.m.)
Trolley Tour (last Friday of each month from 6-9 p.m.)
Blues on the Bluff (July 25 at the Ornamental Metal Museum)
Concerts at MBG, Minglewood Hall, and Mud Island Amphitheater

I just noticed that most of these things are outdoor activities, so let's add some more:

Otherlands' weekend shows (or any coffee shop, bring a book or something, though)
Classic Cinema at the Orpheum (maybe not chick flicks, cause you could give the wrong impression, or at least stick out like a gator in a pet shop)
Continuing Ed classes at U of M (something for almost everyone, and it'll make you seem more interesting to have these things to talk about later)
Mpact Memphis (lots of different activities going on--even has its own Toastmasters group)

If you have more, feel free to comment, if anyone's reading this space anymore.

Places to meet chicks

2009-06-25T14:25:00.001-05:00

I am writing this as an expert in the subject, not because I'm great at meeting girls, or have ever tried to be. I'm sure that if I did, I'd find more challenges than I can imagine. But I'm writing as a local, who is also a girl, and who's been single quite often. I actually have roughly 1,000 times more fun as a single chick in Midtown than I ever have dating anyone. Maybe this says something about my choices in boymatter, or maybe Memphis is just a fun town to be single and a chick.

Where not to meet chicks, in brief: Rooftop parties (nasty), Flying Sausage (should be called that, anyway), weddings (gag!), Hooters (srsly), karaoke nights (unless you are the weirdo who goes every week, and then you might as well save some normal person by dating another karaoke-obsessed weirdo). And NOT at work. Ever. Yes, many people actually still do this, for some reason. I have heard so many horror stories about this, y'all don't even want to know. And if it goes anywhere, one of you will have to find a new job, which sucks a big 'un.

So, to all those who want to meet single ladies, here are my suggestions: Cooking class. If she's with someone (and your gaydar doesn't go off) she probably dragged him along, but all the solo women are likely single. At the worst, you've learned how to cook something to impress your next date. Voila!

Volunteering around town. You get maximum exposure if you sign up for something like Hands On/Volunteer Memphis. It allows you to sample from dozens of volunteer opportunities without long-term commitment (which we all fear, right? Well, I hope that's not just me...). That also means meeting a lot of different people, most of whom are female. Plus, at the end of the day you get that bonus feel-good moment of knowing you've done something to help the community. So you don't meet anyone, so what? Maybe you'll be a better person for it.

The gym. But not in the weight room—check out aerobics, or yoga, or kickboxing. Whatever class you see women in is a good bet. Maybe she didn't come there to meet men, but after class when you're all sweaty is prime time for chit chat, what with all the endorphins rushing around. If you can't think of anything to say, ask about the class and how long it will take before it gets easier, what else she recommends. We love to be asked for our perspective on things (keep that one in mind, boys).

Dance class. Just don't pick bellydance or a Dance Like a Stripper type of class. Not only is that creepy, to have to be in class with a guy, you're certainly not going to look your best. Pick something where she can't really see you wiggling your hips around, and something really basic so you don't stand out. Maybe even take a couple 1-on-1 lessons before you show up, so you look really smooth. Just don't admit you've taken them. And let the instructor in on it, by asking them not to call you out cause you're shy about your skills.

Pool/darts tournaments. Fun is challenging someone you don't even know to a friendly game of darts or pool. If the two of you can't compete in a friendly way, the relationship probably isn't going far. Again, even if you don't meet someone to spend the rest of your life, with, what else were you doing? Flying Saucer is like a dart tournament every day, so you could start there. However, it's hellatiously loud and not a great place to get a conversation started.

Coffee shops. Especially on open mic nights, when chatter may be at a minimum, but so is space (so you might end up sharing a table with others). Republic has one on Tuesdays, The Edge does theirs on Sunday, and if I'm missing one, please comment below and let us all in on the action.

Friends of friends. Tell people you're available. Ask your friends for fixups. Someone will probably get the idea to throw one of those parties where you bring someone dateable of the opposite sex.

Out & about. You're not meeting anyone sitting at home, and shouldn't be dating coworkers, as we've previously discussed. Plus, Memphis in June is a great place/time to get out! I suggest going to shows, plays, the zoo and talk to people everywhere you go. Take your dog to the park, or borrow one if you have to. Make excuses to talk to people, and don't just talk to the hottest girl. Chicks love to go to stuff like theater in groups, so you can always stake out the restrooms at intermission or snack bar before the show and ask where the hot spot is to go afterward. That's non-threatening enough that you may actually get the answer “We'll probably go to...” and it won't be a lie!

A few caveats: If you are also dating other people, make it clear almost immediately. No one has a problem with it, if it's honest from the beginning (almost no one, anyway). EVERYone has an issue if it's sprung on them too far into things. Don't expect miracles. You probably won't meet a keeper on your first, or maybe even your tenth try. But it's better than sitting around alone watching tv. The key is in numbers. Meet the most people you can to maximize your time. Just don't expect to go home with the group of 6 girls at the end of the night (chances are you couldn't handle it anyway). Guys, look for a ring! If she's got something shiny on her left hand, ring finger (that's next to the pinkie), leave her be. Or ask her if she has a single friend who's as lovely as she.

First, break some of the rules...

2009-06-09T22:22:00.006-05:00

You always hear that some rules are made to be broken. Some rules are better left intact, even when they're self-imposed. I have to admit that I like a lot of rules (in case you don't know me irl and therefore didn't already know). Strange or not, it makes life easier to live, simpler somehow with fewer options—that is, until you reach the tipping point. I've had a few experiences in my life that I could say led to reconsidering adhering to all of my rules. Usually those are times that something happens to alter my worldview—like a death, if not death of a person, death of some ingrained ideal or ideology. Sometimes, though, I just break the d@mn rule. For no good reason. Just because. I started smoking before high school. First one of my friends to do it. I didn't have sex until college. Last one of my friends to do it. Can't really tell you why in either case.

So when I break rules, especially my own, I don't really examine why until I look back on it, which is usually when I ask why the hell I did that. I'm probably asking myself that because regret rears its nasty phiz. Why did I do that, or why didn't I do it sooner, or later, or why didn't I do that? For no good reason. Just because.

Dating Rulez!

I hate to date. Dating rules are pretty common, though, and you'd think that would make it simpler, somehow, with fewer options (and, as you know, you'd be dead wrong). Maybe the rules aren't about the right things, or there aren't enough of them. Here are the ones I've been thinking about lately (for those who know me irl: play the game 'who's she talkin' bout' and see how many you can get right!). Don't date coworkers. AKA: Don't sh!t where you eat

No, I didn't break that one, technically. But I did date someone in my social group; at least after we started dating he became a part of it, and fast. Maybe too quickly, but when you care about someone, you want to share everything at first. Then, you seriously regret your feet-first attitude and may start to pull back a bit, and hopefully you've hung onto separate friends so you can do that. Because it's too damn late for everyone else by that time. Your friends are all asking where he is, whenever you go out without him. Like you can't have an existence singly once you've coupled. (I use that in the most casual, non-sexual sense.) Yeah, I'm sure it's worse with an actual co-worker, because then you have to go in every day. You can't just elect to stay home and blog about being single, like I do. But I still miss swing dance events, and they honestly don't have a lot of joy when I feel like the bad kitty who can't really relax, napping on off-limits furniture, in case someone comes home early and you have to run out of the room. And it's not that seeing an ex-bf is so awful, it's that you can't just live your normal life when they're in the same room. At all.

Don't date dudes who drive trucks. Okay, maybe that's not a common one. But it was one of my rules that I spontaneously made up when a college gf set me up with her bf's friend (who drove a giant truck, even though he was about 5” taller than me—if you know me, you know that I'm flattered to be mistaken for 5'2”). Lest I sound completely snobbish or materialistic, I will clarify that my aversion to pickup trucks that dates back to my days growing up in Knoxville, when you could prove how much of a redneck you were by how loud your truck engine could get, or how big your truck was (or at least its tires). I may not still feel that way, but I also have the same aversion to SUVs and cannot think of a time I've dated someone with one, although I admit the rules are different for friends with SUVs and trucks. Still don't have many friends with SUVs, though. (Hey, you who know me irl: still playing along? You probably don't know this guy, and I couldn't tell you his name at this point. Maybe Alzheimer's has set in.) But back to Trucker Blind Date. It was an F150 or something, not a big rig, but the proportions for each of us shorties were still pretty far off. Even when I do get Alzheimer's, I will forever have an image of riding around in that gleaming white beast, even though we were on a double date, because (of course!) we couldn't all four fit into one or the other of the guys' trucks (and no way can chicks drive on dates, right?). Needless to say, date #1 was date #only1. So I wouldn't say that 1 blind date really counts as breaking the rule. But, yeah, I broke this rule later, too! It was years after Trucker Blind Date, which doesn't really count since I had no idea he drove a truck when I said I'd go out with him. Meeting a super-hottie at *dish* one night, of course I didn't think someone open-minded enough to go to 80's night with 99 gay males would be redneck. Didn't think to ask what he drove, either, as in, “What car to you drive? An '82 Beetle? Sweet! At least it ain't a truck!” (see, the East TN upbringing still comes out sometimes). But I found out on our first date, and went out with him anyway. Ended up being the worst boyfriend I ever had. Bleah! I blame his truck. Either that or his mother for carrying him to term. HA!

Don't date the same guy twice. Note for those who know me irl: Yes, we're going in reverse chronological order of SB's significant (>1 year) relationships. **siiiiiiigh** I'm not sure I even have the energy to get into this one, it was so long ago now. Is it a general rule, or just something I made up after we got back together and I got dumped (a second time**)? Anyway, I broke it more than once, I have to admit. Generally, I'd have to say it's not a great idea, but it's really easy to get back into something that wasn't all that great to start, because it's usually A-predictable/familiar, and B-convenient/accessible sex. Or do I mean A-predictable/familiar sex and B-convenient/accessible

Don't date a friend's ex. Yep. Kinda broke that one unintentionally (not unknowingly) by hanging out with a hall mate's rush party date. The thing is, I didn't really realize that 2 weeks was a lifetime in college, or that the girl was my de facto friend, just because we were placed 2 doors down in the dorm. I also didn't date the guy much longer than a week myself. It didn't have a permanent impact on our friendship; in fact, we became quite close over the next 2 years and ended up being roommates later. Thankfully, I've never really broken this one when it mattered.

Don't date an ex's friend. OK, now we're finally into the realm of dating rules I haven't [knowingly] broken. Didn't realize I was such a rule-breaker! As anyone has, I've dated 2 guys who ended up being friends, and only found out by mentioning Mr Previous Ex's last name (which was distinctive, and mentioned a type of fruit.) Now I know better, I guess (not to mention last names, or not to date guys with fruit in their names, I'm not sure).

Don't date outside your race, age group, social strata, etc. OK, broken alla these. A couple of times each. Moving along....

Don't date a roommate Along the lines of coworker/don't sh!t where you eat philosophy. Thankfully, I've never violated this rule, but I've only lived with 2 guys, and then just for a few months at a time. Sounds pretty convenient, but then where do you escape?

NEVER date your gynecologist Or your friend's gyne. Or your gynecologist's friends, either. It just can't be a good idea to share that much, in that way. Not that I would know, because my gynecologist is a lesbian, and I'm not. This shouldn't be a tough rule to adhere to, now that I think of it.

So ends the list of dating rules (sorry I didn't number them, but the tech writer in me didn't want to, because I failed to organize them in order of importance—I am also struggling with comma and sentence structure due to my background. Bear with me, please).

What have I learned from all this mess? Unfortunately, very little. I know now to not make dating decisions that will have either obvious or immediate repercussions on your life, in a negative way (if you can predict, as with the coworker/gyne thing). I learned to think a bit about why I'm dating someone, but when you get along well, it's hard not to just go with it. I learned that sometimes my friends appear to be able to read the future, just because they see how these rules are going to pan out. I've also figured out that my friends' rules are sometimes too restrictive, or that they're even more afraid for my well-being than I am. Thanks, guys.

The name game

2008-07-08T20:07:00.003-05:00

If you've ever visited the Rock & Roll Planet before, you may have noticed my name has changed. Still me, though, and if I do blog here again with any regularity, please rest assured it will still be me.

What about me? Looking for a new job, maybe. Swimming every weekend. Reading lots of Paulo Coehlo lately, too. Eating my veggies and even the poisoned tomato here and there. How about y'all?

Stay Chi

2008-06-12T19:13:00.006-05:00

Just got back from Chicago this week, after heading up on the Megabus for the [free] blues festival. It's one of those times when you think: Why don't I live in a bigger city, with cool, free shit going on all the time? Or at least more cool shit than I could possibly do in any given night.

It's so disorienting to go to a new place (mostly outside of the South) and have folks be, in general, quite friendly before they've even met you... but, in particular, not all that polite in deed. For instance, people at the bus stop will initiate conversations with you; people you actually meet are just not great at introducing strangers in the same conversational circle, or doing other little things that grease the social cogs. Seem oblivious, in fact, to little things.

I was in Denver for my birthday and noticed the opposite, though. People held doors open for one another, move their bags and drinks out of your way when you need to get by, and some older ladies even offered me a ride from the airport when they found out I was in town for the first time. I also got to wash my hands in the toilet tank sink, which was a lot more fun than it sounds like it would be. Oddly enough, I think that's one of the things I'll remember longest about that trip.

Sunday kinda love

2007-05-27T10:23:00.000-05:00

I'm so in love with my city right now that sometimes, when something strikes me as a future memory, I can't take in more than a shallow breath. It's like the space around my heart expands to take up so much room that my lungs can't work properly. When I walk the dog around Midtown, I see such a variety of people, plants, houses, all representative of a range of lifestyles and values and income levels. When people talk about a flavor that makes Memphis feel so comfortable and welcoming to outsiders, I think of this. Any good BBQ sauce has a variety of ingredients, hot and sweet and tart and spicy things, all mixed in to make it as good as it can possibly be. A trite comparison maybe, given our BBQ claim to fame, but I'm hungry & it's Memorial Day weekend. I still love livin' in Memphis---it's like no other place I know.

I'm sure it will fade considerably by the peak heat of August, when the grass is dead and the air is settled in stillness around me. I won't be walking the dog and admiring folks' flowers on a Saturday afternoon in a couple of months, at least without struggling to breathe without drowning in the humidity. In the dead of summer, I will probably have forgotten everything except how many more weeks I have to peel my clothes off my body to let in some air.

blank

2007-05-20T10:22:00.000-05:00

This weekend is a big, fat blank. No parties, no trips, no long-lost friends visiting Memphis. I'm completely loving it! What I am doing is:

Loading more music to my laptop: stuff that should have been on there long ago. Off the list of "things I'll get around to some day." Now that I have to make some cd's for friends who are leaving town, it's become more urgent.
Cleaning house a bit: this includes some laundry, dog-washing, and the ever-popular Changing of the Sheets ceremony that happens on Sundays at my house.
Mowing the yard: seriously and dangerously overdue, this one. My dad admired the oats I had growing in back (for anyone who's ever seen his lawn, you will take this as the insult it actually was).
Sleeping: this should probably be at the top of the list, since it's how the preponderance of my weekend hours are being spent.

I'm seriously in need of this weekend to keep up my energy... May has been an absolute drain, between moving offices on a week's notice (oh, hi, can you move next week? uh, where? we're not really sure yet, but start packing up!) and having my Dad visit (not that he's exhausting, but I get worn out being around people alla the time). Next weekend is hopefully yet another one of fun-filled festivities, so I'll make sure to get my rest now.

What happened to you?

2007-05-14T22:45:00.000-05:00

I was asked recently (okay, sometime in the past month-ish) what happened to my blog. I don't have a good explanation, and I didn't make a conscious decision to cease blogging, but somewhere along the way it seems to have dried up like a diverted stream. I think that imagery actually describes it pretty well, in fact---I've simply diverted my attention to other things in my life: travel, dancing, non-profit boards and business startups (well, okay, just one business). Plus my job is a great outlet for things I'm thinking lately.

It seems that everything in my life involves communication these days. Work is writing---dance is a conversation---socializing is about connections. It all takes a lot out of me, which means I don't really need an outlet like a blog. I'm creating so much outside of the rock & roll planet that life is like its own solar system for me. I am never happier than when I'm near exhaustion and fulfilled, but blogging requires too much introspection to be done at that hour. Like, for example, tonite. So hopefully I'll be back around before it's July 4.

Oh, and tomorrow is going to be the greatest day: Wilco's new album. Ya-hoo!

Finally

2007-04-03T20:33:00.000-05:00

I finally did it. I went to Graceland this weekend, one because my Russian buddy wanted to go, and two because the tix were free. I'm glad they were, because personally I felt that the night I spent on Elvis Presley Boulevard during the candlelight vigil was more of a spiritual experience. However, I do get that it might be important for the Elvites to commune with others of their kind at this Mid-South Mecca.

Please excuse me for writing like a freak; I've been reading A Confederacy of Dunces this week in preparation for my New Orleans trip (a sort of mecca for me).

6 Degrees of Memphis: Half-A$$ed Review

2007-02-26T18:53:00.001-06:00

It seems that in order to enjoy the big show Friday, one just had to stay late enough. Not to say that I am ungrateful for the passes at all. (In the interests of full disclosure, let me explain that I have a friend who works at the CVB, who sponosored the event, and she gave me 2 free tix. Which I was really pumped about, even after our friend only paid $5 to get in. Somehow there were 2 prices for the night floating around out there... my other friend paid $8 for the same show.)

What I meant about staying was that, although Holly Cole was enjoyable, it seemed to take a while for the bands to really get warmed up. Jump Back Jake I'd never seen before, but I thought they had some great tunes; it was just like they were phoning it in (or whatever the kids are saying these days). My friend disagreed & said they weren't doing anything very original; I think rehashing good stuff is sometimes better than creating new material that is just more noise in the atmosphere.

I always love Jamie Randolph (was quite pleased to see him at a friend's house party last Halloween) and was tickled that he simply skipped the lyrics to the chorus of Blue Dress. I wonder how other artists deal with getting sick of their own songs... I know a lot of people either quit playing them, no matter how much people beg, or totally revamp them a la Dylan.

Local darlings Snowglobe, though never a personal favorite of mine, really impressed me as having the sh!t together this time. I admit I don't exactly rush to see them every opportunity I have, so they could have been this great before, and I'd never have known.

We ran into a couple of people who said they were leaving to avoid the lung cancer they felt creeping up as they stood in the HiTone, but most everyone else seemed to have a good time. Anyway, props to those who put it together, and conceived of it, and worked hard to make it happen. I hope you raised a lot of cash for the guys going to Austin this year.

2007-02-22T17:54:00.000-06:00

So, here's what I'm doing tomorrow nite

On the road to SxSW poor musicians benefit The Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau is supporting a wonderful benefit concert this Friday. It's for a for a great group of local bands who will be competing soon at South by Southwest (SxSW) in Austin. The concert features Snowglobe, Giant Bear, Jamie Randolph and The Bloodsuckers, Jump Back Jake, Holly Cole, and DJ Witnesse.

Definitely will be there! Love these bands, love the HiTone in winter, and think it's a great cause to boot. Must come home after work & nap as am getting over being sick. And am getting too old to party like I used to.

And Sat. night the Memphis Knights Big Band plays at Cafe Francisco, around 7:30 I think.

Sunday I'm brunching it again with the ladies... I know you wish you were coming, but we're far too much in demand to ask you. Actually, we just don't want to share our mimosas with anyone else, if you want to know the truth.

Oooh, also got haircut this week. Is actually a style that requires blowing it out & rolling it, so we shall see... I'll get some pics of it tonite to share with y'all.

Like a prodigal daughter

2007-02-15T21:43:00.000-06:00

Yeeeaaah, I guess I've missed bloggin' for a while now. I think posting a real photo of myself is me throwing over the last remaining vestige of my anonymity (no, I'm not drunk). Except, of course, my name. But lately people have been calling me by my nom de plume, or nom de internette, as it were, to my face. In person or whatever.

The reason I've written here lately is that the past few times I've wanted to write something, I've resorted to the lame myspace blog post, which I still believe isn't really blogging. At least not the way most people do it--folks don't link stuff, or ever refer to any other websites, bloggers, current events, et cetera.

Speaking of current events: I was reminded tonite of why I don't watch the local news. It is all about murder and violence, with some high school boys robbing people with a bb gun sprinkled in for novelty. It fukkin' sux, and is depressing, and who needs it anyway? I want news that educates and/or enlightens me somehow, and I'm obviously not going to get it from local or national mainstream outlets. It was interesting, though, that the angle the local news took on the fatal police chase today was that it was only the 3rd one ending in someone's death over the past year. Like that's a good thing. Hell. Maybe, just maybe, considering how many suspects cops try to chase to their death, it is a low percentage.

Also on current events: I was at the 1st of a jazz history series at the main library tonight, where the New Orleans Jazz Ramblers performed. I highly recommend you attend the next one, on March 29 at the Pink Palace Museum. It is sure to be worth an hour or 2 of your time.

Happy VDay

2007-02-14T10:05:00.000-06:00

It was snowing when I left the house this morning, which reminded me of a children's book I read years ago, all about snowflakes in the shape of hearts. Then I got this link in an email from this guy, which totally made my day. Thought I'd share the love with you.

So I am already home sick, apparently too sick to work and yet not sick enough to actually sleep. I hate the in-between phase of illness. When I'm sick, I'd rather feel so sh!tty that I can't think of anything than be well enough to think of the million things I need to be doing instead of lounging around in bed.

I have a conference call in about an hour, and chances are I'll feel to sick to do anything but sit on the line and cough. Luckily, it's using Free Conference, meaning I'll be able to mute & unmute myself with the simple touch of a button. Luckily, I am not expected to say anything much, either, which is just the way I like it. I swear it was a conference call last night that made me sicker.

**Who makes up these names anyway?

2007-02-12T20:52:00.000-06:00

I did a rare thing today: got my nails did. Yup. Just for me. You might think that spending $180 to go to a fun-filled weekend in Nashvile would count as doing something for me, but I am a demanding gal. This weekend has capped off a 2-month non-stop Serrabee marathon of doing stuff. I only hope the cap doesn't act like one on a nasty tube of toothpaste and resist staying put, letting my life ooze back out of control in a gunky mess. Yick.

So, other stuff going on has obviously prevented me from keeping in touch with many people, and I must admit I like it like that. But it was a shock to see a tres pregnant friend this weekend---she looked adorable, but very pregnant. That just made me realize how long it's been since I've seen her, which is inexcusable considering that she only lives 200 miles away. Of course, in some countries, that's practically equivalent to crossing the Alps.

Anyway, don't feel left out---I haven't seen much of anyone in the past couple of months, which is something I hope will change immediately, if not sooner. Now I'm going to be a nerd and finish watching a program on the history of New Orleans... hey, it could be worse---I could be watching Star Trek or something, right?

**BTW, this is the name of the nail polish I chose.

Dinner Anyone?

2007-01-15T21:17:00.000-06:00

I am preparing my house for a visit from 6-8 people I've never met before. In advance of this visitation, or swarm, or whatever I might call it, I need to clean out my fridge. Anyone want to come by for a dinner of:

Broccoli
Squash casserole
Brussels sprouts
Pork tenderloin
Mini quiches--that can be our appetizer
Cheese (yes, it can be frozen--maybe we can put it into broccoli au gratin)
Stuff made with cornmeal (I have an excessive amount; it's a long story)

Strange, non? It would make a fine, well-balanced meal. Or if not, at least it's free, right?

So, I am opening my home to people I don't know, and instead of being concerned they will rob me or kill me in my sleep, I'm worried I won't have enough room in my fridge to accommodate them. I love being Southern: you can be a liberal feminist, and still worry what you're going to feed strangers before they smother you in your sleep.

Kidding, really. And for those who are concerned for my physical well-being, these people come from a group who are known to be the salt of the earth.

2006-12-23T09:07:00.000-06:00

Now go eat some fruitcake! Happy Xmas.

2006-12-10T11:44:00.000-06:00

So, maybe I'm semi-retired. Let's dispense with the usual "why I've been missing lately" crap and get to the good stuff.

Lately I've noticed something strange happening to my self-preservation instinict. Although I've never wanted to die in an unpleasant way, of course, I've never really feared death itself. It's funny to me that most religious people (who presumably believe in an afterlife) are so afraid to die. I just think of it as ceasing to be, not the Great Beyond or some unknown state of being. To my way of thinking, it is the opposite of being. I also think reincarnation is probably a part of it, but I don't think any single consciousness is preserved intact.

Anyway, my point in all this is pretty simple: For the first time in my memory, I'm sad at the thought of dying. Not really afraid of it, but sorrowful in thinking I might die before getting to do all the stuff I want, seeing places in the world I haven't yet, or generally missing out on the living stuff. I can't tell where this comes from. I also feel happier than I have--maybe ever. I'm generally a very content person, not patient with people around me who may be unhappy or dissatisfied with a world of their own making. (I usually think this is a result of choices or personality, both of which are under individual control, so it's hard to feel sorry for unhappy people. Feel free to disagree, but you likely won't persuade me.)

Interesting to ponder the sorrowful side of happiness. Unhappiness doesn't really have a flip side, though.

Happy Halloweenie!

2006-10-31T18:00:00.000-06:00

2006-10-28T19:51:00.000-05:00

I think I'm ready...

I found some ankle boots. It makes me ashamed that I have so many shoes I don't even have a mental inventory. What am I forgetting? So far I have:

pirate-type garb, including stripey skirt and combo vest & poufy-sleeve top (how did pirates work in frilly white blouses?)
requisite pirate accessories, including red belt, scarf thingy and pirate hat (had to iron that one--it felt weird ironing a hat)--plus hoop earrings and eyepatch.
undergarments, including body-shaping slip for warmth, tattoo leggings, etc.
of course makeup, unnaturally long eyelashes, and red lipstick. I am waiting until the very last to put on the fake nails. I guess the time is now, and I'm only going to be 45 mins. late, which isn't really even late when you're talking about a Sat. night party.

2006-10-28T19:32:00.000-05:00

Ack! Shooooooes!!!!

I have no appropriate shoes to wear! Why does this always happen? I have dozens of pairs in my closets, under my bed, even inside the windowseat--why are none of them piratey?

I may have to rethink the tattoos. The makeup is done & fake eyelashes are on, because how many times a year do you get to wear them? Probably only once or twice. (Hopefully you don't wear them every weekend, cause that would be crazy and sort of slutty-looking.) Other than finding shoes, I am ready to dress. I will do a test run with tall black boots & see how it goes.

2006-10-28T19:15:00.000-05:00

Done!

Hair dryed & styled all in one step. I love killing 2 birds with one stone (figuratively, of course; I'm actually opposed to killing pretty much anything but roaches).

I am debating what order everything should go in now. It seems obvious the fake nails should be last, and the tattoo leggings next to last, but other than that it all seems arbitrary. I dislike disordered things (which you'd never know looking at my house...). Okay, makeup next, then look for proper pirate shoes. Can't do boots as they'd obscure the fake tattoos. Being a pirate is harder than I thought.

2006-10-28T18:57:00.000-05:00

Update: Out of the Shower

Okay, that was fast. I hope I am really clean and not just rinsed off. We did the Race for the Cure this morning and so I haven't actually showered yet today. I know, eewww, right? But it made the long-anticipated showering experience wonderful when I finally got one, though.

I am afraid I'll be cold in my cheap costume, so I'm actually wearing a slip under it for an extra layer--it's one of those VS ones that sucks everything in & smooths out the lumpy spots, so it's an added plus. I am trying to decide if I want to brave the liquor store in pirate garb (to buy Capt. Morgan's, of course--arrrr!) or just bring the cider I picked up yesterday. Decisions, decisions.

Going to dry the hair now. I'm so glad I had 8" cut off a couple of months ago, so this won't take long. Time me!

Live Blogging: Halloween Preparations

2006-10-28T18:35:00.000-05:00

I'm running a little behind, which is not unusual for me, as you'd know if you have ever been anywhwere with me. I hate being late, but I am easily distracted.

Today I was distracted by a 2-hour nap, which I just had to squeeze in before La Nuit Effrayante des Vampires, the single Halloween party I was actually invited to this year. I know there are lots of bands playing and open-invite parties around town, but I feel like I need a herd of people to go someplace public in costume. It's one of those weird things I have. I remember walking down Beale dressed as a mod angel a few years back, and that was a strange experience. I was wearing go-go boots, which probably explains the strangeness.

Okay, party's at 8:00, but I'm just now hopping into the shower. I shall return

I'm Serrabee, and I Endorse This Message

2006-10-26T21:27:00.001-05:00

Good one from EJ. Might I note, however, that being a hipster is not a prerequisite for visiting these places or enjoying them.

Speaking of asses...

2006-10-24T17:51:00.000-05:00

I feel like a total slack-a$$, because I was going to go to my first Mpact Memphis event in a long time tonight, but instead I am staying home, ordering a pizza, and watching movies. So be it.

Speaking of a$$es, I got a very annoying obscene/prank phone call over the weekend which I'm going to bet I know exactly who is responsible for. (News flash: it's okay to end sentences in prepositions now, y'all--you heard it from a professional writer.) There are very few male people who know both my blog name and my phone number, and this person used both. He also called from an 865 area code, where he is known to be somewhat regularly. Plus, he still sounded like himself, although he tried to disguise his voice by trying to make it sound somewhat manly.

Heads up to Paul Ryburn: He said you gave him my phone number. Just thought you'd want to know your name is being taken in vain. Anyway, it was more annoying to be phoned after 2am while I had houseguests for the weekend than anything else. It has helped pushed me toward abandoning the idea of blogging with any identity at all. Not that I'm posting every day anymore, but I think just having my name out here makes people think it would be funny to prank call me, so they can read all about their pathetic lives here. So it's yet another thing making me think I should just take up a blog elsewhere, not say I live in Memphis, or give any other identifying information. It would be freeing in the short run, as long as I didn't break the rules again.

Ichabod says Hello

2006-10-15T19:54:00.000-05:00

So I've been coming back to KnoxVegas a lot lately, perhaps more this year than I ever have before in a twelvemonth, and it's starting to grow on me. Either it gets cooler every time I come, or I just discover something cool on each trip. The discovery of the weekend is Legacy, a vintage clothing store in the Old City, which was as nice as anything I've seen there before of its kind. I walked from the Market Square Mall where there was swing dancing galore (after all the music stopped, of course--I'm no quitter!). If it's here when I come back & I'm not hoofing it again, I might actually try something on. Places like that come & go pretty regularly, especially in a college town, but it seemed very unpretentious. I think the city itself has some pretentions, but all the swingers I met who live there (not that kind of swinger) were pretty darn cool. It should have been a lot cooler back in the day when I had no choice but to live there. There was always stuff like camping and hiking, but it was pretty theoretical. I just never hung out with people who did that stuff; now I might actually be able to find friends who would be interested in it. Add to that the fact that I have family there, and it starts to sound like a fun place to live. If only there were job growth to match the (sub)urban sprawl... .

But I return to Memphis tomorrow, and actually have at least the next 3 weekends "off" (i.e., at home). I need to get crackin' on my Halloween costume and decide between flapper and pregnant girl. Any advice? I thought the flapper would be fun, but the pregnancy would be funny in a kinda scary way, whereas 1920's dancers aren't all that scary to most folks. Only their parents, and people in kicking distance of their crazylegs, I guess. At this point I'm only invited to 1 party--which is pretty sad for mid-October--so maybe it's not worth it to get dressed up at all. I'll have to see how inspired I get as the time nears. Here are all the Halloween costumes I remember from my childhood:

Witch (of course; for several years)
Pilgrim (already had the costume from when mom made it for my older sister)
Princess (I think I was 7 that year)
Gypsy (not a very good one. I don't think anyone knew what I was supposed to be--I remember gold earrings and a scarf)
Rocker (didn't everyone do that?)

Get the trend? I'm never very scary or creative with my costumery. Maybe this year I should really get into it. I could go all out and be a zombie vampire or something really creepy.

Naaaah.

life, my universe, and everything else

2006-10-08T22:11:00.000-05:00

Once again, it's been a crazy weekend---but this time, in a much more restful way. I feel like I went into a sort of time warp volunteering for the Memphis Arts Council's fundraiser at the Zoo last night. I was a spotter in a live auction, which was actually a neat experience. I've been to auctions before, but more the cattle variety (chalk it up to East TN roots). I think my feet are still swollen from standing for hours in heels, directing octagenarians to their $1,000-a-plate seats, then watching a select few like a hawk to see if they happened to wave their cards around. I had to be ready to spring into action in case they did, which was no problem for someone who worked retail for 8 or so years, like I did.

That was the familiar part of the evening---seeing a set of 8 not-so-special-looking etched glasses (with wildlife on them, no less) sell for something like $9k... now, that was an experience. Get a few drinks in some people, and there' s just not a lot they won't do to impress their friends. No matter how old and wealthy they are.

Honestly, though I don't feel like I do when I work on an event from start to finish---or like I do when I do some volunteer work which directly benefits someone. Yeah, it's great they raised over $100,000 from the auction, and that money will go to area arts programs, blah, blah. But somehow it doesn't feel like you're contributing the same way when you dress up in a ladies' tux and kowtow to rich people for a night. I'm all askew---I need to get out and teach some kids to read or collect cans for MIFA to balance myself out.

Speaking of volunteering, I'm about to start working on creating a nonprofit. Anyone out there ever done it? have some advice for moi? please drop me a line at the ol' serrabee at gmail address. I did manage to speak with a friend's friend's friend (after the Secret Service played and many beers were drunk) about it Friday night, but she had a fancy lawyer friend who donated time to the cause. Unfortunately, I didn't meet any of those Sat. at the rich people auction. Maybe next time, eh?

ya just missed it

2006-10-04T21:29:00.000-05:00

I just poured my heart out and it got lost when I went to post, so sorry 'bout that, folks. Waaaahhh!!!!

Stay Tuned: Falling off things + technical difficulties

2006-09-25T18:18:00.000-05:00

In case anyone stops by while I am getting my sh!t reorganized, or in the event that someone thinks I've died and sends a search party to find me before my dog devours my corpse... uh, I'm still here. Haven't fallen off any cliffs yet. I did go out of town, and have a lovely party, and have done tons of fun (and not-so-fun) stuff that I'll probably never get around to sharing. Like you care anyway. You've heard it all before.

I have been having some trouble getting my posts confirmed, and added to the fact that I've written several things that immediately make me want to vomit, I've been pretty quiet the last few weeks. Once again, I have plenty to say when I'm in the shower, or the car, or at work---everywhere, in fact, that I can't post from. But my thoughts wither when I'm in front of the computer. I've also considered posting about that, but (ironically) there seems to be little to say about having nothing to say.

Maybe it's an existential crisis. Coincidentally, I've been around more religious people in the past few weeks than I ever am. It's always coming up at work, too, which makes me uncomfortable. Sure, Jesus is everyone's friend and all, but you don't take him to work. Rather, take him wherever you like, but don't make it my business, please.

A re-post from the Art Butcher: september 28, 2006 this thursday at otherlands at seven pm there is a poetry reading to benefit burke's bookstore there is a $5-10 suggested donation at the door otherlands coffee and beer available the participating poets include tammy parker darrell hugueley heather dobbins corey mesler and myself [dwayne butcher] Just passing along the word---do not consider this an endorsement, since I approve of Burke's in theory, but find them superior and unhelpful in practice. Imagine: Dwayne reading his poetry. You've got to want to see that, right?

Let's break a few rules

2006-09-18T20:50:00.000-05:00

Hello, and welcome to my little world.

I had a fabulous, fun-in-the-sun weekend, and wore myself out so thoroughly that I didn't do sh!t all day yesterday. It was a great feeling to do nothing for a change, after I've been scheduling every moment of my days and evenings lately. Thanks to one of the prevalent Davids for helping me find my way home Sat. nite, and thanks to everyone who made it out to my little soiree. Or who tried to make it out and ended up getting lost on the way.

So as soon as I just put up a post on trying to follow some guidelines for blogging, in hopes of being a better blogger---or at least care to read my own writing again---here I am breaking rules. I'm not talking about my friends, or sex, or politics... I can talk about religion, though. The reason for that is that there's some new people in my life who actually have religion in their lives. For a change. It seems there are actually a ton of people out there, even in my age range, who go to church and love Jesus and stuff. Not that you guys don't love Jesus, cause who doesn't, right? But I don't know too many people in my age bracket who go to church every Sunday, much less on Wednesdays, too. It makes me feel weird talking about who I really am. As if I know who that is, either.

It's so strange that I feel so different, or like I seem like such a different person, and some people don't even notice. Not just my hair, or new glasses, but I just feel like my motivations and goals have really changed since I've started working full-time again. People at work still think I'm all out for a good time (which of course I still am, most of the time), and my friends think I'm a stick in the mud (ditto last parenthetical statement), but I'm really enjoying my life so much more now that I feel different. Last year was a crappy one all around, and so I'm a little less cautiously optimistic than usual about how cool this year has been. I think because I feel the world owed it to me. I know adversity builds character, but smooth seas are nice for a change. I appreciate my life so right now that not only am I carpeing the diem, I am looking forward to the next day at the same time. No regrets, y'all.

Serrabee's worst investments

2006-09-12T17:14:00.000-05:00

Off the top of my head, and in no special order, they were:

Car/home/medical insurance. The thousands I've spent would have been better spent at the casinos, and I can't even play a decent game of roulette. It's like some weird superstition: I actually believe that as soon as I drop or reduce my insurance coverage, something bad will happen. Not so if I just buy cheaper coverage, somehow.
My tickets to the Beale St. Music Fest this year. Three of us thought it would be fun to hang out down there all weekend, no matter how crappy the bands were. Not that I'm saying Bryan Adams was crappy; we're apparently too old to get our @sses down there for all 3 days unless there's a great performance expected. Won't be making that mistake again.
The new windshield I had replaced just weeks before I crashed my car, doing 75+ down I-55, back in the day before my car insurance was quite so high. I think I still have some of the glass in my body from that wreck.
The Journey boxed set. I've listened to it on one liberating road trip, during which I sang my heart out. I don't think I've had it in the cd player since. And it didn't even come in a real box.
Copious amounts of clothing I wore once & discovered it didn't fit/made me look like a box/gaped at the buttons (you know where) or just had to buy for that black-tie event. Anyone need a black cocktail dress, size 4, 6, or 8---only worn once? I've got a dozen or so I'm sure I'll never wear again.

Sister's got a brand new bag

2006-09-12T07:14:00.000-05:00

Some of you know of my penchant for volunteering. I've never thought that makes me better than the madding crowd, except as far as it could improve me as a person. I was raised to believe in giving to charity, and that money is sometimes less valuable than time. I've volunteered at a slew of places:

the Library---my 1st volunteer job. I spent 10 hours a week at the library in high school when I realized colleges would look at crap like that on my application. I suppose I just could have lied & they'd never have checked up on it, but I kind of liked shelving books. (This may be why people still think I look like a librarian when I wear my glasses.)
Dismas House---a halfway house where some college girlfriends & I would cook once a week, until one of the residents absconded with the cookware we'd been using. That was depressing as hell.
The Crisis Center---a volunteer-staffed, local, 24-hour hotline for people in dire straights. I'm just not sure that the people calling were the ones who really needed or wanted help, or if they were happy to be crazy. I hated working overnights, especially when I didn't know my partner for the shift.
Various one-time events for charity---races, registration tables, holiday fundraisers, you name it. No bachelorette auctions or 3-legged races, please.
Dress for Success---a great concept: helping women get clothes & skills for interviewing. In my current company, we have new hires come in to work in the medical field and if they're not in scrubs, they don't seem to know how to dress themselves. "Businesss casual" isn't as self-explanitory as I always thought it was.
House of Mews---more fun bleaching cat bowls and litter pans than I'd ever thought to have in a morning. It's very hard to get on their schedule, so if you want to go, you'll probably have to go to Tom's Town instead.
Mpact Memphis---the best way to mingle with people outside your homogeneous group who are still like-minded in many ways. I used to be really involved with them, for several years, but a while ago it changed. It wasn't people looking to explore the city & make it better; it was people all out for themselves. Like Paul said:

I don't know... it's nothing against the group, nothing at all. But I just stood there among all the "young professionals, 21-40" in their plaid button-down shirts and their neatly-pressed khakis and their nice shoes doing their "networking," and quite honestly, I was bored. "Young professionals" can be so stuffy when they get together in a group. They usually wear "business casual" attire to events like these. Some wear suits. Because I have the personality to pull it off, I can get away with jeans. But it bothered me that I put on long pants of any fashion on when it was 100 outside, in an attempt to fit in and impress people that I really didn't care about impressing.

He's right; it got very uppity. I dunno, maybe it's better now than it was. I went to an event they had last month, and it was great---a great speaker (Ekandayo of Hatiloo), good subject (black rep theatre), wonderful concept (we watched 10 mins. of rehearsal). Plus I got to see several of the folks from back in the day & had an interesting conversation about Memphis race relations with a transplant from Brooklyn.

Now I have a new volunteering gig with my swing dance group. They are letting me help out as I learn the ropes of a few of the more basic dances from the 20's, 30's and 40's. It's a steep learning curve, as I never had any dancing lessons in my childhood, and know little to nothing about partner dancing. I will persevere: In fact, I'm going to my first bootcamp this afternoon, one dealing with swing moves & alternative music (that is, non-traditional, non-swing stuff).

Cotton, paper, or china?

2006-09-09T08:21:00.000-05:00

I missed my own anniversary.

A couple of them, acutally. I started blogging two years ago this month. Six years ago this month I quit smoking. And I missed it---didn't give myself a card, or the traditional gifts, or anything. Fortunately, however, I'm not holding it against myself---I understand how busy I've been lately, and don't take it as a personal slight.

I'm thinking of going on a blogging diet. What exactly to I mean by that? Good question. I want to stick to Tony Pierce's How to Blog guidelines as much as I can:

1. write every day.
2. if you think youre a good writer, write twice a day.
3. dont be afraid to do anything. infact if youre afraid of something, do it. then do it again. and again.
4. cuss like a sailor.
5. dont tell your mom, your work, your friends, the people you want to date, or the people you want to work for about your blog. if they find out and you'd rather they didnt read it, ask them nicely to grant you your privacy.
6. have comments. dont be upset if no one writes in your comments for a long time. eventually they'll write in there. if people start acting mean in your comments, ask them to stop, they probably will.
7. have an email address clearly displayed on your blog. sometimes people want to tell you that you rock in private.
8. dont worry very much about the design of your blog. image is a fakeout.
9. use Blogger. it's easy, it's free; and because they are owned by Google, your blog will get spidered better, you will show up in more search results, and more people will end up at your blog. besides, all the other blogging software & alternatives pretty much suck.
10. use spellcheck unless youre completely totally keeping it real. but even then you might want to use it if you think you wrote something really good.
11. say exactly what you want to say no matter what it looks like on the screen. then say something else. then keep going. and when youre done, re-read it, and edit it and hit publish and forget about it.
12. link like crazy. link anyone who links you, link your favorites, link your friends. dont be a prude. linking is what seperates bloggers from apes. and especially link if you're trying to prove a point and someone else said it first. it lends credibility even if youre full of shit.
13. if you havent written about sex, religion, and politics in a week youre probably playing it too safe, which means you probably fucked up on #5, in which case start a second blog and keep your big mouth shut about it this time.
14. remember: nobody cares which N*Sync member you are, what State you are, which Party of Five kid you are, or which Weezer song you are. the second you put one of those things on your blog you need to delete your blog and try out for the marching band. similarilly, nobody gives a shit what the weather is like in your town, nobody wants you to change their cursor into a butterfly, nobody wants to vote on whether your blog is hot or not, and nobody gives a rat ass what song youre listening to. write something Real for you, about you, every day.
15. dont be afraid if you think something has been said before. it has. and better. big whoop. say it anyway using your own words as honestly as you can. just let it out.
... blah blah blah...
18. before you hit Save as Draft or Publish Post, select all and copy your masterpiece. you are using a computer and the internet, shit can happen. no need to lose a good post.
19. push the envelope in what youre writing about and how youre saying it. be more and more honest. get to the root of things. start at the root of things and get deeper. dig. think out loud. keep typing. keep going. eventually you'll find a little treasure chest. every time you blog this can happen if you let it.
20. change your style. mimic people. write beautiful lies. dream in public. kiss and tell. finger and tell. cry scream fight sing fuck and dont be afraid to be funny. the easiest thing to do is whine when you write. dont be lazy. audblog at least once a week.
21. write open letters. make lists. call people out on their bullshit. lead by example. invent and reinvent yourself. start by writing about what happened to you today. for example today i told a hot girl how wonderfully hot she is.
2. when in doubt review something. theres not enough reviews on blogs. review a movie you just saw, a tv show, a cd, a kiss you just got, a restaurant, a hike you just took, anything.
23. constantly write about the town that you live in.
24. out yourself. tell your secrets. you can always delete them later.
25. dont use your real name. dont write about your work unless you dont care about getting fired.
26. dont be afraid to come across as an asswipe. own your asswipeness.
27. nobody likes poems. dont put your poems on your blog. not even if theyre incredible. especially if theyre incredible. odds are theyre not incredible. bad poems are funny sometimes though, so fine, put your dumb poems on there. whatever.
28. tell us about your friends.
29. dont apologize about not blogging. nobody cares. just start blogging again.
30. read tons of blogs and leave nice comments.

I'm sure everyone's read these, but it's like your favorite book: every time you go back & re-read it, you get something new out of it---or at least have a renewed appreciation for it. I want to try to adhere as closely to these tenets of blogging as closely as I can. Obviously I'm already screwed on #5, and therefore #28, so maybe I should go to #13 and start it all over again. How long would it take people to figure out I'm me, if I were to do that? Y'all know I'd talk about Memphis, and the same places I hang out, and with the lovely Memphis blog opml feed. Maybe I'm doing it now & that's why my posting here has been so light. You will just never know.

Links: My first post to Rock'n'roll Minor Planets. Meets none of the above guidelines, except perhaps #s 5-9.

Just so ya know: I'm no better than I should be

2006-09-07T22:46:00.000-05:00

I'm no better than I should be. Tonight I skipped my 1st dance lesson. I went to the opening of Rhodes' new theater and they ran out of wine---something went haywire with their rsvp count and they had twice as many people as expected, and it was many old peoples. And you know how they like their wine, so of course the white wine was gone by the time I showed up (after 7pm, post-disco-naptime).

Anyway, this was all to explain that I missed dancing because of a single (really strong) vodka tonic. I did see the Pesky Fly for a sec but only as long as it takes a fly to light & take off again. Then I heard a lot of gossip & found out that some of the theatre dorks from back in the day still hang out at the P&H on Thursday nights. If you are interested, perhaps I'll see you there next week after Drinking Liberally (I'm determined to make it sometime this month!).

It takes a lot to blog, it takes a train to cry

2006-09-07T17:26:00.000-05:00

Apologies to Robert Zimmerman, but I have had that running thru my head all day. I keep having strange dreams at night---or really in the morning, in the hours before I wake---that seem to signify nothing. This morning I was on some tour bus with a bunch of elderly people. Nothing happened, just conversation. Perhaps I'm getting old and my dreams are telling me so.

I've acutally never had a recurring dream in my life, at least that I can remember. I dated a guy who had one dream where he was running from something, he never knew what, but it was always the same. Just running---and he'd wake up all sweaty, heart pounding. He thought that was about getting older & not having achieved everything he wanted. He wanted to be mayor, or king, or something important. But most of my dreams consist of me doing mundane tasks and feeling very busy, then waking up exhaused, with the feeling I had nothing to show for all my efforts. I suppose effort still takes energy, even if you are just carrying it out in your head, right? You're still thinking, planning, worrying away in your head.

Maybe tonight I will dream about something and do it in my sleep. That would be a good use of my time.

2006-09-04T10:43:00.000-05:00

Theoretically, Labor Day is the end of the summer---your last chance to wear white shoes, go swimming, or cook out. As anyone who has lived in the South will tell you, this has never really been the case. I remember when I flew to England for 2 weeks in Sept. years ago, and disembarked wearing dark pants, a button down, and a jacket. I removed the jacket but still just about sweltered to death waiting on my friends to pick me up outside. (Of course I had to wait outside, as I still smoked in those days.)

But this year is different from any in my adult memory. (I've been living in Memphis most of my adult life, and high school is so long ago as to be a little hazy.) This past week has been fallish, pleasant and seasonable. I've even walked to lunch a couple of days and we sat outside most of the evening yesterday. The traditional Labor Day cookout in Memphis is hotter than anything we see for Memorial Day, but I am loving the temperate weather this weekend. Thanks, Mother Nature---I know you get blamed for a lot, like hurricanes, tornadoes, storms, and mudslides, so I wanted to express my appreciation for a change. Hope you are all having a happy holiday weekend, too.

technorati tag: Labor Day

2006-09-02T15:15:00.000-05:00

I finally watched Mrs Henderson Presents last night, incidentally, and it was a sweet movie. I always watch films based on historical events with an unwillingness to completely suspend my disbelief. Either make it up or do it according to fact, I always think. But I like films about non-traditional women, and I love the fact that there are still some fun roles for women past middle age. I get really tired of just seeing 20-year-old starlets (a la LiLo and the Olsens). Not that there's anything wrong with them; it's just that enough is enough already!

There's been a lot of talk about Katrina: 1 Year After on the airwaves lately, and I'm never one to miss a good bandwagon, as many of you know. But it all seems so overwhelming that all I can do is be sad about it. I was a big proponent of the Love It & Leave It tactic, because I just didn't (and still don't) see how NOLA can ever be a viable city. There's not been industry there since the oil companies hightailed it for Texas decades ago; and no, I don't count tourism as a viable industry. It provides below-living-wage jobs and gives people help working permanent life issues like addiction (e.g. alcohol, drug & gambling). It just can't work long-term. Anyway, now I am not all passionate about what they need to do---I am just sad for all those people whose lives were screwed because no one ever took the trouble to fix the levee system or slow growth there. I am also sad that I think a lot of those hurricane refugees have made it up to Memphis, where they still have no opportunity for helping themselves climb out of the dung heap their lives have become. Now they are jumping up our crime rate, since people without jobs would almost all rather risk getting caught robbing someone than the certainty of starvation.

Now I'm depressing myself. I keep having all these great ideas for blogs while I'm showering, and many of you know how that works: By the time you get yourself dry, your ideas have dried up as well. I think it's partly a function of having too much crap swimming around in my brains. I tend to forget things when I'm this busy, unless I write them down. Let me just say how much I love the Google calendar here. I haven't missed an event for anything other than sheer exhaustion since I started keeping it a few months ago. Now that I think about it, maybe my new calendar addiction is the reason I'm so tired; when I was missing stuff, I got more rest.

Speaking of events, I gotta go buy my cousin a birthday present to bring to his party tomorrow. That is, besides our granny---while it's a nice gesture, I want to do something more lasting to mark the passing of his 30th birthday. Any ideas?

Incredulity

2006-08-28T22:39:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's going to be September before the end of this week.

I can't believe I just brought home a bottle of champagne from my boyfriend's wedding this past weekend. Anyone want to toast to singlehood?

I also can't believe that my boss asked me to make her a mix cd. That seems really supernatural. Is she going to want to go see the She Wants Revenge/I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness show with me next week? [I am so going, who cares if I'm 31 and I have to work the next day?]

What a world, what a life, I'm in love

2006-08-27T11:31:00.000-05:00

Today is another one of my sickeningly happy days. Please bear with me while I overdose on contentment.

I went to dinner at Meditrina last night, opened in May by an incestuous combo of Midtown restaurant owners, along with chef Demitri Phillips from Tsunami. Food was good, not inexpensive but not overpriced, and had a nice Greek wine with my lamb meatballs and swordfish (no, I didn't eat 2 entrees; they have 'small plates' available as well, though I still didn't finish it all---a salad & small plate might be a good option if you're going). It was lovely, but the thing that stays with me is the sweetest little white cotton dress I saw in the window of Raiding the Closet across Union. Of course they were closed at 7:30 on a Sat. night, but I plan to go back after work Mon. to try it on. If it's not outrageously priced & looks as cute on me as on the mannequin, I might get to wear it a couple of times before summer ends. So that is my new love---I thought about that dress halfway through dinner.

Things like that make me wonder if I'm obsessive-compulsive. I went to my first Red Hot Lindy Hop dance at the Gallery Ballroom Fri. night, and woke up thinking about how wonderful it was. I'm now obsessed with swing music, dancing, movies, whatever. Obsessed, I tell you. I may have an addictive personality. Either that, or it's the endorphines. At any rate, the RHLH group is teaching a swing workout on Tues. & Thurs. at InBalance on Cooper starting in Sept., which I plan to attend as often as I can (but not 2x a week).

Enough about me for the moment. I've gotta motor if I'm gonna make it to the pedicure party.

The Anti-Party Story Blog Post

2006-08-23T16:07:00.000-05:00

This is a story about my own personal bloody, lawn-mowing, exhausting week in the center of Memphis, with a jaunt or two outside Midtown. It contains no mention of parties, having fun, or live music whatsover (as per the new rules). See how exciting my life is when I'm not partying all the time? Let's see how many people actually make it to the end of this post---leave a comment if you do so I can tally it up.

Somehow I managed to bloody myself up not once, or twice, but (count 'em!) 3 times in the past few days, in small but painful ways. I broke a vase, which I immediately cut myself on as I was picking up shards of glass (go figure). Then I cut my foot, or more probably weged a sliver of glass into my foot, as I managed to not actually pick up all the glass after all that trouble. (I had to wear flip-flops to work, and almost left them on for my 1st meeting with the VP.) Was 2 injuries enough for me in 1 week? Apparently not, as I cut my thumb on some strange tool in my Swiss Army kit, leading to the realization that the digit I can least do without for a day is the thumb of my right hand. But I'm getting ahead of myself chronologically:

Sunday was brunch day, and as I was hoping would eventually happen, someone else actually hosted (hostessed?) this time, freeing me up to, um, not spend all day Saturday cleaning my house. Which is a good thing, because I didn't make it home until 4:30 Sat. AM after Michele's birthday party. But I digress; y'all don't want to hear about debauchery et cetera... oh, yeah, so we had a brunch discussion about Hurricane Katrina: 1 year later, whose fault is it? Or more specifically: Who cares whose fault it is that nothing's getting done? Let's stop assigning blame and assign responsibilities for fixing New Orleans! Somehow it also worked into my friend's new church's sermon on the inscription on Ghandi's tomb.

Monday was lawn-mowing day, and thankfully I hadn't sliced my thumb open with the oh-so-sharp SwissCard by then. Unfortunately, I'd neglected my lawn so long that it took every last ounce of strength to throw myself into the shower after only mowing the back yard. Sorry, neighbors! I'm sure I'm about to get a citation from the city or something. I'll just tell them my bermuda has to go to seed or I'll counter-sue when I have to re-sod my lawn after it dies. I wonder if that's why my grass goes brown every Sept.? Anyway, no heat stroke and no dead animal carcasses unearthed, so it was a good mowing experience.

Tuesday was chore day, so I checked out a new venue for dance lessons (InBalance Fitness, who are now having $5-a-visit classes---very cool, and very much needed, though the schedule looks light). Then I made a quick trip to Ike's, bought some retro personal care products, and walked the best dog in the world. Had just enough time to make it to the lovely Lamplighter for 2 cold beers before tucking myself into bed around 10:30. Bad news of the day? I ate the leftover Milk Duds from the movie trip Sunday. Moral of the Story: Don't go to the Lamp on an empty stomach!

Wednesday, today, Hump Day: Good day at work, made lunch plans with an old professor, had a very productive meeting (in which I was asked to sit in on a meeting, outside my dept., to discuss a new position, so that I may write that job description---good sign of job insurance), and then went to my (no more than) weekly workout. After all that I still had time for a shower and a trip to Costco to purchase $80 in supplies for a spa party I agreed to co-host this weekend. Remind me never, ever to say yes that quickly again---to anything!

Little Miss Sunshine

2006-08-21T17:34:00.000-05:00

It's always strange for me to go to the movies with no idea what's playing. Usually it's either a matter of a much-anticipated indie/foreign film opening, or a friend who drags me to a movie that I don't end up enjoying all that much. (There area always exceptions, however, like X-Men and DWP, respectively.) Although it wasn't quite what I expected (and in retrospect I'm not sure what I expected), I thoroughly enjoyed the Sundance-winning film. Not really a film that makes you think too much or anything, which is fine for summer, I s'pose. But I love dark comedies, Toni Collette, and movies about misfit kids (like Welcome to the Dollhouse, But I'm a Cheerleader, and Ma Vie en Rose, off the top of my noggin) so there was very little not to like about this little flick. Still, I have to wonder if this is the best movie of the summer, or if I've just lost all desire to go see American-made films anymore. I'm still considering Scoop, though Woody Allen has let me down lately. (Okay, so that last one's 10 years old; it still lives fresh in my memory.) At least Studio on the Square didn't stink like it did last time I was there. Icky. It's like theatres have a shorter life span than shopping malls even do.

In other news, I'm contemplating a new hairstyle, so if anyone has seen any fabulous new 'dos that aren't totally ridiculous to maintain, help me out with some photos, won'tcha?

technorati tag: Little Miss Sunshine

PA 6-5000

2006-08-21T07:14:00.000-05:00

So lately I have picked up a new hobby, or at least, I'm trying to. A friend of mine has been telling me forever how much fun swing dancing is, and I've always loved the music of that time. Plus, as I've already said, I wish our generation had some cool dances of our own.

I have many helpful hints for you 1st-time swing dancers out there, that is, if any of you have considered taking it up but never had the gumption (not sure of the root word there; is gumption a gerund?). Here’s a short list, based solely on my personal experience at 3(count ‘em!) lessons:

Clothing: Wear slick-soled, non-marking shoes and make sure your clothing is breatheable. Everyone should wear something with sleeves, since ladies put their hand on the guy's shoulder & don’t want to touch sweaty skin---and the lead’s arm sort of goes under the lady's armpit, especially if you’re short like me. So no tank tops for anyone, please!
Men, who must lead, this sucks for you. It’s way harder and you have to pay a lot of attention to the women (which may be new for you) to make sure we’re getting the right signals (which is also probably foreign to you) and know where you want us to go next.
Frame: This is your stance for dancing, the position you put your body in---basically back & arms, including hands and elbows. If your partner is a foot taller or shorter, please accommodate her/him. And if you keep your hands in the right place, everything else is that much easier.
Guys, this is a great place to meet women: not one but 3 men were partner-less, but all of them got to dance with every woman on the room, since we rotated constantly. Use your head & you may take home a few numbers!
Women, I'd say it's a great place to meet hot men, but I'd be lying. It is a great place to meet guys you would ordinarily write off as not strikingly handsome (if you're like me) or probably socially inept. It's cool that you can meet guys & not instantly begin assessing dating potential. I like that I look at someone & think, "I want to dance with him; he looks like a good lead," instead of, "I want to dance with him; he looks hot."
Be prepared to fvck up a lot and laugh about it. Everyone. No one likes a stuck-up dancer.
That having been said, have confidence. If you act like you know, you look like you do. That makes you much easier to lead or follow.

(I've been attending Red Hot Lindy Hop's weekly dance lessons, but there are more groups in this town doing the same, in case their times don't work for you.) Even if you aren't a great dancer---and believe me, I'm not---it still a lot of fun. It's much easier than wind-surfing, at any rate. And everyone needs a hobby, or a change of pace every now and again, or you get stale as old saltines.

technorati tag: swing dancing

Somehow

2006-08-17T23:20:00.000-05:00

I was trying to fix an error and messed things up (quelle surprise!) Somehow I have managed to delete this post, so the comment is just hanging in the ether, while the post is back in its rightful spot [here]. Sorry, kiddo.

Smells Like Teen Spirit

2006-08-17T22:13:00.000-05:00

Since I am such a great follower, I'm following The Other Rock Grrrl and give you the pleasure of my list of things I want to do before I am dead or otherwise incapacitated. Gee, lucky you, huh?

Learn to golf
Keep chickens
See San Fran & tour Napa
Teach yoga classes
Learn to meditate
Karaoke alone
Tailgate at a UT game
Throw the opening pitch at a baseball game
Go to Europe again (at least once, hopefully more)
Learn to dance: at least ballroom, belly, and lindy hop
Be the family Thanksgiving headquarters
Learn to sight read sheet music
Play the clarinet (again)
Ride a bike (again)
Drive a convertible
Go snow skiing
Take a cooking course
Re-cover my dining room chairs
Go into business for myself
Be an extra in a film
Volunteer (again, preferably tutoring/mentoring)
Take my nieces on vacation
Learn html & java
Move elsewhere
Sew
Pierce something
Road trip out West
Spend a weekend at a spa
Move into a retirement village
Pour a drink on someone . . . in no special order.

Blogger Bash Wrap-up

2006-08-14T08:57:00.000-05:00

As promised, I have the attendees from last night's bash. Sorry I didn't do it last night, but it wasn't exactly early when I finally made it back from the Deli. Again, roughly in order of when people showed up:

Rick
John Harvey
mL
Rock Girl [all the way from KnoxVegas]
Philip
Brandon (aka i-Devo) [on lunch break]
Thaddeus Matthews
Benny
Lindsey
Kat

Thanks again to everyone who attended, and to the Young Ave. Deli for hosting us. I know there were many complaints about their refusal to split the tab, but it worked out in the end [Philip, I owe you $5---we were a little over after paying last night].

Conspicuously absent were Dwayne, David, and a slew of political bloggers (which was probably my fault; oh, well). At some points the convo turned to politics, at others to less high-falutin' topics, which were actually more personally relevant. I was feeling a bit scrappy rather than introspective, but I quite enjoyed the chatting at the north end of the table. Too much gun talk on the south side.

I was so happy to finally meet everyone, especially Lindsey, after a long time of enjoying her musings and seeing her depart & return to the... well, you-know-what-osphere. I was impressed that several people apparently enjoyed the first one so much that they came back for second helpings.

Quote of the night: "I'm down with communicable diseases." ---Lindsey

technorati tag: blogger bash

I'm not Dead Yet

2006-08-12T10:06:00.000-05:00

Whew.

What a week/month/whatever. All I've been saying to myself is: I'll sleep when I'm dead. If anyone is concerned, I made it to work by 6:30 in spite of the night out, and gave my first presentation to around 80 people [applause]. I actually did sleep last night, in bed with Harry Potter by 9:30. My Favorite Dave called & sang a few lines from Rock'n'Roll Lifestyle to my voicemail, which was ironic in light of the fact that I was asleep by 10:30 on a Friday night (and Harlan was even playing!).

**Before I tell you about all the other goings-on, let me begin by [belatedly] sharing the roster from Thurs. night's blogger bash at the Young Avenue Deli, in order of arrival (or whenever I got around to talking to them):

If I fogot you, it's not that I forgot you personally, but that you didn't get on our secretary's list. I was glad to meet everyone I didn't know & see everyone I did, and sorry not to talk to several of you more. Hope if you didn't make it to the first of them, your second chance is Sunday night---I'm hoping some of you who were eating cake at dish will show up tomorrow. Next time I advise coming early to get some discussion in before the beer starts flowing.

Personally, besides being pleased to meet everyone, I was very impressed with the turnout. Apparently Justin has an optimal feed of local blogs that has over 100. Sheesh! Of course not all of them are regular, and some may even be effectively defunct, or de-funked up anyway... but it's still impressive. Personally I only know less than half of them. I suppose that is just one of the many things which makes me an unsophisticated blogger, but I never claimed to be anything else. Perhaps we can think of this as the Unsophisticated Bloggers' Welcome Party. I had a great time talking to the more sophisticated ones, but I'm sure several of them thought I was silly (I am). Discussion ranged from typographical errors to Hooters vs. strip joints; from ironic mullets to lite politics; and of course blogging was the touchstone for the night's conversation.

Thanks also to the Deli for hosting us, although I thought it was bad form of the owner (manager?) not to warn me they wouldn't split checks for parties over 6. At least I could have warned people to bring cash. If you owe me, and you know who you are if you do, I'll be back at the same place on Sunday for Blogger Bash: Rise Above v6.2.

UPDATE: **I've just found out from an official source that "party stories are over" so I guess you won't be hearing about my night out downtown tonight!

technorati tag: blogger bash

Don't Forget!

2006-08-09T12:51:00.000-05:00

Block Party Pooper

2006-08-07T20:24:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'm officially not the person who over-plans and regulates everyone else's fun times. The new Queen of Mean is my obnoxious neighbor, who'd undoubtedly give Paul's Most Annoying Woman on the Planet a migrane... .

You know those people who manage to ruin everything they touch for everyone else? Well, she's one. I've been fighting her every attempt to sabatoge a simple neighborhood cookout for weeks now. First it was calling me every 5 seconds (HER: Well, so & so can't come, so should we change the date? But then this other couple might be out of town... and if we have it on a weekend, these people will be at their farm. ME: Yeah, well someone's not going to make it whenever we have it, lady.)---next it was over-thinking every detail (HER: We have to change the party invite to say it ends at 8:30 instead of 9:00, because someone said they'd leave when it started getting dark!! ME: No, dumb@ss, because anyone who wants to leave is free to do so.)---then it was not calling me when she said she would (Drama in her online life, andI am beginning to get that she doesn't have a real one, and why!). Now she's calling me to tell me what someone (who got her phone number from me, as I'm sure he told her) is bringing. Guess what? A bananna pudding. Like I give a flying fvck what anyone is bringing at this late hour. I've told her 20 times what I'm bringing, and it's not another bananna pudding. She just has to have someone to talk to, and I'm beginning to understand why---her husband just can't listen anymore. Poor guy. He is a runner-up for World's Biggest Eunuch.

This woman went from taking over my cookout (excuse me, I must have stolen her idea: as soon as I mentioned doing a block-long party, she said she'd been planning to do the same thing for some time [not that anything had stopped her] and of course, no one has ever thought of such an idea before, right?) to micro-managing what should have been a simple concept: We bring the soda & bbq grills, you bring the meat of your choice. Everyone has fun, meets people they see every day, builds a sense of community, end of story. I am totally dreading it. I really just wanted to meet my neighbors, not be driven to kill them.

It's 2 R's, one B, 2 E's, y'all

2006-08-06T21:07:00.000-05:00

If real life weren't getting in my way, I'd have a lot to tell you about everything that's been going on. Lately my calendar has started to look like a doily or something, with little holes all around it letting in the light. I like to be busy, but I have to have time to stop & think, as well. About what? you ask---life, the universe, and everything else, I guess. What to put on my schedule next, maybe, or who I need to fish out of my address book. I have always been That Person: the one who keeps up with everyone when no one else does. I have never been regular about it, or very good at it; it's just that my friends are worse at it, for the most part. But if there's someone in the crowd that you haven't talked to in 3 years, chances are I have (it might have been 18 months ago, though). I hate to let go of people I've known forever. It's worse than giving anything else up. Ironically, however, I hold a grudge worse than anyone I know. Go figure.

So, this week for me is yet another crazy one. I have plans for Mon. (dinner w/family)---Tues. (cookout; more on that later)---Weds. (a new dance lesson; we'll see how that goes)---and Thurs., of course, is the 1st of 2 Memphis Blogger Bashes. Maybe people will start to spell my name right afterward. I'm the blog nazi, after all, and I insist on proper grammar, capitalization, and punctuation (or else [what, I'm not sure]).

sticed out

2006-08-03T20:21:00.000-05:00

If there were a word describing the feeling of exhaustion that comes over you when you're not so much tired already as dreading how tired you're going to be soon---that would be the title of this post. I am too tired to look it up, so there just may be the perfect word somewhere.

Growing up, we had an unadbridged copy of Webster's open at all times in our house. Don't know what a word means? Look it up. Can't remember how to spell something? Go look it up. That's what I love about the internet---I mean, aside from the pajama-blogging and email replacing a constantly ringing phone---alla that stuff is there if you just want to look for it. It's like being at the largest store in the world where a lot of stuff just happens to be free once you've paid to get into the door.

* * * * * * * *

I am dreading cleaning up for my visitors this weekend. Not dreading the visits, of course, because I love having company and the people coming are all great guests whom I've known forever. I went to vote after work tonight with all the other poor bastards in my district who couldn't make up our minds in time for early voting. I had planned to go over lunch but ran over something which ended up puncturing both tires on one side, just outside the pluggable area, of course. Luckily, I work close by a service station, so that wasn't a problem. (The $250 bill for 2 new tires was. My car has to have special tires; who knew?) So I am running late and what do I do? Yes, sit down in front of this large store we call the internetz and look up things like toe reduction surgery and exploding maple trees. Maybe I'll keep the lights low while people are here, so they can't see all the dust & dog hair that always manages to form itself into little tiny tumbleweeds.

UPDATE: Think I found the word.

Rise Above It All

2006-08-02T07:09:00.000-05:00

Okay, y'all, it's finally time.

Mark your calendars, set your alarms, do whatever you have to do to make it to a blogger bash (or both!) next week.

We're meeting at the Young Avenue Deli around 7pm next Thurs., then again that Sun. as an added convenience. Those of you who wish & can make it happen are encouraged to attend both events.

The idea here, of course, is to make connections with as many of your fellow bloggers as possible---so in that spirit, please spread the word to others not in my blogroll or livejournalers you may know, etc. I'd love to see a full house this time, and we'd all love to meet you!

Remember, we can rise above our differences, spreading peace, love, & happiness around the city. Or at least drink a beer together (and yes, Lindsay, they do have liquor).

Muchos gracias to Mike Hollihan of Half-Bakered for the graphic, encouragement, and beneficience! Also to Mr Roboto for his words of advice.

technorati tag: blogger bash

Serrabee's Weekend in KnoxVegas

2006-07-28T15:47:00.000-05:00

So, I don't know if anyone in Knoxville will read this, but you should seriously check out some of these shows this weekend, because I can't make them all:

Friday

Pick up the Snake, Saturday Night Preacher & Absolute Power at the Electric Ballroom (I attended my 1st rave there around the weekend of my 18th birthday, if memory serves. A great space, but I'm not sure what they're doing with it these days. I'm sure it's still dark & loud.)
Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy, AJ’s Sports Bar in Maryville: Someone should check them out, cause I know I won't, but I like the name (not really like, but it catches the attention).

Saturday

The Chillbillies, Coyote Joe’s, 10pm. $2: Sounds like a crappy venue, but I liked the band when I saw them this spring---sort of a smallish big-band jazz sound. And hey, it's only $2.
Mad Tea Party w/ Incredible Heat Machine, Preservation Pub, 10pm: What I am actually doing Sat. night. The Pub is surrounded by controversy these days, what with all the marijuana & money laundering, so I figure I'd better go there while I still can.

What I'm Missin'

2006-07-25T17:39:00.000-05:00

Here's a brief listing of what I'm missing over the next few days out of the Mtown:

2morrow: Free Swing Dancing lessons at the U of M Fieldhouse (thought I'd give it a whirl, even though I don't know my left from my right).
Thurs: Join Drinking Liberally, at dish as usual, or watch the sun set over the Mississippi River from the vantage point of the Madison Hotel.
Fri: Trolley Tour, as usual, and probably some art openings elsewhere. You want to be well-rounded, don'tcha?
Sat: Rae-Ray & Holly Cole at Otherlands, followed by Noise Choir at Hi Tone,& then Papa Top's also playing at everyone's favorite pirate bar, The Bucc (what, you have a pirate bar you like better? chuh.)
Sun: I dunno, but after being out 4 nites in a row, and before being out 4 more next week, I'd probably take a break (if I were going to be here, of course).

I wish I were going to be around this week/end for all the fun goings-on, but it can't be helped. Plus, I've had a great time here the past few days, even since my weekend officially ended. I went to Bosco's with a friend and discovered that they still have Folonari Pinot Grigio for 5.75/glass, though most of their other wines are up to $7 or 8 each. Their Biere de Garde (in bottles only, coming up on draft) is really fresh and sparkly, too, so try it next month. Last night took me to Cafe Ole with the flight attendant crew + others, and I finally got to try the watermelon margarita. Weird. It was compared to the Jolly Rancher martinis at Swig, which I think was apt. Fish tacos are awesome there, even if they don't make them right (you're supposed to use salsa fresca and cabbage, but this ain't Cali).

Anxiously Awaiting?

2006-07-25T07:18:00.000-05:00

Things are off to a rough start this week. It looks like I'll be driving to KnoxVegas tomorrow for a funeral (not an unexpected event). I know you are all anxiously awaiting a date for the blogger bash, but I have to check on availability and make sure I'll actually be back in town (so of course it won't be this weekend). It will decidedly be a Sun. night as that is what everyone has overwhelmingly voted on. As for location... I was actually waiting on RATC to follow up on the secret HiTone access she offered us, but it looks like everyone wants to do the Deli, and it also looks like several people decidedly don't want to make it the HiTone due to heat & ventilation complaints anyway. Well, I've got to motor if I'm going to make it to the funeral. I'll be in touch, y'all.

Culture/sub-culture

2006-07-23T15:51:00.000-05:00

It's been busy here on my little planetoid. I had a weekend full of cultural experiences, that's for sure. I love entertaining people, especially those who are so accommodating and easy to please as My Favorite Dave. Not only did he not have a lot of preconceived notions about Memphis, he had a couple of great suggestions for stuff to do, which made my job as hostess easier. We spent all day Sat. at Elmwood Cemetary and the Mississippi River Museum, after a very tasty lamb lunch at Casa Blanca in Cooper-Young (including some window shopping which resulted in the purchase of 1 Harlan T. Bobo record, for his roommate).

Blues on the Bluff was great, even including some swing/blues dancing lessons atop the Chickasaw burial mound. I hope that wasn't offensive to them. If I didn't want to be cremated, I'd hope someone would come along hundreds of years later to dance on my grave. By the time he left Sunday, I felt like the day after Christmas.

Dang it!

2006-07-21T00:31:00.000-05:00

I just missed my opportunity to become Mrs Harlan T Bobo. A friend texted me that he was at Tha Lamplighter tonight, only my crazy phone didn't send the message thru til I got off my call (90 mins. later). I will just think of this as a sign. I don't really want an album like Too Much Love to be made about me; or rather, I don't really want to be involved in a realationship that would inspire those songs. Too much heart-stopping emotion went into those lyrics; you can hear the yearning and the desperation, the denial and angered misery that went into it as if they were happening at this moment. It's kinda like watching footage of Sept. 11th or seeing footage of Chernobyl, in that a sense of ineffable desolation and suffering seeps through your skin.

Okay, I know I'm tipsy when I start using words like "ineffable." Goodnite, y'all.

Advice

2006-07-20T17:40:00.000-05:00

I get a lot of advice from people, mostly those I don't know very well, like co-workers and acquaintences. Anyone who knows me at all won't ever set me up on a blind date, invite me to join them at church, recommend a chain restaurant, or a say to me a second time: "[insert movie name here] was so great, you'd love it!" This is pretty much all because I won't. Won't go on a date with your friend, or go to church (with you or without you), or like any restaurant movie that' s not foreign, indie, or at least weird. So most people don't try telling me that I'll want to do something because they thought it was a good idea; maybe I'm a contrarian, and just don't like it because I've been told it's great.

But I did get some good advice yesterday: Since the heat is baking my poor car in the parking lot, which is full sun, try cracking the windows a half inch. Otherwise they might actually crack as the0 hot air inside the car expands. It seemed logical and not a matter of preference, just a scientific tidbit. So when I remembered to try it today, imagine my surprise when the car was actually cooler when I got in to leave for lunch.

Once I tried washing my windshield with wiper fluid (stored under the hood, and therefore out of the direct sun, so much cooler) on a sunny afternoon. Well, this was my old Civic, and it had a hairline crack in the glass which instantly spread to several inches long when the cooler liquid made conact with the scorching glass. Of course, common sense might have told me what it took me $180 to learn. (But at least the guys came out to work to replace it several days later, when I finally decided that I couldn't live with it that way forever. Ironically, I wrecked my car soon afterward.)

technorati tag: advice

Survey says...

2006-07-19T21:20:00.000-05:00

Well, we'll see in a week or so what local bloggers want to do for our next gathering. Please feel free to suggest more locations, even though I've shot Bosco's down. I have some prior experience scheduling groups of 12-100 for meetings & happy hours around town, so it's not idle negativism. At this posting, it is leaning towards a Sunday in the comments below, but if you would rather do a weekend night or want to let us know a bad weekend, now's the time.

Attention all local bloggers:

Please vote on the best time & location for the Memphis Blogger Bash next month. Spread the word to your fellow bloggers who don't read here, link to this post, or email the link to others. I'd love to see a diverse turnout so I can have the pleasure of meeting you all!

Don't worry; you'll have plenty of time since I can't do it this month---I want to give people some notice anyway---and I've already heard that the 1st weekend in August is out. It's a good thing I'm sorting the dates out, because I'm notorious for having scheduling conflicts with prior bashes.

I remember one was held at Quetzal, and I really wanted to go. I think that was last fall and I just made it there for the first time ever this week. I tried the turkey & brie sandwich, which was good, but I was happy it was served with a lovely (though uncomplicated) salad. Must go back sometime for the coffee, which is the organic, fair trade kind. As a plus, it is roasted on-site by some cute guys.

I think I got a sunburn from washing the dog this evening. Either that or the heat has me so dehydrated that my skin is shrivelling up as a result. Creepy. I often say the only reason I really need a man in my life is to scratch my back, but now I know I am wrong. I also need one to put lotion on it, just so my skin doesn't dry up & blow away. Disgusting.

I won't be the millionth (that word looks really weird-o) person to say it is hot as hell, and since it's only mid-July it will only get worse (if that is even possible). I will just say that, according to the usual ironic timing, it should cool off this weekend because of rain that just may make Blues on the Bluff a soggy affair.

My Favorite Dave

2006-07-19T18:42:00.000-05:00

My favorite Dave arrives in town from Knoxville this weekend. We have known each other since 1st grade but I guess we were both too shy to be friends in high school. Plus, we had opposing nerd schedules: He was a Latin dork, I was a band geek; he had honors Chem, I had AP English. Like 2 ships passing in the night---if they are nerdy ships, that is.

Anyway, I love showing people around my adopted hometown. Here's the plan for this weekend so far:

Fri pm: We will probably grab a bite at either dish or Jasmine, mosey over to Otherlands to hear Blair Combest, then shoot down to the Summer Drive-in for the 2nd showing (and probably arrive in the middle of Pirates of the Carribean II). If we're still feeling lively, maybe he'll teach me some swing dancing steps.

Sat. am: Lately I just don't wake up hungry on weekdays. Maybe it is my stomach protesting that I don't take it to the Arcade for sweet-potato pancakes? That sounds like a great Sat. morning plan. Sightseeing at Sun Studios, which I've actually never seen, or Stax, which I have toured before.

This is probably going to be interspersed between lunch at a taqueria and dinner at Abyssinia, the Ethiopian place on Poplar, unless of course he wants to eat Central BBQ (one of my favorites!) while we're at Blues on the Bluff. The Bo-Keys, Last Chance Jug Band, and the Burnside Exploration. If I can drag him to Wild Bill's, I just might do that, but if not---there's always NTJ and the Secret Service at HiTone (if it's not hot enough for ya yet! cause you know how sweltering it can be there already).

I am worn out just writing about alla this.

Sun. am: We may take in an early brunch at one of my two fave places, either at Bosco's for the wonderful omlettes, or Rachel Ray's favorite: Brother Juniper's. Maybe we visit the new exhibit at the Brooks Museum, an Annie Liebowitz show, after which I'm sure he will be dying to get back on the road and take a break from my managing ways. I think I was a tour director in a previous life.

BOTB, not BYOB

2006-07-17T23:39:00.000-05:00

Blogger Bash, anyone?

2006-07-16T01:33:00.000-05:00

So, it's time to plan another blogger bash!

Please post whatever days & times work for you in comments here. I am pulling for a weekend so we can pull out all the stops. It's been said that conservatives come early & leave early, while liberals come late & stay late. Well, now let's try a non-partisan party: Let's all come early and leave late this time! Here are the only guidelines:

If you blog, you are invited: wherever you blog---livejournal, Xanga, blogspot, or indie blogger---you're encouraged to come join the community. Even if you're on hiatus. (Yes, even you, Len! Especially you.)
You don't have to tell us who you really are. Blog aliases will do, just tell us where you blog. No showing up, saying you have a secret blog, any of that crap. Seriously, dude, it's not that big a deal. Because:
If you choose to use your actual identity with us, we promise not to reveal your true name to non-bloggers.

I think that is all. You can also email locations, dates, other parameters to me at .::serrabee at gmail dot com:. Keep in mind that many of us can't really throw down on weekdays because we have kids and/or real jobs, most of us live in & around Midtown, and some of us don't smoke.

I have talked about the value of building actual relationships before, but I think it's worth noting again that even if you believe that the internet has expanded our opportunities by bringing us new ways to communicate with each other, you understand that not only are there unique perils associated with it, there's a whole new set of barriers specific to electronic communication. So knock down the walls of the local blogosphere and join us!

You know, while I'm on the subject, I must note that the anonymity of a blogger cannot possibly be undervalued. Once the people reading your writing know you, they begin to critique, correct, ridicule, and judge you out loud. This is done in an attempt to poke you back into your leetle performing-circus-bear box whenver you write something they disagree with, find offensive, think is snarky or narcissistic, etc.

If I didn't love this d@mn blog so much, I'd abandon ship for unchartered waters. Maybe I will anyway. But first, let's have another party so we can all talk to those people we missed last time.

Lived-in Bars

2006-07-15T12:41:00.000-05:00

This video was filmed inside the Lamplighter in Midtown Memphis, which is where I have a habit of ending the night after Drinking Liberally (probably far too liberally, if you want to know the truth). More on that after the video.

Cat Power - Lived in Bars [from Scenestars]

Once again, I had a great time at dish for the weekly meeting of assorted Midtown liberals, this time attended by DailyKos' Gina Cooper and Sen. Cohen himself. It made for quite a gathering, but not necessarily my kind; I prefer the group at a size where you can actually have a discussion and meet some new people. Instead, I hung out with Freedonian, Pesky Fly, WTL and the two Sarahs for the most part. It was like a safe haven for the blogger in a wilderness of cocktail party talk. Also once again, the cute guy was once again sitting at the bar when I arrived (don't know if you read about him here before, but there's a funny story behind him). He left soon, leaving me to drool over a cute guy who was much too young for me. I think he was gay---not because he ran away when I joined the group he was in; he was far too cute & clean, plus he had a Razr phone. Anyway, I enjoyed talking to Chris, Rick, David & the gang about blogging (specifically about our own blogs---bloggers are nothing if not narcissists!). It's nice to hear postive things about my self-absorbed lifestyle once in a while. Often I get a prick of conscience that I am wasting not only my own time but my readers' as well with the frivolities that masquerade as my life. Cause my real life is way less self-involved---I volunteer, listen to NPR, donate to worthy causes, am devoted to my family, etc. in real life. That's just not so fun to talk about as hanging out in seedy bars and going to shows.

Which makes a nice segue into last night, when I got to see my favorite local musician, hands down: Mr. Harlan T. Bobo. I'm sure some people will think I'm shallow and a bandwagon-jumper for just now sharing my secret love for him, but it's not entirely true (or at least that's not what makes it true, if I am all that). I actually get embarassed because I am so enamoured of him that I don't like to talk about it. It makes me blush, and it is like being 13 all over again. I wanted to stay at the show until he was absolutely finished playing so I could see if he remembered to pick up the shirt he'd used to wipe off his sweat (hey, it may be worth a lot one day) but I just couldn't do it. Personally, I was so slick with a fine sheen of sweat that I discovered my hand stamp had come off on other parts of my body when I got home. I know, eewwww... but that was nothing compared to Harlan, which is how I like my rock stars: good n'sweaty.

If you have made to the end of this super-sized post, congratulations. You win nothing but your freedom. I'm going to The Majestic with friends tonight, so I'm sure I'll be back with a review tomorrow, plus an update on our other downtown antics.

technorati tag: Cat Power

UPDATE: It was aiight, nothing too unique, but good anyway.
I adventurously tried the Cucumber-Lavendar martini, which my friend said "sound[ed] sexy as hell," but I told him there's nothing sexy about fresh bits of lavendar in your teeth. It was refreshing enough, though.
The shoetstring fries were great, but unfortunately I had to eat them off of M's plate, since they didn't come with the salmon. The shot-glass desserts were good, too---it's worth going just for them. It just seemed like the flavors weren't completely balanced, as if there was one really strong accent to each dish: lavendar in the martini; salt in the glaze on the salmon; sugar in the pork tenderloin; lemon in the raspberry Creme Sofia.
Pricing was in line with a mid-range white-tablecloth restaurant in Memphis, which is to say not outrageous but you don't feel like ordering 2 of the $9 drinks. I did like that the waitress pointed out the fact that they 20%ed us (there were 10 at our table). The service was very attentive, but there seemed to be a couple of extra servers because there was always someone draped over the balcony railing watching us below as if we were zoo animals. I hope Patrick & Deni will put a stop to that.

Lazy Re-post: Otherlands Coffee Shop

2006-07-13T17:56:00.000-05:00

Told you I'm lazy!

But not to lazy to show up this weekend. I know for sure I will be there when Blair plays Fri., 7/21, and I'm up for the Scandaliz Vandalistz the following weekend. Blair is my 2nd fave local musician these days (right behind Harlan, of course!) and I have out-of-town company coming in whom I will want to impress with how cool Memphis is. Shouldn't be difficult, as he's coming from KnoxVegas.

OTHERLANDS LIVE GRAND OPENING Friday, July 14 and Saturday, July 15
Always a $5 Cover. Doors at 7 pm. All ages. Smoke free. Beer Coffee and Food. Large patio and deck. 641 S Cooper in Midtown Memphis. 901-278-4994.
Otherlands is now hosting live music every Friday and Saturday (and most Wednesdays as well). Look for the very best performing artists from Memphis and all over the planet. We have an expanded beer menu and ALL coffee drinks are now available at night. The giftshop area has now been converted to seating, so the whole building is full of LIVE MUSIC.
Shows brought to you by M.A.M.A. will also continue. Join our MySpace friends or our mailing list for frequent updates and the first news on upcoming shows.
JULY LINEUP!!!!!
Friday, July 14, 2006: Ben Nichols of Lucero and Brad Bailey of The Glass.
Saturday, July 15, 2006: Fat Possum recording artist Robert Belfour with special guest Dan Montgomery featuring Roy Brewer.
Friday, July 21, 2006: Blair Combest and Steven Simmons
Saturday, July 22, 2006: Rae-Ray with special guest Holly Cole.
Friday, July 28, 2006: Scandaliz Vandalistz and Imagination Head
Saturday, July 29, 2006: Benefit for Sawed Off Collaboratve Filmmaker
Friday, August 4, 2006: Hot new artist Mark Bolding with a special guest
Saturday, Augut 5, 2006: Giant Bear unplugged
SPECIAL EVENTS!!!!
Tuesday, August 8, 2006: INCENDIO! World music/flamenco band from Los Angeles, CA. Check out more on this outstanding band at www.incendioband.com
Saturday, August 12, 2006: Sid Selvidge, presented by M.A.M.A.
COMING SOON!!!! Friday, August 25, 2006: Cory Branan
Friday, September 1, 2006: Jim Dickinson
WEDNESDAY SHOWS!!!!
July 12: Deering and Down
July 19: Central Standards
July 26: Niko Lyras & Friends
August 9: Alvin Youngblood Hart ($15 cover)
DON'T MISS THE GRAND OPENING THIS WEEKEND!!!!!
Friday, July 14, 2006: Two of Memphis' hottest frontmen on stage solo in an intimate environment. Liberty & Lament recording artists LUCERO have become one of the most influential and popular touring acts in America. Taking a little time off from touring after recording an album for their Warner Brothers imprint label, Ben Nichols will be playing solo accoustic. The new album was produced by Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven frontman, David Lowery. Get a rare chance at hearing some new Lucero tunes.
Saturday, July 15, 2006, Fat Possum recording artist Robert Belfour with special guest Dan Montgomery featuring Roy Brewer.
Robert Belfour was born in a small plank house several miles South of Holly Springs, Mississippi in 1940. It was one of several shacks on the Hurdle farm, part of which his father rented until his death in 1953.
The specific part of Mississippi where Robert was born is the hill country in the northern part of the state. This region has a distinctly different culture than the more famous Mississippi Delta and the Blues from that region is strong and unique.
Like most of the other accomplished performers from the area R.L. Burnside, Fred Mcdowell, Joe Callicott, Jesse Mae Hemphill, Junior Kimbrough, and Charlie Feathers-- Robert Belfour, was submerged in the area's rich musical heritage. Robert's first memory is that of his father playing a resonator guitar in a style similar to that of Charlie Pattons. Robert ate at picnics held by Othar Turner, and at church sung gospel songs led by Syd Hemphill. When free from chores, Robert could be found in the company of neighbor, and future label mate, Junior Kimbrough. Robert was 13 when his father died bringing and end to his childhood. From then on all of Robert's energy went to helping his mother provide for him and his younger brother. Robert spent what little free time he had learning to chord his father's guitar.
At sixty, Belfour's guitar playing is mature and highly accomplished; his voice, clear and powerful, and the sound is pure country blues. Robert left the hills of North Mississippi forty years ago, but his music never did.
technorati tag:blues music

I am still laaazzzy...

2006-07-12T23:05:00.000-05:00

Just not as lazy as these folks: They want people to hang posters for them for free for the Tom Waits show that goes on sale Friday:

We need to find some reliable people in the Memphis area who are willing to poster for us. We’d need a round of posters put up within the next couple of days, another wave toward the end of next week, and a final round the week of the show (which takes place August 4). We can’t give comp tickets to this show, unfortunately. We can provide some CDs and merchandise from various bands, or we can pay. ... Any ideas as to how we might find such people? We’d need them to keep a list of places where they postered and, if possible, take photos of some of the posters hanging in store windows or public places.

Yeah, I was too lazy to go golfing with my buddy W [not that W!] tonight, even though tomorrow is his birthday, but I'm not too lazy to hang my own posters.

Moving thoughts

2006-07-12T13:10:00.000-05:00

I'm 31 now, so I've begun to think: Do I still want to be living in Memphis when I'm 41? The answer is always different, but it's the fact that I ask the question that makes me think of moving.

I really like it here, and I have a good group of friends I've developed over the past decade +, so it's a tough call. I really love my house, plus I'm now taking baby steps toward cultivating relationships on my block... but I feel like I need to create an environment for changing some of my habits & behaviors. I want to do stuff that I seldom have opportunity to do, and

But after talking to my cousin last weekend, who is contemplating moving out of his hometown, I realized it wouldn't be as easy as I thought.

People say wherever you go, there you are---and it's true. But it's not me I'm running from; it's a sort of energy-sapping attitude and negative energy that I've always realized Memphis has. It's like the one thing all Memphians have in common, and about the only thing we have in common with city expatriates. But it's not something that's conducive to change, positive thinking, or personal growth. It's an attitude that tells you "Let it go, give up, because there's no use, there's nothing you can possibly to do change the Memphis [politics/crime/traffic/racerelations/whatever]---so don't bother trying." It's pervasive and not very subtle.

memphis . cool . movies

2006-07-10T08:01:00.000-05:00

From John Beifuss & the CA:

"Indie films and "rockumentaries" will be screened this month at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art as the Overton Park institution continues its renewed commitment to movie programming. "The series continues at 2 p.m. July 16 with 'Amazing Grace: Jeff Buckley,' a look at the too-short life of the singer-songwriter whose intensely devoted following has continued to grow since Buckley's 1997 drowning in the Mississippi River near Mud Island."

There's more, too. This was just my personal favorite choice; unfortunately, that is brunch day---so I'll either have to cut things short, kicking everyone out in time to go, or move it elsewhere & leave early to make the film. I loved Jeff Buckley; one of my regrets that year was only catching him once at the old Barrister's where he played every Thursday or something. Folks, that is one lesson to be learned for use when you're older: you can't ever go back, so when you have the chance to stay out late & see great rock'n'roll, DO IT! even if it's on a weeknight. [via Memphis.cool.movies.]

Best-Of's

2006-07-09T11:19:00.000-05:00

So here's my favorite "Best of Craig's List" in a long, long time:

Dear Crazy-As-Bat-Shit-Lady: I am honored that you chose my ad for a mini fridge out of all the ads you could have chosen. It makes me feel good that my mini fridge will be supplying you with the ice-cold beverages you've obviously become accustomed to. Next time you answer one of my ads, please note the following:
I am not Home Depot. If you travel thirty minutes to pick up a bulky 40-pound object, please come prepared with the necessary items you'll need to secure it to your vehicle. Yes, I have rope. I have a lot of rope. I have many different colors and sizes of rope. No, you can not have my rope. The ad said I was selling a fridge, not a fridge with rope. Nor was I selling a fridge with padding so that the pleather seats on your piece of crap car don't get marked up.
What part of 'buyer must pick up' in the ad was confusing to you? Yes, I have a vehicle. No, I don't want to haul your fridge all the way to East BumbleFuck on the hottest day of the year. No, I'm really really sure I don't want to do that. No, really. I'm sure.
Please call me only once with ALL your questions. I left for the day, and had 5 messages on my answering machine, the last one was at 10:30 pm. Frankly lady, you were sounding a bit too crazy by the end of the day. It's a fridge. A small metal box that keeps shit cold. I don't have the fridge's family tree. For all I know the fridge's was conceived by a slutty young Maytag that graced some hillbilly's side porch. I don't know the exact age of the fridge. I bought it a few months ago, I used it for a couple of days, ok, I lied, I used it a whole week. The fact is, you're not buying a race horse, you're buying a used fridge.
No, I will not knock $10 bucks off the price of the fridge because your anal retentive eyes picked up the ittiest, bittiest hairline scratch from across my driveway. I'm not making judgements on you, but I'm pretty damn sure Donald Trump didn't send you across the country to pick up a used fridge for Trump Towers. Though I'd wager the whole concept of the mini-fridge bar is a familar one to you.
Yes, you can unplug a fridge without any harm to the fridge. Believe me, the fridge is fine. The manufacturers have figured out a way to extend the life of a fridge that has been unplugged. Yes, I'm absolutely sure of that. No, you did not have to leave 2 messages about your concerns with the fridge being unplugged, and frankly it was a little embarrassing having the same conversation with you in my driveway where my neighbors could hear.
No, I don't have the operating instructions. I can write them down for you though: Plug fridge in. Open door. Put crap inside. Take crap out when it's cold. Eat or drink crap.
I am not a fridge pimp. I don't have any more fridges at that price. No, I don't know where you can get another fridge at that price. Yes, I know it's in great condition for the price, and I'm sure you'd like your other crazy-as-bat-shit-mini-fridge-buying-friends to have one just like it, but this is all I have. Here's a thought, there's this online classified ads website. Yeah, you may have heard of it, it's called CRAIGSLIST. I dunno, maybe, just maybe, in this great land of ours, there's another mini-fridge being advertised there.
Please remove my phone number from your address book. I think our relationship is over. Oh, and if you've added me to your AIM Buddy List, please delete me. Please. I beg you.
Yours truly, The mini-fridge seller

I really search the dregs of the internet after it gets too warm outside to sit & watch the world go by. TV only takes you so far---after the web has wrapped me up in its sticky seductive strands, it's hard to enjoy the environment of tv, where you have so little control over the content. Tennis, eh... infomercial, bleah... old Sunday afternoon movie presentation, yawn... I'd rather sit here and paint my toenails on the porch (which I already did last night). You can just tell I've been housebound for 4 days, can't ya?

In other news: The Victoria's Secret Sale is in its last week, so if you need any unmentionables (though they're still overpriced) now is the time. Never, never buy something at full price from VS. I have heard the IPEX is a good bra---in the words of one friend, "I never knew I had cleavage before!"---and I am always in the market for a strapless bra that's up to the task. So far, the best I've found is from Vassarette, which is thankfully not padded---but it's not smooth like the VS styles, it's a sort of lacy thing that might show under sheer stuff.

The quest continues.

DISCLAIMER: In no way do I pretend that this photo is of me or anything nearly resembling me.

Days of the Living Dead

2006-07-08T09:30:00.000-05:00

I know I said I'm feeling better, but it's on a relative scale. I still don't feel safe eating very many things as a result of my karmic flu, but I'm at least up & about. I started the dishwasher, then took out the trash, pulled a few weeds in the garden, and came back inside, exhausted. I still feel like I've accomplished a lot (compared to the past 2 days---as I said, it's all relative). I do have the housecleaners coming this week, though, so things have to be ship-shape. I hate when strangers see my house when I'm unprepared & it's a wreck. A while back a friend of mine (ML) was getting dropped off here by another friend (MC), and when the driver (MC) popped into my house for the first time ever, it was a complete wreck. Now every time I see her I think of that. Yeah, I'm a little obsessive. Just not about cleaning house.

This astral update comes from Paul:

If you're outside Sunday evening, look up at the sky. The space shuttle Discovery will pass over Memphis at 8:56 PM.

More here in case you're interested. Personally, I don't see the point in continuing to fly missions in decrepit & outdated birds while we're not making any intergalactic progress, but hey, I'm just a taxpayer.

technorati tag: Discovery

New drug pt 2

2006-07-07T07:53:00.000-05:00

Uggh, I have just found the other antidote to blogging: the stomach flu. Hard to sit upright at a computer when you're nauseated. I don't want to vomit on my keyboard, either.

Thank goodness I don't have the brunch to plan and host this Sunday. It's not that I mind having it at my house; in fact, that's one of the things I wanted to do more of when I bought it 6 years ago. But it was all I could do to eat a small bowl of cherries yesterday, and now I can't even watch food commercials during the soaps. I doubt I could shop & clean house properly to prepare, so it's just a great stroke of timing that things worked out this way. Now I hear that a friend who was supposed to be coming in town is changing his plans at the last minute, as well. Sweet. I have no obligations and nothing to do but get ready for the house cleaners, who are coming next week. Ya-hoo!

In related news of upcoming events, I intentionally scheduled the cleaners to come the week before my brunch, which is also a week before my Favorite Dave (not to be confused with the other Daves, of course) is coming to visit. I haven't had a houseguest in a little while, unless you count my cousin stopping by on his way to a family funeral last week (which obviously I don't). My problem isn't what we should do while he's here, it's what can we take off the list? I wanted to see Blair Combest at Otherlands, go to Blues on the Bluff, maybe visit the zoo's new Northwest Passage exhibit, and catch a movie at the drive-in, not to mention all the culinary adventures we could have. Help! I'm going to make him stay a week so we can fit it all in.

I want a new drug

2006-07-05T20:37:00.000-05:00

I just found the antidote to blogging. It is called happiness.

I wish there were a drug to simulate the way I feel now. That way it would be easily replicated, not to mention instantly accessible. Hell, there probably are some drugs that do the same thing. I do know that antidepressants make you feel like you're on a very even keel, which is not necessarily a good thing for everyone. I remember reading a statistic in a sociology class that fully 55% of American women have been on antidepressants at one time in their lives. What, my professor asked, does that say about our society? It's certainly not a good commentary.

My life continues to be good, making me more & more suspicious every day. Where did I get this dark, pessimistic nature? Of course it's not really great enough to bring fire raining down on my head in some sort of cosmic attempt to balance the universe... but I'm content. I really enjoy my life as it is---I like my friends, I have some fun stuff to look forward to this summer, and I was able to see some family this weekend for the first time in too long. To top it all off, fireworks greeted me at the end of my drive last night. Awesome. (That is one fun thing about living in flat lands as opposed to the TN hills. Miles and miles of sky each way you turn.)

My point is this: Mucking around in all of this contentment makes for a boring blog. I could tell you about my holiday weekend (it was great) or the punk band I made brownies for (they were all sweet) or some other personal story, but it would just feel like rubbing it in your invisible faces, so I won't. I just hope your shortened holiday week is as fun as mine should be. I've been filling in for a coworker this weekn & now have to give a presentation on Monday that I'm not really prepared for, if that makes all this bliss a little easier to swallow.

La Dolce Vita

2006-07-01T20:52:00.000-05:00

Life is pretty sweet right now, I have to admit. That is usually a bad sign, isn't it? When the going gets good, things fall apart. Or whateva.

I am about to go see The Devil Wears Prada, my 2nd movie experience of the calendar year. I'll let you know how it goes seeing that Princess Diaries girl playing a very well-known chick-lit role. I can't wait to see her as Jane Austen, probably my favorite 19th-century novelist.

I will have more on last night's bus brouhaha for you later.

Who the fvck are you

2006-06-30T19:32:00.000-05:00

Do I know anyone in DC? I knew a guy named DC in college.... Why is someone from the nation's capitol googling me? Funny that Google wants to look for "Ferrabee"---which is actually the name of a guy I went to school with years ago, but I wouldn't have counted on it being much more common that Serrabee. Of course, y'all know I check my stats daily just to see how popular I am. I hope that doesn't make me vain or anything.

I acutally had a conversation about fake blog popularity with my friend last night. It seems that some people are just eager to be known for, or at least noticed, a blog. I ask you: what is a blog? Either masturbatory political ravings or just some narcissistic reflections and pictures of your friends, for the most part. It's like sex: Absolutely anyone can have it. Some people may be better at it than others, but it still doesn't make you special.

Somewhere after our 3rd or 4th pint it devolved into a discussion about the fact that she sometimes doesn't know how to take my jokes. I think that is funny, because I always thought that was the best thing about our friendship. We always kid with each other, and have in a similar manner for the past 12 years or so that we've known each other. Somehow now I am given to understand that either the nature of our friendship has changed, and I can no longer get away with those sarcastic, snide comments (which I have always felt made our friendship special, that we could both talk to each other that way & laugh about it). Which sucks for me, because I really don't have any other friends I can joke with quite like that. Now I have to watch myself so that I don't fall back into old habits, I guess. We are planning a beach trip over Labor Day weekend together, with other friends as well, so I think that will be the ultimate test of my resolve.

8 cheap places [I wouldn't] want to live

2006-06-28T16:37:00.000-05:00

Saw this on MSN yesterday: 8 cheap places you'd want to live... but would I, really? Let's see:

Asheville, NC-- Would I really? North Carolina appeals to me, but I must confess Asheville is a little small for my taste. I prefer...
Austin, TX-- Though it is in TexAss, this is the best pick of the list for me by far.
Boise, Idaho-- Okay, larger, but still too small to suit me. Who are they writing this for, retirees?
Fayetteville, Ark-- Hmmm... small but inviting college town, a charming liberal island in the red belt. Maybe when I'm old.
Minneapolis, MN-- Yuk. Cold, boring, and crappy cost of living. Pass.
Nashua, N.H.-- Ditto, only yukkier.
Olympia, Wash.-- Podunk yet pricey, but quite liberal & therefore perhaps acceptable. Evergreen College makes is more tenable (we once knew a guy who went there, no grades, no exams, woo-hoo!)
Prescott, AZ-- Now you're talkin. Much more my style, even considering gang activity is climbing and it's also teensy-tiny.

They need to add some real places to live on this list. They obviously don't know what I'm looking for in a residence. I will have to counter with my own selections (once I've done some research). Any suggestions for me? I hate cold, don't like to live expensively, and am a cross between a libertarian and a liberal.

#1 Reason to Leave Your Cubicle

2006-06-27T21:20:00.000-05:00

I enjoyed this how-to on Squidoo, having just started my first-ever cubicle job. I have either had my own office, piled high with samples, catalogs, and purchase orders---and as messy as I liked it---or a sort of shared office. My last office was technically mine but as we were located in an old Midtown home, the director had to access her office by walking through mine. It was much neater than my private office, of course. Once my office was actually the front portion of the stockroom, which I actually enjoyed because when sales reps were visiting I could really demonstrate to them that I didn't need any more of their crap.

At any rate, I sort of enjoy working around other people for a change. Note I didn't say with them, just around them. In close proximity to others. I keep my iPod on and my back turned to the room, so it is a sort of safe haven. My excuse is that we have a lot of "participants" (aka crazy people) coming through on many days, but the truth is that I have a hard time focusing with a lot of noise on in the background. I learned this about myself when I started driving---I had to have the radio on to occupy a part of my brain that would just go of on its own tangents and daydream if it weren't doing something. (This discovery fortunately saved me from having my dad disconnect the car stereo system as he had done with my sister years earlier.) So headphones don't just drown out the noise and participants' conversations; they provide ambient noise that allows me to focus on the documents I'm working on. I've often said that I don't really like people, but I actually do like all my coworkers, so I count myself lucky that cubicle life agrees with me. My next project, however, will involve preparing safety documents and some other stuff for an audit, and there's no way I can do that from the safety of my 4x4' domain. I'm going to have to spend some time in the main building researching everything eventually. All I know is the audit is "sometime later this year" and "hopefully not too soon"---so I'm sure I'll have about a week to prepare, in addition to interviewing all the dept. heads, etc. Fun stuff for such a people person as myself.

technorati tags: "Cubicles "

If I had a tribe, this would be it

2006-06-25T08:54:00.000-05:00

It's often been noted [by me] that our generation isn't as cohesive as those going before us---we don't have quite as many shared experiences, or compulsory rites of passage, or even homogenous pop-culture to bind us. I'm not complaining, of course; diversity is a good thing, and I don't endorse people having the same experiences and memories for the sake of feeling more of a sense of comraderie (or patriotism, for that matter). I just wish we had some common dance besides the electric slide to do at office holiday parties decades from now.

Michael Adams (who wrote Better Happy Than Rich?, Sex in the Snow) has designed a survey (for Canadians, but who cares?) to divine how views on money, family, status, emphasis on stability, etc. is related to experimentalism, liberalism, freedom, and emphasis on laisse-faire behaviour in every aspect of life. It's interesting how the adherents of traditionalism always lose in the end, since the paradigm shift is like an avalanche.

So I may belong to the New Aquarians, or share some common ground with the Autonomous Post-Materialists. Glad to hear I have the company of such heroes as:

Jello Biafra

Sarah Michelle Gellar

Naomi Klein

Sarah McLachlan

Rage Against the Machine

Anti-globalization activist John Zerzan

I also enjoyed the subtlety of the survey questions (I am trying to design a survey for some orientation materials at work, and thought this one was really well-designed.) I hate those surveys which invite you to say: "Well, that really depends..." after each one.

[From Brock]

Porch Party!

2006-06-23T18:13:00.000-05:00

I got so excited about my porch party tonight that I stuck a magnum of wine in the freezer.

And forgot it, of course. The cork popped right off---and yeah, I'm still going to drink it! I let it thaw out in the fridge & it doesn't seem half bad.

Maybe it's just been a really, really long week, though.

Ahem. Tomorrow is the raw food seminar at Wild Oats Market. Maybe I'll go see what they have to say. I mean, how hard can it be to eat food without cooking it first? Sounds easier than preparing a meal, plus I already know I like many veggies & all fruits raw. Oysters are another story (you have my permission to call me a wuss).

I wish I were as cool as you!

2006-06-22T17:33:00.000-05:00

I wish I were cool enough to leave an empty spot in my top friends, as if to say to everyone else:

You are not cool enough to qualify.

Instead, I wimp out and fill all my top spaces so that I can imply to everyone not on my top list: If I had just one more spot, it would be yours!

It's a funny thing about myspace, in that most people I get friend reqests from I have never met---yet the only people I request whom I don't know personally are musicans. I'm like a lazy groupie: I will seek you out online so I can see where you're playing next, thought I'm too lazy to go to your show this weekend. (But I am going to try to make it to Newby's on Sat. for Papa Top's West Coast Turnaround. Try, I said.)

Stalk to you later

2006-06-21T20:58:00.000-05:00

The Freedonian, who I've met several times now, has a Best Liberal Songs post up which I really love. As I am too busy phone-stalking everyone who hasn't called me back in the past week, I will leave you to it. It's juicy!

Summer Solstice Day

2006-06-20T23:30:00.000-05:00

I love tricking all the googlers with my blog title, but this time I will take pity on you. Here are some summer solstice tips for you:

There should be a sliver of a waxing crescent moon visible during the shortest night of the year (tomorrow night, I believe).
Star Date is a great resource for the astronomically challenged (not astrology, dummy). If you are cool enough to admit you listen to NPR, you can listen to it on the radio; if not, they have it online so you can feel less public-radio-geek-y.
At any rate, tomorrow is the solstice, so take advantage of the extra daylight by gardening at night or something.
Ever wonder about all the REM songs with nocturnal themes---Gardening at Night, Man on the Moon, Nightswimming, the Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite---although I suppose when you're a prolific songwriter in the South, night is going to be a theme (some days, that's the only time it's cool enough to go outside).

Save the screech owls

2006-06-20T13:02:00.000-05:00

How sad is this? From my girl in East TN, who is getting yet another exception-to-the-rules link from me. (The rule is I won't link to just any fly-by-night blog, but one that's been around at least 6-8 months. Cause otherwise you're just not dependable and I can't be bothered checking every month to see if they're all still active. I'm v. busy and important.

2006-06-19T07:29:00.000-05:00

I'm finally back again. It's going to be hot, hot, hot today, so wear your seersucker suits and try to keep cool out there. I am making plans for a little porch party here en la casa on Friday evening, so I hope it cools down again. Aside from that, life is hollow and bleak. Just kidding, but things are pretty boring but busy. Routine is the essence of existence these days. No crazy dates, travel plans, or political protests on the horizon. As soon as something happens, I will let you know all about it, trust me.

I FORGOT to add that the title of this lovely piece is "I want to save the world" and you will notice the little guy in yellow responding "I want to drink until I fall down". I think that just about says it all, don't you?

Recruitment

2006-06-14T20:05:00.000-05:00

I am happy to report that my extra-curricular activities are going according to plan. One of my big ideas was to expand my social circle, varying it some more and broadening it as much as I can stand. Not only is there a natural attrition rate to my friendships---between some people moving and others just drifting away, I've lost touch with quite a few over the years---but I also don't feel there's much variety to the group. I always think the world must be a certain way (e.g., basically reasonable) because everyone I know is pretty much that way. What a pathetic fallacy!

I tried for a time to keep my friend circles disctinct from one another, but now I'm trying for the opposite. I want my friends to meet each other, even though it may be easier for me to keep them in discrete factions. I want to see what sorts of reactions and connections come about from people mixing. That's sort of behind my brunch group (which is exclusively female, simply because I have observed women express themselves more freely in a gender-segregated environment).

Now I've realized that my male friends have a higher rate of diminution than female friends, for some different reasons. Mainly my own dating-type relationships seem to get in the way of me hanging onto my male friends. I am too sensitive to how the bf might feel about me hanging out with a guy friend alone---and my bf's never get along with my guy friends (not in years, anyway). The few I have are probably closeted gay men. So I need to recruit more straight-boy, non-boyfriend, male friends. How exactly does one do that? It's weird to tell some guy you aren't dating anyone but just want to be friends with him. They don't get it. And if you go out on a few dates with a guy, why would you want to be friends after you don't want to go out again? Maybe I'm intolerant. Okay, I know I'm intolerant. It's part of my charm, kind of like Prez Bush. (We can discuss that later.) Meanwhile, I am going to work on recruiting some non-closeted gay male friends. I wonder how the military is doing on that these days?

Can't Hardly Wait

2006-06-13T19:28:00.000-05:00

Can't wait to get the new Sonic Youth album, cause it sounds rockin' and not like a bunch of cacophonous crap, although by "can't wait" I really mean "will get around to it sometime". Cause I'm certainly not going anywhere else today---I literally feel like I was beaten with one of those bats they would give you in psychotherapy back in the 90's (or at least you saw them on teevee a lot).

I met the girls out for a couple of drinks last night to celebrate a birthday of one of my miniature band of reader-friends. A couple of margaritas at Molly'sturned into beers on the Bayou patio, and then we all went next door to visit their awesome new bartender, Mark, who gave us restaurant industry prices. Wonderful man. I accidentally ended up paying for everyone's drinks, and it wasn't all that much than my two drinks at Molly's. So suck on it, Molly's; your margaritas ain't all that great anyway.

So, happy birthday, KB, and many happy returns. I'm not sure I'll make it to lesbian karaoke, since I have an early meeting tomorrow. I can hardly wait for the sun to go down to get into bed. Sorry I am not more creative today; I know posting has been spotty lately---thanks for hangin' in there.

Random Happenings

2006-06-13T06:58:00.000-05:00

I just got the weirdest email from my most recent ex-bf saying he was sorry he never appreciated me. That may be a sign of the apocalypse. I'm not sure what he expects from saying that at this point (we've been broken up over a year). Day late & a dollar short is an understatement! He's not living in Memphis, or in the South at all, so it can't be that he wants the opportunity to get back together. That was literally all he said, so it wasn't much of an opening to start corresponding again. Plus, he could have called if that's what he had in mind. My guess is he's in a 12-step program and this is just part of it.

I just hate it when people pop up again when you've got your issues [mostly] resolved. A friend was telling me last night that I'm not very emotional; I disagreed, in fact I think I am highly emotional---I just have my shit pretty much together. The day I lose it and tell everyone what I really think is not a day you want to see. Sometimes I have dreams where I get all mad at people in my life (like the exes) and then it all seems to go back to a simmer. Dreams may lie to us sometimes, as Blair Combest says, but they sure can help bring things back into balance.

Speaking of which, I hope my two wedding dreams last week aren't a bad sign. A wedding in a dream probably means a funeral in real life, or something equally strange. We were trying to track down a runaway bride (a college girlfriend I haven't seen since her actual wedding about 5 years ago) in peach satin bridesmaid dresses. Man, I hope I never have to buy another one of those.

Anything's possible

2006-06-12T07:09:00.000-05:00

I actually woke up at 6:25 today, moments before my alarm even went off, with plenty of time to:

make & drink a pot of coffee
sing in the shower (plus properly washing & conditioning the hair, which is a rarity for Monday AM)
check my email (so I don't have to do it from work)
come here & share with you people.

That is the result of a relaxing weekend, I suppose. I cleaned house all day Sat., including setting off a bug bomb and vacating the vicinity, so I was pretty tired that night (after floating in a friend's hot tub over an hour). Brunch was a very small group, but it stimulated a really great discussion on crime, the future of the city, and property values. I'll be back with more on that later this week, as I must go pick out today's outfit to straddle the indoor/outdoor weather (you don't want to sweat too much in the parking lot, or freeze all day in the cubicle). Enjoy the rest of your day.

Last Night's Party

2006-06-10T14:35:00.000-05:00

Often, what is weird and uncomfortable at first ends up being quite pleasureable after a while, if you stick with it. Sports are always like that for me, and so was my high school reunion. Now, so was last night's blogger's bash, but I was not surprised at that. I arrived about an hour after it started (having opted for a shower after my flyer-hanging sweat-a-thon) and then hung out with Sarah from Lantana Project. I was just putting off going over to the table of middle-aged white guys as long as I could, though I knew I'd eventually have to make my way over there. In the meantime, I think a lesbian tried to pick me up. I could be wrong, of course, but straight women don't often introduce themselves to women who are complete strangers. She was sort of with the group, though, so maybe I made it all up in my head (she did give me her email, though).

So I finally wandered over to sit by the artbutcher (aka Dwayne). As David (aka WestTN Liberal) noted, "conservatives come early & leave early, and the liberals come late & stay late," which is how I prefer it. Suppose that's cause I'm a liberal, right? I knew ML and Lindsay wouldn't make it, having recently resigned from the blogosphere, but I was sorry Brandon and Paul didn't show up, or Rachel #2, or Sarah---or or any other girls besides me for that matter---but I'm sort of glad Charly wasn't there as I suspect she would be exhausting to be around. Everyone there was pretty low-key, except for the charming autoegocrat. I thought for a moment he was going to lose it, and it was going to be all my fault (forgot what it was I said as his reaction was so much more spectacular than whatever provoked it), but luckily the explosion was over as quickly as it began.

Some discussion was had on the gender issue, i.e. Why don't women seem to blog as much as men? The general consensus was that xanga & livejournal-type bloggers don't consider themselves true bloggers per se. I also think women bloggers may be less likely to show up to an even which is:

A. Dominated by middle-aged white guys, and

B. Likely to expose them to stalking.

Not that I think I'm exposed to stalking as a result of going to the P&H last night, or even as a result of blogging, period. But I think many people think the internet is another area where women should be too afraid for their physical safety to speak up. I think that because that is the first thing about half the people to whom I mention my blog ask me. Then they ask where to find it. (Duh, if I've just met you, and you mention stalking, am I likely to help you stalk me? just kidding, I tell some people). Unfortunately, that sort of fear works on a lot of us.

There were some other noticable gaps in attendance as well. Neither Phillip nor Joseph (who is on hiatus) attended, and they are two other non-political fellow bloggers---Dwayne & I were certainly holding down that minority. I'm still sorry I missed the last one, but I always seem to be out of town when they hold these things. I was glad to finally meet Brock---who doesn't look like a Brock at all, more like a Steven or Allen to me---and to see the Freedonian again, who added one to the liberal mix. There were many others I didn't get a chance to chat with, so I'm voting for another one in 2-3 months (rather than waiting 6 this time).

TGIF

2006-06-09T07:43:00.000-05:00

You are what you email

2006-06-07T20:26:00.000-05:00

I sometimes wonder what people think of me, you know, what they say about me when I'm not around---how they'd describe me to another friend---the things they are afraid to say to my face. I've noticed a lot of my friends are intimidated by me (note: If you're easily intimitated, don't chat me up this Friday night). It's like looking in the mirror, seeing basically the same thing every day, and then when you see a photo you don't recognize yourself.

I did a work test to tell me what sort of employee/co-worker I am, and it was eerily correct. A few months ago, I got the idea of a personality poll from a friend of mine, and the results were half spot-on and half mysterious. The compliments I'll take, but a couple of the negative traits left me perplexed: one person called me "rash,"another "lethargic" (aren't those contradictory?) And who thinks I'm "overdramatic"??? I think that was the only serious boyfriend I ever had break up with me---and let me tell you, the most dramatic thing I did when he dumped me was quit speaking to him after a pretty calm discussion. Harumpf.

If all you knew about me was what's in my inbox today, you would get a very different picture of who I really am---different from any of the things above. I have recipes from Epicurious (no time to cook these days whatsoever---haven't tried a new recipe in months, I'd guess). Also, NWA (not that NWA) is writing to me about international travel (unfortunately, my passport expired last year), and a vitamin store is advertising horse chestnut to cure spider veins (fortunately, I still have pretty nice legs). I almost took an internship at an online vitamin place located here in town, incidentally, until I realized they were selling snake oil. MoveOn.org notified me of their Monthly Partner program, which is just a nice way of saying: "We'd like access to your checking account, please!" Rounding out today's batch of impersonal mail is one from The Atlantic, which makes me feel guilty that I haven't even read the May issue yet.

Fun stuff

2006-06-06T21:11:00.000-05:00

Okay, I know it's political, but here's some fun stuff for you:

Vote for your favorite Democratic Presidential candidate. Vote for Clark, while you still have a chance to.

It's not too late to punch an Emo kid today! (Okay, it's not political per se, but it does remind me of Blue States Lose.)

It's not too late to watch Frontline, either--- there's a great epi on tonight titled "The Last Abortion Clinic" (if it is when you read this, click the link for a good mini-show). It made me want to cry.

Our very own Sen. Frist is introducing a bill that would amend the Constitution to ban gay marriage. Cause apparently he has nothing better to do (yet another thing to thank Nashvile for).

Get Excited!

2006-06-05T14:47:00.000-05:00

I have been very excited about several upcoming events lately, and now that they're all over, I'm going to have to make my own excitement. We like to make fun of a silly girl we used to know by repeating things she said (like "Get excited!!") in her squeaky pre-pubescent girl's voice (she was over 21, so it was really a strange thing to hear). Who is really going to be able to conjure up and honest excitement and enthusiasm on command? Well, I'm going to try.

Living alone makes me want to plan and conjure events to look forward to; plus, that's always been an aspect of my personality. I write things on my calendar just so I can anticipate them. I'm going to try and get excited about my upcoming camping trip to unknown parts (somewhere east of Nashvile is all I know). Anyone want to house-sit for me?

I have no vacations planned after this month, no more big parties, or company coming to town. I am going to do one more brunch this weekend, but several people are out of town, so we'll probably just have a small group this time. I think that might facilitate conversation a little better anyway. We devoted a large chuck of the first two meeting times socializing; now I really want to dig into more social issues. Even the little things can be interesting when you're looking at them through others' points of view instead of your own. For instance, how far are you willing to go to help the environment? Reduce, reuse, and recycle? Buy a car powered by alternative fuel? Sell your car and ride your bike? If you're willing to do more than you already do, what's stopping you from making the change? Is it unrealistic to change on an individual basis, or is that the only way? ... I'm afraid all of this will require more direction than I've wanted to provide so far. But as one of my friends said, "Even if you're not changing the world, you're still building more social capital," and I like the sound of that.

2006-06-03T12:42:00.000-05:00

I'm very excited about meeting my neighbors tonight. The long-awaited block party is on in just a few hours. I was going to host it here, but when another girl on the street said they have a nice, shady backyard, it was the best possible option for our 88-degree cookout (That was today's predicted high, but it will feel worse if the sun stays out all afternoon). I'm glad to finally have a little equity on this block.

Drinking Liberally, breaking rules, and seedy bars

2006-06-02T07:14:00.000-05:00

I am rushing off to work but I just wanted to say THANKS! to the Drinking Liberally crew. Met them at dish for a lot of grown-up conversation; not exclusively political talk, but they say that the personal is political, right? It's good to get around people who make you think, and are obviously thinkers themselves, after being around so many people who are just comfortable to be around. The bad news is that my blogger alter-ego has been revealed, so no snarky comments on the assembly.

So I broke one of my new guidelines for living last night. Yeah, I stayed out late on a Thursday, even though I have to be at work at 8am. After I left dish, I called a friend whose call I'd missed (they were at Celtic Crossing, but I missed that & had to meet them at the Lamp---ick!). I'd have to say it was worth it---I got to see a friend who has been MIA for the past few weeks, as well as a friend I am used to seeing all the time who I missed last weekend. Add together meeting all those fine people at dish, and I've more than made up for breaking a little rule.

I also fielded phone calls from the tall man after leaving the Lamplighter, which was stupid of me. After all, I'd been doing well on my policy of not talking to him, full stop. It's obvious that last night was a night for breaking rules that I've imposed on my own social life. I'll let you know if they both turn out to be good ones to break or not.

10,000 hits & counting

2006-05-30T18:21:00.000-05:00

Forgot to mention that the Rock'n'Roll Planet hit 10,000 today. Let me be the first to congratulate my regular reader at Morgan Keegan for taking that honor this morning. You get nothin' but the glory, unfortunately.

2006-05-30T17:57:00.000-05:00

Finally, rain. I did my best rain dance this weekend---hanging out at the River, watering the lawn, walking the dog when clouds blew up yesterday---stopping just short of washing the car. Now we get a little of our much-needed water, even though it's still 91 degrees. I'm sweating like a piglet. Probably because I just got back from the tanning bed (I know, don't lecture me!).

A coworker informed me that there were only whitefolks at Pickwick Lake this weekend, to which another coworker responded, "That ain't bad; at least that keeps the riffraff down." Let me specify here that these are two African-American women speaking in front of me, a white chick. Wow---the cultural implications of a conversation like this are amazing. My experience is often that of racial outsider, and usually minorities are not critical of other minority groups, least of all their own, in the presence of whitey. I would personally be most concerned about redneck riffraff at Pickwick on a holiday weekend.

The racial representation at public places---campgrounds, lakes, parks, whatever---does concern me. It seems that these facilities are disproportionately used by whites. I've noticed it when I go to Shelby Farms, Overton Park, the Botanic Garden, etc. and I think it's a shame. We are a really interesting & diverse city, with a large Hispanic, Vietnamese, and Jewish population but you'd never know it at these places. I just mentioned this , but I think it is a problem the government unfortunately feels no responsibility to correct.

The next park event is this weekend, Italian Fest at Marquette Park. Maybe we'll see realistic representation of Memphis' diverse cultural and ethnic composition then. I've never been, but I seriously doubt it.

2006-05-29T21:51:00.000-05:00

If you want to meet the Infamous World-Famous Serrabbee:

Incidentally, I couldn't be more excited that my blog is about to hit 10,000. w00t!

2006-05-29T13:25:00.000-05:00

My relaxing holiday weekend is wearing me out. I've had a great time for the past 3 days, but now I just want to spend a day being a slob (my real self, as opposed to my alter ego of a go-getter).

That reminds me---we saw X3 as I'd wanted to, and I have to disagree with the reviews and agree with the box office numbers. Biggest Memorial Day opener ever; biggest film of the year so far; biggest superhero almost-sex scene. I actually really liked it, just as well as #1 in fact. I thought it was a faithful return to the comic-book genre. I highly recommend it (and that's saying quite a lot coming from me, since I really don't like action movies much). As I said, though, it was more true to the genre and less action-flick-like.

So the rest of the weekend had to be pretty great to live up to that, and luckily it was. Friends came in from Virginia for Fri. night en route to a wedding the next day, so we all met at the old watering hole (Grisanti's) for a few drinks, and then a few of us headed back to Midtown and Bosco's. I really love that place, even if it is supremely white-bread. On Sat., a group of us had our picture taken at Sunset Symphony since we were a young, atttractive, and racially integrated group. It was mostly families---and although a lot of those are racially mixed, pictures of families only go so far in the PR world. I don't mind being used, if they want. My friends went on to Raiford's but I came straight home, showered, & went to bed before midnight. Somehow being outside makes me more tired than being in the A/C.

Last night was Memphis' Own Wingoff, with teeter-totter and wings galore. I met the hot guy who owns Deep Fried Rides, and he's even hotter in person. I also found someone to take the A/C unit that's been in my garage for the past 2 summers, and a good time was had by all. I think the teeter-totter might have broken, though. I didn't risk a ride. I had to make it to 80's night at dish to meet the gang, so I couldn't be risking it all like that. I ran into a bunch of old friends and acquaintences, plus an ex-bf to boot. He is all texting me and stuff now. Dang it. I pretty much ignored him & spent the day recuperating, relaxing, and doing laundry. All in all, it was a fab weekend. I'll be busy with similar stuff for the next few weekends, but I'm going to buckle down during the work week. Next month I hope to go camping---who's with me? I need a recommendation of spots, too.

you may congratulate me now

2006-05-28T11:36:00.000-05:00

It honestly is the simple things in life. I am blogging from my front porch on a beautiful Memorial Day weekend, looking forward to my first movie in months, followed by a wingoff and 80's night. Life is pretty good right now.

I officially got the job I wanted, without even filling out an application. I'm just that desirable as an employee, I suppose. Actually, I even wrote the job description for it, demonstrating my desirability as an employee who will bring everyone's job descriptions into line. Yes, folks---I have the most-coveted position of technical writer. Covted by me, anyway. I remember my dad (a scientist) telling me that's what I could do when I grew up. That was before I even started high school. Wow, what insight from a scientist type!

But what I am also happy to report is this is the place I've done my internship this semester, so that not only do they already know they want to keep me on (a boost to my professional ego), but I also know what a great place to work this will be. I've realized in the past 8 or 10 years that at least as much as what I do, I have to like where I work & the people I work with. Which is not something they tell you when you're in school, though it should be. Maybe I'm more inclined this way than others, but it's an essential ingredient in my workplace satisfaction. I could be happy employed in lots of different fields, sectors, capacities, etc., but not unless I'm working for an employer with its priorities in the right place. So, at any rate, I'm happy to report that I don't have to send out 20 resumes or move away at this point. Whew!

2006-05-24T20:07:00.000-05:00

It seems that blogs really begin to take a hit in the summertime; as we get more fun things to do outside, we let the hours of web-surfing go. Except for the political bloggers (who either don't have any fun stuff to do outside, or have an unhealthy addiction). Of course, we'll all be back in a couple of months when the heat gets to a place where it melts the soles of our discount department store footwear to the parking lots. Around about July 4th, I'd say.

Meanwhile, I'll let you in on a little secret: I am going into hiding. Not for a federal crime, at least this time. It's in anticipation of my June schedule---when I'll have to start getting up by 6AM daily, and that's only if I shower at night instead of in the morning. If I want to make it, I've got to start training now. It's like a marathon to a night owl.

I forgot to mention my trip to Pei Wei earlier this week. My co-workers, who never go to lunch together unless it's someone's bday or last day of work or something, wanted to try it. Who am I to break up the party? It was amazing. But the amazing thing was not so much the food as it was the coworkers' reaction to it. They all loved it, in fact so much so that after we'd been back at the office a few hours 2 of them went & ate their leftovers.

So, the upshot is that it was good, they gave us lots of food, and I'm sure we'll return before someone else quits or has a birthday. Reasonable prices, too---it's like a cheaper PF Chang's (you order when you walk in, pay, get your drink, and sit down---they bring the food to you). Still haven't tried Soul Fish but that is next on my lunchtime list.

I am trying to work on my yard this week, but I'll be back with reports on Grisanti's, X3 (The Last Stand, whatever that means), and Dwayne's Wingoff---assuming all goes well & I actually make it to 3 events in 3 days.

Whipping post

2006-05-23T18:18:00.000-05:00

So, I've slacked lately. I admit it, sitemeter shows it, and my readers are clamouring for more. (Okay, the last is a lie.) Not only have I been busy, my computer is having technical difficulties (for which I blame Microsoft, as usual), and of course I was out of town last week as well.

My officially responsibility to you today is to pass along the word about the next Memphis Blogger Bash. Sometime after the workday ends Friday, June 9th P&H Cafe Be there or be a parallelogram. I may just make it this time!

I will return to you as soon as my pc allows it with further interesting details of the inner workings of my brain. Be not afraid. Meanwhile, check out my blogroll or something.