… and the livin’s easy.
Right now, I’m at home in Virginia, and have been for the past week. It’s been a nice refreshing trip, and I’ve done everything on my Virginia to do list except “Don’t spend a lot of money,” which wasn’t actually on the list, though it should have been. But money woes aside, I’ve seen many of my friends (some of which I hadn’t seen since graduation last year), bought books at the Green Valley Book Fair (one of my favorite places on Earth), and was able to see my brother’s promotion ceremony for JROTC and celebrate my mother’s birthday. So yeah, it’s been good. However, I’m leaving tomorrow to return to Alabama by way of North Carolina and Georgia.
I’m stopping Tuesday night in Raleigh to stay with my friend Lisa (who will also be Emily’s maid of honor in the wedding), and Wednesday I’ll be doing some research at UNC’s Southern Historical Collection. From there, I’ll drive to Atlanta, where I’m staying with some cousins and doing research at Emory’s archives. If being a graduate student were a “real job” (I suppose it is in some ways, but the pay keeps me from classifying it as “real”), these research trips would be the equivalent of business travel. Except that instead of staying in nice hotels and eating at nice restaurants, I’m sleeping on friends’ and families’ futons and floors.
My plans for the rest of the summer include “working” (10 hours/week), continuing my research on civil rights activity in the Alabama Black Belt (particularly interviews), reading for pleasure (I’m currently working my way through Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix so I can see the movie in July), and possibly helping coach an American Legion baseball team. We’ll see about that last one–contract talks still in progress.
It’s shaping up to be an excellent summer, and though I wish I could spend a bit more time in the Old Dominion, I’m incredibly excited to have some free time for a change. For the first time in three years, I’ll be able to come home at the end of the day and drink a beer. And sleep in. And not yell at kids for brazenly making out under street lamps. (Although, I have to admit, I think I’m going to miss that last one, just a little bit.)
In other news, this may be my final post on this blog. I’ve kept it going for nearly a year (much longer than any of my previous attempts), and I don’t intend to stop the updates altogether, but I am considering moving to a new location. Stay tuned.
Filed under: General
In celebration of Cinco de Mayo, I tried my hand at making some salsa last night. It turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself.
I originally intended to make the salsa last weekend, but couldn’t get my hands on cilantro. I finally found some yesterday, so when I got home, I spent about half an hour chopping onions, garlic, and jalapeno peppers, only to forget to add the cilantro entirely. I was so pissed at myself. Oh well, it was still pretty good.
Filed under: General
Thanks be to Caitlin for throwing this little gem out there.
Let me preface this by saying that I’m completely OK with choosing covers. Caitlin seemed to have some qualms about it. I do not. What I do have qualms about is naming just one song for a lot of these categories.
1. Favorite Beatles song: I’m not a huge Beatles fan, but I would probably have to say, “Paperback Writer.”
2. Favorite Rolling Stones song: “Beast of Burden,” without a doubt. Oh, those silky smooth guitar riffs. I’ve always loved it. Close runners-up: “Mother’s Little Helper” and “Emotional Rescue.” Of course, I could go on all day about the Stones. But I won’t.
3. Favorite Doors song: “Hello, I Love You”
4. Favorite Bob Dylan song: “Hurricane” or “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall”
5. Favorite Led Zeppelin song: Hey, hey, mama! I love “Black Dog.”
6. Favorite TV Theme Song: God, there are so many. The first that came to mind was Joe Cocker’s “A Little Help From My Friends” (The Wonder Years).
7. Favorite Prince Song: “Purple Rain” — Of course, I could put a crazy twist on the whole issue of covers and say “Nothing Compares 2 U,” as performed by Sinead O’Connor.
8. Favorite Madonna Song: “Borderline”
9. Favorite Michael Jackson song: “Man in the Mirror”
10. Favorite Queen Song: I like “Another One Bites the Dust,” but ever since the Mighty Ducks trilogy, “We Are the Champions” still gives me chills sometimes.
11. Favorite ‘N Sync Song: “Bye Bye Bye”
12. Favorite Al Green Song: “Ain’t No Sunshine”
13. Favorite Bruce Springsteen song: “Streets of Philadelphia”
14. Favorite Cure song: I am not particularly keen on The Cure, so I’ll have to say “Friday, I’m In Love.”
15. Favorite song that most of your friends haven’t heard: “Uneasy Rider” by Charlie Daniels Band. Look up the lyrics, and you’ll understand why I like it.
16. Favorite Beastie Boys song: “Fight For Your Right (To Party)”
17. Favorite Clash song: “Rock the Casbah”
18. Favorite Beach Boys song: “California Girls”
19. Favorite Cyndi Lauper song: “Time After Time” or “True Colors.” Both surprisingly beautiful, given Ms. Lauper’s frightening 1980s appearance.
20. Favorite song from a movie: This one took me a minute, but I’ve settled on a great song that was actually in two of my favorite movies from the 1990s (Scream 2 and Dead Man on Campus). The song is by Eels and is called “Your Lucky Day in Hell.” Check it out.
21. Favorite Jeff Buckley song: I’m with Caitlin on this one. “Hallelujah.”
22. Favorite Johnny Cash song: “A Boy Named Sue”
23. Favorite song from an 80’s one hit wonder: Again, I could go all day. But I’ll just pick one randomly and say “Your Love” by The Outfield. They did release a greatest hits album, but I’ve only ever heard exactly one of the songs. Thus, they are a one-hit wonder. Fortunately, “Your Love” is so good that one hit does a greatest hits album make.
24. Favorite Pink Floyd song: The guitar work on “Comfortably Numb” makes me wish I could play. Instead, I have to settle for singing the solos and shredding with my air guitar.
25. Last song you heard: Believe it or not, it was Pink Floyd’s “Money.”
