3.27.2006

you look a bit like coffee, and you taste a little like me

what is it about reunions? people either seem to love them or hate them, and the people who hate them are generally the ones who don't want to see the people who love them. does the desire to participate change with age and distance?

i have no desire to go to my high school reunion. i graduated with about 400 other people, and i still see the ones that i care to keep in touch with. i've changed alot since high school, but i know seeing the majority of the people i graduated with will bring out the old me. i'll instantly go back to feeling like i'm 14 and need the validation from the world i lived just outside of. my ultra-competitive instincts will kick in, and i won't even want to be around myself. i was always different, and i simultaneously hated and embraced that fact. i'm not sure what the difference was exactly, but i knew it was rooted in the fact that i'd be leaving arkansas as soon as i could and that i'd never look back.

of course, i didn't leave arkansas as soon as i could - i instead spent 5 years in college at fayetteville. i've written about my love/hate relationship with that decision, but at the end of the day, i wouldn't trade it for anything. i made some of the best friends of my life, i grew more than i ever thought possible, and in the walls of vol walker hall, late at night, while working on architecture projects with people who cared as much about it as i did, i discovered that i really wasn't that different - there are people everywhere who embrace their passions and get swept up in them. and i didn't need to leave arkansas to figure that out.

and so i'm going to a reunion of sorts this weekend. i'll be back in fayetteville with a good chunk of my architecture classmates, and there is no dread what-so-ever involved. i can't wait to see these people - the same people who have seen some of my worst moments and some of my best, who backpacked italy and the netherlands with me and made late night trips to the ER with me for exacto accidents (or at least were waiting to see the stiches when i got back). and while we may be jaded by the realities of internship and may not be as idealistic as we were when we all came together in second year, i still hold a sense of optimism for what these guys will accomplish during their careers. but, more than anything, i'm just looking forward to having a few beers and laughs with them.

clap your hands say yeah . skin of my yellow country teeth

3.07.2006

i'll be excited for a week, but then excitement starts to fade



i have a love/hate relationship with going to shows. i get so pumped about them when i first see the announcement on the calendar. i rush to buy tickets, scared the show will sell-out and that i'll miss out on something great. weeks come and go, and it's finally time to go to the show. i'll spend the day listening to the band, getting pumped, getting ready. come about an hour before the show, i always question if i *really* want to go (one time this questioning turned disasterous. not only did michael and i miss the last modest mouse show in fayetteville, but we ended up with a cat). i mean, i'll be up late, have to transport myself to and from the venue, yadda yadda. usually end up going (except for that time with the cat. argh), get there early to get a good spot because I'm the SHORTEST PERSON IN THE WORLD and if someone, anyone, is in front of me, i can't see a thing. so i wait. and wait. the band is never on time. and i wait. then they start. all of a sudden i discover i'm smack inbetween crazy-dancing-girl and crazy-dancing-girl-with-an-attitude. EVERYTIME. and they're bigger than me. but my elbows are effective. usually. which brings me to this - i'm going to tell you a big secret: there's an unwritten rule at indie concerts: YOU DON'T DANCE. NO DANCING. if whatever you're doing requires you to have enough space for 2 people, YOU ARE ANNOYING EVERYONE AROUND YOU. stop it. despite said people, i always end up having a great time, screaming with everyone else in the end for an encore. and the best part: the post-concert buzz. i spend the entire next day listening to the band, reminiscing about the show, and hearing songs in totally new ways. i can't stop.

and thanks to npr, i can actually LISTEN to the belle and sebastian/new pornographers show from last night online. check it out. my favorite part? around minute 37 when they play "the blues are still blue" followed by "piazza new york catcher." worth the price of the ticket right there.

belle and sebastian . the blues are still blue

3.05.2006

i could live on words and dreams and a million screams

week of concerts (part 1):

belle and sebastian
the new pornographers
clap your hands say yeah

AND WE'VE GOT TICKETS FOR THEM ALL!

weezer . across the sea

3.03.2006

it's gonna kill when you desert me

i've debated how much to talk about my job on my blog for a long time. on one hand, it's really stupid, and many people have gotten fired for it. on the other hand, i love my job and only have about 5 regular readers (most of whom are family). what harm can it do, right?

as i've mentioned previously, i work for a group that educates mayors about city design. in the time that i started working there, we've worked in the gulf coast and new orleans, with university presidents and mayors of those cities, and last week we worked with some REALLY big city mayors in miami. this miami event was the first that i've planned start-to-finish, and the payoff was phenomenal.

a big highlight? the vanity fair photoshoot! check out the pics at flickr... i think the photos will be in the may issue.

weezer . why bother