Reclaiming Life

Me and Boston, originally uploaded by crau1971.

Even though the rain is NEVER ENDING AND I NEED THE SUN TO BE OUT LONGER THAN 20 MINUTES...

...I still went out into the world on Sunday. Saturday, I hit the beach, to clear my head with the feeling of sand in my toes. Sunday, I met Katrina for breakfast (which ended up being the only thing I ate that day, but skipping dinner was in NO WAY a problem ;) ), and we took a walking tour of Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge.

Here I am, at the top of Washington Tower, with a 360 degree view of this corner of the world around me. Despite the clouds, and the cool breeze, it was a lovely way to spend a morning.

To say I was in a dark place last week is an understatement. When I get that way, I tend to think all areas of my life are caving in. This was clearly not the case, but I'd like to thank everyone who checked in on me and tried to help. You all rock.

So, come on summer. We're waiting with baited breath.

Man In the Mirror

The tributes, of a sort, will be slowly coming up on Only a Northern Song over the weekend. Mine is there already.



Although I wrote about another song, this one's been in my head all day.

Her Royal Highness Courtney, Queen of Everything Does Declare...

...that she's fucking had it. Realizing that yes, she's been trying to perform two full time jobs in the space of one all year long, and that her supervisors could have supported her more in certain areas that are now experiencing epic fail, the students in her building are ultimately her responsibility. So, this shit storm she's experiencing on the job right now, when you come down to brass tacks, is her own fault. Realizing also that this week is a perfect example to use in insisting she needs to have JUST ONE JOB next year, she can't help but think that using this as an illustrative example will just make her look as incompetent as she feels.

Not a good week in the Queendom. Not by any stretch of the imagination.

Happy Fathers Day

Happy Fathers' Day to my dad, and all the dads and father figures out there who should be honored today.

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That Sound You Hear...

...is the sound of my brain synapses frying at the following dilemma. Ani DiFranco and Wilco are both coming to the Boston area next month, Lowell, MA, to be specific. On the same night. Now, I've never seen Wilco before, however, they are playing a minor league baseball stadium, with all general admission tickets. I've seen Ani four times, always good, unless it's a venue that's too big for her. She is playing an outdoor show in a fenced in area of a local park. This quote was floated to me last night, which started the dilemma: "I've always wanted to see Ani."

So, there are pros and cons to this scenario. The cons are clearly the venues for both artists. The great unknown in terms of quality. The possiblity of bad weather looms as well; it's not been a particularly sunny summer here thus far. Ani almost always plays the Orpheum in Boston in the fall; do I convince him to wait until then and see Ani in the venue she's really "meant" to be seen in, in favor of jumping on Wilco, a band that's on my top five list of bands it's practically CRIMINAL I haven't seen yet? Will Ani in November even be an option then?

At any rate, this is what I'm pondering on this cloudy Saturday morning. It's been YEARS since I've had a concert conflict of this magnitude. Decisions, decisions...

Can't Stand It

Door #2...

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I'm No Heroine

Door # 1...

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All These Years I've Been Wandering Around...

Sometimes, you just need to trust that something will happen. Let the universe show you that it's on your side, really. Ask, believe, receive, or something like that.

Today, I trusted. And I was right. And, as small as it was, it showed me so much. This is a very good thing.

I've Got A Feeling - The Beatles

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All Mixed Up in the Wash, Hot Water Bleeding Our Colors

I will fully admit to discovering this song in the previews for the new season of Burn Notice (oh, how glad I am that show is back on the air--such fun!). I also know next to nothing about this band as well.

HOWEVER, listen to that driving, smoldering bass and guitar line. It's slinky, warm, with an edge. I like an edge. So, I can't get enough of this one these days.


Hang Me Up To Dry - Cold War Kids


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It Took Me Time To Notice

Isn't it strange when the songs that sing your life suddenly change meaning mid-stream?

I'm Sorry, Baby... - Bob Mould

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The Girls With The Stars In Their Eyes

One of the parts of last Friday night that took it from simple fun to magical was the after party at my house. The dancing event was glorious, and afterward, my friends and I went out for drinks, and my new friend James met up with us at that bar. People faded away slowly, until it was James, Liz and I at the bar, the lights being turned off around us. And then, the three of us were back in my living room, with different drinks, and music on, and we were dancing. Well, Liz and I were dancing; James was playing DJ with his iPhone and taking pictures with my camera. I suppose you never actually STOP being a photographer; you just don't always do it professionally.

Even well into my 30s, there is something magical about seeing a sunrise take you by surprise. Where did the hours actually go? And what kind of magic further happens between the people with whom you share that moment? I remember small details, dancing, words whispered in my ear, pictures being taken that later took me by surprise, mostly because I didn't expect to be the subject. Part of it certainly was that feeling of being younger than we are, back to that powerful feeling of being the everything in that room, at that moment. Dancing to truly awful songs at 5 in the morning--can we talk about Tiffany being a 4-star choice on your iPhone, J?--with no regret, no holding back. There was only the three of us in the whole world, us and a soundtrack and an ever-lightening sky.

I cannot remember a single song we ACTUALLY danced to that night, save the Tiffany, but two keep wafting through my head. The Hooters, of all bands, but we danced like a wave on the ocean romance, and it works as a soundtrack to that sequence in the movie of my life. And The Gaslight Anthem, because we came to dance with the girls with the stars in their eyes, I came to BE the girl with the stars in her eyes, as well as the sun.

We Came To Dance - The Gaslight Anthem

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