and it was amazing.

new new new, flikr pictures

outside it smells amazing.

music tonight, is amazing.

i have so much to do, i shouldnt dally.

i shouldnt have napped today for so long, but i did. and it was amazing.

and it was amazing.

The rain is killing me.

I have two of my favorite people here at camp again this summer- Holly and Laura.  They give me the tough love I so badly need right now. They are great friends who are always there for you when you need them, and more often than not- when you don’t.  ChrisJ calls us the three of us “The Trifecta”, it is so good for us to be together again. ChrisJ has made me a great playlist that I’m listening to it now. It is perfect for today. I’m sitting in the counselor’s lounge with my laptop, and there is noise and people chattering around me but all I hear is this music. I love when music is comforting, and makes everything else in life just fade in the background. 

It started to rain again last night. The rain makes me weak and feel more depressed than I am. After about 2 days of sun and nice weather to go back to this wet downpour is also taking its toll on me physically. I went to bed with a little sore throat and woke up to a big one. I hate hate hate summer colds! The rain is supposed to stay till tuesday. I hope my sore throat doesn’t.

I’ve been praying for strength and for peace in my heart. I was thinking last night that those things where so far from me, and then I realized that God has been working in me, slowly and in strange ways. I’ve been catching up on my NPR podcasts and just through listen to some of the interviews and stories I have been so encouraged. Here are my thoughts on the two that have really stuck out to me.  

Last night I was listening to AMP’s The Splendid Table, a radio show for people who love food. The host, Lynne was interviewing the poet Nikki Giovanni. Giovanni teaches at Virgnia Tech and shared one of her poems from her new book “Bicycles: Love Poems”. The poem is called “So Enchanted By You”, as she read it, I feel in love with it. It is beautiful, quirky and made me so happy. In the closing of the interview Giovanni said “There’s nothing sillier on earth than falling in love.” I couldn’t agree more. When you think of how love makes you change, do things you’d think you’d never do, and feel a way you never thought was possible;  I can’t think of anything sillier. 

So Enchanted With You

I like
    Boiled turnips
    Boiled potatoes
    Boiled rutabagas
        with butter
        and sea salt
But not every day

I like 
    Fried Virginia flounder
    Fried sand dabs
    Fried smelts
But usually only on Friday nights

I want
    Drop biscuits
    Miniature Parker House rolls
    Extra thin white bread
When I uncharacteristically
        make a sandwich

I like 
    Garlic straight off the vine
    Anchovies anytime
    And good red wines
        ’cause I’m too old
        to drink cheap

I like to pound and grill my veal
I rub my beef
    In a special chili mixture
I really don’t eat
    anyone else’s ground meat

In other words:
    I’m Normal

So this is the question:
    Why am I so enchanted 
        with you 

The other interview from NPR that spoke to me comes from the show Fresh Air and an interview with Woody Allen. The interview consisted of Allen talking about his new movie  ”Whatever Works for the legendary actor Zero Mostel in the 1970s, but then [he] put the script aside. Thirty years later, he dusted it off again when he needed a quick script to beat the writers’ strike.” While I enjoy this interview and getting to know more about Allen he ended with this, “ how could you go thought life you know, taking direction from the outside world, i mean what kind of life would you have if you made your decisions based on you know, the outside world and not what your inner dictaes told you, you would have a very inauthentic life.” An inauthentic life. I’m sure you’re thinking “well duh you’ve got to be authentic or true to your self”. The was something about how Allen said it, and about me hearing that right comment here in my life and right now just clicked with me right now.  I would encourage anyone to listen to the full interview with Woody Allen.

 I got a postcard from France today, an old fellow counselor from my first year.It blows my mind that she through to write me here. Things like that give me hope, and faith in people. Amazing how people keep coming in to my life, remind me I’m not forgotten. Brings me to tears, brings me to my knees. 

 

ChrisJ’s playlist mix for me just ended and so has my post. Perfect.

 

rainready.

You Can’t Miss What You Forget.

Running

I’ve taken up running. Unfortunately when I run, I’m not going anywhere. The scenery is dull, often noisy and smelly.  One thing I do love about running is making running playlists. There is no way I can run to a slow song. When I make playlists I try to think about warming up, jogging, running, and slowing back down. I also think faster music makes me want to go faster and pushes me harder.  Some songs just making me want to run, scream, and shout. Those last two things would not be good in a gym setting surrounded by people, so I just run.

There is one song, “Fabric” by a Maryland band called  Age Sixteen that makes me run faster than anything else. There are jog songs, walk songs, but “Fabric” is a run song. The other people in the gym must think I’m insane as I pump my fist along with the song or banging the sides of the treadmill to the beat. Another great thing about this song is its fairly short- just over two minutes. I can run, really run (not pansy run like I do most of the time) for two minutes. Age Sixteen also has other fast paced songs on their newest album “Open Up Finders, Please”  that make me energetic and want to move my feet, but right now I’m stuck on “Fabric”. 

You can download my first running mix here!  Be warned- it’s pretty ridiculous. Maybe they’ll be more to come. 

Boating, Floating

I went boating yesterday. It was amazing. I haven’t been out on a boat in years. It’s probably because of that I enjoy myself so much. That and I’ve been needing any excuse to get out of the house lately. The weather cooperated- the forecast was showing threatening weather for the evening but it held off until we were off the water. I had my first “Crab Picking” experience!  I’ve had snow crab legs before but nothing compares to the real deal. Our table was delivered a dozen and a half of steamed Maryland crabs piled high. Fortunately I had some expert pickers around me to help me through. Most first timers probably share the same opinion as me, it was a lot of grubby work for not much return, but the time shared between friends is never lost. 

 

 

 

the only line that is true is the line you’re from

Blind Pilot.  

I am a fan. I first heard Blind Pilot’s single “One Red Thread” on an Apple Indie Music Sampler, and then  promptly forgot them. They finally stuck when I heard their interview on NPR. It was crazy to hear about a band that biked the West Coast on tour. They didn’t just bike themselves around, but also their equipment. The band’s “ bassist Luke Ydstie, even constructed [his] own storage pieces to help move equipment. ‘He calls [his case] a treasure chest…but everyone else calls it a coffin. And it definitely gets the most attention.’”  I love the singer, Israel Nebeker voice. A smooth, twangy sound that instantly captivated my heart. Their songs speak to a folky nature with an indie, world traveled twist.   

 I love how their office band site, which is a WordPress is full of postcards from their shows on tour. Their brief little descriptions on the back of postcard from towns they play at are  humorous and narrative. I’m a big supporter of simple sorties, and getting right to the point, ( such as the 3-min documentary “Wait for Me”, and One Sentence) and I’m a fan of mail- wether sending or receiving. All rolled into one, I’m  a fan of Blind Pilot, maybe you should be too.  

Blind Pilot’s NPR Interview about their Bike Tour 

Blind Pilot’s NPR Music Page 

Blind Pilot’s Myspace

Blind Pilot’s WordPress 

 

Blind Pilot + Bikes!

 

Blind Life.  

I don’t speak up. I don’t speak up enough or period. This is something I’m working. I’ve always been a complaisant person, its just my nature. That doesn’t make it a good thing.  I’m trying to break out and speak out. I know this summer will give me plenty of opportunities too, with some colorful co-workers.  

One step at a time, makes all the world fine. Something like that, I guess. 

 

Happy Mother’s Day! 

 

Mom and I