and that's a promise...

The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
[psalm 34:10]

outloud...

If you were following me around this week, here are some things you would have overheard.

-Should I write my Somerville paper or flirt on facebook?
-Oh, the dichotomy of a sunny day!
-I stood in the parking lot and yelled your name at your open window, but you didn't answer. and I felt dumb.
-Maybe their last name is Hobbit!
-I thought those bushes were people on horses.
-That's such a great dress.
-Sometimes, you'd rather just have the roses.
-Stop being demeaning!
-But actually, they're being the 'weaker brother.'
-Did you see that? You said it and my 'hip-walk' kicked in.
-I love her! I just want to hug her and have dinner together.
-There are Ritz crackers all over this yard. Maybe they are trying to attract birds. or squirrels. or children.
-Sometimes when it's windy and my bangs fly up, my shadow has a spikey head.
-Emo isn't just a day. It's the rest of your life.
-Have you ever slept in-tense?

blinders on...

I got a sweet new cd in the mail today. If I was an official culture critic, I would write something like this:

Sean Watkins continues to shine as a solo artist in addition his perpetual success with band Nickel Creek. In his sophomore release, Blinders On, Watkins experiments with acoustic and electronic. Despite the small number of instruments, he creates an variety of melodies in the fifteen track album. Watkins primary tools are guitar, synth, drums, piano, looping, and fiddle [played by his ever so talented sister, sara watkins]. He makes an interesting transition into using his own strong but mellow voice into another instrument.

Though his first cd relied largely on his acoustic guitar skills, Watkins proves himself as much a folk-rock pioneer as fellow band member Chris Thile. The sounds he achieves are undeniably different, though not always pleasing to the ear. Watkins allows himself freedom from harmony, bringing in many elements of dissonance introduced in his band's latest cd. Though you're less likely to hum Blinders' songs, they are richer and contain layers of complexity unseen in 26 Miles.

Watkins lyrics are poetic, but continue to border on the sentimental and juvenile. While his music has progressed, the lyrics and subject matter are static. All his songs are personal conversations, his unspoken thoughts, or modern dreams. [does cryptic = poetry? beauty?] Maybe he just needs a little optimism for his love life?

No album is complete with out the little surprises: a twenty-second clip featuring Watkins as the composer for a string quartet is difficult to decipher and leaves me curious for more. The hidden tract at the end is the energetic bluegrass that launched Nickel Creek to stardom.

Best tracks: Summer's Coming, Run Away Girl, I Say Nothing, Blinders On

she came up and said hello
my name is kate and i liked your show
and there was nothing i could say
but thanks come again
she didn't know
that we got married in my head
there were christmases and dogs
and our kids hair was red
and as years flew by
i gazed into her eyes
and said goodbye
[hello...goodbye]

wonderful weekend...

It's been another stellar weekend in the life of E-May Jr. [do you hate those 'this is what i did today posts?'] I worked tech all week [assistant stage manager] for the Tower Dancers Company, which means I got to sit and listen to awesome music every night this week while reading and watching my amazing friends dance.

After the performance on Friday, Mary and I baked a cake at the Statehouse and ate it while watching pointless movies. It was rather anticlimactic, because I fell asleep half an hour into movie numero dos. But relaxation and sleeping for ten hours is good for the soul and manic insanity induced by the lack of.

I made new friends thanks to the Office. Maybe these sororities are actually good for something.

Saturday night's perfomance went even better. I cannot describe the hilarity that happens when you're the only girl on headset with 3-4 insane crew guys every night. Since they were all up in the booth and I was backstage the whole time, they gave me a running commentary on the crowd. The hilight of my night was the "who's who" of Hillsdale College. If you ever need Red Carpet commentators, Entertainment News, I can suggest a couple.

We had the best cast party ever. Recipe for a good time: give two amazing choreographers control of a dance-off between insane boyfriends and crew members. Mary admitted that dance company members aren't very good a party dancing, but we tried anyway.

I renewed my love for playmobile thanks to Jonah [5]. He has a raised bed with a slide coming off of it, and admitted to me that sometimes he goes up the slide and down the ladder.

Today I shared brunch with cool people, then headed to Ann Arbor. I got a sweet new shirt [because hippie day is coming up soon!] and did homework at a real, live, honest to goodness Starbucks all afternoon. I sat out in the sun and listened to snippets of conversation and read Hemingway. I don't mind Hemingway, even though everyone else seems out to get him.

Since the Starbucks is on a major street, I got to see a lot of traffic. A boy pulled up in his annoying teen sports car and yelled, 'hey, what's up, you yuppies!' out the window. It totally made my day.

We ate Chinese food for dinner. My fortune cookie was promising: watch for a stranger near you to soon become a friend. Raise your hand if you want to analyze that there grammar.

On the way home tonight, the sky looked like this:


I am sad to report that we also caused the demise of a wild Pizza near Mauch Rd. All together, it was a pretty good weekend. Yup.

lack of communication...

I hate people walking around campus with headphones. Please take note.

One of these people walked past me yesterday, and after cordial smiles, the following exchange took place:

Girl with headphones: Hi!
Me: Hey [name].
Girl with headphones: I'm fine, how are you?
Me: Good, I'm going down to my room for lunch.
Girl with headphones: Oh, I'm just heading up there for Saga. How was it?
Me: *smile and just keep walking*