Always Anna

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

- emily dickinson, “hope is the thing with feathers”

The BF and I drove up to Vermont this past weekend - which, of course, means that he drove and I passengered.  I always fall asleep on long car rides - or any car trip that lasts longer than 30 minutes - which can be annoying to the BF when he doesn’t feel like staying awake either.  Without me constantly pestering him, what’s to keep him awake at the wheel?

This trip, we decided we’d try something new to keep me awake - a book on CD.  He tried this out on his last long car trip and it helped him stay awake and focused, so we thought it might be an entertaining way to spend our 6+ hours in the car.

We decided to go with The Essential Barack Obama set, which includes The Audacity of Hope and Dreams from My Father.  Both books are read by Barack himself, which is cool, and both are books we have wanted to read but haven’t gotten around to yet.

We got all the way through The Audacity of Hope on the round trip, and all I can say is WOW.  This man is just so amazing - intelligent and well-spoken and empathetic and inspirational.  Listening to him speak the words he’s written, hearing the passion in his voice and the thoughtfulness in his tone, even listening to his attempts at a southern accent - all of these things combined had me sitting up straight for the whole car ride, gazing out the window and either nodding along with his thoughts or crying when I got overwhelmed by how much work there is to do to make our country a better place. 

We have a long drive from Boston to New Jersey, then from New Jersey to Vermont in August.  We’ll be listening to Dreams from My Father then.  I can’t wait!

 

Look at yourself, like yourself, and find the positive.

— Dana Buchman

I’ve always moved around a lot - after hopping around Southern California as a child, I moved at least once per year from 1997 to 2005.  Granted, college was in there, so those four moves in four years is pretty typical.  But still… that’s a lot of packing.  A lot of going through stacks of paper and shredding things you don’t need anymore.  A lot of “How the h*ll did that get in the refrigerator?”  And - the only fun part - a lot of unpacking and decorating new places.

For the past three years, I’ve been living with the BF in a slum.  Okay, it’s not quite a slum, but… well, it isn’t nice.  Things broke.  MORE things broke.  And our property managers didn’t bother to return phone calls… even when our bathroom and part of the living room was under an inch of water.  Earlier this year - after the third flood in three years - we decided we’d had enough.  Time for a new place.  A more grown-up place that has more to offer than a great location (which was the one thing the slum did have).

And, as of yesterday evening, we have an awesome new place that has lots of light, more space, an incredible deck, and amazing landlords. 

I’m dancing with joy!

Oh my.  Thanks to Marta, I just found this website that lets you create your own monster.

I can’t even begin to explain how much I want to do this.  Or, if I can’t come up with the $250 it costs, just buy this one:

How freaking cute is this?

The first day back at work after a long holiday weekend always sucks.

Today is no exception.

People are often surprised to learn that I like country music - I guess my love of rock, rap, and pop throws them off.  But I love country music, actually.  Not all of it - but the kick @ss music, about partying and drinking and being strong?  LOVE IT.

I’ve been listening to Boston’s Country Music station online today, and realized one of the things I love most about country music is the continuity.  I get to hear today’s popular songs AND hits from the early ’90s, when I first started listening to country.  They’ll throw in some Johnny Cash and Loretta Lynn and - let’s not forget - Dolly Parton to mix it up even more.  It’s great!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to wail along with Reba McEntire’s “Why Haven’t I Heard From You?” now.

It’s only the end of June and it’s already been an incredibly busy summer.  But I took some time on Saturday night to go see Pearl Jam play at the Comcast Center.

The BF is a huge Pearl Jam fan - he loves them so much that I think he might leave me for Eddie Vedder (you know, if Eddie asked him to).  I’ve always liked Pearl Jam - I mean, they’re obviously very talented and passionate about music, so what’s not to like? - but I’ve never really loved them before.  I’ve never craved their music (the way I do with my faves), and I didn’t really get it when some of my girl friends professed their undying love for Eddie. 

But I get it now.

I don’t know what it is about Saturday’s performance that deepened my interest in Pearl Jam, but something about it was just amazing - loud and electric and full of energy.  And Eddie was… ummm… well, hot.  I think I’m going to have to put together a Pearl Jam playlist for my iPod now.  And we’ll see if this new-found interest grows into a true music love.

ohmigod, it’s been so long since I’ve blogged that I think I’ve forgotten how. My thoughts are all over the place:

Ooh, I should write about how awesome my trip home to California was! And how much it reminded me that New England weather SUCKS. Do I want to talk about how much I’m fighting that the Lakers lost the NBA Finals? Or how excited I am that fantasy football season is gearing up? Oh, wait, I kind of want to blog about my new favorite hair product! No, wait! I want to talk about Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice! Mmm… Colin Firth. Wet white T-shirt. Ooh, he’s in the Mamma Mia movie and I have to see that! I haven’t seen that play yet, though, and I really want to… I wonder if I can get my friends to go see it with me? Ooh, on Broadway! I’ve never seen a play on Broadway! Wait, what was I talking about? Oh right, blogging. Hmmm…

All these brain circles are wearing me out. I think I’ll go take a nap.

… and my feet are making me happy.

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