 Can't Complain |
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I'm sitting at the coffee shop with my laptop Shiny. I've never used Shiny in public before and it's quite exciting. I've even got my iRiver's headphones plugged in and am enjoying some music while I type. It's the first sunny day in days and it is glorious to be outside with my caramel latte in the sunshine. The only thing missing from today is my boyfriend, without whom it is very odd to spend a Sunday indeed. But we'll be together tomorrow night after work and will ring in Mardi Gras and my birthday together in style come Tuesday. "It's just a simple line. I can still hear it all of the time." Nothing like a little Azure Ray to set the mood. Which makes me think of Felicity, which makes me think of my sister, who's watching season three for the first time. She asked me what she should watch when she's done with the show, and I mulled over the box sets I have that I could share with her. Freaks and Geeks? Everwood? Once and Again? All brilliant in their own ways, certainly, but I don't know that she would love any of those like it's possible to love Felicity. I think that show will always just fill a little space in people, especially women, none of whom on earth is as beautiful as Keri Russell or has a Ben and a Noel fighting over her, but who feel as lost and as lonely nonetheless. I can't wait until she's done and we can talk about it in full. It's often presumed that I watch too much television. But I wish I could convey that I really don't watch that much, not really. I tend to latch onto a series and watch it over and over, over the years, and it's usually a show that's just mighty fine, like those listed above. Sure, I get sucked into stupid stuff sometimes just because it's on and I'm bored, but I don't think it's a bad thing to give your mind and heart over to something that's really quality, that really touches your life and makes you think. I don't see that it's all that different from loving a good book or a good movie -- at its best, television can teach you about humanity and about yourself in the same way. What in the hell am I even saying? I don't know. I sound like an idiot, I think. Shiny's screen is getting very dusty. It's hard to see what I'm typing in the sun, so I'm sort of flying blind. Here's another confession: there is a song that I love, and it is by Shania Twain. It's called "Forever and for Always," and I first heard it because my sister played it for me, and I love it. And randomly, Shelley loves it, too, and she's not exactly the sort of person who goes around loving Shania Twain songs. I'm wearing a sweater today that I wore the other night to a Thai restaurant, and it vaguely smells of ginger. I wonder if I spilled something on it at dinner or if it's just carrying a trace of something in the air there. Here's what coming to this coffee shop makes me think of: the time Maryelizabeth and I studied for an anthropology exam here with our old friend James, who had long hair, was a few years older than we were, and who was friends with us for reasons I can't quite figure out except that maybe he just found us entertaining. The three of us spent so much time together doing silly things, taking silly pictures. We made up a song called "Awwwww, Key Terms!" to the tune of "Aw, Freak Out!"; falling over backwards in my chair into the flower garden; the way my sister and I would meet up here and talk about music and breakups and life; all of the Sunday afternoons I've spent here over the years. It is one of my favorite places in my neighborhood. I like this song by Anna Nalick and I don't care if it's overplayed as all hell. I've been meaning to put it on a mix CD for my sister. But I'm starting to wonder -- is the mix CD becoming obsolete? The very thought makes me sort of sad. I mean, everyone's music seems to be on her iPod or her computer these days and it's so easy to just make your own damn mix CD, is it even special when someone makes you one anymore? In that some of the songs I'd like to put on it for her, she probably already has on her iPod, and she could just make it herself. Or if it's just going to end up on her iPod anyway, is there any point? Sometimes I miss mix tapes. I still have many of my favorites -- the one Shelley made me for our high school graduation, all of the ones that Eva made -- that was where her true artistic side came out -- she seems to be such a pragmatist in so many ways, so efficient and businesslike and top notch organizer of all things, like her children and her classroom, but she was such a sucker for a good song. Still is, I think. And she made some truly spectacular mix tapes in her day. It's so nice to be outside. I was going to see Transamerica today, but I couldn't bring myself to go sit in the dark on a day like this. "I guess we guess our way through life. How many times do we really know for sure?" There you go, another country song in my iTunes. The other night, I was flipping through channels before bed and came upon a Rascal Flatts video about a young girl with cancer whose prom date shaves his head. Before I knew what was happening, tears were dripping down my face. I guess I'm still a sap for a country song every now and again. I maintain that that band's "I'm Movin' On" is one of the best country songs ever. I was very sad to learn the other day upon going to their site that eastmountainsouth has broken up. I was going to see if they were working on another album, and -- no. No, they are not. Curses. I guess that one will just stand on its gorgeous own all by itself forever. I'd like to check out their solo work, but it will be strange to hear one singing without the other. This live version of Mary Chapin Carpenter's "This Shirt" just makes me want to fall down on the floor. "This shirt is the one I lent you, and when you gave it back, it had a rip inside the sleeve where you rolled your cigarettes. It was the place I put my heart, now look at where you put a tear." I love her. Here's a great song that I downloaded from a live television performance by James Taylor and the Dixie Chicks -- "Carolina in my Mind." Sometimes the Dixie Chicks are ridiculous. Most of the time, even. But they really hold it back in this song and just provide some lovely harmonies to Taylor's vocals. It's slow and easy and quiet, and I love it. I wore this black sweater thinking it'd soak up the sun and keep me warm, but instead it's soaking up the sun and making me hot. I think I'm going to move into the shade. Okay! Phew. And now I can actually see. "Both Sides Now" has some of the best lyrics of all time. Can this even be argued? I think my little brother still has my Life as a House DVD, and I certainly need to get it back from him. He's in Aspen right now. I instructed him to call me at once if he has any celebrity sightings. The nurse explained to me that they don't order cholesterol tests unless you're of a certain age or a have a family history of high cholesterol. She said she'd order it but that my insurance probably won't pay for it. Whatever! Another good one -- "P.S. I Love You" by Diana Krall. I first heard this song on the For the Boys soundtrack as sung by Bette Midler, a movie I watched for a project I did in the twelfth grade on the U.S.O. Diana's version is much better. "Yesterday we had some rain, but all in all, I can't complain." Sing it, Diana. My sister will be here in a few weeks. That will be good. Tonight I'm having a pre-birthday dinner with my parents. God help her, my mother has recently becomed enamored of Rachael Ray, and I think she's trying one of her recipes. I tried to explain to her that Rachael Ray seems to be perched to take over the world and to be wary of her, but my mom wouldn't be swayed. My parents are two of the most awesome people on earth. I take them for granted every single day and I need to not do that. In case you were not aware of it, "Feels Like Home" is an excellent song. I have both the Chantal Krevuziak and Bonnie Raitt versions, and I prefer Raitt's because it's just a lot simpler. I'd be remiss as Kymm's friend not to point out that this song is by Randy Newman. However, both listings by Randy Newman on iTunes are actually the Bonnie Raitt version if based on the little preview of the song it gives, so I have yet to hear him actually sing it. It is lovely, though. It is one of the sweetest love songs I've ever heard in my life. It's that kind of love song that makes you feel kind of shy listening to it. It's hard to explain, probably, unless you've heard it, or heard it while you're in love. I think my cheeks are getting sunburned. And now here are some random pictures that I like. 
Mom, circa 1969
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