Here, take my sweater

My mom invited me and my sister to go to see the Wailin' Jennys with her tonight at the local Paramount Theatre. It should be a good time; I missed them the last time they were here (right before our trip to San Francisco last year) because I had bronchitis that was slowly causing me to die. Except, I didn't die, because I went on vacation four days later, but it was painful, so. I'm quite pleased that my mom offered to take us to the show tonight.

The last show I saw was with S when we saw Ingrid Michaelson at the Fine Line. It was a sold out show, and I learned a few things. First, that she is a great live performer, very witty and charming the crowd to bits. Second, that I am far too old to stay standing for more than four hours together in a row. Third, that mean girls who steal Ingrid's sweater are bad. Shame on the girl who stole an Anthropologie sweater from Ingrid on her last tour. Shame! Maybe she was just really drunk?

Here's to not thinking about wedding things for at least three hours.

You take me the way I am...

Isn't Ingrid Michaelson a really cute girl? I heard "The Way I Am" on public radio a few weeks ago, and just loved the song and listened to it a million times on last.fm. S and I just bought tickets to see her on June 6, so that will be our first concert together. We've been to bars to see bands, but it wasn't deliberately to see an artist we both liked. How weird is it that we've been together for more than 2 and a 1/2 years, and this will be our first 'show-going experience'?

Anyway, today is my first class meeting for Internet Fundamentals and Design, and the rest of the course will be done online. I've already decided that I'm probably going to design a wedding webpage for me and S, because, what the heck, that's what I'm spending the majority of my time working on, aside from actual library work and the difficult job of enjoying the beautiful Minnesota spring weather.

One of those songs

I caught part of This American Life last night while I took a bath, and at the end of the story about Jason Minter, whose mother was murdered when he was a kid, they played a cover of "It's All Right To Cry" from the "Free To Be... You and Me" 1970's kids album. The cover was sung by a female vocalist, and was just a simple piano accompaniment. I googled and googled and gave up. Finally, today I tried iTunes music store, and it came up under "It's Alright To Cry." Artist? Moufette. No idea who that is, but I really liked the song. Except that iTunes wouldn't allow me to download just that song, only to get it if I bought the album. Previewed the other tracks: not so hot. Back to googling. Canadians to the rescue! Only $.99 Canadian for the song, so I jumped. The song is so great, it's worth the $1.05 American.

Not through listening to 'emo' music

Using Last.fm at work on break because my iPod's battery is dead. It's pretty slick. I don't really use the radio stations at home because I have my whole iTunes library at my fingertips, but it's great to have access to this wherever I am connected to the internet. Right now, I'm listening to Saves the Day's Similar Artist radio, and it's playing me a track from "Through Being Cool," which was one of my favorite albums in college. Rock on!

I think it may be time to get a new iPod battery for Greenie, my green iPod mini which was a gift from my cousin Simon and his wife. When she ordered a new Apple laptop a couple years ago, she got it for free and they offered it to me. I helped a bit in their engagement/wedding plans, so it wasn't just for being an awesome cousin. Heh. Or maybe I should just buy a new nano or something. S uses my 60GB 4th generation iPod all the time but that means that it's basically his iPod and I don't use an iPod all that much anymore because I'm either a) working, b) driving, or c) at home.

Look at me, becoming all adult. Oh, except for the 'emo' music.

What's cooler than being cool?

New Years Eve consisted of collaborating with S in doing pretty much nothing. It was quite wonderful, really, going to Burger King (twice, confusing the drive-thru guy, I'm sure) and watching "Return of the Jedi" after our original plans for a family bonfire and going to Old Chicago fell through. I think S felt bad that it didn't go as planned, but hey, we aren't responsible for the kitchens at the bars closing at 10 and being hungry at 10:45 and not knowing the fire happened earlier, and I had a great time. A truly brilliant evening with that guy.

I nabbed a bunch of new music from my sister, who is gone to Chicago for a few days with friends, and am enjoying Guster and Telefon Tel Aviv and Amon Tobin and more Groove Armada and Bebel Gilberto and Broken Social Scene and Prefuse 73 and this nifty cover of "Hey Ya!" by Matt Weddle, whoever that is.

It's kind of cold outside, which is great, and it snowed yesterday, like actually enough to cover the grass, well mostly. I'm waiting to hear from S and I watched "Shopgirl" and ate leftover pasta from our date the other night.

Here's to a good 2007.

All things must pass

I'm listening to my playlist of anthems this morning. Half of them are so goddamn depressing, but I trudge through, because they are songs that are supposed to remind me of something important. George Harrison is now telling me that "All things must pass, all things must pass away" and before, Judy Garland was telling me, "They're writing songs of love, but not for me, the lucky stars above, but not for me." The best, though, is probably Jamie Cullum singing, "If I expected love when first we kissed, blame it on my youth."

It's actually blowing snow flurries around outside right now. October 12th.

Beth, an artist?

I was looking for something else online (a comment I made on another site) and came up with my debut as reader with the band my friend Val Snobeck and her husband Andrew Neher have, The Wood Knots.

I remember recording that in their Uptown apartment late one night a couple years ago. I had a cold, and Val made me tea, which was so hot I could barely sip it. Andrew let me do multiple takes with their Macintosh laptop, and all I had to do was read Val's story, banged out on a typewriter with handwritten notes. Good times.

We were in love

Seeing José González and Zero 7 on Friday night was pretty fun. Andrea and I had dinner with Alyssa Knese and Michael Byrne at Leeann Chin where conversation was mostly about Ethnic Wal-Mart which is on University Avenue. After we ate, we dropped Alyssa off and the three of us music snobs went to the show at the Fine Line. Michael, who is the DJ and king of new music among us, kept comparing the show to when he saw Lil' Wayne with Alyssa. I was all, "Why do you keep talking about Lil' Wayne? This is nothing like seeing Lil' Wayne." And he was like, "I only go to raves or DJs, so my only comparison to a real concert is when I saw Lil' Wayne." Criminy.

We all agreed that Zero 7 should have played more old stuff, like "In the Waiting Line," instead of so much new stuff which is okay, but not nearly as chill as their first album. Anyway. José was awesome, and the reworkings of his songs with Zero 7 were pretty sweet. I keep listening to "Veneer" and Michael found a live version of his cover of Massive Attack's "Teardrop," which is lovely.

Staying with Katie Jorgensen was awesome. It worked out really well, even though Andrea and Katie were both sick. We went to Axel's Bonfire for dinner last night after they picked me up from my class, and then got coffee and dessert at Cafe Latte and looked at stuff at J. Crew and Pottery Barn on Grand Ave. Katie is such a sweetheart and I had a really good time even though I vastly overestimated the size of my own stomach.

My first class went well, some familiar faces from my first class were there, which made me feel infinitely more comfortable. It doesn't seem like cataloging will be all that complex to understand. Professor Humeston went over the tools that we will use for our assignments, and her attitude was pretty much like, students make this more complicated than they need to. There is a tool for every task, you just have to know where to look. Cataloger's Desktop is going to be my good buddy for the next three months.

Other good news: S should be home in around 36 days. I am so desperate to see him.

The ocean breathes salty

I was thinking, on my way home from St. Paul tonight, about the band name Modest Mouse. I guess I always thought that the name came from some shortened weird form of Modest Mussorgsky's name. I don't know why I believed this, but it seemed logical in a completely random sort of way.

Apparently, according to my research, I was wrong. The line of a Virginia Woolf story is also equally random, though, so I think I gain some points for even an equally weird, though incorrect, guess.

Oh Adlai, Adlai, what did you say

After I got home from work today, I was tired and hungry, but my cousin Angie called and so she came over and we hung out for a while before she went to see another friend with "boy troubles." I'm really glad Angie is back, and I hope we hang out more, even more than we did last summer which was only sporadically to do really Angie-Bethy things like going out for drinks and seeing "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" together.

After she left, I went to bed and napped for nearly three hours. Maybe I am coming down with something, or maybe I have whatever it is that makes my sister sleep so much. In actuality, my own sister is having her sleep studied at this moment, all hooked up and "looking like a robot," according to a phone conversation she had a couple hours ago with my mom. I hope they either find something wrong to fix, or nothing wrong at all, because dang does that girl sleep a lot. I don't think I could ever sleep 16 hours a day like she does, not that I would even try.

Obsessed with the latest Sufjan Stevens offering, but I haven't told S about it, just sent it to him and can't wait for him to listen to it and tell me what he thinks. He told me about Bloc Party; I told him about Sufjan Stevens. Fair trade?

Sadness and Truman Capote

Listening to "The Avalanche" by Sufjan Stevens, feeling kind of crummy. I'm not feeling well (lack of sleep? oncoming cold?) and I feel a little sad. I think it's sinking in how Cata is gone, but at least I can always drive to Iowa to see her. It's not like she's back in Colombia or anything.

I have to use different rationalizations for missing different people. Sometimes I tell myself it's not so bad, and sometimes I wallow. I may be wallowing right now.

I've been watching "Capote" when I haven't been sleeping this evening, and I'm really glad I recently watched "In Cold Blood," because this movie really gets into the nooks and crannies of the whole Clutter murders that Truman Capote's story on its own didn't tell. His relationship to the whole story fills it in, makes it make more sense in the grand scheme.

I've long had a fascination with Truman Capote, ever since college when I read most of George Plimpton's biography, which amounted to lots of gossip from that era and social class. I hadn't even read "Breakfast at Tiffany's" when I started reading the bio, but once I had, I had a greater appreciation. I also like the film version of that story, but it's very different, and knowing Capote actually had Marilyn Monroe in mind for Holly Golightly turns my whole Audrey adoration on its head.

Anyway, I recently got my Kurt Halsey order in the mail, and I like it a lot. Don't know what I'm going to do with all of it, but surely someone would like a postcard from me. Melanie? Amanda? Cata? S? Friends, hit me up with your address at beth.ringsmuthATgmailDOTcom.

Listening to Nellie McKay after having the album since May

Not exactly, but sort of. I don't buy all of the "called to singleness" arguments. It works as a good excuse to hide behind and not actively look for anyone to marry, but it doesn't take away the desire for a spouse. I certainly want to be married eventually, and I don't hide that desire from anyone except possibly specific extended family members who would then overly quiz and query me. I definitely do not hide it from my boyfriend. So, we'll see. But I like that song, and the sentiment it expresses. And guess who told me about Ms. McKay to begin with?

+10 points for anyone who guesses 19th letter of the alphabet!

Hints

I bought tickets for me and Andrea to go see Zero 7 in September. I hope it works out for me to go (depending on work and classes). Mike Byrne dropped by last night to drop of some music, and we were looking at the Ticketmaster page for the show. I saw the opening act, and I asked Mike, "Who's Jose González?" and it turned out Mike had just given me the album "Veneer." It was completely random and awesome. I'm really enjoying him, too.

It's something like 97 degrees outside. I think I'm going to go lay in our pool for a while and absorb some of this for January when it's -30 and snowing.

Zing! Went the strings of my heart

Woke up this morning to an interview on public radio about a tribute concert to Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall, recreating Judy's concert there. Took me forever and a day to figure out that it was Rufus Wainwright doing the concert. I've loved Rufus since I was a junior in high school, the year I discovered so much music, it came back out of my ears. I wish I could go to this concert, but I'm counting on a recording being available someday, via the magic of technology.

Since U Been Gone

My Last.fm buddy Michael Byrne gave me a data disc with new music, which included some awesome Kelly Clarkson remixes. I am not exactly the type to listen to a lot of pop music, but Kelly Clarkson won her popularity and, I feel, deserves her level of fame, as opposed to someone like, say, Ashlee Simpson (coat-tail riding, etc). Anyway, the remixes are so uptempo and catchy, listening to them fueled me with energy and I started work on two of my homework assignments.

The assignment that is most interesting to me is the advertisement analysis, in which we are supposed to find job postings in our area of interest and determine the requirements and what types of educational experiences we will need to have in order to obtain these jobs. Not surprisingly, I have already bookmarked many sites for potential future jobs, and so it was basically a matter of printing out copies of the listings. This assignment isn't due for like two weeks but I am fascinated, both by what I've found and what my classmates might turn up. I know already that most jobs require something like 2-5 years experience in a library, and I'm wondering how this will play out for those who have no library track record.

The assignment that is due on Wednesday, the second day of class, is an analysis of survey data I had to collect on at least 10 people's sources for information and library use. The statistics were mostly unsurprising, and I'm able to explain my methodology and sound academic. It's kind of weird, this getting excited about homework thing. I'm not too keen on the readings I've had so far, except maybe a few sections of "Library: An Unquiet History" by Battles and the article by Sallie Tisdale from Harper's Magazine, "Silence Please."

I have to admit that homework is supplying a sufficient distraction from longing to see S. I think I still may be in some stage of grief, but coming close to acceptance. Plus, it is very nearly halfway through May, which means roughly four and a half months to go until he is done with his job in Alaska and can come back to me.

Our weekend starts on Wednesday

Fred Savage and the Unbeatables were rad on Friday night, hanging out at St. John's and somehow finding ourselves in the art building, empty of anyone else, poking around the half-finished pieces and looking at the printmaking equipment with Andrea and Chris. Ran into a bunch of people we knew, good to see Andy and Rich especially, and Tyler now that he's the lead singer for FSU. The new album, "Avoiding the Cubicle" is fantastic, and I love the "No Thanks" to "Opportunities for Tom in Japan," their former lead singer who is currently there.

Somehow when I listen to Hey Mercedes, I feel better about a lot of things, even when I'm feeling pale and tragic. Hence the name of this blog being a lyric from one of their songs. Rob Nanna rocks my face off. And I don't say that about every band, just the ones that really do rock. I like to be able to hear the testosterone behind the emotional lyrics. Hah. I remember being obsessed with "Quality Revenge" when I lived in Lincoln, Nebraska, probably for weeks on end. Listening to that song in my cubicle felt so good.

I keep meaning to start reading stuff for my class, but then I come up with ways of avoiding it, or my brain doesn't process all the words I'm reading after ten minutes or so, so I stop. This procrastination has to stop... tomorrow.

Darn that dream I dream each night

Really enjoying the musical stylings of Electric Nikki. Just two kids making silly music, making fun of Hawthorne Heights, etc. I never thought I would have the urge to put a song on my MySpace page, but I put "Ohio is for Losers" there as soon as I listened to it. "I made that word up!!"

S bought his plane ticket yesterday, figured out the Alaska Marine Highway logistics (much cheaper than flying from Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport to Juneau directly). So he leaves next Thursday for Seattle, and will return September 25. Today his goal was to figure out his car insurance while he's away and call T-Mobile and find out his options. Not being able to send him random text messages will be weird. Not calling him whenever I want to will be hard at first, but then in May I will suddenly have more on my own plate.

I am pretty sure my class will start May 15 and be every Monday and Wednesday night until July 3. Introduction to Library and Information Science will probably help me figure out if this is the proper direction for my life. I'm not really sure how it could NOT be right, but I have to open to the possibility.

Going to watch Cary Grant in "My Favorite Wife," knit on the sweater I started yesterday, and keep my mind off S and unproductive worry.