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I chipped a nail in the afternoon
I hit my nail and two tiny white dots appeared
now lining up
diagonal with the chip

if I wore nail polish, I
wouldn't be able to tell.

I have a new freckle on my middle finger
I thought it was a crumb,
attempting to brush it off.

just what I need. . .
more freckles.

when I worked construction,
I took my gloves off a lot
because it's hard to hold a nail
with gloves on.
So now my hands get really dry
every now and then
they crack and redden with heat

I'll always have Minnesota winters
to thank for that.

I work with paper at work
filing, binding, writing on it.
I always have miniscule paper cuts
either new or slowly healing.

They can really get you down.

I miss my hands as they used to be
versatile in any weather
always smaller than others
only marked by the small red spot
birthmark? scar?
the one in the upper palm of my right hand

you can barely see it now.
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Since we got digital cable, my sister and I have become hooked on Degrassi: The Next Generation on the-n (noggin). So now I've broken off from OLTL, and am addicted to a newer, shorter, more Canadian show. Is this a good thing? I don't know.

We only started watching the n for old reruns of "Daria". And now we are far gone!
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by the New P*rnographers:

Should you go lookin' for a testament to youth in verse
variations on the age old curse
you blame the stations when they play you like a fool and like a fool you get played with.

Baby, think twice, maybe it's not all,
maybe it's not alright.

Finally a decent picture of the exodus,
I don't know much but other singers know less,
and can we control ourselves for once?
Keep our hands off each other,
keep our minds on the sum of each other.

So should you go lookin' for a testament to youth in verse, dedications to the same old curse,
don't blame the stations when they play you like a fool and like a fool you get played with.

Baby, think twice, maybe it's not all,
maybe it's not alright.

Oh my sweet witness, can't you hear the voices?
They're telling the children to rock for their choices.
The bells ring no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no....

The New Pornographers - Electric Version Lyrics

I love playing this song over and over. I think it's the bell-rings that get me. "No, no, no, no, no . . ."

I thought I had lost my a bunch of my CDs, but I found them last night while I was looking for my address book. So now I have my CDs, but where the hell did I put my address book? Sheesh. If it's not one thing, it's another.
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I talked to Kristina last night, which affected the dream I later had. I dreamt that I went back to New Mexico, and William and Kristina welcomed me, even though I had just been there. They told me I needed to rent a car, and I could get one for 60 cents a day down the road. I got to see Julian, but not hold him.

Then I was at some strange version of a local church where the volunteer celebration was being held. I was in a dress, running up and down balconies in anticipation of my welcome speech. I was looking for L, the executive director, trying to get my speech from her, and couldn't find her. I finally did (after a while) and she gave me her notes for my speech, written spread out on fifty business and post cards. She gave me the deck of them, and I couldn't make any sense out of them. I told her I was going to just wing it, and someone would have to translate for me. I never got to do my speech because the audience kept singing hymns. I woke up about this time.

I must be more nervous about my speech tomorrow than I thought. I think I'm merely anxious because I haven't heard from S yet about what they want me to say. I did e-mail her Monday threatening to make something up if I didn't get my speech ASAP. I'm afraid I may actually have to do just that, and make do with my own mediocre Spanish translation.

I went to EBP for church on Sunday morning to announce the celebration and invite everyone to come, and I introduced myself and my sister: "Mi nombre es Elizabeth y esta es mi hermana, Leah." I realize I should have said, "Me llamo Elizabeth" or something to that effect, but the speaker up front informed me in Spanish that they offer Spanish classes on Sunday morning. Ack!
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I admit I watched Clubhouse (a Mel Gibson and Aaron Spelling produced show), and got surprisingly into it. I could watch it regularly, if I can remember when it's on. It will be my post-Gilmore Girls/pre-Queer Eye show.

I also like that Jack and Bobby show. The writing is just so good, the acting is good, and the premise original.

I watched Lost last week and didn't care much for it.

sidenote: Conan to Take Over 'Tonight' in Five Years. I'll finally be able to watch Conan regularly. I'm sure his show will keep its unique style. I hope so anyway.
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found via Keith:

The Last Video by ABBA on ITunes. I started watching it at work, and decided it was probably best saved for home. The bit I was able to see was really funny!

(Don't watch it if you don't like puppets.)


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Lamest pickup line ever - "Did you just touch my ass?!" Some (hopefully drunk) guy used this on me during the FF show. I thought I wasn't hearing him correctly, so he had to yell it a couple of times. I just felt very sorry for him as I denied touching him in any manner or form. He said, "Okay. Well, what's your name?" So I told him and he said, "Elizabeth, you have a good night." I said, "You too," and patted his arm as he walked through the crowd.

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I am back at work this afternoon after my crazy weekend at Zilker Park. I left two audio posts from the fest, and I was lucky to be able to do that, as cell phone reception was so unpredictable. Leah's phone wouldn't work at all anywhere in the park, even though it showed it had perfect reception. She couldn't call you, and you couldn't call her. You couldn't call out from Melissa's phone in certain areas, but she could get your call. My phone worked all weekend though, which is strange when I consider there are many spots in Austin where I have no reception at all (Hyde Park, my church, etc.) and others do.

I'm-a walking

My legs ache. I feel like an old lady. Why, you ask? Because Friday and Saturday we walked a whole hell of a lot. We parked on 4th and Congress on Friday and took the Gold Dillo to Barton Springs Road. We didn't have to walk too far (about half a mile) to get to the fest, but we walked all the way back that night (1.9 miles). Then Saturday we parked at a lot on 3rd and Congress, thinking we could catch the Starlight Dillo (with its special ACL hours). We instead got on a wrong bus, misinformed by the driver that it went to Lamar and Barton Springs. So we had to get off at the school for the deaf and walk from there (1.7 miles). This walk was HORRIBLE, because it was in the middle of the day and the sun was beating hot on us. We were drenched by the time we got to the fest, so we found a spot in the shade of a small tree and stayed there for most of the day. Then we walked back to the parking lot, which seemed more enjoyable than the night before. Perhaps because we stopped at Wendy's on the walk back. Yesterday, Melissa and I weren't going to walk anymore, so we took the free shuttle and were much happier when we got to the festival.

I did get to walk on the new (to me) pedestrian bridge by Lamar, and it was gorgeous at night. I got to do it two nights in a row, no less!

Alone again or. . .

I didn't get to see all the bands I wanted to, just because it was so freaking hot and I got lazy. I missed Modest Mouse and Gomez. Most of the acts I caught were okay. We didn't get too close to the stage for anyone.

Bands that were so great they inspired me:
Franz Ferdinand (second favorite)
Los Amigos Invisibles
The Wailers
Calexico (my favorite performance)
Ben Harper

Bands that I thought were pretty good:
Bob Schneider
Blind Boys of Alabama
Patty Griffin
Toots and the Maytalls
The Gourds
Ben Kweller (almost in the first category, but I didn't get into his first short solo set)
Elvis Costello
Spoon (verging on inspiring greatness)
David Garza


Bands that somewhat disappointed me:
Neko Case (no New P*rnographers music. Waa.)
Broken Social Scene (didn't get it.)
Sheryl Crow (I was only able to catch a couple of her songs, but she sounded flat and hoarse)
Monte Montgomery (the crowd was a tad too frat boy for me)
G. Love and Special Sauce (huh?)
The Pixies
Wilco (only caught the last part of the act and couldn't get into it)
Cake

I didn't see any awful bands, but the bands in this last category made me wish I'd brought a book to read.

Overall, it was a great experience, and I know I got my money's worth. Whether I have the energy to deal with it next year is another story. It will all depend on who is on the schedule!

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Leah wants me to add that she was napping during the posting of this entry. She was laid out on my blue fleece blanket, being stepped over by many people, and actually stepped on by one. Ergo - we left the blanket at home for the next two days of the festival.


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Sunday, Leah and I and the rest of the church-hopping group went to University Presbyterian Church where none of us felt too comfortable. I was uncomfortable because of the dress I wore; I guess because I wear them so rarely I am ultra-self conscious when I do (plus this dress shows a bit of cleavage). ANYWAY -- Leah instantly found her friend from camp, and while sitting with her, was discovered by someone else from camp - Emily.

I recognized her, but am hesitant to admit that I didn't want her to recognize me. We weren't that close at camp. I talked to her anyway and we had a nice "what are we up to" discussion. The item we didn't discuss: her sister, Helen. This was the first time I had seen anyone from Helen's family since her murder. It was so strange.

Every now and then Helen will come to mind. Something random will remind me of her. Not that we were at all close when she died. She was just an important part of my childhood, and forever involved in my memories of camp. She was my first real pen pal. We would see each other for a week or more during the summer and then write each other during the rest of the year about our crushes and favorite songs. I distinctly remember Martika's "Toy Soldier" being discussed in a couple of the letters.

I'm getting slightly shaky writing this. . .

suffice it to say, it was bizarre to see Emily. I'm glad she's doing well, because someone had told me that she had been in trouble. I can't remember who - oh, it was Matt. I think.

Matt, who I also thought of while we were at UPC. Urgh.

I came to work Monday and discovered an email from an acquaintance from school who had found this site by looking up "Luckett Hall" (see this post from June) after hearing of its being demolished. It really made me think of how much personal stuff I am putting on this blog. Should I be less personal? If so, there's really no point to keeping this blog. I've got my other one, after all. I still don't know what I think about people who just barely personally know me reading this. I know Leah and Alice read it, but that's about it. Other regular readers are people I've met through the blogosphere.

That's probably all from me for the week, although if I remember, I'll try to do some audio posts from the music festival this weekend.


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The Austin Chronicle has a feature article on Michelle Schumann and her fascination with John Cage. The birthday concert is tonight at 8pm!

Schumann's encounters with Cage have drawn her attention to the tonal decay after the hammer strikes the string – that point when the pianist must pass control of the sound to the resonating properties of the instrument and of the room. She says that "when people are listening to music, they are listening to the music at that moment but not to how the music resonates after that moment; it is those moments that take you into a different world. Even at the end of a standard symphony, on that last note people are up and clapping without listening to that halo of sound, and they may miss that glorious sound if they are not reminded of what is there."

The Austin Chronicle: Arts: Attention to Sound
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I just started watching The Tender Trap on TCM, and I keep thinking of the last time I watched it - the morning of September 11, 2001. I had just woken up (at this point I was still unemployed) and turned on TCM immediately. It's still one of my favorite channels. I can't remember at what point it was that my mom called me, but I was pretty into the film. She told me that a plane had hit the World Trade Center and I was only listening halfway. I'm lousy on the phone when the TV's on. She told me to turn to a morning news show, and that was it for me. About 45 minutes later I flipped back to TCM, and it was showing the same coverage everyone else was.

So those two things are forever connected in my mind - The Tender Trap and September 11. It's a strange relationship, but there it is.

And the thing is, I have yet to see the film all the way through. We'll see how far I get tonight.

(I wanted to do an audio post on this, but audioblogger is wonky, again.
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Born Before 1986? Then You Are...

My favorite: The current college freshman class was "spared the TV ads for Zamfir and his panpipes."

This is very sad, indeed. I joke about Zamfir every time I hear panflutes. It's not very often, but if I hear them on the radio and any member of my immediate family is in the car, I'll announce, "It's Zamfir!"
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I talked to Kristina this weekend and she told me that when she called our mutual acquaintance LM to tell her about Julian's birth, LM mentioned that she recently realized that she is going through menopause. LM just turned 26 the day Julian was born.

Kristina told me, "Menopause is a symptom of a syndrome that they have diagnosed her with." I reminded her that LM was born with Turner's Syndrome, and had to take hormones when she was much younger. It is still disturbing to find out that she doesn't even have a chance to have kids. She told Kristina, "I didn't want kids, but now it's not even an option." Apparently fertility is extremely rare among those with the syndrome (less than 1%).

I feel extremely sad for LM; she had so many emotional issues already, and she didn't really need this. I still don't imagine I can deal with her right now. Maybe I'll send her a card or something.

"Sorry you've got menopause"? I just don't know.
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I've gone to this celebration the past few years they've had it, and they are always great! I'm sure this one will be no exception. Michelle Schumann is a fantastic pianist, and we are lucky to have her in Austin. I try to catch her performances whenever possible.

Happy Birthday Mr. Cage! 4th Annual John Cage Birthday Celebration Features Music for the Toy Piano

Michelle Schumann, piano; Tom Burritt, percussion; Lisa Clement, soprano

Friday, September 10, 2004
8:00 PM
First Unitarian Universalist Church, 4700 Grover
Tickets: $10 at the door

John Cage 2004
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Mismaloya, Mexico from LSC. Roberto B.
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Positano in south Italy, from vedova. Click for full size pic.
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The last house I worked on as a construction assistant was in Columbia Heights, a northern suburb of Minneapolis. It was a nice suburban area with plenty of street parking for my yellow Habitat truck (Sometimes I miss that truck, even though it was a Ford). I had worked on this house from the (basement) forming stages, and on this particular day we were spraying texture on the walls and painting.

It was about midafternoon, and we were at the cleaning up point of the day. This process would take from 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the crew of volunteers that day. This day we had a crew from a local Lutheran church, which included some teenagers (and a really cute guy who had given me his chicken sandwich for lunch, since I didn't eat red meat). Some of the crew were still painting, some were spreading the sprayed texture, but most of us were starting to clean up. Then we heard an ambulance drive by.

My site supervisor, L, was really worried about what was going on, since the ambulance stopped close to our house. She started walking towards the ambulance, and the driver yelled at her to stay where she was. She came back inside and told us that he yelled, "Ma'am, stay back!", and we were all a bit confused. We still went on cleaning. Two guys from the crew were outside cleaning out the texture sprayer (a long and arduous process) when a neighbor from across the street came by. He told us that we should get inside the house, because there was a shooter in the neighborhood, and that it was on all the local channels.

L ordered everyone to go down to the basement immediately, even the kind neighbor. So we all were stuck in the basement, hearing helicopters overhead, staying as far as we could from the windows. The poor teenage girls were huddled in a closet space, and I tried to calm them down, but I didn't do a very good job. I myself was just amazed that this was happening. I remember pacing the basement floor in my clunky workboots, muttering statements of disbelief. L was on her Nextel phone with someone from the office, who was keeping us posted on events.

I can't remember how long we were down there, but it seemed like forever. Finally we found out that it was clear. I stood outside the back door and watched the various news helicopters pass through the air.

I don't think those teenage girls will ever work on a Habitat house again (they're in college now, I'm sure).

As I drove home in my yellow truck, I grasped on to the wheel and tried to breathe deeply. I don't think I was able to catch my breath until I got into central Minneapolis.

Here's more about it: New Law Imposes Lifetime Bans on Gun Ownership by Released Felons
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The next film series AFS will put on begins next week. I've already made my reservation for Happy Together, a Wong Kar Wai film showing next Tuesday. There were a couple others I'd be interested in also: His Secret Life, Fleeing by Night, and maybe Fire.

complete schedule of films
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I'm trying to decide which is more annoying: people who watch loud movies when I'm trying to go to sleep (old apartment), or people who watch loud TV in the early morning and wake me up (current situation). For the second morning in a row, I've been awakened around 5:30am by a neighbor watching TV in their room. My solution for this is to turn the fan in my bathroom on, turn my floor fan up a notch, put the covers over my head and nap until I really wake up. This morning I jumped up and down three times on the floor, since my knocking on the wall next to me yesterday morning didn't work. I think they turned it down this morning.

What are earplugs for, if they don't work for these situations? Urgh.
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I got hooked on this story when I was getting ready for work this morning. I got choked up hearing about the relationship of these two athletes. It is very moving. Enjoy!

NPR : Twyman and Stokes: Friendship That Transcends Time
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