WSotD - Cardinal Edition

Lots has been going on in my life. But I haven't felt like writing about it here. And I haven't felt like writing inane posts about everyday occurrences like I usually do. But it is almost my favorite holiday, and my costume is fantastic, and I have a new job, and I am recovered enough to run again, and, well, I guess I am ready to write again. And to get back into it, I give you a brand! new! WSotD. 'Cardinology' is finally here - and though I heard a few songs in Cleveland, I am looking forward to listening to it over and over again and falling in love with it like I did with the rest of the Cardinals' work. And this particular song was one I loved and subsequently learned I had misunderstood the lyrics to - and now that I know the true lyrics, it hits me in a whole new way. So here it is, and I am back.

What makes them walk away, after all these years?
These years of learning it the hard way
By the lessons from the tears
I know it’s not a game
But it feels like losing when someone you love throws you away
I’d fix it
I’d fix it
I’d fix it
I’d fix it if I could
And I’d always win
I’d always win
I always win the in end
How easy was it for you making those plans you made?
Before I became something for you, you know to dislocate
I know it’s not a game
But if feels like losing when
Someone you love throws you away
I’d fix it
I’d fix it
I’d fix it
I’d fix it if I could
And I’d always win
I’d always win
And you would always lose
Look what I did to you
Look what you did to me
Fixed it
Fixed it
I'd fix it if I could
And I’d always win
I’d always win
I’d always win in the end

Chicago Marathon!

I did it! My legs are still ridiculously sore, and I look like a gimpy giraffe when I am forced to walk down stairs, but the bottom line is I finished my first marathon. My original goal time was 4 hours. The week leading up to the race, however, I was pretty sick, spent lots of time sleeping, and lost about 5 pounds, so I adjusted my goal to simply finishing. Also, race day was pretty warm, and since the organizers think 8 am is a more reasonable start time than 7 am (hint, it isn't. pleeease start the race earlier!), you end up running in the hot sun for the toughest part of the race. Anyway, I slowed my pace to compensate for how freaking hot I was and ended up finishing in 4 hours, 30 minutes. I am really excited to be finished, and I will definitely train for another marathon soon. I would really love to accomplish my 4 hour goal! Many thanks go out to my friends who came and cheered me on, to my mom who flew out to Chicago just for the race, and to my sister (an Ironman triathlete) who gave me fantastic training tips. If you are thinking about running a marathon, I highly recommend it, and I wish you the best of luck! Thanks out there for all of the support leading up to the race!!!

I think I waited too long . . .

. . . to post about ACL, Ryan Adams, and Boulder. But I don't have internet at my house and finding time to post has been difficult. So here are my shortened updates on the past week of my life:

ACL
* ACL is like Lollapalooza - but not. It is much less spread out, you can actually see every single act that you want to. That also means there is more noise bleed, and you have to make sure you are perfectly positioned between the speakers at each stage. All in all, ACL is much more laid back, with a slightly older crowd and fewer people who were absolutely wasted. And now for my favorite bands:
M. Ward, Mason Jennings, Swell Season, Vampire Weekend, What Made Milwaukee Famous (they totally redeemed themselves from their Lolla performance), Foo Fighters, Raconteurs, Black Keyes, and lots of other little bands that I marked in my little guide that I don't have with me. It was a blast.

Ryan Adams
* So if you ever read this blog, you know how much I love the genius. Eddie and I went on an adventure to Cleveland (since Ryan didn't come to Chicago for this tour) to see Mr. Adams and his merry band of Cardinals. What can I say?? I cried through the whole show. It was that good. He played almost 30 songs, mostly from 'Cold Roses,' 'Easy Tiger,' and oddly enough, 'Demolition.' His new songs are amazing. He is no longer the infamously erratic performer people might remember - he appeared to be in a great place artistically and simply got on stage and played his heart out. And I cried. And it was perfect.

Boulder
* Well the Buffs couldn't quite keep up with those Texas boys, but I was proud of them nonetheless. And Boulder is still a magical place for me. I always feel happy when I am there, almost like I am home. The mountains, the funky people, the beautiful campus - it holds a very special place in my heart. Aside from one awkward moment when EVERY boy I dated in college was in the same freaking bar at the same time, I had a blast seeing old friends, drinking at my favorite bars, and topping off the trip with Cosmo's pizza, YUM.

And now I am off to retire on my couch. I picked up a cold that I really need to shake before the marathon. The marathon that is on Sunday. I am nervous. So I am off to hydrate and consume vast quantities of any cold medicine I can get my hands on.

** Sidenote: Doesn't the medicine "Abilify" sound like a word Charles Barkley would use?? "He can abilify his team to do great things. Man, I admire that abilify." OK, it totally does. And the commercial always makes me laugh.

October Blog Book Club Pick and Other Things

Alrighty Daisy blog regulars, welcome to my little blog. I am about to dash out the door to go see the one and only RYAN ADAMS but upon threat from Daisy of great bodily harm I figured I should post my book club pick first. I had an incredibly hard time choosing a book that I thought a majority of people would find interesting and such. I like reading random educational-ish books for fun because I am an unabashed dork, but I ruled those out for the rest of you kind people. And my two favorite fiction books are "The House of Mirth" and "Anna Karenina" neither of which are particularly light and I think I would hear audible groans from the blogosphere if I picked one of those. So, after all of that explanation, here it is. I ventured away from the fiction genre to pick a book that I read last summer that really captured my interest and stuck with me for a long time. And I re-read it to make sure it was as good as I thought, and it is. Don't be put off by the length, it sucked me in right away and before I knew it I was finished (seriously, like 5 days and I was done). And since it is almost Halloween (my favorite holiday of the whole entire year) I wanted something that had sort of a creepy factor - this for sure does. So. The October book. "Strange Piece of Paradise" by Terri Jentz. Without giving anything away, I can tell you it is her true story of recovering from being attacked by an anonymous guy with an axe (yeah, an axe). It weaves together several of my interests - a good story, weird people, criminal law, mystery, and a dash of feminism. It should be quite easy to find and I really hope that you enjoy it - or at least find it interesting.

And the other things? Well, I have made the executive decision to not check my bar results today so that I can enjoy the concert. I may or may not check them before I go to Boulder so that I can enjoy homecoming. And I don't think I am going to post my results here because, well, I don't want to whether they are bad or good. So if you want to think nice thoughts for me that would be great and much appreciated and we will work from there.
Hopefully I can post a review of ACL before I leave for Boulder (ACL was freaking awesome, in short). Now I am off to see my most favorite musician in the world with my bestest friend, Eddie!!! Have a great day and let me know how you are enjoying the book!!!

Things that are Exciting (in no particular order)

1. I am leaving for ACL in 2 days. Yes, I already went to Lollapalooza and this is technically almost the exact same thing but whatever it shall be awesome. And I shall see Mason Jennings again. And he shall probably sound like Mason Jennings - again. And G. Love and Swell Season and Foo Fighters and, just, YAY.

2. Blackhawks season starts tonight. I will be forced to hobble up to my seat as I ran 20 miles yesterday. 20!!! Basically, I could have run out to the suburbs. But I hate the suburbs, so instead I ran up and down the lakefront path. And hockey is fun. Nope, that made no sense.

3. In one week, I get to see . . . RYAN FREAKING ADAMS!!! In concert! Close enough for him to sweat on me and/or notice me and decide that in fact he does totally want to hang out with me and perhaps drink coffee while playing me some songs. Yes.

4. After that, I get to go to BOULDER! For homecoming! And drink delicious Colorado beers and eat delicious Boulder foods and watch the Buffs! Playing football! YAY!!!

5. And when I return from Boulder (yay!) I am running the marathon, for which I am mostly ready but still somewhat nervous.

So, basically the next 2 weeks are going to completely kick ass. I won't be around much, other than to post the October book pick for the book club, but I will be having uber amounts of fun. And then I should probably try to find a job. But for now, viva la unemployment!!!

On hurricanes . . .

Don't misinterpret the following comments. Because I understand that many people have been simply unable to flee the path of an oncoming hurricane. And in NOLA during Katrina, there were clearly aspects of race, poverty, and social justice all at odds with the evacuation. And I am NOT referring to those who suffered (and are still suffering) the effects of that disaster.
I am speaking here of those who choose to stay in a mandatory evacuation zone in Ike's path; those who told reporters, "I've always wanted to sit through a hurricane!" or "Last time traffic was sooooo annoying, I would rather sit and drink a beer" or any other random reason that I saw listed by those interviewed who were capable of leaving, who knew Ike was coming and knew they should leave but didn't. And now they are waiting for rescuers, people who are busting their asses and risking their own safety to help those who could have helped themselves in the first place. It really pisses me off.
In AZ, in a posted "Flash Flood" zone, if you drive your car into a wash during heavy rain and get stuck, the fire department will still come rescue you. But you know what? They charge you for that rescue, because you risked your life and that of the officers who had to abandon the other things they could have been doing to save your dumb ass who went into a flood on purpose (and the people in the news helicopters will mock you, and me too).
So for those who wanted to party through Ike, and who didn't board up their homes and who needed to be pulled out of their own idiocy, I hope you say a big "thanks" to those working to help you. Because if it were me, I might kick you in the shins.

To everyone else, Murphy and I hope you pull through and wish you the best.

So Much to Say . . .

Wow, being out of range of any news, music, television, and people other than the river rafters for a whole week was a rather odd experience. I am just getting back into the swing of things and have so much to talk about!

* The Trip - I will start off by saying that I absolutely recommend rafting the Colorado to any of you delightful readers. It was amazing and I will post pictures as soon as I get the film developed. 8 days of crashing water and hot sun and being covered in sand and sunscreen all while seeing some of the oldest rock formations on the planet. I got to bond with my dad, set up campsites, ride scary-as-hell rapids, and eat camp food. Oh, and poop in a box. The box called Oscar. Let me just say, I never want to poop in a box again. It was simply uncomfortable to sit next to the river in the bushes with frogs staring you down while trying to "separate the functions" because no pee can go in Oscar. Ugh. But other than that, an awesome trip. My dad and I were the only ones who planned on doing all 8 days - after the 4th day the group stopped at Phantom Ranch and all of our new friends hiked out and we got a whole new bunch of passengers. The first group was mostly comprised of families and foreigners (the Germans were my favorite, and so efficient!). The second group was a rowdy bunch of middle-aged ski club people who were not my favorite but who were sort of fun I suppose. I pretty much hung out with my dad and the boat guides (one of whom was so cute though way too old for me and married, sigh). When I post the pictures I will for sure post more stories from the wild.

* The Buffs - I missed both of our first two games due to my trip, but we are 2-0, YAY!!!

* The Book - I finished the blogger book club pick "Beach Music" and will send my review over to Daisy/post it shortly. The book sort of drowned in the river which is too ironic for me to handle.

* The Pick - On our way up to Lee's Ferry, my dad and I heard about the Palin pick on XM radio. I have so much to say about this pick, but I will keep my initial thoughts brief. First, I totally called it - I predicted McCain would select a female VP candidate to bolster his (undeserved) "maverick" reputation. Second, she completes the most anti-choice ticket in recent memory, being against abortion even in cases of rape or incest. Should make for great SCOTUS picks if they win, no? Third, to all of the commentators who think Hillary supporters will now shift to McCain because he picked a woman, you are freaking idiots. Hillary supporters will recognize Palin's anti-choice credentials, and her conservative stance on other issues and will not just blindly vote for her because she is a woman. Also, can we stop using the gendered stereotype of the "bitter, vindictive" Hillary supporters who will turn their backs on democrats simply because they didn't get their way??? Former Hillary supporters will make their choices for many reasons, not because they are bitter, angry, petulant women. K, thanks.

Phew, so I guess that's it for now. I look forward to returning to Chicago for my fabulous fall of fun. Oh, and this was my 100th post, so I am doing a little "Yay for my 100th blog post" dance out here in AZ. Glad to be back.