Monday, Nov. 25, 2002
Back to the regularly scheduled program, posted at 10:37 a.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com The weekend was a good one. I accomplished a lot, had a fair amount of fun, had a bit of down time, and had a couple of good workouts. It was exactly the type of weekend I needed coming into three pre-vacation days that I'm sure will not be easy.On Friday, I headed down to Washington and hung out with a friend down there. We went to some bars, and it was a pretty good night. I was groped, then had a little bit of fun with this girl, so I can't complain. It didn't lead anywhere outside the corner of the bar, though, and we ended up hopping to the next place.
I didn't drink, and drove home late that night. The Baltimore winds had gotten furious that night, and my car felt like it was going to lift off the pavement and sail away. It didn't, though.
Saturday was pretty cool. I did some laundry, then got ditched twice by Josh and Mike. Not sure what happened there, but we had made plans to go thrift shopping, and they didn't wait for me at all. Then I met up with them at the thrift shop, and they left without telling me. I was a little pissed off; we'll see what kind of explanation they have next time I see them. I then headed out to Towson for a Trader Joe's trip and a workout.
Teri and I headed over to Renee's party, which was pretty cool. It was laid back, and I think a few people were bored, but Teri and I made up some "Loaded Questions" and we played that. I still love that game, although it is more fun when you know everyone and there is a smaller group than nine.
Towards the end, Renee was talking to me all alone. I am convinced now that she wants me. It usually takes me a while to figure it out, but I'm convinced now. I still am not interested, however.
Yesterday I did a lot of Christmas shopping. I was proud of myself, as I usually do not start until the day after Thanksgiving. I would wager that I'm halfway done. I did the shopping out at White Marsh, where I went to Target and this brand new store called Bed, Bath, & Beyond. I think it's a chain, as it seemed familiar on the inside, but it was a neat store. Very girly, but that was appropriate since I was shopping for Grandma, Mom, and Heidi. I was mainly looking for Grandma and Grandpa, as I'm seeing them on Wednesday and if I get the gifts bought before then, I don't have to worry about mailing them out later. I was able to find a photo collage frame for Grandma and an electric windchime for Grandpa, so I saved myself the cost of mailing it later. Go, me.
At Target, I concentrated on other things. Heidi is moving into a new apartment in January, and she's really broke (it's genetic), so she's asked for household items for Christmas - stuff like dishwasher soap. I got her a box of 133 trash bags, a gallon of 409 cleaner, and a swiffer. I hope she was serious with her requests.
Before that, I had gone out to The Book Thing to get some books. I got 78! The selection was really good, plus I've been getting a lot of books for friends lately. I'm sort of broke this Christmas, so I'm going to be getting friends some carefully chosen books from The Book Thing. I've been working on the project for weeks now, and I'm compiling a good stack for people. I hope that didn't ruin anyone's surprise.
Against my better judgment, I went into the used CD store. I decided to buy myself a couple of CDs, as they were cheap and I have a long trip coming up and I got a bonus on my paycheck this week. I bought Abbey Road. Last year, Gail got me my first ever Beatles CD - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - and I've gotten a lot of enjoyment out of it. So I decided Abbey Road would be the next logical step. I also bought the Dixie Chick's new CD Home. There are a number of new CDs I want that are out now - India.Arie, Tracy Chapman, Aimee Mann, John Mayer (lost it) - but the Dixie Chicks' was the cheapest, so I got that one. I've never been a huge fan, but I caught a radio program they did in conjunction with the new CD, and loved what I had heard.
So far, the CD is quite good. I was listening to their cover of "Landslide," and was struck by its beauty. I generally enjoy cover versions of songs that I like - it's like looking a great piece of art from another angle or through a different prism - and think it's pretty silly to think of it in terms of being better or worse than the original. Just take it for what it's worth and think of it as doing something different with it. That's not to say there aren't some cover songs that I just hate. Faith Hill's version of "Piece of my Heart" takes a gut-wrenchingly emotional song and turns it into a piddly fluff piece. Ugh. Ditto Rod Stewart's take on Tom Waits' "Downtown Train" - it robs the song of its personality.
But I digress. I really do enjoy "Landslide" a lot. The Dixie Chicks definitely take their own stance on the song, giving it a light bluegrass feel and incorporating it with some of the most gorgeous harmonies I've ever heard. For some reason, the lyrics really struck a chord with me this time around. Actually, they reminded me of Hugasoul, so much so that I called her in the car during the song once the lines, "I've been afraid of changing / because I've built my life around you / But I'm getting older / Even children get bolder / and I'm getting older too" came on. I said, "There are lines in this song that totally remind me of you," and she knew exactly which ones they were. I spent the rest of the day listening to the song about 18 times while running my errands. I also am loving the song "So Far Gone" and "White Trash Wedding" is brilliantly funny.
Showing TKAM film today. Should be a good day. It has been so far.