Super Tyrone

just got back from a nice little jaunt to nashville, music city, u.s.a. had planned to spend some time with my dad and step mom, but they were overwhelmed with some work they were in town doing. i don't really know how to put in words all of the silly adventures i had while there for less than 72 hours, but for starters, i will hook you up to look at this band i swindled my way in to see on friday night. and that is all i will tell you about friday night. http://www.supert.com/ my friend jeff played a show on saturday night that was outstanding and big fun. of course, i was still tired from aforementioned friday night, but we had a good time anyway. will write more, with all the frightening details later, but right now, even though the sun is still not completely below the horizon, i am signing off. back to work in the morning!

not-so-sleeping beauty

12:47 a.m., and i am starting my new job in less than 8 hours. "hi, i'm the new kindergarten teacher. what? big black circles? um, no i am not using drugs. but thanks for asking." i should have done a giant 3 mile walk tonight to wear myself down. instead, i unpacked more boxes and was reminded of how i was one book case short when i broke down the last apartment to move here. ack. maybe if i turn on the fan, it will make me sleepy. maybe if this giant knot were not pulsating over top of my right shoulder blade. it's an anxiety know. i know. about what? about the $7 U.S. Dollars i am about to have to last me almost an entire month. that should be interesting. no, really, i love beans and rice. daily. so, what shall i encounter on my first day? lots of fresh faces. teachers who have never been in charge of their own classroom. i did discover the other day that my immediate neighbor in my new school is one of said brand new teachers, so at least there will be one person nearby who knows less than i do, as a matter of fact. and i think i will be the only bilingual teacher on my grade level. yikes. oh, well, at least there will be no one to compare me with on a regular basis. at least proximity-wise. am chatting with pal online, and i hate to say this, but i should be sleeping.

diarios de motocicleta, parte dos

so i just watched motorcycle diaries for the third time in six months or so. this time, i just bought it. it really makes me want to ride on the back of a bike with someone i enjoy all about south america. or even mexico. although i think more south would be a little more lush and new to me. how do i make that happen?

June 11th, 2005 with pal Jeff Steele after his performance at The Weisman Center Presents...Words and Voices, Marshall, TX, USA.

fantasías

i'm getting more and more in touch with the starving artist phenomenon. although, clearly, i am not starving, i am working in a limited funds situation, at least for the next couple of months. today, i went out to pick up the saturday dallas morning news from my leafy green yard, and i brought it in to read over a few cups of coffee. and i was completely overwhelmed. sort of the same feeling you get when you go off to college for the first time, and you realize you are surrounded by the top 5% of every graduating class in america. no more big fish little pond, if that had previously applied to your life place. there are millions of multi-cultural opportunities. even in choosing what grocery store to shop in. millions of recipes to try. millions of art installations. i read the whole thing, front to back, and i sat stunned. i have been living for the past three years in a situation very much unlike this one, and i had to stop and pray and ask God to help me focus on being who He wants me to be. and to make wise choices about what to do with my time and where to seek my place. but i still have been nursing a few new fantasies. thus the title of this entry. first, in the paper yesterday, i learned that there is a new IKEA store opening in nearby Frisco, Texas. (all gift cards and donations appreciated!) that's big fun, because it is simple and affordable and will likely be unapproachable until after i start making my real new salary! which made me start thinking about this funny girl i met in nashville once who declared, "if i'm not married by the time i'm 35, i'm just going to start registering for stuff i want to see if people will give it to me out of pity." too funny. second, i am listening to some music this morning, and i'm really being encouraged to re-start guitar lessons which i took in nashville years ago from a fabulous teacher named rob jackson. he was taken aback at how quickly i took to the guitar, and how i had hands large enough to make bar chords, "most girls can't make a good bar chord. you're good." and why am i sitting here in this house with fine acoustics not practicing the guitar? because i'm a chicken, i guess. so i took that fantasy one step further and said, "well, if i really hone that skill, then i can take voice lessons to remind me how to sing properly and find that voice i know is in there and maybe actually sing in front of people." sheryl crow was well into her thirties before anybody really cared who she was, right? i don't have any need to be famous, i've seen how that milks the joy out of too many talented people. but, i think it would be fun to sit around a camp fire with friends and have a valid contribution every now and then. which led me to ponder, "what are the first songs i would learn how to sing and play?" should fantasy find its way to fruition? 1. broken things / julie miller 2. you don't even know who i am / gretchen peters 3. delta dawn / alex harvey & larry collins 4. echoes of love / kim richey & tim krekel 5. mil besos / emma elena valdelamar 6. you take me for granted / leona williams 7. from the ashes / austin cunningham & hilary lindsey 8. less like scars / sara groves 9. if you want me to / ginny owens 10. i would be stronger than that / gary burr we'll see. that's all i have for now. time to continue my self-pedicure.

Annette is the lovely and VERY interesting lady with an omelette shop in the French Quarter in New Orleans. Go eat there. It's by the Chateau Sonesta on Iberville.

packing boxes is not my idea of fun

i'm sure it appeals to someone. somewhere. why that person is not my soulmate and here supervising this godforsaken move preparation is beyond me. i am writing to distract myself from the fact that i have packed nothing since returning home from church tonight AND from the other fact that i really just want to go through the drive-through at taco bell. i will not go to taco bell at 10:44 pm. i will not go to taco bell at 10:44 pm. i will not go to taco bell at 10:44 pm. my friend karen came to visit me friday night, and we went to get a drink at the local bar. it was fairly low-key upon our arrival, but then the crowd picked up a little. and my extremely overt admirer walked in. ack. i guess if there is only one nice bar in town, you have to understand that you are going to continue to run in to the same people over and over. and smoke-free is worth it to me. to sum it all up, i will transcribe four text messages said admirer sent to my cell phone (no, i did NOT give him my number. it is published on promotional materials for a music series that i manage, so don't judge me!): (oh and all messages are transcribed exactly as written as much as it hurts me to not edit the grammar): 1) your beautiful 2) your even more beautiful than mere words can say 3) U R! Believe in your beauty i do 4) Damn I wish I could speak Spanish (why? so you could be annoying in 2 languages?) the longest conversation i have had with this man, mind you, consisted primarily of discussion of spiritual matters and the life of Christ. so i really don't believe i've encouraged him in any other realm. i refuse to become the girl who is just rude to people -- how would i ever know if i was throwing away an opportunity to effect an eternal change in someone's life? yoiks. i'm concentrating really hard trying not to let the fact that my move is next week overwhelm me. or the fact that a silly little thing called money is going to be more than a minor obstacle for the next three months. it will work out. where, oh where, is the easy money fairy when you need her? speaking of, the natural vanilla bean ice cream fairy dropped by last week and spread a lot of joy. and hips. see http://www.bluebell.com/icecream_flavors.htm for one of the greatest reasons in the world to live in texas. although i hear it's making its way 'round the nation. and i just learned that for the low, low price of $89 (US Dollars), you can ship 4 half-gallons anywhere in the U.S. good lord, would someone (other than, say, delta burke or kirstie alley) really do that? that is more than $22 per half gallon for ice cream? isn't crack cheaper? that's two printer ink cartridges! that's a barrel-and-a-half of oil. more importantly, that's about seven tubes of MAC lipstick, not including tax. and if you take the lipstick route (www.maccosmetics.com), your arse won't grow. the taco bell urge has almost dissipated. i've packed almost my entire kitchen. i think i left out 3 boxes of pasta and 2 bags of microwave popcorn. highly unmotivating, even for a midnight snack. i'm rambling about horribly unimportant things. see below if you are looking for poetry, philosophical musings or real reactions to real life! i'm going to sleep now. no tacos. no packing. no worries.