So, today was a ton of fun! I got yelled at early in the morning for something that was completely my fault, but I will be excuse-y and say that I was discombobulated and and got into work later than I wanted to and I was still trying to get organized and there's that whole "my grandmother just died" thing. I almost started crying on the phone with my boss. Well, I won't make that same mistake again, for sure, never. Unless it really is an accident, because communication is not my firm's strongest suit.

It was weird, today. Every time I didn't think about my grandmother, I was fine. When I did, I got really, really, unexpectedly sad & teary. Again, I'm not used to this, this losing people who are very close to me. She's really, really gone. She hadn't been herself for a while, even before she started on her big decline, but still. It's going to take a while to sink in.

ALSO: Drew Brees is fab, and I hope the Saints go all the way. (I've said it before, but it's still in play, this idea) The Saints made the Patriots look like pansies tonight.

On a lighter note:

( MEME time! )

I want out of my job, so, so badly. I think this other co-worker of mine might take a job in Boston, even though she never considered moving back up there. And that other guy is leaving...I guess depending where/when he gets into school. Work is just going to suck. Of course, the smart panda thing to do would be to throw myself into looking everywhere for potential opportunities, but I remain lazy and unmotivated, and doing "homework" on a Friday night. A Friday night when I should be at L's, with his straight friends (for once!). I did make myself some pasta/pesto and squash for dinner and it came out half well. That spaghetti squash is a little trickier than I thought. Tasty, though.

My father asked me if he could talk to the career counselor about me and I'm kind of opposed to it. They can't use the "we're paying for it' excuse b/c I'm paying for once in my life. I just don't want her to tell him how unmotivated I am, and then I get yelled at. Again- my own fault. Sometimes I can't get out of my own way. Little things at work piss me off on a daily basis- people leaving half open coffee packets or wet paper towels on the kitchen counter. People leaving boxes around. Feeling like a housekeeper. Missing phone calls. Having a daily battle with the guy who covers for me, and he's off growing plants and attracting flies and generally being a nuisance.

& now, via alternatending( oh hai, meme )

Bed, what's that? Pfft.

MEME instead, via smartie145 

Name your top ten favorite musicals (In no particular order), then answer the following questions. Some are about musicals in general and others are specific to the numbers.

1. Gypsy
2. Oklahoma!
3. Rent
4. Carnival
5. A Chorus Line
6. Into the Woods
7. Spring Awakening
8. Cabaret
9. Bye Bye Birdie
10. Guys & Dolls
( and...SCENE )

Sometimes it's funny to look back on what music you were listening to at a certain point in your life. I always think about the summer before my senior year of college when I was interning at MSNBC and commuting about 20 minutes each way, every day. I was listening to this crazy combination of Annie, Belle & Sebastian, and Jason Mraz. I remember thinking that the drive wasn't nearly long enough. I remember sitting at my desk, thinking about how I couldn't wait to get back into the car so I could listen to Annie's "Heartbeat" again.

Some people say that they were raised around music. I really wasn't, but some of the stuff my parents introduced me to has had a lasting impression, witness:
-Phil Spector/Wall of Sound stuff
-Donna Summer
-Natalie Cole
-Frank Sinatra
-the Gypsy soundtrack
-Paul Simon's Graceland and Rhythm of the Saints
-this random Elton John greatest hits tape, I think it's #3

( Meme, via [info]inlipstickred )

I think my mother told me that I have to lose weight, subtly. Awesome. It's totally true, but I wish she had just said, "You really need to do something" instead of being like, "what if you went to a spa for a week?" Come on now, I'm not that overweight. But I can't wear skirts right now and it's kind of embarrassing. Such is life, as they say.

Oof, this is kinda long; but I'm bored. Also, NBC, shell out for more music for your White House specials, or don't shell out at all, mkay?

( survey via Michele )

I'm a maniac with the posting today; sorry.

Taken from various facebooks, 25 Significant Albums (in no particular order):

1. Jeff Buckley / Grace
2. The Replacements / Let it Be
3. Pixies / Doolittle
4. The MC5 / The Big Bang
5. Nirvana / In Utero
6. Black Sabbath / Paranoid
7. REM / Automatic for the People
8. The New Pornographers / Mass Romantic
9. Jimmy Eat World / Bleed American
10. Phil Spector / Back to Mono
11. Green Day / Dookie
12. Ted Leo/Rx / The Tyranny of Distance
13. Less Than Jake / Hello, Rockview
14. Stiff Little Fingers / Inflammable Material
15. Television / Marquee Moon
16. Hacienda Classics
17. Beastie Boys / Paul's Boutique
18. Wire / Pink Flag
19. Queens of the Stone Age / Rated R
20. TV on the Radio / Young Liars EP
21. David Bowie / Ziggy Stardust...
22. Oasis / What's the Story, Morning Glory
23. Big Star / #1 Record/Radio City
24. Queen / Sheer Heart Attack
25. Okkervil River / The Stage Names

( and 25 songs that knocked me on my ass )

PS: Kelly Clarkson totally has her Eeeeee! back. Now please come tour so I can see you and rock out with a bunch of 15 year-old girls. Actually, I have no clue what her fanbase is, so...

I still love going on trains, and I'm psyched for tomorrow evening. I just wish the destination wasn't a funeral, but so it goes. I'm reading "Silence of the Lambs" again, and Clarice is a pretty cool character. I'm picking up a lot more humorous things this time around. The best part is that I won't get nightmares since I already know how it ends.

( half-way to half-past [meme] )

viamoirariordan ;

Step 1: Put your music player on shuffle.
Step 2: Post the first line from the first 40 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing.
Step 3: Strike through the songs when someone guesses both artist and track correctly.
Step 4: Looking them up on Google or any other search engine is CHEATING!
Step 5: If you like the game post your own.

*more evidence of my cracked musical taste

1. I'm a player and I know it/ but with you girl, I never ever show it
2. Well the smart money's on Harlow and the moon is in the street
3. Hearts on fire /my love for you brought only misery
4. And I'm reminded of the time that I was blinded by the sun
5. I have lightening if the stars dry up to guide me
6. I sit on the edge/ always scared to look down/ I look away for a second/ and see we shut ourselves in
7. I wanna destroy you/ I wanna destroy you
8. What ever happened to Leon Trotsky/ He got an icepick that made his ears burn
9. Cabaret license/ I haven't been by since/ It goes against all I've learned/ but it seems that the tables have turned
10. Lives in Edinburgh/ Just across the road/
11.  Frosty the snowman was happy, jolly soul
12. I'll be the madness that carries you away
13. Give me one last kiss/ before I walk out of this
14. I am a viking...
15. Clouds are marching along/ singing a song/ just like they do
16. What you makin' man?
17. I followed footprints to the edge of the moon/ while the ? moves around the room
18. (metal song)
19. There's the moon asking to stay/ long enough for the clouds to fly me away
20. All I ever asked of you/ was a copy of Garage Days and tell the truth
21. Won't you please let me go/ these words lie inside they hurt me so
22. You talk like Marlene Dietrich/ and you dance like Zizi Jarmel
23. Under the iron shop/ the farewell ladies wink
24. Last year's wishes are this year's apologies/ every last time I come home
25. Woke up with a feeling/ and found me lying on the floor
26. So I should have known better with a girl like you/ that I would love everything that you do/ and I do
27. Oh ramblings a nervous reaction/ in certain situations and factions
28. You took my heart, misery/ you taught me blues
29. When I was a young boy/ I wanted to sail 'round the world/ that's the life for me/ living on the sea
30. Last week I had the strangest dream/ where everything was exactly how it seemed
31. (couldn't find lyrics)
32. I was slung lo/ and so gung ho/ for anything to get me to start
33. I was hanging with some friends/ in the parking lot one night near the summer's end
34. I'm coming over/ I'm coming over/ I'm coming over/ so move over!
35. Oh one last kiss/ give me one last kiss/ it never felt like this/ no, baby, not like this
36. I'll be the grapes fermented/ bottled and served with the table set and my finest suit/ like a perfect gentleman
37. They pulled in just behind the bridge/ he lays her down/ he frowns/ gee, my life's a funny thing/ am I still too young?
38. This might be your only chance/ to prove it on your own
39. I hitched a ride with my soul by the side of the road/ just as the sky turned black
40. If you've got leaving on your mind/ tell me now/ get it over/ hurt me now/ get it over/ if you've got leaving on your mind

Yep, that's a banner selection.

I wanna go hooooome now. I love Thanksgiving so much: food and family and no stress of buying people presents (does that make me a bad person? say no). Except for my mother does not approve of my planned outfit and it's like sheesh, I'm 24. I emailed her to just make sure it was alright and she calls me and says, "bring a few things" and I wanted to say, "you've got to be kidding me, Ma." No such luck.

meme redux via moirariordan 

1. Of all the bands/artists in your library, which one do you own the most albums by?
Mm, probably The Beatles. None of my other favorite bands have that many albums!!

2. What was the last song you listened to?
right now - "Blue Tulip" by Okkervil River

3. What’s in your CD player right now?
Fall Out Boy / Take This To Your Grave
David Bowie / Ziggy Stardust...
A Northern Soul Obsession
Daft Punk / Alive 2007
Beastie Boys / Paul's Boutique

4. What song would you say sums you up?
I used to say Radiohead's "Just (You Do It To Yourself)" but now I don't know. Maybe "At The Ballet" from A Chorus Line.

5. What’s your favourite local band?
Ha ha. I mostly make fun of NJ bands.

6. What was the last show you attended?
M83 - awesome, despite the veritable panic attack.

7. What was the greatest show you’ve ever been to?
I don't have a greatest, but Okkervil River but on a pretty damn good show.

8. What’s the worst band you’ve ever seen in concert?
Tie between: The Lifestyle (or something like that) - horrible synth/glam band that opened for Interpol, Ex-Models, which opened for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, this horrible band that opened for Pretty Girls Make Graves, Minus the Bear (opened for Cursive), and this hardcore band that opened for another band I saw. I fucking HATE opening acts, for the most part.

9. What band do you love musically but hate the members of?
None that I can think of. I hear Britt Daniel from Spoon is a dick, but I'm not swooning over the guy because of his personality.

10. What show are you looking forward to?
Nothing at the moment. I'm looking forward to seeing Ted Leo eventually, I think. I've missed him like 4 times now. And I want to catch Neko Case on her next go-round, since I wussed out on her the first time I could have gone.

11. What is your favourite band shirt?
My Cursive shirt. Simple, band name in white lettering on a black shirt, but with the R reversed. I felt like kind of a bad-ass wearing it.

12. What musician would you like to hang out with for a day?
Neko Case, fer sure. Or like, David Cook or Patrick Stump. Can I just have some weird cadre of all of them around me?

13. What musician would you like to be in love with for a day?
Patrick Pestorius from Okkervil River. Or maybe Zach Condon from Beirut- we could be horribly pretentious and swan around Brooklyn.

14. Commodores or solo Lionel Ritchie?
Commodores

15. Punk rock, hip hop or heavy metal?
Punk rock

16. Did you know that filling out this survey makes you a music geek?
It fucking shouldn't.

17. What was the greatest decade for music?
I think every decade has awesome, special music.

18. How many music-related videos/dvds do you own?
Maybe 5 or 6.

19. What is your favourite movie soundtrack?
Rushmore's really, really good.

20. What was your last musical ‘phase’ before you wised up?
I was listening to the Top 40 stations before I went back to oldies/discovered classic rock.

21. What’s the crappiest CD/record/etc. you’ve ever bought?
Probably "Candyass" by Orgy. I think I listened to it twice, and just the "Blue Monday" cover. God, I do not miss buying a crappy CD for one song only.

OMG Heidi and Spencer eloped!!! Get bent, srsly. I went and watched my backlogged Heroes. I can't take it too seriously anymore and it's no longer appointment TV for me, but it's alright. I guess I keep hoping Kring will pull the show out of its slump, but I don't think he knows what he's doing. Too bad, poor chap. I think I should try and watch "True Blood," too. Sounds just insane enough to be appealing, and HBO has a semi-legit hit on its hands, finally. Vampires!!

MEME; via romanticalgirl 

THREE JOBS I HAVE HAD IN MY LIFE:
it's aaalll been administrative

THREE PLACES I HAVE LIVED:
NY, NJ, MA (big doings)

THREE SHOWS THAT I WATCH:
Gossip Girl, Skins, How I Met Your Mother

THREE PLACES I HAVE BEEN:
France, California, South Carolina

THREE PLACES I HAVE BEEN THIS LAST WEEK:
work, Duane Reade, Grand Central Station

THREE PEOPLE WHO EMAIL ME REGULARLY:

THREE OF MY FAVORITE FOODS:
salt and vinegar chips, drunken noodles, pizza

THREE PLACES I'D RATHER BE RIGHT NOW:
at a beach/by a body of water, at a concert, at a museum

THREE THINGS I AM HOPING FOR IN THE NEXT YEAR:
That the country will come out of its shame spiral, at least a little bit.
That maybe I'll go on a date.
That I'll figure out what I want to do with my life.

Nifty meme, nicked from expatiates:

a music meme thingie using OKKERVIL RIVER titles


1. Are you male or female?
Savannah Smiles

2. Describe yourself:
Lost Coastlines

3. Describe your day:
Blue Tulip

4. Describe where you currently live:
The Room I'm Hiding In

5. If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
Westfall

6. Your best friend is:
(Shannon Wilsey on the) Starry Stairs

7. Your favorite color is:
Black

8. You know that:
Our Life Is Not a Movie Or Maybe

9. What's the weather like?
Red

10. If your life was a television show movie, what would it be called?
No Key, No Plan

11. What is life to you?
A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene

12. What is the best advice you have to give?
Get Big

13. Describe your ex?
It Ends With A Fall

14. Your current love interest is?
You Can't Hold The Hand of a Rock and Roll Man

15. What's your favorite hobby?
Calling and Not Calling My Ex (this one really suits me, actually)

16. When you think of your friends you think:
A Girl in Port

17. What do your friends think of you?
Another Radio Song

18. What does your current love interest think of you?
(if I had my way) Lady Liberty

19. What do you want to be when you grow up?
The Latest Toughs

20. The best way to end a long day?
On Tour With Zykos

courtesy of honestys_easy

( long-ass meme )