20 April 2010
Today was dedicated to schoolwork. I wrote up the rough draft for an essay on the Lovely Bones. Then I spent my lunch hour hunting down internships to write about (for a 2-page paper due next week). Sometime in the afternoon, I read a short story that needed to be read before class tomorrow. This evening, I attended a presentation by author Terry Tempest Williams.
I have to write a paper on this reflection – but I’m not sure how to go about it. She didn’t really have a structured speech. Her words were poetic, lyrical even, and I wasn’t sure exactly how to connect the snippets of her thought together. I think the paper will be heavy on the “reflection” portion, light on the “about the event” portion.
21 April 2010
During my commutes to and from work, I usually spend the mornings listening to the news. On the ride home, I listen to audio books. Only problem is, audio books on cassette are getting more scarce with each visit to the library (I think the libraries replace them with CDs when they wear out). For the past week…I’ve had no book to listen to. So I tried listening to music.
When doing this, I generally toggle between five radio stations: The Current, which certainly has the most eclectic selection. As a non-profit station, they also whine about donations and membership drives too often, which renders that channel un-listenable for several weeks out of the year. They also play way too much hip-hop. It’s pretty much what they play every morning. If there’s anything worse than listening to hip-hop during the day…it’s listening to hip-hop in the morning. Then there’s their sister station of Classical music, which is often very inspirational – I like to listen to the station when I’m trying to brain-storm for writing ideas. But today, I didn’t feel like either of those channels.
Meanwhile, corporate stations KQRS and KQQL are normally decent for finding my favorite classic rock songs. But today, both stations were practically tripping over themselves in an effort to play Rolling Stones: In the car today, I heard Under My Thumb, Beast of Burden, You Can’t Always Get What You Want, and Miss You. I even heard I Love Rock and Roll which, of course, is not a Rolling Stones song, but it was inspired by one. I don’t dislike the Stones; in fact, I own several of their tunes. I’m just not sure what the constant infatuation is with them. Are they really the Greatest Band in Rock and Roll? Answer: No. I shut off the radio and drove the rest of the way home in silence.
In class today, we broke into small groups. In my small group of five, I was the only one who showed up with a draft of the essay. My uniqueness in this regard – even though it was the due assignment – rendered me as an overachiever amongst my peers. One girl in the group anointed me a “go-getter” and suggested I listen to the Young Jeezy song of the same name. A guy in our group pulled out his iPhone, called up the song, and played it for us all to hear. I assured everyone I would alter my will so that this song is played at my funeral.
Anyway, on the way home I checked out the other station I occasionally visit: Cities 97. In the evenings, they play acoustic sets, which are often just stripped down, lazy versions of songs you’re already sick of hearing. But tonight, they played Peter Himmelman’s “Dixie the Tiny Dog,” and for that, I was grateful.