things the grandchildren should know

Today I finished reading Things The Grandchildren Should Know, the autobiography of Mark Oliver Everett (a.k.a. "E" of eels). It's an astonishing recount of the series of tragedies that he has faced in his personal life. The poor guy. What bad luck. Makes you want to give him a hug.

What do you do? When, after having been raised in a neglectful home wrought with dysfunction and mental illness, after your sister commits suicide and both your parents die, when you are the only one left, and you struggle with loneliness and depression and your own string of neuroses, and, not surprisingly, you have a thing for crazy women...

He deals with it. He copes the only way he knows how. Create music. And try to make a living out of it, which also proves to be a major challenge. But he succeeds.

It was sad reading about all of the misfortune in his life. But, in the end, I found it inspiring. His acceptance of it all. Somehow he prevails -- and manages to find hope. You never know, I'd say he might be just about as normal or crazy as the rest of us, considering.

I recommend the book. If you're a fan of his music, it places his songs into context, which explains a lot. Also, his writing style makes for an easy read, as Sam says. It's conversational. It felt like I was listening to a friend talk. Makes me happy that I smiled at him that last time we saw them perform at Tipitina's. He was finishing a song at the keyboard with his head down, then he looked up at me. I was sorta right there in his face. I smiled. He smiled back -- barely, but nevertheless. It seemed real. I felt like I had had an affect, that we shared a moment. I hope it cheered him up. Wish I could remember which song it was. Hang in there, E!




what if i was not your only friend
in this world
can you take me where you're going
if you're never coming back

i'm gonna fly on down for the
last stop to this town
i'm gonna fly on down
then fly away on my way

2007, my year in review

Let's start with the subject of travel... The major highlight of my travels this year was the cruise. Our first cruise was a week-long jaunt over spring break with family and friends wherein we found ourselves sailing into exotic ports along the Western Caribbean.

We climbed ancient Mayan ruins in Mexico, experienced some of the culture and natural beauty of Guatemala, snorkeled the barrier reef in Belize... Very exciting, very memorable!

I landed in New York City for the third time, accompanying members of my family on their first trip to the Big Apple. You could say I was a sort of tour guide. It was a lot of fun. Shut up, it was!

After a few days of sightseeing, we struck off for New York state to attend my nephew's momentous graduation at the esteemed West Point Military Academy. We toured the historic campus and got to hang out with Danny.

We squeezed in a trip to the beach... Orange Beach. Sipping margaritas and splashing around with the stingrays. We had a great time. Maybe next time we'll try parasailing? Not!



We completed a weekend roadtrip to Dallas, Austin and back, in three days, to see Rufus Wainwright perform two great shows -- one at the Nokia Theatre in Grand Prairie and one outdoors at the legendary Stubb's BBQ in downtown Austin.

Mid-August. Outside. 6 hours. Standing in one spot. It was totally worth it.

In other concert news, I saw Tori Amos perform for the 12th time! Her shows are always an experience.

While we were in Houston, we visited the Butterfly Center at the Museum of Natural Science. It was pretty cool.

On the way home, I saw Galveston for the first time. It has its own thing going on. It was nice.

Some other shows we caught closer to home...
Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveShow at the New Orleans Arena. Quite a production!

Matt Wertz at the Parish, where I discovered Jon McLaughlin and Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers.

Francis Cabrel at Festival International de Louisiane in Lafayette. I still can't believe he came here to perform -- est-ce que ce monde est sérieux?

Fest for All in Baton Rouge. I went to check it out while everyone else was at Jazz Fest in New Orleans.

The Police reunion tour at the New Orleans Arena.

Dave Barnes and Matt Wertz Two Birds / One Stone Tour at the Varsity, a.k.a. how I discovered Gabe Dixon.

And let's not forget Josh Kelley at Wal-Mart on Siegen! (You know, the guy who just married Katherine Heigl a week ago.)

Some miscellaneous events that occurred...
Dave Eggers reading from his latest book at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. (Neeerds!!!) What is the what?

Spanish Town Mardi Gras parade (Should I mention the Isis parade?)

Monster Truck Show at the Centroplex Baton Rouge River Center



Femme Femme Femme exhibit at NOMA

Kathy Griffin FTW!!!1 How awesome is Kathy!



Movies I enjoyed...
Helvetica special screening courtesy of the New Orleans Film Society!

Paris je t'aime

Into the Wild, which I had the pleasure of reading before I had the pleasure of viewing on the big screen.

Other book moments I liked...
On the beach, leafing through some of Wil Wheaton's short stories.

Eat Pray Love. How else can you sum it up? Just remember that I read it before Oprah (and potentially Julia Roberts) ruined it.

What else?
I played music for the first time in years at the family reunion.
I think I did a funeral too. Did I make it through the year without doing a wedding?? Not to worry, I already have two booked for 2008. :)

Almost had jury duty for the first time.

One of my childhood friends died in a car wreck.

Another friend moved away.

We lost Uncle Gene. :(

Some of my best friends at work got better jobs and moved on. Literally and, I'm hoping, figuratively as well. The world has turned and left me here. Should I mention that I almost got promoted? Nah...

Made some new friends. McGregor, party of four?

My niece got engaged.

Matt got engaged! (All my babies are growing up!)

At least one of my siblings got divorced, possibly two?

I tried a yoga class!

Experienced what I would consider my sickest day ever.

And... I started a blog!

Suck on that!

Here's to 2008!

eat pray love

When I was selecting library books to bring to the beach a few weeks ago, I desired a good travel tale. Craving escapism, I suppose. I checked out a few books which were equally appealing to me. As a result, I've started on each one, trying to quench that desire. It's like I am anxious and cannot decide which one to go with, so I want to read them all at the same time. What is the deal?!

Yesterday, I picked up another book on my list that fits the bill. I began to read it last night, and before I knew it I was almost 50 pages in. Hooked!



Here is the account of one woman's search for everything across Italy, India and Indonesia.

From the jacket flap:

By the time she turned thirty, Elizabeth Gilbert had everything a modern, educated, ambitious American woman was supposed to want — a husband, a house in the country, a successful career. But instead of feeling happy and fulfilled, she was consumed with panic, grief and confusion. She went through a divorce, a crushing depression, another failed love and the complete eradication of everything she ever thought she was supposed to be.

To recover from all of this, Gilbert took a radical step. In order to give herself the time and space to find out who she really was and what she really wanted, she got rid of her belongings, quit her job, left her loved ones behind and undertook a year-long journey around the world, all alone. Eat, Pray, Love is the absorbing chronicle of that year. Gilbert's aim was to visit three places where she could examine one aspect of her own nature, set against the backdrop of a culture that has traditionally done that one thing very well. In Italy, she studied the art of pleasure, learning to speak Italian and gaining the twenty-three happiest pounds of her life. India was for the art of devotion, where, with the help of a native guru and a surprisingly wise Texan, she embarked on four months of austere spiritual exploration. Finally, in Indonesia, she sought her ultimate goal: balance — namely, how to somehow build a life of equilibrium between worldly enjoyment and divine transcendence. Looking for these answers on the island of Bali, she became the pupil of an elderly, ninth-generation medicine man and also fell in love in the very best way — unexpectedly.

An intensely articulate, sensible, moving and funny memoir of self-discovery, Eat, Pray, Love is about what can happen when you claim responsibility for your own contentment. It is also about the adventures that can transpire when a woman stops trying to live in imitation of society's ideals. This is a story certain to touch anyone who has ever woken up to the unrelenting need for change.

dancing barefoot

I finished reading Dancing Barefoot this weekend. It's a book of short stories by Wil Wheaton that I happened to find it at the library when I was picking out some books to bring to the beach last weekend. I started reading it at the beach, but I had to stop just after the first story, Houses in Motion. It tapped into something and made me feel incredibly sad. It's a great story. If you get the chance to read it, let me know what you think. I enjoyed the rest of the book as well.

into the wild

Just finished reading Into the Wild. It's not quite what I had expected. I suppose the movie will deliver a more detailed, firsthand account of adventure.

I'm in your thoughts, stirring up your wanderlust.