Dirty Water
We're flying to Boston tonight so that we can go to the World Series parade tomorrow. I even convinced Victor to break out his camcorder.

Best. Day. Ever.

So, yesterday I had a job interview, which went OK, I think. I should know whether I am a finalist for the position by the end of the week.

I decided to go to the Morrissey show, especially when I learned that Diana was coming down alone. Billy didn't want to chance not getting a ticket. Victor decided not to go - he wanted to watch the World Series instead. So Diana and I headed to Fort Worth to the show.

A little background information: I met Diana in high school, and she introduced me to Morrissey and the Smiths. Honestly, I may not have made it through the rest of high school without him (and her). College too. Morrissey has a way of making you feel as if he is singing directly to you, telling you that everything is alright, it's ok to be different, and never lose hope. Diana saw her first show while I was in Ireland. I saw my first show without her in El Paso. So this was the first time we had been together.

On the way to the show, we listened to the ballgame, and we heard Johnny Damon (my favorite Sox player) hit a home run.

We got there and found our seats... 7th row! However, before Morrissey came on, we noticed the security guards picking girls to stand in front of the stage. Then other people started trickling down there too, so I said "Let's go!" We positioned ourselves in the second row of people standing. I was right behind a photographer, and he said he would give me his spot after two songs.

When Morrissey came out, I got a little teary. He was so close! The photographer left, and I scrambled for his space, and ended up having to share it with this other girl, who was determined to squeeze me out. She didn't. Eventually, Morrissey came over to our section during "I Like You," and he grabbed my hand while singing the "I like you..." part. I damn near hyperventilated.

Later in the show, I was able to get Diana up next to the stage so that she would have a chance to touch him. He came by several more times. First, Diana grabbed his calf ("I touched his calf...with my wedded hand!"), then later I think she was able to grab his hand. I grabbed his hand a few more times, plus legs and shoes. Yes, we're crazy. We also saw him roll around on the floor, showing underwear and buttcrack. And he ripped off his shirt. He had lost some weight since my last show, and he looked pretty good! I even shook hands with his bass player, the ever hott Gary Day.

We left the show walking on air. Diana said it was the pinnacle of our friendship. When we got to the car, we turned on ESPN radio right as the Red Sox won the World Series.

I called Victor. He was hysterical, in tears. I called his sister Gabi, she was the same way. When we got home, Victor was dissecting the season with his friend Eric on the phone, pacing the floor, drinking Guinness. Wearing his Sox shirt I bought him earlier this year. He wore it to work today over his dress shirt.

We're going to try to make it to the parade in Boston on Saturday.

Big day
I have a job interview today. Wish me luck.

I also have tickets to Morrissey in Fort Worth tonight. Which means I'm missing Game 4 of the World Series. It was a tough decision, but I think I'll go to the concert. Especially since Billy and Diana are driving down from Arkansas to go with me.

Go Sox!

A sad day for music fans



John Peel died last night.

Even over here in the US, John Peel had a huge influence on my music taste. The main reason was that he gave many obscure bands their big break in the UK. Even into his sixties, he was always on the forefront of the music scene. He brought amazing bands into the studio to record Peel Sessions. Without him, at least half of my music collection would probably not exist, because the bands would never have gotten any exposure. Funny, I never knew he got his start in Dallas. I only knew him through BBC Radio 1.

Read the BBC News account of his passing and obituary. There are also some touching tributes on the BBC site. NME also has a nice news item. Peel will be sorely missed by the UK music community and by music fans everywhere.

Don't mind me...
... I'm in Arkansas. I had a plan to come up for my parents' birthdays, but it turned out that we didn't really do anything for them. Today, Diana and I took a trip to Siloam Springs to go to a yarn shop. Arkansas is fun! (seriously, though, we had a good time and it's really beautiful here now with the leaves changing)

GO SOX!

Hell yes!!



We're going to the World Series, baby!

Blood on the Mound



See that red stuff up there? On the sock? That's blood, folks. Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling has a dislocated tendon in his ankle. Rather than not pitch and possibly lose the ALCS, he had an operation on Monday that put three sutures in the ankle, holding the tendon in place. The entire night, his sock was soaked in blood, but he kept pitching. He ran to first base twice to keep Yankee batters from getting a hit. When he limped off the field to end an inning, Victor yelled for someone to carry him off instead. But Schilling didn't give up... oh no, he kept pitching. Seven innings. This guy has balls.

Now, normally, I'm not one for hyping up sports stars. For the most part, I think they're overpaid, overcoddled, and that Americans spend too much time idolizing them instead of doing something more productive. But Victor has taught me a thing or two about Boston fans. They deserve this win, and Schilling did everything he could to provide it.

For more Schilling, check out Bill Simmons' glowing tribute. Read Bob Ryan and Dan Shaughnessy in the Boston Globe. Or read any number of threads on the Sons of Sam Horn message board. I have been following the game threads on that board the past couple of games, and it has helped me a lot.

And Yankees, A-Rod is a cheater and a fraud.



I'm glad you have him instead of us.

Local weekend.
We played it pretty close to home this weekend. Saturday, Kurt and Meredith were in town, so we got together with them. After having brunch in our apartment building's clubroom, the four of us drove to Fort Worth to see the Kimbell Art Museum. They didn't have much of their collection out for viewing, but we saw some really nice pieces anyway. I particularly enjoyed Mondrian's Composition No. 7 (Facade).

We wandered around downtown Fort Worth looking for a place to have lunch. Fort Worth's downtown area is much more alive than Dallas' downtown, which made Victor and I jealous. It's even got two movie theaters, while we have to go quite a distance to find one here. There were lots of trees, quaint buildings, and cobblestoned squares. We eventually had very yummy Tex-Mex at Mi Cocina.

Sunday, we went to the State Fair with Dan and Cynthia, who live in our apartment building. We saw the livestock barns, the auto show, rode the ferris wheel, and ate like maniacs. What did we eat? Corn dogs, fried cheesecake, fried Twinkies, cheese strudel... and then the tummy ache set in.

P.S. Go Sox!

New additions!
I'm pleased to announced that Victor and I have some new additions to our household. We have four little goldfish now. I haven't named them yet, but I made sure to get ones that looked unique, so that I can tell them apart.

My last fish, Stuart, was named after Stuart Murdoch of Belle and Sebastian. Diana got a fish at the same time (we were roommates then), and named it Richard, also a B&S member. Stuart passed away last year.

What should I name these little guys? Any suggestions?

I went to a wedding, and all I got was...

So we went to Victor's cousin's wedding in Houston on Saturday. I hadn't met any of his extended family yet, so I was introduced to many an aunt, uncle, and cousin. Victor endured much teasing, because everyone said he would be the next to get married. It got much worse for him when I caught the bouquet. If only his family knew this was my fourth or fifth bouquet... they just seem to come right to me. And yet I'm 27 and still not married. Maybe this one will do the trick?

Also... dude, you better be pulling for the Red Sox tonight. We had plans to hit the State Fair of Texas tonight, but the Red Sox have put an end to that... there's no way we can miss these games. And in the NLCS, it's Mark vs. my grandma tomorrow night.

Ouch.
Never again will I mix cheap red wine and cheap beer. Never again.

I did learn one thing: nothing cures a hangover like deep-cleaning the house. Scrub, scrub, scrub...

Your TV Guide
Kris kindly provided the scoop on this week's Wife Swap episode. We went to college with one of the couples, Jeff and Amy Beaver. I've never seen this show, but I'll be watching tonight.

Also, how excited am I about the new season of Gilmore Girls? Every episode has turned Victor and me into squealing 13-year-old girls. For those of you who want to catch up with the show, season one is out of DVD now, and they just started replaying old episodes this week on ABC Family in the afternoons.

Oh it's such a perfect day...
This morning I woke at 7:30 with a huge Texas thunderstorm going on outside. Wind, lightning, thunder, and torrential rain... my favorite! I went back to sleep and slept until 11:00. Sleeping is my favorite thing to do in this weather, besides drink tea (which I can't do right now, since someone used all the milk making pistachio pudding). It's still overcast, drizzly, and 66 degrees! Perfect.

October is tied with April as my favorite month. You see, I love spring and fall. They're both damp and colorful... green in springtime, and orange/red/yellow in fall. I really miss the leaves turning back home... Arkansas autumn can rival New England autumn for the prettiest leaves. One thing October has in its favor over April is Halloween. We haven't really decided what to do or what costume to wear yet this year. I think we're going to miss pumpkin carving with our friends in Austin, too, which is a shame. I doubt we will have a jack o' lantern at all this year, since we really have no place to put it. Still, yay October! Someone get me some apple cider!

You're in my heart and I know you'll always be
OK, so maybe I'm a follower. Chris at Uffish Thoughts, an ex-Arkie herself, has put together a list of some of the best stuff to see from the old stomping ground, the Great State of Arkansas. She mentions so many places from my youth and post-youth, and it has brought a wave of nostalgia. Kris has already beat me by linking it himself, but I find that I can't control myself, so here goes.

I found this site a couple of years ago. I'm not sure where I found it... either Googling for something or linked from someone's site, I suppose. But it's utter genius. The Arkansas Roadside Travelogue catalogues the best of the legends, characters, and places the Natural State has to offer. It's tongue-in-cheek, but there is a lot of love mixed in with the wackiness. I'm familiar with a lot of the stuff on the list, and I've read the entire thing (hey, I was working in a call center during the slow period... three or four calls a day).

I grew up in an area called War Eagle, which is in the middle of nowhere, about twenty miles from Rogers, AR (where I went to school) and thirty miles from Fayetteville (where I went to college). In times past, War Eagle was an actual community, with a resort hotel, school, post office, blacksmith shop, mill... the whole nine yards. These days, it's just farms, new houses built by rich town people (grrrrrrr), and a couple of tourist attractions, both of which provided me employment during the summers and weekends.

War Eagle Mill is only a few miles from my house. I worked there on and off from age 13 through college. Most of that time was spent in the Bean Palace Restaurant, where my sister and mom also worked part-time. I also spent some time working in the gift shop. For a small mill in the middle of nowhere, War Eagle Mill is internationally famous because of its ridiculously huge arts and crafts fairs, held in May and October each year. The lives of the locals are turned upside-down for about a week twice a year, as hundreds of thousands of tourists clog our small roads.

The other tourist attraction of the area is the War Eagle Cavern, where I worked as a tour guide. Right after I left, it came under new management, and there seems to be a lot more offered there now (overnight stays! spelunking tours!) than when I was there. It is not a spectacular cave, but it does have some charms. Plus, I find it amusing that its big claim to fame is that the straight-to-HBO Frank and Jesse was filmed there... well, a scene of the movie anyway. I remember when it was filmed in Northwest Arkansas (hell, I auditioned for it!), and much of the movie was shot in the War Eagle area. I know some of the extras in it. It's pretty freakin' bad though. I tried watching it and failed.

Anyway, I can't help love Arkansas. It's where I grew up, my parents still live there, and I'll probably end up getting married there. If you're intrigued, I urge you to check out Chris's list as well as the Arkansas Roadside Travelogue. Arkansas... it's totally the Little State that Could.