some stuff
**It's been at least 60 degrees every day for over a week. I'm really hoping this will be some sort of fluke year and it will stay this way all winter.
**Coffee is everywhere, but delicious coffee is hard to find
**I've recently re-discovered a few cd's i own but hardly ever listen to:
"Candycoatedwaterdrops" by Plumb, "Straylight Run" by Straylight Run, and "Transatlanticism" by Death Cab for Cutie.
I love these cd's, so I'm not sure why I don't listen to them more.
**As much as I love the place, I think Panera may be overpriced
**Public libraries truly are great resources for knowledge and culture
**I think that last week's episode of "Grey's Anatomy" was the best ever. It was exceptionally well done.
**The recent poisoning of a Russian intelligence agent, while unfortunate, is very interesting. The tangential stories coming out get a little James Bond-ish... for instance in the late 90s someone (I believe in Britian) was killed after being hit with a poison pellet shot from the tip of an umbrella.
and so it begins...
It's the day after Thanksgiving. Christmas is coming. This is exciting.I'm not one of those people who celebrates Christmas prematurely. As much as I love it, I don't listen to Christmas music or do anything else Christmas-y until Thanksgiving evening. In fact, I've refused to get coffee from a certain UDF just because they put their tree up ridiculously early. I love Thanksgiving, and I firmly believe it should be sufficiently celebrated and enjoyed before moving on to Christmas. My family has a great way of ushering in the Christmas season... During the Thanksgiving meal, we go around the table (youngest to oldest) and share a couple of things we are thankful for. Then we go around again (also youngest to oldest) and share a favorite Christmas memory. After that, Christmas is fair game. This policy/tradition was a little difficult this year, since it was the second Thanksgiving in the history of my life that I did not spend with even one family member. But it all worked out. So now it's time to go all out. I'm sort of convinced it's impossible to have too much Christmas music, movies, or decorations. Bring it on.
one of those days
Yesterday I got in my car after work and realized I had accidentally left the passenger door unlocked all day. Today I got to my car after work and realized I accidentally locked my keys in the car.
I feel like I could prevent so much inconvenience if I would only learn to use my head.
mvemjsunp
So last night I had to make an unexpected trip to and from Illinois, which pretty much sucked.
However, I took the opportunity to listen to Sufjan Steven's "Illinois" album. This is a great cd no matter where you might choose
to listen...but it's as if the planets align and something unbelievable happens when you actually listen on the open Illinois
road.
As with most things, it seems that all was not lost.
And bonus points to anyone who gets the pop culture reference in the title of this post.
waxing nostalgic
I just spent 5 days in the town where I passed most of my childhood. Since graduating high school over 6 years ago, I've barely been back... the occasional break or weekend during college, but never an entire summer or even spring break for that matter. I guess I was also back maybe twice after I moved to California. That said, it was a little bizarre to be back. It felt familiar, but also different.
We've almost doubled our in-town stoplights, going from 3 to 5. There's a new watertower, and also a new diner (which brings our number of non-fast food restaurants to 4). Dave sold the town grocery store, Dave's Food Basket, and it's now a County Market. Also, the cost for a can of soda outside the grocery store has risen from .35 to .50. I was glad to see that the gas station near my old house has FINALLY upgraded to where you can pay at the pump with a card, instead of just having those old fashioned pumps.
The weirdest thing though was when I drove by my old house. There's no remnants of our white picket fence, our backyard fort, or the porch swing on the front porch. It's hard to articulate the feeling I got when I saw other peoples' cars parked outside and someone else's fall/harvest decorations all around. This might sound a little dramatic but it's the best I can do to describe the feeling...it felt almost like there's a part of me there in that house, and I'm not allowed to get to it or it's cut off and I'm blocked from accessing it. Almost like the people there have taken a piece of me. It was actually a little painful, and I didn't really expect that.
My parents moved out of Clinton about a year and a half ago, and so with hardly any family left there I don't expect to be back too often. I'll certainly visit my brother there from time to time, but no more major holidays or breaks will be spent in good old central Illinois farm country. And I'm ok with that. I guess things will just keep on changing and it will be even more strange the next time I am back. After all, I don't know what I expected. I didn't think I could keep traveling, learning and living, and having the time of my life while things there stay the exact same. I guess maybe I wish it could be that way though. A piece of my heart is in that town, and I have everything in my memory exactly the way it was growing up. I don't like people messing with that and changing things...maybe it's just a little unsettling that it's not in my control anyway and of course they're "allowed" to whatever they want.
Anyway, I'll stop rambling about this now.
going global
I heard something really interesting yesterday on a news radio program. An election analyst was on the air talking about the expected turn-out of 18-24 year-olds in next week's elections. She was talking about how it's no surprise that they are expected to surpass previous voting records, and all sorts of other entirely predictable things. Then she pinpointed something...
The host asked about the main differences between the 18-24 year-old demographic and the electorate as a whole. She was right on the money with her whole synopsis, particularly when she concluded by pointing out that this truly is a global generation. She said young people have more trust and respect for the United Nations than they do for their own congressmen/women and even the President. She noted that that is the direct and polar opposite of the general electorate. She went on to elaborate a bit on how this generation tends to be more cynical, but also much more hopeful and truly global thinkers.
It's kind of strange and I don't know why, but when I heard her report I felt somehow validated. What she was saying was not at all surprising to me. There's all sorts of stuff out there to influence young people...everything from Bono's One Campaign to the grassroots Invisible Children movement. It seems easier than ever to find something you can be passionate about and involved in. Hopefully this trend will continue. It's kind of interesting to think what the world will be like in a couple generations when today's 18-24 year old "hopeful, global thinkers" actually are the majority of the electorate.
billboard cleverness
Over the years I've really grown to appreciate cleverness in all its forms. One thing I love about this city is the clever billboards. Well, really I guess just Buskin Bakery, UDF, and Chik-Fil-A billboards. I totally forgot how they provide an unexpected chuckle while in your car. I still crack up at one of Buskin's holiday 2000 billboards... "Fruitcake is soooo last century." Hilarious. Today there was a new holiday UDF one featuring my favorite seasonal ice cream flavor, peppermint/candycane. The tag line was, "Just Be Claus." Can't wait to see what else they've got rolled up the advertising sleeve this year!
