heck yeah

So Neil Gaiman is speaking at the Cleveland Public Library downtown on October 4th (Thanks Christine!).

Needless to say, I am so there.

roomies

So I met our potential new housemate for real last night. We sat next to each other at the roommate's brother's wedding but this is the first time we've talked. I'm showing her the house and I feel like a realtor ("look at the balcony! We have a dryer and washer downstairs! You can walk everywhere! My landlord is amazing! We're a mile from the lake! You can park for free in the lot across the street! The downstairs neighbors are nice! It's month-to-month so you can bail if you need to! etc etc"), but she seems awesome and we have mutual friends.

(UPDATE... she ended up changing her mind but we did let her know that as usual, there's 2 couches in the living room perfect for crashing on).

We got dinner at Brother's Lounge and listened to Dave play with the Mojo Big Band, and he was amazing, and that place is amazing, kind of like Nighttown for the west side. The food was good and the sound quality was perfect and the crowd was chill. I forget how much I love watching live jazz, seeing the interplay between musicians and really wishing I had an upright bass.

I've lived with a lot of roommates since I went off to school and subsequently moved back. I hate coming home to an empty apartment and having people around makes me feel more safe, and I know that I can always retreat to my room if I need to.

I had a roommate who loved NASCAR and southern gospel, another who was in a sorority and didn't understand why I didn't drink even though I was over 21, two social workers, two graphic designers, a roommate who spent all summer living in a tent in West Virginia leading whitewater rafting trips, and my current roommate and the incoming one who are classical musicians that are actually employed.

I love that I learn something from everyone and that usually we can all learn to live with each other, and learn that it's not easy to generalize by region, culture, political affiliation, or interest. I'm interested to see where this next chapter will lead.

playlist 5/12/09

So I left my spool of CDs at the house this morning and ended up playing a whole lot of Malian guitar rock and desert blues. This went way better than I thought it would.

common - time travelin'
gaspar lawal - kita kita
ahmad jamal - poinciana
abdullah ibrahim - ishmael
kandia kouyate - san barana
mariam hassan - megat milkitna dulaa
ali farka toure - goye kur
tinariwen - aldhechen mana
pharaoh's daughter - askinu
rodrigo y gabriela - ixtapa
erykah badu - in love w/ you
amadou & mariam - unissons nous
king sunny ade - ja fun me
lamb - gorecki
mogwai - summer
john frusciante - unreachable
mono mono tire - loma da nigbehin
marcia griffiths - band of gold
k'naan - fire in freetown
oumou sangare - yala
souad massi - ghir enta

fight or flight...

My car was broken into a couple nights ago while I was house-sitting on the near west side of Cleveland. Thankfully, nothing was broken (the side door was forced) and as far as I can tell, nothing was taken either. Evidently no one wants my cassette tape collection and unlike one of my great-uncles, who used to keep $3000 in cash in the glove compartment of his red Chevy convertible with the top down, I had only a few spare pennies in my cupholders.

I thought I'd feel more violated but it's more of a "wow, I'm lucky" and a feeling of the inevitable. Given some of the places I end up, I'm amazed that more doesn't happen.

Some people told me I should get a CCW permit, but I'm neither a damn hippie or Ted Nugent, I just don't feel inclined to be a gun owner and I've never felt like my life has been threatened. Others said that I've finally seen the cold reality of life in this city and I'm this naive city kid who should flee for the exurbs where all the "good people" are instead of swimming in this cesspool. I don't have issues with the suburbs like some do, heck, I live in an inner-ring one myself, but the whole new houses named after things in nature that aren't there anymore never did it for me.

I am by no means convinced that there are more bad people within the city limits. There are more people for one thing, and in these times, more desperation. Maybe I've just gotten really lucky, but I've just met so many awesome people since I've moved back, and it made me remember why I wanted to fight so hard to stay. Someone rearranging the contents of my car in the wee hours of the morning isn't going to change that.

grrl

It's imaginary boyfriend time again here in Cleveland.



What's creepy about this picture is how this almost resembles me in real life.

What's also creepy is how people kind of assume you're their best friend or that you might be a potential romantic interest even though they'd already graduated from high school by the time you were born. Yeesh.

playlist 5/5/09

morcheeba - tape loop
cutty ranks - the stopper (full moon 6 dub)
dj krush w/ zap mama - danger of love
massive attack - black milk
a.r. rahman - innisai
lamb - stronger
soulsavers - kingdom of rain
U2 - zoo station
metric - help I'm alive
kristin hersh & michael stipe - your ghost
cafe tacuba - tengo todo
blockhead - the first snowfall
ceu - lenda
charlie parker - just friends
regina carter - higher ground
robert plant & alison krauss - rich woman
calexico - crumble
d'angelo - spanish joint
erykah badu - didncha know
gutter twins - the body
k'naan - fatima
stephen marley - lonely avenue
enrique delgado - para elise
nina simone - i loves you porgy
AleÌmayehu EshiteÌ & SheÌbeÌlleÌ's Band - TashamanaleÌtch
habib koite - i ka barra
the sweet talks - angeline

i hate fast cars

By the time I reach the weekend, I am dead.

My ultimate ideal of a chilled out night is crashing on the couch and letting myself be enveloped with good music and I got to do that... waking up only when the phone rings and then to heat up some egg rolls and paint a little bit before crashing again.

I helped a friend of mine and his family move on Saturday, folding down the seats of the Sexy Saturn to pile bags and boxes up to move them a street over. The car is a mess now, with sharpie drawings and writing on the back seat, and I completely destroyed my side-view mirror trying to back out of the narrow space between the house and the fence on the other side.

Me & Alex patched it together yesterday with a combination of epoxy glue and masking tape, and I reinforced it this morning with duct tape from my future father-in-law. So far so good I guess, even though there's chunks of glass missing from the mirror and a good portion of it is covered in clear gunk.

Most people would be ashamed of this but I just laugh because this is what I know. My parents drove beaters for years, cars that stalled out whenever Led Zeppelin was on the radio, cars where the ceiling was ripped and dangling, the doors were patched with duct-tape, and bungie cords kept them from flying open. If someone hits your car, what's the big deal, you know?

And no one is going to steal it for sure.

My dad thinks I'm crazy for wanting another station wagon, the kids tell me I should get a convertible, the guys say I should get a sports car because "girls look sexy in sports cars." ummm... yeah.