Good Times

What a crazy week. I normally wind up celebrating my birthday for a week or more at a time, but this year was really almost ridiculous! Not that I'm complaining! It started the night before my bday - the BF made delicious jerk pork chops with black beans. Then, on my actual bday, I went out that night with friends to Pi(e) lounge for drinks + pizza. It was great to see some old and new friends there. Thursday night, I went to Downtown After Dusk and then Babalu with another group of friends. Babalu has some of the best food in town, and great atmosphere + service. My friend Rachel took much better pictures and blogged about our night here.

Friday I went back to Pi(e) to see another old friend who came to town this weekend, and then later that night the BF took me to Spice Avenue, the best Indian restaurant in town. I'm disappointed that they don't have a website, but just trust me, it was delicious. They are a little overpriced in that you have to order rice and Naan separate, but you can eat well on the cheap if you know how to order. We got the vegetable biryani and chicken tikka masala, and the biryani comes with rice. It fed us for 2 meals!

Saturday, the BF and I met my sister, my niece and my parents at the zoo. After some convincing that it is safe to go to the zoo, that is. I'm too tired to re-hash it right now, but my conversation with my mom about meeting us at the zoo (instead of meeting at my house, which a year or so ago was considered in a "non-safe" neighborhood according to her - now suddenly it is the safe house?) started with her story about a "terrible thing that happened" one of the last times she was there, which was about 25 years ago when my sister was a toddler. The "terrible thing" that happened was that a strange man was trying to talk to them in the parking lot. Horrors!! Anyway, I grow weary of defending my city to my parents, particularly my mom, who is afraid of everything and has nearly no basis at all for her fears. It is smart to be cautious, to not be naive, but it's a whole 'nother thing to be so scared of everything that might possibly ever happen that you barely want to leave the house. I love my mom, but she wears me out with that nonsense. We did get to see the sweet baby giraffe though! Isn't she cute?

I also took a picture of the train at the Zoo:

It always reminds me of the opening credits for the show "Black Gold," which used to come on when I was a kid. A local version of "Soul Train," Black Gold was filmed here in Jackson and hosted by Lee King (who is still around Jackson and worked at the Auditorium restaurant until its demise a year or so ago). The train was featured in the opening theme, maybe as a nod to Soul Train, I don't know... if I can find a video I'm posting it here.

Anyway, I digress. Saturday afternoon I went to BeBop Record Shop for what was probably the last time. The BF got me a gift certificate for my bday on the day before BeBop announced it was closing its last remaining store in Jackson. It was a wonderful gift, but bittersweet. I loaded up with vinyl and wound up using the entire gift cert. + the same amount in cash. The store was packed when I went in, which was strange to see because even on Record Store Day a few weeks ago it wasn't this packed. I saw people that I never usually saw when I shopped in there, loading up on CDs. Now, call me crazy, but I decided to go vinyl-only. CDs just don't hold a lot of nostalgia for me, but albums are one-of-a-kind. Plus, most of the ones I bought came with a code to download the digital album for free, and one even came with the CD inside.

Here's what I got:

1. Van Morrison - Tupelo Honey
2. Super Furry Animals - Dark Days Light Years*
3. An Introduction to Elliott Smith**
4. Jolie Holland - the Living and the Dead***
5. The Jam - This is the Modern World
6. El Obo - Oxford Basement Collection
7. Cheap Trick - Live at Budokan****
8. South Pacific - soundtrack

*(45! And a Double Album!)
**I introduced myself to Elliott Smith about 13 years ago, but this album has a lot of the greats on it, so I could not pass it up.
***My "twin" Jed-0 (we share the same bday, just a couple years apart) gave me a CD that he burned for me with some of Jolie Holland's music on it. I had not heard her stuff before, but oh my word. She is fabulous! I set out on Saturday hoping to find something of hers on vinyl, but was honestly shocked when I found this one. It's the latest album, but she's not uber well known, so I really didn't think I'd see it there. Thanks BeBop.
****If you aren't familiar with this album, you almost can't call yourself a rock fan. I haven't owned it until now, but I've been a Cheap Trick fan from the get-go.

While I was shopping, Prince was playing loud on the overhead soundsystem, probably a little louder than usual because, hey, they're going to be gone in a week, so who cares if it bothers anyone? People were bobbing their heads along with "Alphabet Street," and "Kiss," but when "Purple Rain" came on, it was hard not to tear up a bit. I mean, come on... BeBop. This is the end of an era. I remember shopping at the one by Metro in my college years, buying tickets to Jubilee!JAM and other concerts there, buying CDs at the one near Northpark, and of course in the last few years at this one in Maywood Mart. The BF and I could ride bikes there from his house. I was so happy to know they still had vinyl and even carried new vinyl. Now I don't know where I'll get the new stuff.

I'm thankful for people like DJ Young Venom (although I'm sad he's not on 97.7 anymore) who has organized a great record swap called 4 The Record, which is happening next weekend. There was one a month or so ago too, and I'm hoping this will be a recurring thing. My collection has grown since I got a record player a year ago (imagine that!), but I'm always on the lookout for some new stuff.

Saturday night, a group of us gathered at Parlor Market to celebrate a friend's birthday. His girlfriend arranged for him to be able to work in the kitchen for a night with the staff, which had been a dream for him. He's a great cook in his own right, just not professionally trained. It was fun to see him in chef's whites, and we could tell he was having a good time. The food was excellent, albeit pricy, but it was worth it to spend time with good friends and celebrate May birthdays. I joke about not liking to share my bday month with so many others (I used to hardly know anyone with a May birthday), but in reality it is a lot of fun.

After all of this partying, though, I am worn out! It has been nice to sit at home with the dog and listen to records. This week is going to be busy, but short. I'm definitely looking forward to the long weekend that awaits at the end.

Before I go, I also have to give props to my friend Anna Kline and her Grits & Soul band. They wrote a song about Ol' Man River, and it was featured on NBC affiliates throughout the country this past weekend! She is a super talented musician and has found some great people to play with. I'm proud to call her my friend.

I have a few famous friends. My friend Martha and her beau Mott Roland were featured in the Weddings section of the New York Times this week, too. The New York Times y'all!! It's all about Mott Roland moving cows away from the flood waters so's they can still get hitched. They're getting married next weekend and I am so happy for them. Martha is a new friend, but she is already one of my most favorite people in the whole world. Read their story here.

I'm also going to post some of my pictures of the river at Natchez from last weekend to close this week's post:

You can do what you want -- the opportunity's on

Harold and Maude is on TV right now, and even though I'm in the next room, it makes me happy just to know it is there.

So it's not Sunday, but for some reason lately my Sundays have been too busy for blogging. Imagine that! I'm just catching up as catch can. And what the eff does that phrase mean anyway?

I mentioned in my last post about my move to Belhaven. Wahoo! It's official! I paid a large sum of money to make it so. And now the cleaning/packing begins. Reinforcing my decision to leave, I come home often to the sound of my neighbor's really loud music. Her speakers must be right on the other side of my wall, so I can hear every beat and basically every word the singer or rapper is saying. Since I figured out how to rig up my Ipod to play in the house, I have been launching a Battle of the Loud Music whenever I can. They blast "party blues"* and bad hip hop/R&B**, I hit them with the Pixies and the Beastie Boys' "The Maestro." But then Feist comes along and totally crashes the party. Eh, I've got a little more than 30 days!



*I tried to find a link to a definition for you, but it is elusive. If you've ever heard "Strokin'" by Clarence Carter, this is a prime example of "party blues." Party blues is not really blues-y in the traditional sense of the word, and it is almost always, ALWAYS, about sex. There is a local radio station that used to play this type of music at 7 in the morning. Never was there more of a hilarious way to wake up!

**I have nothing at all against hip hop and R&B, but I am picky about what I listen to in that genre. My all-time, top five favorite hip hop artists are: 1. Tribe Called Quest 2. Digital Underground 3. Biggie Smalls 4. Common 5. (obviously) The Beastie Boys. Yes most of that is old school, but I have not found a lot these days to match the music I grew up with. With the exception of Common, he rocks!

I ran two 5Ks in the last two weeks, and got a "PR" which is "personal record" in the first one! I ran about an 11:27 mile, which is ca-razy because I thought I was still shuffling along at 13:00+ per mile. I don't know how it happened, but I am not complaining! YAY progress! I did have to walk a little both weekends, but I ran more than I walked, and it is slowly but surely getting easier. My clothes are also fitting better, but I still haven't really lost any weight. I am going to just keep on keeping on, but I really hope to see some results in another month or so. I realized recently that I've only been back at it for a couple of months. My friend K. said it took her about 6 months to really start dropping the pounds, so that makes me feel better!

I've been reading my friend QB's zine, "Letters to Mr. Konigsberg," and I have to say that I am really enjoying it so far! If you are a Woody Allen fan, and even if you aren't, you should get a copy. I've only seen Annie Hall (and I love it), but I still get a lot of what QB is saying. I also realize two things about my friend:

1. He is way smarter than me. But I already knew that.
2. He uses the "F" word a lot more on paper than he does in real life. Unless he's just being polite around me! Ha!

I am lucky enough to be part of QB and my friend Anna's wedding the weekend after Turkey Day, and I am really looking forward to it. There was a time in my life, not-so-long-ago, that I was going to kill someone if I had to be in another wedding. But now that some time has passed, I am really looking forward to this, if nothing else because my dress and my shoes are FABULOUS and I spent very little money on the outfit. Plus QB and Anna are one of my fave couples of all time!

Lastly, and I have to get to bed after this, but I would totally read the book in the #1 spot at the bottom of this page.