Mississippi River and the UT/Memphis Game

Had considered getting up at 6am, heading downtown with Karl, and waiting in line for ESPN Gameday tickets so that I'd be guaranteed a ticket for the UT / Memphis game. Instead, decided to go to class at 9am, work on a presentation for my other Memphis class, get my haircut, and go for a run. I wanted to get out of Midtown for my run, so I got in my car and drove in the direction of Mud Island. On the way I changed plans, headed towards the Riverfront Walk parking area and stuffed my keys into my running shorts.

Ran south towards south bluffs, checked out the view of the river and downtown, then turned back north. Gorgeous evening made amazing by the sunset over the river. Very peaceful along the river and nice weather (a bit chilly, but not bad). Ran north to Madison Avenue, made a right up the hill towards downtown, then turned south onto Main Street. Main Street wasn't that busy and ran in between the trolley tracks all the way down to the Civil Rights Museum, where I stopped briefly outside the room where Martin Luther King was assassinated. Then I started making my way towards the Fedex Forum, where I knew it'd be packed with people getting pumped for the Memphis (1) / Tennessee (2) game. I got heckled a little bit a couple of streets away from the Forum but still hadn't run in to the crowds of people I was expecting. When I reached the Forum it was just jammed with orange and blue. I made a circuitous route towards Beale Street after I got stonewalled by a giant mass of people. My route took me past a line of students waiting to get in the game and I was booed by a good number of them. I was having a great time and feeling fantastic by this point of the run. Being around the energy of the Forum and the people getting ready for the game made the run smooth and fun. I took in all of Beale street starting on its east end heading west. Weird looks from people drinking were the norm (I was in running shorts in 45 degree weather) but I received no heckles on Beale. In a few minutes I was back running along the silent, steady flowing river and the soft yellow grass - a stark contrast to the blue shirt wearing, people-packed Fedex Forum area. Finished up my run after the sun went down. I am extremely happy about the run - I got the best of Memphis in 40 minutes. Felt physically great, too.

Band of Horses (1/30)

Last Wednesday I went to see Band of Horses over at the Hi-Tone Cafe. The bar is only a 5 minute drive from my house so I wasn't too worried about rushing to get over there. Doors opened at 9, but I had homework for my U of Memphis class and I needed to plan a bit for the next day at school. I finally made my way over there at 10:30, figuring they'd be well into the 2nd opening act. Unfortunately I caught one song of the first band and had to sit (stand, actually) through all of the 2nd band.

I didn't catch the name of the band, but they were so mediocre/terrible I didn't want to know. They had 2 stereotypical indie guys (one with a beard and a stupid hat, the other with a poor mop of a haircut and overly thought out lyrics) , one drummer who was literally invisible, and a backup guitar player who had this vacant look on his face and hardly played anything all night. The beard/hat guy violently played the bass, and to my surprise, carried a lot of the melodies in the songs. The haircut/lyrics guy had an awful voice and played guitar. The drummer was sitting way in the back and must've been playing something - I couldn't tell though. The vacant look/not playing guy had an acoustic guitar he strummed a bit but, again, not much sound coming from him. Anyway, these guys were so boring - no one was excited for them, they weren't excited for themselves, and their music was so constructed - they seemed to be trying so hard just to play boring stuff. My feet hurt a lot during their set because I had been standing all day - I took my shoes off towards the end of their stuff.

Band of Horses was up next and started playing around 11:45. My usual bed time is around 12, so I was getting a little worried and my feet were still killing me. They started out with a couple songs I knew - St. Augustine and Great Salt Lake were played in the first 4 songs or so - and I got into the show pretty quickly. The lead singer had this thick beard, slightly crooked teeth, and an amazing voice. Right away I was surprised how powerful his voice was. The difference between this guy's band and the other band was just enormous. 2 guitar players, 1 bass player, 1 drummer, and 1 keyboard guy rounded out the rest of the band with 2 of them having beards and 2 of them having a mustaches (3 beards total, 2 mustaches, 1 fat guy). They really pulled off the flannel-beard look pretty well and I was jealous of the facial hair.

Coming into the show I feared they'd play a bunch of stuff from their new album, which I hadn't listened to yet, and that they'd leave out the songs I knew. They mixed it up pretty well and I knew about half of the songs. I actually really enjoyed the half of the show that I didn't know, too. Every other concert that I've gone to and not known the music has been pretty crappy, so this was a nice surprise. One of the unknown songs that stuck out was when the lead singer picked up his banjo (he and the other guitar players had about 5 axes each) and the keyboardist sang lead. Didn't hear the name, but it was a very rocking song and the guys on stage were jamming out for a while. Band of Horses was just way more fluid and relaxed than the opening band and the guys looked like they were having fun playing which got me into the show more. The bass player (whose facial expressions and body movements were hilarious) and the backup guitarist were a constant focus of my attention. During the 'rocking out parts' (I've got to think of a better description) they were hanging in each other's faces, looking at the other guy's guitar and simply feeling the music.

It started getting late (around 1) and they announced they were going to play their 'fake last song', not leave stage (since there was no backstage), and then start playing the encore. I laughed pretty hard at that crack - the whole encore process has always struck me as pretty weird, so it was funny to hear the singer thought it was a little weird as well. The opening notes of 'Funeral' justified me sacrificing a couple hours of sleep. I was waiting all night for the song and even got a little worried they weren't going to play it. Unfortunately, I built the song up so much, and enjoyed their whole set to the point that 'Funeral' didn't really stand out like I had hoped. It appeared as if the band didn't give as much energy as they had in some of their other songs, or maybe that I was distracted thinking about how lucky I was to be hearing my (and DJ Trouble's) favorite song. My goal accomplished (hearing 'Funeral'), I considered leaving right away to catch a few extra minutes of sleep, but I was interested in hearing some of the encore. The next song they played was one I didn't know (might have been a cover) and right after that I regretted my decision not to leave right after 'Funeral'. In all, a great show - the kind of show I wish Yo La Tengo would've played.

yo la tengo

Last night I went downtown with Rob France (2nd year) to see yo la tengo perform at the Gibson Lounge. Going into the concert I was unsure of exactly (I had an idea) what 'freewheeling' meant in the tour name: the freewheeling yo la tengo. The venue was also something neither of us had any particular knowledge of, other than it was attached to the guitar factory and right next to Beale St. We walked in, waited in line, then entered the lounge. Black table cloths, candles on tables, and old people drinking wine quickly showed me that I really was in a 'lounge' and probably wasn't in for a night of noisy rock from the band.

Some southern dude named Kurt Wagner played a half hour long acoustic set as a precursor to yo la tengo. No one really seemed interested in him and he pretty much knew that, too. I disliked his singing voice - half the time his words trailed off as if they simply ran out of sound - and his semi-classical guitar stylings weren't the 'rock' that I am interested in. At one point, as I was getting 2 PBR drafts (classy) from the bar, he half read a note from someone in the audience that basically told him he should stop playing because he was wasting people's time. After that I kind of felt bad for the guy. He was singing about his feelings/life in front of people who just didn't give a shit.

Yo la tengo came on around 10pm. The lead guy (Ira) had an acoustic guitar, the drummer (chick named Georgia) was playing with 'brush' style drumsticks (or whatever they are called to muffle the sound), and the bass dude (James) had a regular electric bass. They went pretty quickly into their stuff and played one or two acoustic songs before starting the Q and A part of the show. In between songs, or every couple of songs, they answered questions from people in the crowd and then played whatever song was part of the question.

The highlight of the night for me occurred after someone asked about the meaning of the song 'Stockholm Syndrome'. After the bass player answered (something about how it was a note to himself 10 years down the line) , the band launched into it with way more energy than anything they had played up to that point. Being one of my favorite songs from 'I can hear the heart...' I was relieved that I finally knew something. As they approached the very noise /electric guitar laden freakout, I was stumped as to how they'd perform it. To the entire room's delight and surprise, an abrasive wall of distortion came out of Ira's guitar and he just went to town for a couple of minutes before the group finished the song. They did this distortion trick once more in the night when they played 'Pass the Hatchet' and Ira jammed for about 7 minutes while James and Georgia held down the repeating rhythm patterns. These two teasers kept me from having any real interest in what they played acoustically, especially if the particular song was written by some other band. After 'Pass the Hatchet' I raised my hand to ask about the second of static on 'We're an American Band' for two reasons. First off, I was hoping they'd do what they did with 'Stockholm Syndrome' and just tear the song apart, giving me more of the rock I wanted. Second, I realized that would be the one time ever that I'd find out an answer to that question (and how cool would it be to get the answer from the people that wrote the song?). They didn't call on me, unfortunately.

After the show, Rob and I decided that we were both pretty disappointed. Neither of us got enough of what we wanted - straight up rock - from the band. Provided Ira is playing with an electric guitar in his hands, I'd love to see them again if I get the chance, though.

OC Season 1

This past Saturday night I started watching season one of the OC at Chalmers's house. We watched 3 episodes there, and when I got home I watched 2 episodes and went to sleep around 2:25 am. I am watching my third episode of the day right now - those of you out there worrying for the future of my kids, don't worry, I am getting some work done as well.

Basically, the only knowledge I had of this season is that each episode started with 'California' by Phantom Planet. It was a pretty glorious exam week in May of 2006 for the Goats who watched most of season 1 and 2. Unfortunately, I wasn't a part of the OC binge - I sat in Comfort 24D and finished my finals. I had caught most of season 3 that year and then all of season 4 my senior year. This past Saturday night, I couldn't help but smile as I remembered the total ludicrousness of that OC addiction. It was fun. It was college. Now I'm teaching and there isn't quite as much fun or ludicrousness in my life. It is good to remember those days.

break, break, break ,break

Anyone else having trouble with the picture at the top of my blog? It doesn't come up like it used to for me.

As I watch an America's Next Top Model marathon on MTV, I'm more relaxed than I have been in a while, despite having a fairly poor week at school. Basically my kids don't respect me - and I feel like I haven't given them a reason to yet. I haven't found a certain stern-ness in my voice that I need to get kids to take me seriously. I'm optimistic, though. There's not much to plan for next week, I started working on a couple things in class that will eventually help my management, I've focused on writing instruction (rather than being stuck in grammar), and the big thing, winter break is less than one week away. I might be anticipating seeing Brittany in, and then attending the Goats' New Year's party with her, more than I am doing the Christmas stuff with the family. Going to college got me used to not seeing the bros and the parents, but this not seeing Brittany and my friends thing is still uncomfortably new.

Things I've done recently:

Played 'Catchphrase' with Karl's 'small group' - the Christian wing of the TFA movement who he goes to church with. This was a bit outside of my standard idea of fun, but I had a solid time with the help of a few beers.

TFA holiday party - After buying us beers (never to happen again), Gilson ralphed. That's the highlight of my night.

Zoo membership - Karl and I bought memberships to the Zoo when we went there with his bro, Chalmers, and Bethany. The monkeys won me over again.

Beale St - overrated as usual, but I hadn't done it in a while and was feeling drawn in by its allure. Also, dipped some Turkey Chew with Brad B.

Winning Teacher of the Month - more a result of helping an 8th grade teacher grade writing assessments rather than anything I've done in my classroom.

Beer date with Brad Leon (Executive Director, TFA Memphis) - went to a place that sells a hundred beers or so. I ordered an 'Oktoberfest' beer, a safe choice, but still 'exotic'. Brad ordered a Miller Lite. Enough said.

Traffic Reports that Suck

People on the radio in Memphis have no idea how to give a traffic report. I was leaving school today and heard the traffic from two different sources. One source was 'Snap 94.1' and the other was NPR. Both traffic reports mentioned only the intersections where there were accidents. I heard multiple accidents along my route home (I-240), but I had no idea how slow or fast the traffic was actually moving.

The Memphis traffic report is fascinated with these accident locations. From Union and Avalon to I-240 W and 385W, I hear about every intersection, regardless of size, where there is an accident. And for some really annoying reason, they report which accidents had injuries. I guess you can infer that traffic would be moving slower around these, but who knows.

As a regular commuter on the highways and byways of Memphis, I want to hear how the traffic is moving. I don't give a hoot about the locations of accidents unless it is making the highway slower than it usually is. Maybe I'm spoiled. In Philadelphia, you could count on 1060 AM every 10 minutes to give you a detailed traffic report (among other things). You would know which major highways were slow, in which direction they were slow, from what exit to what exit they were slow, and why they were slow. You would know this information regardless of whether there was an accident on the road you wished to travel. In Memphis, there is no report, ever, about the speed of traffic on any of the roads/highways around the city. It's a total fucking joke.

A note about my Holiday schedule: TFA Holiday part (partial open bar!) 12/8, last day of class 12/20, return home 12/22. Then on the 27th I have a flight reserved to fly to see Brittany in Pittsburgh. I did this last year and it turned out to be a time where we had nothing to do but hang out and enjoy each other's company. I also got to see Pittsburgh a bit, which brought back a bunch of memories from when I went out there more frequently as a kid to visit relatives. Im excited for this year, hoping it will just as good to be at Brittany's house (despite the awkward conversations with her often overeager father) as it has been before. It'll be great to finally spend some time with the ladyfriend that is not hurried or pressured because I've got to teach or she's got to become a doctor. Then we are going to drive back to Philly for the New Year's celebration somewhere in Goat City. I will spend some more carefree, Brittany filled days in Hershey, PA, before coming back to Memphis on Friday 1/4. I'm certainly counting down the days.

In the Meantime

I am a terrible person, I know. One of my big beefs with blogs is someone not updating. But, here I am, doing the same terrible thing.

Currently I am at home in Horsham, PA. Yesterday was Thanksgiving - I went to the HH - UM football game, had dinner with the fam, and then saw a movie (No Country for Old Men) with James, Danny, mom, and dad. Wednesday morning I drove out to Hershey, PA to spend the day with Brittany. It was nice to be doing things that seemed so normal to me. Teaching is still so foreign and I haven't quite gotten used to it as being part of my life.

In the last week I've flown to Atlanta three times, to Minneapolis once, to Memphis once, and to Philadelphia once. This almost equals the total number of flights I've taken in my entire flying life (which started in March of 2005). As I become more experienced, I've gotten better at getting some rest on planes. It's still a struggle - what with the small spaces and large legs - but I managed to get intermittent sleep from Memphis to Minneapolis, Memphis to Atlanta, and Atlanta to Philadelphia.

Last weekend I journeyed to St. Olaf College and watched the the Goats get second at XC nationals. After starting out slow (15th at mile 1), the team rolled on people throughout the race and had the top 5 in the first 60 overall. The atmosphere was incredible (as always). I adopted Karl's 'bouncing' method as an outlet to my nervous energy before the race started. During the race, I had adrenaline carrying me across the course as I sprinted like I hadn't sprinted since XC nats 2006. There's nothing like all out 1/4 mile sprints when you've run 30 miles in the previous 3 months. After the race, we waited anxiously to hear the team scores. I chatted with the guys who ran and took some pictures. Boyce came running up to the group with two fingers raised high and everyone started hugging and high fiving people. The team got second, and everyone was ecstatic.

Before awards, I had the brilliant idea of going for a run with a group of frosh, DJ Trouble, Boyce, Hildner, and MJablin. It was painful to say the least. Olaf is on a big hill that we ran up a couple of times and I hung off the back of the group complaining about Boyce pounding up front. The normalcy of being at an XC meet was short lived and I hopped on a plane back to Memphis via Atlanta. Luckily, I was on the same flight to ATL as the guys that ran (+ Nathan Patton and MJablin) and got to hang out a bit more.

A couple of weeks prior to that, Brittany flew down from Philadelphia to Nashville. I drove out to pick her up and then we drove back to Memphis late late Friday night. After getting 6 or so hours of sleep, and getting up before Brian and Karl, Brittany and I ventured over to the Memphis Zoo. The weather was fantastic and the Zoo was not too crowded. My favorite part of the Zoo trip was watching the monkeys and orangutans be ridiculous. Brittany flew out of Nashville Sunday afternoon, so it was a quick turnaround with lots of driving. It was well worth it, though, and helped me realize (along with talking to Boyce at nationals) that I need to work less - especially on Saturdays.

I'll post some pictures when I clear up space on my Picasa web page (see link from my Facebook account).