Current Song Obsession

I'm not going to lie, I tend to obsess over music.  I find a song that hits my fancy at a given moment and I'm hooked.  Sometimes for a week, sometimes more.  I can't hear it enough and I play it over and over again.  I'm pretty sure my neighbor hates me.  

But I don't care!  Current Song Obsession: Valerie Plame by the Decemberists.  The song came out a few months ago, but I didn't download it until last week and now I can't listen enough.  It's peppy and jumpy, despite being about Valerie Plame's CIA work and her eventual exposure as an agent.  The Decemberists are pretty well known for this type of folky, almost medieval storytelling in their stories (current song obsession runner up right now is Crane Wife 3), so I love that they took on a modern story.  This isn't a downer tale of any of President Bush's actions over the past 8 years or a call for peace against the Vietnam War, it's just a plunky song about a girl who ended up kind of dicked over by people peeved at her husband.  There is sort of a oompah sound to the song, with a bass line that seems similar to a german polka and I adore the "Hey Jude" moment at the end.  I'm kinda convinced everyone should have a moment where they hear their name song at the end of a song by a chorus in multi-part harmony; Valerie Plame's moment sounds perfect. 

Still in the cornfield . . . . 

The hazards of making the annual trip back to the cornfield for Thanksgiving is that with the family and friends comes the flight cancelations.  This year is no exception.  I decided to scout out possible Cyber Monday deals by going to the mall today and started rolling my eyes when Mom kept checking my flights.  But 2 hours before I was to take off, sure enough, my flight to Milwaukee was canceled.  We then hopped in the car to the airport, with me on hold with the airline.  The call lasted ONE HOUR AND 33 SECONDS.  Around 45 minutes of that I was on hold.  And at the end of it I was rebooked on a 5:55 am flight tomorrow morning.  The silver lining to this pretty mediocre tale of the airline industry vs mother nature is that I get to spend the night with my brother, which is consisting of ordering pizza, taking a seriously awesome shower, and watching TV on an obscenely large TV screen.  Rock on.

Shout out:  Apple Stores.  I don't have a blackberry or an iphone so I'm usually without internet access when I'm not glued to a computer.  I love Apple Stores 'cause they let you check your email (and flight times) for free and don't bug you to buy the macbook while you type (waste of breath anyway, I already own one).  So kudos to them, the free internet is MUCH appreciated.

So I used to have this blog what feels like half a bzillion years ago to keep my family and friends up-to-date on my adventures and thoughts during my year abroad.  And once I got back to the States I sort of let it go as I got wrapped up with moving to the east coast, getting a job, losing a job, working retail, getting another job, going to grad school, and getting yet another job.  Which was pretty dumb on my part 'cause it's clearly a good outlet for thoughts, musings, and observations.  Or I hope it is.  Anyway, I'm restarting this little gig.  So here goes.

Though this blog is titled "Life out of the big cornfield" I'm actually in the Cornfield as I restart this.  I'm at the end of my annual pilgrimage home for Thanksgiving.  My family does a great job with this holiday with my father cooking an amazing meal, my mother making outstanding pies, and the family hosting my dad's international students for a traditional thanksgiving dinner.  As much as I love living on the east coast, I really love trips home.  They sort of reset my system.  They remind me that life exists outside the beltway, that there are issues that Americans face that have nothing to do with big cities, and that there is a part of the world that remembers me when I was shorter, had longer hair, and was less cynical.  I was shopping at JC Pennys and the woman who rang me up proclaimed she didn't have to ID me (to check my credit card) because she had known me for over 25 years.  'Cause she also works at the grocery store my family has been going to for 28 years.  Part of me loves that this sort of thing never happens when I'm in DC; I sort of love the anonymity of big cities, with the "I could be anyone" vibe.  But part of me sort of misses the random people that knew me back when.

Either way, I'm headed out of the cornfield again tomorrow (weather permitting of course).  Back to anonymity, urban problems, work, metros, and smog.  It'll be good to be home.