What's Playing?

Starting a new Thursday post with what's been playing for me music wise lately. Maybe you'll find something new. I'm always taking suggestions as well. IN THE CAR Symphony Soldier by The Cab The physical album finally came in the mail and I quickly popped it into the car stereo and have been pumping that for the drive to and from work. It's a great album, which I thought when I first gave it a listen through, but now with continued listens, I'm still in love with it. It's a poppy album and a sound that reminds me of Maroon 5 without actually being Maroon 5 (not that there's anything wrong with Maroon 5). It has that same sort of unique bright sound that they have and the flow of "Bad" into "Endlessly" then "Animal" is possibly my favorite part of the cd. If you haven't checked them...

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Review: Anchors - 2011 EP

I think I find more bands that just happen upon me on twitter than anywhere else. I can't even begin to tell you how the guys from Anchors decided to add me to the people they follow, but they did (probably because I talk about a million other local Boston bands). It was one of those things where I went: "aww they follow me." Honestly I thought little else, but then bored I looked more into it. Last night I finally got around to downloading the EP (I know, crime). You know that feeling we've all been getting lately that alternative music is dead? Where everything sounds the same? Where sure, bands are coming out with new music, but it's still not any good or it sounds like the last album they released? Anchors might just be the break from that. It's green, but that comes with a demo. Demo's...

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Happy Engagement Anniversary!

Champ messaged me at work saying he felt terrible that he'd forgotten what day last Sunday was and I have to admit I was more than a little confused. I had to sit there, stare at the computer and try to sort out what day it could be. Not the anniversary, that's next week. Then it dawned on me. Champ remembers what day of the year he proposed on. And I don't. I'm not sure which is more shocking. Probably neither. There's some massive standard role reversal going on there. To celebrate, he brought home a treat from Cami Cakes. A delicious treat. We got strawberry shortcake, cinnamon swirl, red velvet and cotton candy (seriously this man loves me). Absolutely delicious. So here's to 3 years!! And cupcakes!! (I think all things should...

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Is Today Over Yet?

Meag re-posted my lost generation post on her blog. She liked it so much she decided it needed to a be a guest post for her blog. I was a little amused but pleased. I even offered to write something else but she liked it enough to re-post. Who am I to stop her? Find of the century last night: Yup. Giant Archiver's theme crop going on in the Mall of America. GIANT. I can't explain how thrilled I was to find that. Too bad I'm here for work and I couldn't participate. But they were having an 'outpost' sale which was full of cheap deals and I might have gone and splurged. Though I made out pretty good (like an inch thick stack of Basic Grey paper for $25?). Now to drag it home from Minneapolis. On the topic of that, I'm really, really needing...

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Being a Grown Up

Why did I agree to this again? I was on twitter a couple weeks ago and Travis, my favorite twitter person and of Ghost Thrower fame, posted the simple: "When did you begin to confuse stress with accomplishment?" (Go follow him he tosses out jewels like this all the time. And he's adorable.) I was all huffed up and then I went...shit. He's right. When did we do that? When did we decide that the more stressed out we were the more successful we were? Why does successful mean our jobs stress us out out to the point of being sick? Of working twenty-four hours a day seven days a week? I love technology, I really do. I love my IPhone and the constant access it gives me to my email, my online friends, etc. But at the same time, the work blackberry they gave me means my work has free reign to...

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The Lost Generation

I've started to find the generation divides very interesting though the more I look into it the less that I can actually find out about my own generation. The problem is, we kind of get lumped everywhere. Born in 1983, I and my peers, are too young to be part of Generation X though there are aspects of that generation that I'm sure we identify with. For a while we were referred to as Generation Y, but that terminology has died out and now is trying to lump our age group in with those who are identified as "Millenials" which doesn't seem accurate at all. The Gen Xers are the historical generation, old enough to remember so many major historical events of the late 70s and the 80s, while us Gen Ys are too young to remember even those early 80s details. (I'd be hard pressed to believe anyone...

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Remembering 9/11

I am struggling as I start to write this. Partially because 9/11 was such a tragic event in my life, one that has left an imprint on my mind, but also because it's hard for me to get caught up in the hype. I think for me, the wish had been that by the time we reached the ten year anniversary so many more of us would have moved on, that would have come out the other side a stronger, better country and at times I don't think we've done that. It makes me worry even more. We are afraid of everything and the older generations don't trust much of anyone. They've used the attack as a justification for their distrust and their hate and it makes me nervous to put so much attention into something that I've seen breed hate. It might be different in other parts of the country but I've seen people of...

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Dragon*Con 2011

Labor Day weekend is typically a completely crazy weekend in Atlanta. There's plenty of sporting events (the Braves, the Falcons, the NASCAR race), not to mention all the normal Labor Day activities with sales and that last pull of summer being celebrated. Downtown Atlanta is something else entirely though. Labor Day weekend is host to Dragon*Con, the largest science fiction and fantasy convention in the Southeast. These type of cons are getting more attention with ComicCon drifting into the mainstream, but it pulls a bigger and different crowd than Dragon*Con. Unlike its counterpart, D-Con has a smaller, homey feel despite the large numbers it pulls in from all over the US. It doesn't have tracks sponsored by different networks or things...

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Massive Fail

She hasn't called me out on it, but I missed a day. What's worse is I wrote the whole thing up just needed to add photos last night and completely forgot. I'm sorry. You'll get three posts today then, something from yesterday, something for today and this massive apology for being scatter brain...

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Hello Minneapolis

I'm a drawing a blank on what to write about so I figured, since I'm sitting in a hotel room, I might as well talk about the adventure that is coming to Minnesota for work this time around. I've got an airplane in prototype (the first airplane to have the modification done) and all went well for the first part of the weekend. Of course, because it's a holiday, I didn't get to spend my holiday in a normal way but instead fly into Minneapolis Monday (Labor Day) afternoon to work all evening. Of course by all evening I mean I was on the airplane from about 8pm to 2am with only a break to go get pizzas for the guys working (which was the most productive thing I did while there.) I wound up crashing out cold and getting up the next morning to work a full day. Not my idea of a good time. After...

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Camp Kudzu 2011 - Part 4: Pride

There is something truly amazing that goes on at camp. It's so much more than sunshine and kids laughing and trying new things (though all of those things are wonderful). Camp creates this overwhelming sense of pride in just living. In being someone who's overcome their disease to make so much of themselves, to live with it longer than people in decades past. There's this sense that the kids can do anything, anything at all, and I think they really walk away from the week with that message. They are more than diabetes, they are more than the other things they think hold them back. And there's proof! There's living, breathing proof. Usually one day towards the end of the week at lunch or dinner we bring up all the staff with diabetes...

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Camp Kudzu 2011 - Part 3: Photography Dimensions

For the teens a camp we've started putting them in these "Dimensions" programs between dinner and their evening activities. The options vary from Arts and Crafts to High Ropes. Then we randomly assign counselors to the different activities and we get to watch the kids who aren't our normal campers have fun. I typically do the High Ropes course stuff because I love hanging out with the staff that runs it and it's such a cool thing for the kids. This year though they added a new Dimension, Photography and since I love that staffer too, I used my pull and got my name in that hat. It was really cool to see what he taught them and to hear them talk about the different things. I wound up with a bunch of girls from my cabin, which was fun, getting...

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Camp Kudzu 2011 - Part 2: The staff

(Me and AJ) There's always so much more to camp than the kids, which I know is admitting that in part it's not their journey, but coming back year after year to see the staff does make all the difference. They've become some of my best friends, my favorite people and more. Aly, my co-counselor was in my wedding two years ago even. Sometimes I only see them at camp, but it's worth it for the single week. (Aly and Megan) (AJ) They are inspiring people who either do great things or have come from so little to be so much. I'm so proud of all of them, not just because of what they are but who they are. There are few people in the world as awesome as these people. I feel honored to be in their presence let alone work with them and call them...

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Camp Kudzu 2011 - Part 1: My Cabin

Every summer for the past six summers, I've taken a week and spent it at my favorite place in the world, Camp Kudzu. Our camp is a camp for kids with Type 1 Diabetes (aka juvenile diabetes) where they get to spend a week doing fun camp things and learning about how best to live (and thrive) with diabetes. It's a fun environment because next to everyone has diabetes. Those of us who don't are definitely in the minority. It takes away that stigma and really let's the kids hang loose. So every year, I break all my rules about doing outdoorsy things (as in not doing them) and I counselor for the teen girls for the week. This year I had the best co-counselors a girl could ever ask for, one of my bridesmaids, Aly, and my favorite counselor at camp,...

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We Always Remember the Nights We Don't Sleep

I don't go "home" often and when I do I rarely go out. I've done it a few times and they've always been weird experiences. The first time I spent the entire time getting hit on by my next door neighbor (who's older and used to drive me to school in the mornings in high school) and an old friend (who's now a rockstar) tried to make out with me. Another time I saw about sixteen people I knew from high school all of whom pretended they didn't know me. The last time I was bombarded by people who claimed to remember me, but I'm not sure that was right. It's a weird place where my parents live. I only did high school there, not much else, but it's like any other small town. People stay there forever and do weird things. I just can't relate I guess....

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A Challenge

My good friend and fellow blogger Meag jumped on messenger the other night to issue the ultimate challenge. A post a day for the entire month of September. The woman is crazy to think that you all care what it is that I'm posting about but I'm going to take her up on it. So expect some interesting stuff headed your way. At least it motivates me to do something in September, and Music Midtown is at the end of the month! Plus there's Dragon*Con the first weekend! I'll find something. I think. I hope. But I'm not the type to back down from a good challenge. Let BlogPact 2011 beg...

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