Savannah Record and 'Zine Fair 2009

Yesterday, Staci and I drove down to Savannah to take in SCAD's record and 'zine fair in hopes that we would each find a few little things that we could bring home with us. Thank you, SCAD, you bastards, for nearly bankrupting us both. :)

It was actually a fairly tiny little fair. It took place in a ballroom in one of their buildings on campus. But I'm glad that it wasn't any bigger, because until we got through everything, we both had nearly empty wallets. I came home with a total of 28 records, which is way more than I intended upon. But I'm glad we went and I'm glad I got the things I did!

In addition to buying some fun records, we had good thai food, tried on some cute clothes, and visited the best art supply store EVER. Seriously, it was huge and had everything I could ever want. It also just so happened that we were in town on the day that Savannah was having its Wag-O-Ween event. So there were tons of cute puppies everywhere all decked out in Halloween costumes.

I gained some new respect for Savannah on this trip. I still don't think I could ever be content living there, but it is a pretty cool city and I'd like to visit again soon. It's much less boring than Charleston, and has a lot of interesting things to see.

On our way back to Charleston, the sun was just setting, but it was still fairly bright out. So we made a little stop at the Old Sheldon Church Ruins. I was there with my family several months ago - you can see that entry here.

Unfortunately, I don't have any photos from yesterday. Was just more focused on enjoying it. Now it's back to the same old boring stuff for the week!

The Rev is always there for me.

When I'm at home with my parents, I watch way too much television, mostly because I'm bored and because I can, whereas at my home in Charleston I don't really get to see a lot of this stuff. One show I've gotten into the habit of watching is Run's House on MTV. I love this show, and I can't even really tell you why. Maybe it's because of the lack of really intense drama. Maybe it's because of his happy-go-lucky attitude. Whatever it is, it's working, and due to my love for this show, I somehow signed up to receive Rev Run's Daily Words of Wisdom over a year ago. I don't even know.

So I get these e-mails daily. Sometimes they're about stuff I'm not so into like God or business. But for the past few months, there have been some really good little blurbs that have really been coinciding with various problems I've been having. Don't get me wrong - I know that these little two-sentence motivational speeches are not going to solve all my problems. That's my responsibility. But it's good to kind of get a little push to stick with it or whatever sometimes.

All of that being said, lately I've been having a lot of doubts about my choices for my future. I've been having a lot of doubts about college and about myself. And I'm really not at all sure what to do about the situation. But, in the mornings, I open my e-mail and there are the Words of Wisdom. Here is today's:

Good morning. Never give into a melancholy vibe; resist it steadily, for that habit will hang around and it's HARD to get rid of!

God is Love Rev Run

It's a legit point. So anyway, I've really been looking forward to these for the past few days. If you're interested, you can read more over at Global Grind.

Oh look! It's my favorite time of year!

October through January is a generally enjoyable time for me. I like the holidays and I like the cold weather. I love snow, even though we don't get any in Charleston. I love being able to wear sweaters, coats, scarves, and even the occasional hat. And surprisingly October, November, and December are typically my busiest months of the year.

Anyway, last year's fall/winter was not super fun. So I am happy to report that I am feeling much more positive about this year. I am getting really into the whole Halloween thing. I've been baking lots of stuff. I've been contemplating some mild decorating. And I have decided to hopefully do something on Halloween. While I am not yet sold on the idea of having a costume, I am otherwise very excited about celebrating! If all local Halloween plans fail, The Old Ceremony are playing at Smith's Olde Bar in Atlanta. And there I will be.

As for Thanksgiving - it will kind of be skipped over because I will still be here in Charleston. I might cook fancy dinner and I may have some people over maybe. But I'm not really worried about that right now. I'm not going to be terribly upset if I don't have a big Thanksgiving celebration.

And then comes Christmas! Every morning I've been waking up and taking the dog outside in 45 degree weather saying, "It feels like Christmas." Because it does. And this morning when I went out, the sky was completely clear of clouds and there were just stars everywhere. It was really amazing...reminded me of winter nights back home with snow everywhere and a bright moon and bright stars. So I'm counting down until Christmas gets here. I have about half of the gifts taken care of. Two of the remaining ones are going to take me some serious time and work. But I'm ready!

Aside from holiday things coming up, I've got some other stuff on my calendar in the next few months. This Saturday, October 24, I think Staci and I will be traveling to Savannah, GA for the Third Savannah Record and 'Zine Fair. It will be good times for all, I'm thinking. Even if it blows, we'll at least be in Savannah.

November 3 and 4, Nicole Atkins is playing at Snug Harbor up in Charlotte, NC. I love this venue, and I loved her show the last time I was there. So I will be going at least one of these nights, if not both. It's just a long drive there and back for a school night. But I have done dumber things.

Completely unrelated to upcoming events, I received a postcard today from a nice lady in Australia. It's a photo her husband took. And it is of the cutest baby kangaroo (which she lovingly called a "bunnyroo", because of the adorable ears) I have ever seen. Not that I have seen millions of baby kangas. But anyway, I love him, and this woman has informed me that they have a "mob" of them living near their home. I'm moving to Australia.

But not until after I get to go to California.

Really...anywhere but here would be good right about now.

I saw the Bird at the Farm!

Monday night, my friend Staci and I headed downtown to The Music Farm to see Andrew Bird. Despite some rough events of the night, it was an amazing show, and I'm very glad we had the chance to go.The opening act was St. Vincent. I have St. Vincent's album "Actor", but just haven't really gotten a chance to have a good, thorough listen to it yet. I was very impressed by the live performance, though, and will definitely be enjoying the album much in the future. The girl's real name is Annie Clark, and she is just fascinating to watch. First off, she is one of those tall, skinny bitches I wish I could've been born as. But the way she moves is just very mesmerizing - it's sort of mechanical like a wind-up doll...maybe a little spazzy...but so much fun to watch. And she is not afraid to really use and abuse her guitar. Very interesting. She also used to be a member of The Polyphonic Spree, who hold a special place in my heart. Click here to watch my video of her song "Now Now".

There was a little altercation in between St. Vincent and Andrew Bird between Staci & I and the group of drunk [approximately] 16-17 year olds behind us. I got more action in that one night from drunk teenagers rubbing all up on me than I have had in the past year altogether. Anyway, things progressed to ass grabbing and shouting and went a little too far. Staci punched a kid, and normally I'm not for violence but he was being a tool and deserved it. It's better that Staci hit him and teach him a lesson than for him to piss off some really big guy in the future and get his ass kicked. And I was proud of her for standing up for herself. Attagirl! :)

A-nyway. Andrew Bird came on stage and things got back to normal. Sometime in the past week, my brain flipped a switch and I decided he was actually quite the handsome man. It might be the way he dresses and the eyes, but I can't say for sure. All that aside, he was really fun to watch. The videos you see online give sort of an accurate impression, but obviously he has much more presence when you're there. He played an amazing set, and brought St. Vincent on for two songs in the encore. Set list was as follows:

Ravel

Fiery Crash

Masterswarm

Opposite Day

Fitz and the Dizzyspells

Oh No

Effigy

Anonanimal

Not A Robot, But A Ghost*

Headsoak

Plasticities*

Imitosis

Cataracts

Fake Palindromes

Encores: Why / Scythian Empires / Tables and Chairs

The two with asterisks may not be in complete proper order as they weren't included on the planned set list. But I think I'm right. Click on the 3 songs with links to see my videos of them. I'm not putting them up here because it takes forever to load with them. And anyway, if you go to the link you can watch them in super cool HD! All big and stuff!

So that was pretty much the night in a nutshell. I wish I had more to say about it, but it was really just a good night and I'm glad that I was able to go. For more photos, click. I like links because they let you do all the work. :)