wordtravelsfast

I’m desperately overdue for a tune up on my blog…
hope to tackle it real soon, perhaps on Friday’s holiday, since I’ll be off work…

I have lots of links to add to blogs, podcasts and many other fun things I’ve been attaching myself to lately.

stay tuned…

xo,
lauree

or post birthday thoughts….

I tend to be a very introspective, reflective person generally, but the time leading up to my birthday especially ramps up the thought process.

you think about another year passing, what you’ve accomplished and what you haven’t. I tend to focus on the latter.

I had issues in the womb. my mother was in the hospital for 62 days before I was born. I was supposed to be born in late July. Instead, I was born June 30 via c-section, one month early, and all the doctors were there at 10:24am.

this is the hospital anklet that was on me. I’m thinking my mom slipped it off of me when I got home. Apparently, once I was born, it was just two more days and the both of us went home. She said she could hold my head in her palm, and my feet touched her elbow.

hard to believe we start out that small, eh?

for the last week leading up to my birthday yesterday, I was mostly fighting illness, so my mind was mostly focused on doing my best to get healthy again. I did pretty well at doing it in time to salvage any sort of birthday celebration. I still woke up yesterday feeling pretty blah, and not the blue kind of blah. It was the “I’m not past a week of being sick and am still coughing and running through tissues faster than I can find them”

but it didn’t take long for me to ignore the “illness blah” and for the mopey-blue blah to creep in.

there’s a certain expectation for birthdays.
they are significant.
being born is significant.
but then you have to wonder who else understands YOUR specific significance in this world. Obviously, your family gets it. they kind of have to…
Moms especially do, even more so when their babies put them through what I put my Mom through.

I took myself shopping during the day. I’m not the stereotypical female shopper. Don’t get me wrong, I can spend money (music anyone? concerts?), but I don’t usually have any to spend. I’ll go out for specific things and will even consider items I wasn’t originally going after, but if what I need or wanted isn’t there, I end up buying nothing. The only thing I bought myself yesterday was the lunch I ate at the mall.

As I was walking through the mall, in a weird way, I felt as though I was keeping a secret from anyone I passed. As if I should have worn a badge saying “today’s my birthday!!” wouldn’t have mattered much, because random strangers don’t necessarily care.

after a couple pints of beer and a half pint of whiskey last night, I, in a drunken haze, decided to proclaim such a statement in the middle of Frightened Rabbit’s set. To be honest, it was less about attention and more to make sure I was still alive. I didn’t think I wasn’t alive, but I spend so much time in the company of strangers that sometimes I feel invisible. here I was in a crowded room, with perhaps, my most favorite band at the moment on stage feeling much better than I had at the start of the night. when I feel like that I like to share. the trouble is, I was under the influence of beer and whiskey (thanks to Brian) at that point.

oddly enough, as I get older, I realize that I can’t expect anyone to acknowledge the significance of my existence in this world. But I am glad that even when I’m near tears (and holding them back, if I’m going to be completely honest), I can rally and I have friends and coworkers who’ve become friends who help me rally. Jackie, Michael, Jennifer and Brian all were at the hut. And Me, Michael and Brian headed to Black Cat for the show. I got to talk with Laverne Sunday night and catch up with her, so that was helpful too.

I managed a few pictures, which are up on my flickr:

Now I can go back to being my usual emotional wreck of a self. instead of the heightened wreck that tends to happen around my birthday.

I’ll get to celebrate with my family at the end of July, which is when I was supposed to be born. I will, hopefully, get a homemade chocolate chocolate cake and my silly little universe should be back in balance.

if not, well, I guess I’ve somehow learned to cope,
because I’ve been quite overwhelmed since birth:

sometimes, the trouble is I go back to feeling that small and fragile again. despite this, I manage time and time again to sort it out and keep on going. no one is going to do it for me, and if I waited for an invitation, I’d probably never leave my apartment.

I had a good number of things I wanted to post about to catch up on, but alas, it will have to wait.
Since Sunday, when I was home in NJ for Abbie’s 13th birthday (hard to believe it’s been that long), I’ve been trying my hardest to fight off whatever was taking hold of me.

well, I’ve failed.
the doctor told me yesterday that she didn’t think I had bronchitis, yet. I suffered from chronic bronchitis as a kid and I know when it’s moving on to that. And since willing myself to not be sick combined with massive amounts of emergen-c wasn’t working, I am now on antibiotic, decongestant, cold medicine and moved on to tissues with the lotion. I think I’ve gone through a box of tissues, plus and 2 packets of cough drops.

I hate being sick in summer.

I’m still catching up on things, but I have to tell you about FREE music.
all you have to do is add your email and just download lovely songs from The Salteens!

go here: http://salteens.com/
there’s link on the right side of the page for the downloads…

here’s the latest two:

plus a video:

Don’t miss it!!

Monday June 16, 2008 9pm $5
21+
G A L A X Y H U T
2 7 1 1 W I L S O N B L V D
A R L I N G T O N, V A
( 7 0 3 ) 5 2 5 – 8 6 4 6
http://www.galaxyhut.com/
http://www.myspace.com/galaxyhut

THE CANNANES!!!!!!!
http://www.myspace.com/cannanes
http://www.cannanes.com/

and

LORELEI!!!
http://www.myspace.com/loreleidc
http://www.textilesounds.com/

I”d give anything to be in Glasgow this weekend…even if I had an extremely wealthy boyfriend, access to a private jet and tickets to these shows, I wouldn’t be able to go unless I quit my job….of course, if I had the above mentioned, perhaps I wouldn’t necessarily need to work…
sigh….

http://www.westendfestival.co.uk

TEENAGE FANCLUB – “Electric Chestnuts”

Sat 14 June – 8pm. Doors 7pm
From their pre-grunge debut ‘A Catholic Education’ and the punkadelic
1991 classic ‘Bandwagonesque’ to the sparser, folkier feel of their
most recent work, Teenage Fanclub have sustained both their core
identity and a devoted fanbase thanks to the central songwriting
triumvirate of Norman Blake, Raymond McGinley, and Gerard Love.
Inspired by such classic outfits like the Byrds, the Beach Boys, Big
Star and Badfinger, the band have honed their skills at crafting
sharply of-the-moment songs awash with vintage chiming guitars,
soaring tunes and lush vocal harmonies, earning the accolade from a
certain Liam Gallagher of being ‘the second best band in the world.’
The band has latterly seen them likened to a contemporary Scottish
Crosby, Stills and Nash, with their latest album, 2005′s ‘Man-Made’,
aligning radiant songcraft with the subtly quirky production of
Tortoise’s John McEntire.
Sorry, sold out!

TEENAGE FANCLUB – “Acoustic Chestnuts”

Sun 15 June 8pm, doors 7pm
A second night of excellent music-making from one of the finest bands
Glasgow ever produced playing a special three-night residency to kick
off the 2008 West End Festival. Last night – “Electric Chestnuts”.
Tonight – “Acoustic Chestnuts”; tomorrow “Live Obscurities”.
Different support act each night.
Sorry – sold out!

TEENAGE FANCLUB – “Live Obscurities”

Mon 16 June Doors 7pm
Third and final night from the Fanclub in this special festival
three-nighter. Tonight: “Live Obscurities”. See Sat 14 June for
full write up. Different support each night.
Sorry – sold out!

Hey there,

check out the debut album from my great friends The Decks!

add ‘em!
www.myspace.com/thedecksmusic

complete album streaming on their website:
www.thedecksmusic.com

my favs so far are “Wicked Summer” (and hasn’t it been here with this crazy heat!?), “Rusted Hinges” and “What It Is, Really”

album available on Amazon and iTunes….

my review:

The debut album from The Decks, “Becoming Nightblind” could easily be
a soundtrack to your life. a welcome cool breeze on a hot Summer’s
night…the quiet whiteness of freshly fallen snow in the dead of
Winter…a conversation that goes well into the night until sunrise…
As the album flows, its sonic twisting and turning creates a cinematic
feel as you make your way through. Multiple listens are required and
in various settings….in the car, at home, on the laptop, and you
will want to grab the headphones to hear the lushness, intricacies and
instrumentation of the recording. It’s hard to imagine that only two
people created all this sound. The album explores different sounds and
styles, displaying the band’s many influences. More importantly, it
reveals their love of sound. Instrumentals are mixed in seemingly as
interludes of individual musical acts or scenes. “What It Is, Really”
gives a nod to the indie rockers who like to dance, with it’s hopeful
slightly upbeat tempo. It’s hard not to tap your toes and move to the
music! “Rusted Hinges” is the cool breeze taking over you, while
“Wicked Summer” begs desperately for an escape from oppressive heat
and humidity. Other highlights include, “Myrmidon Blues” (love the
banjo!!) and “Whiteout” The album plays best from beginning to end,
but the songs hold up well on their own like individual colors of a
wide spectrum palette waiting to burst onto the canvas of your choice.

(or how I wish I was in Minneapolis *this* weekend!)

additional links:
http://www.freepress.net/

I got turned onto The Magnolias by my great friend, Jeremy. It wasn’t really until 1992, and they were pretty much finished up at that point. As a result, I’ve never seen them live.

They played a show in Minneapolis Saturday May 31st, as a warm-up for their June tour of Europe. here’s a video:

you can find out more about The Magnolias here:
http://www.myspace.com/themagnoliasband
http://home.earthlink.net/~johnfre/themagnolias/

They’re playing Minneapolis again June 27th, but there’s really no way I can go. It would make for a great pre-birthday concert, but Minneapolis is so far away it seems.

maybe I’ll win the lottery…

(guess I should play it then, eh?!)