A quiet night, a stack of books, a tuna melt on rye

Last night we had a Christmas party in our hotel, because that is what you do when you are an archaeologist and live in hotels. I provided the tree and the mulled cider (which turned out surprisingly well considering that Kat just handed me a bunch of stuff saying "I think these are all the ingredients" and I just guessed at proportions as I threw stuff in the crock-pot). I brought a can opener for my white elephant gift, which may just be my best white elephant gift ever - Bizarre as hell, but actually very useful. It even got stolen once, so I felt justified in my choice.

In other news, this year I went from never signing up for a fandom, holiday gift exchange to signing up for two - and one of them you make a present for everyone instead of getting assigned a person. I may now be in over my head. I did get me to make my very first wallpaper, which was kinda fun, so really a good experience so far.

Finally, I only have seven hundred some songs left to rate in my iTunes, a project I've been working on since the start of the year. That means I can finish by the end of the year if I rate thirty songs a day between now and then. I really want to make it so that I can officially declare 2009 the year of iTunes rating.

Some random things from the past week or so in bullet point form:

• I had a lesson in "be careful what you wish for..."  For a while I've been saying how I wished they would go back to rotating field people into the lab periodically to help out with lab work.  Partly I'm selfish and I like doing lab work and living in my own apartment for more than four days in a row.  I also think it helps the field staff remember how (and understand why it's important) to correctly fill out our paperwork and artifact bags.  I looks like this will be happening.  Unfortunately, it will be happening at the expense of my favorite labbies job.  Something I obviously never would have wished for.  
• I love crawfish season.  I always forget how good crawfish is when its out of season, but there really are few things more fun than sitting out in the courtyard of The Bulldog drinking beer and eating crawfish.  It's also amusing the reactions that you get from other people.  I actually had a tourist ask my friend and me if she could watch us eat.  Presumably she just wanted to see the technique but hearing the words "Do you mind if I watch you eat?" is rather disconcerting. 
• Yesterday, I went to a Lenten/Easter concert that a couple of friends were putting on.  Now, I have a rocky relationship with the composer Samuel Barber.  He grew up in the same town I did (although much earlier than I did as he died the year before I was born).   I've spent alot of time in choirs (especially at church) singing his music because we had to celebrate out local artist -- also he wrote my high school Alma Matter.  Unfortunately, I don't like most of his music, but surprisingly yesterday I thought his "The Crucifixion" was the best piece done in the concert.  I also find it funny that his piece on the Crucifixion is beautiful and soaring while his piece for Easter morning is extremely dissident and I think depressing.  It's like he got confused which one is the celebration. 
• Today on the way to Perry, Florida I stopped at two exits in a row where the Shell station (the one I had a gas card for) was closed before I broke down and just payed for the field vehicle gas myself.  I really wish they would give me a company credit card so I could more easily do the job I'm supposed to be doing. 

    I'd just like to say that musicians should learn to mark their own scores.  What exactly is it about joining the union which suddenly up people's stupidity level.  Actually, cutting out pieces of paper to cover the measures that the music director cut was kind-of a little fun.  Or maybe I just really, really miss being a part of a performing arts type group.  Damn having a strange schedule and no permanent living quarters.

    Also, if you are in the NOLA area you should go see the Summer Lyric shows.  (Though from what I saw today you might want to miss Little Me.  Just Saying.)

From zooropababy
Reply and I'll give you a letter. Find ten songs that start with that letter and post them to your journal.

I was given "H"
And now, in semi-alphabetical order from my iPod...

1. Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley, (It's actually by Leonard Cohen, but I have the Jeff Buckley version.  In fact, I apparently have it twice)
2. Hand In My Pocket - Alanis Morissette  (Oh, Middle School! How I do not miss you, not even a little bit.)       
3.  Happiness - You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown           
4.  Hazy Shade Of Winter - Bangles  (Another cover.  I believe it was originally done by Simon and Garfunkel. Correct me it I'm wrong.)
5.  He Wanted To Say - Ragtime    (The culmination of the plot.  How can you not love a song narrated by Emma Goldman which ends with the words "I know how to blow things up")
6.  He Went To Paris - Jimmy Buffett   (Have to include at least one song from my childhood)      
7.  Heffle Cuckoo Fair  (I'm actually singing in my version of this.  From West Minster Choir College Summer Vocal Institute 2000 - Ms. Gray's Soprano Class)
8.  Here Comes The Sun - Linda Eder   (Another cover of, incase you can't tell, the Beatles.  In her liner notes for this song, Linda Eder says that there is not point in doing a cover unless you can put your own spin on the song.  That may be why I like covers so much.)
9.  High School Never Ends - Bowling For Soup  ("Katie had a baby so I guess Tom's straight.")

And my favorite, which just happens to come last alphabetically....

10. Hold On - The Secret Garden    (This song makes me want to have a Yorkshire accent)


I think the actual spirit of this meme is to post the songs so people can down load them, which I'm not really sure how to do.  If you would like a copy, drop me a line and I will see what I can figure out.  Okay!

1. Assigning songs to time and people in a life is certainly nothing new. I know I have songs that remind me of particular people, be they songs that describe out relationship, songs that describe the person's psyche, or just songs that we listened to together. In the past I've even thought of making mix-tapes of these songs, but I knew that I would be mortified if people found out about some of the connections. So instead I keep the playlists in my head and pull them out as appropriate. Point one: commendation on the sharing.

2. I know that Tom was trying to offend people and that I got off easy. That itself kind of offends me more than anything else would have. My songs were not, generally, meaningful character development or about group interactions - they were just songs I like - like no thought went into them whatsoever. Of course that could be other people having a higher opinion of me than I do of myself (which I have noticed in the past) but I don't think so. On a similar not I felt conspicuously absent from large portions of the endeavor. It's sobering to realize that someone was more important for you than you were for them. But of course, I will persevere.

3. It is amazing how people's perceptions of the same event vary wildly. There were many songs that T&T obviously thought described a character (particularly Lauren) when I had a hard time believing that we were talking about the same person. In the same way, there were songs played that it seemed to me were very nice, or owned up to some blame not formerly carried, that didn't seem to leave that impression with other people. Wow, could I be more vague.

Twice in one day with the up dating, go me. There should be one more because I need to share the next day's trip to Philadelphia or Shylie might burst.