Play it Sam...

So at my house, my dad has this record player, and sometimes (when it isn't broken) I really enjoy listening to albums. I go up there, stick on Toto's IV album, and sit there like one of those old hippie people thinking, "Yeah...let's bring back the album. Those were the days, man." (The fact that I was not actually alive when the album came out does not really occur to me...) I think that sometimes I would really like to be one of those people who are all "RESIST THE TECHNOLOGICAL MUSIC REVOLUTION!! STICK WITH THE CD!!"

However...this star-studded shiny-eyed idealism is REALLY difficult when you want to buy a CD and flipping B&N and Borders and all the independent record stores don't carry it cause it isn't THE latest CD by a particular band, and it's like six dollars more expensive on Amazon than it is to just download the thing on itunes.

So...here is my conclusion. I think I would like to be all cool and alternative. But I am probably not. I just want to listen to some music. The end. I am going to lunch now...

"Her majesty is one verb short of a sentence"

Well I have decided to revive my blog from its lonely existence in cyberspace and have even given it a shiny new layout to celebrate (complete with picture!)

So, on to this blog assignment deal. I tend not to get super angry about a lot of things, so I’m going to focus on what I am passionate about. Anyway, I am generally incapable of being passionate about just one thing (the world, I am convinced, is a wide and wondrous place and there are just too many things to love) so I narrowed it down to my top three:

Books. It’s no secret (to anyone who has ever met me, like ever) that I’m pretty passionate about literature. I tend not to read books so much as inhale them. Like we are talking 5-10 a week if I can. Whatever book I’m reading at the moment is usually “The best book ever” (if I like it) or “Seriously, the lamest book ever written,” (if I don’t). I have definite opinions in the Borders vs. Barnes and Noble debate and talk about Hemmingway and Fitzgerald as if I know them personally. I love talking to people about books and I sort of act like a kid in a candy store when people ask me for book recommendations. I love that e.e. cummings writes words like “puddle-wonderful,” and that writers like Jasper Fforde can actually make me laugh out loud. Essentially, I am one of those people who REALLY love books and just really want everyone else to love them too.

Music. My dad and sister are both musicians, and our family has basically grown up singing and writing songs together. One of the most important things this has given me (besides the fact that I know about guitars, but can really only play about 5 chords) is a deep and abiding love for music. One of my favourite junior high memories is going to a bluegrass festival and being unable to sleep due to an impromptu banjo-fest taking place (very loudly and very badly) outside our camper. I remember my sister Haley turning to my mom and me with huge eyes and whispering “Is this what Hell is like?” My love for bluegrass music may have taken a brief detour around that point, but as I’ve grown older, I have grown to appreciate folk, Americana and bluegrass bands more and more. I love music like the Wailin’ Jennys, Nickel Creek, Mountain Heart, the Duhks, Old Crow Medicine Show, and other bands of that ilk. Not only are they excellent musicians, but they are also associated with family memories. Woo-hoo for music!!

Cooking. I have recently become obsessed with fresh cooking (i.e. roasted beets, homemade pizza, butternut squash lasagna…the list goes on…). I think that cooking is one of the lost arts in college and am trying to remedy this. Many people regard cooking almost like Harry Potter magic, but it is actually much easier than they realize. I generally have 4 main cooking rules.

1. Follow the recipe, and it usually turns out okay. (This is actually true! I never realized this, but if you pay attention to the recipe, mostly the food turns out the way you want it to.)
   
2. If it tastes weird…add salt…or olive oil…or flour…or rosemary
   
3. When in doubt, roast some vegetables with salt, pepper, olive oil and rosemary. It’s like rule number two…only better, cause you add VEGETABLES. (yeah, I capslocked that.)
   
4. Everyone likes cupcakes. Seriously. Cupcakes are like the über-dessert because they are like cake, but mini and in a cup. Imagine you are having a bad day, and then someone comes up to you and hands you a homemade cupcake. Yay! Day is better. Just look at that guy. He is the cutest. I think I will end it there, without going into kittens, fingerless gloves, boots, plants, Ikea and other similarly exciting subjects...