So what is midlife anyway?

A good friend of mine who lives in Las Vegas called me last night. He'd been in a car accident, but walked away from it without a scratch. Not his fault, he was rear-ended. But it shook him up a bit--a brush with mortality. He's been struggling with being in his mid-thirties and wanting to be a father and wanting to make a difference in the world and feeling he's coming up a bit short.

I often think similar thoughts. He's been going through sort of a midlife crisis or a pre-midlife crisis. At least he's married. So what is midlife these days anyway? 35, 40? I suppose. Sort of makes me wonder if I'll ever even collect any of the money I've paid into Social Security. Especially if they change it/dismantle it under the big W.'s plan to make the wealthy even more obscenly wealthy.

I don't know where I'm going with this entry, but it does reflect my social insecurity and my disdain for 'king W. Blah!

A light that never goes out...

So I was eating at Taco John's tonight before taking in the Second City comedy show at the Pavilion and suddenly the light bulb right above me went out. I wonder, if a light bulb goes out directly above your head, does that mean you lose an idea?

Anyway, that's been happening to me a lot lately--lights going out when I approach (not the lose the idea thing, but I guess I wouldn't be aware even if that did happen). Lately, I've noticed street lights going out when I drive under them. This has happened to me probably 7 times in the last two weeks.

Maybe I was wrong about my super power. Maybe it ISN'T the uncanny ability to choose the shortest looking check-out line in a store only to find it takes the longest amount of time to go through because the person immediately before me has check-out delays...

The lights going out phenomena is documented: paranormal.about.com/library/weekly/aa012400a.htm

Or maybe it's truly just a coincidence...

Alaska! Athlete! Alaska!

Three groups that are currently stuck on heavy rotation in my CD players:

Halloween, Alaska
www.halloweenalaska.com
They're a group from Minneapolis, mostly, and they'll soon have a new CD out. Until then, "Call It Clear" is fully embedded in my mind. One of the band's members is also in the Bad Plus.

Athlete
www.athlete.mu
I liked their first CD, and I'm really liking their follow-up, just released in England, available here as an import. The first single, "Wires," is immediately engaging, and the video for it is haunting. They get bonus points for a very cool website.

Built Like Alaska
http://www.builtlikealaska.com
Another Alaska, this one has ties a Grandaddy, one of many other bands I'm rather fond of. I found the melody of "Random Car" rolling around my mind all afternoon today. They definitely have an indie sound. I also like the cover art for their latest album. Clever name for their web message board: BLA Blah.

Bummer #73

So I found out today that my house in Crookston, which was about to be sold (yeah!), will end up NOT selling in an eleventh hour disappointment. Apparently the woman who was going to buy it ended up not being able to sell her house. Since it was a contingency agreement, I'm out of luck. Sigh. I was really hoping to not have to do two housing payments per month. Thank goodness I have a renter for a little while longer... But, damn, it seemed like it was almost a sure thing.

Well, here's hoping the spring housing market looks up.

The benefits of laziness

Yes, sloth is one of the traditional seven deadly sins, but today it is the modus operandi--an I love it! It's been a pretty busy couple of weeks, so yesterday and today I've really not done much but nap and read and listen to music and watch some awesomely bad television. This is the kind of thing that can really recharge one's battery--or at least mine.

After two days of this, however, I will be eager to get back to work. Weird to say that I look forward to Monday. On the other hand, I'm glad to say I don't have to stay home on a regular basis. I think having to watch weekday daytime television would truly drive me insane.

You can't go backwards

I realized last week that the old "you can't go home again" adage is pretty accurate. I drove up to Crookston to get some papers to the realtor. It was weird being back in the town in which I spent nearly 14 years. It was familiar, yet really different. The changes that are small and day-to-day when you live somewhere suddenly become major changes if you haven't been there in three months!

It was great to see the many friends I still have there--nice to know I could just sort of pick up where I left off--but it was still a little different. You can call it short term nostalgia, I guess. For a while it was just like I'd never left, but then something would remind me of that fact that I have been gone for seven months.

So, here I am, back in Sioux Falls, looking forward to what lies ahead. It is nice to know, however, that there are people back there I still care about and who seem to care about me...

From out of the blue

I think it's an interesting phenomenon of the Internet: e-mailing someone you've never met from out of the blue. I've not done that often, but recently got up the courage to e-mail a couple folks whose websites, etc. were interesting.

I guess it's not all that much different from striking up a conversation with someone you don't know at a concert or in a grocery store or on a bus, or, gasp, in an elevator. The interesting thing is that it's sort of one-sided. On the other hand, if you've read the person's website, you sort of know you already have some things in common. Still, there is something mildly disconcerting, almost voyeuristic about it. (Damn these Libra tendencies!)

In the end, though, a friendly message sent is just that. Nothing more, nothing less. If it is ignored, nothing is lost, but there is a potential to meet some new friends, who could be from anywhere across the globe!

All because of U2

So, I caught the tour company of Rent at the Pavilion tonight. While the set was cool, the concept was interesting, and the cast was definitely talented, it just wasn't my cup of tea. Sorry 1990s. I guess I've just never been that big a fan of musical theater that has every line sung. Jesus Christ Superstar was lost on me too. Give me straight-on drama or even a musical that has some spoken dialogue. Maybe I was just too tired. Maybe it was a combination.

On the way home I heard U2's new song "All Because of You." Good song. It got me wondering if Bono meant it to be a love song, a song about God, a love song to God, or all of the above... Ah, Bono, you always tease us...

I was born a child of grace
Nothing else about the place
Everything was ugly but your beautiful face
And it left me no illusion
I saw you in the curve of the moon
In the shadow cast across my room
You heard me in my tune
When I just heard confusion
All because of you
All because of you
All because of you
I am...I am
I like the sound of my own voice
I didn't give anyone a choice
An intellectual tortoise
Racing with your bullet train
Some people get squashed crossing the tracks
Some people got high rises on their backs
I'm not broke but you can see the cracks
You can make me perfect again
All because of you
All because of you
All because of you
I am...I am
I'm alive
I'm being born
I just arrived
I'm at the door
Of the place I started out from
And I want back inside
All because of you
All because of you
All because of you
I am

Perplexing. Thought provoking. Or maybe just good rock 'n' roll...