Music is my life. Everything can be expressed, handled or just felt more deeply with the right chord or phrase. I have been blessed with some amazing friends and am still at that point where my life is an open book. If you’d like, stick around for a bit and help me write a few chapters…Bright and early tomorrow morning I pick up my keys for my new apartment. I’m quite excited and have already been furniture browsing to fill my home. But, the one thing I’m the most giddy about is my new kitchen. *sigh* Isn’t it glorious???
I’m sure by now you’ve seen the Obama-BlackEyed Peas video. However, its star power dims in comparison to what happens when Tony Kaye calls up Hollywood and invites musicians, actors, models, and other celebrities to participate in the posthumous video for Johnny Cash’s ‘God’s Gonna Cut You Down’.
Yes, as a matter of fact, my dad is laying down on the floor of Bed, Bath, and Beyond testing pillows.
Today is my dad’s birthday, and as I’ve pondered all the things I want to say about my dad, the one thing that I keep circling back to is I am so blessed. Blessed in more ways than I can begin to articulate. So much of who I am and have become is a direct result of my father and who he is. I’ve said before that both Zac and I are the perfect blend of our parents, yet I’ve sometimes wondered as I watch my dad how we could both so alike and so different. It’s our ability to be on the same page one second and polar opposites the next that has made me appreciate the individuality that my parents fostered in both of us.
No matter what I was involved in my dad was 100% supportive. Always a lover of gadgets and technology, he brought home my first computer, a Commodore 64, when I was in first grade and let me play on his Apple IIe every day after school when most kids were not allowed to touch such a prized possession. He was always on the sidelines or in the crowd at every sporting event and music concert and still insists on displaying my paintings in my parent’s home. We must have spent countless hours as I was growing up hanging out wherever his stereo was located playing his old albums. His love of good music was infectious, and I learned more from him than I could have in a lifetime watching MTV or reading Rolling Stone.
Never was there a time in my life when I looked at a friend’s dad and wished I could be part of that family. Instead, I had the cool dad. He was the one wearing Hawaiian shirts and sporting Nikes in outrageous colors. Heck, my dad knew who OutKast, Rage Against The Machine, and Stone Temple Pilots were and probably could sing more of their songs than you. He was the go-to backup dad that other kids came to when their real dads had skipped town physically or emotionally and they needed a hug, word of encouragement, paternal advice or someone to come watch their game and support them. As a child I never quite understood the reason that there were also so many young men hanging out at our house. Now as an adult, I can finally grasp who my father was to so many. We’ve joked most of my life that my dad only cares about babies, the elderly and animals, but I can’t count the number of times growing up that he stopped to help a hitch-hiker, bought dinner for a homeless man, or brought a injured animal home to heal. Don’t let the scowl fool you. My dad taught what it truly meant to love everyone.
Since my birthday and Thursday are one and the same this year, I’d like to share with you my favorite songs of the past year. These songs are the ones that have been played repeatedly and summarize the goodness that was year 26. Many you’ve heard here before; others may be brand new to you. Each are meaningful to me. So put your headphones on and walk a bit in my musical shoes.
Laurel’s 27th Birthday Playlist:
Alicia Keys w/ John Mayer – Lesson Learned: “Falling down ain’t falling down if you don’t cry when you hit the floor. It’s called the past cause I’m getting past. And I ain’t nothing like I was before. You ought to see me now.”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Ryan Adams – Miss Sunflower: “I’m still at the movies, and I’m holding your hand. Still at an overpass view looking out at the lights. Still on an airplane, and I’m starting to cry. I don’t think about you.”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
John Mayer – Free Fallin’: “Shes a good girl, loves her mama. Loves Jesus and America, too.”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Grace Potter & The Nocturnals – Apologies: “My love is like a blanket that gets a little bit too warm sometimes. I wanna wrap somebody in it who can hold me in his arms. ‘Cause when it got a little too hot in there. He +as always stepping out for air and he froze. Oh, he froze.”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Joshua Radin – You Got Growing Up To Do: “Yeah the best thing I can give to you is for me to go, leave you alone. You got growing up to do.”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
We The Living – Best Laid Plans: “The distance is spanned between you and I. Can I see you tonight? When the pen in our hands, and our best laid plans will stand alone on our side.”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Stars – Today Will Be Better, I Swear!: “Today is going to be a better one. There’s nothing more to take in that’s going wrong.”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Today is my 27th birthday, and as I approach, the greatly feared 30, I’ve found myself having deep, one-way conversations inside my head. Maybe it’s natural to self-evaluate, to wonder if I’m where and who I’m supposed to be, I’m not really sure. All I know is as I flew home yesterday from Canada with the world silenced by the music pouring through my headphones, the question that kept coming up on my last day of being 26 was “Did you accomplish everything that you wanted this year?”, and to answer the question honestly, I’d have to say no. Not because I had some earth shattering goals that didn’t happen, but because 12 months ago I could have never anticipated the journey that this year has become. That’s the simple truth of life… as hard as you try, you’ll never truly know what’s going to be coming around the bend.
So in order to close the book on the past year, I want to share some of the truths that I’ve learned and blessings I’ve received. Year 26 for me has been the year of relationships. I’ve always heard the saying “as one door closes, another opens” and never has that been more true for me than this year. From friendships that no longer had their anchor and drifted away to exes who tried (and failed) to regain a position in my life to old friends who returned to be my hero to those who showed themselves to be unworthy of my forever-love, I’ve come to understand that quality in relationships is much more important than quantity. For once, I stood proud and secure in what I deserved and began trimming the dead branches away. The heartache and goodbyes of previous years had strengthened my resolve to always make sure that those who mattered to me knew that they both were cared for and belonged and to not carry around empty emotional baggage because it was easier than cutting ties. (So if you’re still in my life… you matter to me.)
What does year 27 have in store? I really have no idea. I do know that change is a’plenty, and everything is going to be just fine. I know that all of last year’s soul-exfoliation has paved the way for new relationships and experiences in my upcoming tomorrows. I, now, realize that taking a different path than others doesn’t mean that I’ve been left behind, but that my journey is just as unique as I am. Despite my fears of the unknown, I’m looking forward to living on my own for the first time and ready to stretch out and create a home that is all-Laurel. I’ve spent the last seven years focusing on mothering and taking care of everyone one around me no matter what was happening in my own world, and while that part of me will never really change, this new break in my social calendar has shown me that sometimes the reward for perseverance is rest and renewal. Maybe now I’ll have time to start quilting, finish writing my cookbook, learn to play my guitar, feed my soul and sleep a full eight hours. (Probably not, but it’s an admirable goal.) But most of all, I’m learning to be content, to truly believe that everything happens for a reason whether or not I can see the big picture in the puzzle pieces. (I’m just excited each day to turn over a new piece.) In the meantime, I’ll be sharing this journey with you here each and every day. Thanks for riding shotgun, and cheers to 27! It’s looking to be an amazing ride!
Ten years ago a professor at Beloit College began a project to help characterize that year’s freshman class. These annual Beloit Mindset Lists are composed of 50-100 realizations and generalizations of today’s 18 year-olds. Often mistaken for a judgment of their intelligence or preparation for college, it’s truly more of a statement regarding the world they grew up in. For my freshman class, Elvis has always been dead, we have never called the Russians the ‘reds’, and Bear Bryant was never the coach of Alabama. If you have a second, check out the previous year’s lists. Here are some of the most telling ones to me.
Class of 2011:
- *Burma has always been Myanmar.
- *They were born the year Harvard Law Review Editor Barack Obama announced he might run for office some day.
- *Nelson Mandela has always been free and a force in South Africa.
Class of 2010:
- *”Google” has always been a verb.
- *They have always known that “In the criminal justice system the people have been represented by two separate yet equally important groups.”
Class of 2009:
- *Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Bakker have never preached on television.
Class of 2008:
- *They never got a chance to drink 7-Up Gold, Crystal Pepsi, or Apple Slice.
Class of 2007:
- *They never heard Howard Cosell call a game on ABC.
Class of 2006:
- *The “Fab Four” are not a male rock group, but four women enjoying Sex and the City.
Class of 2005:
- *The Colts have always been in Indianapolis.
Class of 2004:
- *MASH and The Muppet Show have always been in re-runs.
Class of 2003:
- *They never heard anyone say, “Book ‘em, Dano,” “Good night, John-boy,” or “Kiss my grits,” in prime time.
Class of 2002:
- *Michael Jackson has always been white.
- *Kansas, Boston, Chicago, America, and Alabama are all places—not music groups.
I probably shouldn’t be passing this along. I’m sure many of youmight be offended by the content in this video. However, if you dispise Kobe as much as I do, you just may find this video of Shaq rapping about Kobe, his marriage, and the Celtics’ pounding of the Lakers hilarious. Of course, what I want more than anything is for Shaq to focus less on his illustrious music career and more on his basketball game, but beggars can’t be chosers.
For your watching pleasure, I present Shaq tells of his love for Kobe through his deep and meaningful lyrics. (If it gets stuck in your head, I apologize now. Also, very few other ResNetters understood or enjoyed this video. I’m such a rarity around these parts.)
I should probably be ashamed that I’m admitting this to the intarweb, but the guys that I work with have finally introduced a game they play to me that I enjoy playing. I’ve tried World of Warcraft (lasted less than three weeks), watched them play countless pc games (while they should have been working), and listened to enough Rifts tales that I know that royal-frilled is a type of dragon, but none of these can hold a candle to Heroscape. Imagine a Risk-like strategy game where instead of controlling an army you get to play with comic book superheros, ninjas, robots, and mythical creatures. Yeah, I could definitely get into this game, plus the guys let me bake cookies between sessions. What a perfect balance of Laurel!
My favorite character – Captain America
While my 27th birthday is actually on Thursday, I won’t be back in Flagstaff from my Canada trip until late…late…late Wednesday night. So we’re going to be celebrating on Saturday. Hope to see you there!!!
It’s that time of year again. Time to pack my bags and travel to some random North American university to hang out with three hundred fellow education geeks and play the game “Who’s the biggest nerd in the room?” This year’s ResNet Symposium is being hosted by the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, Canada, and it should be an awesome trip. For those of you who may not be familiar with ResNet, it’s the group of IT professionals on university campuses who provide support and education to students on their campus. It stands for Residential Networking and is my primary focus within our campus. Once a year, hundreds of ResNetters journey to meet up, discuss new ideas, share strategy, and work to build a support network between their schools.
The next six days will be quite the whirlwind. My boss and I fly out of Phoenix this morning and arrive in Fredericton at midnight tonight. We’ll be in conference sessions Saturday am through Tuesday pm and fly home on Wednesday just in time to be back at work Thursday morning. The area we’ll be staying near looks to be absolutely breathtaking, and the weather looks perfect with a few rainy moments. Beyond conferencing, I get to go whale-watching in the Bay of Fundy. Yay!
My bags are packed (pink, of course), and my passport is itching to be stamped. Just as a heads-up, I won’t have cell phone service from this morning until Wednesday afternoon, so if I don’t respond, please don’t be offended. Email and Twitter will be my primary forms of communication. Don’t fear, I’ll still be blogging!!!
Of the countless reasons I am grateful for my friendship with Jeff (Chicago), his taste in music and excitement about live music are reasons enough to consider him one of my closest friends. This past 
Monday night we were lucky enough to catch Brandi Carlile in concert at the Orpheum Theatre in town. Despite the fact that I forgot we were going until Jeff emailed me Monday morning, I was excited to see if she was as amazing live as I hoped she would be. She was.
I originally had heard of Carlile from another musical buddy who practically begged me to fall in love with her self-titled debut album. From that first introduction to her, her voice has consistently blown me away. While it’s raw and unique, her control and strength are enough to silence any critic who might find flaw in her technique, and unlike so many artists, it’s just as fabulous live as it on any album which is easy to believe knowing her sophomore release, The Story, was recorded live.
Accompanied by her long-time bandmates, Tim and Phil Hanseroth, Carlile wowed the crowd for over 90 minutes without a crack in her voice. It must have been the whiskey she was drinking out of her wine glass
or the enthusiastic crowd that encouraged her to break the mold of her normal setlist, but whatever it was we were treated with an intimate storyteller session of her music. Throughout her set, she took songs from her upcoming album on a test drive, showcased songs off of her first two albums, and treated us with covers of classic country songs like “Hallelujah”, “Stand By Your Man”, and one of my all-time favorites “Folsom Prison Blues”.
So, of course, this week’s musical recommendation/blog gushing session had to be Miss Carlile. Instead of presenting you with a complete album, I’m instead going to share some of my favorite songs and videos of her. She’s a lil bit country and lil bit rock-n-roll and a whole lotta phenomenal. I have no doubt you’ll enjoy her!
The Story: “It’s true…I was made for you.”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Josephine: “I am missing someone but I don’t know who.”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Turpentine: “I watch you grow away from me in photographs.”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Late Morning Lullaby: “Yesterday is gone now and panic sets in.”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Throw It All Away: “You know me as deep as the sea goes. Calm my head whenever the storm blows.”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
What Can I Say: “Alone is the last place I wanted to be.”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Tragedy: “Progress, changing. Growing, then giving up.”
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Recently, two of my friends and fellow bloggers (Random Thoughts and A Dark Ale) had the opportunity to travel across the Pacific to China. To soothe the wounds of my travel jealousy, each brought me prizes back. A gorgeous fan, adorable notebook, jewelery bags, tote, and Fuwas… thanks, guys!
