Wish I was an English muffin...

In which people attempt to Ctrl-S my soul.

nobody@vox.com(Joie) — Wed, 21 May 2008 22:24:40 -0500

That's right. I could not think of a cleverer (<--actual, correct word) title for my post than that.

Being in California, a place some might see as the complete polar opposite of Alabama, is a pretty interesting experience for a gal like me who until relatively recently in her life, had never spent more than a few days out of Alabama. The truth is, they are vastly different places--most of the time. But let's talk about a little thing called "religion" and more specifically "Christianity" that is apparently not as different as one might expect.

I will be blunt: I have never been hijacked (I use that for lack of a better word) so frequently by Christian people of various denominations than I have been in the past two and a half weeks here, in California. I'm not quite sure what to make of this, actually. It's become... comical, because I'm starting to feel I have a magnet attracting these situations. Brian and I attended that Market Night thing in which no less than three booths were dedicated to something or another--handling out pamphlets, offering a test that would tell you whether you were going to Heaven or Hell, kids singing and dancing to praise and worship songs. At Market Night the week before, when his band was playing, a woman came up to me and told me I was beautiful... and then told me that every day I need to tell myself that, as well as remember some Bible verses. And today, while we were walking down the busiest road in this small town, a car pulled over, waited for us to get up to where it was, and we were handed some Jehovah's Witness literature.

Now none of this stuff (except the "Heaven or Hell?" test) bothers me in the slightest, it's just... odd. I'm used to seeing at least one church literally every few minutes on most any road I drive down in Alabama. I drive past a giant "Go to church or the devil will get you!" sign in Interstate 65 when I leave Prattville. But--and maybe it's just because of where I tend to hang out in Alabama, or rather where I tend not to--it's relatively rare to just be BAM! RELIGION'D! out there. When it does happen, it's not so in your face, at least not at first. It's like, "Oh, hi, I'm a really friendly stranger. Isn't this lovely weather? Would you enjoy this Bible?"

(There are, of course, exceptions--which really shouldn't count, as he's not actually a local person so much as a traveling crazy.)

Anyway. I'm not trying to offend anybody with this stuff, it's just some interesting behavior I've observed. And it's especially interesting to me as there's so much more diversity out here... I'm wondering why I'm not seeing more information about other religions? I enjoy learning about all sorts of religions, so I'm secretly sort of hoping someone will pull over and hand me a pamphlet about Islam or the Baha'i faith or something. I wonder how it would go over here in California if people at Market Night set up a booth for another religion--I know how uproarious (also a word) that would be in Alabama.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

While we're at it...

nobody@vox.com(Joie) — Sat, 17 May 2008 01:56:51 -0500

(If you didn't see this on the featured posts/This Is Good area...)

You go, California. You go.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

O MY SNAP.

nobody@vox.com(Joie) — Mon, 12 May 2008 01:49:32 -0500

Remember this?

IT'S HAPPENING, PEOPLE.

Joie is going to see Wicked in Los Angeles on Thursday, May 22nd.

...Excitement cannot be put into type. Except by saying, "OMFGZ I'M SO EXCITEEEEEDDDDD!!!11!1ONEONE!!!111!"

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

I am post-fest supreme today.

nobody@vox.com(Joie) — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 16:37:37 -0500

(Can you tell Brian's at work and I'm occupying myself with Internet?)

Since I was supposed to be doing work for my composition lessons all summer, I decided that with a few weeks left until class starts, I should probably y'know... start that. I've been--for lack of a better word--cautiously working on a piece for French horn and piano. I say "cautiously" because I have a bad habit of coming up with a few measures of crap that I like way too much, then obsessing over it so much that nothing else gets done. While I have been obsessing as per usual, I've also forced myself to try and focus just as much on what's going to come next (as well as what's going to come before... I think I starting writing in the middle of whatever this will end up being). Now that it's really starting to take shape and go places, this is getting even more difficult. I know it sounds egotistical or something, but I get so proud of myself for actually doing something that I just want to sit and play what I have over and over, too scared to move on lest I ruin it.

Anyway. "I'm having fun composing and difficulty staying focused." Read that and save yourself a paragraph you already read.

The whole process makes me wish I had the equipment/software/knowledge to record and quickly notate my work. I'm so slow with notation that I pretty much just memorize everything I do, which aside from also being time-consuming is risky if I back off of a project for a few weeks. Plus, I feel like if I could just record some things and listen to them (without concentrating so much on playing them), I could tweak and edit much more efficiently and just generally write better stuff.

I also feel I could write better stuff if I had the amazing keyboard Brian recently acquired. (So much jealousy.) It's pretty much the sexiest thing ever, even if I've no clue how to use 99% of its features. I keep repeating to myself: I do not need fancypants gadgetry to make myself a better composer. I am a worthwhile human being without neat-o keyboard with samples of 50 trillion different samples. I can write music. Sort of.

(Brian has such a nifty device because he's all about you know. Computer-related recording things that I don't understand but that require such amazing pieces of technology. And because he rocks hard at piano.)

Anyway. I write all this to take a break from the Keyboard of Awesomeness, where I was getting entirely too excited about modulating back to C-sharp major. I mean, really. It shouldn't be such a big deal. I shall shower because I'm gross and still clad in PJs, then return to the drawing--er, keyboard.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Travis; Travel; Trillions of cats.

nobody@vox.com(Joie) — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 23:53:00 -0500

And now it's time for an excellent band: Travis.

The Man Who

I'm much too lazy to bother posting a thoughtful, well-worded description of the band and their style. I'm even too lazy to post a sample song. But I'm not too lazy to tell you I dig this band very much (I'm still trying to get my hands on their album Invisible Band; I could just order it, but again, y'know. I'm lazy), and I'm not too lazy to say that at the moment I'm all about the song "Turn." In place of actual audio uploading, please enjoy this lyrical sampling from the song:

I want to sing, to sing my song
I want to live in a world where I belong
I want to live, I will survive
And I believe that it won't be very long
If we turn, turn, turn, turn turn
We might learn.

Okay, those lyrics do the song no justice. Frankly, I think the band writes some gorgeous melodies. The music is pretty mellow (aside from what I think is their first album, Good Feeling), the band is (according to all-knowing Wikipedia) "Scottish indie-rock," and you should listen to something. The big singles that I know of were "Why Does It Always Rain on Me" and "Sing." I think this "Turn" song was featured on a recent episode of Scrubs. I COULD BE WRONG, AND I'VE WRITTEN TOO MUCH.

The reason I'm listening to music, a strange phenomenon I haven't been doing enough of lately, is that I'm packing for--what else?--a trip to California. Normally, I'm nerdtastically enthusiastic about packing; frankly, it's fun to plan outfits, make lists of things to not forget, and strategically place objects in suitcases so that they fit perfectly (a feat that's never as easy to do when you're repacking your stuff to come home). But tonight... meh. In fact, "meh" seems to mostly describe the past week or so. I'm in some sort of summer funk; I like nothing better than to sleep for 12 hours a day, take care of the requisite 3-5 hours of work four days a week, then spend the remainder of my day on the couch. No bueno, I declare. I usually have to work to keep myself from packing days in advance; tonight, it's been a struggle to bust out the suitcases, 12 hours before my flight leaves.

Hopefully, the trip out to California (and some much needed interaction with other people, including of course the boyfriend) will make this mood lift. I'm looking forward to it, even if I'm too tired/lethargic to realize it.

As for cats. It's been rather freaky, actually, but I'll try and make this story short (I'm pretty sure it interests no one but me). The Saturday before last, I had a Most Adorable Kitten show up at my door. Anyone who knows me knows that what I want more than anything is a kitty, so I found this pretty weird; here's this cute and very affectionate cat. I know I can't have a cat, though, so eventually I went inside and left him outside (where he cried). The next morning, he was still hanging around; I left to sing, and he was still there two hours later when I returned. Eventually he left for good, and I spent the week regretting my lack of balls--why didn't I just take him in?

Exactly one week later, as I walk out to my car, a black cat sees me and runs up to me. A second black cat runs up to me from the other side of the parking lot. A third runs up to me from behind me, a small gray kitten in tow. ...Double-you tee eff, I ask. They hang out for awhile; I go inside. I peek back outside a while later, and they have literally left this kitten on my doormat. I remind myself that I CANNOT HAVE A CAT, and go back inside. The next morning, I'm woken up by a kitten crying; it's the same gray kitten, this time outside my apartment's back window.

I was terribly amused when I stumbled across the following children's book at work, which repeated the lines, "Hundreds of cats; Thousands of cats; Millions and billions and trillions of cats." It felt very like my own story. (Except the cats around me didn't end up eating each other, as in the slightly disturbing book.)

Millions of Cats (Gift Edition) (Picture Puffin Books)

Hypothesis: The Universe wants me to have a kitten, and apparently will deliver me one once a week. Since I'm going out of town for three weeks, I put my mail on hold; I can only imagine that when I return, three kittens will promptly be delivered to my door.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

All Is Well; Sunny California; Special Sightings in San Diego

nobody@vox.com(Joie) — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 01:11:15 -0500

Some of the stuff in this entry is a long time coming. I'll try not to make it a novel (partially because I know you don't want to read my detailed explanations of everything that's happened to me in the past month, and partially because I should be reading right now).

Not-So-Lost Luggage

I'm relieved to say that yesterday I was happily reunited with my luggage. As promised by the American Airlines representative in Dallas, my luggage appears to have traveled (all alone!) to Birmingham on one of the next available flights. I literally hugged my bags when I got them. Aside from a hole that's been ripped in one (in addition to the broken zipper they did to it on a previous trip... grr...), I couldn't have been happier. I have stuff again!

I really doubt my trip to California could have been any better. Brian and I spent the entire trip being lazy, watching movies, cuddling to the point of excess, eating beyond the point of excess, and doing all those little things you miss so much when you live so far apart. Though I enjoyed all this doing-nothingness endlessly, by far the highlight of the trip was a day-trip to San Diego!

Joeys for Joies - Zoo This Way!

I was beyond pumped to go to the San Diego Zoo, a sight I'd dreamed of seeing since I was but a wee little nerd watching animal documentaries on Discovery Channel and Animal Planet... er, I mean, a cool kid that socialized well with others? Whatever. The point is, we went to the zoo! It was huge, I was thrilled, and some of the animals seemed to be feeling especially photogenic for me.

We! Are! Fam-i-ly!

A dogpile--no mere cats, these guys!

Other animals were also willing to do a little showing off for the camera. Not all their methods were quite so... ahem... charming...

A glass of Tang will do that to ya.

Some animals were dangerous!

Ferocious!

Others were simply content to be discovering delicious new foods, such as the churro.

Churro-cious!

Many other animals were seen and photographed, but one in particular stands out. We were fortunate enough to encounter...

The elusive Steve Betz!

As the majestic Steve Betz is indigenous to the San Diego Area, he is familiar with the best sources of delicious food. We were taken to Another Realm of Amazing Goodness in the form of a beachside grill place known as Hodad's.

Afterwards we took our full bellies to the nearby pier. We were lucky enough to capture photographs of ourself with the good Dr. Betz! Truly a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Vox friends come together!

Being in the middle makes me special.

After one last laugh at surfers being pummeled by the waves...

pwnage.

...We were sad to see that it was time to go. But the day was success, and the beach bid us a beautiful farewell!

"I'm pretty!"

I would love to continue posting, but Vox is getting glitchy and I really need to get some homework done. Posting about summer plans tomorrow, hopefully! Until then, I leave you with this public service announcement:

Remember... stepping on sweating flowers isn't just wrong. It's against the law--a crime against the San Diego Zoo and all of humanity. ...Er, flower-anity.

(don't) do it... for the children.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

!

nobody@vox.com(Joie) — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 19:11:18 -0500

Best Surprise Ever: The boyfriend, who was supposed to work from 5:00pm till close on my last night in town, bursts unexpectedly through the door at 5:11, five minutes after evilly texting me about how busy the restaurant was.

[insert girly squeal!]

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

~Whine~

nobody@vox.com(Joie) — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 06:08:47 -0600

After a week of sleeping in and staying up ridiculously late on Pacific Time, then today's sleepfest from noon till 6 or 7pm Central Time (to make up for the fact that I didn't sleep at all on any of my return flights, which started at 12:30am)... My sleep schedule appears to be ten kinds of screwed up. ~points at time, which is 6:00am~

I've been in bed for the past two hours, and I'm not even remotely sleepy. On the contrary, I feel quite anxious. It's the first day of a new semester that I'm dreading (I think this might be the first time I'm not excited about new classes), and I feel overwhelmed just thinking about all the things I'll have to get done--not to mention all the things I should've taken care of over the break. It's a real pain in the ass when you're expected to practice and write over the break. I'd like to be normal and be required to do nothing school-related, like everyone else. But perhaps that's just 6am cranky talking.

My trip to California was absolutely fantastic. I had such a great time. I even got to enjoy some snow, but sadly the plan to snowboard didn't pan out, as I got kinda sick (something I'm still not quite over). The more I'm there, the more I like California (although I suspect that's largely to do with the person that lives there, not necessarily the place itself). Quite frankly, I wish I were still there. =( Ah, well. Gotta go back to the real world sometime, I suppose.

Fortunately my first class isn't until 11:00, and I only have two classes today anyway. Time to try and force sleep again...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Vox Hunt: Can't Wait!

nobody@vox.com(Joie) — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 02:10:16 -0600

Show us someone you can't wait to see.

This kid:

Taken from the backyard of some of his family's friends in Grand Terrace, CA. What a view, eh? 9 days, 7 hours, and 23 minutes until I'm on a plane back out there. Not that I have a countdown in my phone, or anything.

By the way, Brian is the master of the take-a-picture-of-yourself-and-someone-else-without-losing-the-gorgeous-background shot. My personal favorites are the ones of us in front of the Golden Gate Bridge, but it was excessively windy and we're always making squinty faces, so I opted for this photo instead.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Vox Hunt: Cool Shadow.

nobody@vox.com(Joie) — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 01:16:45 -0500

I'm increasingly fascinated by the whole QotD/Vox Hunt thing, so here we go.

DSCN1431

I took this on my recent trip to California; it's taken from a window in the music building at the University of Redlands.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend