oh, baby

My favorite thing I've seen today.

Rain is my least favorite thing I've seen for DAYS. This is some serious rain we're having here. I just got home and it was actually scary to drive in. I was thinking about how if I'm scared in THIS kind of rain, I feel even worse than I did already for the people who were stuck in New Orleans during Katrina. The power of too much water is scary (which of course would bring to mind the tsunami as well, but that's a disaster of such magnitude that you can't really compare it to anything we could imagine.) People are getting trapped around here on roads near creeks and what have you, and one lady said in the news today that the water was up to her car window when the rescue unit came. Freaky. It just happens so quickly that it's really best to not be on the road.

I'm slacking from doing my paper, which of course means I'm finding new, fun stuff on the Web. A TOTALLY RELEVANT writing search (not that I need validation, right? RIGHT?) led to this one. Neil Gaiman is one of maybe three sci-fi writers I read (Ursula LeGuin is excellent as well, and I've mentioned Mary Doria Russell here before, but she's not straight sci-fi so she doesn't really count), since my ex-ex-boyfriend bought me "Neverwhere", determined to prove that I could indeed enjoy a sci-fi/fantasy novel. It obviously did nothing for the relationship, but I kept the crush on Neil, which is very well-deserved, I'll add (scruffily attractive sci-fi geeks are one of my  specialties, apparently, and he's British too. Done. In.) And I'd totally expect the father of any child of mine to do something as of-the-moment as name the baby after a drag queen in a Lou Reed song. (And yes, he's married, so it's a Platonic crush. Back off. ; ) )

I'm writing a paper about young peoples' involvement in politics as encouraged by media like Eminem's "Mosh", "Rock the Vote" and Puffy Diddy's "Vote or die" slogan. This has me thinking that a Ph.d in media and culture is a good idea, which also means someone should put me in a cage until the urge passes.

I have to play "Joy to the World" in a recital hall in front of several people on Thursday. Our teacher, because she is apparently of the humiliation school of beginner piano instruction, believed it would be a swell idea for us to be able to invite family and friends to this exercise in torture, which means that there will be more people there than just my fellow recruits. I really feel weird about this, but only because until three weeks ago, I didn't know how to find middle C on a map. Now I know a little more, but not much...and I'm not feeling quite ready to expose my rudimentary knowledge (even of a CHRISTMAS song. Hello, I get to play a CHRISTMAS song. Heehee) to the unsuspecting masses. Who wants to come to my house for some bloody Marys at 8 a.m.? I think it can only help.

I am kind of jazzed because a friend of mine plays guitar and has been composing some music, but he could use some help with lyrics, so that might be fun. Now that I have some kind of control over the keyboard, and plan to keep on with the same class in the fall, it should make it easier to even conceive of writing, which is something I've wanted to learn how to do for years, but never dreamed I could understand. So far it's been fun, which is my priority.

Two songs of the day: "Get out the Map", Indigo Girls and "All Right Okay" by Last Train Home (okay, LTH's "Lorelei" too...I can't pick.)

And now I have to really write this paper.

Comments

[joanna]

hey laurie, I'm still out of town, but the CNN pictures of Lake Needwood make me nervous. What is it like in the county?

[laurie]

It's actually kind of scary. I keep checking the Post online and so far nothing new. I almost brought my dog to work with me since I'm not too far from there! But my dad is home...I'll e-mail you. I think it's the same - I'll check your site.