Mrs. Oliver Harriman's Book of Etiquette: 2

Time for another lesson from the high society women of 1942! As promised, starting with
Chapter 39: The Servant in the House

• To begin with, the maximum number of working hours for any servant is twelve.
  
• The customary time off is one afternoon and evening a week and every other Sunday afternoon and evening. But other arrangements can be worked out which are equally satisfactory. A Filipino servant, for instance, whose bachelor employer is seldom at home, may be given no specific days off. His work is light and he already has free time.
  
• It seems almost unnecessary to say that servants' rooms should be clean and attractive and their meals well planned and plentiful, yet many employers are guilty on this score. Several agencies have told me that many servants leave a job because there is not enough food. Apparently we don't all realize that adequate nourishment is essential to those who do housework.
  [Wait, so do the servants have to be walked regularly too?]
  

Now, on to Chapter 40: Lady's Maid

• A lady's maid is entirely responsible for your wardrobe
  
• A lady's maid is never supposed to do anything about the house. Her only concern is the madam and her wardrobe. Too many people expect one servant to do the work of three today.
  
• My maid crossed the ocean with me twenty-nine times. Like all competent lady's maids, she bought the tickets, took care of the baggage, and arranged for the hotel accommodations.
  [Okay, maybe I want a lady's maid.]
  

And finally ... get ready ... Chapter 41: If You Have No Servant

• If you have no servant, entertaining need not be a burden. Instead, make it a gay adventure. Treat it as you did when you played house as a child.
  
• The hostess without servants must, above all, have a sense of humor. She should never appear to take herself or her party too seriously. If she laughs when the biscuits burn, her guests will feel at ease. Afterward they'll remark, "It's always so much fun at Natalie's. She's such a good sport."
  [Hot damn! Condescend much? And finally:]
  
• We don't realize that a home systematically run is as important to our social life as knowledge of good manners. Homemaking is not some mysterious gift bestowed on certain individuals. Fundamentally, every woman has the instinct for is. Like childbearing, whether she admits it or not, it is part of her very being.
  

I feel so much wiser.

I shot a man in Reno

Tonight I saw "Walk the Line" with Gina. It was so good. Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix were both great, but Joaquin was particularly amazing as Johnny Cash. I was just remembering that as a child, besides an amorphous knowledge of the Man in Black imparted by ... living ... my first concrete memories of him are as follows: the fox in the trippy chili pepper episode of the Simpsons, and "Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman". Sorry, Johnny! I caught up later.

Last night Allison, her boyfriend Oliver and I had dinner at Carla's house. It was a lot of fun. Carla cooked delicious food for us, and we got to meet her boyfriend, children and grandson. And her daughter's two dogs. One of them in particular was the most awesome dog I've met in a long time. He was born in Africa, and started life as a feral dog. Imagine a dingo, but with less crazy coloring and slightly smaller ears. He still doesn't like strange dogs, but besides that he is very domesticated and sweet. Strangely aloof, however, for a dog. He spent half the evening on the staircase, gazing out the window at the snow. I kept thinking he'd really be the perfect dog for people who don't like dogs.

Turkey, pie and snow

I hope everyone had a pleasant Thanksgiving. Ours was nice, complete with some homemade Greek foods among the turkey and potatoes and ham. Plus our family's traditional one-two punch of pumpkin and banana creme pie. The only thing missing, I think, was cranberry sauce. We didn't have any cranberry sauce. I may need to pick some up at the store so the universe will once again be in order.

Last night in the spirit of the holiday I was reading a great review of the 2005 Jones Soda Holiday Pack. Do yourself a favor and go take a look. The most horrifying flavor, to my ears, would have to be the "Brussels Sprout & Prosciutto." Although all of them would be about 40% more horrific for me anyhow, because I don't like soda.

Guess who!

Holy hat, I am tired. So I'll just leave you with this for the time being. Guess who's pregnant. (There could be multiple correct answers! But I have a particular one in mind.)

Let's go back ... in time ... 1991

On Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, I'm invited to a rather unusual get-together. Allison (who got back from China about a month ago, if I never mentioned that) and I are spending the evening at Carla's house. Carla ... as in, our old 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Johnson. The two of us always had a kind of unique relationship with her - I think we all had similar senses of humor, for one thing. Allison and I were a unique tag team of intelligent [geeks] kids who were eager to learn and do homework, but were also highly sarcastic and liked to bend the rules. Carla's class was awesome for us. I remember kidnapping the counselor's teddy bear and holding him for ransom (that was a class project), Allison and I rearranging the school's Battle of the Books schedule so we could attend the meetings, sitting inside with Carla and discussing an espionage class she was taking, writing "sideways stories" about our principal [loved to tango] and librarian [played accordion at the Polka Pub] that Carla insisted we share with them and then gigglingly admitted afterward that she hadn't been sure if they'd be offended, writing our series The Penpals during class while everyone looked at a map of the world and helped us decide where they should go on their Central American cruise ... anyway. Great class.

Allison and I had lunch with Carla a few years ago in D.C. when both Carla and I happened to be in town, but Friday's shindig will also include Allison's visiting boyfriend from Germany, two of Carla's children and their families, Carla's boyfriend, plus our old elementary school counselor - owner of the bear we kidnapped. I'm sure it will be fun, but it will also be strange, at least at first. I think maybe I'll bring along a few volumes of The Penpals so Carla can for the first time truly appreciate the saga she helped facilitate.

Emotional rollercoaster

Wow, today saw some dizzying highs and dismal lows, but it all turned out well in the end. Allow me to elaborate...

I was in Kenosha for the weekend for my "family birthday" and this afternoon my mom came up from the basement o' wonders ... with MY VINTAGE NINTENDO SYSTEM! I was so thrilled. However, my excitement was soon tempered by the fact that nary a controller could be found. Never fear! A little while later, we stumbled upon a bag containing not only the two controllers, but the gun, video and audio cables, power cord, and all of my old games. There were Marios 1, 2, and 3, Duck Hunt, Paperboy, Pinball, and Double Dribble, just waiting for me to play them. I took them back home with me.

Then, tragedy! I hooked everything up to my TV ... but it refused to work. I could get a purple screen, a sometimes blinking power light, and once I got a garbled Mario 3 welcome screen that froze up immediately. With great sadness, I had no choice but to give up on my old Nintendo as too old.

However. Later in the evening, I shared my tale of Nintendo woe with Sam. She suggested blowing into the games, which clearly - as any Nintendo veteran knows - had been my first course of action. Then she told me I should "crunch" the games into the box. "It'll work, trust me," she said. She gave a little more detail on the crunching maneuver, and I gave it a try. AND IT WORKED! VINTAGE NINTENDO IS MINE! I've crunched Mario 3 and Pinball so far, and they work like a charm. Thank you Sam, for saving the day!

The Perils of Chelle

The time has come at last. The Perils of Chelle, a storied anthology in my family, is about to be published for the first time on the web. Allow me to introduce you to this collection of wonders. Perils consists of four tales I wrote (or, more accurately, painstakingly dictated to my mother) between the ages of four and six. All of them are about my cousin Chelle and me, and the seemingly abundant tragedies that befall her. Poor Chelle seems to have a rather diabolical and accident-prone disposition.

You may find it hard to believe, but some of the things in these tales are not strictly factual. For one thing, Chelle was never actually hit by a car, kidnapped by a stranger, caught in an explosion at the local convenience store, nor yet gored by a bull. For another, I am approximately a year and a half years older than Chelle - her age was deflated and mine inflated in most of the stories. My mom baby-sat Chelle at our house three times a week for a couple of years, and I liked to feel superior.

The story I'm linking to for the first edition of Perils is actually the third one I wrote, but it is by far my favorite. I wrote this story when I was four years old. I had not started kindergarten yet, but the tale was loosely (very loosely) inspired by my sisters' tales of their kindergarten classes visiting a farm. To clarify: I have no family living on any farms, I don't even have any uncles I wouldn't share with Chelle, and I'm not sure exactly where the "tree and meadow part of Chicago" was supposed to be.

Enjoy! CHELLE AND THE BULL

Orange cranberry scones

Your Birthdate: November 17

You tend to find yourself lucky - both in business and in life. And while being wealthy is nice, you enjoy sharing your abundance with others. You put your luck to good use: you are very ambitious and goal oriented. Often times, you get over excited and take on more than you can manage. Your strength: Your ability to make your own luck Your weakness: Thinking you can do it all Your power color: Bronze Your power symbol: Half Moon Your power month: August

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

That's ... not all that accurate, actually. Oh well. I'll be on the lookout for bronze half moons that make me powerful.

Orange cranberry scones are just one of the "dessert party" items that will be available tonight. Others include, but are not limited to: apple kringle, tiramisu, a lemon bar (yes, just one), chocolate chip cookies, and cheesecake. Mmmmmm. And everyone is invited to play with the Playmobil Butcher Shop.

First snow

Last night, and into today, we got our first snowfall of the year. As a matter of fact, it's still snowing. I'm kind of enjoying this. I'll enjoy it right up through New Years, at which point I'm ready for Spring. I do like living in a place where there are seasons. It's just that I wish I could limit Winter to a month and a half. Two months, tops.

In honor of the snow swirling outside my window and actually making me kind of glad I wasn't flying anywhere today, let's play a winter game! This one is called Shuffle the Penguin. I just got him into the hole twice in about 25 tries. I don't really see why he wants to go in the hole, but that's just me. (Tip - if you actually pay attention to the wind speed and direction, it's much easier! Go figure!)

Two more days

Until I turn 26, that is. It occurred to me that I have not been asked by a single person what I want for my birthday. This is fine with me, but a little unusual. I think my mom technically gave me a scarf and gloves a month or so ago, and last time I saw her she was trying to claim that something or other else was the other part of my birthday present. I already got the awesome 1942 Book of Etiquette from Peppin and Maureen because they couldn't wait. Beyond that ... I dunno. Either people are really inspired this year, or I'm not getting crap. I think we're having a dessert party on Thursday night though. Becky is going to make a cheesecake. Yay Becky!

Today I bought myself a present, I guess - Kicking Television. I could have waited for my birthday, but it was on sale at Best Buy (evil, corporate, whatever - it's also across the street from work) for $8 less than usual. Plus I had to take a look at the photo on the inside of the jacket. Haha. There I am. Awesome. Also, I got another of my birthday presents in late October, but I've restrained myself thus far in terms of playing with it ... it's so freaking awesome ...

The Playmobil Butcher Shop


It has little sausages! And a butcher knife! And a rotisserie!

Fifteen songs

Today's post was inspired by Dana, whose journal I read all the time and link from this site even though I don't know her and have never even commented on her journal. (Not our cat. Different Dana.) Mmmm ... stalkeriffic! Anyway, her latest entry has inspired me to put my iTunes on shuffle, list the first songs that come up, and comment on them. This could be embarrassing for many reasons ... A) some are bound to be bad songs that I like anyway, B) if too many songs by one artist pop up you all are going to think I'm weirdly obssessive (come on, stop laughing, there's a chance you didn't think that already), and C) since I have so many songs on there, I can almost guarantee at least one will come up that I don't really know, even though I may have pretended I knew it at some point. But I'll be honest, damn it! Here we go:

1. The Sun in California - The Autumn Defense: Ahh. The sun-dappled harmonies of John Stirratt and Pat Sansone. It's a little bit 1970's folky, but in a good way. I put it on the two-disc "California" mix I made when Gina and I were there in August. (Because it mentions California, see! In the TITLE even!)

2. Blue Eyes - Uncle Tupelo: Hmmmm. Not incredibly familiar with this song. It's a cover, and it's live, and it's sung by Jay Farrar ... oh, ha, never mind, I do know this song. I remember the line about "a pretty girl to love me, with the same last name as mine". First of all it's awkward grammatically, and secondly, I assume it's referring to a wife, but it amuses me that it could also suggest, like, a sister or a cousin. A pleasant little number, anyway.

3. Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay - Otis Redding: Love it. Although the tide/seagull sound effects make me giggle if I'm not in the right mood. Or even if I am. This was yet another song on the "California" mix.

4. Way Down Yonder in New Orleans - Harry Connick Jr.: Aww. An old favorite. Though it's not really Harry Connick Jr. I mean, it is - he plays the piano parts - but this was recorded when he was eleven years old. He was brought in to play with a whole group of (adult) New Orleans musicians, and the album was released under an entirely different name. It was only rereleased as a Harry Connick Jr. album (Eleven) after he became famous and everyone figured out there was more money to be made. Man, in my first year of high school, I loved Harry Connick Jr. And I'm unashamed! He's a good guy.

5. bonus 3 - Birddog: I've only heard this album a couple of times, but I always intend to listen more because I really like it. (Which is why it's on the iPod.) This is the third untitled track at the end of the album, and it seems to be another take of the song "Rattlesnakes." Edith Frost sings backup on the official version, but not this one. Unless she's whispering from ten feet off mic.

6. 13 - Glenn Kotche: Appropriate enough following Birddog. This one's from Next, and I can't say it's something I listen to a lot - but I find the whole concept of the album interesting. Coincidental rhythm - I think I remember Glenn talking about trying to divorce his limbs from one another for these tracks and seeing what came of it all. It's all percussion, but not in any traditional structure. I think one of the reasons I like it is because it sounds like someone rifling through a bunch of these abstract metal windchimes my Grandpa used to make, and maybe dropping some of them. It reminds me of springtime when I was a kid (which is when the windchimes would go back up at our house). No kidding. I never even realized that before, but it makes me nostalgic.

7. Rock & Roll Queen - Mott the Hoople: I have a two-disc Mott retrospective, which was purchased back when I was trying to fill in some of the gaps in my musical background ... I bought some T. Rex around the same time, and Sex Pistols. Sadly, the experiment didn't really work. There are some songs from each band that I really like, and from this particular Mott the Hoople retrospective, there are a handful of tracks I really got into. But somehow, though I can see why these albums and artists are well-loved and highly regarded, there's always been a barrier between most of that music and me. It's an "I wasn't there for this" kind of barrier, but I don't really mean that temporally. It's just not tied to anything special in my life. There's no connection between myself and this song that makes it live for me. Not even the memory of it coming on during a car trip when I was five or something.

8. Anything But Down - Sheryl Crow: This is from an OnXRT live compilation that I've barely listened to at all. I didn't think I knew the song at first, but the chorus is familiar. This is quite a reworking - it's acoustic, slower, and mostly solo, though it sounds like there's some vocal backup. I also like this a heck of a lot more than I like the original version.

9. The Engine Driver - The Decemberists: Swooooooooon. This is probably my favorite song on Picaresque - this and "On the Bus Mall", which comes after it. It's so simple, but so pretty. It's one of those songs whose lyrics are just abstract enough for me to project my own ideas and images onto them. It's sung wonderfully. And, as someone who does a lot of writing myself, the chorus just slays me. Simple and eloquent.

10. Do Miss America - Ryan Adams: It's not my favorite song on Rock n Roll, but I definitely do not hate that album and every song on it, which seems to be a popular position. In fact, I'm in the mood to listen to Rock n Roll a lot more than I'm in the mood to listen to Cold Roses. (Interestingly, between the start of this blurb and now, I stopped and went out for lunch. At Qdoba, "Burning Photographs" was playing. Coincidence? Or something more?)

11. I'm Not Bitter - The Minus 5: This song always reminds me of the Minus 5 show at the Abbey Pub in 2003. No mystery as to why, I suppose. It also reminds me of Jane. Interestingly, this song was recorded on September 11, 2001.

12. Rise - Doves: So, do I know this song? Heh. Oh, no, wait Uyen made a Doves mix that I downloaded and then never got a chance to listen to all the way through. This is one of the songs from that. I'm liking it. The music (not the vocal stylings) reminds me a bit of U2's b-side "Holy Joe". Specifically the percussion.

13. Farmer John - Neil Young: This was another portion of my mostly ill-fated "fill in the blanks" musical mission. I actually do love a decent smattering of Neil Young songs, without even trying to "educate myself" about them, but this isn't really one of them. To be completely fair, I have barely listened to Ragged Glory.

14. A Millenium Fever Ballad - Scarnella: I'm fond of this song, though again, not incredibly familiar with it. It has an interesting air about it. The guitar work makes me think of Elizabethan England. And I don't think it's just because I still have jousters on the brain.

15. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da - The Beatles: Hee hee. Gina and I just heard on the radio this driving back from Grantham to Baltimore in the wee hours on Sunday morning. Would you like to place a wager on whether or not we loudly sang along? Including the goofy sound effects?

I'm going to cut this off at 15, because it's getting rather unwieldy. But that was kind of fun. At the very least, it made me stop and actually listen to songs I might otherwise skip on random. If anyone else has thoughts (conflicting, concurring, adoring, threatening) on any of these songs, I'd like to hear them.

The decision is final

I am not going to take a trip for my birthday. My brief flight of insanity is over, and I'm 100% surely staying here and working. Sounds like fun, right? Well, it won't be, but I have to admit it's a relief. I have yet another trip this weekend, and it will eventually feel good to be in one place for more than three full days at a time. Even if I am working. When I hear stories of my friends having crazy fun, I'll just remind myself of how good it feels to relax. Mmmmm-hmmmm.

You know what doesn't feel good, though? Working until 8:00 p.m. But that's what I did tonight. To make matters worse, we didn't even finish what we were originally trying to accomplish. So I'll be working on it again in the morning. Ahh.

Finally, last time Veronica Mars was on I requested more Francis Capra in this week's episode. The show was kind enough to comply on Wednesday night. Thanks, Veronica Mars! Now concentrating on: "Sugar Baby" in Grantham. And/or maybe "Blue Eyed Soul." And in a fantasy world, "All the Same to Me." Wish me luck.

Amazing poems

Holy crap. Check this out: Rob's Amazing Poem Generator. I created a poem based on this page. Here it is with the spacing intact:

Donald House
of people friend Lee
and had one
and my birthday shed
a You posted by
breaphene at 1:28 AM
6 comments Wednesday, November 06,
2005 tall
even his next year when I
hope they will. be able
to aid my chicken + mushroom lasagna
was nice
and independent creatures
who roam in Minneapolis last
night. Jeff apparently
has a decision about a little sleep.
Stay
tuned.

DEEP! Here's one based on an awesome show review Chris Funk wrote on the Decemberists board:

The thought it My
birthday TO
me. going out of Revenge, have
a coat on!
her? Did I was
indeed some brilliant writing funk.
the funk. as this I P. lounge, there are
middle fingers. .

This one is based on Natalie's blog:

Emma Last night.
alas. On and their
all that
The cutest dorks
in .the man Who had mysteriously
vanished between homework assignments. College
droned on.

And here is one based on Heidi's blog:

Subscribe xanga your
window. I couldn’t expound on my parents. On
either side. That
At Olive
Garden is already and take
car she called me today!
is already and
it’s there. I really
good friend of food.

Finally, I leave you with this poignant selection. From the TWOP recap of last week's Gilmore Girls:

The Nostalgia
overtakes
her child and
making it He says, that actually, she
used to get
Rory to him. Uh,
no, she even remember the
dollhouse, inside while she used
to go
back to help her he made this Richard
however, feels like what I know that?
I like her and Rory turned .
Then Lorelai has
joined Lorelai opens the door
to school.

I am a procrastinator

I'm not usually a procrastinator, but I've been trying to make a decision (about whether to spend my weekday birthday in a more exotic locale than Madison) for about a week now, and I can't seem to make the final call. Tonight is the real cutoff, though, since at midnight the plane fares will go up to impossible levels. (At least, God, I hope they will. I can't take the possibility of dragging this out some more.) I think deep in my heart I know what I should do - a good clue was when I briefly thought I might not be able to get a refund on the flight I bought (I've been using the NWA "24 hour cancellation" policy to aid my procrastination) and my reaction wasn't one of giddy acceptance, but one of abject horror and panic. Come to think of it, I haven't truly ascertained whether I can get that refund. Let us check, shall we? This might get a lot more interesting in a moment...

Whew. Okay. Yes, still fully refundable until midnight. As you were.

And now, a random annoyance. At work, until I move to a new building with offices in December or January, I am in Cubeland. I'm at the end of a row, we have high cube walls, and I can see many windows, so it's not bad. But, everyone else in the row faces forward or backward (in relation to the windows at the end of the row). Everyone, that is, except for the guy directly across from me. His desk faces ... me. So whenever he's there, he's ... facing me. It's creepy. It's not even his fault (the guy before him moved his desk that way) but still ... creepy.

Ask Google

I've invented a new game. It's called "Ask Google." I'm going to type questions into Google, not using quotation marks, and the first sentence of the blurb on Google's first result will be taken as the Great Google's advice/prediction/answer on the matter. Warning: much like the sphinx, and the Lord, the Great Google works in mysterious ways.

Q: Should I give in to peer pressure and go to New York City for my birthday?
A: Currently in New York City, the government workers make a higher living than those in the private sector.

Q: Will this New Years Eve be as fun as last year's?
A: Toronto New Years Eve events offer fun & entertainment for the whole family.

Q: By the year 2030, will we have flying cars?
A: The car of 2030 will be better connected to the outside world — we've moved from a non-knowledge to a knowledge-based society, centered on the Web.

Q: Will I buy a laptop in the next 6 months?
A: PowerBooks and iBooks by April or May of next year?

Q: Will I visit Gina while she's living in Dublin?
A: Log on to Dublin bus.org and visit Conyngham Road bus garage.

Q: Will Rhett Miller ever cut his hair?
A: In the front yard was a hippie man: his beard and his hair were the same length, past his shoulders, and he smiled when he saw me.

Q: Did Davy Crockett really kill him a b'ar when he was only three?
A: He did, but that also turned out to be hell.

Q: Will I ever finish reading The Executioner's Song?
A: You will have to devote serious time and energy to finish it.

Q: What will I do for a living ten years from now?
A: Will a clock that works flawlessly for 10000 years become the greatest wonder of the world?

Lindsey's tall

She's even a little bit taller than Glenn, as we ascertained after the Tweedy show in Minneapolis last night. Lindsey is one of my oldest friends, and she's had to endure tales upon tales of my concert goings-on over the years, so it was a real treat to finally introduce her to some of the "characters" firsthand. She'd never seen Jeff play a solo show before, let alone in her own town, and she stood up front with us. As a bonus, she even got the pleasure of cracking up as Jeff mocked us from the stage!

The setlist for this show was once again great. I'm sorry I won't be able to see more of the shows after next Saturday, because things are looking very different from night to night. Jeff apparently has a sheet of about 70 songs that he just looks at and picks from depending on what he feels like doing. I think I preferred the Madison show, if only because we were able to see Glenn (and Spencer, when he was on drums) so much more clearly - but Minneapolis had its share of treats. "Acuff-Rose" is always a pleasure to hear, "Box Full of Letters" was a surprise, "Down in a Willow Garden" with a fan on vocals was sweet and really fun, and bringing up Kraig Johnson (a.k.a. The Pretty) for a tender "Pecan Pie" duet was inspired. As for Glenn, I can't wait for his next CD to come out in February. Balinese monkeys are still chanting in my head.

Oh, and I have it on good authority that the inner sleeve of the "Kicking Television" CD sports a crowd shot that Gina and I should look forward to with some trepidation. Mmmmmm...

See you swoon

I think we produced the world's worst "swoon" during "Someday Soon" tonight at the Tweedy solo show in Madison. It sounded more like crying out in pain. Awesome. It was a really excellent show (minus the stupid people in the crowd who felt the need to shout out about the WHITE SOX!!!!! and I LOVE YOU JEFF, etc.) and just brought home the fact, once again, that solo shows are a free-for-all in terms of setlist. Someone in the crowd requested "Too Far Apart," a song I'd never seen played live, and Jeff promptly ... played it. That's service.

Other highlights were the new Loose Fur song, "Pick Up the Change," Spencer on drums for "I'm the Man Who Loves You," and the Glenn/Jeff "Red Eyed and Blue/I Got You" combo. My weekend winds up in Minneapolis tomorrow, with startlingly little sleep. Stay tuned.

Cute animal quiz

You Are A: Bear Cub!

Bears are strong and independent creatures who roam in the forest in search of food. Bears are usually gentle, but anger one and be prepared for their full fury! You won't back down from a fight -- a classic attribute of bears. Intelligent and resourceful, though lazy at times, you are a fascinating creature of the wild.

You were almost a: Duck or a Kitten
You are least like a: Chipmunk or a GroundhogWhat Cute Animal Are You?

Kitty!

Our cat, Dana, came home tonight! She's very cute. She wanders around the place, loves attention, and meows a lot. She's not very loud, but I still hope she doesn't plan on doing that all the time. I don't think I'm going to leave my door open during the day - she's been in my room quite a few times, and although I like her around, I can already tell she would knock down all of my CDs and curl up on my pillow if I let her roam free. Neither of which I especially want to happen. It's not that I don't like cats, but I've really never had one. Well, I guess we had one for about a year when I was in high school. (My older sister's cat, after she first left for law school.) I'm just kind of a freak about my space, is all. Maybe Dana will break me down.

What the...?? ... oh. Jim O'Rourke.

Sweet sleep awaits, but I thought I'd give a brief rundown of Tuesday evening first. I met a couple of cool new people; Maudie's friend Lee and Gina's friend Ryan ... and then it turned out Ryan and Paul knew each other from Northwestern, which was just plain bizarre. As predicted, the soundcheck was like 1% party, max. It was nice to hear the songs, but mostly just weird. It's different if a couple of people are listening in on a soundcheck, but 200 people sitting silently in a theater staring at a soundcheck ... hmmm.

Our box people went for dinner at the Grand Lux Cafe (my chicken + mushroom lasagna was not all that great, but the molten chocolate cake I had for dessert was delicious) and then returned for the show. I thought the New Orleans musicians were great opening, and some of the horns came onstage later with Wilco to play "Monday." A pretty solid Wilco show, though nothing really special. We did hear "On and On and On" again - I like the part where it gets loud, with harmony vocals. Our opera box was very nice, and our chairs were super plush, but the perspective wasn't the most interactive, obviously. Although Mark did toss Smarties down to people in the crowd before the show with frighteningly accurate aim. Oh, and our chairs were so close to the front of the box that Gina and I were afraid we were going to plummet to our deaths (or kill Lou, who was below us) when we stood up to dance. During the "Late Greats" instrumental break, the stage was relatively dark, and a strange figure darted to the front microphone and started singing ... ish ... some stuff. I was like "What the hell??" Then as the music started up again and he darted back offstage, I saw that it was Jim O'Rourke. Of course he couldn't have joined in a song in any normal fashion, right? If he and Jeff and Glenn play "Laminated Cat" together in NYC on my birthday, I'll shed a few tears. (The bitter kind, of course.)

I did scout the afterparty for Jim, to no avail. Of course. I'm not sure what I would have done if he had been out; I've never met him. He gave Paul a record once, though, so he could have gotten the conversation ball rolling.