|
everblusky
|
read my profile
sign my guestbook
Name: Lisa
Location: Asheville, North Carolina, United States
Birthday: 8/16/1983
Gender: Female
Interests: music, French, reading lovely novels, other things.
Expertise: Dancing.
Occupation: Education/training
Message: message me
AIM:  everblusky
Member Since:
1/19/2005
|
|
| Here is a testimony to how cute my newborn niece Lily is:
Yes, the best Christmas present of all. | | |
| Yes.....
I decided that after such a long hiatus of non-songwriter competing, I must go. It was calling. I packed up the guitar, grabbed a friend and headed down. No beer this time... only business. (Plus, who has an extra $6 just laying around in the lining of their jacket?) A few of the oldies were there. The John Elton wannabee, Drew the guy who loved to hit on me, the ALWAYS drunk owner who always stumbles out and breathes beer breath on everyone. But there were a lot of newbies too, a lot of new talent.
I signed up and paid my $3 entry fee ($50 dollar prize!) and sat down with Rich. There were a few folk singers (one who sang a song about Dinosaurs, another who sang only about Death), a few rock, and then this very psychodelic crazy young man named Bubba who danced around to his techno-crazy creations like a daddy-longlegs on drugs. ("I am Jeep. Beep. Beep.) By the time the first round ended... who was in the running but Lady Death Singer, Daddylonglegs, and myself.
We played another round.... Sylvia Plath sang another folk-death song, Bubba did another twilight zone song, and I did "Sing Softly". It was tough competition. Death girl had brought a whole slew of friends, Bubba was twitching on the ground and making the judges laugh, and there I was... just playing.
But.... the final choice... the judges replied after a drum roll, YES! There must be ONE MORE SHOOT-OFF! Between.. Bubba and Lisa! It was very heart-wrenching. Bubba was singing/chanting his "It's almost time, it's almost time, it's almost time, it's almost time, it's almost time," that by the time I got up, I felt like I had fell out of the twilight zone into a pocket full of Rootball crazies, with just enough time to play one last song.
And... (edited version grace of Miss Ashleigh)
I decided to play "T's and I's" to sweep them off their feet! Rich was telling me, Bubba's got the crazy eccentric dancing stage presence going, you've got to show them how emotionally loaded yours can be! So I played.... I daresay it was one of the best "T's and I's" performances I've done since I wrote the song.
That was all it took. The judges pronounced me Brown Bag Winner of the Night complete with $50 tucked neatly inside and a spot in the quarterly finals! It was a glorious night! Bubba was so upset that he asked if he could do another song, but the judges were firm. They came up to me while I was packing up. They smiled to themselves slyly and told me, "Lisa, congratulations! We knew you had it the whole time, but we wanted to see you play under pressure!!"
Seriously, the whole night blew me away. | | |
| Strange dream I had while I was home for Thanksgiving...
I was at this restaurant/store (sometimes I was browsing through clothes, other times I was ordering something), and all of a sudden I hear French speakers! I wander over to the racks where they were talking, just to listen in (oh, how dreams are so true to our character), and one of them accidently bumps into me backwards.
"Pardon!"
"Non, c'est moi!*"
Until the French person recognizes me!
"Oh! C'est Mademoiselle Lisa!"
And gives me the French bisous and tells her friend. All of a sudden, she runs out of the store to bring back pretty much ever student I ever taught in Strasbourg last year. The group of Primaire (junior) girls who wanted me to share every bit of American culture with them, the Seconde (sophomore) boys who sang the French national anthem in class, the Terminales (seniors) who always fell asleep because we met after lunch... Apparently all of my last year's students were on a school trip in the U.S. together and just happened to be in the same restaurant/store as I. So we all pull up the chairs from the tables (30-40 plus chairs) where everyone is looking intently at me -- it felt like I was facilitating a class all over again.
"So tell me, what do you think of America?" "Comment est-ce vous etes tous arrives ici?"*
It was a glorious reunion, but it made me miss Strasbourg so much! Needless to say, I went around speaking more French than normal that day. Ce qui n'est jamais terrible.*
1 "No, my bad!"
2 "How did you all get here?"
3 Which is never terrible. | | |
| Woke up this morning to SNOW in Asheville... white frost on all the cars, a chilly haze in the air. Last night Alicia and I pulled in the little space heater into our room so we could stay warm bundled up in our blankets.
In truth, it made me a little nostalgic for Strasbourg. That was the last time I was ever in any ferocious snowstorms -- pedalling fast on my little yellow bike to a friend's house, the front of me completely covered in sticky snow, the back completely untouched. Laughing as I shook it all off in front of her door, smelling vin chaud in the hall.
| | |
| One of my roommates spends all day making banking transactions, another spends it helping ladies get into shape. It's strange what our culture asks us to do. There are so many jobs out there and how many are truly meaningful in a way that makes you leave feeling you've left the world (or at least your small community) better than when you came?
Today I played Egyptian Ratscrew. I played Sorry. I had conversations with people who live in the adult home. I counted it as six hours on my time sheet and then went home for a late lunch. Does that count as life-changing? Does everyone have to have life-changing jobs?
I hope against hope that all that we are asked to do is befriend people. Be kind to them. Show them a sense of decency and respect. Maybe that's all "life-changing" is worth. A little bit of kindness to remind you of humanity's capacity for good. In that way I think that any job one might have could be worth something.... | | |
|
