You Are Among Friends

Attn: Monmouth College

What is going on up there?

Signed,
A Concerned Alumna

(I saw Mulholland Dr. for the first time the other night but I can't talk about it right now because I'm home alone and I'll start picturing that scary dreadlocky caveman guy who lives behind the diner if I dwell on it too long AHHH TOO LATE ALREADY NOOO)

CURB: "You May Be Right' followed closely by "It's Still Rock N' Roll to Me" me: ok, ok, i can respect that4:00 PM CURB: uh....YEAH, you CAN  cause those are the two best BJ tunes EVER  (and by BJ i mean, Billy Joel) 4:03 PM me: haha i know, i almost abbreviated just now   personally i think you need to listen to "big shot" a few times over and get back to me CURB: i love "big shot" - but it's not greater than the two i listed - only the hook me: you may be right is pretty lame sauce  it's still rock and roll is good  acceptable  acceptable votes CURB: lame sauce?

I posted the following as my Facebook status yesterday:

best billy joel song! go!

and your basic brand of chaos ensued. Nobody really gives a rip about Billy Joel, seriously, but everyone has a favorite song of his and people come into this argument with gloves OFF. I got 53 comments on that status, voting for everything from "Pressure" (blargggcallanambulanceblarghgh) to "Big Shot," which is right.  

Some things to notice about the above "Big Shot" video (uh, I use "video" loosely):

• The mustache on that opening riff! Oh mustache, my mustache!
• Billy Joel is wearing a letterman's jacket with "Billy Joel" written on the back
• Drummer unnecessarily standing from :40-:59 (to hit one cymbal with one drumstick)
• Billy's two dance moves, "Act out the Lyrics" and "Weakly Imitate Mick Jagger"
• "You had to be a BEEG shot, DEENTCHA" at 2:33 (best part, obviouslyyyy)
• 2:57: finally, a use for the piano
• (Also, for C-U natives: Billy's uncanny resemblance to Dave King.) WHAT THE.

While writing my monthly short stories, one of the challenges that I face allllll the time is trying to avoid the word "suddenly." I love sudden moments and I (unconsciously) put one in almost every story I write. People are always seeing horrible things or suddenly running toward or from something. But I think the word "suddenly" is too easy; I feel like I should be able to describe the moment well enough to INVOKE (or whatever) the thing actually suddenly happening.

Usually I close my eyes and I try to re-remember the details of my car wreck, all the heat and the glass and the noise at once.

in the first two weeks of august:

we moved to urbana, into a two-story house of our very (rented) own
i left the world of part-time receptionisting behind
and leapt forward into a career as a copyeditor (which i love)
i had two big writing deadlines for school
OH, and i started watching pushing daisies on netflix

so that's why i haven't been around much.

life is really, really, really great and i am feeling very happy and fulfilled and thankful to be alive.

i know, right?