Rockin’ The Suburbs, Indeed.
So… 2.5 weeks at home (only 1.5 more ‘til I’m in DC) and it’s finally come to this… updating my livejournal. I would have written something sooner, but to be honest there’s not too much to say. Clinton Township is the same as ever, but I’ve kept busy passing out flyers for the Honorable Fred Miller (as well as introducing him as a guest speaker in my old 5th grade class… having 30 some-odd eleven year olds staring at you in the front of a room is damn intimidating, let me tell you), and going through all my brother’s high school graduation hoopla (plus there was a great trip out to Livonia/Ann Arbor in there where I caught up with just about everyone).
There were a few things that have come to mind though that I haven’t written down, so without further ado….
Last thoughts on the Collegiate
At Scott’s commencement, the new principal at De La Salle gave a pretty decent address, which is a lot coming from me, as I had a lot of respect for the old guy. Aside from pulling the 9/11 card at the end, which was lame to say the least, he really drove home the point that the De La Salle community was all about family, about compassion, about genuine love for one another. As I watched my last ties to the school come unraveled at last, I realized he was right. While there were a fair number of outright assholes that walked the halls of that school, the good people were really genuinely worthwhile, the kind of people you can see again after not seeing for months or years (as was the case with many people this weekend), and just pick up where you left off. It’s something I’ve definitely missed since starting college-not to say that I haven’t met some genuinely great people like this in the past two years, but that kind of sincerity and friendship is hard to come by (something I’ve touched on with more than a few of my DLS friends), and looking back, I feel extremely lucky to have experienced it.
Yes, you can all make fun of me now
When I came home, my mom warned me that I might have trouble adjusting, because my family had developed some pretty undesirable habits in my absence. Yes, she admitted, they had gotten hooked on American Idol. Not wanting to seem to be the surly college kid who lived in the basement, I joined them for a few viewings… and I got hooked. Sad but true-I saw the whole of the last four weeks, including the finale last night (I was rooting for Taylor, if you must know). In spite of my cynicism about it being nothing but an hour-long commercial each week for Coke/Cingular/Ford and the sheer idiocy of a nation that cares more about this election than the congressional midterms this fall, I couldn’t deny that it was entertaining television: Marvel at the goofy white guy trying to dance! Watch the washed up 80s pop star get progressively wasted behind the judges table! Wonder how in the hell so many formerly respectable music industry types have gotten roped into this shit! The list goes on and on.
Plus, what else is there to watch on TV right now? The Office is over for the season (though it could be toast now that Jim and Pam got together… why?), The West Wing is over for good, and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip won’t grace our sets until next fall (10 pm Monday nights… don’t ask questions. Just watch it).
Why Jeff is going broke this summer
So I made the mistake of going to the website for The 9:30 Club, Washington DC’s major concert venue, to see what might be in store this summer. These are June’s highlights alone:
6/10- Mason Jennings
6/16- Mike Doughty
6/22- Gomez/The Bad Plus
6/28- The Futureheads
Then, I looked at the nearby Merriweather Post Pavilion, only to discover:
Also 6/28- Ben Folds with the Baltimore Symphony (that’s right- Ben Folds with orchestral backing)
7/8- Belle and Sebastian with Ted Leo and Broken Social Scene
Finally, at the Wolf Trap Theatre: ELVIS COSTELLO on June 15.
Obviously, I can’t go to all of these… lest we forget I also put down the money for Lollapalooza this August (featuring Wilco, The Flaming Lips, The Raconteurs, Death Cab, Broken Social Scene, The New Pornographers, The Shins, Feist, Stars, Gnarls Barkley, The Go! Team, and about 120 other bands), but I’d like to at least catch a few of them if money and time allow.
So that’s about all here. A few trips to Cadillac/East Lansing, some last minute packing, and I’ll be off to DC. I'll be more than glad to have visitors if anyone cares to take a road trip. Unfortunately, you can't stay in my apartment for whatever reason, but I can probably hook you up with a place to stay, and will be more than happy to take you around the city and such while keeping page stories to a minimum ;)
There were a few things that have come to mind though that I haven’t written down, so without further ado….
Last thoughts on the Collegiate
At Scott’s commencement, the new principal at De La Salle gave a pretty decent address, which is a lot coming from me, as I had a lot of respect for the old guy. Aside from pulling the 9/11 card at the end, which was lame to say the least, he really drove home the point that the De La Salle community was all about family, about compassion, about genuine love for one another. As I watched my last ties to the school come unraveled at last, I realized he was right. While there were a fair number of outright assholes that walked the halls of that school, the good people were really genuinely worthwhile, the kind of people you can see again after not seeing for months or years (as was the case with many people this weekend), and just pick up where you left off. It’s something I’ve definitely missed since starting college-not to say that I haven’t met some genuinely great people like this in the past two years, but that kind of sincerity and friendship is hard to come by (something I’ve touched on with more than a few of my DLS friends), and looking back, I feel extremely lucky to have experienced it.
Yes, you can all make fun of me now
When I came home, my mom warned me that I might have trouble adjusting, because my family had developed some pretty undesirable habits in my absence. Yes, she admitted, they had gotten hooked on American Idol. Not wanting to seem to be the surly college kid who lived in the basement, I joined them for a few viewings… and I got hooked. Sad but true-I saw the whole of the last four weeks, including the finale last night (I was rooting for Taylor, if you must know). In spite of my cynicism about it being nothing but an hour-long commercial each week for Coke/Cingular/Ford and the sheer idiocy of a nation that cares more about this election than the congressional midterms this fall, I couldn’t deny that it was entertaining television: Marvel at the goofy white guy trying to dance! Watch the washed up 80s pop star get progressively wasted behind the judges table! Wonder how in the hell so many formerly respectable music industry types have gotten roped into this shit! The list goes on and on.
Plus, what else is there to watch on TV right now? The Office is over for the season (though it could be toast now that Jim and Pam got together… why?), The West Wing is over for good, and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip won’t grace our sets until next fall (10 pm Monday nights… don’t ask questions. Just watch it).
Why Jeff is going broke this summer
So I made the mistake of going to the website for The 9:30 Club, Washington DC’s major concert venue, to see what might be in store this summer. These are June’s highlights alone:
6/10- Mason Jennings
6/16- Mike Doughty
6/22- Gomez/The Bad Plus
6/28- The Futureheads
Then, I looked at the nearby Merriweather Post Pavilion, only to discover:
Also 6/28- Ben Folds with the Baltimore Symphony (that’s right- Ben Folds with orchestral backing)
7/8- Belle and Sebastian with Ted Leo and Broken Social Scene
Finally, at the Wolf Trap Theatre: ELVIS COSTELLO on June 15.
Obviously, I can’t go to all of these… lest we forget I also put down the money for Lollapalooza this August (featuring Wilco, The Flaming Lips, The Raconteurs, Death Cab, Broken Social Scene, The New Pornographers, The Shins, Feist, Stars, Gnarls Barkley, The Go! Team, and about 120 other bands), but I’d like to at least catch a few of them if money and time allow.
So that’s about all here. A few trips to Cadillac/East Lansing, some last minute packing, and I’ll be off to DC. I'll be more than glad to have visitors if anyone cares to take a road trip. Unfortunately, you can't stay in my apartment for whatever reason, but I can probably hook you up with a place to stay, and will be more than happy to take you around the city and such while keeping page stories to a minimum ;)