[abhayadana]
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[previous posts]
family visits [expected & unexpected] (11/18/08)
the end of summer + other things (9/21/08)
the auklet & other random things (7/19/08)
backpacking! (7/7/08)
one year gone by (6/13/08)
awake & sing or real life (7/15/07)
a winding windy day (5/20/07)
{title goes here} (3/18/07)
the new year (1/3/07)
what it is (11/29/06)

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[current music: c-ute- massara blue jeans]

9:55pm. i'm listening to what has to be the most guilty of guilty pleasures right now -- j-pop. & not just j-pop, it's hello! project j-pop. wow! it's the aural! equivalent! of! a! sugercube! i blame pinkpiixie....

so, emily & i celebrated a birthday a week & a half ago. i didn't take any pictures but ram & emily did. you can find some of ram's pics on his blog. the celebrating actually started on thursday night when anne, fran & i went to the edgefield to enjoy the freak mountain ramblers. friday night, em, becca, amanda, ram & i hit the south beach rogue & then local ocean & then bay haven & then the bayfront rogue for our free yards & t-shirts & desserts, etc. saturday evening, the bunkhouse girls hosted a mexican potluck/jam session/karaoke/sleepover. in addition to the usual suspects, laura & kevin & becca's boyfriend chris & some of em's friends came over from the valley and leilani & kent came down from pdx. quite a late night as we jammed out for a long while & then when that ended, out came the karaoke. in fact, some of us (ahem, ram namaste) might have kept on karaoke-ing until sunrise (&beyond) if not for the interruption at 3:30 (in the middle of "scarborough fair" no less) by miss sketchy & her 2 friends rodney & dude (i don't remember his exact name but everyone can be called "dude", right?) who happened to run out of gas right in front of the bunkhouse driveway. we ARE good samaritans though & so we helped them out. no need for all the details but we did send them on their merry way at 5am with at least enough gas to reach lincoln beach. & then the sun finally came around & there was amanda with a bowl full of aybleskeeeeeverzzzzzz for all. yum!

*******
[current music: DeVotchKa- how it ends]

okay, speaking of food, thanksgiving just happened. airfares were unreasonably high so i didn't get to see my maman, papa & booboo. instead, at the LC bunkhouse, amanda, devin & i cooked up an indian feast! [much gratitude to the mehta family for that now-legendary (at least in my book) thanksgiving meal in 1997 which planted the seed for this year's thanksgiving] i made a seitan vindaloo at the apartment & then headed over to the bunkhouse at around 4ish. at the bunkhouse, at our typical leisurely pace, i made samosas & toasted some papadams; amanda whipped out the kheer & naan & rice; & devin cooked up a tasty green bean dish. by the time we ate, which was around 9, we were already mostly full from the non-stop snacking. a good meal though! followed by 2 hours of kal ho naa ho.

devin, me & amanda on thanksgiving!

*******
[current music: the grateful dead- not fade away (9/19/1970)]

most of you readers (the few, the proud) already know this but in a little over a week, ram, dawn, amanda, gina & i will be heading to southeast asia. ram, dawn, amanda & ram's friend joe will be birding in cambodia the whole time. g & i will be splitting our time between cambodia & thailand. a rough version of my itinerary is on my public calendar. i'm looking forward to it!!!

*******
[current music: set fire to flames- when sorrow shoots her darts]

on the way back from pdx on saturday, amanda & i were talking about our Top 5 albums that meant something to us in the past 15 years. here's my list. feel free to put yours up too, if you want. the albums can be released at any time but they must be somehow relevant to the past 15 years of your life.

in no particular order:
1. r.e.m.- automatic for the people: my dad bought the album when it first came out in 1992 but i didn't really LISTEN to it until about half a year later during sophomore year english class, when erin walrath printed out the lyrics to 'try not to breathe' and 'nightswimming' and then i was hooked. although 'the wrong child' from green probably encapsulated my high school experience the best, i still listen to automatic & enjoy it (skipping over 'monty,' 'ignoreland' & 'star me kitten'). 'nightswimming' & 'find the river' are just lovely. the best r.e.m. album, IMHO.

2. radiohead- ok computer: ok came out when i was a sophomore at NU. even though i was familiar with most of the songs, i didn't really begin to love the album until (ironically) kid a came out. now, the album is pretty much entrenched in my regular rotation, nearly 10 years after its release! while no surprise, 'no surprises' is probably my favorite radiohead song. i do regularly skip over 'fitter happier,' 'electioneering' & 'climbing up the walls' though.

3. mogwai- come on die young: since according to my last.fm profile, mogwai is my favorite band, i had to have a mogwai album on this list. i don't consider CODY to be my favorite album (that would be happy songs for happy people) but it merits a place on this list b/c it was the first mogwai/post-rock album i bought -- sort of the gateway album, so to speak. i read about CODY on the now defunct wallofsound.com and decided to pick it up at the record store that use to be opposite powell's in portland towards the end of my trout lake year. i really like 'cody,' 'helps both ways,' 'year 2000 non-compliant cardia,' 'waltz for aidan,' and 'chocky.' almost immediately after i picked up CODY, i went back to the store & bought ten rapid.

4. sufjan stevens- greetings from michigan: well, we're fast-forwarding from trout lake to ann arbor/midland here. i discovered sufi john while living at my parents' & couch surfing in a^2 & writing my thesis from bed. everytime i hear 'romulus' or 'holland' i think back to the nights spent sleeping in the bean or walking across the diag to the dana building. cold autumn days & the snowy winter. there are 5 songs i regularly skip but man oh man, i still love this album.

5. counting crows- august and everything after: hm, well this is an oddball choice. up until last year, i didn't even actually own this album (i picked it up used from EM). but i did listen to it every night before sleep during my freshman year. dan tolpin always put it on (i know, it is a bit weird) & even though i wasn't much of a fan early on, i can't imagine my freshman year without this album. it grew on me to the point where i still remember all the words to all the songs on the album. solid album through & through. when i listen to it now, i don't skip a single song. on a related counting crows note, i bought their double live CD during my trout lake year & round here/have you seen me lately on the storytellers CD and raining in baltimore/round here on the 10 spot CD somehow became part of my personal soundtrack for that year. i still remember riding in the second row of the van, listening to those songs on repeat as we passed through central washington on our way to okanogan & omak.


MAN, it's hard to come up with just 5. & there are so many albums that just remind me of people too. heartbreaker & demolition by ryan adams remind me of mariana. crash by dave matthews band reminds me of visiting susan in indianapolis our sophomore year. black eyed man by the cowboy junkies reminds me of my father in connecticut. grace by jeff buckley reminds me of nika in WV. to venus and back by tori reminds me of gina her senior/my junior year (especially 'cooling'). & on & on.

i should go to sleep.

Labels: birthday, music, thanksgiving

   [posted by khem @ 9:54 PM]
   [1 Comments]

   how did you like the movie?? it's my favorite hindi film!!! hope you have been well, dear brother! i love you and miss you very much. xoxo, niks