After scraping the leaf of a steamed artichoke with her teeth, my mom said, "Isn't it amazing what humans have figured out?" Simply put, "Yes."

Summer 2006: The Faces, "Oh la la"

Fall 2006: Pete Yorn, "Strange Condition"

Winter 2006/07: Nada Surf, "Concrete Bed"

Spring 2007: Ben Harper, "Better Way", Jack Johnson, "Let It Be Sung"

Summer 2007: Seawolf, "Middle Distance Runner"

Fall 2007: The Weepies, "World Spins Madly On"/ Ingrid Michaelson, "Die Alone"

Winter 2007/08: Josh Ritter, "Mind's Eye"/ Josh Ritter, "Temptation of Adam"

Spring 2008: Xaiver Rudd, "Better People"

Summer 2008: Tegan and Sara, the entire album, "The Con"

Fall 2008: First Aid Kit covers Fleet Foxes, "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song"/Aesop Rock, "None Shall Pass"

Winter 2008/09: Carla Bruni, "Quelqu'un ma dit"

Spring 2009: Feist, "I Feel It All"

Summer 2009: Old Crow Medicine Show, "Wagon Wheel"/Devendra Banhart, "At The Hop"/ Band of Horses, "The General Specific"/ Angus & Julia Stone, "Just a Boy" (there was a lot of music that summer...)

Fall 2009: A.R. Rahman & M.I.A., "O...Saya"

Winter 2009/10: Tegan and Sara, "And Darling"

Spring 2010: Pheonix, "1901"

Summer 2010: Modest Mouse, "3rd Planet"

Fall 2010: The Black Keys, "Work Me"/ Yael Neim, "Far Far"

Winter 2010/11: Beirut, "Sunday Smile"

Spring 2011: Local Natives, "World News"/Wye Oak, "Holy, Holy"

Summer 2011: Blitzen Trapper, "Furr"

Fall 2011: Too Soon to Tell

These songs are burned into my memory forever. It's true, you know? The human brain is incredible. We've figured out how to eat artichokes and we've figure out how to remember thousands upon thousands of songs. Not only that, but we have memories attached to them all...and know most the words. Except for Billy Joel's, "We Didn't Start the Fire"...still working on that one.

Date: Sunday, September 3, 2011, about 6:00pm, Newark International Airport.

Cora parks right before a crosswalk outside the airport. And can ya believe it?- this crosswalk was set up with the latest gadgets; a stop light for cars AND a crosswalk signal for peds. We throw my bags in the back and as luck would have it, we have a green light! Cora starts to move forward and some jerk starts walking against the red hand. This kind of action would be fine except it always causes a chain reaction. People from both sides of the street start walking. Thinking about how long we could potentially be stuck in this abyss, Cora gets pissed and I tell her to start inching forward; welcome to East coast driving! When it seemed we were in the clear, a nice Jewish family starts in and Cora has to stop nose deep in the crosswalk. She honks, the Rabbi stares at us, I start waving my arms, he starts yelling, Cora starts laughing and I probably cursed at him.

See. Traffic laws make people swear at men of God because in a crosswalk, we are all idiots.

(post originally written in March 2011)

Junior year of high school, I had an English teacher who was one of those people I really connected with although we had very little interaction outside or inside of class. There was no banter like I had with my Pre-Calc teacher. We didn't say 'hello' to each other in the halls. I never raised my hand in class and I knew very little about him except that he grew up in The Middle of Nowhere, Vermont. We both had a mutual respect for one another and that was enough.

Every time I see a Soren Kierkegaard quote I first think of my elusive teacher and then my father. After reading The Stranger in AP English, Dad introduced me to Kierkegaard. He wanted me to know that existential thought and a belief in a higher power were not necessarily isolated instances; You could have both. I'm not quite sure why I think of my Junior year teacher because I read Camus' book Sophomore year (something I just realized about 4 minutes ago). I guess we can't always trust our memories. This is proof.

In my head, I always thought he was the one who introduced me to a greater trust in myself but in actuality it was one of the most dry, cynical women I had ever known. I guess what Junior year English did was give me the confidence to use my mind or better yet, how to trust it.

I never expressed my gratitude to Mr. Ross. It was too uncomfortable for me. Silly, right? Part of me believes he would have been uncomfortable too but maybe not. Maybe I just tell myself that to make me feel better. He only stayed at West Morris Central for a couple of years. The last time I talked to anyone who knew him, she said he had received an offer somewhere else but not quite sure where. That was 5 years ago.

Sometimes when I think of that class, I wonder what he's up to but those thoughts quickly fade. It doesn't matter. If I have only learned one thing from Kierkegaard it is understanding the importance of the present. Mr. Ross served a purpose in my life but that was years ago. I'm not saying I wouldn't love to run into the man but I'm not out searching. I have other things to look for.

via

www.designcrushblog.com

The view from my window is, in some ways, right out of a novel. And if we go by what I told my dad last night, it would be something straight out of a murder mystery.

brought to you by a friday stroll.

As we drive down tree covered 6A, my thoughts are 100% focused on the excel spreadsheet in front of me. It is not until I close my computer and look up that I notice where we are. It's funny how a town I only see once a year can seem so commonplace. It's like I was made for this place and it for me. The routine's always the same: books, beach, food comas, laughter, talent shows, the old man who fills the pot holes and cracks with new asphalt. Year after year, his job never seems to progress and yet he never seems phased.
Every year there seems to be a new addition to the crew as well and the welcoming of some new excitement or job or move or struggle. It's usually a mix of them all but it doesn't matter because for a handful of days the only thing that matters is 6A. 6A refocuses life. It's the tiny reminder that it'll all be okay. It gives me breath and it freezes time. In fact, time doesn't even exist when you are driving down 6A. Maybe that's why the old man continues filling the holes. Maybe he's just enjoying the summer heat...