this and that.

- sometimes (well...all times) i experience mental and physical fatigue when having to remove music from my ipod ( pam[my] ). while ultimately this process is a positive thing, and the removal of the old and un-listened is necessary to make room for the fresh and awesome, it still causes stress and grief. i feel bad for not having the capacity to hold, or listen to all my music. I'm sorry conor oberst, but i can't fit your 8 bright eyes albums, your self-titled release, and your latest work with the mystic valley band on one 16 GB purple iPod nano. i must make room for the grizzly bear album, and the dirty projectors. what would happen to my beloved rogue wave if i kept every song ryan adams decided to sing? cuts have to be made, and they are difficult for everyone.


- i saw my dad eat yogurt for the first time this weekend


- family reunions are awkward. my mother always makes me meet people. i think she wants me to impress them with.....what? my ability to grow older? that fact that i'm not homeless or selling the crack? i'm mystified by her need to show off her children. the awkwardness of reunions is compounded by the irregular social tendencies my extended family tends to exhibit. Why did my aunt, for example, inexplicably choose the moment right before i was about to bite into my potato salad, to begin telling me about her newest MTV obesession, 16 and Pregnant? Not having the funds to pay for anything above basic cable for some time, she was granted the privilege to fill me in on the complicated details. After my enlightening dinner conversation (why didn't i get to sit by the little kids debating the finer points of tonka trucks?) all those willing offered their talents for the group. One cousin (who i'm 87% certain was wearing a bump-it) sang a broadway song. This made me realize how i'm definitely not the type of person who enjoys the spotlight thrust upon her. i don't fully understand those who willingly seek it out. whatev.


- my brother finally found his S. they redid his bedroom last summer, and my mom, in a fit of bargain shopping, purchased the letters for his name. Sadly only four of the five were available (and who can be surprised at such amazing discount prices) I've been calling the poor kid Tyon for the last 12 months.


- i've perfected my deadpan. (can that be a noun?) those whom i regularly associate are able to recognize my sarcasm but others are becoming less and less aware. at a BBQ last week while perusing the eats, i declared that i would be consuming 5 or 6 hotdogs to prep for the hotdog-eating contest i was entering. The girl behind me expressed genuine surprise and wonder. i almost felt bad telling her i was kidding.