Why I love Live Music

I went to a concert recently and saw three bands I'm quite fond of. Of the three, the headliners were mediocre, the second opener was spectacular as always, and the first band to perform, the youngest and most inexperienced of the three, was the one that reminded me why I love live music.

This is a band that has only one CD and whom, pre-concert, I would have described simply as "Vampire Weekend-esque." Their performance was nothing out of the ordinary, they were fairly casual and being the first band to perform didn't have the audience's full attention. No matter though, there were other things that made them stand out. The first was group cohesion. They were from Syracuse, and while I don't know much about Syrcause, I can say with certainty that the sockless loafers, boots with skinny jeans, and all-around bohemian hipster look is the one popular there right now.

The lead singer was in his own bubble, as lead singers tend to be. When he sang, he grasped the mike firmly with both hands as if clutching it were like squeezing a stress ball, and tilted his head to sing to the blue sky above. Like most indie performers, he couldn't dance, but instead moved back and forth in a rhythmic pace, following the cadence of his own voice. To his left (my right) was the violinist, who played eyes closed and with the seeming love for her instrument only violinists have. To his right (my left) were the guitarist and cellist, who played to each other as if in a world apart from the stage, as if unwatched. (The drummer drummed as drummers drum).

The actual set sounded identical to the CD, which is usually disappointing, but I gleaned something from seeing them perform. Now when I listen to the CD, I don't just think of Vampire Weekend. Instead, I see them perform in my mind and I think, when the violin solo comes on, about the shut eyes of the violinist. When I hear the cello and guitar working in harmony I think of them facing each other instead of the audience, playing for themselves in a private symphony. And the lead singer's sweet cords take me to a mild beach day in Syracuse with sockless loafers.

How to Run for lazy people

1. Ipod. Get one.

2. Don't think in terms of miles. I find a mile to be a daunting distance, so instead I listen to music while I run and think in terms of songs. How long can I run without stopping? One song? Two? If I can run three songs without stopping, I've run approximately one mile (3 minutes/song-->9 minute mile).

3. Run when you really don't want to. That way, when you do want to it will be even more fun.

4. Buy a new CD and then don't let yourself listen to it until you go running.

5. If you're having a hard time setting a pace, find someone else who's running and run behind them, using them as a pacesetter. (Helpful hint: don't run too close or they might get creeped out). Try to stay a certain number of seconds behind them, or if they're running too fast, try to keep them in your line of sight. If they slow down or stop, run past them and keep running as long as you can, while telling yourself that you just beat them in the marathon. Or something like that.

6. Don't worry if you're slow or can't run far, I can't either. As my old track coach used to say, "As long as you're out there..."

The gift that keeps on giving

I think the summer heat is melting my brain:

Seen in a campus building: "This lobby space given as a gift by Mr. and Mrs. Phil Ann Thropist.

Wondered silently: "How does one give a lobby?"

"Happy birthday, I got you....a lobby!"
"Thanks...uh...I don't have anywhere to put it."
"How 'bout here?"
"Hmm, I was hoping to get a living room for Christmas, and I was gonna put that here."

The Coldest Winter

Fog stumbled in over the hills today...

Haha just kidding. Although it did, and it made me wonder about this Berkeley that has such breezy springs, mild autumns and dry winters. So why the sad summers?

So, uh...Why South Korea?

1. The threat of nuclear attack excites me.
2. I'm actually half-Korean.
3. I love pickled cabbage like nobody's business.

Actually, number 3 is pretty true.

I've been asked the "Why South Korea" question a lot lately so I thought I'd address it here. For those of you who don't know, I'm going to teach English in Seoul, South Korea for a year. I like to travel and have never been to Asia so I started looking into teaching gigs in the East. What I found was interesting: there are tons of jobs for inexperienced college grads in Korea.

While many people flock to Japan to teach in their JET program, Korea has steadily built up its EPIK (and GEPIK) programs for teaching in public schools, and recruitment agencies have sprung up everywhere hiring for private schools (called hagwons). Because there is such high demand for English-speaking teachers and because of the relative popularity of the JET program, Korean teaching jobs (1) pay more, (2) cover round-trip airfare and sometimes housing, and (3) accept a very high percentage of applicants.

So I applied to a couple of recruitment agencies and was accepted. The next thing I know, I'm being offered a job teaching at a hagwon. I might blog more about the differences between public schools and hagwons later (or at least what I've heard about them) but for now I'll just say that my hours are pretty sweet (4-10:30 pm) and my vacation time is pretty awful (7 days, unpaid).

I know what you're thinking: "Whaaaa? 7 days unpaid vacation in a year? I'd kill myself!" But wait, it gets worse...Not only is it 7 days, but they must all be taken consecutively which means that it's really 5 weekdays and 2 weekend days I'd already be getting off. Sounds pretty awful, no? AAAnd I can't take any vacation until after the first 6 months. Sucks. So to battle moderate clinical depression I came up with an ingenious (read: sketchy) plan to make it better. And it is this plan that makes me giddy with excitement about my 12-month adventure to Korea.

(Today college ended. FML)

Oenology and Oh-no-logy

I went wine tasting today with a couple of friends and was amused, as always, by the descriptions of the wines provided by the vineyard:

Luna Vineyard 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon
"The deep blackberry color carries through on the nose, mingled with cedar and tea leaves. On the palate, there are more black fruits and graphite combined with excellent intensity..."

Mmm graphite.... Then I figured, I can write that! Here goes...

2006 Pinot Grigio
Deep euchre with a few streaks of chartreuse, this wine looks like a Middle Eastern sunrise in the springtime. With the scent of a newborn golden retriever puppy, it approaches the tongue tentatively, tantalizing the tip with three or possibly four types of cherry, before dominating the palate with creme de cacao and cinnamon. It has a strong, dusty finish that leaves the mouth feeling both dehydrated and extremely satisfied. This wine peaked like two years ago and should no longer be consumed.

2007 Cabernet Sauvignon
With the somber carmine color of gingivitis-ravaged gums, this wine approaches the nose with verve and anticipation. It leaps into your nostrils with the scent of powdery old people and then softens into the chalky nostalgia of childhood. Upon the tongue it is a creamy rendition of eggnog gently mixed with crunchy under-ripe papaya. It ends on sour gummy bears and tears. Thirty seconds later, it restarts with a chewy coda of caramel and cotton candy, before once again descending into the bitter taste of despair. This wine continues to age despite its overstay and should peak around 2050 when you've forgotten you even have it.

2004 Merlot
Although deceptively quiet, when given a brisk swirl this wine has the legs of a Las Vegas showgirl. Its rich infrared color and thick syrupy texture make for a curious contradiction only matched by the juxtaposition of the scent of blueberry nectar and the stings of honeybees. The tongue appreciates this wine best with pie, especially rhubarb pie.