Obsession

WARNING: This video might make you melt and or spontaneously combust. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Ever since I saw James Morrison live earlier this year, I've been obsessed. (The link is from the actual show I went to, but it's not the best quality video...the performance, however, is raw and divine. I was there! I didn't faint! Woot!) Prior to the concert, I loved his music, but he was so amazing live that I fell in love...and his voice was so beautiful it made me want to cry. I think Mr. Morrison secretly wants to be my lover and sing to me every night. Otherwise, why else would he serenade me so?

Recap in Five

I notice whenever life gets busy I neglect the blog and blog reading. (Sorry.) In two days I'm leaving for Maui to spend a week with family to celebrate my little sister's wedding. (Yay!)

So.

I've spent the last few weeks finalizing plans for the bridal shower, which is surprisingly difficult to plan from afar. I'm a perfectionist. I like things organized, so it's killing me to plan from here and hope everything I need is available when I get there.

Naturally last week was full of events that kept us from preparing to leave. On Thursday we went to an Adele concert in San Francisco with friends. She was amazing live and more adorable than you can imagine. Two days before the concert we discovered that James Morrison was opening for her, which was fabulous - two of my faves in one concert! His album does not do him justice. I had chills almost the entire time he sang. (Sadly, I forgot my camera.)

We spent Friday and Saturday in Sacramento with friends who recently returned from India and shared lots of lovely pictures and tasty food.

And finally, we returned home to begin the laundry and packing and last minute planning. Maui, here we come!

Music in the Silence

I haven't had much inspiration to blog regularly, so I've been quieter than usual in blogland. However, I thought I'd share something on here. I got the idea from Stephanie Meyer's website. She shares the playlists she listened to while she wrote each of her novels. I thought it was a cool idea, so I spent some time last week creating a playlist of my own for At the End of Silence. Unfortunately a few of my favorite songs weren't on playlist.com--the site where I created my list--but they're listed below, if anyone is interested:

"Prayer to St. Peter" by Edwin McCain
"Life Uncommon" by Jewel
"Jewish Town" by Itzhak Perlman (from the Schindler's List soundtrack)
"I'll Be Seeing You" by Liberace

My playlist has become almost compulsory background noise while I write. It sets the different moods for my story so well, I'm addicted to it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Farewell

Last night we enjoyed a proper farewell to summer.

We spent the evening picnicking on the grass at a local amphitheater, before being entertained by Augustana, a band I love, who opened for Maroon 5 (*swoon*) and Counting Crows.

The crisp evening signaled the coming season, but it wasn't too chilly to enjoy the open night air.

Amusingly, the moment the lights went down, puffs of smoke went up across the amphitheater. (And drunken dancing **COUGH-swaying** ensued.) Young techies--on the opposite end of the Bay Area spectrum--sat in front of us and entertained us with their 'social' interaction - they enjoyed the show together through the medium of videocameras and smartphone screens.

Augustana didn't play as many songs as I would have liked, but they played my favorite--Boston--and did it well. Maroon 5 performed perfectly live. I've lost respect for many bands who can't hash it out on stage, but they rocked. No wonder Adam Levine gets all the girls. Adam Duritz had a completely different stage presence, and as my friend commented, it almost felt like musical theater because he was so expressive and dramatic. They mostly sang songs from their new album--very angsty folk (or is it folksy angst?)--and Husband was bummed to miss the Shrek song, aka, Accidentally in Love.

All in all, a beautiful end to summer.

Guns N Roses and Easter on 28th

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter. Husband's mom came down for a visit, so we took Drew and her two little Aussies for a long walk down to Campbell where we enjoyed brunch outside in the sunshine. We then spent Saturday evening with friends at the pub celebrating Husband's 28th birthday. It felt more like a 21er when Husband disappeared for a good 20 minutes because he drank too many free beers, meanwhile we were entertained by a friend karoaking "Sweet Child of Mine" in full shouty form ("Where do we GO-OH, where do we go now..."). He also performed a moving Neil Diamond rendition.

Yesterday was his actual birthday, so we had a little celebratory curry, and then, because he gains full control of the remote on his birthday, we watched a few tivoed hours of tennis--the Pacific Life Open--with a friend. While we were watching, there was a great 'Janet Jackson' moment. The camera panned the crowd and stopped on a woman who was watching the match in a bikini top when she was surprised by a hand that reached from the side of the viewing frame and grasped her breast. A perfect Tivo moment - we rewound it a couple times to make sure it really happened.

On the writing front, things are moving slowly this week. I spent much of yesterday running errands that I tried and failed to finish on Sunday since the stores were closed, and then I had birthday details to tie up. Today I must (I must, I must!) catch up. I'm off to a great start since I chose to blog first. Hmph.

Shower writing

I wish someone could explain to me why it is that I have my best writing ideas in the shower, yet when I sit down to type them, they always come out in a jumbled mess. I think someone--less technically challenged than me--should invent a keyboard or laptop that is waterproof and designed to be used in the shower for all those 'lightbulb' moments. It would be brilliant! It would change the world as we know it. No one would suffer another frustrating moment when they lose an idea on their way from the shower to the computer. I'm sure it would transform the musical world too since the shower is obviously the best place to practice singing. Now, if I can just recall that perfect plot point I thought up while shaving, I'll be off to write...

(Incidentally, if you do take this idea and make millions off it, I would expect a percentage of the royalties!)

Apple always chooses the coolest songs to advertise iTunes and its new products, such as the commercial promoting the new Macbook Air with Yael Naim's song "New Soul".

I like the lyrics, but the video is equally fetching:

Almost Lover

I want to share my latest song obsession with you. I saw A Fine Frenzy in concert in September and she was amazing live. This song resonates with me--though I cannot explain exactly why--and has been haunting me all week, even though I'm not saying goodbye to an almost lover.