Living on the Main Line

Tonight I unpacked some boxes so it actually looks like someone lives here. It's a nice change from what it was, but still a little sparse. I only have one chair to sit on, which looks rather lonesome. But stuff will accumulate, I'm sure. It's Murphy's Law of Life: You expand to fit the space that you're in.

So, a few funny things about living in Ardmore PA:

1) There are lots of salons and spas.
2) There are lots of tailors. Like, there are at least three or four on my two block walk to the train station. I guess if you buy nice suits, you need to have them tailored. But this seems rather excessive to me.
3) They are ripping up the sidewalk in front of my house and they start REALLY early in the morning and I'm getting a little annoyed.
4) There are lots of consigment and thrift shops. This strikes me as particularly funny because Ardmore is a VERY affluent area and its funny to think of rich old ladies wearing plaid, shopping at the Junior League Thrift Store.

And there are a few funny things about Philly:

1) The pot holes will eat your car! At least three of them on Girard Avenue try to eat Nemo every day! They're not pot holes, they're CAVERNS!
2) When the light turns yellow, that definitely means speed up. And as it turns red, that means that you and the three cars behind you should DEFINITELY go through the intersection.
3) Philadelphians are crazy about their sports teams. And I'm saying that coming from Wisconsin where Brett Favre and God are pretty much synonymous. Philadelphians have a lot of Philly pride and they're very vocal about it.

And there are some funny things about my life that aren't really specific to my location right now, but are worth commenting on:

1) When you start unpacking boxes, its funny to come upon packing material and newspapers from the area you just left. I was cleaning the windows using some old pages of the Isthmus and it made me a little "homesick" for Madison and all of its quirks.
2) Apparently its autumn now. Winds blew in overnight, it rained a bit this morning, and it was definitely worthy of a sweater this afternoon. I sincerely doubt that this fall will be as beautiful as those in Madison, but it is shaping up to be one of the most interesting times of my life.
3) When you don't have a TV, you get kinda out of touch. Were it not for NPR, I wouldn't have a clue. But I can't say I really mind. I have been reading more, listening to more music, and sometime when I have money for food, I actually hope to cook something.

Is there irony in the fact that I'm blogging using a contraband wireless connection... ?

Hope you're well, Reader(s). Let me know what you are all up to, sometimes I get lonely 'round here.

Update: LR's Life

So, it occured to me the other day that some of you actually read my blog to find out what I've been up to, rather than what exactly I think about the "topic du jour." So here we go, my life in a nutshell:

I applied for a job working at a Wine Store at the Ardmore Farmer's Market. I was pretty upset about having to take a job in retail since, well, I have a Master's degree. But you gotta pay the bills, right? Well, the next day I got a call from Settlement Music School in Germantown saying that they need a horn teacher. Goodbye retail, hello teaching gig! I have three students right now, but I'm hoping to accrue a few more as time rolls on.

Then I got called to play a few performances of Cats at the Media Theatre. I don't love musicals, but its really close to my new place.

Oh, my new place is in Ardmore, PA. Its gorgeous and adorable, and I love it. I practice there, and so far, the neighbors aren't complaining.

Then the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra called me because they need a 3rd horn player for Tchaik 5 in October.

And I was the runner up for Principal Horn of the Allentown Symphony Orchestra. Didn't win, but got damn close. I'm bound to get some work off it, too.

Then I won (WON! ME! WON!) a job with the Haddonfield Symphony Orchestra. I'm their new Fourth Horn player. I got a job. A job, people. A real, contracted position with an orchestra. Like, not "frequent sub" or "sublist" player, but, like, on their roster. Can you tell I'm excited? Ok, its not full time, but its a job.

My lessons are kick ass, and I have some more auditions coming up in the near future that are keeping me motivated and busy.

And my brass quintet is sounding pretty nice. We've got some gigs lined up. We're probably going to send some tapes to some chamber music competitions in the spring.

Not everything is great, but lots of things are really looking up. And it didn't even take that long.

How are you?

Insomnia

I can't sleep.

I think I spent too much time in front of the artificial blue light of the computer screen about three hours ago and managed to trick my body into thinking that it is morning. I was working on my resume for a crappy job at a winery store... because I was worrying about money...

So then when I finally turned off the computer and decided to try to get some rest, I worried about money some more. And my car. And all the money I have to put into my car. And the price of gas.

Which led me to thinking about Hurricane Katrina. And how I'm lucky to have a car to worry about.

But then I started thinking that if I had a job, I might actually be able to give some cash to the Katrina victims.

And then I started thinking that if I could only win a job playing the horn, I wouldn't have to be worried about being overqualified for crappy jobs that, well, I'm overqualified for.

And then I started thinking that if I had a job, I would have an opportunity to make more friends around here, which is something that I don't really have right now. Friends around here.

And that led me to thinking about my cell phone bill, which led me to thinking about my credit card bill, which led me to thinking about the crappy job at the winery store that I probably won't get because, well, I'm overqualified.

And then, for no apparent reason, I started thinking about men. And relationships. And that's never a good thing at 1:30 in the morning when you want to sleep.

So then I started doing that thing where you start saying "well, if I fall asleep NOW I'll get 6 hours of sleep..." And then eventually, you're like, "Yeah, if I fall asleep now it would be pointless because I'll just have to get up in an hour." But hopefully that won't actually happen.

But eventually, of course, it spiraled around to auditions, and money, and credit cards, and my car.

And then I started thinking about how, if I wrote all of this shit down, maybe I'd stop worrying about it. Witness it, reader(s), a brief sojourn into the mind of LR when she can't sleep. I know, it's not nearly as exciting as arguing about the motivations of corporate giving, but it IS my blog, after all. This is what you have to suffer through if you want something to argue about.

So I was thinking, about five minutes ago, that I am getting kinda hungry. And now ALL I can think about is how hungry I am. But I'm too lazy to walk down two flights of stairs to actually get some food. And eventually, I'm going to have to go to the bathroom, too, but I won't have the luxury of being lazy about that. So maybe after I use the facilities, I'll head down to the kitchen for a midnight snack. And I'll probably pick up the paper and start reading it, because who doesn't love reading Hurricane Katrina coverage in the middle of the night?

Maybe I can peruse the classifieds for more shitty jobs that I'm overqualified for. Or maybe reading all of that tiny tiny print will put me to sleep. That'd be nice. Sleep.

WWWD?

What Would Wal-Mart Do?

I wasn't going to blog about Katrina, because anything that I might want to say has already been said. But as I was watching former President Bill Clinton on C-Span this morning, something that he said caught my ear and I've been mulling over it all day.

As it turns out, Wal-Mart has not only given an unprecedented amount of money and supplies for Hurricane Disaster Relief, but check out this statement from their website: "An estimated 15,000 Wal-Mart associates are still displaced from their workplaces due to Hurricane Katrina (more than 34,000 impacted in some way). The company has made contact with more than 65% of its associates affected by the storm, including some who have been found in the various evacuee shelters.  Wal-Mart is committed to providing work for displaced associates who want to work in open stores."

To some of my colleagues and cohorts, Wal-Mart represents all that is bad in the world. And at times, I have trouble arguing with that. They've put thousands of local businesses out on their asses, they don't pay their employees enough, offer questionable healthcare packages, and the AFL-CIO was unable to get EVEN ONE store unionized for a variety of reasons. But while some might say that all corporations are evil, perhaps there are some good things about corporations that need to be taken into consideration. Like with all things, it really isn't as black and white as we might sometimes want it to be.

First, Hurricane victims need the essentials: food, water, and a safe place to stay. But after all that gets sorted out, they will need to start rebuilding their lives, with many of them starting from NOTHING. Humans need purpose and dignity, and having a job is one way to achieve both of those things. Kudos to my least favorite corporation for doing so much to help with everything from the tangibles to the intangibles.

Suburban Waste.

See, I told you I'd write more soon!

Ok, a few comments on living in one of the most affluent areas of Pennsylvania, Bucks County:

Yesterday, I saw a chic driving a white Hummer with a vanity plate that said, "Trendy." I think that "Stupid" or "Moron" or "Paying an arm and a leg for gas" would have been more appropriate, but I guess the latter wouldn't fit on a liscence plate.

I have a Dodge Neon. His name is Nemo. I love my car. I love the freedom that it affords me, and I like that I finally have a car. I hate paying for gas, but there's not much I can do about it except opt for the train when I can and suck it up. At any rate, Nemo is not a fancy car, but he's no slouch. Nice exterior, needs to be washed, but otherwise, a very upstanding vehicle. There's something unusual to me, though, when I go to the supermarket and park between a Lexus, a Jaguar, 14 SUVs, and a Mercedes. And not a pickup truck in sight. Gee, Toto, where the f*** are we?

Today I went for a run in the neighborhood behind my Dad's place. Keeping in mind that when I was little, that neighborhood was a farm, I decided to see what it looked like now. Besides being $500,000 houses that have probably appreciated to about 1 million dollars in the last few years, I noticed something odd: It was REALLY quiet. I know, it's the middle of the day and everyone is at work. But I didn't see ANYONE. No old guys out on the porch, no truant children playing in the yard, no slackers walking around looking shady.... I didn't see another soul for the entire 30 minutes that I was there. The only sound I heard was the occasional dog barking at the window. Every house is protected by a security/alarm company, and all the lawns are a rather disturbing shade of perfect green that says simply "Chemlawn." No wonder the water tastes like shit around here-- what are these people putting into the ground water? After awhile I started feeling like I was in Edward Scissorhands. But then I realized that I was simply in... THE SUBURBS.

Now, I grew up in a rural area where I had to drive to get anywhere. I didn't live close to anyone, though. These people all live close together... but they can't walk anywhere except the neighbor's house. Its no wonder there's such a fuel crisis right now. I can't get anywhere I need to go without getting in my car. And even if I wanted to walk down the street, it's DANGEROUS around here. I might get hit by a Hummer with a vanity plate that says "Trendy."

I'm not dead yet!

Those of you in the know will recognize the title as a line from the very famous and very funny "Bring Out Your Dead" skit from Monty Python. One guy is hauling another out into the street in a wheelbarrow and the guy screams "I'm not dead yet!" and the first says, "Shut up, you will be soon."

Sometimes that's how I've felt lately.

I've moved to the "Greater Philadelphia Area" and found an apartment. I'm staying with my dad, stepmom, and 6 year old sister. (That's interesting.) My apartment will become available on September 18th (not soon enough, methinks.) But when it does, I will live in scenic and beautiful Ardmore, PA. I'll be WAAAAY closer to Temple and Center City in general, and I'll have one of the cutest apartments known to man.

Gas prices are over the top, so living close to the train will be faboo also. But mostly, I'm just looking forward to having my own space to breathe, practice, read, cook, and entertain guests. Now if I could only get a job or two and have some income....

I swear, reader(s), that I will pontificate more on the meaning of life when I get my life in order a bit more. Until then, I'll try to post some updates once in awhile so y'all don't think I'm dead.