So this month has officially sucked wind as far as trying to diet. But, allow me to brag that my lab work all came back great (except a little low on the HDL/good cholesterol - whats up with that??). Since then I've eaten everything in sight, and fuck moderation.

Enough of that, though. Oh, Also? I did NOT get either of the jobs I interviewed for. First one I wasn't qualified for, but still. Second one they wound up hiring a referral from the president of the company. Gah. You can't compete with that. *Sigh* So back to the drawing board.

So then this weekend marks my one-year wedding anniversary with the Big Guy. We are celebrating by going to see a Royals game (oh God help us all). Of course the real celebration is going out to dinner the next night at a carribbean restaurant - which is far more anniversary-worthy. Hopefully we'll have fruity rum drinks and pretend we are in Jamaica or someplace tropical and sunny and lacking bosses and all.

Now then.

There is a High Fidelity Meme going around, and ever one to jump on a bandwagon, here goes... Except that I am only doing some of the meme questions, and I've added in a few that were actually FROM High Fidelity (only slightly modified to make the question more fun).

1. Top 5 Songs With Lyrics That Make my Inner Unicorn Cry (Category as Brian renamed it): This is actually kind've a hard one for me as my musical tastes span the radio dial. And these are NOT in order because I couldn't choose.

A. It Won't Be Long - Alison Moyet. Other people have Gloria Gaynor's "I will survive" as their anthem. I have Alison Moyet.

One of these days, I'm waiting on a day
When nobody comes to trample my meadow
Biding my time, there's gonna be a time
Might take a while, but changes are coming
And it won't be long
When everything you said
Won't sit around and pile up with the traffic in my head
And when I wake up
I won't see you on the bathroom floor
In the tangle of clothes we left lying there
Won't be long, won't be long
One of these times, with company I find
I won't be inclined to leave before sunrise
When my eyes, my mouth, my hands, my head
Don't tell me that nobody else will do
And it won't be long
When everything you said
Won't sit around and pile up with the traffic in my head
And when I wake up
I won't see you on the bedroom floor
In the tangle of rope we left lying there
Won't be long, won't be long
Till it's all gone
And it won't be long
When everything you said
Won't sit around and pile up with the traffic in my head
And when I wake up
I won't see you by the bedroom door
In the wallpaper stain by the cup that I threw at your head
It won't be long, won't be long
And it won't be long, it won't be long
(won't be, won't be long)

B. The Long Day is Over - Norah Jones. This song, to me, is about finally being at the end of a long battle - that a new day will come and the worst is over. It could be about anything really, but what gets me every time is the quiet hope that no matter what is going wrong, tomorrow will come and it'll all be alright eventually.

Feeling tired
By the fire
The long day is over
The wind is gone
Asleep at dawn
The embers burn on
With no reprise
The sun will rise
The long day is over

C. Brick - Ben Folds. Not a huge Ben Folds fan, but the first time I heard this song, I actually did the cry baby thing. It was just so full of helplessness and futility and I guess at the time I identified with it.

6 am day after Christmas
I throw some clothes on in the dark
The smell of cold
Car seat is freezing
The world is sleepingI am numb
Up the stairs to the apartment
She is balled up on the couch
Her mom and dad went down to Charlotte
They're not home to find us out
And we drive
Now that I have found someone
I'm feeling more alone
Than I ever have before
She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly
Off the coast and I'm headed nowhere
She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly
They call her name at 7:30
I pace around the parking lot
Then I walk down to buy her flowers
And sell some gifts that I got
Can't you see
It's not me you're dying for
Now she's feeling more alone
Than she ever has before
She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly
Off the coast and I'm headed nowhere
She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly
As weeks went by
It showed that she was not fine
They told me son, it's time to tell the truth
She broke down, and I broke down
Cause I was tired of lying
Driving home to her apartment
For a moment we're alone
Yeah she's alone
I'm alone
Now I know it
She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly
Off the coast and I'm headed nowhere
She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly

D. Think (Let Tomorrow Bee) - Sebadoh. I hated Sebadoh for many years (mostly 'cos I dated a guy that thought they were the best thing ever and I had very little respect for him - a whole other therapy session for you). Then, years after we broke up, another guy (a friend) made me a mix tape that had this song on it. I just bawled. I still don't know why, but the song is powerful and makes me wistful for something just beyond my reach.

Could I hold on, or should I hold on to you?
Ask, I'll tell the truth; there's nothing I should hide
And if I move to slow, if you're bored I need to know
I'm weak to hide inside, to force what I don't feel
If all we have is a question, there's no hope to find a future
But something in me cries for you
It feels too real this time
I think I love you, though I don't know what love means
Girl of my dreams, or a friend that one day leaves
Could I trust this when I've lied to myself before?
Will I do it all again to taste what I've imagined we could be?
Look what I've become; this pressure that we feel
In a world of possibilities, this may not prove real
But could we give enough, backed against a wall?
Too close to breathe, but too far to fall
All I ever wanted was to feel you closer to me
And it's sad to feel this resistance
What once before had felt so free
Let tomorrow bee
I can't be so impatient
Pushing every answer, when there isn't any question
Let me feel good now
And though this may have to end, I hope I'm always with you
Honestly your friend
I think I love you

E. Miss you so badly - Jimmy Buffet. This is probably cliche to like a Jimmy Buffet song, but this one has specific meaning. My very best friend was also "the boy of my dreams" in high school, and right after graduation he went off to the Dominican Republic with a youth service corps for the entire summer. Just before he left, we said our goodbyes (I was also going off to college) and it was the only moment in our entire history of knowing each other that we both liked each other "like that" at the same time (mostly I pined for him, unrequited). But since it was the last goodbye, we had that perfect goodbye kiss that will last forever in my memory. I was so heartsick, but I felt so "mature" for realizing that there was no sense in making more of it. About a month after he left, I got a very long letter from him with snippets of these lyrics and telling me how much he missed me. It was the only "grand gesture" I ever got from a boy. Later he dated bimbo after bimbo and would call me at college for advice. Eventually we lost touch. We tried to be friends again 12 years later, but we had nothing in common. But I still have that kiss to remember. And this song always reminds me of two very specific summers.

I guess it all blew up in Missoula
There just was no other way
After months of going crazy
There was nothing left to say
But when the dust had finally settled
And the air had quickly cleared
Things were better off than I had feared

And I miss you so badly
Girl I love you madly
Feelin' so sad now since I been gone
Gone, gone
And it gets quite confusin'
It seems that I'm loosin' track of the long days since I been home

2. Top 5 Live Musical experiences.

Squirrel Nut Zippers, Morphine (and others) - Bumbershoot Music Festival 1998, Seattle, WA - Simply an awesome concert, made better by the fact that my girlfriend's friend was a roadie and so got us backstage to watch the concert. We stood with Joni Mitchell (who was playing another stage somewhere else) to watch SNZ - but I frankly remember nothing more than Mark Sandman the rest of the night. After the show, we went to the big tents set up for the performers and watched the band members and roadies playing soccer.

Bikini Kill, Some Velvet Sidewalk - New Years (1997) at the Capitol Theatre; Olympia, WA - The concert itself was not the great part. The great part is that it was a surprise that BK played, and we had all only paid I think maybe $10 for the concert and everyone was JAMMED into the little backstage concert area at the theatre. Even at the time I remember thinking that it added to my hipster quotient.

Mighty Mighty Bosstones - The Showbox (1997?), Seattle, WA - I'm not sure of the year it could have been any year between 1996-1998, I only remember how blisteringly hot it was inside and how many swing dancers were on the dance floor. I had way too much fun.

The Mandrell Sisters - Astrohall 1980, Houston, TX - It was my first ever concert. I wanted to be blonde and dippy like Irlene Mandrell. I think I even got her autograph. I'm pretty sure the concert was associated with a boat show or rodeo or something. I thank god every day now that I'm not as vapid as Irlene Mandrell. Make that your mantra.

Ties for 5th place because they all "meant something special" for some reason or another: The Cure (1992), Morrissey (1991), Jimmy Buffet (1989), Wham w/ Katrina and the Waves (1986)

3. Top 5 Artists I Think More People Should Listen To:

Morphine - Mark Sandman's voice is sex on a stick.

They Might Be Giants - Clever, entertaining, and fun to sing along with.

The Pietasters - Best drinking/dancing music ever. Ooh-loo-loo is my all time favorite album.

Frank Sinatra - I don't care what everyone else thinks - the fact that he's maybe a mafioso only adds the drama. A ring a ding ding baby.

Harvey Danger - I've no idea what he's doing now - but I really liked the Flagpole Sitka song when it came out. I just threw this one in there because who am I to tell people who to listen to?..... I just admitted to liking Jimmy Buffet for chrissakes.

4. Top 5 Musical Crimes Perpetuated in the '80s and '90s. Sub-question: is it in fact unfair to criticize a formerly great artist for his latter day sins, is it better to burn out or fade away? (Original question specified crimes by Stevie Wonder, but I'll open it up ..)

Vanilla Ice - Ice, Ice Baby. Maybe its because he went to highschool in a snotty suburb of Dallas - or maybe it was the bad hair. Or the asinine song. Either way - this one ranks high.

Celine Dion - Anything. God, she annoys the fuck out of me.

Aqua - Barbie Girl. I liked it on the first listen. After that it made me want to vomit in my shoes. Even worse than Right Said Fred's "I'm too sexy" - which I still sort've like in a perverse way.

Crash Test Dummies - MMmMmmMmm. Why aren't they a Campbells Soup Commercial? I'm sure they're a great band otherwise, but that song stank.

Bette Midler - TIE: Wind Beneath My Wings and/or From A Distance. Bette - you're a great comedienne and entertainer, but no more Hallmark moments, please.

SubQ/A: No - it is totally fair to criticize formerly great artists. It's better for them to stop while they're still relevant than to continue to release yearly, new "greatest hits" albums with only one new song. Of course this assumes they're relevant to begin with. Celine - I'm lookin' at you.

5. Top 5 Songs About Death (and dying): I'm a pretty happy person, generally, so this category was a killer (ha!) for me, especially since I was trying to avoid the ones that they used in High Fidelity. I could only come up with 2. Any more?

Hold On - Sarah McLachlan

Oh god if you're out there won't you hear me
I know that we've never talked before
Oh god the man I love is leaving
Won't you take him when he comes to your door

Whisky Lullaby - Braid Paisley and Alison Krause

He put the bottle to his head and pulled the trigger
He finally drank away her memory

Okay - and it wouldn't be a meme unless you tag somebody, so I'll tag everyone that reads this all 2 of you. (If you fill this out, shoot me an email and I'll link to you.)