This past weekend has been awesome, and a nightmare rolled into one.
The nightmare element comes from hearing that someone close to my family, and in more ways than one, part of my family, passed this weekend due to a storm and a tornado that touched down on my Pepaw’s land out in Pocahontas, TN. The funnel cloud clipped my cousin Shanon’s house, trashed her car by dropping a tree on it, tore my cousin James’s house from the foundation and flung it across the field it was in, destroyed my Uncle Mark and Aunt Kathy’s house and took the life of my Aunt Kathy’s mother, Grandma Liz. I didn’t hear about this until getting home this evening from Memphis in May, but it’s terribly depressing. The funeral is being arranged and will probably be later this week.
Memphis in May was super fun, though. It was muddy, loud, and exciting. I loved every second of it, but the most memorable night will always have to be Saturday. Jeff and I went to see Hall & Oates, as I’m a moron and love the hell out of some Maneater and Adult Education. Two songs into it, though, just after Family Man was finished, a man came on the loudspeakers telling everyone in the park that a storm was rolling in, and we all had to evacuate. The funny thing is that Memphis in May is called Mudfest by those of us that go every year and are dedicated patrons. Tom Lee Park becomes one giant mud hole and it ALWAYS rains. Everyone knows that, it’s part of the fun. But this year the storms rolling through were so intense that everything had to be shut down, causing me to miss Hall & Oates and Alice in Chains. [I really didn't want to see Alice in Chains, anyway. It's just not the same without Lane.] It was fine, though. The park opened up again today, so I got most of what I paid for my 3-day passes. I’m just depressed about Hall & Oates. They were the reason I went, and I had to miss them.
But, I did get to experience a night in a hotel with Jeff, and that went swimmingly. Me + Jeff + king sized bed and a TV = interesting things. Ha ha. It was amazing. And we didn’t kill each other, which is great. Usually 24 hours together sends us over the edge and towards each other’s throats, but this weekend was just too awesome. Even if we were in a shit part of Memphis and covered in mud.
We stayed in a crappy Motel 6.

It was wet and miserable outside.

And I loved everything about it.
I can’t wait until next year.
Posted by shakethisgiraffe 

They may be over a year old and pretty worn-in, but these boots are the best things ever. No lie.
It may not be as “cool” as an iPod, but, as a PC fan, I’m in love. This thing is attached to my head 24/7 and I couldn’t be more pleased. It’s full of Supertramp, Billie Holliday, and Crass. It’s fab.
Now, that’s not my cake in the picture [my camera blew up about two months ago], but I’ve baked two cakes, and a rack of brownies in the past week. I’m on a mission from God, or something like that I guess, and I can’t stop. My house smells like my Grandmama’s and my hands don’t feel quite right unless they’re inside oven mitts, but I’m having fun, so I don’t give a shit. Ha.
I still really wouldn’t mind if that happened at my location, though. Unless the car went behind the counter, in which case I’d be squished. And that doesn’t sound like much fun.
I want a copy of this in my home when I move. Framed, and in my living room. Jeff will just have to deal. Ha ha.
[I actually just watched The Birds for the first time the other night. Alfred Hitchcock = a god.]