Present Joys

I had the chance to see They Might Be Giants play at the Newport Music Hall this past saturday (2 mar 2013)! I took my sister along with me. The opening band, Vandaveer, was a bad fit for the audience. The frontman for the band was annoying (he was “trying way too hard”, as my brother would say) and the music was really unappealing. On top of that, all the usual Newport unpleasantness abounded—lame acoustics, dirty, sticky surfaces, generally terrible logistics.

But TMBG was freaking wonderful! They played a lot of songs from their new album Nanobots (“You’re On Fire”, “Call You Mom”, “Circular Karate Chop”, “Insect Hospital”, and “Nanobots”) and they all sounded very tight! We did “Battle for the Planet of the Apes” and a new thing where the Johns would take turns shining a high-powered flashlight in the face of a random audience member and would then make up a nickname for him. And of course there were lots of great tunes. I particularly enjoyed hearing “Whistling in the Dark” with full band + accordion performed literally in the dark.

The band is so vibrant and technically proficient and imaginative and fun. It’s a really heart-warming, satisfying experience to see them perform. My only complaint is an enduring, long-term one: more accordion, please.

• Enjoyed a typically brief time in package design and then spent monday morning in the fashion lab, which afforded me a serene and beautiful view of Broad Street in the pouring rain.
• Had knit-n-crit in tuesday’s ad class. I was the very first person to give my presentation. Then: I just sat and watched everyone else.
• Watched Cheryl Steele demonstrate front bodice dart variations in Draping! It was tons of fun.
• Did lots of actual work for my internship at OhioHealth. Worked on graphics for a health-related Facebook app; sat in on a corporate-sponsorship meeting. The usual office stuff.
• Dealt with crazy weather all week. On tuesday it was so warm I was sweating in a blazer and scarf; on wednesday it was raining cats and dogs (I had to wear rubber boots to work and change into loafers when I got to my desk!); on thursday it was freezing cold and snowing.
• Gave Amanda advice about her outfit and received equal parts grief and gratitude.
• Bought soup at the Crane Café (my first soup purchase of the semester!) Made a snarky comment about eco-friendly packaging which Richard, the food-service boss man, interpreted seriously.
• Ran into Bob (CCAD’s greatest model and a swell guy) reading the newspaper in Crane and learned the story of his long hair.
• Ended my week the way I started it, in the fashion lab working on Draping homework, with an equally beautiful view of downtown Columbus during snowfall.

• Had Labor Day off. Spent the day on homework and knitting.
• Spent most of tuesday morning’s ad class brainstorming words.
• Had very laid-back time in Felton’s copywriting class during lunch. Watched tv ads by Levi’s, P&G, Apple, and Volvo.
• Cut a little keychain out of brass in my jewelry class. Broke a lot of saw blades in the process.
• Got to school late on thursday because of a nearby stabbing which I only learned about later. It was a pretty good excuse for being tardy, I guess.
• Spent all of thursday’s ad class talking with my table and loafing around and knitting. Burleigh was doing individual meetings with the whole class and didn’t get around to me. That’s the way the cookie crumbles.
• Ran into Ann Shifflet, my old art history teacher, and got a chance to chat! That was lots of fun.
• Cut a bunch of little squares of copper. We’re going to weld next tuesday.
• Got to visit a top-secret closet in Battelle Hall where my teacher demonstrated the polishing machine to us.