I study rocks?

I'm a geography major and lets be honest, we don't get a lot of credit.

Doctors get medical questions, psychologists get mental questions, and gas station attendants get asked if these donuts are fresh.
We get questions any idiot can look up in an atlas. (or questions about rocks)

Does anyone care that I can discuss the geopolitical situation threatening Kosovo or that I can identify major land features on a 7.5 minute USGS topographic map?
No, they want to know the capital of Uzbekistan. (Tashkent.....but I used wikipedia.)

I guess the world expects us to have memorized countries and their capitals......and I guess I'm a failure.

I wonder if my professors are aware of this?

My case in point:

Kristen: "How would you pronounce the capital of Kentucky? Lou-e-ville or Lou-ville?"
Logan: "I'd pronounce it Lou-ville."
Kristen: (smugly) "Really, cause I'd pronounce it Frankfort."

Although, I suppose this is all really an attempt to justify my currently abysmal scores in Traveler IQ.

Talk derby to me

It is comforting to know the answer to some of life's questions.
To not have to debate and struggle for an answer, to be able to answer confidently and immediately is one of the finest feelings in the world.
In this situation, life (actually my friend Alison) asked, "Do you want to go to a demolition derby this Saturday?"
My immediate response was, "Yes. Oh sweet mercy, yes."

So Alison and I wore out finest white trash gear (you can't tell but those are cut-offs I'm wearing.)


and we made sure to sample to local cuisine


action shot (the cars weren't the only thing getting hammered though)


Making best friends at a demolition derby. Behind all that destruction and mayhem.........is love.

Painfully short

As you may or may not be aware of, about two and a half years ago I had an exclusive girlfriend......for exactly two weeks or four dates (whichever came first.)

She will deny that it meant anything, she'll say it was an assignment for a class, she'll swear up and down that it was purely the means to an end (the 'end' being an A.)

But I know better..........

Happy birthday Jill

(I would put up a picture of Jill and I at this point in the post, but every great picture of Jill and I is already up. She may be the most represented woman on my blog in pictures.)

In lieu of a picture I present some highlights from our Facebook conversations (probably the best FB Wall-to-Wall entertainment out there)(Seriously, we're hilarious)

A physician's guide to concerts

I case you're curious why I've been absent from posting for such a long time I present my two full weeks of concerts.

I'm a music junkie. No joke, I'm always looking for my next hit.
So this may get tedious, if it does, set this post aside and try to take it in doses. Or if it helps, I've divided up my concert experiences and represent them as various illegal drugs, according to the degree of euphoria caused by that particular event. So the harder the drug, the more I enjoyed the concert. However, seeing as I have very little idea of what is the harder of multiple drugs......choose accordingly.

ECSTASY:
Missy Higgins/Brett Dennen/Mason Jennings

I would describe this concert as a 'triple-threat'. (Or perhaps a 'triple-treat')

Highlight of the show (besides Missy Higgins. Yowza.) was Brett Dennen's dance moves. A tall larger gentleman who may have been a little tipsy on wine. Priceless. We have video of it if anyone is interested.

HERION:
The Sasquatch Music Festival at the famous Gorge amphitheater in Washington State.
I'll give the rundown on who all we saw: Fleet Foxes, Beirut, The New Pornographers, Destroyer, Grand Archives, The National, R.E.M., and many others.

The two bands that just blew me away were Grand Archives and The National . (Check out what Chris said about The National.)

A good group of friends and kind of an amazing experience. (And I'm not grabbing my crotch.)

Yes that is Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute from The Office) introducing The National.


MORPHINE AND A COCKTAIL OF OTHER PRESCRIPTION DRUGS:
Tegan and Sara/Death Cab for Cutie

Less than an two hours after arriving home from Washington, Chris and I were standing in one of the longest lines I've ever seen for a concert. (HUFFING PAINT FROM A PAPER BAG: Standing in line.) We stood in line for nearly two and a half hours with close to a thousand people in front of us, so our hopes of being close to the stage were dashed.
But somewhere and at sometime, Chris and I must have done something good, cause we ended up with great spots.


METH:
Delta Spirit/Matt Costa

Ya, we were still going to concerts, but we were starting to feel the effects of punishing or bodies with zero sleep and constant grooving. (I actually fell asleep for one of the opening bands, sorry guys. I can't actually remember your names, so sorry again.) I did a little review of the concert here. So if you're interested......go there.

COCAINE:
Sera Cahoon/Grand Archives

I've already expressed my feelings on the Grand Archives' performance on my other blog.
Out of this world. I really can't say how much I loved that show. (Sera Cahoon was a delightful opener and I only wish more people had been there to see her) The perfect finale on a two-week concert binge.



In closing, I have committed myself to never miss an opportunity to see either The National or Grand Archives. If either of these bands come near, see them. They're just that good.

Somewhat disturbing

Two women winked at me while I was passing the sacrament. Their combined age would equal over 130 years.
So girls, you may not like me, but your grandmother would love me.

Life is good

It's common knowledge that I have a love of animals, small furry ones in particular. So when information crossed my desk that a local petting zoo was hosting a Baby Animal Birthday Party, and well it was obvious that I would be going.


Babies, children, three college-aged students, suspicious parents of those children, and all manner of farm animals came together to celebrate life.

Baby goats = Adorable and as soft as you imagined

I about cried when I found this little guy. Only my fear of a future background check by a potential employer revealing that I once kidnapped a goat, kept me from jumping that fence.

And what would a birthday be without cake? And what would cake be like after having not just spent an hour petting farm animals? Perhaps we'll never know.

And a special birthday kiss.

Chapter 3: Taking the 'N' out of 'NCMO'

Although I didn't author the book, I'm the subject and the goal.


I tried to find a book titled, "Dating Game Secrets for Marrying an Aloof Man" but it was on back-order (or it didn't exist) either way, I found CarolAnn the next best thing.

Depending on the amount of time we hang out we'll see how well this book works out for her.