Home again

After a quick week back in Ithaca for the start of the semester, I am back in Saugerties, in the house where I grew up, to welcome my parents back from their mid-Winter vacation. I still call this house, and this town, home. I am not quite so far removed that I call my apartment in Ithaca home instead, but I have progressed to the point where I refer to both Saugerties and Ithaca that way. In my head, the Saugerties home is a little heavier, but I don't think this is noticeable when I speak the words.

The drive partway across New York State last night was kind of fun. I was tired, but not tired in a prohibitive way. I was tired in the way that things start to seem a little more surreal than usual. I like that feeling, and last night I was only on the very cusp of it, so the crash afterwards wasn't too bad. I've had some extremely surreal mornings while in grad school, after having been up all night or most of the night, and when I run out of steam around 11 AM, the crash has been pretty awful. But last night was ok.

For most of the trip I was listening to the audio version of my favorite book, American Gods, by Neil Gaiman. It's read by George Guidall. He's narrated a couple of other audiobooks, and I'm pretty sure he's my favorite narrator. I've read this book once or twice, and listened to pieces or the full thing on audio countless times. It's wonderful, and I highly recommend it.

For the rest of the trip I listened to music. I put on a playlist on my iPod that I call Singalong, because it consists entirely of songs whose lyrics I've memorized and can hence sing along with (in theory). Even though I know most of these songs backwards and forwards, two of them struck me anew as I listened and sang. Here are their lyrics.

The Kid
(originally written and performed) by Buddy Mondlock

I'm the kid who ran away with the circus.
Now I'm watering elephants.
But I sometimes lie awake in the sawdust
Dreaming I'm in a suit of light.

Late at night in the empty big top,
I'm all alone on the high-wire.
Look he's working without a net this time.
He's a real death-defier.

I'm the kid who always looked out the window,
failing tests in geography.
But I've seen things far beyond just the school yard,
Distant shores of exotic lands.

There're the spires of the Turkish empire.
It's six months since we've made landfall.
Riding low with the spice of India,
Past Gibraltar, we're rich men all.

I'm the kid who thought we'd someday be lovers,
Always held out that time would tell.
Time was talking, guess I just wasn't listening.
No surprise if you no me well.

And as we're walking toward the train station,
there's a whispering rainfall.
Across the boulevard, you slip your hand in mine.
In the distance the train calls.

I'm the kid who has this habit of dreaming.
Sometimes gets me in trouble too.
But the truth is, I can no more stop dreaming
Than I can make them all come true.


I Wish I Could Go Back to College
from the musical Avenue Q

I wish I could go back to college.
Life was so simple back then.
What would I give to go back and live
In a dorm with a meal plan again?

I wish I could go back to college.
In college you know who you are.
You sit in the Quad and think,
"Oh my God, I am totally going to go far!"

How do I go back to college?
I don't know who I am anymore.
I want to go back to my room
And find a message in dry-erase pen on the door.

Oh, I wish I could just drop a class,
Or get into a play,
Or change my major,
Or %$&*$&*(& my TA.
I need an academic advisor to point the way!

We could be sitting in the computer lab,
Four AM before the final paper is due.
Cursing the world 'cause we didn't start sooner,
And seeing the rest of the class there too.

I wish I could go back to college.
How do I go back to college?
Oh-oh. I wish I had taken more pictures.

But, if I were to go back to college,
Think what a loser I'd be.
I'd walk through the Quad,
and think, "Oh my God.
These kids are so much younger than me."


These are both very nice songs. I've heard several different versions of the first one, including the original, but I think my favorite is by Peter, Paul & Mary.

I'm very happy for the day I first realized that a trip of several hours is the perfect time to play a song over and over and over to memorize the lyrics. My poor cat, who often goes on these trips with me, is, alas, not so happy. I think she finds it pretty upsetting, actually.

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I wanted to add to my list of Fantastic Moments in Fast Food Sandwiches. This one belongs to Burger King. It is their Rodeo Cheeseburger. (Although I only discovered it a couple of months ago, I just learned from Wikipedia that this burger was released nationally in 1998, and can now only be found in certain regional locations, including, apparently, several in Central New York.) It is a single burger with American cheese, several onion rings, and barbecue sauce, served on a sesame seed bun. It's not as large Wendy's' Classic Single with Cheese, but it has the advantage of currently selling for about $1.29, which is a pretty nice price. It's a startlingly good combination of flavors, and of course catsup can be added if desired. The barbecue sauce is a little strong, but not really spicy at all. Five stars.