Quick Update - And More Newport Artists!

Trying to catch my breath after a frantic, sleep-deprived week. Work has been hellish, per usual, especially trying to wrap up things before going on my mini-Newport Folk Fest-vacation for a few days.

I'll write more tomorrow, but the short version is that I have an interview tomorrow morning for a new job. Yea!!!

This happened REALLY fast. I did a phone screen two weeks ago, then didn't hear anything until this afternoon. There was some confusion (more in my next post), but essentially I did a second phone screen with no advance notice this afternoon. Always a good way to unwind after a harrowing day at the office. lol

It must have gone OK, because they asked if I could do an in-person interview - tomorrow morning. I sort of stammered that I was supposed to head to Newport, but they explained that the hiring manager was going on vacation for two weeks as of noon tomorrow, so this was the only time that worked. Needless to say, I said no problem.

This would be a really, really good opportunity. Much more stable than my current situation, which feels more and more like a nightmare with each passing day. So please send some positive vibes my way tomorrow morning; they will be much appreciated! And I will return them a thousand-fold as I wind my way to Newport as soon as the interview is over - promise!!!

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As promised, more of the Newport artists I most want to see:

My Morning Jacket, who are an AMAZING live band. Watch this tremendous performance of "One Big Holiday" on the old Conan O'Brien show and be awed:

Patty Griffin, an astonishingly good singer and songwriter (and current main squeeze of one Robert Plant - rumor is he may grace us with his presence!):

And Trampled By Turtles, a way-cool, turbo-charged bluegrass group from the great state of Minnesota:

They're all barely 36 hours away! Woo-hoo!!!

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Oh - and this is my 100th post!!!! I am a chatty Kathy since I started transitioning! lol

Cold Cold Cold

As a big fan of the late, lamented, My Name Is Earl, I am a believer in karma.

For those of you unfamiliar with the show, Earl was a thirty-something petty thief. After winning $100,000 in the lottery, he is promptly hit by a car while celebrating. In the hospital he becomes a firm believer in karma the way most of us do: he hears about it while watching Carson Daly in a morphine-induced stupor. 

To turn his life around, he puts together a list of every bad thing he has ever done and every person he has hurt and vows to make amends. Each episode dealt with his attempt to cross another item off his list.

My list, thankfully, isn't as long as Earl's. But I do have one, as karma occasionally reminds me.

Like today.

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Conversations with C: Speaking in Tongues

I'm consistently surprised by how often my transition gives seemingly mundane conversations an undercurrent of levity that only I can appreciate.

Well, only me for now, at least. :c)

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Another Friend Is In the Know

This isn't the long-delayed post I have been threatening for the last few weeks; I got sidetracked in an email exchange with a friend. Amazing how three hours  can pass by when you become friends with a fellow music obsessive. :c) We may wind up blowing our transition budgets on all of the new albums we discussed (yes, we're both of sufficient vintage to listen to albums)…

But, as I do so often when I get going on music, I digress. lol So here's what is happening in my little corner of the world.

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That's One Small Step For A Cow...

http://www.theonion.com/articles/running-of-the-bulls-breaks-down-gender-barrier-as,28777/

Oh, Onion, I love you so... :c)

***

And since I'm sure you're all wondering, "Gee, I wonder what Cass's favorite story from The Onion is?"... well, wonder no more:

http://www.theonion.com/articles/phish-collapses-onstage,1076/

Actually, it's my second favorite (just barely behind my top choice). I can't link to that one, as it will get me kicked off Blogger lol... but trust me, it's hilarious. :c)

***

Just to assure you that Phish did, indeed, recover, here they are doing the perfect song for this post:

And here they cover one of my favorite bands, Little Feat:

Just a Quick Update

Just wanted to post a quick update on a few items - nothing major, in case you aren't inclined to expand this post! :c)

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A Day Well-Spent

I am still pondering how to rework the abandoned post I mentioned previously… but in the meantime I wanted to share a bit about my adventures on Saturday.

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The Palpable Truth

In the final video in my previous post, Charles Kuralt describes how Thomas Jefferson was invited to Washington DC to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence (which, of course, he wrote).

This is an excerpt from his reply, declining the invitation because of poor health. Ten days later, on July 4, 1826, he died.

"The general spread of the light of science has already laid open to every view the palpable truth, that the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately, by the grace of God. These are grounds of hope for others. For ourselves, let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them."

I still get goosebumps every time I read that. :c)

American Tune(s)

I always think of July 4th when I hear this song (performed here by its author, Steve Goodman):

And the man who made it famous:

Of course, what band is more quintessentially American than the Beach Boys?

And here is the song I heard on the radio just now that prompted me to post this:

Last but not least, the great Charles Kuralt shares some thoughts on the author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson. Coincidentally, both Kuralt and Jefferson passed away on July 4th.

Happy Independence Day!!!

Starting All Over Again...

My latest blog post, that is.

I've come to realize that I find out how I feel by writing.

I often start my posts with no clear idea of what I'm writing about (and usually end them the same way, I'm sure some feel!), but at some point all of sudden something clicks, and I get "it" - whatever "it" is.

And then I'm off.

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Following Up/Random Thoughts

Feeling a bit better than I did yesterday after my ill-advised jaunt in the heat here. I feel out of sorts, but nothing too, too bad. It's just as hot here today - hotter, actually, since the humidity increased.

And no, I will not be hoofing it today.

As only she can can, my sister told me as much.

She is an ER nurse. Consequently, she sees an interesting cross-section of humanity, as you might imagine.

"I have enough on my plate with all of the loonies every night. I don't have time to be treating you for heat stroke on top of that. I mean, it would take an hour just to find a vein in this scrawny thing," she said, pointing to my arm.

That is her in a nutshell. She isn't one for long, philosophical talk; she's practical, and just tells it like it is. Well, like it is according to her, at least. :c)

But I actually find her matter-of-factness reassuring. As far as she's concerned, I'm trans in the same way that I have blue eyes, am clumsy, and love baseball, peanut butter fudge, and cows. (Not necessarily in that order.)

It's just who I am. Nothing more.

And that's pretty cool.

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(Don't) Walk, Don't Run

Whoops.

You would think I would have learned my lesson last March, when I tripped and fell outside my parents house and broke two ribs, to take it easy.

"You're a girl now, Cassidy," a friend half-jokingly admonished me back then. "You can't be doing things like this anymore." Would that I had listened and learned.

Alas, I did not. :c)

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