Age Awareness

(On the last comment: I’ve heard of Jem but I don’t think I’ve ever actually heard her sing. Point of clarification: I’m not talking about the “totally outrageous” cartoon character from the 80’s and please God explain to me why I have brain cells dedicated to that piece of knowledge. Anyway, everything I’ve heard about her is good but I don’t know if I want to listen to a more upbeat Beth Orton. I like Beth pretty much the way she is, I’d just like her to tour middle America a little more often.)

Well, after the shenanigans of last weekend (which included showing up at a bar ten hours from where I live at eleven A.M. for a 2:30 kickoff that was taking place on the other side of the country from the bar I was at) I basically decided to take this weekend off. I think that is one of those definite signs that you are getting old. When you start self-rationalizing that “You know, I hit it pretty hard last weekend and I’ve got a ton of shows to hit next week, so I’m just going to lay low this weekend and watch pro wrestling DVDs. On average, that will leave me with a pretty active social life.” That’s basically the way my mind was working. Plus, it was raining hard after the ND game and I didn’t feel like walking out in the rain. Yep, I’m getting old.

Here is the other sign that I am really beginning to age. Went and got my oil changed today (that’s not the sign. I mean, I was like two months and a thousand miles behind schedule and the change oil light has been on my dashboard since February. I’m still a young idiot in that regard.) While there this guy comes in with his two kids, who can’t be more than three years old. And these kids were just some of the cutest, funniest things that you could ever see. I mean, when you can make me smile in a waiting room, you’re a pretty funny kid. As I left I thought to myself, “You know, I got to get me some of those.”

Hold on a minute…

(Slaps self in head)

Good, that should put the biological clock on snooze for a few more minutes. But if you need an example of knowing that you are not twenty three anymore, that is one of them. Over the past few months I really have started to feel like I should be an adult now and settle down and start a family and start worrying about my cholesterol. In some ways I’m fully behind my own reasoning and in others, well, I just don’t want to grow old. It’s strange enough being the oldest person at the concert. I’m still young enough that I can pull off the “Don’t worry, I’m a grad student” look, that I’m just cooler than anyone realizes. That’s going to go away in a few years. Then I’ll just be the guy who has stayed at the party a little too long. Like the old hippies you see at some shows, where you just feel like telling them that it is time to move on. I hate knowing that in a few years I’ll have to move on as well.

Oh well, I’ll sum up by answering one of the infrequently asked questions that was posted recently: “Is it better to burn up or fade away?” The answer is burn up, without a question. Whatever you do, don’t go softly into the good night.

The five random CDs for the week:
1) C. J. Chenier “The Big Squeeze”
2) The Mekons “Journey to the End of Night”
3) The Frames “Burn the Maps”
4) Kelly Willis “What I Deserve”
5) Various Artists “Exposed Roots: The Best of Alt. Country” (which was distributed by K-Tel records, I kid you not)