Five Months Later: I started this in October

Molly's apartment looks great, doesn't it? Well, I've got some new digs of my own. After going through subsequent roommates and realizing I had enough money in my life to pay for only one more month of living in my beautiful old home on Lafayette St. (some of you have visited), I decided to get desperate. So I kind-of looked for another roommate while simultaneously breaking the lease agreement with my renting company in a rather pleasant way. Then, without really even kind-of looking, I found a roommate at G.F. Jordan's yard sale. He bought an mp3 player for three dollars, and was fresh from Israel. I told her she should have charged more for it. His name is Yaniv.

With the utmost composure, I frantically called my land-holding company and said something like, "Hey I know that I was desperate to get out of my lease but now I've found someone I've really finally found someone and he wants to live with me so can I go back on everything I've said in the last month," to which they responded, "We wish we could but we just signed with someone yesterday."

Knife in the back. And they made it sound so official, too: like it was a record deal or something. They offered me a condo uptown, but I decided to do my - and my new roommate's - shopping elsewhere. Enter the world of Penguin Ed.

Penguin Ed is Fayetteville's own Baron of Barbecue. He has three or four stores, including one around the block from one of his rental houses that I now call home. That's where I pay, and from stealthily glancing at all the other BBQ-sauce and grease-stained rental receipts, apparently he owns the whole street. It's like a molasses-infused Pottersville with vinegar- and mustard-based options, except much better: Welcome to Penguin Edford Falls.

I'll add some pictures soon.

Nice Apartment

Psst. Did you guys know I'm in grad school now? No? You're not alone. Most people don't know what happened. Including me. In the past month I have:

• applied for grad school kind of on a whim
• been offered a graduate assistantship
• signed up for and took the GRE without time for studying
• moved into my first apartment
• started working toward a master's in journalism

Remember in The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy's house is tossing and turning through the air during the twister? Well my life has been kind of a whirlwind lately, too, and I also have landed in a new technicolor dreamworld, not counting a hellish load of homework from textbooks the size of Oxford English.

I'm rather pleased with how my apartment is shaping up, so let me show you around.

Here's my green wall. I've been eyeing that green chair at an antique store for months but only finally had a need for it two weeks ago. I found that floral upholstery fabric at a garage sale for a couple bucks, but it's saving me paint money now.

When I first moved in, I had no furniture, save for an air mattress and a folding lawn chair. So I set about making the new apartment feel like home by covering the walls with scarves. And maps. I've always wanted to do that. High-five, Koko.

This young chap is a Very Nice Thing that constitutes his own long-overdue post. His charcoal and pastel portrait was the only thing I truly wanted from my grandparents' house when they moved out, and the family graciously complied. He looks as bored with his new view as he did with his last, but maybe he'll reflect on prettier things after I fix up that corner the next time I am procrastinating on a 10-page book report.

Finally, here is my favorite of three bicycles currently hanging around the apartment. I got a deal on a Craigslist bike rack so I could be a better commuter. But what I saved on the rack I quickly realized will end up costing me more as I conveniently pick up every vintage bike at every yard sale I see. This one was a mere $40.

I'll sell the other two so I can buy more textbooks next semester!

Two Owls

Two nights ago, while scooting, I noticed a large owl perched on a stop sign. Directly following, I noticed another large owl--similar in color and markings--across the street perched on a grill installed in a small corner park.

Alone, this is a nice thing. But it was twice as nice.

The Thread

Oh, hello! It would seem that the Real Idealists have been overwhelmed by so many nice things lately that we haven't even had time to write about them!

Here is just one of those nice things that I love today.

At the risk of this turning into a (rarely updated) music blog instead of just a general loveliness blog, I'll spare you the exciting (to me) info about who is in this band. You can read about that here if you are into that sort of thing. Otherwise, just enjoy the pretty music.

Burying the Lede (Tyler James to tour with Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros)

Great news! A while back Nathan posted about Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and I promptly fell head over heels for them. "Home" has been my #1 heartsong for months. Especially after I bought the album and saw this news.

I even made my mother listen to "Home" and a couple other songs on a road trip.

Me: Wasn't that great? Didn't you just love that? Oh my gosh. I love that.
Mom: I guess.
Me: You guess? Could you not understand the words?
Mom: No. I heard the part about "Home is wherever we're together," but the rest just sounded like mumbling.

Moms. I love mine. She hasn't loved many musicians since Bobby Sherman, though. We had all day on the road, so I made her listen again while I clearly enunciated every line before Alex Ebert and Jade Castrinos sang it. (At another in-car listening party, my dad loved it. He thinks Jade channels Janis Joplin, a highly rare and admirable quality, he said. He waxed nostalgic for a moment, and then we listened to it again.)

The band has been my biggest collective friend-crush ever since that night on Letterman. So if one of my friends actually got to be friends with them, I would die of happiness, obviously. Or blog about it, at least. It would be a very nice thing.

Well, the time has come, the frontman said. Tyler James is about to tour with Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

I met Tyler James when he played at my college in Searcy, Ark., a couple times. Here is a picture I took in 2005 where Tyler (left) looks just like my friend Jairus (right).

Neat!

So obviously we are B.F.F. now. (I wish. Tyler James is the bomb.) According to that Cream article, verified via Tyler's Facebook profile, he will "assume duties as a touring keyboardist for a jaunt that will take him from festivals such as Bonnaroo and Coachella, to destinations as far reaching as Australia." So way to go, Tyler James! You've come so far since performing at Harding, being named Paste's Artist of the Year, touring with Ten out of Tenn... The Zeros are lucky to have you.

And his new album comes out tomorrow. Order it today!

All Things Anniversary

My good friend and co-writer reminded me that, after 31 posts, we have been online for a whole year! While this in itself is an accomplishment (disregarding the past month's lack of activity), I would like to point out the fact that I am currently listening to The Anniversary to celebrate. Is this an accomplishment? No, not really. Did I pull up The Anniversary primarily because of the seeming relevance associated with the name? Yes, yes I did. Shamelessly.

But really, The Anniversary is one of my favorite bands, especially of yesterhighschoolandalittleintocollegeyear and days past. I consistently prove this to myself by never seeming to be able to exclude a track from them on any mix cd I try to make. They mean that much to me, or something.

Here's a popular track of pure early-aughts genius:

What bands or songs do you always go back to in making mix cds or maneuvering through milestones?

And Randy is my father's name.