My Hero Bought Me a New Computer, but all I did on it was Listen to my New CD's and get stuck in Traffic.

I recently got a new computer. It was a gift from my dad, who recently came into some money and wanted to bless his daughters with things they needed. (My dad took care of some of my sister's medical bills. He bought me a new computer. Which sister is the shallow one? Hmm.) Anyway, it's a good thing and I love it, but I'm finding that it's completely taking over my life. I've spent my free time in the last few days writing (a good thing; I'd been dry for far too long,) watching episodes of Heroes that I'd missed when they were on TV (obsessive, I know) and playing Tetris and Alchemy online (two miserably pathetic wastes of time. Make your comments now.) So, while I love the compy, I'm going to have to learn how to do other things. I don't want to be one of those Pasty-Faced Geeks (heretofore known as PFG's) who do nothing but play online all day. (I hope my PFG friends will forgive me for that remark.)

In other news, the job is still going well. We're getting to the end of the summer, so things are sort of slowing down. We've been putting on our "Pirate Luau Party" every Friday night this summer, and last night was our smallest crowd yet. We still had a good show, but it's always kind of draining when we have 50 people show up with food for 100 and seats for 200. I've been doing the hula all summer, which looks exactly as awkward as it sounds. It's not supposed to be perfect or ever serious, but casting me as a beautiful woman "wearing nothing but... pearly shells" (that's sarcasm; I wear a tank top and a hula skirt with shorts underneath) is kind ironic. It's been fun, but I kind feel gawky and weird prancing around in a lot less clothing than I'm used to wearing. This fall we'll be starting the "murder mystery," and I'm much more looking forward to being in that. Apparently I'll be playing some sort of Stepford wife- I'm a little fuzzy on the details. I hope I get to be a psychotic Stepford wife and bake fake pieces of glass and fake razor blades into cakes and cookies and serve them to guests. 'Cause that would be hilarious. I really like working nights because that means I get to help with all the events, and most of the people I work with are a lot of fun.

This weekend was the big car show here in Branson, so that means that traffic will be horrid until they roll out of town tomorrow. Tonight is the big "midnight cruise" up and down the strip. It's kind of a big thing here in Branson, which, for all it's posing, is still kind of a small town at heart. All these vintage car owners come to town for two days at the end of the summer to show off their cars, and it all culminates with the "midnight cruise" tonight. They'll be riding up and down the strip in their fancy cars, which is awesome if you're a vintage car enthusiast, but horrible if you're a lowly activities worker trying to get home after a long day of catering to rich, entitiled guests. (I am a little bitter tonight. This morning I got chewed out by someone from another department for accurately telling a guest that I didn't have enough money in my register to change his twenty, and then a woman yelled at me over the phone for telling her that she had to pay for one of our events. Everyone has to pay. My parents have to pay if they come. And for the other matter, what am I, a bank? What made that retard think that I had unlimited funds? And what gives some bleachy-haired ho from another department the right to tell me how to do my job? Sorry. I digress.)

So, I'm kind of enjoying my night at home alone. Usually when I have a night off, I try to plan something with my friends, but tonight it didn't work out. Normally, that would kind of upset me because most other nights I work and don't always get to spend a lot of time with them, but tonight it's been kind of nice. My friend, Bud, called from Pittsburgh, and I haven't talked to him in a long time. We talked about what we usually talk about: the sad state of the Mainline Christian denomenations in the US. (Bud's a conservative Anglican, and I'm a Presbyterian refugee currently attending a United Methodist church.) And honestly, it's been nice to be able sit around and listen to my music and watch my movies and eat leftovers in my pajamas, something I couldn't do if there were a bunch of people over at my house. Besides, I wouldn't be caught dead in town tonight. I was stuck in traffic for an hour last night. There were twenty minutes that I spent with my windows rolled down and my car turned off, completely stopped in traffic. It was horrible.

And now for what I know you've all been waiting for:

Brianne's recent CD acquisitions!

1. The Reminder, by Feist. I swear, I got cooler just listening to this CD. It's definitely one of my top purchases of all time, and the best by far this year. Feist's music is so diverse and original, there's almost nothing else I can say about it. She moves from folksy ballads to country-flavored mid-tempos to rock drums and guitars from song to song and she does it all well. There's nothing manufactured here; everything is as real and authentic as they come. My favorites: "The Park," "I Feel it All," and "The Mountain."
2. Mighty to Save, by Hillsongs United. I know I don't usually talk much about "Christian" releases on here, mostly because there was a long period when I wasn't buying any "Christian" CD's. ("Christian" is in "quotation marks" because I don't really think that there should be a Christian genre. Rock music is rock music whether you sing about Jesus or not. I think that David Crowder Band is a great rock band. Also, they write some songs that lead me to Jesus.) I'm mentioning Mighty to Save on here 1) because it's a great example of how well-written music can be a conduit to Christ, 2) I didn't always like Hillsongs because I thought that their music was stupid and hokey. I don't hate them anymore because of this CD. 3) Travis Sappington introduced me to this CD via the concert version of it he has on DVD and it really touched me. I can see Emma dancing around to "Take it All" and it brings joy to my heart. My favorites: "Take it All," "At the Cross," "From the Inside Out," and of course, "Mighty to Save." Also, if anyone has seen my copy of this CD, could you please get it back to me? Cody Boggs, this means you.
3. Children Running Through, by Patty Griffin. Oh, Patty. I thought I liked you before. I thought you couldn't impress me any more than you already had by giving me "Rain" and allowing me to put it on the soundtrack of my life. I was so, so wrong. Patty Griffin's newest CD is absolutely breathtaking. 1000 Kisses, the other album I have that's by her, is good. It's not quite as strong as "Rain," (the first track and the reason I bought the CD) but it's good. I enjoy listening it it when I need comfort or to calm down. But Chldren Running Through is an entirely different animal. It's diverse (like I just mentioned with Feist) and she really utilizes her unique voice. She branches out from the country-ish songs that mostly populated 1000 Kisses, getting into some blues and some rock-type stuff. She's still thoroughly entrenched in the folk genre, which I love, but she really blew me away with this CD. My favorites: "You'll Remember," "Trapeze," and the truly wonderful "Heavenly Day."

Well. I think that's about all for tonight. I don't know if this blogging thing is going to be permanent, but I'm glad that I had something to talk about tonight. Now I don't have to feel the guilt radiating off of Jess, Erin, and Bud for not writing. Till sometime,

Brianne <><