Summer...

Oh hello. Just me again. I'm ba-aaack.

(And on time this time! Yowza!)

I loved reading about Tom and Allison's summer adventures and am stoked to get this TASG thingy up and running again.

That being said, I guess it's time to bore you with the things I did last summer.

Summer seemed to go by really fast. It wasn't a bad summer, though I don't know if it was the best summer of my life or anything. Here are some of the highlights:

- I (unintentionally) stalked the filming of "Portlandia" quite a bit and ended up meeting Fred Armisen as well as being an extra in the show.

- I learned how to play pool.

- I had a really good house-sitting job and recorded the vocals for my new album in basement while staying there.

- I spent way too much time in my room alone trying to learn this dance.

- I got a job writing trivia questions for pub quizzes and quickly got fired because my questions were "too obscure" (I felt like the world's biggest hipster...).

- I spent many nights sitting on the front stoop of my building with my friends. We would order pizza, watch the cars go by, drink PBR, talk about our various creative projects, contemplate the meaning of life, give each other misguided relationship advice, etc. These were some of my favorite nights of the summer.

- I started making my own greeting cards.

- I played some songs at a couple of garden parties.

- I went dancing a few times, mostly at cheesy theme nights (i.e: Soul Night, 90's Dance Music Night, etc.).

- I learned a valuable lesson involving leopard-print pants (a clothing item to be worn with caution!).

- I saw Imelda May perform at the zoo. The crowd was kinda dead, but she rocked it.

- I spent a lot of time stressing out over things like money, my E.P. album, the future, etc.

- I developed a mild addiction to The Bins.

- I got new glasses - the kind that look like I stole them from Woody Allen and cause everyone to ask if I have a real prescription.

- I started writing a sitcom based on my life in Portland.

There you have it - the highlights of my summer. I feel like I'm probably forgetting something, but I think that list is good enough.

And now... it's time for Fall. In a word, woo.

That's all I've got for tonight. See you next week, boys and girls.

<3,

The Yank

(awkward moment with street performers brought to you by "Portlandia")

A Cruel, Cruel Summer...

Actually, it wasn't. But how could I start a summer-themed post without referencing an Ace of Base classic?

So, fear not. My summer wasn't cruel. It wasn't, however, the all-singing, all-dancing booze haze it might have been.

At the beginning of the summer, Neil broke his ankle. Now, summer is his season. He is the fire to my ice* so it was especially hard for him to be holed up inside when he would have preferred to be basking in the sunshine. I actually didn't mind. I thought about changing jobs for a while. That didn't work. My one trip abroad was a one night work trip to Trieste (which is very pretty, I do recommend it).

I know it's incredibly British of me to moan about the weather, but for a long time it didn't feel like summer, rather an extension of spring. It's odd that as soon as the sun did come out - at the beginning of October - things began to look up.

Firstly, I watch my football team trounce local rivals QPR six goals to nil. That's a rare figure for Fulham to reach so I was, I believe understandably, overjoyed.

Then came some more big news. I'm really wary of jinxing it, so forgive me for not saying anything just yet, until it's set in stone, but it's looking like my life may be undergoing a fairly substantial change soon. Nothing huge; I'm not emigrating, crowning myself King of the World or giving up alcohol (or coffee, though kudos to the Canuck for succeeding where I've failed!) any time soon. But there is a possibility that those miserable, my life is going nowhere feelings may be quashed. At least for a while. And if it does happen, I promise you'll hear it here first.

In the meantime, I'd like to thank Allison and Lauren for being patient enough to let me recharge my batteries. It's fair to say that blogging has eluded me this year. I've been running low on inspiration. But I don't want to stop, I just needed some time to think. It wasn't you, TASG, it was me. And I'd like to come back now, if you'll have me?

Ciao for now. Lauren, my favourite new twitterer, I look forward to reading your summer post!

T
X

* On the subject of fire and ice, I lost at least two months of my summer to G. R. R. Martin's sprawling fantasy epic A Song Of Ice & Fire. I'm pleased to note that Risha has also succumbed to the temptations of Westeros. This makes me feel much better about myself.