So yeah, I went to Hannibal on business and wrote the type of overwrought prose that I usually do when visiting a new city. What’s happened since then?
Work, mostly. I hinted in previous blog posts about starting a night job at a call center. The night job started last month, and I’ve been in intensive training ever since. Basically, you’re in training for six weeks, five nights every week, and you’re then set loose on the phones. Therefore, it’s been 14-hour days every day since late March. Training ends this Friday, though, and then I’ll work three nights a week and one weekend day – about 18 hours a week total. Which is still a lot to deal with, but at least I get nights off during the week.
Lest you think I’m complaining…well, I am, but I infinitely prefer this situation to the one from a few months ago. You may recall that situation: I was unemployed with no prospects, and very nervous about what we’d do. Given the options, I’d much rather have the two jobs. I spent four years attending evening law school on almost the same schedule, so this really isn’t much of a change.
Meanwhile, the lawyer job seems to be going well. I like my boss and my coworkers, and they seem to be happy with my work. It turns out that I really like doing bankruptcy law. It may be that I’m in a unique position to empathize with our clients. We don’t work with any big business filing Chapter 11, nor are most of our clients cheats or transients. On the contrary, most of them are hardworking people who made honest but bad decisions, or were living paycheck to paycheck until the paycheck suddenly went away. A couple more months of unemployment and I could very well have been in their shoes. So perhaps I can relate to their situations from a firsthand perspective. It probably explains why my favorite part of the job is stopping house foreclosures and car repossessions. Right now I’m at a point where I still have a lot to learn, but can at least answer the basic questions and understand the process.
All of the above explains why I’ve been out of touch with music and current events lately. (I didn’t hear a note of Susan Boyle, for instance, until that news cycle was almost finished.) I did manage to jump upon the Dum Dum Girls/Mayfair Set bandwagon before it was too late. Ever hear a band that seemed tailormade to your specific interests? That’s how I felt the first time I checked the Dum Dum Girls out online. Here was a band (well, solo project) that combined the noisy acoustics of Psychocandy, echoey girl-group style harmonies, simple but effective hooks, and an appealing lo-fi flavor. I could drop names like Aislers Set, Slumber Party and Shop Assistants, or I could drop a backhanded comment like “this is what I was hoping Vivian Girls would sound like, but so far don’t outside of ‘Where Do You Run To’ and a couple other tracks.” And those would be accurate reference points. But there’s something original about the DDG approach, especially the vocals, which are oddly stylized like 1980s 4AD on a four-track. I’m looking forward to hearing much more – this could be a new favorite band.
On the other hand, I’ve been oblivious enough about local happenings, to the extent that that I did not know Tommy Keene was playing in town last night until 9 pm. I quickly got dressed and headed to Off Broadway, and made it just in time to watch Sally Crewe and the Sudden Moves move their equipment offstage – a pity, as I wanted to see them. I did manage to catch local legends Finn’s Motel and really liked them – a sort of intellectual, word-drenched power pop halfway between Elvis Costello and Franklin Bruno. Tommy Keene’s new stuff doesn’t sound a million miles removed from his mid-80s hits a la “Back to Zero Now” and “Places That Are Gone,” but that’s consistency rather than a rut. Mostly I was happy to see and hear him, and enjoyed the whole set. Note that I left a few songs early, mindful of having to get up this morning with the kids. Let me guess; he pulled out all the greatest hits as soon as I got into my car, right?
Recent Comments