Weekend Update the "I haven't done a big one in a while" Edition

Only two more weekend updates left...tear sniffle tear...

MUSICAL ARTIST OF THE WEEK: This week I'm going to suggest something that may put my musical credibility in the crapper. But I've thought about it for a long time and its time I come clean and tell you the truth about this. Don't judge me. You see, when I ripped all that free music at Grant Aviation's upstairs oasis of culture the coffee shop a while ago, I came to a point where I had gotten all I thought I needed from the cd rack. And I skipped right over this week's artist, I even laughed at the thought of getting it.

Then the coffee shop girl started quizzing me on what I had burned. She was impressed with my selections , that is she was impressed until I said and awkward "no way" when she recommended the band "SUPERTRAMP."

Suddenly she purposefully, defensively, came out from behind the counter grabbed the glittery and gold album "Breakfast in America" with a picture of a waitress on the front, and marched over to me and slapped the hard plastic case down next to me and said, "You don't know what your missing."

Then she walked away playfully disgusted with me.

Needless to say I was a little taken back by the force of this musical suggestion, out of fear mostly, I inserted the disc and burned it. But now that the Supertramp virus was in my computer, it was only sitting dormant, waiting for the moment it would capitalize on a vulnerable moment in its host, me.

Finally out of sheer boredom before school getting ready I decided to put it on. I gingerly skipped through the album, realizing I knew many of the songs like "The Logical Song," "Breakfast in America," and "Take the Long Way Home." I almost dismissed it as a cheesy 80's rock album never to be listened to again, except it was a hard week, and I was tired, and lonely, a hard working man just trying to make it in this crazy world and then this song hit found its hole in my defense, it hit me like a bag of marbles to the back of my early, foggy morning mind.

Goodbye Stranger

"It was an early morning yesterday
I was up before the dawn
And I really have enjoyed my stay
But I must be moving on

Like a king without a castle
Like a queen without a throne
I'm an early morning lover
And I must be moving on"

HOLY SHIT! I mean really, could you have resisted falling madly in love with a song like that if you were me? Those lyrics are made fore me and my situation.
A rush of feelings came over me, Supertramp suddenly sounded catchy like the BeeGee's but without that quintessential annoying element, they sounded like Styx but not so pompous ass over the top scifi feel, there were glimpses of Jackson Browne's "Runnin on Empty" sprinkled in, and for some reason the electric piano that normally annoys me about poorly produced eighties music sounded fresh and original (the album is in fact very carefully done), I could hear Elton John's "Rocket Man"-esque moments and even Steve Miller Band like Jams would come out of nowhere and bleed into Steely Dan's "Peg" chorus.

Needless to say. Thank you sarcastic eccentric Grant Aviation Coffee shop girl, you saved my life this week. You saved my life with Supertramp. Well done. Now I pass this cherished gift on to you all. I have stepped way out of my comfort level, hell, after this I don't know where I'll go next, but before I move on, I think I'm gonna listen to Breakfast in America one more time.

WEATHER ON NUNIVAK ISLAND: Spring Spring and more Spring. Although a constant 20mph plus wind seems to be blowing, we are above freezing most of the time now. A extra shloppy snow machine drive to take some colleagues to the airport yesterday provided the last piece of evidence to prove to me that winter is in fact over. The tundra, and snow banks, the icicles and world around me is melting, and there are puddles everywhere.

ART UPDATE: To try and spark my song writer's blog on the ukulele I downloaded the lyrics and chords of some songs that I want to learn.

I got the lyrics to Daft Punk's "Digital Love" and "Better Harder Faster Stronger" which I've practiced a couple of times and is really cool.
Citzen Cope's "Son's Gonna Rise" chords and lyrics, hard beat to play but all uked out sounds ok I think.
The Brazilian Girls lyrics to "Pussy" yeah...this one will be for the late night crowd.
O.A.R. (of a revolution)'s lyrics and chords for "Missing Piece" can't seem to get this one right yet.
Michael Franti's "Yes I Will" chords and lyrics really really fun to play and good message!

and then I downloaded all the lyrics to "If I Only Had A Brain," "If I Only Had the Nerve," and "If I Only Had a Heart" from The Wizard of Oz. I took my favorite verses out and then made up my own to go along with it, turned out pretty good.

I would recycle every bottle
Let of the gas and the throttle
Ride my bike in the rain

I'd unplug every TV
Plant a couples seedlings
If I only had a brain

I'd stand up to politicians
Until they fin'ly listened
Or got what they deserved

I'd protect every tree
And every Manitee
If I only had the nerve

I would give to the needy
Be a little less greedy
Just for a start

I'd teach all the children
The love that I've been given
If I only had a heart

What do you think?

SUMMER TRAVEL UPDATE: No new news yet...eep! Just 19 days till I'm home.

My To Do List:
Final Apartment Clean
Obtain and send transcripts to Alaska EED for certification
Contact Life Insurance and Retirement people about my accounts
End of the year grades and phase folders blech!
Transfer phone service to Gary (they'll probably stick me)
Forwarding Address to the PO (hope they follow through with it)
Activate new credit card. (timing is critical)
Finish Sydney's gift. (8 out of 30 days completed)
Double check plane reservations (just to make sure)
Give computer back to District Office (piece of crap)


My Completed Items of my To Do list:
Finished Alaska Alive EDU59500 class yesterday in just under 3 hours...booya! Easy as pie A.
Sold 186 dollars worth of my un-needed shit yesterday. Booyaka sha!
Paid my student loans...boooooo no ya no yaka sha
Suspended my netflix till July.
Transferred computer files to my external hard drive 87 gigs of life

LASTLY BUT NOT LEASTLY: Talking to my parents on the phone on Friday I realized that this blog is going to go through some major changes. It is a reflection of my life, and my life is about to change a lot, so logically this blog will also. The whole Radiate Warmth meditation really has a deep connection to the fact that I've been living in a cold inhospitable place and that has been my credo and self defense mechanism for the struggles of living out here in isolation. I don't know what the new motto will be when I have my new life in Tacoma.

But you all need to know that it might change a lot, as 19 days remain for me in Alaska, 19 days remain for the regular daily blog posting from the Radiate Warmth Perspective.

The reality is I don't know how much posting I'll be able to do from Europe. Then when I get back to Washington it will be a while till I get regular internet, I will be traveling a lot and summer's aren't high blogging time for me anyways, Free Kale doesn't like to be inside much.

I think I'll just do my best to stay in touch this summer and let life come up with a new theme. Then in the fall when I'm all settled in Ruston (hopefully with a job, fingers crossed) I will reveal the new Radiate Warmth/(Insert New Name Here). It will kind of be like starting over again like I did when I started the blog in the first place...hopefully you will all come along for the ride.

I love you guys, don't go! I have a surprise for you coming though, so be ready.