East Coast E

Thanksgiving break finds Bri and I in CT. After a completely not thrilling drive through mist, fog and annoyingly large amounts of traffic, we arrived in New Haven 6 hours after we left Ithaca. I am thinking that it would be an amazingly beautiful drive on a sunny fall day in early October, so I hold out hope for another chance at it.
We are spending the holiday with Bri's family at her sister's house. This marks my first real experience with the new in-laws on a major holiday. So far, so good. I got a mini tour of Yale today and realized that just because Ithaca and New Haven house Ivy League schools does not mean they are similar towns. It is hard to put into terms the differences of the towns, but they are definitely there. Other high points of the day included the first time I have seen the Atlantic Ocean from something other than an airplane in my life and eating a cheeseburger from the restaurant where the American burger originated in 1895.
We haven't really planned our return yet, but we will probably be here for another couple of days.
Hope you all have a enjoyable and blessed Thanksgiving.

Arcade Fire on ACL Pt. 2

After seeing Arcade Fire last night, I was reminded again of how amazing the new wave of indie rock is. Over the past couple years I have heard firsthand reviews of the incredible event that is Arcade Fire live, but until last night, I had only seen short clips of their shows. The setlist was about an hour long, and they featured songs from both their new album Neon Bible and their previous album Funeral. The band consisted of ten people last night and the best part was that only two of the ten played the same instrument for whole show. Win (the lead vocalist) played acoustic guitar, electric, bass, and mandolin. Regine (the only permanent female member of the band) played keys, organ, acordian, drums and my favorite, the hurdy gurdy. The two guys, providing the wind section, played trumpet, euphonium, clarinet, french horn, bass saxophone and unbelievably, a bass clarinet.
The incredible amount of instrumentation added to the high energy of the show. It is a rare event to see a group perform that seems so genuinely excited to have the oportunity to make music together. They seemed to be completely in their element on stage and loving every minute of it. It was an impressive reminder of how cool live music can be.

Arcade Fire on ACL

For anyone who has the slightest interest in indie rock, check out Austin City Limits on Saturday night. They will be featuring a full hour of the Arcade Fire, and based on a couple early clips from the show, it looks amazing.
If you don't know, Austin City Limits is a music show that has aired on PBS since forever pretty much. They do a very brilliant job of capturing some amazing bands in live performances and also interspacing interviews with band members throughout the show. You can check the PBS website for showtimes. And you can also see clips from Wilco's performance last week.

Hvarf/Heim

I picked up the new Sigur Ros double EP Hvarf/Heim this afternoon. It is glorious. Hvarf consists of 5 previously unreleased studio tracks from the last 10 years or so. Most of it I have heard via live bootlegs and leaked studio tracks, but it is nice to finally hear a polished/finished version of them. Heim contains 6 rare live acoustic versions of tracks that have very seldomly been performed by the band. The first track is the first ever live performance of Acoustic #3 from the album ( ). For those of you who don't know, this was the bridal processional from our wedding this past summer.
I have listened through the albums twice already that it has been wonderful. I highly recommend it for anyone with a love for Sigur Ros.

Ithaca, NY 10 sq Miles Surrounded by Reality

Bri and I have begun to keep a running list of things you will only see in Ithaca or maybe another country. At Bri's insistance, here they are for your enjoyment.

The Toyota Corrolla Wagon in front of you at the downtown stop light has 4 goats in the back.

The street musician playing for money at the downtown commons is a classical harpist.

While on a walk through town, you encounter a 20 piece bluegrass band teaching square dancing lessons to a bunch of college students.

The customers in front of you at Starbucks are the local Buddhist Monks getting their morning coffee.

We are guessing this will probably be an ongoing list. So, stay tuned for more updates.

Prayer

I just found out that my Mom is going to have surgery next week to have a lump removed. I think this is the second or third time she has had this procedure done in the last fifteen or so years. Part of me is not worried, it kinda seems like a routine now, but another part of me is pretty freaked out. None of this is helped by the fact that my next door neighbor from growing up died two weeks ago from brain cancer. She had cancer four different times in her life, and the final cancer was diagnosed less than a month before she passed away. All this is to say, I might not be in the best place right now to deal with the possibility of my Mom having cancer.

In other not so uplifting news, I just talked to my sister for the first time in a couple weeks and my nephew is not doing well. He is becoming very violent and incredibly hard to control and I think my sister is reaching/past the end of her rope. The latest line of thining on her part is that Tristan may be Bi-Polar. His biological father was never diagnosed, but it is suspected that he could have been. Tristan's father committed suicide less than a year after Tristan was born. So, now my sister is pursuing any route that could lead to helping Tristan and finding some answers. The problem is that there are very few avenues left for her in North West Iowa. So, if any of you have any bright ideas regarding the treatment of Autism or developmental disorders in children in general, let me know.

And Pray.

A Year

One year ago this week, I turned in my two weeks notice at Bethel. It is odd/eeire/cool/exciting/scary/etc. to see how much impact one single decision can have on life. In the last year I have been unemployed for a total of 5 months. I had my first employment in a field that I truly wanted to work in (Crosswinds Chruch). I had what could arguably be my least favorite job yet (Dunn Bros.). I got engaged. I got married. I moved 1000 miles.

I remember being scared and excited when I finally decided to quit at Bethel. I knew it would mean a huge change in my life. In a way, I saw it as a catagorical shift in thinking and my approach to life. The last year has been amazing. The last year has been extremely difficult. To be honest, I can't remember any other year in my life that has hand in hand been as rewarding and as trying. The stress of trying to find a job, twice. Planning a wedding, planning a move. Some days I feel like I am still trying to recover from it all.

Bri and I had a conversation when I quit, I said that someday I would realize all the benefits to working at Bethel that I couldn't see at the end. I readily admit that I miss the paycheck. As little as it was, it is still more than I have been able to find since. But more than that, I miss the people. I miss students, I miss coworkers and I miss the people of Bethel. I miss conversations about life that were meaningful and thoughtful. I do not miss my office! (Or the presidents office).

I hope the next year is as good, and maybe a little less trying. I think that may be asking a lot. Ithaca is beginning to feel like home most days. On the good days, it seems like a pretty amazing place to live. On the other hand, on the bad days, it seems like the worst place in the world, and all the beauty of nature cannot change how much it drives me nuts.