Whoa nelly. It's been almost three weeks since I've posted. Two housemates' 21st birthdays, three concerts, and a lot of working at Patagonia have taken it out of me. But I'm back and ready to write interesting and compelling things about my modest life as a Senior in college. Things I'm excited about lately...

Barack Obama has been elected the 44th American president! I'm watching John McCain's concession speech now, and I'm even proud of him. His speech is a good one, although his supporters are a bit creepy. For the rest of the night, I'll be keeping my eye on California's Prop 8 and the rest of the state ballot measures banning gay marriage, gay adoption, gay... people. It's not looking good, folks.

I'm now officially double majoring in Political Economy and American Musical Culture! This is exciting for me, because now I can legitimately say music is more than my hobby. Writing cover letters for music and entertainment industry jobs will hopefully be less difficult to swing this spring.

Also, I played one of my songs this past Wednesday at an Open Mic Night. I still remember crying in the 6th grade after my saxophone teacher forced me to play a duet from Aladdin with some older kid during my lesson at The Music Tree, so it looks like I've come a long way in social development. Lots of friends showed up to support me, and I felt especially loved that night.

Finally, I've been to a slew of really great concerts. Ben Kweller played Rock 'n Roll Hotel on Oct. 21; The Magnetic Fields played GWU's Lisner Auditorium Oct. 26; and I just saw Amos Lee at 9:30 Club last night. It was my third time seeing Ben Kweller and his indie twang style suited my lazy mood for the night. Old favorites were twangified, although noticeably absent was "Wasted and Ready." I'm looking forward to his new album Changing Horses set for February release. The Magnetic Fields were absolutely amazing, and I felt so fortunate that DC was on their curiously eccentric October tour. I loved every song they played, including old favorites "I Don't Believe You" and "Yeah! Oh Yeah!" and new favorite "Drive On, Driver." Lastly, I saw Amos Lee yesterday. He played a solid hour-and-a-half set including almost every song from his self-titled debut. His new material is great! It's what I like to call Sunday music for reclining and relaxing. Mmm.

Alright. I've gone on too long, but I will try to post more frequently in next few weeks. I think I'll post about my exciting Patagonia gear soon. I definitely have immense brand loyalty from this job. Happy Election Day! I'm relieved that the world will wake up to Barack Obama as the winner.

I've been a little absent from the blogosophere lately and not living up to my "more regular posts" resolution of the new school year, but at least for this week, I can get a note from the doctor to excuse myself. In an impressive rally, my immune system has battled back against what I initially thought was strep throat. I was out of commission for a good 3-4 days but some penicillin, codeine, and a tearful phone call to Mom later, I feel pretty back to normal.

I haven't posted in a while, so a recap of all events seems over the top. But in summary, I saw Kathy Griffin at DAR, Jenny Lewis at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, and GEMA Rocks at Gonda Theater. Most importantly, I saw Bahfongu in my basement.

We hosted our first house party of the school year with a live performance by American University band Bahfongu. We transformed our basement into a present-day Cellar Door with Christmas lights and some furniture reorganizing. The beer was abundant, dancing was widespread, and of course, the band was groovin'.

I had some reservations about Bahfongu since I had never heard them before, but they were amazing! A well-chosen mix of funky instrumental originals and crowd-pleasing covers (highlight = "Proud Mary") had the crowd in constant motion. The party crowd even cheered for an encore at the end of the set. An encore in my basement? Yes, please. Look for recaps of Part II of the 1703 Music Series in the future. Needless to say, I'll be riding this wave of cool through the rest of the week.