"I think this place is full of spies, I think they're onto me. Didn't anybody, didn't anybody tell you, didn't anybody tell you how to gracefully disappear in a room? I know you put in the hours to keep me in sunglasses, I know. And so and now I'm sorry I missed you, I had a secret meeting in the basement of my brain. It went the dull and wicked ordinary way. It went the dull and wicked ordinary way. And now I'm sorry I missed you." ~the national

I'm seeing The National in less than two weeks at the Tibet House Benefit at Carnegie Hall and could not be more excited. It will be my sixth time seeing them in concert (the only group I've seen more times is Counting Crows). Obviously I'm a huge fan. I'm going to the concert mainly to see The National, but there are some other good acts as well, including Vampire Weekend, Philip Glass, Patti Smith, and Steve Earle. Lately I've been listening to Steve Earle's album Washington Square Serenade and I really like it. It's devoted to celebrating New York (that's obvious just by looking at the title, and New York threads its way through all the songs) and yet the album still preserves his Nashville sound that I love.

I've been reading a lot lately. Today I read The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing. I've had it for years but never got around to reading it, so I finally read it today. That's basically all I did. I love days when I can just stay in bed and read. I enjoyed the book; it was an entertaining, easy read. I liked its description of New York as "where people who don't belong anywhere belong." I agree with that. It's a city made up of outcasts, and because there is such a wide variety of people, no one seems out of place. I love that about New York.

So I think I'm going to put on a play at my school this year. Which is quite a daunting thought. It if actually does happen, I hope I survive the process. It's what I'm training to do in my grad school coursework, but learning how to do something and actually doing it are two completely different things. I'll keep you updated.