Dear Hipster Chick

Dear hipster chick
In clothes of stripes and plaids
Hair akimbo
A studied insouciance
How does your garden grow?
With shrubby rhizomes, denim skorts and legs unshorn?
O, hipster chick, that voodoo that you do to me.
I feel the prick of love and the return of beards.

(c) 2010 Michael Reilly

In an Instant. Life.

It's been an interesting week. A very tough week, emotionally. There was a little scare involving my brother's health and it sort of puts things in perspective. I was going through my inbox and I came across a quote I had sent myself. It seems so apropos.

"You have one life, one very short life, to enjoy, to embrace, to dive in, to try new things, to see the world, to love someone dear, to appreciate the little things. Or, as Nate might say, you have one life to live. Don't fuck it up." - Heather Havrilesky on Six Feet Under finale in Salon.

I think I'm living a different life today, so that I will have a different tomorrow.

It's always 5 'til 3...

I feel like I've been stuck in an alternate universe for the past 10 weeks on Wednesday nights. One where it's always 5 'til 3. I've been taking Advanced Style Analysis at CSULA and the clock is broken. The class has been a very surreal journey and the fact that it is always 5 'til 3 only makes it that much more so. I only have one week left of class and I can't wait to return to a more normal existence.

You don't know love from Shinola

It's been awhile since my last blog - too long. I can only chalk it up to laziness. Anyway, I just have to write about the new Dolly Parton CD, "Backwoods Barbie." It has been in heavy rotation for the past week and it's good. Really good. She sounds great and her lyrics resonate with where I am in my life right now. Some of it is a little over the top and too self-helpy, but I think Dolly is the only artist that could pull it off. I do have to say that the album has lifted my mood, and as cheesy as it is, I do enjoy "Better Get to Livin'." My favorite song on the album so far is "Somebody's Everything." It has a great lyric and sentiment, nuff said. "Shinola" is another stand out on the album and it is a FUN song.

Before I close, I have one other recommendation - Melissa Etheridge, The Awakening. This is the other CD that has been in heavy rotation. It's a great concept album with impeccable song writing. "The Kingdom of Heaven" is one of the best songs written in recent memory and I'm tryting to figure out how I'm going to use this one in church, becuase it says so much and says it simply:

My God is love
My God is peace
My God loves you
My God loves me

A New Year

The wreckage of 2007 has come to a close and I look with much hope and anticipation toward 2008. If I had to make a generalization about 2007, it would be this: I hit the reset button. I'm not sure if it was a by-product of Saturn Returns, but this year was one of immense change and destruction. It was a year of moving, changing jobs, and changing relationships. While it was in many respects a difficult year, I am grateful for it and think I am a much different (better?) person today than a year ago. I still have a lot to learn and I think this year will be another very transformational year. I think the thing that I am most looking forward to is completing my coursework for grad school this summer - mostly because I feel like I've been kept in a weird holding pattern.

The thing I think I'm most interested in this coming year is creating community - a community of thinkers, music/art/theater makers and dreamers. I've been inspired by a group in NYC, Transmissions (http://www.transmissioning.org/), and would love to start something like it out here in LA. If you're interested, please let me know.

Wishing everybody an amazing 2008!

What's your favorite?

My favorite pair of undies, originally uploaded by allriledup.

So, I was doing laundry in my building this week and was tickled when I saw this sign. My favorite part is the little drawing. I'm not sure if I like my favorite pair of underwear to put up a lost and found sign. So friends, I have two questions for you:

1) What does your favorite pair of underwear look like, and
2) Would you put up a lost and found sign if you lost them?

I'll start. My favorite undies are blue and white striped boxers. Although I love them, I don't love them dearly enough to put up a sign, just blog about them. Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

One down...

So, I'm officially done with my History of the Baroque Seminar. I blame my lack of blogging on it. So there. I can't even begin to tell you how relieved I am that it is over. This past quarter has been very intense and there were moments that I didn't think that I would make it through. I also came to terms with my amazing powers of procrastination and they are amazing (is there a 12-step group for procrastinators? PA?). Here is a short list of things that I did instead of working on my school projects:
1) Went to the gym (if you know me, you know that I was really trying to avoid writing)
2) Cleaned my house
3) Started blogging
4) Registered an internet domain (www.michaelpatrickreilly.com)
5) Fantasized about being admitted to a psychiatric ward (as an excuse to avoid finals)
6) Spent countless hours talking to my friends about my projects
7) Napped
8) Watched TV
9) Upgraded my computer's operating system
10) Read Rosie O'Donnell's book Celebrity Detox

I only have one more final left - it is for my Church and Service Music class at USC. I've learned a lot from both of my classes this quarter/semester. I've also learned that I'm ready to do and very ready to be done with classes. There IS a light at the end of the tunnel.