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Archive for the ‘Drinking’ Category

Roddy Doyle–Not Just for Christmas (1999)

Posted in Barenaked Ladies, Cancer as plot device, Drinking, Dublin, Ireland, Irish Writer, Jealousy, Live from Mountain Stage, Roddy Doyle, Short Books on August 31, 2013| Leave a Comment »

xmasSOUNDTRACK: BARENAKED LADIES-Live from Mountain Stage (Jan 19, 1995).

barenakedladiesThis is wonderful show from 1995 (it was recorded on Super Bowl Sunday, which explains the football jokes…including the Baltimore football team that played in the CFL for literally one year). Having seen BNL recently (and enjoyed them), I forgot how much more bouncey and fun their earlier shows were (as their earlier songs were in general more bouncey and fun).  This show is also interesting because Andy Creeggan is still in the band.  Andy is Tim (bass) Creeggan’s brother.  And I have to wonder if he is doing some of the great harmonies (especially on “Alternative Girlfriend,” which I’ve never heard anywhere else).

I love each of the four songs they play here: “Life in a Nutshell,” “Jane” (a song where their harmonies are absolutely wonderful).  “Great Provider” slows things down but allows for Tim’s great bass work.  The set ends with one of my favorite songs “Alternative Girlfriend.”  They disingenuously announce that they will be playing the Mountain Stage theme song and I think everyone is a little bummed that they didn’t.  But I was just as happy to hear “Alternative Girlfriend and this is where those great unexpected harmonies come in.  They even throw in a smidgen of “My Sharona” for fun.

I’ll be seeing BNL again in a month.  After seeing them this summer, I wanted to tell them to dig deep into their catalog for some of their middle albums tracks (like the ones here).  Since most people who see them are die hards, we’d all love some of these older tracks!

Enjoy the set here.  Sadly, you only get to see Steven Page’s glorious mustache in this photo.

[READ: August 24, 2013] Not Just for Christmas

In addition to writing a lot of novels, Roddy Doyle has written a number of smaller books.  Like this one.  This was actually written for The Open Door series which is a series of six books by different authors that are designed to help adult readers who have trouble reading.  The stories are meant to be short, engaging and relatively easy to read.

I wasn’t conscious of this story being easy to read, but it is certainly simple.  It is 77 pages with big print and probably counts more like a short story, although I think it gets classified as a novella.

Simplicity aside, the story is a very good one.  Danny and Jimmy Murphy are brothers.  But they haven’t seen each other in twenty years.    When they were younger, they were inseparable and, although they were a year apart, people assumed they were twins.  We see a few instances from their childhood where they finished each others’ sentences and had a kind of psychic connection. (more…)

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Roddy Doyle–The Van (1991)

Posted in Babies, Beer, Chips, Drinking, Dublin, Ireland, Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls, Fried Cod, History, Humiliation, Irish Writer, Marriage Trouble, Parenting, Roddy Doyle, Soccer, Tiny Desk Concert on August 23, 2013| Leave a Comment »

vanSOUNDTRACK: FRANK TURNER-Tiny Desk Concert #287 (July 13, 2013).

turnertinydeskNPR introduced me to Frank Turner and I’m pretty delighted that they did.  I really enjoyed his set at the Newport Folk Festival.  And here’s another live recording (a Tiny Desk Concert).

In this brief set, Frank and mandolin player Matt Nasir (he’s only been playing it for 6 months) blast through 3 of his rockingest folk songs.  “Recovery,” “The Way I Tend to Be,” (with a very funny lead story) and a rousing mandolin solo-filled and a (reluctant) NPR audience singalong. of the great “Photosynthesis.”  I imagine it was quite loud in their offices that day.

Turner is fantastic live—he’s personable and funny and even more so in this intimate setting.  It’s a wonderful set.

Check it out.

[READ: August 23, 2013] The Van

This is the final book in the “Barrytown Trilogy” (except for the new one coming out next year).  Whereas The Snapper was tied to The Commitments by virtue of it being the same family, The Van is tied to The Snapper because it follows the same guy—Jimmy Rabbitte Sr.

It’s 1990 (a few years after The Snapper because the baby from that book is now talking and mobile) and like many older people in Ireland, Jimmy Sr. has been laid off.  The first third of the book looks at life on the dole in Ireland—skimpy Christmas presents and getting handouts from your son.  And yet there’s always money for a pint or two—so Jimmy still gets to hang out with his mates at the pub a few nights a week.  He also goes out with the baby from time to time and occupies himself in various ways (pitch n putt).  There’s a lot of humor and silliness in this section–especially within the family when the twin girls start getting older and even cheekier.  And the focal point is the World Cup—because Ireland is actually going to be in it this year—Italia ’90!

And the Jimmy’s mate Bimbo gets laid off.  And that’s where the titular van comes in (over 100 pages into the story).  Bimbo is crushed to be laid off, but Jimmy is a little pleased.  He’s not happy that Bimbo is laid off, but he is happy that he has someone to waste the day with.  They go golfing together (and win a prize or two) and they do their best trying to stay happy.  But they’ve noticed that the fish and chips van that used to be parked outside of the bar is no longer there.  It’s a sad state of affairs when you’re drunk and hungry at midnight and can’t get a fish n chips.

And that’s when their friend Bertie (who can get anything for anyone) comes through on Bimbo’s half serious question–could Bertie get him a chipper van?  Bertie finds one—an unholy filthy mess of a thing with no engine.  And Bimbo uses his redundancy money, £800, to buy the mess.  Jimmy is appalled until Bimbo starts talking about the two of them being partners—working together to makes some money and sell chips to their drunken mates and—even better—to the punters who are enjoying the World Cup!  And suddenly it seems like a real idea. (more…)

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Douglas Coupland–Miss Wyoming (1999)

Posted in Acting, Babies, Canadian Content, Douglas Coupland, Drinking, Drugs, Hospitals, KEXP 90.3 FM--Seattle, WA, Sex, Supernatural, Swedish Music, Technology, The Tallest Man on Earth, Violence, Virginity (Loss of), Yuck! on August 20, 2013| Leave a Comment »

misswyomingSOUNDTRACK: THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH-Live at KEXP (September 8, 2012).

tmoeThe Tallest Man on Earth is Kristian Matsson a Swedish singer songwriter.  His albums have a very full sound, but when he plays live, it’s just him and his guitar.  And man, is he a compelling performer.  His guitar playing (primarily classical-sounding but often heavy and mostly rocking) is gorgeous–fast and pretty.  And his voice is gravelly and powerful.  I’ve enjoyed the studio songs I’ve heard, but he is transcendent live.

This set opens with a buzzy guitar that sounds like the show is not recorded well.  But that quickly goes away and the songs shine.  Matsson is a charming and self depreciating performer and when he has a malfunction as in “Love is All”and at the end he says “that was kind of embarrassing.”  But he not bothered by it and plays on with a great, short set.

The set includes some (then) new songs and a few older ones as well: “A Field of Birds,” “King of Spain”, “Tangle in This Trampled Wheat,” “Thrown Right at Me,” “The Gardener” and “Like a Wheel.”  It’s a great introduction to the guy and his amazing voice. which you can enjoy at KEXP.

 [READ: August 20, 2013] Miss Wyoming

I first read the book during my trip to Vancouver on the eve of Y2K (the best flight I’ve ever had—mostly empty and we were given champagne).  I started reading it on the plane and then in the second chapter the heroine is in a plane crash.  So I stopped reading.  I’m sure I finished it later, although I didn’t remember much of anything about it.

I read it again now and I was a little disappointed when I started reading it.  The first few chapters are so full of similes it is insane.  The word “like” is tossed around at an incredulous pace.  Like:

  • John’s teeth were big and white, like pearls of baby corn
  • …his skin like brown leather.
  • His eyes looked like those of somebody who’s lost big.
  • They crossed San Vicente Blvd, passing buildings and roads that once held stories for each of them, but which now seemed transient and disconnected from their lives, like window displays.
  • Susan was wrapped in a pale light fabric, cool and comfortable, like a pageant winner’s sash.
  • John was sweating like a lemonade pitcher,
  • …his jeans, gingham shirt and black hair soaking up heat like desert stones.
  • John felt as close to Susan as paint is to a wall.
  • Staring at the pavement, like Prince William behind his mother’s coffin.
  • This man with sad pale yes, like snowy TV sets

That’s all in the first chapter!

Now, I have come to see that the story is cyclical and it’s about people looking for their real selves.  So it’s possible that the simile heavy beginning is meant to reflect the fact that the protagonists are looking for themselves—they have no substance so they can only be compared to other things.  But man, it is hard going with that many comparisons.

The other major problem I had with the story was the really aggressive use of coincidence.  Susan and John both end up eating out of fast food dumpsters; just as Susan’s mother wants to sell their house, a pile of garbage from an airplane falls on it.  Right after we learn of a guy hoarding gasoline, the house explodes.  Again there are arguments for why these things might happen in this story (numerology is an important aspect of the book), but it seems too…easy.

But once the story starts moving the actual plot is really interesting and compelling. (more…)

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Roddy Doyle–The Snapper (1990)

Posted in Babies, Colm Meaney, Drinking, Dublin, Ireland, Irish Writer, Kishi Bashi, Marriage (Happy), Parenting, Pregnancy, Roddy Doyle, Short Books, The Snapper on August 19, 2013| 3 Comments »

snapperSOUNDTRACK: KISHI BASHI-“Philosophize In It! Chemicalize With It!” (2013).

kishiI’m still really enjoying Kishi Bashi’s debut album 151a, so it’s a treat to get a new track from him.  This one is a 7″ (and apparent digital download).

It doesn’t depart radically from Kishi Bashi’s formula (high vocals, violins and bouncy, exuberant melodies).  Although this song just has…more.  More instruments, more layers, more everything.

The biggest surprise comes around two minutes in when some of the layers drop out and we get this really cool bass (which reminds me of Paul Simon) that propels the song along.  But that’s a fleeting moment amidst the swirling and swelling violins.

Kishi Bashi is one of those artists who seems to release a lot of singles and digital releases and unless they get compiled somewhere, NPR podcasts are the only place I’ll ever hear them.  Nonetheless, I’m delighted to get to jam to this one.

[READ: August 19, 2013] The Snapper

When I first got into Roddy Doyle (around 1993), I read all three of the books that are considered the “Barrytown Trilogy” (which I have just learned, thanks Louise, that there’s going to be a fourth) very quickly.  Doyle’s writing in these books is very fast and very funny–tons of dialogue that flow easily and wittily.

The Snapper was also made into a film (not as popular as The Commitments, but much funnier–check it out just to see Colm Meaney down a pint).  And Doyle’s writing is just as sharp and screenplay-friendly as The Commitments was–which makes it a real joy to read.

Although this is considered part of a “trilogy” there’s very little connection to The Commitments.  The family is the same but Jimmy Rabbitte, the protagonist of The Commitments, is a minor character in The Snapper (I’m actually not sure if it is set before or after The Commitments).  [Oh and in the movie, the family name had to be changed from Rabbitte to Curley because the company that made The Commitments owns the rights to Rabbitte (Jaysus!)].  This book is about Jimmy’s sister Sharon and, for the most part, their da, Jimmy Sr.  [There’s a slew more members of that family–Veronica their mammy, Darren, the twins Tracy and Linda, Les, and of course, Larrygogan, the new pup.

So, what the hell is The Snapper about?  Well, “Snapper” is a slang for baby (apparently).  And it seems that young Sharon (19) has gotten herself “up the pole” (pregnant).  The surprising thing about the story is the family’s reaction.  It is largely positive.  She won’t say who the father is, and after the family accepts that, things seem largely fine.

Sharon is afraid to tell her friends, but even they, including her best friend Jackie, take it well (especially after a few drinks).  So where is the conflict? (more…)

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Larry Correia–Spellbound (Book II of The Grimnoir Chronicles) (2011) [audiobook 2012–Bronson Pinchot]

Posted in Alternate Reality, Audiobooks, Bronson Pinchot, Buckminster Fuller, Death, Decadence, Drinking, End of the World, Fantasy, Gangsters, Larry Correia, Noir, Oddities, Steampunk, Supernatural, Technology, Trilogy on August 15, 2013| 1 Comment »

[LISTENED TO: July 27, 2013] Spellboundspellbound

I enjoyed Book I of The Grimnoir Chronicles immensely.  I wasn’t really sure what Correia could do to top it.  There’s the inevitable dread for sequels that everything has to be bigger bigger bigger with the cost to the heart of the story.  (That’s more true in movies, but books can suffer as well).

And indeed, Correia does go bigger, but he loses nothing.  Indeed, the higher stakes make this story all the more exciting without sacrificing the characters in any way.

As the story opens, we learn that it is a few months after the events of Book I.  The Grimnoir are dispersed somewhat, with things falling into a somewhat logical place.  Francis Stuyvesant is the head of United Blimp.  Faye and Francis are more or less dating and Heinrich is more or less his bodyguard. The other team members are up to assorted states of resting and recuperating.  And Jake Sullivan is lying low.

But no matter how low he thinks he is lying, he’s still very big.  And he is soon found by a woman named Hammer.  Of course, at first the story maintains the trappings of noir, with Hammer being a (beautiful) woman in distress.  Surprisingly, she is in distress at the library and she asks Jake for help (he is there studying magic and, well, lying low).  He tells her to ask the librarian.  But later when he is leaving, he sees her being robbed by some thugs.  He goes to rescue her (and easy job for a big guy like him), and Hammer uses her power to determine that he is indeed Heavy Jake Sullivan.  And he can still do what he can do.

Hammer wrangles him into a government facility where he accepts a phone call from the dead Chairman.  This whole section is lovingly described and far too cool to try to summarize.  So let’s just say that Alexander Graham Bell created a phone that could talk to the dead–but only if they wanted to talk to us.  The Chairman found the phone and, of all people, he wanted to speak to Jake.  (I’m skipping so much stuff here that it hurts me, but I don’t want to spoil the story or the humor). (more…)

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Kris Bertin–“The Eviction Process” (The Walrus, July/August 2013)

Posted in All Songs Considered, Arcade Fire, Canadian Content, Drinking, Drugs, Fears, Kris Bertin, LGBTQ, Nils Frahm, Sarah Neufeld, Short Story, The Walrus, Violence, Yuck! on July 23, 2013| Leave a Comment »

walrusjulySOUNDTRACK: SARA NEUFELD-“Forcelessness” (2013).

neufeldSara Neufeld has a new album coming out on Constellation Records.  Neufeld is the violinist for Arcade Fire–not someone you think of as a “special” violinist or someone who necessarily stands out in the band.  But her violin here is haunting and beautiful.

The album is pretty much her and her violin with occasional accompaniment.  On this track she is accompanied by pianist Nils Frahm (whom I don’t know).  The song was recorded in a parking garage giving it an incredibly expansive sound.

It opens is a somber tone with repeated triplets.  But once the pianos come in, the triplets become slightly more positive.  For a time.

There is something very simple and yet very pleasing about this track–it doesn’t alter itself very much over its three minutes and yet the subtle variations in notes can really affect the mood of the song as it is playing.

[READ: July 15, 2013] “The Eviction Process”

I don’t know why I’m always surprised by stories that go dark.  But this story is very dark indeed.

It begins with two men and an autistic boy (who proves to be the son of one of the men) visiting The Champ in the hospital.  The Champ is one of their roommates and they have come to tell him that he is being evicted.  They are nervous as anything because The Champ is not afraid to use his considerable strength in a fight (and the narrator has a stashed bottle of vodka in his pants that he would hate to see smashed).

But The Champ takes it very well, considering he is now homeless.

Their next stop is back home where the eviction process continues.  The next person is Morgan, but Morgan is passed out from huffing keyboard duster.  So, they’ll get him later. (more…)

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Caleb Crain–”Outside T-Club” (Harper’s, July 2013)

Posted in Caleb Crain, Drinking, Excerpt, Harper's, Jenny Hval, Justin Timberlake, LGBTQ, Robin Thicke, Rockettothesky, Travel on July 18, 2013| Leave a Comment »

julySOUNDTRACK: JENNY HVAL-“Innocence is Sexy” (2013).

hvalI saw this video on Stereogum.  I was actually intrigued by her last name: Hval.  Then I read a bit more about her–she’s an experimental Norwegian singer with four albums out (two under the name Rockettothesky).

I watched the video and was so mesmerized by it that I didn’t even really notice the music the first time through.  In the video, Jenny has her body filmed in all manner of unexpected angles and poses–she is shaving parts of her body, strategically positioning other parts of her body.  And pressing and squeezing her flesh in ways that are not often shown.  She is also jogging (both in a jogging outfit and in a dress–the juxtaposition is fascinating.  And then there’s the dress that appears to be made of latex.  At a time when men (Justin Timberlake and Robin Thicke) are making videos of naked women, Jenny makes us question what we see and why.  It’s very cool.

It’s also interesting musically.  The first words of the song are: “That night I watched people fucking on my computer.”  The song has an interesting guitar riff playing behind her spoken words until she starts singing with a vaguely operatic Middle Eastern tonality.  After a more mellow verse, Jenny ends a with a fascinating little scale of notes.

The same confrontational style of singing occurs at the end when the music stops and she keeps singing “in and out and in and out” in a less then pleasing manner.

As I say I am fascinated by her.  Although I can’t help but wonder if this would be a case of more exposure being less satisfying.

[READ: July 11, 2013] ”Outside T-Club”

In this story, which an excerpt from a novel called Necessary Errors the narrator, Jacob, pulled out some significant pages about Eastern Europe from a travel guide. He hid the rest of the book in the garbage, keeping only the pages on gay life in Czechoslovakia.

He was living in Boston, but was heading to Prague.  This was after his boyfriend moved away to start a new job for a men’s magazine.  He had sent Jacob a postcard which tried to make it seem like Jacob would be on a  fun adventure, and he imagined Jacob hooking up with a tall dark Russian guy.

Turned out Czech men were neither tall nor dark. (more…)

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Yes is the Answer and Other Prog Rock Tales–edited by Marc Weingarten & Tyson Cornell (2013)

Posted in A Clockwork Orange, Anachronisms, Andrew Mellen, Asia, Be-Bop Deluxe, Beth Lisick, Caravan, Charles Bock, Death, Drinking, Drugs, Esquire, Essays, Fantasy, Funny (ha ha), Genesis, Guided By Voices, H.R. Giger, History, James Greer, Jeff Gardiner, Jim DeRogatis, Joe Meno, John Albert, King Crimson, Larry Karaszewski, Mara Lethem, Marc Weingarten, Margaret Wappler, Marriage (Happy), Matching Mole, Matthew Specktor, Nathan Larson, Nick Coleman, Paul Myers, Peter Case, Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, Rick Moody, Robert Pollard, Rodrigo Fresán, Rush, Seth Greenland, Shudder to Think, Soft Machine, Sonic Youth, Styx, Surreal, Technology, The Incredible String Band, The Nice, Todd Rundgren, Tom Junod, Wesley Stace, William T. Vollmann, Yes on July 12, 2013| Leave a Comment »

yitaSOUNDTRACK: WXPN (88.5 Philadelphia) xpnand wxpn.org online-Prog rock Marathon (2012-??).

Every January, Dan Reed plays a prog rock marathon on WXPN.  This year I was able to enjoy portions of it.  I rather wish the playlist was still available (you can search, but only by artist), because I’d love to rave about the tracks they played (like the live “Supper’s Ready.”)

I was delighted by the great mix of songs they played and (as I learned from reading this book) I was surprised by how many prog artists I didn’t even know.

In 2014 I’ll be listening again and maybe this time I’ll copy the playlist to document what I’ve missed.

[READ: July 7, 2013] Yes is the Answer

This book was sitting on a cart outside of my cube.  I was intrigued by the title (it didn’t have that trippy cover, so I didn’t know what it was).  But “Yes is the Answer” was calling me.  Especially when I looked at the cover and saw that the cover had an excerpt from a William Vollmann story in which the protagonist plays In the Court of the Crimson King (track 5) for Reepah and watches her face as they band went Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!.

Quoting Vollmann (from The Rifles), playing King Crimson?  What could this book be?   Then I saw the subtitle and I knew I had to read it all.

I’m not going to review these essays because that would be like making a radio edit of a side long track, but I’ll mention the band the author focuses on and any other relevant details. (more…)

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Peter Bagge–Reset (2013)

Posted in Alex Lifeson, Decadence, Drinking, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Geddy Lee, Graphic Novel, Neil Peart, Peter Bagge, Rush, Sex, Technology on July 11, 2013| 2 Comments »

resetSOUNDTRACK: RUSH “Garden Road” and “Fancy Dancer” (from Fifth Order of the Angels) (1974).

I mentioned this bootleg a few years ago, but it has recently been updated to include the missing songs.  (Huzzah!).

So this set from 1974 is pretty great–rocking, noisy, screaming solos–a very heavy show (and the crowd is quite appreciative).

These two songs never made it on any Rush albums.  They were written before Neil joined the band and, when asked, he said they never made it on an album because they were written before he joined the band (bitchy!).  But evidently the songs were quite popular when they toured.

“Fancy Dancer” opens with a staccato riff and lyrics about a woman who leaves him.  The second verse allows Alex to noodle while Geddy is singing (which is why I never really notice the lyrics).  The chorus has some big chords and reminds me in some ways of “Making Memories.”  But mostly this seems like a chance for Alex to solo and solo and solo (and for Neil to play…only a bass drum!  (for a few measures)).  The song is 3:43 and the solo is over a minute and a half.  Although the end has some cool fast short chords that the band would use very effectively on 2112.

“Garden Road” has a faster riff (very bluesy), which is interspersed with some chugga chugga guitars during the vocals.  The chorus is completely unintelligible to me.  “This Garden Road is Whoa!.”

A few other things about this bootleg which I neglected to mention.  The solo in Working Man incorporates some sections of what would become “By-Tor and the Snow Dog.”  And it’s really funny hearing Geddy say, “We’d like to do something from our album.”  It’s pretty amazing how far the band progressed from these rocking beginnings.

Download the whole thing here.

[READ: July 5, 2013] Reset

I recognized Bagge’s name, although I haven’t read his previous books.  I’m sure I’ve seen his work anthologized as his style is very familiar.  His drawings are dark (some might say ugly) and his characters always seem a little pained.

So it’s unsurprising that this book’s protagonist is Guy Krause, a former actor.  (His famous line is hilarious and I love that it is revealed very late in the story and then as a running joke).  He has recently come close to hitting bottom–his upcoming shows have been cancelled and his last resort is a reality show.  And when we first meet him, he is in a drunk driving class.

And that’s where Angela Minor comes in.  She offers Guy a chance to relive his life.  He’s obviously skeptical until she explains that it is a virtual experience.  They hook him up to a machine and he gets to try to change the virtual past.  This is all an experiment in seeing how people react to being able to change things that they fixate on.  It turns out the scientists have all kinds of information on him (because he is a celebrity) so it’s not a coincidence that they found him.

Guy balks.  Until she tells him how much they’ll pay him to do it.  Then he’s in. (more…)

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Gary Shteyngart–“From the Diaries of Pussy-Cake” (New Yorker, June 10 & 17, 2013)

Posted in Drinking, Funny (ha ha), Gary Shteyngart, Memoirs, New Yorker, Shigeto, Threats on June 29, 2013| Leave a Comment »

CV1_TNY_06_10_13Schossow.inddSOUNDTRACK: SHIGETO-“Ringleader” (2013).

shigeto-0caa8a419820269d8ca02d9c5e6508d195563bba-s1The cover of this album gives you an idea of what lies within–and yet the complexity in this one song alone makes me wonder just how much is hidden by those clouds.

The song opens with delicate bells and a persistent pinging metronome.  Then come a series of complex notes—seemingly rando…but not.  Add to this some watery sounds.  And then some buzzing percussion.  That’s the first minute of this six-minute instrumental.

The song begins with a  very delicate vibe, and yet once the tribal drums come to the fore the song takes on a very different feel.

By the middle of the song that original sound is more or less gone, replaced by a more classic “new age” sound.  But again, things change around 3:45 when the song quiets down a bit, allowing new percussion to enter and giving it a kind of world music feel.

I enjoy how at the end, when the drums stop it actually sounds like real drumsticks clattering together—as if the whole song were played by a drummer and not a machine.

[READ: June 17, 2013] “From the Diaries of Pussy-Cake”

This is labelled as a memoir, so I assume it is true (and I wonder if he is writing his memoirs, or if this is just an amusing story for this issue).  Gary talks about his life a teen when he was in love with a girl named Pamela (not her real name).  She was an urban hermit and an unreformed shoplifter.

She was totally in control of the relationship because he was utterly smitten. He sums up their relationship with a typo that he sent her.  He left out the “at” and wrote: “I am your disposal.” (HA).  And so their relationship was very much like that.

She had an ex-boyfriend whom she couldn’t (or wouldn’t) finish it up with–his parents loved her and she wanted to keep up pretenses, so she would be with him quite often.  Although the rest of the time she was with Gary, and that’s because she was always in charge with when she was with him.  I loved this description: (more…)

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