'That's Life...'

So far, my day has been going quite well. I woke up and got ready to go the mall (naturally, the start to many a good day). But this time, I wasn't going for me! I was going to support my friend Betsy in her quest for the fiercest hair this side of DC. She already had a bob, but today it was taken up even further, and angled so sharp I was worried she'd cut her shoulders. She ended up looking incredibly chic, and I'm glad I was there to witness it. (Forgot to take a picture though :-(...sorry.)

But that, unfortunately, wasn't the highlight of my day. I had to go back to school today around two o'clock to pick up my final project from my drawing class. Beverly, my professor, asked if I wanted to know my grade. Having only gotten A's and A-'s all semester, I thought, sure why not. Oh! First a little background information -- on the FIRST day of class, she said that last semester, she only gave out TWO A's. I was terrified. So anyway, she looked through her grade-book and told me I had an A!!!! I talked to her for a bit longer and she ended up looking in her book again and telling me that I was the ONLY student with an A this semester. Two people got A-'s, but I was the only one with a solid A. That definitely boosted my confidence as an art major, and boosted my ego as an attractive young man. On my way home, I looked into my backseat at my work (the picture in this post) and realized just how much an influence Billie Holiday has had on not only my life, but also my music, and mainly my education. I wrote my first paper on Billie when I was a junior in high school (which, to be honest is a distant memory now). It was the final paper for my US History course, when we discussed the Harlem Renaissance. Last year, at Marymount, I wrote about her again! Not about her life, this time, but the song that made her a legend, Strange Fruit. And look! She popped up again this year, in the form of this art project (the music in the background is the original 1939 version of Strange Fruit!). And then I remembered that I sang her version of "Come Rain or Come Shine" at my cousin's wedding last June. It seems as though no matter where I go and where my musical interests are, I always come back to Lady Day. It was an interesting observation.

Tip of the day: Go download Billie Holiday's music! iTunes has an album "The Very Best of Billie Holiday," which has FIFTY songs for ten dollars. (Yes, folks! You heard right! That's fifty songs for only 9.99!!!)

I had planned to rant about a woman at the gas station yesterday, but after my art experience, I decided against it.

Make an observation.
Stop to sing a song.
Don't wear crocs.