Michigan is fucking beautiful.

Ethan, the boyf, has been at the Interlochen Fine Arts Camp for the past month and a half, kicking ass and taking names, and last weekend I drove up in my NEW CAR (or my mom's old car, depending on how you look at it) to visit him.

The trip up was a little rough, because A) I hate travelling B) I was PMSing like crazy and C) I listened to Death Cab's most recent album, "Plans," which sent me into fits of hysterical crying. Which is no good when you're driving 70 MPH.

But everything was pretty much cool once I got up there. It's a really great place. It's totally the sort of thing I would have done in high school, if I were a good musician and if I weren't unhealthily, obsessively attatched to my home.

The night I arrived, Van Cliburn played Tchaikovsky's 1st piano concerto with the World Youth Symphony Orchestra. The second night, the Interlochen Philharmonic played Shostakovich Symphony #5, featuring Ethan Young on principal cello. I was so proud.

Mostly, though, I just sat around. Interlochen is situated between two lakes (inter-loch-en), so there was a lot of time spent sitting on the beach reading Chuck Klosterman's "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs," which I would describe as a pretty cool, moderately amusing book. Ethan showed me the secret, outdoor practice rooms down near the non-Interlochen part of the beach, and we practiced together. Que romantico.

I stayed for three days, then drove home with my feet in a puddle of coolant. My coolant hose has a leak, which I got clamped when I got home, but it remains to be seen how well that will hold. I'm lucky I don't have cancer yet.

My mom is spending the week at various special ed conferences, so it's just me and the dogs. That, combined with a wierd experience I had over the weekend, has me sort of bummed. So if you're reading out there and you think I would feel comfortable letting you in my house, drop on by. The dogs and I would love to have you.

I am mega psyched for Lollapalooza this weekend. Here is what I hope to see, so if you will be there, keep an eye out for me at these shows:

Friday.
2:30-3:30 Panic! At The Disco (maybe-they're not great, but I paid for the ticket, right?)
5-6 Mates of State
5:30-6:30 Iron & Wine
6:30-7:30 The Raconteurs (maybe-I haven't heard them yet, but I effing love Jack White)
8:30-10 Death Cab for Cutie

Saturday.
1:30-2:30 Feist
3:30-4:30 Calexico
4:30-5:30 Gnarls Barkley
6:30-7:30 The Flaming Lips
7:30-8:30 The New Pornographers

Sunday
2:15-3:00 Hot Chip (maybe)
2:30-3:30 Ben Kweller (maybe)
3:30-4:30 Andrew Bird
4:30-5:30 The Shins
5-6 Of Montreal
^ Here we have a problem, because two of my favorite bands are playing at overlapping times. I will most likely just arrive at the Of Montreal concert half an hour late, but I encourage you to voice you opinion in the comments.
6:30-7:30 Wilco

posted at 7:08 PM by Alison

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