Reliving the Magic

Goodness me, it's been a crazy week.  One full of new music, tests of will by Mother Nature, and writing so much I should set aside a savings account purely for medical bills to heal my imminent carpal tunnel.  

For starters, you can find all of my articles covering Austin City Limits posted online at Rumbum.  In the department of set reviews, I covered Andrew Bird (my editor's favorite), Dead Weather (Jack White's new supergroup), Arctic Monkeys, Dave Matthews Band, and Dan Auerbach.  Plus, you can read my  features on my new favorite bands, ACL's festival food, Austin's green efforts, and my journal from Day #3, "Sunday Muddy Sunday", the exhausting/glorious finale to the weekend.

Speaking of Day #3, here's me in the tech bungalow around 11pm Sunday night, starting my journal right after the shows ended so I can meet my 10am deadline...

Here's the photo I'll whip out when anyone ever insinuates that my freelance writing career puts me on a glam level of Carrie Bradshaw.  Please note the baggy eyes, borrowed non-Mac laptop, mouse-hole sized bungalow (covered in mud and thousands of wires running the floor, which you cannot see) and that lovely tape coming off the wall.

The morning after this photo was taken (thanks, boss), I find I'm wildly immuno-compromised. A week later, I'm still *hack* recovering from a *hack* nasty bronchial situation wherein *hack* I practically *hack* cough up a lung *hack* every two and a half breaths.  *hack*  

So thank heavens that flem fest is on its way out... it's all part of the recovery process from the Austin City Limits Music Festival last weekend.  At the end of the day, it was an adventure with great bands, lots of fun, lots of rain, and lots and lots and lots of mud.  

Let me introduce these feet.  Well, actually, the ones on the bottom of the photo belong to yours truly.  The dainty tootsies coming from right field belong to my new friend Laura.

About a sixteenth of a second after I met this lovely lady from West Virginia (we were ankle deep in the muck at the time, and she helped me weave through the cranky, damp crowd to get a good view of Dave Matthews before he took the stage) I knew she was my kinda people.  Our kinda people.  She's got a sassy twang (Mer!  I told her all about you!), humor to knock your socks off, and a heart that is as sweet as it is warm.  

Did I mention she's also a significant other?!  Please and Thank You!  

Once we met, it didn't take us 15 minutes to discover that not only are we both are engaged to guys in the medical field (her future-hubby is a family med resident), but WE ARE GETTING MARRIED ON THE SAME DAY!  

It was truly height of serendipity that out of the 65,000 people at Austin City Limits on Friday, I ended up standing next to, not only such a fabulous SO, but one walking down the aisle on May 29th!   (Yeah, we got along.)

Plus, as far as I can tell, Laura is the only SO representing out of Michigan!  They could use some of her southern charm ;)

Welcome, Laura!!