She’ll Hang the Baskets

It happens every once in a while that, listing to a song I’ve heard a hundred times, I’ll suddenly be struck by it profundity. Cake’s Tougher Than It Is, for example. The chorus (some people like to make life / a little tougher than it is / some people like to make / liiife / a little tougher than it is…) has long been embedded somewhere deep in my subconscious– a jumbled mess, no doubt, with every other chorus I’ve heard over the last ten years or so– but suddenly, on its 101st repetition, Cake’s deft gifting for tangible and well adapted imagery brought the staggering message of the song home. Check out these lyrics:

the more you try to shake the cat
the more the thing will bite and scratch
it’s best, i think to leave its fur
and listen to its silky purr

Ha! Outstanding. It’s so clear, really. And Cake is certainly a band that doesn’t shake the cat, so to speak. They take life, as they find it (with stick shifts, safety belts, race-car ya yas, short skirts and the like) and the sing about it. There’s nothing contrived about it, no underlying political or moral message, but rather just a simply reflection of life’s silky purr. I think we all could learn a little about life from Cake.

Um. Yeah.

*ahem*

No, I am not procrastinating again. I most definitely found myself inspired by those lyrics. I mean, who wouldn’t be? And being so inspired, I was instantly overcome by the desire to share my inspiration. Of course, sharing my inspiration means putting aside those pressing school matters, but sometimes, oh reader, sacrifices must be made!

In fact, I may be in a bit of trouble: by the standards of those Bovard-esque super-over-achieving students who can study for six finals and still manage to get in a game of Warcraft III, all in the same night, well… what I’m up against is nothing. But you have to keep in mind that I’m completely out of shape, academically. In fact, to speaking metaphorically, I haven’t had to run in months, so this upcoming metaphorical 10K (god! could he BE! any more heavy handed??!) is looking more like a marathon, and all I seem to remember about academic endurance is how to stretch out and warm up– posting on the blog, checking all my favorite websites and, say, is that my guitar over there?.

Yup. I’m in trouble. And my head hurts. And, damnit, I’m addicted to Chrono Trigger again, too. In fact, I beat it twice yesterday. And once the day before that. In an unrelated note, my American History class has been especially enjoyable as of late. My notes, though, seem only to consist of an incomprehensible string of A’s, B’s, X’s and Y’s. I can’t quite make out what it says… something about McCarthyism, or Lavos, or Vietnam…

Edit:
I’ve uploaded some pictures of my apartment (in order to try to guilt trip the rest of you into sending me those pictures you promised, of course =P )
http://www.eateggs.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=1121