So, I dug my iPod out of the bottom of a random bag today. I don't know how I've been getting by with almost no music of my own, aside from Pandora occasionally. Life is so much richer with music...even the unimportant shit, like a 10 minute walk to the subway. I really enjoy shuffling my songs, and convince myself that there's meaning in what's played each time I do that (unless, of course, I don't like the outcome). Well, today I got a few interesting ones. For some reason, many important events/memories/feelings in my life have a Tom Petty song attached in my mind. "American Girl" was blasting in my ears when I flew home from Italy for the last time, "Wildflowers" constantly reminds me of where I come from, and "Free Fallin'" accompanies one of the first carefree, drunken high school memories I have with one of my best friends. Today was no exception. This is what came on...even if you know the song, take a minute to read the lyrics again. They sing to me, quite simply.

"Learning to Fly" by Tom Petty

Well I started out down a dirty road
Started out all alone
And the sun went down, as I crossed the hill
And the town lit up, the world got still

I'm learning to fly, but I ain't got wings
Coming down is the hardest thing

Well the good ol' days may not return
And the rocks might melt & the sea may burn

I'm learning to fly, but I ain't got wings
Coming down is the hardest thing

Well some say life will beat you down
Break your heart, steal your crown
So I've started out for God knows where
I guess I'll know when I get there

I'm learning to fly around the clouds
But what goes up must come down

I'm learning to fly, but I ain't got wings
Coming down is the hardest thing

Good stuff. Growing up is weird.

*Note: I realize that posting lyrics can be obnoxious. Deal with it- I've been drinking delicious white wine & reading the sad stories of beagles and great danes on petfinder.com who need to be adopted. Simon the kitty wants a puppy...I told him it could happen when we get a yard.

I'm a downer. Here's the only story I can think of.

Hi. For those who regularly check this, I'm sorry for such a long break. To tell you the truth, I'm feeling pretty "outta wack," to quote my mother. Oh well...after talking with a good friend for a while this evening, I realized I do have at least one funny story to share. Here it is.

I was out with a friend from school (yes, I have one of those) and we stumbled into a bar to meet some of her other friends. It wasn't a fancy bar or a dive- just an average, medium energy, partially full bar. With karaoke in the back.

Some guys were *trying* to perform Nelly's "Ride Wit Me" toward the end of the evening. Needless to say, their butchering of one of my favorite songs did not make me happy. Honestly, I don't remember if I reacted in an outlandishly embarrassing or composed but slightly humorous manner, but I apparently made my disapproval clear and was subsequently invited into the act.

I worked it. I did all that could be done at that point in the song to honor Nelly. Again, kind of fuzzy on the specifics- I could have started at the wrong point in the song and just rapped my little heart out until I thought it was over...who knows? Not me, not really. But I can tell you who was honored by my performance: a tiny Asian boy measuring no more than 5 feet tall, tops. He came staggering/running up to me with his button-down shirt held open from the nipples up, with the biggest smile ever plastered onto his darling little face. His request was simple: "Please, could you sign my chest?!" Yes. Yes, I could. And I did.

After I signed, the little guy began to frown as he tried to turn his head to look at my scrawled signature, asking whether I had really signed my name or written "asshole" instead. I reassured him that it was, in fact, my name (Kate, not Nelly), and his smile returned as he scampered back off...I assume he was trying to get more signatures. I then found my friend and told her it was about time for me to go home...turned out, she'd been thinking the same thing. She said her brother needed to get into her apartment, but I'm afraid that she was intimidated by my pseudo-fame. God, I hope not...I need all the friends I can get in this big, scary city.