Take me out to the ballgame.

The weekend was a rousing success. For starters, I lived near or below that Citgo sign in Kenmore Square all four years of college at Boston University. I worked under it both as a Resident Assistant and as a cashier at Barnes and Noble. It sits atop a building close to Fenway Park, visible from the park, and always featured on the televised Red Sox games. So this weekend Jesse, me, Jim, and Jim's family (Lisa, Jim, and Amanda) went to see the Red Sox vs Phillies game at Fenway. We had great seats behind home plate, and luckily, underneath the overhang so we didn't get wet in the constant rain drizzle of the day.

Now, I've been to a few ballparks in my day, but Fenway always feels like home. No matter how much they add to it, it still feels old and historical - the scene to many a statistic, a legendary play, a heartbreaking play. A lot comes to mind just when you take a look around and see names like Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski in huge letters, or fans still sporting their Nomar Garciaparra tees. Even the roar of the crowd echoes nostalgia to all the other games I've been to. And Saturday's game added to the aura of Fenway in my mind: Daniel Nava, a player just sent up to the majors from the Paw Sox, came to his first at-bat for the Red Sox, and with the very first pitch, hit a grand slam. Only three other rookies in history have ever done the same, with only one other doing it with the first pitch. Jesse, Jim, me, and everyone in the stadium were on their feets yelling and clapping. I was trying to scream while choking down my cotton candy - this was my first time witnessing a grand slam live in the stadium!

I've had many memories at Red Sox games, and especially at Fenway Park. My Uncle Arthur was at this past Saturday's game as well, and told Jesse about the time he took me to a Red Sox vs Tampa Bay game back when I was in college. He had gotten us the "Steinbrenner Seats" right next to the opposing team's dugout - we had a superb view. And apparently Tampa Bay's second baseman was making eyes at me, which made my uncle very protective. Sometimes the memories aren't exactly statistical!

I'm pretty sure you can tell from the above picture, though, that I love baseball games, Red Sox games at Fenway park even more so, and especially Red Sox games at Fenway Park in which they beat the defending National League champions. Boom!

Gonna have some great fun!

Even though A Great Big Pile of Leaves' album Have You Seen My Pre-Frontal Cortex? isn't officially being released until next week on June 22nd - they have collaborated with scene-bible site AbsolutePunk.net and for TODAY ONLY the album is available for download for FREE!

GET IT! GET IT!

Next week expect my full review on its release date! I have still been listening to the album non-stop and currently my favourite song is "Learn to Share." I was listening to this song last week as I was crossing 5th Avenue and seriously almost did a little dance on the crosswalk. It makes me wish I had a group of strangers who walked around me on busy streets, who would break into choreographed dances when my iPod struck a certain note. I would be at the center of these numbers, of course, lip syncing with a big smile on my face. What, you've never wished the same?!

Back to the music at hand: what are your thoughts? I assume you'll download it, because, um, it's FREE and why wouldn't you? You're still able to pre-order a physical copy for $5, too, in case you like it so much you hope this band keeps making music. (What a concept!) Also, that version has extra tracks! Feedback, let's go!

Slow down, we've got time left to be lazy.

Yesterday the sunny, beach weekend was shot by impending thunderstorms. A quiet relief settled upon me with the prospect of staying in. However, that all changed late last night. Today the husband and I embark on a little trip, a little impromptu traveling. Tomorrow we'll continue on to a town teeming with nostalgia for me; I'm already relishing the sites that were the background to my life for four years. And we'll take in a game, too.

Everything lovely, effortless, safe.

Last night, I waded through the dreary Brooklyn weather with Jaime to arrive at an impressive little bookstore called Word. My bare legs were cold with a sheen of mucky rainwater backsplashed at my ankles, my sandals were soaked and I'm pretty sure my toes had started to prune - I had not prepared for rain before work! It was well worth the trek, however, because author Jenny Hollowell was reading from her debut novel, Everything Lovely, Effortless, Safe.

The small room crowded with other valiant weather warriors, everyone eagerly listened to the young, poised Hollowell as she read four chapters from her book. From what we heard, I can tell you the book has depth, an acerbic wit, and sounds like it's sprinkled with some Didion-inspired prose. And I love Didion.

Everything Lovely, Effortless, Safe (also a line from the book) is about a woman named Birdie who flees Virginia and her Evangelical upbringing for Hollywood, and becomes a body double for an actress. I am quite excited to start reading the book, and as Jaime and I are in a book club together, we decided it would be our next book for the group. And what a better place to recruit others into our book club - at an event based around the very book everyone was buying? So, our book club expands and if you'd like to read along, you can purchase Hollowell's novel via Word's own online shop here!

I'll circle back on the book in July after our group's meeting and anyone else who read it should tell me their thoughts then, too! In other book club news, Jaime and I just wrapped up Cormac McCarthy's Suttree this past Saturday over brunch:

Jaime above, complete with a Southern-ish cocktail that uses mint and sweet tea vodka - because Suttree takes place in Knoxville, Tennessee. You may know McCarthy from his popular book-to-screen adaptations of No Country for Old Men and The Road; I was enthralled by Suttree and the prose of the novel. The descriptions of Knoxville and its dismal surroundings, the portrait of a man afraid of his own mortality, and the surprising humor in the characters he meets along his miscreant adventures in the dirty city in the 1950s made for something I could hardly put down, with paragraphs I would reread right after I finished them. I obviously also recommend this novel!

But - back to last night - after getting my book signed by the author, she and a small group of the literary revelers traveled to a bar nearby for some drinks and snacks. There's just something about talking to others who enjoy reading; we shared good books we'd just read (see above), our excitement to read Jenny's book, and that evolved into conversations about media and advertising and etc., etc.! Jesse ended up coming by with friends to join the small table soiree (yes, I'm calling it that) and in the end, it was quite a fulfilling evening of boisterous conversation.

Are you into checking out Everything Lovely, Effortless, Safe? Suttree? Have any book clubs of your own or a book you think I'd particularly enjoy?

Failure to get wright.

Recently, four wonderful friends (Jaime, Gaby, Cara, Amber) and I decided we wanted to go see a cheesy romantic comedy. We walked past all the girls in the theater lobby sporting stilettos and Sex and the City tees (really, ladies?) and went for the Queen Latifah/Common offering of Just Wright.

Here are some thoughts on our experience:

• How was Paula Patton so good in Precious and so awful in this?
• I usually hate people who talk during a screening - except when a movie is completely laughable, like this one. There was much yelling at the screen.
• One particularly amazing moment of loud reactions: as Latifah's character is explaining to her father that she's single and getting older, she says, "Dad, I'm 35-years-old..." as they delve into a serious conversation about marriage. Upon Latifah saying this line, a girl behind us goes, "OH MY GOD." To the fact that she was 35. And single. We all burst into laughter so hard, Jaime was snorting.
• Common should stick to not acting.
• Is this movie over yet?
• I don't buy Pam Grier as a girly mother who wants to marry off her daughter. Nope.
• Queen Latifah? Pretty, pretty good. Love a strong headed, uncompromising lead.
• No, seriously, why is this movie not over yet?
• Professional basketball players are awful actors.

There you have it. We really did expect it to be a good movie! More 13 Going on 30 caliber than Failure to Launch - in terms of the RomCom genre, of course. Anybody else torture themselves with a viewing?