I feel quite certain I had a thousand things to catch you all up on, readers, but — having been gone so long — I can now barely remember what they all were. Let’s settle for talking about the highlights, if that’s okay with you.
The Decemberists, one of my all-time favorite bands, had the bad timing to come play in Atlanta during our finals week and on the day of my friend Clarabella’s prespectus defense. Did we let this timing issue stop us from seeing them live and in concert? Of course not. Don’t be silly. Although we both would have preferred a leisurely few days in Atlanta to hang sound, shop, eat, and celebrate our good news (my work thing — more soon — and her having passed the defense), we had to make it the quickest trip ever. The show was wonderful, though, and well worth making the effort to be there.
We were in a huge concert hall in the city with seats up in the nosebleed section — quite different from the smaller, more dive-like venue where we saw them on their amazing Hazards of Love tour (that album is still my favorite of theirs, hands down). It was odd seeing them in such a formal venue and to spend the whole time on our butts in our balcony seats, but they sounded amazing and I was able to get some decent photographs with a 55-200mm lens I borrowed from Brunbec. Love this band.
After the end of final exams and grading at school, I skipped town for a few days of fun visiting Clarabella & Family in Mississippi. We needed some time to actually hang out, after all! We had big plans that included watching her four-year-old son play T-ball, lounging around, sipping adult beverages, and — oh yeah! — finally getting the literary tattoos of our dreams. You’ll have to wait to hear more about that because it deserves its own post.
At any rate, here are some of the best photographs of the weekend:
![[132/365] Running Bases](https://i0.wp.com/farm4.static.flickr.com/3604/5724891616_492ff9a760_z.jpg)
More to come soon on the tattoo, and more probably later this summer on the work developments. For now, I am going to sit back in this coffee shop with this latte and enjoy one of the last free afternoons I’ll have for a while. School starts for summer term on Thursday (can you believe it?!) and it will be back to work for me once more.
Raveling Out 
Great, photos! I keep meaning to write a blog post about meeting Meloy after their show in Amsterdam. Also: I’m back to shopping for a camera now that my old Canon is finally ready to kick the bucket. Your photos are always sharp. What are you shooting with these days?
I am using a Nikon D3000. It’s the basic DSLR they make and I LOVE it. I have the kit lens (18-55mm zoom), a 35mm, and a borrowed 55-200mm zoom. I mostly use the 35mm.
Thanks for the info. I’m desperate for a camera that can take quality shots in low-light environments (like bars, for example). A bunch of shots I took for a lounge review were rejected because my current camera = crap.
The best thing for low lighting is a lens with a big aperture. That’s why I love my 35mm – it goes to f1.8, which is significantly bigger than either of the other lenses. That lets in more light and allows for a faster shutter speed to reduce blur. I also can often mitigate a bad photo by editing it in iPhoto — it doesn’t eliminate mistakes but it can salvage things at times.
The glass with the moose – MOOSEHEAD LAGER! 100% Canadian!
Yes! I like that stuff. Moose are my favorite, but my friends have a set of four such glasses, each with a different be-antlered beast on it. C gives me the moose because she knows I love them.
Truly, you know of Moosehead Lager?
If so, your awesomeness factor has just skyrocketed!