Nashville Confidential

seriously, my sides hurt

I laughed so much this weekend. It was truly one of the most fun (funnest?), most enjoyable (enjoyablest?) weekends I can remember. We had a girls' weekend in Chicago with great weather, great food, great sights, great comedy and a great deal of appreciation for my wonderful friends.

There was also a great deal of attention paid to the World Series Champion White Sox. Did you know they won?

They did, and my dad and my brother haven't stopped smiling yet. More on this and other Chicago stories in the coming days. For now, it's back to reality ...

ay caramba

One of the great things about Sox manager Ozzie Guillen is that he usually closes each interview with a Spanish message to his buds back in Venezuela, delivered at higher mph than his pitchers' fastballs.

One of the great things about XM Radio is that you can listen to the play by play of the World Series ... in Spanish. A related program is called "Solamente Pelota," which means "Only Baseball." My brother tipped me off to this fact, because I dig listening to anything en espanol.

Unfortunately, my mind right now is on "Solamente Trabajo," which means "Only Work," and the Sox-Astros game is still tied in the 13th (!!!!) inning, so I have to say "Buenas noches," which means, "I gotta get some sleep."

at least the baseball's been good

Chicago is a great music town. So why did Josh Groban have to be the one to sing the National Anthem at last night's World Series opener? I never knew that song could sound like a ballad from a Disney movie.

Then, to add insult to injury, Liz Phair sang "God Bless America" at the 7th-inning stretch. As I've confessed before, I really can't stand Liz Phair. (Don't send me angry e-mails. I didn't say you had to dislike her.) To be fair, she did an OK job.

Man, two of my most-loathed artists in one World Series game. Thank goodness the right team won, at least.

theological question of the week

Is it wrong to pray for a World Series victory for the White Sox?

move over, frommer's and fodor's

JFA and I went to our favorite German place in these parts tonight and he really made me laugh. The last time he made me laugh that loudly we were on the plane to Nashville and I was reviewing my itinerary. Yes, I make an itinerary. Usually it involves the places I wish to eat and areas of town I wish to drive through. You've pretty much seen this list if you're a faithful weblog reader, and almost every place in East Nashville and Hillsboro Village is on it. It tends to be kind of uppity. High-falutin', even.

JFA said he had some last-minute additions, took my notebook and wrote a few lines:

Shoney's
Cracker Barrel
2nd Avenue
Lifeway Christian Store
McDonald's

That reminded me of a few must-sees:
Wax Museum on Music Valley Drive
Opry Mills Mall
Chik-Fil-A
Bobby's Idle Hour
Cool Springs Galleria -- Orange Julius

lies i continue to tell myself

-- Yes, let's try a new haircut. It takes just a few minutes to style it each and every day.
-- Sure, I can keep potato chips in the house. No problem.
-- I'm getting up an hour earlier tomorrow.
-- It's not personal.
-- I'll get over it.

ayatollah fashion

My very first boss at [the place where I work] became a good friend of mine, largely due to the fact that he got my very esoteric jokes and could trump with even more bizarre and off-beat ones. For example, he sometimes revised his business card to reflect a new title: Ayatollah.

Today he sent me a link and encouraged me to bid on this particular eBay item ... I believe he declined to purchase them himself.

I laughed myself silly at this. Enjoy. [tip of the hat to TPB]

creature of habit

Just as I have book buying rituals each year, I have housecleaning rituals each Saturday morning (at least when I’m in town). It’s one of the best times of the week because I like having clear countertops (tip: move all the piles of stuff into the back room) and I love listening to “This American Life.”

It’s NPR Pledge Week, which is taxing, even for a gigantic NPR freak like me. Fortunately I also have XM, which plays “This American Life” at noon on Saturdays. Yes, I often listen to the show on the NPR broadcast at 11 a.m., then turn around and listen to the same show again on XM at noon. I am hardcore.

XM has no need for a special Pledge Week show, so its “This American Life” installment was a repeat of one of my absolute favorites – “20 Stories in 60 Minutes.” I had taped it and listened to it while walking on my birthday last year. With how many other programs can you recall where and when you first heard or saw a certain episode?

world series tix on sale tuesday

My dad tells a true story that illustrates it best: A local megastore (the kind I hate) was selling facial tissues in pro baseball team-themed boxes this summer.

The top shelf was completely empty – it used to be filled with Chicago Cubs tissue boxes. The middle shelf had a few dented St. Louis Cardinals boxes remaining. The bottom shelf, the Chicago White Sox boxes, was in nearly pristine condition – maybe one or two had been disturbed by people reaching for the Cubs boxes.

That’s what it’s like to be a Chicago White Sox fan anywhere except the South Side.

The Cubs faded long ago. The Sox (who have won more than 100 games this year, thank you very much) and the Cardinals are in their respective division’s championship series. My dad and brother are absolutely in heaven.

It is pretty cool. I flew out of Midway (airport on Chicago’s South Side) last week and every business had a sign that read “GO SOX.” The screen saver on the hotel lobby computer read “GO SOX.” People in the airport were dressed in full Sox regalia. It is a glorious thing.

Go Sox.

a marked shift in priorities

Life moves quickly, my friends. One day you're viewing Renaissance treasures in Italy, then you're at a convention center in suburban Chicago listening to some stranger through a bathroom vent, then you're buying more books you don't need at the Southern Festival of Books.

Suddenly you realize: "I have missed nearly all the season premieres. I haven't videotaped anything for weeks. TV plays very little role in my life." Then Ricky Martin is on Letterman, and you remember why TV can be fun, even if Ricky is wearing a shirt.

We are about to take a dramatic turn in the work life of Mapgirl. What does this mean for you? Likely fewer postings. Because life moves quickly, and I still haven't captured all the important stuff from A YEAR AGO and the last three weeks have had their own insights and events, all of which I plan to document.

Someday. About the same time as I catch up with the "West Wing" plotline. [Note to Santa: TiVo would be a nice holiday gift.]

The weblog isn't going away until all has been documented. Or until the White Sox win the World Series. Go White Sox!!