One reason I'm glad I live in Birmingham

Alternate Title: 'Where else can you see Taylor Hicks and Snoop Dogg on the same stage at the same time?'

This past weekend was Birmingham's annual music event, City Stages, when the streets of downtown close and the city hosts 125+ music acts. I have many fond memories from City Stages past, from when we drank illicit beer as juniors in high school to when the event fell on a freakishly cold May weekend shortly after my sister's wedding in 2002. There's a photo from that year of Miriam, Quinn, and myself bundled up in fleece jackets, shortly before we went to see OutKast. Last year I wrote about seeing Def Leppard (sp?) and the one-armed drummer with my friend Mike Mahon.

No matter the line-up, I always tend to have a good time and enjoy bands that I wouldn't necessarily go see were they playing an individual show. My dad says that City Stages tends to catch musical acts on their way up or down the charts, and that assessment is fairly well-founded. In years past, headliners such as the Charlie Daniels Band, Lynard Skynard, Kanye West, and the Killers have made their way to the Tragic City. The 2006 acts ranged from the Beach Boys to Snoop Dogg, with everything in between.

This year was Bob's first time to go to City Stages, and it was great to share this part of Birmingham with him. Upon our arrival, I guaranteed that he would get to see some of the best white trash that Alabama has to offer. The evening didn't disappoint. The current 'long shirt' trend among today's youngsters coupled with the omnipresent short shorts gave the impression that some individuals (mostly skinny girls in their late teens and early twenties, but a few brave souls outside of that demographic) believe that City Stages is a 'pants optional' event. We overheard a medley of accents that offer the same listening pleasure as a buzz saw, observed the serious City Stages attendees who come prepared with fanny packs (who needs the pesky shoulder strap of a purse to get in the way?) and collapsible chairs, and were also privy to the 'sports bra as top' fashion statement. Mullets abounded and the 'best all around' award went to one magnificent man who was wearing a tank top with St. Andrew's cross prominently displayed, an American flag 'do rag', AND cut-off jorts! I nearly wept to behold such an thing.

We wandered around the streets between the seven or so tall buildings in Birmingham's central business district, and I asked Bob if he were even a little impressed by it all. 'When you see all of this, doesn't it make you feel like maybe we live in a REAL city?' I asked. And the sentiment behind that question sums up, in fact, what I love most about City Stages weekend. Despite the terrible outfits, despite the crowds, it's a weekend when the people of Birmingham come out in full force, to listen to music, drink beer and eat funnel cake, and generally spend time together. Birmingham has a none-too-glorious past and a present identity crisis, but on Father's Day weekend every June, the residents of Birmingham have something to be proud of.

Engaged!

Bob proposed marriage to me last Thursday, June 8, 2006, right after I finished up with medical school. After thinking about it for a millisecond I said yes. Chicks are often interested in the proposal 'story,' so I thought I would post it here. Also, I was impressed as hell with Bob's creativity and capacity for secrecy. Italics represent my commentary on the whole deal.

I got home, and taped to the front door was a red rose along with this note:

Start
The prospect of school's end should excite you,
But the true end should simply delight you
Follow the clues that I leave
And treats you'll receive
On an MS-2 treasure hunt I invite you

You've had a long and trying year
Filled with study, work, and some fear
Relax for today
Kiss all cares away
This is aided by drinking cold______.

(Now you need to go find the object in the blank to get the next clue)

The first treat was a 6-pack of beer along with some Publix sushi in the fridge. It was accompanied by another limerick:

I'll love you when I'm an old geezer
But I'll still rock out to Weezer
At the ranch you loved sorbet
You'd eat it everyday
Just take a look in the ________.

If you guessed that the second clue was 'freezer,' you were right. My second treat was 4 pints of different-flavored Edy's whole fruit sorbet. Delicious.

The house sometimes becomes foul
I would clean; were I a wise owl
When spills make our home a mess
This we can redress
By wiping with a paper _______.

The third treat was a bag of Starbursts on top of the paper towel holder, accompanied by yet another clue....

Your love for him gives me a scare
For you he's always there
You hold him tight
All through the night
Of course I'm talking of ____ ____.

This is the clue where I get to be a little embarassed, because the fourth treat--Starburst jelly beans--was hidden under my Pooh Bear pillow, which Bob bought me as a gag gift for our first dating anniversary. Up to now, Pooh Bear has probably been my favorite gift that Bob has given me. I call him my 'cuddle pillow.'

Our favorite game in which we would dabble
Will cut off my 'rhyming' babble
I'd play every day
Were not life in the way
Sorry to make you unearth ______.

Many people who knew Bob and me in the infancy of our relationship remember that we used to be bonkers about Scrabble. We would sometimes play 3-4 times a day. In our apartment, though, Scrabble is kept in a trunk that serves as a coffee table and usually has a lot of crap on it. By this point in the treasure hunt, I was getting really excited, so I cleaned off the coffee table in a hurry and found the final treat:

Forever will my boyish antics harry thee
For across the threshold I will carry thee
A strange way I suppose
To in abstentia propose
Melanie will you please MARRY ME?

'MARRY ME' was spelled out in Scrabble tiles--so cute.

So as you can see, this was a great thing to come home to and really softened the blow of the mediocre grade I had received on the test I took earlier that day. I called Bob, who was actually working at the restaurant, and he told me to come over where he had a bottle of champagne waiting (the jewelry store 'gave' it to him with the ring). We chilled out at the restaurant the entire afternoon and were able to have dinner with my family that night. All in all, an AWESOME day.