M.E.M.P.H.I.S.

This week my friend from TCU (shout out to Luke Harville) sent me to the Urban Dictionary definition of his hometown, Houston. Knowing that Memphis is infinitely more ghetto that Houston, I decided to look up our definition too. It read as follows:

I much prefer the second entry. Makin' Easy Money Pimpin' Hoes In Style. However, that's not how I've been spending my summer. Which is a very, very good thing.

So how have I been spending my summer!?

ADVENTURE UNO: 

Last week, Sylvia, Jordan, and I decided to go to BBQ fest. Sylvia documented that adventure two posts below. Essentially, we decided to walk. About 20 minutes into the 45 minute walk, it started to rain. We decided to still give BBQ fest a chance and paid $8 only to realize that it wasn't much fun since we weren't 21 and didn't know anyone. Oh well, the walk was fun! Jordan and I still needed our BBQ fix though, so we headed to Central and split a BBQ nacho. Yum. 

ADVENTURE DOS:

ConGRADulations to the newest SMS Alumnae in the Waggoner Family! That's right, Susan graduated from St. Mary's Episcopal School on Monday. Between Baccalaureate (finally learned how to spell that one) and Graduation, she looked beautiful and the family had a blast. It was fun catching up with our middle school teachers after the ceremonies! 

  

Susan was even crazy enough to let me do her hair...

But, hey, SMS Graduation didn't quite compare to Booker T. Washington's ceremony where President Barack Obama spoke. It even trended on Twitter as "memprez." All I have to say is Memphis would make it "memprez" with a "z."

ADVENTURE TROIS (surprise, I actually took le Francais dans d'ecole):

On Thursday, Jordan, Natalie, Susan, and I went to check out Bon Jovi at the FedEx Forum. We found super cheap tickets on Groupon and enjoyed some sushi at Sekisui Midtown before the concert. I don't think I've ever seen a 60-something year old man dance like that. I also don't think it's a stretch to say that Bon Jovi is in insanely good shape for someone his age! He sang some great hits, including Living on a Prayer, but let's just say after nearly two hours of continuous singing, I won't be listening to Bon Jovi for a long, long time.

So this is the first post that is being written on the day the events happened... Let's see if Kwaggs and I can keep this up.

Today was fairly slow. I dropped my mom off at Church and then drove out to Guitar Center by Wolfchase to pick up a cable for my DJ equipment I lost when I was DJing at Kathryn's 5K last summer. I got to Guitar Center 2 hours before it opened but conveniently enough, super target was just around the corner so I hung out in the parking lot and went in to buy a resistance band (so I can finally start P90X... because I'm oh so eager) After going home and cooking myself a delicious salmon burger, I decided to drive to the Sneaker Convention. I heard an ad on the radio about it and felt it was important I attend. Well, the website just said it was off I240 and I assumed that all highways are connected but soon realized I was wrong when Sam Cooper didn't connect. After getting lost for 15 minutes, I finally found my way to downtown and then on to I240, but traffic was bumper to bumper.

I got off the highway after about 25 minutes and found myself even more lost on South Parkway. Incase you do not know, the street South Parkway has a rap song written about it.

Blehh.. bad traffic

South Parkway by Gangsta Blac


S-O-U-T-H yeah Parkway, don't play damn damn day
Get your shit straight test us and we test you shit
All us, all y'all too, it's on shit (repeat 2X)

S if for shootin bitches who constantly talkin shit
O is for over, know when i barge in another clique
U is for underground when i'm in funkytown
T is for taking over, 'cause you shouldnt've been around
H is for hood rat, that's hangin in SPV
P is for pussy hoe, that i got so easily
A is Atlanta bound, all aboard on the plane
R is for recking shit cauz you know i'm insane
K is for killin bitches who cauzin and acting hard
cause you should not fuck with me
cause I'm down with southpark

S-S-S-S-O-U-T-H yeah Parkway, don't play damn damn day
Get your shit straight test us and we test you shit
All us, all y'all too, it's on shit (repeat 2X)

I'm a kick it off mane, true to tha game, stay the same
Hoovie's what they call me, keep 2 clips for my N-I-E
B-B-N got my back, cauz all them thug niggaz on the track
Bustin till we D-I-E, skullhead baby R-I-P
Ballin Ballin till we fall, never cauz i standin tall
See I'm from that Memphis, Tenn. - chiefin and countin Benjamin's
Gangsta Blac and S.P.V., all them thug niggaz down wit me
gangstas walkin left and right, hoes be cuttin up every night
P-I-M-P, maintain, ridin in that chevy thang
holla holla when you see me, throwin dem bows with the Greeby

S-S-S-S-O-U-T-H yeah Parkway, don't play damn damn day
Get your shit straight test us and we test you shit
All us, all y'all too, it's on shit
S-O-U-T-H yeah Parkway, don't play damn damn day
Get your shit straight test us and we test you shit
All us, all y'all too, it's on shit

L-Y-C in tennessee, collaboration cross the nation
elevatin, stop that hatin, all we doin is paper chasin
Southpark's the Southpark way, test us you'll die today
gun in your mouth with nothing to say, blup blup blup blown away
what niggaz think they see us when we comin, 'cause we gunnin,
and they runnin, hit the deck, get the check, from gangsta blac
[ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/south-parkway-lyrics-gangsta-blac.html ]

B-B-N we got your back, yellin please don't act like that, WATCH OUT
As i walk to the valley of the shadows of Parkway
them point, no play, i can say them keep them hangin
smoke nor fiend, then tell them bust or go play play
me got no sleep, so me don't care what you say say
Me just a rude boy from a town called JA
Now in Memphis, Tenn. where them boys shoot big game
Riding twenty inches and they wavin' them thang thangs
S-O-U-T-H Parkway, them no play play

S-S-S-S-O-U-T-H yeah Parkway, don't play damn damn day
Get your shit straight test us and we test you shit
All us, all y'all too, it's on shit
S-O-U-T-H yeah Parkway, don't play damn damn day
Get your shit straight test us and we test you shit
All us, all y'all too, it's on shit

for what they sayin, is real in the battlefield
then, for real, yo dawg, them hogz, when it comes to the benz, then sin
cauz i've done had so many runnin mates i did you no lie,
them same ones who blockin all so i wouldn't make it by
and i ain't mad, but i would rather see them sufferin boy
them gamez they play, one day they shall chill with the lord
but on the realla, gangsta blac gone keep it all in the fam
'cause they got love, in the first and plus they know who i am
reloadin combat, take aim then you bust out
do everything to see how that lil shit jump out his damn mouth
'cause here we play by parkway, we damnin what you hoes say
the rules are what we obey, them thangz on up they well bread
'cause buddha got me bumped out, on this i'm claimin all plow
so shoot it out yo damn mouth, i must respect the down south

S-S-S-S-O-U-T-H yeah Parkway, don't play damn damn day
Get your shit straight test us and we test you shit
All us, all y'all too, it's on shit
S-O-U-T-H yeah Parkway, don't play damn damn day
Get your shit straight test us and we test you shit
All us, all y'all too, it's on shit

Anyway... I got lost on that street. Good times.


After finding my way back to an area more recognizable, I went and got groceries with Kathryn.


Then I went to Bikram yoga with Gracie. My shorts fell down and my leg started randomly bleeding.


After a wonderful dinner at home, Kathryn, Susan, Lizzy and I went on a hunt for foodtrucks because Food Network is filming their show here tonight (and yesterday). We found one in front of House of Mews and the rest over by the Levitt Shell.

Roxy's Grilled Cheese

Ham grilled cheese; sauteed spinach, leek with muenster GC;carmelized onion, baby swiss,  truffle mayo GC, truffle fries 

Every food truck had an official car

Concert at Levitt Shell

Yolo to go

Kathryn backing into a parking space

Susan's quesedilla with a fried egg

NYC BBQ

 We got some great food, listened to some neat local music and may have even made a brief cameo on Nat TV!

Okay, so Kathryn and I sort of failed to realize that just having a blog isn't exactly the point... you're supposed to update it (and I just got the username and password for this thing-so that's my excuse.)

Well, here we go. Does writing in this make me a published author? Can you cite me in a paper now? Here - Columbus flew the first airplane around the world. If you find that fact via google search, include it in your research paper and then cite this thing. Maybe it would be more legit if we bought a domain name so blogger isn't in the URL.. oh well, I guess it's something for us to consider.

Anyway, what have we missed by not updating this in eh, a week and a couple days? Nothing exciting.

Kathryn, Jordan and I went to BBQ fest. I told them it was close to my house so we should walk... we got there 45 minutes later and then it started pouring, and we missed the window of free admission since it took us so long to get there. Once we got there, there was nothing to do if you weren't 21 or had a tent.. so we stayed around for 5 minutes while getting rained on and then decided to leave.

Cool corner of a building we saw when walking to BBQ Fest- made of actual legos

Empty, rainy BBQ Fest

One of the fancier "tents"

Things were more spread out this year @ Tiger Lane

Kathryn not really sure why we are here or what there is to do..

I went to a couple concerts last week. Last Sunday was the Chamber music circle - that was neat because it was hosted in a house overlooking the river so there was a view of some of the flooding. I went outside before the concert started to take a walk and ended up talking to some people demonstrating. I had a nice talk with the woman. Her family had driven to Memphis from Montana and she was asking me if it would be more effective to demonstrate at Graceland... we talked about the pros and cons including safety of the neighborhood, pedestrian traffic, etc. It was funny/strange/etc.

The view looking out the window

Practicing before the concert started

One of the guys demonstrating - sign says "Trust in the Lord Jesus"

Other side said something about falling in the hands of a living God

Wasn't sure what they were actually preaching- but appeared to be against materialism 

I started my internship on Monday at Running Pony Productions - and that has been pretty cool so far. I was off Wednesday so I could go to my mom's concert- she was playing in the final performance of the Rennaisance music circle at the Memphis Country club. I was her page turner, it was a pretty important job. We practiced together 3 times.

Kathryn and I tried to bike the green line yesterday. After strategizing about what was the safest way to get to the beginning, we loaded the bikes into the car and then her brake came right off the front of her bike. We decided to go on a nice run around the lake in Shelby Farms instead.

Besides babysitting and working at the racquet club - that pretty much brings us up to speed to today - until the next post (which will be in like 5 minutes) thank you loyal followers, aka mom. Oh wait, mother doesn't read this. Well, thank you Kathryn, for probably skimming over this post to make sure I'm not using profanity or making up lies about us doing crazy things.

Syl