m-town.

anyone that knows me knows i love to talk about memphis. i loved growing up there, and still love the town, despite some of memphis' trials and tribulations in recent years, it is a great town, with some great quirks. i had a great time growing up in memphis and have developed a few favorite things about good ol' m-town. just to name a few i would start with gibsons hot donuts-- especially late night when they are hot... panchos dip had to make the list, but it was best when eaten at the location at white station and poplar, which is now starbucks. our generation was big into jumping on giant trampoline roof of the cleaners on poplar, conveniently located across of panchos/starbucks, not really a rebel, it made me quite nervous, but was so much fun never-the-less. houstons ( yes, a chain, but i will always associate it with memphis and my christ methodist friends) the oak court mall seemed like the greatest place ever, downtown was always fun, especially when i finally learned how to get there, breakfast at brother junipers, the pink palace crafts fair and arts in the park, elvis everywhere you turn, jerry's sno cones .... really, i could go on and on... a fellow memphian sent me this list of ways to tell you are from memphis, and i had to post it because many things on this list would also make my favorites list... so here goes ( i edited it because it was quite long)... you know you are from memphis if:

*THE MAIN ATTRACTION AT THE MOST EXPENSIVE HOTEL IS DUCKS

*YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO KNOWS JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE

*YOU KNOW THE MUSICFEST = MUDFEST

*PRINCE MONGO & JERRY 'THE KING' LAWLER ARE ON THE MAYORS BALLOT

*YOU HAVE WAITED FOR 4 HOURS TO GET A DRIVERS LICENSE, OR HAVE YOUR CAR INSPECTED

*YOU DON'T REALLY CARE ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES, BUT YOU LOVE THE TIGERS

*YOU KNOW WHAT REAL BARBECUE IS

*NONCONNAH MEANS AUTOBAHN

*YOU'RE SCARED OF COPS IN GERMANTOWN AND BARTLETT

*SOMEONE IN YOUR FAMILY HAS AN ELVIS STORY

*OUR TAP WATER IS LIKE YOUR EVIAN

*YOU DRIVE LIKE YOU'RE GONNA KILL EVERYONE ELSE

*YOU JUST CALL THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER 'THE RIVER'

*YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT THE OLD BRIDGE AND THE NEW BRIDGE HAD NAMES

*YOU'VE HAD TO SWITCH THE THERMOSTAT FROM HEAT TO AIR IN THE SAME DAY

*YOU CAN SAY 'TAKE POPLAR' AND GET ANYWHERE FROM ANYWHERE

*YOU KNOW YOU CAN MAKE IT ANYWHERE IN MEMPHIS IN 'ABOUT 15 MINUTES

*YOU STILL CALL IT MEMPHIS STATE

*YOU KNOW THAT IF YOU LIVE ANYWHERE IN THE CITY LIMITS, YOU'RE ONLY A STREET OR TWO AWAY FROM A GHETTO

*YOU KNOW THAT MCALLISTER'S IS THE BEST PLACE TO GET SWEET TEA

*SOMEBODY SAYS '201' AND THE FIRST THING THAT COMES TO MIND AIN'T GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH A CLOCK

*YOU WOULD BE HARD PRESSED TO FIND ANOTHER CITY WHERE EVERYONE IN THE CITY KNOWS THE STREET ADDRESS OF THE JAIL

*YOU SPEED EVERYWHERE, EXCEPT BARTLETT AND GERMANTOWN

*YOU DRIVE ON THE SAME ROAD AND IT'S NAME CHANGES SEVERAL TIMES THE FURTHER YOU GO

*YOU KNOW THERE ARE AT LEAST 7 MACON ROADS, KIRBY ROADS, AND RALEIGH LAGRANGES

*A MAJORITY OF THE WHITE POPULATION KNOWS EVERY WORD TO THREE SIX MAFIA LYRICS

*OH YEAH, THE ZIPPIN PIPPIN IS STILL FOR SALE

*MOST SUBURBS HAVE A NICKNAME ... DIRTY DOVA, HICKORY HOOD, BLACKHAVEN, DA DIRTY DIRTY

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST ... MEMFRICA

double decker festival

the last saturday in april is always marked by the double decker festival, well at least here in oxford it is. always one of my favorite days, i now have the joy and agony of planning it. a day long celebration of food, music and art, double decker is basically an arts and music festival held in downtown oxford. about 150 art vendors, local restaurants and 2 stages of music equal double decker...why double decker? well, the festival which celebrated its 13th year this year, is named after oxford's authentic double decker bus-- and yes, there are dd bus rides all day long at the fest!

this year the avett brothers headlined the show. they even posted a picture from the stage on their myspace page.









i had been told by many that they were awesome, and i think their performance proved those reports to be true. take a look on clyde's blog

the oxford music snob, a local music blog had some great things to say as well-- check it out here.

konichiwa...

i have traveled abroad for mission trips, for school and pleasure, but never for business... about a month ago i participated in the state of mississippi's japanese sales mission. the most unique part to me was seeing the business customs of another country... after all, i have eaten weird food
( dominican republic and france had their fair share of new flavors), i have used strange means of transportation ( china), i have even showered in strange places ( the dominican republic) but until now i have not conducted business meetings, learned the proper way to exchange business cards, or really seen the business aspect of another country.

i could write a lot but i thought i would make a list of a few of the trips highlights ( in no particular order)... so here goes.

1. visiting the us embassy, after 3 security screenings, you feel pretty important...
2. confidently( well sort of) learning to saying good morning, hello, excuse me and thank you in japanese... konichiwa is the only one i will attempt to spell here.
3. having real sushi! although tasty, i think americanized sushi works better for me...
4. the hotel provided sea breeze and free hair clips-- two things i personally love and think all hotels should adopt the policy of caring these products.
5. the lights in the tokyo hotel ( you had to insert the key into a slot to make them come on-- how energy efficient is that?)
6. getting to see mount fugi, if only from the train... it was truly magnificent and huge
7. the cherry blossoms were in bloom, and were beautiful... they are only in bloom for one week and are iconic images of japan, so i felt fortunate to see them in person.