Tonight I went to the Old Crow Medicine Show concert at Koka Booth Amphitheater, in Cary, NC. It was a unique tour in that each of the bands played their sets, but members of the other bands would periodically come out for a little jam session. At some points there were 10+ people on stage playing all my favorite instruments — fiddle, steel guitar, harmonica, banjo, guitar, upright bass, etc. It was fabulous. We were in the lawn seats, not in the pit, and were the ONLY ones standing. This made me mad, but I didn’t really care about the people around me. How could you NOT stand and dance to Old Crow and the Felice Brothers and David Rawlings?

I was with some of my favorite people. I took a bite of a delicious NC bbq sandwich with some sweet potato fries and some sweet tea.

I started becoming semi nostalgic about leaving NC in less than a month. So, when the entire crew of musicians started playing Wagon Wheel, I was epically connected. It was a STEAMING hot NC summer night — though it was 10pm it was still 100% humidity and 90 degrees. This should have bothered me, but I embraced it. The words, “if I die in Raleigh, at least I will die free” were that much more poignant in the heat. I felt connected to the band, connected to the sounds, and connected to my state. I love Old Crow, I love North Carolina. I will miss you NC. I will miss you Raleigh!

Being crippled has admittedly made me severely neglect my appearance. Those who’ve been kind enough to visit me, especially during my four days of being stuck in a recliner, can attest to that. I’ve been throwing my hair up in a pony tail mostly, so I haven’t taken stock of its length since, well, May 23rd when I first broke my foot. And it’s pretty darn long! And so far I am not tempted to cut it off. We’ll see how I continue during the hot, hot NC summer months. But I am more determined then ever this time! When I do end up cutting my hair though (it’s definitely a when, not an if!) I think I will cut it back to this length. It’s a good balance between short and long.

It all began with the love of a sloth…
She said she sees the museum as an integral step toward ensuring environmental consciousness and believes that coming face-to-face with nature will have a greater impact on people than simply reading about it.
[ Hanging out with a three-toed sloth, Sept 2007 ]

And then I was a “green expert”
According to Litzenberger, it’s important for people to recycle not only bottles and cans but also cardboard and white paper.
[ Going green begins with baby steps, October 2007 ]

And then I liked @BarackObama
“I saw one of my other friends was following him on Twitter and I was like, Whoa, Barack Obama has a Twitter — that’s awesome,”
[ @BarackObama, where did all your tweets go?, Jan 2009 ]

And then I was a Gmail proponent…
“G Chat would be a great tool to connect everyone – even students to faculty.”
[ It's Gmail, March 2009 ]

And then a journalistic expert…
“It’s fair to charge Google or other AP content users, but I would imagine Google would just find news content elsewhere,” she said. “It doesn’t seem like the AP has a strong hold on the news media like it used to since there is some much news information available on the Internet. The availability of free news, content, and information on the Internet makes all this stuff so tricky.”
[ AP sends out battle cry to protect content, April 2009 ]

So, Hannah, a senior in natural resources, will msorely miss the Technician. Maybe I will graduate to the News and Observer? *Fingers Crossed!*

THEY COST US LOTSA $$$.
“In the US, the FDA estimates that more than US$5 billion is spent annually on medical treatment, damage, and control in RIFA-infested areas. Furthermore, the ants cause approximately US$750 million in damage annually to agricultural assets, including veterinarian bills and livestock loss as well as crop loss.”

“In Australia an intensive program costing A$175 million has, at February 2007, eradicated 99% of fire ants from the sole infestation occurring in South East Queensland.” WHY DON’T WE DO THIS? Please pick this up as a new campaign issue, Obama.

THEY KILL COOL ANIMALS.
Fireants are notorious for ousting native wildlife from their natural habitats. This includes small snakes, skinks, lizards, birds, and insects.

THEY ITCH.
I got bit about 10 times after stepping in a huge mound. Then I got bit about 10 more times after stepping in another with the same foot. Awesomely itchy.