The Cons and Pros of Being Crippled

I had surgery on my knee about three weeks ago and recovery has been slow. I've been walking without crutches for the past three days and I am slowly moving around and getting better, though my knee is still swollen to the size of a grapefruit (I'm told it may take weeks for the swelling to go down; it's really gross, too).

Music:
Anyway, the past weekend was spent driving 10 hours to the Gorge in Washington for the Sasquatch! Music Festival (a three-day festival of peace, love, empathy, and Mos Def). Crutching around from stage to stage (there were three) among the crowds was a bitch, and my armpits are still sore to remind me of the weekend. However, there was some goodness that resulted from my gimpness. The last day of the festival, the staff gave me and my girlfriend a ride down to the main stage in a bus, folding chairs (a luxury), a close view of the stage, and close, handicapped portable toilets. It was luxurious. So that was the pro; next year, if I am crippled, I'll be sure to take advantage of that each day. We also saw amazing performances by Animal Collective, The Decemberists, Of Montreal, and Fleet Foxes to name a few. Good weekend.

Hitchiking (mostly unrelated to crippledness):
I've hitchiked once, so I feel like I owe the hitchiking community. So we picked up a hitchiker outside of Sasquatch! and gave him a thirty minute ride to Moses Lake (it was on our way). Hitchikers typically have some really interesting things to share, so I encourage picking them up if it seems safe. This particular gentleman told us about all the concerts he's been to. He claimed to have seen Nirvana five or six (he couldn't remember for sure) times, so he told us all about those shows, which stronger cemented Nirvana's place as one of the greatest bands in my mind. For our trouble, the lad offered me a dose of methadone, but, alas, I was crippled and could not risk the multiple felonies of carrying that over several state lines.

Another piece of advice: Life is much easier if you avoid the felonies, they're what will screw you over in the long run, like waiting too long to turn in your RISK cards for reinforcements.

Albums to check out if you haven't:
Merriweather Post Pavilion by Animal Collective- blowing my mind a little more each time I listen to it.
Yes! by k-os- holy shit, I hate to make the claim that this is the best he's ever done, but I've listened to it almost non-stop since it came out two months ago, and it really is that good.
Fleet Foxes by Fleet Foxes- in case you've been in a coma for the past year, these guys are taking my Top 25 Most Played list on itunes by storm. Beautiful melodies, folk roots, and everything about it is just comforting. Listen now!