They're heeeeeeere. This is of course tiring and stressful, but considering those givens, in general, my parents and I are having a good time together. Most of the past 96 hours has been characteristically Frommer's, as well as Zagat-esque... this concept of life revolving around where/what to eat and drink is obviously familial.

(side note: Nashville doesn't actually have its own Zagat's. It's the first place I've lived without Zagat's coverage ... even freekin' Jersey has its own. Jersey!)

Some parent-involving activities include:
Thursday: Brunch at Caffiene (a very cool new coffeehouse in the revamped Demonbreun/Music Row area), touring the Vandy campus/med center, showing off what I do at lab, then dinner at Latitude (above average new American/Seafood) at the Vandy Marriott.
Friday: A trip down to Franklin to check out the little artsy shops and boutiques in downtown and at The Factory. Dinner at Saffire (more good fusion/seafood stuffs) in the Factory. Cocktails and jazz in their hotel (they're right across the street at the Loews, by way of a deeply discounted Expedia package.)
Saturday: The Frist Art Museum (all of us free, yay membership benefits!), lunch at Ru San's (rrrmmm.. . shu-shee! I think my parents may have gone deaf from the techno/shouting/knife and pot banging), furniture shopping in Cool Springs. Sunday: The Catholic stuff, of course. (ok, admittedly, having my parents casually mention how I'm not making it to heaven is getting old). For Easter Brunch I went for the kitsch factor and made reservations for my parents and a few friends at the revolving rooftop restaurant downtown. While the view was neat, the food was "eh" and the service totally, totally sucked. Unless you're in it for the kitsch, I'd call this one a no-go. Following a big nap, Mom and I went to the writer's night at the Bluebird Cafe (which I really like as a fun, characteristically-Nashville spot to visit)


I believe I'm staying sane by offsetting all this parent bonding time with late-night excursions. Last night I stopped by Leigh's wine tasting party, where remaining guests were either tipsy or recovering-from-tipsy by the time I arrived. Friday night I went to the WRVU-sponsored show featuring some local bands at the Exit In. I am all about the Finnish-Nashvillian Mattoid, who made me think of the first time I heard Beat Happening and how I had thought "What the...wha... hey, whoa! I like! Yeah! Dance!" Just like that.
Also recommended, Apollo Up. Continuing with the young-Nicole-listening-to-music theme, for some reason, when I heard them, I was reminded of one of my morning rituals from when I was in high school. I sometimes used to put on my headphones, crank up the volume, and sing and dance around my bedroom while blow-drying my hair. The hairdryer was used mostly as noise to hide my crappy "singing", not really for drying my hair. Two of my favorite CDs for this AM sing-along (wail-along, more like?) were Fugazi's Red Medicine and Jawbox's For Your Own Special Sweetheart. And something about listening to Apollo Up on Friday made me remember all of this. Now, I'm not really sure if Apollo Up's stuff sounds like anything off of those CDs. However, I am sure that I find amusement in this mental image of myself, Catholic-school uniform-clad, jumping around my room, deaf to the fact that the carpool's outside honking, then, upon realizing that I'm late, dashing outside to the car with my hair still dripping wet.

Uhm.... anyway.

I just looked up some links to sample both of the aforementioned (here and here). Listen up.