I, like everyone else in the United States, have been looking for fun and free things to do.

The very same thing can be said for the one and only Carmen Jones, you know, my best friend from high school who used to write for this fine rag.



She took a leap of faith and quit her job to focus on her master’s degree in public administration at The Evergreen State College, and she wanted me to tell you all that she’s doing quite well and she’s having great experiences at school.



But now that she’s a penny-pinching college kid, she recently introduced me to something that’s both free and super fun: Tuning into 89.3 KAOS, the commercial-free community radio station licensed to and located on the campus of The Evergreen State College.



One of the dudes in Carmen’s program is Will Bennett, and he convinced her, and she convinced me, to tune into his weekly broadcast that happens every Thursday from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., titled “Are Friends Electric?” Let me just say that while Carmen and I were listening to those electronica cuts, we proved that we were both indeed electric by jumping up on the two window seats in my living room to dance like a robot to Kraftwerk’s “Pocket Calculator” song.



I went on to listen to some other shows that I was diggin’ on.



Last week the “Dirty Lotus Double” with Tripp Talley, happening on Mondays from 3-5 p.m., introduced me to Greensky Bluegrass, www.greenskybluegrass.com, a band that you should certainly check out. At first I questioned Talley’s liberal use of the word y’all until he accepted my friend request on Facebook, and I saw that he really is from Texas.



Another good segment that I couldn’t get enough of was the Live Jive with Evie Elman that occurs on Tuesdays from 1-3 p.m. This show offers a wide variety of music that’s selected by Evie and the KAOS music directors. The entire set was great, but one of the songs that popped on brought a smile to my face, and also to Carmen’s: Heart’s “Keep Your Love Alive.” Carmen has an extra special affection for Heart because once upon a time her dad went on dates with Ann Wilson.



Also, the politically-savvy girl inside of me sincerely appreciated KAOS’ coverage of local and national public affairs, women’s issues and Native American news.



Dear readers, KAOS radio is a community treasure that I really believe you should support and tune into. Again, it’s informative, free and best of all, fun!



You can find KAOS on your radio dial at 89.5 FM or visit their Web site now to stream that fine station at http://kaos.evergreen.edu/.



Tell me where you like to party here.