Category: blogging

Where write about writing, and my website sounds familiar.

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two entries on the week

Close to the edge.Two entries on the week.  That’s not so good.

Sitting here listening to Yes’ Close to the Edge, one of those albums that’s about as close to a perfect album as there’ll likely ever be. Up there with Dark Side of the Moon and other luminaries, it just never gets old or ceases to be fascinating in every little note, downbeat, or Anderson-dominated harmony. If you don’t have this album, your collection is sorely lacking. Maybe one day I’ll put together a list of my top-ten “essential” albums or something; that would be totally fun and interesting… for me only. Moving on.

Today I got hit by a mini-wave of morning-time malaise… something that I’m unaccustomed to as I’m usually quite the morning person. I went through my well-rehearsed routine: Waking; heading to the water closet to evacuate and read, in order, CNN, MSNBC, the local California paper, and paper local to where we grew up in Florida; saying a small prayer of thanks for the things I have, a smaller one asking forgiveness for some of the more ridiculous things I’ve done to put those things in jeopardy, and another one as a catchall for all those among humankind who hurt and have needs (with age, these prayers, you see, don’t seem like just so much soliloquy to me anymore); stripping for the shower; dressing post-cleansing; and heading out the door after kisses for Sharaun and Keaton.

At some point in this daily dance I was struck by a gloomy thought: This is what I always do, and this is what I’ll be doing for a long time to come. Really, it shouldn’t be a gloomy thought… but this morning it seemed that way. While I consider myself far from a person prone to depression, for a flash there today I felt a little “locked-in.”  But, the moment passed almost as quickly as it alighted, and (almost) all was right with the world again.

And now I sit here in the evening, like so many other evenings, perched above the keyboard of this machine again.  I changed the music; Close to the Edge played through nearly three times and it was time to shuffle.  Playing a nice Emitt Rhodes track now, pleasant, sounds right.

Well guys, after that… time to talk Halloween.  I’ve been becoming more and more aware that I’m actually a little late getting started on my annual prop project.  I’ve already decided what I’m making this year, and even have the a parts list; I’ve just not started cobbling it all together.  Moreover, I’ve actually been a bit on the fence this year about doing our annual party.  I do this every year though; start thinking we’re too old to throw such a raucous bash, start thinking it might be nice just to decorate the house as usual and save the Halloween fun for trick-or-treating with Keaton instead of having a houseful of drunk folks.  But… in the end, upon sharing my reservations with Sharaun, she always manages to convince me to go ahead with the status quo (she’s nearly done it again this year as well…).

Before I go, I figured I’d link-drop the P4K’s recently finished weeklong feature, “The Top 500 Songs of the 2000s.”  I’ve been enjoying the list immensely; and while I don’t always agree with it (who could, at 500 tracks strong and Pitchfork’s love for freak-folk and electro-dance), I do heartily support some of the choices.  For instance, while I’d liked to have seen Amerie’s “One Thing” crest higher on the list (I love that song so hard), I do agree that Beyoncé’s “Crazy In Love” is definitely in the right sitting atop it (if you wonder why I chose those two to compare, just give each on a listen and you’ll get it).  And, as for the #1 pick… I was surprised.  Interesting, in that Sharaun has always loved that track, even more than I did (or ever have) upon first hearing it waaay back when.  I always knew she had pretty decent taste in music.  No wonder I married her.

Goodnight friends.

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off again

Machinating.Friday and, even though I took a vacation day Monday: it’s about time.

We go forth into the not-really-wilds of white-people car-camping this weekend (yes, again).  Closer to home than last weekend’s Yosemite jaunt, we’ll be up north somewhere at a lake we’ve never been to.  Keaton is excited, and truthfully, despite the feeling that I’ve not had a weekend at home in nearly a month, I am too.  I have aspirations for the trip: Frisbee in the right hand, Newcastle in the left, maybe a pipe and book while wearing my silly old-man brimmed “camping hat” that Sharaun hates so much.

Yeah, camping.  Oh and…

While we were in Oregon last week, I took the opportunity to thumb through my folks’ vast collection of family photo albums.  On a mission, I tore at every picture I found which interested me: family photos of us growing up; old photos of my ancestry; past vacations; baby pictures; pictures of my Mom and Dad when they met; before the met, etc.  I pulled them all from the albums and placed them carefully in plastic bags to transport them home.  Why, you ask?

Well, because I’m planning on sending them off to a bulk photo-scanning outfit I’ve read decent things about online, that’s why.  For pennies a picture this place will run as many of your old prints as you can send through a machine, scanning them and sending them back to you on DVDs.  The reason I’m doing this is simple: archiving as much of my family’s photographed history as I can.  Secondly, however, I also think these images will make excellent blog material.  For instance, there’s a series of pictures taken in my Dad’s bachelor pad (pre Mom, I hope)… and they are much too awesome not to post and write about.

So, coming soon, some interesting old-timey type photos we can all enjoy together.

Goodnight.

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portrait of an evening

One night in time.Hey Wednesday.  Nothing much exciting today.

5:00pm – The ranks begin to file out of the sawmill.  I opt to stay back for some later meetings.

6:30pm – Home at last.  Quick dinner of leftovers (don’t knock leftovers, I encourage Sharaun to take this simple and economical approach to dinner whenever possible, and I actually feel fiscally responsible eating food for more than just a single meal).

7:00pm – Sharaun leaves for her volleyball game.  I’m completely beat from a rough day at work and I’ve laid down on the couch after our meal (not typically at all for me).  Since I have Keaton now, I do some “cheat” parenting and put on a Backyardigans and she sat with me on the couch to watch.

8:00pm – I get dressed for the gym.  I have designs to head out the door the minute Sharaun gets back home.

8:15pm – We begin the bedtime ritual: Brush teeth; pre-sleep potty; get into that nighttime diaper (still haven’t been able to shake that thing); read a book, say a prayer, sing a song, and part ways with a kiss.

8:30pm – Sharaun’s home, and she meets me in Keaton’s room as I’m wrapping up.  I’m off to the gym.

9:45pm – Home from the gym after an hour on the machines.  Feel good, and consider trying to write a blog entry.  Nothing comes easy… so I decide to get some e-mail done instead.  For some reason, my thoughts on what e-mail I need to draft and/or reply to really crystallize nicely after an hour on an elliptical.

11:45pm – Done with e-mail and doing some small PowerPoint work, also chatted for a while with some of the Shanghai team for good measure.  Wonder again if I have a blog in me, but again nothing comes easy.  Start thinking about what I did today, mining for blog-fodder.

11:46pm – This blog is born, 11:50pm – written, and 12:00am-  delivered.

Goodnight.

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still fighting the writing

Prodigous.Happy new week, internet peoples.  I had a splendid weekend.  Sorry most of these paragraphs are pretty standalone… I’m still fighting the writing a bit, so I didn’t really craft anything to well-flowing.

Saturday was 80° and sunny and we all took a walk down to a big public event in the city.  A long walk in the bright sunshine was just what the doctor ordered to get me in the Springtime mood.  Later that day I finished hooking up the new backyard speakers.  You don’t know how long I’ve wanted a decent, permanent set of speakers out back… it may sound small but it’s been something I’ve had on the to-do list for years now.  Grilled some burgers that night and enjoyed them for the first time.

Sunday around 5pm Sharaun said she was headed out to “pick up something” for dinner.  Lately though, I’ve been encouraging her to instead review our vast stores and make something from stuff we already have.  I’ve always thought that we keep a bit too much food on-hand and likely even end up double-purchasing things before our previous reserves are expended.  So, instead, I went through the cupboard, fridge and freezer and suggested chicken breasts with saffron rice and steamed broccoli.  After poking around, I figure, should zombies flood the streets tonight, we could likely survive off our holdings for a month or more.  Seriously, we have that much.

Ages ago, I set the DVR to record Disney movies when they’re played.  This morning I noticed that Mulan was in the list of recordings so I decided to have an impromptu “movie night” with Sharaun and Keaton.  Keaton’s really come to love movie nights.  I always try and do something special.  We dim the lights, I’ll make popcorn or some other snack and bring it to the girls.  Tonight I brought a candle out to the coffee table and we roasted marshmallows on skewers for S’Mores.  Funny thing roasting marshmallows over a candle on the coffee table, but Keaton loved it.  (Mulan was pretty good too, I’d never seen it.)  Another successful movie night.

OK before I go, I’ll relay a quick one from today.

We drove separate to church this morning because Sharaun had a meeting afterward.  I took Keaton home, made us both lunch, played with her in the tent, and got her down for her nap.  After her lunch, Keaton hopped down and informed me  that she had to go potty.  Still finishing my leftovers I wished her well and told her to holler if she needed help.  A few minutes later, a clarion call from the water closet: “Daddy!!  I need help.  I went poo-poo with pee-pee.”  This is my cue to come in and do the, ahem, Daddy part of a Keaton doo-doo.

When I get into the bathroom, she’s still sitting on the pot, legs spread wide, and her head bent down almost to her knees.  She’s staring down into the toilet bowl through her legs and, her voice muted and ringing against the porcelain, she says, “Hey Dad, look at this five-dollar footlong I made!”  She looked up with a cheeky grin just in time to see me chuckle.

I didn’t even teach her that.  (If you must know, she learned it from our friend Natalie in Florida.  Bravo on the turn of phrase there, Nat.)  That is so my girl, though.

Goodnight folks.

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more than worth it

My thoughts, bud.So yeah… long time no talk.

Sorry about that.  I guess things were busy last week; or, maybe I wasn’t in the mood; or, maybe nothing happened; maybe a mixed bag of reasons.  I mean, I’ve known for a while know the once-a-day thing has been broken.  I took down the calendar I used to display on the sidebar because it looked like a mouth full of rotted teeth, spotty writing here and there represented by a hyperlinked day.  Don’t think me down and out, just go back and read something old… or something else altogether.  I promise I’ll be here for a while to come.  So, let’s write for today.

The sun has been out lately, and, somewhat unbelievably, although we’re in January I note whiffs of warmer weather on the air. To be fair, a California January really isn’t all that cold to begin with, but I actually spent all Saturday outside at a large wake and the weather couldn’t have been better.

Lately I’ve really been considering getting a lawn service. Just basic stuff: mowing, fertilizing and some general landscaping and upkeep.  I know, I can hardly believe I just wrote that.

Honestly, I’m split right down the middle on this. One part of me can hardly believe I’m seriously considering it. I guess because I often enjoy doing the work myself, and have had many a good morning working outside in the dirt. Add to that the fact that the work is not hard, and on the effort vs. reward line plot it’s got a great return on investment. Not to mention the fact that I feel totally bourgeois for even weighing the option, and wince at the imagined barbs my DIY friends would inevitably throw my way.

But, there’s a whole other part of me that feels like I’ve earned the money to buy back my time. And, if I had someone do the “little stuff,” the monotony, I could perhaps focus on the more fun bits of the activity: gardening, tending flowers, etc. (Oh, and yes, I trend more and more towards “old man” every day of my life lately.. “tending flowers”… sheesh.) Anyway, I really am thinking about paying someone to take care of my yard… even though it makes me feel just a little too participatory in our undocumented American caste system… I’ll let ya know.

Switching gears, I want to get all for-real up in your junk.

This weekend I went to the second funeral I’ve ever been to. I suppose you may think that odd, if you’ve been to a great many. Most those of age with me have, and do. I’ve just never had the opportunity; it wasn’t something I really regretted… was sort of glad actually. Not that people in and around my life haven’t left this orb, or that I just don’t “do” funerals, it’s just worked out that way.

The first funeral I ever attended was likely one of the saddest I’ll ever attend, and my heart still breaks for my friends every time I recall it. The service this weekend, however, a three hour roadtrip south of here, was a superb mixture of appropriate sadness, grief, and celebration of a life. Now, I might state that I’d never actually met the deceased, but rather know his son and went to show my support. After leaving that day, though, I felt like I really got a feel for the man’s character. What’s more, I gained a lot of appreciation for my buddy’s character, and a good glimpse at the genesis and catalyst behind who he is today.

Over the past year or so, loss has touched my circle of friends moreso than I can ever recall. I suppose this comes with getting older, and that the last thing I should count on as time marches is a slackening of that inevitable pace. It’s sobering, the thought that as we go on those who’ve already been where we are now are just arriving at that last platform. That the pain of loss has impacted those I love so frequently lately only makes me take note of how Sharaun and I have been spared this so long. My friends are losing parents, those pillars of their lives… I think you can see where I’m going.

Now, no sense fretting, no sense cowering, I’m just ruminating on the circle of it all a bit I suppose

Goodnight y’all… until the next time.

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heralding the end

A merry Christmas for me!Christmas is winding down here at our house.

Heralding the end: My folks took off Sunday for home, and Sharaun and I are beginning to get the house back together.  The tree and various bits of house-decoration will go back in boxes tomorrow and be put up in the shelves of the garage for another year.  It’s always a little sad when the holidays end… the return to work and the loss of all the “feel good” stuff that comes along with the season.  But, all’s well that ends well, I suppose.

And as far as things going well, Chrismas in fact did just that.  Keaton, particularly, made out like a bandit, garnering a generous amount of gifts from Santa and family alike.  Her favorites, ranked in order of how much playtime recieved since finding or unwrapping them beneath the tree, would go something like this: 1) Pop-up play tent/barn thing; 2) Fully functional salon chair and styling implements for her many babydolls; 3) Play computer with real monitor, keyboard, and mouse; 4) Her new rollerboard suitcase/backpack; 5) Play cash register with fake money.  She got a lot more, mostly clothes and various toys – and we’re working to get it all into her “play room” now that Grammy & Grandpa have vacated it as the “guest room.”

In other news, it’s almost 2009 and that means I need to get busy posting my “best of 2008” music review list.  No worries, it’s nearly done, just putting the finishing touches on the formatting and doing a couple democratic listen-off contests to make my final decisions on what lands where.  Oh, and in between that I’ve been completely sonically preoccupied with the new Animal Collective album, Merriweather Post Pavilion, which leaked on Christmas day.  And, more about that album this week too… for sure.

For now though… I’m outta here.  Hope you all had a great Christmas, and I’ll try to resume a respectable posting schedule as I ease back into the routine here this week.

Goodnight.

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just me, huh?

And, a week later...

Thursday night: Comes before Friday; comes before the weekend; comes after too much week beforehand more often than not.

Finally got our Christmas tree done tonight; no more boxes littering the living room, no more half-strung lights, no more furniture where it shouldn’t be.  I actually managed to put back in the garage most of the stuff I took down out of the garage last weekend, which leaves the place looking  semi put-together, as far as Christmas spirit goes.  Keaton helped with the ornaments, and actually did a great job… check the tree there to the right there.

I’m getting really excited now for a “family” Christmas and, with my folks coming into town next weekend, it’s not too far off now.  It’s hard for me to believe that another year has gone by… and we’re still here, happily hoeing our row.  Well, maybe when it comes to the row-hoeing, my mind drifts a bit more lately… but I suppose that’s something normal.  Right?  I mean… you guys sometimes think about dropping everything you know to go run a diner on 66 somewhere, right?  No?  Just me, huh?

Lastly, I upgraded to WordPress v2.7 today – and really like the new backend.  So far I haven’t noticed anything broken on the frontend, where you’d see it – but do let me know if you find something amiss with your sounds familiar experience.

Goodnight.