Day of Slack

I have today and tomorrow off, and beforehand I made a list of things I wanted to do and/or accomplish. Due to the rain and a general lack of motivation (it's called a day off for a reason!) as of 5:30 pm I have spent this first day in the following ways: planted in front of the televison and this screen; in my big chair reading (and dozing - I only got 5 hours of sleep last night); buying the next 3 Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures books that follow "A King's Trade" and POPGUN #1; downloading a free album by The Sorry Shop; drinking a lot of coffee; and eating some not-so-good Chinese food from a place that shall not be named to spare the "under new management" place any embarrassment.

11:30 pm update: More online time-killing; I cleaned off my art table; I watched my DVR'ed shows ("Around the Horn", "Whitney", "Survivor" and "Happy Endings"); had more coffee; ordered two custom 15 oz coffee mugs from eCustom; and did other miscellaneous Spring Cleaning. The clutter is steadily going away...

Reintegrate

Things I seem to have left on the side of the road since I found my new job back in late October:

• Working out - Sure, I hike when I can, and I average 10,000 steps (roughly 5 miles) each day at work, but I haven't lifted weights or done a single push-up since before Halloween...
• Drawing/Painting - I used to paint and draw constantly with all of my free time. And at the very least I would doodle and sketch at my computer table. I need to dust off my supplies and put them to use.
• Learning Guitar - I bought a Fender acoustic and took lessons for five months back in the winter of '09 (coincidentally right up the road from my job), but have barely touched it since. One of my resolutions is to learn 5 songs relatively well. I need to get that done.

iHappy Part Deux

I came home from work today and my new iPod Nano was under my steps.

I set it up around 10:30 pm and immediately added some songs and albums, including stuff by Katy Perry, Chris Brown, Rihanna, Train and Copeland. I also snagged Sarah Blacker's two albums, "Come What May" and "The Only Way Out Is..." .

I also added Mojave 3 and Vanessa Kafka from my cds.

Let the hands-free hikes begin!

iHappy

I just bought an iPod Nano 6 with 16GB of memory. My old iPod is on its last legs, and I think this new one will be the perfect accompaniment for all of my hikes, vacations, and days down at the lake. Also, I had it engraved with my e-mail address in case it gets lost and is found by a scrupulous person. I should have it by next week, and then I can fill it with music, both new and old!

...oh, and I just snagged Sarah Blacker's "Perfectly Imperfect" EP too, which I added to iTunes, along with Casey Sullivan's "For the Birds" , which I grabbed a few days ago.

Hail-O!

Last night around 1 am there was dime-seized hail falling on my roof and car, and hitting my apartment windows, as lightning and thunder joined in. It was ten minutes of really weird weather, after a torretinal cloudburst!

Random Music Notes

Here are a few music-related items from my life:

• I got the new Cranberries cd "Roses" and it's great! It sounds like their vintage early stuff. I snagged copies for Jay & Erik too, and mailed them off so they can absorb the new songs before we all go to the House of Blues show on May 11th.
• Kristin Cifelli has agreed to play this year's Wyman's Pond Music Fest! I think fans of the missing Vanessa Kafa will enjoy Kristin's voice equally...
• Other WPMF3 news: I'm still waiting for responses (either 'yea' or 'nay') from The Rafters, Barnaby Bright, Whitney Doucet, Winterpills, and Casey Sullivan.
• Last but not least: I just backed Natalie Royal's Kickstarter project. I am not a huge country fan, but she isn't traditional country, more of a folk musician who just happens to reside in the Nashville area.

Headed Off-Continent

I just booked a room at The Nashua House on Martha's Vineyard. I'll be staying overnight in order to enjoy a mini-vacation of walking, local beer, fresh sea air, and sightseeing.

The Winter that Almost Wasn't

We got snow overnight on Leap Day, and all throughout March 1st. The world is white and clean, and it's nice to finally feel like it's winter. However, the rain that is due this coming weekend will put us back on the proper course toward spring, and I for one am most pleased. Mountain Quest 2012 must continue!