Ch-ch-ch-changes

I'm going to try to decribe briefly the changes that have been happening in the past month or so.

Michael and I are no longer together. It's a really long story and I don't want to bore you with all the details and I feel a sense of obligation to protect Michael's privacy, so I'll just condense it. Keep in mind that this is my perspective and that he is likely to disagree with me on what really happened. From my point of view, Michael was upset that he couldn't get his way about something in our relationship so he threw a fit, tried to convince me that it was about something other than his desire to be in control, involved an innocent third party who wanted no part of it and tried to complicate my life in retaliation. I really feel that he betrayed me in the worst way and, in the process, guaranteed that I could never again have him in my life in any capacity. Anyway, his little stunt backfired and I have managed to stabilize the drama with the third party and remove Michael from the loop. She is free to continue her friendship with Michael, of course, but she has promised not to let him pump her for information.

I was very upset for a few days but my serenity returned more quickly than I could have anticipated. In fact, I had to wonder why it didn't hurt as long or as intensely as I should. Truthfully, the episode highlighted some things about his character that I had known on some level for a long time. For example, at different stages of our relationship, I found that he had lied to me about his age, his job, his education, his heritage and his economic background. To his credit, he came clean voluntarily about all these things, which couldn't have been easy. However, the fact that he felt he needed to lie about these things to begin with, none of which I would have cared about, shows that he lacked the scruples I wanted to believe he had. The moment I found out about the first lie and I chose to continue, I was no longer being true to myself, and for that I have nobody to blame but myself. I think this is why I found myself feeling liberated when it was over.

I know that my earlier posts portrayed a much rosier picture of our relationship. This is because a) I wanted to believe that things were good and b) you just don't broadcast your partner's faults to the world when you are trying to preserve and fortify your relationship. Even my closest friends didn't know about the pattern of lies until after the break-up. Perhaps if I had been more forthcoming, they would have encouraged me to move on much earlier.

The rest is almost all good news. I adopted a new cat named Gus. He's beautiful and wonderful. He and Sugarfoot are now partners in crime. I couldn't have asked for a smoother transition for Gus into his new home. He is happy and we (my roommate, the other animals and me) are all happy to have him.

I had my colonoscopy, upper endoscopy and two biopsies and the news is mixed. The good news is that there is no sign of infection or abnormal growth. The bad news is I have erosive esophagitis (no surprise there), a sliding hiatal hernia and what they are calling a non-specific ulcerative proctitis. Translation: they don't know what's causing it, but they know what's not causing it. The gastroenterologist is operating under the assumption that it's acute and will go away with medication and better diet. It hasn't so far. I have a follow-up appointment next week so we'll go from there.

I was passed over for the supervisor position. This is actually a good thing because now that I've had a taste of what it entails, I want nothing to do with it. The really good news is they have made an offer to a candidate who has accepted and will start in about two weeks. I know who it is and they are a good choice. I look forward to passing some of these duties back onto someone better equipped to handle them.

I started my first class for my Masters program this week. I have been reading like a maniac, not just for the daunting deadlines, but because I'm really interested in the material. Soon I will arrange my accomodations and transportation for the required week-long residency in Tucson. I'm really eager to tackle the material and get everything I can out of this course.

That's it for now. More soon.

Long overdue blogging

Okay, okay, it has been over a month since I last blogged. So much has been going on I hardly know where to start.

First and most importantly, I have been accepted to U of A's School of Information Resources and Library Science. I will begin work on my Master's degree next month. It's a distance program, so I can continue living and working in the Phoenix area. In July I will go to Tucson for a seven-day intensive, but beyond that, I never have to physically return to complete my degree.

My boss' last day was last Friday. For the near future, I will handle all the duties related to supervision and coordination of student workers. They have reclassified her position to Library Supervisor Sr. but, remarkably, I can still make a case that I meet the minimum qualifications. I intend to apply for the position. This would be a significant increase in my salary, but it's still a long shot. I will hope for the best but I won't be too heart-broken if I don't get it.

The paleunderweight podcast is, obviously, done. I felt that I had covered the territory very thoroughly and it was just getting old. I would still love to start podcasting again, but I think I would like it to be a collaborative effort. I know someone on campus that has similar taste in music to mine and podcasting experience, so I might ask him if he would like to collaborate.

I would like to start writing recommendations again soon. There have been a handful of releases this year that I have thoroughly enjoyed. I just have to muster the motiviation to blog more often.

Pooh is still hanging in there. He has even gained weight since his diagnosis. The threat doesn't seem so immediate anymore, though Michael and I both know it is there. We are looking at this as a blessing. Pooh has been given more time in which he can still enjoy life.

I have been having digestive problems for quite a while now, which I had always blamed on poor diet and sedentary lifestyle. In recent months, however, I have improved my diet considerably, started drinking large quantities of water and started working out almost daily. This has not had the positive effect on my digestion I had been hoping for. My doctor prescribed some medications that have not helped either. We are now operating under the theory that I might have a constriction or obstruction somewhere. I have an appointment with a gastroenterologist Friday. Hopefully he will come up with a better theory or schedule me for tests that will confirm or rule out the current one. The best outcome I can hope for is a simple, painless, inexpensive, permanent solution. However, if surgery is necessary, I can accept it if it will improve my quality of life. Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. First things first, as they say.

Bedtime soon. Time for my herbal tea. I will blog again much sooner this time, I swear.

Some good news

Friday morning I finally took my GRE. Long story short, I kicked ass. 680 verbal, 780 quantitative. The analytical writing section isn't graded at the time of the exam; I have to wait two or three weeks for the results. I think I did pretty well on the first essay, but I nailed the second one. Without revealing too much about the contents of the exam, I'll just say that I've taken classes that pertained directly to the subject matter of the essay, which gave me a great deal of confidence.

I checked my e-mail when I got home and I was notified that I had been selected to serve on a search committee for a vacant job in the ASU libraries. I've been eager for an opportunity like this, not just because it's the kind of experience that will help me get a supervisory position in the future, but also because I want to participate in the hiring process.

Strangely, the news I am most excited about is the joint Costco membership that Michael and I bought. If you are unfamiliar with Costco, it's a lot like Sam's Club, except Costco won't use the money you spend there to eradicate tolerance and clone Hitler. I've already shopped there three times in the last week. I purchased season seven of Buffy the Vampire Slayer for $17, a 300GB external hard drive for $140 and two pairs of lounging pants for $8 each, along with about $90 in grocieries. Considering that I bought about three weeks of food, it's a fantastic deal. The fridge is bursting at the seams and I am eating raisins by the handful. I'm not really into shopping per se, but I find myself daydreaming about shopping there nonetheless.

That's all for now. I will post more soon about applying to grad school.

Resolutions

No, I haven't fallen off the edge of the Earth. I've just been in that perfect intermediate state between busy and lazy, such that I haven't mustered the time or energy to blog.

My GRE plans are still on track, thanks in large part to a good friend that repaid me a significant chunk of money that I had lent her a couple years ago. Consequently, I was able to pay a couple of bills early and create room in my budget to pay the $130 for the exam fee out of my next check.

Classes start again on Tuesday. I was able to acquire all but one book. The campus bookstore never had it sent from the East campus, despite the request I made over a month ago. So now I have to contact the East campus bookstore myself and I expect it will take about a week to get it. In the meantime, I have found that the previous edition is available electronically and at very low cost from a vendor endorsed by the university. I hope this will suffice until I can get the correct edition.

Supervisory Academy has been postponed indefinitely while the course is revamped. I have been assured that there will be a Spring session but it has not been scheduled yet. I hope so, as any significant delay will hurt my chances of getting hired for a supervisory position.

Michael completed the Walt Disney World Marathon last week. Needless to say, I am extremely proud of him. I know that it took a tremendous amount of resolve to train for and complete this marathon. I find his determination to accomplish his goals incredibly attractive.

I am finished selecting the remaining albums of 2006 that I will recommend. I am going to try to finish the recommendations in the next few days and record the next podcast next week.

Though I'm not usually the kind of person that makes New Year's resolutions, I have been trying, with great success, to make some changes in my life in the interest of improving my health. This is largely the result of having calculated, much to my terror, my BMI. For the first time in my life, I am borderline obese. Among the changes are much more water, much less caffeine, no red meat, fresh fruit every day, breakfast daily and drastically reduced sweets. For the last two weeks, my typical day generally includes about three or four liters of water, a bowl of cereal with skim milk and blueberries, a turkey or tuna sandwich, sushi (non-authentic), an apple or two and two or three cups of fat-free yoghurt. When I get home from work, I am usually not hungry enough to eat a full dinner but I snack on fresh fruit throughout the afternoon and evening. My fridge is stocked with apples, oranges, clementines, apricots, peaches, cherries and whatever else I'm in the mood for.

This has led me to the hypothesis that I may be lactose intolerant. I always thought I had digestive discomfort because my diet was terrible. It turns out that I am still experiencing discomfort but only after having cheese or milk, as far as I can tell. This week I am switching from skim to soy milk and refraining from cheese. Yoghurt, I think, is still okay because of the acidophilus. If I start feeling better, I will likely make it a permanent change.

Last week I read an article about the strategies used by those who have successfully lost a significant amount of weight and kept it off. It appears that my plans already include most of these strategies, which gives me hope for success. The last part of the equation, of course, is exercise. Historically, I have not been very good at sticking to exercise. However, a coworker directed my attention to a website that has an easy plan for beginners. It starts out with walking and builds up to running. I hope to start it soon. I know I can handle the walking; I already walk almost everywhere as it is, and quickly, too. Hopefully, I won't have too hard of a time transitioning to running.

That's all I can think of for now. I will start posting a lot more, I promise. Keep an eye out for more recommendations over the next few days.

Personal update

A lot has happened in the last couple of weeks.

Christmas was very nice. Michael and I spent the weekend with our friends in Tucson again. He got me the Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man DVD (in exchange for which I agreed never to make him watch it) and a book collecting all of the artwork from the complete output of Factory Records, i.e., albums, singles, promotional materials, etc. I gave him a DVD player (to replace the one that died a few months ago) and two seasons of Will & Grace. I also bought a copy of Vellum for a friend and one for myself, finally. I kept getting it through interlibrary loan and running out of time before I had finished reading it.

I have registered for three online classes, two about music and one on reflective writing, for the Spring semester. The latter will count toward the Journalism/Mass Communication degree and the first two are for my personal fulfillment. I plan to pay my tuition tonight - a whopping sum of $68. Needless to say, I love my employee tuition waiver.

Additionally, I am taking a class called Supervisory Academy for work. This will count as a full year of supervisory experience when I apply for the Library Supervisor position that will open up after my boss finishes her M.A. and departs for greener pastures.

I'm also planning to take my GRE (finally) before February 1st. I keep procrastinating and missing deadlines. The absolutely final day I can apply for U of A's MLS program for the summer is April 1st. This will give me time to receive my GRE results, write my C.V. and letter of intention and gather up two letters of recommendation. I think four months to prepare my application is a realistic goal.

I am way behind on my end-of-the-year project, so it's unlikely that I will get caught up by Monday. However, I am going to see it through until the bitter end, hopefully sometime in January. The podcast will reappear shortly thereafter.

Finally, here is a photo of the first two grilled cheese sandwiches I ever made, strangely enough. I took the photo in the midst of eating them. I didn't burn down the kitchen, to my roommate's relief, though he did derive some amusement from my clumsy efforts. They did taste good, though.

Sick on Halloween

This morning, I started getting the sniffles at work. This turned into a full-on sinus attack in no time at all. I purchased some Day-Quil at the MU but now that you can't get anything with pseudophedrine without a passport and a note from mum, all I could get was the new, "improved" formula. A full dose of phenylephrine seems to work for about half an hour, so it hardly seems worth the effort of swallowing. I had to leave early because I just couldn't take it anymore.

After downloading an obscene amount of music from Emusic (using ludicrously cheap booster packs) I fell asleep watching an episode of Nova about supermassive black holes. I was awakened by my roommate ringing the doorbell at almost 10 - he had forgotten his keys when he left this morning.

I am now listening to Miho Hatori's new album, Ecdysis. The decongestant is wearing off. I was going to stay up and watch Futurama on Adult Swim, but it comes on an hour later because I live in the one state that doesn't observe daylight savings time. Maybe I should just go to bed.

Whether I go to work tomorrow is still up in the air. If I call in, I can listen to music in bed all day. Good music is good for the immune system, I think. Maybe lots of rest, vitamin C and Frida Hyvönen are what I need. I'll play it by ear though.

Eyeball blogging

My eye doesn't seem to be much better today. Yesterday, my doctor still maintained that the inflammation is being caused by allergies. He gave me two more prescriptions. It still remains to be seen whether they will help.

Work tofay was an interesting challenge. I only wore a contact lens in my right eye because I need to be able to see my computer screen. It was somewhat disorienting at first, but I adjusted fairly quickly to having lopsided vision. Nonetheless, I started getting a headache towards the end of the day.

I just listened to old podcasts today. No albums. I'm going to do something 2006-in-review-ish soon but I haven't decided what. I think it will involve highlighting my favorite albums of the year, but no countdown.

Sick

Today I muddled through my workday hopped up on goofballs of the cold medicine variety. I was just slightly goofier than usual.

Today three half-time staff positions were finally filled. It's going to be nice working in a fully staffed office for the first time in over a year. Another great thing is that all three went to amazing student workers. It's reassuring that the jobs were offered to highly qualified people with whom we already know we can work. I can't wait to start training the woman chosen to fill my old job! It's been very distracting switching back and forth between lending and borrowing. Now I'll be able to focus on learning the supervisory aspects of my job.

I have crammed the following into my temporal lobes today:

1. The Rapture: Pieces of the People We Love
2. Yo La Tengo: I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
3. Pixies: Trompe le Monde
4. Stuart A. Staples: Leaving Songs

A post while winding down before bed

I'm up way past my bedtime. I'm waiting for my allergy pills to kick in. My herbal tea - a combo of Celestial Seasonings' Tangerine Orange Zinger and Country Peach Passion - is steeping. I'm listening to the new Junior Boys album, So This Is Goodbye, on my iPod. I reckon I can put off going to bed just long enough to post about some recent events in my life.

I started my new job on the 16th. I am loving it, as I was sure I would. I felt outside of my comfort zone at first, as I am receiving very little direction compared to my previous position. However, I am adapting to my new routine and learning quickly. I'm also using my previous experience on the borrowing side of interlibrary loan to streamline the lending process, much to the delight of my new boss. It helps that the student workers in my department are amazing - the oldtimers are very knowledgeable and dependable and even the new arrivals are eager to help. They are really helping me get through this transition period.

I greeted my 29th birthday last week with a mixture of disbelief and trepidation. I know it sounds silly complaining about my youth slipping through my fingers when I'm still in my 20's, but my anxiety stems from the gradual realization that I can't use my age as an excuse for irresponsibility anymore. I still have areas that need a lot of work, money and housekeeping being the most pressing issues. Despite any lingering problems, however, I feel good about what I accomplished while I was 28. I completed my bachelor's degree. I landed a job that requires a B.A. and that will boost my career prospects. I met Michael. I adopted Sugarfoot. While I didn't cross everything off my list, I still achieved some major goals and laid the groundwork for the coming year.

Since Michael's move was scheduled for this weekend, we celebrated my birthday last weekend. He took me out to dinner and got me Season 8 of The Simpsons on DVD. More than anything else, though, I was glad to celebrate my birthday with the man I love.

I bought my new computer on Thursday and immediately got to work on customizing it for my needs. I spent several hours that night uninstalling all the free trial software and assorted crap that weighed the computer down and slowed its startup. Then I started downloading, installing and tranferring licenses for software that I had on the previous computer. Finally I had to back-up all of my music on the hard drive in case iTunes decided to disallow use of my iPod on the new computer. I lost a few tracks in the process but I was able to replace all but three - all from Wasps' Nests by The 6ths - on iTunes or Emusic. Hoodlums may still have the used copy I sold them last year. If not, I can buy it cheap from an Amazon Marketplace seller.

Michael and I spent most of the weekend working on his move. He hired movers to do all the moving but we unpacked. To be fair, Michael did most of the unpacking, but he didn't ask me to do much. I was mostly an extra set of hands for unpacking large things and a catsitter. We were both surprised that it went as smoothly as it did. Nonetheless, it was very exhausting for both of us and incredibly stressful for Michael. He handled it well, though, and avoided taking it out on me. Not that he's the type to do that, but some of my experiences helping boyfriends move haven't been very pleasant. Michael's graceful handling of the move further reinforced his superiority over others I have dated.

That's all for now. Goodnight.

R.I.P., my computer

Some time yesterday my computer died. Surprisingly even to myself, I'm not freaking out. Intuitively, I feel that this is a blessing and an opportunity. I will start my full-time job next week so I should soon have the means to buy a new computer that will better suit my needs.

The podcast is on indefinite hiatus until I buy a new one computer or, barring that, get the current one repaired. I will still blog regularly when I am on campus and from Michael's place. I am not going to list everything I listen to, since I can't podcast. I will probably write music-related posts periodically though.

The biggest bummer is that I cannot acquire any music. Well, I could, but I only listen to music on my iPod and I currently have no way to transfer new music to it. That, more than any other factor, makes acquiring a new computer a major priority.

Good news

Today I was offered the Library Specialist position in my department. This is the job I wanted most so there was much rejoicing when I received the call.

I am on day two of a diet of my own creation that will hopefully put a halt to the uncontrolled weight gain I have experienced over the past four years (155 to 218 lbs., as of my last doctor's appointment). If I'm faithful to this plan, maybe I will begin losing some of the weight.

I devised this diet from the NutritionData website. I am paying special attention to getting enough fiber, calcium, iron and protein - things that dieters often don't get enough of. I am also attentive to the complementarity of amino acids. My daily intake (for the moment) consists of a Green Delicious apple, 100g of swiss cheese, one can of tuna, one bunch of raw broccoli, one bunch of raw spinach, about one teaspoon of lemon juice, four slices of whole grain bread, eight slices of lean oven-roasted turkey breast and lots of water. This is more than complete in most nutritional areas and low in calories, fat and cholesterol. The only drawback is that the sodium is a little high, but still much lower than how I usually eat. If I get bored with this menu, I can change it whenever I wish, provided I research the nutrition first.

Today I have been listening to the original Broadway cast recordings of Rent and Avenue Q (how stereotypical!), neither of which I intend to include in this week's podcast. I am also listening to a random playlist of music from the previous two weeks to assist me in track selection.

That's all for now.

GRE postponed

I am postponing my GRE and hence my application to U of A.

I was prepared to pay for the exam yesterday, but I hesitated. I went home and thought about it. I was thinking about paying for it today, but I was still reluctant. I finally decided that it just didn't feel like the right time yet. I only knew the exact application deadline about a month ago. I have been rushing to prepare and just not giving myself enough time. Right now I could afford the exam and application fees, but it would require me to scrimp on necessities for perhaps the next month. I think if I wait until I am working full-time, I will more easily afford it and I will have a fuller C.V. to submit with my application.

Today's listening:

1. O Yuki Conjugate: The Euphoria of Disobedience
2. The Knife: Silent Shout
3. Sean Hayes: Big Black Hole and the Little Baby Star
4. Mew: And the Glass Handed Kites
5. Blackout Beach: Light Flows From the Putrid Dawn
6. Dirty on Purpose: Hallelujah Sirens

Update

Since my iPod's miraculous recovery, I have been listening to lots of Leonard Cohen. All of his studio albums from Songs of Leonard Cohen to Various Positions in order of release, to be precise. Since I am probably going to drag Michael over to Scottsdale to see Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man at Harkins Camelview on our 10th mensiversary next week, and he's never actually heard Leonard Cohen, I'm going to make a CD of my favorite LC tracks to prepare Michael for what he's in for.

Additionally, I have been listening to the Pitchfork Infinite Mixtape Series. I highly recommend it, and not just because it includes several tracks that were included in my podcast. It also seems to prove that everything goes better with Antony Hegarty. The world would be a better place if Antony were the lead singer for every band on the planet. It would probably be exhausting for him, though.

I had two interviews this week: one for the four positions at the Downtown campus and one for the specialist position in my department. Both interviews seemed to go very well. I should get answers from both search committees in the next two weeks.

Meanwhile, I will pay for and schedule my GRE on Monday. I still have to practice the analytical writing section, but I think I will do alright. I've decided I'm not going to worry too much about getting the highest score possible. In the end, all I can do is relax and do my best and the score will reflect my abilities accurately. The program I want to get into considers everything, including GRE score, GPA and professional experience. I think I have a very good chance of getting accepted.

Slow day

It's an almost unbearably slow day in the office. I have about an hour and a half left and I am bored to death.

I am going to take my GRE in about two weeks. I plan to study a bit each day until then, including writing essays from the sample topics at the GRE website. On two practice tests (quantitative and verbal only) I scored 1330 and 1360. My goal is at least 1450 combined verbal and quantitative and 5-6 on each of the two analytical essays.

I recently became concerned that my iPod was running out of space for music. I realized that many tracks that I had downloaded from Emusic and Bleep were encoded at a sampling rate of more than 200 kbps. I realized that if I could transfer files back to my hard drive, I could convert them into 128 kbps AAC files without a significant decline in sound quality. I had to find software that had the capability of transferring files from iPod to hard drive - iTunes had lost this function with version 4.7. I found and tested ephPod and it worked. Last night I reduced about half a GB by about 140 MB - roughly 28%. I hope that this process will free up at least 3 GB.

I have now successfully killed a few minutes, so I will get back to work.

Catching up

I have been woefully remiss in my posting lately. Would you believe my dog ate my posts? No? How about... I haven't posted because of national security concerns? Er, um... terrorists! Yes, that's it - if I don't get lazy about posting periodically, the terrorists win!

You're not buying any of this, are you?

Ok, the truth is I've been tired and lazy. I promised the next installment of Albums That Loved Me Back several weeks ago - that is still forthcoming, I assure you. I also promised a few words about Richard Butler's new album. Short version: I love it, it's better than any of his work with Psychedelic Furs or Love Spit Love, it's a sonic mosaic, yadda yadda yadda. Buy it.

It's not that I haven't gotten anything done recently. I applied for five full-time positions in the ASU libraries last week. The one I really, really want is a specialist position in my current department which I am thoroughly qualified for, but I have to compete with two other colleagues that are similarly qualified. Four others are at the soon-to-open downtown campus library. I will also be happy if I get one of these.

I am planning to take my GRE in early August so I can apply for U of A's MLS program before their September deadline. Wish me luck!

I finished the six-day course of Medrol my doctor prescribed for my headaches but I am still experiencing side effects - I sleep fitfully and I am always hungry! It's frustrating, but it will pass. I'm still taking the Skelaxin when needed, which isn't as often as it was last week. I managed to go without it all day Saturday, but I started getting a mild headache again yesterday, so I started taking it again.

Last night I didn't sleep very well at all. I was so tired at work this morning that I forgot to put the caraffe under the coffee maker while it was brewing. I didn't notice until it had made a horrible mess. Oh well, I am prone to that sort of thing even when I am perfectly well-rested.

Thom Yorke's solo album is out tomorrow! I am drooling in anticipation. Whee!

I have decided not to put the podcast on hiatus quite yet. I still have more to give, so why not? I enjoy doing it. I might take weeks off more frequently though. I guess I'll play it by ear.

Here's what I have been listening to today:

1. Todosantos: Aeropuerto
2. Shearwater: Palo Santo
3. Booka Shade: Movements
4. The Tango Saloon: The Tango Saloon
5. Stuart A. Staples: Leaving Songs
6. James Figurine: Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake
7. Karl Blau: Beneath Waves
8. The Twilight Singers: Powder Burns

Happy 4th

Lots to report on since I posted last.

I quit my job at the cafe this past Friday. The work was much more physically strenuous than I had anticipated. In fact, it was probably the cause of the muscle and nerve problem that resulted in my missing three days of work at my primary job. At least I was able to collect a small paycheck from the cafe, which provided a much-needed financial jumpstart.

The medications seem to be helping. I still have small headaches periodically thoughout the day, but nothing nearly as severe as it was last week. Hopefully the meds will work and I will be completely pain-free soon.

On the job front, several new full-time jobs have opened up at ASU for which I plan to apply. There are a few positions for the Downtown Campus library, but the one I really want is the library specialist position that just opened in my own department. The deadline for resumes is this Friday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Michael surprised me yesterday afternoon with a mensiversary dinner, two days early. He spent hours cooking and setting up his dining room. I was stunned by how elegant the dinner was. He served spinach salad, salmon, curried rice and green beans. Nobody else has ever surprised me like that - Michael has now done it twice. I guess he's a keeper!

After dinner, Michael got me hooked on Google Earth. This is an amazing piece of software. I am amazed that it's still free! Here's some images I captured this afternoon:

Here's what I've been listening to since Monday:

1. Grandaddy: Concrete Dunes
2. Radiohead: The Bends
3. Saturday Looks Good to Me: Every Night
4. Phoenix: It's Never Been Like That

Catch-up

As of today, I officially became the new secretary of the Library Staff Association at ASU. I have also volunteered to be the LSA blogger. I have set up a new blog hosted by ASU, which I hope to update regularly.

Here's is what I've been listening to:

1. Guided by Voices: Half Smiles of the Decomposed
2. V/A: A Misra Sampler
3. Boards of Canada: Geogaddi
4. Iggy Pop: Lust for Life

Pale underweight podcast to return 4/1

Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day for me. Since March 20th, I have listened to more than 600 tracks - a little over a day and a half worth of music. I have to pick out about fifteen tracks to include in the podcast. Then I have to record the interstitials and integrate the entire thing into a single, (hopefully) seamless audio file. I intend to keep the length the same - just long enough to take up an entire CD-R.

I also have work and temple tomorrow, so the remainder of my free time should be consumed by the podcast. It will be worth it, though, once I unveil the first podcast to feature my voice. Stay tuned.

100th post

This morning I perfected the synergetic use of the snooze button and the whore's bath.

Then I discussed Phil Spector's impending murder trial with a tech guy at work.


"Did you know he pointed a gun at Leonard Cohen while recording Death of a Ladies' Man?" I said.

"He actually fired at Lennon," Kirk replied.

"What could Leonard Cohen have possibly done to piss him off that much? He's a Zen Buddhist!"

Kirk grunted in agreement. I thought about David's hobby of quoting Smiths lyrics. "...and the pain was enough to make a shy, bald Buddhist reflect and plan a mass murder..."

The logical next step was to enjoy the best baklava of my life, courtesy of Andre, and listen to Slowdive's Souvlaki at the same time. So I did. Now I am blogging about whatever pops into my head until my next class. I don't feel like going, but I will because I have to write a short paper on the video that will be shown in class.

Today's aural delights:

1. Neko Case: Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
2. Deerfoof: The Runners Four
3. The Arcade Fire: Funeral
4. Slowdive: Souvlaki
5. Meat Beat Manifesto: 99%
6. My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult: 13 Above the Night

Mutant grape tomato in my salad

With my boss, Roberta, in the background.