lazing around
The cold weather was a fluke - we're back to the 80s here in Central Florida and it's nice. I've, of course, reverted to my standard t-shirt, shorts, and flip-flop wardrobe and am loving it. It's hard for me to believe that we're basically at the end of our vacation - two weeks can really fly by and I'm in no way ready to go back to work. In fact, the bad memories I left with are still fresh enough to put a sour taste in my mouth just with the thought. Ugh, but, back to work I'll go...
Keaton showed her signs of first post-fever roseola rash today, starting off as just a bunch of spotty red prickles mainly on her chest and back. Apparently, they'll get a little more pronounced before fading. She also woke up in a nasty mood, fussy and crying and overly sleepy as well as not wanting to eat - she was also tugging on and rubbing at her ear. Now, ear-tugging/rubbing can either mean teething or an ear infection, and I'm voting for teething and I think I attribute the general crankiness to either the same or the roseola residuals - but we're both hoping she hasn't somehow managed to develop an ear infection on top of her outgoing roseola. When I was a kid I was plagued by ear infections, and she's already had one now... just hoping she doesn't take after her dad in that respect.
Last night our little family spent the night, as we always do when we're in town, with Sharaun's grandmother. I actually love that pre-assigned sleepover every time we have the chance to do it. We usually sit up late talking and playing games: dominoes or Yahtzee or Uno or something, and then wake up early and have breakfast together before lazing around the house until noon or so. This visit was all the more enjoyable as it came on the heels of a day spent motoring around Florida, in the heavy Orlando traffic and back, and as such the "downtime" felt all the more down. Those times, enjoying family and friends, are among the few things which make me wish we did live closer to what I still consider "home." Not that I would now abandon California and pull up stakes - but I do admit I wish Sharaun could be closer to her family. Then again, I wish we were closer to my family as well - so it unfortunately cuts both ways.
As a Christmas gift to a long-time buddy, and fellow music-nut, here in Florida - I spent a lot of time over the past few months ripping every last remaining CD I own, and then doing a massive re-organization and cleanup of my entire digital music library. My goal was to give my buddy a well organized hard drive filled to the brim with every single piece of music I own. And, even though it literally came down to the last few hours on the last day before we headed to Florida a nearly two weeks ago, I was able to get the files sufficiently organized, centralized, and copied over to drives. I stuck them in the pockets of my jeans, folded them, and placed them in my suitcase. Then, when Sharaun and Keaton and I went over to Bob's (that's my buddy) house for dinner (a fine southern meal), I gifted him with them. The next day I had a message on my voicemail from Bob, sounding more giddy than I think I've ever heard him, saying things like, "Dave, this shit is amazing... where on Earth did you get The Crazy World of Arthur Brown?! I used to have this in vinyl..." Make a body feel good.
Although, I will admit that there were a couple not-entirely-selfless motivations in play here: 1) to have an off-site, remote backup of my music, and 2) to receive those "why isn't so-and-so's album 'whatever' on here?" for new music leads. Either way, it was a good exercise for me in that it helped me get my collection uber-organized, and since it got Bob smiling it was all the more worth it.
I likely won't post Monday as we'll be in the air and technically it's a holiday, so look for me again on Tuesday - back in the C-to-the-A and back at work chained to my cubicle. Until then, I love your shapes.
otters, herons, and fishies
Cold winds bloweth, spake the weatherman, and thus it was so.
Last night we had a fire here at casa-de-inlaw, and I even donned my longpants and Christmas-new shoes to fight back the chill. Now, I'm not talking igloos and icicles, but it's definitely a change from the impossibly neutral warm temperatures we had for the first part of our visit. I believe that the same humidity which makes the heat so much more oppressive here also makes the cold feel a lot colder. It's nice though, actually, as I didn't end up packing the khakis and jeans and thin sweaters for naught, and Keaton can get into a whole other alternate wardrobe of cute for showing off. Not only Keaton, as Christmas giving found me the new owner of a new haute couture sportcoat/blazer thing (pinstripes and all). I haven't got to wear it quite yet, but am looking forward to it once we get back to the lower temps of Northern California.
Been a whirlwind couple of days here on the vacation tour. Orlando and back, several hours in the car, and crammed-in visits here, there, and everywhere. As is standard fare for the last few days of our jaunts here, we've once again booked up a busy schedule before our early morning Monday departure. We did, although, have some time today to sit outside and enjoy the weather at a natural springs north of Orlando. I took Keaton down her first playground slide, and she got to see otters and herons and fishies. Speaking of Keaton, she's recovered nicely from whatever she had, but we still haven't seen the telltale rash/breakout that's associated with roseola - so who knows if that's what it was or not. I'm just happy her fevers have passed and she's feeling better again.
Thanks for all the comments lately friends - makes it easier to keep writing. Until tomorrow, take care.
roseola
Well, a restful and easy Christmas day was followed up with a fitful and restless Christmas night. Keaton was up and down with her fever, which peaked at 103.5° F around 1:30am. I called our on-call pediatrician who suggested we give her some Tylenol, but we'd already exhausted what we'd brought with us and not much is open at 1:30am (especially on the day that had just so recently been Christmas). Poor babygirl didn't want to sleep unless she was being held, so I ended up trying to catch my Z's as she slept with her sweaty little head in the crook of my arm. The doc also recommended we take her in for a checkout first thing next day. Being thousands of miles from home, that would be a little difficult, and our options were limited. Luckily, Sharaun's mom works at a pediatrics office here and was able to sneak us in. The doctor that saw her said she most likely has roseola, a common viral infection in children.
One of the things I like about it here in Central Florida is the deep roots the people seem to have to the area. People know people, know history, and have long and storied memories. Families know families from generations back, who used to run what auto shop; who owned what florist; who taught 5th grade for thirty years; etc. People know the land too, what used to be on that corner before the bakery, and what before that; just how long ago that tract of new manufactured homes used to be ranchland; which fishing spots have been hot in which years, and where to go now to land a red sure-thing. Folks' lives are more ingrained into their surroundings because they've been here and seen things, and I like that sense of memory. We've met families with roots in California, I've written about them before, so I know they're not a phenomenon exclusive to Florida - but here it seems like the percentage of folks who've been here for generations is higher. It's a good connection to have, and enviable.
Well folks, vacation continues... take care.
gifts, spoils, and fevers
Christmas in Florida came with thunder, lightning, and rain.
Since storms here are front-page news, all the network affiliates broke into their regular programming to report today's Storm of the Century. The coverage here is downright paranoia, with all sorts of doom-and-gloom "what if" scenarios ("if the winds down a power line and lightning pops a gas main, we could've have a disastrous situation" type stuff), and minute-by-minute tracking of the storm cells moving across the state. We sat and watched the satellite coverage track the eastward march until we could see the darkness on the horizon, then took Keaton outside to watch. She pointed and looked as it got dark and the winds whipped the trees around, and laughed at the rain. We certainly felt Californian sitting out in the rain like it was a spectator sport, but I miss a storm with some good tropical-style gumption.
As of Christmas eve Keaton's been running a fever. We swung into a 24hr pharmacy on the way home from a family get-together and bought a thermometer (which we didn't have in the "travel kit") and I got the job of sticking in in her butt when we got home. I feel bad for her, but you wouldn't be able to tell from her attitude that she's feeling anything less than normal. It's the first "real" fever she's had, and being a first-time parent I was of course a bit over concerned. But, she's sleeping and eating and playing just fine, so I guess we'll just keep and eye on her and maybe even chalk it up to teething... poor babygirl.
Been spending the past couple days on a downloading spree, as my favorite invite-only tracker gave users a weeklong Christmas gift of "free" downloads (i.e., not ratio impacting). Spent a good amount of time researching and looking for a breakbeat mixtape I had back in highschool that I've been searching for ever since I lost track of my copy. After years spent listening to classic early 90's breaks trying to reconstruct the tracklist, I've pretty much decided I'll never hear the exact mix again - but I did manage to pull down some great old skool tracks that bring back great memories. Too bad the "high speed" connection here at the inlaws is pathetic as all get-out.
Goodnight friends and lovers.
tight on wassel
Merry Christmas y'all!
We'll attempt to return to our regularly scheduled blogging sometime this week (vacation is just too tempting).
Hope Santa was as kind to you all as he was to me.
Until next time, respect.
mouth like an ashtray
First night "out" in Florida. Beers and cigarettes with old friends.
Could've done without the cigarettes, but such is my vice and I've exhausted that subject many times prior. I like taking my time to write, vacation is good for that, snatching a few minutes here and there during the day with no midnight deadline looming over me or "writing windows" which I must work within. Ran into an old friend at the local brewpub, whom I hadn't seen in some ten years, and had a great time catching up and talking shop (even though I was many years his junior, I used to be his manager when we worked together at the record store). I like learning what people I used to know, even just as fleeting acquaintances, are doing now. I guess most folks enjoy a good round of "where are they now?" Anyway, Keaton was asleep and I touched her soft little face when we finally hit the sack around 1am. I'd had the perfect amount of spirit, enough to make a plea for marital relations (a plea that fell on deaf ears), but not enough to wake up with a headache (although my mouth tasted like an ashtray).
Today my day went like this: wake up around 7am and hand babygirl to mom for a wakeup boob; go online and load up the blog to see if anyone commented on my "best of" entry, and make a couple changes when I realize I forgot a couple albums (too late to shuffle them into the rankings now, the deed's been done); no comments on the entry, time for to evacuate the bowels and wash the scent stale smoke and beer from my skin; play with babies for several hours, both my own and those of friends come to visit; finish the first volume of the books I'm reading; take a nap; blog. I'm telling you, it's mindless, aimless bliss. I have time to really sit and enjoy playing with Keaton, and to appreciate how happy she can make her relatives when she smiles and coos and makes mean faces when I tell her "No" as she tries to grab the spoon during feedings.
Substance or no, it's done now. Until tomorrow.
what i heard, 2006
And now, from an easy chair in a warm Florida living room, my picks for 2006. Took my time this year, listened and re-listened, and tried to be as honest as possible without letting other internet rankers influence me too much. This year I went back to a "top ten" instead of last year's fifteen, mostly because the greater-than-ten stuff just became too much "in the noise" when it came to subjective judging. I also shamelessly copied over albums that made both my halfway toplist and year-end toplist, word-for-word, without shame. So, here goes, my favorite albums of the year of our lord two-thousand and six.
9. The Fratellis - Costello Music
8. The Islands - Return to the Sea
7. Phoenix - It`s Never Been Like That
5. Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther
4. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
3. The Most Serene Republic - Phages
1. The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
This album so encapsulates some of my highschool-aged carousing, it's hard to believe it was written by someone over 30. Then again, the lyrics are an immediate tip-off. It takes some word-prowess to write Springsteen-esque poetry about sneaking snootfulls from a girlfriend's purse at prom - but it works here. To be fair to the haters, I'll admit that this album does straddle the line, and if you called it butt-rock or bar-rock I wouldn't have much room to take offense. Hell, I've even had a couple folks ask me if it was a Counting Crows album during some of the instrumental parts - so you know the line I'm talking about.
A lot of people hate this album, and honestly, I'm a little surprised I like it so much. Sometimes, though, you just like what you like. I put this album on, and I remember things like sneaking out at night and walking five miles to a party in the woods at a long-abandoned racetrack. As we left, we dropped our $20 sack in the long grass and couldn't find it in the darkness. Out of spite for the party that ate our stash, we snatched a handle of rum that someone had left on the ground and took turns chugging on our long, dejected walk home. Turns out Joey had way too much, and passed out with less than a mile to go. Justin and I slung him between us like a dead body and carried him the rest of the way before roughly pushing his limp body back through my window. That night, he pissed himself while sleeping on my floor.
I might've though this album sucked if I'd heard it back in highschool, but it's sure perfect for remembering it now.
Wow, heavy on the rock and light on the lite-rock, eh? Guess it was one of those rocking kinda years. No doubt that the majority of these albums will, one day looking back, remind me of when Keaton was new. Even going back and putting them on the headphones while finishing up this entry brought some memories back. But, let's not harsh the buzz, yeah? Let's keep this listmania going with the rounding-out stuff. For instance, what "best of" list would be complete without the safety-net of an "honorable mention" section? So, for 2006, here's the albums that made my happy but just weren't able to take one of the top spots, complete with one-sentence reviews:
Was on the list for the longest time until the bubble-sort popped it off the stack (nerd humor).
Guillemots - Through the Windowpane
Half-brilliant.
+/- - Let's Build A Fire
Latecomer to the 2006 party, but much better than their last.
Band of Horses - Everything All the Time
Good!
Sunset Rubdown - Shut Up I Am Dreaming
Wolf Parade, just not as good.
Furthermore, the list of lists keeps going with the best old albums I "discovered" in 2006:
Near the beginning of this year I discovered the Stone Roses much-hailed eponymous debut album after reading that it was one of the late John Peel's favorite records. It's an album I absolutely love.
Ride - Nowhere
Shoegazing roots, get it if you haven't heard it.
And now, the "back to the drawing board" awards... here's my picks for 2006's most disappointing follow-ups
What happened here?
Killers - Sam's Town
Oh boy, I promise commercialism didn't ruin this for me - it's just vapid.
Stills - Without Feathers
New rule: One dude from the old band shouldn't be allowed to recruit a new band record under the same name.
Next, here are what I feel were this year's most overrated albums. Those that got the internet all in a tizzy yet lasted all of a few days on my iPod and left a sour taste in my mouth:
Are you kidding me? I turned off this album when I realized I was starting to grow a pussy.
The Knife - Silent Shout
Sorry, I like beats as much as the next guy, but this just didn't move me.
TV On the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
Never liked 'em, never will.
And, finally, I would be remiss for not mentioning the absolutely glorious new Shins album, which isn't due to be released until January 2007, but leaked to the masses sometime back in October. Suffice it to say that this album is outstanding, and I thought hard about ranking it amongst this year's efforts. I'll respect the street-date this time though, and let it hold its own next year - where, honestly, it'll likely face a much stiffer set of competitors, that is, if the Arcade Fire and Radiohead make good.
Take it sleazy.
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