Happy Thanksgiving!
Just a quick-tap from the iPhone to wish everyone a good day of thanks.
For me, I'm thankful for this moment of respite with family, and am trying not to think about getting back to the grind.
Enjoy.
knocking the dust off
After a nice break from writing while we eased into Florida, I just wanted to stop by and knock the dust off sounds familiar.
So far, our trip to the balmy South has been just as I'd imagined. Even as we met our ride at the airport and I took those first few breaths of sticky, clean, Florida air - I knew it would be a good week. And, what's better, I haven't felt that driven to write (you may find yourself asking, "Gee, what's new Dave?," but in reply to that I would tell you sternly to "Shut your mouth, smartypants."). I figured, however, that I better log on and say something lest folks think our plane wound up in the drink and thought us lost forever. (Not so.)
Last night we met up with my oldest and bestest friend for a couple beers and two regret-consuming-even-while-consuming cigarettes. Was a good time, trading stories to bring each other up to date on current goings-on and asking after family and old friends. We hope to meet up with more long-lost friends as our time winds on this week, and have put out feelers to try and make sure we can do so. At our age, we can actually use the pretense of "getting the kids together" to catch up with folks we haven't seen in years and years and years (do we need pretense?).
Well, already this whole blogging thing is bringing me down... feeling tied to writing and such. So, I'm gonna cut it loose here and give these scant paragraphs to the world before signing off. I'm pretty sure I'll do it again tomorrow, as the lazy, gluttonous pace of the holiday usually makes for a good writing mood.
Until then I hope you got where you're going and with who you're gonna be with for tomorrow's day of thanksgiving. Take care internet.
looking south
Once upon a time, Spanish explorers flocked to the humid, flat swampland that is our current state of Florida in search of a fabled “fountain of youth.”
Now, near five-hundred years later, this Californian explorer is heading there in a day with similar goals in mind.
Not that I’d like to rewind my life, but rather that I’m looking forward to the restorative power that the Southern state has come to represent to me. The older I get, and the longer away from the place I’ve been, the more I come to relish our time there. The weather, the pace, the family and friends, the familiarity… the religion. And, on the other side of the coin, all the “nots” that go along with it being completely separated and across the country from home. Home with all its trappings of work and responsibility and stress.
There’s something about the air down there, like breathing water, like a having a nice steam. There’s something about the people down there, sitting at Sharaun’s grandmother’s dinner table in the morning sharing coffee or catching a nap in my father-in-law’s chair. More importantly, there’s something about me down there… something that relaxes inside me, something that either turns off or turns on – I’m not sure. Whatever it is, I’ve come to almost idealize the place… and I look forward to spending time there more and more. This coming trip being no different – I’m ready to pack right now and get on a plane.
Let's go; let's go; let's go.
Goodnight.
flying, early
Hello Tuesday.
Sunday night I feel asleep on the couch around 8pm, so Sharaun tells me. All I remember is her waking me around 11pm - I was really out, woke covered in sweat (an unfortunate byproduct of the first few hours of sleep for me). It's not like me to crash like this, but the extended slumber really felt great.
Anyway, you can blame that for the lack of writing last night.
My brain of late has been turning to our coming vacation, so much so that thoughts of getting out of Dodge on that appointed day had started to overtake my brain. Combined with this, work has been in a strange limbo-like state for the past week, with ambiguity and uncertainty as the overriding theme each day. It's become somewhat of a drag, bringing me down by the end of each day and sending me home soured for the evening.
And so it was yesterday that I turned to the airline's website to see if there might not be a comparably priced earlier flight to Florida. Turns out there were tickets available at less than half what I payed when I bought our flights earlier this year, and they came with a four day extension our our five day vacation. And, even after paying a whopping $300 in "change fees," the airline owed us $240.
So, I'm happy to say we'll be outta here earlier than planned and back later than planned, and will do it all for much less than we planned too - not much more you can ask for from a vacation modification...
It can't come soon enough. Goodnight.
I deserve this weekend, I swear.
It's Friday! It's Friday!
I can't believe the week is over. I deserve this weekend, I swear.
This evening, Sharaun and I had dinner with the elderly couple from church we occasionally bring dinner to (I didn't know how to write that sentence without using the word "dinner" twice). I always have a good time doing this, not just for feeling charitable, but for the company and getting to talk to folks with a full-life of experience on which to base their opinions.
I went back over the past five or six entries I've written tonight, doing a little touch-up editing. I rarely ever do this, but after a quick review of the last few posts I've turned out (on the commode today, using the handy iPhone) I was shocked to see a string of horrible grammar, half-completed sentences, and word-reuse. This kind of thing comes from writing too fast and not reviewing before posting, which, when you boil it down, is just laziness. Hopefully, looking back through this thing sometime in the future, I'll be able to have a bit more respect for myself.
Tonight (as you read this), I'm invited to a "soup and sweater" party. This is a new kind of party concept for me. But, it's also something I think I can totally get on-board with. I love soup... like, almost as much as I love potatoes kinda love. And, I'm also partial to sweaters. The theme (winter, or somesuch) is not lost on me, so there's kitsch value too. The twist, however, is that we're supposed to wear obnoxious sweaters to the soup and sweater party. Personally, I've got a real humdinger. Wait... I'm writing this and... I'm realizing... just how old I am. Not a foam party; not a toga party; a soup and sweater party! Know what... I don't care. I'm gonna wear my ridiculous sweater and eat bowlful after bowlful of soup. Sue me.
Saturday, I'm going to watch football all day... maybe drink beer... maybe eat bean-dip. Then Sunday, we're scheduled to get some "official" family photos done by our very talented pro-photog friend (and occasional sounds familiar commenter), Megan. I'm quite excited about this - as we've never had any sort of "official" photos done of us... and, don't think us horrible parents please, but we've never had professional portraits of Keaton done either (I know some people who do it monthly for their kids). She usually shares some "sneak peek" photos on her blog(s) after a session, and I'll link 'em here if and when she does for our go at it Sunday.
Busy weekend, but better than work.
And finally, as a quick follow-up to my autotune comments of yesterday, the message boards are coming down hard on Kanye too. Here is a short roundup of some of my favorite comments about autotune on 808s & Heartbreak:
Ahahaha. This album is whack. Seriously, what is it that makes artists these days think that autotune is actually worth using?
... the sound of your voice contorted by autotone has made me projectile vomit on multiple occasions
... all of the vocals are singing with heavy autotune, no rapping (except by Young Jeezy on "Amazing"), musically it isn't even really hip-hop, and the production is innovative as usual.
I don't like it. The autotune aspect continues to be overused to the point of irrelevance.
i really hate the autotune. These songs could be so much better if he had never discovered its existence. I don't know if i can handle a whole album of it. GOD**** AUTOTUNE!
wow this album is going to be fucking terrible. he doesn't even attempt to learn to sing...he breathes at incredibly awkward times and the autotuning is just fucking ridiculous. and ffs every song is literally the same instrumentation: drumline, synthesized dull piano beat, and maybe a horn or so.
Autotune is shit and he's obviously too dumb/arrogant to realize it.
fuuuccckkk. the autotune makes me want to go kill something.
I dunno, I think autotune is okay on a song or two, but if he uses it on the whole album it's going to be fucking annoying.
Ahhh... vindication from other snobs... what every music nut craves. Feels good to be right, though.
Goodnight.
producers of the genre, please heed my call!!
I wrote a whole entry last night and scrapped it around 11:30pm. Just wasn't going anywhere.
I'd like to address now my now more-than-obviously clear divergence from my previous posting frequency. Wasn't long ago I was hitting every single weekday without fail, day after day (or night after night, as my writing goes). If you follow this page at all, you'll know that posting has fallen way off from those days gone by. On average now, I'd guess I miss two out of the five days I used to post. I dunno... I still start out each day intending to write... I just don't always get around to it. Most of the time this isn't a sin of omission but rather one of commission. I choose not to write; usually, I have nothing to write about. I don't know if this is the new model or an extended phase. But, I still have a desire to write... and I'll continue to do so whenever I feel like I can.
Yesterday and today at work I had a measurably better days than my recent run of stinkers. Mostly because I avoided thinking about and working on the one set of tasks that is giving me so much grief. I know, you, being prudent, would dive headlong into those unsavory tasks until they were done - and I considered that too. Ultimately, however, I found that delaying the inevitable difficulty for some temporary relief was my preferred avenue. So, I worked on a bunch of smaller tasks that needed doing, and used my personal time well to take care of tasks outside the realm of work (can you tell that getting things done makes me feel happy?). But, none of this is particularly interesting... so let's move along.
Oh, the new Kanye leaked recently... and it makes me need to talk about the state of hip-hop and wanna-be hip-hop lately...
Producers of the genre, please heed my call!! Stop it already with the mother-humpin' autotune!
I'm not kidding, it was stale so many months ago, and it can only "fix" so much. I understand you're now using it as a stylistic element, like the quirky background sounds Timbaland's production made ubiquitous years ago, or the No Limits sound, or the Neptunes sound, or the Mace sound, or the Nelly sound. But, look, people, while everyone knows what's hot in hip-hop is cyclical and the "in" sound typically follows and emulates one producer or a stable of artists - the autotune abuse needs to stop. If that means we lose T-Pain forever, so be it.
When every single song on your album (and I'm looking at you, Mr. 808s & Heartbreak West) is sung via autotune it truly grates on ones ears. In fact, it becomes unlistenable. When every single song on the radio is "enhanced" through autotune, it's awful. If I wanted to listen to a robot "sing" perfectly-keyed click-to-pitch ballads... well, let's just say I would never want that.
Just stop it. Stop it. This has to end.
Goodnight.
odd thing to be self conscious about
Hey Tuesday... how are you doing? Me, I'm OK.
We totally turned on the heat today when we got home from Oregon - first time this year. Was 64° in the house when we got home and I couldn't handle it. Especially since I had made up my mind that I'd be phoning in the afternoon shift at the sawmill from the couch rather than stick to my original plan of making my way into the office after our flight. A guy's entitled to change his mind, I do say.
Anyway, heat or on off, this house smells downright shut-up musty. It's like that not-quite-nasty but not fresh-cut roses smell that the closet sometimes takes on when the dirty clothes hamper has gone a little too long without attention. Somehow, having the place shut up with no air circulating for just a few days spread a subtle funk not unlike that overfull hamper scent all around the house. It's really bugging me right now... and it nearly ruined my 5pm "just punched the clock" one-hour nap. We gotta open some windows up in this mug.
Tonight we went up to the Wal Mart to pickup some sundries we've been out of while we've been traveling individually and together the past couple weeks. Of course, because of the time change, when we left the house around 6pm it was pitch-black outside, like the dead of night. For some reason, I feel like a bad person wheeling our two-and-a-half year old into a Wal Mart under the curtain of night. Something about a toddler riding in a shopping cart at America's biggest discount retailer while the color of the sky (rightfully or not) deems the young should be fast asleep in bed. An odd thing to be self conscious about, no?
For a while now, a couple friends of mine have been urging me to read the book Into the Wild. With admonitions akin to, "Dave, you'd love that book man - this guy was a true modern-day tramp, outdoorsman, a real Kerouac kindred-spirit." Well, last night Sharaun happened on the DVD of the movie-adaptation at my folks' place. Since she'd been wanting to see it for a while, we popped it in and settled back for the flick. Now, first off - I truly enjoyed the movie. Second, holy crap what a sad ending. I mean, at the end of that movie I felt drained... Not like Schindler's List sad, but sad nonetheless. As we climbed into bed, I told Sharaun I felt like scooping Keaton out of her little closet-room and hugging her tight. Sad sad sad.
OK then, that's a night for me. Love ya, until later.
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