Norah Jones

Neat Stuff

I like Norah Jones’ music a lot.

I like Frank Zappa a lot. I ordered a CD many months ago that just arrived. FZ:OZ. It’s great.

Cashflow while freelancing can be an adventure.

Sometimes not a good adventure.

I have good friends.

It’s fun to have sleepovers.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 was a great show, and a good movie.

I’ve not played racquetball in a week and a half, and I miss it.

I’ll be pet sitting for Jenny this weekend!

My wife is one of my best friends.

I think she will not be my wife for all time.

I think she will be my friend for all time.

I need more discipline to keep my dishes clean.

Tiger’s Milk bars are a part of a great breakfast.

My car burns a lot of oil, but it’s 13 years old, and it runs.

If I had all the money in the world, I’d buy one of those Thunderbirds. A convertible.

If I had all the money in the world, I’d want to turn myself into Alfred Stieglitz. The idea of fostering art and artists, while engaging in commerce, is a very attractive one. Perhaps there’s a way to make this happen without having all the money in the world.

I have been making mix tapes since 1984. I was 14 years old.

This year I’m starting to make mix CDs. I am 32 years old.

A mix tape can tell a story.

My mix tapes often evoke moods.

The best ones do both.

I like to tell stories and evoke moods.

I think I always have.

Putting the Game Face On
Today, or rather Sunday, was kinda rough. The emptiness of the apartment I think was working on me. Sundays can be so long. Having some loneliness is no help. But anyway, I’ve been setting up online banking, and I’ve been capturing old cassettes to aiff, then to mp3 – so I can play and make CDs of them at will. Favorite rips: The Colorblind James Experience: Considering a Move To Memphis; and some Larry King stories I had taped from his old Mutual radio show back in 1986—The famed “Carvelle Story” and “Moppo Story”—very funny stuff.

And yet, listening to the song “Caterpillar” by the Cure today, in the car, I started sobbing—it’s such a happy, propulsive song, I had never really listened to the words—it’s about lamenting that someone will change and fly away. I was thinking of how much Jenny changed from when she was just 18, till now, 6 years later. And how she has changed so much. She’s very impressive to me.

Now, mind you, part of this public journal-keeping is that Jenny reads this, or at least she can. This is no secret message. I was just having all these thoughts about how things have changed. And Jennifer certainly has changed. I’m still not sure what it is I want. I know that I need time to continue discovering my self. I suppose a few years ago I would have made light of a person seeking to “find themselves.” Well, here I am.

Enough bittersweet stuff. I also bought an ironing board (which I’ve needed for a while). I thought to myself, as I went into K-Mart—gotta put on the game face, no sobbing in K-Mart. And I did. Later, I got Tiger’s Milk bars (love ‘em!). I also dropped off the rent check, mailed off some bills. And I went and saw the movie Enigma, which had promise, but was disappointing. The plot was extremely complex, twisting, and incoherent. I was hoping for more Alan Turing. Turing’s the fascinating person in Bletchley Park. At least I think so.

Also, my pal Ewon let me know that I neglected to mention that I went and saw They Might Be Giants on Thursday night. Bad Joe! That’s a bit of an interesting thing, because 13 years ago, when I first met Ewon while we were both working at the San Diego Public Library, we went and saw TMBG as a quasi-date thing. Ultimately, she became a great friend. Over a decade of friendship and counting!

I sure am rambling.

Oh! The concert! TMBG were wonderful. Highlights? Singing and dancing along to the song James K. Polk right next to someone who was as into that song as I was (I think most people don’t know that song very well, I felt like we were the only two doing the obsessive fan singalong thing). Also, the band managed to do all of “Fingertips” From Apollo 18. And that, is freaking amazing, because off the page, Fingertips would seem to be impossible to play. So, that was great.

Monday night I’m going with another close friend to see Norah Jones – who is really worth checking out. Her record, Come Away With Me, is wonderful.

G’night y’all. Despite the somber stuff, today was a good day.

July!
Things are moving quickly for me. July will see some trips, and some visits from family, and at least once concert. I’ll be seeing Norah Jones with a good friend at the end of the month. I’ve been rediscovering the power of friendship lately. I think for a long time I’ve kept my friends at a distance, not letting them into my world, my pains, my joys. Clearly, that was a mistake for which I’m paying now.

Sunday (two days ago now) I went to the beach—Pacific Beach north of Crystal Pier. The bodysurfing was really choice. There were powerful waves, which propelled even my significant girth well. One thing though, about Sunday. Things were easygoing. In the morning, through the afternoon, I relaxed, did housework, made phone calls, listened to music and a book on tape (Elmore Leonard’s “The Moonshine War”). After all that, I went to the beach. But when I got home I got hit by this wave of despair. The apartment seemed so empty—empty because of my failures, empty because of my idiocy—and I was overcome with it for a long while. Despite having had this really great day, the emptiness still creeps up on me. But the thing is, I knew it was not permanent. I knew that this was a strong wave that might knock me down for a while, but that I’d get up again. There’s a saying about getting back on the horse, and I suppose that’s apt. I’m trying to live my life, and sometimes it’s going to include despair. But sometimes it contains high adventure, and family warmth, and the comfort of friendship. This is life. I’m moving on.

Onward.

A Beautiful Day
Today was entirely productive, and entirely pleasant. I woke up early, as usual. I dropped off the rent check (post-dated for July 1), and mailed some bills. Then I took the latest load of stray-stuff-I-have-decided-someone-else-can-use at Goodwill. Then I went to the local Whole Foods and bought some celery, green onions, tiger’s milk bars, and some other stray items for around the house.

Then, off to racquetball. The problem was, where we play was closed, so after twenty minutes of hemming and hawing, no racquetball. Instead I came home and chilled out for a while. Some more cleaning (always cleaning), and put up some older pictures. I also put up my Respiratory Care diplomas and awards. They’ve been sitting in a box for a long time, and I think I want them up. They serve as a nice reminder that I can be successful in things even when it seems like I might not succeed.

And then, the ocean.

I went down to La Jolla Cove. I was able to park quickly, despite the heavy tourist presence. I walked down to the cove, checked the lifeguard station for the water temperature (65 degrees Fahrenheit), and ambled down. Then I plopped my things down, stripped down to my swimsuit, got my snorkel and mask on, and dove in. I swam out to the perimeter of the swimming area. I think there used to be a quarter mile marker, but there is not one now. But I swam out what I think was about a quarter mile, rested, and returned. Visibility was okay, maybe 10-15 feet. I saw many Garibaldi fish; their orange bodies glowing against the somewhat murky waters.

After the cove, I drove to a movie theater and saw The Bourne Identity, which was quite good. No plot to speak of, but the chase of it was marvelous. And I thought Matt Damon did well considering he was playing an amnesiac.

And lastly, I went to Tower Records and picked up some music. The latest Bryan Ferry, a record by Norah Jones, and Ben Folds. I really like the Norah Jones record. She’s got a great voice. It matches my melancholy/joy these days nicely.

Melancholy/Joy. That’d be a good name for a blog.

And now, I will boil macaroni.

To those few of you who read this blog, I wish you a lovely weekend.