Okay, the recording quality sucks so here's a better look at his eyes:
Please don't mind the lyrics of this one:
Happy birthday, crankypants!
Albums released in 2009 that I especially enjoyed:
- M. Ward - Hold Time
- Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
- Andrew Bird - Noble Beast
- Sondre Lerche - Heartbeat Radio
- Avett Brothers - I and Love and You
- Girl in a Coma - Trio B.C.
- Visqueen - Message to Garcia
- Asobi Seksu - Hush
- Joe Pernice - It Feels So Good When I Stop
- Richard Hawley - Truelove's Gutter
- Grizzly Bear - veckatimest
- Doveman - The Conformist
- Buddy Holly - Down the Line: Rarities
These are still growing on me. If I had listened to them more, they would probably be in the above list. Yet another symptom that I buy too much music.
- Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs
- Grand Archives - Keep in Mind Frankenstein
- The Dodos - Time to Die
- Monsters of Folk - Monsters of Folk
- Vetiver - Tight Knit
- Wussy - Wussy
- Decemberists - The Hazards of Love
- Minus 5 - Killingsworth
- Young Fresh Fellows - I Think This Is
- Robyn Hitchcock - Goodnight Oslo
- The Swell Season - Strict Joy
This one I played so much I got bored with it.
- God Help the Girl - God Help the Girl
This one I keep not buying, even though I suspect I will love it. Maybe S----a C---s will put it in my New Year's stocking.
- Kings of Convenience - Declaration of Dependence
Addenda:
Particularly enjoyed:
- Soundtrack to Away We Go
- The ear candy award goes to: The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
- and also, though because of the lyrics: The Raveonettes - In and Out of Control
Deserves further listening:
- Brandi Carlile - Give Up the Ghost
Played ad nauseam:
- Soundtrack to (500) Days of Summer
Maybe it will find it into my New Year's stocking:
God Help the Girl - Stills EPoops never mind it's digital only
Thoughts of these future events are making me happy right now:
- Hanging out with my brother and sister-in-law on Friday. One family Christmas tradition is to go see a bad movie. I'm voting for Sherlock Holmes even though I don't expect it will be bad.
- Seeing a few other friends who are in town for the next few days. It was also nice to see adjunct family who were in town last weekend.
- Moving to a new office space! Only five blocks from home, with daylight (if indirect; it's a heavily windowed interior space inside of a heavily windowed second floor loft that houses five or six other offices) It's a portion of an architect's office. I will be moving in sometime after the first week of January. The unhappy part is leaving the nice people at the space where I currently work.
- Spending New Year's Eve with M-----l (plus a fews eves afterward). I usually celebrate New Year's Eve by going to sleep before 11 and being grumpy when fireworks and carousers wake me up an hour later. That might happen this year, too, but it should be more fun shared. Or maybe we'll play records.
- Meeting Crankypants and Elvis in February! I'm looking forward to spending the first half of President's Day weekend in Philadelphia with them. If Cranky can stand my company any longer than that, we may carpool to the D.C. area in time for the infamous annual Karaoke to the Death competition. I'm going for sure, and am looking forward to meeting other Voxers there. Hopefully M-----l will be part of that weekend, too.
Happy holiday wishes, dear Vox neighbors!
Signatures in support of this campaign may be registered below.
Yesterday I received this rare and lovely tribute to the Go-Betweens in the mail, from M-----l. Thank you!
Sonic Boom opened in its new location Friday (on Melrose between Pike and Pine, and therefore conveniently close to my trek from the office) and I haven't been yet because of the cold. I might trek on over there later today before the darkness descends. More likely, because it's still hovering near freezing, I might not. I do not like being out in the cold.
One of the Everyday Music employees recently mentioned that they are planning to move next door to the Comet Tavern (which is on the corner of Pike and 10th) in mid-late January. Excellent -- I can hike up Pike and hit both Sonic Boom and Everyday and then pop into Cupcake Royale before heading home.
And then on Friday, Elliott Bay Books announced it was moving from Pioneer Square to 10th between Pike and Pine. Good for Capitol Hill! Very bad for Pioneer Square. Elliott Bay is essentially Pioneer Square's anchor store. Once it pulls out, the retail economy there is probably doomed, and the hobo to non-hobo ration will skyrocket.
This final straw makes me no longer want to go to my office in Pioneer Square. I asked my boss if we could move. She said yes. Yay! Tomorrow I'm giving notice to the little nonprofit from whom we sublease. I feel bad about that; they are very nice people doing good work on a tight budget. However, I've never felt good in that basement space, despite the cool design features installed by the landlord, and recently the arrival of additional tenants has resulted in a distracting level of bustle. I have been working at home with increasing frequency. I hope to find a new space with daylight, better sound muffling, not too expensive, in a non-creepy neighborhood hopefully a little closer to home. Until then, I can work at home.
Speaking of moving, I moved the litter box out of the laundry closet into the bathroom, reinstalled the laundry closet doors, and starting to move things into that closet for storage so my space feels a little less cluttered, and moved the bicycle from its perch near the front door (on top of a bench with the handbars dangerously protruding at head level) onto the floor in front of my clothes closet. It's in the way now, but at least is no longer a hazard to anyone entering the front door. The bathroom is a little crowded with the litter box in it, and I can now longer leave towels hanging up in there unless I want them to absorb any aromas emanating from the litter box. Oh well. It's easier to clean and all the stinky activity takes place on one room now.
Speaking of the litter box, Muki is doing well, pending results of some lab work. He had an follow-up exam yesterday, and his regualr vet thought he looked great. I got to see inside his mouth while she was checking. So few teeth! Poor old little guy. But he continues to eat well, seems to be in good spirits, and has his new sweet breath.
Lila is doing her usual fine. She is the healthiest cat for which I've ever been caregiver. I'm grateful for that.
All I feel like doing these days is sleeping and reading and eating things like cheese quesadillas. Even yoga feels like a tremendous effort these days. It's a good thing Kitty has more motivation and joins me at the gym; otherwise, I'd never want to go back.
Speaking of the gym, apparently someone (and not a dog) pooped in the gym trashcan Thursday night. I learned this through a post on the homeowners' association discussion board. Fortunately, it was removed long enough before we entered the gym and I noticed no smell. (Kitty, I hope it's okay that I didn't inform you of this. I didn't want to horrify you with that knowledge.) What a considerate neighbor. Maybe it was one of the people against whom our HOA is finally taking collection action for nonpayment of dues and water bills. (Sentence withdrawn because it is a nonsensical and insensitive speculation.) Oh, the joys of communal living and shared amenities.
One of the good things about getting involved with the HOA is making friends with some of my neighbors.
Other random items ... I finally found a plant that grows well in my dwelling unit and is nontoxic to the kittiest: the lovely peperomia, my plant hero. Oh yeah, the spider plant is doing okay as well. The african violets lost all of their blooms but the leaves are holding out under a grow-light. Here's hoping the rather expensive kentia palm makes it. ... I want to bake things. Since the very enjoyable cookie-baking session with Mr. and Mrs. Lavender last month, I've only felt adventurous enough to do cranberry bread. Maybe today would be a good day for cupcakes. ... I bought holiday cards and better get around to writing them out and mailing them before it is too late. ... Or maybe I will just read. I am now on the second book of the Greywalker series by Kat Richardson, thanks to my brother and sister-in-law.
Reading these has only enhanced the creepy vibe of Pioneer Square in my imagination. It will be a relief to be out of there. I definitely must leave before starting the third book, in which the homeless population begins turning into zombies.
Thank you dear neighbors for your kind words and concerns! Muki is now home, high on painkillers, with only a few (clean) teeth left in in his mouth. They used a heart-friendly anesthesia and apparently the only complication during the surgery was keeping his blood pressure in check, but he did a-okay.
The first thing he did after getting home was to start begging for a meal. I gave him 1/4 of a can and he scarfed it down, even with the evil Clavamox mixed in. He has also been very snuggly. He's finally settling down in his favorite chair, hopefully for a good healing sleep.
My sweet Muki lost a tooth. A canine. Broke off. I discovered it on the kitchen floor Friday afternoon by walking on it with my bare feet.
The vet who examined him yesterday started him on antibiotics and painkillers. On Tuesday, the broken root and the other unsound teeth will be extracted, and the rest of Muki's teeth will be cleaned.
He is 16 and 1/2 years old, and he's been with me for 16 of those years. He's needed a dental cleaning, his third, for a few years, but the anaesthesia is risky given the condition of his heart and kidneys. Now it can't be avoided, and I feel like a bad cat-mom for waiting so long.
At least his spirits and appetite don't seem to have dampened as a result of the broken tooth. Since yesterday's vet visit, he has been especially cuddly. The painkillers may have something to do with that.
Between now and Tuesday, I'm going to spend as much time cuddling him as possible, and trying not to worry. If he makes it through this surgery, he will probably be more comfortable during his remaining life, and his breath will no longer reek. I can't bear to think about any other outcome.
Today I am thankful for:
a very enjoyable 11 oops make that 9 days with M-----l, which included one of the highest lights of my concert-going experiences (The Swell Season)
[and hey wow, the NPR Tiny Desk Concerts on YouTube (and by the way the Avett brother playing guitar in front could be M-----l's twin)]
friends
(and Vox for the friend-making structure)
leftover chili and cookies with sprinkles
my job
a warm home
the ability to work at home
snuggly cats
this past week-and-a-half's musical acquistions (and assorted fun thingees)
the quick healing of the road rash (a.k.a. sidewalk scrape)
The sidewalk won, my left knee is pretty effed up, my right wrist is sore, and my chin is a bleedy swollen rash, but at least my teeth didn't fall out (yet), my hands weren't torn open, a nice man is taking good care of me, and the records didn't get broken.
