The worst part of my day, is, by a large margin, the moments after my alarm goes off each morning, and I have to spend the next few minutes working up the gumption to get up and start my day. It usually gets better, but those first few minutes are the worst. This week, anyway, the best parts of the day have been after work when I’ve been enjoying the decent weather we’ve been having by riding the bike on my favorite trail (which I’ve gotten to do every day since Sunday, and plan on doing today). Helps me clear my head.

Not sure why that’s where my head’s at right now, but that’s where it is. Better than agonizing over jock frat bro asshole Supreme Court nominees, I guess.

The week, as such, hasn’t been the worst, necessarily. My time at the office has been split between working to get my new contractor up and running and writing multiple drafts of my year-end “self assessment”, trying to be as efficient in my language as possible, but still get my “I’m really awesome and you should give me lots of money” point across, because late-breaking guidance indicates that the folks who are judging us have complained about having to read words in order to evaluate employee performance.

Oy.

Other notable events of the last few days have included the influx of music “gear” that’s come into my home thanks to Andrew and his friends cleaning out a shed in someone’s back yard to make a gaming space/clubhouse/whatever. Some of it’s actually useful, like some microphones and stands; and some old stuff like a cassette 4-track and a PowerMac from 1999 with a SCSI interface digital audio interface. What’s got the kid most excited is an old Squier Bullet Strat guitar I was able to clean the schmutz off of, solder some bad connections, and make into a reasonably operable instrument for him. The guitar thing, since he started taking the group class this year, has really started sticking with him. Also included in the batch was a sorta beat Washburn Acoustic (which I plan on trying to rehab tonight), and not-entirely-innacurate off-brand copy of an Ernie Ball-Music Man Stingray bass (made out of surprisingly good materials) that only needs a little bit of TLC.

I don’t need these instruments, not really, but they were going to get trashed if I didn’t take them. Some of the other gear is junk, but worth taking a look at first. Oh well.

Also, while I was out running errands Thursday night (including buying strings for the aforementioned bass), I found a cheap (less than 40 bucks) used Line 6 amp for the kid so he’s not borrowing mine. I used a version of the same amp for years until I upgraded; it’ll serve him well.

This weekend includes “Family Day” out at the college, so we’ll be heading out to spend the day tomorrow. It’s also, incidentally, the Chestertown Harry Potter Festival, which is a blast, but I won’t be going to this year, though my fellow Humdingers, along with Hawthorn & Holly, Brian of Draco and the Malfoys, and Ashley Trix will be providing entertainment again this year (I already miss them, but I get to spend the day with the college kid, so I’m okay with that). If you’re in the area, it’s a great time – the whole town goes all-out to make a great event.

Anyway, tunes. Usual mix; nothing special, but still a pretty good listen:

1. “End of All Hope” – Nightwish
2. “Our Solemn Hour” – Within Temptation
3. “Every Breath You Take” – The Police
4. “State Trooper In The Left Lane, Nattles” – Cold Cold Hearts
5. “Don’t Dream It’s Over” -Crowded House
6. “Village of the Sun (live 12-9-73)” – Frank Zappa and the Mothers
7. “Undone (The Sweater Song)” – Weezer
8. “Chicken: 30” – The Coathangers
9. “Dog Days Are Over” – Florence + The Machine
10. “24 Hour Ride” – Emily’s Sassy Lime
11. “Life on Mars?” – David Bowie
12. “Billie Jean” – Michael Jackson
13. “Gold on the Ceiling” – The Black Keys