Happy Star Wars Day, a pretty cool holiday as far as totally made up holidays go, though I wonder why Disney didn’t arrange it’s schedule such that Solo: A Star Wars Story wasn’t released today – I understand not gettting in the way of Avengers: Infinity War*, but surely, that release date wasn’t immutable. Just feels like obvious synergy not taken advantage of; I wonder what that says about the studio’s confidence in the film?

Oh well; it’s been a week; I’ve been doing some filling in for the boss here and there, as he’s on leave (don’t worry, I have not become drunk with power). Otherwise, it’s been frustrating as usual, though my team is, as usual, doing a great job and not getting a hell of a lot of credit for it from the rest of the organization (probably because our effectiveness draws attention to deficiencies elsewhere). Outside of work, besides the other bits I’ve already mentioned, I apparently won social media in the Unappreciated Puns group with this post on Monday -239 likes, 68 shares. That’s pretty much the biggest accomplishment of mine in the last couple of weeks. Whatever. It’s friday.

I have knocked out, at this juncture, thirty-five miles on the bike this week, thanks to some really nice weather. I’ll probably add another five or ten today, depending on how the click I’ve developed in the front crank works out. Pretty sure the mount is going into the shop today to get a once-over before the season really starts – something doesn’t feel quite right, and it’s a little distracting, in terms of both safety concerns and annoyance.

For the weekend, the big business is grabbing the kid and her stuff after finals; not sure what I’m going to be doing otherwise – I’m hearing rain (which is why I’m thinking good timing for the bike check-up), and bits of the fam have commitments to dance stuff. I’m going to try to relax a bit, I think.

Tunes. Much classic. So AOR. Not sure why.

1. “Crew Nights” – Jethro Tull
2. “Wicked Game” – Chris Isaak
3. “Heart It Races” – Dr. Dog
4. “Hey You” – Pink Floyd
5. “Fame” – David Bowie
6. “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” – Police
7. “Fuck Kitty” – Frumpies
8. “Carry On Wayward Son” – Kansas
9. “Girls Girls Girls” – Mötley Crüe
10. “Easy” – The Commodores
11. “Edge of Seventeen” – Stevie Nicks

“just like the one-winged dove”….thought that what it was for years. But that rhythm guitar tone. Oooh, Baby, Oooh, I said Oooh.

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*-that link, should you choose to follow it, points to an impromptu project I took on last night after I saw a comment about how the latest Avengers film ought to have made use of a parody of a certain Jim Carroll Band tune. I went ahead and created such a parody in an hour or two (hey, it’s good recording practice) and threw it up on soundcloud, and amused one or two of my friends.

So, I looked at my calendar and inbox this morning, and had essentially this reaction:

Yeah.

At least the weather looks to be gorgeous this afternoon. I shall persevere; my bike’s hanging on the back of my car, and my riding clothes are in my bag. The park is calling.

Because we all know what day it is….

So it was a weekend; not an awful one, even. The spouse and I had an evening out for dinner at one of our favorite places (Capital Ale House – had a really nice brown ale from Lonerider in Raleigh NC) and to grab some odds and ends for a dress she’s making. Upon coming home, I had another drink or two (the relatively low ABV Craft Brew Collective Saison Ale from Lidl) while we watched Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu.

…and it knocked me completely on my ass. Apparently my wife found this affecting enough to accuse me of being “annoying when he’s drunk” on social media, which amused all of our friends.

Saturday, we headed out, as indicated previously, to SBC to check in with the kid quickly and grab a load of dorm detritus and haul it home. ’twas a nice trip, though it’s a lot of time behind the driver’s seat. After we got home, the youngest kid and I headed out for a bike ride, and then I went to bed kinda early (I’ve been fighting allergies fiercely, and barely holding my own), all told.

Sunday, I did the bike again (twenty-five miles this week, which isn’t bad for the first week I’m *really* getting into summer condition – I also, somehow, ended up riding into the wind the whole way, and my trail is basically a big circle – I washed yellow pollen out of my beard when I finished), ran some errands, then we did a late lunch over at Strangeways, for their Bow Wow Meow Luau; a neat event benefiting Richmond animal control – vendors, food trucks (including the awesome Return of the Mac), dogs in Hawaiian shirts, and drink specials.

Once again, I had two (small, as cheap drink specials often are) pours of some good stuff: “Nana Jeane’s Spiced Peach Cobbler Belgian Ale” and “Berry Rude Short Man Strawberry Shortcake IPA”, and again, a fair bit of food (mac ‘n cheese, indian dumplings, leftovers of the spouse’s vegetarian pad thai fries). After I got my growler fills done (you go to the brewery, you get stuff to take home – my favorite “Albino Monkey” belgian ale and the intriguing “Midnight In Her Eyes Coconut Sweet Stout”), I handed my wife the keys.

Since I lost all that weight, I apparently can no longer hold my drink at all.

However, once we got home, my liver had apparently done it’s work, and I knocked out a bunch of laundry and make some excellent broiled brussels sprouts with garlic and olive oil and balsamic vinegar, which the youngest and I devoured.

Not sure what the week ahead holds – I’m going to bike when I’m not at the office watching PowerPoint slides go by. Otherwise? Who knows.

Grettings, all, from a rainy Friday morning, wrapping up a mostly rainy week. I still got ten miles in on the bike thus far (five in the rain, which may be an equal contributor to the business mentioned in the title of this post), when I was hoping to knock out at least 25. Oh well, the week’s not over.

That said, the last couple of days I’ve felt pretty crappy anyway; con weekends, with all the people in relatively close quarters (some of them with less than ideal hygene), plus all the hugs and whatnot from lovely people, germs get spread, in spite of my dilligent efforts with washing and Airborne. Especially Wednesday and Thursday; where I was full-on ready to hit the sack early and catch up on rack time to get the healing on.

I was in bed and pretty much asleep by 6:30 on Thursday (when I sat down on my bed for what I intended to be about ten minutes to decompress and pet the cat turned into falling asleep for an hour, that’s a sign). Wednesday, that was the intention, but I ended up getting a message from my buddy Madison who needed a quick-turnaround bass track for a tune she owes for a Twitch complilation, so I pulled my gear out and knocked out a couple of takes. I’m never one to turn down a project (especially a cool one like this tune) in support of a fellow member of my beloved musician community; they’d totally do the same for me.

Not a whole lot on my agenda for the weekend, save a trip out to SBC to grab an early load of dorm flotsam on Saturday morning, and trying to avoid Infinity War spoilers (I hear you should avoid Wikipedia, btw), as I won’t get to see it until probably next weekend when the kid comes back.

That, and maybe unloading the bits of PA that have been living in the back of my car since Ravencon….hmmm.

Anyway, here are some tunes to occupy you. The usual mix, though some pretty straight ahead 90s pop, which is an odd thing in my shuffle, and twice the Tull, which I’m leaving in to support by bandmates’ obesssion.

1. “4.W.D. (Low Ratio)” – Jethro Tull
2. “Doin’ Donuts” – The Donnas
3. “Berkeley” – Plastic Picnic
4. “Lashes” – Babes in Toyland
5. “Sunsetz” – Cigarettes After Sex
6. “Een Geldsrsch Lied” – Heidevolk
7. “The Funeral” – Band of Horses
8. “Mysterious Ways”- U2
9. “Hymn 43” – Jethro Tull
10. “Slepp Meg” – Lumsk
11. “White Wedding” – Billy Idol

Taking the Monday after the convention as annual leave is probably the best gift you can give yourself; just sayin’.

I spent yesterday taking care of the life stuff I didn’t get to do over the weekend, as well as taking care of some basic rest I owed myself to make up for the con sleep debt. Plus, I worked in a nice bike ride; I’m making it my mission to get myself back up to fighting shape on the bike, working back up to the 50 or 60 miles a week I was habitually doing last summer; I haven’t really gained any weight over the winter months, but I’m not as toned as I was back in August/September, and I owe it to my spouse and my alleged and totally theoretical handful of groupies to be as sexy as I can manage.*

Also, having taken my trips to and from Williamsburg this weekend along state route 5, I got to look longingly at much of the Virginia Capital Trail, a gorgeous, paved 52 mile trail running between Richmond and Williamsburg, of which I’ve only done about 12 miles (back and forth) of with a group ride a year or two ago, and kind of have aspirations to ride the length of, at least one way (I do ride a mountain bike, not a light road bike!), by the end of the summer. “Hashtag Goals”, as the kids say.

On the whole, Ravencon wasn’t bad. I’d say the ‘Riffs had one and a half (out of two) good shows, and while there was minor drama, I think we’ll work through it. I also got to play some of my “solo” stuff (when there’s four hours of music scheduled on a Sunday morning, everything comes out to fill the time), which went over fairly well, and I was actually called a “singer/songwriter” in a public forum by my friend (and amazing performer herself!) Madison “Metricula” Roberts, which I guess is technically true, at least the part after the slash; and people are now bugging me for the “chuck” record that I probably have in me to get out one of these days.

The rest of the con was occupied with catching up with friends, doing a couple of panels (such as one promoting RavenConcert, which, assuming all goes well, I’ll be playing twice), catching at least part of the Broad Universe rapid-fire reading, catching a couple of shows, and making required appearances at certain parties held by people I like, and becoming (I’d like to think) friends with Misbehavin’ Maidens, an excellent “bawdy, nerd folk comedy band” I became a fan of when we both played Chessiecon last year, but got a chance to hang out with and perform with quite a bit this weekend, which was a real treat – I definitely recommend you check these ladies out!

And now, I’m back to the grind; if I can get through Tuesday (so many meetings!), I think I’ll manage the rest of the week. I also had an interesting opportunity get dangled (PHRASING!) in front of me late last week to maybe, just maybe, shift into a part of the business I’m a little more qualified for and might, at least to some degree, change the stress levels for the better, since I’d be on more familiar ground. We’ll see; this stuff is in the early stages, but as I’m conisidering it, I’m thinking it might not be a bad move, assuming the organization doesn’t succumb to all the scuttlebutt about how we might not be a going concern beyond the near-term. Anyway, more is likely to come.

.

So yeah. That’s life as it stands right now. It goes on.

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*- smell that sarcasm? I wanna be healthy and fit, but “sexy” and me aren’t really terms that go together.

It’s been a rough week; truly. Lots of office stress, some emotional roller-coastering, and some random gastric distress in the last twenty-four hours I really don’t feel like describing.

A highlight, however, was my Wednesday night music-making/rehearsal session with the ‘Riffs ahead of our gigs at RavenCon this weekend. I’m hoping I can channel some of that feeling back into my life for the weekend making music for and with my friends. If you’re around Williamsburg way, why not stop by? Our big shows are 6pm Friday and 6pm Saturday, plus a bunch of other filky sorts of stuff scattered around.

I’ve been kind of lukewarm on con stuff lately, but I’m really hoping I can draw some positive energy out of this one; I could truly use it.

Anyway, just a short promo sort of post this week; hasn’t been one for the books, y’know? Here’s some tunes, though, because that’s what we do ’round these parts on Fridays. Not a bad mix; some indie, some Frank, some 80s (original and covers), and there at #3, one of my favorite guitar solos of all time – those last couple of notes? That’s why the locking tremelo was invented, even if it’s a pain in the ass most of the time.

1. “(You’re So Sweet) Baby Donuts” – Cold Cold Hearts
2. “All Yours” – Widowspeak
3. “I Remember You” – Skid Row
4. “The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing” – Frank Zappa
5. “Dancing With Myself” – The Donnas
6. “Fade Into You” – Mazzy Star
7. “Always Something There To Remind Me” – Naked Eyes
8. “West End Girls” – Pet Shop Boys
9. “Keep the Car Running” – Arcade Fire
10. “Langt Nord I Trollebotten” – Lumsk
11. “Karma Police” – Radiohead

So we apparently had tornados and stuff last night. I slept through it all. Looks like my kid two hours west, and a bunch of my friends on the other side of the city got the warning and were sheltering in hallways and bathrooms and stuff.

Seems like everybody’s cool and unharmed. That’s good.

Weekend was a weekend. I continued to find myself pretty worn out, although by the end of last week I was getting through the work day before passing out. Let’s hope that continues. We did find a pretty good approximation of good NY style pizza at A N.Y. Slice after my wife and I did the mind-meld-via-text thing after I admitted my desire for pizza on Friday morning. The Dance Concert at SBC was pretty damned impressive as usual on Saturday evening, and I got to spend some time with the kid, so that’s cool. Sunday we swung by the school district’s art show to see the youngest’s art displayed, then I ran the D&D crew through further adventures – they’ve now slayed their first dragon, a big event in the life of any adventurer.

Hoping to make it through the week largely unscathed – gotta get myself prepped for Ravencon, and try to finally truly beat the flu recovery blues (all the pollen that exploded the last two days ain’t helping). I think I’ll make it.

Oh, and a friend put out a really great new musical project this weekend – check out Harlequin’s Shadow – Demo(n)s:

If you’ve been keeping up, I’ve been in kind of a haze this week. It happens. I’ve been focusing a lot of my effort on maintaining some control of my office responsibilities (since I had to brief the big important people this week – it got…interesting. Didn’t realize how dire a lot of these people can sound) and keeping my little dinghy in the fleet floating straight, making sure that as this thing goes off the rails, I’m not one of the driving wheels.

It appears as if I’ve succeeded, both in keeping those planes on their headings, and painfully mixing my transportation metaphors.

Dinghy. HuhHuh.

Relatively quiet this week, save a trip out to SBC for a dance performance, and running the D&D crew through some more hijinks on the Isle of Dread (I’m pretty sure we’re still there…it’s been a while). Next weekend’s the big one, with RavenCon on the agenda, and per the programming schedule, looks like they’re working me pretty damned hard. Oh well; busy is good; it cuts down on drama. I might even have a new tune or two to play on my own.

So yeah; that’s really the news or less-exciting equivalent from here. Here’s a selection of tunes to keep y’all guessing. The shuffle’s kinda got metal (hair and otherwise) on the brain, but whatever. I could use the energy:

1. “Pour Some Sugar on Me” – Def Leppard
2. “Havoc” – Eluveitie
3. “In The Air Tonight” – Phil Collins
4. “Walk This Way” – Aerosmith (without Run DMC)
5. “Highway to Hell” – AC/DC
6. “Translucent Potency” – Death
7. “Cars” – Gary Numan
8. “Mr. Tillman” – Father John Misty
9. “Baby Doll” – Slant 6
10. “Bungle in the Jungle” – Jethro Tull
11. “STRFKR” – Rawnwald Gregory Erickson The Second

Couple of other bits – my friend Dave (an excellent fellow bassist) hit the social medias with a mention of what he calls the “Album of Summer 2018”, “Lush”, from Snail Mail, out in June. I’m pretty sure I’m in agreement. Check out “Pristine”:

Also, while I haven’t tapped an Eleven/Stranger Things reference in a while on these Random Eleven posts, I’ll break the silence today since I got myself a cool T-shirt off the clearance rack at Target yesterday with a picture of Wil looking out the door at the monster thing in the sky, all done up in the style and font of an old D&D module form the early ’80s. I dig it.

Still struggling a bit with the impact of the recovery from Flustravaganza™ 2018, though I did force myself out of my office/car/bedroom environment a bit yesterday afternoon, “taking the air”, as they say, at the local parks – I walked (not terribly energetically) a mile or two on some trails, as the weather was nice, and I, frankly, needed a change of scenery (and the park was right near the library, and I had some books to drop anyway).

The walk was nice; though it wore me out (good), though the giant plant orgy currently turning everything in Central Virginia a speckled shade of yellow-green added some additional congestion to my sinus situation (less good).

Today, however, I’m dragging a bit – due to the exercise (which is more than I’ve gotten in a while, given weather and health), the pollen, and the ravages of aging on my recovery processes. Enough that I’m going to once again sit out of ceili class tonight – I just don’t have the energy to rock the reels at full speed. I shall make sure to share my apologies with the class.

This condition of mine isn’t necessarily optimal, as today’s one of those “many hours upon the stage” sorts of days (read “stage” as “conference call phone”), wherein I have to give my monthly minute on a Department-wide status call for the benefit of a certain high-ranking senior executive who’s got eyes on “Deputy Secretary of XXXXX for XXXXX” as the next addition to their resume. On top of that, I’ve got to sit in for the boss on another call this afternoon, filling in as the high-and-mighty cross-agency Joint Program Manager for this unwieldy program of which I’m a soulless cog integral part (which has already eaten up a few hours of phone time already this morning, thanks to excessive deceased-equine-beating).

I shall hope I am able to maintain my restraint and avoid becoming drunk with power.

Mostly, I expect I’ll be a little foggy on sinus and allergy meds, and shall endeavor to not embarrass myself.