I’ve been slowly working on my 101 things list. (You can find my list on the Notes page, should you wish to peruse it.) Amazing, no? Let’s see what I’ve managed to do…
2. Go to the Chabot and write it up. (I’ve been to the Chabot. Now I just need to write it up.) 3. Go to the Pez Museum and write it up - done! 15. Do the “Day of C” with my Husband. (done!) 29. Get that gorram test done. (done!) 57. Go through (and type up if needed) 5 notebooks (2 down, three to go.) 62. Finish copying posts from thebookstacks.com (done!) 70. Pay off the camera. (done!) 81. Try 5 new kinds of tea. (3 down, two to go.) 88. See five plays. (3 down, two to go)
And there you go. Apparently I haven’t been the huge slacker I thought I was.
Somewhere on my 101 Things list I have stipulated that I must go through five of my notebooks. This evening, I grabbed one from the middle of the Great Stack of Notebooks ™ and I thought that I’d share some excerpts with you. as you can see in the picture above, this notebook appears to date from some point during or right after my first stint at college. Well, during my time at UCD, in any case. The inside cover actually says “Philosophy 108.” I’m thinking that means The Philosophy of Biology, a class that I took for a random science credit after discovering that something was hinkey with my transfer agreement. (I transferred from a Junior college to UCD. Somehow…things got screwed up.)
For the record, I hated The Philosophy of Biology. It was boring. The prof. had never heard of a Punit Square for Heaven’s sake! I would have been better off taking Botany. That would have at least been interesting and full of Latin words.
No…I’m not still annoyed or anything. Well, all of the class notes seem to be gone, so let’s see what’s there instead.
(Oh, and just in case you don’t believe me on the huge stack of Notebooks, please see Exhibit B below. That doesn’t include the couple of boxes full I have, too. In case you were wondering, that bag is my gaming bag. Role Playing Games. You know. Like D&D. My dice live in the tin on the left hand stack. Hush. You already knew I was a geek.)
Apparently the first three pages are a Want List, just like I have here on the blog.
My battle with the audiocassettes continues. I’ve actually managed to get rid of quite a few of them so far, but they were mostly old mix tapes. So, to further my cause, I have decided to set myself a task. That is to post the items I need to replace here (so that you can be amused by my collection) and state why the heck I’m holding on to these until I’ve replaced them. Here is the first part of my challenge response, as it were.
I’ve mentioned that I have eclectic taste in music before, yes?
Right.
Patrick Ball - Celtic Harp 3: Secret Isles
I purchased this cassette back in 1987 on my first school trip to Ashland, OR. This is not the reason that I’ve held on to it for…21 years, though. (21 years!!! This tape is now old enough to drink. Egad.) The truth is, I adore Celtic Harp music. Perhaps someday I’ll get myself some harp lessons…and a harp. Now that I think of it…I know a harp maker. Well, I know his son.
The Album of the Soundtrack of the Trailer of the Film of Monty Python and the Holy Grail
I’ve no idea when or where I acquired this one. I do know that I’ve had it quite a while, though. I’ve actually answered a reference question using the information lodged in my brain from the skit with the “Professional Logician.” Someone came to me looking for the definition of a “Universal Affirmative.” It’s true what they say about my profession. Everything you know will come in handy. I’m holding onto this tape because it’s frickin’ hilarious. It’s not just a soundtrack. It also contains skits related to the film. Too fun.
The Beloved - Happiness
I remember quite well how I came by this tape. I was borrowing it from a friend back in 1990/91 sometime, and my tape deck tried to eat the tape. I bought him a new copy, and kept the old one as the tape deck behaved itself henceforth. I am keeping this tape for the songs “Hello,” Time After Time,” and “The Sun Rising.” I like the other songs, but these three are my favorites. (To watch the slightly bizarre American version of the music video for “Time After Time” go here. Doesn’t he have interesting eyes?)
The NeverEnding Story Soundtrack
It seems to me that I’ve had this soundtrack since the film came out, way back when. No, it’s not just Limahl’s title song or my love of the film itself that makes me hold onto this tape. I do particularly enjoy the “Moonchild” song.
Queen - Classic Queen
I’m not sure when or where I picked up this album, but I’m a huge fan of Queen, so its existence in my collection shouldn’t be too surprising. This particular album has a few of the songs from Highlander on it, Bohemian Rhapsody (Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango?), and Radio Ga Ga among others. I adore this album. (Witness the glory of Queen! Try the Bohemian Rhapsody video. I will forever be grateful to Wayne’s World for getting this song back on the radio. Also, here’s the video for Radio Ga Ga. The Show Must Go On will now always remind me of Moulin Rouge. Sniffle.)
Sarah McLachlan - Fumbling Towards Ecstacy
I know that I had this tape the during the Summer I spent working and living in Yosemite, as I listened to it almost constantly. Really, I would be hard-pressed to choose a favorite song off of this album. I’m thinking that “Mary” is my least favorite if that helps at all. Mmmmm… “I looked into your eyes. They told me plenty I already knew…” (Check out the video for Possession. This song will always make me think of Due South.)
Warren Zevon - Excitable Boy
This album is best known for “Werewolves of London.” But, have you ever heard “Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner” or “Nighttime in the Switching Yard”? I know that I’ve had this tape since right after high school sometime. One of my friends introduced me to Warren Zevon using this album, and I had to own a copy of my very own. This tape is, in and of itself, an eclectic mix of song subjects. I guess that Warren is just random that way. (Warren did Roland the Headless Thompson Gunnar on the Dave Letterman Show.)
johnny hates JAZZ - Turn Back the Clock
My tape actually has a typo on the paper sleeve thing. “I don’t want to be a hero” becomes “I don’t What to be a hero.” I remember buying this tape at Tower Records in Citrus Heights not that long after it came out, so that would make it ‘88 or ‘89. I can’t read the titles off of the tape without hearing a bit of the songs in my head at this point. I like side one more than side two, come to think of it. (Want to watch some videos from this album? Try Shattered Dreams and Turn Back the Clock.
Have you ever considered what might happen if you were done? By which I mean, you’d tied up every loose end. All of those niggling little projects that you keep meaning to get to. That eternal “to do list” that seems to constant hang over your head. Your laundry all washed and put away. Your shopping done. Heck, even your emergency earthquake preparedness instructions and supplies taken care of.
All of it. Done.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. How can I ever be done this side of the grave? And perhaps you’re right. But ask yourself what you would be free to do if you had nothing to put on your to do list for the day.
That’s your thought for the day. Personally, I think I’d seize the opportunity to take a nap.
Speaking of getting things done, taking a picture of the duck crossing sign I drive past all of the time has been on my mental to do list for ages. As you can see at the top of the post, I finally got out of the car and took that picture. I just love that second dancing duckling.
Also, from my 101 things list I have:
4. Go on Photo Safari to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. (done! 5/25/08)
and 90. Watch the original Great Train Robbery. (done! 5/21/08)
46. Get collection of music audiotapes down to only the amount that will fit in the red thing.
Well, I’ve been working on #46 on my list and I have already made a couple of discoveries.
1) I’ve been able to get rid of two old mix tapes by buying two songs. Apparently, “Pressure” from Billy Joel (iTunes) and “Done With Bonaparte” by Mark Knopfler (not available on iTunes, but Amazon.com has it) were each a lone song that I liked on a tape. So, that’s two tapes down.
2) Some of the tapes I have can’t be replaced. Generally speaking, this is because they exist only in that format. Le Sigh. Some examples:
- “One by One” by Miles and Miles. This band no longer exists. I managed to hunt down Margaret Miles, but I can’t seem to find any word of a CD or MP3s from that album.
- “Reflections” by Laura Allan. I found someone selling a used LP of this album. Sadly…that’s not what I’m looking for. No CDs or MP3s. Le Sigh.
- Golden Bough’s Self-Titled album from from 1990. I can find some of their other stuff, but not this one. I don’t think that I can even recreate the album from bits of other ones.
(If you have any info on these, please let me know. At this rate I’m going to have to sweet talk Koshvader into hooking his tape deck up to his computer again.)
3) I have several tapes that I can buy the CDs/MP3s for. I suppose that I have to start somewhere. It’s the mix tapes that are going to be interesting to deal with. Heck, I don’t even know who the artists are for some of those songs.
At least I’ve made some progress. And now you all know what the infamous “red thing” looks like.
Well, I can cross another one off of the list. The other day I was in town with a friend and I finally managed to go into Lula Lu Petite Lingerie. They’ve always been closed before, you see. While I was there the sales lady offered to measure me. It turns out that I’ve been wearing the correct size (you hear that Mum?). It’s just that I have previously purchased bras of…er…lesser quality.
Obviously I had to buy three while I was there. One of them I swear that I will return and buy one of every color. It’s just that comfortable.
I need a Rubber Chicken, and they are out of stock at Archie McPhee. Why do I need a Rubber Chicken? Well, I’m going to be making some changes over at Silliness.org, and one of those is changing the theme to Misty Look. Misty Look will allow me to change the picture in the header, so I’m going to get a Rubber Chicken (which I’ve been meaning to get for a couple of years now) and take some random pics of it. That way I can change the header periodically. You see? With the change of theme will also come another change. I’m going to start using ads. Hey, I need to make up that rent increase somehow. And I can’t say anything about the addition of ads over there, as that is against the usage policy. I’m hoping that the change of theme will give the blog a slightly sillier appearance. It’s kind of boring now. Hey, I could even have some new tag lines like: Silliness.org - Obey the chicken. Anyway, that’s what’s going on over there.
I’m still alive. In case the fact that I’m posting this hadn’t tipped you off. I will never again sneer at Influenza. I’m not sure that I ever have before, but there you are. Bleh. I’m still coughing, but I’m otherwise okay if a bit on the tired side. My brain is back to its usual thousand miles an hour thing. So, thank you for your well wishes.
I’ve been working on my list today. So far:
I’ve made an appointment with my OB/GYN who is back from her maternity leave. (28. Call OB/GYN’s office.) I need to catch up and talk to her about that test I need to do.
I’ve changed doctors. (30. Change doctors)
And I’ve been working on some other things like the old version of Silliness.org and my filing system. I even got my old renter’s insurance policy (the people that re-upped without asking) canceled officially. The new policy proof is being faxed to the complex as I type.
Now, some bad news. The pet rent was not included in the original estimate of the new rent price starting in June. So, our rent is going up a grand total of $233/month. Good Gad! Yes, I just got off of the phone. Now I really wish that I’d get that Tea Blogger job I applied for.
Hey, Dad! This is the song that was stuck in my head the other day. (Mind you, this live version is a bit faster than I’m used to.)
Oh, and finally, Doctor Who series 4 starts tomorrow in the UK. Just so you know.
This evening I managed to have dinner with my Husband during my dinner break. While I was there, I managed to work on my list a little bit. That’s right. As per: “81. Try 5 new kinds of tea.” I have now tried Pomegranate Green Tea by Republic of Tea.
My reaction: I liked it. It’s a bit sweet, but not in a Jasmine kind of way. I’d certainly try it again.
And I have already crossed something off of my list! Koshvader officially has life insurance. Finally. I’ve been trying to drag him over there to fill out paperwork for several months now. I’ve had insurance for over a year, so it’s only fair. We also got rental insurance so that I can call the annoying people who re-upped me without asking last year and tell them where they can put their cut-rate insurance policy.
