Memories.

I once had a Sesame Street scratch and sniff book.

I only remember a couple things from it, one being the scratch and sniff pickle from the Sesame Street grocer.

The other was a skunk. Of course, when you're making a scratch and sniff book, it makes total sense to appeal to the olfactory sense, even in plot. I think it had something to do with "What's that horrible smell?"

I just got back from a late-evening 7-11 run (addict!) and along the trip was an unfortunate skunk that had seen the worst side of vehicular traffic.

And I thought about where I grew up. I thought about how I'd thought that was the most horrible aroma ever. I thought about how I used to hate it when skunks would get run down because it would make everything smell nauseating for days, sometimes weeks.

And I realized that once-awful stench was now burned in my memory. I realized that I don't associate it with the same horror I once did. Ok, so I'm not running down wildlife with my car, and it's rather terrible seeing it lying there in that state.

But I find I don't recoil from the sensory experience the way I once would. That fragrance just makes me nostalgic, and I think about simpler times. Happy, in a way.

Lengthy, with little value, but no advertisements.

Ok, so about a year or so ago, I signed up for a year's worth of service with one of them legitimate internet digital music companies. Cost me about two hundred bones. I won't say which, as I'm not their shill.

Over a thousand songs later, I'm thinking about the extra 800 bucks it would've cost me to have the DRM-encumbered versions through iTunes. Straight MP3s, 90 songs a month, and here's the final tally by band and number of songs picked up:

Acumen Nation: 57
Alec Empire: 30
Alice Donut: 28
Amish Rake Fight: 10
Bad Religion: 16
Battery: 17
Bile: 14
Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine: 19
Chris Connelly: 11
Christ Analogue: 17
Christoph de Babalon: 11
Claw Hammer: 2
Cubanate: 10
Dave Brubeck: 1
Deerhoof, Mixel Pixel, Evolution Control Committee, Books On Tap: 32
DJ_ Acucrack: 29
En Esch: 1
Evil Mothers: 38
Foetus: 10
Fugazi: 11
God lives underwater: 10
Gravity Kills: 11
Hellbent: 11
Iron Lung Corp: 15
Jim Bob: 18
John Coltrane: 5
Johnny Violent: 14
Leech Woman: 11
MC 900 Ft Jesus: 14
Ministry: 11
Minor Threat: 24
Mouse On Mars: 11
Murder Inc: 9
Nic Endo: 11
Nocturne: 29
Otto Von Schirach: 35
Peeping Tom: 11
Peter Murphy: 10
Pigface: 20
Revolting Cocks: 10
Ruby: 11
Sister Machine Gun: 31
Skinny Puppy: 11
Spahn Ranch: 14
Steroid Maximus: 12
The Creatures: 11
The Damage Manual: 31
The Dead Milkmen: 1
The Dillinger Escape Plan with Mike Patton: 4
The Filmscore Orchestra: 3
The Pixies: 15
The Stan Getz Quartet: 7
The Young Gods: 10
Tom Waits: 69
TRS-80: 31
Tub Ring: 16
Ultraviolence: 5
Various: 73
Various Artists: 65
Various Artists - Alternative Tentacles _ Mordam: 2
Various Artists - Cleopatra Records: 2
Various Artists - Invisible Records: 27
Various Artists - Silva Screen Records: 1
Various Artists - Underground Inc: 6
Voice Of Destruction: 11
Voodou: 2
Wiseblood: 10

blargh

So my landlord tore down my patio fence, and the neighbor's balcony upstairs in the name of community improvement.

They left a notice on my door today that due to some unforeseen events, they'll be needing access to my apartment every day next week as they tear out some of the asbestos-laden popcorn ceiling and that I shouldn't be around at all on monday. I keep expecting some part of my living room to collapse in the meantime.

But, I get to put my cat in boarding and move all furniture at least four feet away from the exterior wall, which means I'll be climbing over things to get from one end of the apartment to the other next week. So don't be surprised if I don't do so well with the updates. The computer might be buried.

scatterbrain

Shit. Missed monday's post as well.

I'm not so good at this.

But I'm trying, Ringo. I'm trying reeeaaaal hard.

Better than a Hallmark holiday.

Shit. Missed my daily post by a technicality of a little over half an hour.

working on setting up a collaborative project that's nothing but well-intentioned.

Film at 11. Or later. Or earlier. Whatever.

Inside jokes can be the strangest.

Random Detritus.

A few bits and pieces.

After last night's attempt at musical creativity, I dropped a few bucks on a few new toys in that same vein today. If they work to my favor, I'll happily review them.

Toe's still blue, but it's not getting worse, so maybe there's still some hope for that toenail yet.

After receiving notice from my leasing office that they'd be demolishing my patio next week, I had to clean everything off of it. The only survivor is my neglected bicycle, which is now sitting in my bedroom on a double layer of butcher paper. I wiped off some of the dirt, but it really needs a good cleaning, air in both tires, perhaps a new chain (the last time I tried riding it a couple links were fused) and a lot more usage. As for the rest of the patio, I said goodbye to a few dying plants (leftovers from last chapter) and a few other bits and pieces. No significant loss.

I've been giving the contents of my apartment the hairy eyeball lately with an eye towards "shit I don't need anymore" In a few days, there might be a purging going on.

Attempting the creative.

So the last couple weeks I've been busy trying to be creative again, but with an aim at an anti-self-censorship campaign. I make something, I make it public, and I've already spread a number of drawings.

But tonight was a little different. Couldn't think of anything to draw, so I sat down at my computer and tried my hand at music again.

If you've got iTunes or Winamp or XMMS or anything that can handle m3u streams, here's what I done made: Yup, right here. Yee haw.

Burnout

I'm running on empty. I've spent the last week at work coordinating and moving two labs and a workgroup, and getting all the shit up and running again. Add to yesterday's bruised toe a mashed finger, and all manner of cuts and scrapes from futzing with racks and rails and hardware and what not.

Either I went too far, or I'm getting old. I'm not sure. Certainly in either case I could stand to be in better shape, physically, but whatever, I'm already working on that.

I'm so very glad that I did the higher education thing and got a job as a software engineer. For me next trick, I'll figure out how to do some actual software engineering at work.

blech.

Toe Stub

I pulled off a first for myself at work today. I managed to stub my toe without my feet actually being in motion. Picked up a travel case for a piece of gear, and it swung down on a rotational axis right into my feet.

E: Ow!
S: What?
E: I think I just hurt myself. It feels like I inverted all my toenails.
S: *shock. awe*

So I went off to the nearest restroom to assess the damage (and it turns out that in that case, I seem to have stumbled upon the skankiest head on site) Rather than risking what the stalls looked like, I plopped down against the far wall and took off the shoe and peeled off the sock of the foot that was hurting more.

All the toes could curl without too much trouble. Probably didn't break anything. That's good. Visual inspection time.

So the big toenail on my left foot was already turning blue. This was about a minute or two from initial impact. That's not good.

I'm thinking of everyone I've known to accidentally catch a finger in a sliding window or car door, and the horrible aftermath. For some reason, these stories always seem to end in "and then the nail finally fell off"

I'm going to miss my toenail. We were good friends.