Wormy.

Just finished that 33 1/3 book about Murmur. The first part was good, the middle almost lost me completely because it was so technical as to be painfully boring - I actually skimmed and even skipped some pages altogether, which is completely out of character - and then the end was very interesting again. And most importantly, I finished so I can pass it on to the b.h. My favorite quote by far is this one:
"The same can be said for Murmur's lyrics: anyone's guess is truly as good as anyone else's... the interpretation of rock lyrics is a perilous and often embarrassing prospect I'd prefer to steer clear of out of basic concern of trying not to sound like a complete doofus. In this regard, no rock band in the history of magnetic tape has invited such disaster as R.E.M."
He goes on to provide some hilarious (and some just plain sad) examples.


Almost finished with The Singing Sands and A Hedonist in the Cellar, too. I expect I'll be through both of them before bed. Josephine Tey is just what the doctor ordered for bedtime: Smart enough to be interesting, mysterious enough to make me fight to stay awake for a couple extra pages, but light enough that my mind isn't racing when I finally do decide to put her down. Jay McInerney is just fun and funny. And since I'm trying to learn whatever I can right now about wine, this book has been extremely helpful.

I have long since finished Service Included, which the b.h. has also finished. We both liked many aspects of it but mostly felt that it wasn't novel material. The thing is, I appreciate having insight into the workings of a superfine dining establishment more than anything. While reading this book, I was very impressed by the author's passion for food and the restaurant's dedication both to food and to service, but I found myself at best bored and and at worst annoyed when she talked about her relationship. This is the same way I feel about The West Wing. Stick to what you know, people, and stop trying to be all things blah blah blah. In any case, I learned some things from the book, and that is always a plus.
As soon as I finish JT I'm going to finish Coraline, and then possibly see the movie. I'll also be dipping back into The Fortress of Solitude this week. There are unopened magazines piling up all over the place, too. It's all very exciting.

The End?

"We got him," announced the b.h., right after I got out of bed. There was another - possibly the last - rat in the trap. He disposed of the corpse and we went on about our day. It was very quiet, not only all day, but all evening. No dishes banging in the middle of the night, no scurrying sounds coming from the walls or ceiling. Cross your fingers, kids. It may be over (for now).
It's been raining for a couple days now, which is fine with me, because we need it badly. Plus, rain is a good excuse not to mow the lawn, or gather firewood, or do much of anything, really. I will try to squeeze in a walk for the boys at some point, but other than that I plan to loaf and read and drink tea to my heart's content. Still reading Midnight..., plus I have an unopened Vanity Fair and TWO copies of The Believer. Also, the b.h.'s mom loaned me a copy of a book called Julie and Julia that I can't wait to tear into. So it might b e a few days before you hear from me again.

Also, I added some photos to the Nashville post, for anyone who might be interested.

Employment Update.

So I got another job. This one is at a liquor store. I'm working mostly in the wine department, which is great, because I have so much to learn and I am very interested in the subject.
So far it has gone very well, though I am exhausted after working both jobs for several days in a row. I like all the people I work with. I've known a few of them for a long time, which always makes things easier. Customers, however, can still really suck. I had forgotten how depressing scary alcoholics can be. It's totally different, to me at least, to see people drinking early in the day. Especially people who come in for an airline bottle to slip in their coffee during their lunch hour. Ick.
The good news is there will be plenty of Customer of the Day/Night stories from this job as well. I've already got one scratched on a post-it in the back of my brain that I'll share when I'm more up to writing. Right now I'm going to get horizontal, play my new Glossary CD over and over*, and tuck in to The Yiddish Policeman's Union before I get to the rest of the John Adams movie I started yesterday. HBO does such incredible work. I highly recommend the movie for history geeks and movie lovers alike. It does an excellent job of portraying our founding fathers as people, rather than mythical figures, and personally I fond that the truth is way more interesting anyway. Ben Franklin was a fucking weirdo. I can't wait 'til they make the movie about him.
I'll be catching up on blog reading later and a bit tomorrow, I imagine. Happy Sunday everybody.

*I finally saw them on Thursday night at the 40 Watt, and I can't tell you how amazing it was. Think Marah meets Whiskeytown, but without all the bullshit rockstar attitude. Beautiful. Oh yeah- their new album is available for download - free! - at their myspace page. So you have no excuse not to check it out.