I love how each National album is an event. And I don’t mean the surprise shows, TV appearances, media hoopla, or even the flood of National related posts on my dash. I’m talking about the personal event. For example, I can pinpoint exactly where I was when I first listened to each of their records. I can remember that spark when each individual song spoke to me for the first time. I am able to recall exactly how I felt in certain moments three years ago… six years ago… and many, many points in between. That is something special. There are not too many things in life that I can say that about. And judging by the enthusiasm surrounding this release, I’m not alone.

body = exhausted; mind = refreshed

Funny that I chose to put it that way because since then I’ve been fighting a dull migraine that has decided to last all week. Ugh.

Weekend fishing report: 4 hooked, 3 landed.

But let’s be honest, this is mostly about me posting a cool looking photo of myself.

And back to work… body = exhausted; mind = refreshed.

We woke up at 4 am both days of that fishing trip, and my bed times were 2 am and 1 am respectively. Bookend that with two 6 hour drives and mix many Dale’s Pale Ales and a bottle of Tullamore Dew in between. I really don’t know how I am alive today. Somehow I feel pretty good, though.

Currently: getting the eff out of the city for a few days. Lake Ontario fishing trip with father and bro in laws. We may catch some fish. We will consume lots of beer and fast food.

juanalikesmusic: Sometimes I just like to stare at them. I touch them to feel the different textures and widths; I take out some of them to look at their artwork; I imagine situations in which I choose albums that I think some people would like.

Reading Juana’s article makes me really miss my old CD collection. When I was a kid, the first thing I would do after cashing my tiny paycheck was go to the record store and buy a new CD. I used to organize them on shelves and admire how the spines looked together. I would lay out all of the albums from a particular artist and try to imagine why they had chosen them. I would constantly re-organize and curate away any misguided purchases. It’s sad for me to say this, but those days are long gone for me now.

Fortunately I digitized most of my CD’s years ago, so the music is still around in some form. The actual disc collection, though, has been reduced to a mere handful - a casualty of several disorganized moves, my CD swallowing car, and those evil binders cases that only seemed to invite scratches and the greedy hands of “friends”.

Most recently, I’ve realized that my digital music collection has stopped growing as well. These days I basically just “borrow” most new music from Spotify. And with that, any tangible satisfaction that I used to get from coveting my favorite music is fully marginalized. Such is the modern era, I suppose. Maybe this is the point where I finally start collecting vinyl?

Lunch Break: decided to pay a lunchtime visit to the Garden today. Hopefully it will bring us some extra luck for later.

Sorry I’ve been so quiet lately. There is a lot going on in my world right now and my nature is telling me to clam up for a while.

mostevilsmary:

Even if you need to go through hell by yourself, you know you’re not alone. It can mean everything in the world to know there is someone to come home to, someone manning the fort while you struggle. That one person who loves you, and patiently waits for you – the only person you ever want to share your battle scars with.

Word.

I think I tweaked my ankle running last night. And then, when I got home, I managed to gash my foot open while in the shower. And of course while I was sitting on the edge of the shower trying to stop the bleeding, a delivery guy shows up, so I wind up getting blood all over the apartment while scrambling to get dressed and answer the door. When Jen walked in a few minutes later, she said the place looked like a crime scene. But then…

• The Rangers came back to win a huge game
• The Youth Lagoon show ended up being incredible

So it’s all good.

And at least the gash will force me to rest that ankle for a few days.