F-f-f-f-friday

Well, the express class is half-over. That was quick - I guess that's why they call it express, huh? Anyway, it was the easy half; the second week will have more assessment and more recording of grades. But when it's done, then, well, I get to teach another overloaded quarter. Yee-ha! We're living large, now.

Yesterday was a particularly long day. After class, I met up with Clan Putnam and we all helped Otis's grandma make the transition from her retirement home to another residence where she'll be able to get more care. We had to deal with the usual fuss 'n' feathers that come along with packing up stuff and transporting it to two separate locations (some furniture went into storage), but there were professional movers to do the heavy lifting. Much of what everyone was there for was the emotional support to make the transition as easy as possible. We all went out to dinner together for the evening. It was a Good Thing.

Post prandium, we had another occasion to mark: J-Force, Mistress of Kitties, was celebrating a birthday! Otis and I shuttled down to Ballard, played with cats, and too J out to Fremont for some super gelato and fun chat. We were apparently just one chip in the festive mosaic of J-Force's forty-fourth: earlier, Mary B took her to High Tea, and the revels continue nonstop this weekend (to include our party Saturday). Happy Birthday!

My weekend, while not revel-free, will comprise more work than play, alas, and I'd best think about getting to it. Before I do, I wanted to clarify something, though. I made a flip remark about music on Johnbai's blog, and it got me thinking. (While thinking after commenting is good, it's probably wiser to think before commenting, but that's another post.)

I really don't have the music gene, at least not in the way it presents itself in some of my friends. I don't own hundreds of CDs and never have. (In fact, someone gave me a case that held twelve CDs and for years that was my limit - I couldn't get a new CD with out getting rid of one, because I would have to get another case.) I rarely pick music to listen to; I just turn in the radio and take whatever comes out (or now, turn on my iTunes and let it play the Internet or whatever it likes). And I guess I don't think about music much: I am sure days go by when I don't hear any music at all and I don't even notice. I don't know what this says about me, or if it says anything significant at all. Maybe it really is genetic, or maybe it's a result of my having been brought up in a home where the only music was Vic Damone and Engelbert Humperdinck (my mother's favorites).

In any case, after reading Johnbai's post, I actually consciously thought about music and what music I like. I still don't think anyone should care what anyone else thinks of their taste in music, but I wondered if I could even identify my taste. I tried to think of CDs that I actually can recognize and like to listen to, or that I sought out. Here's what I came up with:

The Hippos (Otis's cousin's ska band)
Hapa (Hawaiian fusion?)
Ursula 1000 (?)
Fountains of Wayne (Welcome Interstate Managers is my almost-perfect album)

... and that's about when I run out of steam. I like a lot of other individual songs - some stuff from Flaming Lips, Thievery Corporation, and like that, but I can't say I would ever put a CD on and listen to it all. I bought one track from Bruce Springsteen's new album, but can't imagine buying any more. I have recently heard some stuff from Yo La Tengo and Pizzicato Five that I like; I'm thinking about maybe checking them out, but I doubt I'll follow through.

So there you have it, for what it's worth. Pretty flimsy music cred, eh? That's why my radio is usually on NPR.