Spring Break: Day 1

6:15 am - Woke up obscenely early (in spring break terms, that is) to take sister to office and go to mechanic to order new tires for car.

10:00 am to 12:00 pm - Just after finishing with mechanic, went to Wheaton Library to find schoolbooks (unsuccessfully) for 2 minutes, then spent the rest of the two hours looking through old records. Came home with 9 albums (12 records) for $12:

1. The History of Otis Redding. I believe it is the '67 Volt/Atco version, possibly worth some dough IF IT STILL HAD THE FUCKING JACKET!!! But for the price and the music, I can't complain.

2. Dylan, Before the Flood. This is supposed to be a good one. He plays with the Band in this one, and the Band are super great musicians. It has the Weight on it, too. I found Music from the Big Pink (again, no jacket) lying around, but it looked way too scratched up to even be listenable.

3. The Pretenders, their first album. Just finished listening to side one. I know, I know, I should have heard this a lot longer ago, and I'm sorry. I found their second album too but I forgot to get it.

4. Petula Clark, Downtown. No, I am not gay.

5. Burt Bacharach, Reach Out. For my inner hipster, perhaps?

6. Andres Segovia, Three Centuries of the Guitar. My dad used to make us listen to Segovia when we were kids. He is ace, and I hope this album is, too.

7. Brahms, Op. 77 and Prokofiev, Op. 25. I think I want to get more into classical music. If I know so many pop songs, why can't I have it the same way with classical music? It turns out that the Brahms one is one of the most famous violin concertos. The Prokofiev symphony is pretty popular, too. I thought it had a nice cover. And it was played in France. French chicks are hot.

8. Bizet, Carmen. This version is conducted by one Sir Thomas Beecham and the top billed singers are Victoria de los Angeles and Nicolai Gedda. It turns out that this is a very good version of the opera. I picked it because I like the popular songs from Carmen like the Habanera, and because the album came in one of those cool boxes classical sets come in with all three records in immaculate condition. And the libretto is intact, too.

9. Debussy, La Mer, Prelude a l'apres - midi d'un faune, and 3 Nocturnes. I remember on an old computer, one of the sample songs Windows had was Debussy's Clair de Lune. When I was younger, I never particularly cared for it, although now I can't remember what it sounds like. I remember being rather disappointed because what I'd heard wasn't what I imagined something as (to me) romantically titled as Clair de Lune would sound like. I thought that La Mer was his take on the old French pop song, but it looks like it isn't. I hope this one is good.

12:30 pm - 3:30 pm - Aside from having lunch, I don't know where these three hours went. Such idleness makes me feel so guilty.

3:30 pm - 5:00 pm - Stayed with niece the whole time. She went potty. Hooray!

5:00 pm - 6:00 pm - Picked up sister from work.

6:00 pm - 10:00 pm - Skyped with parents. Got up from time to time to speak to old high school buddy in San Francisco and to take a bath. Was really depressed throughout this period, for some reason. Still am. Must look at porn later to forget worries.

11:00 pm - chatting with cousin from Australia. Hopefully alleviating some of her fears about starting college.