I feel like Alexander, but worse.

Have you ever read this book? If not, you need to. It is in my top 5. Where the Wild Things Are beats it, but for days like today, it is mandatory. I set my alarm for to get up for my tri class. Today was running. I hate running. I woke up with my alarm, and proceeded to fall back to sleep, missing my bus. C was kind enough to give me a ride. I was late, and I couldn't find my class or my teacher (sometimes we run outside). I took off by myself for a pretty good run. It was just shy of a 5k and kind of nice to be by myself. I got back, showered, and got ready for class. I realized that I had left my cell phone at home, which isn't that big of a deal. There are free phones on campus in certain spots, and I could easily email C to let her know. Then I realized I left my wallet at home. No bueno. I didn't pack any food because I anticipated riding the bus home and eating after a short physics lab. No wallet = no bus ride. No wallet + no food in backpack = hungry. Physics lab wasn't short either.

After my lab, I decided I needed to walk home. That was lots of fun. At least it didn't rain to hard on me. I got home and at some lunch around 3:00pm. Then my phone rang. It was someone I am working with on my research project. He informed me that there wasn't any money in the envelope to pay the participant. That was my fault. I was supposed to put some more money in it, but I spaced it. I tried to get a hold of the lady at the psych dept. who is in charge of that, and she didn't answer phone calls or emails. The guy running the participant for me didn't have any cash and couldn't get any out of the bank. I put on my shoes and ran the 5 blocks to the bus stop, barely making it. I got on the bus starting to figure out how I could make it happen, and then my phone rang again. He found her office and got the money. At the next stop, I got off and walked the now 7 blocks home.

In Alexander's story, other people were the cause of his woe. Today, I caused my own problems which makes it that much worse. It's nice to have someone to blame, but when it's yourself it sucks.

If nothing else, I hope that you laugh at my misfortune. It will do at least some good then. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. I can promise you I won't be forgetting my wallet.

What's your current favorite?

I go through phases. I've been through quite a few. It started in 4th grade with Rage Against the Machine. Then came Nirvana, Sound Garden, and let's not forget Eddie and the boys from Pearl Jam. "Don't Call Me Daughter" brings back memories. After that, it was mostly Greenday,Rancid and some Beastie Boys for the next year or so. The summer of 6th grade brought me the fateful and now virtually non-existent Less Than Jake/Jimmy Eat World demo tape from Salty Peaks freebie corner. LTJ - 1. Automatic, 2. Shindo, 3. Sugar In Your Gastank. I don't remember the Jimmy Eat World side very well. I haven't ever liked them, not even in 6th grade.

The LTJ tape introduced me to the world of Ska. That lead to a few LTJ cd's that summer with whatever money I could scrounge as an enterprising young lad. I also had some Bosstones, and Voodoo Glow Skulls. 7th grade had a mix of very confused rap (not hip hop, hip hop is definitely different than rap, rap sucks) ranging from the Mexakinz and I'm embarassed to say All Eyez On Me (I assure you it was very brief). It was mostly because of the kids I was hanging out with. I tried it out because they thought it was cool. It was kind of on and off from there with hip hop with the exception of Wyclef. I still love The Carnival. When I first got my Jeep, I had two 10" kicker subs in the back hooked up to a pioneer deck that I hard wired (no wiring harness) which was a serious mistake. It worked intermittently, and I got to the point where I could take my entire dashboard apart in a matter of minutes to assess what connections were messed up. I digress. At least my hip hop taste got better in high school with the Souls of Mischief, Jurassic 5, Tha Liks, and some third eye vision with the Hieroglyphics.

Somehow, I listened to both hip hop and a lot of punk. When I say a lot, I mean a lot. It was pretty much a weekly occurrence for us to hit DV8, Kilby Court, or some other locale for a good show. I went through my poppy punk phase with The Ataris (which if I put in now, I can't stand for more than about 2 seconds) and a little New Found Glory. Blink 182 was never a visitor to my CD player though. Way too trendy. I was a music snob extraordinaire. I had a set of ridiculous rules. For example, you absolutely do not wear the shirt you bought at last night's concert to school today. Big time no-no. Only posers did that. There was also a list of people who if I learned they liked a certain band, that band no longer made my top ten. It is pretty silly to think about now. MxPx fell prey to that last rule. About my senior year of high school and first year of college I had pretty much established what bands I did (and still do love). Hey Mercedes, Saves The Day, and Jeff Buckley have been in my top 5 for at least 5 years. (random thought. Whoever is reading this is probably pretty bored now because I am talking about something you don't care about AND I haven't included any pictures. That is besides the point that I haven't even come close after two lengthy paragraphs to addressing the question I posed. If this were on your blog, I'd read it because this sort of stuff interests me, and because it's my blog, I'm in charge.)

Coming home from the mish significantly reduced my cd collection. I can still remember how difficult that decision was to make. I decided that if I didn't feel comfortable listening to it with Chels, or with my future kids, it had to go. I took my CD case (which was custom covered by moi with red shaggy fur (picture Elmo but longer) and a Lagwagon patch) down to her house and got rid of everything unsavory that I couldn't sell. I snapped CD after CD in front of her. I made a big deal out of it, and I am sure she thought I was totally weird. I was on a self-righteous returned missionary trip. Sometimes I go through withdrawals. Nobody sings like Matt Skiba from Alkaline Trio, especially on Maybe I'll Catch Fire, but he just sings way too much about things that are a little to creepy. I'm glad I stuck to my guns.

Now I still really like fast, heavy and loud, but I have branched out quite a bit. When I collected vinyl, I really got into old jazz like Ella, Louis, Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Billie Holiday. I also really enjoy acoustic stuff. Greg Fine (if you have never heard of him, google it. He rules), Sondre Lerche (he did the Dan in Real Life soundtrack), Regina Spektor (an acquired taste), John Flor, and Madi Diaz among others. Let's not forget Radiohead. They are like Jeff Buckley in that they are pretty much sans genre. In Rainbows is killer.

What stuff are you in to currently? Do you have any suggestions for me? I'm always open to something new.