Good Morning. Hello. How are you? #1508
Walmart run, flat tire, THC and heart disease, Peewee doc, Jane's last day of school, new Pulp, and bands that tour in their third decade.
Morning, son. Sorry I’m late. Usual excuses about Walmart and Collection Center, but with a twist! I got a flat! Drove over a nail or some shit. Rapid Unscheduled Deflation, was down to 10 psi by the time I drove 20 yards and left the collection center. Drove to the end of the block to the gas station and was down to 2 psi. And the air hose on the inflator at the gas station had been slashed. I mean, clever bit of antisocial vandalism, not something someone would think to protect, I give you props, social malcontents. But still. Annoying.
So then I had to limp the thing at 1mph about 200 yards to the tire shop. Which, I mean, lucky there is a tire shop on my corner. I did the mental math on the cost of shredding the tire beyond repair and the cost of a tow and went with the tire. Because my tires were already probably due for replacement soon, so I’m getting the whole set. Fun unexpected $1,500 spent this morning. Awesome.
Emma was insanely, weirdly, awake when I started texting her venting, as I sat outside the tire shop waiting for it to open. I was using phone as a key, so I needed a key to give the tire shop people. And a ride home. The tire shop woulda done the ride home but wow, my late-rising wife? Up at 7:45 today. Lucky.
Giant line at 8 AM at the tire shop, by the way. Like ten people. But I was first. Cuz I got there at 7:40.
Whole parking lot smelled like weed.
So Emma accompanied me to Walmart this morning, and she got to experience the reduced-stimuli hours, which she did not like. She also parked at the wrong door and did the loop of the store in the reverse direction, which is shockingly hard to do mentally! Kept having to go back for things. Because I was arriving at them in the wrong order.
Still no pepperoni-flavored turkey Chomps, but an expansion into two other beef flavors. And… shit. Just going to the Chomps site now. They only have the turkey Chomps listed. Not the pepperoni-flavored turkey Chomps.
Fuck fuck fuck.
Oh the humanity.
Still no creepy Sydney Sweeney bathwater soap yet either. Starting to think that even though Walmart carries the full line of this brosoap company, they might not get this posh limited edition.
This is all academic, of course.
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This morning we are listening to the new Pulp album, More. I am only on track 2, and I had already heard track one, of course. Though it has been growing on me. Did not love track two but I don’t care, I am happy they’re back.
All right I am digging track 3. Guitar line kinda rips off Subculture by New Order.
Read an interview with Jarvis in the New Yorker last week it was pretty good. Didn’t know about his fall/accident as a kid and the apparent epiphany that came from it that sounds very interesting to me. Jarvis seems kinda sad, really. But he seems to like Pulp and I am glad they’re back. I hope they do a proper US tour but I get it, some bands hate touring. The thing about bands in their late career is it’s astronomically unlikely that all the members will have turned out to enjoy touring in their 40’s and 50’s, which means, paradoxically, that the bands that stay together with their original members are less likely to undertake giant tours. This makes Ride and Slowdive weird exceptions. And we should be thankful. Though maybe it was the decades-long break and maybe Pulp will go that way. But look at New Order: one guy loves to tour forever, and does, rest of the band like ten dates a year to pay the bills. And who can blame them. I love touring but also hate it and would absolutely dread it if I had to do it.
I wonder what else came out today. Spotify won’t tell me. I just got through listening to all of last week’s new music yesterday. Hrm I have done a google search. Little Simz, Turnstile. Didn’t we just get a Turnstile album? is Little Simz gonna play the upcoming second Sault show ever? Finn Wolhard makes music? Katatonia’s still around? Ooo new Jon Bellion. I like that guy. New Death in Vegas, My Chemical Romance (never really been my thing but I admire his creative productivity and I keep apprised). Oh yeah that new Brian Eno collab with a bloke named Beatie Wolfe. I was not enamored of the advanced tracks. Oo new Black Moth Super Rainbow that is exciting.
Has anyone else read about the recent study linking all THC use to heart disease, not just smoking it? I kinda thought I was getting off scot-free with the edibles approach but apparantly not. I read the abstract (gotta register or pirate for the full study and I am too lazy, insert commentary about all the true information in the world being inaccessible so people just rely on untrue information). Edibles are definitely not as bad, so that is good. The abstract did say “at any strength,” but that is not useful information. It was a small study, only 55 people, no women in the edibles-only category apparently, no details about “at any strength,” no details about whether amount increases risk, etc. I would like more information.
But, you know. men in their 50’s: odds are it’s the ticker that’s gonna get you. We really should be better about taking care of the ticker.
The thing that sucks about taking care of the ticker is what do you do to take care of the ticker? Less salt, I guess? And you’re supposed to get your heart pumping for 20-30 mins a day, right? I do that most days (god I need to stop working in front of a computer). Not smoke. But I mean, it’s… complicated? It would be really nice if there was just one big thing that made the most difference with your heart. I wonder if there is.
Honestly it’s probably going to the doctor and getting your heart checked, whenever it’s being weird. Which I did. And I got a, mmm, gonna say B- grade? Not bad but not great. Could def be worse. No cause for alarm but not perfect.
WHICH IS BAD!
Oh god am I going to have to give up my occasional microdosed edibles?
Sigh.
I am very into basically small amounts of benign-ish things. I mean, not like the things other people microdose like LSD and Mushrooms I am done with those in life. Legal stuff. I’ve had less than one drink a week this year. When I crack and have nicotine I consume maybe 0.5 mg of a partial 1mg lozenge (fun fact: you can get 1mg lozenges on Amazon, half the strength of the weak ones at retail). I have my two weakly-caffeinated cans of soda a day then stop. When I take a gummy it’s the weakest strength I can find. Though I confess it’s not half the weakest strength anymore.
Thimbles of sin.
What else I got today. I am frazzled I am running late. I have a ton to do today. Gotta pay bills to rebar dudes and excavators. Gotta do feedback on a slide deck.
Let us take a moment, though, to celebrate: NO MORE WAKING UP AT 6:20 AM FOR THREE MONTHS.
Okay, it is not three months, and okay, I have to get up at like 5:15 next Friday to go to Alaska but STILL. I am VERY excited.
Watching the Pee Wee Herman documentary. It is very good. I didn’t remember about Phil Hartman at all. I mean, if you pressed me and I really thought about it, I would have remembered he was a Pee Wee compatriot but I had forgotten. And all that stuff with Guy was very sad. I have only finished one episode though so I am at career peak before the downfall. Gonna be a hard watch from here on out, but man. I am glad this exists. The eighties were so freakin weird.
Jane brought a beach ball and sunglasses to school today like she’s Sean Penn in Fast Times or something. Real High School prank school thing I don’t know if this was an original idea, if she understood the humor, or just really wanted to bring a beach ball to school today.
She did brush her hair for me in the car, though.
And she got a Spelling Bee word right before she left the car and was very exciting.
And gave me a just abysmal first Wordle word and I almost didn’t win (whew) but we pulled victory from the jaws of defeat, so she was in a pretty good mood when she left the car.
“Abysmal” should have two S’s like Abyssinia, because I always think of abysmal as falling into Abyssinia and not an abyss. I mean, I don’t. I just think it’s funny.
So, for the next week or so, Jane is going to be more likely than not sitting here next to me, well, behind me, when I write these words each morning. Let’s see how that goes.
Justa mix this morning, mostly new stuff, though there do seem to be continuing Rain Parade remasters, which is nice. I like the new Superchunk, like I said, undecided on this new Karate. New Big Thief is okay. VERY into this new Annie Hamilton, I kind of love her. And there is new Shilpa Ray, always excited to hear from her. This new yeule is crazy I need to, like, listen to it on headphones undisturbed.
OKAY! Friday! Have a lovely weekend. If all goes well I will spend most of it in the studio working on the floor. Maybe some gardening. Oh and I got a couple things to do to my truck, if I get it back. Fingers crossed. Will regale you with choretales on Monday.
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Good Morning, Hello, How Are You vol 1.