Feeding My Addiction

This week has been fairly productive. At least on the crossword front. I did 3 puzzles yesterday and a couple more today. That New York Times crossword isn't so hard.

On Monday I went crazy and blew a lot of money shopping. Some of the items were necessary while others were highly unnecessary but most welcome. The first canoe trip of the year is on Memorial Day weekend and my backpack had become unusable. So I got a new one that is quite a big larger than the old. More pockets and a nice aluminum frame for extra support. To go along with it, I bought a ton of miscellaneous gear such as a metal plate & bowl, skeeter repellent, biodegradable soap, waterproof matches, a first aid kit, a small dry bag - just the usual stuff for camping. Next up I'll buy a sleeping bag and a one-person tent. I like being able to have most, if not all, of my gear on my back. That leaves my hands free to carry the cooler, you see.

After outfitting myself, I went and bought a new pair of tennis shoes - Chuck Taylor classics. They're red with black trim. But they cost nearly $40! Damn inflation! The clerk was a woman in her early 20s and very cute. She wore this very tight sky blue shirt and was constantly pulling it down. She seemed a bit embarrassed. If you know you're going to spend half your time adjusting it, why wear it? I don't pretend to understand such things. What else did I buy? Oh, I got a new briefcase-like hoolie. Ya know, it's plastic and has a shoulder strap - not boxy like a traditional briefcase. A new-fangled casual thingy. It's nice as it has plenty of space for carrying stuff I use when fixing computers as well as space for my role-playing books. And, if I ever get a laptop, it will fit nicely. I also bought a new coffeemug as my old one had 2 problems: 1) the lid did not have a hoolie to slide over the drink hole so, if it tilted or received a blow, my java would spray everywhere and 2) the foam insulation had melted into a small puddle at the bottom so it didn't keep my precious coffee hot for shite. I had to search high and low for it. Someone recommended WalMart but I refuse to shop there so I was prepared to buy one online. Fortunately, ShopKo had the type I was seeking: stainless steel, handle, and closable lid. It will occasionally be strapped to my backpack and must be durable enough so survive being thrown around a canoe, campsites, and potentially against being thrust against rocks should be douche the canoe.

On the necessary end of the spectrum, I bought some anti-fungal goop. I feel so impure, so dirty. I've got fungus seeminly all over my body - between my toes and between my legs. I've got a spray bottle for the gook between my toes and another one for the stuff on my crotch. Walking into Walgreens, I hoped that I could find the jock-itch salve or whatever form it come in on my own. Who wants to approach a woman and ask where they stock it? "Excuse me, ma'am, but I've got this fungus growing on my nutsack. Where is your jock-itch medication?" Wandering around a bit and looking at the signs above the aisles, I found nothing denoting what I sought. Back and forth I walked, carefully eyeing the shelves and passing by clerks who could, in a matter of seconds, direct me to where I needed to go. But no, I had to find it on my own. I don't want my neighbors to know that I'm infected with tinea cruris. I had already traipsed through the Walgreens Hall of Shame when I had pubic lice and needed to get some of that special shampoo that comes with that super-fine comb so I could brush my pubic hair which was laced with the eggs of those pesky lice. From my experience, the space between the hoolies on the comb were about a picometer - I think they're trick combs meant to actually pull the hair out.

Moving away from my hygienic problems, I bought me a book today - The Rough Guide to Classical Music. On Sunday, I heard a bit of a really cool radio program on the university's station. I think it was called "Bach'n'Rock" or some such thing. Goofy name aside, the music was awesome. Tuning in, I found myself in the middle of "O Fortuna" from Orff's Carmina Burana - a killer piece. Then came a death metal song that I didn't know but which was good. This was followed by a brass version of Bach's Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor. Really good stuff. And so I'm in a classical music mood. This is unfortunate because I've got this teetering stack of CDs on my desk and there's nary a classical note to be found. In addition to the albums I have to review, a most generous OD reader sent me 9 or 10 discs. Add in all the music I've been downloading and I've got literally days of tunes for my ears. Today I listened to bits of a few of the discs my reader sent me. I wasn't familiar with most of the music but liked the majority of it. More listening is required, obviously, but I will say that I've fallen in love with Hope Sandoval's voice. Just beautiful!

Tomorrow, a professor from the university here will be giving a reading from his new book about American soul music and I plan on going.

Do I watch 21 Grams or read...?