feathers on my breath

big sur, california

the first five songs of the day:

dancing queen ~ abba
st. pauli ~ art brut
one more time (daft punk cover)/my vien ilin (live) ~ ted leo
no birds today ~ cowboy junkies
new york is a woman ~ suzanne vega

apparently my itunes hates me, or went off and took a holiday without me. when i turned on the laptop this morning and opened up itunes she was completely empty. so, i have had to re-load all my folders of music. on the plus side, all those annoying duplicate songs are now not there. also, my itunes seems to have an early morning abba thing going. no matter how i sort my music, as soon as i hit shuffle and play an abba song starts it all up. not the same one, either; she varies with her abba-love.

i have been (re)reading the unbearable lightness of being recently. the last time i read it i was eighteen, and it astounds me how differently the book feels to me now that i'm reading it, some twenty years later. it is one of those books that i want to take in slowly, contemplate all the meanings and layers, and write in the margins. i am reminded of my favorite english proffessor, and how she encouraged us to keep composition books full of our reactions on anything we read; be it a classic piece of literature, a newspaper article, or a comic book. this article is quite keen, and makes me want to grab a copy of big sur and take the drive. visit the nepenthe, the henry miller museum, and talk to the ocean for a bit.

i've also had my mind on san francisco lately. i cannot believe how long it has been since i've been there, and how much i miss it. there was a time when i was younger, and jules was a baby, that i almost moved there. sometimes i think it may be where i end up, after jules has graduated high school and settled into college. i miss the bay area.

today is shoshana's birthday. she is such an incredible soul, full of poetry, wit and genuine kindness. i miss her quite a bit, and often. i was thinking today at how long we've known each other, and how we've both changed and grown in many ways, and how we are the same in other ways. i hope she has an incredible day, and a fantastic new year in her life.

best show on television this summer, besides californication, has been live at abbey road. seriously, the music has been so incredible that i have even been impressed with bands and artists i normally would not listen to. i posted a video from the show, with damien rice, a week or so ago; i will post another incredible one, later today.

a much needed day off today, though i have been checking work email. it was nice to be able to drop the kids off this morning without the typical rushing around and barely breathing ferver. veronica seems to love school, wakes up excited and anxious to get there. at breakfast, at the school, they had breakfast pizza and fruit. the pizza made me smile as it reminded me of post-party cold pizza mornings, especially when i first lived on my own.

kerry, yo gabba gabba is on the television right now. this is the most surreal and hypnotic children's show i have seen in a very long time. it reminds me of a post-modern sid and marty kroft show. max sure seems to love it.