On My iPod

My old iPod (a generation 3 version?) crashed a few too many times and I couldn’t bear to reload all “my music” on it, so this spring, I bought a new iPod… the video one. I’m getting worried again that I have too much stuff on it and it’ll crash and I’ll be copying disks to the pod again. But I have backed a lot of stuff up.

So, tell me what you think I should add to my eclectic collection:

Television shows: Avatar – Season 1 and Star Wars: Clone Wars

Music [Some listed by albums, some by artist]:

The Alternative Album, Vol. 2: Athlete, The Beta Band, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Blur, Caesars, Coldplay, The Dandy Warhols, Doves, Gomez, Hell Is for Heros, The Music, OK Go, Placebo, Radiohead, Starsailor, The Star Spangles, Supergrass, The Thrills, Turin Brakes, The Vines

The Alternative Album Vol 3: 22-20s, Athlete, The Bees, The Beta Band, Blur, Coldplay, The Concretes, The Dandy Warhols, Doves, Gomez, Graham Coxon, Jane's Addiction, The Music, Placebo, Radiohead, Starsailor, Steriogram, Supergrass, The Vines
[I love these albums. And I think Vol. 4 is just about to come out.]

Spider-Man 2 Soundtrack: Ana, Ataris, Dashboard Confessional, Hoobastank, JET, Jimmy Gnecco Feat. Brian May, Lostprophets, Maroon 5, Midtown, Smile Empty Soul, Taking Back Sunday, Train, Yellowcard [Part of my quest to find out what pop music is today. I want to be prepared for when my sons become teenagers, but I cannot and will not listen to The Black-Eyed Peas. I also watch the Kids Bop commercials to get an idea of what's cool and then listen on iTunes... hence, The Click Five, below. Right now my kids are really into Queen, so I think I’m OK for a little while.]

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Soundtrack: Alana Grace, Brandi Carlile, Chantal Kreviazuz, The Faders, Five for Fighting, Katy Perry, Natasha Bedingfield, Rachael Yamagata, Shannon Curfman , The Valli Girls, William Tell [I really wanted to see this movie, but I could find no other females to go with me. I tried to read the book, but was bored by it. Sigh.]

Blues Masters (Vol. 02): Postwar Chicago Blues: Baby Face Leroy Trio, Bo Diddley, Eddie Boyd, Buddy Guy, Earl Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, J.B. Lenoir, Jimmy Reed, Jimmy Rogers And His Trio, Jody Williams, Johnny Shines, Junior Wells, Little Walter And The Night Cats, Magic Sam, Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, Robert Lockwood, Jr., Sonny Boy Williamson

A: Alice In Chains, Arctic Monkeys, Audioslave
B: The Beatles, Big Head Todd & The Monsters, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Blind Melon, Blues Traveler, James Blunt [an impulse buy… shouldn’t have done it], The Byrds
C: The Carpenters, The Chieftains, The Clash [kids love them too], Kelly Clarkson, The Click Five, Cornershop, Cream, Jamie Cullum
D: Miles Davis, Dixie Chicks [I love the Dixie Chicks. Don’t say a thing about them], Doves, The Duke Spirit [a brand-new find], Bob Dylan
F: Fall Out Boy, Five for Fighting [another one of those impulse buys]
G: Gin Blossoms [new album came out this summer!], Macy Gray, Green Day, Patty Griffin, Guided By Voices
H: Emmylou Harris, Mickey Hart
L: Los Lonely Boys, Lynyrd Skynyrd
M: The Magic Numbers, Maroon 5, Muddy Waters
N: Mark Newman [brother of someone I work with… he’s rather good], Nirvana
O, P, Q: OK Go [I listened to them before the treadmill video, found them on those Alternative Albums], Page & Plant, Pixies, Queen
R: Radiohead, The Ramones
S: Scorpions, Soundgarden, Spin Doctors, Squeeze, Stellastarr, Stone Temple Pilots, The Strokes
T: Taking Back Sunday, Temple Of The Dog, The Thrills
U, W, Y: U2, The Who, Wilco, Yellowcard

A Day in the Life

Oh, I know… what a common title. But it fits. Sort of. See, I’ve been wanting to blog about something, anything, for some time, but I haven’t found the time. I’ve written myself cryptic notes about stuff to blog about: idols and paganism; the “martyr” bracelet my mother wants me to wear; my niece’s baptism, “I feel pretty,” getting my hair done and making small talk at the “beauty parlor”; cello, chess club and my boys; scary group conference call at work; the book I’m reading and the book I just finished reading; the nature of coincidences; and something else that I just can’t remember.

But as I was sitting in the very cold Tae Kwon Do outer room while my boys learned the way of punching and kicking, I decided instead to describe my Wednesday.

4 a.m. Jessie, one of my cats, wakes me up by licking my arms and then my face. A couple of nights ago, she licked my lips. Weird. This time she licked my nose.

6:00 I wake up again because I’m cold and Jessie is still there and purring loudly. Besides, I’m worried about oversleeping, so I turn on the radio to keep me slightly awake.

6:50 I fully wake up and start to wake up Benjamin. He must be at school by 7:50 for early morning orchestra rehearsal.

7:00-7:50 Wake up kids, make them breakfast (I toasted waffles), pick out clothes for them to wear (why? Because if left to their own devices, Benjamin will purposely pick out things that don’t match – it’s a game we play -- and Daniel will wear tie-dye every day). Get dressed. Feed and water cats. Try to fend them off when they circle me because I’m making lunch sandwiches. Tell Lou (oldest cat) that I cannot give her cold cuts because she throws them up and I refuse to clean up throw up any more. Drive Benjamin and the cello to school.

8:00 Back home. Wander aimlessly around kitchen looking for something to eat. Decide to have some Pepsi and two Archway Dutch Cocoa cookies and a popcorn rice cake. Sort thru yesterday’s mail and finish making Daniel’s lunch. Finish getting myself ready.

8:30 Admonish Daniel for not getting dressed or brushing his teeth or doing anything to get ready. Growl at him a little.

8:50 Take Daniel to school. Talk to my cousin who’s taking her kids to school.

9:15 Back home and working from home today because of an appointment I have at 1:00. Actually, I thought the appointment was for 1:30 and am glad my lawyer just called to confirm our 1:00 meeting.
Send a list of priorities to my copy desk and art staff at work. Answer tons of e-mail, edit a couple of stories, talk to my editor in chief and editor/operations, map the issue, talk to my art director, etc. IM with friends.

12:00 Realize I’m not prepared to meet with my lawyer and search for papers that show how much I earn, how much my soon-to-be ex-husband earned when he last worked (in 2001), etc. This is called the “discovery process,” I think. And I think I should be paid for my time. But whatever. Take two xanax just in case … I’d like to avoid being extra nervous in my lawyer’s office.

12:40 Leave for lawyer.

1:00-2:00 Meet with lawyer. (Xanax working well. I’m relaxed.) Things go well. I guess. Really I have no idea. Seems like my soon-to-be ex-husband won’t be paying that much in child support at first, but then again, he doesn’t have a job. And he better not ask me for maintenance. Jerk.

2:20 Log back in at work. Try to finish edit on one story. Look over a few other layouts and send more messages to art department. Growl a little at some unfinished layouts.

3:10 Hear about plane crash. Realize I have to go pick up kids from school. First, run next door and ask sis-in-law if she knows where my brother is. (His job involves going to several different buildings in the city … his company owns a bunch.) Nikki has no idea where she is and can’t reach him on his cell phone. I tell her I’m going to get the boys, but I’ll be back soon if she needs me to watch her kids for any reason.

3:30 Waiting in front of school for kids… and it starts to drizzle. Wish I had brought my umbrella. Show my cousin the news report on my phone… CNN reports that the building that was hit is at 72nd and York, near the Hudson River and Rockefeller Center. Complain to my cousin that someone’s geography is really off and it bothers the hell out of me (can’t someone fact-check these things?!). Show her son the other cool things I can do with my phone, but he’s not really interested.
My kids come out. Benjamin has forgotten his cello in school, but I’m silently glad because I don’t feel like carrying it home in the rain. We walk home. Daniel informs me that I’m the Class C mom – he’s not giving me a grade, though. I curse (under my breath) and say how did that happen? (Of course, I know how it happened… no one else volunteered. On open school night, I signed the list for volunteers but put my name way down on the page and said I could not be the class mom but I would help. Well, at least I’m not Class A or Class B mom.)

3:45-5:30 Daniel realizes he didn’t bring home his agenda so he doesn’t have the list of words he’s supposed to write sentences for. (Oh, and not just any sentences. His teacher, whom I really, really like, wants “razzle-dazzle” sentences. Daniel is not a razzle-dazzle kind of kid. I think he wrote most of his sentences in first grade about his brother or his cats.) I ask him to call his best friend, who happens to be in his class this year, and get the list of words. Unfortunately, said friend is not home. BUT, I’m the Class C mom and now have a list of all the kids in the class, their parents’ names and their home phone numbers. We call someone else to get the list. Kids start homework, sort of. Benjamin wants to watch the news, but I wise up and say he shouldn’t. They get themselves some snacks (cookies I baked over the weekend). I keep trying to edit. Get two stories done and out for proofing. Hurrah!
Tell kids to get dressed for TKD. Mom comes up and Benjamin asks her to make ravioli for dinner (it is Wednesday after all and that means we have pasta with my parents). I tell her I’d rather have Japanese.

5:40 – 6:40 Take kids to TKD. Read a magazine while I’m waiting. Nice article on Jamie Lee Curtis. Feel a little sad because she talks about how her marriage has changed and grown over the years and wish, just for a second, that my soon-to-be ex-husband understood that about marriages. It’s not always good. You know, for better, for worse. Next time, maybe. Daydream a little. Mom calls to tell me she went to three different stores and got some ravioli and I shouldn’t go down the block to get some Japanese. Damn. (NB: We’re Italian. We do not buy ravioli from Pathmark. It has to be “home-made,” so that means going to some place that sells “home-made” ravioli. Also, I don’t like the big round ones, so mom sought out the little squares ones. She loves me.)

7:00-7:30 Eat dinner. Listen to Ben’s silly jokes. Pretend not to notice when he drinks my soda. Daniel decides he wants to practice piano. Go upstairs to get his piano book. Listen thru floor/ceiling.

7:30 to present IM with BFF. Talk about crystals and stuff. Log into Cauldron Living with her, just for the hell of it. We compare birth charts. I write this while kids pretend to do homework. I really must go supervise. And really, really try to get them to bed before 10 so we can do this all again tomorrow.