Hi. Quite a stretch for me lately – spent the weekend breathing in paint fumes and plaster dust. Yesterday got myself a nice little surprise during my annual physical – a tetanus shot. Yee-haw. The doctor asked me when the last tetanus shot I had was, and I stammered and mumbled something about college and he was quick to say “we’ll get you updated today.” Just swell. The shot itself is nothing – it’s the sore arm that sucks. I mean, I’m totally functional, but it’s just annoying.
Anyway, I am, they tell me, the picture of health. I do make an effort at it, too. It’s so hard to believe that just four years ago I really never did much exercise, keep track of my finances, or really care about much of anything except for music and going out. Funny how things change – just yesterday I was thinking about how I could buy an IPod, transfer only my favorite songs, and simply sell off ALL of my remaining CDs and make some money – I figure now’s the time to trade them in while they’re still worth something, right? 4-5 years ago if someone came near my CD’s I would have tackled them and forced them to do shots of 5F5 Paint & Varnish Remover. That said, today I envision the CD market really hitting the skids in the next few years while it slowly transfers online. (UPDATE – what a strange coincidence that I was just on CNN.com and came across this story. There is, however, something that keeps me attached to my CDs – there’s something to be said for buying a CD you’re excited about – the physical product – ripping it open and slapping it in the player. But time marches on, and with that comes easier and more streamlined ways to acquire music. I suppose soon enough we’ll be talking about the CDs the same way us thirty-somethings remininisce about vinyl records – a thing of the past, to be filed away with the warm memories of Stretch Armstrong’s and Super Jock sports toys. Damn! Super Jock sports toys – remember those? You’d bang on the dude’s head, and he would shoot a puck or throw a football……great, great stuff!
Anyway, my doctor, whom I’ve gotten to like quite a bit, really seems to care about his patients. We all know the stories of hurried, emotionless doctors, so it’s nice to have one who asks you questions and remembers stuff about you and mentions it, even if they wrote it down previously – at least they’re taking the time to ask, right? I’ve always had a great experience at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, MA, so props to them. And guess what? I have to go back there tomorrow to have a curious lump removed from my arm. That oughta be a blast.
Speaking of a blast, the new Sloan album is already kicking my ass. It took, oh, about three full listens before I realized that this band will simply keep pumping out tremendous anthems and too-catchy tunes until someone runs over them with a truck.
Song now playing: Neil Young & Crazy Horse – “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere”