Did You Know

that it only takes a day to switch yourself into a nocturnal mode? Just stay up all night talking, then sleep through most of the next day, and you'll be up at 3:30 the following morning writing on the internet about the scourge of the diurnal lifestyle. I've actually heard that the best way to adjust to a new time/sleep schedule, if you're visiting Japan for example, is to stay up from when you arrive until you should be going to bed the next day. You may not sleep for 22 hours or something, but when you wake up the next day your circadian rhythm will be right on track. So maybe I inadvertently told my body that I'm on Alaska Standard Time?

PS- I think "rhythm" is one of the weirdest-looking words in English.

Last time it was 6am on a Saturday

The stupid neighbors have this dog that they let out in the morning and then they let it bark until kingdom come without letting it back in. The damned thing started barking at like 8am and by 8:40 I was wide awake and it was still going. It was all "arf! arf! arf!... ARRROOOOOOOOOO!" over and over with almost the same exact pattern. It's like SHAKE IT UP DUDE TIME FOR THE REMIX. Maybe the dog thinks he is sending some specific message, and he's just really slow on the uptake that it's not working. Or maybe he's the bass in an a cappella group of backyard animals and they were practicing. While this is a very cute idea, I suspect it's not true because (a) it is not a Disney movie (did they need to practice anyway?) and (b) dogs usually eat things they find in the backyard.

I bet the neighbors put him out there and just fall back asleep, unaware or uncaring that everyone else in the world is being kept awake. If I actually lived here I'd probably go over and say something, but it's not my place. So instead I came down to the basement and gently kicked my dad off the computer (he wakes up super early anyway because he is Old) so I could goof off for a while. I hope that the dog has awful gas whenever they let him back in. That's it, nothing too malicious, just a stinky dog for a while. I mean, 'tis the season to wish nothing worse on your neighbor than a stinky dog, as they say.

Good Music for Driving on a Snowy Night

My playlist for my blizzard-ridden drive from Buffalo to Cleveland.

1) Beyond Words - Bobby McFerrin (2002). True to its title, this album has no distinguishable lyrics. Exploring the voice as an instrument more than simply as a deliverer of lyrics, McFerrin creates dozens of moods and textures alongside his slyly arranged jazz group. Is that a bass guitar, or is it Bobby? Is that a pipe organ or a choir of Bobbys? An excellent way to start the drive because you can easily mold your thoughts into the folds of the most incredible voice known to man.

2) Homogenic - Björk (1997). The next two are from the land where winter was invented: Iceland. Homogenic is a masterpiece, plain as that. It's winter, and an elfin princess is trapped inside a computer while she recovers from the love that left her the summer previous. Yeah, that's exactly what this sounds like.

3) Takk - Sigur Rós (2005). Really anything by Sigur Rós would be perfect, as they always achieve their goal of bringing the beauty of Iceland to the world through music. Takk is very, very beautiful. Glaciers listen to this album and sigh.

4) Kid A - Radiohead (2000). I almost put OK Computer here, which makes sense because it is their 1997 analogue to Homogenic (unintentional I'm sure, but the similarities are numerous). However, Kid A fits a dark winter's night more appropriately. There is no blizzard that can match the maelstrom of "The National Anthem" and no frozen tundra that can convey the emptiness of "How To Disappear Completely (And Not Be Found)". This album is a constant battle between the cold of your frostbite and the warmth of a fifth of brandy in your stomach.

A new birthday formula

So first off, my lack of updates recently is largely a function of my temp job ending. Being gainfully unemployed, I can move about this world and entertain myself a bit more than when I was regulated to a desk and a computer.

Anyway, yesterday was my 23rd birthday! The (integer) number of years that I have been alive is now the same as the number on Michael Jordan and Lebron James' jerseys. While I don't know much about sports, I have decided that this is a good reason to be excited about being 23.

Normally birthdays are automatically a "me" day for whoever the celebrant is, and that's a pretty good thing to do once in a while. I started off the day by sleeping in HARD until about noon, and woke up to my lady bringing me a nice sweater and a funny card. Maybe it was receiving a gift so immediately upon waking that sort of clicked something in me about a different way to celebrate. This year would be more about sharing than about receiving. I went out and bought about $80 worth of "holiday-themed* beverages," and invited basically everyone I know to come to my house and help drink them. About 10 of us went to Chipotle first, which is a luxury that always makes me happy, then for the rest of the night people were stopping by and sharing a drink. It's currently the last week of classes for the friends still in school, so people didn't have time for a full-out party on a Tuesday night, but I think the overlapping <1 hour visits made for a fun social mood. Someone commented, "shouldn't people be giving YOU candy and drinks on your birthday?" to which I happily replied that when they had a birthday they could do the same for the people around them. (The "pay it forward" philosophy is what makes impromptu parties possible.) I really enjoyed sitting back and watching different groups of friends sitting around laughing with each other. It felt great to know that my event and my food/drink was bringing people together for a night that really felt like a celebration. The last people left around 1am, and I was really pleased that so many people got involved in the fun of (me) having a birthday.

I finished off by sleeping in again and savoring a breakfast of cold pizza, which is just about the best way to start a day. Unfortunately I couldn't find any blue cheese, as that is the traditional dip for a cold pizza breakfast (at least in Buffalo), but such a small detail was not going to derail a great day.

*I went pretty all-out on the bevvy's. The obvious choices were eggnog and brandy (about 1/2 eggnog and 1/2 milk, to make it more creamy and less "noggy") and Great Lakes Brewing Company Christmas Ale. GLBC is in Cleveland and is starting to seep into other cities nearby, which is good for everyone. Their Christmas Ale is a spicy treat that also packs a subtle 7-12% alcohol content (variable due to batch, gotta love micro-brews). Absolutely check it out if you can. I also impulse-bought a Sam Adams "holiday sampler pack" and some el-cheapo hard cider that was still pretty good. With all the people, we probably only got through about half the drinks, so I guess my birthday will last solidly through the weekend too, which is fine by me.