Sink in

My feet haven't really hit the floor since I drove out of Austin a few weeks ago. I told my sister it still really feels like I'm in transition and I'm doing what I can to expedite the... whatever it is.

Things are good, though. This whole area is rich with activity, active people and active places.

I took my bike on the DC Metro down to the center of the political world a couple days ago. It was a Saturday so I didn't have to deal with too much traffic. A police officer forcefully banished me from a particular road in front of the White House. But it was otherwise easy riding.

I actually got off the metro at 930a and was out riding until about 430. I saw every monument I could find and then some. I paused somewhere North of the White House and went to Subway. I went to the park to eat and... that was alright. It was basically a big ass ravine... like... you slip, you die. I did not slip. I ate a footlong construction with chicken teriyaki and the sweetest onion sauce in all the land.

It feels weird saying it, but I was more comfortable riding in the streets in downtown DC than I am here in the burbs. I don't know. Maybe it makes sense. Maybe it's because it was a Saturday. Maybe it's just because there's more pavement. Whatever the reason, the pavement was kind to me there.

I was out for about 8 hours and... I think the only person I talked to was the person who made my sandwich for lunch. Ah I bought a homeless guy a Sprite, too. When he asked me if I would buy him something from the grocery store, I said, "Yeah man. What do you need?" He replied, "Ah man, I want some french toast!" Last I checked, precooked and prepackaged french toast was pretty hard to come by at the grocery store. I actually check for these things from time to time. Anyway, we settled on a Sprite and... yeah. I talked to that guy.

I had one way conversations with the quotes inscribed on the walls of the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials. I'm certain the Jefferson memorial is the most beautiful. And looking to the South, I could only stand still. The memorial itself is structurally open with many large columns surrounding the effigy and supporting the dome overhead. After reading the mountainous quotes overhead, I wandered out the back of the sanctuary and let the wind from behind take my eyes far out in front of me and show me what the hills might have looked like centuries ago. Highways and signs dissolved and there were only slow hills. It forced me to consider with strength the pieces of land which undoubtedly sowed the peaces of mind from which our national fiber was borne. What a time that must have been. Pre-industrial revolution... horses and thunder were still the loudest distractions imaginable on any given day. At the risk of committing to a full-on rambling escapade, I'd just like to state that the founding fathers' individual enlightenment, as unnatural as it was in their time, seems thunderous indeed to the natural environment in which they were living. It's comforting to know these things gave way to such great discoveries. And it reassures my quiet lifestyle. Focusing so hard at my new job, I needed to state this tonight.

I was completely worn out and was not... really... able to stand when I made it back to the metro station that evening. I hadn't ridden in about a month. But as it happened, the city was doing maintenance on the rail system that afternoon and evening. So I was able to reflect on the day a bit sooner than I had expected. It took twenty minutes to get into town and two hours to get back. But there was a sweet girl who wanted to smile at a dirty fucking guy on a bike at the King Street platform. And that made me less exhausted for a short while. Then the metro came and our visual romance ended.

I've started my new job and it feels like I'm in space. Before I get into my new job, and while I'm thinking about space, I need to record something which beached my mental ship this afternoon. It's inspirational in nature. And it's sensory. It's comfortable to me.

At Valentine's Day, I used to say the green candy hearts tasted like grass. They actually taste like something closer to feet. But back when I was stupid enough to ingest these green candy hearts, they reminded me of the smell of grass. I know, I know. Yes... I ate grass when I was a kid, too. But I'm talking about the scent... I'm talking about cross-sensory relation. This is like when love feels like you're skydiving or when certain candy makes you feel like you're wearing your Halloween costume from nineteen eighty-something. I had one of those moments of irregular sensory relation earlier today... a mild synesthetic event.

This pairing really, truly exposes my admiration of a particular musical entity. I recently stumbled upon a simply amazing video (in my opinion, of course). I won't describe it just in case anyone cares to watch it. It's important you watch it full screen with sound on the first time through... and don't skip forward. Just wait. Click the link and don't even read the description. Cause the surprise is half the fun. You might need to turn your volume DOWN a touch, but having sound is quite rewarding after... i don't know... the first third of the video.

I was listening to my songs earlier with my headphones, and "I Remember" by Yeasayer started. It reminded me of the sensation I got the first time I saw the video from above. I'll leave it at that. It's not really something I can convey in any more detail.

Alright. Enough mental meanderings. I'm headlong into my new job and as I told my friend earlier tonight, it feels like I'm straddling a freight train every second of every hour on the clock. I actually brought a small portion of the train home with me tonight and am currently listening to my (half-assed) French submersion and Fredo Viola while I wait for one of the servers to finish stomping several thousand customers' bills into tri-fold pdfs. It's madness. I feel like a crazy-ass Santa Claus with several multi-core reindeer at the end of the reins. Granted, my gifts suck. But I'm fat and happy, generally speaking.

I'm living very, very close to my office... about 4 miles. I've been putting in 10-14 hour days consistently since I started last Monday. But it feels like... it fucking feels like marathon recording sessions... the last thing I can think of I did consistently for such long amounts of time with so much interest, intent and happiness. Hours go by like someone greased the clock's gears a little too well. I've had one minor flub so far across 13 servers. But... that call center didn't need those call recordings anyway, right? :) Right.

I'm tired now. And I was tired this morning. I'm getting up in 6 something hours and maybe this thing will be finished. I don't know. I'll sleep when I can. I'm the first one at the office and the last to leave. Nothing especially new, but it's fucking awesome. And that's all I can say about it tonight.

>> "The Sad Song" by Fredo Viola on The Sad Song EP