This was the fifth annual Record Store Day. It was the best and worst Record Store Day that I have ever participated in.
It is the best because, though I was aware of its existence in 2007 and the succeeding years, this has been the first Record Store Day which I have participated in. The worst, because I was in Knoxville, Tennessee and was unable to fight the crowds at my old “command and operations” station in Austin, Texas: Waterloo Records.
I started the day by being woken up by my alarm and my wife, Emma, nudging me to turn off my 2:30 AM alarm. I slipped out of bed and into the shower. I was out of the house by 3 AM with coffee and trash bag in tow. I dumped the trash in the dumpster on my way out of the townhome complex and made the 45 minute drive to work.
The work day began rather busy for 4:30 AM, but had slowed tremendously by 6 AM and only began to increase in work load by 8:30 AM. My manager had me updating team information, which took me away from my work for about an hour, then I went to lunch.
Once my lunch break had ended, the work load was slow and steady throughout the rest of the day. Knowing that it was Record Store Day and not having visited any of the local record shops in Knoxville or the surrounding area, I thought I might go check out what was to be had at a local shop on my way home: Disc Exchange.
I had asked Emma if she would mind if I stopped on the way home to check the place out. She was fine with it.
I pulled up and the location had a Savory & Sweet catering van parked outside. Inside was a small stage in one of the corners of the large shop with a small band performing. They actually sounded half decent. The records and discs were laid atop wire racks and a shirt rack ran the middle of the store. There was a vinyl room separated by walls from the rest of the vinyl and discs – it had appeared to be an early staging section for the early arrivers to the RSD12 sales. I browsed the area and found some items scattered about and in some sort of odd categorization. I found their stash of RSD12 releases near the front of the shop – or what was left of it by 1:45 PM.
I had configured a short list of items to look for while on breaks at work. A few notables: Arcade Fire, Bruce Springsteen, Destroyer, The Knack, M. Ward, Paul McCartney, T. Rex, Death Cab For Cutie, and Matt Pond PA.
I expected many of the titles to have been sifted through and for the least wanted to be left – though I still expected a few copies of decent release to be available. Apparently, even people in Knoxville, TN go out on Record Store Day and ransack the establishments. I overheard a couple discussing their plan of attack for each store that they had been to and each store that they planned to visit later in the day.
After a decent 30-45 minutes of searching, I found a few titles of interest, though none were top on my list. I found an old copy of the Talking Heads‘ The 1975 CBS Demo Session and grabbed it for Emma. Next I picked up another record for Emma, The Knack’s RSD12 release, Live in Los Angeles, 1978. It is one of only 1500 pressed copies on 10″ vinyl with red and yellow splatter. It also contains a never before released track (on any format). At this point, I decided it was time to pick up something for myself, but this seemed difficult and there wasn’t a defining album. Then I noticed Matt Pond PA’s /measure/. I was surprised to see it, considering it is the first time the album has been released on vinyl and had a short run. My copy is one of only 500 pressed and was only released with a regional focus. 
I called it quits after that album. Emma didn’t even come, but she made out better than I. Luckily we both like the Talking Heads and The Knack, though she is more of a fan of both of them than I am.
I made my way back home and checked the mail. I found a letter from the City of Knoxville’s Civil Service Merit Board. It contained the results of my recent employment exams. I totally rocked those. I suspect I’ll probably get a phone call in the coming weeks about interviewing for a position.
Overall, it was a pretty good day. Hopefully, I’ll get to make a broader sweep of the local record stores next year and maybe Emma will get to tag along. Can’t wait to go back to Austin and spend a day at Waterloo Records on one of these Record Store Days in the future.
I hope everyone else’s RSD12 was beneficial as well. See you next year, Record Store Day!
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1 comment | tags: @recordstoreday, ADT, ADT Sec Svcs, ADT Security, ADT Security Services, Arcade Fire, Austin, Austin Tex, Austin Texas, Austin TX, Bruce Springsteen, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Death Cab, Death Cab For Cutie, Destroyer, Disc Exchange, Disc Exchange Knoxville, Disc Exchange Knoxville Tenn, Disc Exchange Knoxville TN, Disc Exchange Tenn, Disc Exchange Tennessee, Disc Exchange TN, Emma, Knack, Knoxville, Knoxville Tenn, Knoxville Tennessee, Knoxville TN, Live in Los Angeles 1978, M. Ward, Matt Pond PA, Measure, Paul McCartney, Record, Record Shop, Record Shops, Record Store Day, Records, RSD12, T.Rex, Tenn, Tennessee, Tex, Texas, The 1975 CBS Demo Session, The Arcade Fire, The Knack, TN, TX, Vinyl, Vinyl Record, Vinyl Records, Waterloo, Waterloo Records, Waterloo Records Austin, Waterloo Records Austin Tex, Waterloo Records Austin Texas, Waterloo Records Austin TX, Waterloo Records Tex, Waterloo Records Texas, Waterloo Records TX, Wife, Work | posted in Journal, Local News, Music Reviews, Reviews
It has almost been a year since we moved to Tennessee. More exacting: It has been about eight and a half months. Last weekend, Emma began removing the final pieces of Texas from our cars. Those items that block the view of the driver in the lower driver’s side potion of the windshield. Texans know what I’m referring to – The state inspection and registration stickers. Most other states apply the registration to the license plate – easier for a police officer to view prior to being next to the driver’s window. Not all states require an inspection sticker.
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Leave a comment | tags: Alamo, Austin, Austin Tex, Austin Texas, Austin TX, Charles Maund, Charles Maund Volkswagen, Goo Gone, H-E-B, HEB, IH 40, IH-35, Inner Space Caverns, Innerspace Caverns, Inspection, Interstate 35, Interstate 40, Interstate Highway 35, Interstate Highway 40, Interstate Hwy 35, Interstate Hwy 40, Knoxville, Knoxville Tenn, Knoxville Tennessee, Knoxville TN, License Plate, Longhorns, Lovell Sr, Registration, Saint Edward's University, Six Flags, South First Street, St Ed's, St. Edward's University, State Inspection, Tennessee, Texas, Vehicle inspection, Vehicle registration plate, Vols, Volunteers, William Cannon | posted in Environment, Journal, Law, Society
I had to postpone the next appointment until there would be time available at work for me to take off. I scheduled five days off, in case there was a lot of pain and I would be unable to speak effectively, especially since I am required to be on the phone almost all the time at work speaking with clients.
Emma and I woke up around 6:30 AM to get ready for the appointment on Friday, March 9. My dentist had referred me to an oral surgeon since there would be six extractions – four wisdom teeth and two upper molars. The sedative filling didn’t take from the second appointment, so that tooth would be one of the molars that were to be extracted. We arrived at the surgeon’s office earlier than expected. We thought it would take 45 minutes to an hour, but it actually took more like 30 minutes.
We caught the last few minutes of Cats & Dogs while we filled out the patient information papers and reviewed the post-operative procedures. Had to call my mom a few times about the cost of the procedure. It turned out to be half as much as we thought it was going to be, which was a relief.
The nurse walked me to the back. I asked them to let my wife know where I was because I still had her book in my hand. I set it down on another chair in the office, then proceeded to the patient chair.
I laid down in the dentist’s chair, he walked in, introduced himself and shook my hand. Asked me if I had any questions. I said, “No. It seems pretty straight forward. You’re going to extract some teeth.” He said, “Yeah, well, the worst part is the beginning. I’m going to insert this needle and start an IV of saltwater.” The dentist removed my glasses and placed them on the tray next to the tools of his trade. The “worst” part was nothing. The doctor, who looked a lot like a younger McDreamy from Grey’s Anatomy – just with much shorter hair, then said, “Now, I’m going to give you some medicine and it will make you sleep. Just let me know when you start to feel it.”
I was only somewhat worried about this doctor and his age. I was worried that he hadn’t done too many extractions, seriously, he wasn’t much older than myself – At least he didn’t look it.
Expecting to feel something, I looked around the operating room, which looked like an over-sized dentist office, once. Nothing. I looked around the perimeter of the ceiling. Twice. Still nothing, so I scanned the room again. Three times. Obviously, this was going to take forever. Four times.
Next thing I remember was either me or the doctor saying “That’s it.” The dentist picked up Emma’s book that was sitting on the chair and flipped through it. Then I remember being seated in a comfortable tan recliner. I remember hiccuping and laughing each time I did. Apparently, I kept telling Emma that my doctor looked like Patrick Dempsey and I kept stretching out on the recliner. I remember the nurse telling us we could leave, but I don’t remember walking to the car or most of the drive home.
Emma has a note that I wrote saved on her iPhone about my doctor and she makes fun of me by saying that I have a man crush on him. She also took a picture of me after the surgery laying in the recliner.
Once we got home, Emma ran to the store to pick up my medicine – I don’t know when she was given the prescriptions – as well as to pick up some food for us to eat. Emma has been making me shakes and delicious food ever since, and I have been able to force her to watch quite a few movies.
The next appointment will be a return to my dentist for another sedative filling and preparations for a root canal, I believe. We shall see where we go from there.
It has been a few days after the surgery now and my gums still hurt at the extraction sites. The bleeding has stopped and the stitches are fairly uncomfortable. I am really enjoying these few days off work.
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Leave a comment | tags: Apple, Apple iPhone, Cats & Dogs, Dental extraction, Dentist, Dentistry, Doctor, Grey's Anatomy, Health, iPhone, Knoxville, Knoxville Tenn, Knoxville Tennessee, Knoxville TN, McDreamy, Medicine, Molar, Molar (tooth), Molars, Oral Surgeon, Oral Surgery, Patrick Dempsey, Post-Op, Post-Operative, Root Canal, Saga of the Tooth, Sedative Filling, Sevierville, Sevierville Tenn, Sevierville Tennessee, Sevierville TN, Seymour, Seymour Tenn, Seymour Tennessee, Seymour TN, Surgery, Teeth, Tenn, Tennessee, The Tooth Saga, TN, Tooth, Tooth Saga, Upper Molar, Upper Molars, Wisdom Teeth, Wisdom Tooth | posted in Health, Technology, Vacation
About a week or two before the album dropped on January 24, 2012, NPR began streaming Nada Surf‘s new album, The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy, in its entirety. I listened to the album about six times straight through, two times a day, on my way to and from work.
Without fail, every Nada Surf release reminds me of adolescence and how, regardless of the stress and disappointment, there’s always something to be optimistic about. This reminiscence isn’t due to the lyrics, rather it is due to the sloppy arrangement of instruments which the lyrics combine with. Nada Surf reminds me of a teenage garage band breaking in to the scene. Which also means that the band has yet to lose their passion for music. It’s as if my friends and I were back in my parents’ garage or in a friend’s bedroom with amplifiers plugged into wall outlets and input cords snaking the floor.
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Leave a comment | tags: Adolescence, Album, Amateur, Aster, Astronomy, Barsuk Records, I Was Young, Long Winters, Maritime, Maritime Someone Has to Die, Matthew Caws, Music, Nada Surf, Nada Surf Amateur, Nada Surf The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy, Nada Surf Waiting for Something, Nada Surf When I Was Young, NPR, Popular, Rogue Wave, Someone Has To Die, Stars Are Indifferent, Superdrag, The Long Winters, The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy, The Weight is a Gift, Waiting for Something, When I Was Young | posted in Journal, Music Reviews, Reviews
Emma and I have started exercising more often. It’s easier to do now that we have access to equipment. Our apartment/town-home complex has a small gym with a number of weight lifting and aerobic equipment offerings. Emma has gone to the gym more often than I have, usually when she has a break in between all of her school work, homework (for school and home), work, and taking care of Argos. I never had the drive to exercise and believed that you could not trust runners. My reasoning: Why are they running with no purpose? The only reason I can see is that they want to stay fit. Why? To run from the cops.
Joking aside, I just came in from a morning run with my dog, Argos. He appears to enjoy the run, and needs it. He’s a seventy pound border collie, that stands a few inches taller than the average border collie. He’s a bit overweight and would probably go stir crazy without getting out and running every once in a while, especially now that we don’t have a backyard for him to run freely without a leash. Someday though.
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Leave a comment | tags: Argos, Border Collie, Dog, Emma, Music, Military, Leander High School, Leander, Leander High, United States Air Force, Basic Military Training, BMT, AFJROTC, Christmas, RAIN, Leander Texas, Apartment, Leander TX, Weather, Cold Weather, Townhome, Smoky Crossing, Christmas Gifts, New Year Resolution, New Year's Resolution, Cotton, Exercise, Town Home, Smoky Crossing Townhomes, Gym, Weightlifting, Weight Lifting, Aerobic, Aerobic Exercise, Running. Run, Runners, Shoes, Physical, Physical Fitness, Physical Fitness Test, Air Force Physical Fitness Test, Physical Fitness Requirements, Fit, Recruit, Heroic, Stamina, Endurance, Force, Brute Force, Weight, Gain Weight, Weight Gain, Jog, Morning, Morning Run, Morning Jog, Ears, Ear, Ear Pain, Beanie, Knit Cap, Knit Hat, Tuque, Toque, Ear Muffs, Ear Muff, Track Suit, Tracksuit, Windbreaker, Comfortable, Comfortable Clothing, Jacket, Bright Clothing, Bright Shirt, Jogging Pants, Running Pants, Nike, Adidas Polyester, Nylon, 1.5 Mile Run, AFJROTC TX-20007, Muscle, Resolution, Music Scene, United States Air Force Physical Fitness Test, Push-Ups, Sit-Ups, Wolf Parade, You Are A Runner And I Am My Father's Son, Athletic shoe, Adidas, Mile run, Shopping, Footwear | posted in Journal, Environment, Health, Military, Animals, Nature
