New Year, New Covid

The year has gotten off to a great start. It’s begun with good old Covid.

We’d had plans to have my best friend come over on New Year’s Eve. You know, some tacos, some movies, maybe spin some records, and maybe some classic video games to scratch that early 80s arcade itch. But I was starting to feel pretty lousy as the day moved on in the morning. I picked up the house and got things prepared food-wise, but I was achy all over and had a headache. At noon I figured I better take a Covid test, as we had a few up in the medicine cabinet. After tickling my frontal lobe with a swab, mixing it in the Covid juice test tube, and leaving 3 drops on the test strip I walked away and let it do it’s business. Checked it 15 minutes later and negatory. No Covid.

I ended up cancelling with my friend anyways as I figured I still might have the all time classic, the flu. New Year’s Day I felt even more like crap; achy, headache, and just a general sense of malaise. I even had a low grade fever in the evening. I medicined up and went to bed early since I had work the next day. Woke up in the morning and was surprised that I felt…okay. Made it through work and came home and crashed. Made some dinner for my wife and I. The wife wasn’t feeling all that great. Tired and head and chest was congested. Friday morning at work my wife sent me a text and said, “Surprise! I’ve got Covid!”

So I was the one that felt like they were teetering on the edge of the ick on and off over the entire holiday break and my wife was the one that ended up with the big old Covid. We spent the weekend at home, her resting and feeling like crap and me on a illness upswing. Saturday and Sunday I hit the Y and got some miles in. We binged some shows(Ted Lasso, The Lincoln Lawyer, Halt and Catch Fire), listened to some tunes, and I worked on some music and some drawing. It may not have been action-packed, but it was the weekend we needed(currently I’m feeling pretty great, while my wife is slowly but surely feeling a little better each day.)

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I finally got all the Christmas decorations put away yesterday after work. Before I came home I stopped by an acquaintances house and picked up a vintage Pioneer receiver he’d purchased and refurbished. He’s the same guy I bought the Pioneer turntable from a couple months back. I got it home and decided I need to build a stereo cabinet for the Hi Fi system. For now I’ll set it up downstairs, but I’m going to take some measurements and see if there’s a prefab one I can buy that would work and just put it together. I’m always for the easier route when it comes to that stuff anymore, but making a custom one guarantees I’ll have just the right dimensions. First world problems, yo.

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It’s been pretty cold the last few days. While we were spared much snow, central and southern Indiana got hit pretty hard Sunday and yesterday. My oldest that lives in Indianapolis got hammered with nearly a foot of snow. Their library announced they’d be closed Monday on Sunday afternoon, knowing it was going to be a nightmare in the city with people trying to get around in a foot of the white stuff. I talked to them last night and they survived, using yesterday as a day to decorate their new place. Their street hadn’t yet been plowed out, so hopefully that happens this morning.

The local weather guy that I follow has said there’s another cold front that’s going to affect the southwest, like Texas! Yeah, nothing going on with our climate, ehh? There’s a chance we’ll get some lake effect snow today and tomorrow, and another storm moving in later next week. We’ll see.

So far the New Year has been interesting. Covid, snow, bitter cold, and new(to me) stereo equipment! It’s been worse. At least my wife is improving, which I’m thankful for.

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This happens every year when the New Year begins, I feel like I need to hit the restart button on my writing. There’s some local album reviews I need to sit down and write, yet I just can’t get motivated. I know once I pull the Band Aid off it’ll be like starting the mower up for that first mow of the spring, but getting there is a chore. I think it’s just the wild ride of the holidays that burns me out. There’s something appealing about not worrying about anything after essentially a month of planning, buying, making, cleaning, and doing that keeps me from jumping back into swirl of reviewing music.

I don’t mind writing local reviews, but there’s nothing all that inspiring about it. Especially when some of it just isn’t that good. Don’t get me wrong, there’s some amazingly talented bands and songwriters in the area. But for every great one there’s five that are abysmal. But I feel like I have a responsibility to the local guys and gals to give them something to read and share about their hard work. With local reviews I keep it as positive as I can, concentrating on the good and bypassing criticism. It’s a rule the editor of this local rag had set in place a long time ago. He’s moved on and there’s a new owner and editor, but I’ve kept that rule in place. Now, if it’s really bad I’m not gonna praise complete garbage. But I’ll find discreet ways of criticizing it, and concentrate on the few nuggets of good in there.

But overall, I feel I earn every penny when I write these local reviews.

January is typically a pretty desolate time of year for new releases. There are the occasional surprises that drop in January/February, but like most movies released in January album drops are pretty thin. Last year saw The Smile’s Wall of Eyes hit in January, so that’s something. But mostly it’s pretty quiet. I’ve been revisiting some stuff from last year, as well as my tried and true jazz collection. Jazz is an all year thing, so that shouldn’t be a surprise. I’m planning on preordering the Wilco A Ghost Is Born cd boxset at some point. Anymore I prefer boxsets in CD form. It’s a hell of a lot cheaper for one, and two I love loading up the CD changer and letting hours of music flow without having to flip sides or change records. And again, $137 is much more appealing for 9 CDs, as opposed to $237 for 9 LPs and 4 CDs.

Well that’s all I have for now. Covid, Christmas clean-up, hi fi stereo scenarios, and getting back into the record reviewing groove for 2025. Oh, and winter.