Every morning I would see her waiting at the stop

I've spent a lot of time waiting for buses lately. Since classes have started up again at the university, my bus is never on time anymore and I haven't made it in to work at 9 in a while (we have flexible hours though, so don't think I'm too terrible of an employee!).

Today on the way to the bus stop after work, I saw a Batman costume in the window of a toy/kid's clothing store and almost went in to buy it. Because I'm an adult who makes responsible decisions. (Or maybe I had Parks and Recreation on the brain and wanted to treat myself to a Batman suit like Ben...) I knew I was already running late for the bus though and reason won out (a rather rare occurrence) and I resisted. But now I'm tempted to go back tomorrow at lunch and at least have a closer look at it.

And while we're on the subject of bus stops, I used to love this song as a kid. And I still do!

Pretty snazzy video, huh? Those lights, the stripes, the Vox Phantom, some sweet 60s dance moves - what's not to love?

Celine cries over 13

Welcome to the first installment of what I shall be calling "Celine cries over music" a.k.a. a listing of my favourite albums. These won't necessarily be in any order (partly due to the fact that I have a very difficult time deciding on a favourite Beatles album) and I don't have super varied tastes in music, so consider yourself forewarned. And as excited as I am to share my favourites, I'm horrible at articulating my feelings about music because mostly I just want to gush and sigh and cry when I listen to music I really enjoy...

First up: 13 by Blur (1999)

Surprise, surprise, I know. A big shocker (especially for anyone who has seen my tumblr) that I'm starting off with this. The penultimate album by Blur (not including compilations) and the last one before Graham Coxon's departure from the group. Cue uncontrollable sobbing.

I suppose the album isn't exactly an easy listen. Even after having listened to the album more times that I could possibly count, it still manages to stir up a whole sea of emotions for me. I don't want to get super pretentious and delve into a review of the album; that's what critics (ha!) are for, so I'll just share the following about my two favourite tracks:

1. When I listen to "Caramel", I find myself wondering how this it isn't everyone's favourite song. It has everything I look for in music: it's familiar, yet otherworldly; it scares me, yet it's oddly soothing. The layers of sound, the lyrics and Damon's voice, the slow build-up to the controlled chaos toward the end of the song, only to have it calm back down and fade out the way it began - it blows my mind every single time I listen to it. I've got chills now just thinking about it.

2. I first became aware of Blur through"Coffee and TV". I remember seeing the video and thinking it was cute and sad and loving the singer's voice. (It came as a bit of a shock when I later found out that Graham wasn't the usual singer in the band, although I love Damon's voice as well.) I like the contrast of the upbeat sound of the song and the rather melancholy lyrics. And the guitar solo? Pure awesomeness.

I Want To Tell You

1. I picked up the new book on George Harrison this weekend and have been spending a lot of time flipping through it, reading and re-reading the pages. Until I was in college I never listened to anything but the Beatles. I just didn't see the need to. They were and are a huge influence on me. George was always my favourite. I remember going to school in tears on the day he died.

2. I'm starting a course in audio production tomorrow, which I'm quite nervous about. But then again, I get nervous about everything. I haven't taken classes in a while and I'm not really looking forward to having to juggle school and work, but I'm excited to be learning about something that really interests me. And I'm a huge nerd for any kind of audio equipment. I may or may not have gotten a new pair of shoes to start the school year. I guess you're never too old for that back to school feeling.

Two things

1. New slipper socks from Natalie's shop. I'm so excited about them and can't stop admiring them! They're so warm and comfy - I never want to take them off!
2. Vegan ramen noodles. I'm rather weird about cooking: I'm either super ambitious and take on big projects or else I can't be bothered. Mostly I can't be bothered and make super easy stuff. Like noodles from a package. Or beans on toast. Or just plain toast.

Weekend activities and autumnal weather

Yet another photo of a drawing. Still can't be bothered to scan.

This was not the weekend for shorts. Fall seemed to have arrived rather suddenly and I was ready for it today. I wore long sleeves and a coat and then summer seemed to make a reappearance this afternoon. So I'm wearing shorts and a t-shirt again. (I also am sort of perpetually sad-faced. I'm often asked what's wrong.)

In addition to freezing, this weekend involved:
- finally going grocery shopping for the first time since before I got sick. And yet all I bought were cookies and some ramen noodles. Yep. Celine: excelling at being an adult and taking care of herself since 2000-never.
- Curb Your Enthusiasm mini-marathon
- meeting a friend at the farmer's market on Sunday to get the ingredients for borscht. And then cooking success!
- a successful trip to the library to pick up some DVDs I had on hold and also finding Two Lives, which I remember cataloging back when I worked at the library as a student and making a note to look up. And three (or has it been four?) years later, I finally got my hands on it.

Getting better all the time

Not much going on lately. I've been slowly getting better and am pretty much back to normal now. Back to working full days. Missing my bus in the morning because I'm too busy listening to music.

I saw the Horrors last week, which was pretty amazing. One of the best shows I've ever been to. I was right at the front, which was awesome and they sound so good live! And Rhys Webb's dancing was definitely a highlight.