a flurry of sounds and stories

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I did it for a reason, but I shall reveal that later...

I think I might grow a beard again. Can't decide.

So lately I've been obsessed with Cee Lo's cover of "No One's Gonna Love You." Have you heard it? If not, stop reading, google it immediately, and listen.

Ok, are you back? His vocals are just outstanding. I knew it was a cover, because I had to look up the writer details a LONG time ago and it made me research it and that's how I found out that it was originally written and performed by a band called Band Of Horses. At the time, I didn't know that band and I was in a hurry to get the writer details for a project, so I just moved on.

But, as I said, for some reason I've been obsessed with this song. It's caused a resurrection of Cee Lo's whole album for me, too, which is awesome. But this song in particular sticks out. I always start with this track and put it on shuffle from there. Sometimes I'll listen to it five or six times in a row. It's weird and I have no idea where it came from.

So this obsession made me go back and do research on the original band, and it's kind of a cool story. Cee Lo covered it, and in turn, they covered his song "Georgia" and they released it as a double A Side. That's cool. I listened to their version and really liked the singer's voice, so then I listened to more of their stuff and realized, "Hey! Band of Horses seems like an awesome band!"

Flash forward to today at work. My co-worker has been out because of emergency back surgery and one of her shows was handed over to me just before it was being delivered. It feels like it's been dumped on me, but it's not that difficult of a show, so I don't really mind. Today, however, the shit hit the fan!

Episode 104 is being delivered, which airs on Wednesday, and it turns out there's a song in it that isn't cleared to use. Long story short, it's MTV's fault because my co-worker accidentally told them it was okay. Mistakes happen, I totally get that, but now I'm faced with a problem. Either MTV has to license and pay for this song, or we need the production company to do an EMERGENCY quick edit and get that song out of there.

I talk to the producer and she says to me, "We can replace the track, but I don't have time to look for a new song. Can you just give me a suggestion on something that's already cleared?" Umm, okay! I put my music supervisor hat on and got to work!

Well, I actually didn't at first. At first I asked my co-workers for help. The song I had to replace was Death Cab For Cutie, "Home Is A Fire." I don't know Death Cab For Cutie AT ALL, which is why, even though I would kill to be a music supervisor, I would be a terrible one. My co-workers gave me some half-hearted suggestions and then went back to work. I sent on those suggestions (I was being lazy), and then got a response saying, "THESE ARE NOT EVEN CLOSE TO GOING TO WORK."

So then I decided to man up. I googled "sounds like Death Cab For Cutie" and opened Spotify. I listened to a bunch of songs, but couldn't really get a feel for what I was looking for. Then, I got another email from the producer with a scene description saying that the Teen parents are giving their son a bath and talking about how they fight too much. Then, on one of the lists of "Sounds Like Death Cab For Cutie" I saw it: Band Of Horses.

Bingo. I knew it was the right track. I immediately sent her Band Of Horses, "No One's Gonna Love You" and she wrote back and said, "THIS IS PERFECT!"

Well, she didn't say that exactly, but she did say that it would work and she liked it. So that's what's in the show! Woo Hoo! I got to be a music supervisor today!

However, the real point is that isn't it interesting how I am randomly drawn to this song, and then a week later it's the song I need to use? Life is weird like that. My sister would be like, "This is why you need to pay attention to the signs around you!"

I'm totally going to be alone for the rest of my life, aren't I?

Is anyone else watching Big Love? I have seen every episode and there's only two more to go. I just saw this past Sunday's episode and I can't seem to calm myself down.

SHIT.

HIT.

THE.

FAN.

I'm so stressed out right now. How the hell are they going to wrap this up in two episodes?

I am filled with rage.

Well, let's start from the beginning. I went for an 8 mile run on January 11th after an 8 mile run on the 10th. I was feeling good, and ready to start the new year with a bang, running-wise. Something happened, though, and later that day my knee started feeling a little sore. Figuring I'd just done a little too much too soon, I decided to take the next day off.

Which was good, because it was REALLY sore the next day. In fact, I had to dig out my knee brace. It didn't feel better until the following Wednesday. I don't like taking a week off of running, so even though it didn't feel 100%, I thought I would just go for a quick 4 mile run. Nothing too crazy. Well, it really hurt again after that and I decided to not run again until I was certain everything was fine.

Here we are on the 30th and I'm still wearing my knee brace every day and my knee still hurts. I know my body really well, and I've never had a running injury before, so I feel like this is something that I should be concerned about. I made an appointment with the NHS, reluctantly, because I don't really have much confidence in their advice. When I made my appointment, I specifically asked for an appointment with a doctor.

So I rocked up to the appointment today, and I had an appointment with the nurse practitioner. Strike one. I told her the whole story, emphasized that I'm a pretty serious runner and I know my body, and this seems to be taking a very long time to heal. She then did a google image search for "patella" on her computer and took me through the parts of the knee:



That is the image she chose. It came from this website.

It's a dog's knee.

That's right, a fucking dog's knee. I could clearly see that it was a dog's knee when she was going through it with me, and I was furious. What a moron. Then she told me to take some ibuprofen three times a day and come back and see the doctor if it's still bothering me in a couple weeks.

HELLO! I've already done this shit, and that's why I'm fucking HERE, you bitch. I tried to explain this and she was not hearing it. So I was finally shuffled out the door and on my way. I guess I'll call back tomorrow and try to make another appointment with a doctor?

I think the reason I'm so frustrated is because I'm NOT RUNNING. Last year I ran 1,481 miles. By far, that was the most I've ever run in a year. It was amazing and I was looking forward to maybe hitting 1,500 this year. However, that doesn't seem to be the case. I've only run like 24 miles this month. It will be the first month that I haven't run 100 miles in two years. It's depressing.

I know I'm not fat, but I feel like it. And I just feel like a big sloth. Running is more than just exercise for me. It's my therapy. What am I supposed to do with all this pent up rage and energy if I can't run?

Ugh. It was a fucking dog's knee.

Last night I had the most delightful experience. I was asked to play in this masked ball with the London Gay Symphonic Orchestra. It was amazing!

Now, I'm a band clarinet player, not an orchestral one. I don't own an A clarinet, I can't transpose, and I'm used to blending with a million people who are playing the same part as me. I love band with all my heart, but playing with an orchestra is a totally different beast.

I mean, initially, I was really stressed out by this gig. My technique has really gone to shit after all these years of not practicing and there were moments when I thought I was going to totally embarrass myself.

I personally think that the most fun part of playing in an orchestra is hearing clarinets in harmony. Luckily, the clarinet is my instrument, so I get to be part of that magic. I actually had some trouble matching my sound and style with the other clarinetist (because I'm so out of practice with this, not because of him), but there were a few short moments in the gig where we did it and it was thrilling.

My only wish for last night was that I wish I'd had more time to practice my parts and get more of the notes and keys. Well, that's a big one, because I made a LOT of mistakes. But I hope I did alright enough that I get asked back because I really had the most awesome time last night.

I really love being a musician. I should really do it more often!

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

Last night I was dreaming that I was out drinking and partying all night. And in my dream I had FINALLY gotten home and laid down in my bed...

And then my alarm went off and woke me up. I had actually slept a full night's sleep, but in my head I had just gone to bed, so I was like, "WTF?"

The night before I had a dream that I had a girlfriend. While I was sitting next to her, she put her hand on my thigh and I thought, "Eww." Then she leaned in and said to me, "I masturbated this morning." I didn't react fast enough, I guess, because then she leaned in closer and whispered in my ear, "Twice." Right after that I woke up, horrified. Yuck!

Girls are gross.


In other news, the marathon training is going really well. I'm totally kicking ass and can't wait to tear the shit out of the Toronto Marathon come October 17th.

I went out drinking last night.

I know, I know, it was a Thursday night, and I was supposed to get up and run six miles this morning before work. But when someone offered to buy my that third beer, I thought, "I can run after work."

Well, this morning, my body decided to wake me up at 5:30. After checking my email, Twitter, and Facebook, I checked the weather. Whoa, it is going to be a hot one this afternoon. Then I thought, "Well, I'm up now..."

So I went for a run. It was a pretty tough one, too. My legs were a bit sore, and I was just tired. Then I got to the canal, which is the last mile and a half of my run. Every 100 feet or so was a message written on the pavement in chalk. They were written to someone named "DB" and they were words of encouragement to him such as "Keep Going DB!" and "You can do it!" Sometimes it was just a smiley face with an X, which means a kiss in this country. Well, it means that in America, too, but they're very common at the ends of emails, which I find weird.

Wait, I am straying from the point. What was I talking about? Oh yeah, DB's messages. Well, I know they were to DB, but I started to feel like they were written just for me. I was struggling and really needed some encouragement to finish this run, and DB's messages were just the trick. My favorite one simply said, "I love you."

Whoever wrote those for DB is amazing, and he or she is a lucky person. Thanks, person!

Total miles run in July: 32
Total miles run in 2010: 761