adrian is rad

Here are a couple household tips:

1. If you’re nailing into a wall (to hang a picture or something), put an ‘X’ of Scotch tape down over the spot where you’re putting the nail in and it’ll help prevent the plaster from chipping.
2. You can treat raw wood with fat. If you have something carved (like a curio knobkierrie) or otherwise untreated wood (like wood spoons), you can treat them with fat, such as lard, other animal fat or Crisco (vegetable shortening). Cover the item in a visible layer of fat, leave it for a few hours and then wipe it off. It’ll give the wood a nice sheen and help the wood from cracking. (As always, try first on a non-visible area of the wood before trying on the whole thing.)

They’ve both come in handy for me recently.

Running into the rad Tarky on Monday reminded me that people read this and that there’s been a lot that’s happened since I really updated.

Apartment:

• I live in one now, having moved in last week. It’s a 1 bedroom in an old building. I found a promotional book about it written in 1899. I believe the building is on the National Registry of Historic Places.

Jeans:

• I wear jeans now. Weird, right?

Some things I like about Boston:

• Friends. I have them here.
• Beer bars. There are some great ones. The bar across the street (warning: link has autoplay music) has 31 beers on tap.
• Walking. I walked over five miles yesterday just running errands. And I can walk around at night.

Travel

• Since I got back to the US America, my route has been something like: Charlotte->DC->Philadelphia[1]->DC->Charlotte->Boston->New Hampshire->Boston->Philadelphia->New York City->Boston->New Orleans->Boston->Charlotte->Boston (via Philadelphia and New Haven)
• I went to New Orleans for Gumbeaux’s wedding. It was a grand time. The wedding and the reception were in an old jazz hall. Fantastic food, good people, the whole lot. I wore my new suit (see below) and read Seamus Heaney’s “Scaffolding” at the request of the couple.

Concerts

• Rural Alberta Advantage @ the Middle East 3/9–It was really great to see these guys again. They put on a super energetic set of their trademark earnest fuzz-folk. This is the sort of show that reminds me why I like live music.
• Amiina @ the Middle East 3/19–Sigur Ros’ string section has their own band, called Amiina. They make really pretty music in their own right. The only problem was there was a loud show going on either at the Middle East Upstairs or TT’s so it disrupted the quiet music Downstairs a bit.
• Matt Pond PA @ the Middle East 3/20–I hadn’t seen this band in 8 years but I went because my friend Shawn now plays cello in the band. And they were really great. Great mix. Great song selection. Just a show I was really glad to be at overall. And it’s also a thrill to see your friend play all these songs you know and love.

Books

• Blood Sweat and Chalk by Tim Layden — Basically a book about the development of modern football strategy. I haven’t read many books about football but I really thought this one was interesting. Chapters cover things like Cover 2 and Zone Blitz and really explains both how they work and how they came about. A worthwhile read for anyone who spends a lot of their time in the fall watching football on TV.
• Freedom by Jonathan Franzen — Time’s “Great American Novelist” has gotten quite a lot of hype about this book. I liked Corrections so I wanted to read this one. It’s a very good book. Very good character development and it weaves together many different stories without making any of them seem superfluous. I wouldn’t call it amazing, but it’s worth a read.
• I’m now reading Garry Wills’ Lincoln at Gettysburg and Junot Diaz’s The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Both are good so far.

Movies:

• True Grit — A very well put together film. I loved the acting, particularly by Jeff Bridge and Hailee Steinfeld.
• Social Network — I finally saw it. Very interesting film. I know it’s not exactly true, but still gives some insight into how the whole thing came about.

[1] Philadelphia and Wilmington, DE in most cases

Besides being rad and slightly known in the internet music blog world.

Five things I’ve been liking recently:

• Stormy Kromer Cord Hat – It’s comfortable and warm and looks pretty awesome. (And it’s US-made and has a lifetime guarantee.) I’m a fan.
• Swimming – After not swimming much since August, I’ve been swimming again, at least a few times, and I’ve been really liking being back in the water.
• Brooks Brothers’ costumer service – They were very courteous and helpful when I was in the store but really impressed me was that a few days later I received a hand-written card from the associate that was helping me thanking me for my suit purchase. That’s very classy.
• Foam back roller – After my back felt tight for almost a month straight, someone suggested I get a foam roller to help stretch out my back. It’s really seemed to have helped.
• Super Bowl fairness – Of course I didn’t like the results of the game, but after years straight where it seemed like small officiating decisions and even smaller penalties changed the course of the championship, it was good to see a pretty fair game.

The vestiges of my rural South African tan are nearly faded away, as have the constant and then daily reminders that I once lived there.

I walk at night without thought and I’m not shocked when beer tastes good. I usually look to the left when stepping of a curb. I have some expectation of bureaucracies and other processes working, albeit not necessarily quickly. Having friends around that have known me for years isn’t strange. Bands touring to my town; being cold; feeling normal; and being bombarded with the vast choices and wastes of everyday American life are all becoming increasingly normal experiences.

The one thing that I still get a bit surprised by is that everyone, to some approximation, speaks with an American accent. People open their mouth and I still expect one of the various accents that occur commonly in South African, or possibly one of many languages that are prevalent in the region.

I’ve been back in the US America for well over two months now, as hard as that is to believe. I traveled a lot[1] when I got back but I’ve semi-settled in Boston. I don’t have my things or a place but those are both in the works. And I have some promising job leads.

Some day I’ll go get tanned again, even if it’s just for a bit.

[1] Cape Town->Charlotte->Washington, DC->Philadelphia->Washington, DC->Boston->New Hampshire->Boston->Philadelphia->New York->Boston, approximately.