Stow Your Sorrow, Stow Your Fear; What Did You Do to End Up Here?

Monday. I've had a busy day here. I know, being busy should be a cure for boredom so I shouldn't complain, but in this case it isn't the good kind of "busy." If I felt like I was getting ahead or accomplishing something positive, that would be one thing, but instead I have been confronted with a ton of new problems, obstacles and bottlenecks to add onto the existing problems, obstacles and bottlenecks that I am currently trying to work through. I swear, as soon as I resolve one issue, another one sprouts up to fill the void. I guess it's good for job security, but sometimes the whole thing just seems brain-numbingly futile.

Luckily for me, I have a side project to keep my brain active during my off-the-clock hours. Faithful readers will remember that a few months back I picked up a book on HTML with the objective of teaching myself this introductory web-programming code. While I wouldn't say I've anywhere near mastered HTML, I have worked through the book and feel like I have definitely learned a lot in this relatively short time period. Not only was I able to do substantial tweaks to this blog, but I also created several other web pages completely from scratch using my own code. Since I feel like I am ready to move onto the next level, I ordered a book on Javascript over the weekend. Since I am a cheapskate and chose the least-expensive shipping rate on Amazon, the code will probably be obsolete by two versions by the time the book gets here, but I still think I will have something to go off of in my continued pursuit to teach myself web design. I'll keep you all updated as this story progresses.

I've been listening to a lot of Iron & Wine lately. I know that seems like a rough segue, but really it isn't since that is what I've been playing during my weekend web page coding sessions. His songs' mellow unobtrusiveness allows me to concentrate while still providing a sublimely pleasant musical backdrop by which to work. Today I chose to listen to The Creek Drank the Cradle, since I felt that it would be a good compliment to my slow, snowy start to a melancholy Monday morning (how's that for a double alliteration?). I was not disappointed. I like this one a lot, with notable tracks including An Angry Blade and Muddy Hymnal. I think I might actually prefer this album to Our Endless Numbered Days, but perhaps more comparison is needed. That shouldn't be a problem. I recommend this album to those of you out there who enjoy the "sensitive guy with an acoustical guitar" genre. Good stuff.

(side note to Light Strikes a Deal: I think I found that Iron & Wine rarities and covers collection that you recommended, but I have yet to secure it. I'll keep trying and let you know what I think)