Thanks, Miles

Today I might have an album review later - The Microphones' The Glow, Pt. 2 is incredible and must be discussed - but for now, I hope you'll settle for a description of my morning.

This morning I arose with my alarm clock, which is less common but somewhat welcome - I often escape from sleep before my intended hour of waking. I managed to groom and feed myself in short order, and left my place around ten after seven.

The sky was gray and heavy this morning. One might suspect that after the rains last night, only a mild haze might remain, but the air was yet heavy and damp. Who knew what the day would bring, if there will be a torrential rain or just hints and empty threats.

I climbed into my car and deposited my lunch sack - leftover chicken, some fruit, and crackers - into its normal position in my passenger's seat. As I waited for the car to warm up, I poked the preset FM station buttons on my stereo, finding uninteresting popular music on the first few stations I went through (sometimes I listen to the news on NPR, but often I like some music in the morning). The last station, the Grand View College station, proved to be more fruitful, as it was actually broadcasting jazz! It took me a minute to identify the artist (by this point I had left my parking lot and was rolling towards the on-ramp for the freeway), but I successfully deduced that it was Miles Davis.

The song ended as I waited at a red light, and the DJ's voice took over. He said that "Kind of Blue" was to be played in its entirety this morning. YES!

Rain peppered the air as I pulled onto the freeway; I sped up so I could pass a lagging yellow school bus before I left the entry lane. The drive was fine for the first 20 (of 70) blocks, but somewhere around the 42nd St. exit, traffic picked up fiercely. I had to stop half a dozen times because of traffic congestion; the commute took me just over 20 minutes, whereas it normally takes between 5-10.

I still haven't figured out what caused the traffic backup. There was the aftermath of an accident somewhere near downtown, but there weren't even any damaged vehicles there by the time I drove by. The time baffles me more than anything; had it been half an hour later, I would have expected to share the road with as many vehicles. Thank goodness for Miles Davis, the definition of cool, the perfect laid-back (not smooth) soundtrack for this day covered in cold wool.

In Other News:
This past weekend was amazing.

Last night I went for a run in the rain - it wasn't my idea, though. Still, it was everything I had hoped for and then some.

David Alan Grier has a new show coming up on Comedy Central - Chocolate News. Please, please, please, let it not be a huge failure.