Variety Pack

• I have yet to work up the courage to swim in my apartment complex pool. It's been open for a couple weeks now and pretty much every day I tell myself I will go for a swim between getting off work and picking up Trevor from work. But then I chicken out. It's so full of Latino children and I just feel out of place. Today when I scouted it out, there were a few people my age there for the first time that I've seen, so maybe today will be the day. Probably not. I should come up with a new exercise routine. Anything other than "think about going to the pool and not go" will do.

• The mayor of Salt Lake announced that he will be participating in the pie tasting contest at the county fair, among other events. At first I was all excited like "Oh man, I want to watch him stuff his face with pies" but then I realized a pie tasting contest is not synonymous with a pie eating contest. I assume it means he'll be judging pies that people baked, but my second thought then continues into the realm of "I tasted that pie so much better than you!"

• I've decided to try getting into music again. The line I've been using in general of late is "If it happened post-2006, I don't know it". Which is generally true, though I suppose I'm not to shabby when it comes to 2007. But I've given up on new music because it takes so much time to stay on top of and sift through and then I have to learn new names and lyrics and what's the use if I've got a set of music at home that I like already? Besides, isn't keeping up on music something that you do when you're trying to be cool and I'm so over that game? But there probably is good stuff out there and that I could be appreciating. And I'm afraid of becoming the old person that is always talking about how music was good back in their day. Well, and Trevor and Tylor are talking about getting a band together again and being in touch with what's going on currently in the music world can help me appreciate/understand anything they create that I'm asked an opinion. Because I'm a comparative appreciator of music. If that makes sense.

• Back when I last registered to vote, I registered with a party even though I consider myself pretty moderate/independent because I figured at least it would mean I could vote in the primaries. Did I vote yesterday? Nope.

• Default setting in my brain for the last couple months has been "To the Dogs or Whoever" by Josh Ritter. If I find myself zoning out, I catch myself singing "Deep in the belly of a whale I found her..." I've realized that a favorite feature of mine in music is lots of words. I think because I like singing along so much and when there are lots of words (strung quickly together...even better) in a song, it's way fun to sing. As long as the words make sense. But not too much sense.

• My new car has a sticker in one of the windows with a panda and another window has a sticker for some karate place (with, yes, an American flag with some kid high kicking in front of it). I feel neither of these suit me whatsoever. Someday I kind of want to do one of those family car sticker things. Actually, we will end with an illustration: