This is a crazy week at work, since I am working on a project I’m hoping to get done by the end of the week. Lots of paperwork, lots of time on the production floor, and lots of issues to keep track of. If I seem a bit remote when you message me during the day, that’s probably why.

This past weekend was OK. takaza‘s family came over on Saturday, but since I woke up far too early and had too little sleep, I was a terrible host and not very social. Ah well, we can’t all be 100% all the time. Sunday was a pretty lazy day of staying home and working on Midwest FurFest stuff, capped by an online staff meeting that ran longer than I would have liked, but still accomplished a lot. 30 days until the convention, and while there’s still a ton of work to be done, it sounds like everyone has things under control.

But that isn’t why I wanted to write this entry. The nights are turning cold, the leaves are falling from the trees, and we are well in the grip of autumn. This always gives me the occasion to pull out one of my all-time favorite albums, “When October Goes: Autumn Love Songs”. The schmaltzy title aside, this is one of the best and most atmospheric folk music albums I’ve ever come across. From Megan McDonough’s soulful reading of the title track, to Christine Lavin’s wistful “Getting Used to Leavin'”. this album definitely fits the season for me. My favorite song, though, is “Are You Happy Now?” by Richard Shindell, a talented singer-songwriter. The song has great lyrics like these describing a post-Halloween scene:

I’ve sat all night and now it’s dawn/And I cannot believe my eyes
There’s garbage strewn across the lawn/Where we once stared up at the sky
And streams of paper fill the tree/That hovered over you and me
Shaving cream covers the car/That we picked up in Baltimore
Though I know it’s hard to tell/I hope that what’s-his-name treats you well
I still maintain that he’s a bum/But it’s your money – have some fun

(Here’s a live recording of the song, but the quality of the audio does it a disservice)

So yeah. That’s what I’ve been listening to lately. Wow, I just realized that album came out in 1991. I first picked it up while I was working at WSBF-FM, the student radio station at Clemson University. I’ve loved this album for 17 years and I’ll probably keep on enjoying it.