Musings & Thoughts for Sunday, January 23, 2022, or: Notes on a Cold ‘Lazy Sunday’ Afternoon in Florida

Hi there, Dear Reader. It is a chilly, gray wintry afternoon in Lithia, Florida, on Sunday, January 23, 2022. Currently, the temperature is 48˚F (9˚C) under cloudy skies. With humidity at 91% and the wind blowing from the north-northwest at 6 MPH (10 KM/H), the wind-chill factor is 42˚F (6˚C). Today’s forecast calls for partly sunny skies and a high of 55˚F (13˚C). Tonight, we can expect mostly clear skies and near-freezing temperatures. The low will be 36˚F (2˚C).

I’m a bit late getting started with my blog because – uncharacteristically – I woke up relatively late this morning; I got out of bed shortly before 10 AM Eastern Standard Time. I don’t know at what time I fell asleep; I was watching The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo on Netflix around midnight and dozed off – I will have to rewatch David Fincher’s 2011 mystery thriller at a more decent hour, I guess – halfway through the film.

As a result, I had breakfast between 11 AM and noon, and, frankly, I am in a “lazy Sunday” mood right now. I thought about writing a review of my Star Wars The Black Series figure of Han Solo (Hoth); hell, I even created a file on Word and started on the lead. Then I realized that it usually takes me between two to three hours to write a Star Wars action figure review; I have to go to the Hasbro website for information that’s not on the figure’s packaging, then I have to figure out how to present the review so that it’s informative and entertaining.

If you’re not a writer, you have to keep in mind that writing is not an easy task, especially if you actually care about the craft and want to give your readers the best material you can produce. This means that I choose my words and phrases with care, editing and rewriting as I go along. This is time-consuming and mentally challenging. And if I am tired, or depressed, or distracted, there are days – like today, for instance – when my brain holds up its figurative hand and says “Whoa, there, Pilgrim – I need a goddam break!”

So after writing – halfheartedly at that – one sentence of that review, I simply said, Fuck it. I’ll deal with this tomorrow and hit the Save File command. I’m tired and unmotivated, so if I persisted in writing that review, not only would it be a chore rather than a joy to work on, but it would come out shitty.

Anyway…

Tomorrow – barring a natural or man-made disaster – I will receive my eagerly awaited order of La-La Land Records’ three-CD  Fiddler on the Roof – 50^th Anniversary Remastered Edition soundtrack album. I checked the U.S. Postal Service website a little while ago and I see – with some amount of satisfaction – that the package left the USPS Regional Destination Facility in Ybor City at 5:27 AM EST and was on its way to the Lithia post office.

Ordering from La-La Land is slower than ordering from Amazon, but if you are a soundtrack fan, that store and its competitors at Intrada are the go-to places for TV and feature film score albums.

Speaking of La-La Land Records, I have yet to listen to my 2-CD Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan remastered and expanded soundtrack.

The reason? The discs come in those fragile double-CD jewel box packages that have hinges on the disc-holding compartment. CD 1, especially, is so tightly ensconced in its packaging that I fear breaking the package just to get it out. I’m reluctant to ask one of the housemates to get it out for me, but eventually, I will have to ask for help, otherwise, I’ll never listen to James Horner’s complete score for the 1982 film that saved the Star Trek franchise and paved the way for its 1980s renaissance.

Well, I’ve tarried here long enough, so I’ll close for now, Dear Reader. Until next time, stay safe, stay healthy, and I’ll catch you on the sunny side of things.