FULL PLATE

Guess who went back to work last week? Not only do I have my regular classes but I'm also in charge of all the preschoolers and kindergrateners who come to the Y. So we've had to assess their skills to try and put them on the right days and learn all of their names and so forth. Plus I'm training some new teachers and I was in the pool from Monday to Saturday last week. Quite a change from having a few weeks to myself. I'm not complaining, though. I really do like my job. It just gets in the way of my pop culture intake. :)

I'm still trying to stay on pace for 40 books on the year. I am currently reading #27 (The Washington Story by Adam Langer) and have to finish it and another one by next Saturday to try and stay on pace. I hope to do reviews of the last couple - Infoquake and The Book of Fate - but we'll see. I really liked the first of those and thought the other was solid; haven't read a thriller like that in quite a while. I still have my SF mags piled up too.

I finally got around to watching the "Battlestar Galactica" mini-series, which left me wondering why I'd waited so long to give it a try. Now I'm trying to catch up via Netflix before the third season starts on Oct. 6. I've watched the first 4 eps of Season One so far and have at least the next disc arriving today.

Yes, I've been watching new TV as well. "The Wire" has been great as usual. I always like "The Amazing Race." I had given up on "Survivor" but tried the first of the new season...and I'm once again done (plus, "My Name Is Earl" and "The Office" start this week). The first couple episodes of "The Simpsons" have been solid. "How I Met Your Mother" came back solidly. And I thought "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" lived up to the hype. Looking forward to more of that one.

I've also been trying to ingest a ton of new music - Silversun Pickups, TV on the Radio, Black Keys, Bishop Allen, and some older ones by Pernice Brothers and The Long Winters. I'm toying with the idea of upgrading my eMusic sub too - new ones from Yo La Tengo and Ben Kweller and Joseph Arthur and The Lemonheads (next week!) and and and.

So yeah, I've been keeping myself busy. Almost done writing a new song too. And how are you?