Musical Diversity...

It's the spice of life!

This morning, after I tossed my junk into the car and before I headed off to church for the day, I popped a CD in the stereo for my enjoyment. The disc I chose was a recording of Mussorgsky's Pictures At An Exhibition (orchestrated by Ravel, of course). As it disappeared into the dashboard, I heard a few familiar notes from the radio. I switched back to FM to listen to the Aqua's amazing hit from '97... Barbie Girl.

That's right, folks. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Barbie Girl. I even sang a few parts myself (come on Barbie, let's go party). And I immediately followed it with Mussorgsky.

Later today, I looked up hymns for church services. I perused church choir music. I listened to the Glenn Miller orchestra's Christmas album. I also played a movement of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14 in C# Minor, opus 27, no. 2 (aka The Moonlight Sonata).

It's a wonderful musical life I lead.

Nighttime Adventures

Don't be scared by the title, it's not what you think.

Those who are diligent in their blog-following will remember my post awhile back about going to Walmart at night. You will also recall my wife's post from yesterday about getting old. I will lend a hand to the not-so-diligent bloggers, and tell them that both these posts emphasized that Wife and I don't go out late (as in after 7 pm) anymore.

Well, tonight we did. And what an adventure it was!

Without further ado, things I learned upon venturing out at nighttime...

1) First thing I learned is that I cannot see in the dark anymore. Yes, I had my headlights on. Yes, I was wearing my glasses. I even had carrots for dinner! I suppose I'm inheriting my mother's night-blindness. Anyway, it made our adventure even more, well, adventuresome.

2) Texas road crews perform repairs on the interstate at night. This means all the traffic on I-35 South is jammed into one lane, and is backed up for a few miles.

3) A driver should always bring Garmin along, even when going to Walmart. Sure, Garmin reduces the adventure-factor, but she does inspire navigational confidence.

4) Waco has several bridges over the Brazos River, most of which a traveler on I-35 cannot see. A traveler trying to avoid a nighttime traffic jam, however, gets to drive on these bridges. And one bridge has neat-o nighttime lights!

5) Waco also has many one-way streets, making navigation a guessing game. A traveler unfamiliar with the downtown streets, who doesn't know where he's going, and cannot see in the dark may very well drive the wrong way down a one-way street. That is, until his wife shouts nonsense and points at all the "Wrong Way" signs.

6) One block north of our apartment, there is a building that appears to have housed, at one time, an Irish Pub called Scruffy Murphy's. By all outward appearances, Scruffy Murphy's is closed now, which means they no longer host weekly karaoke. By all inward appearances, though, (meaning cars in the parking lot at night and lights on inside) Scruffy Murphy's is not closed, whether legally or otherwise. Upon Wife pointing all this out, my stomach entered into "fish and chips and possibly corned beef" mode. Mmmmm. Here's hoping.

I'd like to know... What sort of adventures bring new discoveries to your life?