Ready for the Holidays

iPod morning commute music: Stan Getz/Joao Gilberto, Getz/Gilberto (1963)

Almost everyone of my generation knows of this great album ("Beyond essential" according to AMG) if only for the classic Girl from Ipanema. Bossa nova as jazz, whatever, this is stunning stuff. Getz on tenor sax, Gilberto on guitar, Antonio Carlos Jobim on piano, and with Gilberto's wife, Astrud Gilberto, providing the understated vocals for Girl from Ipanema, this is a masterpiece. Everyone should own it. Beautiful.

My house is in disarray. Tatsu is starting his IB exams today, and loses his entire Golden Week holiday. Kaoru is still suffering from a horrible cough which, when it hits, incapacitates her (and can wake me up in the middle of the night). Alisa came down the stairs this morning with a 38.1 degree fever, and is home sick. I'm ready for the holidays to begin.

Tonight, one of the publisher reps is taking me out for a beer. I switched over to his company's books this year for both my 7th graders and my 10th graders, a huge chunk of business. Anyway, Euan's a nice guy, and I'm looking forward to getting to know him outside of the professional sense.

And then, Golden Week starts. Hopefully, I can catch some extra sleep, watch a few Mariners' games (they won again today, 3 in a row now, an 8-2 over Minnesota, with Joel Pineiro pitching a complete game), and watch some DVD's. Drink some wine. Eat some food. Did I mention sleep?