It’s been a month of settling in to our house, getting ready for our next project (our garage conversion) and preparing for our trip to New Zealand. We’ve had the attic insulated, we’ve moved most of the contents of the garage into the attic, and we should be ready to go when we get back.

On Monday night, we saw Wilco at the Wiltern, for our annual reunion with the band, apparently the 18th time I’ve seen either the band or Jeff solo over the last ten years. This lineup, now five years old, is just crazy, as Nels and Pat’s traded guitar solo battle on Monday attested. The show was great, and restored my interest in ever going to the Wiltern again, as we had a great vantage point from just above the pit. Jeff seemed more relaxed, talkative, comfortable, and happy than maybe any other time I’ve seen the band.



A year after we made the reservations, and probably five or six years after we made it our next big travel destination, we’re off to New Zealand tomorrow night. We’ve got our itinerary planned, and we’re trying to pack light (except for the copy of Infinite Jest I’ll be bringing with me to try to keep up with the Infinite Summer project). We’ve also yet to determine how to best enjoy our Business Class accommodations – yes, it’s a really long flight, but I don’t want to sleep through our hundreds of movies on demand… After hour eleven, I’m sure I’ll change my mind.

Over the past month, we’ve been enjoying the company of our friends and their kids, with visits with Michael, Ali, and Maya, as well as Janet, Eric, and Freddie. We had a fun time at the Playboy Jazz Festival two weeks ago, an unexpected surprise from friends of Aimee, and I also got acquainted with the work of Jerry Lewis, catching two double features of his films at the Silent Movie Theater. I don’t know the last time I went away for two weeks – 2004, maybe? – so I’m excited for a long break, and looking forward to whatever New Zealand in winter has to offer.