I’ve been struggling with the idea of buying a phonograph
and starting to collect records again. If it were just a matter of money, it’s
not a problem of course, at least not in the short run. Especially since my
company launched a spin-off IPO a couple weeks ago and I bought 250 shares at
the initial price of $22 per share and now they’re worth almost $28 per share.
So that’s like a $1,250 bonus when I cash out (unless the stock goes down).
No, the problem is space. I simply don’t have room on my dresser for another piece of equipment, especially a turntable that you have to access from the top. That, plus I don’t have a place suitable to store records, mostly on account of how many books and digital discs I own. It’s rare that I really, really want an affordable material possession that I simply can’t have. The wants that I can’t have are usually on the magnitude of Lamborghinis and penthouse apartments. But the massive changes I’d have to make in my space (or moving to a new space) to accommodate a turntable are too overwhelming to contemplate.
I suppose the right thing to do is to get rid of more old
stuff so I can free up room for new things. I have tubs of junk that I need to
sort through and get rid of, both in the apartment, in the office and stored in
Yoshi. It’s kinda ridiculous.
Speaking of Yoshi, he’s been showing his 14-year age lately
and I worry that I might have to put him out to pasture soon. I’ve been putting
off things like new tires and brakes, but I won’t be able to much longer. So
that’s another reason not to spend money too freely.
One thing about turntables is that it opens the door to a
lot of extra purchases – performance upgrades, record cleaners, stylus
cleaners, setup tools, etc. Not to mention that new vinyl costs more, sometimes
twice as much as the CD or mp3 album. So buying a turntable is kind of like a
starter baby for people who don’t have babies.
Anyway…
It’s been pretty quiet since my blowout birthday weekend, although
last weekend was quite eventful. I found out my yoga teacher Emily is moving to
California
next month so I won’t be able to continue my practice with her, which is really
sad. I’m trying to organize a going-away party for her at TSMC before she
leaves.
The heat wave that’s been sapping my energy lately has
finally started to break this week. The worst was the Poly Women’s Group at Kat’s
non-air conditioned apartment in Queens on one
of the hottest days of the year. But it was nice seeing Katie, Sylwia, Tamara
and meeting some of our new members. The stories we tell at our meetings really
should be dramatized someday.
Speaking of drama, a lot of my time lately has been taken up
running the Unchained Love Playwright Competition. We average about one entry
per day, more than 30 in the first month, and they are still coming in. I’m
compiling bios and synopses and trying to find judges to read them.
Last weekend was time to catch up with everybody. Friday night Piper and I went to Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain for dinner and then continued our Stanley Kubrick series with Full Metal Jacket. Saturday afternoon I met my friend Stephanie at the 59 Theater so I could give her my old ergonomic computer keyboard and we watched Kacey’s play “Safe” together.
After the play Stephanie went to meet some friends and Kacey
and I had some extended alone time to talk about the competition and catch up
on each other’s lives. We had supper at a nearby Korean restaurant and then
took a two-hour stroll through Central Park, entering at the zoo and strolling
up the writer’s Mall, through the Ramble, up to Belvedere Castle, down through
Shakespeare’s Garden and Bethesda Fountain. We went over famous Bow Bridge
(which I always thought was spelled “Beaux
Bridge Columbus Circle . Along the way we saw Argentine tango dancers, acrobatic skaters, drum circles, giant soap bubble artists, a luxurious Italian gondola, a guitar and ukulele duet, an electric acoustic guitarist playing Richard Marx’ “Right Here Waiting” while watching a small bunch of balloons float off into the sunset.
Kacey is leaving today for Edinburgh ,
Scotland
for a few weeks as “Safe” is moving overseas to continue performances, so the
imagery wasn’t lost on me. Becker is taking it a little hard, as would I if I
had the privilege of seeing Kacey as often as he does.
