The iPod Crisis ends, as does MY SUMMER

Things appear to be OK, now, finally. I have converted all 2400+ songs to AAC format, whatever the eff that means. (And it only took two weeks!) And, all the songs are safely back on the iPod, which appears to be functioning well.

iTunes still gives me a headache, though. It could be the Old Bessie factor, but I can really only transfer about 15-20 songs at a time from iTunes to the iPod. If I try to do more, iTunes often crashes. Sometimes, it appears that iTunes doesn't like particular songs, and I eventually gave up trying to load those. ("Lee Harvey" by the Asylum Street Spankers and "James K. Polk" by They Might Be Giants crashed my computer like three times each. Perhaps this iPod has trouble with real-life American historical figures?)

And, weirdly enough, whole albums were lost somehow. Girlfriend, by Matthew Sweet, and the Brokeback Mountain soundtrack were totally erased. But, they're back on there, as is some countryish stuff from The Man (Joe Ely, Emmylou Harris, Robert Earl Keen, et al.)
(I've just realized that Emmylou Harris has the voice of an angel...a divorced angel that has been driving an 18-wheeler all night long. Where has she been all my life?)

And that, chickens, has been the highlight of my weekend. It's just too hot to do much in Austin besides go to Deep Eddy and get a mango Jim-Jim's Water Ice. If I ever leave Austin, Deep Eddy and a Mango Jim-Jim's will be high up on my list of things that I will immediately go do whenever I return here. Even if it sometimes sucks horrendously to live through summer here, there is a great deal to love about this town. (I've been thinking about Karla over t'Norway. She seems far away. How's everything, honey?)

We did take Older Girl roller skating at this seriously retro skating rink not far from us, and I did a few turns around the rink myself. I did not fall on my ass, a testament to luck or just sheer concentration ("Don't fall! Don't fall! You are WAY heavier than you were when you were eleven, and it will hurt SO much more!") Hilariously, we put skates on Younger Girl, too, just to get a picture of her in them. And, lo and behold, the girl can SKATE! Two years old, and she's walking around on those things like she's always had them on. (Wish I had that picture...will endeavor to get ahold of it.)

Lord, this is a dull post. I swear to try harder to be funny; really, I do. But not the first friggin' week of school. I don't know if it's hard for everyone, but I am COMPLETELY on edge about OG's first grade year. How will she do, will she make friends, will her hyperactivity be better or worse, is the teacher going to like her, etc., etc. (I often wonder why she's so stressed out and neurotic.)

Happy week, y'all.