Cheaper than therapy

Music is an integral part of me, truly therapeutic. I often go through phases of listening to different music. There are times I get stuck on one artist, one album, or even one song for a riduculous amount of time. When Craig gets into my car during those streaks, he look incredulously at me, like you are not really going to even think about playing that song ONE MORE TIME. Then he flings himself out of the door into oncoming traffic. That is how we compromise around here.

Music is so expressive and there is infinite emotion in it. It has always been an outlet, a warm security blanket for me. Just consider yourself warned, because if you stick around here, you will see this theme repeated over and over and over again. To me, music offers a mental escape, something that my overactive mind often needs. More often than not, I can find a song that conveys my emotions better than any words could. Depending on my mood, my musical taste fluctuates. I just work that way. I just finished a book, Leading with Soul (totally recommend it), and the author said, "Music is the algebra of feelings." Uh huh.

Ray LaMontange is a person who is totally fascinating to me. To see him speak in an interview, you see someone awkward, foreign to his own skin. It is almost painful to watch him struggle in front of the camera. However, behind the microphone, he is alive and transforms into an amazing artist. It is powerful. His song Jolene has been in the back of my mind for weeks and it just takes my breath away. Often it is hard for me to identify what draws me to a song, so I will not slaughter it by trying to explain why I love this song.



Today is a sad day. I have to attend a funeral for my dear friend Jessica's dad. My heart breaks for her, and it hits way too close to home for me. Hard to believe my own dad has been gone over five years. Still feels like yesterday.

Heavy things.

Back to them fun and games tomorrow.

My Dear Country

First of all, I must profess my total and undying love for Norah Jones. Second, I could not pass up the opportunity to share this song.

Instructions:

Take a deep breath.
Clear you mind.
Turn up your speakers.
Listen.
Think.



Happy Halloween!

An Equal Opportunity Listener Here

I was recently accused of not liking any female artists and must protest the absurdity of that. I will admit that there are many more male artists than female in my musical collection. That is mostly due to the fact that there are more male artist options in the type of music I like. It’s not some conspiracy against all things female. I mean, really, where would that leave me?

This morning, I was driving to work and Beth Orton came on my ipod. I love, love, love Beth Orton. Her music brings back crazy memories of teenage angst and drama, despite which, I still can’t get enough of it. Her newest album is one of my favorite and I want to share a teeny tiny piece of it with you. I apologize for the lame video. She’s the type of person who plays at tiny obscure places, so it is difficult to find a good quality live recording. As an added bonus, it’ll hopefully make my friend Andi (Hi Andi!) happy.



My absolute favorite doesn't even have a video option, but to listen to it, go here and click play on the right. If people's musical tastes are some reflection of their character, I wonder what mine would mean.

I am looking forward to a nice, relaxing weekend, and I’ll hopefully get some quality writing done for the good ole’ blob here. Any topics you can think of for me to ponder? I’m always looking for one more thing to keep me up at night.

I need your inspiration. Desperately.

I Used to Welcome Chaos

It was a lame title, I know. It was stage fright, performance anxiety, the pressure of coming up with something perfect, something all encompassing. It was pathetic. For weeks I've racked my brain for a good title. Each time I would ask someone for their opinion, I would start with, "I can't believe I cannot come up with something. I swear, I used to be witty." Eventually it just stuck. June, the Queen of Wittiness, gave it two thumbs up, so apparently she too thinks I Used to be Witty.

Be on the lookout for some fun changes, a new .com, a new design, and some flair. I can't continue to be associated with such boringness and I applaud you for tolerating it for these torturous couple of weeks.

For your listening pleasure, I will leave you with what I have been listening to today. I heart Mat Kearney.

Water for Elephants; In My Spare Time

I love to read. I have a problem with reading though, in the sence that once I start, I cannot stop. I read at lunch, read while I am cooking, read until 2:00 a.m., despite how tired I know I will be the next day. I would read at red lights if they were just a second longer. Needless to say, I don't have the luxury of getting lost in a book anymore, so I strategically plan my reading. The next step - schedule reading time in the Crackberry. As a result, I have become more discriminatory in my reading. No mindless crap. If I have time for one book, it's going to be good. My favorite books tend to be unique and I adore books where I learn something new. In essence, I think you can say that I read on a quest for more than just a decent story.

Life is about to get hectic. Ha. About to, that's funny! I am taking nine credit hours towards my Master's degree this fall. Who thought that was a good idea? If you find her, let me know. I'd love to buy her a drink and ask her what the hell she was thinking. One might think that alone is a challenge. Oh, I mean besides the full-time job, husband on permanent out-of-town work assignment, and Kate. If one thought that, then one would not know me very well. I also have a professional certification test that I will be taking in December. Of course I do. I paid my $345 to register, then got the handbook and study materials. This.crap.is.hard. Oh and the pass rate is 52%. Someone is going to be busy! I decided to celebrate the end to any dream of a free moment and picked up Water for Elephants. What an outstanding book; definitely worth the sacrifice of the only three free hours I will see again for at least five months.

On a different note, I want to mention Dispatch. Dispatch is an old band, but I love them. You know when you get in a funk and stuck on listening to one think over and over again. Yup, that's me and Dispatch right now. It's the best video quality I could find, but if you remotely like this, trust me, you will love them!




(If someone can tell me how to post the video and not just the link here, I'll even buy you a drink ...)

Robin, I owe you a drink!