Today I worked with my iPod on because Mondays are often days when people are on the telephone a lot. Since I normally like to keep my office door open, I find that even putting the earphones on (with no music) is more peaceful than fighting the tendency to listen to what other people are talking about...leaving more productive time to actually do my work.
But honestly...I do have it on most of the time.
Today was "Foo Fighters Monday" for me. I love the music, but sometimes you just appreciate something more when you understand it a little better.
I don't have any inside knowledge or anything...just what I've gathered from reading and not a tremendous amount of that, actually. But, this band - Foo Fighters - has quite an interesting history.
Most people have heard of the band, Nirvana - an alternative grunge band from the 1990's that just totally rocked. The lead singer, Kurt Cobain had some serious chemical abuse problems that eventually took a toll on him and resulted in his suicide in 1994. Frankly, because I thought the music would reflect that craziness, I refused to listen to it. I just enjoyed "around" Nirvana...until recently, that is.
And WHY you may ask?
Well, somewhere I was reading about the Foo Fighters (a band I already liked) and realized that the lead singer and guitarist for Foo Fighters, a guy named Dave Grohl, had formerly been the drummer for Nirvana.
Apparently with all of the touring that Nirvana was doing, he spent some available time writing songs. With the death of Cobain, he was left with several alternatives. He could go down a similar path, he could fold it in and figure out something to do with himself, or he could use what he had to work with and make something totally new.
Thankfully, ol' Dave went with the last option and formed Foo Fighters using the songs he had written while with Nirvana. What you might not know is that he was originally the songwriter, lead vocalist, guitarist, drummer, and everything else on the first album. These days he only maintains the songwriter, singer and guitarist roles and there are other band members. Sometime in 1995, the first album was released and it is next to impossible to figure out when the "band" actually evolved. Even the band's official website isn't terribly clear on that point.
Flash forward fourteen years later (now) and Foo Fighters is currently touring in Europe. The band is still recording, still evolving, and still making the best of the different alternatives that are before them. They have shown differences in the music and its presentation...including putting out an album with both rock and acoustic tracks. They have also toured both ways. Musicians have come and gone in the band...but the music and the evolution continues.
I think sometimes about how we have plans that we think are going to carry us through, and we find that we run into a wall: cancer, death, miscarriage, bankruptcy, infertility, addiction, diagnosis, relocation, cancellation, divorce, incarceration, accident, or many of the others that mark a place that we really don't want to even know exists...much less park our car out front of that particular house of pain and actually reside there awhile.
I think of how Dave Grohl must have felt when he heard that Kurt Cobain was dead...thus ending Nirvana's successful run. What a waste! Just what do you do with that? Well, there are always alternatives.
I think that as Christians, most people feel that any pain or insecurity that comes into our lives is the result of either something we have not done well enough...or because we have done something for which we deserve punishment. Frequently...neither is true.
Sometimes, we will have something removed from us that is working out well, to free us up for the opportunity to have something that He wants for us that is even better than we imagine: recovery, renewal, healing, birth, adoption, growth or reunion. The problem is that often we can't see the forest for the trees.
So...it was goodbye Nirvana...and hello Foo Fighters for Dave Grohl. He had to move on in one way or another. And between us...I'm glad that he did. Because, personally...I prefer the latter to the former.
A few songs that are amazing by this band include: "Learn to Fly" - "Times Like These" - "Everlong" - "The Pretender" - "Let It Die" - "Big Me" - "Long Road to Ruin" and "Best of You." Trust me.
Just remember...more often than not...as we are faced with something in our lives that we didn't expect and certainly don't want...we are also given other alternatives. Sometimes those alternatives allow us to see life in a totally different way than we would have had everything just remained the same.
So, go load some Foo Fighters in your iPod and rock on...Later!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
Finding Yourself
I have heard the words "finding yourself" spoken at various times in my life by people that I find very intelligent. It is an interesting concept, isn't it? Going out into the world and "finding yourself." Of course, to find yourself, you by default are admitting that you are lost in the first place. Or perhaps not lost...just "undiscovered."
The first person that I recall using these words had just gone through a divorce, and needed some space to figure out how to deal with life since this was apparently an unplanned path. I can see that, I suppose. Often in life, we find that we have Plan A that serves us well for awhile. We wrongly assume that it will continue to serve us well forever. But much like the people that come and go in our lives, the businesses that we love that open and close, the color of lipstick that suits us perfectly and then disappears, the scent (in my case...Jungle Gardenia...my grandmother's favorite) that is no longer available or the dreams that we outgrow...things change...and we end up on Plan C or H or Z.
I would love it if the people that have gone on ahead were still here. I would also love it if I didn't feel the weeks whizzing by and the months morphing into years and then decades faster than I thought possible.
But sometimes you have to figure out where to go and what to do after the kudzu takes over the path you were walking or a bridge is washed out along the way. It is quite disconcerting, isn't it? And while I suppose life goes on in spite of what we thought was supposed to happen...one of the options is to "find yourself."
The problem is...sometimes people are counting on you...and you have to take a backseat to your own needs. And when you don't, you end up changing the path of everyone else around you...even if you were more concerned with finding yourself than in making sure that everyone around you didn't get lost in the process.
Another person I know was trying to find herself because she had absolutely no clue who she was and what she wanted anymore. All she knew is that people were counting on her, life was incredibly busy, and she was unfulfilled. Finding herself meant talking to a counselor, cutting herself some slack, and figuring out what made her smile. It took awhile, but she made it through.
I think that my biggest problem with reality TV is that it gives the false impression that you can "find yourself" through another person ("The Bachelor/Bachelorette"), through fame ("American Idol") or through winning a trophy ("Dancing With the Stars.") I just can't watch the counterfeit emotions, the stories manufactured about the people, and the edited banter. It seriously drives me nuts.
The truth is...we have to have something to build on or hold on to that is unchanging. Truth is not relative to what you want it to be...truth is truth. And in my experience, God is truth. So, finding ourselves is not really an option until we find out who we are in Christ. That can take five minutes or fifty years. Each of our paths is unique.
So, here's to finding yourself...where you fit in...your purpose...who you are meant to encounter...and how you should live and play the hand you are dealt. Because when all is said and done...being "found" by Him is certainly far more fulfilling than doing the job yourself. Later!
The first person that I recall using these words had just gone through a divorce, and needed some space to figure out how to deal with life since this was apparently an unplanned path. I can see that, I suppose. Often in life, we find that we have Plan A that serves us well for awhile. We wrongly assume that it will continue to serve us well forever. But much like the people that come and go in our lives, the businesses that we love that open and close, the color of lipstick that suits us perfectly and then disappears, the scent (in my case...Jungle Gardenia...my grandmother's favorite) that is no longer available or the dreams that we outgrow...things change...and we end up on Plan C or H or Z.
I would love it if the people that have gone on ahead were still here. I would also love it if I didn't feel the weeks whizzing by and the months morphing into years and then decades faster than I thought possible.
But sometimes you have to figure out where to go and what to do after the kudzu takes over the path you were walking or a bridge is washed out along the way. It is quite disconcerting, isn't it? And while I suppose life goes on in spite of what we thought was supposed to happen...one of the options is to "find yourself."
The problem is...sometimes people are counting on you...and you have to take a backseat to your own needs. And when you don't, you end up changing the path of everyone else around you...even if you were more concerned with finding yourself than in making sure that everyone around you didn't get lost in the process.
Another person I know was trying to find herself because she had absolutely no clue who she was and what she wanted anymore. All she knew is that people were counting on her, life was incredibly busy, and she was unfulfilled. Finding herself meant talking to a counselor, cutting herself some slack, and figuring out what made her smile. It took awhile, but she made it through.
I think that my biggest problem with reality TV is that it gives the false impression that you can "find yourself" through another person ("The Bachelor/Bachelorette"), through fame ("American Idol") or through winning a trophy ("Dancing With the Stars.") I just can't watch the counterfeit emotions, the stories manufactured about the people, and the edited banter. It seriously drives me nuts.
The truth is...we have to have something to build on or hold on to that is unchanging. Truth is not relative to what you want it to be...truth is truth. And in my experience, God is truth. So, finding ourselves is not really an option until we find out who we are in Christ. That can take five minutes or fifty years. Each of our paths is unique.
So, here's to finding yourself...where you fit in...your purpose...who you are meant to encounter...and how you should live and play the hand you are dealt. Because when all is said and done...being "found" by Him is certainly far more fulfilling than doing the job yourself. Later!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Pet Peeves
This particular topic was suggested last night and I think it is an excellent one. I mean...who doesn't have things that absolutely send them over the edge? I mean, unless you are sitting on a mountaintop somewhere meditating...you are going to have pet peeves. Why, you ask? Because the vast majority of the pet peeves that people have involve...well...PEOPLE.
I noticed on Facebook that there is a group called "I Hate Stupid People." Really? I don't hate stupid people...because stupidity is relative. Case in point: Me learning to text. My kids couldn't understand why I had difficulty with this particular process. That was because I didn't understand how it all worked. That's ignorance...not stupidity...but the two are easily confused. A friend today was describing her son's inability to determine how to pay a bill that came in. He wasn't sure what amount to pay and how to make out the check. He's brilliant in school...in basic bill paying...not so much. Again...ignorance masking as stupidity...sometimes it is hard to tell the difference.
And then there are issues of "not being raised properly." In this category come such heinous offenses as failure to send a thank you note, wearing white shoes before Easter, and bringing store bought items to a covered dish supper. The people aren't stupid...they are just not indigenous to the South.
And, of course, there are those that do the things that irk us the most...getting on an elevator before it has emptied (thanks, Pam), asking us to fax something that they can pull up on the computer for themselves, extremely picky eaters, parking place stalkers, people who refuse to paint their crusty toenails but want to display them proudly, loud cologne/perfume, mullet wearers, tailgaters, food smackers, nose pickers, and those who are excessively nosy. Then we have loud talkers, close talkers, people that talk to you in the bathroom stall (thanks, Lynn), neat freaks, people who fail to replace the toilet paper, people who talk on their cell phone in a restaurant and people who always forget their money/wallet/debit card.
Oh, there are more...and if I didn't cover yours...you get the idea. These are the things that cause us to vent on our Facebook page, raise our blood pressure, and cause us to say words that just somehow make us feel better...until the three year old in our life makes it the "word of the day"...at church.
Anyway, my biggest pet peeve is stopping at a red light when there is no traffic coming. I just find it to be the biggest waste of my life imaginable. Second place: probate office for car tags. Third: waiting in a doctor's office. Yeah.
However, somehow I've realized over time that the things that drive me the craziest are often the most hilarious if I am in the mood to accept it that way. My kids can crack me up by doing something annoying to the other one...and the victim just looks at the aggressor and says "Really?"
I find that people often do things a certain way because that is how they cope or because they are old enough not to care that you might have something else to do. My grandmother used to take three hours to eat a meal. You'd finish...and then start preparing the next one. Me? I eat in 15 minutes. But I'd give anything to have one of those three hour breakfasts with her today.
Other times, they are totally unaware of how annoying they really are. Tonight, the bag boy at the grocery store spent ten minutes after he loaded my groceries in the trunk telling me why he wants a bull mastiff. This was annoying...but he is a nice kid...and it reminded me that sometimes I am so in love with my story de jour that I go on and on ad nauseum as well at times.
I find that the irritations in life serve two purposes: first of all, they make me grateful when there are no hassles...which in my opinion doesn't happen often enough...and secondly, they make me embarrasingly aware of how my actions can affect/annoy others.
I'll admit it...I like to chew gum. For some people...the sight of gum being smacked is enough to send them over the edge. So, I try to smack it in private.
I also am fairly politically opinionated. Most people are not informed and do not care. I find that irritating...but I'm sure that they find me irritating because I don't agree with them. So, see...it works both ways.
Anyway, as you go through your life tomorrow, I want you to smile when you are annoyed and just consider why the behavior might be occurring instead of just noting that it is occurring. Go wild with your imagination. Might as well laugh! Later!
I noticed on Facebook that there is a group called "I Hate Stupid People." Really? I don't hate stupid people...because stupidity is relative. Case in point: Me learning to text. My kids couldn't understand why I had difficulty with this particular process. That was because I didn't understand how it all worked. That's ignorance...not stupidity...but the two are easily confused. A friend today was describing her son's inability to determine how to pay a bill that came in. He wasn't sure what amount to pay and how to make out the check. He's brilliant in school...in basic bill paying...not so much. Again...ignorance masking as stupidity...sometimes it is hard to tell the difference.
And then there are issues of "not being raised properly." In this category come such heinous offenses as failure to send a thank you note, wearing white shoes before Easter, and bringing store bought items to a covered dish supper. The people aren't stupid...they are just not indigenous to the South.
And, of course, there are those that do the things that irk us the most...getting on an elevator before it has emptied (thanks, Pam), asking us to fax something that they can pull up on the computer for themselves, extremely picky eaters, parking place stalkers, people who refuse to paint their crusty toenails but want to display them proudly, loud cologne/perfume, mullet wearers, tailgaters, food smackers, nose pickers, and those who are excessively nosy. Then we have loud talkers, close talkers, people that talk to you in the bathroom stall (thanks, Lynn), neat freaks, people who fail to replace the toilet paper, people who talk on their cell phone in a restaurant and people who always forget their money/wallet/debit card.
Oh, there are more...and if I didn't cover yours...you get the idea. These are the things that cause us to vent on our Facebook page, raise our blood pressure, and cause us to say words that just somehow make us feel better...until the three year old in our life makes it the "word of the day"...at church.
Anyway, my biggest pet peeve is stopping at a red light when there is no traffic coming. I just find it to be the biggest waste of my life imaginable. Second place: probate office for car tags. Third: waiting in a doctor's office. Yeah.
However, somehow I've realized over time that the things that drive me the craziest are often the most hilarious if I am in the mood to accept it that way. My kids can crack me up by doing something annoying to the other one...and the victim just looks at the aggressor and says "Really?"
I find that people often do things a certain way because that is how they cope or because they are old enough not to care that you might have something else to do. My grandmother used to take three hours to eat a meal. You'd finish...and then start preparing the next one. Me? I eat in 15 minutes. But I'd give anything to have one of those three hour breakfasts with her today.
Other times, they are totally unaware of how annoying they really are. Tonight, the bag boy at the grocery store spent ten minutes after he loaded my groceries in the trunk telling me why he wants a bull mastiff. This was annoying...but he is a nice kid...and it reminded me that sometimes I am so in love with my story de jour that I go on and on ad nauseum as well at times.
I find that the irritations in life serve two purposes: first of all, they make me grateful when there are no hassles...which in my opinion doesn't happen often enough...and secondly, they make me embarrasingly aware of how my actions can affect/annoy others.
I'll admit it...I like to chew gum. For some people...the sight of gum being smacked is enough to send them over the edge. So, I try to smack it in private.
I also am fairly politically opinionated. Most people are not informed and do not care. I find that irritating...but I'm sure that they find me irritating because I don't agree with them. So, see...it works both ways.
Anyway, as you go through your life tomorrow, I want you to smile when you are annoyed and just consider why the behavior might be occurring instead of just noting that it is occurring. Go wild with your imagination. Might as well laugh! Later!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Traveling Lighter
As I was sitting on Facebook tonight looking at the various posts...something just drew my attention. Not that these are in any way connected unless you have a brain that works the way mine does...but because I do find the most random connections...I found a common thread. It seems that everyone - tonight - myself included - is interested in traveling lighter.
One friend was lamenting her displeasure at having to deal with housework. Well, AMEN to that, sister. I am looking around this room of mine that has become the repository for everything e-Bayable (is that a word...unlikely) and/or remotely useful. I had wonderful intentions of getting rid of things in a responsible manner as a New Year's resolution. What was I doing? Trying to distract myself from my normal one about losing weight? Probably.
Now, I'm about ready to just load it up in about a gazillion Hefty bags and get it out of my sight. Old couch? Needs to go. Six coffee mugs that I got for 75% off at CVS at Christmas (of 2007) that are sitting here waiting on me to deal with them? Buh-bye. Oh, and my personal favorite...stuff that is too good to throw away and might be useful...but I just can't...yet? Well, I'm cutting that cord, smacking it on the butt and putting it up for adoption at Goodwill.
And NO, I am not speaking of my children. They can stay...for now. But less time spent maintaining and more time spent just "being" requires at least a strong attempt at trying to travel lighter...
My second example was another friend who commented how she had been on FarmTown all day and was exhausted. If you aren't familiar with FarmTown, I'm probably not the best person to ask, but it is a virtual farm of your own that can morph into a full time job if you aren't careful. Well, today was the day that my sad little farm went into foreclosure.
Anyone (that being me) that is too challenged to figure out the game doesn't need to be playing it. I am on a laptop, and so moving the stupid little cursor thing around was driving me nuts in addition to the sound of the chicken and the incessantly barking dog.
The only part I regret is that my little "person" representing me was of normal weight and her hair looked good. I hope that my chickens, jackass, dog, 78% complete corn, and my trees will go to someone with the good sense to look after them. I'll truly miss the jackass...but I'm sure that I encounter at least one of those daily in my real life, and having one in my virtual life was redundant.
As a result of exiting my game...I'm a little sad...but mostly I feel like a huge weight has been lifted. In my life, I needed to just leave my little farm...and travel lighter...
The third friend was admitting that she had some challenges that she just had to let go of and had finally come to that decision. She realized that the burden (whatever it is...and that's not important for me to know) was more than she felt capable of carrying in her own strength. We Southern women have a wonderful capacity for strength...but that can sometimes be our worst enemy and we will end up walking with an issue far longer than we are meant to. And so she put it on the shoulders of the One who can carry any burden we ask Him to carry on our behalf...and she's moving forward in faith.
I know that at times...once I've relinquished control...the release makes me feel like a kid on a trampoline. Just up and down...wheeee! (Now I've been on a trampoline sometime in the 90's...and believe me, it is a totally different experience as an adult.)
Other times...it seems like my birthday and I'm a year older...I feel the same...but something's different. (Like when you have to move up a category in the age range and it makes you feel old.)
And other times...I'm like someone who has finally gotten glasses. It's better...but I don't really recognize everything. (OH! Leaves...yeah, I remember that...)
But however she is feeling right now...I'll be praying that my friend will be traveling lighter very soon.
Because as you know...the "stuff" that keeps us occupied...belongings, activities and troubles...also keeps us from focusing on the only thing that we can take with us when we go home...and that is people. So, here's to traveling lighter...later!
One friend was lamenting her displeasure at having to deal with housework. Well, AMEN to that, sister. I am looking around this room of mine that has become the repository for everything e-Bayable (is that a word...unlikely) and/or remotely useful. I had wonderful intentions of getting rid of things in a responsible manner as a New Year's resolution. What was I doing? Trying to distract myself from my normal one about losing weight? Probably.
Now, I'm about ready to just load it up in about a gazillion Hefty bags and get it out of my sight. Old couch? Needs to go. Six coffee mugs that I got for 75% off at CVS at Christmas (of 2007) that are sitting here waiting on me to deal with them? Buh-bye. Oh, and my personal favorite...stuff that is too good to throw away and might be useful...but I just can't...yet? Well, I'm cutting that cord, smacking it on the butt and putting it up for adoption at Goodwill.
And NO, I am not speaking of my children. They can stay...for now. But less time spent maintaining and more time spent just "being" requires at least a strong attempt at trying to travel lighter...
My second example was another friend who commented how she had been on FarmTown all day and was exhausted. If you aren't familiar with FarmTown, I'm probably not the best person to ask, but it is a virtual farm of your own that can morph into a full time job if you aren't careful. Well, today was the day that my sad little farm went into foreclosure.
Anyone (that being me) that is too challenged to figure out the game doesn't need to be playing it. I am on a laptop, and so moving the stupid little cursor thing around was driving me nuts in addition to the sound of the chicken and the incessantly barking dog.
The only part I regret is that my little "person" representing me was of normal weight and her hair looked good. I hope that my chickens, jackass, dog, 78% complete corn, and my trees will go to someone with the good sense to look after them. I'll truly miss the jackass...but I'm sure that I encounter at least one of those daily in my real life, and having one in my virtual life was redundant.
As a result of exiting my game...I'm a little sad...but mostly I feel like a huge weight has been lifted. In my life, I needed to just leave my little farm...and travel lighter...
The third friend was admitting that she had some challenges that she just had to let go of and had finally come to that decision. She realized that the burden (whatever it is...and that's not important for me to know) was more than she felt capable of carrying in her own strength. We Southern women have a wonderful capacity for strength...but that can sometimes be our worst enemy and we will end up walking with an issue far longer than we are meant to. And so she put it on the shoulders of the One who can carry any burden we ask Him to carry on our behalf...and she's moving forward in faith.
I know that at times...once I've relinquished control...the release makes me feel like a kid on a trampoline. Just up and down...wheeee! (Now I've been on a trampoline sometime in the 90's...and believe me, it is a totally different experience as an adult.)
Other times...it seems like my birthday and I'm a year older...I feel the same...but something's different. (Like when you have to move up a category in the age range and it makes you feel old.)
And other times...I'm like someone who has finally gotten glasses. It's better...but I don't really recognize everything. (OH! Leaves...yeah, I remember that...)
But however she is feeling right now...I'll be praying that my friend will be traveling lighter very soon.
Because as you know...the "stuff" that keeps us occupied...belongings, activities and troubles...also keeps us from focusing on the only thing that we can take with us when we go home...and that is people. So, here's to traveling lighter...later!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Music
I am listening to music as I write this. For many of us, music is still a very important part of our lives...and for others...it is just something that we take for granted. I've gone through days that were totally silent...and then ended up in the grocery store listening to something like "Funky Town" and found myself laughing.
I realized years ago that music was almost like turning down a corner of a page in the book of my life. I could find my place by just hearing a few notes. It is a rare child of the South that can stand still when the first few chords of "Sweet Home Alabama" are played. In fact, at my friend Jacqueline's wedding in Newport, RI several years ago, I even got up and danced on that one. By myself. Didn't care.
I associate certain songs with certain people...beginning with the song "Spooky" that my Uncle Harry wrote. Every time it is on...I think of him...and of course, the fact that he is getting a residual...which is totally awesome. There are songs that remind me of childhood, of my teen years, of college fraternity parties, my early married life, raising children, and today. I can give you songs in each category.
I tend to lean strongly and heavily toward rock music. Most of you know that my favorite group is Collective Soul, and that I am also a big fan of Led Zeppelin, Pearl Jam, Nickelback, Creed, Foo Fighters, Linkin Park, Def Leppard, U2 and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
I have recently started enjoying Nirvana and Muse. I put off Nirvana because of the whole crazy drug addicted thing Kurt Cobain had going on, and Muse is just new to me. I have tried to like country, and there are a few artists that I can tolerate, but for the most part, I endure it more than enjoy it.
However, if you want a totally surreal experience...download "Nine Lives" by Tim McGraw and Def Leppard. Yeah, THAT Def Leppard. Great song...too funny.
I've thought about my music preferences and thought I'd share a few here. If I had the means and the time to cut you a CD to reflect my musical tastes...what would I put on it?
Well, you know that it would lean heavily toward Collective Soul, but I'd spread it around a little bit. And frankly, I'm going to leave Lynyrd Skynyrd and Led Zeppelin off of the list. I think that these two are everyone's favorite...or at least were at some point...and so everyone I know has their unique favorites.
My favorite Lynyrd Skynyrd song is "Tuesday's Gone" and my favorite Led Zeppelin song is "The Immigrant Song." So, you can add those if you want.
For the rest of your CD, I'd put the following:
Nirvana: "Come as You Are" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
Pearl Jam: "Alive", "Porch", and "Evenflow"
Nickelback: "How You Remind Me" and "Photograph"
Smashing Pumpkins: "1979"
Coldplay: "Daylight", "Clocks" and "Speed of Sound"
Dave Matthews: "Where Are You Going?" and "Don't Drink the Water"
U2: "Beautiful Day", "City of Blinding Lights", and "Mysterious Ways"
Muse: "Supermassive Black Hole"
Foo Fighters: "Times Like These", "Monkey Wrench" and "Learn To Fly"
Tom Petty: "Runnin' Down a Dream" and "Won't Back Down"
Linkin Park: "In the End", "What I've Done" and "Numb"
Naturally, Collective Soul would have their own CD:
"December", "The World I Know", "Heavy", "Run", "Satellite", "Shine", "Counting the Days", "Forgiveness", "Needs" and "Gel"
So, if ever you are looking for a change of pace...try some of these. I actually started liking Linkin Park because one of Jill's friends brought the "Live in Texas" CD over here and I liked it. I then played it non-stop until I learned all of the words to all of the songs. The funny part is the teenage angst that permeates their music. I guess I was past the angst and just liked the music. It used to freak Jill's friends out...I suppose it still would...
Anyway, as you hear a song playing somewhere this week...try to remember when you loaded that one into the jukebox of your mind. Remember the sweet friends that you shared hysterical laughter with in your younger days. Remember the time gone by and the person you were then. It's really okay.
As for me, if I hear "Dream Weaver" or "Take the Money and Run"...I'm a teenager sitting at Perk's Pool in Thomaston Georgia. If I hear anything by the Gap Band...I'm a Phi Mu at Troy. And while I have no real desire to be back...I don't mind the brief mental vacation. Some days, quite frankly, I need it. Later!
I realized years ago that music was almost like turning down a corner of a page in the book of my life. I could find my place by just hearing a few notes. It is a rare child of the South that can stand still when the first few chords of "Sweet Home Alabama" are played. In fact, at my friend Jacqueline's wedding in Newport, RI several years ago, I even got up and danced on that one. By myself. Didn't care.
I associate certain songs with certain people...beginning with the song "Spooky" that my Uncle Harry wrote. Every time it is on...I think of him...and of course, the fact that he is getting a residual...which is totally awesome. There are songs that remind me of childhood, of my teen years, of college fraternity parties, my early married life, raising children, and today. I can give you songs in each category.
I tend to lean strongly and heavily toward rock music. Most of you know that my favorite group is Collective Soul, and that I am also a big fan of Led Zeppelin, Pearl Jam, Nickelback, Creed, Foo Fighters, Linkin Park, Def Leppard, U2 and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
I have recently started enjoying Nirvana and Muse. I put off Nirvana because of the whole crazy drug addicted thing Kurt Cobain had going on, and Muse is just new to me. I have tried to like country, and there are a few artists that I can tolerate, but for the most part, I endure it more than enjoy it.
However, if you want a totally surreal experience...download "Nine Lives" by Tim McGraw and Def Leppard. Yeah, THAT Def Leppard. Great song...too funny.
I've thought about my music preferences and thought I'd share a few here. If I had the means and the time to cut you a CD to reflect my musical tastes...what would I put on it?
Well, you know that it would lean heavily toward Collective Soul, but I'd spread it around a little bit. And frankly, I'm going to leave Lynyrd Skynyrd and Led Zeppelin off of the list. I think that these two are everyone's favorite...or at least were at some point...and so everyone I know has their unique favorites.
My favorite Lynyrd Skynyrd song is "Tuesday's Gone" and my favorite Led Zeppelin song is "The Immigrant Song." So, you can add those if you want.
For the rest of your CD, I'd put the following:
Nirvana: "Come as You Are" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
Pearl Jam: "Alive", "Porch", and "Evenflow"
Nickelback: "How You Remind Me" and "Photograph"
Smashing Pumpkins: "1979"
Coldplay: "Daylight", "Clocks" and "Speed of Sound"
Dave Matthews: "Where Are You Going?" and "Don't Drink the Water"
U2: "Beautiful Day", "City of Blinding Lights", and "Mysterious Ways"
Muse: "Supermassive Black Hole"
Foo Fighters: "Times Like These", "Monkey Wrench" and "Learn To Fly"
Tom Petty: "Runnin' Down a Dream" and "Won't Back Down"
Linkin Park: "In the End", "What I've Done" and "Numb"
Naturally, Collective Soul would have their own CD:
"December", "The World I Know", "Heavy", "Run", "Satellite", "Shine", "Counting the Days", "Forgiveness", "Needs" and "Gel"
So, if ever you are looking for a change of pace...try some of these. I actually started liking Linkin Park because one of Jill's friends brought the "Live in Texas" CD over here and I liked it. I then played it non-stop until I learned all of the words to all of the songs. The funny part is the teenage angst that permeates their music. I guess I was past the angst and just liked the music. It used to freak Jill's friends out...I suppose it still would...
Anyway, as you hear a song playing somewhere this week...try to remember when you loaded that one into the jukebox of your mind. Remember the sweet friends that you shared hysterical laughter with in your younger days. Remember the time gone by and the person you were then. It's really okay.
As for me, if I hear "Dream Weaver" or "Take the Money and Run"...I'm a teenager sitting at Perk's Pool in Thomaston Georgia. If I hear anything by the Gap Band...I'm a Phi Mu at Troy. And while I have no real desire to be back...I don't mind the brief mental vacation. Some days, quite frankly, I need it. Later!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
In Control
This weekend was one of those that I used to distract myself. I had the scrapbooking ladies over on Saturday, and today (Sunday) has been spent watching movies and television, and commenting on Facebook and Twitter. What am I avoiding, you ask?
Well, Friday afternoon at 3:00, I found out that two of my coworkers are now my former coworkers. Our department was downsized. Now we are 50% of what we were when I went to work Friday morning.
But instead of being afraid of being the third one to go...I'm just going to refuse to think about it. There really just isn't any point. If I go into work tomorrow and find that I am unemployed...then what is worrying about this today going to change? The answer? Not a thing.
I've found that in my life...worrying about things really is futile. The real choice that I have to make is this: do I trust that God is in control...or do I not?
The times in my life that I have thought I was in control normally led me down a path that got me into trouble. Stressing over a good suspense movie...is entertaining. Stressing over a potential hassle like figuring out how to pay the bills...is not.
I think that one of the things that I've learned from this current economic crisis is that I am totally NOT in control...but I do believe in the one who IS.
So, as I leave for work in the morning, I will breathe...hope...pray...and just put one foot in front of the other. Later!
Well, Friday afternoon at 3:00, I found out that two of my coworkers are now my former coworkers. Our department was downsized. Now we are 50% of what we were when I went to work Friday morning.
But instead of being afraid of being the third one to go...I'm just going to refuse to think about it. There really just isn't any point. If I go into work tomorrow and find that I am unemployed...then what is worrying about this today going to change? The answer? Not a thing.
I've found that in my life...worrying about things really is futile. The real choice that I have to make is this: do I trust that God is in control...or do I not?
The times in my life that I have thought I was in control normally led me down a path that got me into trouble. Stressing over a good suspense movie...is entertaining. Stressing over a potential hassle like figuring out how to pay the bills...is not.
I think that one of the things that I've learned from this current economic crisis is that I am totally NOT in control...but I do believe in the one who IS.
So, as I leave for work in the morning, I will breathe...hope...pray...and just put one foot in front of the other. Later!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Scrapbooking Ladies
Today I tried to get the photos that I have taken since last year put in scrapbooks. I do this once a month with a group of ladies that are truly wonderful women. It is also entirely likely that - although we all attend the same church - we would never have had occasion to be friends. There are actually a total of nine of us - but there are six of us that form the core of the group.
I am the youngest in age...by three months. We are all mothers (or stepmothers) and we all love documenting the stories of our lives through photographs and scrapbooking. Most of us have been doing this for over ten years. In my case...since January 1996 (13 years). I still do my scrapbooks the hard way...with paper and stickers...while many of the others have gravitated to digital scrapbooking. They travel far lighter than I do...
Among us are a banker, a retired homemaker, a retired medical assistant, a caregiver, a special education teacher, a church organist, an entrepreneur, and a Calculus teacher. We range in age from 46 to 70+. We have raised children, grandchildren, husbands, dogs, and occasionally...the roof. We love to eat...and we are all fans of chocolate. In fact, chocolate is the guest of honor at most of our gatherings.
What I realized today was that in meeting monthly for the past several years...in addition to finishing several scrapbooks...we've learned a lot about ourselves. I've learned that watching one of my friends and what she is doing with her daughter is a pretty good gauge of what I'm going to be dealing with in the near future...since her daughter is three years older than mine.
From another, I've learned that it is possible to keep a perfect home. From a third, I have learned the beauty of taking care of others and seeing to the details of life that some people gloss over or take for granted. From a fourth, I have seen what a commitment to doing the right thing looks like. From a fifth, I see how important the church and my brothers and sisters there are going to be down the road. From a sixth, I learn that it is possible to make a living doing something that I truly love. From the others, I've learned dedication, love, laughter, peace, patience, joy, and perseverance.
I think that many times in life people are put in our path to teach us something. I know that I've been covered and blessed many times by my connection to these wonderful women. Women that not only ooh and aah over my pictures...but who remind me that I am important and special to them. And who will actually get a can of Comet out from underneath the sink and then clean it for me to keep me from being mortified.
That's true friendship. Later!
I am the youngest in age...by three months. We are all mothers (or stepmothers) and we all love documenting the stories of our lives through photographs and scrapbooking. Most of us have been doing this for over ten years. In my case...since January 1996 (13 years). I still do my scrapbooks the hard way...with paper and stickers...while many of the others have gravitated to digital scrapbooking. They travel far lighter than I do...
Among us are a banker, a retired homemaker, a retired medical assistant, a caregiver, a special education teacher, a church organist, an entrepreneur, and a Calculus teacher. We range in age from 46 to 70+. We have raised children, grandchildren, husbands, dogs, and occasionally...the roof. We love to eat...and we are all fans of chocolate. In fact, chocolate is the guest of honor at most of our gatherings.
What I realized today was that in meeting monthly for the past several years...in addition to finishing several scrapbooks...we've learned a lot about ourselves. I've learned that watching one of my friends and what she is doing with her daughter is a pretty good gauge of what I'm going to be dealing with in the near future...since her daughter is three years older than mine.
From another, I've learned that it is possible to keep a perfect home. From a third, I have learned the beauty of taking care of others and seeing to the details of life that some people gloss over or take for granted. From a fourth, I have seen what a commitment to doing the right thing looks like. From a fifth, I see how important the church and my brothers and sisters there are going to be down the road. From a sixth, I learn that it is possible to make a living doing something that I truly love. From the others, I've learned dedication, love, laughter, peace, patience, joy, and perseverance.
I think that many times in life people are put in our path to teach us something. I know that I've been covered and blessed many times by my connection to these wonderful women. Women that not only ooh and aah over my pictures...but who remind me that I am important and special to them. And who will actually get a can of Comet out from underneath the sink and then clean it for me to keep me from being mortified.
That's true friendship. Later!
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