going bananas.

I will have a blushing bride in less than a month.

That sounds like a perfect time to start up a new job, right? Well, the universe seemed to think so. Aspects of the past two months arrive into my memory in a blur. Two months have passed since I was underhandedly demoted from my pseudo-temporary post at my store in the 'hood. Everything there was turned on its head, power struggles ensued, excessive dramas erupted, a mutiny was brewing, and my schedule was in essence flipped.

Now I no longer work there. I bid that old raggedy, stress infested place its due farewell and good riddance yesterday. As of this morning I will be inheriting the trouble on the southwest seas, the S.W. Neglected. In what seems to be likewise surprise attack fashion, I will be taking over the reigns within mere minutes of the lazy, undependable, former manager's forced resignation.

If life were truly a choose your own adventure novel, we'd rarely select the right course of action. Simply following the flow of life as it comes from our hopes, dreams, and prayers, and seeing what doors open and which remain chained, we frequently discover unexpected answers to our problems.

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carbon footprint

From the backstabbing co-worker to the meddling sister-in-law, you are in charge of how you react to the people and events in your life. You can either give negativity power over your life or you can choose happiness instead. Take control and choose to focus on what is important in your life. Those who cannot live fully often become destroyers of life.
   ~Anaïs Nin

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in patience

Good things come to those who wait.

~ Heinz ketchup

Recently I came across a list of twelve traits of happy people. I think we could all learn something from it. Here's the abbreviated version:

1. Express gratitude.
2. Cultivate optimism.
3. Avoid over-thinking and social comparison.
4. Practice acts of kindness.
5. Nurture social relationships.
6. Develop strategies for coping.
7. Learn to forgive.
8. Increase flow experiences.
9. Savor life’s joys.
10. Commit to your goals.
11. Practice spirituality.
12. Take care of your body.

That said. Time to eat.

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pure morning

When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.
~ from "When Harry Met Sally" by Nora Ephron

(214)

i peed.

(something about) the next ten songs on your iPod

I'll just dive right in.

(1) "Uprising" by Muse (2009)
Though seemingly seaped in political paranoia, Muse's straight forward pounding anthem is simultaneously an emotional inspiration for the outcast and underappreciated to say nothing of an obvious stripper tune for the Doctor Who nerd set.

(2) "Loverman" by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds (1994)
The disturbed stranger lurking in the dark of many a nightmare is likely modeled off the mug of the brilliant Nick Cave, who does some of his strongest work on 1994's Let Love in. This track is particularly unsettling yet captivating, in the fashion of a gruesome highway pile-up.

(3) "The Way You Make Me Feel" by Michael Jackson (1987)
Thriller was my childhood! Everything about that record helped to form my musical appreciation, understanding, and expectation. I am one of the millions who are still in disbelief every time a reference is made to Michael Jackson's death. Though personally and psychologically a mad mess, I refuse to dismiss his artistic brilliance that was in high gear through the peak of his career in the 80's. This tune from that album's follow up still cooks, and would no doubt still keep the dancefloor full.

(4) "C'est la Vie" by Robbie Nevil (1986)
This soulful, babymaking tune is sadly long forgotten by most. Even though he charted a few other times in the following years, Robbie Nevil will always be a one hit wonder to me.

(5) "Just Let Go" by Fischerspooner (2005)
A high energy minor hit by the electroclash duo Fischerspooner. It's like a modern day take on an Atari game, and one that I like to play a lot.

(6) "Apologize" by One Republic (feat. Timbaland) (2007)
Sometimes I'm not certain why I love this song so much. The dude on vocals has that vaguely whiny tone in his voice that tends to be the irksome modern sound that has ruined a bit of contemporary music. But then there's the commanding beats, and Timbaland's amusing tag that he seems to offer all he does, like aural graffiti. The truth is I believe this song. There's an emotional texture to it that I just get. And sometimes that's enough.

(7) "Drivin' My Life Away" by Eddie Rabbitt (1980)
If Thriller was music formative to my childhood, urban country circa 1978 to 1982 may have been even more so. I grew up the receipient of myriad musical moments. From my dad, I inherited classic country. The sounds of this period, specifically, find their way on the iPod quite often: Alabama, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, Crystal Gayle, Don Williams, Juice Newton, Ronnie Milsap, and of course Eddie Rabbitt. This song and "I Love a Rainy Night" (his follow-up) are a one-two punch time warp.

(8) "I Feel the Earth Move" by Carole King (1971)
Upon breaking free of the Goffin-King songwriting team (and marriage), Carole King released her first and likely pinnacle work, Tapestry. The namesake says it all, the record weaved together all that was terrific about her: tight melodies, thoughtful lyrics, and some decent guest star friends.

(9) "Shellshock" by New Order (1986)
John Hughes, what wonderful 80's music we should all thank you for helping us discover. His films always intertwined musical experience with life experience. It's a combo I can relate to. This one first showed up in Pretty in Pink, and has consistently found itself onto many a shuffle. I often prefer it to the predictable "Bizarre Love Triangle" and "Blue Monday".

(10) "You Got That Right" by Lynyrd Skynyrd (1977)
Guess I was born with a travellin' bone. When my times up, I'll hold my own. When it comes to Southern Rock, there are few substitutes for these guys. Sometimes it comes down to death. This song is from their three days posthumously released album Street Survivors - the one with the flames behind the band that some would say foretold of their demise. One must wonder whether an anthem like "Freebird" would be the same song if it weren't for the plane crash that took the lives of so many band members.

(11) .... I could have continued, but I've got other things to do.

the grounded

Here's a truck stop instead of St. Peter's
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
~ "Man on the Moon" by R.E.M. (1992)

During the past couple weeks Netflix has been sending my fiancée and I the award winning mini-series From the Earth to the Moon, which neither of us had seen during the fourteen year stretch since its release. What an appropriate time to take a gander at it, since coincidentally Sally Ride recently passed and an SUV of sorts has landed on Mars!

A little known fact: during my sophomore year of college I receieved my highest grade ever (a ridiculously high A) in Astronomy. For one who went from studying elementary education as a paying job fallback for a posited film career to college dropout turned self-taught whoknowswhat, this comes a bit out of left field. But space is facinating! Give me science fact or give me science fiction, especially of the extra-terrestrial variety, and I'm interested.

The mini-series had its aesthetic failings, primarily minor directorial choices, but it was quite in depth. Separate some added trivia for the noggin one of the things that really stood out is the realization that everything great truly happens at a snail's pace. A million tiny steps, circuits, and moments of time move us from big point A to bigger point B.

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pseudo majestic

Am I a part of the cure or
am I part of the disease?
~ "Clocks" by Coldplay

You can taste when love comes out of the kitchen. It's noticeable when food has been prepared with heart and in harmony or with haste and through resentment. A meal made with passion and with regard to the end-user simply holds more flavor.

At the end of the day no fast food is made with love. It's not a place to expect it. Some kid who couldn't get a better job drops the frozen such and such in the deep fryer by rote and on command, not due to any culinary gymnastics or care for the customers. It's passionless. It has no pulse.

I've always enjoyed the whole waffle fry, savory chicken nugget, sweet iced tea meal at Chick-Fila. It's never been political. It's a matter of nostalgia and of taste. When given a choice between the wares of this joint and any of the other on-the-fly folks, they've always won hands down. But it's only fast food. And I haven't been there in eons. Now somehow they've become the poster children for the gay marriage debate.

I think people who oppose it are misguided and wrong, and I'm sad we're still discussing it. End of story. But I do have to wonder whether there'd be anywhere else to buy the things we need or the things we want if a socio-political position was riding on our selection process.


* Here, watch this video.

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carpet ride

When you get right down to it, we need very little.

(211)

pump it

Always fill up. You can never be sure just how far you want to go.

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