Friday Five - Pop Music

1) What sort of music did you listen to as a child - this would likely have been determined or influenced by your parents? Or perhaps your family wasn't musical...was the news the background? the radio? Singing around the piano? I listed to a mix of stuff: country music (from my mom); classic rock (from my dad); big band & oldies (from my grandma); classical music all on my own. And then my cousin introduced me to Aerosmith, INXS, Edie Brickell and Spinal Tap via his awesome mix tapes.

2) Going ahead to teenage years, is there a song that says "high school" (or whatever it might've been called where you lived) to you? Not a song, but two bands: Simon & Garfunkle; U2. And jazz...I discovered vocal and latin jazz in high school: opened my ears and changed my life.

3) What is your favorite music for a lift on a down day? Not that it's a lift, but the blues is what I like to listen to on a down day. Or Rammstein.

4) Who is your favorite performer of all time? THAT is an impossible question. I'll cop out and say watching Sibling perform karaoke is my favorite. Because it's totally true - he rocks it!

5) What is your favorite style of music for worship? I love - and miss - singing old hymns. I grew up with them, and we just don't sing them much anymore.

Friday Five: Life is a Verb

(FYI - if you ever feel like playing along with the Friday Fiver, I generally get the topics from RevGals.)

The author of Life is a Verb, Patti Digh, worked her book around these topics concerning life as a verb:

Say yes.
Be generous.
Speak up.
Love more.
Trust yourself.
Slow down.

1. What awakens you to the present moment? Sensory experiences: music, taste, sunshine, wind, touch, scents.

2. What are 5 things you see out your window right now? Alcatraz, The Bay Bridge, a Port Authority Flag blowing in the wind, B - our local panhandler, and lots of traffic.

3. Which verbs describe your experience of God? Brick-batting (sometimes); whisper; gnaw; soothe

4. From the book on p. 197: Who were you when you were 13? Where did that kid go? Let's see...that would put me in *cringe* about 8th grade. Good times, right there. I was sweet, shy, bespectacled, poofy-haired, slightly awkward, trombone-playing, goody-two-shoes, braces-wearing, silly, uncomfortable-in-my-own skin kinda girl. As far as where that kid went? Elements of her still exist inside of me, but I'm definitely more comfortable overall with who am I than I was at that age. Thank goodness.

5. From the book on p. 88: If your work were the answer to a question, what would the question be? I have two types of work, I guess.
Question: Dayjob?
Answer: Pays the bills, provides health insurance, funds my travel habit, and gives me freedom to figure out who the heck I am and WTH I'm doing.
Question: Professional musician?
Answer: Yes, people pay me to sing, act and do all sorts of crazy things onstage that I would most likely never do in real life. It's almost like getting paid to go to therapy sometimes in that it gives me freedom to explore who I am and figure out WTH I'm doing. See? That ties in nicely with job #1.

Bonus idea for you here or on your own--from the book on p. 149:"Go outside. Walk slowly forward. Open your hand and let something fall into it from the sky. It might be an idea, it might be an object. Name it. Set it aside. Walk forward. Open your hand and let something fall into it from the sky. Name it. Set it aside. Repeat. . . ."

interesting times

There is a lot going on around the other side of the world.

Prayers going out to my Persian friends . . . 'tis a trying time (understatement).

malaise

I am grouchy this week. And no, I can't blame it on pms.

I think I know it's a combination of many things which can all be boiled down to one word: Change. And plenty of it this summer. I - though somewhat of a creature of habit - enjoy adventures and traveling and new experiences, but I don't necessarily like change in various forms. It's painful. It's complicated. Even if it *is* for the better.

I'm turning 30 in just under a month (7/11 for anyone keeping track). On many fronts, I am quite excited about entering this new decade. I'm more comfortable with myself than I was at 20, I am taking the time to get healthier for myself, and I enjoy having the freedom to do certain things because I am an adult and I can. It's nice. However, I think the thing that gives me pause is when I start to dwell too much on the "what-if's" in life. Those always seem to crop-up near landmark birthdays, don't they? I try not to let them get to me, but sometimes they creep in.

Other changes . . . my younger brother, with whom I've gladly shared a house for the past 3.5 years, is moving to the East Coast this summer. Words cannot begin to express the joy it has been to live with him and get to know him as a grown-up, instead of just the tow-headed little boy from childhood memories and photos. We are close, and I consider myself extremely blessed in that regard. An added bonus has been becoming great friends with his fiancee, who lived with us for 2 of those years, before moving out to the East Coast for school (hence the brother's move). It is a change for him, as he starts this chapter of living with his life-mate all on their own, and I am thrilled for him. But, admittedly, I - selfishly - am mourning the end of this particular time period we've shared.

And more change...maybe...on certain horizons about which I cannot blog. I don't know. There are just some situations in life I can't control, no matter how much I'd like to do so - and it's hard for me to let go and "let God" as it were, even though I know it's much better in the long run when I do. It's just living in a prolonged state of unknowningness is...difficult.

I know this is just a season for me - lots of events converging - and I'm floundering a little. And I have a ton of extra time on my hands right now to ponder and sit because I am not involved in any theatrical productions this summer. Which is another story...mostly good, though.

This too shall pass.

You don't look at day over 200

Happy 234th birthday to the good ole US Army. Thanks for keeping us safe, ladies & gents!

I want to be the "Yes" - not the "Yes, but . . ."

Friday Five - Grocery stores

1. Grocery shopping--love it or hate it? eh. It's okay.

2. Who is the primary food shopper in your household? Me. My brother does sometimes...but he doesn't cook.

3. Do you have a beloved store (like Trader Joe's) which is unique to your location or family? Trader Joe's! I also like Andronicos, but I don't get there very often.

4. How about a farmer's market, or CSA share, as we move into summer? Or do you grow your own fruits/veggies/herbs? I do enjoy farmers' markets, and I like walking down to the one near my office on Tuesday afternoons.

5. What's the favorite thing you buy at the grocery store? I probably by the most of soy milk and oatmeal (my breakfast staples). I don't know that that makes it my *favorite*, per se, but I do buy it frequently.

Colber(t) in Iraq this week

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JROTC supporters say opponents are using the P.E. issue as a back-door effort to sabotage the program.

Uhhhhh...ya think?

The folks opposed to the (temporary?) reinstatement of the JROTC in seven SF schools are using the arguement that the JROTC program doesn't meet state PE requirements (~400 minutes per 10 days.)

As per the article, "Currently, high school P.E. classes spend far fewer than 400 minutes every two weeks in instruction or activity. At Galileo high school, for example, P.E. classes take up 430 minutes every two weeks, which includes about 20 minutes for changing clothes each day and whatever time is required to take roll or address other issues, school officials said."

I've never taken part in a JROTC program, but I don't think I'd be going out on much of a limb to say that the kids participating in such a program are getting their 400 minutes in, as opposed to those students JUST taking PE class.

*headsmack*

Incredibly talented duo . . . I knew them when . . .

I'm so proud of my fellow CCHS'ers (high school). Way to go, ladies!

Kate & Kacey
 
More CMT Music
 
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Friday Five - Moving

1. A big move is looming - name one thing that you could not possibly part with: My teddy bear, Bobby. Alright, so, everyone ELSE tells me that Bobby is really a dog. But, whatever. It will always be my teddy bear, which has a music-box inside that plays "Frere Jacques," and wears one of my baby dresses. It's just one of those childhood things.

2. Name one thing that you would gladly leave behind: My current kitchen table/chairs. The table is heavy-as-hell black metal with an entirely glass top. Kinda pretty, but not my favorite. I would rather have a wooden table at some point - feels warmer, to me. More inviting. Less prone to shatter in an earthquake, too.

3. How do you prepare for a move:

a. practically? Getting rid of a bunch of stuff and boxing the rest. I practically didn't do anything for my last move (within the same city), because I was working 14 hours a day and extremely stressed. If it weren't for housemates (thanks, AZ) and family, I would not have made it.

b. spiritually/ emotionally? When I left Dallas after my senior year of college, I was a MESS. Cried for hours and hours - thought that I would never be happy again, because I was being parted from so many of my close friends. Heartwrenching. Ah...youth. And I was sad. But I got over it. And moved to SF and reconnected with old college friends, stayed in touch with my other people, and even - whoa! - made some new friends. I am grateful for my SF community; wouldn't be able to survive without it. That doesn't answer the question, except to say: I get by with a little help from my friends. And prayers.

4. What is the first thing you look for in a new place? It canNOT smell like cat pee. Or any other type of furry creature; needs to have hardwood flooring or tile; and NO MOLD IN THE BATHROOMS. I am allergic to all sorts of animals, dust and molds. So those things are pretty important. Location is important, too, but almost secondary to all of the above.

5. Do you settle in easily, or does it take time for you to find your feet in a new location? Gosh. It's been so long since I moved...I've lived in my current place for 6 years. I think I settle in pretty easily, though. I'm a homebody, but I love to travel and discover a new place. If that makes sense.

The bonus for today; a new opportunity has come up for you to spend 5 years in a new area, where would you go and why? Oooh. I would go to Colorado. I haven't lived there as an adult, and it would be a neat experience, I think. Or, you know...Europe. HAHAHAHAHA.

Site to check out - lovely photo blog

No, not *my* photo blog, but the lovely Jesse, over at SkyBag.
Might I suggest clicking over to see the most pinchable cheeks ever, or perhaps some outdoor shots, or the ever classic black & white shots.

(And when you do stop by, be sure to wish Jesse a Happy 27th Birthday!)

Life

Sometimes I wonder if I am just absolutely (pardon the expression) bat-shit crazy.

And...I know I'm *not* "crazy" (I mean, I have my issues like anyone else, but the little men with straight jackets are not headed to my door as we speak.) But on occasion, I have moments where I feel like if anyone else were to be able to see things inside my head and experience my life like *I* do...they might think I was crazy. And then I sigh and say a prayer and try and get on with my life. Or something like that.

Anyone else ever feel that way?