Thursday, October 20, 2011

Life moves to Music

Last week, I discovered The Current through my Tune-in Radio app. I cannot believe I haven't discovered this app and, consequently, this amazing radio station sooner. Anyway, I tried to tune in to this station while I was writing some work e-mails, but soon enough I realize I couldn't listen to music while I'm doing "real" work, i.e. work that requires actual brain power, because it's so hard for me to hear music without really getting into it. It won't be too long that I'm listening to a song before I'm singing along with it, or at least bopping my head, tapping my feet, drumming my fingers. Which could look pretty odd to the random passer-by to my office cubicle. I don't necessarily have to understand all the lyrics (heck, took me about 5 listens before I realized what "Pumped Up Kicks" was all about. Yikes.); sometimes it's as simple as a rhythmic hook or a catchy melody and I'm lost in the song. Even right now, I'm writing this in stops and starts because One Republic's "Good Life" is playing, which is my newest (albeit not a new) album purchase. Gotta love Amazon's MP3 store. Boyz II Men Legacy album for $5. Um, yes please!

I hate silence. Which is weird that I like living alone. I always do have some type of sound going on at all times until I go to sleep, whether it be the TV blaring, the internet radio playing, or the podcasts streaming to help put me to sleep. Which I realize is pretty futile because I can't exactly not listen to the content, because they're pretty damn interesting. Take yesterday; it's 1 AM and I put on "Wait, wait don't tell me..." to help tire me out enough so I go to sleep. Before you know it, it's 2 AM and I'm laughing my ass off to Peter Sagal's joke about Herman Cain's 9-9-9 Plan (best line ever: "Cain's 9-9-9 plan is meant to...stop German tourists in their tracks." Genius). Result: I had a short sleep but a happy heart. 

And there's no sound more beautiful and enlivening than music. I love how there's a song or musical piece for pretty much every single human experience, even for something as mundane as checking your credit report (and it's a pretty catchy tune, too!) I know there are even some songs that I play in my mind for the fantasy version of my life, like "Save the Best for Last," or "Party Rock Anthem," in which I am the champion of a post-apocalyptic dance-off. I'm not super pretentious about my music choices, and it kinda irks me how this is the one subject that normally level-headed, agreeable people can be super snarky about. I admit, I've done it myself once or twice... "Ew, you like the Backstreet Boys?" Um, yes, bitch, I do. Why can't we all just appreciate all types of melodies, harmonies -- or deconstructed, experimental versions of it -- rhythms, beats, chords, choruses, modulations, I'm-just-spitting-out-random-music-terms-now....and get along? 

Monday, October 17, 2011

What I'm Thankful For...

There are so many things that I could be sad about. The deepening chasm between Americans - socioeconomic, ideological, political, and otherwise. The lack of jobs for many recent (and not-so-recent) graduates -- this is my generation. The bullying epidemic. The inevitable chill of winter. The last season of "Chuck." 


And I do lament those things. But,  you know what I look for when I open up my news app in the morning (it's seriously the first, no, second thing I do when I wake up)? I look for the good, heartwarming news: the articles about Good Samaritans, reconciled individuals, reunited family members/friends, cute dogs with their own book (Boo!).
Seriously, how can you not love me?
 That, or beautiful photos of my beautiful nephew doing beautiful things...or nothing at all. 
Yaaaaaaaaawn.
So, instead of concentrating on the negative, let's live on the sunny side of the street, the greener patch of grass...let's wake up on the right side of the bed, shall we? Otherwise you'll end up with a back-ache and the dire need for an Icy Hot patch (which I actually had to use last week; needless to say, I felt like a grandmother). Besides Boo and my adorable nephew, this is a short list of the many joys that graced my life in the last few weeks:

1) Blogger - can I just say how awesome it is to have free blog-hosting sites? Just think, before blogs, I had to write my thoughts down on...(shudder)...paper! Just kidding, of course, but it is so easy to take techie tools like this for granted, when only a few years back the only way (and reason) I could share my written word was to get it published in our school newspaper back in the Philippines. To that end I'm also grateful for...

2) Nostalgia - recently a classmate from the Philippines visited me for a few weekends, and we got to reminiscing about the good old days. While it's good to keep moving forward (like a Toyota), it's also fun to reminisce. We talked about the petty fights (and boy, were they childish!), the overnight stay at our classroom to talk about the school year (soph year, '03), camping trips, etc. 

3) Karaoke/sing-alongs - I love singing, even if I'm not a great singer. And what I love even more is singing with good friends. That's why I will always be down for karaoke, or an impromptu sing-along session around a piano. Seriously, hit me up anytime. 

4) Replaceable hard drives - I was debating whether I should get a new computer and get a PC (because Macbooks are mad expensive yo) or just replace my old Mac with a new hard drive. I went for the latter and got an inexpensive 500 GB hard drive on Amazon; popped the old one right out and now my Mac's running smooth as silk. 

5) Steve Jobs - for being so obsessed with making the best tech products for consumers. My Macbook may be  4 years old and hanging on by a thread, but it's still humming along just fine with its new HD. Now, Steve might not have wanted to hear that -- I'm guessing he wanted everyone to replace their laptops/iPhones/iPads/iPods/iSomethingorOther every time Apple releases a new version -- but hey, it's Apple's fault my laptop just won't quit!
 

6) Skype - 2-hour Skype session with my mom & dad? Priceless.

7) New York City - it's loud, it's crowded, it's expensive, it's dirty. It's a City. It's larger-than-life. It's vibrant. It's got history. It's got great food. It deserves its own well-composed essay. 

8) Free shipping with minimum purchase - four cute tops, pants, and skirt for $70 AND free shipping? I'm shocked, JC Penney. Yes, I did say JC Penney. 

9) Pippin - Ah, dogs. They're so simple, so needy, but so unconditionally loving. It was so fun taking care of this li'l beagle for a few days, and he got plenty of belly rubs and a healthy dose of HGTV and Keeping Up with the Kardashians. 


10) My sister's sonogram - could this be any more exciting? I can't believe I'm going to be an aunt for the second time!!!! I'm just so thrilled for my sister, my brother-in-law, and our family. We're so blessed to have a fantastic support system, and I can't wait to come home for Thanksgiving to see my sister's baby bump! And, of course, plan a fabulous baby shower. 
Ah! An alien!
My cup runneth over.