Irony, and other things

This year, I got a flu shot for the the first time.  Also this year, I got the flu for the first time (since I can remember).  $25 not well spent.

My ratio of working hours to sleeping hours so far this week - 22:4. That's bad.

BUT - this song is good. And the Shout Out Louds (FYI - they're SWEDISH!!!) have a new album. That is also good.

Worst post ever? (For once, your lack of comments will make me feel better!)

Field Day

Yesterday, I stumbled upon this site: Serious Eats.  I recall visiting it once or twice before, long before I was a city-dweller, but this time it seemed much more...relevant.

My mind sometimes oversimplifies things by compartmentalizing my existence into two categories: home and away. The 'home' time is when I'm living my normal, every day live.  Wake up, work, eat, do chores, sleep.  I'll admit, it can become boring.  My 'away' time is when I'm traveling. I seek out the exotic and the unusual. I explore. Away time is never boring.

Seeing that Serious Eats has a regional site for Los Angeles makes me question how separate my two spheres need to be. Why can't I integrate the two a little more (obviously it'll take more than food, but it's a start)?

I'd love to get as far away from home as I possibly can (and perhaps stay there forever), but at my stage in life, constant travel isn't a realistic possibility (I'm talking multi-month excursions on different continents).  However, the idea of exploring at home isn't too depressing of a concession, so that is what I'll do.

First stop - reliving my time in Istanbul by seeing if this pide (Turkish pizza) is 1/10 as delicious as it was in Istanbul (which would still be really, really good).

This and That

 I've been too tired to compose a real post, so I'll leave you with a small cross-section of what my brain has been up to in the off-hours.  The former music-mixer in me loves to compare new music to old music. Here's a few examples (obviously with modern updates, but definitely influenced by oldies. Love me some oldies.  And Newbies). Enjoy!

Bill Withers / James Blake

Blondie / Arcade Fire

The Beatles / Tame Impala

The Full Podium

As written in a previous post:

The Golden Rule:
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

The Silver Rule:
You can only expect others to treat you as well as you think you deserve to be treated.

And now, I present the Bronze Rule:
Say unto yourself as you would say unto others.

[Translation: no self-bullying unless you bully others, which is also bad. So don't bully anyone at all, including yourself.]

Obviously these guys knew the rules

 

Clean

To answer the question posed in my last post: yes.  But not for the reason I expected.

My weekend was full of fun plans. And, as planned, they were all fun. But, the thing that really made my weekend was a completely spontaneous dance party.  As I flailed around my friends' apartment like an idiot, I found that, for the first time in a very long time, I wasn't thinking about anything. Not the stressful work week ahead, not the future, nothing. I was just absorbing the music into my soul and dancing. It was beautiful to feel so free and at ease.

Afterward, while driving home and blasting classic rock (interspersed with sitar solos), I thought about how long it had been since I'd felt so (dare I say it?) happy.  For a moment, I was unsettled by the idea that I had become so disconnected from that part of myself, but then the voice in my head said, 'Dana, this is why you are alive.'  And I actually started to cry a little bit - happy tears, I think.  Or tears of relief that the hard outer shell of worry and anxiety that sometimes cuts me off from everything and everyone is finally starting to crack.

Also, I think I need to dance more.  Just for the hell of it. Dance myself clean.

Science

You know those studies that show that people who are surround by close friends and family live longer, happier lives? Well I think they're on to something.

Now I shall test if this theory also applies when reversing a horrible work week. Results to follow...