19 posts tagged “music”

So we all know I've been on the rollercoaster known as CrazyMadelyn lately, but in the midst of it all, I was trying to calm down a little by binging on Scrubs. Its such a funny freaking show, and its totally feel-good. The result of the binge, among other things, was that I had the theme song stuck in my head, and it was just the loop of very few lyrics, so I decided to download the whole song. Let's just say its already high at the top of my "Most Played" list on my ipod. The song rocks and I think its totally appropriate for how I've been feeling lately... I figured I would post it to share with all of my lovely readers. :)

In my return to the world of the living (and my departure from the world of the overwhelmed and hibernating), I was able to catch a show at the National Theatre this weekend. I finally (finally!) got to see Mamma Mia! on stage. I went yesterday - Sunday - and it was the last day of its run in DC. We saw the matinee show (Only one more after show after it). It was absolutely fantastic! I've been jamming out to the Mamma Mia soundtrack on my ipod for years, but I had never gotten to see it. I'd talked a few times with family and friends about heading to NYC to see it at the Winter Garden Theater, but it just never happened. And with the movie coming out, my hopes for seeing it on stage first were quickly slipping away. But last week a friend of mine that I hadn't talked in awhile invited me to go. Our seats were wonderful - middle of the orchestra about 12 rows back. We saw everything! I heard that the cast was moving on to Philadelphia for a run there, and I have to say, if anyone is in or around Phildadelphia and is looking for something to do, get tickets to this show! The cast was phenomenal - I actually enjoyed this cast and performance as much, if not more than the original cast recording that I have. I'm pretty sure the people wo were sitting next to me knew the actor who was playing Sam Carmichael (who was very, very good). They kept cheering for him, and clapping for his performances, and during the curtain call, he waved to them, which I thought was exciting. It was like sitting next to celebrity-intimates or something ;) I know, I'm a huge dork.

After the show was over, we decided to grab dinner a few miles down 95 in Historic Occoquan. We ended up eating at this really nice restaurant called Madigan's Waterfront and it was delicious. We ate outside and took in the beautiful, peaceful scenery. Its amazing - we were only about 10 miles outside of the beltway, but it felt like a different world. So calm and so opposite of city life. Dinner was nice and shortly after we finished, a storm moved in and dumped a lot of rain. It was really refreshing - and it continued to storm all night. It was nice to hear the rain hitting my roof while I was laying in bed - I love to hear that.

The weekend was busy with unpacking - although not as much as I would have hoped. But I also got to see a number of good friends who I hadn't seen since January, so it was wonderful. I got to play Rock Band again and just chill out. And I finally really used my kitchen - I made a pancake and fresh fruit brunch for me and a girlfriend on Sunday morning. :)

I think I'm well on my way to a better place than I've been in recently. Thank you for all the support you've all shown me! It reminds me just how lucky I am, and how many wonderful people I have in my life. I'm truly blessed, and I'm beginning to remember that (and believe in it) again :)

I am not a patient person. I wish I were, but I'm energetic and extremely high strung. I run at an extremely fast pace, and I don't do well when I have to wait for things. I'm learning daily how to overcome this, but I have to say, it isn't easy.

I just keep reminding myself that being patient will pay off in the end. Everything comes in it's own time.

But saying that, repeating is as a mantra over and over, is far easier than actually living it. Sometimes I swear I do things just to keep myself occupied, bide my time, while I wait. Sometimes I get so caught up in the diversionary tactic that time slips by quickly, and I snap back to reality and realize that I've been patient that much longer. And sometimes, even the diversionary tactics seem to drag on. I've been trying to get back to writing and journalling lately, but its been difficult because I've taken so much time away from it. I've got so much swirling around in my head that its hard to figure out where to start. Things come out disjointed, nonsensical ( I get the feeling this post is heading in that direction), but its also therapeutic just to get it out. This week I took a few spare minutes and made a dedicated effort to getting some things out of my head. I've always found writing to not only be therapeutic, but a great way to spend an afternoon, pass a good chunk of time. But not so these days. Same with reading. I've been reading lately, but not nearly as voraciously as usual. And I've been finding that once I finish a book, I want nothing more than to start a new one, but I just can't decide on the next one. I'm so driven to distraction anymore, and I think its because I'm trying to be patient about certain thigns in particular. Things like my braces - I don't necessarily notice any changes day-to-day (although I have seen significant changes in mouth over the past month), but I've had enough people who don't see me regularly tell me how much my teeth have already moved. I'm so excited to have a perfect smile that I just want it now! That's how I've felt my whole life, but now that I actually have the braces, I'm actually on my way to that perfect smile, I can't wait any longer! I find myself playing with my teeth with my tongue, trying to coax them into moving just a little bit faster to their new and more desirable homes in my mouth.

I also feel like I've been waiting for time to progress at my job so that my responsibility and tasks will grow, so that more opportunities will present themselves, so that I move forward and truly figure out where I'm going in my career. I'm certainly very happy at my job - I love what I'm doing (its exactly what I hoped to be doing when I finished grad school), the people I work with are great and except for the occasional speedbump (or bus crash that I get tossed under) things are going very well. But, I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up, so I'm excited (and impatient!) to see where this road I'm on takes me. Of course only time will tell, but sometimes my brain thinks that it should be able to see the future and know it now.

I'm waiting for a lot of things. And that's a good thing. I'm still being proactive about my day to day and short-term goals, I'm just still trying to define my long term goals. They're very fluid and change regularly. But waiting is hard. Paitence is a virtue that I must create within myself, it wasn't something that I was born with. But there's a very strong and rational part of my brain that reminds me that waiting will pay off, things will work out in due time, don't force the  issue. Forcing the issue isn't going to make things move any faster, but it certainly has the ability to work against me. So I sit and wait, impatiently, to round the next bend in the road, and what it will bring my way.

 

***UPDATE: I think the stars and Divine forces are on my side - and they're sending me a message! I just put my iPod back on at work to get some work done, and the first song that started playing was Mika's Relax (Tony Moran & Warren Rigg Mix). The lyrics say "Relax, Take it easy, for there is nothing that we can do..." This is the only line of the song in the mix that I have - I googled the rest of the lyrics and they're relevant to my case, but not nearly as appropos. ;)

It was SOOOO jam packed! I haven't had a weekend like that in a very long time, and while it was entirely exhausting, it was even more completely fabulous! Friday night I went to see my friend Ginger's awesome band, The Hall Monitors. They were absolutely incredible, and they played with The Shalitas from Brooklyn, who were equally as incredible. I totally have a girl-crush on all three of those Shalitas. You have no idea! So Friday night was spent having an awesome time, listening to great music with my girly-posse. Saturday was some work at home, a serious spring cleaning, and then my roommate cooked chicken cacciatore for us and two of our friends. It was a really fun, relaxing evening. And what made it even better was the fact that my friend totally gelled with my roommate and her friend. After dinner we all bonded over an awesome table of desserts at Le Matins de Paris - I got this incredible Fruit Bingsoo which I'm pretty sure I dreamt about on Saturday night, lol. Of course, we ladies were out late enjoying these incredible desserts, so when we finally got back home, I was almost too tired to play some Guitar Hero... but I managed to bust out a few songs, watch 2 episodes of Veronica Mars - one of the best shows ever - and then I finally crashed. I was so tired on Sunday morning, thanks to being up too late and the time change.

Sunday was the usual brunch at the best restaurant ever, and then Shear Madness at the Kennedy Center. It was AB-SO-LUTE-LY HYSTERICAL! It was more than I had anticipated and even more gut-bustingly funny than I could have anticipated. And all that political incorrectness in the heart of PC-World really made it all the more hilarious. Seriously, every day, I just think of how freaking blessed I am to have such great friends, and to have such a full and happy life. I know I've been over-the-top schmoopy lately, but seriously, I'm just so ridiculously content, and I'm going to ride the wave for as long as I can. ;) And tomorrow I'm heading to the orthodontist to get the first installment of my braces on - I'll get the rest on on Friday. I'm so excited! I'm going to have the most beautiful, perfect smile. After tomorrow, my teeth are never going to look the same again! And THAT, my friends, is one of the many reasons why I've been so ridiculously happy lately :)

I hope everyone else had a great weekend!

I know this song is old - at least 3 or 4 years old - but I was doing some thinking tonight and it dawned on me that it might do me some good to listen to it. So I thought I would share it ;)

Frou Frou - Let Go

drink up, baby down
mmm, are you in or are you out
leave your things behind
'cause it's all going off without you
excuse me, too busy you're writing your tragedy
these mishaps
you bubble wrap
when you've no idea what you're like

so let go, jump in
oh well, whatcha waiting for
it's alright
'cause there's beauty in the breakdown
so let go, just get in
oh, it's so amazing here
it's alright
'cause there's beauty in the breakdown

it gains the more it gives
and then it rises with the fall
so hand me that remote
can't you see that all that stuff's a sideshow

such boundless pleasure
we've no time for later now
you can't await your own arrival
you've 20 seconds to comply

so let go, jump in
oh well, whatcha waiting for
it's alright
'cause there's beauty in the breakdown
so let go, just get in
oh, it's so amazing here
it's alright
'cause there's beauty in the breakdown

lyrics courtesy of Lyrics007.com

Wow, the past two days have been incredible. Looking back now, they feel like a dream. Its been a looooong two days...

It began as any normal day, just slightly early. I had some business I needed to take care of before I got to work at 9. It was a typical day, I worked all of my hours as usual and then went to meet Mary and David for a sushi lunch - my last sushi lunch for awhile with my Mary... Anyway, lunch was great, definitely went longer than we expected, and we had to rush around a little bit to leave by 5 for the salsa competition that Mary and David were in together. After lunch I managed to get my car packed with everything but my purse, computer and the cat, sedated the cat, and got myself dressed and makeup done. Mary picked me up and we were off.

 The comp was great - we had to be there by 6, but thanks to traffic we were a little late. Anyway, it was held as this great bar that's centered around its huge and beautiful dance floor. We got there a little bit late, but it wasn't a big deal at all. We met up with the rest of our crowd and got situated, and did some dancing before the comp. It turns out there was a guy who needed a partner, so I got to compete after all - which was good and bad. Obviously I had just met my partner, which didn't bother me, but we took a spin on the floor before the comp started so we could get a feel for each other. Well, there was no communication between our bodies at all. This dude was only in it for himself and I was just his rag doll to throw around. He told me he was a "professional dancer" and yadda yadda. Well, when we started dancing he did a very stylistically different salsa than I've ever done (or seen done for that matter, but I digress), and his ego was too big to allow me proper space on the dance floor. Instead ogf leading me like a normal person with a hand-hold, he man-handled me through his "salsa"by firmly gripping my forearms and tossing me around. I'm very surprised that I don't have bruises on my arms. At one point, he was facing me and gripping my arms so hard I thought he was going to snap them. I really didn't like his attitude at all, but I was glad that I had the opportunity to compete. It was for a good cause.

Mary and David rocked the house. They did a really good job on their salsa, but the judges didn't show their appreciation. They didn't place in the top three, but I'm pretty sure that they were fourth. They were robbed! But they looked really good and they had a really good time. After the comp was over, the DJ kept spinning until 11. We left at 11 when they kicked us out ("You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here," lol) and headed a few miles down the road to our usual Wednesday night hot-spot. It was extra crowded, but I don't know why. There were a lot of people who went there after the comp was over, but it was mainly just the usual salsa crowd. I had a lot of fun. I danced with a lot of my favorite salseros and had a really great time. It was more fun than usual because Mary and I had a bit of an entourage with us. It certainly added to the fun.

Collectively we all got hungry around 1, and finally managed to wrangle David off of the dance floor by about 1:30 and we all went for breakfast. We had such a good time. And I ate a lot because I knew I was going to have a loooooong day ahead of me. We finally left around 3:00, and said our goodbyes. Mary and I got on our way and headed back to A2. We got back around 4 and did our usual routine of chatting for a half an hour in Mary's car before I got out. It was hard to say goodbye - I didn't expect it to be easy. But I tried not to drag it out because I knew it wouldn't make it any easier.

And even though I was feeling a little tired, I decided I would be ok to drive home, I needed to drive home. I needed to get out of A2 at that moment, or I felt like I wasn't going to leave. So I corralled the cat, grabbed my stuff, and got on the road by 5. I had made tea, and I had a Red Bull, and some food, so I figured I would be ok. I was, until I was about an hour into Ohio. I started to get really tired, but I thought I would be ok if I just moved around. But none of the music I was playing, or the dancing I was doing while I was driving, was helping. I finally got to the point where I had to pull off to the shoulder of the road at one of those emergency pull-off things and run a few laps around the car in the cold morning air. That gave me just enough juice to make it to the next rest stop, where I parked and slept in my car for 45 minutes. I'm sure I made quite a sight for the cars around me. I was leaning over to the passenger side, using my purse as a pillow and sleeping on top of the cat carrier, with the cat sleeping inside.

After my nap I went in and got myself some Starbucks - which, for me, is the equivalent to liquid crack. Starbucks usuall gives me the shakes it jazzes me up so much. I definitely needed the nap and pure caffeine. It got me all the way home, thankfully. I also spent a lot of time on the phone during the drive (hands-free, I promise). I talked a lot with Mary, which was nice and definitely made me feel better. But I talked a lot with my family and some other close friends. I reached home at 2:30, an hour later than I was hoping, but that's because of the nap I so desperately needed to take. I finally relaxed and laid down around 3:30 this afternoon and slept for a few hours. It felt nice, and I needed the nap. I'm sure I'll be sleeping well tonight though :)

So what does all of this prove? I am insane. Seriously certifiable. 36 hours, including an 8+ hour drive across three states... Would any normal person even romance the idea, let alone execute it? Yeah, that's what I thought. I just needed to get out of A2. I knew if I didn't leave at the moment, I would end up going over to Mary's apartment and dragging things out and then get home to my mom's house really late.  And of course getting in Mary's hair as she's finishing up packing her apartment. Its definitely going to be weird going back to A2 with no one there, but my move is also right around the corner, so I'm hoping that will keep me busy enough to not think about all the people who I miss so much.

Anyway, its time for me to take care of some things and then get back to bed and get a full night's sleep. Adios amigos!

Song of the Day - "Black Mambo" - Angel and the Mambokats

Which band or artist which is no longer performing or alive would you have loved to have seen?
Submitted by Rev Stan.

I've never answered a QotD before, so I thought I'd try something new... and this was an easy one. Frank Sinatra. Hands down. His voice gives me the chills and makes my knees go weak, and the thought of seeing him perform live is almost too much for me to handle. Same goes for Dean and Sammy :) What can I say, I love my trance, techno and R&B, but I certainly appreciate the fabulous music-makers of the past century. Jelly... they absolutely turn me to jelly. mmmmfrankie...

I've been so wrapped up in the elation of being done with grad school, and enjoying my free time that I forgot it was all coming to an end. Not the being done part, or the free time, but the time spent with people you've grown close to - a strong bond formed because you're all sharing in the same chaotic environment and events. You've all gone through the struggles together, you're compadres, partners in crime. And now we're all going our separate ways. It hasn't been entirely difficult thus far, but all of the people who I've said goodbye to have pretty much been peripheral people. They haven't been the shining starts in my sky, but its still been hard.

I said goodbye to one shining star awhile ago, but it was only temporary. She'll be back in my local sky very soon. However, I said goodbye to another one on Sunday night. I'll still be able to see her without much trouble down the line because she's taken a job in a huge city very near where I grew up. But the hardest one is coming this evening. The best friend I've made in graduate school... she's leaving Ann Arbor on Friday and will shortly be making her way across the country to LA, to her dream job, in the place she always wanted to settle. But I'll be saying goodbye to her tonight, because I'll be leaving to head east to spend some time with my family and prep for my own move. While I know she's only a phone call/e-mail away, it doesn't make it any easier. I know I won't be seeing her frequently, going salsa dancing with her twice a week, or having our traditional sushi gorges together. Not until I fly across the country to see her, or she does the same with me. I'm so happy for her, but at the same time, I'm sad because its the end of an era. The end of one chapter, but the beginning of another. I know I'm sounding cliche, but sometimes being cliche helps ease you through situations like these... makes it slightly more amusing.

You go into this experience (of grad school) knowing its only temporary. But you form these amazing strong bonds, thinking you'll get through it together. And you do. But then you have to say goodbye. Its never easy...

I think I'm also starting to freak out because I'll be leaving my cat, my roommate, with my mom for awhile. It will be too stressful for her to take two 8 hour car trips, and then have to deal with boxes being packed and moving people. So I have the prospect of 3 weeks alone in my apartment, without her. I live by myself, which I love, but I've never truly felt alone with her around. Its going to be a little weird. And I was definitely emotional last night thinking about saying goodbye, and kitty vacations, as I was packing my stuff and packing the cat's stuff to go to my mom's house. Its an emotional time, and I'm on overload.

But there is one last salsa dancing excursion tonight, which will definitely help my mood.

Song of the Day: DJ Sasha - Xpander Edit

It is SO nice to just enjoy weekends. I feel like I have my life back in so many ways. I don't have to worry about homework, due dates, papers, or assignments of any kind! Its fabulous! And I've read so many books already!

This weekend I just enjoyed the nice weather, hung out with some friends, and just relaxed. It was fabulous. I Bollywood-ed myself out on Friday night (two movies, one I've seen and adore - Krrish with the oh-so-gorgeous Hrithik - and one that I <gasp!> hadn't seen - Bride and Prejudice - and I have to say, I was a little creeped out by Aishwarya speaking English... woah!), which was beyond fabulous, and definitely long-overdue. I even rendezvoused with Jane Austen, AND finished the book off . I'm slipping back into my "English major" ways, and I love it. I don't care how much of a nerd it makes me ;)

Last night a friend of mine had a farewell bonfire at her parent's house an hour north of A2, so I went and hung out. It was a cool night, in the high 40s, so it was perfect bonfire weather. It was nice to just chill out, doing something that you don't normally get to do. And we all had multiple s'morgasms, so it was even better ;) You can't have a bonfire without s'mores!

I'll be moving shortly... a little bit delayed from my original plans, but I'm looking forward to that. It will be nice to have a change of scenery and start fresh. And although moving is rather stressful in a lot of ways, I'm kinda looking forward to it. I've been in 5 apartments in the past 5 years (not because I'm a bad tenant or anything - its just the way situations worked out) so I'm pretty much a pro at moving. And I'm looking forward to the huge purge that will come with moving. I love the feeling of getting rid of unnecessary, extraneous stuff and creating more space. I’m plagued by clutter, but I HATE it. I love to "Feng Shui" my life and create a non-cluttered sacred space. Moving gives you a whole new opportunity to reorganize :)

I’m also looking forward to visiting my family later this week. I know I just saw them at graduation, but we’re very close, and I miss them. We’re also a little bonkers – we put the “fun” in dysfunctional, hee hee. I also haven’t been home in awhile, and I haven’t been home without assignments hanging over my head in a really long time. So it will be nice to just chill out and actually spend quality time with my family:)

Ok, I’m going to stop with the dork parade… ciao for now!

To go with my Bollywood-Binge - Song of the Day: Dil Na Diya

I find it ironic that I've been waiting for so long to be done with grad school, finish everything up so that I can move on with my life, and now that that time has come, I'm completely terrified. Maybe its just because I'm moving to a new place - one that's not entirely foreign I should add, but not where I expected, that's for sure. I have a great roommate, and a wonderful living situation for myself and the Neeners, but I still don't have a concrete form of income. I guess that's what scares me the most. Not having a job yet. Haven't I paid my dues? Haven't I just spent a huge amount on my education? An amount, I might add, that would cover the costs of building a new house. I'm sure i'll find something, but I'm feeling stagnant again. Which is pretty much how I felt before I went back to grad school. I knew what I wanted to do, had been, in fact, doing it, but couldn't make any more than I was making because I didn't have the all-important Master's degree. And I'm feeling like I'm going to be stagnating, or spinning my wheels for awhile until I find something that makes me happy. I think I'm just freaking out a little because so many of my classmates have secured jobs already.

I know I'm not one of those people that's going to get a job now and stay at the same spot for the next 30 years. I'm a mover and a shaker, and I know I'll be moving and shaking all around the place, but its just a slightly scary place to be at. And the more i think about it, the more panicked I get, and the less direction I have. Its such a weird phenomenon.

On another note, I did get a phone call yesterday from a company in Grand Rapids, a tech company, that found my resume while cruising our career services page and called me about signing on for a project because of my Ruby on Rails skills... its looks like the horror and pain of last semester may actually have a bigger pay off than I thought was possible ;) Go figure, little miss librarian/archivist, would rather hang out in the conservation lab in the basement of the Bentley might be a candidate for a tech job... it makes me giggle, lol.

Well, at least I have salsa dancing to look forward to tonight. That will help clear my mind a little... I like to dance things out :)

Song of the day: Me Libere - El Gran Combo