My Soundtrack

You may have noticed that I've been in a little bit of a blogging drought. One of the kids at the library inspired me with her homework assignment. She had to choose three songs to be on her soundtrack. I decided to only include the parts of the songs that applied the most. So here goes.

1. Late Morning Lullaby by Brandi Carlile

The first sign of morning is gray and alarming
It's so disappointing the day has come so soon
While the rest of the world greets the day and feels new
I will push it away just like I always do, I will be
Dreaming, dreaming, dreaming,
Your real world away

Only beautiful, beautiful bright eyes, lie
Only beautiful, beautiful bright eyes cry
Late morning lullaby
Late morning lullaby

I would darken my window so I can fall asleep
While the critics frown down on the hours
I keep that leave me
Dreaming, dreaming, dreaming,
Your real world away

Anyone who has been my roommate knows that I am not a morning person. I'm usually grumpy in the morning. If I could I would "darken my window" and dream for as long as possible. If my life were a movie, I would use this at the beginning credits.

2. Better Things by Dar Williams

Here's wishing you the bluest sky
And hoping something better comes tomorrow
Hoping all the verses rhyme,
And the very best of choruses to
Follow all the doubt and sadness
I know that better things are on the way.

Here's hoping all the days ahead
Won't be as bitter as the ones behind you
Be an optimist instead,
And somehow happiness will find you.
Forget what happened yesterday,
I know that better things are on their way.

It's really good to see you rocking out
And having fun
Living like you just begun.
Accept your life and what it brings.
I hope tomorrow you'll find better things.
I know tomorrow you'll find better things.

I know you've got a lot of good things happening up ahead.
The past is gone, it's all been said.
So here's to what the future brings,
I know tomorrow you'll find better things.

This song is a great cure to a bad day. It's a reminder that despite the little bumps, I have a great life. The glass always changes from half empty to half full when I hear this tune.

3. I Need Thee Every Hour

I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.

I need Thee, O I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
O bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.

It would be remiss to not include a hymn. I think this is the song I sing most often in the shower, on long walks, or when I am stressed. I often substitute the Dutch chorus. "Heel mijn hart zoekt naar u" roughly translated means "My whole heart craves thee." I really like that sentiment.

So who's going to make the movie to go along with this soundtrack?

August Highlights

It's been a busy month. I'm taking it easy at work and spending some time planning, but other than that life has been hectic. At the beginning of the month I went to New England for Kim and Richard's wedding. This was a good kind of hectic. I couldn't be happier, and it was wonderful to be with my family and see so many friends.


Just after I got back from Maine, I decided to move to an new apartment with a roommate. I packed up my boxes, took down my pictures, and here I am in my new apartment. Photos to be posted when the apartment looks a little more settled.

Tomorrow's my birthday. I'm trying ot embrace the coming of another year.

Survival

This summer has been filled with a lot of work. A work filled summer is not something I'm used to. Summer reading has taken a lot out of me. But I succeeded. Activities included a Harry Potter Birthday Party, a Blues Conecrt, puppets, a turtle race, lawn games and much, much more. I have learned many lessons in the process mostly while scrubbing stains out of the carpet. This Jackson Polluck style painting created by library regulars is a symbol of my success. I'm going to frame it. It's called "Survival."

Support Your Local Library

I'm posting this mostly for myself. The quotes discuss the necessity of libraries and their value in building local economies. If you don't care, I will not offended, if you don't read this post. But do remember that libraries (particularly those that are well funded) will always have an important, positive impact on every community.

From the article: Libraries at the Heart of Our Communities by Wayne Senville

“There’s been a dramatic change in the mission of libraries across the country. No longer just static repositories of books and reference materials, libraries are increasingly serving as the hub of their communities, providing a broad range of services and activities. They are also becoming important "economic engines" of downtowns and neighborhood districts."

“To put library visits in perspective, consider that in 2007 the attendance at major league baseball games was 81 million and NFL football, 22 million – add in NCAA men’s and women’s basketball (43 million) and football (49 million) and the total is less than 15 percent the number of visits to public libraries.”

Quiet

I finally had a chance to go to the temple today. We battled the traffic to Santa Monica Blvd. and made it to the temple.
As I walked in the door and was greeted by the friendly workers, I instantly appreciated the quiet. Even before the door closed out the sounds of the busy street below, it was much more still than the world. Today, I am grateful for the temple and a place that is truly quiet.

RELAX!

The past three weeks have been crazy! With programs everyday, work has been nonstop. I've gone out of town two weekends in a row. Everyone around me has noticed that I am in need of some R&R. One of my coworkers will look at me and immediately say "Relax!" It is her one word mantra to me.

Apparently, others have the same advice. After church, I was enjoying Linger Longer with my ward. I dropped my sandwich and chips on the ground. After disposing of my sandwich remains and cleaning my hands, I turned around. On the counter behind me were huge letters spelling out "RELAX." I bursted out in laughter. No one knew what was funny. I certainly learned something at church today.

"Don't You Know There's a Recession!"

It was Tuesday morning. I was experiencing the typical beginning of the week dread during my morning commute on the LA Metro bus. I proceeded to plunk my quarters into that tall box by the driver and found my seat near the back door. The ride really isn't that bad as long as everything is on time, and the other passengers keep to themselves.

Then, there she was - the woman who refused to pay. She loudly announced that she did not have any quarters to plunk into the machine, coughed, then annoyed the driver so much, he allowed her to move on back. She dragged her large laundry bag down the aisle, the whole time justifying her lack of funds saying "Don't you know there's a recession." She repeated it and repeated it and repeated it as if that was a good reason. A lump of indignation formed in the bottom of my stomach. I imagine the dozen of us who paid fairly didn't feel much sympathy. None of us carry around our endless supplies of bus fare.

Nevertheless, I've decided to follow this woman's example. I'm going to go to the grocery store and find all the essentials including gummi worms and frozen taquitos. When the checker tells me that I owe $237.13, I will declare "Don't you know there's a recession!" and run out with my armfulls of groceries. Oh wait ... that's stealing!