Traffic has been picked up exponentially over the past few days. Far more people are in town and each seems to have a vehicle. My street has filled with parked cars. The grocery store today was a bit busier than usual, but not as bad as I expected. First year students moved into residences on campus today and upper years will be there tomorrow and Monday. Rental houses in town have been filling up, hence all the cars on my street. Along with more people comes more noise -- happy sounds of excitement for a new school year. Some louder music can create irritation even with me who loves music -- but I love it on my terms not as a constant background.
When the town population doubles in under a week, the change is noticed everywhere in town. the increase in humanity brings much disruption to all involved. full time residents see interruptions to their usual routines and the new crowd has much to adjust to being away from full time homes, too. New rhythms will develop for everyone as we move forward and find the new normal.
Lyrics of a song that came to mind this afternoon, describe a form of togetherness within a group. I've always enjoyed the harmonies of the group singing. Enjoy!
The high point of the day involved a massive recycling trip to the refundable depot outside town. Just three smaller bags remain for another trip on another day. Huge thanks go to a good friend who was willing to share that work load with me and provide a larger vehicle for transport of the many bags that had accumulated.
Decluttering my mind along with the physical decluttering was part of my day. I'm working to improve focus, reduce anxiety and take the advice given to me today -- be kind to myself -- certainly not easy to do. It was warmer than expected today -- 28C that felt into the mid-30s, accompanied by a nice breeze, but big humidity. Walking in a small public garden for a few minutes today, I turned a corner and saw a golden retriever and then her person. The dog immediately locked eyes with me, stood up and walked over to me. The woman tried to restrain the dog -- but I asked if it was OK if I spoke to her. Animals have always come out to see me as I walk by -- even those I don't know. This girl needed a rest in the shade today. Her name was lovely -- Mayan -- explained as the Aztec gold colour of the fur. I felt much calmer after a brief chat with the woman and the dog. It had me move outside myself -- a good thing at that point.
The title of a song came to mind when I thought of meeting the wonderful dog (and her person) and having the assistance of another kind woman. The lyrics of the song mean something different than what I heard in some of the phrases this evening. Enjoy!
News of the day involved weather watching. The remnants of tropical storm Erin moved into the maritimes early today. Much rain is expected in areas west of here. The brilliant blue sky we had yesterday was replaced by clouds that became thicker as they blew across the sky. Warmer humid air arrived on that same wind. Rain began to fall into the early evening. We could get anywhere between just under and inch to considerably more -- forecasts were conflicted on the rainfall totals in this area. Other areas will get close to three inches of rain before it is all over by midday tomorrow. Wind warnings are over the highlands and are expected to be over 100 km/hr -- that is well over an hour from where I live.
There is good news in all this. Erin is the fifth named storm of the season. Dorian is ramping up for landfall in Florida. Being at the fifth storm by the end of August feels less than usual. We have been at 10 or more at this time of year in past years. So, while we still have 2-3 months of the season left, it gives me hope that there may be fewer overall storms. That, of course, could be totally incorrect and the season may just pick up strength now. That is crystal ball gazing, so I will just need to wait and see how things transpire -- certainly not the easiest thing to do.
Given the new moon occurs today and the post tropical storm bits, the line from one song seemed fitting. It references the moon and a hurricane. The band has been featured here several times. I love their rock style. Enjoy!
Many new students and parents were encountered across campus today. While waiting in line for a new parking pass, several students were waiting for ID cards and parking passes. The 'long' line we were warned of was about 10 people, so not long even by my adapted small town standards. I've been in longer lines at the grocery store <smile>. Getting around campus and town has been a nightmare due to many construction projects -- longer term ones in the middle of campus and short term ones in town. Roads at either end of my street were either closed or down to a single lane for many blocks. Those two roads mean there is only one way for most people to get into the neighbourhoods beyond mine. For our block, it became an act of patience. Campus roads were partly or fully closed as one large parking lot was closed for paving, and one of the two entry roads to campus involved dodging heavy equipment, semi trailers unloading, and construction vehicles blocking much of the parking area in the only large lot available to staff today. One or two areas with major work underway is doable. But at every turn this week, we've encountered new and continuing disruptions. Sadly, walking also led to standoffs with large pieces of heavy equipment on the sidewalks.
Disruptions to a days plans or annual migrations back to campus won't stop due to water main breaks, resurfacing initiatives or finishing exteriors of new buildings. Daily rhythms may experience unexpected alterations and the challenges to find a route to unload luggage at residences will add an extra layer of adventure for those new to campus. We all managed to make our way through or around the impediments with a deep breath and desire to continue.
The song today relates to the concept that changes can't easily be made to established routines. I love the up tempo sound of the music. Enjoy!
Today's thoughts converged on two major public discourses that aren't clearly recognized as being opposed to each other. The first came to mind with the increased advertisement for online shopping sites. I've assumed this has to do with the notorious back-to-school shopping. Sites for school supplies, electronics, clothes and dorm room decor have had a definite 'in your face' quality. Marketing gurus have succeeded in convincing many consumer sub groups that online shopping saves time and effort. This pandering to individual desires struck me as being the epitome of self-centerdness, resulting in excess waste from packaging -- cardboard boxes and packing materials -- which flies in the face of the discourse surrounding sustainability. While packaging might be recyclable, the fossil fuels needed to ship the items are non-renewable.
I have ordered items online that are not available close to my home in the little town in the woods. I try to consolidate larger orders to avoid multiple shipping boxes. I've encountered people who order a single roll of paper towels when they run out. Then later that same day order another item from the same purveyor. The instant gratification pushed at consumers, normalizes such behaviour. Larger distribution centers appear in many areas across the world -- huge buildings that house gigantic inventories, workers and increasingly, robotics. If you haven't seen the Doctor Who episode Kerblam!(season 11, episode 7, 2018), it ably addresses the next gen version of distribution with teleporting delivery robots within the broader context of privilege of consumerism and social inequities. It is worth the hour to view.
The song lyric for today comes from the same album as the song that began this blog. The selection for today is far darker than that first song. It has been a while since this artist has featured in the blog. Enjoy!
Today has been a mixed bag. More info about a major stress clarified some bits and created new worries. A date to move the office contents to the 'new to me' space has been determined after much confusion. Now all I need to do is complete the transfer of this vs to boxes. Lights are on in the kitchen again today. After a month or more without the major ceiling fixture functioning, a good friend installed the fluorescent tubes for me today. I could finally see well to cook supper! In fact, the brightness of the lights seems almost too bright. I'm sure I will get used to this again. The work day ended with a chat with an IT tech. It seems the resear h laptop is being odd due to it nearing a hard drive failure. Data was saved and a recommendation for a replacement will be made soon. Not a do dercul message but there is someone to help with that one.
Ups and downs I a day can be easy to manage or not. It all depends on how up or down each event takes a person. Working from a tablet at home is challenging and not all bits are easy to do on a smaller screen and different apps vs. Software. It is a hurdle that will be managed. I may even learn how to use new hardware like a bluetooth keyboard. ☺ Other bits of life will take more time and effort.
A song that involves many events of a day and notes the up and down nature of them all, seemed best to share for my musings today. It is longer and is from the early career of someone who has continued a music career. Enjoy!
The past two nights have been mercifully cool leaving the house very bearable. Tasks on the list today took me to get groceries, address some clearing in the house to prepare for recycling pickup this week, and tackle some correspondence that has piled up. The sunshine today helped elevate the mood a bit. The next two days will bring cloud and rain but temperatures will remain cooler.
Physical work tasks allow the mind to wander a bit and focus on pushing aside negative thoughts and feelings. On days like this, the background movies and music can provide words that are heard differently given one's mood. It may be that the methodical repetitive nature of the work opens the mind. Rather than consuming the sounds of a song or movie in a semi-comatose state, hearing in an active way may show us the multiple meanings words may hold. This is not unlike being open to the messages the universe may have for us.
A song that broke through my thoughts today was one I've heard many times and have used on the blog before. Today, I heard it differently. The melody and words are so beautiful and bring hope and strength. Enjoy!
The Saturday list required that several items be moved to the Sunday list -- making the latter longer than intended. The requisite energy and (internal) strength for some of these items could not be mustered today. Avoidance behaviour at its best -- I could do a master class on this action -- or lack thereof <sigh>. I managed completion of laundry and cleaning chores at least.
Taking charge in the midst of chaos can be overly challenging. Many internal conversations occur, but these don't always end in the desired outcome -- at least not right away. While I often wish for a magical assistant to just manage challenges. Sadly, life doesn't work that way <smile>. But, we are each responsible for making our own decisions and taking care of life's business. I fully understand this yet when major changes jump in front of me, my response is to look elsewhere or close my eyes. This I'm sure I've learned from the cats in my life -- since about 18 months of age. Their philosophy of 'if I can't see you, you can't see me' could help to bring a bit of calm to a anxious situation. Eventually, though, we have to step into the discomfort. So, as Scarlet O'Hara said, "Tomorrow's another day."
Song lyrics that provide support for such situations came to mind today. The harmonies of this female group bring a smile. The upbeat tempo of the song helps with the hope. Enjoy!
How many scary things must people deal with? I see some folks who deal with one thing on top of another. Shouldn't there be a lifetime limit of some sort? We know that lightening can strike the same spot repeatedly, but there should be a point where it moves on elsewhere. Being overwhelmed means running on adrenaline. Stress eating or not eating much due to nausea appear. With fragmented sleep, people become less able to deal with the anxiety and work their way through an issue. Some people encounter feelings of wanting to hide from the world. Sadly, this often involves hiding from oneself. This can provide a break from the intensity of what is swirling around a person, and allow them to come to terms with the situation and all the questions involved. Yet, hiding may also result in people not facing the problem they must navigate.
Learning ways to focus and manage self care when under extreme stress can be excruciating. Taking stock of supports in place prior to a crisis will help point to helpers during the fray. Sometimes help comes from unexpected corners, which restores faith in people and the world around us. Sadly many supporters may be geographically distanced from the person in crisis, yet supports by phone or online notes and conversations can provide the lift needed through a day. Never minimize the power of a simple word or two.
A favourite song of mine by a singer/songwriter that I briefly met twice, seemed to fit the theme of the day. Lyrics describe the intensity of anxious feelings and even not the desire to hide away. The metaphorical language makes me smile. Enjoy!
Today was HOT! I worked a bit inside and had a good chat with a friend late in the afternoon. Last night I spoke with a good friend who is in Australia for sabbatical. The ability to video chat over long distances helps keep us in touch. What a huge change from the time of handwritten letters or short long distance calls. I remember being 2 hours down the highway from my parents and the evening rate (60% of day rate) was still 50-55 cents per minute! That seems wild now, though my cell plan costs 45 cents per minute -- the plan doesn't have a long distance package since I use it rarely -- mostly just when travelling and I tend to text more than talk. many sci-fi shows and movies portrayed video conferencing and cell-like communication. I find it interesting that such things are used with little thought now.
OK -- so I'm showing my age here, I know <smile>. Most students on campus have not lived in a time without cell phones and went through adolescence with smart phones -- so they don't understand looking for a pay phone or only calling across country for big news. I think of my grandparents who traveled by horse and wagon to get to town and my grandmother flew to visit family in Ontario in her retirement years. That was a huge change in technology in a human life span. Changes through my life will (have been already?) greater than those she experienced. Definitely something to ponder.
Due to the heat, I decided to get take out for supper. While waiting for the order, a song I hadn't heard in so long played on the radio. I decided then that I'd share it here tonight. It doesn't fit with any theme of the day other than reflecting on the past -- where this song and the album it came from reside. The unmistakable vocals and guitar reminded me of being at university the first time. Enjoy!
Blistering hot sunny day, but with a breeze that made things feel drier and cooler. Being in the A/C helped more. A meeting helped me work through edits needed to one of the projects submitted at the end of last week. E-mails helped with another shorter piece so a revised version was sent to that co-author. the longer piece will need to be addressed tomorrow. Physically, things are much the same as yesterday. Appetite is off due to GI upsets. Only four hours sleep happened last night, so I hope tonight will be a bit better.
Let me tell you about the fun thing I did last night and last week. I went to another of the plays. I liked it so much I went back this week. Honky Tonk Blue tells the fictional story of a meeting of Hank Williams, Sr. and Patsy Cline. The actors are wonderful singers. The harmonies were wonderful and sometimes so delicate that they didn't detract from the "lonliness" of the Williams songs. Very cool. The female singer, who is also the playwright, brought tears to my eyes with her vocal range and power displayed for major Cline hits. The theatre was almost a sellout with only four or five seats vacant. Lots of older country fans were visible. One the way home after, the air felt moist, but cool and smelled a bit like fall. The sky was clear showing stars and planets. That helped ground me a bit, too.
Songs that I'd like to share include one recorded 58 years ago today and written by Willie Nelson. This and the second song shared demonstrate the power and range of Cline's voice. The third song is one that embodies the sad, lonely sound associated with Hank Williams.
The day began with great sun and a stiff breeze to temper the direct sun rays. Writing for a major project was at the top of the list and I felt so ready to dive into that process. I sent a couple of needed e-mails for other projects and then moved to clear the email list. One of these brought unwanted news -- news that increased feelings of anxiety, fear and panic. Now, just so you breathe, I am fine physically, but have a new major unknown to deal with -- too many questions that need to answered to clarify when, where, how and such. So, major plans can't be made until more details arrive
Many situations can bring challenging emotions. Today the physical result was nausea and hyperperistalsis -- uncomfortable at best. I expect major sleep disruption and deficit if past experience tells me anything. Why people feel e-mail is the way to blindside someone is unclear to me, unless it is the cowards way to deliver less than pleasant news.However, this delivery method can let the recipient digest the message core and maybe clarify the questions that might arise through panic if done by phone or face-to-face. It would be good to have a time to speak to clarify those points/ This situation will take a while to get through processing so plans can be semi-logical.
The title of a song I heard this evening summed up the feelings well. Enjoy!
Monday brought cloudy skies with some possible rain. Winds were cooler, which made the day much more comfortable. Comfort also arrived for internal office challenges. Two writing projects were sent off to their requisite editors and co-authors. That felt great! I got groceries after work, which got me home after 7 PM with dinner at 8 PM! Certainly, this was not the plan, but I was slower at the office than expected.
The day ended with me feeling tired but enthused to get into writing for another project tomorrow. My overall feeling was one of comfort or calm. One song came to mind that seemed perfect to explain that feeling. Enjoy! Peaceful Easy Feeling -- The Eagles
Over the last week and a bit, I've noticed the tone of the light has changed. There is a paler quality to it, despite the intensity of solar loading that remains on sunny days. This indicates the end of summer. This week we found the sun return to the kitchen floor. The piece of sun travels across the kitchen floor and is about an inch wide. This will widen considerably as the sun follows a lower path in the sky during the fall and early winter, until December when the width on the floor will begin to shrink again.
We all have calendars to mark the passage of time, phases of the moon and solar events. Yet, I find delight in taking note of changes in temperature, quality of light and the scent of the air. Lately these have reminded me of late summer in the mountains -- obviously jogging a distant memory from childhood. Now all of this doesn't mean that summer is at its end. Much time remains, as we are about two-thirds through the season. This may bring feelings of sadness to some, but it does mean autumn is on its way -- one of my favourite seasons. These thoughts today reminded me of the wise words of a friend who always said, "Don't wish your life away." I added a corollary that we shouldn't wish for time to slow or stop, either. Getting stuck or wishing for something past also results in our not noticing the details of where we actually are.
A song about the down side of summer came to mind today. I like the up tempo and happy sound of this version. Enjoy!
If you haven't seen RBG, find it and watch it. The documentary released just over a year ago, details the advocacy work of Ruth Bader Ginsberg. It provides highlights of her life and personal struggles, with a focus on her law career from law school to the US Supreme Court. Her arguments before the Supreme Court earlier in her career dealt with ensuring equity for all citizens, particularly women's and person's of colour equal rights. More recently, she has become known for her dissenting opinions. In popular culture, she has been named "Notorious R.B.G" -- a title derived from the hip hop artist, Nortorious B.I.G. She turned 86 in the past spring.
Lyrics of the song that played over the credits describe the role she has played in the movement for the rights of many US citizens. Her opinions have influence beyond those borders, too, as do the many global citizens working diligently for improved human rights issues. The lyrics note that an individual is not alone in the fight. Enjoy!
Friday -- the end of a longish feeling week. Little was accomplished on the work front today. I ran a few errands on Main Street and had several calls and visits to make around campus. I ended the day with friends on the deck of a the local pub. It was a ginger ale kind of day and I paired that with a lovely vegetable flatbread. We stayed chatting for a couple of hours. I met a new lab instructor who lives across the street from me. We had a good visit. She;s traveled a lot and worked at many universities. Sadly when I arrived home the next door neighbour had someone in cutting her grass and I arrived as he used the gas-trimmer on my ornamental grass -- just ready to bloom. I'd hoped to scatter the new seeds along the area dug up by sidewalk work last summer so the grass grew up closer to the sidewalk again. There are no fences between properties in this area, so the guy just kept going until he hit the gravel of my driveway. I did say a couple of things to him and he told me where the property line was -- believe me, I pointed to where the surveyor had left orange markers almost a meter west of where he was pointing. <sigh>
I did little in the evening other than wash my hair. I plan to head to bed early as I've had little sleep the past two nights and woke earlier than desired both mornings. Songs for today come from musical history that occurred on this date. The first song shared tonight was the debut single of the Monkees in 1966 and reached number one position on the charts in Canada and the USA. It was released on this date 53 years ago. The b-side of the release was Take a Giant Step. The second song shared today is one recorded by Elvis Presley, who died on this day in 1977. I was not far from where I sit in my home (for the past 21 years) when we heard the news on the car radio. My parents, brother, a close family friend and I were driving the Cabot Trail that day. The selection from his huge recording catalogue is not one of the most well known. It comes from one of the movies and has been a favourite song of mine when covered by many artists.It has an enchanting melody. Enjoy!
It was a very full day. I spent much of the day working on writing projects. Did some edits for one based on reviewer and editor requests. Things went fairly well, though the software on the submission site still created issues -- I had to enter the edits three times before they were saved. Still couldn't get the photograph uploaded, though. I hope the editors can assist with that.
Late in the afternoon, I received a request to go to the office that I'd visited yesterday. We still had not found the answer to the mystery of where the items in the office came from. When we arrived a former colleague was sitting at the desk and had been unpacking. The room had been assigned to each of us by different people. The bottom line here lies in lack of communication between offices and between individuals within the offices. Granted, there has been a number of position changes over the summer and other people have been on vacation with different people standing in for them. It will take a couple of more days to get this figured out and each of us to have a space from which to continue working. On discovering the miscommunications, both of us felt a degree of frustration. Moving offices comes with much stress and this has added to that load. We each left messages for the people involved in assigning the space. It should be a short time and things will be settled.
The day ended better than the angst of the mid-section of the day. I had a lovely light supper and talk with a dear friend. We then went to a play. This is the fourth play of four that I've been to this year. Seeing all productions for a change was nice. This one did not disappoint. The actors sang songs by Patsy Cline and Hank Williams -- a different play than the one seen last year. Harmonies were amazing and the play well constructed for interest.
The song chosen for today comes from Woodstock 1969, which began 50 years ago today. One song was played twice by two artists. The first shared was without lyrics, but still worth a listen. The second is one that has been shared here before and is one of my favourite renditions of the song. Enjoy!
I get by with a little help from my friends -- Richie Havens (Woodstock 1969)
Today went fairly smoothly until late afternoon. Having the key to my new office, I headed over to measure for the filing cabinet. Now, two work orders from last month involved moving in a smaller desk and removing the older one. Then the floors could be cleaned and walls painted where needed. So, by now you may suspect that things haven't gone according to plan. When I opened the door, the office that had been empty at the end of June -- except for desk, book shelves and filing cabinet in the room -- was waist deep in stuff -- from the door to the window. I couldn't get past the doorway. Most of it looks like items that had been in the hallway on the day the former tenant had moved it all out. For whatever reason, he chose to refill part of the room with crazy stuff not all related to teaching and research.
With this spanner thrown into the works, the work order we organized yesterday for a move from my current office to the new office will not be able to be completed as hoped. I'd asked for end of next week to the end of the following week to give them a window to fit me into the crazy August schedule. The desk needs to be exchanged and the place cleaned and painted. That can't happen until the stuff is moved elsewhere. I left messages with two major offices with authority to plan the work orders and ready the room for a new tenant. I do hope that things will be relatively easy to do even though longer than planned. It is like dominoes -- when one piece moves others are allowed to move. I don't want to be mean, but the tenant moved to another office and is still storing stuff in their old office. Weird. If I don't move from my current office, another person will be without a space.
While feeling a bit petty, I managed to laugh when I thought about a song to fit the major event of the day. The conversational style of the lyrics fit much of what went through my head as I walked back up hill to my current office. Even the repetitiveness of the lyrics mimics my circular thinking of this impediment to the plans of several people. Enjoy!
The question for the day was -- How many degrees does it take to assemble a bankers box? The do come flat but without any written or pictogram instructions. I've had 20 boxes with 20 lids in my office for a month -- all flattened back to original format. Today I needed to work with the discomfort and try to get some constructed. Without boxes that look like boxes, I won't be able to fill them with all the stuff on the shelves. Have I mentioned that I am being moved to an office in another building? I got the keys to the new office today and chatted with the work order organizer about a possible date for moving -- well dates actually -- sometime before the end of the month but not before end of next week. I also spent a bit of time discussing the movement of the phone and number to my new location. Seems this takes 2-3 weeks before things can be moved once the order goes to the phone company. So -- I asked that it be done soonest for the new office and keep the other line open until I've been moved. The new person won't need a new phone there until October. Nothing is ever simple.
So -- back to the question and the boxes. Luckily the answer was that three degrees were enough. It took a bit of finagling, but once the first one was made, the rest were easy. The box has a trick in the order in which folds are made. The lids were a breeze with no trickiness involved. I made 12 and will begin filling those soon and then put the other 8 together. I fear that more boxes may be needed since last year, I moved things on a cart from one floor to another in the same building. This meant far fewer boxes -- there were less than 10 to move last summer. I will begin the box scavanging tomorrow to find others to house the files and journals. what I have should work for the shelves and desk.
A relaxing song came to mind today while I was folding cardboard like an avid origami enthusiast. I giggled when I realized the title. I love this unplugged sound and the great harmonies of the duo. Enjoy!
The past few days, I've found my eyes watching the skies. The scene changes there regularly. Most days have involved big puffy cumulus clouds moving across the sky, generally so slowly that I had to stand still to ascertain the direction they were heading. One afternoon there were huge cumulonimbus formations with very dark flat bottoms. Thunderstorm risk was high, but nothing transpired that day. While out walking on errands, I kept looking in all directions and the sky was so blue with out any type of cloud present. I was able to see the full moon that evening. For a couple of weeks, the evenings and overnights have had cloud cover, so seeing the night sky has been rare. Today we had a lot of clouds moving across the sky. Changes moved from a mostly blue sky to scattered white cumulus clouds with much blue sky in between and back to mostly blue sky. Within an hour, there were more clouds than earlier with far fewer blue sky patches. Just before dusk, the clouds were closer together with patches where the light behind them could be seen, yet the leading edge of this grouping had changed to lower hanging grey cover with no discernible individual clouds. Thus begins another cloudy night, I guess. The most interesting sky was yesterday when the jet contrails remained for a long time becomeing huge and wide -- almost cloud like. I smiled when I saw these lines playing connect the dots with the puffy clouds.
I've always found skies interesting to monitor. The trick becomes balancing the time spent watching the sky and the time watching where I'm walking. <smile> Coming from Saskatchewan, Land of the Living Skies, it is no wonder that I occupy myself with this pastime. I've watched meteor showers and many different storms move across the sky. Northern lights -- aurora borealis -- shone white and green the times I've seen these on the prairie. Also common to the prairies, I've witnessed many funnel clouds in the sky and on the ground. Those are just plain scary, much like the shelf clouds and rolling horizontal cigar shaped clouds associated with major summer wind storms. The sky can tell us a lot about the weather on any day. We just have to remember to look up.
Perhaps when we look up we should stop rather than continuing the forward trajectory. that would stop us from tripping or walking into something. Having our heads in the clouds can be relaxing if done safely <smile>. That made me think of a song by a rock superstar in his later solo career. Enjoy!
How often have you read a book that you didn't want to end? I'm there right now. I saved this novel for some time. It is the eighth in a planned trilogy <smile>. I've read other books that stood alone or were part of a series. In many cases, I felt sad to have the story end. Authors who develop characters well can provide readers with a group of friends. With this particular series, I've wondered at during the day what the characters were doing next. I couldn't wait to get home to read more in the evening. In this and other books, authors have taken me on a journey through other times in history. I've always been drawn to period pieces. I do love history <smile>.
So -- I'm into the final quarter of this final book in a series. I'm not sure I'm ready to say goodbye to the characters. I do wonder how things will be presented. I'm not expecting a clear cut ending wrapped in a bow. I expect there will be a number of questions left unanswered, while some major story lines will come to a clearer end. I'm surprised somewhat at the depth of emotion this final part of the story has caused. For years, this story has brought great moments of relaxation as I experienced many historical events -- a wonderful escape from the detritus of the day. There are many other books on my 'to read' shelf, so I won't be without other reading. I may even find another fantastic author or series. For now, I'm working through saying goodbye to the imaginary friends.
One song came to mind to share with this topic today. The lyrics speak to the aspects of getting lost in time. Enjoy!
Writing a short piece this afternoon brought a new focus to the project. Privilege. The research I've been working on for a few years has provided the early roots of the dietetics profession. It also left questions for further contextualization. Plans for the next trip to gather more information from archival materials and personal letters, diaries and papers of specific people are underway. While most of the archives deal with items from the upper middle class, aristocrats and nobility, I've felt for some time that data from the working class of the day would be needed to get a clearer picture.
Even in the mid-1800s, privileged individuals saw the world through that lens, leaving them with stereotypical views of the working class. Crass, drunken, ignorant are words that come from readings. Not all saw the lower class groups in this way, but many did. Written standard recipes and a reading room stocked with newspapers and books were scoffed at by the British Army officers, who believed the troops could not read. Obviously, this was incorrect. The errors from the Crimean War did lead to major systemic changes in the structure of the army, many of which came from a Royal Commission struck after the war to examine the failures of the army. So, I am looking for archives with personal papers of the lower class troops and not only those of the upper class.
Being aware of our own privilege is necessary to work in the world. What I expect or understand from my experience will be different from the expectations of those seeing the world in different contexts. With a broader view, I can begin to understand other perspectives if I take time to listen to the voices of other people. With this comes better communication when working together.
The song that first came into my head today is shared here tonight. There were others, but this one best fit my history research of armed forces. The band has been featured in the blog often in the past for their great roots rock (with a hint of bayou rocck <smile>) sound. Enjoy!
Last weekend a famous recording executive passed away. The news was not distributed until later this week. Henri Belolo was co-founder of the Village People. He reportedly stated that he formed that six person group as way of advocating for gay rights. If so, this was another example of using music to promote socio-political change. Many lyricists have used words to challenge status quo and protest situations of the time. Wars have carried specific songs that promoted ideological viewpoints. In fact, protest songs often have accompanied social change -- from feminism to racial equity and so much more, music has played a major role.
I rarely dip into the disco bag in this blog -- I have but not that often. <smile> Today sharing of such a song makes perfect sense. While much of the group's oeuvre has met with ridicule, I've chosen one of their major hits today. It is a fun song. Hey, I even stayed there for a couple of weeks when working the very early shift at the hospital in Toronto when public transit wouldn't have gotten me in by 6 AM from the burbs -- and yes that was with an M but it was on a W floor <grin>. Enjoy!
After another full day at the office, I headed out to the local theatre for the third of four plays offered this summer. This one deal with changing relationships as a couple ages. There was laughter along with the deeper thought proviking moments..The Governor-General Award-winning playwright was in the audience with the rest of us. That was interesting and special for this opening night performance. I attended with a friend, also retired from campus life. We were joined by a retired staff member and had two other retired professors with their spouses sitting in front of us. It is a small town, after all <smile>. The turnout was very good.
This play began with the music from the heyday of the two main married characters -- Shelter from the Storm by Bob Dylan. Since I've shared that song before on the blog, I chose to go with the other song -- one chosen to accompany the professed 'acid flashbacks' one character noted whenever something didn't make sense. Only parts of each song were used i the play. The song is from the acid rock and psychedelic genres (surprise) and may be an early influence for the later heavy metal genre. The song is much longer than most featuring a number of solos, and took an entire side of a LP. This would be a great choice when parents noted just one more song <smile>. The title is odd, but is a great example of misheard lyrics by the songwriters. Enjoy!
Things went differently than planned today, which isn't fully unusual. Email brought a couple of unexpected challenges. First was an accounting error done elsewhere that affects me so that I had to send a note about the problem and now have to do more to get it fixed. The second asked for written submissions in a topic area that fits my work well. Then the deadline -- two days past. There I sent a note asking if there was room for late submissions -- hoping this is why the message was sent out by editors today. We'll see. During the night of the past few sleeps, I experienced neck pain and mid-back pain. I was able to get to the physio later in the afternoon. There was a productive meeting in between all the silliness today, too.
As I left my office this afternoon, I realized that I was singing. Somewhere in my head I must have been thinking that such things come in threes and I had counted three today. I will share that song here tonight -- it just seems right. The song was produced in the mid 1960s. My singing covered the first three lines and dealt with my situation not the one described in the rest of the song <grin>. Enjoy!
I tackled more of the stuff piled around me today. I did a major part yesterday and another one today. It took longer than I expected both times, which indicates that there is more there than I realized. There is a thing called 'clutter blindness' that is an actual scale. I know I'm higher on the scale as I tolerate piles better than many people. Now this is my way of filing. Piles of papers topically releated to a course or project have been part of my life forever. When those get out of hand, and a new pile needs to be added to avoid an existing one falling off the edge of the desk, I should take note and resort the existing piles. Some days, there just isn't time or more importantly, energy. So, I'm trying to resort, expunge and recycle to reduce the size and number of stashes.
What makes me wonder about myself is this -- when a major dent is made in the whole mess, why do I just see what I didn't get done today? The cleared bits are evident, yet I just see the next one to tackle. Shouldn't there be a mini-celebration or a feeling of satisfaction to see the accomplishment of the day? I'd like that. Does the decluttering affect my usual level of clutter blindness so that all I see is what remains to be tackled? Perhaps I need to spend more time to get more done all at once. Sadly, that isn't always available. I'll continue with the little chunks as I can and things will get done. I've not lived anywhere as an adult as long as I've lived here. Moving was a great tool to reduce the extras. A friend noted that regularly putting a bag out to donate, recycle or discard is forward movement. I am trying this out in hopes that it will bring some gratification and reduce guilt over not getting to the storage of stuff. I'll let you know how it goes.
A song lyric that fit my feelings today stated what I'd asked myself. The overall story told by the lyric is different than what I'm feeling -- addressing wanting more instead of only seeing more work ahead. Either way, the lyric (and title) sums up the question of the day. Enjoy!
Never Enough -- Loren Allred (from The Greatest Showman)
The highlight of this holiday Monday was a great chat with a close friend. It has been a while since we had a long chat to catch up on our lives. While speaking o f some of the challenges along with the positives, my friend noted a line from a song. It used a wonderful metaphor for hope. Even when things seem overwhelmingly gloomy, all is not lost. I likened it to the difficulties with the eaves trough that seem difficult to rectify. There was a small space that was about 5 inches long where light is clearly visible between the eaves and the roof. The downside is this brings a deluge of water onto the porch as it runs off the roof and misses the trough. We managed to get the space down to about 1.5 inches. Then a new person chose to replace the support with one from home -- not new but has lots of visible rust on it <sigh>. That outmaneuver, put us back at 4-5 inches of light shining through since the sealant we'd used earlier was broken. This happened last fall when the same person painted the house, replacing the eaves without resealing them. So, while an overwhelming frustration exists due to the visible light, there is light visible. Great metaphor that changed my viewpoint of the issue.
I've shared here before that all things will pass, really like the light metaphor. Shakespeare said things very well with a similar visual metaphor in Sonnet 148, "The sun itself sees not till heaven clears". The poet who wrote the phrase shares his own metaphor and philosophy in the selection for today -- "There is a crack in everything; that's how the light gets in." I found this message particularly hopeful for some of his darker writings. This version if by the poet himself with that amazing voice. Enjoy!
Another quiet Sunday nears a close. I occupied myself with some household chores and tackled a clearing and sorting project that was long overdue. Sadly there is much more that needs attention. For a hot day, even this sort of quiet, low physical energy task took a lot of effort. the end result brought some sense of satisfaction.
With little background noise, often we can be reflective and introspective. Outside disturbances can make such tasks difficult. Today, my mind wandered around looking at a number of file drawers in my mind. Most were happy thoughts or memories. The process can be relaxing. It could be a planned exploration of a particular set of events or it might be an emergent process where ideas and thoughts surface on their own. Today was the latter. No end resolution was needed making the time spent cleaning less stressful. Perhaps this is a type of relaxation technique to quiet a busy mind -- being quiet and just listening.
Thinking through this brought a line from a song lyric -- one that asks for quiet and listening. I've always enjoyed the rhythm of this song. The band was a prog rock turned heavy metal forerunner. Enjoy!
After a very long day at the office writing, I sent a draft of the article off last night. It has to sit in a folder for a while before I can look at it with fresh eyes and add the last few sentences needed. I slept poorly, though and found myself awake more than asleep until 4:30 AM! Needless to say, today was a quiet day and should be an early evening. The temperature was into the low 30s Celsius. I did a 30 minute walk to the drug store and then down Main Street to pick up a treat. There was one lonely cinnamon pinwheel sitting there. I promised to give it a good home <smile>.
Between household chores, I watched a movie I haven't' seen for a long time -- Out of Africa. The story of a strong woman who faced several major events with a degree of grace has often made me think. The ending is bittersweet and today left me with a subdued nostalgia-like feeling. I then recalled the first time I'd seen the movie. I was with two friends in a theatre in Winnipeg. It was the evening after I defended my masters thesis and we went out to eat and see the movie as a celebration. I remember how struck I was by the amazing aerial vistas of the plains and highland. The soundtrack was beautiful and accentuated the wistfulness of the story. If you haven't seen this, it is worth the time for the cinematography and character study it brings. Granted, it clearly shows the colonialism that the continent has yet to recover from. It does so in a patriarchal 19th C. British fashion. The main character addressed this attitude a few times throughout the movie. It is a period piece that shows sensibilities of the time.
John Barry wrote the beautiful score. I'm sharing two short pieces here tonight. One is the title theme and the second is the theme for the main character. Both have a lovely relaxing feel to them. Enjoy!
Mercy! The heat outside is still high. The sun feels so hot on a short walk between buildings. Coupled with little air movement, it is uncomfortable. Thankfully, humidity has dropped since yesterday, so the air felt less solid. The past few weeks has led to reflect on meteorological methods to communicate heat warnings and feel like temperatures. In the past, the national weather network included dew points in all visual forecasts -- on screen and online. That line was deleted when the format was updated a few years back. Now, all that I can do is look at overnight lows and assume that the due point is there or higher. When the dewpoint is between 65F (18C) and 69F (20C) things begin to feel uncomfortable. When dewpoints are over 70F (21-22C) they use the work oppressive. Still there is no scale used to clearly explain heat and humidity.
With no scale to use, I felt the need to design my own. We have wind speed scales with the Fujita Scale for categorizing tornadoes and the Saffir-Simpson Scale for hurricanes. So, why not the "Saturday Scale" for explaining the degree of heat in the summer air? Here goes:
Pleasant -- 22-25C with cool drier air overnight (about 15C)
Hot -- 25-30C days with 15-16C overnight, low humidity
Smoking Hot -- 25-30C with humidity that adds another 5C to feel like temps, moderate overnight cooling -- 17-18C
Hotter than Hell -- 30+C with humidity that adds another 5-10C to feel like temps, little overnight cooling
Are you freaking kidding me? -- 35+C temps with any level of humidity, but particularly the level that adds 5-10C to feel like temps, little overnight cooling
Blistering HOT -- 40+C regardless of humidity -- this is just a silly temperature
With this sort of scale used globally, it would stop the silliness that ensued in Spain when I was trying to say that the a/c wasn't cooling the apartment to the owner/manager who didn't speak English. Sadly air conditioner or some invented Spanish version made no sense to him. When I decided to say the room was too hot, I used the adjective caliente. To which he smiled and 'calor'. I laughed at myself knowing I'd just said the apartment was too spicy. <giggle> Given the outside air temp was closer to 40C, I really needed a cooler place to recoup between excursions. The day it was 42C, I headed for the beach -- a walk of 5 km -- assuming that there would be places to buy cold water or soda along the main road. Sadly, nothing until I got a couple of blocks from the beach. I just waded in the Mediterranean that day, but walking the few feet to the edge of the water, I was sure I'd blistered the soles of my feet. Luckily that was not the case. So -- that explains level 6 of the Saturday Scale.
So many songs use heat as a metaphor for human emotion and for happy summer days. A line from a song surfaced in my mind when thinking of the temperature. That song is shared here. The line should be obvious <smile>. I do love the energy in this song and with a keyboardist even. All members of this band were inducted into the songwriters hall of fame since they'd each written more than one song that landed number one position on the charts. No other band has done this. Enjoy!
The has been a long one. I had a morning appointment and then headed to the office about noon. One phone meeting in the afternoon followed by a retirement fete for a women on campus. Back at the office by late afternoon left time for me to dig into some edits and additions to the results and discussion section of a research paper. I got home about 7 PM! Did some reading and planning for writing process tomorrow and headed to bed later than usual.
Working on the writing project this week has left me with a bit of a clearer view of what fits and what should be in a separate document. That lifted a weight when I realized that we couldn't possibly fit everything into a single paper AND that it wouldn't flow well since the topics are different. Many hours have been put into this paper this week and I have been in the office every day. I look forward to tomorrow when I expect things to be ready to share in a coherent draft form. One needs to trust the process to provide something tangible and useful. It has taken years to develop this approach to writing, but once I found what worked best for me, the trick was to stick with that. Trying to force a change to a different style or process just doesn't work. I need long, uninterrupted spaces of time. All materials must be spread on a desk and sometimes the floor around me. My diagram or visual outline of what goes where in the document serves as the guide. Without that nothing happens. Others can write in one hour blocks here and there. I just can't. For me it like a binge process -- it becomes the sole focus and intrusions create major frustrations. Seeing my workable process with clarity brought greater understanding of what time and space is needed for writing success.
I like the title of a song that was included on a solo album released last month. The lyrics also meld with the ebb and flow of the writing process this week. The singer-songwriter included this song on the album, originally recorded with the band he fronts. Shared today is the version re-imagined in a different genre and with further lyrics than the original group version. The second link contains a brief explanation of the altered song by the songwriter.Enjoy!
For two evenings in a row, I've attended the local summer theatre festival. They are mounting four plays this summer and I hope to get to each of these. So, now I'm halfway there <smile>. The first made me laugh but then it dragged a bit and the farce was overdone. Yes, I know that is what farce does, but this felt way over the top for me. I'm not a fan of farce, but this one could work well with some judicious editing. <smile> two hours and forty minutes including the intermission is just too long. I got home at almost 11 PM. Tonight was a wonderful play delving into the family dynamics of an Indian family trying to arrange a marriage for their Canadian-born son. The alteration of values over generations that occur as a family acclimates to a new home was interesting to view in this two person play. While seated and waiting for the play to begin, the actress playing the mother circulated with a large plate of amazing vegetarian samosas. They were lovely and a bit on the hot spicy side, so I loved them even more. This play was 90 minutes without an intermission, so I was home before 10 PM tonight.
I love live theatre, and value every experience. Even those few that were not my favourites, had some redeeming qualities. Like all pitfalls in life, we can learn from what we didn't like and what we did, which can help us choose things we enjoy most. Understanding what caused us to feel more or less enamored requires some critical thought and self-awareness -- each important for navigating life. I learned more this week about aspects of farce that were more difficult to accept <smile>. This won't stop me from going to the amazing local theatre in the summer festival or the community players productions in the winter. I do love the theatre. <smile>
A song that came to mind while thinking through the shows of the past two evenings is from a Broadway musical. The lyrics discuss life as an actor. Enjoy!
