Thursday, January 13, 2011

That's not cool. literally.

No electricity last night from midnight to...well, not sure exactly, but I think it was somewhere around 4am or so.

In summertime, that's not fun. Especially when you already have a few mosquitos in the bedroom, and you don't want to open the windows and risk getting more.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Auditorial power

It's amazing to me how music connects me to memories that would otherwise be lost to history. When I put a particular song or album on, I'm instantly transported to what I was feeling in that minute. The joy, the expectations, the plans, the frustrations, whatever.

Right now I'm listening to Snow Patrol's A Hundred Million Suns, which I think is totally brilliant (especially The Planets Bend Between Us), and yet I've never gotten into any other album of theirs. But when I put this album on, I am instantly transported to my early days in Buenos Aires. I don't really remember what I wrote now, but there's tons of nervous energy wrapped up in this album for me. That's what I felt at the time -- energized, but terribly nervous. Completely uncomfortable, but enjoying the challenge. I specifically think of the apartment on Arevalo and the sun streaming in the window.

I didn't speak a word of Spanish. I'd never left the country before. I wasn't quite sure exactly why I had decided to move, and I wasn't sure how long I'd make myself stay if I hated it -- and I love the US, and hate being outside of Texas. When I left the house, I really had no idea what to expect and the easiest things in life were difficult for me.

All that has come flooding back to me as I listen to this album. Wow it's brilliant, and I have goosebumps from the combination of the music and the memories.

Final thought: it's also amazing to me that frequent listening to music tends to happen during particularly productive periods of my life. Causation =! correlation, yada yada yada, but I think it's a self-reinforcing mechanism. Virtuous cycle, as it were.

Happy New Year

Feliz año nuevo!

Most people make resolutions about this time of year. I've never been a fan of that -- no particular reason why, maybe I just like being a contrarian.

Probably the most common new year's resolutions are to go to the gym or get their personal finances in order. Not really things I ever need to make a resolution to change, so that's out for me.

I have however started doing pushups again. I did 500 pushups a day (in sets of 50, and then later of 75) for about a year in 06-07 until I busted my ankle and couldn't do them anymore. It made quite a difference and I enjoyed it, although folks pointed out that I'd probably have grown more muscle if I did them every other day.

So now I'm trying to do pushups every other day. I've been semi-committed to it for the past month or two, and so far it does actually seem to have worked. I can definitely tell a difference looking in the mirror, plus I think it helps me stay energetic throughout the day.

And it doesn't cost me $50 a month in gym membership.