seasons

People change, even though some people never do
You know when people change
They gain a piece but they lose one too

yesterday is two days before tomorrow

Random thoughts this Sunday -

-  I am unhappy with the way the stairs dry rot repair went.  Contractors are just awful.
-  Snowpiercer is the best movie I've seen so far this year.
-  My orange mushroom shower BT speaker died when I dropped it in the shower.  I bought a different model off eBay.  Hope it works.
-  I love the grilled vegetable Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwich from Cafe Bunn Mi.
-  The new Marc Jacob glasses I got from my optometrist are actually pretty cheaply made, worse than the free glasses I got from Coastal.com.
-  I hope the fog goes away by September when I am scheduled to have the house painted.
-  I made cheesecake cupcakes again, but instead of vanilla wafers as the bottom, I used pecan shortbread cookies.  Yum.
-  I love the new Tardis toy I got.  The top lights up, except I took the battery out cuz I don't want it to corrode over time.
-  The batteries in my Apple BT keyboard corroded, and I cannot open the battery compartment.  There goes $60.
-  I honestly am not sure how I can continue to work in my office.  It's so painful to go to work everyday and deal with those people.  So fake.
-  The oats & honey & toasted coconut Kind granola bars are delicious.
-  Japanese washi tapes are cool.  I declare.
-  I think I need at least $2M in assets before I retire.  So short of winning the lottery, how do I make that happen?
-  Chris Pratt is awesome.  So happy for his success.
-  I wish Sandra Bullock and Chris Evans were really dating.  She should be dating a good guy, and he is Captain America for god's sake.
-  Not sure how I feel about Ryan Gosling/Eva Mendez baby, not that they are asking.
-  Future Islands' Seasons is a really good song.
-  So how awesome would it be if Madonna's upcoming album becomes a major comeback?  I need this to happen.  I keep waiting for this to happen. 
-  I really am not liking my hair lately.  Why does hair behave so moodily?
-  Avocado makes everything better.
-  I want a tiny house.
-  I should wash my cars.
-  I love Haruki Murakami's New Yorker short story - Yesterday.  It made me all melancholy and nostalgic.  The way people come in your life and then just disappear.

my summer list

Movies I am looking forward to seeing:

-  Richard Linklater's Boyhood (Linklater, coming of age story - I am so on board)
-  Snowpiercer
-  Guardians of the Galaxy (Chris Pratt!)
-  Begin Again (why did they change the title from the much superior Can A Song Save Your Life? - damn studio marketing!)

Tv shows I am enjoying this summer:
-  Almost Royal (it's like Borat but with two fake British royal siblings)
-  SYTYCD (still my favorite reality competition show aside from Amazing Race)

Books I am hoping to read:
-  The Gold Finch
-  Murakami's Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Year of Pilgrimage
-  Neil Gaiman's The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains

Music that are doing it for me right now:
-  Sam Smith's In The Lonely Hour
-  Chromeo's White Women
-  Keira Knightley's songs from Begin Again soundtrack
-  Future Islands' "Seasons"
-  Robyn & Royksopp's Do It Again ep
-  Coldplay & Cat Power's song Wish I Was Here

wish i was here

I am so obsessed with this song right now. I wish Coldplay had kept the song for themselves and included it on Ghost Stories.

in the lonely music hour

10. All Of The Stars - Ed Sheeran
9. West Coast - Lana Del Rey
8. Midnight (Giorgio Moroder Remix) - Coldplay
7. How Will I Know (Live on SiriusXM) - Sam Smith
6. Let Me Down Gently - La Roux
5. Monument - Royksopp & Robyn
4. Feels Like We Only Go Backwards - Arctic Monkeys
3. Love Runs Out - OneRepublic
2. Do It Again - Royksopp & Robyn
1. Stay With Me - Sam Smith

It looks like Sam Smith's In The Lonely Hour will debut in the U.S. at number one this week.  So happy for Sam Smith success story.  He's the female Adele.  And then how delightful to have return of Robyn and La Roux.  (I can imagine Monument to be a Madonna song, in my perfect world.  But it's a Robyn song, so that's sweet too.)  Toss in Coldplay back in form and OneRepublic/Ryan Tedder continuing to crank out catchy pop songs, and we have a nice top ten for the last week of June.

three is a magic number

California Chrome fails to win the Triple Crown today.  Favorite things in three:

-  LOTR trilogy (best trilogy ever, through and through)
-  Three's Company
-  Bananarama
-  Infernal Affairs trilogy
-  Charlie's Angels
-  Bourne trilogy (yeah that one with Jeremy Renner doesn't count)
-  Before Sunrise trilogy (honest opinion - Before Midnight did deflat my love for Celine and Jesse a tad)
-  threesomes
-  Dark Knight trilogy
-  Toy Story trilogy
-  Heathers
-  God, Jesus, Holy Sprit
-  Bee Gees
-  Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger
-  tricycles (cuz I am hopeless on a bicycle)
-  Beastie Boys (sadly three no longer - sigh...)

hard work

SYTYCD is probably the only reality show that can move me.  I look at some of those kids and their back stories, the adversity that they had to overcome, the hard work that they put in to hone their craft, to become somebody, and it's honestly inspiring.  It makes me want to get up off the couch (or more accurately out from under the blanket on my bed) and do something, do anything.

All the troubles I've been having with my house falling apart this past month have also made me realize that I've been neglecting things for way too long.  The house should have been painted at least two years earlier.  I should have paid more attention to things.  Maintenance is key to home ownership.  If you let things go, they catch up with you, and things snowball.  And before you know it, you are knee deep in a money pit.

I think it's just like life.  You cannot just sit around and not pay attention.  You have to get yourself up and do things.  If you want something, work towards it.  If you have an hour free, clean the house, work out, practice your craft, do some honest good labor.  Don't just lounge around because time will just steamroll over you and your dreams.

So this is my resolution.  That I will from this point on, do things.  Little things, big things.  Just be productive.  It's going to make a difference.