5Ws/1H (January 1-7, 2013)

Jan 08, 2013 23:11

I'm probably too tired to do this, so let's get right to it, shall we?

Who? R.E.M. and Los Lobos. Last Saturday evening, I had the opportunity to make a quick trip to my favorite record store, the Princeton Record Exchange, which is in Princeton, New Jersey, about an hour and 20 minutes away from my house. Due to that distance, it is an indulgence for me to visit PREX (as it's sometimes called) so I don't go there often, but always enjoy when it when I do.

I didn't get to PREX until about 8:00 Saturday evening and they close at 9:00, but I had some CDs to trade in and subsequent store credit to use and I just had time to do it. What surprised me a little bit was what I picked up: the 25th anniversary edition of R.E.M.'s classic album, Document and a four-disc Los Lobos box set that I never got around to acquiring upon its release back in 2000. Of course, I love both of these bands. R.E.M. is my favorite band ever, though I think from a purely musical point of view I may love Los Lobos even more than I love R.E.M. I was briefly taken aback by these choices, given that I could have gone in any musical direction at all, based on what was surrounding me at PREX and I went with the utterly familiar. But I realized that, as musically adventurous as I can be, there is something quite comforting and even life-affirming about going with a choice you know by heart.

What? Applebee's gift cards. We had been given Applebee's gift cards for Christmas. We use this annual gift when we go out with Mom and Lisa's to celebrate my dad's birthday, which was December 30. The gift cards went missing sometime before the 30th, which caused me no uncertain angst that particular morning, as I was scrambling to find them. Finally located them tonight. In Chris' bedroom. With a box of Keurig coffees that Mom gave us for Christmas. We need to get organized.

When? 2013. I want to make something good and solid out of the coming year and I'm feeling a bit of frustration that, eight days into, I feel like I haven't made as dynamic start of it as I would have liked. But I need to be patient and persistent so that I can take advantage of the optimum moments to make things happen. This sounds cryptic, I know, but hopefully as the year continues and, as I continue these blog updates, certain projects that I can say more about may emerge.

Where? Bryn Athyn. Earlier on Saturday, before my solo jaunt to Princeton, Donna, Chris and I took a somewhat impromptu trip to find the Bryn Athyn Thrift Shop in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania. This is a small town we'd never visited before and didn't really know a whole lot about, but the thrift shop, located in a rehabbed barn, sounded interesting. Imagine our surprise then, to discover that the central attraction in Bryn Athyn is a gothic-styled cathedral, built in the early 20th century as the home of worship for members of the New Church, a denomination founded by Emanuel Swedenborg in the 18th century. Not far from the church was another imposing structure called Glencairn, which contains a museum of religious history and art. So we visited both of those architectural wonders in addition to having our thrift shopping experience. It was a great afternoon, which might not have even happened had I not known that the thrift shop was selling VHS notes (the boxes of which I turn into notebooks) for just a nickel apiece on Saturday.

Why? Why always seems like the hardest question. And lately, it seems like the least important. But that could change.

How? ...am I feeling, you ask? OK. Tired. Disorganized. Overwhelmed. But also wanting to find a way to break through all that. And I think I will, but it'll be a gradual process.
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