Friday's Music: Summa Summa SummaTime!

Hey family, I haven't done a Friday's music post so with the sun shining and the birds chirping, I thought it was a good time as any to restart the fab tradition of going nuts on a Friday.

Now, I could make this about inspiration. I could make this about pulling part the lyrics of song and getting to the insightful way the lyricist portrays love and conflict. (Enter brooding face of concentration)

HMMMM NO.

It's just not one of those days.

Having an Arranged Marriage...with Your Work

Imagine this:

From a young age, you have always known that you were set to be with someone called "Dream Work." You knew that you wanted to be with Dream Work because you had been told that it was perfect for you. And so as you go through life, you continue to grow but begin to forget that you are betrothed to Dream Work. That you will marry Dream Work and be happy. However, life gets in the way, priorities changes and as you age and mature, you begin to think that Dream Work wouldn't work anymore. Sure it was something you had been told that you were perfect for it, but who really wants to be set for life before you could make a decision? You are a different person, you won't be dictated to!

However, fate will set in and there is a chance meeting - you actually meet Dream Work.

You Got Moves Like Adele, No Joke!

With the recent shock wave reverberating with the death of Whitney Houston (not ready to talk about it), it was a breath of fresh air to see Adele win a rocking 6 Grammys last night. Such a talent was able to really shine through, all because of a “rubbish” relationship that left her for dead. Not physically, but it rocked her enough that friends and family prodded her to pick up the pieces of her heart. 

In her adversity and pain, she put it all out on paper. Everything. Every emotion, every pit of anger, resentment, depression, and sadness. But the last song on her 21 album, Someone Like You, is my personal favorite because it is evidence of her realization that she can do better. That she is using her angst brought on by her ex-boyfriend for her benefit. To show him and the world – I am better than this. I am Adele, doggone it and I am so over you.

Don’t you think the ex-boyfriend is piss mad somewhere? :) Stupid wanker...(hehehe wanker..)

But I think it’s a lesson that we can all learn from. We all fall. We are human. To err is to be human. But it is in the face of adversity and how you deal with it that defines you. For Adele, to overcome her pain she wrote songs. It was her release. And it is possible that the pain wasn’t immediately gone. But it was process.  But the theme of the 21 album was I am better than this.

Trust me, family. I am not sitting from a lofty high chair looking down and just giving running commentary about things. I have enough scrapped knees, bruises and knocks to the head to show you how human I am. But this is me dealing with adversity.

For me, writing has been an immense release. When I was going through a particular hard struggle of trying to figure out I was doing with my life, writing became my anchor. My escapism and my coping mechanism. I write about characters that have great struggles and need to find their way. And what is great about it is that they eventually find what they are looking for!  And I thank God every day for giving me something that can show me that no matter what happens, things will get better!

And even though I am now in a pretty good period in my life, I still hold on my struggles and writing and appreciate it all the more. Because I hope one day that my writing, my stories will be an escape for someone else who just needs a break from their lives.

Whatever you chose to do or have, it is important to remember to it should uplift you, not destroy you. If your anchor has the potential to bring you to another devastating situation, it is not an anchor. You are still floating towards the proverbial black hole. Find something rooted within yourself that can allow you to stand when the garbage is being chucked at you. But you do have moves like Adele J. Everyone does.

Today's Music: Stay With Me, Baby

So I am obsessed with music. Music is the doorway to my imagination and inspiration. So I thought I would begin to share with you what brings out the author in me.

For instance, whenever I'm on my music binge, I run through YouTube and let the "Suggestions" do the walking for me. So when I came across the 2007 Mary J. Blige performance of "Be Without You/Stay With Me, Baby" (slight pitchy, mind you, but good nonetheless) my fingers led me to the Ruby Turner version of "Stay With Me, Baby."

Just comparing the singers, you can still sense the desperation to keep their love beside them. What would that look like? A proud woman begging her lover to consider her feelings? Pride doesn't matter - just them.

 Then of course my imagination went off and POOF -  a new scene for my fic I'm working on!

Sigh...I love music...So I'll let you into my eclectic taste. Maybe it will inspire you :)

And It Starts...You Think You Know a Guy...

A line from one of my favorite Disney movies, the Lion King. It's the part where Timon and Pumba walk away in shock after Simba sends them away to discuss with Nala kingdom matters. Believing that they knew everything about Simba, to be sent on the merry way was enough for them to start questioning, who is this guy? I mean sure we've lived with him for god knows how long, but do we really know him?

Can you believe it I am my own Timon? To think I actually I want to write a novel. Not just any old novel or one novel but several novels! It's amazing when you finally start clearing the clutter in front of your eyes that you begin to see what really makes you tick. What really makes you smile. What really makes places you in that utter bliss.

For me, it has become writing. Or is this really a recent occurrence?

Since I can remember, I have had the most torrid love affair with books. Fiction. The stories that can take you from your mundane existence to different worlds. Worlds you were taught never existed and never would. Worlds and characters that only existed in dreamlike fantasies. Characters you wished from the deepest parts of your soul could be in front of you and interact with you. Everything the real world told you became non-existent with the story before. That story was the only truth you needed.

Some of the best afternoons and nights I have had have been with a toe-curling, gut-wrenching, breathtaking, eyes-popping book.

Sure, it sounds like something completely orgasmic, but a GOOD book can do that. Imagine the imagery words can illicit. The feelings that can swell in your heart. The sense of justice that can take root in your mind. That's what a good book can do. Turn your entire world upside down.

Is it amazing that people get to do that everyday? That people can draw up the power of fiction writing and change mindsets, change lives? Can you believe that simply with words, someone's life can be turned for the better? Get you to smile? Make you laugh or cry?

That, my friends, is my love affair with fiction. It constantly kneads my heart, massages my soul and enlightens my mind. It feeds my desires and enraptures my attention from beginning to end. And the best part? It happens over and over again with each book. Each book comes its own experience, its own passion, its own joy.

Again, I've always been the avid reader. My imagination knows no bounds and I have finally realized that I can't be alone feeling the way I do. Why not impart my passion to others who love to have the same experience I do?

So it starts...The "no-nonsense fact" lawyer by day becomes the fantasty-romance-suspense budding author by night.

Hmmm....You think you know a Girl...