12/14/15
i'm thankful that though it was raining during my ride to work this morning, it was just intermittent sprinkles. i'm thankful that it's still warm outside, so the rain wasn't as unpleasant. i'm thankful that though i didn't hit all the lights right, i got stopped at my favorite intersection downtown, where i can read the marquees for the local indie rock club and the local comedy club. i'm thankful when i can recognize names of acts visiting our town, even if i'll probably never go out to see them. i'm thankful to feel not totally behind the zeitgeist, even i can’t be the zeitgeist anymore.
i'm thankful for the older faculty member who described the rapidly blinking christmas tree light setting i'd chosen as "psychedelic." i'm thankful for the memory i had of the christmas in high school when my parents gave me the nuggets ii box set, which i had really wanted. i'm thankful for how lavish it seemed, for the booklet and the stack of CDs. i'm thankful that i was part of the last generation (barring some sort of apocalypse?) to experience a period when music was material and scarce. i'm thankful for how much i cherished that box set, and the cds i got from the columbia house record club that same winter, which seemed like heaven manna. i'm thankful for the soundtrack to ken burns' jazz which was my introduction (don't laugh) to jazz. i'm thankful for the record store in the same plaza as the movie theater i worked in the summer after high school, where i found one of my all-time favorite albums in the bargain racks. i'm thankful for the way that before i had done [redacted], psychedelic music felt like [redacted]. i'm thankful that for some of the music, a trace of that feeling remains, a musical contact high. i'm thankful for cheap foam over-ear headphones. i'm thankful that i have spotify now, though. i'm thankful that it's monday and that means a new discover weekly playlist.
i'm thankful for the wolfpack, which we watched on saturday. i'm thankful for the beautiful strangeness of it and how sadness is mixed with tenderness and hope. i'm thankful for how much the kids love each other and how much they love their mother. i'm thankful for how, when, nervous out in the world, they slip into roles and recitations of movie scenes to feel safer. i'm thankful to watch them go to the ocean for the first time. i'm thankful for the way that their story helps us to think about the importance of representations and fiction to our lives, how those things shape our perception of the world. i'm thankful, in a world overflowing with content, in which those things are devalued financially, to see their emotional and spiritual value. i'm thankful for the final scene of the movie, the frolic in the orchard in the golden light.
i'm thankful that in the car on the way to the grocery store, the classic rock radio station played "another one bites the dust" followed by "i touch myself." i'm thankful for the tacos i made, and i'm thankful to have tacos after not having had tacos for a long time. i'm thankful i quick-pickled carrots to go in them, which added a nice brightness. i'm thankful that d found the cumin i couldn't find, which was crucial to the flavor. i'm thankful that i discovered it's much less messy and time-consuming to make cauliflower "rice" by hand using a sharp grater braced over the mouth of a bowl than it is to make it in the food processor. i'm thankful that greek yogurt can be substituted for sour cream without really missing anything. i'm thankful that "sweetos," the "limited edition" cinnamon sugar cheetos that we impulse bought, turned out to be completely delicious, with a perfect sweet/salty balance. i'm thankful we had leftover gelato for dessert.
i'm thankful that i trimmed my nose hair. i'm thankful to cross things off my to-do list. i'm thankful that we're in that liminal phase of pre-vacation, which means the office is empty and people aren't giving me much work to do. i'm thankful that i'm working to be more intentional with my breathing and i'm thankful to remember the importance of matching deep inhales with deep exhales. i'm thankful that in chilean spanish, apparently "healing" and "getting drunk" are the same phrase.