cute things

tomorrow emily and i go to jejudooooooooooooo.
i want my fellow flight passengers to all wear fancy suits, miraculously have giant ’60s hairdos etc, and sip martinis on the plane. is that really too much to ask?
when we get there, we may rent scooters.
i am shamefully and absurdly scared of this possibility. what if i tip over!?!?!
time shall tell.

cute things of the day:

1. during a lesson on occupations vocab, i asked about the jobs of my students’ parents. hanna’s mom is a pianist and her dad is an opera singer and they play and sing together at home! sometimes even with hanna on flute! hanna thinks it’s pretty normal.

2. my coworkers emily and nathan informed me of my destiny: i will live in a farmhouse with my furniture-building husband and one perfect angel baby and i will either be a freelance writer or a librarian.
they better have meant the hot kind or the noah wyle kind of librarian.

3.
this girl was on scrubs before. one of my relatives from pennsylvania told me that the first day of hunting season is a school holiday. even for elementary school students.

all i can do

at 3 am
is read murakami and play old ukulele songs i haven’t recorded yet.

should i?
do you want to hear one?

i need a new hobby.
when my absorption levels rise far about my creative levels for too long, i get all out of whack.
i think this is my particular recipe of insomnia’s secret ingredient.

but i also don’t feel like writing songs.
but i kind of do. in extreme – like one a week, even if they’re bad.
just trying it as an exercise?
or maybe not at all.
i’m not sure.
i read about a book a week now.
i listen to a lot of new music and keep finding cool things on the internet.
so much is coming in and nothing is coming out.
it’s like eating a corn field and not pooping.
exactly. the. same.

i’m exercising, and reading before bed, taking soothing night showers, drinking milk and chamomile tea, setting a daily morning alarm.
and yet here i am.
nothing’s really cutting it lately.
something bigger is wrong. not really wrong, just a little wrong, and i think until i figure that out, my mind isn’t going to let my body rest.

have you had this kind of general soul malaise before (even when generally quite happy), and what did you do about it? what are some little things you do that make you happy? and i’m looking for solo things more than friendy things here. any hobbies you could suggest for me? i want to learn something new, like physically, IN REAL LIFE, not just from books. what kinds of things are you interested in?

ukuleles

the ukulele is clearly the best instrument.

here are some supports:

1. “five years time” by noah and the whale
this video is lovely in its wes andersony glory and i dare you to listen to this while frowning.

2. “upside down” by scott matthews
this is a really pretty song performed in the rain by a man with a large beard. i first heard it in shortbus, an amazingly moving dirrrrty film. i think the contrast between cute ukulele twinklings and graphic sex made it work. actually, the whole soundtrack for that movie is tops. (and you should check out the movie too if you dare!)

3. “road trip” by sweetafton 23
i don’t know her real name, but this college-age blogger is an endearingly dorky top songwriter in my book. if you like sad but funny story songs like i do, have a listen!