Warmth on Saturday

What a sunny, warm and breezy Saturday afternoon needs:

• A great soundtrack which could include: Rachael Yamagata’s 1963 (“I find it to be magical”), Amos Lee’s Sweet Pea (I keep “comin’ home” to this one), Over the Rhine’s Trouble (Damn, “make me a double”), Ben Harper’s Steal My Kisses (“like heaven to me, I must confess,” esp. the live version), Semisonic’s Secret Smile (“remove this whirling sadness”).
• An avocado, bacon, tomato sandwich for lunch.
• A tank-top, a pair of shorts, and a SPF 30 sunscreen. Hello, Australian sun.
  
• An icy cold jar of infused water, in this particular case it’s got orange and kiwi.
• A good and good-lookin’ company. Oh well, I suppose the cat will do.

Yep, ya got me. I'm procrastinating again.

The things I've been doing which I shouldn't because I have 2 papers due on Monday:

I listen to a little bit of music.... I subscribe to KCRW's Today's Top Tune podcast and got this yesterday Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On) First thought: so bizarre! Second: so cool! Who woulda thunk? And then came across this piece of news today. T Bone Burnett produced the album. Genius. This reminds me of Radiohead making a score for a dance company. Or Ira Glass (of This American Life) collaborating with Chris Ware (comic artist). Shouldn't there be more unexpected crisscrossing off stuff out there! Which two unlikely artists you think would churn out great art together?

Okay, maybe a bit more music...

• NPR All Songs Considered podcast - Stars in concert, Spoon in concert. Can one say enough good about NPR? No, probably not. And I'm becoming a big fan of Stars.
  
• Stephen Marley. A friend promised me goosebumps because he sounds like the true heir of Bob's. And truly.
  

I stumble onto cafes and restaurants. Today, found Little Cupcakes, a quaint, teeny, cute, place that sells coffee and yep, cupcakes! on Degraves. Angelenos, their cupcakes remind me of Sprinkles, smaller, but tasty frosting. I had the dark chocolate and SG had the cheesecake. The decor and presentation were really lovely, too. They just opened a month ago. Must go back.

I log on to Facebook. Darn that thing. More old friends have been showing up to it so it's been fun to check out. I've come to appreciate how FB, unlike the other social networks, have a higher default privacy setting. Not only is that admirable, it sets it apart from the rest. Clean design and good UI help make it more enjoyable. But people, please, stop with the add-ons.

On Gratitude

Stressful times have a way of making me forget important things. Like blogging. And being thankful for, oh, so many things. And I realize it's a cop-out to say "I'm grateful for everything" - naming the specifics is the exercise in being thankful; it is the point. I mean, to be sure I'm NOT grateful for my acne problem, or for having 4 major assignments due back to back. Also not for the municipal government in Jakarta who wants to cut down 900 trees around my family's neighborhood to make room for a dedicated bus lane.

All that to say, here's some things I'm very very grateful for, especially recently:

• Washer & Dryer in my apartment.
• Free 15-minute massage on campus at end of semester.
  
• RG and SG - who keep me sane by having sushi and Pho with me on a regular basis.
  
• Facebook. Oh yes.
  
• My own laptop.
  
• MAR - for kickin' my butt when I needed it. It's a wonder that you do that via e-mails!
  
• SS - for introducing me to Real Ultimate Power, and for Heroes discussions.
• And speaking of: Heroes, Season 2!
  
• Julian of Norwich - for having lived and written stuff.
• J - for being my boyfriend. 'Cos it can't be easy!
  
• The scenic tram ride from my place to campus. This is a beautiful city.
  
• Amos Lee, The Swell Season, Beirut, Over the Rhine, Ben Harper, Vivaldi, Yo Yo Ma, Tchaikovsky, Sarah Vaughan, Nina Simone - for the soundtrack.
• Mosaic and Mars Hill podcasts - for the free meals and the challenge.
  
• My housemate B - for dark chocolate and cheap wine.
  

And the award goes to: TODAY. Today I can ditch the sweater and just wear a t-shirt because it's sunny and 26 degrees. Maybe today I will make a new friend or help a person out. Maybe today I'll finish the first draft of my second essay. Maybe today Jakarta will decide to not cut down those trees. Possibilities.

Have a great today.