Tuesday, January 17, 2006

rare dilemma. As I left my office building tonight, a guy about my age held the door open and then walked out behind me. We both stood on the limestone platform under the overhang, contemplating the fact that it was not, in fact, raining. Without saying a word, we both folded up our dry umbrellas and tucked them in our satchels. He looked at me and then stared down at all the bags and cases at the end of his one arm. His other arm swung free. "Geez." His expression was one of bewilderment. "What's wrong?" "I don't know what to do with this extra hand." 6:52:38 PM    well, yes, but...  [] suggested in 'o6. I can't pretend to be an astute cultural critic or a profound reviewer of things. But I know what I like, and sometimes, I even know what I think. But I'm not going to be pushy (today). Hence "suggestions", instead of some goofy "Hot or Not" or "Must-Haves" type of blather. The following are simply some Meg ideas for you for the coming seasons. Not that all of this stuff is new and fresh for 2006 -- I'm absolutely not that cool or current or neato or cutting-edge -- but I'd still say it's worth a look-see. Trust me. Would I steer you wrong? (Shut up. I would not.) Music you should listen to in 2006, unless you already have or are listening to it already. In which case -- keep it goin'! My taste in music is a tad eclectic, to say the least. But from the neosoul of John Legend to the goofy-pretty-okay-i'm-a-sellout pop of Natasha Bedingfield to the happy-sad Perishers, these tunes have found a happy home on my iPod. Now I pass them on to you: Ryan Adams - Cold Roses. Bob Dylan - Live at the Gaslight, 1962. Raul Midon - State of Mind. Madeline Peyroux - Careless Love. Donny Hathaway - Live. John Legend - Get Lifted. James Blunt - Back to Bedlam. Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten. Aqualung - Strange and Beautiful. The Perishers - Let There Be Morning. Words you should use more often in 2006. If you use them now, that is. It's never too late. Hence Ambivalent Bliss Confluence Ferocious Incredulous Holy Amazing Freakish (as in Freakishly Good) Zesty Nada Mee Mee Mee (Beaker noise... when there is nothing else left to say) Books you should read in 2006, though none of them were written this year... Hey, it's not like anyone wrote a new book in the last 16 days. Well, they might have, but I haven't read it yet. So read these instead. Apparently, if a David wrote it, I want to read it. So David Hasselhoff -- get working on that autobiography! David Mitchell - Cloud Atlas Bill Bryson - A Short History of Nearly Everything (Catherine's Pick) Patricia Schultz - 1,000 Places to See Before You Die David Rakoff - Don't Get Too Comfortable David Sedaris - Children Playing Before A Statue of Hercules Garrison Keillor - Good Poems For Hard Times Calvin Trillin - Feeding a Yen Romantic things to do in 2006... really. These are my little happinesses that might contribute to your happiness. Maybe? Show up with a giant, oddly shaped tree branch wrapped as though it were a bouquet of flowers. And when your loved one asks what the hell that thing is, just say, "I'm tired of boring presents. I decided to go out on a limb with this one." Enjoy snacks with your loved one in odd places. The sillier the better: have a banana in front of the monkey cage at the zoo. Have a milkshake in the middle of a field at a dairy farm. Eat chili in an igloo. Eat hot wings while sitting at the end of an airport runway watching planes take off. Try eating beef jerky when you're fighting. Do a "dice drive". Take a die out on a Saturday drive with you. Every fork in the road or turn you hit, roll the die. 4 and up? Go left. 3 and down? Go right. Go until you can't go, and then turn around and do it again. Listen to music that reminds you of each other and just enjoy the time. Never, ever be afraid to be a big, goofy, heart-open dork. Trying to be cool in a relationship is like trying to put a piranha in an ice cream cone. Even if you manage it, it's just going to eat the damn thing up in a second anyhow. Websites you should haunt in 2006 -- and some of them WILL be written this year. Just do it. Really. Go there. Click. I can't possibly list every site I visit on a daily basis, but these ones should keep you busy until my next round of suggestions, next month. Everybody Thinks I'm Working The Onion Homestar Runner Paper Napkin The World According to Chuck Overheard in New York Products you should use more of in 2006. Not everyone will want to use every single one of these things. I know they won't, in fact. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to recommend them... After all, being a Megfavourite is good, right? Lorac Lip Addiction. Dude, it makes your lips bigger. This is not important if your name is Angelina and you are carrying a (freakishly attractive) baby for a certain Brad, but if you're me? Bring it on. It also tingles like you've eaten one too many cinnamon hearts while trying to forget that you don't have a date for Valentine's Day. Not that I've ever done that. The Meyer Lemon Cleaning Collection at Restoration Hardware. I really do think everything on earth should be lemon-scented. Want more evidence? See below... Lemon Sugar by Fresh. This is one of the ways I smell. The Benjamin Moore City Lights 2005 Paint Collection. Pretty, pretty. And the best paint on the planet. Havaianas Flip Flops. What you will find on my feet at least 365 days a year. Gehwol Foot Cream. Because I wear flip flops 365 days a year. It works. And works. Cape Fear Hot Sauce. All of it. Mmmm. Burninated. Apple iBook. By far the best computer I have ever, ever had. I'm using it RIGHT NOW! Liquid Tide with Downy. I love this stuff. It makes my clothes soft and heaven-scented. Illy Coffee. Because I never would have believed a latte could get any better... and then it did. Emergen-C Packets (get them at any health food store.) These babies have cured many a cold for me. And if they can cure me, well... gosh. Everyone should use them. Things you should just do more often in 2006. For no other reason other than that you can. Eat french fries. See cheap matinees. Air drum on your steering wheel. Speak when silence is easier. Try on the pants. Admit you don't have a clue. Twirl in your office chair. Let go of one negative word you always use to describe someone you know. Hang the laundry out to dry in the summertime. Follow a recipe that seems much too scary for you to take on. Be silent when you're dying to make an awful, room-chilling remark. Leave happy voice mails for your friends when they are away on vacation. Light candles. Scream with delight. Laugh until you're hoarse. Help the spider onto a magazine, and shoo him out the door. Instead of saying, "I don't know", do what it takes to know. Write dopey poems and email them without explanation. Stand in the middle of a creek or in waves by the shore and feel the water rush around your legs. Or stand in the bathtub and run back and forth in shallow water. If you can do that without laughing, you're a better person than me. Write a handwritten note on the back of a picture of you and someone you care about, and send it to them on a day that has some significance for the two of you. Maybe even just one word. As long as it isn't "moron." Stuff I want for you in 2006. This category doesn't really seem to work as a list. I did try, but sometimes you have to abandon format for the sake of sensibility. I've been a blogger on and off for just over a year in total now. In that time, I've met some really extraordinary people. Some odd ones, too, but mostly just wonderful folks with great thoughts and even greater intentions. Some of you are writers by trade, and others of you just have a natural gift for expression that transcends whatever else you do. Some of you practice active silliness, while some of you pour out your hearts in raw catharsis or attempt to dig for truth in this shady, jagged world. Some of you do all three. But you have touched me, regardless of what you were trying for. I've cried, I've bristled, I've laughed, I've felt kindred, I've argued, I've affirmed... and at the end of the day, I've invested in each and every one of you with more force and conviction than I ever thought possible. I love you crazy people. I count you as dear friends. And when I hear about your dreams, your hurts, your loneliness, your confusion, your hopes, your experiences, your victories, your wounds... well, I feel connected. I grieve when you grieve and laugh when you laugh. I used to think it was kind of incredible that I could feel so much a part of something that had no common foundation other than the silliest word in the English language: "blog." But now I just feel blessed. And lucky. And delighted. And responsible for you, in some weird way. I always want to do or say the right thing to buoy you up and keep you moving in the right direction. If I can, that is, or I'm needed to. Sometimes, I just get to hang on and go along for the ride. So, my excellent friends, here is what I want for all of you: ...healthy families; for you to be free from guilt; for your team to win a major game; for you to write a post that really says exactly what you meant it to say; sweet, sleepy babies; the ability to speak truth into an old hurt; vacations away in new places; a breakthrough in a work project; a good night's sleep; for you to fall in love; for you to have a perfect cup of coffee; for you to be able to cry; for you to have a day off; for you to find a job or hobby that genuinely means something to you; a solid renovation; the end of a good book; a brilliant beginning to the next; complete passion; time to play; and hours and hours more to write. Or maybe I'm just being selfish with that last one. After all, it serves me well if you write reams and reams of blog posts. Oh, well. One thing I need to do right now... coincidentally, in 2006. Go to bed. 12:35:17 AM    well, yes, but...  []

© Copyright 2006 Meg Fowler. Last update: 3/4/06; 2:31:49 PM.