I'll save the majority of the mini-vaycay story for later, but I have to tell part of it now to get to the rest of this post. Our mini-vaycay was a road trip, with Vuni's band performing in two different cities. I had a good deal of alone time in the hotel room(s) while band necessities such as sound-checking were being taken care of. I used my down-time to read; reading use to be, and in many ways, still is, a favorite past time of mine. I find sitting and reading novels, like I once use to, more difficult now than it has been in the past; I feel like I don't have the attention span/ability to sit still as long as I use to.
Anyways, I read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie this past weekend. OUTSTANDING book. I mean, like, life-changing, perception-refreshing outstanding. Seriously; read it asap. It's a really easy, quick read, but just... ahhh. I can't put into words how awesome it is.
So the main character, Junior, goes through a bunch of shit. He's a 14-year-old Native American trying to make it in the "white world," was born with a bunch of physical disabilities (making him a minority/bully target even in his own tribe), his family is dirt poor, and his Grandma and dad's best friend have just died within weeks of each other (and a few months prior to this, his beloved dog died). People twice his age would give up; commit suicide, commit crime, turn to drugs/alcohol/gambling, ect if faced with these problems. Not Junior. He copes in healthy ways; through his love of learning, through humor and cartooning, and at one point... through making lists.
"I kept trying to find the little pieces of joy in my life. That's the only way I managed to make it through all of that death and change. I made a list of the people who had given me the most joy in my life..."
Wow, is Junior aware. Junior's story is based off of the author's experiences growing up; so it's that much easier for me to feel connected to Junior. I think, because I'm feeling so low right now, I'll take a leaf out of Junior's book, and make some lists:
The People Who Give Me the Most Joy:
1.) Vuni
2.) Our Kitty Girls
3.) My Mom
4.) My Dad
5.) My Brother
6.) Doggie Sisters (Penny & Pebbles)
7.) My "adopted brother," AJ
8.) Aren, Vuni's mom
9.) Ellie
10.) The Chicken Nuggets (the students in my mom's 2nd grade class)
Our Kitty Girls
Musicians Who Play the Most Joyous Music:
1.) Vuni (5+ years together, and he still melt my heart. Every. Single. Time.)
2.) Victor Wooten
3.) Bela Fleck & the Flecktones
4.) Weird Al
5.) Hanson (what can I say, they've been a part of my life for about 15 years now)
Gorgeous & talented Vuni ;)
My Favorite Foods (yes, even people with eating/anxiety disorders have favorite foods... don't be fooled)
1.) fruit smoothies (I can't start my day without one)
2.) green chili & beans
3.) blueberries
4.) Greek salad (but with black olives, not kalamata or whatever)
5.) my mom's homemade vegetarian chicken noodle soup
6.) apples
7.) strawberries
8.) did I say smoothies?
9.) ramen (jazzed up with veggie sausage, peas/corn/carrots, and vegetable bullion)
10.) sorbet/gelato/frozen yogurt... preferably fruit flavored/topped
YUM. WANT.
My Favorite Books:
1.) The Harry Potter Series
2.) To Kill A Mockingbird
3.) A Corner of the Universe
4.) Catalyst
5.) The Stephanie Plum Series
6.) Planet Earth
7.) Skippyjon Jones (hey, I spend a lot of my time with 2nd graders)
8.) The Little Prince
9.) ...The Twilight Saga :(an extreme guilty pleasure)
10.) The Absolute True Diary of a Part Time Indian
and the last list Junior details is a list of his favorite basketball players; however, since I don't even understand the basic rules of the game, much less follow basketball, I sadly cannot provide a list of my favorite basketball players. Sorry :( Instead, I'll give you a list of some of my favorite artists... however, I'm sure I'm probably leaving some out, but here's what I can think of off of the top of my head:
My Favorite Artists:
1.) Frida Khalo
2.) Edgar Degas
3.) Brian Froud
4.) Pablo Picasso
5.) Salvador Dali
6.) Banksy
7.) Vincent Van Gogh
8.) Claude Monet
...and that's all I can think of right now; I'm being kind of lazy. I do think, however, that my list-making is doing it's job. I started this post out in full fury, desperately wanting to take my frustration out by hitting something, and let's face it, the wall would have won, and I would have probably ended up with a broken fist... but now, I feel much calmer.
I have wonderful people who make me happy. Not only am I blessed enough to have an iPod loaded with joyous tunes, but also, have a live-in musician who plays joyous music. I have a bookcase full of amazing stories that can transport me a thousand miles away, without ever leaving my living room... and I have a computer to look up art by amazing artists, who inspire me to make my own escape.
Note to self: the next time you feel like the world is truly screwing you, make a list of the things that bring you joy... you'll be surprised at how much joy you get making a list of joyous things ;)
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