Rapper's Delight

If you've ever spent some time in my car with me, you know there are few things I love more than turning up the music and singing along. And, you probably also know that I have a soft spot for rap. Rap makes it onto my driving, work out, shower, party, and yes, even studying playlists. I think rap gets a bad reputation for vulgarity, but there is a difference between life and art, and I try not to read too hard into the messages some of those songs toss out there. I just like to dance and surprise people by being the 5'1 redhead who knows all the words to "Look At Me Now' by Chris Brown.

Here are 10 of my fave jams. Some are old, some are new. They are all probably explicit in some way or another. Deal with it, yo

1. "Lose Yourself"-Eminem.  Two of my very favorite people in the world (hi Rachy and KJ) share a love for Eminem. The three of us have had way too many sing-a-longs to this. And "Mockingbird". And "Love the Way You Lie". But I just like this song's message.

2. "Gangsta's Paradise"-Coolio. The opening beat of this song pumps me up everytime. Probably to do something super hardcore, like bake cookies or go to Target, but still. I love it.

3. "99 Problems"-Jay Z. Before every major exam in midwifery school, I would put on either this song or "Big Pimpin" and rap it in my room before logging onto Remote Proctor (#ClubLime). I adore Jay. I loved him before he and Beyonce became the best power couple ever and I love his lyrics and his work ethic and the way he loves his family. His song for Blue, called "Glory", is an amazing song from a brand new daddy and it's great.

4. "Georgia"-Ludacris. This songs makes me miss my home. And I love it. Don't mess with Texas Georgia.

5. "All Good"-Bone Thugs N' Harmony. My frequent rap collaborator KBoll introduced this song to me years ago. And we still love it. And have some choreographed moves to it. It's g double o d good.

6. "Shoop"- Salt-n-Pepa. Another KBoll collab. This song makes me laugh.

7. "Super Bass"- Nicki Minaj. This song is summer 2011 in a nutshell.

8. "Flawless (Remix)"-Beyonce feat Nicki Minaj. Girl power. I love when Bey raps. Texas forever.

9. "Let's Get Married (Remix)"-Jagged Edge feat Run DMC. I would like to walk down the aisle to this song, but no one else would like it, so I'll settle for it being on my "getting ready for my wedding" playlist no less than 10 times.

10. "Ice, Ice Baby"-Vanilla Ice. Clearly, I saved the best for last. One of my all-time favorite life memories will always be rapping this with my sister at Lonnie's on my 21st birthday.

Play on, players.

s

x+y=z

I like a good formula. When you put together the right pieces, you get an expected result. It works in math, it works in conjugating verbs in Spanish (sometimes...?), it works in physics. I think we would like to believe that while formulas work for all that academic stuff, when it comes to human emotion, there's no way what we feel could be deconstructed into something so simple. I thought that for a really long time.

 I recently read a really convincing article that had the formula for successful relationships all figured out. I think, if I look back, I can apply this to pretty much every relationship I've ever had. And not just romantic ones, friendships too. Are you ready for it? You sure? It's probably going to make you stop and do some serious thinking (if you're like me, at least). Ok. Here it is:

Timing+chemistry=Successful relationship

Seems simple,  right? On the surface, it absolutely is. Say you are in a really good place, ready to start dating. School/work/family/friends/everything in your life is going real decent and you say "Hey! Why not?" You meet someone who, on paper (or through what your friends who set you up say), is supposed to be perfect for you. Nice, funny, good-looking, good job, not a secret murderer, doesn't want to puke everytime you say what you do for a living (midwife problems..), etc. The date is really nice..but you feel absolutely nothing. You're thinking about the leftover pad Thai in your fridge and the literally 145 episodes of "Friends" on your DVR that you could be watching instead of having dinner with this perfectly good person. No chemistry, even if the timing is perfect, does not equal a successful relationship. This part, the no chemistry part, makes perfect sense to me.

You know what part is the literal worst? The timing part. You can have all the chemistry in the world, find someone who you can do absolutely nothing with all day and it's the best day ever, someone who you would give up your free time for so y'all could find and watch that absolutely crucial episode of "It's Always Sunny", but if the timing is off for one (or both) of you...well, there really isn't much you can do. Just as you can't snap your fingers and make chemistry appear out of thin air, you can't snap your fingers and immediately make someone's schedule fit yours. It's going to hurt and you're going to be frustrated beyond belief, but it is what it is. All that "if it's meant to be, it will be" cliche stuff (gross).

You can't change the chemistry part. It's either there or it's not, and that's okay. But time, well, it has a funny way of going forward no matter what happens. You can fight timing as much as you want to, but lately, I've started thinking maybe it's better to just let it gracefully pass. It's going to anyways.

So timing+chemistry. Here are some songs to jam to.

1. "The Way I Loved You"-Taylor Swift. Timing, no chemistry. "He's charming and endearing, and I'm....comfortable". Eeeeeeeek.

2. "Stupid Boy"-Keith Urban. Chemistry, bad timing. Also, amazing guitar solo.

3. "Comfortable"-John Mayer. This song. It has both types. And it compares them and the difference between who your friends say "is gonna be good for you" and who you miss is all too real. "She swears that she's artsy, but you could distinguish Miles from Coltrane"

4. "When I Was Your Man"- Bruno Mars. Ask my roommate Jess how I feel about this song. It's too much.

5.  "One"-Ed Sheeran. My latest obsession is Ed's new album. This song is about waiting to find the right timing. It's really beautiful.  "Everything changes, but you know we'll be strangers if we see this through".

6. "Stitched Up"-Herbie Hancock feat. John Mayer. He finds this perfect girl, but he doesn't really want to settle down yet. And the beat is really fun.

xoxo, me.

Hi.

Hey there.

I read a quote the other day and the very end of it has sort of been replaying in my mind ever since I saw it."I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive".  I like that. The risk of it all. The unabashedness (not a word?) of putting yourself completely out there. Handing over your whole heart for something or someone you believe in may be foolish, but I think it's even more so to hold it back for fear of it being too difficult or scary. I would rather be 98 and look back on all the risks I took and be a little embarrassed or bruised than full of regrets and my least favorite question ever: "What if"?

It's been almost a year and a half since I last blogged. So, you know, stuff has happened. EEEEEEK. I've moved to Texas and am living alone for the first time ever. It's the weirdest combination of feeling completely independent and sort of like a kid at camp. Today, I made chocolate chip cookies and listened to Jay Z's "The Black Album" as loud as my record player would play it and nobody was there to tell me to stop rapping while baking because I was bound to misread 3 and 1/4 cup of flour as just 1/4 cup of flour (a la the pumpkin bread incident of 2010. #NeverForget)

I think there is something to be learned from living alone. I guess it's not for everyone, but having my own bathroom is worth it (No offense Kelli/G5/Lup3/Brooke, Ari, Ris/Jess). And my own kitchen. I love decorating (I get it from my mama and sister) and putting together my own place with my own style makes my heart happy. I think it's important to be comfortable just being on your own...sitting on your own couch, drinking your own wine, watching whatever you want on TV (sup, current "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" marathon). Lately, I've remembered that depending on someone else to make you happy is a really easy way to end up sort of miserable. So, I get to bake, and buy pretty flowers, and explore my new town and I'm so very happy. And for me, happy needs a soundtrack (but not that damn Pharrell song, because if I hear it ONE MORE TIME.....)

Here are some songs I'm jamming to:

"All of Me"-John Legend. Ugh, Chrissy is a lucky girl. This song is the kind of messy, imperfect love that I find completely perfect.

"Talk Dirty"-Jason Derulo feat. 2 Chainz. Such a fun sound. It's cheesy and dumb, but man, is it great to turn up really loud.

"Dani California"-Red Hot Chili Peppers. Reminds me of being 16 and riding to school in a Mustang convertible with one of my favorite people ever.

"I Choose You"- Sara Bareilles. "This is a beautiful start to a lifelong love letter"... makes me smile every time.

"Sing"-Ed Sheeran. Do you think I can realistically convince people we are related? He is the coolest. This song makes me want to dance around.

"Fancy"-Iggy Azalea feat. Charli XCX. I blame Jimmy Fallon for this obsession.

"XO"- John Mayer. https://soundcloud.com/johnmayer/xo Combining two of my favorite things: acoustic guitar and Queen Bey. I love when an artist can make a cover absolutely their own. JM totally does that so well- also see "Free Fallin" and "I'm on Fire" (a Springsteen cover that gives me chills every time I hear it)

Okay. I get to go do what.ever.I.want.to.
xo, s