proud to meet ya

The dialogue in The Grapes of Wrath was a bit hard to get my head around at first, but I suppose I got used to it soon enough. It’s actually really grown on me. I quite like it now. Half worried it’s slipping into my own way of talking, but half don’t mind that it is.

There’s something about the way they speak in TGW that feels more honest and genuine. Unpretentious. You mean to say something so you say it, and you don’t dress it up with fancy words, and you don’t even worry about getting all the words in line with grammar and such. (I still have to spell things correctly, though. Can’t let myself spell words incorrectly when I’m writing.) 

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lessons from Steinbeck

I wonder how many blog posts I start with “I’ve been reading [insert book title]” or something along those lines… There’s no doubt that books give me plenty of food for thought, and writing is how I digest those thoughts. Here is another such post.

This last month or two, I’ve been reading John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. It was lent to me by a friend from work because I’d expressed interest in reading more of Steinbeck’s novels. Previously, I’d only read Of Mice and Men, and that was all the way back in high school. 

today is not terrible

I’d like to think that I’m as realistic and practical and, yes, as cynical as the next person (you probably can’t work in the service industry this long without getting to be like this to some extent), but I’d also like to think that I’m generally quite a positive and optimistic person. Sometimes, in certain cases, I can be relentlessly optimistic. Sometimes I’m optimistic to such an extent that I wonder if this annoys people (usually the people I work with). 

Thursday Doors – miscellany

I know, I know, it’s been a while since my last Thursday Doors post, hasn’t it? I have no idea how that happened. In the meanwhile, I’ve still been looking for doors, still been keeping an eye out for interesting finds, still been browsing other TD posts by regular participants.

It was only last week I thought to check how long it’s been since my last TD post, and realised it’s been several months… 

Rudimental sunshine

I don’t browse YouTube nearly as much as I used to, and I don’t listen to mainstream radio or Spotify or things like that, so I’m particularly slow with discovering new music these days (or I just don’t). A few weeks ago, though, I was on YouTube, and happened to see that Rudimental had a “new” song.

By “new” I mean that it was supposedly released mid-last year, but I hadn’t heard it before, hadn’t listened to it before.

Well, now I’ve listened to it many, many times. The other day, I had it on loop/repeat for … a really long time (?) while I was browsing blogs and reading Pharmacy journals.

And just like any Rudimental song, the acoustic/stripped version is as good as the original:

If you like this one, and aren’t very familiar with Rudimental’s discography, you might want to check out “Go far” and “I will for love” (both featuring Will Heard). “Free” (featuring Emili Sande) is another favourite of mine. When I need something to lift my spirits, or just something to give me a boost of energy, these are my go-to songs.

a burr on one’s mind

I’ve had some important conversations over the last couple of weeks, but this particular question has been on my mind a lot.

It all started when I went for a run one evening, and then went out to eat a burrito. As I finished my dinner, it occurred to me that my house is approximately equidistant between this Mexican place at which I was eating (Guzman y Gomez) and a burger place (McDonald’s), but I always choose burritos over burgers. Whether I’ve had a late finish at work, I need to refuel after a run, I’m too lazy to cook, or just feel like eating out – regardless of the occasion, I have always chosen burritos.