Mosquitoes and Other Things That Start With M

I got the format from Murat, who borrowed it from someone else. So it goes.

Consumed with: Melancholy. (Dramatic, I know.) Perhaps I should say, “Consumed by melancholy.” I’m trying very hard to just cheer up already. I try new things, I work on good habits, I treat myself, I talk to loved ones, I actualize positive processes to facilitate growth and communication…but…Melancholy consumes me in the way that mosquitoes consume people. I’m laid back, sipping my beer on the porch of life when damn it if there isn’t a high-pitched buzzing in my ear. There it is again, that melancholy stinging briefly and ruining the moment, and then leaving itchy little welts to ruin the upcoming moments. I’m trying really hard to get on with it already, but melancholy is just brushed away briefly before coming back to bug me some more.

Hoping for: A lightening bolt of inspiration. No? How about a strong breeze of encouragement?

Listening to: Beck’s “Think I’m In Love” What if it’s wrong? What if it’s wrong to play the game?

Enjoying: My guitar. Among my “trying new things” has been “teach myself guitar.” I like it. I only know how to play a chromatic scale and three chords so far, but I like playing them. Trying to play an insanely simplified three-chord version of “Leaving on a Jet Plane” has been like mosquito repellent (to keep the metaphor going).

Just finished reading: Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. I enjoy Brown’s books for what they are: paperback thrillers. Unnecessary sex and violence while discussing art trivia? Yes please. People who take his books too seriously should go look up the word “fiction.” (Then they should read Dr. No by Ian Fleming.) Like The Da Vinci Code, this book is over the top and cliff-hangery and I enjoyed it like a rerun of “The A-Team.”

Watching: “The Prisoner” Actually, I just finished watching the remake but I’m still thinking about it, which is always the sign of a good show. My Dad introduced me to the original series through reruns on one of his thousands of cable channels. It’s surreal and vaguely creepy stuff, but entertaining for unidentifiable reasons. I suppose because you have to interpret so much of the lunacy without spoon-fed explanations that you get out of the Village what you take in. In my opinion, the remake lived up to its predecessor, thanks mostly to Ian McKellen who was clearly enjoying himself as Number Two. Favorite quote, “That’s unusually deep for a Thursday.”

Wishing for: A winning lottery ticket—even a metaphorical one would do.