your words rule.

Today I have felt a nagging sense of need all day long. I've wanted to express myself, but I wasn't sure what to say. I still don't know. Since I seem to be lacking in the words department I thought I would ask you guys to say a few. Evidently Monday was delurking day on the world wide web. Bloggers everywhere asked people to step out and comment on the blogs they read. Today I am asking you to do the same thing. If you've commented before please help get the ball rolling and comment again. If you have just been a lurker step out and say hello. I would love to know who all is here!

And now ladies and gentlemen I give you my commenters.

Music...

I love music. A lot. I think good music combined with good lyrics just can't be beat. Being at the 4th of July celebration on the military base gave me the opportunity to hear some really good songs. And some not so good ones. So I've been doing some thinking. Mostly about old songs and what they remind me of. So here is my list. Songs that bring back memories...

The Devil Went Down to Georgia by The Charlie Daniels Band. My dad had this 8-track, and we listened to it all the time. We also heard a lot of Statler Brothers, Merle Haggard, and Charlie Pride.

Babe by Styx. When I was in junior high choir Adam Levowitz sang this song at a choir concert. He was moving away at the end of the year so it was like an anthem of sorts. It was the first time I remember hearing the song, and I have loved it ever since. I also had a sneaking suspicion that Adam liked Tina Schwettman, but I ended up running into Tina in college and when I asked her about that she denied it.

Working for the Weekend by Loverboy. This song reminds me of my friend Julie Cravey. She had their Get Lucky album, and I felt a combination of intrigue and shock by the cover. Tight red leather pants would never have been allowed in my house.

Mickey by Tony Basil. When I was in junior high there was a radio station in town called 79Q. Later it became 93Q and they played top 40 music. They handed out what they called cheat sheets at the malls. Mickey was one of those. It had the lyrics to the song and other info on it. I thought it was so cool to collect those things!

The Search is Over by Survivor. When I was in 10th grade our school won a contest on 93Q so they sent a DJ to one of our dances. The week before the dance they asked us to call in with song requests for that night. I called in this song and dedicated it to the guy I liked at the time. I went to the dance, and he didn't. Mortifying!

Amy Grant. Pretty much anything by Amy reminds me of my senior year of high school. My best friend, Mentanna, loved Amy and vowed to meet her one day. She worked at a Christian book store after college for awhile and ended up having lunch with Amy.

Don't You Wanna Rap? by Bryan Duncan. One semester in college Mentanna dj'ed for the college radio station on Sunday mornings. We would call her up and request this song every time.

I look back on that random sampling of songs and while they didn't really have lasting influence they still gave me memories. I could list a dozen more that did the same. Now I think so much deeper when it comes to music. I stop what I am doing when certain songs come on. I want to really listen. I play parts of songs over and over to really hear what is being said. I look up lyrics online so that I can be sure to know the words. I can't imagine what I will feel down the road when I hear songs that have meaning to me today. What emotions will they evoke? Will I just smile and make a list to post on my future blog or will I stop what I am doing and feel the words? Get lost in the memories? Since my love of music has just gotten stronger over the years I have a feeling I will not be able to do anything but stop and listen. And remember.

Which songs bring back memories for you? Do you have a current favorite? I would love to know!

always

1. *at all times; on all occasions
*throughout a long period of the past
*for all future time; forever
*repeatedly and annoyingly
2. as a last resort; failing all else


consistently, invariably, regularly, habitually, unfailingly, continuously, perpetually, ceaselessly, incessantly, endlessly, unceasingly, eternally.

(i love words! and i love my built in mac dictionary and thesaurus. they are so handy!)

addendum

I just received this in my comments but thought it's proper place was one of prominence...as a addendum to my post, swirlm.

Mentanna says,

a word from the author...

swirlm is a verb. round and round he went until he began to feel his head swirlm.

swirlm can be an adjective. his swirlmy thoughts could barely make their way out of his head and onto the paper.

swirlm could be an adverb but needs to be chosen with care. The drunkard walked swirlmily toward the metro.

websters is adding this word next year...

(oh...and i, natalie, was talking to someone else this morning and used the word, as a verb, in quite an appropriate place. that someone reads my blog and congratulated me on a word well placed. thank you, mentanna, for giving this word to me!)

swirlm

that's it. someone typed that word by accident when i was chatting with them.

i looked at it. thought about it. and decided that i liked it.

swirl...swim...swirlm...my thoughts exactly.

hmmm...

i heard a word the other day that i really liked. the word...

nautilida

it has something to do with prehistoric mollusks. i love the word, but have a feeling i will have trouble working it into my conversations. maybe i should make up a new meaning for the word.

this is where you come in. i need help coming up with a good definition. what do you think of when you see and read and say aloud the word nautilida?

(heyjoe - i've already thought of naughty matilda...surely you have something else...)

cj's words

you see the world outside your window, and you want to be the bird, the sky, the tree, the grass. not just read about it, and understand it, but really be it. when i see you as the sky, the bird, the tree, and the grass i know why you are there, and i think you get there and get caught up in the experience of experiencing before you know how you got there.

i asked for clarification and was told this...

if we think about the pictures you take, you are there as a witness and you see whatever you see through the lens, but part of you becomes what you are looking at for just a second. and then the other part of you pulls you back, and you know you missed something, but don't know what.

i told her that i didn't always want to miss things. and she said...

you don't when it comes to other people, only when it comes to you.

probably the most beautiful thing and the saddest thing someone has ever said about me. ever.

Words

Today I was busy. There were things that needed to be done. I didn't want to do them. What I wanted to do was write. I was overwhelmed with the desire to write. No...not desire. Need. I needed to write. It was an urgent need. And I couldn't. There wasn't time. Words came to me in my time of urgency...words filled my mind...exhilarating, powerful, rushing, abounding, full, satiated, amazing. All things I felt with no outlet. I know...satiated means satisfied to the fullest extent. My mind was feeling that way, but I was also frustrated. I could do nothing about it. Most of you know I love words. I love to look up words...understand the definition for things. And when I can't quite find the word to say what I am thinking a definition of a word works. I have tried to think of one word to express my thoughts of late. I cannot do so. I cannot come up with one word to say exhilarating, powerful, rushing, abounding, full, satiated, amazing. There is no word. I will keep thinking on it. And when I find it, it will be all-encompassing. And not only will I feel it, I will know it.

more words.

ok...my wonderful husband has had several issues with some words i have chosen to use in my blogs. they aren't even real words. just expressions. sound affects. noise words. and even though they aren't real words he thinks i should be sure to spell them correctly. i don't know.

i say "geesh". he says it should be "sheesh". he pronounces geesh with a soft g like the word geese. that doesn't make sense to me. the word gee isn't pronounced with a soft g. why would geesh have to be pronounced that way. i think geesh is a perfectly acceptable word. i also think sheesh is a perfectly acceptable word. i will use them interchangeably.

other examples that he may or may not have issues with. meh. used for an overall who cares, so what, nothing special whatever attitude. arghhhhh with however many h's i feel is necessary to make my point. harumph. for when i feel like grunting and snorting.

(i just looked up the word geesh using urbandictionary.com and found that it could mean things i DO NOT mean to say. man. maybe brian is right. maybe i should stick to words i know.)

Words

I'm a words person. I love words. Sometime when I feel full of words nothing comes out that makes sense. I can't make complete sentences. So I just write words. That is what this post is. This explanation is mainly for all my new readers. Those that know me have experienced my love of words here and here and here. So here are some words that are floating around my head today.

deep, anguish, craving, abysmal, wide, buried, heart-sick, velvet, seasoning, impulsive, choice, indulge, despairing, yearning, spice, wishful, lugubrious, deep-seated, fathomless, clover, command, unrehearsed, preference, euphoric, dispirited, delectation, contented, clarity

But I'm not depressed. Really. Just full of words.

Shut up, Brian. Shut up.

After the post on words meaning things I thought of this little gem of a conversation that took place between Brian and a brand new local friend.

Friend: Brain, where are you from?
Brian: California
Friend: Really, Brain? I love that song "Californication" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Brian: Oh, um...well that is different. California is a state in America. Fornication is...


Yep. He tried to explain fornication...in English and Turkish making this face and gesture. What he should have said...

Brian: Oh, um...I don't think I've ever heard that song.

The End.

Words mean things.

I make up words to try to convey what I am feeling. I combine words to extend the meaning of what I am trying to say. And I go with words my kids have made up because the new words best describe the feeling or condition. For example...
adorability - the ability to be completely and totally adorable without trying
slaptastic - so fantastic I feel like someone slapped me silly
mooley - kinda like constipated (coined by Will when he was 4 and used ever since)

This doesn't work well in another language. Case in point. Brian. Who should know better after this incident but doesn't.

Brian, being the nice guy that he is, agreed to take a van load of Turks somewhere. Our van seats 13, but he probably had about 20 people crammed in it this day. Everyone is talking and joking and basically enjoying themselves. Brian is telling a story. Trying to be funny. He ends with the punchline. Then in order to make sure everyone knows he's just joking he decides to tell them that. But in the milliseconds of thinking before speaking he decides instead to say "I'm just lying". Which is fine...if he says it the right way. Instead of going with what he knows how to say, "I'm just telling a lie" he opts to go with a word that in his mind should mean, "I'm just lying." He combined the verb "lie" with what would be the proper ending in many cases. And then he said the new word aloud. The van got quiet. He wondered what he said...knowing full well that he had said something wrong somewhere. Our good friend, Derya, who happened to be sitting next to him leaned over and said, "you just said 'I'm licking myself'." Brian laughed. No one else did. When they got to their destination they all quietly filed out of the van. Brian laughed. He told me when he got home. I just shook my head and laughed. He will never learn. Poor, poor Brian.