pay attention

“I traded my dreams for this mess of memories and they just stopped working for me…and no one ever really likes getting older…all I want to do is believe.”

Maybe the reason that I am so drawn to old country songs is that they aren’t songs so much as they are stories, and tragic stories at that. Take for instance Long Black Limousine by Keith Whitley (covered, of course), or Two Story House by Tammy Wynette and George Jones, or B.J The D.J by Stonewall Jackson. Listen and try and put yourself in the position of any person in the song.

And just for good measure, this song (minus the video) is quite incredible. It has an eerie and distraught, yet powerful sound to it.

If you still aren’t sold, try the ever-popular saddest county music song ever sung (so it’s said) – He Stopped Loving Her Today

Why, yes, as a matter of fact Wii fit trainer, I do! Just today I managed to trip over a fellow student’s backpack which caused me to hit my hip pretty hard on the corner of the desk in front of me, also causing me to look like a complete fool. Or how about how I stumbled down the last two steps in my office because I wasn’t paying attention and thought that I was stepping on the solid floor? Or maybe even when I wasn’t paying attention in the elevator this morning and hit the alarm button instead of the “close door” button? Yep, I am flat-out guilty of not paying attention to my surroundings. I’m just saying – it’s better to look around for a few seconds, scope out the area a bit to get familiar with it than it is to just stomp in all badass and clueless. However, I have also had instances in which I’ll be walking down the street and have NO TROUBLE whatsoever, but as SOON as a person comes into view, I manage to trip over an imaginary crack in the sidewalk….

You can bet that I make awesome first-impressions!

Sometimes taking the route that will benefit you in the long run is the right thing to do as opposed to doing what you want to do because it seems like it will make you happy. I hate the whole damn situation, and I’m finally done worrying about it. I know what needs to happen, and I know that it can’t happen. I just have to learn to deal with it and continue with what I’ve started. Hopefully I won’t end up stranded.

Always listen to the people who you admire. They are the ones who are right, or at least have the best advice. Typically they tell you exactly what you do not want to hear, but in reality, that is the only thing that will make anything change.

Do you ever realize that you spent an hour listening to someone talk, but yet cannot repeat a single sentence that was said? Sure, it is much easier to pay attention when the person speaks of something with importance, such as the when, where, and hows of historical events, but in most cases, I am not lucky enough to be surrounded by such knowledgeable people—-EXCEPT for when I am home, and my dad and I are lounging around and I ask him a question about something historic. The thing about my dad is that he is a history fanatic, and even admits to wishing he would have been a history teacher. Tonight we were flipping channels and came across a documentary on the atomic bomb…interesting, right? Some would say, “Psh…flip”, while others would think, “What about the atomic bomb?” Throughout the entire show, my dad would explain exactly what was going on. If I didn’t understand, he would explain it even more in-depth. The information is fascinating and I wish that I could spend hours sitting around asking someone history questions and getting answers, but I can’t. And what did I gain out of this lesson about atomic bombs? Not a lot. It’s amazing that I can enjoy it that much but remember nothing specific.