Friday at the Phest

The Philadelphia Folk Fest is in year 53 but it's my first official visit to the event. I'm spending four days and four nights here enjoying the music and experiencing the fellowship at the campgrounds. I'm at the half way point. Thursday is a warm up night with camps being set up, old friends reuniting and new friends being made. The night comes with a concert of four performers. Friday feels like the beginning of the full festival experience. We began with an entrance through a crafters , organic, home made paradise. It took all my willpower not to start burning through cash on dresses and hats, maybe my very first instrument but I persevered and made it to the stages. Music is every where you look. I felt a bit overwhelmed but the mood surrounding this event is a feeling of ease and friendship. The mood here is devoutly focused on the community. There is a family feeling here. The crowd is multi--generational. There are third and fourth generation "festers". People greet each other with hugs and the saying "Happy Fest!" like we all just arrived at our universal grandmother's house for Thanksgiving.

Wednesday in the Middle- One Year Later

The last time I wrote a blog post was a Tuesday in August. Well it's a Wednesday in August. Just one year later.  I am sorry for abandoning this project in the whirlwind of life change that happened in the last 365 or so. Who hasn't looked back at a period of time and only after everything has gone down have you thought to yourself  "Damn, I should have stuck with that, why did I stop? Why didn't I at least document the events for my own memories?"  We can be busy experiencing things in the moment. Pursuing a new career. Falling in love. Moving to a new city. Life is full of these distractions.
Which brings me to Wednesday. You know what I always need on Wednesday? Distractions. Distractions have a bad reputation. It's unfair. I'm  going to set the record straight. Distractions create inspiration. Distractions are the life events that help us color outside the lines.
Whatever your plan is it's probably beautiful but what if you want it to be more than beautiful? What if you want it to be breathtaking? Unique? Innovative? Well then you need something to inspire you. Inspiration may not come from more time at your desk or at the library or in a fortress of solitude. Inspiration may come from distractions that come your way. The last year I was distracted by so many life changes. Those life changing distractions have become the inspiration for the rest of my blog. The Tao of Gia still remains I'm growing and learning more than ever. The coming days will feature posts about learning new recipes, learning how to speak Spanish, learning how to engage in activism and social justice. I may learn even more as this blog continues and I'm happy to share my experiences on my never ending quest for knowledge with the internet also known as The World.
And what about Wednesdays posts? . Wednesday on The Gia Spot will be the drawer in your house where everything that you can't find resides. Wednesday is for thoughts, meditations, musings,articles, jokes. Wednesday is for distraction. Wednesday is the middle of the journey. Wednesday is the Kansas of my cross country road trip. Anything can happen on a Wednesday.

The Solution to Tuesday

Tuesday. Tuesday and I have always had the most hurtful relationship. Utter ambivalence.  All the other days of the week have a feeling, an identity, but not Tuesday.  Maybe that's why they say something about Tuesday's child. I don't know. I have no idea what they say about Tuesday's child except something is said about him.  Tuesday is just here. It's not the start, not the defined middle or the actual middle, it's not the end. There is no big game that happens on a Tuesday. No holidays except by chance of the calendar year, and even then sometimes it gets taken by Monday.
Ambivalence, dismissal, forgotten, feeling ignored, mediocre. The quiet kid in the room that no one notices. It's probably no surprise that I have always found my darkest moments seem to arrive on Tuesday afternoons. These are the quiet feelings that can find our way into the corners of our mind. Festering. Dragging us down. If we're not comfortable Tuesday is the perfect day to put our head under the covers and not come up.

I've spent a long time trying to find solutions to Tuesday. I have found only one solution to Tuesday that is consistently effective: Art.
Yes, there are all sorts of financial reasons that movies and music are released on Tuesdays. Still, I theorize that the energetic reason is because Tuesday is the day we all need a lift. Movies and music can transcend the moment.
Who hasn't had a cathartic cry to Adele's Someone Like You? Honestly, sometimes I get annoyed when that song is played while I'm out shopping somewhere because I think " Really? I do not want to think about last year's break up right now! Make it stop!"
The movie and character of Iron Man makes me feel that even my wine swilling, sarcastic, emotionally damaged self could be a super hero given the right frame of mind and support. (Of course, billions of dollars would help, too. But isn't it great that even with all that money Tony Stark still needs love and support to be truly great? )
So on Tuesday get a DVD, stream one on Netflix, go to your local music store (yes, they still exist and you should support them)  or find something on Hulu or Hulu plus really and check it out. I promise you it will make your Tuesday better.

My choice for new releases for Tuesday, August, 27, 2013

The Great Gatsby
I like Baz Luhrman.  He makes beautiful pictures, full of light and color and music. This film has an epic soundtrack featuring Florence and the Machine, Beyonce, Andre 3000, and others. Baz understands how to use music to illustrate an emotion. Is this a movie that is perfectly loyal to the great novel? Nah. If you want the novel. Read the novel. Again, if you have already done so. If you want a great conceptualization of Luhrman's vision of the time and feel of Gatsby's world reminiscent of the over the top 1% gilded age we find ourselves in you will enjoy this movie.  Personally, I find the reminder that all of the simple things we add to our lives have the most value an important message.  Especially on Tuesday.

Monday Motivation
 There was a time when I would wake up on Monday morning with an overwhelming sense of dread. My body ached, it felt like my alarm clock was mocking me, like at I was getting ready to suit up for another day in the fields and all that was missing was a rooster crowing and an evil villain with a whip to literally drag me out of bed. I would drag myself to the shower, brush my teeth, hoping to get my caffeine hit without speaking to another soul. Head down, hopefully there would be little eye contact until at least 10 a.m.

Then one morning I had an epiphany.
My morning routine and commute was not a re-enactment of Django Unchained.

What if I just started my day with something uplifting and joyous instead? It didn't need to be a deeply profound moment or reading. I quite simply don't have the discipline or the time to find something so insightful when I am bleary eyed and bed headed. Nope, what I needed was a song. Songs to be more precise, because every day is a new one.
I have tried to pick songs that connect to my life at the moment somehow. Today, after seeing what can only be called an artistic train wreck on the MTV Video Music Awards the night before in which Miley Cyrus decided to destroy a fun, sexy dance known as "twerking". I thought about how much I loved to dance, and that in a few short weeks I would be starting a new job in my hometown. Miley and the industrial media complex were not going to steal the joy of shaking what my mama gave me for another second! No, this morning, I  began with something that reminded me of my childhood and my love for song and dance.
 It was time for a Soul Train line.
 Today, I challenge you to groove down the hall towards your toothbrush with reckless abandon. It's 6 a.m. dance like no one is watching...because, really, no one is watching.  And really, if they are, they can join you in the line. People all over the world be grateful for the Monday you woke up to enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ligIq6o0rUU

Relentless. That is the word my dear friend  used to describe the way that I live my life. Now, when I hear that word, I usually think of world leaders or weather events but I cannot help but admit that her use of the word was completely valid.
She said to me "You are ALL ABOUT relentless self-improvement, growth, discovery, and change. It is the Tao of Gia"
This blog is called the Gia Spot, because I'm looking for experiences in life I can access that repeatedly bring me pleasure and joy. So I thought I might share some of the books, activities, events, projects, and other adventures I continue to explore on this journey of mine because if the internet proves anything, it's that you aren't the only one.
So perhaps you are a similarly minded person, It is my hope that these book and movie reviews, activity descriptions, tips on staying positive, and funny stories of my adventures will help you along the way on your own journey.