MyPod Birthday Month #31 - Veronica

And so we come to the end of my yearly iPod Shuffle....

Hope you've enjoyed the selection this year

almost as much as I've enjoyed challenging myself 

to post on a daily basis.

It really is hard to come up with a post.

Basing it on a song makes the writing process a lot easier.

For now, I'll go back to writing semi-regularly...

at least until November when the NaBloPoMo starts...!

Or maybe I'll be adventurous this year and try to do

the NaNoWriMo.... hmm...

MyPod Birthday Month #30 - That's What Friends Are For

1985

I started college not really knowing anyone.

I didn't make any friends until around October of that year

while working on a Halloween event for the dorm.

During that time, I became friends with the 

two girls who lived in the dorm room right next door

that surprisingly I hadn't met until that event.

We became the best of friends

and were pretty much inseparable throughout

the rest of my college years.

This was our song,

and we would always hug and put our heads together

while singing out loud

to this song...

MyPod Birthday Month #29 - Run-Around

Loved the video...

Loved the song...

That's all I have to say about that...

MyPod Birthday Month #28 - Margaritaville

I can't think of a time I didn't know this song.

In college, it was the song that got everyone in the audience chanting,

"salt, salt, salt...!"

after that line, "Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt..."

Years later, it was still the penultimate drinking song,

played at every bar from Ensenada to Puerto Vallarta.

Just one of those songs that makes you happy...

and thirsty...!

MyPod Birthday Month #27 - Jessie

"Jessie paint your pictures about how it's going to be,

by now I should know better your dreams are never free..."

- Joshua Kadison

I always loved this song about a person

who comes in and out of your life

at the most inopportune of times...

However, when this song came up in the shuffle,

the first thing I thought about

was a friend named Jessie I had growing up...

I blogged recently about how I had found my journals

and was reading through them on my birthday weekend.

Some time after graduating from 8th grade

and starting to volunteer at our city library

I met Jessie.

She was cool.

She was about a year or two older.

She had a computer we used to play

"Lemonade Stand" on...

She had a job!

A paper route...

I thought she was awesome,

my mom thought she was

"from the wrong side of the tracks"

and pretty much forbade me

to keep hanging around her.

It was hard to make excuses

and avoid spending time with someone

whom you had previously hung out

for hours with,

but I was the obedient daughter

and I didn't hang around her anymore.

It got easier since I went to one high school,

and she went to another one,

but I never forgot her

and always wondered what happened to her...

MyPod Birthday Month #26 - Que Chula Toda

Que Chula Toda

By Los Tigeres del Norte

I grew up with this music...

Weddings...

Parties...

Driving in the car...

When looking for music for the wedding,

I actually found this song and included it in the song list...

My cousin and I had a fun time dancing to this,

Although I have to admit..

I tried to lead a time or two...

Or maybe the whole time...

I do love to dance...

And, this is a dancing song...!

Basically it's a song about love at first sight...

Just perfect for our wedding...

que chula boca para besarla

que chula cara para adorlala

que chulos ojos pa retrayarse

que chula toda pa enamorarse

solo un ratito te vi en la tarde

y ya mi pecho se encuentra que arde

antes que vueles para otro nido

me voy hacer el aparecido

mi corazón,corazón

se está brincando

por que lo vienes ilusionando

se está muriendo

por tu carita y por los besos de to boquina

que chula boca para besarla

que chula cara para adorarla

que chulos ojos pa retratarse

que chula toda pa enamorarse

What beautiful lips to kiss her

What beautiful face to adore her

What beautiful eyes to take pictures

How beautiful everything is to fall in love with

I only saw you for a little bit in the afternoon

And now my chest is burning

Before you fly to another nest

I'm going to become a spirit

My heart, heart

It is jumping

Because you make it excited

It is dying

For your face and for the kisses from your lips (little mouth)

What beautiful lips to kiss her

What beautiful face to adore her

What beautiful eyes to take pictures

How beautiful everything is to fall in love with

MyPod Birthday Month #25 - Who Knew?

I'm finding a lot of flashbacks and melancholy in this year's iPod shuffle.  I seem to be very reflective this year.  For some who've been following my blog, you'll remember that about a year ago tragedy struck and three of four goats that I had been raising were killed by a bear.  The remaining goat returned only to die a short time later.  It was a bit of a sad weekend thinking back to this time last year.  I think this song is perfect.  Because you never know when tragedy may strike....

MyPod Birthday Month #24 - Gloria

I've liked this song from the first time I heard it.
Kinda disco.  Kinda funky.  Kinda sad.

You know... all these years I've always wondered who "Gloria" was....
Released by Laura Branigan in 1982, it was originally an Italian love song.
The tone was changed to depict a girl "living life in the fast lane."
It made me think of several friends I knew in college who couldn't be without a man in their lives.

Regardless, great song, and even better when sung by Debbie Reynolds.

MyPod Birthday Month #23 - Koop Island Blues

I know I've mentioned before that I love watching 

"So You Think You Can Dance"

Not only for the dancing, but 

also because of the new music I hear...

This is one of those pieces.

Enjoy! 

MyPod Birthday Month #22 - You Got It

1988 - Mid way through college...

This was part of the soundtrack of my life then...

MyPod Birthday Month #21 - I'm a Believer

Love, love, love Neil Diamond

And love, love, love his song...

First by the Monkees...

Then by Smash Mouth...

Both of which are on my iPod...

MyPod Birthday Month #20 - And She Was

Total 80's song...

I can still remember the first time I heard this song...

or rather, heard the intro beat...

College

Dorm dance

A good friend of mine was the DJ

It was months of wondering what this song was...

Who sang it...?

Why couldn't I get the beat out of my head...?

Then my DJ friend loaned me his DJ Mix tape,

Yes, I said Mixed Tape

Anyone remember those...?

Anyway, this song was the first song on the tape,

and then I knew

Talking Heads

"And She Was"

And I was

Very Happy...

MyPod Birthday Month #19 - Fast Car

my birthday fling fast car...  just a rental... but oh so sweet..!

This song reminds me of being an RA (resident assistant) in the dorms at SDSU.

That summer of 1988, we played this song endlessly while

getting things ready for the incoming residents.

At first the song seems to be one of hope,

then as the song progresses, you realize that her hope is dying

and she is telling her lover to get out of her life.

I think I really heard that today for the first time

when the song came up in the shuffle.

The lyrics read like a poem,

and I think this is why I like the song so much...

Enjoy!

Fast Car by Tracy Chapman

You got a fast car
I want a ticket to anywhere
Maybe we make a deal
Maybe together we can get somewhere
Anyplace is better
Starting from zero got nothing to lose
Maybe we'll make something
Me, myself I got nothing to prove

You got a fast car
I got a plan to get us out of here
I been working at the convenience store
Managed to save just a little bit of money
Won't have to drive too far
Just 'cross the border and into the city
You and I can both get jobs
And finally see what it means to be living

You see my old man's got a problem
He live with the bottle that's the way it is
He says his body's too old for working
His body's too young to look like his
My mama went off and left him
She wanted more from life than he could give
I said somebody's got to take care of him
So I quit school and that's what I did

You got a fast car
Is it fast enough so we can fly away
We gotta make a decision
Leave tonight or live and die this way

So remember we were driving, driving in your car
Speed so fast I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder
I had a feeling that I belonged
I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone

You got a fast car
We go cruising to entertain ourselves
You still ain't got a job
I work in a market as a checkout girl
I know things will get better
You'll find work and I'll get promoted
We'll move out of the shelter
Buy a bigger house and live in the suburbs

I remember we were driving, driving in your car
Speed so fast I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder
I had a feeling that I belonged
I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone

You got a fast car
I got a job that pays all our bills
You stay out drinking late at the bar
See more of your friends than you do of your kids
I'd always hoped for better
Thought maybe together you and me would find it
I got no plans I ain't going nowhere
So take your fast car and keep on driving

I remember we were driving, driving in your car
Speed so fast I felt like I was drunk
City lights lay out before us
And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder
I had a feeling that I belonged
I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone

You got a fast car
But is it fast enough so you can fly away
You gotta make a decision
Leave tonight or live and die this way

MyPod Birthday Month #18 - Baby Mine

Like I've said before,

I have a very eclectic collection of music on my iPod.

"Dumbo" is one of the first movies I remember seeing growing up.

This version of the song by Bette Midler was in the movie "Beaches"

which I seriously saw over and over.

I like this blend of the two...

grab a hanky...

MyPod Birthday Month #17 - Just Go

I've had some pretty crazy shifts over the last three days,
so I am enjoying tonight's iPod shuffle song...
"Just Go" by Lionel Richie.

I posted the video I made of our trip to Maui from a couple of years ago and this was the song I used because it totally summed up the whole reason for the trip... just a quick getaway... sometimes you have to just go.... and spoil yourself just a little...

MyPod Birthday Month #16 - One Night in Bankok

I don't know what to say about this song

other than I have a lot of music from musicals on my iPod

and this one comes from the musical Chess

composed by some guys from ABBA

I liked the beat...

Enjoy..!

MyPod Birthday Month #15 - Feel This Moment

Somewhere around 7:18 this song starts.

The very first concert I went to was A-Ha in college.  Even though I loved music, I was never crazy in love with a band to actually want to go see them (still aren't).  I was invited to this concert by friends in college and went.  They had one song I was familiar with... "Take on Me"... and the rest of the music was ok.  My friends screamed and yelled.  I looked around and just took it all in.

When this song by Pitbull came out, there was a part that just seemed so familiar, and it drove me crazy trying to figure out what it was.  Now, I consider myself pretty good at playing "Name That Tune," but as I age, I guess my sense of music is fading a bit and I had to break down and look it up.  Yep, it was from A-Ha "Take on Me."

Anyway, enjoy as you see some memories from our cruise this past spring...

MyPod Birthday Month #14 - Head Over Heels

Back on the 4th of the month, I posted about the song "Head Over Heels" by the Go-Go's. Today the other song "Head Over Heels" by Tears for Fears came up on the shuffle.

 

Released 10 June 1985
This song was to become the mantra of the summer as I transitioned from high school to college.  My First Love (FL) and I were in this weird "kinda friends, kinda wanna be something more" stage, while I dated someone else who had been a sort-of rebound because my senior high UL (unrequited love) had broken my heart.  Then I started college and met the guy who would become my first college UL over the next 3 years while the Rebound started dating my best friend from high school when I moved away to college.

In amoungst the journals I posted about a couple of days ago, I found a number of letters.  One of which was by the Rebound "letting me down easy" because he was afraid "I'd gotten too attached" to him.  Don't remember if I snickered then, but I snickered reading it again because at that point I had already started dating someone else off/on.  College UL wouldn't play a major role in my life until later that semester and at the start of the next one.

Regardless, this song reminds me of that time in my life when I still felt passionately about FL, but not so much that other "distractions" couldn't occupy my time.  That first year of college... what a crazy time of learning and changing... none of which had anything to do with academics...!

MyPod Birthday Month #13 - I've Got You

I first heard this song on "So You Think You Can Dance."  I was immediately drawn to its catchy beat and lyrics.  Even though it's a song about a couple that has broken up, I dedicated it to my close cousin who is battling breast cancer.

Leona Lewis - I've Got You

Happy Birthday to Me...! Day 12

 

I have spent the better part of the evening reading through these... My diaries.  The Hello Kitty one I started on my birthday 7/12/1980.  It chronicled the pre-teen drama that surrounds that time when you're transitioning from dependent 8th grader to less dependent high schooler.  It describes the crushes and infatuations that come before finally meeting and having that pure and true first love.

Book 2 is the teddy bear which starts on my birthday 7/12/1983.  Right in the middle between sophomore and junior year.  That first love is meeting with the challenges of increased lust crashing head on with Catholic morality and upbringing.  It did not end well.  The journal then continues on with insignificant infatuations and goal-setting leading up to making decisions about college, and then finally being accepted and choosing careers and schools.

Book 3 picks up somewhere around the end of my college career as I start to make plans for my future.  It's funny to see the different penmanship styles in my first journal and how they changed as I matured.  The voice of the 12 year old me being so different from the voice of my 20 year old self.

I also found some "treasures" hidden in the pages... 

A final birthday note from my grandmother signed the year she died...

Some poetry I wrote...

And love letters I never sent...

It's strange to see my life now and wonder about the person who wrote those words... What would I tell her if I could....?  What different decisions would she make knowing where she would eventually end up...? Sometimes I guess it might be better letting life happen and continuing being a witness to it.  

I read parts of my journal to a friend tonight.  In this way I am her memory too... And a part of all the lives that have been mentioned on those pages... No matter where they are, they have been recorded so as not to be forgotten...   

MyPod Birthday Month #11 - When I Hear Music

Debbie Deb, SDSU, Tijuana

This song brings back so many memories of dancing like there was no tomorrow.  Funny how we could dance all night long and never feel tired, and now it's an effort to stay up past 10 on most days....

I lived the full college experience and this song was the soundtrack for the early part of my college days... And, I can still say that "...when I hear music it makes me dance..."  I've never lost that love of music... Maybe not all night long now, but still just long enough... 

MyPod Birthday Month #10 - One Thing

September 2003 I was a surgical intern. Low man on the totem pole. I was struggling to keep up with my colleagues and the demands of being in training in a major hospital in Chicago. There were so many times when I felt so alone and so frustrated. I would gladly have traded it all for that "one thing" that would have made life easier. I still don't know what that "one thing" would have been, but when you're foundering in a new place and city trying to prove yourself, anything is better than what you're living at the time. In retrospect, though, I know that year helped to make me the doctor I am today, and even now, I don't know that I really would have changed anything... well, except for the chance to be a neurosurgeon... maybe I should have taken that offer...

MyPod Birthday Month #9 - I Drove All Night

Spring/Summer 1996 I was a pre-med, post-baccalaureate student trying to get into medical school. I was working 3 jobs and carrying a full science course load. There was very little time for socializing. I did have one good male friend in my classes. He was a non-traditional student as well. We did manage to sneak in some homemade dinners after studying, and did go out once or twice for drinks. We were never more than friends making our way through some challenging times. Although this song originally came out in 1989, it wasn't until that year that I heard it... and it made me wonder about the possibilities for something more. That never came to pass, but I can never hear this song without thinking on those lean times, and my friend, and the possibilities for romance in the midst of struggling to reach a goal.

MyPod Birthday Month #8 - Always Something There to Remind Me

Summer of 1983. Somewhere between sophomore and junior year in high school. I'd had a boyfriend, then didn't have a boyfriend. I was still learning about life and love. And, yes, there was "always something there to remind me..."

MyPod Birthday Month #7 - Night Train

I like a lot of different kinds of music, and "Night Train" is one of those songs that I just love. It's from the movie "Back to the Future" and I posted part of the scene from the "Enchantment Under the Sea" dance. It's kinda jazzy, kinda seductive, kinda swingy. Fun, fun, fun!

MyPod Birthday Month #6 - La Bamba

"La Bamba" is the quintessential dance song.

Has been for years and years.

It's the one song at my wedding where everybody danced.

And, I still remember my best friend from medical school and I

singing the words to each other as we danced our socks off.

I still remember this moment every time I hear this song...

and, I still sing along no matter where I am...

and, 

sometimes, 

I even dance a little...

MyPod Birthday Month #5 - It's Tricky

What can I say...?  This is a good example of the eclectic taste I have in music.

This song was a staple of the parties I attended during my first 2 years in college.  

Just fun to dance with, fun to sing along with, just fun, fun, fun...

MyPod Birthday Month #4 - Head Over Heels

We're on the road, so I'm trying to get this post in under the wire.

The Go-Go's will probably be remembered most for "We Got the Beat," but I think this is one of my favorite songs by them.  It brings back memories of summers and mad crushes and that simple joie de vive that comes from being young and naive.  Oh, how I sometimes wish for those simpler times... 

MyPod Birthday Month #3 - Taking You Home

 I can still remember watching this episode of E.R. on May 11, 2000.  I was in medical school, and we all knew that George Clooney was going to make an appearance in this episode.  Oh, the chemistry had sizzled, and although we were sad to see Hathaway leave, we knew she was going to a better place.

It's kind of funny that this song came up during the shuffle today, because as I made the 5.5 hour drive to Sacramento a few days ago, this song started playing during the drive.  I was immediately taken back to the E.D. episode and remembering the entire scene.  But, also today, there was a bit of a bittersweet irony that this song came up.

I had a particularly bad trauma come into the E.D. on Saturday.  I had to leave for Sacramento just after my shift, and I had hoped for a reasonably easy day.  It wasn't to be.  Regardless, this patient came in during the later part of the morning, and she was severely injured;  so much so that I made the decision to intubate her (put a breathing tube in and place her on the ventilator.)  I asked her if this was something she would want.  When she answered "yes" I asked if there were any family available and found out that her mother, daughter and granddaughter were in the lobby.

I brought them back to talk to the patient before I ultimately put the tube in and she would be unable to speak.  I knew then it was going to be a long time before she would be coming off the ventilator given her injuries.  They kissed and said their "I love you's" before we had them step out while I intubated the patient.  Her injuries were such that we had to transfer her to the nearest trauma center.

 I found out today in a news report that she died soon after arrival.  While I mentally ran through her injuries in my habitual "what did I miss, or what else could I have done" manner which I always do when I get an update on a patient, I thought back to the one thing I feel I did the best -- I let her have those final moments with her family.  Although I didn't know it at the time, they were able to say those important final good-byes.

MyPod Birthday Month #2 - Danger Zone

When I first heard this song in the summer of 1986,

I didn't think about F-14's, I thought about this fighter jet...

An X-wing fighter from the movie "Star Wars."

I love this fighter.

It reminds me of another fighter that I loved...

Anyone recognize this...?

It's from a TV show released after "Star Wars.....?"

Dirk Benedict...

Anyone...?

"Battlestar Galactica."

Ring any bells..?

Granted it was a short-run, 2 year series,

but again, to this young girl it fueled the imagination

that had already been ignited by "Star Wars."

Either of these ships would definitely

fulfill my "need for speed"

and this song always gets me moving fast...!

MyPod Birthday Month #1 - If You Leave Me Now

It's appropriate that the first song 

on the first day

of the third year

of my Birthday Month iPod Shuffle

was released on my birthday month 1976.

It's the first song I remember hearing on the radio.

Isn't that strange?  I can remember the radio being on,

but this song...

this particular song captured my attention.

It was one of the first 45's I remember asking for.

I turned 9 years old that year.

I was going to be starting the 4th grade that fall.

It was 1976.

Nadia Comaneci

The olympics were that month;

Just the start of a young girls' inspirations and dreams

as I watched her flip her way into the history books.

It was a good summer to be young and

just starting to lay the foundation

for the rest of my life...