*Dance Break*

Lights up on Washington Heights, up at the break of day
I wake up and I got this little punk I gotta chase away
Pop the grate at the crack of dawn, sing
While I wipe down the awning
Hey y’all, good morning

I've talked and lightly referenced some of what I've been listening to since before Christmas. Sit back and get comfy. Let's really talk about what's going on. 

Sometime before Thanksgiving, I tried listening to the Hamilton soundtrack on Spotify. Yes I was listening to it at work, so I had a lot going on, but I just couldn't get into it. I was disappointed because at this point, almost all of the internet was in love it. Was it me? 

Some time later I tried again. And again. And again. And somewhere in that mess, I got stuck. I found myself singing a cleaned up version of the title song to my 4 month old nephew, loving the beat and suddenly realizing that I have no idea what he will be when he grows up. That realization hit me hard and I had to stop singing and kiss and snuggle him while I still can. 

Anyway. 

I had help. My friend Megan was a great supporter as I delved deeper into the wonders of the soundtrack. We would text lines back and forth, talk about it online, and during really difficult times at work, sing relevant parts of "Burn" and "The Adams Administration" under our breath. (Yeah, you know which lines.)
I told everyone about it at Christmas. Everyone. I'm not sure how it even came up in conversation, but I made sure it did. I'm sure it was a very interesting time for everyone around me. 

Somewhere between then and now, I got my hands on In the Heights, Lin's first Broadway show. I love the musical stylings and how it makes this uncoordinated white girl want to dance. (I'm sorry if anyone has to witness that. I'm not sorry it's happening, just sorry you have to see it.) I have it set to repeat on all the devices and usually play the first track before I start making my coffee first thing in the morning. I sing with Usnavi about making coffee in the heat of the morning as I shiver in my freezing cold apartment. 

And then of course the Grammys happened. And wow. The world was blown away. I can't talk about this without talking about Lin-Manuel Miranda. The man wrote two Broadway shows and the amount of work he put into them just astounds me. In the Heights was something he came up with in college and worked and worked at it. It changed a lot from then until it landed on Broadway (and is now showing in London, 8 years after it premiered in the states) and it was okay. He hardly had finished that and started Hamilton. He worked on that for years, confessed to spending a good part of a year on ONE SONG, but he kept working. My brain hurts at not having a next day solution for things. Can you imagine working on the same thing for a year, playing with words until they fit just the way you need them to? In all of this, he didn't stop living; the man got married, has a baby and continues to write, work, and perform 8 shows a week. 

I've talked a little about this before when I talked about celebrity. I know we see  only what Lin-Manuel allows us to see. He has a lot to him that the world doesn't know about, things only his wife, parents, son and close friends know. (I believe this is a good way to live, by the way.) But the drive that he makes very public is incredibly inspiring to me. And I think if he knew that I use his music and words to encourage my writing and living and life goals, he would say that his music had done it's job. 

What inspires you? What makes you get up in the morning, even the bad ones? 
Turn your music extra loud today and dance it out. And in the dance breaks that your day allows, thank an artist for the work they do that makes your life a little bit brighter.

February: In which I'm already 3 books behind. No me diga, tell me something I don't know!

Somehow, we are almost done with February. Winter months seem to slow to a crawl and then speed up with no warning and suddenly you are almost through the summer. Easter is early this year and that throws me off too. I'm not sure what the reason is, but Goodreads says I'm behind on my reading. 

Sigh.

Raise your hand if you are surprised. 
Yeah, me neither. 

I am SLOGGING through The Shadow Lamp. I'm making better progress but I just can't seem to focus on the story. I can't see what the point is or where all the stories are going. Frodo and Sam needed to get the ring to Mordor. Bilbo and the Dwarves were going to reclaim the mountain and slay the dragon. Elizabeth and her sisters are unmarried with no prospects until the very single Mr Bingley moves to town; Mrs Bennet's sole purpose in life is to see her daughters married and married well. I don't get that sense of purpose with this book. That doesn't mean it isn't well written...I just don't have motivation to finish. 
But ok, here's the thing. 
When I finish this book, I'll only have one book in the series left. Do I finish? Ugh. Trust me. I'll keep you posted. 

My friend Rachel got the audio book (read by my beloved Lin-Manuel Miranda) for Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe recently. So of course I picked up the book. Me and audio books don't always get along so I spring for the hard copy whenever I can. It wasn't what I expected but still good. If you've been around my blog, I think I've talked about Young Adult and young adult books before. This was kinda on the line between the two, but sliding more to the young adult side. 

As per usual, I picked up a book on a whim the last time I was at the library. Like, it isn't enough that I have two books waiting for me...I have to go and pick up one more thing I probably won't get time to finish. Anyway. I saw the movie Sarah's Key years ago and decided that while it was good, the story was too sad and I didn't want to read the book. But ... um, that's exactly what I'm doing. And I'm really glad I picked it up because the movie did an excellent job conveying the emotion the book evokes. 

It would be terrible for me to finish this post without talking about Hamilton, especially after the remarkable win it achieved last Monday at the Grammys! And everyone got to see the performance, right??! Outstanding work. All of it.
And because this is starting to sound like a Lin-Manuel Miranda post, I'm gonna sign off quick before I start raving about In the Heights, his first musical which is currently playing at my house. Oops.