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annathepiperName 10 things that bring you a moment of joy, and tag 4 friends to do the same.
Does it count if some of these things bring me lots of moments of joy on a daily basis?
1. The entire process of creating a novel, from thinking about my characters, to figuring out how to throw them together, to figuring out the overall structure of a plot, to banging out the words to bring it all to life.
2. The various and sundry ways that my beloved![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
solarbird finds to tickle me silly in the course of any given day.
3. Playing one of my instruments. Especially in a large group of people all grooving on playing their own instruments, for no other purpose than to just make music. I love to feel my guitar or my bouzouki resonating against me as I'm playing. It makes the instrument feel alive. Extra bonus points if I'm playing a song I can sing at the same time, because then I'm making music in every way it's physically possible for me to do so at once.
4. Voices singing rich, multi-layered harmony, and doing it with passion and energy. Harmony by itself generally isn't enough to do it for me--there's a lot of beautiful, harmoniously sung music out there, but in order for it to really reach out and make me a Happy, Happy Anna, the singers really need to be pouring their heart into it. Great Big Sea1 is the biggest and most obvious current example of this for me. But most of my other current favorite bands, such as the Irish Descendants, the Fables, and Carbon Leaf, have this going on too. And it goes clear back to my original musical idol: Elvis. Old ditties where he's being backed up by the Jordannaires and whipping out harmony that can take out my knees at ten paces are the origin of this great joy of mine. And it doesn't have to be men singing either--just askkathrynt about how I damn near keeled over at the sound of Sweet Honey in the Rock going full-throttle at Benaroya Hall.
5. Great Big Sea concerts. Because GBS concerts are all about joy, the joy of a bunch of talented musicians and 3,000 other people on their feet, smiling, bouncing, clapping, and ecstatically roaring out songs together in (as The Doyle often puts it on stage) "one proud voice". I've been to other concerts in the course of my life, but none of them have ever matched the experience I get from being in a GBS crowd. Ever. It's one huge empathic feedback loop and it's the biggest reason2 I keep going back to see these boys play. The band tells people that a GBS show is not something you see, it's something you do. They are right.
6. Any well-played musical instrument is going to bring me joy, but certain ones bring me more joy than others: violin, cello, bouzouki, bodhran, flute, trumpet. The right piece played by someone who knows what they're doing on any one of these instruments can damn near bring me to tears.
7. My cat jumping up on the couch and curling up next to me and falling asleep purring.
8. Falling snow, because I love to watch the world getting blanketed in pure and pristine whiteness. Also, because going out and playing in snow is fun.
9. The physical act of riding my bicycle, even if I'm not as good at it as many. Especially going along the Woodinville trail. There's just something about the remoter stretches of that trail, when it's just you and the bike and the scenery around you, that's incredibly soothing and joyful-making to my soul.
10. Walking down to the corner and turning and seeing Lake Washington gleaming far down the hill, and how it looks different at different times of the day: clear and blue under sunlight, reflecting the lights all around the shoreline at night.
Um. No tagging of others on my part, just because I lose track of who's done these things and who hasn't! Snurch it if you like, folks.
1. Yes, I know already that anyone who reads my journal for more than two seconds running is going to know how much I rave for Great Big Sea. But they're going to get mentioned repeatedly on this list anyway, since talking about things that bring you joy is the whole point of this meme. Live with it, folks. ;)
2. Well okay, that and how Alan Doyle's smile also takes out my knees at ten paces. He's dangerous that way!
Does it count if some of these things bring me lots of moments of joy on a daily basis?
1. The entire process of creating a novel, from thinking about my characters, to figuring out how to throw them together, to figuring out the overall structure of a plot, to banging out the words to bring it all to life.
2. The various and sundry ways that my beloved
solarbird finds to tickle me silly in the course of any given day.3. Playing one of my instruments. Especially in a large group of people all grooving on playing their own instruments, for no other purpose than to just make music. I love to feel my guitar or my bouzouki resonating against me as I'm playing. It makes the instrument feel alive. Extra bonus points if I'm playing a song I can sing at the same time, because then I'm making music in every way it's physically possible for me to do so at once.
4. Voices singing rich, multi-layered harmony, and doing it with passion and energy. Harmony by itself generally isn't enough to do it for me--there's a lot of beautiful, harmoniously sung music out there, but in order for it to really reach out and make me a Happy, Happy Anna, the singers really need to be pouring their heart into it. Great Big Sea1 is the biggest and most obvious current example of this for me. But most of my other current favorite bands, such as the Irish Descendants, the Fables, and Carbon Leaf, have this going on too. And it goes clear back to my original musical idol: Elvis. Old ditties where he's being backed up by the Jordannaires and whipping out harmony that can take out my knees at ten paces are the origin of this great joy of mine. And it doesn't have to be men singing either--just ask
kathrynt about how I damn near keeled over at the sound of Sweet Honey in the Rock going full-throttle at Benaroya Hall. 5. Great Big Sea concerts. Because GBS concerts are all about joy, the joy of a bunch of talented musicians and 3,000 other people on their feet, smiling, bouncing, clapping, and ecstatically roaring out songs together in (as The Doyle often puts it on stage) "one proud voice". I've been to other concerts in the course of my life, but none of them have ever matched the experience I get from being in a GBS crowd. Ever. It's one huge empathic feedback loop and it's the biggest reason2 I keep going back to see these boys play. The band tells people that a GBS show is not something you see, it's something you do. They are right.
6. Any well-played musical instrument is going to bring me joy, but certain ones bring me more joy than others: violin, cello, bouzouki, bodhran, flute, trumpet. The right piece played by someone who knows what they're doing on any one of these instruments can damn near bring me to tears.
7. My cat jumping up on the couch and curling up next to me and falling asleep purring.
8. Falling snow, because I love to watch the world getting blanketed in pure and pristine whiteness. Also, because going out and playing in snow is fun.
9. The physical act of riding my bicycle, even if I'm not as good at it as many. Especially going along the Woodinville trail. There's just something about the remoter stretches of that trail, when it's just you and the bike and the scenery around you, that's incredibly soothing and joyful-making to my soul.
10. Walking down to the corner and turning and seeing Lake Washington gleaming far down the hill, and how it looks different at different times of the day: clear and blue under sunlight, reflecting the lights all around the shoreline at night.
Um. No tagging of others on my part, just because I lose track of who's done these things and who hasn't! Snurch it if you like, folks.
1. Yes, I know already that anyone who reads my journal for more than two seconds running is going to know how much I rave for Great Big Sea. But they're going to get mentioned repeatedly on this list anyway, since talking about things that bring you joy is the whole point of this meme. Live with it, folks. ;)
2. Well okay, that and how Alan Doyle's smile also takes out my knees at ten paces. He's dangerous that way!
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no subject
Date: 2005-10-19 01:36 am (UTC)Ah, you haven't seen a really good one-man band going then. ;-)
HH
no subject
Date: 2005-10-19 03:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-10-19 03:59 am (UTC)(This does not, however, keep me from banging one foot against the floor as I'm trying to play, or from bouncing up and down upon whatever piece of furniture upon which I happen to be sitting. And we will not discuss my ability to play standing up, as, while I can do this with a shoulder strap and a song I know well enough to not have to watch my hands, I have not yet mastered the fine art of jumping up and down while playing, and not looking silly in the process. ;) )
no subject
Date: 2005-10-19 03:55 am (UTC)