Friday, May 17, 2013

Listening to Music Along the Way


I have found that for any trip in the car, whether it’s a mile up the road to the grocery store or 8 hours up the road to Atlanta, it is important to have good music. Music keeps me from getting bored. I know, who can get bored in a car when you are only driving a mile? The answer is this girl! So it is vitally important to me that I have a nice, eclectic variety of music: local radio (which, quite frankly, isn’t what it used to be…I do miss the days of JJ Jackson, Mark Bell and Randy & Spiff!), Satellite Radio and, of course, my own mixture from my MP3 player where I have anything from The Monkees and Mumford & Sons to Les Miz and Cats to Kid Rock and Eminem.

So, now that I have rambled on about my wide and varied musical tastes, you may be wondering what this has to do with my figurative road trip. Well, it’s simple: variety is the spice of life! The hardest part of making such a drastic change in my life is not getting bored with my food or exercise routine. As far as my food goes, it’s true that I do eat a lot of the same meals, but I make sure to fix the chicken/Boca Crumbles/salad/turkey etc. using different spices or cooking methods in order to give it a different flavor. Another thing– and this is a huge deal for me– I am trying different things. I have never been one to wander too far outside of my comfort zone when it comes to food, but I have found that I am open to a wider variety than I once was. I still have some weird food avoidance issues, but those will never go away.

While there are some minor challenges with food, it’s the exercise that often times makes me cringe! Since I don’t do anything too strenuous or difficult (boot camp, anyone?), I have to make sure that I stay interested in my routine. All I do is walk…on a treadmill or outside. I have found that I have to be in the right frame of mind to get on the treadmill. I would rather walk outside, in the sunshine and fresh air, but sometimes, I have to get on that blasted treadmill. When I do, I am thankful for Hulu and Grimm. I have noticed that much like my meals, my walking patterns are very predictable. So far, however, it’s not been an issue for me. I keep my trusty MP3 player handy and fully loaded with music.  While my food tastes are slowly opening up, my musical tastes are also expanding. With my new found love of BBC Radio 1, I have been introduced to new music from across the pond. And since BBC R1 doesn’t have the same affliction as most Pop/Current American stations (playing the same 5 songs OVER and OVER, ad nauseam), I don’t out grow the music quite as quick (side bar: if I NEVER hear Taylor Swift again, it will be too soon! Just sayin’).

So, in order to stay on the road and get to where I’m going, it’s best if I can mix up my on the road entertainment a little. When I get bored, I tend to veer off course, and while it doesn’t bring me to a complete dead end, it does make the trip just a little bit longer. But that’s OK, too. I have the rest of my life to finish my journey.

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