my careless contagion

This song and video have interesting features for a country song. Country music can be faulted for hewing too closely to traditional forms. Break up in a Small Town seeks to shake things up a bit with the way the video is edited and the storytelling that segues into song. Still, it's another lost-love country song.  When I divorced my ex-wife, my divorce took place in a small town (about 2,000) where we both lived. To compound that, my ex is also close to my parents (mostly because we work for them). Her desk is right in front of mine at work. I have to work closely with her on projects. While this is not a problem in my day-to-day life, as I respect her and have a friendship with her, if I imagine a future for myself it is clear I have to move on. And that moving on will entail an actual move, as the song suggests.  No one tells you how mutual friends or mutual acquaintances will treat you after you get a divorce. It's a strange feeling. You almost leave your bod...

Just Another Girl by The Killers. This was released in November 2013, almost exactly 5 years ago. The video is a sort of retrospective, combining elements from past The Killers videos. It's an odd video mostly for that reason. And I don't get the concept of the girl in place of Brandon Flowers, unless they're trying to say she kind of took over his mind and then his body. Playing with gender is pretty trendy right now. I guess it doesn't matter. The song is saying it's impossible to move on when you want only one girl. I can understand the sentiment.  I think a lot of people have a hard time moving on after they set their heart on someone. You wake up every morning with that person as the first thing on your mind, and you go to bed with them still in your head. It's like they live there more than you do.  It's been almost two years since she came back into my life. It was innocent at first, but then I started to overstep. There was something about he...

Living alone again has taught me a few things. It's helped me to remember some things, too, like I'm not bad at taking care of myself, especially when I have enough time. I can make food. I can clean. I can shop for things. Most of my married existence was spent alone anyway, so my skills are not too rusty. Doing laundry is much simpler. It's only a load or two a week.  I can watch whatever I want to watch on TV. I've noticed that I have a hard time watching anything bloody or with a lot of swearing, though. Something in me is bothered by that. I don't know when that started. I enjoy psychological thrillers more than anything else.  Sometimes I sit in my recliner and watch Netflix in my underwear and eat my Haagen Dazs strawberry ice cream (which I think is my new favorite, supplanting pistachio gelato), and it's hard for me to think about the future. I'm simultaneously licking my spoon and licking my wounds.  Let's recount some of my rel...