Music Monday: Last Visit to Troubled Waters

No need for explanation. This is beautiful. Go watch Sinners. You won't regret it.

Troubled Waters/Homesick

by OG DAYV, featuring Ryan's Uncle James at the end. 

Hmm, hmm

Hmm, that sacred ground

I was lost, but then I found

In the shadows, an abandoned home

But the soil was drenched in blood

I seek, I sought, I conquered demons

I teach, I fought, I fostered healing, I'm whole

I arrived as one

When I leave, I'll drift towards the sun

When kingdom comes

When kingdom comes

When kingdom comes

When kingdom comes

Mm, I pledged my life to glory

I studied every word

I walked into the valley

With a Bible in my nerve

This weight is not a burden

I'm guided by His name

No light, no glow

Still filled with hope

Mm, no (no), Mississippi water is so troubled

Troubled (troubled, troubled)

Troubled

Said it's troubled

Hmm, I hear the call

I pray to save us all

Betrayal, that's all I've seen

My faith is all I need

I preach, I pray, I'm chosen

I've seen plenty people go

We're not alone, we'll join the stars

My body's strong and able

And I've traveled roads with angels

I've come far, I'll say so long

Then I crossed my heart, protect my soul

'Til my veins run dry and skin turn cold

And now none of my prayers are etched in stone

But don't dance with the Devil, he'll follow you home

And I know

The world is wicked, I never walk alone, I know the Lord can hear me

I know

Forget my sins, I'm only human so I know I'm gonna do it again

Mm-hmm

Mmm, I pledged my life to glory (he pledged his life to glory)

I studied every word (he studied every word)

I walked into the valley (he walked into the valley)

With a Bible in my nerve (with a Bible in his nerve)

This weight is not a burden (this weight is not a burden)

I'm guided by His name (guided by His name)

No light, no glow

Still filled with hope

Mm, no (no), Mississippi water is so troubled

Troubled (troubled, troubled)

Mmm, no (no), Mississippi water is so troubled

Troubled (troubled, troubled)

Said it's troubled

Troubled

So troubled

Hey, Ryan

You gon' talk back to me?

No, yeah, but man, I

How are you doing?

Yeah, I'm, I'm wishing you would be all right there, back there

I know you get kind of homesick, but, uh

Just like Albert King said, "Just hang in there"

Hey, you'll be alright

And we love you

Music Mondays: Sinners...All The Way to Dublin/Rocky Road to Dublin

So recently, my adopted brother Tony convinced me that Sinners was possibly the best horror movie he'd seen in a long time. If you know him, you know what high praise that is...and it's a vampire movie, but no sparkles. This is more Lost Boys fare, if that had been a scary movie.

So, I watched it and...man alive. It was scary, gory (I mean, vampires y'all, there's gonna be some blood), and one of the best things I've seen in awhile. The story was so compelling and the acting so good that I kept wondering who they'd found that looked so much like Michael B. Jordan. HE WAS TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PEOPLE, Y'ALL.

Anyway, to start off my Sinners Musical Selections, here's a scene from the movie plus the songs that, if you know me, you know spoke to my heart. Enjoy...and be warned, this isn't pretty. But soooooo good.

Music Monday: Keep on, Carry on...

Before you ask, no, I have not seen the series finale of Supernatural. Much like I tried to do with Star Trek: Voyager, I am choosing to believe that the boys are still traveling around, spreading salt circles and listening to great music through Baby's speakers. I have a problem with change and endings, okay?

Anyway, this song came on my radar awhile ago, but my writing partner heard it and came up with an entire scene in his head for the WIP we are working on currently...so I am posting it today, for him and all of you that can see movies in your heads (I'm lucky if I can get a limited run series to pop into my mind's eye at one time). You are the writers I want to be when I grow up, so...carry on.

(Lyrics in the video)

Music Monday: The Oscars Edition

I am woefully out of touch as far as movies go these days, and as a result, I didn't know many of the nominees at the Oscars. A few days before, Simon sent me this video. Now I love a good Bollywood dance number, but this is something else. From the film RRR, this is Naatu, Naatu. Makes me tired just watching, but it's a good kind of tired. What a way to start spring break from the DayJob™️! Enjoy!

Music Monday: In Which I Almost Crashed my Car...

 Not really.

I was driving along listening to my latest playlist and I'd added this version of Hoist the Colours because it represents one of the amazing parts of social media - several creators came together who aren't physically together to make this cover. But it was the last line that hit me and screamed WRITE MY STORY that nearly made me drive off the road. 

Y'all, I don't write pirates well, just ask poor Lucian the Black (when you get the sequel to Rift in May). But this needs to be part of a story (and NOT another Pirates of the Caribbean): 

"The bell has been raised from its watery grave/ Do you hear its sepulchral tone?/ A Call to all, pay heed to the squall/ And turn your sail towards home!"

Enjoy. No lyrics below this time because they are on the video. 

Music Monday: Lex and Em...and Alex

First let me say that this song is a total guilty pleasure for me because the movie it was written for is the same...and I know it is bad and problematic and all that and yet, I love it. So there. When I heard this in Stranger Things I was up and dancing around...in my head, at least. 

But for now, this song speaks to me of a woman trapped between real life and game life, and the men who may be a little of both. Now back to my Nano noveling!

"Twist Of Fate"
(from "Two Of A Kind" soundtrack)


Do we deserve a second chance?
How did we fall into this circumstance?
We weren't so straight and narrow
This is much more than we deserve

A higher voice has called the tune
Two hearts that lost the beat will now resume
The gift of life extension
By divine intervention

It's gotta be a strange twist of fate
Telling me that Heaven can wait
Telling me to get it right this time
Life doesn't mean a thing
Without the love you bring
Love is what we've found
The second time around

Don't understand what's going on
Woke up this morning, all the hurt was gone
This is a new beginning
I'm back in the land of the living

It's gotta be a strange twist of fate
Telling me that Heaven can wait
Telling me to get it right this time
Life doesn't mean a thing
Without the love you bring
Love is what we've found
The second time around

Music Monday: An Early Throwback Thursday

So I sat down last night to find something to watch on tv and stumbled across one of my favorite movies from my younger days, The Lost Boys. While there are cultural things that were lost on me as a teenager not growing up on the West Coast, I was mesmerized. To this day I still am, even though I've seen it so many times that I know all the words.

I still say good dog when Nanook knocks the vampire into the bathtub.

So this just makes sense that I would find this movie after discovering an old manuscript in my hard drive and thinking for a few minutes about trying my hand at writing paranormal romance. 

You will all be glad to know that I'm sticking to fade to black for now.

Cry Little Sister (Theme from "The Lost Boys")by Gerard McMahon
Last fire will rise behind those eyesBlack house will rock, blind boys don't lieImmortal fear, that voice so clearThrough broken walls, that scream I hear

Cry, little sister (Thou shall not fall)Come, come to your brother (Thou shall not die)Unchain me, sister (Thou shall not fear)Love is with your brother (Thou shall not kill)
Blue masquerade, strangers look onWhen will they learn this loneliness?Temptation heat beats like a drumDeep in your veins, I will not lie
Little sister (Thou shall not fall)Come, come to your brother (Thou shall not die)Unchain me, sister (Thou shall not fear)Love is with your brother (Thou shall not kill)
My Shangri-La, I can't forgetWhy you were mine, I need you now
Cry, little sister (Thou shall not fall)Come, come to your brother (Thou shall not die)Unchain me, sister (Thou shall not fear)Love is with your brother (Thou shall not kill)
Cry, little sister (Thou shall not fall)Come, come to your brother (Thou shall not die)Unchain me, sister (Thou shall not fear)Love is with your brother (Thou shall not kill)
Cry, little sister (Thou shall not fall)(Thou shall not die)(Thou shall not fear)Love is with your brother (Thou shall not kill)

Anybody outside of Greenville got TIVO?

One of my favorites, The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind, is being made into a television series called Legend of the Seeker. Guess which market it hasn't picked it up? Yep, Greenville. Charlotte has it, Myrtle Beach has it, Columbia has it...but not Greenville. Figures, huh? From what I've seen on the internet and iTunes I'm not sure that I'm going to like it, but I'd like to at least have the chance to see it.

Ah well, how many days till Twilight comes out?

The Truth Needs No Translation...?

I had an interesting experience last night. I had a headache so I skipped my normal Friday night's Everquesting and watched a movie instead. Some time back I had bought "The Interpreter" on DVD because my boss had recommended it to me, but I hadn't even gotten around to taking it out of the shrink wrap until last night.

If you are a doctor or a lawyer or even a mental health professional or a teacher, you can find movies that are written about your profession. It is very rare that I find movies about my profession unless they are mainly about Deaf characters with interpreters as necessary evils, thrown into police stations or at the moment that the Deaf protagonist stands up to his or her hearing oppressors and gives a speech. I found myself identifying with Nicole Kidman's character in her professional role but on a different level than I do with the interpreters in the movies I just described.

I got into my field because I love languages, not because I have Deaf family members or because I have this burning desire to HELP. (Heh, I got into mental health because of the desire to HELP! Just kidding...sorta...) I have always found it fascinating to watch spoken language interpreters work. One of the best interpreting jobs I ever had was to work with a Russian-English interpreter when a former leader of the Soviet Union came to speak at the University of Georgia...I was more interested in meeting his interpreter than him!!

Anyway, back to the movie...One of the things that struck me was her reaction when she overheard the people talking in the GA after hours. I know now that part of the reason she didn't tell anyone right away was her connection to the situation, but that wasn't revealed until much later in the movie. Without that knowledge, I saw someone struggling with the same kind of ethical decision that interpreters are faced with on a regular basis. I think it happens even more with signed language interpreters because there is NO whispering in a signed language...and our consumers trust that we are ethical and competent professionals and that we won't run tell things that we see communicated that were meant to be private.

However, I also applauded her coming forth the following morning to report what she'd heard, even though it was against her own personal and political convictions to do so. I have faced similar situations, obviously not of the same magnitude, but I know it is a very tough call to make and even tougher to follow through on to go against your training and expectations as an interpreter and report something that you "overheard."

All in all I would highly recommend the movie, and that's saying a lot because I don't care for crime dramas and political thrillers normally. But this one hit close to home... I only wish I'd seen it sooner.

Confessions and Phone Conversations

Several of you that read the Lettuce have emailed me to ask what I mean when I mention the "Alabama Job." Being the superstitious sot I am, I was trying not to jinx it like I think I did the job in Decatur last year...not that I wasn't offered the Decatur job but that when I was everything else sorta fell through. Well...I'm trying to convince myself that we make our own luck, so here's the confession. I've applied for an interpreter job with the Alabama Dept. of Mental Health. SCDMH was great to raise my salary last year to keep me here, but they have raised it as far as they can without re-classifying me...and I just feel that I really NEED to get out of South Carolina.

Okay, all that aside, on to the phone conversation, which I'm afraid is a harbinger of things to come as far as my moving goes (if I get the job). Kinda reminds me of where I was this time LAST year...

Nice Lady at Apartment Complex in Montgomery: Good afternoon, X apartments, can I help you?
Me: Yes, I'm Nancy Lassiter and I'm calling about your X apartment that I saw advertised on X.com?
Nice Lady at Apartment Complex in Montgomery: Sure, what can I tell you about it?
Me: Well, it says that you allow pets and that you allow large dogs, and I was wondering if you have a weight, breed, or other...
Nice Lady at Apartment Complex in Montgomery: We have breed restrictions for large dogs, yes ma'am. What kind of dog do you have?
Me: A greyhound, I'm sure that's not on the...
Nice Lady at Apartment Complex in Montgomery: Oh no ma'am, they aren't on the list from our insurance company. Greyhounds are not aggressive dogs like the ones on the list.
Me: Well, no, they aren't. So is there a fee for...
Nice Lady at Apartment Complex in Montgomery: Yes ma'am we allow two pets and the fee is $500/per pet. When would you be looking to move in?
Me: Well, I have more than two greyhounds.
Nice Lady at Apartment Complex in Montgomery: Oh, okay, well thank you for calling. (click)

Why don't they just put that on their website and save all of us a lot of time and trouble? 2 pet limit, $500 fee per pet. Not difficult.

From a posting made by my friend Mary:

this is the kind of person I am...
and have always been. Loving dogs is easy, they are part of me.
Please accept me for who I am.
My dogs appreciate my presence in their lives...

Lordy, I didn't even get to the cats...

I've learned something today...

First of all, I've learned it really makes me mad when Blogger isn't letting me log in to post something...

I am remarkably okay with my divorce. I don't want to live with Scott anymore. I still care for him, and probably always will, but I can say with 100% certainty that I no longer love him. I am certainly not in love with him, and I can almost pinpoint the time when that ceased to be the case.

But there is something I learned today about divorce...you lose a lot more than a spouse you can't get along with, a house that is filthy to the point of making you sick, or a last name that you never really wanted in the first place. You lose a family.

Today I saw two of Scott's brothers and his nephew Zach. Somehow, because I haven't seen them since we decided to get a divorce, it was almost easy for me to just close that chapter of my life. It was simple: I never had brothers, I never had sisters other than my biological sister Susan. I never had nieces or nephews or mothers/fathers-in-law. I'm very good at that kind of closure...cut it off like it was never there and it can't hurt you.

But it can...in very real and painful ways. Jack hugged me and told me he missed me. Chris asked how I was, and it wasn't just a cursory "how are you" that you'd toss out to a stranger you pass in the hallway. And when I hugged each of them...well, after I left the Anderson House and lead my sister and her husband back up to Greenville, I cried about half of the way. Luckily everything in my car was an allergen at that point so it wasn't out of the ordinary that my eyes were red and nose was stuffy by the time we got to my house. I'd been washing dishes when Scott and Chris came by to bring me the lawnmower and barstools, and after they left I cried again.

I lost a huge family in one blink of an eye. In one late night conversation with Scott, I lost three brothers, four sisters, two nephews and three nieces. I lost two mothers-in-law and a father-in-law. Today was the first time I'd seen any of them since Christmas 2004, and I just hadn't thought about how much I missed them...or how much THEY were the reason I stayed with Scott as long as I did. He and I should have split in 2001, but at least for my part I stayed with him because I loved THEM. On the one hand it was good that both Chris and Jack gave me a hug and were still friendly, but I think it just made things hurt all the more.

I have to get out of South Carolina if my heart is ever going to completely heal. That's what I've learned today.

Quote of the Morning

"Working with a baby had it's problems...but then I tried directing chickens."

-Jim Hensen, Inside the Labyrinth