There's No Place Like The Office While Listening to Amy Winehouse

For much of my life, I discover things either before or after a popularity surge.  Take my new interest: The Office.  With the big amounts of blech in my life, I veer toward sophisticated humor for help in bringing laughter into the house.  I realize that The Office has taken a big hit in recent seasons, especially as Michael Scott, aka Steve Carrell, left.  However, I have found this season to be highly entertaining in it's accurate and humorous portrayal of insecurities people, including me, struggle with.  Laughter is my preferred choice of medicine.

The Office is a show that I usually watch twice, the first to bask in the genius of the writers with their craftily placed jokes and amazing character portrayals of the average worker; the second time to laugh.  It is just that amazing.

As a side note, other shows I regularly watch include, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and Modern Family.  Each with just enough truth and exceptional art mashed in between hilarious scripts to entrance and entertain my fragile and emotional mind; otherwise I am forced to watch things like the nightly news that never fails to depress and anger me, more because the outright ignorance and blatant prejudice news shows report--even when they claim to be "liberal." Yeah, I see how much they care about the poor, a cause all true liberals rally around.

Right.  Back to The Office.  More accurately, an artist I have started listening to far after her rise--and death--in fame: Amy Winehouse.  As a lover of music, I am surprised that I didn't listen to Amy before.  The primary reason I avoided her songs is because she was in the spotlight so much that I felt listening to her would have been allowing the news media to win in their incessant and horrifying pestering of popular artists.  I felt sickened by her public alcoholism and other substance abuse, ultimately leading to her downfall, especially with the condemning attitude taken by reporters.  Yes she was sick.  Yes she had a problem.  But why?  Was fame too much for her to handle?  Most likely.  So when she died, I began researching her life as my husband was a big fan of her music and, to mourn her death, began listening to her songs non-stop.  In a short time frame, I was hooked by her voice and clear musical talent.  I also physically connected with the pain in her music and, through my research, clearly saw she needed help.  I suppose it is stories like these that lead me to work in the place I do now, where I can help people who need it.

Now what do The Office and Amy Winehouse have in common?  They are relatively recent media I enjoy.  As I have engrossed myself in the deeper meaning of both these sources--the clear satire in The Office and the musical genius of Amy's unique style--I realize balance has been displaced in my life.  With Ben's busy schedule and me working, it seemed that I needed to take on all these household, financial, and, well, ALL responsibilities, without any discussion with Ben, to the neglect of anything I enjoyed.  I have taken steps over the last two weeks to change this--waking up at 5 to workout and write--but clearly need to take even bigger leaps into a different direction.

Immersing myself in music and hilarious comedies have brought release into a very cluttered and tightly wound life.  And isn't this what life is about?  Constantly changing, adjusting, learning, as you enter a new phase?  I believe it is.  I'm not always quick to realize this; but when I do, I allow flexibility into our home to create a more calming and structured atmosphere.

Cheers to The Office and Amy Winehouse--may she rest in peace.