seven minutes, forty seconds.

It's been one of those nights, no, days really where everything just feels off. No rhythm, no flow, just that constant feeling of edginess like the other shoe is going to drop at any given moment. Over what? I wouldn't have the slightest clue. I don't like this feeling.

After dinner and a hangout session with Bethany in my backyard, I still wasn't feeling any better. Usually I feel much more centered and grounded after just mellowing out and taking some time to breathe but there it stayed, that nagging feeling of discontentment and anxiety. So I did the most logical thing I could in said situation: I cracked open a bottle of wine, grabbed my iPod and headed right back outside.

Now, I have a love/hate relationship with my iPod. I love it more than any person probably should. I'm meticulous about organization and upkeep and playlists (can I get a WHORAH! for OCD? Anyone?) Because, and let me stress this with the upmost importance, music is my life. I need it like most people need air and like a fish needs water and if you've met me, you know this. So, there's the love part. The hate part? Well, I honestly and truly believe that sometimes, my iPod tries to kill me.

NO SERIOUSLY. We all have those songs that trigger something within us. Whether it be a good or bad memory, happy or sad feeling - it just stirs up all these emotions that we didn't know we had or mostly in my case, forgot we had / don't want to remember we had. Anyway, it seems that sometimes my iPod is psychic and senses when I am in certain moods so when I put it on shuffle, it plays the songs accordingly. Well, most of the time it's good but when it's bad...it's just baaaaaad. Couple that with my third glass of Two-Buck Chuck (sidenote: yes, I am cheap. It is also Wine Fest weekend and a roommates birthday so this is just prep for the days to come & this does the trick) and it usually gets ugly pretty quick. So tonight I sat down, shoved the headphones in my ears, took a drink and a breath, said a little prayer and hit play.

Seven minutes and forty seconds.

That's all it took for my mood to dissipate and be replaced by a grin so hard my jaw started to hurt. Seven minutes and forty seconds, and it was all over. I didn't need to continue on my quest to make myself feel better, I didn't need to do anything in fact. My heart and head were put right back in place. It caught me by surprise, I wasn't expecting it but I think those are the times where it's the best. When a song catches you so offguard, it just makes it that much better. Seven minutes and forty seconds.

Needless to say, it was a good iPod night.