Outlook: Changing

Man, an 11-hour day today. Seemed like every time I turned around, there was something else to do. And more things went wrong today than normally do, all of which left me with that productive-yet-slightly-unsatisfied feeling.

And then, I was in the car, reminding myself to chin up. Affirmation via Ani DiFranco circa 1996: "... The bathroom mirror has not budged, and the woman who lives there can tell the truth from the stuff that they say. And she looks me in the eye and says, 'Would you prefer the easy way? No? Well, okay, then don't cry.'" (If you haven't heard the song, read the whole thing.)

Now I'm on the couch, balancing a cat on one knee, a laptop on the other, watching Sex and the City, waiting for Paul to come home. As I told someone at work earlier, mindset changes everything. Take my field, for instance. Journalism can be a fast-paced, always evolving, mentally stimulating job or a very stressful, low-paying, overwhelming hellhole. All depends how you look at it.

And right now, I'm choosing to look at this moment as just what I need -- a chance to center myself. ... Sorry for a post that's more self-serving than usual, but I needed to get that out of my system.

Anyone else have a song or two that can completely change the direction of your day? And I don't just mean the self-affirming ones, because, frankly, tossing on some Metallica's Wherever I May Roam works for me too.