it reminds me of....

I love when something seemingly innocuous brings me back to another time or place or event. Don't you? Like I was washing my face with J&J Clean and Clear, and for some reason, it smells a lot like Noxema, and that fresh creamy scent brought me right back to theater camp in middle school, and washing my face with it to remove stage makeup after a show; when the biggest things on our minds was getting a speaking part and nailing our dance routines. My very favorite shirt in the entire world is a Ralph Lauren Polo Sport navy blue and pink striped rugby shirt. I got it in 2002, when I lived in Ft Lauderdale, from the Sawgrass Outlets. I remember the first time I wore it was at a library orientation for the psych doctoral students....and my friends and I snuck out, like we were prisoners breaking free from the library, and went to a bar for afternoon beers. The stripes on the shirt are sewn together, not merely printed on, and it's still a favorite of mine, 8 years later. The Indigo Girls song "Devotion" reminds me of early summer in Manhattan, right before I left, walking along the streets of the Upper West Side with my brand-new iPod (this was when they first came out), listening to it. And of course, "Allentown" and "Glory Days" brings me back to undergrad, drinking clandestine beers in our dorm rooms, dancing and screaming the lyrics, and laughing like there was no tomorrow. Right before I left NJ to come down to NC, I kept listening to Kate Voegle's "It's Only Life"; I can remember leaving Jonel's house after saying goodbye to the boys and crying. When I hear "One More Dollar" by Gillian Welch, it reminds me of listening to music on the green last summer with Lauren. When I hear "Jerusalem of Gold" or the Israel national anthem "Hatikvah", it brings me right back to Tel Aviv, where I heard Hatikvah and stood at attention before the Israeli flag, or the Old City and eating falafel. And whenever I hear "Carolina in my Mind" by James Taylor, it always makes me so incredibly, ridiculously happy that I live in Chapel Hill. Music, for me, is especially sensory. It can lift my mood, comfort me, inspire me and push me another mile on the treadmill. Here are some of my faves...this idea was taken from the blog Jewish Girl in Wasp's Clothing. :)

Songs that make me:

want to knock back a beer, put on a "going-out shirt" and dance all night: "You Shook Me All Night Long", byAC/DC...."Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi...."Glory Days" by Bruce Springsteen...."Money Ain't a Thang" by Jay-Z..."Not a Player" by Big Punisher...."Start Me Up" by the Rolling Stones... "Alcohol" by BNL...."Gold Digger" by Kanye West.

ignore the burning in my legs and the fatigue and run another mile: "Ali in the Jungle" by The Hours...."Everytime We Touch" and "Evacuate the Dancefloor" by Cascada..."Eye of the Tiger"..."Lose Yourself" by Eminem...."Tik Tok" by Ke$ha..."Miami" by Will Smith.

want to throw an 80s party: "Take On Me" by A-ha..."Billie Jean" and "Smooth Criminal" by Michael Jackson..."Gloria" by Laura Branigan....any song by the Beastie Boys...."Pour Some Sugar on Me" by Def Leppard....."Like a Virgin" by Madonna...."Here I Go Again" by Whitesnake..."Love is a Battlefield" and "Hit Me with your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar.

want to get married, right now: "Father and Daughter" by James Taylor (for dad-daughter dance)...."At Last" by Etta James..."Moondance" by Van Morrison...."If I Should Fall Behind" by Bruce Springsteen..."Because You Loved Me" by Celine Dion...."When You Say Nothing At All" by Allison Krauss.

roll down my Jeep windows and bang on the steering wheel while singing along: "waiting, watching, wishing" by Antigone Rising..."Right Kind of Wrong" by LeeAnn Rimes..."Express Yourself" by Madonna...any Paramore song..."Hollywood" by Gossip Grows on Trees..."Hold On, Hold On" by Neko Case...."Posession" by Sarah McLachlan...."Flake" by Jack Johnson.

feel better after a bad day: "Break Your Knees" by Flyleaf..."Heal Over" by KT Tunstall....versions of "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley, kd lang, and Kate Voegele...."Remember" by Katie Reider...."Crawl (Carry Me Through)" by Superchick...."Warm Whispers" by Missy Higgins...."You Found Me" by The Fray...."Maybe Tonight, Maybe Tomorrow" by Wide Awake.