and it stoned me.

I will start by saying the following, which is an undeniable, oft-declared truth: I am not a Justin Timberlake fan.

Never have been. Enjoyed the ‘Nsync days, tolerated Lance Bass, even, but that curly-haired co-lead singer (I refuse to identify Timberlake as the lead singer of that group, not when he shared those duties with the highly talented and frequently ignored JC Chasez; yes, I just italicized that word, and yes, I am getting on all crazy over who sang lead in a defunct 90s boy band) grated on my nerves from the very beginning, for reasons I’m not that inspired to investigate. I didn’t care for him then, and despite a few laughs during his hosting stints on SNL or hanging out with Jimmy Fallon, I don’t care for him now.

That said, I heard a song from his touted (sheesh, already) third album and it kind of turned me upside down with its lyrical and melodic goodness. So upside down that as I listened to it this morning on my Metro ride to work, I cried. I cried, you guys.

Ugh. Don’t tell anyone.

1. It’s because of this crush. I hear music about lurve and turn into mush.
2. It’s because when I hear the combination of interesting lyrics and melody, I am immediately enslaved.
3. It’s because four years ago when I turned 30, I became a cry-y, emotional basketcase. Songs, commercials, litter lying on the street–it doesn’t matter. I cry.
4. It’s because when he sings “you are the love of my life” over and over again, my heart thumps like crazy, and…see #1.
5. It’s because I believe that love should be like this, looking into the eyes of your beloved as if they were mirrors and having the love reflect back to you, and…and…see #1.

Anyway. My Monday confession. My insides hurt from having to post this. As I listen to the song for the third time today…

Lyrics:

Aren’t you somethin’ to admire
Cause your shine is somethin’ like a mirror
And I can’t help but notice
You reflect in this heart of mine
If you ever feel alone and
The glare makes me hard to find
Just know that I’m always
Parallel on the other side

Cause with your hand in my hand and a pocket full of soul
I can tell you there’s no place we couldn’t go
Just put your hand on the glass
I’m here tryin’ to pull you through
You just gotta be strong

I don’t wanna lose you now
I’m lookin’ right at the other half of me
The vacancy that sat in my heart
Is a space that now you hold
Show me how to fight for now
And I’ll tell you, baby, it was easy
Comin’ back into you once I figured it out
You were right here all along

It’s like you’re my mirror
My mirror staring back at me
I couldn’t get any bigger
With anyone else beside me
And now it’s clear as this promise
That we’re making
Two reflections into one
Cause it’s like you’re my mirror
My mirror staring back at me, staring back at me

Aren’t you somethin’, an original
Cause it doesn’t seem really as simple
And I can’t help but stare, cause
I see truth somewhere in your eyes
I can’t ever change without you
You reflect me, I love that about you
And if I could, I
Would look at us all the time

Cause with your hand in my hand and a pocket full of soul
I can tell you there’s no place we couldn’t go
Just put your hand on the glass
I’m here tryin’ to pull you through
You just gotta be strong

I don’t wanna lose you now
I’m lookin’ right at the other half of me
The vacancy that sat in my heart
Is a space that now you hold
Show me how to fight for now
And I’ll tell you, baby, it was easy
Comin’ back into you once I figured it out
You were right here all along

It’s like you’re my mirror
My mirror staring back at me
I couldn’t get any bigger
With anyone else beside me
And now it’s clear as this promise
That we’re making
Two reflections into one
Cause it’s like you’re my mirror
My mirror staring back at me, staring back at me

Yesterday is history
Tomorrow’s a mystery
I can see you lookin’ back at me
Keep your eyes on me
Baby, keep your eyes on me

I don’t wanna lose you now
I’m lookin’ right at the other half of me
The vacancy that sat in my heart
Is a space that now you hold
Show me how to fight for now
And I’ll tell you, baby, it was easy
Comin’ back into you once I figured it out
You were right here all along

It’s like you’re my mirror
My mirror staring back at me
I couldn’t get any bigger
With anyone else beside me
And now it’s clear as this promise
That we’re making
Two reflections into one
Cause it’s like you’re my mirror
My mirror staring back at me, staring back at me

You are, you are the love of my life [x10]

Baby, you’re the inspiration for this precious song
And I just wanna see your face light up since you put me on
So now I say goodbye to the old me, it’s already gone
And I can’t wait wait wait wait wait to get you home
Just to let you know, you are

You are, you are the love of my life [x8]

Girl you’re my reflection, all I see is you
My reflection, in everything I do
You’re my reflection and all I see is you
My reflection, in everything I do

You are, you are the love of my life [x16]

Design Times. And Stuff.

The new design reminds me of my home in Florence, the one waiting for me, you know, when I finally get there. It’s all travel-y and awesome and I love it. Blogger finally added some new templates (I say finally like I’ve been stalking the site and waiting, which is so false, being that I update this thing as frequently as I go to the gym, which is once every leap year, apparently) and I happily took advantage of them. Yay.

Yes, time flies when you’re inundated with work and life and busy schedules and all that, which I currently am. I will no longer apologize for my once-every-leap-year writing, either. I’m taking a new laissez-faire approach to it, but I’ll carve out the time when I can. Take that, conscience and Muse. Also, and quite honestly, I haven’t have many concrete ideas lately. Time to honor my promise and get to one of the many local musems, and fast. Fast!

Summer continues to wind down. I will not complain about the heat. It’s summer. It’s hot. I get it. (Never mind that one day it was 65 degrees and the next day it was 97; never mind that the ozone layer went from calm and cool to angry and not going to take it anymore; never mind that the heat is UNBEARABLE; never mind all of those things, which are inconsequential, really, la la la). Soon, however, waiting patiently over the horizon, will come dear Autumn, which, if we look at Autumn’s past modus operandi, will last about 5 minutes here in Somewheres, VA. Sigh. The story remains the same.

New books: The Sweetness At the Bottom of the Pie, by Alan Bradley. Awesome, awesome, awesome. It’s a series about an 11-year old girl named Flavia de Luce who solves murders. If that isn’t a childhood fantasy coming alive on paper…in fact, I finished the first book and am currently in the middle of the second book in the series, The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag.

New movies: nothing. I haven’t stepped into a movie theater since some time ago; the last one I saw was clearly not memorable, being that I don’t even remember the title. But some new ones look interesting. More on that later.

Onwards…