Shuffle

I love music. I've been going through my Google Play music library and came to realize that I have a lot of music. A quick look tells me that I have 689 artists, 1,584 albums, and 14,346 songs.

As you can probably guess, I don't listen to all of it on a regular basis. Like most people, there are maybe 15 artists I listen to on a regular basis so it really isn't surprising that I often find myself overwhelmed by trying to find something new to listen to. The easiest way to solve this dilemma of what to listen to was solved by a friend of mine suggesting to just put my entire library on shuffle. I've come across a few artists that I had forgotten I had, a few that I don't listen to and keep mostly for sentimental reasons, and a few new gems that I've been able to rediscover that I love. I've also come across a few artists that might be a bit embarrassing, but everyone has a few of those in their own library (Don't lie, you know you still have a secret love for Britney, Backstreet Boys, and the like).

Its a bit crazy how much this happens so much in almost every aspect of life. I've noticed the need to "shuffle" almost everything in my life. Even though I have a closet full of clothes, I often feel as if I have absolutely nothing to wear. It's not because I really don't have anything to wear, its more the fact that I find myself gravitating to the same outfits that I've become comfortable with. If I ever get the feeling that I have no clothes, I have to make an effort to pick out outfits that I haven't worn just to change things up.

Then there's the endless fight with the food in my kitchen. Much like every other person with a refrigerator, I often open up a full fridge or cupboard or pantry feeling like there is no food in the house. Austin may have gone grocery shopping just the day (or hour) before, but I still can't see anything I want. I've started to actually keep a recipe book and pick out meals for the week in order to help stop this sense of "I have nothing to eat!!" I've been picking out recipes for the week and trying to not use the same recipe more than once every two weeks. It shouldn't be such a difficult thing to do, but it is. I get used to eating certain things because I know how to make them and I've perfected them. Then I fall into the zone where I don't want the same thing. And there's nothing new to eat.

There's also a problem that I've seen slowly fixing itself. Restaurants. I know which places have food I like, prices I like, drinks I like, and are in an area that's easy for me to get to. With this new job, I've been taken out to lunch at a lot of places I've heard are good but I never actually went on my own. I'm being forced to get out of the little bubble of places I like. And... it's really nice. Instead of the constant thought that I would like to go out but having no idea where, I'm being told where we're going and it's been exposing me to all of these great places in Dallas I knew of, but just never ventured to.

As rambling as this post may seem, I do have a point. Sometimes I find myself having to put my life on shuffle in a manner of speaking. I find myself getting into the same routine and wearing the same things and listening to the same music and going to the same places. By continuing in this manner, I'm not only boring myself, but I'm really limiting what I can and do enjoy. Since there isn't a "shuffle" icon for life, it takes more effort to shake up your routine than it does your music.

But the reward is well worth the effort.