The Happiness Habit

I've started a new habit.  A good habit.  Maybe it's something that should have had a place on my New Year's resolutions.  Either way, it is already giving me plenty of joy and fun, and anything that gives one a generous helping of pure and healthy happiness even when one is beginning to notice the stress from assignments creeping up, is definitely worthwhile. 

I've never been terribly fond of the library.  It has horrible operating hours, has hardly anything in its catalogue, and holds take forever to come in.  It started with my impromptu trip during the holidays which saw me the proud hirer or 30-Second Theories, (a book that has empowered me by explaining relativity, quantum mechanics, choas, Shrodinger, Hawkings, Darwin, Einstein, and so much more to me). 

From there I've been randomly going down and selecting a pile of books, and even CDs that catch my eye.  I find that I'm constantly being surprised by what interests me, and even what doesn't anymore.  The CDs especially have been a fun experience.  Completely without prior knowledge or prejudice I select a stack of albums that stand out to me.  I love how it "expands my cultural consciousness".  That's a phrase I've been using a lot to explain my new habit, but really, I'm finding new ways to learn and have fun. 

So far, I've had out:

• Joni Mitchell
• Billy Joel
• Where the Wild Things Are Soundtrack
• Weekend Songs
• Don Giovani
• The Greatest Italian American Singers Of All Times
• Video Hits: The Number Ones
• The Biggest Soundtrack Hits
• Aztecs
• Ron Sexsmith
• Birds of Tokoyo
• Skyhooks
• Hermans Hermits
• Nirvana
• KT Tunstall
• Neon
• Nora Jones
• Bob Dylan
• The Scissor Sisters
• Housework Songs
• Elvis Presley: 50 Australian Top Ten Hits

Some of these names obviously weren't completely blindly chosen.  However, I was surprised that I didn't particularly enjoy either Joni Mitchell or Billy Joel, even though I thought that I would.  With Skyhooks, Nirvana, Birds of Tokyo and Neon, I had no clue what I was in for, so when I didn't find them particularly interesting, there was no let down.  There were no surprises with Nora Jones, a favourite of my family's,  KT Tunstall, or The Scissor Sisters, who are just...  Not quite sure.  They're something, and I like that. 

I did however, find two new favourites out of all this, and listening over and over to these albums has made my afternoons so furiously enjoyable.  They are:

Hermans Hermits and Elvis Presley. 

It's great to find new favourites, especially when they include toe tapping old school rock.  It's proven to me the point of going out of my way to do things differently.