Wrong frame of mind

Friday was one of the worst days I've ever had on this job. 2 of the "worst days ever" have come within the last 5 or 6 months, which may not be a ringing endorsement for my occupational sanity. I seem to be working harder these days, but I feel more overwhelmed also. Part of that overwhelming feeling is the feeling of being bullied by my boss. If you met this person, you'd never guess anyone would describe them as "bullying." It's easy to fool people when you're passive-aggressive. In the last 5 years, in the midst of the "figuring out who you are and what you want and need" stage of my life, I've discovered a character trait that I find reprehensible is passive-aggressiveness. I hate it. I spew it out of my mouth, as the case may be.

So Friday afternoon, after being befuddled and flustered beyond reason and control by my boss's bizarre passive-aggressive management techniques, I went to the library to check out some music. On these kinds of days, when I feel intensely trapped by a situation or problem, there isn't much that can console me. It'd probably be easier to outrun a cheetah with the munchies while wearing swimming flippers than to get me to smile on days like this. Needless to say, I was in the wrong frame of mind.

I'd been wanting to hear Writer's Block from Peter Bjorn & John for a while, and was suprised to find it at the library. I didn't hesitate to check it out. As I popped it into my CD player, I was underwhelmed. "Eh, more typical Swedish indie,"I thought to myself. But over the next 12 hours or so, the music began to get into my blood. It was good medicine.

I gauge a music's quality subjectively in as to see how the music would play on the open road in the middle of nowhere surrounded by radio towers, signs for towns I'd never heard of before, and desolation. This one measures up just fine. The first couple of tracks I could take or leave, and the latter tracks cause the album to flame out. But from tracks 3 to about 10, you couldn't ask for much more.