VICTORIOUS LIVING – Looking Out for Numero Uno: Self-Care
Victoria Walton, M.S. is TRAffIK’s resident Life Coach and will be helping us tackle the issues that hold us back from becoming the “TRAffIK Stoppers” we all can be. Look for her column Victorious Living the first Monday of every month. Victoria Walton may be contacted at victoria@intraffik.com.
One of the most overlooked aspects of achieving success in life involves how we care for ourselves. In our day-to-day strivings to manage work, family and other personal obligations, it is an easy thing to put aside the regular participation in behaviors that in essence say, “this time is about taking care of me.“ However, if we are to be truly successful in life and not only accomplish our goals but also effectively contribute to others, taking care of ourselves should be a priority found in balance with our other tasks of the day.
The term self-care (“S-C”) seems to almost define itself, so let’s first look at what it is not. Notably, S-C is not the neglectful avoidance of your responsibilities in pursuit of a selfish desire. Rather, S-C involves engaging in habits that enhance your life – emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually – by eliciting an increased sense of balance and restoration. These S-C activities are determined by you and though they can involve interacting with others, they are created specific to your needs alone. Sound good? It gets better.
The benefits of S-C are numerous. Some of the plusses include: increased relaxation and ability to manage stress, improved health, more energy, enhanced creativity, added enjoyment of life, better problem-solving ability, increased ability to care for others and decreased chance of burn-out. Clearly the benefits of self-care illuminate it as one of the best gifts you can give yourself as well as those around you.
In order to determine the most beneficial S-C activities, you must have a high level of awareness of your needs as well as a commitment to meeting them. Do you need a girls/guys night out, a foot massage, a day of no “have tos”, a nature walk, a vacation without email, a nap, prayer time? The steps below will assist you in creating your “go to” list of behaviors/activities that will enrich you in body, mind and spirit.
Action Steps:
Action step 1: Examine yourself throughout the next several days. What kinds of activities can you think of that will help refresh you and bring you more in balance on an emotional, mental, physical and/or spiritual level? (more…)
WHAT I’M LISTENING TO: DELTRON 3030′S JULY SOUNDTRACK
DELTRON 3030′S July “WHAT I’M LISTENING TO” SOUNDTRACK to ease you back into the work week after the long holiday weekend!
DELTRON 3030 RECOMMENDED: Wavves- King of the Beach
Last year was a whirlwind year for Nathan Williams, a.k.a Wavves.
He released a homemade LP full of frantic fuzz that was critically praised for its energy and originality, highlighted by the lo-fi ode to suburban loserdom, “No Hope Kids.”
He had an epic meltdown in Barcelona which resulted in his drummer pouring a beer on Nate’s head mid-set and quitting the band all while the Spanish crowd pelted him with bottles.
He got into a war of words with the Black Lips who accurately stated “I’ve heard stories from others that he’s like a real dick. And just like a baby, thought he was really cool.” Of course this quote led to a fight between “The Lips” and Wavves…in of all places Williamsburg. Classic Jets vs Sharks shit right there.
All of this was to be expected. He was a mere 22 years old and given the keys to the hipster kingdom. What did you people expect. Not helping matters was he looked like the raven-haired twin of Joey from the Real World Cancun, a supreme ass clown of epic proportions. Some people just give off a vibe that makes you want to punch them. In Nate’s defense, if people ran around documenting the kind of shenanigans I was getting into at 22 I’m sure I’d be stamped with a similar “dickhole” label.
Exactly one year after the Barcelona incident, Wavves is ready to outgrow that label and release his new album, “King of the Beach.” From the looks of it he seems all grown-up. Musically speaking that is. I’m sure he’s still an unbearable jerk-off, but people will be more willing to let him slide now. (more…)
DELTRON 3030 RECOMMENDED: KELE – THE BOXER
Today, we have the highly anticipated solo album from the lead singer of one of my favorite bands. No, I’m not referring to Ed Kowalczyk’s recently leaked solo LP. I’m talking about Bloc Party’s Kele. I have loved Bloc Party ever since Silent Alarm and the equally awesome Silent Alarm Remixed LP. Sure, I felt like a sucker paying for an album of remixes but it was 2005. Those were simpler times. Plus those albums rocked so hard. “Helicopter” and “Banquet” were “rock out with your cocks” out mix cd staples.
Since those albums, Bloc Party has hung their hat on the recurring themes of failed relationships and breakups…mostly because their lead singer, Kele, suffered from an agonizing breakup from his long time boyfriend. Yep, he likes men. Whenever I tell anyone this they seem shocked. ..even though the album “A Weekend In the City” is full of man on man love clues.
“Rock out with your cocks out” indeed.
As the band has gone on, they’ve left their original sound of a straight (musically speaking) guitar rock and leaned towards a more electronica sound. Take a look at their first single “Mercury” from 2008’s “Intimacy”. Poor guitarist Russel Lissack wasn’t given much room to shred at all. After watching this, it seemed inevitable that the band was going to take a break. Sure enough a week later they officially called for a hiatus. Since then the only Bloc Party output has been the “Intimacy” remix CD, which failed to capture the magic of the “Silent Alarm” remix LP, and a single, “One More Chance” that was left off “Intimacy” but definitely shouldn’t have been. Besides being a pretty solid track, “One More Chance” offered up a clue to where Kele’s head was. Dance halls. It was definitely a different direction for the band.
I found myself torn with the announcement of Kele’s solo album after this. Could I handle a disc full of Bloc-ish tracks that weren’t actually Bloc Party but a bastardized dance version? Furthermore, what if it got big? Would that spell the end of any thoughts of ending the “hiatus”? Perhaps I shouldn’t tell you guys about this album. By pushing this album on you I’m a walking talking self-fulfilling prophecy!
As much as I hate to aid Kele in distancing himself from Bloc Party for fear of them never returning from their Kele imposed hiatus I can’t help but champion this album. My fears of losing Bloc Party were quelled by the fact that the heart and soul of Bloc Party is still very much alive on this album. One track makes me feel this way. One track brings me back to those days of “This Modern Love.” That track is “Everything You Wanted.” It feels like classic Bloc. Mind you this is “This Modern Love” sung by a guy who is still mourning a huge personal break-up and now it is compounded by the breakup of his band…oh and it is devoid of buzzing guitars. Um…so maybe it’s not Bloc Party…but it’s close. You just have to trade in the occasional guitars (Unholy Thoughts) for handclaps and synths.
What you should really take from this is that the band was going on hiatus no matter what…so to get a quasi-Bloc Party sounding LP is a blessing. It is found money. Remember The Strokes’ hiatus gave birth to f o u r great LPS and TV on The Radio’s hiatus gave birth to one (soon to be two) great LPs.
I guess if I’ve learned anything it’s to embrace breakups. Lets try and go Bloc free for a little longer.
Highlights: Everything You Wanted, Unholy Thoughts, The Other Side, The New Rules, Rise
Go see Kele August 10th @ The Troubadour (tickets) …where he is sure to play some Bloc tracks.
Bonus: Download the remix of “One More Chance” here
DELTRON 3030 RECOMMENDED: QUADRUPLE THREAT, HAIKU STYLE
This is a big summer for album releases. Besides the onslaught of awesome indie albums that have come out or are coming out we have some good hip-hop releases to spend our summer with. I’d ask my two rap experts to give us their take on a few of these hot hip hop albums but it would seem like a waste of time. If you don’t know what to expect from MIA, The Roots, Big Boi, and Eminem then you should probably go ahead and pass on these albums and go spend your hard earned money elsewhere. Might I suggest Magic Mountain?
I shan’t pretend to be a rap expert here. You’d see right through that…and it would be a rambling mess. Instead I’ll go ahead and provide my quick take of each big album, haiku style:
MIA - “Maya”
“Gal is so earnest
smoking the pineapple express
look in the mirror”
Highlights:”Born Free,” “Teqkilla,” “Lovalot,” “Tell Me Why”
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The Roots – “How I Got Over”
“Fallon laughs a lot,
the Roots are hardly a joke
The fire burns so bright “
Highlights: “Dear God 2.0,” “The Fire,” “Right On”
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Big Boi – “Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty”
“Outkast is over
No Dre makes for a weird world
Stank is forever!”
Highlights: “Follow Us,” “Shutterbug,” Be Still,” “Turn Me On”
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Eminem – “Recovery”
“Recovered? Hardly
Please stop guessing who is back
Mathers don’t matter”
Highlights: “Not Afraid,” “No Love,” “Cinderella Man”
SIRIA: WHAT I LISTENED TO IN JUNE
Alright, this month I listened to an overwhelming amount of music. I was less discriminating than ever. My motto seemed to be if it’s music, throw it at me. Alternative, Country, Dance/Electro, Grunge, New Wave, Power Pop, Punk, Rap/Hip Hop, Soul, etc. Genre? Didn’t matter. Obscure or well known? Didn’t matter. If it was music I wanted to hear it. I didn’t end up in a fetal position with the sweats and shakes, but I might’ve overloaded on it just a bit as by the end of the month all I wanted to hear was Alex Chilton. Unfortunately, I can’t list everything I listened to so you’re getting a list of songs that got stuck in my head. However, soon enough you’ll all know the reason why I subjected myself to the music of hundreds and hundreds of music artists this month.
Marvelous Toy – “The City is a Washing Machine”
I love this song by local artist Marvelous Toy (yet another music discovery from a few years back, who I can thank Jon Hershfield for. You can check Marvelous Toy out on IsGoodMusic.com). The lyrics make me think of so many of my musician/artist friends, some of which my old roommate and I used to poke fun of mainly because of the reasons expressed by these lyrics in particular
“I know how my life began and I know how it will end I will be searching for a word that rhymes with dying as I lay dying”
“I’m always writing songs sometimes you think I’m listening, but I haven’t heard a word you’ve said. I’m silently building chords and melodies.”
Cloud Control – “Ghost Story”
The Shakers – “Villain”
I’m so proud of local band The Shakers and how far they’ve come as a band when it comes to their live performances in such a short time. This is their first music video which they recently debuted: