Drop the pilot, try my ballon

I had a welcoming blast from the past yesterday morning. Since those of us in the Garden State have been lucky enough to enjoy a string of pristine weather over the last few days, I decided that yesterday morning would be the kick off day for my "power walk" exercise routine which I dedicate myself to rather compulsive/obsessively as soon as the weather turns sufficiently warm. I stick with it until the onslaught of cold weather returns again which, thankfully, is still many months down the road. In a nutshell, I have arisen from hibernation and want to drop the winter weight.

Mind you, I did have a gym membership for all of the last year, however, with my unique schedule, it just wasn't a place that I found convenient enough for me to dedicate myself to. Frankly, I also just never "clicked" with that particular gym. On the fistful of times that I did visit it, it just didn't do it for me. For some reason, which I still can't put my finger on, I felt like an intruder while exercising there.

When the very perky, overtly sweet smelling, middle-aged gym manager with the glitter pink eyeshadow asked why I was ending the membership, I had to think quickly to come up with an answer that seemed appropriate. I told her that I was moving back to Delaware. I could tell from the brief and awkward moment of silence which seemed only too accentuated by her plastered-on toothy smile and the blank stare the accompanied it that she didn't believe me. It lasted only a moment, but it seemed as if the entire time her eyes were flashing some coded "please rescue me" signal with each blink of her sparkling pink frosted lids.

But I digress. Yesterday morning, I let my iPod shuffle randomly select tunes from my playlist so as to accompany me on my power walk. I was out on the lovely morning when I had my blast o' de past.


Ah... Joan Armatrading. Before there was Corinne Bailey Rae, Norah Jones, Alicia Keys, and yes, even Tracy Chapman, there was Joan. I had forgotten what a huge fan I was until I heard "Drop The Pilot" loud and clear through my earphones. Ignore the rather cheesy and highly dated video above and just listen to the song. Clean, concise, brilliant.

She still tours and performs brilliantly, mostly in Europe it seems, and I would love to see her perform live. Here she performs the amazing song "Love and Affection" from a concert from last year.


What a treasure.