Two Banging New TV Series, A Change is as Good as a Rest, The War on Drugs, Anthem Rock.

 Hello people of the bloggy sphere. How are you?  I hope you are getting along okay, that you are safe and healthy and thriving, or if not thriving, surviving.  

For many individuals, the last two years have brought about sea changes. With that, I am no exception. For 25 years, I was a dedicated public servant, working in health care, first at  Royal Jubilee Hospital, then at one one of Victoria's newest Urgent and Primary Care Centers.  At the clinic I was routinely inspired by my caring and dedicated coworkers, but a volatile and increasingly angry public, made the environment  untenable. I needed to stop working in customer service if I had any hope of maintaining a modicum of sanity. It had simply been too long. 

Thanks to a tinge of spousal nepotism and a niche that needed filling at just the right time I retired from health care and moved into the private sector. I will be taking over admin/bookkeeping tasks at my husband's modest security company. My new workplace is bright and cheerful. Quiet, analytical work in Quickbooks suits my introspective and introverted nature.  Change is terrifying, particularly as one ages (I am 55) but it can also be good. It can be just what the doctor ordered. So please, if you are in flux and you are frightened, know that it CAN GET BETTER. It certainly did in my case.

Without further ado, here is a list of a couple of things that lifted my spirits this week.

The title song on the War on Drugs fifth album "I Don't Live Here Anymore" includes the opening lines "I was lying in my bed, a creature void of form, been so afraid of everything, I need a chance to be reborn". Listening, I thought to myself, who DOESN'T feel that way, particularly right now, during these times? This tune, with its sparkly drums, tantalizing hooks, and, Future Islands/Springsteen style anthemic backing vocals, transports me to the days of outdoor concerts and wide skied summers. 

Amid daydreaming verses, vocalist Adam Granduciel wonders, “Is life just dying in slow motion or getting stronger everyday?”  I think I know the answer! Thanks guys. 



If you share my fondness for litigation dramas (what can I say? I am the granddaughter of a judge and the niece of an immigration lawyer. It is in the GENES), you might want to check out Dopesick on Disney. The eight part drama examines how Purdue Pharma not only instigated, but perpetuated, what came to be worst addiction crisis America has seen. Standout performances from Michael Keaton and Kaitlyn Dever lend gravitas to this compulsively watchable series.




Piquing my interest is a new dramedy, Somebody Somewhere (HBO). This one is dropping episodes one at a time so I cannot speak for the quality of the series in its entirety. The pilot episode, was astonishingly, rhapsodically good. Bridget Everett is a triple threat, comedian, musician, and actor. She worked in restaurants until 2015. I hope we will be seeing more of Bridget. I have a sneaking suspicion her bartending days are over.

In mid-life and beyond, it is not too late to embrace the things we yearn for. It may be premature to say it, but I think this may be the impetus behind the series. Either way, I am here for it:


Here is an additional profile from NYT, if you wish to learn more about Bridget.


Ok everyone, that is all  for this week. If you  are grappling with change, I hope it won't be too stressful. Things might even turn out better than before. If you are going through a rough time, I hope it passes soon. 

Until next time, take care! xx  

P.S. Mentioning The War on Drugs AND Dopesick in the same post is coincidental and not at all an attempt at being clever. Ok, perhaps I lied, maybe it is, maybe just a teensy bit.  


 





Comments

  1. Steve Bailey (NEOS)23 January 2022 at 12:13

    I am so thrilled to have Nadine working with me . I swear it took over a year of coaxing to get her on board. As much her work in the public health sector exposed her to some very difficult members of the public it was her treatment by management that stunned me the most. Nobody there seems to have taken notes that treating your employees like worthless peons went out of style along with shoulder pads and big hair. It saddens me that our health care system will slowly crumbling at least due to old fashioned, arrogant ideas as perhaps more than because of a lack o funding. C'mon! You broke the unions 20 years ago, maybe it's time to start treating your employees like that dedicated, intelligent people they are.

    Speaking of old-fashioned thinking (in a good way) The War on Drugs takes me right back to 1985, a period I'm all to comfortable with.

    Dopesick was incredible and we pretty much binged watched it over the past week. Not sure if it's a coincidence that I also had the worst week for sleep I've had in ages. Beautifully made but intensely sad and shocking. I've always felt that America cares infinitely more about profits than it's people and this slice of history really illustrates the point. Somebody Somewhere looks really promising. I could watch Jeff Hiller who plays her sidekick Joel all day long. So joyous and brilliant.

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