My growing CD collection

I’ve been thinking about stuff lately.*

*(Brilliant start to a blog post, well done, Rhi.)

And by stuff, I mean more specifically CDs. I have a slowly growing CD collection after abandoning Spotify a while back because of the same reason I keep leaving all these different tech bro services – a long, resounding ugh.

Back to the CDs. I am currently sitting next to a pile of them. I’m looking right now at a CD called Songs from Dawson’s Creek. Yes, it’s a collection of songs from that famous(?) teen romance TV show, which was popular (?) in the 90s. I have a few question marks there, because I personally did not watch this TV show. The CD is very much an artefact of my wife Julie’s childhood. She was a fan. It’s important to her.

Side note: we did watch the first few seasons together over lockdown and I found myself getting unreasonably annoyed at the fact that Dawson’s surname was not ‘Creek’. Also I think Dawson and Jen were actually a great couple (unpopular opinion? I don’t know enough about Dawson’s Creek opinions).

And I think that is what I want to say, really. This CD box is something that I can hold in my hands. I can look at the pictures from the television show tucked neatly into the inside sleeve*. This object is full of memories and joy. One of the songs on the CD was the first dance at our wedding (Feels like Home by Chantal Kreviazuk, if you’re wondering. I get chills every time I listen to it).

*Oooh look at the two main characters, Dawson and Joey leaning towards each other on a swing set. Are they going to kiss? We shall never know.

I can’t get that with a Spotify subscription. Yes, I can listen to one thousand, billion more songs, chosen specifically for my by our robotic AI overlords, but, to repeat myself from earlier: ugh.

I guess I am trying to keep as much joy in my life as possible. This is one way of doing it.

How are you being joyful today?*

*this is a prompt for engagement so the AI overlords know I am worthy but I am also genuinely interested in learning how we can navigate our lives in a joyful way.