On the Weather, Blues:

For once, I am not jealous of the weather back home. It is cool, breezy, overcast, and rainy in Tonga at the moment and I LOVE IT. I don't winter to go away...ever. (December-February is WAY too hot here.)
So, dear friends, please don't die of heat exhaustion. I want to see you all when I get back for Christmas.

But the weather here makes me so reminiscent.
I love this weather. It's relaxing...unless I'm biking in the rain during lunch time, which isn't so relaxing. But the wind little fits of rain just make me want to cuddle with a cuppa joe, watch a movie, and listen to Billie Holiday while journaling. (I did all of this last night, by the way. And will probably repeat when I get off work.)
Lately, I've been thinking of Billie Holiday. The voice.
Billie Holiday is this mood for me. This cuddling sensuality type. Sometimes I'll spend whole afternoons just contemplating if I'd rather live in the 20s or the 40s (flapper vs. Jazz), or if I'd rather be Billie Holiday or Ella Fitzgerald (still stumped on that one.)
In Tonga, most music is hip-hop, reggae (Bob Marley and marijuana grace many shirts these days,) Polynesian acoustic (my fav. here), or cheesy ballads (they love Celine Dion, Rhianna, and others).
So music is a safe-haven for me. Just to lose myself in a song, get caught up in all the vocal characteristics, the progression of instruments...
So here is a list of artists I'm suggesting. They've been on my Playlist the last 3 days:
--Billie Holiday
--The Blind Boys of Alabama
--Harlan T. Bobo
--Mumford and Sons
--Amos Lee
--Rachel Yamagata
--Ella Fitzgerald
--Joe Purdy

Now, pick one. Find a cool place. And just lay back, listen, and picture yourself on a breezy, overcast island sipping 'otai (an AMAZING concoction of coconut, mango, watermelon, and whatever other fruit they have,) and getting lost in Blues. That is happiness.