As much as I enjoy Aria, I will admit upfront that it’s not always my cup of tea. I have to be in a certain mood in order to watch it, and sadly that generally (or invariably) means that I’m horribly stressed. With the upcoming presidential election, work has just been kicking my butt. Sadly the stress levels will likely stay high for a while, since it’s going to be absolutely insane for the next few months to come.
When I first got into Aria I was in senior year of college, when I was again going through tremendously stressful times. I found watching Aria to be a really soothing viewing experience, since the stories calmly drifts through slices-of-life vignettes to beautiful settings and really perfect music that fits the Venetian setting to a tee. Aria tends to transport me to a quiet cozy mood I sometimes get before sleep – and in fact I’ve definitely come to think of Aria as great bedtime watches 
This episode had a really lovely moment that’s probably going to go down as one of my favorites ever. Akari had woken up before her usual, and so she dresses and then steps into the gondola for some early morning practice. You see the gondola dip gently into the water, and then the paddle pushes off against the wall. My words fail to do it justice, but it just struck me as a slow, perfect moment that’s totally slice-of-life and absolutely beautiful.
I’m going to have to remember this feeling of zen from my Aria viewings and try to keep it in my mind as work craziness starts anew.
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