auf wiedersehen, adieu

“I recognize happiness by the sound it makes when it leaves.” Jacques Prévert

Is that too depressing a sentiment upon which to begin a new year? I guess I don't really care. I was going to blog late last evening, toasting in 2007 and bidding a sparkling farewell to 2006. Somehow, I changed direction long before an improved-but-still-working-on-it Dick Clark rocked in the new year.

The truth is that I go to great lengths to keep myself, my life, and this blog as upbeat and focused on the positive as possible. The simultaneous and unvarnished truth is that, sometimes, things are not so cheery. But who wants to hear about that? So, I craft and polish and hone in order to present the most chipper accounts of the most innocuous anecdotes. Oh sure, I occasionally rant, and the intermittent complaint slips through. But for the most part, it squeaks for its cleanliness.

There are reasons for that, both obvious and not. I think that a lot of it is the construction of self-fulfilling prophecy: if I act happy, I will be happy. I actually believe that it works much of the time.

Admittedly, another part of my reticence is protection. Personal struggles -- no matter how reasonable, justified, or tame -- wouldn't advance my cause should certain people read of them. I wish I could be brave. I'm not there yet. Too much depends on me keeping up the appearance. Especially now.

So, why the sour puss? My long, holiday weekend was dampened by a nasty cold. I'm still hacking and sneezing and blowing my nose beyond raw. But that's really just the icing on the cake. The cake itself is comprised of two ingredients. My symbolic window -- which I've repeatedly attempted to wrest under control in the past year -- has recently turned the tables and flung itself against me, smashing into shards, puncturing and cutting, bloodying me. A second window of a completely different sort quickly stepped into the spotlight (one day after the first attack) and similarly shattered in my face.

Clearly, the timing of these two incidents (mysterious for the purpose of this medium) are a sign that it's time for me to wake up and pay attention. I defensively assert that I had been proactively attempting to make changes for some time, albeit unsuccessfully. Irrespective of the level of my involvement in these matters now, my life (and that of my husband) will undergo significant change during 2007 because of them.

As much as I believe that the place we land will be better for us, it's remarkably difficult to remain optimistic when faced with two major life changes (one of which may create a third major life change) at exactly the same time.

I must get over this pessimism in precisely nine hours and three minutes. Don't expect much in the way of updates here. Maybe there will be a day when the true identity of the windows can be revealed. Until then, I'll crank up saliva production and grab a polishing rag so that future entries will be spit-shined and spiffy.

~~~
Completely not related. During the holidays and my maniac music uploading, I ended each entry with the song that was playing at the time. There's no specific need to do that anymore (not that I needed to do it then), yet I'm compelled to continue with the practice.

Having finally uploaded every song I own on CD (song count: 16922) and having completed the annual ritual of holiday music immersion, I now get to listen the whole of my non-holiday library and tend to little details -- song titles transposed, missing album art, other details that need to be fixed in the database. One of the more pressing tasks is to rate the songs on a 1-5 scale. This will allow me to create smart playlists of only my very favorite songs by genre or other such combined criteria (I love iTunes).

Sometimes, this is more difficult than it should be. I think it should be a scale of 1-10. Three is too broad on the 1-5 scale. If "5" is classic, and "4" is excellent, then "2" is mediocre, and "1" is bad. The "3" star rating has to accommodate both songs that are perfectly good and those that are better than mediocre but not among my favorites. Yes, the scale to 10 would be better.

Moot point because I can't change it! So, the song playing as I finished my entry needed a rating. It's from the 70s, and thus has been around long enough that (providing its innate quality as a song) could be categorized as "classic." But it's one of the more sweet, gentle (dare I say, cheesy?) songs of that decade (or ever, really), and the critic in me debates the fifth star under those circumstances. It clearly deserves the four stars, for its staying power and quiet insidiousness. Hmmm. An interesting conundrum.

For your listening pleasure, here is "Diary" by Bread.

we interrupt this broadcast...

Sometimes, it's good to be laid back. A less laid back person would have been frustrated by the fact that iTunes decided it'd had enough of uploading CDs. Especially on a day when that less-than-laid-back person had made a goal to finish -- once and for all -- the transfer of music from CDs to the computer.

Oh well. Perhaps iTunes was actually frustrated that the laid back person was too laid back -- regularly taking unplanned breaks to have lunch, take a nap, and watch the Seahawks. Perhaps, the meltdown was revenge for iTunes feeling neglected that a mere 3232 songs were uploaded since Friday night, instead of the 3711 remaining. That's right, iTunes crapped out 479 songs from the finish line. C'est la vie. By the way, that's the title of a great song by Robbie Nevil. It's one that I own on vinyl -- the next frontier in music transfer.



So, I'm retiring for the evening. I'll watch some more of the Seahawks, who overcame snow on their home field last week (very unusual for Seattle) for a victory, as they battle it out against the Broncos in 16° F Denver. Brrr. Then, I'll go to bed. Woo-hoo. Does the excitement never end?

Song count: 16463 (or 479 fewer than anticipated; so close)

"Mele Kalikimaka" by Chris Isaak (a very fun, Hawaiian Christmas song of which I have several versions, though this is my favorite)

what was i thinking?

A couple items have already been removed from the list. Good progress is occurring with the music. Probably because it doesn't require any real brain power. Despite the morning's delays, the afternoon thus far has included another 400 songs done, and the end in sight. Stacked on my desk are the last of the CDs from the rack. There are 14 soundtracks and 41 classical albums left, and the CD portion of my library will be completely online.

Meanwhile, I've had to ditch gift wrapping and shoe-shopping today. I have been working on the newsletter. Last year around this time (while working on the 2005 newsletter), I'd created the basis for this year's format. It sat in wait until about September, when I went in and did some minor fiddling. Other than inserting a bunch of photos, choosing fonts, and a little rearranging, I've done nothing else on it.

Now that I'm working on it, I realize that my hope of simplifying the process this year is really just a pipe dream. I can't merely dash off a few quick sentences and slap on some pictures: my editorial alter ego pushes to the fore and demands that an ample amount of time be taken. I wonder how many holidays will pass before I mail the Christmas newsletter?

Back to it. Again.

Song count: 16267

"Agnus Dei" by Bel Canto

waylaid

As I began my tasks in earnest, Ted informed me that he was going on strike unless I gave him some attention. So, we spent some time together while the chores languished a bit.

Then, my friend, Rina, called. And whenever the two of us are on the phone, it's practically guaranteed to take at least an hour. We clocked approximately 75 minutes this morning, and the only reason it was that brief was because they REALLY had to get going to be at Alia's swimming lessons on time.

Anyway, post-phone call, Ted and I had some breakfast. Song uploading continued sporadically through it all. He has now started laundry, and now I must recommit to my original list. Eek, the day is already half done!

Song count: 15828

"Why Couldn't It Be Christmas Every Day?" by Bianca Ryan

Now I have to talk about Bianca Ryan. I saw her the first time she sang on "America's Got Talent" over the summer, and was immediately in awe. She was aaaaaah-maaaaaaaayz-iiiiiiiiiing (see video below). She, in fact, went on to win the million dollar prize, and received a record contract (not part of the prize, but completely logical -- see video below). I bought her album as soon as it came out and was immediately struck by the fact that they completely overproduced her. The vocal talent and personality are still clearly present. But the power has been stripped. (See video below.) It is this girl's power that gives me shivers every single time I watch this. The studio version is nice, but does not induce the same shivers. Thank goodness she's only 12, and there's plenty of time for her career to evolve. OK, what are you going to do now? See video below.

whatnot

It's Sunday, and there's stuff to do. Not as much was accomplished yesterday as I would have hoped. So much for the freakish level of energy. I did do a notable amount of CD uploading. Some household chores. We went to dinner with Sam & Donna. Today's project list, therefore, is considerably longer. Blogger is not letting me use the bullet function, so this recap of my tasks isn't as pretty a list as I'd like it to be:

* Complete upload of entire CD collection (this may be ambitious, but I'm going to give it a shot)
* Completing Christmas newsletter (also ambitious, but also worth a shot)
* Clean off pile on my desk (never-ending chore)
* Another day of blog updates (first three projects will keep me at the computer all day, so why not?)
* Divvying up candy for the stockings
* Wrapping presents (probably not all of them, because it's a busy day)
* Buying sparkly shoes for next weekend's activities (company holiday party, and the Boston Pops Holiday Concert!!)

That's it, I need a nap already! I'm exhausted just writing that list. Enough for this first entry of the day. There's work to be done.

Song count: 15311

Interesting upload notes:
* I have completed the main section of the collection, uploading the ZZ Top CD last night.
* Remaining are jazz, soundtracks, compilations, and classical (currently uploading jazz).
* I estimate the remaining CDs will add another 1500 songs or so.

"Comfort Ye My People" by Vanessa Bell Armstrong & Daryl Coley from Handel's Messiah, A Soulful Celebration (iTunes shuffle is on the Christmas only playlist, which has 1043 songs)

and they're off!

Black Friday means nothing to me, and I'm glad! Oh, the joys of early shopping. I do have to work today, but even that is lovely because it'll be pindrop-quiet with an early closing. So, I must finish getting ready and head to the office.

My uploading addiction was curbed this week by holiday preparations and other household chores that needed done. By the way, my attempt at Kris Kringle cookies was stunted by my inability to find the rolling mat. D'oh! I made Cox Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting instead. Nobody complained.

Song count has increased, but not at the same clip as previously. As of this morning, 13231.

weekend ends

Had a nice visit with Sam and Donna, and doted on their cats (Versace and Tiger) and dog (Chamois). Enjoyed shrimp cocktail and cherry/apple/peach pie. Seahawks lost. Oh well.

Bought an outfit for the holiday party. It's black. ::sigh:: The top does have a design "burnt" into the velvet and a little sparkle up around the neckline. Still, it would have been nice to have some green or maroon or gold or something. Oh well.

Uploaded some more music, although iTunes was being very temperamental as to the speed with which it uploaded. Some songs went at 20x or better, but more than a few went at 5x, 3x, 1.2x. So, between doing other stuff (football, shopping) and the speed issue, I didn't get as much done today as I would have liked. Oh well.

The cats always make me happy. When I work at the computer, there are three designated cat areas in the immediate vicinity. An afghan-covered kitty hammock on the floor to the left of my desk. A folded afghan on the desktop, at my right hand. A folded lamb's wool blanket on the floor by the bookcase, to my right. The hammock is exclusively Sadie's, and the lamb's wool is exclusively Schmoo's. The desktop spot can easily accommodate two cats, and does on a fairly regular basis. Milo probably spends the most time there, sometimes solo, but oftentimes he's joined by any of the other three cats. Milo is the ambassador of the house -- everyone loves Milo. Woodle will occasionally hang out there, but usually he abandons the room altogether and sleeps on an afghan-covered gliding rocker in the living room.

Tonight, Woodle spent a little time on the desktop afghan with Milo, but then decided he wanted his own spot. Sick of being the odd cat out, he moved over to the other side of the desk and proceeded to settle right down on a Walgreens flyer, at the top of my keyboard, under the banker's lamp. Didn't seem to me that it would be comfortable, but he was very happy there for a good hour or so. Then, he decided that the afghan would probably be softer.

So, I guess I'll have to clean off the newspaper flyers permanently and find another afghan to fold up and put in this spot for Woodle. You'd think they'd find any of the approximately one thousand other soft, comfortable spots in the 1600 square feet of space we occupy. But I like having them close, so I can't complain.

Here's a picture I took of Woodle on the desktop afghan this summer. It took me a good 15 minutes to get one of him with his eyes closed, because every time I turned the camera on to take a picture, he popped his head right up to inspect. What a funny boy. We love having them around.

Good night.

Song count: 12092

"Miniature Disasters" by KT Tunstall

in honor of sufjan stevens, a musician known for both music and very long song titles, i crown this "the shortest blog entry with the longest title"

Song count: 11519

"Sex Without Bodies" by Dave's True Story

i should be sleeping

I woke up at 6:00am, which is later than usual but too early considering it was nearly 1:00am when I went to bed. So, why don't I just go back to bed? Nobody would think it unreasonable to get more than five hours sleep. I can't explain it. I'm awake now, so I might as well do stuff.

The uploading has begun again, although it will stop shortly when I go tackle more Christmas gifts. I won't actually be able to work on that for long, because I want to get to Catherine's when it opens, and it's about 45 minutes from here. I just went to their website and am a bit concerned that all my choices for holiday attire will be black. I hope the selection in-store will be a bit more expansive (and colorful).

Song count: 10274

"Are You Serious" by 'Til Tuesday

hooky, part vi

A landmark! It took some time, and I could have been more aggressive today. But I was otherwise occupied at various times throughout the day. I'm not worried. I have a weekend ahead of me. My to-do list is a continuation of last week's list. Although the truth is that it's a perpetual list whose content is simply inflated and reduced. So the music odometer will continue to click.

In between chores and continued song uploading, I'll also need to squeeze in a trip to Orange in an attempt to procure a sparkly dress (and probably some sparkly shoes) for the company's holiday party, which is coming up very quickly. And Sunday will have us driving to our Seahawks' friends' house for game-watching. That is, presuming any/all of the four of us are up to it (all of us have some variation of a cold at the moment).

For now, sleep, dream, recuperate. TTYL.

Song count: 10152

"Butterfly" by Corinne Bailey Rae

hooky, part iii

The Compact Disc Digital Audio System offers the best possible sound reproduction -- on a small, convenient disc.

Its remarkable performance is the result of a unique combination of digital storage and laser optics. For the best results, you should apply the same care in storing and handling the Compact Disc as you would with conventional records. No cleaning is necessary if the Compact Disc is always held by its edges and is replaced in its case directly after playing. If the Compact Disc becomes soiled by fingerprints, dust or dirt, it can be wiped (always in a straight line from center to edge) with a clean and lint-free, soft, dry cloth. Never use a solvent or abrasive cleaner to clean disc. If you follow these suggestions, the Compact Disc will provide a lifetime of listening enjoyment.

That is, until a better technology comes along that will allow you to put 20,000 songs onto a device the size of a deck of cards and pack away all those Compact Discs you spent too much money on for the last 15 years.

Song count: 9429

"Dare to Fall in Love" by Brent Bourgeois (a solo effort from half of Bourgeois Tagg. Remember them? Yeah, not many people do. I loved them.).

hooky, part ii

OK, I didn't plan to take what is now officially a 4-day weekend. Let's just say that I'm polluted from my time in Manhattan yesterday, and am going to purify myself today. That said, as the purification process began this morning, I also happened to upload some music. Song count: 9150. Barring an exceptionally long nap, I should easily break the 10,000 song mark today.

As the CDs are uploaded, I've been placing them into large storage bins, rather than putting them back on my huge CD shelving unit. The truth is that my collection outgrew that rack a couple years ago, which explains why everything relatively new is completely out of order: there was no space for me to integrate them alphabetically or by genre, so I ended up with stacks on top of it, next to it, and on the bookshelves in our office.

Now that everything's going into containers, the shelves are slowly emptying, and I'm faced with the reality of trying to reorganize my collection. Logic tells me to start doing this now, but fear tells me to wait until everything is done. It's going to be a massive project. I've been through it once before, when I outgrew my old rack (which held about 500 CDs) and had to blend the subsequent stacks into the group. It took a day and all the table, chair, and floor space in the living room and dining room. Ted has told me that he's going to make himself scarce this time, so frightened is he at the prospect of watching the spectacle again.

For now, I'm holding off. I have a few other higher priority projects (like Christmas wrapping) that need to be done first. We'll just have to live with the now-growing stack of 40 quart storage containers filled to the brim with CDs.

I may blog more today. I'm not going anywhere (except to nap), and I'll be uploading par usual, so it's a distinct possibility.

"It Can't Be Forever" by Ephraim Lewis

hooky

Ted and I took today off. It wasn't skipping school, per se. We planned it in advance, and both of our employers were in the know. In fact, we'd originally planned for last Monday, but Ted's cold waylaid the schedule. So we postponed.

We slept in until 8:00am, which was amazingly decadent! Had breakfast, enjoyed a little leisurely time, showered and dressed, and took a train into New York City. At Zaro's Bread Basket, we shared a delicious (and huge) salad with warm sunflower seed bread. As Rachael Ray would say, yum-o.

We took a cab to Arrojo Studio, where Ted got his hair cut. I thought this was quite adventurous of him, given his historical preference for coiffures of the SuperCuts variety. Nick was there, sporting a light pink button-down shirt and the tiniest of tiny ponytails. But Ted wasn't quite prepared to pay Nick rates for a haircut, so he simply watched him bop around the salon. I was a sideline spectator, alternating between watching Ted's proceedings, general people-watching, chatting with the staff (who are starting to know who I am now), and exchanging stories with a nice couple who traveled from Montreal so Nick could cut the woman's extremely long (hadn't been cut in years) hair.

We cabbed back to Grand Central, arriving just in time to immediately board the train home. We've since had dinner, caught up on some more TiVo, and spent time on our computers. Three guesses what I've been doing on mine. Yep. Uploading music. But now I must go to bed.

Oh! One more thing. I understand from Stacy that today is Half-Nekkid Thursday, when you're supposed to post pictures of your partially bare self.

For anyone who knows me (and even those who don't), fear not! I'm not going to get graphic. In fact, the guidelines suggest not to get too graphic. So my pendulum swings in the other direction. Here's my forearm! It doesn't get much more innocuous than that. You can see part of my dress and its sleeve, as well as the costume of the Polynesian Culture Center employee who was standing next to me at the time.

This was from my trip to Hawaii almost two years ago. I'd never really had a burning desire to go to Hawaii. I mean, it always sounded nice: I just didn't feel the inexplicable lure that so many others seemed to feel about it. But I had the opportunity to attend a conference in Honolulu, so off I went. Luckily, I had enough foresight to add a few vacation days to the end of the trip, because I basically fell in love with Hawaii as soon as I got off the plane. I mean, even the airport is partially open to the elements and has the distinct aroma of tropical flowers (once you get past the jet smell that co-mingles with it).

Honolulu is a big city, so there was noise and smog and traffic congestion. I stayed in a hotel that was one block away from Waikiki Beach, which was packed with people every time I went anywhere near it. Despite these things that sound very anti-paradise, I loved it. The flowers everywhere. The people were so nice (the spirit of Aloha). Even the dense humidity -- something I hate in New England -- was perfect on Oahu. The only things I didn't like about Hawaii were (A) the short amount of time I was there, (B) the fact that I really only saw a couple parts of one island, and (C) the length of time it takes to get there. Oh, some "basics" are pretty amazingly expensive. The two things that stand out in my memory are gas (more than $4 a gallon -- well before it was above $2.25 on the mainland) and milk (more than $6 a gallon).

I want to go back to Hawaii. Now, I understand the lure.

OK, I was going to make it to bed at a reasonable time, until I started talking about paradise. Oh well. 'Night, 'night.

Song count: 8854.

"Fragile" by Sting

the sloggin' noggin

What, no mad upload post at 5:00am? No desperate attempts to disprove addiction? How could I let an entire day go by without an update?

Well, my children, sometimes life intervenes. Two signs came to me today to convince me to temper my furious import mania. First was the overwhelming need to sleep for more than four or five hours. After about a week of late night bedtimes and very early morning alarms, the deprivation has caught up with me. So, this morning, I woke up, got ready for work, and went to work. That's it. No squeezing just another 100 songs in while blow-drying my hair.

Then, something happened in my office that could either be interpreted as Sign #2 or could just be an indicator that Sign #1 has long-reaching consequences. In the 20 seconds I was bent over to get some promotional bags out of a box on the floor of my office, I completely forgot that there are large, steel storage bins mounted overhead. Can you see this coming? I didn't. I stood straight up and ***WHAM*** smacked the back of my skull right into the edge of the bin. That was almost nine hours ago. My head still hurts. My husband finally convinced me to take some Aleve. Maybe I'll sleep.

So, anyway, I did actually do some uploading tonight. I'll put the count in at the bottom. Instead of just listing the song that's playing as I publish, I'm going to put in the last 30 songs I've heard on shuffle. These combinations are getting downright amazing, now that there's so much more music in my iTunes library. But, as I mentioned about the paradox the other day, I still have a long way to go. The first 5000 or so songs were from CDs that I listened to most frequently or used for a specific purpose (like having my entire holiday catalog online or making mix "tapes"), plus song purchases. After about 5000, I started going through my rack in alphabetical order. Right now, I'm up to Counting Crows. So, there's still a lot to go. Plus, after Z, there are a couple of sections by genre (soundtracks, compilations, and classical). Yep, lots left to do.

Man, I must have banged around my brain, because I feel like I'm just rambling and making little sense. So, I'll get back to business. The list of songs I've listened to tonight while uploading music. Here goes:

Liebesleid
Joshua Bell

The Child Is Gone
Fiona Apple

Men In My Life
Anita Baker

Neon
John Mayer

Ironic
Alanis Morissette

I Like You
Morrissey

The Uncertainty Of The Poet
Kurt Elling

Space Oddity
David Bowie

Mary Jane
Alanis Morissette

The Working Hour
Tears For Fears

Hey Jupiter
Tori Amos

Sisters
Bobby McFerrin

Can't Get Enough
Bad Company

Let's Get Away From It All
Rockapella

Departure Bay
Diana Krall

Dindi
Astrud Gilberto, Antõnio Carlos Jobim & Marty Paich's Orchestra

4 Leaf Clover
Erykah Badu

Wedding Song
Andy Stochansky

Hello, Goodbye
The Beatles

Karma Killer
Robbie Williams

Don't Let It Get To You
Jane Child

World Waits
Jeremy Enigk

Instant Replay
Dan Hartman

Lullaby Of Broadway
Dianne Reeves

Big Decision
That Petrol Emotion

Muzzle Of Bees
Wilco

Just Wait
Blues Traveler

My Love
Mary J. Blige

Less Is More
Joss Stone

O Morro Nao Tem Vez (Favela)
Stan Getz, Luiz Bonfá w/Antõnio Carlos Jobim

You've got to admit, that's getting crazy eclectic. Love it!

OK before the song count, I must redirect your attention to my blogging friend, Billy. He is very committed to producing new art on a regular basis, and I love his use of color. He starts with one or more of several media (paint, photography, etc.), but his hallmark is the digitization he employs. There are two pieces here. The one at top is a new one (although I don't know why Blogger's putting a big block of white space under it). The one here is a Christmas flashback from last year. Nice work, as always, Billy!

OK, super duper time for my brusied head to rest on soft pillows. Song count: 8046.

Blogger has way freaked out on me. Pictures gone screwy, spellcheck telling me entire paragraphs are wrong. Maybe it bumped its skull on something hard, too. Good night.

i can quit any time i want

Trying to prove to myself that I'm not actually addicted to uploading music, I made a radical change of plan this afternoon. Instead of coming home immediately after work (then uploading music, making and having dinner, and uploading more music), I called Ted moments before pulling into the garage and suggested we go out to dinner. He agreed, and so off we went to Amerigo. Our friends, Bob and Trish, are the owners. They have a very loyal clientele, as evidenced by the fact that they regularly take long weekends (closing down the restaurant all together). Today, they put a sign on the door saying they'd be open by 5:15pm. We got there a little past 5:00pm, and decided to wait. Trish showed up at 5:45pm. Too funny.

Anyway, we sat in the car and chatted about our day at work. We heard a fender bender occur just out of sight, and we chuckled as car after car drove up to the restaurant door, read the sign, and left. Once in, we chatted with Trish for a bit and settled in for a rare three course dinner. We both had New England clam chowder. Always a fine choice, although I had been hoping for Bob's amazing butternut squash and apple soup. Then for appetizers, I had a crab cake with grilled shrimp and ginger sauce, and Ted had unbreaded calamari sauteed in marinara sauce. For the entree, I had manicotti that really needs to have a more inventive name because it's the best manicotti I've ever had anywhere, hands down. The home made red sauce alone is worth writing home about. Ted went simpler and had a Caprese salad (mozzarella and tomato slices with balsamic vinegar and giant leaves of fresh basil). I even had a nice glass of Merlot, which complemented the dinner wonderfully.

See? I just spent an entire paragraph talking about a lovely evening out with my husband, where we chatted and enjoyed dinner. I'm not obsessed.

When we got home, we did a little TiVo catch-up, and now I'm back to the computer. OK, so I'm back to uploading, but I can multi-task. I've also been writing this blog entry and chatting with Caitlin online. Now that I've said all that, it is -- in fact -- time to go to bed. When this last disc of the evening is done, my current song count will be 7586.

Last one out, turn off the lights.

"Over the Moon" by Luka Bloom

late

But a little less late than yesterday. This has to stop.


Song count: 7186


"Captain Easychord" by Stereolab

morning fix

Guess what I'm doing? Song count 6994.

"Cruising For Bruising" by Basia

give me the stuff, part i

This music uploading thing is like an addiction. I love it and can't pull myself away. A CD goes in, magic whirling occurs, and when the chime sings (indicating that all the tracks have been imported), I must remove the disc and start all over again. There's never a time when the chime tells me, "this is the last one for now, Kelly, go and take a break."

So obsessed am I with transferring songs that I decided to forgo my extra half hour of sleep this morning, and I got up at 5:00am to move more music. I should have left for work at 6:30am: that still would have been a reasonable amount of progress for so freakin' early in the morning. But I couldn't stop. I left at 7:15am. And as soon as I got home tonight, I hastily gave my husband a kiss and the cats some ear scratches on the path to my desk for more uploading.

Thankfully, the lure of baked salmon with pesto, rice pilaf, and fresh broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and green beans was strong enough to take me away from it for a while. Ted and I chatted while enjoying our repast, and then we caught up on TiVo. As soon as Prison Break was done, guess where I went? Um, to where I came? That is, where I am now?

Yeah. I'm here. At my computer. Uploading more discs. I can't write any more tonight. I have to get some sleep, in order to be able to wake up at 5:00am and start all over again. Maybe I could just sleep at the desk, in three minute increments.

Song count (at this moment, but constantly increasing): 6935. In case you were wondering, that's 882 songs... today alone. And 2852 since I started counting one week ago yesterday. Yep. I'm addicted.

"Mr. Solitaire" by Animal Nightlife (an alternative 80s flashback of epic proportion)

sunday stuff (first and final)

No real blogging for me today, just this one entry (and it won't be anything significant). A stark contrast to yesterday, when the unwitting passerby might think I did nothing else but blog. Today was a nice Sunday of rest. I did a few things, none of which required much energy.

More songs uploaded (I'll put a count at the end, along with the song playing at the time), more email, news, and blogs read, a podcast listened to (This American Life), more TiVo caught up on (Flip That House), some napping (covered with an afghan and surrounded by sleeping cats) immensely enjoyed, three meals made. Good stuff.

There are always topics I'd like to discuss. And as is usually the case when I attempt to talk about size acceptance, I always think of other aspects I'd wished I'd included. But I'm not going into any of that tonight. Don't want to risk saturation.

OK, so I'm just being lazy.

On that note, I would like to suggest a couple places on the web to visit where you can lighten your emotional load. If you're not already reading Dave Barry's blog, you're missing out. But even if you don't go there, you must at least check out this interview. I was laughing so hard, I couldn't speak to explain to my perplexed husband what was so funny. And Cute Overload reflexively puts all the smile muscles to immediate use. Like this.

Good night.

Song count: 6053

"The Goon Drag" by Don Byron

~~~
Photo by Russ Dillingham of the Lewiston (Maine) Sun Journal.

saturday stuff, part iv

So, I was assembling stocking contents when Ted came home from work. While the chicken pot pies cooked, I arranged a few more items, then joined Ted downstairs for lunch. We caught up on some TiVo, and for the second time in a week, Oprah drove me to blog. There are two reasons for that. First is the amazing premise of the show, and second is the fact that it proves my earlier claim that she embodies contradiction.

Let's skip over that second bit, and focus on what's important. The concept of Challenge Day engaged me immediately. Early into the show, it made me think of my company's Diversity Council (of which I am currently Vice Chair and will become Chair shortly). The lessons that can be learned through this type of exercise could have huge implications not only on employee relations but to the success of the business. The program wasn't designed for a corporate environment. Jane Elliott's exercise, though not originally created specifically for the corporate world, is probably more suited to that. But the idea of having a cross section of employees participate in Challenge Day is infinitely appealing to me.

Irrespective of that notion, I do think the program should be utilized by every high school in America. Every year. Forever. Oprah was right -- this is the kind of thing that changes the world one person at a time.

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Did some music importing while writing this entry and folding laundry (I can multi-task). Song count is now 5658. Back to stocking assembly for me.

"Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" by Harry Connick, Jr. (could be called a cover song, but is more one of many interpretations of a classic)