I keep stealing things from my friend Brian D.’s website – ideas I mean, not each verse. In any case, that’s where my super cool Japanese warrior comes from, as does the next idea. Apparently it’s a fun thing to go into your winamp, or whatever other MP3 player you’ve got, and random the poopie out of it. Then you list your top 20 songs so people can see how diverse you are. Or how out of your lovin’ mind you are. That’s it, one of the two.

In any case, this is mine – but please keep in mind that most of my CDs have yet to be ripped and we are working off of over 400 of Vincent’s CDs (maybe I should have waited until we’re done with our whole convert-our-collection-to-high-quality-MP3s project…?!):

1. Thievery Corporation’s Omid (Hope) from The Richest Man in Babylon
2. Carl Cox, Siberian Snowstorm (the Dave Angel Mix) from F-A-C-T 2 Disk 2
3. Beth Orton, Central Reservation (the Then Again Version) from Central Reservation
4. Boris Grebenshikov, The Postcard from Radio Silence
5. Jude, Cammie from 430 N. Harper Ave.
6. Cowboy Junkies, Miles from our Home from Miles from our Home
7. U2, Daddy’s Gonna Pay for Your Crashed Car from Zooropa
8. Belle and Sebastian, Dog on Wheels from Dog on Wheels
9. Dinah Washington, I’m Through with Love from What a Diff’rence a Day Makes!
10. Electric Light Orchestra, Livin’ Thing from Afterglow Disk 2
11. Boston, Cool the Engines from Third Stage
12. Billy Bragg, This Guitar Says Sorry from Back to Basics
13. Jude, OUI FM Interview 6 from Bootleg Mix 2
14. Digweed & Muir, Beautiful Strange from John Digweed Stark Raving Mad Disk 2
15. Depeche Mode, Halo from Violator
16. Donovan, Universal Soldier from Love is Hot, Truth is Molten
17. Arab Strap, Gourmet from The Week Never Starts around Here
18. Lenny Kravitz, Blues for Sister Someone from Let Love Rule
19. Steely Dan, I Got the News from Aja
20. The Dave Brubeck Quartet, Campdown Races from Gone with the Wind

See, wasn’t that fun?

In other news, I am discovering more about the person I am today each and every time I step into my new office. Let’s see, I have a really hard time working in a professional environment with spontaneous, unorganized people; I don’t have a lot of patience for people giving me a job to do, doing it, and then being told that my methods are wrong (wouldn’t you think that if you wanted something done a certain way, you would tell your minions that first and not after the fact? There’s nothing more annoying than having to do something twice); and at this point in my life, I don’t particularly want to work for such little pay and be expected to work late (without overtime might I add). I’ve been reprimanded for not being positive enough (I like to call my form of salesmanship “realism” – and honestly, when I’m being perky to strangers I sound like a flipping moron, that cheeky morning person we all want to kill with their sugary voice and happy smile) and for not working a full day – despite the fact that I have never taken a lunch hour (I eat at my desk while working) and there have been very few times that I’ve put on my coat at 6PM to go home.

What a very strange environment in which I find myself.

Of course, at the same time, I realize I’m learning quite a bit about the business I’m in, and my boss knows what she’s doing (sometimes so much so that I’m wondering why she wants me to do the work instead of just doing it herself). She has really wonderful pointers so long as I can keep my inherent stubbornness down to a low roar. And I’m still eternally grateful for having something that impels me to get out of the house every day…

Now here’s something new: I dragged Vincent out to see The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King last night (after spending all week “prepping” for it by watching the other two AGAIN), and I think I can honestly say that despite Orlando Bloom being about the hottest elf I could ever imagine, there’s something lacking in the movies. Yes, I cried at the end but I am slowly coming to grips with the fact that I truly am a sap – but I still feel like the movies weren’t all that compelling. I believe that the best part of their release was that each scene reminds me of reading the books – especially as Peter Jackson did not stray too much from the original content. Of course, none of the characters are as I imagined them, but close enough, right?

Well, I do believe that’s my two cents for the day and I should be off to explore new avenues in the world of book tours…

Oh, and check out my Vincent’s Blog when you have a chance!