Cue Eerily Good Music

I'm convinced that somewhere out there in the ether, my iTunes at home and at least one of my Pandora stations are in cahoots. I kept thinking it was coincidental when I would hear a song at home, and then while I was at work that day the same song would come on. But the frequency of such happenings has increased drastically over the past month or so. It's happened several times this week already. They're out to get me. All of them!

I could see it making sense if it was a very narrowly broad station, and hearing the artist or group in the morning spurs me to play the niche station when I get to work, but I usually have my iTunes on shuffle mode, and this particular Pandora station is almost like a shuffle mode player too. There are thousands of tracks on my iTunes, and the range of songs played at work is extremely broad. I could be listening to Daft Punk one minute, Frank Sinatra the next, and The Police after that. What can I say, I enjoy variety!

So I'm thinking that my iTunes and Pandora are either subtly trying to give me a theme for my day by playing the same songs, or there's a conspiracy afoot!

Thankfully, the repeated songs are all ones I have absolutely loved. That's something.

Recycling CFLs

I found a great little article on recycling CFLs that may be relevant for anyone out there using them--and I highly recommend switching to them if you haven't already. They're certainly more efficient than incandescents and they last a lot longer. I put a few in some lamps when I moved into my current apartment two years ago, and they still haven't blown out. *knock on wood!*

Granted, because of their long life, I think it may be a while before people will need to start looking for places to recycle the old bulbs, but I think having an idea or two of where to go when the bulbs do blow out is always some handy information. And I had no idea that Ikea recycled them. It's nice that there are two locations in my area, and that I have a nice healthy addiction to the place!

Kathleen and I purchased a new and sexy TV stand, and after having it for a week and a half, I've nearly finished putting it together. Once it's done I'll post some pictures of the finished product and finished look of our living room space. Well, we may get another chair to fill some space, from Ikea, of course. Sometimes it's like they read our minds there.

To summarize: Buy CFLs, and recycle them when they burn out. Also, Ikea is awesome. That is all.

First attempt at not failing

I should really beat myself over the head for not heeding my own blogging demands, but I might hurt myself too badly and not be able to post for a while. And then we go back to square one...oh, what a good show that was!

Alright, enough of digressions.

At the end of April I went out to The Fire with Schwenkenstein to see a band out of Toronto highly recommended by Chuckles called Woodhands. We found out upon our arrival that the show was starting even later than originally thought but used the time wisely and thoroughly enjoyed some lagers and watched the Sixers drop a playoff game to the Pistons--something we didn't care too much about; we just happened to be sitting in front of a couple of TV screens. I also saw a friend from college who I will forever remember as ICES Andy, and he told me he was playing first with his group, The Sea Trio. It's always neat to run into people you know and haven't seen in a while.

I'm digressing again.

POINT IS, Woodhands rocked the crap out of the massive[ly small] crowd! I honestly wasn't sure how the act would translate live, but they blew me away. I talked with Paul briefly after the show, and they said they'd be back in the States again in September. I'm wholeheartedly looking forward to seeing them again, and plan on bringing at least a [half-]dozen friends with me. I think if the room had been a little more crowded, some of the folks might have been a little less self-conscious and more dancing would have taken place. I was a victim, too, I'll admit, but about half-way through their set, I was moving around a bit more. The lager helped too. I didn't care about getting home massively late for a Sunday; I went to bed a happy woman.

Consider it your homework to check out Woodhands and give 'em a whirl. If they don't make you bounce around a little bit, you don't have a pulse!

------------------------------------------------------------

I'm honestly making an effort to post in this blog more often. I have a few more ideas I'll be writing about in the next week or two. I hope you stick around to enjoy. Please, invite some friends, start some chatter, or laugh at my attempts to communicate.