It's awful weather, isn't it?

I love when the sky is full of rain and it's so windy it pushes you to your destination- once it isn't under a car or anything... When the sky is grey with a kiss of pink and looks for pretty but is still quite wild- it's deceptive.

I know talking about the weather is seen as a means to drag yourself through a conversation when you haven't much else to say to the other person- but I do have alot to say and do... in fact I have too much to do and say at times and I find it quietly intimidating. So I distract myself by discussing the weather with.... no one in particular. I haven't been sleeping very well for- quite some time. I usually spend my night reading and then eventually dropping off through sheer exhaustion. Then I wake suddenly and forget why I can't sleep in the first place because it is such a peaceful thing. I plan on taking up sleep as a hobby and mastering it over the next couple of months. I think if I focus on it like a practice of something to perfect then maybe I'll win. After all- there are only so many books in the world.... and my read bundle is piling up... with books I almost know by heart.

The busy outweighs the shuffle.

I completely flaked on the plan, the experiment, the idea- I would like to say this isn't something that usually happens to me, but alas.... We have new babies in the family! Two. One boy- big (I say big... under 8lbs) and brawn with huge eyes and hands that fascinate him and one little woman who likes her cuddles and to worry her new parents through day and night while she gets used to the big world around her. They both are beautiful of course, and so different and alike at the same time it's hard to tell where the excitement of one of them begins and the other ends. Parents are elated and seem to be talking more softly now that they are here- men that I have never really thought as overly affectionate- although always kind, are now smitten with tiny bundles wrapped in blankets that sleep more than anything. Things have changed hugely and yet it feels like both of them have been around far longer than any birth cert can prove. They will be great characters I think, and will keep everyone on their toes... it's their jobs for the next 20 years or so.

To not shuffle.

I have 8249 songs on my iPod at the moment. I don't like enough sounds to warrant such a library and I have decided its time to set a challenge for myself. I always sit here with the idea of listening to music and the same thing happens each time- I listen to the same couple of hundred, Frank, the Beatles, FOB and a bit of classical... every so often I'll have a moment and turn on Beyonce or a film soundtrack, but generally I am the beige thing here. I don't seem willing to change when it comes to my own musical preference. And so from today on- I will not shuffle, like a soldier I will battle through over 8000 songs, never once hitting repeat, skip or "shuffle". This means all stray Sugar Babes, banished Backstreet Boys, neglected Nirvana (it's not for the good of my health I write this you know?) will have to be listened to and appreciated as if they came off the White album itself- that is taking it a tad too far, but if I deemed it alright to sync, it's alright to play. The rules are simple, during work, periods of writing and when I am reading I cannot select a song- I cannot go search an artist or select an entire album. I have to brave the unknown and in the end- delete everything offensive to my ears. I pray I managed to get rid of all the Mariah before this experiment.