Thank God for AOL Music. Amazing what a few dozen (okay, it only seemed like that) repititions of the right songs can do to give creativity a kick-start in the tuckus. Which is another good thing about being the only human in my work environment. If Olivia kitty doesn't like the music I'm playing, she goes off to sleep in the closet. Really doesn't work for non-fur people, so it's just as well.

I know I don't listen to music like "normal" people. Put in CD, listen to song one, then song two, then song three, etc. Nuh-uh. Case in point, one of the best creative gifts I ever recieved was a cassette tape consisting entirely on one side of Meat Loaf's "Objects in the Rearview Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are." I'm the type to listen to one song on a loop over and over and over and over again until I get the story from it. Then a few more times for good measure. This can drive non-creative people certifiably insane.

For me, it works. Every time the song plays, it's like peeling back a layer of onion. New meanings show up and I try to write fast enough to get them down. Either that, or assume near-fetal position, shutting out other stimuli to concentrate and focus. This has earned me the "weirdo" badge on more than one occasion, and I wear it proudly. Right next to my RWA PRO pin.

So that's my day. Including writing. Which is always a good thing.