If you read my last post, you know where my head’s at with this whole business. I won’t lie; I had a couple of meltdowns this week. I’m a creature of habit, and all these necessary changes to how we’ve got to live life for the next little while is really wearing on me. Seriously. As disorganized and mismanaged work environment is, and how much stress it gives me, at least I can still get up and come in to my empty building and work from my office…for now. Never mind that that work is all over the place (on a status call Wednesday, my boss acknowledged, to the gathered project heads in our PMO, that I’m essentially working two jobs), just the act of getting up and driving in and spending eight hours (this week, anyway, last week was a bit more) at my desk answering emails and filling out forms and such and then leaving is at least something regular for me to hang my fraying sanity on.

As I write this in fits and starts on Thursday, I’m fretting about a conference call with a particularly frustrating and aggressively obstinate customer who won’t take “Please be patient, let us make sure this new stuff works before you get to use it” for an answer, let alone “No”, that I have to do today. It sucks, certainly, but at least it’s something that’s approaching “normal.”

I have gotten out into the woods a little bit this week; hiking at this point, but Friday afternoon’s weather looks like it might be conducive to biking; which I could really use, to be frank – it does reduce stress levels, and I’m carrying a few more pounds than I’d like due to unpredictable weather and, honestly, because I’ve been drinking away my feelings a bit more than usual.

That last bit is a problem that could likely solve itself; I really worry that a lot of my favorite haunts and music venues, small businesses all, might not survive this.

Honestly, who the hell knows about the weekend…it’ll be what it’ll be. We’re hitting particular place on the calendar that hits me hard pretty much every year; I was kind of counting on a con gig this weekend to provide a welcome distraction, but…yeah. I did some live stream testing earlier this week, and I just might do a “testing the waters” online show if I can muster up the enthusiasm.

Anyway, tunes: Lots of melodic power pop this week, with some chanteuse action sprinkled in for flavor. Normally this would hit me in my happy place, but to be honest, I’m having a hard time finding it:

1. “Wicked Gravity” – Jim Carroll Band
2. “Abegail Anne” – Jeremy Enigk
3. “If It Makes You Happy” – The Screaming Females
4. “Raspberry Beret” – Hindu Love Gods
5. “I Love You Suzanne” – Lou Reed
6. “California” – Wax
7. “Places That Are Gone” – Tommy Keene
8. “Left of Center” – Suzanne Vega, Joe Jackson
9. “Watusi Rodeo” – Guadalcanal Diary
10. “God” – Tori Amos
11. “Social” – Squirtgun
12. “Aeiou Sometimes Y” – Ebn Ozn
13. “Pushing Up Daisies” – The Colourfield
14. “Perfect” – The The