The Mood Ring of the New Millenium

Garou woke up early this morning. Usually I want to strangle her when she does that, but I was having trouble sleeping anyways so we went out for a walk. There was frost on the ground, but you can smell the spring in the air. I figured I'd take advantage of the early start to the day and suit up for a nice run to work.

I'm a relative newcomer to having music with my when I run. I've always been a firm believer in the power of solitude while I'm out, and I still am. Sometimes, however, solitude can get a bit...lonely. I've found that music can be a nice addition to the experience without taking a whole lot away from it. One of the things I've noticed since getting my hands on an iPod shuffle awhile back, is that it always seems to know just what I need to hear. If I'm in a quite or foul mood, it usually keeps things pretty quiet. In need of an adrenaline shot, its been known to push the pace right to the limit. I'm not sure how it does it, and if its some kind of mind reading device then maybe its better that I don't know, but I've found it incredably facinating almost every time I use it. Today was no exception.

Nine Inch Nails - Hurt

Yep, that sounds about right as I walk out the front door. It's dark out and I haven't slept much. Too many thoughts running through my head to properly manage and they just turn into one undecipherable mess. I've found the only way to correct the inevitable freefall that comes after is to shut everything down and reboot. That's why I'm out here this morning in the first place.

Incubus - Drive

One of the things I miss about living fairly close to work is I've often considered the drive time to be one of my most productive brainstorming opportunities. Second only to my time on my feet. On a very still morning like this, I'm grateful not to be in the car as these opportunities are not to be missed.

U2 - Who's Going to Ride Your Wild Horses

I won't go into every song, but suffice to say that the playlist's somber mood seemed to lift a bit just as the sun crept up over Boston's skyline. I'm not even really sure why this was the proper song to play at that moment, but I think the fact that it's still somewhat brooding with a hint of tumultuous energy really spoke to me. My feet pick up their tempo some.

Fountains of Wayne - Stacey's Mom

This is probably a good time to mention that there's a good amount of variety on my mp3 player. I have fairly expansive musical tastes depending on my mood and I collect a fair number of songs based on other people's suggestions. This is what makes the iPod's song selecting prowess so amazing to me. There are a LOT of songs that would have been completely wrong for today, but this one hits the spot. It's fun and energetic and in the scheme of things I can relate to at the moment, completely erroneous. I've almost forgotten about the lack of sleep and almost everything else at this point. I'm having fun.

Guns 'N Roses - Welcome to the Jungle

Almost cliche as I run up the hill on the final stretch to the office, but I realize I'm ready.