Work has been...interesting. Fun, but incredibly busy. This is week two of the new job, and has proved to be much more hectic than week one. I didn't really know enough to be useful last week; this week I know just enough to be given tasks without being familiar enough with said tasks to be able to do them quickly. I'm pretty tired, and it doesn't have much to do with getting or not getting enough sleep. I don't know if I'm going to the Tourney of the Yellow Ribbon this weekend; the thought of spending some time by myself, doing whatever I want, has some serious appeal. And of course, I might actually be at work. Tomorrow is the first of the month, which is crazy time. If we don't get enough stuff finished tomorrow, I can expect to be at work on Saturday to finish it. Time's ticking, after all.



The meme: Go to www.musicoutfitters.com and type in the year of your graduation in the search box to find the top 100 songs from that year. Bold the ones you love, strike the ones you hate and leave everything else the same.

I had the same problem Rebecca did: I don't recognize most of these songs. And because I am too lazy to type in the html, I've just separated them into groups.

Looking at my lists, two things cross my mind. First, the songs I remember are mostly the ones I liked. Maybe that's not so bad. Second, how many in the "I Have No Idea" category would move if I actually heard the song?

Love It:
1. Breathe, Faith Hill
7. Bent, Matchbox Twenty
11. Higher, Creed
15. Kryptonite, 3 Doors Down
36. With Arms Wide Open, Creed
41. The Way You Love Me, Faith Hill
43. Never Let You Go, Third Eye Blind
48. Then The Morning Comes, Smash Mouth
70. Meet Virginia, Train
81. How Do You Like Me Now?!, Toby Keith (I don't like any of Toby Keith's stuff since he got a flag shoved up his ass, but I like his older stuff, and I adore this song. I play it loud enough to rattle windows when it comes on the radio. This probably says something telling about my high school experience.)
84. Broadway, Goo Goo Dolls
87. I Hope You Dance, Lee Ann Womack & Sons Of The Desert

Hate It:
17. What A Girl Wants, Christina Aguilera
35. Absolutely (Story Of A Girl), Nine Days (I had to get iTunes to play me a clip, but my immediate reaction was, "Oh God, I hated that song!" I think this is one that suffers from overplaying syndrome.)
55. Oops!... I Did It Again, Britney Spears

No Opinion:
8. Amazed, Lonestar
44. I Need You, LeAnn Rimes
51. The Real Slim Shady, Eminem
58. Take A Picture, Filter

Never Heard Of It:
2. Smooth, Santana Featuring Rob Thomas
3. Say My Name, Destiny's Child
4. I Wanna Know, Joe
5. Everything You Want, Vertical Horizon
6. Maria Maria, Santana Featuring The Product G&B
9. I Knew I Loved You, Savage Garden
10. He Wasn't Man Enough, Toni Braxton
12. Try Again, Aaliyah
13. There You Go, Pink
14. Thong Song, Sisqo
16. Jumpin Jumpin', Destiny's Child
18. Doesn't Really Matter, Janet
19. Music, Madonna
20. Back At One, Brian McKnight
21. Bye Bye Bye, 'N Sync
22. You Sang To Me, Marc Anthony
23. I Need To Know, Marc Anthony
24. Get It On Tonite, Montell Jordan
25. Incomplete, Sisqo
26. I Try, Macy Gray
27. It's Gonna Be Me, 'N Sync
28. That's The Way It Is, Celine Dion
29. (Hot S**T) Country Grammar, Nelly
30. Bring It All To Me, Blaque
31. Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely, Backstreet Boys
32. Hot Boyz, Missy Elliott Featuring Nas, EVE & Q-Tip
33. Back Here, BBMak
34. It Feels So Good, Sonique
37. Be With You, Enrique Iglesias
38. Come On Over Baby (All I Want Is You), Christina Aguilera
39. No More, Ruff Endz
40. All The Small Things, Blink 182
42. I Turn To You, Christina Aguilera
45. Thank God I Found You, Mariah Carey Featuring Joe & 98 Degrees
46. Let's Get Married, Jagged Edge
47. My Love Is Your Love, Whitney Houston
49. Blue (Da Ba Dee), iffel 65
50. Desert Rose, Sting Featuring Cheb Mami
52. Most Girls, Pink
53. Wifey, Next
54. Wonderful, Everclear
56. I Wanna Love You Forever, Jessica Simpson
57. Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche ), 98 Degrees
59. Otherside, Red Hot Chili Peppers
60. Big Pimpin', Jay-Z Featuring UGK
61. Purest Of Pain (A Puro Dolor), Son By Four
62. He Can't Love U, Jagged Edge
63. Separated, Avant
64. I Wish, Carl Thomas
65. U Know What's Up, Donell Jones
66. Faded, SoulDecision Featuring Thrust
67. Only God Knows Why, Kid Rock
68. Shake Ya Ass, Mystikal
69. Bag Lady, Erykah Badu
71. Party Up (Up In Here), DMX
72. Case Of The Ex (Whatcha Gonna Do), Mya
73. Forget About Dre, Dr. Dre Featuring Eminem
74. That's The Way, Jo Dee Messina
75. Swear It Again, Westlife
76. The Next Episode, Dr. Dre Featuring Snoop Dogg
77. From The Bottom Of My Broken Heart, Britney Spears
78. Crash And Burn, Savage Garden
79. Yes!, Chad Brock
80. The Best Day, George Strait
82. Where I Wanna Be, Donell Jones
83. My Best Friend, Tim McGraw
85. Dance With Me, Debelah Morgan
86. Don't Think I'm Not, Kandi
88. Better Off Alone, Alice Deejay
89. What'chu Like, Da Brat Featuring Tyrese
90. Cowboy Take Me Away, Dixie Chicks
91. I Like It, Sammie
92. 24/7, Kevon Edmonds
93. Girl On TV, LFO
94. Bounce With Me, Lil Bow Wow Featuring Xscape
95. What About Now, Lonestar
96. I Don't Wanna, Aaliyah
97. Independent Women Part I, Destiny's Child
98. Shackles (Praise You), Mary Mary
99. Waiting For Tonight, Jennifer Lopez
100. Gotta Tell You, Samantha Mumba

End results: loved 12%, hated 3%, had no opinion on 4%, and didn't know...ummmm...hang on, need the calculator, it's late and I'm tired...didn't know 81% of the top 100 songs. Wow.

So what was I listening to in the year I graduated? Some pop, clearly. A lot of "classics." A lot of really obscure music. I will give my unending respect and admiration to anyone who can name one song from any five of the following artists. No cheating. Google is cheating. Getting up and looking at your own music collection is not.

Galactic Cowboys
Transatlantic (not to be confused with Transiberian Orchestra)
Meredith Brooks (any song other than "Bitch")
Dream Theater
Romanovsky & Phillips
Ani Difranco
Chroma Key
The Flower Kings
Podunk
Spock's Beard