When I first found myself working from home several years ago I resorted to an old college habit and always had the TV on in the background. It didn't really matter what was on (but that's how I became such an Oprah scholar), it just helped to break the loneliness and isolation.
That isn't really an option here since we can't afford to hook up two TV's to cable and the flat screen is clear across the house.
So I tried working to my iPod, which is when I discovered I have questionable musical taste. Not to mention the shuffle seems oddly preoccupied with Serge Gainsborough and I think we can all agree a little of that goes a long way.
Next I tried streaming KCRW out of LA, but I never bothered to upgrade my computer speakers so it's all glitchy and scratchy.
So I was finally left with local radio. God help me.
I don't speak Spanish, so that rules out half of the stations. Country isn't my thing. There's a handful of pop stations, but they have a minimal playlist of the most saccharine, Ryan Secrest approved, Idol-icious crap.
There is, however, one classical station. I was raised with classical music so I'm completely happy listening to it all day. If I have one complaint it's that they too have a pretty limited playlist. If I hear "The Pines of Rome" or "Clair de Lune" one more time I'm going to scream.
But recently things have taken a macabre turn and I'm taking it personally.
Every single time I sit down to look for work, they start playing funeral music.
I just had Chopin's "Funeral March", followed by Mozart's "Requiem".
It's almost as if Someone is trying to tell me... something.
I swear, my stars are definitely not aligned these days.
