Gah! It's Still Today! I Promise!

Yes, the date up top says Tuesday, August 24, but I haven't gone to bed yet! It's only 5 minutes past midnight! It is still today! It's not tomorrow yet. Nor is today yesterday. Today won't be yesterday and tomorrow won't be today until after I've slept! So there!

Okay, now that I've thoroughly confused myself...

Today was the beginning of my last week at work. It flew by quite nicely. I did the last bit of pearl restringing and left my replacement to try and handle things on her own, which she did quite wonderfully. I tried to get my financial aid straightened out during a lull, but the woman who told me to call her back today was out of the office for the day! Gah! *headdesk*

Please pray that my financial aid works out... I may start to lose my mind otherwise...

After work, I taught voice lessons and met two more new students, which was really fun. Unfortunately, a lot of my teenaged students love Taylor Swift. I've spent the last year avoiding that music like the plague (there's nothing wrong with it, I just don't like country, and it's too bubble gum sweet for me, personally) and now I'm being inundated with it. Every time I was with my sister and Taylor Swift would come up on her iPod, I'd beg her to turn it off.

"Can we please listen to something else?" I'd whine, staring at her in utter anguish from the passenger seat.

"It's my car, so we listen to my music," was her smirky reply.

Well, I couldn't possibly argue with that since I came up with that rule in the first place, so I'd lean my head in my hand and stare languidly out the window, sighing melodramatically at the end of appropriate phrases in the music. The first time, my sister stalwartly ignored my semi-silent protest and blithely sang along to the song blasting from the radio. The second time, she got half-way though the number before scowling at me darkly and then clicking ahead to the next song in the shuffle. The third time, she just gave up entirely.

"Fine. I'll just enjoy her music when you're not around," she muttered, trying to ignore the ridiculously annoying grin of absolute pleasure plastered on my face. (Hey, I'm a big sister. You've gotta enjoy your victories when you can get them. It's not often you get to make your younger siblings do something for you rather than the other way around!)

And then last week, I slunk into her bedroom, a look of abject shame and humiliation gracing my countenance. I threw myself onto her bed and sighed.

My sister, who is used to my over-dramatic silliness by now, ignored my demonstration and went on with her sewing.

After a moment's silence, I gathered the courage to speak.

"I need to home share your Taylor Swift music," I said, trying to sound somewhat cheerful.

My sister positively beamed at me. "Really? Do you like her now?"

My eyes narrowed and I could feel the laser beams coming online. "No," I said sullenly.

"Oh. Why do you need it then?"

I scowled darkly and muttered, "Because my students are all singing her music, and I don't know how any of it goes."

Of course, my sister laughed at this and it took all of my self-control to keep those laser beams from burning a hole through the dress she was making.

"Yeah, well, can I transfer it over or what?" I asked somewhat ungraciously and rather petulantly.

Of course, she said 'yes,' and even added the observation that "maybe you'll like it now that you're actually going to listen to it." Let me tell you, her new shiny laptop almost died a sudden death...

So now I'm acquainting myself with the music of Taylor Swift... ugh. At least I snatched some other music out of my sister's library to help break up the monotony. She had Coldplay's Parachutes album (WAHOO!), The Beatles, some Frank Sinatra I hadn't yet collected, Owl City (Fireflies, anyone?Ooh! Or maybe Vanilla Twilight), and a fantastic new singer/songwriter named Ingrid Michaelson (Be OK is just brilliant).

At least my sister's taste in music isn't all bad... she can be redeemed yet, just on the merits of having Coldplay and the Beatles.