List Writing, Cat Saving, CD Transferring, Insomniac...

After the drinking last night, I wake at 4:10 am and immediately restart the Blue Note CD on my player. Meg the black cat is awake of course and jumps on me as Anne lies asleep.

After around 30 minutes, I realise I’m not going to get back to sleep so, at 4:50, I’m up and making some coffee. I let Meg out the catflap and select the latest CDs I’ve bought to transfer them to the Jukebox. I am, as usual, wearing headphones and listening to my Walkman which plays the Takemitsu disc purchased yesterday.

I’ve now obtained just over 100 CDs since 1 January 2005. This year is the 20th anniversary of my first CD purchase (Brian Eno’s “Thursday Afternoon”) and I am approaching my 4,000th disc. For fun (well my idea of fun anyway, I am a compulsive list writer) I analyse the first 100 CDs of 2005:-

35% Single Artist non-Jazz or Classical Discs
30% Jazz
18% Various Artist Compilations
10% Classical
5% Single Artist Compilations
2% CD Singles

Anyway, I’m happily sitting at the computer, transferring discs and surfing the net when I hear the very, very loud caterwalling that signals to me that the Black & White Cat With The Bell has arrived at the front window.

I dash downstairs, forgetting I have headphones on – these are ripped from my head and clatter to the ground – I manage to grab Meg and put her into the hall – from where she nips out the cat flap to resume her caterwalling in the front garden! It’s 5:00 am.

I can’t remember where I put my keys when I arrived home after the Staropramen incident. After much searching around in various pockets and under the ubiquitous “pile of stuff” on the bed in the back room, while the racket outside continues, I finally find them in my bag.

I run downstairs again and get the front door open to chase the Black & White Cat With The Bell away and Meg runs inside. I shut the living room door so she can’t claw the window sill in there to pieces as I’m sure the Black & White Cat With The Bell will return.

And so it’s back to the computer.

Funnily enough, Anne is now up and wants to know what’s going on – I give her the story but she’s still half-asleep so she probably doesn’t get what I’m saying – she wanders off back to bed and Meg the Black Cat settles down beside me.

Now it’s 7:45, all CDs are transferred and I’m heading for the garage…..