Excellent, Excellent . . .

Okay, this is pretty cool. I ordered Adrina Thorpe's CD, Elusive, after giving her tracks a listen over on her MySpace. It arrived today. You know, one of the things I hate most about getting a new CD is having to practically use a scalpel to rip the shrink wrap and bar code thingamabob off the jewelcase. Alright, not a scalpel, but I do have to use a Swiss Army knife to carve the darn stuff off to get to the goodies.

I didn't have to. Adrina had already done it for me. It's not unheard of. Bud Buckley signed his CD, Feel My Love, for me and signed the liner. Deni Bonet stuck a nice note on a post-it and signed it when I ordered her two-pack of CDs. That was before I saw Deni in concert and met her in person last summer.

Adrina did both--the post-it note and the signed liner with a nice thought for the day: "May life's road lead you ever to the light . . .." Considering the way my life has been going the past few months, I could use a little light at the end of the tunnel. Perfect thought at the perfect time.

Here's the funny thing: until this evening I hadn't read her blog entry entitled "Sharpies." I figured it had to do with the permanent markers, but for a rail commuter within the greater NYC area, I assumed it had to do with marking up the jerk's socks who decided to sit in the seat behind you and shove his toes up your ass between the seat and seatback. Anyone who rides NJ Transit trains can relate to that evil thought. Black sharpie for people who wear white socks and silver for people who wear dark socks. Either one for people who wear no socks--and just "paint" their toenails for them.

When I saw the signed liner, I went back to read that blog entry, and indeed it was about signing CD liners! She wasn't kidding. It made me laugh.

And, I really love this album! It's the sort of thing I'd pop in the PC or car dash, and when the last track is finished, just hit play again.

I thought I'd mention this as a tangent. The bubble wrap shipping envelope was hand written; the handwriting matches the liner notes and post-it. Typical P.O. Box address, but it was return addressed Costa Mesa, CA. I've only been to CA three times in my life. Once was to Coronado when I was a kid, for a ship christening. Once was to my then-employer's Costa Mesa office (couldn't resist a drive to Newport Beach, while I was there). And the last visit was to Palm Springs for a convention, but then to extend our boondoggle a bit, my boss and I hit our office in Irvine for a couple of extra days. Easier to get back to NYC from John Wayne airport, anyway, than from Palm Springs. Between Irvine, Costa Mesa, and Newport Beach, that particular area of Orange county is one of the few with which I'm reasonably familiar. Now I'm really starting to miss In-and-Out Burger--best fast food burger I've ever had, but the fries are really funky.

Currently listening: Elusive By Adrina Thorpe Release date: By 05 December, 2005