Take the strain ...

... roll it into a little ball, throw it away somewhere and lose it.

That's what I hope to do sometime soon, before I do actually lose it. We're at a very busy time at the moment on the project, which is being accompanied by Great Things happening too. Lots of success at the moment, crossing fingers for some more of the same soon. It's come through a lot of hard work from everyone* involved, me included.

I'm bushed now though - I throw everything into what I do and have a tendency to burn myself out while getting on with it.

*Did I say everyone ? Well ... part of the strain I'm feeling at the moment is the expectation I seem to have as a "Go To Guy". It's a fine reputation to have, except it tends people to ask you to do stuff for them. Stuff they should really be doing themselves. (Definitely when it's their own jobs they don't seem capable of doing)

Maybe they think I'm really calm when inside, I'm being the whirling dervish going nuts trying to figure out how to do something. It's only some people (the lazy ones) who wind me up when they push their work on to me. With other people like The Angel, our Snow Queen and Ms Sunshine, it's a case of "why didn't you ask sooner ?"

If a pretty lady asks me to do something, I'll usually jump at the chance. And you know with the 3 ladies above, they've already tried their hardest to figure it out on their own. All I ask in return is the thank you and the smile which comes naturally. A smile from a pretty lady brightens the day like nothing else. It's worth more than gold, platinum or the first teacake in the morning.

There you go - cooperation is gained more willingly with a smile than a "do this because I don't want to"

It's a bit of a shame, because it takes the gloss off the successes we're having. Sometimes you believe that success happens despite some people rather than because of them. Maybe that's because we have a lot of special people to make up for the lightweights.

That's enough of that for now :-) Had to get it out and say it because I find it easier to deal with struggle by expressing it than if it's bottled up to fester. (I also have a strong management chain to help fend off the more unreasonable demands)

More Top 40 time :-)

At 30, bit of classical with Fossiles from Carnival of the Animals. This one is one of the more famous from that piece.
29 sees a bit more Kate Bush with Army Dreamers. Wonder if anyone thought when Army Dreamers was written 30 years ago that the world would see the Falklands War shortly after or that it would be in the state it's in now. This one's from the Never Forever album and is just about as poignant now as when it was written.
28 is another Kate Bush track with Wow. This one is from the Lionheart album and sums up Kate perfectly : Wow. I suspect listening to Kate Bush from an early age is one thing that fed my fascination with ladies with long dark hair.

27th is a track from Edie Brickell's Ultimate Collection. It's a track called Vodka, done with Carter Albricht. Listened to this 57 times in iTunes, it never gets old. Can't link it though, you'll need to get that cd :-)
26 is one of the more beautiful songs in my collection which closes out the Scarlet and Other Stories album from All About Eve. It's a story of The Pearl Fishermen. Very beautiful, very tragic and something else feeding that fascination from No 28.

25th and played 57 times is Alisha's Attic describing my normal state of being : Late Again. This one is another of my extensive Alisha's Attic B-side collection.
At 24 is another Alisha's Attic track, one of the signature tracks from their first album. I Am, I Feel, which kinda sums up the feelings I was pouring out up top :-) (TOTP's disaster of a sound department strikes again!) No miming here :-)

23 is the only entry in the Top 40 from Sleeper, with Click ... Off ... Gone. Proving that it's not just good vocals needed for great songs, the music around this one makes it stand out.
22 is Something from The Beatles. If there's anything that describes Love, it's this song.
Finally for today's part of the Top 40, it's Scarlet by All About Eve which has had 58 listens so far.

Time to round off a Wall Of Text with something I know somebody's going to be looking for ... There's a band I've been introduced to recently that isn't in this Top 40 cos of the head starts the All About Eve's, Kate Bush's and Alisha's Attic had. They're on the Patrol with one of my favourites from these guys : Chasing Cars.