Vegan Music

At my parents' house, on top of my very tall bookshelf, lies a wooden box that my grandfather made for me. On the bottom, he hand-carved a letter from him and my grandma before they passed away. This is one of the three possessions I would save first if their was fire that threatened the house (which happens almost every summer).

In high school, I was completely in love with music. Play any song, I knew it. In my spare time (when I wasn't playing sports or editing the yearbook or studying or planning school dances), I was researching upcoming bands, listening to EPs and attending punk rock concerts. Music was my life.

Naturally, I thought music was probably one of the top three most important things to save in the case of a fire when I was in high school, so I placed quite a few albums and mixed CDs in my grandfather's box so that these two things would be saved should evacuation be necessary.

It has been 7 years since I moved out of my parents' house. During those seven years, I have accumulated over 13,000 songs; this is what happens when  you become a group fitness instructor and have to buy music you love as well as music your class will love. My first week back at home, my mom suggested I go through my old CDs and throw out the ones I no longer wanted. Knowing I would be stuck in bed for a couple of months and once I started, I wouldn't want to stop, I postponed the chore.

Four days ago, I finally opened up that box and pulled out the other 5 boxes of albums and began uploading, deleting, labeling and giving away old music. Three days have past. Three days. The first day, I woke up at 9AM and began. I did not take a break until 5AM the next morning. Yes, 20 hours of listening to music with no break. The next day was a little better. I cut down the 20 hours to 13 hours of sorting. The next day, I went to Portland for a wedding, so I only did 5 hours worth of work. Today, I am still trying to finish my task. It is ridiculous!!! Piles and piles. Boxes upon boxes. Dad told me CDs you burn personally only last for 3 years. Mine have lasted over 10 years now. I am so ready to be done.

I have to admit, it has been fun to find songs I had forgotten about, bands I haven't listened to since middle school and entire albums I had never taken out of their wrapping (hello, Pink Floyd).

And while I was sorting through music, what was I eating, you ask? No, you probably didn't ask, but I will tell you anyway. Since July 1, I have taken up the vegan lifestyle again. It's only been a week, yet I have lost over 2 pounds, which isn't bad. And I haven't craved any meat or sweets, which has been fantastic, especially since my body does not need those things right now. Go veggies!

Moral of the story: If you are looking for new music, ask me. I'm positive I'll have something you'll enjoy.

Also, I've found a lot of cycle CDs and I CANNOT WAIT to get back to torturing all y'all on the bike! I'm going to start designing new workouts with all this music. Get ready for a lot of time out of the saddle in zone 5!!!