I feel much better this morning. Tylenol and a good night�s sleep does wonders for a sore body, as does a nice warm shower.

I was reading today an article on how Downloading Is Killing Music. I see their point, and as an artist who has struggled to be paid for my work, I know how frustrating that must be for any emerging artist who is just finally starting to achieve his/her dream of making a living at music.

I admit it, I do use KaZaA and I download music. However, it hasn�t really changed my buying habits much� if anything, I buy more now than I did before. I use it to get music that isn�t available to me in stores for the most part- B-sides and rarities and such- if those were released in compilation volumes, I would buy them. I use it to sample music that I might/might not enjoy before I decide I want to buy it. When a new CD costs around 20$, you tend to be a little more selective of what you buy and you want to be sure you�re getting something that you enjoy. I also buy many CDs used. While the artist doesn�t really receive anything for the resale of music, I don�t feel too badly about it. If used CDs weren�t sold and ended up in landfills instead I would feel bad about that. If they chose to add a small surcharge to the price of resold CD�s that would go to the artist, I would willingly pay it. And yes, I burned myself a copy of the new Evanescence album, but it was to last me until its Canadian release date and I bought it the day it came out. We should do what we can to support the artists and the record labels that make it possible for their music to reach us, but they need to fight and help us too. They need to give us good value for the product we purchase from them. If I am going to be paying anywhere from 20-25$ for a new CD, I want it to be consistently good, not just one track that stands out and the rest garbage. I also believe that the single needs to make a comeback, specifically CD singles. If record companies want people to stop downloading that one song they enjoy by a particular artist, they should be putting that out there in an affordable and convenient format.

I had one of those moments last night where the solution to a problem that has been dogging me for weeks just came to me all at once. It was incredible� I was washing racks in the sink at work, and not really even thinking of anything, just humming to myself and thinking of nothing at all� and it struck me. I started laughing, it was so simple! Anybody who walked in at that moment would�ve been convinced of my insanity, but I was laughing at myself for not seeing it sooner. I�m sure most people have had one of those moments of astonishing clarity, and those of you who have will understand what I mean. Sometimes we get so caught up in the problem that we can�t see past it or around it, and the more you try, the less you can see. I have the means to fix this, and I�ve been able to all along! Silly me!

Now to go load up my little MP3 player with a brand-new, ultra-cheerful play list (I need ultra-cheerful today) and get into the shower. Pull my uniform out of the dryer and make my way through the freezing rain to work� apparently this lousy weather will last for a few more days. Lovely. I just hope it doesn�t kill all the herbs in my garden that survived the winter� it�d be ironic if they managed to survive the winter, only to be cut down by the most miserable spring.