Thoughtful Thursday: Music From Les Miserables is Rattling Around My Head

Ah, Thursday.

I woke up this morning splayed out, face down, cat sleeping between my legs, and singing "On Day More" from Les Mis. I'm kinda stuck on the phrase that Madame and Monsieur Thenardier sing during that song -

Watch 'em run amuck, Catch 'em as they fall, Never know your luck When there's a free for all. Here a little dip, There a little touch, Most of them are goners So they won't miss much.

I'm not sure that this particular song snippet is a favorable omen for this day, but it is time to get ready to go into my last work day for the week. It is the last session Thursday for the regular school year. If we go to work next Thursday (at all), it will be for inservice time and hours. I'm not sure if we will be working next Thursday, but I really hope not. It's my birthday, and I would like to spend it in the solitude of my own home rather than sitting through yet another discussion about data and PBIS and statistics offered by our doctorate-level behavior specialist who just cannot talk to our audience as humans. He means well and will be an excellent university instructor, but he just doesn't know how to make things interesting to the folks in the audience - all of whom have a bachelor's degree but most of whom will never return to higher education - by emphatic choice - and who are entrenched in their own ways.

 

It's been a LONG semester for many ways, and this is just one of them.

 

Do you ever get earworms? Snippets or entire songs stuck in your head? I do. There are times when I cannot get rid of them - I pay attention to those. Most of them, though, are able to be expunged (isn't that a great word?) from my brain using a trick taught to me by my ninth grade history teacher - Mr. Reade. I sing the National Anthem (including all flourishes and cymbal strikes) in my head, concentrating on my remembered immersive performances of this particular song (thank you Marching and Pep band participation!!). That usually fills up my head and then the other song just goes away. I also often seek out the music in question, listen to it, and then move onto the next songs on the album or, in this case, the soundtrack. That often helps as well. (I blame my sister for this particular need...more on that later.)

I wonder if my friend who is an art therapist has this type of response through her medium. Now, I know that she also gets earworms - she is very musical in addition to being an artist - but I wonder if she sees lines and patterns behind her eyelids at times. I do sometimes - especially if my gaming has been a bit too much for my brain - I dream about endless combinations of the game. Some are solvable and others are not, but they continue until sleep erases and resets my brain.

I am going to use the National Anthem trick this morning because I don't want to take the time to download the cast recording of Les Mis onto my device this morning. I hope to move the message of "One more day, ONE DAY MORE" out of my head to free up much needed space in there...

One day MOOOOORRREEEE!