Maybe it's because the time I spend on my laptop lately is due to my doing purely what I want to do (screw around) and not what I need to do (work), or maybe it's because I got tired of being uber geek. Whatever the reason, after several hours of cursing, fussing and sheer frustration, I have finally figured out how to download music and burn it to a CD.

Yes, yes, I know - most second graders have mastered this by now.

You would have never guess that I spent the last 6 years working for a internet technology dot-com publisher. Well, my specialty was e-commerce - ergo, I had no problem buying anything online. I just never got into the whole digital music scene - especially since I couldn't justify spending late night hours downloading and ripping the latest recording of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons or Beethoven's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Major. (No - I actually drove to the store to buy that one.)

I've been trying to expand my musical repetoire to include more than classical, jazz and classic rock. So, yesterday I actually subscribed to a music download service to try out some new stuff. Lo and behold, I just burned a CD containing Usher, Cold Play and Avril Lavigne. Go figure. (If you would have asked me 6 months ago who any of those singers/bands were, you would have gotten a blank stare back at you.)

I must say, I am quite pleased with myself. Now that I have mastered my laptop and CD burner, next up: power tools and kitchen appliances.