One for the Road

In a couple of days I'm going to be driving home to spend the weekend with my mom, who I haven't seen in a number of months. For some people this might not seem like a big deal, but it's a little ridiculous when you can take a 4 hour drive to get there. Now that I've finally whittled away a weekend just to get home, I'm going to let you in on a little ritual that I've developed for these extended solo-trips. 

• Two drinks are required for making the trip. One caffeinated (usually an iced coffee, my D.O.C), and a bottle of water. 
• Fully charged cell-phone for any road side emergency (or to bother other people in case I get bored).
• Newly Burned CDs with a custom playlist just for the trip. I'll give you an example. I've just burned the new disc for my trip this Friday night. Since I'll be driving at night, I thought it would be more appropraite to fill it with things that are a bit more mellow. Here are the tracks:

1. "Waiting On the World to Change"- John Mayer (feat. Ben Harper)
2. "We Belong Together" - Gavin DeGraw
3. "After Tonight" - Justin Nozuka
4. "Who Needs Shelter" - Jason Mraz
5. "Between The Lines" - Sara Bareilles
6. "Strawberry Fields Forever" - Ben Harper
7. "Tidal Waves" - Matt Duke
8. "Stuttering" - Ben's Brother
9. "Fairytale" - Sara Bareilles
10. "I Fell It All" - Feist
11. "Diamonds On the Inside" - Ben Harper
12. "Dreamgirl" - Dave Matthews Band
13. "Giving Up" - Ingrid Michaelson
14. "A Case of You" - Joni Mitchell

I feel it's important to create a mood for every trip because as some of you may know, it can get quite dull to be by yourself for an extended period of time. The only way I can be entertained for at least four hours in this situation is if my mind is occupied by something. Maybe I'm beating a dead horse, here, but usually if my mind has to be occupied by something it's going to be one of the pieces I'm working on. This is the time I use to iron out all of the kinks in any plot or create another story out of something that just pops up into my head because of an interesting verse. The story I'm currently working on is my first love story, hence all of the pop songs and love songs. 

The CD is ready to go, but I'm not. I'm still prepping for my trip. Checking the weather, doing laundry, cleaning house, making sure to bring the right shoes, etc. Los Angeles has been experiencing some serious heat, so along with some good music, I'm going to make sure and pack the good sunglasses. 

P.S. I'm also saving my first listen to Coldplay's new album for the trip.