The Music Thief

True confessions moment here... I LOVE housesitting for friends, family, you name it. Taking care of a house and their pets can be a bit inconvenient to my schedule sometimes, but what makes it worth it is their music collection. I love listening to their CDs when I find myself looking for some entertainment around the house. I come across all sorts of different music I would never have taken the time to explore on my own. Most importantly, I kinda "steal" their music and import it into my computer's music library. Technically I'm not actually leaving with their stuff, but I guess I like using the words "steal" and "thief" because it makes me feel more bad-ass than I really am capable of.

So this past Christmas week, I came away 800 songs or more richer. It was a jackpot for my musical taste too with lots of Bach, Mozart, some Beethoven, Pavarotti, Edith Piaf, Miles Davis, Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerld, Louis Armstrong and Yo-Yo Ma. Sadly no Elgar that I could find. On the flip-side, I now have some awesome albums I had not expected to enjoy: a bunch of Felix Mendelssohn Hawaiian songs from 1942-1945, the Lady & the Tramp soundtrack, some old broadway musical soundtracks with the original cast, the best of Bob Marley and Paolo Conte. It's a pretty great deal actually. Watching a house and dogs for two weeks in exchange for some money and hundreds of songs? Yes please!

Plus, I pride myself on being a exemplary 'house-sitter.' I love tidying up around the house, maybe a little cleaning if I feel like it and I love cooking them a crock-pot meal to come home to. Tomorrow I'm going to make Chicken Chile for the current family I'm sitting for. They're originally from Texas before moving to Hillsdale, so I'm banking on their being Mexican food aficionados like myself. I like to think my generosity in the kitchen and in the laundry room while they're gone justifies my recent musical acquisitions. What sort of things are you guilty of when you house-sit?