Mamacita says:  I made the mistake of checking my teacher’s retirement fund online, and now I’m quite upset.  Not upset enough to cancel Christmas over it, because I need a holiday more than ever now, but upset nonetheless.  I wish I hadn’t looked.  I think I was better off not knowing for sure.

So I’m listening to music.  I always listen to music when I sit here at my computer because I am not a person who does well in silence; I really need some chaos going on around me to help me focus.  Whether this is a result of growing up in a tiny house with three siblings, I couldn’t tell you, but I CAN tell you that I hate silence.  It’s creepy, and makes me look up and around constantly, and then I’m disoriented when I look back at my work.  When the music is playing, I can gauge how much time has passed by how many songs I’ve heard, and I’m not driven to keep looking up and around all the time.  I sit here and do my work, happily, humming and singing along, and content to KEEP working until I’m finished.

What am I listening to, tonight?  This:

1.  Eva’s Final Broadcast – Mandy Patinkin and Patti LuPone

2.  All For The Best – David Haskell & Stephen Nathan

3.  You Gotta Have a Gimmick – Faith Dane, Chotzi Foley, & Maria Karnilova

4.  Rose Tint My World: Floor Show/Fanfare/Don’t Dream It/Wild And Untamed Thing – Tim Curry

5.  Many A New Day – Joan Roberts

6.  The First Man You Remember – Kevin Colson

7.  I’d Give My Life For You – Lea Salonga

8.  Dance: Ten, Looks: Three – Pamela Blair

9.  Pilate’s Dream – Barry Dennen

10.  Gus, The Theatre Cat – Susan Jane Tanner & Stephen Tate

11.  The Point of No Return – Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman

12.  On My Own – Frances Ruffelle

13.  Hello, Little Girl – Robert Westenberg

14.  What’s The Use of Won’drin – Jan Clayton

15.  Before I Gaze At You Again – Julie Andrews

16.  This Nearly Was Mine – Ezio Pinza

17.  Til’ There Was You – Barbara Cook

18.  Light My Candle – Rosario Dawson & Adam Pascal

19.  How Long Must This Go On? – Terrence Mann

20.  Don’t Tell Mama – Jill Haworth

21.  A Secretary is Not a Toy – Rudy Vallee

22.  Shadowland – Heather Headley

23.  Those Were The Good Old Days – Ray Walston

24.  No Time At All – Irene Ryan

25.  Sabbath Prayer – Zero Mostel & Maria Karnilova

Yes, I set my showtunes on “random” and this is what I got this afternoon.  Yes, this list is but a drop in the bucket compared to all of my showtunes.  Yes, I am crazy about showtunes.  Yes, I much prefer the original cast, unless you are Hugh Jackman, and even then, I want BOTH versions.

What I really want to know is this:  How many of YOU know which shows these songs came from?  The first person to e-mail me with a list of shows from which these songs came, will get. . . . um, will get. . . .

How about if I make a Christmas stocking for each member of your family?  Is that a good prize?

So be it then.  If I’ve already made Christmas stockings for your family, please go for it anyway.  I’ll send you something else.

Mamacita aims to please.  How’s my aim?  Did I hit anything?