The List.

1. I like typewriters, a LOT. I like the look of them, the sound of them, the way it feels to read something written on a typewriter. Go on, admit it. It feels different. No matter what it says.

2. Obsessed with red wine. White's just not the same. I am always perfectly happy to give an inch of vanity for that warm feeling and, preferably, smokey taste.

3. I love to stroll. The stroll is a lost art, people simply go for walks, and it's nowhere near as rewarding.

4. I sincerely enjoy the first sunburn of the year. You know the one I mean, when it's the first day of Spring that's warm enough to venture out minus protective cover. At the end of the day you feel that twinge, and your cheeks and shoulders are barely kissed with pink. It's easy to miss, but it's thrilling if you pay attention.

5. Cobblestone streets are romantic. I don't even mind acknowledging that my car's alignment is compromised. (What are we doing on cobblestone streets in cars, anyway?)

6. Hands down, I prefer boys with dark hair and light eyes. (I'm aware I should probably change the 5th word of this sentence to "men" at this point in my life, but why grow up, right?)

7. I don't enjoy seeing a movie at the theater unless I've got popcorn or Raisinets. Both are ideal. And note that I say Raisinets, and not "chocolate covered raisins" - sometimes brand names really matter.

8. I've never actually learned how to play chess.

9. I have an odd fixation with kitchen counters, probably because of their extreme versatility. Think about this. Marble (or imitation marble) preferred.

10. The first song I remember knowing the words to is the one that goes "I like that old time rock-n-roll. That kinda music just soothes the soul". This is mostly due to the fact that, to this day, I have an oddly vivid memory of my father playing dashboard drums to this song in his blue Chevy S-10 pickup truck.

11. I don't have a favorite movie. Moreover, I believe that no true lover of film has an actual favorite. With a gun to the back of my head, however, I am a rational person: I'd pick Braveheart. (See next.)

12. The film industry had just as big (if not much, much bigger) a part in my upbringing as any of my caretakers. I'm serious. As a child, my father took me to the cinema and we'd see two or three films in a row. And during the week, it was "5 movies, 5 nights, $5" from the local Video Hut. And then, of course, there is the time he checked me out of school to see the opening date matinee of Braveheart. I was 10.

13. I want a sailboat. Repeat: I WANT A SAILBOAT. This may be irrational. I don't care. I'll say it one more time: I WANT A SAILBOAT. (Always have.)

14. If I could pick a voice to narrate my life, it would be Morgan Freeman's. If, however, I could pick an understudy, it may very well be Liam Neeson.

15. I'm Irish, mostly. A bit of English was thrown in to increase my appreciation of Earl Grey tea.

16. I dropped piano lessons after a couple of years: one of my largest regrets. So, someday, when I am all grown up, I intend to by a grand piano and begin again.

17. I enjoy lying in bed awake for hours. Secret: sometimes I set my alarm for much earlier than need be because of this. I enjoy lying there. Also, when I'm really happy, I have a very difficult time sleeping.

18. I want to work in Africa.

19. I believe in happily ever after AND happy right now. Period. (See next.)

20. I like fairytales for adults: Stardust, Penelope and, well, Grey's Anatomy.

21. I want to drive a restored old American muscle car.

22. I LOVE war movies. It's silly really. They almost always end badly. But I'm hooked. Old, new, love story or not.

23. I have very little interest in seeking out new relationships. The most meaningful ones in my life have always found me.

24. I fell in love at 19, and it occurred to me in that moment that this would either be the one I married or would change my life forever. I was right.

25. "Any experiment of interest in life will be carried out at your own expense. Mark it well."

The Title Track.

There is some debate as to whether or not an album should begin with the title track. I believe it depends on the track.

So, in this case, we'll go ahead and start with this:

"I'LL WAIT FOR YOU. COME BACK. The words were not meaningless, but they didn't touch him now. It was clear enough - one person waiting for another was like an arithmetical sum, and just as empty of emotion. Waiting. Simply one person doing nothing, over time, while another approached. Waiting was a heavy word. He felt it pressing down, heavy as a greatcoat... She was waiting, yes, but then what? He tried to make her voice say the words, but it was his own he heard, just below the tread of his heart. He could not even form her face. He forced his thoughts toward the new situation, the one that was supposed to make him happy. The intricacies were lost to him, the urgency had died... But what was guilt these days? It was cheap. Everyone was guilty, and no one was."