But I Can Rub My Head and Pat My Tummy

I’m finding this post very hard to write. Not because I’m emotional or anything. Not that kind of “difficult”. “Difficult” as in just plain hard.

See, I’m writing this on my laptop with iTunes on. And I have a really hard time reading or writing if there’s music coming at me from the same direction as what I’m trying to read.

Headphones help, because it’s coming from a different place, and music from behind me or off to the side is even easier. But if I’m looking at a screen and there’s music coming from its speakers, it’s really hard for me to process.

I’ve got the music on to prove the point to myself, but I’m going to stop it to proofread.

(But you should *always* proofread. Everything. Always.)

(Yes, this was full of mistakes. )

I can’t separate what I’m hearing from what I’m trying to type when they’re both coming from the same place. I do love putting music on to work with numbers or graphics – it blocks out distractions, and gets me working faster, but it’s got to be from another direction, or I’m liable to mix up what I’m typing and what I’m hearing and

…it’s tricky to rock a rhyme, to rock a rhyme that’s right on time….

Are you normal and can you listen to music on your laptop? Or are your wires slightly crossed like mine, and trying to do that makes you feel like your head is splitting? Is there a name for this?