2 Weeks Notice

On Friday night I held a baby and watched the last 7 episodes of 24. The first season. Highly recommended. On Saturday I watched UofA beat Utah in basketball, went to an Indian gaming facility and won $50 then drove to Tucson to spend it. Ate a delightful sandwich at Beyond Bread called Brad’s something-or-other, then went to a coffee shop to caffeinate and get a little work done before the debauchery began. I planned on getting very drunk as it had been a while (Vegas, I think) and I was itching for some relief. It’s just not conducive for me to go out too much as the funds are pretty tight right now, and I don’t know that many folks in Phoenix, and none near where I’m hanging my hat. So when I want to drink, I go back to where I did it best: college. One of my old college roommates recently moved back in to the house that we lived in, conveniently located walking distance from the campus and the street with the bars. I realize that anyone who could possibly be reading this is already aware of these facts considering the only people who read this blog are friends who have actually been to the house in question (and at least one who had it pointed out to her), but, just in case there’s someone I don’t know looking this over, I want to get the details down for full appreciation. So, where was I? Right, old roommate moved back into our old house.
There are many who might find such an act strange, and I myself couldn’t believe it was happening, especially since said individual, just a few short months before he made this move, expressed a great deal of interest in getting the hell out of our college town. And then he goes and moves back in the house he lived in when he was still in school. This sounds like a step in the wrong direction to me, but then, I’ve spent the last 2 months living with my parents, so who am I to talk?
So I slept on a couch where I used to have two rooms all to myself, saw old friends, went to the 4th Ave. Street Fair, ate, ate, ate, bought Kettle corn, still eating and now I’m back in Glendale. I have some more friends heading to Tucson in the next week, so I’ll be heading back down. Plus, Calexico has a show at Congress on Friday and I have a friend’s birthday party on Saturday. On Sunday I think I’m going to Rocky Point with my brother and his friends and then back in time for a gathering of old friends in Phoenix, Christmas Eve with the stepfamily in Tucson, and Christmas day to Washington state to visit my Mother. So… it’s a life of leisure right now. Jealous? Hopefully everyone gets to experience times like these, especially since it’s the holidays and all. Last year around this time was not a pleasant one for me. I was working over-time, 6 days a week planning and organizing a New Year’s Eve Party at one of the largest hotels in the country with only Christmas Day and the day after off to visit loved ones. And if that wasn’t bad enough, my Grandmother passed away just a few weeks before Christmas. So I think I’m entitled to some carefree fun this year. A part of me feels guilty for cutting into my writing time, but most of me is ready for fun-fun. I hereby invite each and every one of you to join me. Blah, blah, blog.

Sleepy

When I was a kid, I had a hard time sleeping. It may have started when I first learned to read and sat up hours after bedtime in front of my night-light practicing my new craft. But what started as an exciting and devious sneak from my parents, ended up being a bit of a burden. As I got older, I found I couldn’t sleep in those twilight hours even if I wanted to. Sometimes I would still read, or get up and do something else, but for the most part, since I actually wanted to sleep, I would just lie there, for hours sometimes, staring at my digital clock. Most of the time I just let my mind wander. This most frequently led to worrying, planning and running through possible scenarios for whatever events were in my immediate future. sometimes I would play number games with the numbers in whatever time it was. This generally involved using simple mathematic functions to get to 10 or as many Prime Numbers as I could, etc.
I thought this insomnia ended when my childhood did, but lately, it seems to have returned. And I think what it boils down to is how much I do in a day. I’ve been rather idle of late, and it occurs to me that the last time I had this little to do was when I was young. I think I have to exhaust myself or come damn close in order to fall asleep within an hour of hitting the pillow.
This, of course, is strictly in regards to falling asleep naturally. I have discovered a handful a surefire sleeping aids over the years, but I have always found that I don’t quite get my nap out when I use them. I have a harder time waking and I don’t feel as refreshed. In ever thought I’d say it, but I’m thinking of getting a job just to give me something else to do during the day. It’s either that or start taking fencing and Thai cooking classes at the local community center. But that’s no way to make the money last. I think there’s a part of me – most likely acquired from Papa – that has secretly always enjoyed making money as spending it. But my favorite part of me likes to do neither.