OK, so I lied. Afternoon has passed, and we’re well into evening. You get what you pay for, and if you want more, go ring up Lance, who apparently has committed to 1,000 words a day, unless it’s Monday through Friday, in which case it’s 2,000. I remember when I started this outfit, back when blog was just a sound you made when you were throwing up — it seemed a big deal to update every day. Now you need to pound the keyboard all day long to be a playa.
Which is why I’m not a playa. Among a million other reasons.
I did pound the keyboard much of the day, but was less productive than I hoped to be. Why? Because I didn’t sleep well last night. I have a get-acquainted visit with a doctor coming up next week, and I’m going to speak aloud the A-word: Ambien. Doing so will usher in the Judy Garland phase of my life, but so what? I want seven uninterrupted hours, and I want them now. The current model is: Three hours asleep, three hours awake, two hours fitful sleep, morning grumpiness, afternoon torpor.
Had my first experience with brining today. Brining means you soak your protein-based entree in salt water before cooking it. It is said to seal in juices. It does so, but I have this tip to add: Omit salt from your spice rub, or else you find yourself glugging down glass after glass of zinfandel, and you don’t want that, unless you do. We had a crackbrain meal tonight — pork tenderloin (brined) on the grill, with sushi for an appetizer. Diversity is a strength, but contemplating the menu made me wonder if I glugged the wine before I started cooking. On the other hand, what’s that supermarket sushi for if not impulse purchasing? I stood over the cooler with supermarket sushi’s target customer — a tall, slender teenager in athletic clothes, obviously on her way home from a practice of some sort, who wants protein in a groovy, low-fat package.
“What is this?” I asked, peering at a sampler selection.
“No idea,” she said. We both bought it.
Then home to the local weekly paper, with its hey-Martha story of the week — about a G.P. Farms resident found dead in his easy chair, TV still on, hand on his chest, after…anyone care to guess the interval? Anyone?
A month.
Ewwwww.
I find these stories rather poignant, as anyone would, I suppose. I find something appealing in leaving as little of my corporal form behind as possible, but not soaked into a chair. What was that scene in “Kundun,” where the monk’s body is dismembered, then taken outside to be carried off by vultures? There’s a funeral I can endorse. Imagine the wake afterward.
How did we take this grim turn? Probably for not getting enough sleep.
Not much bloggage today; I had my mind on other things. Even memeorandum can’t get excited about the day’s big stories. So tomorrow is Thursday, the start of the weekend. Things will improve. See you then.
Lance Mannion said on April 27, 2005 at 11:24 pm
Nance, you already got what it takes to be a playa. Insomnia. Anyway, that’s my secret.
Caffeine helps too.
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brian stouder said on April 27, 2005 at 11:40 pm
“can’t get excited about the day’s big stories”
because there aren’t any exciting news stories, about now!
el Presidente will make some news tomorrow night, but other than that, what is there?
Nothing is new about Michael Jackson – a story that is more than a decade old (this would have been screaming news in the mid-90’s….but we had the OJ story then, and it’s almost as if the MJ story was put into an oaken keg to age for 10 years, and then broken out)
Tom DeLay? yawn…Congressional scandals are like media hurricanes, which soon enough rip the roofs off of a whole swath of members of the House of Representatives, of both parties. The intrinsically cool-headed press contingent sucks up a huge volume of hot air from breathless get-even sources on both sides of the aisle, and the resultant thing then proceeds to swirl out of all control
Good luck on your ongoing writing assignment. I think very few things are more work than writing – and YOU made a career of it! I think I’d sooner succeed at quantum physics
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Sandy said on April 28, 2005 at 8:28 am
I, too, suffered from insomnia like you describe. Have you tried Tylenol PM? This drug has restored my sanity. I sleep like a baby for at least seven hours and do not wake up groggy.
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Michael G said on April 28, 2005 at 8:56 am
A sign above the sushi display at the local Raley’s says “Contains No Raw Fish”. Some of it’s not bad.
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blue girl said on April 28, 2005 at 9:17 am
The glugging of the Zin can also add to the 3 hours on/3 hours off schedule. A pattern I’m also familiar with. Makes me very cranky. You should also talk to your Dr. about the L-word. Lunesta. Have you seen the spots? Just the purring voice-over and those little animated butterflies makes me want to try it. Even though they warn of the side effect: drowsiness!
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TSO said on April 28, 2005 at 9:52 am
I always figure my insomnia is punishment for not working out. With all that biking you do I thought you’d be exempt from it.
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Carmella said on April 28, 2005 at 10:32 am
Insomnia in women of ‘a certain age’ is a sign of peri-menopause. …..hey…just sayin’!
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John said on April 28, 2005 at 10:34 am
ditto on Carmella’s observation (from a loving husband’s viewpoint only)
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Nance said on April 28, 2005 at 11:15 am
Point taken. The last funny Bill Cosby joke I heard was about the big M: “If I’d known my wife wasn’t going to sleep for three years, I’d have made plans.”
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mary said on April 28, 2005 at 11:53 am
Double ditto on the Carmella comment and on Tylenol PM. Ambien scares me and they don’t give long term scrips for it. Tylenol PM is over the counter and you can just take it when you need it, and if this pattern is just starting, you might need it for a while. The Zin comment is dead on as well. You have so much to look forward too, menopause-wise. Heh heh.
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4dbirds said on April 28, 2005 at 1:41 pm
I took Ambien one evening to ensure a good night sleep. I seemed to wake-up fine but remember yawning quite a bit on the drive to work. At work, I started shutting down. I had to close the door to my office and slept the entire work day. I don’t remember driving home (what an idiot to even try it) and went straight to bed and sleep the second I got home. Next morning I was my usual self. One Ambien put me out for a good 32 hours.
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