Bed Time

Daily writing prompt
What time do you go to bed and wake up currently?

I have been hyper aware of this for the last few years. Ever since I started sleep apnea therapy I have gone a little nuts keeping track of my sleep.

Ideally I would go to bed at around 10:00pm and wake up around 6:00am. There literally aren’t enough hours in the day though so that rarely happens.

Realistically, I got to bed at 11:00pm, or even a little after. Jen has an alarm set on our Amazon Echo for 6:00, but I have one set on my Apple Watch for 5:00am. Most mornings I hit snooze for nearly an hour, but I would prefer not to. Six hours of sleep isn’t really enough, but it gets the job done for me most nights.

Checking my sleep stats from last night, I went to sleep at 11:05pm and woke up at 5:45am. I was also awake from 4:40 to 4:50am as I needed to pee. I was asleep for 6.5 hours, 74% of which was in restful sleep. My sleeping heart rate dip was 19% and my average sleeping heart rate was 52 beats per minute. My sleep distruption was 2.5%, or 10 minutes.

Like I said… I’ve been sort of hyper focused on this for about four years now.

What Strategies Do You Use to Increase Comfort in Your Daily Life?

Daily writing prompt
What strategies do you use to increase comfort in your daily life?

Huh? The eff?

Did ChatGPT come up with this question? Strategies to increase comfort? Who talks like that?

The answer? Who the hell knows? I don’t know that I do anything to increase comfort. Do I answer this literally? When I am cold I put on a coat. When my stomach is empty I have a bite to eat. What other strategies do you need?

What about figurative answers? I try not to be an asshole. I fail at that all the time, but when I don’t I guess my daily life is more comfortable.

This question is pretty terrible. Here’s hoping tomorrow’s question makes more sense. That’d be a nice change.

Excited About the Future

Daily writing prompt
What are you most excited about for the future?

What am I most excited about for the future? Again, a vague question when you think about it. Is this a personal thing? Small scale? Large scale?

We’re going to a wedding in Bar Harbor next month. I am looking forward to that. We’re going back to Disney in September. I am super looking forward to that.

Larger scale? I’m looking forward to seeing where Bellana goes to grad school. I am looking forward to Harry graduating from college. I am looking forward to whatever comes next with Jen. Good, bad, or indiferent, everything with Jen is an adventure and I can’t wait to experience anything and everything.

On a more silly note, I can’t wait for the next Bruins Stanley Cup win and Red Sox World Series win. Someday. Given the current state of the Red Sox… well… it’s going to be a while.

So there are a lot of things to be excited about. I can’t really say which I am most excited about. Though… Disney in September, ya know?

Doctor Who

Yup, I’m bringing my nerd level up to previously unimaginable heights.

Last year Bellana came home for a visit and spent a good chunk of TV time showing Harry episodes of Doctor Who. The next time Harry came home he was binging his way through the modern series.

The history here is the show aired from 1963 to 1989, I think, then came back in 2005? I think? Something like that. The kids were watching the second run. The first run isn’t on any streaming service we have access to. I joked that I was going to find the original show and watch it myself. I didn’t.

Last week, or thereabouts, I let their enthusiasm inspire me and I started binge watching the modern show too. I think the streaming service formerly known as HBO Max has 13 seasons. I’m on the last episode of season two.

Earlier this evening I also decided to look into keeping my threat to find episodes of the original show. I found some bad low-res scans of the first season. I watched the first two episodes. Did you know The Doctor had a granddaughter? Will that be explained away or will it be retconned at some point?

I’ll let you know. Someday.

More Mouse Hunting

I actually feel bad for this little rodent bastard. A little. Not much, but a little.

I got up this morning and walked to the bathroom, ya know like ya do. Both cats were in there just hanging out. That’s odd. Something is up. Lily was just sitting on the floor mat. Robin was investigating something near one of the towel racks. I couldn’t see what she was after. At least not until I looked up. On the shower curtain rod, right in the middle, was a mouse. Just sitting there. Calmly surveying all around him. Oh no you don’t, you home invading fucker!

I had my iPad with me. I used it to swat the mouse off the curtain rod. I hoped the cats would take it from there, but they ran away in abject terror. Chickens. The mouse was a little stunned so I threw the floor mat over it and kicked it against the side of the tub. I would have just stepped on the bastard but I was barefoot and we ain’t going there.

I had the little shit trapped for the moment. Was it dead? Did I kill it when I smooshed the mat against the tub? Hopefully, but doubtful. I had nothing to scoop it up with so I figured I would trap it under the waste basket and figure it out from there. I pulled the mat away and tried to drop the basket down but it was too fast and ran into the corner. We went back and forth behind the toilet a little but I was too slow and it made it out of the room.

It ran into Harry’s room. I had it cornered for a second, but when I reached down to pick up a book off the floor to squash it with it managed to run into Harry’s closet and that was all she wrote.

A few hours went by. Jen and I were both logged into work. Her office is next to the bathroom which is next to Harry’s room. I am in the cellar underneath Harry’s room. I could hear the cats running around above me. Jen could hear the terrified little mouse home invader asshole squeaking. I went upstairs to look and found the cats lounging in the doorway to Harry’s room. Just hanging out. Keeping watch.

A few minutes later Jen asked me to come back. The cats had the little prick cornered in the hallway. This time I was wearing shoes and I was able to kick it against the wall. It wasn’t dead, but it was stunned enough for me to grab a broom and a dustpan and a plastic bag and scoop him up. I put him into the bag, took him outside into the pouring rain, and dropped him into the gopher hole, just like the last one that I caught alive.

I do feel bad about kicking it. Just a tiny bit. Not enough to stop me from doing it again. You invade my home, you furry fuck, you get stepped on. Still. I would have preferred a catch and release kinda thing. This was more like a seriously injure, catch, release, and probably die within 10 minutes as something bigger is going to make a snack out of it. Oh well.

Another good job by the cats. They are skilled mouse hunters, though they don’t appear to be terribly skilled at closing the deal, if you know what I mean. I’ve actually had to put an end to each of their mouse hunts. They haven’t gone beyond the play stage yet. At least not that we know of.

I hate mice.

Harmony

Daily writing prompt
What could you let go of, for the sake of harmony?

Sorry, this question is meaningless without context. It’s too vague to make any actual sense.

I would let go of anything apart from Jen and the kids. The question here though should include the conflict that needs to be brought back into harmony.

Would I give up my life if Jen or the kids needed me to? Yes, yes I would. Would I give up my life if the conflict involved my lawn? What about a parking spot? What about whether or not the cover band should play a specific song? No. No I would not. You see the difference? What is on the table to be let go of depends on what is causing me to need to let go of something. Without that detail, whatever I say in response is meaningless.

What is My Favorite Genre of Music?

Daily writing prompt
What is your favorite genre of music?

I could write a multi-volume encyclopedia out of this prompt.

I don’t remember a time when music wasn’t more or less the most important thing in the universe for me. So much of my life has revolved around it. I don’t think I can pin down one particular favorite genre of music as my favorite. I can give a list of genres of various specificity, I guess. How’s this, in no particular order…

  • Classic Rock
  • English Blues Rock
  • Progressive Rock
  • Chicago Blues
  • Jazz Rock Fusion
  • Acid Rock
  • Grunge Rock
  • Alternative Rock
  • Jam Bands
  • Bebop Jazz
  • Romantic Period Orchestral music
  • Classical Period Orchestral music

Okay… this list is getting silly. Let me try to consolidate it into something easier to understand. How’s this…

  • Rock and Roll
  • Blues
  • Jazz
  • Classical

Yup, that’s easier to follow. I can dig it.