Monday, December 3, 2001

I keep a wary eye on the greasy fat man. He grunts something I can’t hear as he grabs the metal bar sticking out of the vat of boiling tar. He prods the inside of the tar barrel like a primitive villager skewers a dead pig, over and over. Beads of sweat roll down his temples.

Suddenly he spins, the tar-covered metal bar still in his hand. I’m now glad for my wariness; I skitter out of the way as hundred-degree tar leaps into the air. A few tiny drops land on my shirt, but the rest splatter onto the concrete wall. I hunker down, out of instinct, my hands outstretched, as my snarling adversary turns to face me. Hot, black tar begins to run down the bar towards his hand…if only I can distract him long enough….

…And at that point, I woke up this morning. I summoned the energy to turn my head to one side and open an eye. The alarm clock read 6:30 a.m.

This was odd. For one thing, I rarely remember my dreams. For another, once I go to sleep, I usually sleep soundly until my alarm wakes me at 8:00.

Still, that was my situation this morning. I got out of bed soon after that, and was able to take care of a bunch of little chores that had been overstaying their welcome and nagging me for a while. I also managed to rip a CD to disk while I got ready for work.

I left the house early, and was able to stop in at a local Michael’s, and bought some extra strands of Christmas lights for my garden. The garden should look beautiful once I’m done.

We had our first hard frost of the season this morning. Every year, for one instant as I see yards covered in a thin layer of pure white forst, my brain insists that it must have snowed the night before.

My thanks to Saalon, who responded to my desperate plea for ways to combat laziness. He suggested that I eliminate distractions, particularly audible ones, specifically using those big cushioned headphones. I found a pair that fit the bill, stuffed way into the back of the cabinet we use for camera equipment, and plan to try that out the next chance I get to write.

I’ve also set up a few alarms to remind me when it’s time to move on to another pursuit. I’ll see how useful they are in the coming week.

Leave a Reply

I work for Amazon. The content on this site is my own and doesn’t necessarily represent Amazon’s position.