Category: Ramblings
Cabin Fever
Spring feels just around the corner, although in reality it’s still another month away. I remain deep in hibernation mode, sleeping longer hours and having little luck dragging myself out of the apartment in the morning for some exercise before work.
Not What I Needed
I ventured out briefly this afternoon to see if I could find something that would soothe my throat and tame the nasty, hacking cough I’ve got. In particular, I was hoping for something that would help knock me out tonight so I could get a decent sleep.
Unfortunately, the friendly, English-speaking grandma sensei wasn’t working today at the drug store. I tried to pantomime some of my symptoms in hopes of getting what I was looking for, and was recommended a box of tablets. I should have looked more closely at the label before I left the store.
The cold remedy I came home with turns out to have caffeine in it, not so great for helping put one to sleep. On top of that, the woman who helped me gave me a freebie that she said would be good for me — an energy drink. Basically a Red Bull. The main ingredient is taurine, and it also contains caffeine and nicotine.
These are not proper ingredients to help a sick person. It seems more like a way to keep the walking dead propped up for another day of work.
A Fork In The Road
Alice came to a fork in the road.
“Which road do I take?” she asked.
“Where do you want to go?” responded the Cheshire cat.
“I don’t know,” Alice answered.
“Then,” said the cat, “it doesn’t matter.”
— Lewis Carroll
(thanks, Kir)
Memory Is The Enemy Of Wonder
“Memory is the enemy of wonder, which abides nowhere else but in the present. This is why, unless you are a child, wonder depends on forgetting — on a process, that is, of subtraction.”
— Michael Pollan, The Botany of Desire
Something For Everyone
Amazon.com is certainly, uh, branching out. Reading some of the product reviews for the above item (I think I’ll leave it unnamed to prevent unnecessary search engine visits) is entertaining. Among them:
UNHAPPY USER:
“Disappointing and a bit painful. The size of the item means it might work well on ‘large’ women.”
HAPPY USER:
“No more wandering the interstate truck stops all night. Just turn it on and let ir (sic) turn you on. Anyways my only complaint is the battery life cycle, but that can easily be remedied with a soldering iron, bridge rectifier, and AC power outlet.”
A Snowy Day
It’s been snowing pretty heavily here since late last night, so there’s a good amount of snow on the ground. I’ve been ensconced in the comfort of my warm apartment all day, relaxing, writing and reading. I was supposed to have returned some DVDs today, but the thought of riding my bicycle a considerable distance on snow-covered sidewalks hasn’t sounded appealing. I’ll deal with the late fees.
I watched Le Grande Blue last night for the first time. I was a bit disappointed — too much buildup, I suppose. Rosanna Arquette was terrible. I read somewhere that the best way to watch the movie is to turn off the dialogue and enjoy the music and images. Good suggestion.
Nice Mind
Disturbing Virtual Reality
I’ve been waking up recently and turning on All Things Considered before falling back asleep for half an hour or so. I drift in and out of sleep during this time, catching some of the news when awake. And, it seems, while I’m asleep.
This morning I had a vivid dream that I was looking at a wide-format, wall-sized photograph of Kenya, with a bombed-out hotel on one side and a low-flying jetliner on the other side. Someone was pointing out to me the missiles that were captured in this photo, just missing the jetliner. I was very angry. And then, still in the dream, the room and the photograph dissolved into reality, and I was seeing the events in real time.
When I woke up, an NPR reporter in Mombasa was describing the current situation in Kenya, and the reaction to the terrorist attacks.