Things I Feel Strongly About: Sleep

This is actually the post I was intending to write first, but my "intro" explanation blog snuck its way in. Take two.

I think I had been sleep deprived for almost 10 years. Once I started a 30 minute daily drive to school in middle school there wasn't much hope. I thought it was normal until my final year of college.

I still don't know what tipped the boat and pushed me into that sweet sea of regular sleep, but once I had tasted it. . . remember the sea Prince Caspian and Reepicheep find at the end of the book Voyage of the Dawn Treader? Honestly, it's a lot like that. No wonder they never wanted to leave.

That year I started choosing sleep over those extra revision of the paper, or the wine and cheese night just down the street, or or or or or. Life holds infinite "or"s, I found. But with enough sleep the "or"s actually fit together better! I got sick less. The ups and downs of emotions evened out a bit. And my grades didn't drop a bit, even with some fudging here and there.


I really, really like sleep. It's fun, I usually remember my dreams when I'm sleeping enough, and it's so darn good for you. For me.

Turns out I feel strong about taking care of yourself. But that's a post of its own. . .

Things I Feel Strongly About: Intro

Here begins a series I have been trying to write for months. Last weekend, however, a close friend called me out on a similar topic. Thus, "months" has magically transformed into "now".

I am told I state my opinions strongly. Especially where emotions are involved. And that this can be. . . disconcerting. To say the least.

However, it came as an immense surprise for me to discover I have strong opinions. Yes, I hear your snorts of laughter. Especially you, oh siblings-mine. Yet somehow I managed to make it well into my college years before finding the courage to own my opinions and to let them face opposition.

I still find myself pulling back in trepidation at odd times. It's a scary thing, holding opinions that may well be wrong!

So, my current opinion is that this is one of those pendulum things. I was too far to one side, now I've gone farther to the opposite than might be ideal. This is actually hopeful because, barring a breakthrough in perpetual motion, all pendulums eventually reach a point of equilibrium.

In the meantime, apologies to those of you who come into contact with my overzealous opinions. Feel free to bonk me on the head with a rolled up newspaper and tell me to back off.

And I'm still going to make a blog series about them.

inarticulate images

I'm thinking about family a lot right now. It's my sister's birthday tomorrow, I believe. Hmm - it's going to be really embarrassing if I'm wrong about that in this all-too-public forum. My father's heading to the Philippines tomorrow to coordinate flooding relief work. And, of course, I keep seeing these old photos. . .


my mother with my oldest brother. . .

Photos like this - family like I have - find me the most trapped inside my own inarticulateness. Surprised again and again by my inability to comprehend something so simple as the passing of time. . . or to use words to name their almost-invisibly-woven-thought-everything place in my life.

Flow Charts Are Fun!

Found this as a shared link in my google reader (thank you Kathy!) and it made me so very happy. Somehow I've become the local tech expert, which bewilders me on a quite regular basis.

This is totally how I do it.


Go to xkcd - A Webcomic to see this comic in it's natural habitat or to spot more like it.

On Classical Guitar

I said to myself I would blog again. But once the keys are within reach I'm not entirely sure what it was I thought I could say.




It's been an incredible week. The fingertips of my left hand are tingling from trying again to play the sharpie-decorated classical guitar my sister got in Bolivia and gifted to me one Christmas. Part of what I was playing:

"Am I water
After all this time?
Am I starlight?

Am I starlight
After shadows climb?
Am I water?

Silent as a semaphore
Back then when I went to war

Do you read me
In the afternoon
From a distance?

Take a message
Scribbled as I move
Do you read me?"

lyrics kimberly glick and jonathan reuel

(Side Note)

My almost-creepy stalker (reverse stalker?) feed that tells me when there are hits on this blog just informed me: even though I haven't posted since May (*gasp!*), I still get hits here daily. From friendly places like Goshen and Charlottesville and Millersburg where I actually know people.


Wow. This strikes me as deeply hopefully in a bigger-than-blogging way. To think that even when you disappear for 3 months, mess up, don't follow through, whatever. . . there are still people who will stick around and still be there when you come back?! Amazing.

Finally!

Performed again tonight. Also, I've been editing photos slowly as life permits. I'm managing a music store these days. Loving it, but far too busy for my taste. I miss running sound. And I've been oddly introverted - it takes tons of energy to be around people, and for the most part I'd rather spend my evenings at home alone or mostly alone.

Time is what I covet most. And maybe a iPod touch. But mostly time.