For the past week or so, I have cut back on visits to the pub. It is not just that I wanted to reduce my intake of beer, but I think I was also feeling just a wee bit antisocial. Spending a few quiet nights at home is never really a bad thing, in my opinion. Besides, it is not as if I want to become a hermit. It is simply an act of taking time for myself and being a little quiet.
One or two evenings, I watched a couple of football matches via a streaming website, and other nights I just played a DVD of an old film. After all, I don't think one can ever watch "Rear Window" too many times. Meanwhile, my couch beverage of choice turned out to be milk.
Now, I have always been a huge fan of milk; I am probably in the category of "chugger." (note - I just now did a google search and was mildly surprised to find a wikipedia article about milk chugging. I, however, am referring more to the fact that I simply like milk). At any rate, I found myself drinking a liter or so almost each evening I stayed a home. This meant that I needed to head to the grocery store more frequently, but no matter.
What I did not expect was the impact the increase in lactose (and the reduction in grains) would have on my sleep. Multiple times I went to bed, fell asleep, then woke up after what felt like 7 or 8 hours, only to find that I had been asleep for only 2 or 3. The most recent instance happened just last night. I went to bed at a reasonable 10h30 and was awakened by my neighbors, who were arguing in the next flat.
My neighbors are a young couple who moved in at the beginning of summer. They are nice enough people, but after the first couple of weeks, I really did not see them so much as heard them, and rather often, at that. I quickly realized that they both are argumentative, and neither seems to be particularly aware of how loud they tend to be. Last night was particularly entertaining as the argument (like all of them: petty) was a lively discussion about their shoes and where to put them. The guy was making a point about sweaty feet and how that would not be very pleasant to have all the shoes in the bedroom, while the girl was explaining that by keeping the window open, there would be enough fresh air to help eliminate odor, if any.
At the time, I thought that they both were arguing as part of their morning routine, as I think one of them has just started a new job, meaning that they leave the house around 6 or 6h30 in the morning. I was about to start my own routine to rouse myself for the start of the day and was surprised when I reached over to check the clock on my phone and found it was only 1h30 in the morning. I had only been asleep for 3 hours!
I actually got up and went into the kitchen. I almost took a slug of milk, but thankfully stopped myself, and opted instead for a ciggy on the balcony. That turned out to be a poor decision, as my neighbors window was open, and I could clearly hear them continuing their flippant remarks. In fact, I am surprised that everyone who lives in the vicinity wasn't up, it was so loud. Many folks know that my back balcony looks onto a scene not dissimilar from that of "Rear Window," and as it is normally pretty quiet, any kind of disturbance really stands out. I thought about this for a few minutes as I finished smoking, remembering a recent early morning when I sat on my balcony, cup of coffee in hand, thinking how absolutely still it was.
So, I returned to bed, read for a few minutes, and finally fell back to sleep. As I enjoyed my Zzzzs, I found myself dreaming about getting myself stuck in the little cellar opening that every bar in my neighborhood has. This opening is where the beer delivery guy drops the kegs into the cellar, and I have always found the process pretty fascinating (albeit practical). OK, it does not take much to fascinate me, but in this particular situation I was finding myself at the center of things. Somehow, I had managed to get myself lodged into the space where I could no longer move. I could not back out of the hole, and I could not climb out onto the street. Things did not get better when one of the kegs suddenly opened and I was being flooded by the local pilsner.
With that, I found myself awake, and was glad to find that it was just coming 7am, my normal wake up hour. Like with most of my dreams, no matter how vivid certain parts are, the beginnings and endings always seem to elude me.
Take last week for example. There I was sleeping soundly, dreaming away, when I found myself accidentally breaking the flat screen television at a house while attending a party hosted by the German midfielder of Arsenal. Why I was invited to the party (or how I got there), I have no idea, but I remember thinking, "Gosh, I had not planned for this particular cash outlay" after I returned home and placed an order for a replacement via Amazon. I was, however, quite touched at the nice thank-you note that the guy sent me...
As if that incident weren't enough, one more dream from last week stuck with me. Somehow, I was standing on a wobbly balcony on the 5th floor an apartment building. I am almost certain it was Chris who was standing next to me, or at least he was until he jumped off and then made a gymnastic landing worthy of an Olympic medal on the ground below. The crowd of people who witnessed this all burst into applause, and continued to cheer as he signed a few autographs, then effortlessly threw his ink pen up to me, still standing there five stories above. Of course I caught the pen with both hands behind my back (and my eyes closed), and that's when I woke up.
So, here's to a nice bizarre start to October.
see you out there
bryan
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