early_to_rise epitome of incomprehensibility ...gets songs and poems from the past stuck in my head. But first, I lie in bed, feeling like something's unfinished. Sleep, to be imprecise. I'm trying to adjust myself to an earlier schedule for the next few days. I stay in bed for half an hour anyway. Doing so reminds me of school days. When my body gets moving, my tired mind attempts to encourage it with mental music, namely the bridge of an old song. It's the one that Lia remembers, finding it characteristic of my silliness: "You aaaare the apple of my iPod," she friendishly mocks. You are the apple of my iPod And everyone should keep in mind that You bring us peace and joy and hope and A book title for Douglas Coupland (JPod; also, is it right to assume his name is pronounced cope-land?) At the table, I spot the corner of a paper: Dad's order of service, from the week he preached when Sybil was away? Anyway, I see "Shalom Chaverim" and I'm reminded of a different song, sung in children's choir: Shalom to you, my friend Shalom, until we meet again The word "shalom" means peace, hello, and goodbye So sing shalom, shalom And the thought of "shalom" meaning peace, hello, and goodbye reminds me of my poem "Like," only my mind simplifies the second line: Love is a noun and a verb. Like is a preposition. I hum this to myself, make up a rhyme for it: Something something something Don't put me in this position Because "love" is a noun and a verb But "like" is a preposition Losing sleep takes years off and adds them. Mentally 2013. And then it's time to hyperfocus the craft_show supplies into the car, more than I actually need. Dad has agreed to drive, as if I were young-old again. 220813 ... raze i never thought i would be. but i'm grateful to wake with the sun, and to hear the stirring of each living thing kind enough to sing to me as we mark another day on the only calendar that matters, branding this vast, nameless shape with lines that long to intersect. 220814 ... nr this is a funny page to see on the recent list upon my rising just before 2pm (thanks, allergy medication and an intense need for catch-up sleep). i wish i could wake up early to see the world begin to stir but also stay up late when the world isn't making a stir. 220814 ... e_o_i Me too. Uncertain about when best to be awake. Whatever fits the schedule, if I can manage it. (I should turn this off now because I need to do this again tomorrow, but more so. 5:30 wake-up time to catch a bus to downtown, from thence to Kingston, from thence to Arden.) 220814 ... e_o_i But first, a note_to_self, a reminder: do not be grumpy. Be grateful for the sleep that you do get. Give_thanks_and_kick_ass (incidentally, that blathe provides evidence that Lia indelibly associates me with You Are the Apple of My iPod). 220814 ... past (i've always wondered about arden. the road south to it seems both minor and we'll trod, and it's sign is huge.) 220815 ... past more seriously, i'm a slightly resistant early riser (and if i write when i wake, it usually sits there alone under 'today' for hours), but it's also something i did years and years ago. my first office job, i started at 730am and was the second last one in. that was after working in a restaurant, often until 2am. maybe my body just adapts, but i do have a floor in how much sleep i need if i'm to be a well functioning adult. 220815 ... e_o_i Hi blather: your new-day time is apparently 3 AM EST. Pretend I was up early rather than staying awake until now for no reason? 220831 what's it to you? who go blather from