Oy...

I would say that I feel guilty about not blogging lately, but it's only been partly my fault. Blogger, after months of no trouble, decided it didn't like my template. It kept hacking up hairballs, so to speak, whenever I tried blogging. So, I've changed my template/removed the customisations for now, unitl I can figure out what the problem was.

So what have I been up to?

Hmmm...for one, sleeping/not sleeping. For years I was apparently so sleep deprived and also dream deprived from my sleep apnea I couldn't stay awake waiting for Internet Explorer to load. Now, though, I find that I'm not only getting rest, I'm having exciting adventures in dreamland that rival all TV, books, movies, and other entertainment I could otherwise be using my freetime doing. My dreams are not merely vivid, they're psychodelic, and I've been crashing several times a week by 7 or 8 in the evening only to sleep until just before work. According to my sleep doctor, this is a normal response.

Unfortunately, I have been drinking an above-average amount of caffeinated sodas this past week, so it has been harder to achieve this bliss. I've been cutting back, though, and spent 17 hours last night making up the difference. So, hopefully no more sleeply days/sleepless nights.

Other milestones over the last few days:

I have won, not one, but SIX games of Snood on the Evil setting. I am becoming a Snood expert, and I am now enjoying other levels of Snood that are not quite as obsessive. It only took about 400 games before I won even one. Don't worry Mr Dobson--your fee for this delightful yet insidiously devilish 'non-violent' game has been budgeted and will be winging its way to you forthwith.

In the meantime, I have broadened my insomniacal hours with the Plus! version of Labyrinth that came with Windows XP, caring for Sims, and reading Victorian mysteries. I had gone through a dry spell where I just couldn't concentrate on reading. It was true reader's block, somehthing I never thought I'd experience. Fortunately I was able to pop through the four Harry Potter books and that seems to have cured me. I'm not only reading fiction, I'm also back to studying and I'm even writing a little. In fact, my muse seems to have returned; I'm also experimenting with Paint Shop Pro to do some original pieces. I've been pleasantly surprised at the outcome. When I get back to having a website I can connect to from Blogger, I'll post some of the work.

I've ordered new glasses, which is good, because my second contact tore the other day (the second in about a week, apparently they have a self-destruct after 15 months, but having never torn a contact in fifteen years, I was a little surprised) and I have been forced to wear my two-prescriptions ago 'Agnes Gooch' glasses. (Ever see the movie Auntie Mame? "I'm a sponge!") These are ultra-cheap frames that are attempting to contain some lenses from a late lamented pair of glasses. Everyone says dorky glasses are actually in fashion now, but I grew up wearing glasses in the 1970s, and only cateye lenses could be more scarring. But, since I can't see beyond two inches without them--ah, well. My vanity is not as important as being able to dodge traffic.

What else? I'm rearranging my living room a piece of furniture at a time. This is slow but keeps me from hurting any part of my anatomy I'm planning on keeping. It will be much more soothing once I'm finished. I can watch birds outside on my patio, the fish in my tank, curl up with animals, and listen to Loreena McKinnitt as candlelight and my tabletop fountain play nearby. Much better Feng Shui, if you will. But in the meantime, I have books stacked everywhere and a huge pile o' stuff in the middle of the floor. Sigh. Not to mention, I keep getting distracted into reading the books. :)

Obviously I don't really watch TV. I prefer other pleasures. I do try to catch Buffy and Charmed over at a friend's house during the season, and I tend to watch CSI at home. Mostly the TV's there in case I want to watch a video, though. Even when I had cable I used it mostly for music or educational programming. Now I can only get 3 1/2 channels of the 5 broadcast, so there doesn't seem to be much point. I did manage to wake up briefly last night and watched Harrison Ford be incredibly funny on Conan O'Brien. He was talking about how he'd like to work with the Cohn brothers, etc. on something just stupid and funny, then shook his head from side to side with elongated jowls looking like something from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Hysterical. He also lamented the need for doing Russian accents in his new movie. "Why do I have to be Russian?" This makes me think he agrees with my friend Zabet, who majored in Russian, tried out as an extra for Air Force One, was told by Russians she had an excellent command of the language, and says Harrison Ford's Russian stinks (but otherwise thinks he's great, I think).

Well, I think it's time to wrap up. I've been very productive the last few days (surprisingly, as I was supposed to be leading a meeting Tuesday in Berea, but didn't find a ride and so was marooned here in Lexington). Now I'm off to a team leaders meeting.

I do think that I might take a page from Zabet's book and offer a prize to the person who is the 2000th visitor to this blog (hard to believe it's to that). I will bestow research on one question of the winner's choice as a prize. So, if you've ever wanted to know something but didn't want to take the time to find out on your own, now's your chance. My only stipulation is that you ask a question that CAN be answered. No deep philosophical questions, please--although I'll throw in the answer to the life, the universe, and everything for gratis, courtesy of Douglas Adams--it's 42. If we get into angels dancing on pins, etc., my brain will leak out of my ears. But if there is a fact to be found, I will do my utmost to supply the answer--or at least point you to someone who has it. After all, that's what librarians do. :)