I’m in my mother-in-law’s living room, nearing 5AM. The house is quiet, only the dog and cat nearby for company. I slept on the floor last night/this morning with mixed results. You know, I take a great and somewhat unreasonable satisfaction in my ability to sleep just about anywhere at any time. Since I was kid, sleeping over at friends’ houses, I have been able to sleep in non-traditional circumstances. I suppose hiding from violent parents and using sleep as an escape was part of the habit’s genesis. Whatever the cause, I pride myself on the low maintenance natureof my sleeping scenario. Last night the pattern didn’t hold. I had a hard time fading away then woke permanently when S rolled off the bed on to me. Oh well. I don’t mind the quiet house before dawn.

I also had a couple of nightmares and felt some anger about work surfacing. There’s no way around admitting that some people let me down over the last couple of years. I’m closer to letting that go and moving on to a healthier place. I mean that. I guess I have to feel the anger before I can move on.

The temperatures the next few days are supposed to be deathly hot. I feel some of that exhaustion that’s haunted me the last couple of years as well.

Yesterday, however, was more fine than otherwise. I answered emails near the plaza in the morning. Later in the day my brother in law and I went shopping, where I picked up some ass-kicking tea at a huge supermarket near Jamestown. I might go back and get more today. One of the teas had some caffeine, though. I think the caffeine might have played a role in keeping me up.

Here’s the tea:

http://www.honesttea.com/Index.php

Here’s another brand of tea I’ve been getting at a coffee shop lately. I like the unsweetened kind:

http://www.goldpeaktea.com/

I don’t know if tea is a good racket, moneywise, or not. I’m buying a bottle of the gold peak tea every day at the coffee shop for $2.50, which seems excessive, but I don’t know. There is no easy way for me to make iced tea here in Chautauqua, unfortunately, or else I wouldn’t bother with these other teas. However, they seem like a reasonable and healthier substitute for diet coke. Maybe I can get them at Sendik’s or Whole Foods on sale back in Milwaukee and drink them at the office. Maybe I should just fill a thermos from home.

I keep forgetting to post the link to the Chautauqua webcam. Here’s the link. If it says it’s not working, just wait a couple of seconds, the picture usually starts up before too long. When I say I’m sitting on the Hultquist Center porch, like I did yesterday, I’m sitting just outside what would be the upper left corner of this picture’s perspective.

http://ciweb.org/webcam.html

Ok, guess I’m up. Off to read or watch Sportscenter.