Snakepit

I recently experienced a close encounter of the snake kind and darn if we didn’t have another one on Tuesday. I had thought I’d blogged about the first but cannot find the post so maybe not. Several weeks ago TBC discovered a small one curled up in our hallway beside the full-length mirror. I had to have walked right by him several times during my morning routine but fortunately I avoid stepping on the dozing crawler. Yikes! All we can figure is the night before he had slid through a one-inch gap in our north door and made himself at home. Tuesday, TBC again called me at work to say he had found a three-foot black snake with bird snacks on his slithery brain draped around a rafter right next to our sliding glass door. Our barnswallows that nest on the roof of the carport were understandably disturbed by this turn of events but TBC saved the day and caught the hungry serpent before it could reach them. TBC thinks these alarming sightings so close to (or IN) the house are not related to the excessive rainfall we’ve experienced but I’m guessing they are. His lifeless body (no, not TBC’s) is currently hanging from our lightpole with a sharp knife through his head, a warning to all other hissing creatures thinking our feathered friends might make a tasty treat.

On this the last day before my extended break, things have been hectic and chaotic. The Grand Exalted Poobah’s assistant had spit out no less nine emails before noon with stern warnings regarding outages and funerals and everything in-between. Not only is my building closed next Monday and Tuesday, but late start summer classes begin and I’m gone on vacation for the next few weeks. This week I’ve been training "Svetlana" on taking over my complicated (kidding) duties in my absence thus adding to the already chaotic situation. I’m counting my blessings that I won’t be present when all hell breaks loose next Monday and all my prior campus-wide communication falls on deaf ears. Oh well. Easy come, easy go.

In deference to our dear CruiserMel, I leave you with six factoids regards my snoozing habits.

6 Weird things I do while getting ready to sleep or while sleeping:

1. I blow. According to TBC I make this interesting (annoying) sound when I’m asleep where I exhale little puffs of air. And it drives him nuts. He snores like a chainsaw so I fail to see what crime I’ve committed.

2. I toss and turn. A lot. I usually do quarter turns (clockwise) until I finally fall asleep which brings me to…

3. I have chronic insomnia. This is most likely because I tend to tally up all my worries when I finally catch a quiet moment and unfortunately that moment occurs right at bedtime. So I tend to take sleep aids on most evenings but I alternate them so I won’t be addicted. I’m not sure which is worse, taking something possibly habit-forming or being a miserable, sleep-deprived zombie the next day at work. Guess I’ll take the pills.

4. I love to read Star Wars novels before dropping off to sleep. As gripping as the critical Yuuzhan Vong invasion of the galaxy is, I never lay awake at night nervously mulling its possible ramifications.

5. I get a nasty sore throat if I sleep nekkid so I must utilize some form of sleepwear. It’s either silky nighties in the summer or flannel jammies in the winter. I also must have some form of covering on even if it’s only a sheet. Go figure.

6. I cannot hear any talking or music before falling asleep but love white noise, especially a fan or air purifier. And while I grew up drifting off to the noisy echo of busy traffic, it’s the sound of total silence I simply cannot handle. Back when I was a teenager, I spent the night with my bud Angie in the rural home her and her mom were then living in. I lay awake all night because, as I groggily informed her the next morning, only two vehicles had passed the entire night!

Okay gang. Take care this weekend and I’ll make a special effort to post before the Fourth! :)

smooches,

circe