Lately I’ve fallen into what I consider a bad habit. Each morning around 5:00 AM, I wake up and can’t get back to sleep. Unfortunately, that’s about 2 hours earlier than I’d like to be waking up, so I’m not getting enough sleep.
I suspect it’s stress related and hope that it will soon pass, but right now it’s annoying. Being tired adds to stress, and that’s the last thing I need this week.
Time to lighten things up a bit. Coming this weekend: Iron Chef America.
Batali, Puck, Flay … and NO William Shatner. The TiVo is already programmed. This should be fun.
I’ve been pretty down recently, so everything is looking like I’m seeing it through shades of gray. Still, I’m more than a little saddened by the current Doonesbury strip sequence, in which longtime character B.D. (who was shipped off to Iraq last year) has been gravely wounded. And for the first time (perhaps ever) in the strip, B.D. is seen without his helmet.
Maybe Doonesbury is just cynically exploiting the war to prop up his ratings (although I doubt that). Most likely, he’s trying to dramatize this difficult issue by bringing it “home” to the Doonesbury family.
The strips (three so far) are gripping and immediate. B.D. has just been wounded and is fighting for his life. Doonesbury deliberately lets all the voice bubbles in the strips float loose, not tied to any one character, to emphasize the disorientation and chaos of the event. A nice touch. The only thing missing is any sign of blood — but I suppose that might be too graphic.
At any rate, whether it’s because I’m depressed or because they’re good (or both) these strips have gotten to me. They’re worth a look, even if you’re not a Doonesbury fan.
To top it off, Senator Chuck Hagel goes onto CNN to say it might be time to reinstate the draft. “If we’ve got a generational war then all of us should take some responsibility for this country if it is a nation at war,” is how he put it.
And another 10 American troops have died in Iraq since my last post here.
Trying to grind a half-pound of coffee in the Cuisinart because your coffee grinder won’t hold that much = a good way to waste time and coffee.
For 7 years, a very nice cappuchino machine has been sitting unopened on our shelves. It was a wedding gift we registered for (thanks Dexter!), but for one reason or another we never got around to using it. Today, with the memory of the excellent coffee of Rome fresh in our heads, I finally cracked it open.
Success! Perfect espresso and froth. Using our friend Ben’s excellent Costa Rican coffee didn’t hurt.
Now I’m going to drink it and read some headlines while it’s still hot.
This month has really sucked, as far as work goes. But things are (dare I say it?) getting better. One of my staffers from the Santa Rosa store agreed to start working in Corte Madra with me and today was her first day.
What a relief it is to have her there! It’s amazing how much more smoothly things run with the addition of just one more person in the store. I can go buy supplies for the store or take lunch without worrying and rushing back as soon as possible, becasue if there’s a wave of customers when I’m out, there’s two people to handle it, not just one. Things stay more organized and get done faster because there’s that extra pair of hands. And there’s someone else who can help me with the load of managament tasks I’ve had to do alone for the past 6 weeks.
Better still, on Wednesday we head out for Italy! There’s a lot to get done between now and then, but I’ve been trying to stay organized and plan as much as possible, so we don’t get tripped up by last minute issues. We need to pick up a few odds and ends for the trip, and I need to get laundry done, but overall we’re pretty much ready.
The one thing I regret is that I’ve been so damn busy I have not had much time to review the “Living Language” Italian CDs I ordered. I hate being an ignorant tourist who can’t speak the language of the place she’s visiting but we’ll have to wing it with the phrasebook.
In short, I’m starting to feel like I’m coming out of the tunnel I’ve been plowing through since taking over the Corte Madera store. Long may it last!