Journal 002

I'm cookin' up what I hope will be an interesting entry on Hippie idealism and the counterculture of the swingin' sixties - and specifically how it relates to my own beliefs and ideas. But it won't be finished today, and I don't want this blog to fall into disrepair, so here's another journal-type entry.

I got up today like everyday, just before 5pm. I recall being extra tired, considering that I think I stayed up till at least 10 the morning before. Listen, I thought I fixed up my sleep schedule after Christmas, but it's still a bit out of whack. So I forced myself out of bed and went in to take a shower. I got dressed and had dinner. Considering that it's Sunday, and my dad usually eats in the living room in front of the big TV on the weekends, and both my brothers had finished eating by the time I got downstairs, I had the pleasure of eating alone. And I'm not being sarcastic. Although I would never force anybody out, I have no problem eating alone - I have no problem being alone in general - in fact I enjoy it, and I don't think that's a surprise.

I have a Pepsi with my dinner every single day. It's also usually the only Pepsi I have, except for special occasions. So I guess I'm on a Pepsi-a-day schedule. I don't really think I'm addicted, though I certainly enjoy having my Pepsi. Sunday is usually order-out pizza day, but occasionally we get subs (and rarely, calzones) instead. Today was a sub day. It was tasty, but one problem I have is that this particular place doesn't seem to take much care in making and/or wrapping their subs - I'm saying it's pretty messy. And I don't really like messy foods. Just too much effort. But getting past that, at least the sub was good.

After dinner, I was feeling pretty out of it. Moreso than usual. I didn't really feel like doing anything, and I was still tired, so I just said "fuck it" and went back to bed. I took my contacts out, got undressed, turned out the lights, crawled under those warm covers, and listened to my "Christmas Acquisitions" playlist playing over my radio while I drifted off to sleep. It felt great.

I got up a few hours later, probably around 9 or 10 pm. In these situations, where I end up taking a "nap" during the time I'd usually be awake, I can only sleep for a few hours before waking up fully. It feels good taking your time getting up, though, and not having to force yourself out of bed until you feel completely ready. God, I wish waking up was like that every day. More good news is that I ended up not getting dressed again for the rest of the day. I must have been formally dressed for less than an hour all day - that's pretty good, I'd say.

From there, I surfed the web a bit. I tried looking up details for loft apartments, to see what it might take to live in one. There appears to be a few in the area, but it's looking like they're in the price range of $1,000, and I assume that's a monthly rate. Not gonna be a possibility until I get some kind of serious job. Although that's not much of a surprise, it's still disappointing. I think about how awesome it would be to live in a loft apartment. I looked at some of them, and this one development seems like it was artificially built to be in the "loft" style, with high ceilings and brick walls and all of that, but it had a very fake feel to it, unlike an actual warehouse converted into an apartment. I'd like to have one that has an upper level.

Anyhow, around midnight-ish, after the house was mostly quiet, I had some more food (finished my sub). Then I watched a cool Rolling Stones feature that was sitting around that I had bought my dad for Christmas. It was pretty interesting, as it was half an in-the-studio documentary of The Rolling Stones developing and recording Sympathy For The Devil - fascinating getting to hear the song form gradually from bits and pieces. And the other half was this somewhat enigmatic social document concerning black power. I get the feeling it was very much a period piece.

That ended at about 3am - peak hour for prowling the streets. I figure 3am is late enough that most people staying up have gone to bed, and early enough that most early-risers have yet to get up - 2am is still a little early, and 4am is a bit late. I had noted earlier at how unseasonably warm the temperature was today - we're talking 45-50 degrees (Fahrenheit), at night. Furthermore, the birthday present I bought myself (a beautiful hooded ritual cloak) had just arrived, so this was the perfect opportunity to try it out. The ground was damp, but the skies were dry, so I put on sandals and didn't have to worry about being rained on. There was a little bit of wind, but it wasn't terribly cold - all in all it felt very rejuvenating - like the spring air. I put on the cloak (and only the cloak), and headed out for a walk.

The great thing about this cloak is that I can either let it flow behind me, or I can hold it tight around me to cover up. Plus, there's a hood, so I can go totally incognito if I want. Although, I'm a little concerned about looking *too* suspicious. A hooded figure in a dark cloak roaming the streets at night? I dunno, the point is I'm trying to avoid attention, not attract it. But I didn't use the hood at all tonight anyway.

I headed out, aimlessly wandering the neighborhood streets, trying to go for the darker stretches. I ended up reaching the main thoroughfare, and actually walked along it for a block. A couple cars passed me, from either direction, but I had myself wrapped up tight, so I didn't feel particularly concerned about attracting attention. Luckily, I didn't cross any cars on the smaller streets, 'cause that would have caused me a little more alarm. There was this one dark section on the way back, where the wind picked up, and I let the cloak flutter behind me, and it felt great. I considered taking one particular path that would have allowed me much longer stretches of darkness, and away from houses which always make me paranoid that maybe someone is up and sitting in the dark for some reason, but I decided against it for two reasons. First, it turned out to be a little longer than I felt like walking tonight (maybe if it was a little warmer), and second, I remember at the end of that stretch there's a spot where I've noticed driving past that a cop loves to sit there late at night and watch for anything out of the ordinary. So I decided to avoid that path.

I made it back home without event, feeling good from the exercise and the adventure, noticing that I had been walking for a good hour. But it was time to go in and get warmed up. I spent some time finishing up porting my Quick Riffs webpage from my old website to my current one. Then, I had another snack before it got too late (at which point people start waking up). I made some Van Houten cocoa to warm my insides. I have to say, with each try I'm getting better and better at choosing the right portions of cocoa and sugar to make a tasty drink. There also seems to be more cocoa in that little can than it looks like. Although, I did put in quite a bit this time, and it was pretty rich.

That about closes it up. I should be heading to bed soon, although looking at the time, it looks like I won't be back on schedule just yet. Aw well. I still gotta set up this week's theme on Zharth's Music Log. I think I'll relate it to the hippie entry I'm working on. Stay tuned for that.