Time Out

Posted: Mon 29 April, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Domestic, Getting Old(er), Getting Organised, Health, London, Own Business, Sleep - or lack thereof, Thoughts, Time, Work-related, Writing | Leave a comment »

This week (and some of next) I’m actually on leave from the job. This is A Very Good Thing.

I don’t have much in the way of plans, the main thing is just Not Working, and taking the much-needed time out.

Of course, there are things I want to do, or at least get onto “paper” and out of my head, but that’s all going to be done on my terms, rather than within the demands of an office.

I’m sure there’ll be a couple of days out and the like along the way, but really the main thing is just time out. It’s been a pretty hectic first third of the year, and the next one isn’t looking like it’ll be any quieter, so downtime is definitely a good plan.

Finished for the Year

Posted: Thu 20 December, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Domestic, Sleep - or lack thereof, Time, Work-related | Leave a comment »

Today was my last day in the office ’til 2013 – for which no-one is more amazed than me.  I’m now off for no less than 13 days – allbeit covering the Festering Season – which is going to be very strange.

Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I was off work for that long (and particularly being off on proper Holiday pay, rather than just not working) but it’s going to be good to have the time. Indeed, I’m currently so tired and wiped out, just having the time is a real bonus.

I don’t know yet what I’m going to do with most of my leave, other than relax. There’s some bits planned, which will all be good, but primarily, relaxing and preparing for 2013 will be the main objectives.

And it’s going to be needed – one of my final actions today was to list the projects my team will be working on for the first three months. Suffice it to say, it’s a big damn list, with 17 projects (as well as ongoing projects) between three of us…

Weird Dreamage

Posted: Mon 17 December, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Animals, Domestic, Sleep - or lack thereof, Thoughts | 4 Comments »

Last night, I woke up to the sound of one of the cats puking.  It’s a distinctive sound, to say the least.

Weirdly, this morning I could find no sign of it happening – which is worrying.

It means either

  1. The cat puked, and then it’s been eaten (either by the same cat, or one of the others)    or…
  2. I dreamed it.  (Dreamed? Dreamt? Not sure)

If it’s Option One, that’s pretty gross, and doesn’t usually happen.

If it’s Option Two then then I think I really need to worry about my brain, because I dread to imagine what any dream analyst would come up with as a reason to dream about a cat puking.

Vivid Dreaming

Posted: Thu 11 October, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Domestic, Insomnia, Sleep - or lack thereof, Weirdness | Leave a comment »

One thing I’ve realised more and more over the last few months is that I dream very vividly – to the point that I can’t easily tell dreams from reality.  It’s only when I think back and actually analyse things that I work out sometimes whether it’s been dream or real.  That’s not helped by the fact that most of my dreams appear to be quite reality-based anyway. I’ve never dreamed about flying naked, or whatever.

Don’t get me wrong, they get very weird – but it’s extrapolations from reality, rather than just starting weird and getting worse.

Recently, I’ve also been vivid-dreaming that I’m awake. Or I think I have – it’s a possibility, anyway.

Either way, I’m either awake and not sleeping, or I’m asleep, dreaming I’m wide awake, and thus – um – dreaming about insomnia.

I honestly don’t know which it is.  There are bits where I know I’ve been awake ’til ungodly hours – and have physically moved to pick up the clock and look at the time, for instance. Others, I’m less sure – I’ve felt like I’ve had no sleep, but then I also recall things that were definitely (with analysis) dreams.

It’s all very confusing, and not at all helpful.

Core Sleep

Posted: Mon 30 August, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Domestic, Sleep - or lack thereof | Leave a comment »

Over the weekend, I caught up on some sleep. I’ve said before, my “core sleep” hours are between 7 and 9 am – if I get woken up (or have to wake up) within that time, I’m foul for the day, and resemble a grizzly bear woken from hibernation.

Come the end of those core hours, I usually wake up naturally within a couple of minutes, and all is right with the world. It’s weird, but true.

Anyway, this weekend I couldn’t work out why I was waking up at 10am instead.

And then it occurred to me.

It looks like my core hours are actually 7 to 9am GMT. We’re in BST, so that’s 8-10am.

Bizarre, but true.

Rain, Storms

Posted: Mon 23 August, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Animals, Domestic, Norfolk, Sleep - or lack thereof, Weather | Leave a comment »

When it rains heavily (particularly when it does so at night) having the animals becomes distinctly harder work than any other time. This weekend has been a perfect demonstration of that – we had a proper thunderstorm on Saturday night / Sunday morning, and heavy rain last night/this morning.

Hound has decided that heavy rain equals Thunder, and skitters round the room to lay next to my side of the bed. I don’t mind this too much – she’s been really good this weekend on this score, without getting stressy and stupid, let alone trying to burrow through the wall as she has done on previous occasions. But she still makes enough noise to wake me up, which isn’t great. Saturday night we ended up moving into the living room again (for some reason one of Hound’s “safe places”) because it was proper thunder etc., and it’s easier to have her in there than down the side of the bed.

Sunday night we had heavy rain, so Hound came round to my side of the bed again. This time though it was Psycho Cat that was the pain in the arse – having got utterly soaked, he decided that the best way to warm up and dry off was to snug into the back of my knees, and then turn round repeatedly so that everything dried off evenly. It has to be said that there is little worse than being woken up by the sensation of cold wet cat fur in the back of your nice warm legs.

The little shit even then went back out again once he dried off and warmed up, and was whining again by 7am that he was cold and wet and why wouldn’t anyone do anything. I seriously wonder sometimes whether it wouldn’t be easier to just drown the little fucker and be done with it.

So all told

Weekend Timing

Posted: Sat 24 July, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Animals, Domestic, Sleep - or lack thereof | Leave a comment »

I really wish that Hound would get the idea about weekends. I know, I know, she’s a dog, and dogs aren’t supposed to understand these concepts. But for a time-oriented and very insistent/herding animal, weekends are a real pain in the arse.

It’s my fault (of course). During the week I get up at 6.30, do all the morning things, let the chickens out, and go to work.

On a weekend, well, I went a lie-in. But Hound doesn’t care.

So by 7am she’s scratching on the door, effectively saying “You’re late! It’s time to get up and get back in the routine!”

If you tell her to sod off (or words to that effect) she’ll go and lie down for ten minutes. And it’s exactly ten minutes – you could set your clock by it.

7.10. Scratch scratch. “Sod off”

7.20 Scratch scratch. “Sod off”

7.30. Scratch scratch scratch. “Sod Off“. Scratch “You’re really really late now. And The Girls still need letting out”

7.40. Scratch scratch. “Sod Off”

7.50 Scratch scratch scratch. “Sod it“.

By now Hound’s up a height, stressed that all her routine is just ruined. “Daddy’s late, The Girls aren’t out yet, I haven’t had my pills yet, it’s just all going horribly wrong.”

Poxy fucking animals.

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