My Mind's A-Wandering
I know I haven't blogged recently and for that I'm (a little) sorry. I wish I could say life's been busy, but it hasn't - I've just been tired.
You see, sleeping in my truck isn't as fun as I'm making it sound. Not only is the back of my truck (a SUV) cramped so I can't spread out, but the walls aren't necessarily soundproof so I spend the entire evening listening to cars going by, horns blaring, music thumping and the occasional police car whirring in the night. And then there are nights like the other night were the wind was excessive. Oh, and the cold. Not that it's been terribly cold these past couple of nights, but for some reason I've felt it more and that's made all the difference. Slipping my head into the sleeping bag makes me feel claustrophobic but keeping my head out means my breath is making icicles, my ears and nose are freezing and I'm constantly rolling around or covering my head. Each move only wakes me up further.
No wonder homeless guys drink so much. Sadly, I'm not interested in drinking as it actually makes me sleep less.
So, some days I'm barely functional, like today; and others I'm non-functional, like yesterday.
Needless to say, I'm always thinking of ideas to blog about but I never seem to have my phone on me when I have my little epiphanies. (Also, I'm now wondering if there's a word that means "little epiphanies)
There's a word, it's on the same lines as privilege, but it's not the same. It basically means not self-aware or, better yet, ignorance or unconcern for how your actions affect others. I'm seeing a lot of this these days, or maybe I'm just noticing it more.
The other day I was using the WiFi at Whole Foods, which not only has surprisingly good WiFi, but also happens to be right next door to my gym, when I see a couple of kids pushing around the store's "future shoppers" carts. For those of you not in the know, "future shoppers" carts are little carts designed for kids to walk around with and pretend they're shopping.
These two kids each had their own cart and were running back and forth just smashing into whatever was at the end of their journey. Back and forth for a half an hour, smash! smash! smash! On one end of their smashing were Whole Foods' high chairs for people to put their kids in while they ate in the little eating area and on the other end, a stand of whatever up against the coffee vendor's counter.The mother of the kids, talking to her friend, didn't seem to care one bit. She just let the kids go on for as long as they wanted. Even a couple of Whole Foods employees walked by without saying anything. I had to assume it was company policy not to upset the soccer moms.
And just today as I was pulling into a Starbucks to use the WiFi there, I let a pedestrian cross in front of me, just to be courteous. I didn't have to, but I did because that's the kind of guy I am. The guy, not only didn't nod or wave a "thanks" at me, but he also threw his garbage right there in the parking lot. He didn't turn around and use the garbage cans at the coffee shop, nor did he carry it to his car to throw away later. Nope, right there in the parking lot he just threw it on the ground.
I wanted to say something so badly, but by the time I was parked, he was in his vehicle and gone. Littering is a huge pet peeve of mine.
These two scenarios don't discount the guy at the store who believed everyone wanted to listen to the music on his phone so he had it playing via speaker and turned up as loud as possible. Nor does it preclude the other night when I was shooting hoops at the gym and a kid came in and decided he needed to use the same court I was using even though four of the six were available. I wouldn't have minded had he asked, but he didn't ask, he just came in while I was shooting and took over the court.
On a side note: guys who spend too much time on their looks. At the gym (again) and there's a twenty-something year old kid who spends 10 minutes every morning on his hair. I've actually watched as he uses whatever product he uses to ensure each spiky-thing is the appropriate size, facing the appropriate direction and balances out the rest of his hair appropriately. It's almost comical watching as he tried to get every hair just right ...
And the hipster guy wearing rolled up shorts, a sweatshirt and a beanie cap who spent 5 minutes in front of the mirror making sure his beanie was positioned perfectly and he had the right amount of hair exposed from under the cap. He spent so much time on his hair I thought he was leaving the gym, but no, he went out and walked on the treadmill, making sure he posed just right to achieve the desired affect.
I know, it sounds like I'm complaining about other people too much - or maybe, no definitely - being too judgmental, but I'm okay with that. I only wish I had a camera running when I see these things.
For the first time ever I took headphones into the gym with me this morning. I'd hoped to listen to an audiobook while working out but I had to stop it quickly. Turns out, I wanted to listen and take notes. So, I turned on something called "swamp blues" and listen to that music at the gym. Eventually I decided to listen to Dream a Little Dream (Of Me) and spent the next couple of hours wondering if the verses were out of order. Or rather, if changing the order made the verses make more sense.
Below is the original rendition of the song:
I don't know ... these are just the sorts of things I thing about.
You see, sleeping in my truck isn't as fun as I'm making it sound. Not only is the back of my truck (a SUV) cramped so I can't spread out, but the walls aren't necessarily soundproof so I spend the entire evening listening to cars going by, horns blaring, music thumping and the occasional police car whirring in the night. And then there are nights like the other night were the wind was excessive. Oh, and the cold. Not that it's been terribly cold these past couple of nights, but for some reason I've felt it more and that's made all the difference. Slipping my head into the sleeping bag makes me feel claustrophobic but keeping my head out means my breath is making icicles, my ears and nose are freezing and I'm constantly rolling around or covering my head. Each move only wakes me up further.
No wonder homeless guys drink so much. Sadly, I'm not interested in drinking as it actually makes me sleep less.
So, some days I'm barely functional, like today; and others I'm non-functional, like yesterday.
Needless to say, I'm always thinking of ideas to blog about but I never seem to have my phone on me when I have my little epiphanies. (Also, I'm now wondering if there's a word that means "little epiphanies)
There's a word, it's on the same lines as privilege, but it's not the same. It basically means not self-aware or, better yet, ignorance or unconcern for how your actions affect others. I'm seeing a lot of this these days, or maybe I'm just noticing it more.
 |
| One of the Kids |
These two kids each had their own cart and were running back and forth just smashing into whatever was at the end of their journey. Back and forth for a half an hour, smash! smash! smash! On one end of their smashing were Whole Foods' high chairs for people to put their kids in while they ate in the little eating area and on the other end, a stand of whatever up against the coffee vendor's counter.The mother of the kids, talking to her friend, didn't seem to care one bit. She just let the kids go on for as long as they wanted. Even a couple of Whole Foods employees walked by without saying anything. I had to assume it was company policy not to upset the soccer moms.
And just today as I was pulling into a Starbucks to use the WiFi there, I let a pedestrian cross in front of me, just to be courteous. I didn't have to, but I did because that's the kind of guy I am. The guy, not only didn't nod or wave a "thanks" at me, but he also threw his garbage right there in the parking lot. He didn't turn around and use the garbage cans at the coffee shop, nor did he carry it to his car to throw away later. Nope, right there in the parking lot he just threw it on the ground.
I wanted to say something so badly, but by the time I was parked, he was in his vehicle and gone. Littering is a huge pet peeve of mine.
These two scenarios don't discount the guy at the store who believed everyone wanted to listen to the music on his phone so he had it playing via speaker and turned up as loud as possible. Nor does it preclude the other night when I was shooting hoops at the gym and a kid came in and decided he needed to use the same court I was using even though four of the six were available. I wouldn't have minded had he asked, but he didn't ask, he just came in while I was shooting and took over the court.
On a side note: guys who spend too much time on their looks. At the gym (again) and there's a twenty-something year old kid who spends 10 minutes every morning on his hair. I've actually watched as he uses whatever product he uses to ensure each spiky-thing is the appropriate size, facing the appropriate direction and balances out the rest of his hair appropriately. It's almost comical watching as he tried to get every hair just right ...
And the hipster guy wearing rolled up shorts, a sweatshirt and a beanie cap who spent 5 minutes in front of the mirror making sure his beanie was positioned perfectly and he had the right amount of hair exposed from under the cap. He spent so much time on his hair I thought he was leaving the gym, but no, he went out and walked on the treadmill, making sure he posed just right to achieve the desired affect.
I know, it sounds like I'm complaining about other people too much - or maybe, no definitely - being too judgmental, but I'm okay with that. I only wish I had a camera running when I see these things.
For the first time ever I took headphones into the gym with me this morning. I'd hoped to listen to an audiobook while working out but I had to stop it quickly. Turns out, I wanted to listen and take notes. So, I turned on something called "swamp blues" and listen to that music at the gym. Eventually I decided to listen to Dream a Little Dream (Of Me) and spent the next couple of hours wondering if the verses were out of order. Or rather, if changing the order made the verses make more sense.
Below is the original rendition of the song:
Stars shining bright above you
Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"
Birds singing in the sycamore trees
Dream a little dream of me
Say nighty-night and kiss me
Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me
While I'm alone and blue as can be
Dream a little dream of me
Stars fading but I linger on dear
Still craving your kiss
I'm longing to linger till dawn dear
Just saying this
Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
But in your dreams whatever they be
Dream a little dream of me
Stars fading but I linger on dear
Still craving your kiss
I'm longing to linger till dawn dear
Just saying this
This morning, at the gym, I'd convinced myself it makes more sense to sing it this way:
Say nighty-night and kiss me
Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me
While I'm alone and blue as can be
Dream a little dream of me
Stars shining bright above you
Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"
Birds singing in the sycamore trees
Dream a little dream of me
Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"
Birds singing in the sycamore trees
Dream a little dream of me
Stars fading but I linger on dear
Still craving your kiss
I'm longing to linger till dawn dear
Just saying this
Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
But in your dreams whatever they be
Dream a little dream of me
I'd also change a few bits and pieces of the wordings, too. I think it flows better and tells a better story this way, but I'm having problems reconciling the two parts that start with "Stars" being one after the other. "Stars shining bright above you ..." followed by "Stars fading ..."
Imgine for a second, you've just come off a very good date; you're at the door saying goodnight. S/he's giving you a goodbye kiss:
Say nighty-night and kiss me, just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me.Then, later in the evening, when the two young lover birds are apart, the singer wistfully sings:
Stars shining bright above you, night breezes seem to whisper 'I love you,'Afterwards, night has come to an end, the stars are fading because the sun is rising and our singer hasn't been able to sleep a wink and s/he's willing to stay up until the sun rises:
Stars fading, but I linger on (dear), still craving your kiss. I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear, just saying this ...Doesn't that make more sense? I just wish there was another way to separate the two sections beginning with "stars".
I don't know ... these are just the sorts of things I thing about.
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