Shitty Sleep and a Snowy Week
But at least Christmas is here!
I slept terribly last week for an assortment of stupid reasons. One night we were too wired from a visit with my mother-in-law. Another, a suction cup hook in our shower fell, scaring the shit out of me and Jenn at 4 A.M.
But worst of all was the night where it felt like something was stuck in my throat. While I should have just ignored it, I tried clearing my throat for an hour like an idiot, doing everything I could from trying to hock a non-existent loogie to gargling salt water. All I got was a sore throat and a hoarse-sounding voice that took days to recover.
I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas
Winter is holding back no punches this year. Last week was ridiculously cold. This week’s still cold BUT now there are tons of snow too.
While Christmas Day is supposed to get up to almost 40 degrees, I’m hoping at least part of the holiday will be full of white fluffy snow before it all turns to brown mushy slush.
Juno surprisingly doesn’t seem to mind the snow; he explored our deck and got his paw prints all over!
Speaking of Christmas, we really don’t have anything planned for it other than getting a delicious holiday meal from a local spot. Jenn’s family lives out-of-state and my family doesn’t live in the same city, so it’s hard to get together on the actual day.
Admittedly, it’s nice to have a quiet Christmas this year as it’s been a fun but busy couple of months spent seeing friends and family. I’m looking forward to having some time to sit back and reflect on all the things that happened this year. Then, when I’ve had enough of that, I’ll keep decluttering.
Attack of the Emails
I recently cleaned out my email inbox. This was an empowering act that made me feel like a god. I got to delete millions (OK maybe not millions) of emails with abandon, reveling in an inbox that’s just waiting for new things to arrive so I can delete them too!
It’s made it way easier to actually keep track of all the substacks I’m subscribed to. So, friends, if you put anything out, watch out! I’m probably going to actually read it for once and maybe even comment on it!
Peace out for now and a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or Holidays depending on what you’re celebrating.
The Fiction Corner
A spooky story that ends well if you stick with it long enough. If you read my rundown above, you can probably guess what’s happening before it’s revealed. 😉
A Rude Awakening
Visions of nothing go through my head as sleep surrounds me.
There are no thoughts or words going through me.
I am only a brain stem floating in the primordial soup.
Three thuds ring through the house, pulling me from the soup and back to the real world.
Unconsciousness turns into drowsiness turns into consciousness turns into fear turns to panic.
Visions of robbers flutter through my head. I imagine them busting into our room, yelling at us to stay put while they rummage through our belongings. In my mind’s eye I see myself frozen as my wife sits up and screams at strangers.
Instead I hear my wife ask,
“What was that?”
I don’t make a reply, scared these thieves, these thugs, are already in the apartment.
But there are no more noises.
No sounds of footsteps or rustling through drawers.
Panic turns into fear turns into anxiety turns into confusion.
I look to my right and see my alarm clock illuminating the time: Five A.M.
The time between sleep and awareness.
Our cat, Juno, must have gotten his 4:45 snack from his auto-feeder by now.
Was it him that caused the mischief?
Did he knock over my shelf of CDs and get crushed?
Is he breathing his last gasps of life all because of me?
Confusion turns into sadness turns into guilt turns into grief.
He was just an innocent cat who deserved nothing bad.
A cat who I now see is sitting at the edge of our bed, yawning and unaware we are under attack.
Grief turns into relief turns into confusion once again.
We realize the sound didn’t come from the front door but the shower. As my wife and I get out of bed, we make slow steps toward the bathroom. As my hand reaches the shower curtain, thoughts race through my head:
Did the shower cave in on itself?
Was there a rat in the shower?
*gasp*
Were there robbers sneaking in through our pipes?
My hand pulls the curtain to reveal what’s happened inside.
Confusion turns into clarity turns into relief.
On the shower floor is a suction cup hook on the floor. Around it, a loofah and brushes that were originally hanging on the hook.
My wife and I, shaking, hug each other.
We weren’t under attack, we were just under delusion.
All that was broken was the vacuum seal on the suction cup.
Any critiques/compliments/complaints? Lmk in the comments!
This Week’s Music Pick:
Because Christmas is basically here, I’ve got a “Christmas” pick for you. OK. It’s not exactly Christmas, but it has an element of Christmas to it.
Released in 1967, The Chambers Brothers’ “Time Has Come Today” is a trip of a track. At a little over 11 minutes long, the song starts off fairly simple enough. But a little under the three-minute mark, it veers off into a trance-like state of psychedelic rock. While you think you might get lost in the reverb-soaked sounds, the constant “tick-tock” produced by two cowbells keeps you bumping along.
At the 5:40 mark comes the familiar sounds of “The Little Drummer Boy”, quoted in The Chambers Brother’s style.
Jamming abounds for several minutes until there’s a brief return to the simpler sound heard in the first 3 minutes. Then, we return to the psychedelic rock sound in the last minute before coming to an end.
Trippy, weird, and a touch “Christmassy”, it’s a great song that’s filled to the brim with all sorts of twists that’ll leave you thinking:
“What the hell just happened?”
Ryry’s Reads
Piss in the wind - Brett Newski
Two things got me back into writing more fiction: a writer’s retreat a few months ago and this book. Part memoir, part travel writing, Brett writes in such a casual but fun way that it reminded me to stop taking myself so seriously when I write and to just enjoy it.
Feel this towel - Brooke Barker
A funny yet profound comic on the beauty of the small things in everyday life.
On the Staying Power of Books - Tara Y
All about bookstores, books, and the power of third spaces.
It's Time to Quit Zynstagram - Robbe Reddinger
Every day being chronically online gets worse and worse; is this a sign of the end of social media?
Overwhelmed by all the wrong data - Kelcey Ervick
A comic questioning what’s really important in life.
Five Things I’ve Learned About Fiction Writing - Anne Boyd
The title gives it away.
How the Subscriptions Era Came Too Late to Save the World - Michelle Teheux
A reflection on how digital journalism could have thrived if the subscription model became popular just a little sooner.
Good for you for embarking on the email clean out. I can't seem to clean out enough to even feel like I've made a dent. I think I would have to make it a real project that I dedicate what feels like mountains of time to. Maybe I will put it on the wish list for 2025.
Sounds like you had a full week, that probably will be used as fodder for lots of writing in the future.