Cat Friday

The past three nights have been marked by early morning sleeplessness, followed by insomnia, then by tiredness through the day. Predictably, my temper has been short, and my patience has not been as indulgent as I should like.

I think it all began Tuesday. The insomnia and sleeplessness have confused my days, so I cannot be certain. Maybe it was Wednesay.

A certain male cat - sometime visitor of her highness - was expressing his desire in tones only a male cat can achieve. As the lady had her reproductive opportunities curtailed the same year she was adopted, I don't suppose he sings his discordant song for her benefit.

As we see in this recent close-up, though, she is quite attractive. Who can be sure? Who can discern the way of cats?

If we were to translate the male's song in a traditionally romantic fashion, we might say his aria runs thus: "I'm so lonely!"

To be sure, that's a bit of pathetic projection that is likely inaccurate. More likely he sings a bawdy beer hall ballad - a feline country blues, titled "I'm so freaking horny I could die!"

I am sympathetic, whichever song he sings. If I thought it would achieve positive results, I would sing either song. Or both.

I am, on an intellectual level, sympathetic to his song. I am not nearly so understanding, however, at two o'clock in the morning.

That's when this round of insomnia began. Two o'clock Wednesday morning.

By three o'clock Wednesday afternoon, I could barely keep my eyes open or think straight. So I accepted the offer of instant coffee - Folger's Latte, to be exact.

Once upon a time, I drunk upwards of three or four cups of coffee a day. I suppose I developed a tolerance for caffeine. I gave up coffee for Lent one year, and have averaged two cups per day (at most) since then. I no longer have the tolerance I once did. If I drink any caffeinated drink after about three o'clock in the afternoon, it wakes me up at that point. Then it revisits somewhere between one and three the following morning.

I woke at one Thursday morning. This time, I drank the superpowered sugary instant coffee at 11:00. And I had a piece of chocolate Thursday afternoon. It was only a small piece. I hoped thus to avoid the delayed visit.

But I woke at one this morning as well. Once it was clear sleep would not come, I arose and watched a movie (Anatomy of a Murder). I did sleep through about 30 minutes of the movie; otherwise, I was fairly well awake.

The movie was over about 4:40. I thought perhaps a soak in the tub would sufficiently relax me so I could get back to sleep. However, the process of bathing and starting the day are so entwined that I was too alert to return to bed. So I carried on with my morning.

I spent some time on a computer project. I posted the quote which appears below (the quote is tangetically related to said project). I then took myself out to breakfast. Bought gas, got money from the ATM, and went to breakfast. Stopped by the library to return some movies, then returned home.

Didn't I mention I have the day off? Good thing, too. By the time I got back from these errands, my brain was well fried. As I have noted, a movie sometimes serves as white noise that helps me get to sleep. So I popped in Much Ado About Nothing, and promptly slept through most of it. I only saw the last 30 minutes or so of the movie.

I do feel better now. A bit of a fatigue headache, but I believe I can face the remainder of the day.