5 posts tagged “sleep”

High (and low) points of the evening included:

-45 minutes after I started my shift, I actually raised my voice.  At a kid.  I think this is the first time I've gone over a normal conversational tone at this job.  Sure, I can (and have) been firm with kids whose general level of behavior indicates that they were raised by lax lupines.  I generally stick, however, with the firm voice and the steel-glittering eye.

One of my coworkers in the music department is pregnant.  Being pregnant, she really can't be on her feet for eight hours straight.  Ergo, she has a bar-stool type thing on which she sits when she isn't walking around the department.  She had her jacket draped over this when I came in.

45 minutes into the shift, a mother comes in with four kids.  Three are between 7-10 (all boys), and one is about 12-14 (girl).  The girl is fairly well-behaved.  The boys are nothing short of dreadful.  Mom vacillates on whether to get some of our (frankly) overpriced DVDs.  The kids whine, screech, plead, beg, and whinewhinewhine.  I'm trying to check out the older girl, and pregnantcoworker is trying to check out another customer.  The noise, I might add, from those three kids is absolutely deafening.  The mom decides not to get the movies.  The noise from the three boys reaches levels that cause hearing damage in adults.  (Mom is ignoring this behavior except to interject occasionally, "It's okay, honey, we'll get those movies soon.")  The middle one is particularly angry.  He expresses his anger by grabbing some DVDs and throwing them on the floor, then reaching over, grabbing pregnantcoworker's jacket, and throwing it on the floor. 

That did it.

Me (very terse, very clipped, and sufficiently loud--not yelling, but loud enough--to be heard over the racket the kids were making): "That's quite enough.  Pick up that jacket, fold it neatly, and place it back on the stool this minute."

After a second's shocked expression, the kid shut up and did as he was told.

-the customers who walked up to me towards the end of the evening and who were just so pleasant with the small talk, etc.  Most customers don't do that--not that I mind, of course, as that isn't why I'm there.  It's just neat when I get to talk to nice and well-meaning people like that on occasion.

-the customer with whom I had such a nice chat about John Williams (composer)

-the customer who told me all sorts of cool and hitherto unknown-to-me stuff about Tchaikovsky

-the expression on the manager's face as he realized I had managed to do $2990 that evening (unusually high)

-the expression on my face when that manager made a $15 purchase post-close so that I would officially break $3000 for the evening. (snarky grin)

-the fact that the store manager apparently banned some exceptionally obnoxious young boys (10-12 age group, not the same kids described above) from the store and told their mother so to her face.  this happened before i came in.  the boys had been running around and around the music department, pausing occasionally to fight or wrestle.  pregnantcoworker told them several times that they were welcome in the department, but couldn't run.  they could preview movies, they could listen to music, she'd even help them find movies/music, but they couldn't run, box or wrestle in the department.  they told her to "shut up" and continued running, at one point coming within inches of running into her while she helped another customer.  called manager, manager escorted the boys to their mom and told the mom not to bring the kids back unless they could behave like civilized human beings.  hah.

-a beautiful forty-percent-off coupon that i used to get all sorts of goodies, chief among them being this (le drool):

 

 

--the barista who makes the best latte EVER was on when I ordered my afternoon java fix

-the fact that Cold Stone Creamery a) is across the parking lot from my store and b) will mix raspberries into their chocolate ice cream.  extra run for me tomorrow (i usually take saturdays off) but it was worth it.  mmm.

-these work slacks are starting to feel a little loose in the waist.  not too big yet, but a bit loose.

-i have my mother's birthday present purchased and packaged (she is impossible to buy for, so this is an accomplishment), and her mother's day gift, and a father's day gift for dad.  Excellent.  Now to mail them on time.

-oh, yes, and the piano teacher informed us that he'd be out of town on monday and friday next week, so no classes on those days.  sleeping in!  yay!  (yes, I'll practice.  just not at the class times!)

 

 

Yesterday was even better.  It was the kind of day in which

-I aced at least one of two theory quizzes, and did "fair" on the other

-I finished the first quiz early, and so had twenty minutes to kill.  Spent that twenty minutes grabbing a coffee at the campus coffee shop.  The "fast" barista was there.  This shop seems to be staffed with two people.  Both make decent lattes, but one of them will literally take 15 minutes to make a latte, even if there is NO LINE.  I swear he goes out back and milks a cow to get the milk.  It's the only explanation.  Anyway, he wasn't there, so I got my coffee and spent the rest of the time wandering around in the fresh air, sun and wind while sipping a yummy latte. 

-Choir was excellent.  Just excellent.  Good music, good laughs, good fellowship.

-I had a second voice lesson for the week with la maestra diva (maekup lesson).  Voice lessons are always wonderful, but this one was just plain fantastic.  In short: Handel and Baroque ornaments I love.

-I walked into la maestra diva's studio and saw my absolute favorite pair of sunglasses (MIA since the musical) on her piano.  someone had found them backstage and brought them to her.  oh, happy me!

-I came home, reveled in the sunshine and in the discovery that a Starbucks has opened up less than a mile from my house.  Wouldn't this be a great summer job?  (second, of course, to the shoe store.  must put in application there.)

And now to bed--and I don't have to be up at a particular time!  yay for sleep!

Tonight, we had an evening off.  After putting in plenty of time at school (first piano class, then stage touchup) I came home.

And crashed.

I think that all the accumulated lack of sleep hit me right between the eyes.  I had/have so much housework and homework to do that it just isn't funny.  I came in and sat on the couch with my knitting for an hour before deciding that nothing but a nap would suffice.  I grabbed a pillow and blanket, and fell asleep almost immediately.

Three hours later, I woke up.  I was still a bit tired.  I cleaned the kitchen (no longer a Health Department violation, thankyouverymuch!), and folded some laundry.  I even cleaned my purse, which now weighs (I kid you not) five pounds less than it did pre-clean.

My desk will wait 'til tomorrow.  Or Friday.  Or, quite possibly, the weekend.

Just check out this blissful concatenation of circumstances:

1) I do not have class tomorrow morning, as the teacher for the one class I do have on Fridays cancelled class.

2) Therefore, I won't be setting my alarm clock for any time in the morning.  In fact, since I have to be at work at 3:30, I'll set the alarm for 2.  Yes, PM.  I'm even turning down the thermostat and hauling out the down comforter.  I've put the obnoxious kitten in his kennel.  I love him, but I have EVERY intention of sleeping in, and I can't sleep in if someone is chewing my feet, nibbling my hair, knocking books out of the bookcase, harassing the dog, and "fishing" in the fish tank.  I fully expect to sleep a good 12 hours.

3) While I do have to work tomorrow evening, I am then off UNTIL WEDNESDAY.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

4) I do have some (well, a lot) of French and theory homework to do this weekend.  I plan to knock it out by Saturday afternoon.  And then...

5) I have six movies I've wanted to watch for a while but haven't been able to:

 

I love Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes series!  I've always loved the books, and he seems to have done the best job (for me, at least) of being faithful to them.  Very few liberties have been taken with any of the plots, and Brett is Holmes.  The only regret I have about the series is that it appears they never made the two first novels (A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four) into movies.  Those would have made brilliant films.  Ah, well.

I haven't seen it before, and it may be the first I'll watch of the lineup.

I saw this last when I was much too small a child to appreciate it beyond "I can tell that this is good but I don't understand it."  Again, loved the book.

 

 

 

Never saw this before, but I've heard that it is gorgeous. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Again, never seen this before, but it's supposed to be gorgeous.  I love Dame Sutherland's voice, and really want to see what she does physically (cheekbones, mouth, facial expressions, jaw, etc)when she makes that gorgeous sound.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Actually, I watched this one tonight. 

I watched Hot Fuzz in theaters and about died laughing.  I swear that village was a homeowner's association that just took things a little further than most.

This one was about that funny; same kind of humor, slightly more emotionalism that isn't really dealt with.  Overall, I liked it, but I prefer Hot Fuzz.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is another one that I last watched as a fairly young kid, and also a movie who's book I love.  H. Rider Haggard might not have been the author of one of the greatest classics, but his books are pretty darn good.  They are infinitely better than the drivel that passes for much of sensational literature now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What can I say?  I watch TV maybe once a month, and when I do it's usually one movie if that.  I suddenly want to watch all of these, so I might as well indulge while I have time.  Yes, my tastes in movies are...eclectic.  Looking at the lineup, I see one comedy/zombie/horror movie, one mystery/suspense, two operas, and two action/adventure (circa 1935 and 1950, respectively) films.  Now just throw in some Star Trek (original), Profiler, Golden Girls (fantastic show)and you've about got me covered as far as my TV tastes go.

6) I think that I might spend part of Sunday (when not becoming a TV-vegetable) prepping the garden a bit.  Might even take the dog for a walk.

7) Oh, yeah, and then there's the whole must-get-this-house-clean thing.  Time for some Chieftans music.  Irish music is the best for a cleaning soundtrack.  Girl groups of the '50s and '60s come as a close second.

8) I WILL do a couple of posts with amusing pictures from this week.

Off to remove some makeup, crawl into bed, and sleeeeeep.......

Wait until Christmas is about a week away, and then

1) start cutting back on your much-needed sleep

2) volunteer to cover shifts for coworkers

3) stop running (the biggest one right there)

4) stop taking time for reading, prayer, meditation in the morning

5) let your house get ridicuously messy

6) distance yourself from people who love and care about you

7) eat crap instead of the balanced diet you eat when running regularly

8) stop practicing what you love because "you don't have time, you have to work"

9) stew mentally about various holiday-induced issues, but don't pick up the phone and CALL anyone

and

10) beat yourself up because you feel tired, bloated, out of shape, disconnected and miserable and you shouldn't 'cause IT'S CHRISTMAS, ferpetessake, and you're not supposed to be any of the above, right?

I've gone to church this morning.  I am in the process of tidyng the house while listening to the music I am learning for next semester.  Tonight I am going to bed as soon as I get home from work, and I will NOT cover any more extra shifts.  Tomorrow I will go running in the morning after the aforementioned reading, prayer and meditation, and take the sweet puppies I am pet-sitting for a walk in the evening.  I will grocery shop for lean protein, complex carbs and veggies.  I will call my "adopted mom" and talk to her while I clean my desk.

Finally, I shall make some mulled cider tomorrow evening, spend Christmas with friends, and generally RELAX.

Pardon the brief hiatus over the past weekend, but I was just a tad busy.  I (in no particular order):

• Replaced the shower head in my bathroom (other one died of age-related issues).  I now have a showerhead/hose combo that will let me wash my hair in the tub without getting a horrible crick in the neck from trying to get my head under the tap.  Yay!  I feel very home-improvementy; it works perfectly, and I love it.
• Went to a gorgeous concert at school.  Christmas music for two pianos, both being played by incredible musicians.  Included some Nutcracker stuff.  Went home feeling very Christmassy (incomparable pics by a brilliant photographer to be posted soon)
• Purchased over half the Christmas presents that I need to get, and got ideas for the rest.
• Tidied, vacuumed, dusted most of the house
• Grocery shopped (long overdue)
• Cooked a loin of pork and a butternut squash (to be consumed through the week)
• Hard-boiled some eggs for salads
• Washed/ironed/folded/put away the laundry
• Scoured catboxes
• MADE IT TO MY FIRST RUNNING GOAL OF .5 MILE WITHOUT DYING (more on that at a later post)
• Went to beautiful Traditional Latin Mass for the First Sunday of Advent (more later)
• Studied for finals/voice juries
• Worked 6 hours Friday and 8 hours Saturday (money=good)
• Braved the Walmart to get wrapping paper, Christmas lights, and kitty litter (no small feat at this time of year)
• Wrapped several presents (plenty more to do, though)
• And went to bed last night by 9, which gave me 9.5ish hours of sleep.  I haven't felt this well-rested in weeks!

 

And that last reminds me that I really want to get 9ish hours of sleep again tonight, as I'll get all of six tomorrow night.  So, for now, good night!