xcheck's hat tricks -- award winning journalist!

[xcheck24]

HA!
I'm having trouble focusing because I'M TIRED! lol

[charlesp]

Castanza it... take a nap under your desk

[xcheck24]

Remember I work at home. I can take a nap in my bed. And I plan on it later.

[charlesp]

I'm a firm believer in a "if you can't focus, take a 15 minute catnap" philosophy. Generally speaking, if I've got a problem to work on, the 15 minute nap will save me more time due to increased productivity than it costs me in "lost" time.

[pengwenn]

my "15 minute" cat naps would turn into a hour....

[xcheck24]

I'm a firm believer in a "if you can't focus, take a 15 minute catnap" philosophy. Generally speaking, if I've got a problem to work on, the 15 minute nap will save me more time due to increased productivity than it costs me in "lost" time.

i believe in the same philosophy, but sometimes you can't get to the nap until you finish something first. so personally, i make sure certain things get done before I do the nap thing. and that's mostly because of what gwenn pointed out. . .sometimes those naps accidentally turn into longer.

[charlesp]

That's one of the talents I picked up from my Great-Grandmother... I can nap, any time, any place, and usually for as long or short a duration as needed. I really honed the skill when I was working as a baker and got to work at 4AM... and then when I started working at Amazon while STILL being a baker and got to work at 2AM and didn't get home till 6-7PM... those 15 minute breaks everybody else used to work on their lung cancer I used for power napping.

[pengwenn]

having kids probably helped too. you sleep where you can get it.

[xcheck24]

the week of sept. 11 i was working 12 hours or more per day. sometimes 16 hours. i'd sneak off and take quick naps because it helped me mentally and physically that week. such a hard, hard, hard week. i can't believe it's the 5th anniversary this year.

[Mlou]

And I can't believe there are people in this country who believe we attacked ourselves!

[xcheck24]

"You know what really scares me?" she looked up at the ceiling gathering her knees against her chest.

"Spiders?" he half-smiled.

"No," she laughed. "Shallow girls."

"Shallow girls?"

"Yes, they're going to destroy us all."

[pengwenn]

you tease

[xcheck24]

that's just been bouncing around in my head. needed to get it down somewhere

[pengwenn]

I know how that goes. Too much clutter in the old brain. . . most of which is worthless.

[xcheck24]

i'm sure i'll play with it some more

[xcheck24]

You know, I think part of my problem with writing and focusing on the thesis is that I don't feel like I have space to work.

My bedroom -- which IS my space -- is just cluttered and needs to be cleaned. I have been so tired lately, and it's hard to get to clean.

But beyond that, there is ALWAYS someone in this house. I HATE living home because of that. I never have time alone. EVER. Well, a little more lately because my sis is back in school. But I just wish I had days in a row where there was no one around. If I had money, I'd pay for them all to go on vacation somewhere. Buy them plane tickets and book a hotel and get rid of them for a week. But that's not happening.

And I know I have mused on this problem before, but I still haven't found a solution.

[pengwenn]

Hey when you live out on your own you'll have days and days when you wish that someone was around . . . and wish they'd leave soon after.

[xcheck24]

hahaha
I've lived on my own back when I was in college. It's not like it's foreign for me. And if I got lonely or whatever, I'd go out or do something about it. *shrugs*
The prospect of being alone doesn't really scare me that much. Although the prospect of going somewhere where I'd have to start making all sorts of new friends scares me more.

[xcheck24]

"You know what really scares me?" she looked up at the ceiling gathering her knees against her chest.

"Spiders?" he half-smiled.

"No," she laughed. "Shallow girls."

"Shallow girls?"

"Yes, they're going to destroy us all."

"OK, I'll bite. How are shallow girls destroying us?"

"I'll give you an example. Lets take Beth."

"Do we have to talk about Beth?" he rolled his eyes.

"If we don't talk about Beth, you are never going to get past her, Rob."

"I'm past her."

"Then why are you rolling your eyes and not wanting to talk about her?"

"Alright, fine. Shoot."

"Why did Beth break up with you?"

"Jesus, you jump right in, huh, Kel?" he stood up to refill his coffee mug.

"Come on, just answer the question," she called after him.

There was a long pause as Rob refilled his mug. Kelly tried to figure out if it was because he was thinking about the question, avoiding the question or just busy pouring coffee.

He walked back into the small apartment's living room and sat in the chair across from Kelly. He sipped his coffee for what seemed like a hour.

"She said I didn't care about her," he finally said.

"Did you?"

"Of course I did, Kel. She was ridiculous. I still care about her."

"Why did she think you didn't care about her?"

"I don't really know exactly. She said something about not calling enough. I didn't bring her roses that time when she was upset." He sighed as his eyes grew sadder.

"She perceived that you didn't care because you didn't do stuff. You didn't buy her crap and she'd get pissed off at you. You didn't call her three times a day and she'd moan about it. I had to sit here and listen to you rant about it."

"I guess I could have done that stuff."

"Rob, does it really matter? It's stuff. She's upset about stuff. Stuff! Roses, necklaces, phone calls. It's all stuff. When I would see the two of you together, I could see how much you cared."

"You did?"

"Of course. Everyone did, Rob. You could see it in your eyes. I can see it now. When she was having trouble, you'd always be there to listen and hold her hand. Instead, she'd get mad about you not bringing flowers."

"Yeah, that was pretty bad."

"Pretty shallow, huh?"

"OK, I see that. So how is it destroying the world? I mean, it's Beth. She's not going to run for president or Congress or something. She's not exactly smart."

"Well, look at you. You guys broke up almost a year ago."

"10 months."

"Whatever. You still have a problem with talking about her."

"So? I don't see you running around talking about Joe and you guys broke up years ago."

"That's because no one brings it up, dumbass."

"Whatever."

"Besides, this is about shallow girls. Not about idiotic men."

"Fine."

"The point is, look at what she did to you. You're sitting in my apartment on a Friday night rather than going out. You sit here talking about how afraid you are of the world and meeting women. Because of stupid Beth!"

"You realize that there's a raging snow storm outside."

"You'd be here complaining whether it was snowing out or not."

[pengwenn]

KEEP IT GOING

[xcheck24]

well, i have to wait for my brain to give me more

[charlesp]

well, i have to wait for my brain to give me more

what a lame excuse

[xcheck24]

hey, the above came to me in the shower today. i sat down and wrote it. and then i stopped because I felt like I would be forcing if I went more.

like i said, this is just something that has come to me. it's not really a story. it's just. . .there.

[charlesp]

hey, the above came to me in the shower today.

....

it's not really a story. it's just. . .there.

there in your shower?

[xcheck24]

no, not necessarily THERE, charles