Well, *that* should help with the insomnia.

Last night in my insomniac irrationality, I had myself just about convinced that there was at least one mouse in my bedroom. I mentioned to the landlord this morning that I wanted to get a mousetrap, just for my own peace of mind. He thought I was being silly. After all, my room is far from anything interesting--whatever could motivate mice to come in here?

( Of mice and insomniacs )

In other news, I did see a lovely red-streaked sunset during my evening walk.

Writer's Block: Scary movie

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Though I did watch plenty of films last year & have borrowed a few to watch this year, I still havent seen very many horror movies. But I will say that watching a documentary about hate groups in America last year gave me an intense need to indulge in some Mister Rogers' Neighborhood--and I didn't even like Mr. Rogers' show that much when I was a kid!

Writer's Block: A stroll down memory lane

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If I lose my old memories, will I also lose the knowledge that I ever had old memories? Learning new things while forgetting the old might be bearable... if I could forget that I ever was the person who had those old memories. But then you come to the ancient philosophical question: If I lose all my memories, am I still the same person?* And is it possible for me to know with any reasonable amount of certainty whether the person who comes after me, who has no memories of who I am now, would be the sort of person who could be happy learning new things while remembering none of the old?**





* My answer: Yes and No. So helpful.

** Probably not. I suspect a lot would depend on their/my first few new memories, the new formative experiences. While some basic biological personality might play a role, I suspect a big part of my basic biological personality is always going to be highly sensitive to experience.

Writer's Block: Get in my belly

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My mother always thought that her specialty dish was waffles, with her coleslaw in second place. I always thought her best dish was meatloaf.

Writer's Block: What would ____ do?

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Obviously, I'd choose to become someone who would be able to find effective treatments for all my health problems within the week, assuming that the unlucky soul who was using my body in that time period was willing to cooperate. Well, of course they'd be willing to cooperate--I'd choose to be the sort of person who could convince anyone using my body that it's in their best interest to cooperate with me!

Anyone who feels that my answer is unrealistic should re-read the question and tell me how realistic any other answer would be.

~~~

In the meantime, I would like to be a person who can get some sleep tonight. How unrealistic is that?

Today, I

Got about four hours of sleep.
Began doing more cleaning fairly early in the morning, though it ended up being less than yesterday.
Did a TON of laundry.
Decided to go for a walk.

Briefly wondered if the landlord, while dealing with errant trees, had perhaps dropped a huge tree limb on the roof.
Realized that I couldn't reasonably blame my landlord after all and, come to think of it, I knew what was happening because I'd felt it happen last year (though not as strongly).
Went downstairs and said to a housemate something brilliant like "This has got to be a record!"
Briefly discussed geology and related topics.
Went out walking and spoke with the landlord's wife, whose first instinct had also been to blame the landlord.

Passed by a school where children who had been evacuated were standing by the fence and calling out, "Did you feel it? Did you feel the earthquake??" to which I responded, "Of course!"

Eventually made it to the Tuesday farmers' market, where the earthquake was understandably a major topic of conversation. A few people spoke in apocalyptic tones, but most folks were excited about the historic event, irritated by other people's reactions, frustrated by the fact that their cell phones weren't working, or worried about their loved ones who were closer to the epicenter.

Enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Asked farmers if they had any recommendations for mouse traps. (Yes: "The sticky kind" was the clear favorite.)

Came home where I... okay, the sleep dep is catching up with me here. I know I ate some fresh tomatoes (spilling half the juice of one of them all over my clothes), but after that I'm blanking out. I probably got online to find out more about the quake.

Didn't feel any of the aftershocks (as of 9:30 PM local time).

Hope I get a good amount of sleep tonight.

Today, I

Got about four hours of sleep.
Began doing more cleaning fairly early in the morning, though it ended up being less than yesterday.
Did a TON of laundry.
Decided to go for a walk.

Briefly wondered if the landlord, while dealing with errant trees, had perhaps dropped a huge tree limb on the roof.
Realized that I couldn't reasonably blame my landlord after all and, come to think of it, I knew what was happening because I'd felt it happen last year (though not as strongly).
Went downstairs and said to a housemate something brilliant like "This has got to be a record!"
Briefly discussed geology and related topics.
Went out walking and spoke with the landlord's wife, whose first instinct had also been to blame the landlord.

Passed by a school where children who had been evacuated were standing by the fence and calling out, "Did you feel it? Did you feel the earthquake??" to which I responded, "Of course!"

Eventually made it to the Tuesday farmers' market, where the earthquake was understandably a major topic of conversation. A few people spoke in apocalyptic tones, but most folks were excited about the historic event, irritated by other people's reactions, frustrated by the fact that their cell phones weren't working, or worried about their loved ones who were closer to the epicenter.

Enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Asked farmers if they had any recommendations for mouse traps. (Yes: "The sticky kind" was the clear favorite.)

Came home where I... okay, the sleep dep is catching up with me here. I know I ate some fresh tomatoes (spilling half the juice of one of them all over my clothes), but after that I'm blanking out. I probably got online to find out more about the quake.

Didn't feel any of the aftershocks (as of 9:30 PM local time).

Hope I get a good amount of sleep tonight.