Music: “Begin the Begin” by REM

Note: This is a new idea. We the management, as in me, may only try this once or it may become a regular feature. It’s kinda hard to tell.

Being as things have been a craps shoot in general around the site, let alone the so-called regular features, we’ll just see what happens. Okay? Alright…

The premise of “Answer Me a Question” is simple: Ask a question at the start of the day, answer it by the end (or within a quick enough posting schedule).


All Wednesday I felt like it was Thursday. On multiple occasions I started to make semi-important decision (important as in the day-to-day sense, but not in the old-man-looking-back-I-rue-the-day-that-I-did-that sense) based on that opinion. An equal number of times, I was corrected by people who knew better.

This is all part of a future-tense existence when working at a paper. The readers’ today is our tomorrow. Our today is their yesterday. This concept can twist the brain.

When asked what day it is, I feel compelled to give multiple answers. For example if it was Sept. 28, I would say, “It’s September 28, working on Sept. 29).

So, today’s question: If I felt like Wednesday was Thursday all day, what day will it feel like on Thursday.

Today’s answer: To come next week, or if you're reading this after Monday, in the post that sits on top of this one.

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Act 1: Meditation

On my walk to work I added up a number of personal truths to reach a better understanding of my life.

1 – I live in a freakin’ desert. For those with visions of golden sunshine and spunky cacti, let me remind you that “desert” is generally defined as a place with little precipitation (though I also did stumble across the definition “[Formerly] any unsettled area between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains thought to be unsuitable for human habitation.” Unsuitable for human habitation; that’s where I live.)

2 – Since there’s little water, I haven’t seen any mosquitoes.

3 – Mosquitoes are the major carrier of West Nile Virus.

Conclusion – Despite a record raise in numbers across the nation, and even in better-hydrated portions of Wyoming, I have little to no chance of catching West Nile in my backyard.

Granted, with my lifestyle, I’m statistically more likely to be killed by a motor vehicle or overdose on Skittles candies. But becoming a West Nile statistic – I think not.

Take that places that have year-round standing water!


Act 2: Relization

Later, in transcribing these thoughts, I realized nothing had really changed.

When I lived in places surrounded by rivers, lakes, creeks, etc, I never worried about catching West Nile.

I technically could have, maybe should have. In working for the Department of Conservation I saw animals that supposingly had died of the virus. I even knew people who had contracted the disease (not the serious brain inflaming strain, but the lethargy causing one. All the pleasures of Mono without having had an initial make-out session with an infected party).

Still, no West Nile-related increased use of bug spray. No avoidance of water holes. No real concern or worries. I simply knew about the possibility, ignored it and eventually came to forget about it.

Today, living in a mosquito-less dessert, my sense of ease has not really been increased by this added knowledge. That status quo was simply further reinforced; no more, no less.

The original premise of this post was a lie.

Act 3: Repression and Chocoloate

Oh well.

No personal truth for today.

I guess I’ll just eat some more cookies and forget about the whole West Nile thing, again.

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Music: “C is for Cookie” by Cookie Monster

Basic factors that when mixed together produce an unavoidable result:

Take a late morning wakeup plus a publisher’s request that I come to work early

Subtract time devoted to morning Internet crawl

Divide attention among vital morning chores (dressing, bathing, realizing I messed up the order and dressing again)

Take a glance at the state of the kitchen; decide to review previous work before progressing

Zone out for an indeterminate time, like I typically do during long math problems

Estimate that time is nearly up

Compound the situation by nearly being out of clean dishes

And add the fact I received two large bags of chocolate chip cookies and a fresh gallon of milk this weekend.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

This leads to the only logical solution of having milk and cookies for lunch.

Class dismissed.

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Music: “Sleep Tight” by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

I can now leave behind temporary slumber sites like my couch, and go back to my regular bed.

My father visited me this past weekend. There was a national conservation conference in Colorado (inadvertent alliteration) and he budgeted in the time to make a western detour on the way back to Missouri.

Technically, I don’t have a guest bedroom in my downstairs apartment. However, whenever I’ve treated visitors, I’ve always taken the couch and let the newcomers take over my bedroom. I’m nice that way.

Anyway, after a couple nights on the couch, interspersed by an overnight campout in the Grand Teton National Park, I got to return to a real full-sized mattress.

The sacrifices one makes for company.

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Not dead... just sleepy.

Should actually post tomorrow... unless hiking 13+ miles today hits me with more consequences than I am expecting.

Muscle pain -- I'm betting on it.
Joint stiffness -- already occuring.
General mental block that prevents blogging -- typically not associated with exertion (unless I'm physically removed from a computer and Internet connection, which is no longer the case)

I'd give posting a 67 percent chance of occuring, a 47 percent chance of it being legible English. The odds are only 38 percent that it will employ proper grammar and the numbers sharply drop off it it will even make sense.

Still, here's hoping.

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