My nightmares are back.
With my wedding only 8 days away, sleeping is a challenge. Exhausted I fall into bed, but once my eyes are closed my mind races. Once I am no longer tortured by restlessness and my mind and body doze off, I am often soon awoken by nightmares. I haven't had any like this since I was ready Harry Potter before bed every night and Voldemort would come out of my closet with a dagger headed straight for me in bed. I usually remember my dreams, but these nightmares are different. They are in realtime and I don't remember anything until I'm between that stage of sleep and awake and I am imagining someone in my room and I am sitting up to make a run for it and then I startle awake. It seems so real! Then I feel stupid for actually thinking it was really happening. It's kind of funny. Until I can't get back to sleep. I think part of the problem might be because my nightlight is burned out and it is way too dark. Maybe they make a Harry Potter nightlight that would ward off Voldemort and my nightmares.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Road Report #5: Furry Friend of Foe?
While driving for endless hours on the open road with nothing but my iPod and my thoughts to entertain me, you'd be amazed at the things I ponder. One of them most recently: rodents. A rodent is defined as a relatively small gnawing mammal that has in both jaws a single pair of incisors with a chisel-shaped edge. That would encompass mice, squirrels, rats, chipmunks, hamster, and yes, beavers.
What spurred the rodent contemplation was my encounter with squirrels found in Western Michigan. Typical (or at least where I live) squirrels have different shades of brown fur like the one below.
However in Western Michigan they are black/dark brown. At first sight, it is very startling. I think they look like devil squirrels.
I don't mind squirrels. They are cute enough with their fluffy tails and I always do my best to avoid hitting them with my car. But I cannot say I love all members of the rodent family.
I have an incredible fondness for chipmunks. I don't know if it's the way they gnaw on acorns or how their little tail goes up when the scurry across the ground, but I want to keep one in my pocket and feed it little treats. Maybe it could sit on my shoulder. My love of chipmunks is curious because I am deathly afraid of its cousin the mouse. I ask myself, do I like chipmunks because of the cuddly characters Chip and Dale?
However, there are plenty of mice depicted in cartoons and Mickey Mouse has not helped me cope with my fear in any way. I try to tell myself that it is foolish to be scared of such a small helpless creature. And then I imagine one crawling up my pant leg or getting stuck in my hair and all rationalization is thrown out the window. Sick. I think it's their little finger-like claws/paws and the scratching noise they make. Gross. Do I like the popular hamster? No! They are mice disquised with jew-fros. Disgusting. What about rats? While I prefer to avoid them at all cost, they are not as scary to me because of their size. I feel like I could kick a rat like a football if I needed to. But tiny little mice are much harder to catch. What about beavers? Best rodent around. They are smart enough to build dams, have that big whopping tail, and the likelihood of encountering on EVER is very low.
Luckily for you and me, I will soon return home with less time to ponder rodentia.
What spurred the rodent contemplation was my encounter with squirrels found in Western Michigan. Typical (or at least where I live) squirrels have different shades of brown fur like the one below.
However in Western Michigan they are black/dark brown. At first sight, it is very startling. I think they look like devil squirrels.
I don't mind squirrels. They are cute enough with their fluffy tails and I always do my best to avoid hitting them with my car. But I cannot say I love all members of the rodent family.
I have an incredible fondness for chipmunks. I don't know if it's the way they gnaw on acorns or how their little tail goes up when the scurry across the ground, but I want to keep one in my pocket and feed it little treats. Maybe it could sit on my shoulder. My love of chipmunks is curious because I am deathly afraid of its cousin the mouse. I ask myself, do I like chipmunks because of the cuddly characters Chip and Dale?
However, there are plenty of mice depicted in cartoons and Mickey Mouse has not helped me cope with my fear in any way. I try to tell myself that it is foolish to be scared of such a small helpless creature. And then I imagine one crawling up my pant leg or getting stuck in my hair and all rationalization is thrown out the window. Sick. I think it's their little finger-like claws/paws and the scratching noise they make. Gross. Do I like the popular hamster? No! They are mice disquised with jew-fros. Disgusting. What about rats? While I prefer to avoid them at all cost, they are not as scary to me because of their size. I feel like I could kick a rat like a football if I needed to. But tiny little mice are much harder to catch. What about beavers? Best rodent around. They are smart enough to build dams, have that big whopping tail, and the likelihood of encountering on EVER is very low. Luckily for you and me, I will soon return home with less time to ponder rodentia.
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