Coping Strategies

I woke up this morning to a pale rose sky reflected in the (as a consequence) pale rose water and a carpet of gulls on the sand exposed at low tide. No I didn’t get a photo – doing anything before coffee is a waste of time.

The world is still frozen here. You can see some of the chunks of ice that break free when the tide changes – they float like tiny icebergs in the Cove and out into the Bay. The demolition of the wharf is almost complete. You’d think it was done until low tide when the remains are uncovered – much like ancient civilizations are sometimes revealed.

I think my view is one of the key things keeping me sane during this period of forced inactivity.

My friends are also a big help, however I suspect they’re all chipping in for a Beware Grumpy Woman sign for my back porch. 🙂 I had a lovely dinner out the other night at the home of two of those friends – good food, good company, and a break from the couch.

The key words in the first paragraph of this post are “woke up” which means I actually fell asleep for a short period of time. This doesn’t happen much –  I nap for up to two hours here and there every 24 hour cycle*. Then I spend up to 6 hours trying to get unconscious again. I don’t want to rely on sleeping pills so I’ve been trying other things.

*Note that the cats don’t see a problem with this. I’m available to provide face rubs on demand and every time I get up they figure it’s an opportunity for treats.

I’ve posted in the past about watching internet streams and providers on my smart tv. I need to avoid trying to watch Netflix or Acorn etc., because I have a very limited attention span these days. Youtube, however, has proven to be an endless source of mindless amusement.

I started a couple of weeks ago trying to bore myself to sleep by watching conspiracy videos. The problem with flat-earthers, lizard people “experts”, and the Illuminati exposers is that they piss me off. I find myself yelling at them, which not only does nothing to straighten them out, it also doesn’t help me relax.

Honestly, I’m thinking about starting my own conspiracy channel. I’ll just combine them and prove that the Illuminati controlling the planet are all secretly reptiles and they’re suppressing the dangers of living on a flat disk just to mess with us.

If  you can relate to this problem allow me to suggest a possible solution. Car chase videos. I don’t mean the ones in movies, I mean the hundreds of videos of police chasing drunks, car thieves, murderers, etc. Most of them seem to be in Los Angeles and they can last for hours. Seriously. Hours of helicopter cameras focused on a lone vehicle speeding (or crawling) along. Hours of absolutely nothing else happening.

There are a variety of men and women who provide play-by-play action from the helicopters, but their commentaries all follow a standard format. Low energy listing of streets and highways occasionally interrupted by “OMG he almost hit that car”. For hours. Not only do you drift off to sleep, but if like me you only nap for a while, you can still catch whatever the exciting (*cough*) conclusion might be without feeling like you missed anything.

I can sleep in my own bed again in 6 days. Maybe I’ll dream about Lizard people being chased down a freeway. 🙂