So I was sleeping soundly. Quite a nice sleep, actually, when something gave me a good root in the stones. One of the cats decided it would be great fun to pounce on daddys crotch, apparently. I have to admit that its been a while since I've gotten a good no-warning shot in 'the boys'. My reaction to this caused me to somehow yank the covers off of Elysia, who was sound asleep beside me... she wasn't particularly happy about this, so I quickly covered her back up while mumbling something about getting hit in the balls by a cat. This morning it would seem that the word 'sympathy' can only be found in the dictionary (somewhere between 'shit' and 'syphillis'). I laid there trying to breathe for a little while, then, naturally had to get up to pee.... once I finally got back into bed and situated, the other cat decided that it would be a fantastic idea to wipe his wet nose all over my face. I squished him down and mugged his head for awhile (everyone deserves a little lovin') and finally had to admit that I was wide awake and the likelihood of my falling back off to sleep was about nil. So here I am. Sunday morning... my one day to sleep in, and I am up by 6:45AM. Great. Well, at least I have a little time for solitude and reflection.....
For some reason, I am thinking about Korea this morning... on one particular morning, somewhere around the late spring of 1981, I went with my roommate to a korean businessman's house where my roomate was negotiating a deal whereby he could have this man manufacture salt-water aquariums or something... (it never got off the ground...), in any case, we ended up staying late and getting stuck there due to the curfew (at that time, martial law was imposed on the country, and you could not be out between 12 and 4 or 5 AM.) We ended up sleeping there. I was given a small room which opened onto the central courtyard. The doors were wood lattice covered in rice paper, and in Korea, the houses are heated using a charcoal briquette that in korean is called 'yontan'. You sleep on the floor on a thick blanket (not quite a futon) called an 'Ie-bul'. The floor is warm, the breezes are cool, and I had a great night's sleep..
I woke up very early, like this morning, to a gorgeously sunny day.. I slid the door open, but due to a door hanging could only see outside through a 2 foot high opening as wide as the door.... I could hear birds singing, and somewhere the sound of water running... a fountain or creek or something... (we had arrived in darkness, and I hadn't really been able to clearly see the property). I laid there and enjoyed the feel of the sunshine on me, and listened to the sounds of the birds. I could hear a cuckoo somewhere, and in the distance, I could hear a group of monks chanting sutras (as it turned out, there was a small temple adjacent to the property). I listened to their voices, and the sound of the mok-tak (wooden gong), and revelled in the 'korean-ness' of the whole thing. Presently, an old woman came tottering along the walkway outside the door and quietly placed a tray of food in the doorway and left. I sat right there in the doorway and ate, drinking barley tea, and watched her as she methodically swept and watered down the entire courtyard. She only glanced my way once as she worked, and gave me a huge toothless grin. Her whole face disappeared into a mass of wrinkles as she smiled. Then, she simply turned back to her work and got on with it. Once she finished her morning chores and went wandering off to some other part of the compound, I grabbed a towel and washed up at the spicket in the center of the couryard. It was a wonderful morning, cold fresh water and the warm sun beating down on my skin. I was 22 years old. It feels like yesterday to me...
Since about the middle of October, I have been sick. I have some friggin' uber-flu that simply won't quit. I start to feel better... get three or four days of feeling normal, and then I start getting sick again. So I've been stuffed up and coughing my guts out for almost six months. Chest congestion fucking blows.
Yesterday I bought some Robitussin DM and it actually seems to help. I am still coughing and wheezing, but nowhere near as much... Thank you kind and smart Robitussin people.
Our garden is starting to wake up... crocuses and daffodills are beginning to appear. I used to love to sit out there in the morning with a cup of tea and just breathe, but my work schedule no longer allows that, unless I get up at like 4AM. Yesterday we ordered a wind chime... (we need lots of wind chimes). Days off sitting amidst the flowers early in the morning are just fantastic.
This morning, once Elysia wakes up... (I hope she gets to sleep until she wakes on her own.. snuggly and well-rested!) we are going to cook up a nice Sunday breakfast and listen to 'Sunday Baroque' on NPR (National Public Radio). Hey... if ain't Baroque, don't fix it!! I'm looking forward to a nice lazy, relaxing day. I have an embroidery project that I'm working on, an hopefully I can work on that a bit (Yes. I embroider. I also cook. I also boxed, and Rangered my ass off in the Army. I'm comfortable with it.... embroidery is like a mind-massage to me... I have no idea why. Elysia does absolutely fantastic embroidery work, and I was bugging her to do something for me. At one point she got mildly exasperated with me, and I decided to learn to do it myself. So I did. I'm glad I did. I love it!! She does plenty of embroidery for me still, but now it isn't all on her.)
I have always been somewhat of an artist, so this is just an extension of that... you have to be able to express whatever it is that wants to come out... the more ways you find, the better it is!
I have been asked to play the pipes at an upcoming St. Patrick's Day thing... I guess I should try to get a little practice time in today, if possible. I'm a slug. I haven't practiced since I don't even remember when, and now I am pressured to get up to speed. Why do I keep doing this??
I'm off to browse some blogs, and fart around till Elysia-Girl wakes up....
Slán go fóill!
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