Of Sleepyitis, High Tech Music and Good Friends

Strange title, I know, but those were the topics that are on my mind right now. And if you tune into my blog, you get special insight into what is going on in my mind . . . please ignore anything you find offensive or odd. (Yes, there are a FEW things left . . . )

Sleepyitis. One or two of the medications I take cause me to get sooooooooo sleepy every single time. Another one makes me pee. So, for a good portion of the day, I am typically fighting to keep my eyes open as I stumble my way down the hall to the bathroom. As amusing as it may sound, it isn't a lot of fun to experience every single day. I've tried shifting when I take them but to little avail. It isn't a major life problem . . just one that bugs me.

High tech music. After fighting it tooth and nail for some weeks, I finally allowed Joseph to convince me to download about 200 CDs onto my computer rather than use my CD player. It took what felt like forever but currently, I have over 1700 songs on my computer and I have to admit, it's fantastic. No CDs to open and load in and then shift around. No plastic cases piling up. 1,700 songs that I like and with shuffle on, I just hit Play and my own personal juke box begins to play. I'm going to do the same upstairs but I have 700 CDs up there . . . . (no comments necessary) and it will take a long time and require an external hard drive. I'll do it in my "spare" time.

Good friends. This past week a good friend of mine had a double mastectomy for breast cancer. She has weathered it wonderfully and is cancer free ( and happy to get some new boobs soon). Tomorrow my darlin friend Susan is having rotator cuff surgery and while I know she will be fine, it's no fun and it's gonna hurt and it's a major inconvenience for her. I just hope she remembers that friends exist for times like this and she must call on me when/if needed. (I have a list of her favorite sweet treats on a post it note by my computer so I can randomly stop by and drop off something for her.)

Deviating from the title . . . c'mon, you knew I would have to deviate a little, right? . . . I've been writing letters like crazy of late, as well as rediscovered my dormant obsession with stationery. I have more than I will ever possibly use in a life time but I love it. I will be using some of it as Christmas gifts and since I write to several soldiers in Iraq, plus some friends and a mother in law far away, I put it all to good use. I have recently joined the Letter Exchange and the Letter Writers Alliance (check them out online!) and am single handedly trying to salvage the U.S. postal system before we only get delivery by Pony Express. Emails are convenient. Phone calls are nice. But nothing beats a letter that you can read and re-read . . . and then later curl up with and take time to answer. It's one of life's special pleasures. I highly encourage you to rediscover it like I did.

Everything else in the Orr House continues well. We did some major room rearranging (and the house still looks like a tornado ripped through it from the process) and now, for the first time, my two boys have their own individual rooms. They are the best of friends but they needed a little space, I think. They will be 17 and 14 soon, so it is understandable.

My work continues to pick up and today I was hired for a new job that has me smiling. I have more than 16 books assigned to me in the coming 6 months, so that number of titles on Amazon will keep growing. I may also be going to some of the area schools and doing presentations on writing--which I will love. I recently went to an elementary school where my friend Susan works and did a presentation. It was great fun. I gave away free books and the kids were so tickled. They lined up for my autograph and I felt like a rock star for just a few moments.

Tonight being Monday, I will head to the Lucky Lab Brew Pub with Joseph and Nicole. It is his VW Night and Nicole and I go along and sit at another table and spend 2 hours writing letters and chatting. It's a special time that we both cherish. Moments together are more limited as time goes by and I want to hold on to each one and bottle it like the boy in Dandelion Wine wants to bottle summertime. Too soon, she will be off and gone and these days will be bittersweet memories. Sigh. Time goes far too quickly.

I shall get my sleepy eyes ready to head out for the evening, turning off my music and grabbing my letter writing supplies . . . . and carrying thoughts of my friends with me as I go. Tune in again soon!