Sleeping Through the Process

Dearest Rachel –

After putting myself through a full-day fast last weekend (with an exception made for a can of coffee to get me through Sunday morning’s shift), I’ve made it through the entirety of this week below the two-fifteen line, and at least once a day at or below two-ten (although I still haven’t gotten to two-oh-five, let alone below it – I really thought I might have had a breakthrough, but not yet). So I thought I’d splash out last night, and do sushi with Daniel. After all, we were on our own for once of a Friday afternoon and evening, and we had to go out and get a few provisions for next week in any event.

Granted, he preferred to hit the all-you-can-eat place that’s been in business for less than a year, as opposed to our old favorite a few buildings down (and to think, we still have half a dozen gift cards from there to burn through yet!), but I was amenable, and we had a perfectly decent time, apart from having to tone down our conversation after overhearing a couple next to us complaining about the place and the world in general; clearly, they were on the opposite side of the opinion spectrum as ourselves, and so it would be most unwise to let them hear anything we might have to say to each other. So most of what we talked about had to do with the food – including Daniel looking up the recipe for unagi sauce, of all things.

Anyway, we got back home, and meant to hang out and watch some YouTube together for a while, but after filling up as we did on sushi and everything else that came with it, I could barely stay up until ten thirty, which is usually when I’d call it a night on a weekday back when I still had to go to work (and you two would tease me a little about that, too). Of course, given that Daniel had consumed enough to provoke a food coma of his own, he wasn’t going to give me grief about it this time around, but after bidding me goodnight, he seemed to have gone off to listen to his own material until when next I regained consciousness somewhere between four and five this morning.

As for myself, I piled into bed without even bothering to change (apart from removing my socks and shoes), and the next thing I knew, it was morning, albeit fairly early in the morning. It hadn’t even occurred to me to turn off the computer; I’d left it running throughout the night.

Which, it reminded me, was something we did regularly back in the day, wasn’t it? Because, for all the streaming services and other online access we have (and had, to a lesser extent back then), the one time we would really have the time and inclination to binge watch stuff… was on the island. Where there was no internet connection. So, in the weeks – even months – leading up to our annual trip, we would spend time and computer effort here at home scouring the web for this or that show (particularly relatively obscure anime – although back then, just about any anime would have been considered ‘obscure’), in order to have a portable copy of it that we could take with us to watch while we were there. Which meant leaving the system running overnight most nights.

You might remember the whir of the CPU during the night – or not, considering that we’ve always been prone to hearing other ambient noise at home at all times. Between our proximity to O’Hare – leading to the sound of jet engines overhead at regular intervals – and the fact that the house is situated on a major thoroughfare – on which traffic noises decrease during the night, but never really drop down to nothing – the place isn’t, and never was, completely silent. What’s one more low hum added to the subliminal din?

Still, I don’t bother with such collection efforts like I did in the past for us. Partly because I’m almost never in a place where there isn’t any internet anymore (or at least a cellular connection; thanks to our current phone plan, we basically can get unlimited data, at least here in the States). Why, for all I know, the new owners of the cottage may have a hookup in the place these days, although I wouldn’t necessarily bet on it (which is why I’m gathering at least a thing or two yet). But in all honesty, I think we have more than enough things that we never got around to watching previously, which we may or may not ever get to – I find myself thinking “what’s the point?” about our vast Doctor Who collection, in particular – that at least we still have the option to look into.

In any event, I have to consider this a bright, productive spot from last night’s activities; I got up this morning to discover that, thanks to all that sushi, I’m back above two-fifteen for the first time in a week. Good thing I’m back in the booth this weekend, so I can try to fast it back off, eh, honey?

In any event, I need to get on with the day, so if you could keep an eye on me, and wish me luck, I’d appreciate it. After all, I’m going to need it.