Attempts at a new schedule

Now that school is back, I am going to have to try out a new schedule. One thing is clear: I have to be productive first thing in the morning if I want to get anything done. I am no longer very productive late in the evening, perhaps because of sleep problems or simply advancing age. I used to get a lot done after midnight but now all I can do in those hours is surf the web and play spider solitaire neither of which will look good on my annual report.

I will try to get up before 7 every morning, do my little routine, and hop the bus by 7:30 or get in the car and leave by 8. I want to be in my office working by 9 and to stay until 6 or so. Then when I get home I can relax, read, and play with my blogs.

The only problem so far is that it seems to take me about 2 hours to actually become fully awake. I drink a little pot of coffee first thing, but caffeine has never had all that much effect on me. Writing my matins helps as much as anything. I will give it a try. I certainly have to try something - the last few years have seen me falling further and further behind in all of my work. I blame it all on incurable sleep apnea.

i.e. ... it's not my fault.

A Quiz, dedicated to Mora

It's a beautiful Saturday afternoon, I can hear the buzz of lawn mowers in the background, it is not yet time to walk the lummox, and I have another paper to research and write by 10 May. Sounds like procrastination time to me! And, courtesy of not one but two of Claw of the Conciliator's blog buddies, here is a quiz to waste my time on. All answers contain a certain amount of truthiness due to the fact that my lady Carmen reads this blog.


---10 Firsts---
First Best Friend:: Accurate answer: Mike Ball; True answer: David Carpenter (we were intellectually in tune: he grew up to be an ambulance driver, I grew up to be an historian)
First Screenname:: You mean, like 'Clemens'?
First Pet Name:: For me, or my own pet? If the former, Snicker-Doodle. If the latter, Pinkie - my pink and white kitty cat.
First Piercing:: ??? OK - lower back (to remove squashed disc)
First Crush:: Sarah Harper (I think it was her idea)
First CD:: Oh dear. At my age, let's say first LP (that's one of those vinyl discs played on a Hi Fi record player): "Ilya Mourametz" by Gliere (I bought it for the cool medieval Russian helmet on the cover. I had no idea what I was getting into).
First School:: Hamilton Elementary of Hamilton, Virginia
First House Location:: Pleasant Valley Farm, 1 1/2 miles from Hamilton
First Kiss:: Actual kiss, probably Sarah in first grade. First serious kiss, Merry with the Soft Voice in college (no, I didn't get out much).
First Car:: A used olive green 1964 Opel made in Germany (it was my parent's reward to me for surviving hepatitis)

---9 Lasts---
Last Time You Smoked:: Don't smoke, but in 1985 or so I got drunk and smoked half a pack of my best friend's cigarettes in an hour- he's never forgiven me.
Last Food You Ate:: Dannon Strawberry yogurt
Last Car Ride:: home from the reservoir park after walking the beast with four paws.
Last Movie You Watched:: "Letters from Iwo Jima."
Last Phone Call:: to Carmen to tell her I and the beast had made it home alright.
Last CD You Listened To:: "Fork in the Road" by The Infamous Stringdusters - Carmen bought it because they will be performing here for Merlefest next weekend
Last Bubble Bath You Took:: uh... never?
Last Song You Listened To:: dunno - one of the Stringbusters' things - reminded me of Allison Kraus
Last Words You Said:: something incoherently mumbled to Carmen when she left for work this morning.

---8 Have-You-Evers---
Dated A Best Friend:: not once we started dating, no.
Been Arrested:: no, but close once or twice
Been On TV:: yes, along with about 200 other audience members of Johnny Carson's 'Tonight Show'
Eaten Sushi:: You betcha!!
Cheated On Your B/F:: Don't know what this is. I probably didn't cheat on it though.
Been On A Blind Date:: yes - once.
Been Out Of The Country:: Yes.
Been In Love:: A number of times, but only the last time seems to count.

7 Things You Are Wearing---
1:: wonderful fluffy white bathrobe
2:: an earnest expression
3:: thin
4:: zip
5:: nada
6:: rien
7:: nichts

---6 Things You've Done Today---
1:: got up very late
2:: put on a robe
3:: brewed coffee while reading a book
4:: won a hand of spider solitaire
5:: ran through the entire list of 'Face to Face' links on Claw of the Conciliator
6:: wrote this thingy (and plagiarized this last line from die Stille)

Yeah, I know. Pretty pathetic for a beautiful Saturday morning. I can hear Mora laughing at me from the closet.

---5 Favorite Things (not in any order)---
1:: reading
2:: interlibrary loan
3:: translating French poorly
4:: doodling
5:: the color blue (all shades, tones, and hues)

---4 People You Most Trust--- [not in any specific order!]
1:: Dad (if you can count the deceased)
2:: Mother
3:: Carmen
4:: my older brother Jesse, perhaps

---3 Things You Want To Do Before You Die---
1:: learn French
2:: help all my nieces and nephews, real and putative, get through college
3:: take part in the first successful longevity pill experiment, and not get the placebo

---2 Choices---
Vanilla or Chocolate:: Chocolate (are you kidding?)
Hugs or Kisses:: hugs

---1 Person You Want To See Right Now---
1:: Dad. I'd like to ask him how he managed to run a big, fractious personnel department for that unnamed port city to our south. Could have some pointers for me and the history department