Sleepy Helpers

Well . . . at the moment I'm just sitting in a Fairfield Inn in Colorado while on a business trip.  Evenings are always the most boring of times on these trips.  However, this evening was busier than normal-- I worked on my taxes for a little while, had a conference call meeting, Skyped with my family, read my usual slate of online news sites, took care of some business items for another company, and now . . . . I sit here at 11:05 pm with my iPhone plugged into my computer--playing my only playlist of songs (which has a whopping total of FIVE songs) over . . . and over . . . and over.. . while remaining WIDE AWAKE.

I have a meeting to get to tomorrow morning at 7am, and probably won't get to sleep until 1am UNLESS I ACTIVATE MY ARSENAL OF SLEEPY-HELPERS.

They are: John Adams (somewhere between Chapter 5 and Chapter 12) and AdvilPM

That's right.  I've found that by (1) playing the audio book "John Adams" by David McCullough, and (2) taking one AdvilPM--I am quickly on my way to slumberville.  . . . .Yes, you read correctly--"slumberville."

So next time you're on the road in some far-away place, and are having trouble counting sheep, just remember my two ingredient recipe--now affectionately referred to as John Adamsvil PM.

Good night.

Haunted Hotel

Went to a haunted hotel in Cimarron, New Mexico this evening.  Was a little spooked when I walked into the main hallway and saw a legitimate sign warning guests to avoid the use of ouija boards in their rooms due to increased paranormal activity.

Yikes.

I walked down the hallway and looked in some of the old, historic 19th century hotel rooms.  Guests like Jesse James and other notorious criminals stayed there.  One of the rooms had a sign next to it saying two people were killed there.

I suppose it was interesting enough to see, but I wouldn't want to stay there overnight.
. . . . not unless I had a pair of squishy, blue earplugs. 

Squishy, Blue Ear Plugs In the Middle of New Mexico

Well, time for a random blog post.  Sorry for the delay, but better late than never.

Right now I'm sitting in a cabin in the middle of New Mexico where I am attending a training conference.  It is 11:08 pm and my roommate is snoring.  Some snores are airy, and some snores are hairy. (sorry if that sounded like Dr. Seuss)

I don't know why it is that throughout my life I have roomed with so many snorers.  I remember, while serving an LDS mission in Australia, one my companions was snoring so loudly that I would sometimes toss shoes, books, (whatever I could find within arms reach of my bed) at him in hopes that it would wake him enough to quit snoring long enough for me to get to sleep.

While attending military training in Maryland, I remember my roommate snoring so loudly that I would reach over to his bed and yank his leg, and . . . for some reason it would get him to quit snoring for a few minutes.  

Ear plugs came to be my solution! Earplugs, earplugs, earplugs.  You know . . . the squishy ones.  

On my way down to this NM conference, my coworker and I stopped at a motel in Denver for the night.  I had done all the driving (8.5 hours) and was ready for bed.   Once the lights were turned out and I was just about ready to start counting sheep . . . . the dreaded snoring began.  That's right, my work associate IS A SNORER! "Where are my earplugs," I thought to myself.  Crap! I left them at home.  Of ALL the things to leave at home." :(  

At this point it was 11pm.  I decided to try and get some sleep and force myself into dreamland.  

After about an hour with no luck, I decided to get out of bed, get dressed, and head out to purchase earplugs at midnight.  All I knew was that I was somewhere just north of Denver proper, and that there were a few gas stations nearby....

The first gas station was very empty.  No one was around, except for some suspicious-looking fellow standing outside the  front door.  I didn't find any earplugs inside.

The second gas station was just down the road and presented a bit of a bizarre scene.  I walked into the store, but found NOBODY inside  -- not even a store clerk.  I looked and looked, and then finally went up to the counter.  I glanced behind the counter at the floor and saw a BODY LYING FACEDOWN ON THE FLOOR.  Great, .  . . just great. . . . not only did I have a roommate who snores, but I was now a witness to the aftermath of a convenience store murder.  . .  . . .or not.  Turns out the store clerk was simply sleeping on the job.  I decided to leave him be, understanding the preciousness of sleep and somewhat envying his slumber.

Well, to make a long story slightly longer--after going to one more convenience store I was finally directed to the Wal-Mart where I found some earplugs.  After standing in line at register 21, and (of course) being delayed (at 12:45 am)  because the person in front of me was buying a clearance item that the clerk needed permission from the manager to transact . . . . I was finally able to purchase my precious, squishy, blue earplugs.

I went back to the hotel room, and by 1:00 am was asleep.

So here I am now.  It is 11:22 pm, and my roommate is asleep and snoring away like a lumberjack.  But no worries.  I have a set of squishy, blue ear plugs.

Good night.

Life is Like Hambone Soup

Ah, nothing like a bit of hambone to brighten the day.  Ever wonder why they call this dance "hambone"?  Probably not.  . . .  Well, simply put--it comes from the days when southern slaves would make a soup out of leftover hambone, creatively adding various ingredients to the mixture, improvising along the way until they built-up the soup volume to feed everyone who was hungry.  The dance, "hambone", was named such by the same people because it required creative use of the absolute 'basic' resources (in this case hands and feet) to create rhythm and dance.  Life is like hambone soup--Sometimes you have to adapt and improvise.