Had coffee and a bagel for breakfast and some crackers for lunch yesterday.
The plan is to have coffee for breakfast and grab a salad at the beaucoup bucks market in town. I do not have anything to bring from home. The trick is to think in bites. A bite of this and a bite of that is all it really takes to satisfy hunger and get out of there spending under $5. The "salad bar" is really an elaborate buffet. There are a lot of things that weight more than lettuce and this place charges $7.99/lb. for lettuce. Doing it this way is both the healthiest and the cheapest way to eat in town.
Hmm... the clock says it is after 3:00am
Many things influence the perception of time. I used to stay up late at night whenever I could get away with it. There was something about it that was refreshing and also private time to myself. The world shut down and I felt free and enjoyed the tranquility. Lack of sleep hits you like a bus and either knocks you down, if not completely out, or leaves you laughing.
When we were both in our early twenties, I took a road trip with my sister that was 400 miles each way and we had to do it over the weekend and be back for work on Monday morning. It was in the summer and very hot. The car kept overheating. We had to keep pulling over to let it cool and add water so it prolonged the travel time. We drove back during the night. It was cooler and faster. We were very tired. At one point while I was driving on the way back my sister jumped and screamed thinking she saw a bear in the road. It scared the tiredness out of me at least. This was an adventure of a lifetime. Though it was a miserable trip we laughed more often than suffered. For years after we would laugh when we remembered it.
I worked a graveyard shift long enough to develop a knack for staying awake. In the beginning I worked a full time job during the day then part-time grave. The first weeks I just wanted to lay down and sleep. It was so uncomfortable. Sometimes my legs would buckle when I was standing. I would pop pretzels to keep active. They were bland and you could eat a lot and not feel full considering how many you ingested. But any food also seemed like poison. You are so tired your body just wants to shut down. The urge to sleep comes and goes. When I feel it coming on I either succumb to it or push though for a period until it comes back. Sometimes I am able to stay up beyond 48 hours but I have rarely done this. More often than that I may only get a few hours of sleep each night and accumulate days with relatively little time spent sleeping. In the military they call it operating in "the zone" and probably other terms depending on the branch. You become a zombie. I forget how little sleep I have gotten but my body begins to show the effects in strange ways. It can feel like my teeth hurt from the impact on my feet on the ground when walking.
Have you had any strange experiences from the lack of adequate rest?
Have you ever worked a graveyard shift?
Do you generally need more or less sleep to function?
If you are not rested, what do you do when you need to wake up and be clear and sharp of mind?
My father turned 82 in September. I decided to give him a gift that gave something back for his birthday. I bought him one of these remote control helicopters you fly indoors. I originally had targeted one that was simpler to use. I was concerned that it would take a ridiculous investment to set him up with this when he may not touch it again after a couple of days. I walked out of the hobby shop with an upgraded model thinking it was something he could grow into and, as an initial investment in the activity, the package included things that made it a better deal. The plan was to learn to fly it before giving it to him so I could coach him. The clerk calibrated everything and demonstrated it. But when I got it home I was unable to keep it from crashing into the walls. I took it outside to a parking lot and almost lost it to a 2-story rooftop and tree. I still could not fly it. Eventually it crashed and a part broke. I decided to order the easier model with the additional accessories that did not come with that model while ordering the replacement part that I broke. I called my father and explained everything. I would be giving him both helicopters so he could learn on one and grow into the other. He suggested I keep the upgraded model. I agreed I would continue practicing but it would be available if he ever wanted to do more advanced things.
The original model minus additional accessories I ended up ordering for my father:
The upgrade I ended up with:
There is an expression something like "stepping on a dollar to pick up a nickel." In my effort to avoid wasting money on something so risky I ended up spending twice as much and buying something that I would never have bought for myself. I don't mind flying it with my father. When I went to give him his gift I spent one of the nicest afternoons with him. However, the only reason for flying the one I kept with me is so I can coach him so he can fly it. There are plenty of other things I would rather do.
Have your efforts to be practical lead you to an impractical end?
Have you ever spent more because you were trying to spend less?
G&L
Tele type guitars were entirely foreign to me. In only played one for the first time this week. When I was window shopping and doing research to decide what color and model I wanted I had placed a natural finish low on my list. I used to have a natural Strat finish high on my list but the mass of the ASAT / Tele body seemed like a plain block of wood in natural. The first ASAT I played happened to have a natural finish. It felt so good I said to myself I did not care what it looked like. I would have bought that guitar because it felt so good to play. There were others and I found one that felt even better.
I would rather work with someone dedicated to G&L when making a purchase or placing an order. When you are selling something the easiest transaction is the one that requires the least effort. How many people buy G&L guitars as opposed to other brands carried by a shop? It is easier for the shop when someone walks in and buys something on display. Taking an order requires more time and knowledge from the staff. There is a greater chance that something or more than one thing will go wrong. A ready-built guitar on display is what it is. There are no surprises or unknowns.
Have you ever immediately let go of an idea or belief about a G&L guitar and been surprised by it when you got a taste of a feature?
If G&Ls were available everywhere would you make a point to periodically drop by music stores in your area or when passing through other areas to try them out?
If G&Ls were available everywhere would you be more likely to buy one or another one?
Does their limited availability deter you from buying a G&L?
Would you like to deal directly with an order team at the factory rather than working through a dealer?
Would you like more control and better tools for ordering a G&L guitar?
What do you think of an ordering system that would allow you to create an image of the guitar including all of the features, once created you would submit the order to a dedicated crew that would review the concept then contact you to discuss it?
Music has a way of locking in feelings and memories. There are some songs I avoid listening to in order to preserve those things. You can dilute them and replace them if you listen to them too often.
Glen Campbell plays a G&L but I am not sure if he has a Fender Strat here. The headstock shape looks more G&L to me than Fender. This is a beautiful yet lonely song. I think it is the best song he ever recorded. With Glen's Alzheimer's condition, let's hope his music keeps him here.
[youtube]AbWnbYawF0o[/youtube]
This one always seemed like a happy song to me though it might have been intended as a sort of hopeless song:
Don Williams
[youtube]VYVvxskfEKs[/youtube]
Thanks to everyone who read down to this sentence.
Hope you have been having a grand Thursday.
I hope I caught all of the typos.....must sleep now.
I don't miss shift work at all. 
I would have never ending GAS pains 
Hope you and your Dad have better luck.
