Awakening, as I did, this being first time I've ever fallen asleep in front of the television in a chair, and finding the hat rack and hats strewn out on the floor, feeling woozy from the sleep, I found myself wondering in my confusion what had happened. Exactly. Yes, I'd had some sake, although in doing so my worry wasn't of any effects of so little alcohol, but possible ocular migraines. Felt pretty good for a good two hours from the sake, fairly clear headed and at the same time relaxed and, I guess, tired if I fell asleep.

Still, the scene when I awoke, the floor in complete disarray (if you've seen pictures of my living room, you'll wonder at my term “disarray”, although it's always in the exact same place disarray), the disarray was, well, disconcerting. I got up, turned the lights off, left the hat rack and the hats where they lay and went to bed. Up this time at eight, off walking to breakfast on a sunny morning, returning to put things back in order, a task of perhaps four minutes. Three minutes. Well, four minutes.

Anyway, a whisper, a much louder whisper than I've received in the past, that life can surprise you and there are one or two things you'd like to take care of before you're surprised again. An odd thought to come from an overturned hat rack after an odd nap, an unexplained overturned hat rack, although I suspect I must have somehow moved the chair in my sleep and it hit the base of the rack, perhaps the noise causing me to awake, but it seems to have had that exact effect: life is short and shit happens. We'll breeze right on along now, we won't be dwelling on this experience, but we may take care of one or two of the items on that list.

Later. A nice day, the sun out, the temperature in the high sixties. A bus downtown to get out of the apartment and test my resolve, a walk over to the corner of 14th and Broadway from the bus stop, when I arrived, to see what the muralists I'd spotted were up to. The security people don't seem to hassle them, but allow them to create their murals in the middle of the day - there were plenty of security people about - but in past months they've been showing up with a cleaning crew the morning after with soap and brushes. Whatever the compromise, it seems to work, although I'm thinking of heading downtown later this afternoon to photograph it before it disappears tomorrow.

A walk then next door to the City Center to sit out at a table in the sun eating a buttered toasted bagel and drinking a cranberry juice of some kind. Nice out there in the sun. Felt like a true old duffer sitting, absorbing the heat, watching the people as they sat, ate and walked on by.

The upper teeth-palate-sinuses are hurting today more than they usually do, even more so when I awoke this morning and popped the pain meds earlier than I otherwise would. Who knows? This thing has been up and down now for years, although seemingly more so lately. I have an MRI scheduled for the end of the year after the neurologist's visit earlier this month. The only problem with an MRI, if it discovers a problem, is it's not usually a problem with a solution other than maybe more potent meds. Not sure more potent meds would be anything to look forward to and, well, any of the other options are short lived.

It's two in the afternoon, I'm thinking of getting to bed at the usual time just before ten, drifting off to sleep at some point soon after, but getting up two hours later in the morning, walk instead of drive to breakfast, see if that doesn't help. Again, the odd nature of my evening last night, seems to have gotten me to do more than just think of making changes. Interesting to see what it took to do it.

And your attitude toward sushi and sake?

There are many ways to see my sushi and sake dinner last night as not having had anything to do with it, but I admit it's put me off on any more visits real soon. I haven't thought my backing away from alcohol, as I've grown older, makes other than sense as you no longer have an organism that's able to handle it as you once did, but give it up totally? After all this hoo-haw of mine about sake and such? Guinness? Could be, I guess. You never know.

Evening. A fair amount of guitar, another watchable, but just barely watchable, two hour Italian police procedural at six. We'll see what's on later, get to bed at a reasonable hour and not set the alarm. Let's see if I'm better off getting up two hours later while still getting to bed before ten. Around ten. Ten thirty if there's something on that's interesting, and see where it goes.

You're off the sushi and sake?

I guess.