Walking into the restaurant in the early morning light I squinted at the gas prices displayed across the street, thinking for a moment they'd dropped twelve cents a gallon to $3.85 and then finally noted the dollar figure when it became clear the eight was a zero, no little bar across the middle. Interesting to see how easy it was to focus on changes to the cents, they're the ones that have been active, of course, the brain not “seeing” the dollar change until it was clear the cents made no sense.

A similar passing thought when I got home. I'd talked with today's waitress at the register somewhat breaking the routine and so, putting the change back in the wallet, all on automatic, I realized, again when I was home, I hadn't left anything for a tip. She would never have said or say anything, of course, but the brain again, distracted, dribbled right off the tracks.

So. There are things to be done to catch up on commitments, starting now. Hup! But after a nap. Nothing wrong with taking a nap after breakfast, has nothing to do with whether or not you're ill, naps are one of life's building blocks, good in any weather, morning or afternoon.

Later. Still tired. Maybe the tired part takes longer to resolve itself after a cold, but again, the antidote is sleep and sleep is our friend. Hello friend.

A walk and then a chance bus to the morning café for ice cream and a lemonade sitting out at a table in the sun. Comfortable. Now that the cold has passed I'm back to recalling the ocular migraines and the things that I need to do to avoid them. (And we do want to avoid them.) No MSG. Good. I had a pork chop for breakfast, asked that they hold the “seasonings” and, so far, so good, but we'll keep our eye on it. I haven't had one now for a very long time and I'd like to keep it to that.

And those two drinks you had last night?

A passing whim. The aching sinuses had been aching by then for a very long time, so we went with an extra dose of the pain meds with two shots of Jack Daniels. It's been what? Two weeks since quitting for good the last? We'll make it two months til the next.

Unless the sinuses act up.

That would of course then be medication which has no relationship to slacking off and unruly behavior leading to drinking and fooling around.

So a walk back to the apartment stopping along the lake and thinking I'm still hungry, so a detour to the burger drive-in to pick up a steak sandwich. We'll finish that magazine draft and call it a day.

Evening. One from the least liked of the various Wallendar series at six this evening, one I've seen recently that fully confirmed my dislike and lack of sympathy for the character, so I then remembered there'd been an Elementary episode that played last night that I'd forgotten about and missed (it does indeed start too late) but that it might be up for viewing on the CBS web site. And it was. And I did.

So good, feel better, I've made some progress on that magazine piece, we'll turn in early and think about working on it more in bed. Pen on paper. Retro write. On a Friday, here in Oakland.