I am bummed at myself for failing to remember early last evening yesterday to weigh myself before I terminated my Sabbath fast ─ part of the satisfaction and reward for suffering through this weekly event is to see how much weight I manage to drop.
It was at least 11:15 p.m. ─ maybe even 11:30 p.m. ─ by the time I got to bed, my cellphone alarm set for 4 a.m.
I was to eventually find myself awake enough to decide to visit the bathroom in the hope of deriving sufficient comfort the find some further sleep; and for the first time since getting to bed, I made a check of the time. I don't exactly recall when it was, but possibly it was something like 3:17 or even 3:27 a.m.
It did not allow me adequate time to actually fall asleep, but I was in some level of limbo when my alarm chimed.
My youngest stepson was still up, and wearing headphones while seated in front of his computer in the boys' den area. He was never to lay eyes on me, however.
My wife hadn't come home following her full workday at the Thai restaurant where she is employed.
There was no rush to be going anywhere. My final decision was to put in my usual five-mile+ hike, stopping at Save-On-Foods ─ about ¾ of a mile from here ─ on the return portion of the walk.
I think that I probably left right around targeted 6 a.m., finding it still dark. The sky had clouds, but there were huge black stretches of unobstructed night. However, after maybe two miles into my walk, it was basically daytime, and it was very apparent that the morning was going to be sunny.
There was nothing remarkable about the walk. My shopping experience was a different story, though. For the second time since around midyear, one of the cashiers at that same outlet on an early Sunday robbed me of a few dollars by not tendering me my change.
The bill was $51.85, and I gave her $55. She was so busy hyping the store's app and the potential savings it afforded that she didn't even give me the receipt.
I was aware of this taking place at the time, but it also seemed unreal ─ like I was some detached observer who might not really be witnessing what was going on.
The reality only set in with sheer conviction when I was leaving the store. And so I implicated myself for being a weakling too reserved to cause a fuss, and accepted my full complicity in the $3.15 theft that I had undergone.
It did rather sour the finish to my outing.
There had actually been an uplifting event earlier, after I was over two miles into my walk.
I had left 96th Avenue and turned north (i.e., 'up' the map) along the forested side of 148th Street (Google Map). There is no sidewalk on that side, so I was off the street's shoulder. A couple of cyclists were speeding along towards me, and I was to realize that they were both women, chatting to each other as one tailed the other, and the two decked out in proper cycling gear with the lead woman having a headlight on her bike (maybe the second woman did, too), as well as a bright red tail light on each bike.
Just as they were about to pass by me, the lead woman raised her hand in a wave and smiled to me, to which I responded in kind; and the second woman then also waved to me and sounded out a greeting.
This uncommon gesture of early morning social geniality from two unfamiliar women cyclists had my inner smile beaming broadly for a long time afterwards, and I even prayed that God would safeguard the dear pair.
It is unfortunate that my experience at Save-On-Foods erased whatever was left of that spiritual well-being.
Now something else.
It occurs to me that it might have been last Sunday evening ─ if not, it was likely Tuesday evening ─ as I was coming home in the night and bearing some grocery shopping, I was maybe four or five blocks from home, when a short distance ahead of me as I walked 98th Avenue towards 132nd Street (Google Map), I clearly saw a raccoon crossing from the opposite side of the avenue ... and then another behind it, followed by two more.
By the time the last two had hurried across, I was almost among them. One of them made a noisy effort of scaling a large evergreen, for there were no branches near the ground ─ only the thick barked trunk.
The tree was a mere five or so feet from the sidewalk, but I acted as if I noticed nothing was not interested in anything but my journey, so I hope calm quickly descended for the family.
They all seemed approximately the same size.
But back to this morning.
My youngest stepson was still up when I got back home, probably around 8:30 a.m. or near to it. He must surely have sat up all night ─ I don't know what's going on with the idiot 25-year-old.
After I had put away my purchases and then dressed down in my bedroom, although I did not feel too direly short on sleep, I decided to return to bed until such time as my younger brother was up and had the T.V. turned on.
I soon heard him emerge from his bedroom and go downstairs.
I seemed sorely to decline in bed, yet I was unable to relax enough to sleep. Even so, I had lost any desire to be getting up.
I finally did soon after 9:30 a.m., feeling quite unpleasant. But I boiled up water for a large mug of instant coffee with the works ─ my second of the day ─ and then joined my brother.
He was watching the pathetic pablum that Global News was spoon-feeding him, and showed no intention of turning the T.V. over to me so that I could put our Android TV Box to use and tune in some serious material ─ not the 'tea-time' weak slop that he seemed immersed into, fit only for the senile elderly.
I got disgusted when the main female anchor began interviewing some woman who had written a book about her divorce and how it affected the parents' two kids ─ give me a bloody break! My brother's mouth may as well be wide open in helpless awe ─ as I said, it was just too disgusting a display of mental feebleness for me.
So I took my coffee and came upstairs to my bedroom where I watched nearly an hour of a 2¼-hour (2:16:16) video streamed two days ago to Rumble's America's Untold Stories channel: Free-form Friday 09-27-2024.
🎉 Free-form Friday is here! 🌪️ Join us on a rollercoaster ride through this week's societal events—from chaos and triumphs to total surprises! 🎭 See every twist and turn.
Hurricane Helene has caused massive damage with a dam about to fail in North Carolina. Donald Trump is performing well in recent polls. Kamala Harris still struggles with interviews. New York Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted and Al Gonzales from the NYPD Intelligence division will fill us in.
I paused the video so that I could go downstairs and round up my day's first meal.
Well, my brother had been watching an NFL game, but apparently didn't feel committed to it, so he then invited me to tune something in via our Android TV Box (we only have basic cable programming otherwise ─ i.e., slim pickings).
Reluctantly, I decided to tune in the video for him to watch through the Rumble app that I have downloaded into our Android TV Box; but when I selected it, the app apparently synchronized with the video I had been watching on my bedside computer, and commenced playing from there.
What the heck ─ it was already just about 11 a.m.; he was not likely going to be watching the full video anyway, so I just let it play at the juncture it had determined was proper. Who cares which half of the show he watched?
At most, he watched till 12:20 p.m. ─ but that was the very most. And then it was time for his bed rest.
The afternoon seemed perfectly sunny, but with a chilly wind breezing through the upstairs windows. I could have sunned, but I have just not felt well today ─ an insufficient quota of sleep lately, and too much damaging screen time. Even my thumb joints are again bothering me from constant keyboard use.
My brother had his rest and left on foot to catch a bus to take him somewhere to do his drinking. I then had a deep nap, but it was not as restorative as I needed. As often happens, I felt most unpleasant for a long while afterwards.
As a means of perking up early in the evening ─ for I intend the 5.625-mile round trip hike to Real Canadian Superstore for a few items ─ I tuned in FBI and nursed a can of Bumper Crop Crisp Apple Cider (7% cider).
I watched the episode on T.V. downstairs via our Android TV Box, risking that I would get through it before my brother showed up. My eldest stepson was away, and even though it is now after 8 p.m., his younger brother is still in bed ─ the young fool, sitting up all bloody night and sleeping away the day.
The episode was really quite good, and I felt my eyes burn a little at the end when a 'guest' character who had been shot died in surgery ─ I quite liked the young woman as played by actress Alaina Surgener, wholly unknown to me.
The episode was season six's episode three ("Stay in Your Lane").
Okay, I've got to get ready and get out of here. I'll be sitting up late watching at least one show with my brother once we're both back home, and I'll be putting down two or three cans of Cariboo Malt (8% alcohol).
It is now 8:20 p.m.
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