Mean Gene

Long Night

Of course I watched Penn State win the Orange Bowl last night. But if Kevin Kelly misses his third chip-shot FG to win the game I go to bed. I'm willing to invest a lot of emotional capital in a sports event, but after seeing the Nittany Lions give up a punt return for a TD, fumble the snap on first-and-goal, and then miss three field goals to win the game, well, even I would've cut my losses and hit the hay.

I went to bed feeling pretty drained, but, hey, Penn State won. And then there was the far more important good news that they'd found 12 of the coal miners in nearly W. Virginia alive, which made me feel even better. So imagine the shock when I wake up this morning, turn on the TV, and see Charlie Gibson talking about how one miner is alive and 12 are dead. I actually thought, "Wow, Charlie, is that a faux pas. You got it backwards". But he didn't correct himself. He wasn't wrong. What those people went through last night is too horrible to contemplate. No one here at work is talking about it. People snoop at CNN or the Post-Gazette for news, but no one has brought the subject up. What can you say about it? I just read about it with that thousand-yard stare and shake my head from side-to-side.

A late night, bad news, rain and cold and gloom outside. I'm tired. Reading around it seems like quite a few people are taking a hiatus from posting, and I might do just that. Take a week or two off, recharge the batteries. Which are drained. I'm not tired of writing, I'm just tired, physically. I missed a great New Year's Eve party because I slept through it. I ate and drank too much (especically ate) and passed out/fell asleep before midnight. I vaguely remember hearing everyone counting down, and I vaguely remember people karaokeing till 5AM (not too upset I missed that part). But since I didn't have much of a hangover the next day it seems like the falling asleep part of the equasion was a bit higher than I'd like. It's one thing to drink yourself into oblivion on New Year's Eve (though it does mark you as an amateur), it's quite another to find a cozy patch of carpet and catch a few winks.

I don't sleep enough, that's one resolution I should've made. I didn't make any this year, figuring that would give me a few less things to feel guilty about 12 months from now. Too often I'm in bed at 1AM and up at six. Throw in the fact that there's been no coffee in our office since Christmas (we're getting close to mob violence) and you'll understand why my brain feels fuzzy. I'm just plain tired.

2006 is going to be hectic 'round my way, especially the first few months. At least I hope its hectic. So if I vanish for a week at a time don't panic. I'm only sleeping.

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