If after reading yesterday's entry you guessed that I slept like a log last night, you'd be right. Since I went through the day with all the energy and all the mental capacity of a log, it was only fitting. Today was not exactly a better day, but I'm not sure it's possible to rank days as you live them. I handled it better, though, so in that sense it was a better day.

One of the problems yesterday was that I had no one to vent to. The Boss is working on a big engineering estimate, and I didn't hear from him. Anyway, I wouldn't just phone him and start whining. I'd have to have an excuse to ease into the whining part, and I couldn't think of anything worth interrupting his calculations. You don't know how he gets.

Today was better. He was still busy, but I had an excuse. I left a message when I knew he was at lunch, with a sort of mini-whine of the why-don't-you-ever-call variety. It worked, and I didn't have to ease into anything, because he knew that he had to "handle" me when he called me back. "Oh, I guess I haven't been very good about calling in for my messages."

I assured him that I knew he was busy, and I didn't want to interrupt, but I did have some things to go over with him (including "reminding" him that I'd be gone all day Thursday, which he probably didn't know about because I casually mentioned it over a month ago, secure in the knowledge that he doesn't retain information that long).

Naturally, I later wished I'd left well enough alone. The phone never stopped ringing the rest of the day. He apologized, and said he just had a few things he wanted to clear off his desk. Apparently he hadn't been as busy with the estimate as I thought. We spent half an hour talking about a nine dollar hardware bill that he asked me to pay, then forgot and paid out of his personal account. Big important stuff like that.

Even though I could have used a shoulder yesterday, what I really needed was sleep, as usual. I've taken to falling asleep at any odd hour lately. It seems I can run and run all day long, but as soon as I stop I'm done for. On a day like yesterday, I didn't have time for a nap, and nothing would have helped anyway. Besides, nothing truly satisfies like lying in bed in the morning. If only that could be a part of my daily routine.

Afternoon naps are surreal. When they hit, it's like sinking and floating at the same time. It's the deepest kind of sleep, and the most easily disturbed. It's refreshing and exhausting. An afternoon nap can turn the daytime into night. Unfortunately, the effect often later turns nighttime into day.