The days are a blur (part 1)

Dusk isn't always colorful.

When I was a little boy, there was a soap opera called THE EDGE OF NIGHT. I never watched it (or any other soap opera), but I would usually try to be around the TV when it first came on. I liked the theme music (the organ in the background was cheesy, but I loved the piano piece that floated over it). And I found the opening visual fascinating

It was a cityscape at dusk, gradually shading into night. Watching the buildings gray and fade as the lights in the windows came into prominence. The sky gradually going away. Sorta. There had to be some time-lapse or something, to make it fit into a TV opening sequence (do I remember the clouds streaking by, or am I reading that back into it?), but that just made it accessible to a three-year-old's attention span.

And the fact that it was in black-and-white didn't hurt it at all. If there'd been color, it would've likely been pastels of red and orange all over the place (soap-opera's didn't tend to the subtle). And I might have thought that a distraction. It was the gradual changes in shading and contrast that I found endlessly watchable.

Tonight's kind of like that, without the skyscrapers. Sky-blue fading into gray and thence to black. Everything below it gradually losing definition and color as the shadows change (not always deepening).

It takes longer, of course. This is reality. But then, I'm a bit older. I actually do have an attention span, these days. Sometimes.

It's MonTueWednesday, August 23-25. At least the month didn't drift. I think.

What can I say? It's been interesting...

My own fault, I have to admit. My work week was supposed to start on Sunday, but they didn't have a load for me Sunday. Weekends are often slow. So I had plenty of rest going into my load Monday, right?

Wrong. Computer binge. Five hours of sleep. Slow blinking all day.

Well, at least I got the load to where it was going. Got myself empty and headed for the nearest truck stop, where I had a quick meal and sat around reading the rest of the evening. Nice way to end the day.

At least until I got the message from my dispatcher. Seems he had a load for me the next morning. And I wouldn't have any trouble picking it up.

If I started rolling at 3 am.

This was not a problem, legally speaking. I'd shut down around 5, so getting up at 3 was perfectly all right.

Right?

Go back over my description of how I spent the evening. Did you happen to notice the word “sleep” anywhere in there?

If I'd been rudely awakened when the satcom beeped, I might have been all right. It would have meant I'd taken a nap as soon as I parked. But why would I do that? Nobody was going to need me before 5 or 6 am, right?

Right.

So there I was, just getting ready for bed, and here came the good news. And what do I tell my dispatcher? “Sorry, boss. Can't do it. I spent too much time surfing the Net last night and too much time reading STAR WARS books today.”?

So I said “Sure, no prob,” and went to bed.

Five hours sleep last night.

No more than five tonight.

Three o'clock in the morning.

Sigh.

(continued “tomorrow”)