After several nights in a row of waking up at 2 a.m., I finally managed to sleep through an entire night. Consequently I woke up confused and incompetent. After three attempts, however, I did figure out that, in order to make coffee, one must use both grounds and water. Let us hope that the rest of my day is not so challenging.
Given my accruing level of tiredness, I was unable, yesterday evening, to read anything more complex than New Yorker articles about TV shows that I have never watched. Even listening to baseball seemed too complicated. I ate chicken noodle soup, washed the dishes, and then sat on the couch and tried to watch one of those TV shows I'd been reading about, but the dialogue was too snappy and I couldn't understand anything the characters were saying. At this point the telephone began ringing; friends were calling me up to chat about selling the house and taking Paul to college, etcetera, etcetera, which was extremely nice of them, but I had entered a zone of stupidness, and, dear friends, if you are reading this now, I apologize for anything lumpy I said to you.
Thankfully, Ruckus decided to stalk into the room and inform me that it was bedtime. Sometimes a bossy cat with cold feet is the only route out of a static situation. Otherwise, I might still be on the couch struggling with dialogue.
2 comments:
Years ago when both our children were infants, we began to watch all videos and TV with subtitles or closed captioning so we could keep the volume down. I still try to watch EVERYTHING with the closed captioning turned on so that I can follow the dialogue. It's so helpful--especially with dense Yorkshire accents! I find I have reached the stage where my brain is sort of half-paying attention to the subtitling to guide my ears in hearing the words. Plus, they let you know it is supposed to be "sad music" playing, rather than simply "dramatic music." Of course, the quality can sometimes be atrociously garbled (or entertaining, depending on how badly you need the help). Any new programming, though, should be pretty effective with its closed captioning. I'd recommend trying it!
I'm not sure reading the words would have worked any better, at least in that moment.
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