It's Raining, it's Pouring...

And the old men are snoring...

Winter has come to Folsom. One day to the next, bam! 20 degree drop. And it is dark here, and I don't think it's just cause of the daylight savings time fall-back - it's that whole 'north of the equator early winter darkness' that I'd only ever read about in fairy tales. I walked out of the Dollar Store last night at 5:30pm and it was pitch black and raining and COLD. (Yes, the Dollar Store. I am loading up on the essentials for a long winter in Ireland. You may recall that I have had some difficulty from time to time procuring the necessities in that small island nation.) So then I had to drive in this inclement weather and all I could think about were those old ladies that say "Oh my! I just hate to drive at night I can't see a damn thing!" and I thought, shit. Am I that old? Because I was sweating it. All those bright lights dazzling before my eyes! I had the radio off, my hands at ten and two, wipers full blast, face up against the dash, driving 20mph on the highway with my hazards flashing.

And I am told that during the Irish winter, it is only light out from 10am to 4pm. I fear for my sanity.

Another thing that winter's arrival means is that I can't run the a/c unit at night. Insomnia.... hello old friend. We meet again. I thought I was cured. And last night, not only was I listening to Manus snore, but within his intermittent silences, I could hear the snoring of the neighbor. Is there no god? Manus' breathing becomes louder and louder next to me as I lay there trying not to hear it. And after inhalation his lips meet momentarily causing a breathy "Pooo!" sound as they part for the exhalation. I swear after ten minutes it was a two-toned foghorn with a firecracker exploding in the middle. I am ashamed now to admit it, but I actually asked God last night to please, please, please! help Manus to stop breathing. (oops) Immediately upon realizing that implication, I crossed my fingers, held my breath and knocked on the bedside table two times to reverse the jinx, so he should be okay... but c'mon..I need some sort of solution.

I am reading Eat, Pray, Love right now and I'm not giving anything away when I say that I'm at the part where she is in India, learning how to meditate. So last night I decided that if I couldn't sleep, maybe I could try to meditate and block out the breathing. In the book, the author uses the mantra Om Namah Shivaya. So I start..."Om.. Na.. Mah.. Shi.. Va.. Ya.., Om.. Na.. Mah.. Shi.. Va.. Ya.. Pooo!, Om.. Na.. Mah.. Shi.. Va.. Ya.. POOO!

That is when I got up and went to the couch.