I was awakened this morning at 7 by a considerable racket from upstairs. I knew it was coming, but that didn't make it any easier.
The landlord is proceeding with his plans to get rid of the wall-to-wall carpeting in the upper apartment and refinish the wood floors underneath. Earlier this week he took out the carpeting himself, and today a crew came in to start the scraping and sanding and polishing. From the sound of it, they are also getting rid of the linoleum from the kitchen. (Our kitchen is tiled.)
The guy in charge of the work was here yesterday to look around and pick up a key, and warned me about the noise. It can't be avoided, and it will be done in four or five work days, so knowing I'm going to be awakened each weekday morning, I suppose I should try to go to sleep earlier.
Showing posts with label Sleeping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sleeping. Show all posts
05 September 2014
06 June 2014
Noises
It hasn't reached full summer here yet, but it has been nice enough to have the windows open for a while (with the exception of a few cold days and nights during the past couple of weeks). In this transitional period, sleeping is more challenging.
Our street is a main artery into and through an entire neighborhood, and it intersects with s busy, major non-highway road at a traffic signal about 350 feet east of our house. During the morning and evening rush hours, cars waiting at the light are lined up, in front of and sometimes further past our house. Also, in this area the houses were built pretty close to the curb, with shallow front yards maybe 20 feet from curb to building, maximum. So whenever the windows are open, especially in the living room, which faces the street, noise is an issue. There are what I think is an abnormally high number of unmuffled motorcycles that pass through at all hours of the day and night.
There's also a bird nest under the roof of our front porch. I think it has been there three or four summers now, and the birds start chirping very, very early each morning. This tends to wake the dog, whose bed is against the front wall of the house right next to the porch. For about a month each spring, she wakes up around 5:15 to 5:30, and wants to be taken out. It ends up messing up her walk schedule for the rest of the day, until the sun starts to rise later again.
And of course, there are neighbors. The homes are only 10 to 12 feet apart, and with the windows open noise tends to flow freely between houses. This morning I was awakened by music in the house next door. It wasn't especially loud, and it was a slow song; when it woke me, I thought it was my own clock radio until I realized that I'd already turned that off.
I like open windows and fresh air when the weather is comfortable, but air conditioning has benefits beyond temperature comfort: it helps us deal with noise, too.
(PB: I know things are much worse for you. Remember, everything is relative.)
Our street is a main artery into and through an entire neighborhood, and it intersects with s busy, major non-highway road at a traffic signal about 350 feet east of our house. During the morning and evening rush hours, cars waiting at the light are lined up, in front of and sometimes further past our house. Also, in this area the houses were built pretty close to the curb, with shallow front yards maybe 20 feet from curb to building, maximum. So whenever the windows are open, especially in the living room, which faces the street, noise is an issue. There are what I think is an abnormally high number of unmuffled motorcycles that pass through at all hours of the day and night.
There's also a bird nest under the roof of our front porch. I think it has been there three or four summers now, and the birds start chirping very, very early each morning. This tends to wake the dog, whose bed is against the front wall of the house right next to the porch. For about a month each spring, she wakes up around 5:15 to 5:30, and wants to be taken out. It ends up messing up her walk schedule for the rest of the day, until the sun starts to rise later again.
And of course, there are neighbors. The homes are only 10 to 12 feet apart, and with the windows open noise tends to flow freely between houses. This morning I was awakened by music in the house next door. It wasn't especially loud, and it was a slow song; when it woke me, I thought it was my own clock radio until I realized that I'd already turned that off.
I like open windows and fresh air when the weather is comfortable, but air conditioning has benefits beyond temperature comfort: it helps us deal with noise, too.
(PB: I know things are much worse for you. Remember, everything is relative.)
20 February 2013
Freaky
Did you ever have a dream where you're speaking a foreign language that you don't know in your actual awake life?
14 February 2013
Early Awakening
Our entire household was rudely awakened at 4:30 this morning by loud noise in the street. It sounded like heavy equipment, and then there was the telltale beeping of a piece of machinery in reverse.
We got up to investigate, and it turned out the city was out clearing the storm drains and fire hydrants. A good idea, but did it need to be done predawn? I guess some people are pulling in some overtime.
The dog was the most upset by the disturbance. Truck engines still remind her of her many trips to the dog track, and this prolonged noise (at least five minutes) had her edgy and pacing around. Eventually they moved on and we all got back to sleep.
We got up to investigate, and it turned out the city was out clearing the storm drains and fire hydrants. A good idea, but did it need to be done predawn? I guess some people are pulling in some overtime.
The dog was the most upset by the disturbance. Truck engines still remind her of her many trips to the dog track, and this prolonged noise (at least five minutes) had her edgy and pacing around. Eventually they moved on and we all got back to sleep.
10 January 2013
Linens & Domestics
I was just changing the bed, and since I had pulled out the down comforter in haste when I was sick a couple of weeks ago, I'd put it on the bed without its cover, so I took that out too.
The cover is bright red, with variegated stripes in several colors: pink, orange, white, green, turquoise, and blue. It came from Target, and we have a set of sheets that goes with it, but those were at the bottom of the plastic bin where we store our sheets, so I chose another set, in a lighter green organic cotton with a vine pattern.
The Mrs. saw me stuffing the comforter into its cover and said, "That doesn't go with the sheets."
I replied, "Don't care." She was surprised. "You don't care?"
My reasoning: it's a bed, not an outfit. It's not being photographed for a shelter magazine, so it doesn't need to look perfectly matched, just be clean and comfortable. There is a bit of green in the cover, and it's not that far off from the green of the sheets, but... whatever.
The cover is bright red, with variegated stripes in several colors: pink, orange, white, green, turquoise, and blue. It came from Target, and we have a set of sheets that goes with it, but those were at the bottom of the plastic bin where we store our sheets, so I chose another set, in a lighter green organic cotton with a vine pattern.
The Mrs. saw me stuffing the comforter into its cover and said, "That doesn't go with the sheets."
I replied, "Don't care." She was surprised. "You don't care?"
My reasoning: it's a bed, not an outfit. It's not being photographed for a shelter magazine, so it doesn't need to look perfectly matched, just be clean and comfortable. There is a bit of green in the cover, and it's not that far off from the green of the sheets, but... whatever.
31 December 2012
Comforted
A couple of weeks ago I brought up our down comforter from storage in the basement. Because last winter was so unusually mild, we didn't even need the heavy-duty bedding, but this year I knew colder weather was on the way.
Then I got sick. Last Sunday night I got into bed and immediately started having chills. The comforter was leaning against a wall, waiting to be unpacked from its zipper bag. I got up, shivering, and quickly threw it on the bed. After I got back in bed and the warmth started slowly returning to my body, I realized that there is no warmth quite like the warmth one feels when nestled under a down comforter.
This one is around 20 years old. I distinctly remember buying it when I was still single, at the old Jordan Marsh store downtown. I'd been a fairly regular patron of their bedding department since realizing I needed to buy double-size sheets for the first time right after graduating from college.
Back in the early '90s, Jordan Marsh and its competitor Filene's ran their sale ads almost every day in the Boston Globe. Being underemployed and relatively poor, I would have been watching and waiting for a "white sale," and most likely purchased the comforter with money received for Christmas from my parents. I know it was around $70 at the time, which from this vantage point seems like a solid investment; nowadays I don't really know what one costs, but I do know that A Proper Bostonian recommends Cuddledown and The Company Store, and I also know courtesy of her that there's a Cuddledown outlet up in Freeport, Maine.
Then I got sick. Last Sunday night I got into bed and immediately started having chills. The comforter was leaning against a wall, waiting to be unpacked from its zipper bag. I got up, shivering, and quickly threw it on the bed. After I got back in bed and the warmth started slowly returning to my body, I realized that there is no warmth quite like the warmth one feels when nestled under a down comforter.
This one is around 20 years old. I distinctly remember buying it when I was still single, at the old Jordan Marsh store downtown. I'd been a fairly regular patron of their bedding department since realizing I needed to buy double-size sheets for the first time right after graduating from college.
Back in the early '90s, Jordan Marsh and its competitor Filene's ran their sale ads almost every day in the Boston Globe. Being underemployed and relatively poor, I would have been watching and waiting for a "white sale," and most likely purchased the comforter with money received for Christmas from my parents. I know it was around $70 at the time, which from this vantage point seems like a solid investment; nowadays I don't really know what one costs, but I do know that A Proper Bostonian recommends Cuddledown and The Company Store, and I also know courtesy of her that there's a Cuddledown outlet up in Freeport, Maine.
06 September 2011
Reset
After my week off, plus the extra day of the long weekend, it was back to work for me. Last night I dutifully set my clock radio's alarm before going to sleep. I even checked to make sure the volume was high enough and it was tuned to an actual station instead of just static (it's an older clock radio, with rotary controls on the side that sometimes get bumped).
This morning I woke up to no sound. I rolled over and looked at the time; it was almost an hour after the time I normally get up. I sat up and took a closer look at the clock radio, and saw what I'd missed in my pre-bed fatigue the night before: The alarm was set correctly, but after our ten-second power outage last weekend, I had reset the time incorrectly, so it was in PM instead of AM, and since I hadn't needed it all week, I hadn't noticed. Oops.
As I jumped out of bed and headed toward the bathroom, I thought to myself that even though this was not a fortuitous way to start my first day back to work, I felt great from the extra hour of sleep I wasn't supposed to have gotten.
This morning I woke up to no sound. I rolled over and looked at the time; it was almost an hour after the time I normally get up. I sat up and took a closer look at the clock radio, and saw what I'd missed in my pre-bed fatigue the night before: The alarm was set correctly, but after our ten-second power outage last weekend, I had reset the time incorrectly, so it was in PM instead of AM, and since I hadn't needed it all week, I hadn't noticed. Oops.
As I jumped out of bed and headed toward the bathroom, I thought to myself that even though this was not a fortuitous way to start my first day back to work, I felt great from the extra hour of sleep I wasn't supposed to have gotten.
11 November 2010
Rest Easy
It's been two months since we got our new mattress and box spring, and I couldn't be happier with it. I sleep so much better now. For me, the biggest difference is that, below the top couple of inches of memory foam, is a much denser foam that is much more firm and supportive.
What prompted me to think about this was when I was vacuuming the other day and noticed a twinge of back pain. I realized that I had not been waking up with an aching back since we got the new mattress. And if my back does hurt when I get into bed, it feels better by morning. What a great investment.
What prompted me to think about this was when I was vacuuming the other day and noticed a twinge of back pain. I realized that I had not been waking up with an aching back since we got the new mattress. And if my back does hurt when I get into bed, it feels better by morning. What a great investment.
19 October 2008
Wife, Work, Dog
Ugh, what a week. Fortunately I have finally shaken off the remains of my cold. I think Friday was the first day I really felt like I was approaching normal again. Of course, right on schedule, the Mrs. seems to have caught it, or a similar bout of blechness that's going around her office, so yesterday was kind of a lost day. She slept most of the day; I was bored and was going to head into town by myself, but then I remembered that the T is doing work on the Orange Line this weekend and is running bus shuttle service instead of train service, and I decided it would end up being too much trouble to even try going anywhere.
Work, well, it's coming along okay. I didn't accomplish quite as much as I'd hoped to, but given the disruptions in schedule over the past week or so, it's not surprising, and I still got a lot done. I was talking with a coworker about why the powers that be scheduled our annual meeting, which took up half a day, during the same week as a holiday, meaning most of the people in the office effectively lost almost two days of work this week. It doesn't seem like very well thought-out planning; they have asked us to provide feedback, so I will suggest having the meeting a week later next year and hope that others do the same.
Then there's the dog. At 2:30 this morning I was awakened by her whining. I went to check on her and it seemed like she was just whining because she was cold, so I covered her and went back to bed, but fifteen minutes later she started whining again, so I knew that meant she needed to go out. I got dressed and took her out to the back yard, where she proceeded to start sniffing things, as if it was just a casual trip outside. Now I do love this dog, but if she's going to wake me up in the middle of the night to be taken out, she'd better focus on doing her thing when she gets out there, you know? So we had a little chat, and she got her priorities straight.
She woke me up again at 6, and I went and covered her again. That was good for an hour; at 7 she started whining again, and I figured since the sun was now up, I might as well walk her. Luckily after we got back I was able to go back to sleep for a couple of hours. This is the third time in the past two weeks that she's awakened us during the night, so something may be up with her digestion. Hopefully it won't require a trip to the vet.
But you know what? A good cup of coffee, a bright, sunny fall day, and an ALCS game 7 can make everything feel better. Go Sox!
Work, well, it's coming along okay. I didn't accomplish quite as much as I'd hoped to, but given the disruptions in schedule over the past week or so, it's not surprising, and I still got a lot done. I was talking with a coworker about why the powers that be scheduled our annual meeting, which took up half a day, during the same week as a holiday, meaning most of the people in the office effectively lost almost two days of work this week. It doesn't seem like very well thought-out planning; they have asked us to provide feedback, so I will suggest having the meeting a week later next year and hope that others do the same.
Then there's the dog. At 2:30 this morning I was awakened by her whining. I went to check on her and it seemed like she was just whining because she was cold, so I covered her and went back to bed, but fifteen minutes later she started whining again, so I knew that meant she needed to go out. I got dressed and took her out to the back yard, where she proceeded to start sniffing things, as if it was just a casual trip outside. Now I do love this dog, but if she's going to wake me up in the middle of the night to be taken out, she'd better focus on doing her thing when she gets out there, you know? So we had a little chat, and she got her priorities straight.
She woke me up again at 6, and I went and covered her again. That was good for an hour; at 7 she started whining again, and I figured since the sun was now up, I might as well walk her. Luckily after we got back I was able to go back to sleep for a couple of hours. This is the third time in the past two weeks that she's awakened us during the night, so something may be up with her digestion. Hopefully it won't require a trip to the vet.
But you know what? A good cup of coffee, a bright, sunny fall day, and an ALCS game 7 can make everything feel better. Go Sox!
27 June 2008
Nap Time
Last night, I was coming home from work on the Orange line, as usual. I was reading my paper and not paying much attention to anything else. There was an empty seat to my left that was filled at State by a guy who looked to be around 30, wearing typical office attire.
As we left North Station and started up the grade to come above ground, the guy's weight shifted and he kind of leaned into me a little. When we finished ascending the grade and leveled off, he was still leaning on me. He was a fairly tall guy, so the weight pressing on me was not insubstantial, and even though the AC was on, it wasn't that comfortable in the subway car. I very gently pushed against his right shoulder with my left one, to try to get him to shift his weight off me, but it didn't work. Shortly after that, the train made a bit of a lurch, and the guy abruptly lifted his head and shifted so that he was no longer leaning on me. That's when I realized that he had been asleep.
Between Community College and Wellington, he dozed off three or four more times for maybe 20 to 30 seconds at a time. Each time he would jerk back awake and lift his head, seemingly fighting the urge to catch a quick T nap. When I got up to leave, I wondered what would happen. With no one sitting next to him, would his next doze send him slumping over sideways? Would he wake up at Oak Grove and realize that he'd meant to get off at Malden Center?
As we left North Station and started up the grade to come above ground, the guy's weight shifted and he kind of leaned into me a little. When we finished ascending the grade and leveled off, he was still leaning on me. He was a fairly tall guy, so the weight pressing on me was not insubstantial, and even though the AC was on, it wasn't that comfortable in the subway car. I very gently pushed against his right shoulder with my left one, to try to get him to shift his weight off me, but it didn't work. Shortly after that, the train made a bit of a lurch, and the guy abruptly lifted his head and shifted so that he was no longer leaning on me. That's when I realized that he had been asleep.
Between Community College and Wellington, he dozed off three or four more times for maybe 20 to 30 seconds at a time. Each time he would jerk back awake and lift his head, seemingly fighting the urge to catch a quick T nap. When I got up to leave, I wondered what would happen. With no one sitting next to him, would his next doze send him slumping over sideways? Would he wake up at Oak Grove and realize that he'd meant to get off at Malden Center?
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