Ambien. Say it with me. "Aaaaaammmbein." The word "bien" apparently means "good" in several languages, and I agree. I do my best not to rely on drug reliance for sleep. Meditation, not medication, one might say. Yet last night, after several days of troubled sleep made all the worse by the "Birsitus" issue, I took a pill, laid down, and drifted into a deep and restful sleep. Better living through chemistry. As a meditation and "zen” practitioner, you'd think I'd have this managed, but to be completely honest, I've not put much effort into 'days end' activities. I may start moving some of my routines around and see how that works out. Maybe a "zazen" sit in the morning before thoughts whirl into action, and a guided relaxation at bedtime would be helpful. I'll report back. The dogs continue learning about and using the dog door but still need reminders. Hopefully, next week they'll be fully independent. I didn’t write last night, but the leftover French toast casserole was a hit at Jikoji Monday am. I was there all morning for meetings, brainstorming, and some walkthroughs of the tools and systems. I spent last night and this morning engaged in some Jikoji tasks, perhaps more so than I should. I felt a familiar "pull" last night as my thoughts kept returning to some of the discussions and my research around how they've managed tools and infrastructure. It feels like I'm getting 'wrapped up' in work tasks. I'm hypersensitive, given it's now four months of not working. In reality, I'm doing well with not getting sucked into a deep well, but it did occur to me that my reflex tendencies to dive in need to be managed and not subconsciously triggered. I've worked hard not to work hard and to enjoy the life side of work/life balance, with offset influence and weight away from working. My trip tomorrow to Boulder should be a strong reminder of that. I'm not taking my laptop. I'll take my phone, AirPods and the remarkable for writing. I plan to be present, engaged, and in 'full gratitude' for the trip. It's a wonderful gift to have this option made available to me. In other news, I dropped the Mini off to reset the roll bar and inspect the suspension and alignment. Mike, the owner, indicated that CalTrans claims are typically successful. I'll keep that in mind. Jen and I took a nice evening stroll at sunset and talked more about the next things on the horizon for us and how little we know yet about what that will be. Scary and exciting all at once. Confidence in each other swings the focus towards excitement.
