There was something I was trying to say with that last post but, eh. I’ll have to circle around it I guess. This morning Alpha and I are enjoying a few hours of leisure. We dropped the kids off at friends last night and they won’t be back for a few more minutes, noonish. Meaning we had a morning to ourselves, meaning sleeping in and then lying around staring at the ceiling, hungover. At least one of us, I’m not saying who.

I always found hangovers most bearable with ice-cold Pepsi and old Star Trek re-runs or Elvis movies on TV with the sound off, Pink Floyd on the stereo. Now we have children, and no TV, so I try to avoid hangovers. But leisure. This morning wasn’t bad, sitting around, talking, with nothing much to do.

Soon the world will come crashing back over our heads so we enjoy this quiet. Well, enjoy is maybe the wrong word for a person with a bad hangover, I’m not saying who…

Last night we got to be adults for a while. We were invited to a friend’s for dinner. She cooked Thai food and served much wine. I just had a beer because I was driving. There was another couple there as well. The guy was an outgoing smartass, a lot like the way I act here on this site. It was interesting to watch. In person I am quiet, so we got along, no territorial pissing contests or anything.

It’s interesting being the only sober person in a room full of drunks. At one point Alpha told an emotional story. I decided not to interrupt because it was, first of all, a very good story, and second, I think it’s fine to talk about serious things in social situations, rather than try to stick to polite, innocuous topics all the time. Then they all got into an argument about something, I’m not exactly sure what and neither were they. For a while I played referee, saying things like, “well, on the one hand I agree with you, but I can see what he’s trying to say as well, and she has a good point…” but ultimately I gave up and concentrated on keeping my eyes open. My eyes get small after 9 pm.

Then we drove home. It was a good night. We weren’t exactly the house guests from hell, although we did initiate drunken arguments and we were the last to leave. I would invite us again, if I were our hostess.

And now we’re enjoying a few more minutes of leisure.

Leisure as a noun and not an adjective. Leisure not as leisure-time, time off work when you can take care of your private things, run errands and take busy vacations. Leisure as time empty of plans, goals and duties. The German word is “Musse” and believe it or not it’s less obsolete than the English expression, at least here in Austria. The freedom of bums and artists, or philosophers and mystics. Leisure as empty space filled by an expanding soul. Not the crushing depressive empty time of unemployment or boredom. A lightness, a mysterious space of discovery and experience and existence beyond language where life comes to you and stretches out at your feet.

Yesterday, I was emailing back and forth with a friend who couldn’t IM from work and I got all nostalgic about the old pre-IM days when e-mail was cutting edge.

It finally dawned on my that I didn’t have my own shoes at the Feral Living Shoe Project. I just went and fixed that. They are here.

Good description of kd here.
[Go there now.]

By popular request, the cunnilingus poll. As with the fellatio part of the study, readers are asked to conduct polls of their friends and acquaintances and report the results to Feral Living, which will then publish the results of the international study. Thanks in advance.

About the poll: since the fellatio poll turned up no significant difference in preferences between Americans and Europeans, that variable was excluded from this poll. However, you are free to specify your nationality in the comments below.

Poll What about cunnilingus (giving)? Love it, love it, love it. It’s alright if nothing good is on TV. Hate it. Other (leave comment).