Sleep Dep, Hiking, My New Spidery Friend & J's Birthday

Yesterday I had to drive my brother to the airport - the Greenville-Spartanburg airport, about an hour & a quarter or so away. I had to be at my mom's to get him at 7:30 am. So of course, since I'd been drinking red wine the night before, which always gets me, I woke up at 4:00. And couldn't go back to sleep. I am not one of those people who function well on 4 hours of sleep. I am one of those people who think that 9 hours or so is about right and anything less than 7 hours of uninterrupted slumber is torture. So I was really out of it when I got to my mothers; among other attractive features, my eyes were all red around the rims. My mother is disgustingly perky at 7:30.

I drove my brother to GSP and the whole way it felt like my brain was loose in my head: not crammed in there like it's supposed to be, but as if my skull was huge and my brain was just kind of floating. I talked out loud to myself the whole way back and kept promising myself a nap. I got one at last - for about 2 hours before the dogs started in howling at each other. My brother refused to stay here after 2 nights: he said it was like living in a kennel. I was irritated at the time but okay, he has a point.

On Sunday my brother & I hiked up to the top of John Rock. It's a hell of a climb and either I was in a lot better shape 3 years ago (oh horrible thought) or the trail has gotten steeper. Or something. It's pretty much 2 miles straight up. It's two days later and my calves are still killing me. But gods, it's worth it when you get up there. The view is incredible, with Looking Glass like a ship, like it's just getting ready to sail off over the mountains, and the hawks circling below, and down at the very bottom the Fish Hatchery, geometric and exact. John Rock itself is so wonderful too, although I won't go near the edge and my brother would barely venture out on any of it. It was all warm from the sun and now I want to go sleep there some night. Although I won't; I'm much too chicken. Between the bears and the possibility of rolling off - no. Bad idea. We didn't bring the dogs with us. John Rock is no place for a blind hound.

The spider I talked about a couple days ago comes back every night now. I looked him up here, which is a very useful site you should bookmark and it turns out he is a Golden Orb Weaver. And my friend. He's my friend now: I go out every night and talk to him for a while and he seems happy to see me. I'm a little concerned that I keep blowing smoke at him and he might get lung cancer, although A points out that since I don't seem too worried about my own lungs it's a little ridiculous to worry about a spider, and J says spiders don't have lungs anyway.

We drank a lot of beer with J last night to celebrate her birthday and danced around the living room to the Supremes. And played Trivial Pursuit until A got too furious. It's tough to play Trivial Pursuit with me, I admit it. Don't hate me because I'm a genius - hate me because I gloat over my incredible geniusness while I beat everyone. Also, A is just too young to play with me and J. We know stuff, like Patty Hearst's code name with the Symbionese Liberation Army, simply by having been alive in the 70s. A doesn't even know who Patty Hearst is. Which is how it should be, probably, but meanwhile, bwah ha ha ha ha ha! I know everything! I ROOL Trivial Pursuit!