Meditation: Headspace, Wind Down: Switching Off Length: 5 minutes Where: In Bed, Los Angeles How It Felt: Right to sleep... for a moment
What a crazy day it’s been.
Last night, just when I was fast asleep and dreaming, thoughts of my early alarm pushed out of my mind, the power went out. Totally, fully, stubbornly out. Something about the wind advisory, which I knew was a big deal because I could hear the wind shaking the building and blowing things around the roof. It was wild.
I tried to just go back to sleep, but the dead silence was unsettling. The AC was off, too, so it started to get extremely hot. I turned on the sleep sounds app on my phone, only to shoot up in a panic a little while later, afraid it would drain my battery and my alarm wouldn’t go off at all. In sleepy confusion, I tried to set an alarm with Alexa as a backup.
Oh, yeah. Right.
Tigre wasn’t having any of it, and insisted on entering my bedroom as many times as possible to announce loudly that things seemed strange. His favorite track involved yowling from the floor, then jumping on the bed, then talking some more, preferably as close to my face as possible, before crawling into my arms and pretending like he was going to sleep with me. Just as I got as comfortable as possible and started to doze off, he would leap up, unsatisfied with my response to this odd new development, and leave me to wander the rooms, yelling at no one in particular.
The power still wasn’t on when I got out of bed, giving up on sleep altogether. It was pitch black, and the only light I had came from my phone flashlight. For some reason, the water wouldn’t get hot either, and at some point I realized my car would be trapped in the garage. Basically, it was a terrible day to need to work auto show.
I did my hair and makeup in the dark, skipped the shower, got an outfit together, all while hoping my agent would call me back and tell me there was no need to show up today at all- plenty of staff are coming! Go ahead, go back to bed!
Alas, she did not. So, I forged ahead, fully prepared to take a Lyft if needed, grateful for the free breakfast they were serving at work since I knew I shouldn’t open the refrigerator. I miraculously made it before the show opened, admired the very serviceable updo I’d managed in the dark, told myself my tired, half made up face would do for the day, and worked my full shift.
Adventures, I guess!
Home now, I’m not sure I’ve ever been more grateful for electricity. Flip a switch, and there shall be light! Modern miracles we don’t even notice as they happen. I’m also grateful for hot showers, working wifi, and the fact that I finished laundry completely before going to bed last night, because going to work in soaking wet clothes would have been a bit of a bummer.
I so wanted to get good sleep- thus the sleep meditation- but now I have no excuses! Lots of evening still ahead of me, and nowhere to be until 2pm tomorrow. Perfect recipe for a ten hour sleep marathon.
I. Can’t. Wait.
My Year of Meditation 