The coffee shop awaits

At 7:30 the alarm goes off. I let T hit snooze over and over again. Eventually he tires of this and starts making kissy-noises on my face. I tell him its annoying. No wait. I tell him, "Don't use your nose for evil." He laughs. I open my eyes. "Finally, a sunny day," I say. There is blue peeking through the slots in the blinds.

Yesterday, I promised him that I would make the coffee while was in the shower, so when he gets up to start his day, I get up to start the coffee. Inspired by this bright start, I return immediately to the bed. I invite the dog "up up", then fall promptly asleep.

I wake up at noon. Whoops. Once again my self-discipline has been conquered by my love of sleep. The dog has been barking. It occurs to me that he may not be barking in alarm at noises he hears coming from the street. He may be simply shouting at me to get my lazy ass out of bed. I open my eyes again. He is staring at me.

Before I pull back the covers, I start to sing. This is my way of exciting the dog. By exciting the dog, I feel more guilty for not getting up. It works. Eventually, I pop upright, and the dog hops down. We start.

I consider my options:
- Walk the dog to the coffee shop with me, and study there with him. No. I won't get anything done.
- Walk the dog to the park, then go to the coffee shop and eat something there while I study. No, I am tired of eating croissants for breakfast and lunch.
- Walk the dog to the pet store, buy him a bribe bone and then go study. No. He needs a real walk. And I need a real breakfast.
- Cook breakfast, then walk the dog, then study. Yes.

Last night I baked brownies in a fit of procrastination. For once in my life, I decide this isn't enough sustenance to get me through the afternoon. I eat two canned pineapple rings. Not enough carbs. I fry up the last couple slices of fake bacon, while looking at the nutritional info. Good for some thiamine and not much else. I check out the box of Rice Cripsies. OK. Pineapple slices, some bacon and a bowl of cereal. It warrants a brownie for dessert.

I eat and read the city weekly. Some police officers recently arrested a guy in our area of the city for filming an arrest on his iPhone. Crap. This reminds me that I have a lot of outlining left to do for Political and Civil Rights. No time to think about that.

Post-breakfast, I saddle up the dog and go down to the park. We chill for a while. I take him back. I pack up my backpack. Then I make my way over to the computer to look for an outline someone was supposed to send me. I end up checking out blogs until the dog comes in to whine at me. So I get up, guiltily, and walk over to the living room to pet him. I lay on the couch for five or ten minutes.

Finally, I get up, sling my backpack over my shoulder and walk out the door.

The coffee shop awaits. It's always waiting.