MM242 - Exotic

I almost did not get to shoot this as it was a rather strange day, at least as far as my sleep was concerned.  I often sleep through my morning alarm, and this has frightened me a bit because I would hate to miss a day at work and get a reprimand.  My schedule this block gives me a class at 09.00, but I need at least half an hour to drive to work, plus 20 minutes to walk from the free parking area.   This doesn't sound too bad but I need to factor in the usual Monday morning traffic, which means that to be doubly sure I am on time I need to leave no later than 07.00, and even that is not a guarantee because early morning accidents can make things even more frustrating.  Today, I wanted to leave even earlier because I wanted to prepare properly.

I tried to get sleepy on time on Sunday evening, but that didn't happen.  The hours ticked by and I simply did not feel tired, and even the fact that I had driven quite a distance on Saturday didn't seem to matter.  I was awake, warm, and relaxed.  Just after 1 a.m., I thought I'd go to bed and perhaps by lying down I might induce some sleep.  It did not happen and I got worried, and then suddenly I thought to myself -- 'Just relax and accept it, go with the flow and it'll all work out.'  To my surprise, that is just what happened.  I took it for what it was worth and stayed awake all the way to the morning, without feeling tired at all.  By 04.30, I was out of bed and looking at my lessons.  By 05.30 I had cleared the dishwasher and was busy preparing my breakfast and also my lunch, which was more of that pakchoy dish I had cooked two evenings before, again with yoghurt and tea.  By 06.20 I was on the road, and sure enough, there was a serious accident just beyond the exit I had to take.  The generous time margin was quite convenient.  Drove to school, parked close, brought all my heavy stuff and food upstairs, returned to the car, drove to the parking area, then walked back.  Had a bit more than an hour to prepare, and felt so relaxed through it all.  The rest of the day went by like a breeze, my classes went like clockwork just the way I wanted, and I still wasn't tired.

Back on the road by 15.30, no traffic, and went on with the usual things like dinner and dishes, while AW went to his bridge evening.  Finally, at about 22.30, I thought it was about time I went to bed.  I was gone in less than 5 seconds.  This was shot at about 21.00-ish, and I had even almost forgotten to do it.  It's a blouse I bought in Mongolia in 2012.  The coloured version is in the extra.  I really took a separate B&W shot for this post, so no fartnarkling.  A most unusual day.

AW's bridge evening with H apparently went so well that they finished in first place, much to their surprise.  H is doing so well with his post-stroke exercises, so this evening's results were very welcome.