It's 5 am. I woke up at 2, more awake than I realized I could be. More awake than I ever am. I wasn't stressed. Or worried. I was just...awake. Extremely awake.

I read. Faulkner. His prose is like a kudzu vine, slowly but inexorably wrapping itself around your consciousness, pulling you down into the oppressive heat, the weighted history of his subject matter. You'd think if anything could asphyxiate you back to sleep, it would be Faulkner. But nope.

I thought about yesterday. I attended and played at an ordination for a newly-minted MCC Reverend. It was a nice service, if overlong. With the pre-service rehearsal and the post-service shindig, I was there all day. And there's church today. Really needed a good night's rest...

This new Reverend, Tim, is a recent alumnus of PSR, where I plan to go in the fall, if it all works out. I met a number of students from there, most of whom seem nice and the rest of whom seem tolerable.

My marathon training book says that getting enough sleep is crucial to the training process.

Shut up, marathon training book.

Played the piano awhile. I've found as I get older that I enjoy playing by actually reading music, instead of playing extemporaneously by ear or using chords. It's a completely different process, but I like to sort of combine them. Reading the music removes the responsibility for coming up with something clever to do on your own, and allows you to 'zone out' a little more, which is nice. I'm not that good at it, though. But I'm getting better.

I've been told that it's important to visualize what you want and to imagine your own success. For that reason, I've decided to start visualizing the assassinations of people who are in my way. Behind someone slow in traffic? Imagine their assassination! Someone taking too long at the ATM? Imagine his assassination! Have a rival for a promotion at work? Imagine her assassination! If you don't see immediate results, keep trying! Remember: RFK wasn't assassinated until June of 1968. Keep those dreams alive, my friends! It's fun. It's helpful. And it makes the world a much more miserable place.