I got back from lunch a couple of hours ago. I have to say it is really nice to leave the house (office, that is) for lunch at times. The food and company was excellent, and surprisingly I didn't fall into food coma after eating. It's surprising because I had insomnia last night, and probably would have fallen asleep on the way home... By the way, I stopped twice at the stop sign where I got busted on Monday...

Yeah, I had trouble sleeping last night. I woke up constantly after funky dreams. I seemed to be getting into fist fights, which is very wierd, given that I don't believe I've ever been in a fist fight. I generally only sleep deeply for a maximum of two hours, and the rest of my time is very light. That's why I was typically the one who got up to check on Annie when she was a baby during the night. I think it is worse when the moon is full (werewolf? more like werebananaslug). Well, to get to the point, I began to hear the tell tale signs of mouse activity in the kitchen. Yes, the kitchen is sixty feet from the bedroom, and there are walls in the way, but I have pretty good hearing. I've tried very hard to damage my hearing with loud music, but was not successful.

Twice I heard/saw Lilo jump out of the bedroom window and canter into the kitchen like an elephant. Stealthy he is not. I optimistically thought that maybe he would take care of the problem, but knowing Lilo, he was probably negotiating with the mouse. If the mouse could bite through the can that held the canned food, he'd share it. No? Fine, I'll go back to the window... Finally, I couldn't stand it any longer. This is a terrible place for an insomniac to be in. The blood is pumping, and then I'm irritated with the knowledge that I'm not going to get to sleep for even longer. I should have banged my head into the cupboard door again to see if I could just knock myself out.

I approached the kitchen with stealth (unlike Lilo), but a creaky floor gave me away. I turned the light on, and opened the pantry door. There he was... right on the side of the pantry frame. This happened once before, and by the time I found something to grab him with, he was gone. Ironically, after my dreams, I reacted instantly. Believe it or not, I punched him. I never thought about missing and breaking my hand on the frame, and nailed him. My pinky knuckle is a little sore from contacting the frame, but other than that, I didn't hurt myself. I think I pulled the punch a bit at the last minute when a voice in my head said, 'you know, he really is kind of cute.' That voice sounded a lot like Annie. He fell to the ground. I don't think he was dead, just stunned. I picked him up by the tail, and unceremoniously through him out into the fruit garden. Somehow, I tried to justify to myself that I wouldn't have to explain (as if she would ask) to Annie that I killed it. Now, if a coyote or a neighbor cat pounced on it, I can't help it....

An hour later, I fell asleep...

Provoked to violence...