And although many would blame the four beers I had last night with my friend from out of town.

(Hmmm, maybe.)

And some might also blame getting in at 1 o�clock in the morning.

(Sure, sure.)

And because I slept in my contacts and am now reading a computer screen without any lenses?

(Perhaps.)

But let�s be truthful here. I can handle a few beers, a late night, and being somewhat vision impaired. But what I cannot take is the damn cat waking me up at 4 o�clock after I�ve done those three things.

Hambone has taken to walking on my loft�s partial walls. (They�re 8-feet up, and the ceiling is 10-feet high.) He usually jumps onto the kitchen counter, onto the fridge, and then onto the wall, reversing the order when he�s ready to get down.

However, he�s recently learned that if he jumps onto the bed from the loft wall, it�s a nicely padded landing spot.

And although I find it funny to hear him plop onto my bed as I�m reading or cooking in the other area of the condo, I do not appreciate this ploppage as I�m in the bed.

Drop a 15-pound sack of potatoes from eight feet in the air, and that�s quite a landing.

When the flea bag woke me up, I was up. Up, up, up.

At this point I was still a little tipsy, tipsy, tipsy, so I figured sleep would come easily.

No such luck.

So I drank some water, turned on the a/c, and flipped over all of my pillows to their cooler sides.

After an hour of waiting it out, I got up to find Hambone and wake him up. Sure enough, he was lounging in �his� room (a.k.a., my office) when I poked him in his ribs.

From 4 o�clock until 6, I�d leave Hammus alone for about 20 minutes, find him, and then poke him until he woke up.

I think I got some rest between 6 and 7, only to have the cat come and beg for food. (Weighing in at 15 pounds, he�s clearly starving�) I roused myself, poured some food in the bowl, and then laid back down.

No friggin� sleep once again.

I wait it out, knowing that I�ll just get up, remove my contacts, shower, and get my day going at 8.

Of course that doesn�t work.

I fall nicely asleep right before 8, only to have the alarm go off and the snooze button pushed until the last possible moment.

So if someone sees me walking around with what looks like a coon-skin hat but with a less-fluffy tail, please don�t ask any questions. I�ll at least be well rested. �