Someone get me a pillow

I have a developed a very bad habit that knows no solution: restlessness. Instead of sleeping properly, my body insists on sleeping for an hour or two, awakening for an hour or two, and then finally falling into a deep slumber. This has the wonderful effect of leaving me chronically sleep deprived (fatigued) as you never get a proper rest when you break it up like that. So, needless to say, I'm very tired today and all the coffee in the world seems insufficient to perk me up.

I've been missing the US of late for really no particular reason at all. Of course, watching the Super Bowl didn't help in that regard because it is an experience uniquely American. I much would have preferred grilling up delicious food and imbibing with my mates in the States than sitting solo in an uncomfortable TV room until 4 in the morning. But you do what you can. At any rate, they have this ad that they show on ITV that only helps you miss America more. It shows perhaps a dozen scenes from US movies that basically show famous places in the US: NY, LA, the Grand Canyon, etc. Then they say, "you've seen the sets, now see the real thing." It's a pro-US tourism ad. And yeah, it does sell the beauty of the land pretty profoundly.

The secretary next to me apparently quit in a huff last week, not that I blame her. She was going through the partner's trash (because he often throws away important documents so she filters out his trash pile before actually putting it in the bin) and found a printed copy of a job solicitation - her job that is. This particular attorney (American) is a total jerk and was going to replace her without giving her any notice. So, she went to the office administrator and quit. She got a month's severance, so bully for her. I had seen a good deal of office gossip but was typically out of it until this week. But my mate the Roving Alcoholic clarified things for me. Apparently, in 2.5 years, this partner has gone through 12 temps and now 3 permanent secretaries. He's a nightmare to work for. The temp they hired this week is already being driven nuts by him. So, obviously, it isn't sufficient to keep our office politics domestically, we also have to export them to the world.

If there's one British expression that I really like and think should be used everywhere it's the term "clever". The first time I heard it was when my IPE professor had to cancel class in the middle of the session because he wasn't "feeling too clever". Just now, an attorney called in and told the secretary next to me that he's "not feeling too clever". I think that's brilliant. I always have trouble when I call in sick because I never know exactly how to put it. I think the term "clever" is great because it gives you cover if you're just hungover, while also implying some greater illness. Essentially, it's sufficiently vague to be applicable in multiple situations.

I played the Tenor again in cards last night and he had the Devil's luck. Seriously, every time he needed a card to win, he had it. I informed him that the next time he sells (rents) his soul to the Devil, he ought to shoot a little higher. Being the luckiest Truco player ever is pretty good, but the man is an aspiring opera singer. We were playing teams last night (sort of like how you play Hearts or Spades) and he was totally annoying. There are various signals to let your partner know what cards you have with the idea of minimizing table talk. But, a gregarious (arrogant) Tenor knows no way to shut up, so he just talks and talks the entire game. Of course, it didn't help matters that he was beating our ass out of sheer luck. I hate losing. I used to think that the Tenor cheated at the game (and he may), but now I understand it more simply: he just omitted a variety of rules until they came up in the game at which point he would claim victory even though he had never previously mentioned said eventuality. Now that I have the rules, however, it's my turn to turn the table because there's one part of the game that we have never played and it's time.

Anyway, today looks like a pretty dull day at work. Not a whole lot to do and none of it interesting. Hopefully the day will pass quickly because I'm in no mood to suffer fools gladly.