And I hope you like jammin's too

As I prepped for bed in the hotel last night, I pondered the practicality of pajamas. I don't remember owning pajamas as a child and usually just wore an old t-shirt to bed as a teenager. Even as an adult my bedtime apparel is random. I can see in some cases a set of pajamas would be worthwhile for an infant to keep him from getting tangled in covers or scratching himself. But as an adult I've pretty much mastered the art of covers maintenance, or at least am willing to suffer the consequences of throwing my own comforter onto the floor at 3am. Flannel jammies will not save me.

I've worn multiple layers of clothing to bed sometimes if I'm really cold and Rich isn't (just a few weeks ago I was in a full sweatsuit and socks when I retired for the evening) but that usually means I wake up soaked in sweat by dawn. I don't actually own any pajamas now except for a worn out night shirt I bought a lifetime ago so I could get up to pee in the middle of the night at Rich and Gabrielle's without my ass hanging out for all to see.

Most pajama bottoms shrink alarmingly so that they're boot cut capris made of pilly faded flannel after only a few washings. It hardly seems worth it. Monday night I went to bed in yoga pants and the t-shirt I had worn that day because I was cold. Last night I wore a pair of socks and my underwear to bed because I was hot but my feet were cold.

My mother has a whole section of her wardrobe she calls "sleepin' clothes" that are usually knit pants and oversized t-shirts. She'll wear them in bed, around the house or driving the short mile to our house but very rarely in public. My version of "sleepin' clothes" is a little more flexible in that I've tried to go out in public with them and Rich has to give me that look at the front door as I try to leave that I really should invest the time in a bra, a clean shirt and matching socks. Damn him, always fencing me in.

So what do you normally wear in the midnight hour? Do you have a bedtime routine and ensemble or is it just your tighty whities? Is it seasonal? Does it depend on if you're sharing your bed or sleeping alone?

Good enough is best

I sacrificed forays into Ikea and the Container Store to come back to the hotel and talk to you all. That's dedication, people! First, you all are the greatest thing to ever happen to a bookstore! My in box was full of recommendations. The only thing that could have made it better is if you all had collaborated and sent me a single list in alphabetical order by author's last name so I didn't walk in circles so much.

In the end I picked The Secret Lives of People in Love and The Time Traveler's Wife. There were several other temptations but I only have so much room in my suitcase.

I've been on this odyssey with a co-worker to look at improving some of our processes at work. Yesterday was a long day, but today was much improved for us both. At dinner tonight, I remembered something my uncle Jack had told my father many times, that "good enough is best."

I've been spending a lot of energy lately trying to get our company from grade A to grade A+ and sometimes you just have to admit that continuing to tweak something won't necessarily help it. Good enough has never really been my style and certainly is not my father's. But I can see other people's perspectives that they may spend a lot of effort to do something right and only get frustrated when someone follows up to move things around to their preferences.

My father is famous for doing this when working on a project where he will go behind your efforts to load a truck bed and move things around in an almost identical fashion but in a way that pleases him. He'll also uncoil a power cord you've wound to wind it the way he likes when all you were trying to do was save him the time of doing it in the first place. After a while, you start to wonder why you're even bothering to help.

So I'm trying to improve some processes overall but not necessarily go behind my staff and recoil power cords they've bound up for me needlessly. Wish me luck.

reading is fundamental

I need help finding a good novel to read. I picked one off my own shelves at home and it's solidly okay but I feel like I'm wasting energy and time reading it instead of something "better." This is the same logic that keeps me from re-reading novels I've already checked off my list. I haven't read a lot of books lately since I spend so much time reading people's blogs in the evening hours I would be reading novels. But I'd like to feel a good book in my hands again.

I'd like something fiction, preferably not fantasy but that's not a show-stopper, and small enough to travel with (so nothing hardcover).

Tell me a good book you've read lately. You're my only hope for in-flight entertainment for my travels these days.