This post brought to you by Ambien

I was just lazing away on a pillow, trying to make my back knots go away, when Patrick mentioned how much he likes this Mexican coconut we get at our local Plaza Latina. He is right and it is scrumptious. But it reminded me of doing this summer undergrad research project at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

It was very hot there, and we had bats in the evening, fluttering around. I once saw a bolt of lightning strike the street and sit there for about 3 seconds, just glowing and staying right in place.

Galveston had some amazing storms. I once wore my bathing suit to work and carried my work clothes in a plastic bag so I could change into them. I did this because the last time I tried wearing actual work clothes on my way to work during one of these cloudbursts, I was so soaking wet that I had to blow my clothes dry with a hair dryer while wearing only a lab coat. It was awkward.

Anyway at one point I'd thought it was a good idea to get a fresh coconut and eat it right out of the shell, but I didn't have any implements to get it out, so I had to go full monkey and bang it on the cement apartment balcony floor as hard as I could. I must've looked exactly like some sort of missing link in the evolutionary chain, sitting there banging my nut on the ground and then picking bits out and eating them before doing some more banging.

Nobody said anything. They were probably used to me by that time.

I once couldn't get out of the apartment gate because my keycard wouldn't work, and I felt quite strongly that I ought to be at work, so I climbed a palm tree so I could hoist myself over the at least 10' tall iron fence with spikes on top that surrounded the place. Over I went, ever so gingerly, and then after landing fairly well, I headed off to work.

That place had no more dedicated employee, I tell you. Guess I figured I'd deal with the damn fence again when I got back after work.